roger001

On just about every cruise, I've seen frozen margarita happy hours advertised on several different days, limited to usually just one bar, for $4.95. You can save a bit on drinks if you request it in a non souvenir glass, and house brand liquor. We get bloody marys and screw drivers for $5.25 like that.

We try to start a cruise as early as possible. We arrive at the port usually 10:30 if we can. Might have a small line waiting to begin processing. But once it begins, you are through super fast, sit in the waiting area until boarding begins, usually 11:30ish. Then on the ship. The main dining room is usually open for lunch at noon. It is never crowded if you prefer that.

Does the Sun have a walk all the way around deck?

Yes.

Check #3 for pics of the Sun pool deck.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1951326&highlight=sun+pool

Other than receiving a letter left in your cabin confirming the credit, I don't believe it shows up anywhere else. However, we've purchased quite a few. They have always been available, no problem when booking the next cruise...or two. In fact, once I didn't even know I had any left on my account. I apparently did because NCL applied it automatically for me when I booked.

We've stayed in both. Nothing wrong with the balcony cabins, but we much prefer the minis. The cabin is bigger, curtain around bed, tub, full length couch, and the actual balcony is slightly bigger. Here's a link to Pearl mini pics from a couple of years ago.

http://s241.photobucket.com/user/roganderson60/library/Pearl%20Mini%20Suite?sort=2&page=1

As others have mentioned, we send it out one day and get it back the next.

If I tried to book my next cruise (April) the month before the cruise, I'd be standing on the dock as the ship sails away. The mini suites, which we like, are already fully booked. So your logic does not work on many, many cruises. The last cruise we took, last month, from the time we booked it until it sailed, the price of our cabin (mini suite) had increased a total of $1400. A year ago, after final payment for a cruise on the Pearl, the price of our cabin (balcony cabin that time) went down to a point below the price then being asked for the remaining mini suites. We requested, and were given an upgrade to a mini then. Wow. Nice. There is no way to accurately determine what the pricing on a cruise will ever do. If you don't really care if you go or not, and you have the flexibility to go at the last moment, yea......wait until the last month. Maybe you will get a super good deal on a remaining unbooked cabin.....or maybe you will find nothing available for any price. What to do!

At the cost of a cruise, I'd sure stick with something that works for you. That's why we stick with NCL. We've had nothing but an excellent experience on every NCL cruise and don't consider "trying" another cruise line. If you're familiar and comfortable with the other lines you mentioned, I'd continue to enjoy them . As I said, cruises cost to much to, in my mind, experiment around.

Scones are served each afternoon about 3 pm in the Great Outdoors (where there is one). They include the cream and jam. My wife really likes them. My wife isn't British, but having eaten scones in England, she says that to her, these are equally good.

The interior design of the Sun is a bit odd. Not bad, just confusing compared to the other ships we've been on. We've been on her three time and I'm just starting to get it figured out. I think it is cause by the Promenade deck being one deck above the lobby area. I'm assuming the MDR is open on embarkation day. It is on the other ships. I've never looked for sure though. Because of the Sun's smaller size, the buffet is somewhat small. Food good, just limited variety compared to the bigger ships. Modernos does serve breakfast items in the morning and has pasta/pizza during the lunch hours. Yes, open to everyone. And yes, the sports bar becomes a Blue Lagoon type food place after 5:30 pm. The Sun also has a Great Outdoors which excellent for breakfast and has grilled/buffet type items during most of the rest of the day. On our last cruise, there was a big group of Wounded Warriors on board. Some of those guys/gals were very, very limited in their physical mobility, most using wheel chairs or electric scooters. They were getting around all over the ship nicely. The Sun is a great ship. Love her.

Puerto Chiapas has tried very hard to have a beautiful and pleasant cruise ship port setting. Although town is some distance away on shuttle buses (and we've never been in our two stops there), as others have said, the port dock area is very nice with very nice people. We've enjoyed just hanging out there, having a beer or two and maybe something to eat.

Someone gave me these instructions that we will be trying in February:

1. Go to System Settings

 

2. Turn “Airplane Mode” ON. This will automatically kill all connections using any type of Verizon network….phone, text, data, etc….and turn the phone into a really expensive calculator!

 

3. Turn “Wi-Fi” ON. This will allow the phone to only pick up Wi-Fi.

 

4. Will have to go into Wi-Fi to pick a network to connect to.

Correct. The alternative for us is to turn data off (that is the money killer), but leave "voice on while roaming". That allows us to use the "cellular at sea" texting ability, .05c for each received and .50c for each sent (SMS only). If you do get calls during that time, if you don't answer or listen to voice mail, there is no charge for them.

And after the tender line winds down, usually a couple of hours, it goes to "open tender" status. Just go down and get on the next tender, no tickets needed.

My thoughts...we like to get to the port as early as possible, usually 10:30ish. That is ahead of most of the crowd. The terminal may not be receiving guest for check in quite yet and possibly a small line to wait in outside the terminal. However, you will begin processing soon, move through very quickly, and there will be a waiting area with seats until boarding the ship begins. Ship boarding, if all in normal, is usually about 11:30, sometimes a bit sooner. Then you are on the ship, vacation has begun, eat, drink, and people watch.

Although on our two Belize stops the tendering went pretty smooth, Belize is one of the longer tender rides from ship to dock. The ships have to anchor quite a distance out to stay outside of the reef surrounding Belize.

I thought that I read that you could use your home Wi-Fi password to get service on the ship but I may have read that wrong.

No. Not at all. To access the ship's wifi, you will have to subscribe (buy the minutes package plan you wish) then you will be given a password to access the service then.

Nope, what i'm saying is there are lots of office buildings, hotels, stores, ect., in NYC, i'm hoping while we sail out of NYC on NY Harbor I can hook into someones wifi signal from land...

If you're talking smartphone or ipad with data, then you will still have good domestic data connection, part of your data plan, until you are a short distance out to sea. You can watch you signal and see when it becomes unusable or goes to roaming. That is when you need to turn it off. Until then, you will still have your usual network connection and plan.

I really want to get up and personal with the glaciers... what have people done for excursions here and any HAVE tos?

 

Thank you

An inexpensive fast glacier look in Juneau is a trip out to the Mendenhall glacier. It is just outside of town and has a great informational center with a movie presentation. You can walk up pretty close to the face of that glacier...and learn a lot about glaciers.

As all the others have said, you can walk on board your ship with nothing but your room card in hand, not having a penny of cash on you, and have a wonderful cruise, eating a huge variety of very good food, enjoy the variety of entertainment and shows that are provided. And when the cruise is over, the only additional charge you will see on your final statement will be the $12 per day service charge. Anything more you spend will be strictly up to you....not at all required for a great cruise.

Do you get cellphone service while on cruise? Do i need to get international plan? Will be on NCL Jewel going to jamaica, grand cayman and cozumel

 

Mainly want to be able to check emails, facebook, twitter....

You can purchase slow wifi time on the ship and use your phone or use the ship's computers. However, do not have you phone "data on" or "data on while roaming". As others said, it will literally cost you a fortune. You can have "voice on while roaming" and be able to text, SMS only. It's probably for your company .05c for each received and .50c for each sent. Voice calls while on the ship are $2.50 a minute. However, you can use the ship's phone for only $1.95 a minute now.

On your next cruise, insist that you be given the instructions twice. Oh...also pay attention during the drills. No chatting during that time.

Sorry you had to learn the hard way. All the problems you encountered, plus many others, are mentioned over and over in many reviews. I guess sometimes you have to touch the hot stove to really believe it is hot.

 

We have very low expectations for our next Epic cruise, hopefully the burns will only be 2nd degree this time.

WHY! Why are you going to spend your money on something that you so dislike? You puzzle me.

Thanks for a balanced review. We really enjoy the smaller ships, and although we certainly can't speak from experience, we just don't think one of the mega ships are in our cruise future. Love the NCL ships we do sail on though. Thanks again.

And let me recommend the Great Outdoors for breakfast also....and snacking grilled or sandwich type item throughout the day. Additionally, Modernos is open for breakfast, including waffles and omelets. And then at lunch time Modernos has a pasta, pizza food setup. In addition to a sail away grilled food on the pool deck (weather permitting), food was grilled out there several more days on our recent cruise. Plenty of food throughout the Sun. That's good because the buffet is fairly small, limiting how much selection it can provide...although what they did have was good I thought.