Trip Report – NCL SUN – 6/1 Bahamas

Quick takeaways:

PROS

CHEAP cruise, open bar. Can’t beat the value.

Old and small ship but refurbished. Nice public areas, bars/lounges etc.

Lots of seating on the pool deck

Perfect weather

CONS

Odd ship layout. Difficult to navigate to dining rooms on opposite sides of ship. Poor signage, hard to find public restrooms.

Food was mediocre compared to other cruise lines.

Entertainment was terrible.

Service was hit or miss.

It was a “booze cruise” and came with the “clientele” you’d expect to find on one.

Background

In May, my girlfriend (28yo) and I (34yo) decided we wanted to do a brief summer getaway. We have a cruise planned on RCL Oasis in November, but November’s a long wait. We wanted something in June that was cheap and would require us taking no more than 2 days off from work. We live in Orlando and I’ve seen a lot of NCL billboards on 528 promoting the Sun (kudos to NCL marketing team) so I did a little investigating.

The Sun is running 2 itineraries this summer. A 4 day Mon – Fri to Key West and Cuba and a 3 day Fri-Mon to Bahamas. I wanted to see Cuba, but I didn’t want to take 5 days off work to only go to Cuba for one day. I want Cuba to be a land trip so I can stay for multiple nights and truly explore the country. So, Bahamas was the more attractive option for us. While the Bahamas is the least exciting destination in the Caribbean, we just wanted a getaway, so Bahamas fit the bill.

I typically sail RCL but bounce around now and then. NCL was a line I had yet to try, so I was curious to try something new. Also, in comparison to RCL, Carnival and Disney, the price simply could not be beat. $289pp for an interior sail away rate is what we landed. At one point, it dropped as low as $259pp. Not a lot of demand for this one, obviously. Oh, and did I mention the entire boat was open bar? That pretty much sealed the deal. There was no other option out there that was going to give us that kind of value. So about 1-2 weeks prior to sailing I contacted our TA and he made the reservation, with a discount thrown in.

Embarkation

We packed the morning of 6/1, left the house at 9:45am and arrived at Port Canaveral around 10:30am. We dropped our bags off at the curb and then parked the car. Total cost to park was $68. Don’t bother trying to save $20 by parking off-site and taking a shuttle. Parking is so close that you can see your car right when you exit the terminal. That kind of convenience can’t be beat. We went through security, checked in at around 10:45am and were assigned boarding group 3. At 11am an announcement was made stating that boarding would begin at 12pm. Then at 11:10am, boarding began. I guess they changed their minds. We were on the ship by 11:45am.

DAY 1

Upon entering the ship, the staff was eager (if not a bit pushy) to usher you up to deck 11 to eat lunch at the buffet. I don’t do buffets if there are better options available, and there were (or so I thought). At 12pm the MDR opened and what looked like the more “seasoned” cruisers that knew better, arrived to eat lunch to avoid the chaos and subpar buffet experience.

Lunch was…interesting. I’ve never seen a meatball sub on the menu at a restaurant with linens and wine glasses on the table. I opted for the calamari appetizer and a shrimp/penne pasta. The calamari was great, pasta was OK. My girlfriend ordered the pho for her appetizer (random thing to throw on a menu as this was the only Asian themed dish available) but it was quite good. She wasn’t impressed with the rest of the menu and settled for the salmon burger for entrée. We eat salmon probably every week at home, so she figured this would be a safe choice. Far from it. She took one bite and said, “this tastes awful.” I took a bite and it was indeed awful. I’m not sure if the salmon was old or just a cheap cut, but it had a very “fishy” taste that fresh (or even remotely fresh) seafood just isn’t supposed to have. We’ve bought frozen salmon burgers from Sam’s Club before and while not great, they were better than what we were served. That really says something. She sent the dish back, and we just went straight for dessert. I had a peanut butter cheesecake and she had a white chocolate mousse. Both were good, but nothing to rave about.

Afterwards, we went up to the pool deck for a drink. This was your classic 3-day Bahamas “booze cruise.” The “clientele” was like what you’d find on Carnival. Lots of American flag bathing suits, cans of Bud Light, and people treating the staff poorly. I’m not passing judgement on these folks, just describing it as I saw it. There were also some families with small children and a lot of folks from India. I could tell that they weren’t expecting the environment they were about to get into. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t some rowdy out of control atmosphere. But, it’s not the kind of cruise I’d take for a family vacation with the little ones. I imagine the environment would be MUCH different on a weekday Cuba cruise. Probably a lot of seniors.

The rest of the afternoon was spent hanging around the pool having drinks. The open bar concept was nice as there was no need to swipe cards. Two drink limit per person, per trip to the bar. Liquor and beer selection was limited, and certain liquors were an upcharge. But, I had no problem finding something sufficient to drink. One annoying restriction is that nothing was served straight up, even if you requested it. Only on the rocks. A word to the wise – when you order your drink BE SURE TO SPECIFY WHICH BRAND OF LIQUOR YOU WANT. They might have Kettle One vodka on display but if you simply ask for a “vodka and soda,” the bartenders have obviously been trained to reach for the cheap stuff in the well. Based on my observation, I’d say 75% or more of the passengers didn’t know any better. So, don’t forget, ask for a pina colada WITH BACARDI, etc so you can avoid a hangover in the morning.

Dinner was in the MDR and was a disappointment. The only thing I remember was that my steak was so gristly that I could not chew it. There was really nothing else memorable about the experience.

CABIN

We were on deck 9. Our sailaway rate landed us a handicapped accessible interior mid-ship cabin. Very spacious. Bathroom was outdated, and shower was very small with a curtain that stuck to my body when I was inside. They really should have a glass enclosure, so water doesn’t get all over the floor.

Bed felt fine. Couch looks to have been reupholstered, but it was very uncomfortable and obviously very old. Plenty of places for storage. Our room steward introduced himself that evening as we were in the hallway. Other than that, we didn’t see much of him after that. But he did his job sufficiently.

DAY 2 - NASSAU

We woke up and went to MDR for breakfast at around 8:30am. Not bad, standard choices of omelets, eggs, bagels, etc.

I don’t do overpriced ship excursions so beforehand I found a craft beer walking tour offered by a local tour group that looked interesting. Meeting point was about 15 minutes from the ship. The tour comprised of us and one other couple (another reason I love non-ship sponsored tours) along with a guide. Very personal experience. It was a walking tour and we went to several bars, tried appetizers and local beer, got a history lesson, walked by some government buildings and then finished at Pirate Republic, the first and only craft brewery in the Bahamas. Considering Caribbean beer in general is pretty bad, this place was a welcomed surprise. I enjoyed the tour and would recommend it if you want something not so “tourist-y”. I’d also recommend you visit Pirate Republic even if you don’t want to do the tour. It’s a 15-minute walk from the ship and reasonably priced at about $6 per beer.

After returning to the ship, we had more drinks and then another “blah” meal in the MDR. We went to the comedy show, which was terrible. Over half of the audience walked out before it even ended. Ourselves included. I’m not usually one to do that, but since so many other people left, I slipped out as well.

DAY 3 – GSC

The same as the previous morning, we went to the MDR for a decent breakfast.

We were among the first groups of people off the boat to tender to GSC. We arrived around 9:15am. The island was gorgeous, and empty. Plenty of places to lounge and swim. Around noon, more groups of people arrived, and it filled in a bit. There are two places to eat. A main buffet, which had awful looking burgers and pizza, and a taco hut. We went for the tacos. I was pleasantly surprised. Beef and chicken were good and came with all the fixings, including guacamole. I’d recommend this place.

After lunch, things start getting a little livelier. The drunks were really drunk, and you’d hear a lot of hooting and hollering. I felt sorry for the bartenders as they were busting their butts and looked visibly frustrated at how intoxicated the guests were becoming, especially when demands of “make my drink stronger” were made. To make matters worse for them, no one was tipping them (a theme common to this cruise). It was quite sad how thrilled they were when I’d throw them a dollar or two when I got a round of drinks. If you’re reading this – please tip these folks. They really work hard.

I observed one woman in her 20s get injured while trying to play volleyball while wasted. Not a good idea. First Aid carted her off and then I saw her later on crutches.

It’s my understanding that sometimes bad weather prohibits the GSC stop. If this were the case, I’d have been extremely disappointed. There really isn’t enough to do on the ship to warrant an entire “sea day.” Cancelling the GSC stop would have greatly reduced the value I received from this cruise.

At about 3pm we went back to the ship and took a nap at the pool. Another “blah” dinner in the MDR. We hung out at a few of the lounges that evening which was relaxing. We went to the “adults only” comedy show at 11:30pm. The guy was late and didn’t come on until 11:45pm. He was so awful. Really bad. I didn’t even want to go as I had learned my lesson the night before, but my girlfriend thought the “adults only” version would be better. She was wrong. About 30 minutes into the set, the guy whipped out a guitar. At that point, the theatre started to clear, ourselves included.

We woke up in the morning for one final meal in the MDR and then we carried off our luggage. No lines. By 9am, we were back at home.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

We had fun on this cruise. Was it a great cruise? No. But it served its purpose. Cheap, quick, easy getaway with free alcohol. Would I cruise the Sun again? Probably not. Due to open bar, the DSC was $19.99pp. So total for the cruise with taxes, fees, DSC etc was $950 for 2 adults in an interior. I was satisfied with what I received for $950, but I wouldn’t pay any more than that. Based on what I’ve seen online, these rest of the cruises on the Sun for 2018 are well above this price point.

Compared to RCL, I found service and food on NCL to be inferior in every way. There was just nothing special about the entire experience. The food was OK, at times it was just plain awful, and the staff was very indifferent. HOWEVER, I understand it is not an apples to apples comparison to put an Oasis class ship against the Sun. And I walked onto the boat with the bar set very, very low. Therefore, I was not overly disappointed.

Would I cruise NCL again? I’m not sure. If the itinerary and price were right, I’d probably give it another go on one of the newer ships.

Oh and I forgot to add...confirmed no straws are to be found. We brought our own and were apparently the only people on the ship that knew about the straw policy because we got a lot of questions and ended up handing out a lot of straws to other cruisers. I had a feeling this would be the case, which is why I brought extras. :)

Thanks to CC, we also brought straws :) Interesting to read about GSC, we were on same cruise as you, and had a small cabana. Now I'm REALLY glad we had that pricey cabana after reading about the rowdiness, because it was quiet and a beautiful spot for swimming/floating near our cabana (#11). Agreed - the MDR was not good.

oh - and the comedian - HORRIBLE.

Thanks to CC, we also brought straws :) Interesting to read about GSC, we were on same cruise as you, and had a small cabana. Now I'm REALLY glad we had that pricey cabana after reading about the rowdiness, because it was quiet and a beautiful spot for swimming/floating near our cabana (#11). Agreed - the MDR was not good.

I really enjoyed GSC. Other than that brief rain shower, the weather was perfect and the beach is beautiful. Like I said in my review, had we have been forced to miss that stop, I would have been very disappointed with the cruise.

And like you said, the MDR, yeah, not good. But it certainly didn't spoil the trip. Had we have been subjected to that on a 7+ night cruise, that'd be a different story. :)

This is really disappointing. I've paid almost 1400 for this same cruise in July...ughhh.

This is really disappointing. I've paid almost 1400 for this same cruise in July...ughhh.

don't worry too much about what the OP had to say about the cruise. And remember she didn't have a perk package like, hopefully you had. She had a last minute special. They do come along from time to time. Take all reviews, especially negative ones with a grain of salt. We all expect to have a good time, so often we do not bother to praise, but when something isn't quite what we expected we are quick to let the world know.

Relax, the Sun is a wonderful and yes, older ship. You should enjoy yourself.

don't worry too much about what the OP had to say about the cruise. And remember she didn't have a perk package like, hopefully you had. She had a last minute special. They do come along from time to time. Take all reviews, especially negative ones with a grain of salt. We all expect to have a good time, so often we do not bother to praise, but when something isn't quite what we expected we are quick to let the world know.

 

Relax, the Sun is a wonderful and yes, older ship. You should enjoy yourself.

My review was actually quite fair and balanced. I pointed out the positives and negatives. Were you on the same cruise?

My review was actually quite fair and balanced. I pointed out the positives and negatives. Were you on the same cruise?

I think the previous poster was trying to set the other poster's mind at ease that they paid a lot more than you, not denigrating:) your review.

My review was actually quite fair and balanced. I pointed out the positives and negatives. Were you on the same cruise?

I was trying to reassure anyone cruising that the price has a lot to do with perks versus no perks. Also pointing out, we all are more inclined to gripe than praise. This is human nature for better or worse. It is easy to pick apart aspects we do not like about something, but we all expect things to go well so often don't praise when we need to. Not to mention, you did keep referring to the ship as more of a party cruise, that could account for some of the mostly negatives you experienced.

I was on the exact same trip as the original poster. I agree with most of the review.

I'm probably spoiled by several recent trips on the Escape and Getaway. The Sun is different.

The ship really looks like it was recently in drydock for a quick update/refurbishment. I actually looked for worn-out stuff in the public areas and they were hard to find. They couldn't change the layout of the ship, which does feel kind of weird and awkward.

The food was a real downgrade from my other NCL trips. I ate in the MDR for lunch on sailaway day and dinner on day 2. It wasn't great, but it wasn't bad, either. I didn't get the magical salmon burger (luckily?). The buffet is super cramped and the selection is kind of limited. I always found something to eat, so I'm happy enough. I knew about the buffet being small from a tiny bit of pre-cruise research, but it was actually worse than I expected.

The open bar was great. No card swipes really changed the speed of getting a drink from even the busiest bar. The 'free' selection was a little limited, but I never had a bad drink. I did end up babysitting a drunk guy for a few hours, but he was hilarious, so that was fun. I don't remember drinking too much, but I woke up on Sunday feeling like crap. It was probably more of a cold than a hangover, because I stayed onboard for GSC and still felt bad 2 days later.

My Balcony room (8059) felt bigger than a similar room on the Escape. The bathroom was more cramped, but the balcony was about 50% deeper than I expected. It was probably halfway between an Escape 'normal' balcony and an Aft-Balcony (reference- Escape cabin 14906). I loved being 5 doors away from the elevators, so my Guarantee room was a surprise.

The elevator situation was great. The Escape and Getaway seem to have too few elevators for the number of passengers, while the Sun almost has too many. Press button, wait 20 seconds and BING! Nice.

Deck 6 -- Bliss Ultra Lounge looks like it would be a problem from the deck plans, but there's a well-defined walking path around it, even during the late night parties.

Deck 11 -- Pool Deck. I tend to eat at O'Sheehans twice during a 7-day cruise. For some reason, I never made it to the Sports Bar when I was hungry. But this really does feel like a baby O'Sheehans to me.

Deck 12 -- The smoking area at the back of the ship was nice. Really well ventilated and half of the seats were in the shade.

Deck 12 -- I went to Spinnaker Lounge on Day 2 for really dreadful karaoke. I wish I had gone back for daytime ocean-watching. It's a surprisingly comfortable space that reminds me of a Celebrity ship.

Other regrets: I had a $50 dining credit that I forgot to spend, because I ate very little on Sunday. I wish I had tried Los Lobos.

Excursion -- Day 2 in Nassau -- Seahorse Sail and Snorkel was a nice 3 to 4 hour boat ride with excellent snorkeling gear and a fun staff. I used my excursion credit for this, so it was almost free. Recommended.

I booked super-last-minute with a solo traveler discount and a Guarantee cabin, so this was an affordable cruise. Around $550 after taxes, fees, surcharges, insurance, upgrades, downgrades, nickels, dimes and gratuities.

I've also sailed the Carnival Liberty (twice) for a weekend trip to the Bahamas from Orlando. To be honest, if the Liberty was a similar price, I'd choose the Liberty over the Sun. There are a lot of things about Carnival that I strongly dislike, but the Liberty is just a better ship. Without the solo discount, the Liberty is twice the price for a similar cabin. That's a tough decision.

Conclusion: I'm going back to the big NCL boats and longer cruises.

HeyYouKids - Great assessment. I think there's a lot of validity to what you say regarding past experiences on larger boats with longer itineraries. When you know for a fact that there's better out there, it makes it more difficult to enjoy a lower quality experience. Interestingly I also looked into Carnival, just like you did, and it was quite a bit more expensive. As was Royal. Hence why we went with the Sun. When considering price paid, I think it was a great value. Especially for you, solo in a balcony for $550 out the door is an absolute steal.

I sailed the Sun in 2014, 14 days Vancouver to Alaska to Vancouver. I kept getting lost & finding dead ends, I attributed it to my bad sense of direction & that the ship was one deck smaller than the Pearl, which I sailed 2010 & 2013. Now that I have sailed other ships, weird & awkward covers the deck plans!

I sailed the Sun in 2014, 14 days Vancouver to Alaska to Vancouver. I kept getting lost & finding dead ends, I attributed it to my bad sense of direction & that the ship was one deck smaller than the Pearl, which I sailed 2010 & 2013. Now that I have sailed other ships, weird & awkward covers the deck plans!

I found the biggest challenge to be navigating between the two MDRs. So much so that they had a staff member standing outside one of the MDRs for the sole purpose of telling people that it was closed and they were at the wrong location, and attempted to explain how to get to the CORRECT dining room.

I wish I could explain it better, but basically depending on which side of the ship you were on, you had to go up or down a level, and then back to the same level you were previously on to navigate to the other side of the ship.

I found the biggest challenge to be navigating between the two MDRs. So much so that they had a staff member standing outside one of the MDRs for the sole purpose of telling people that it was closed and they were at the wrong location, and attempted to explain how to get to the CORRECT dining room.

 

I wish I could explain it better, but basically depending on which side of the ship you were on, you had to go up or down a level, and then back to the same level you were previously on to navigate to the other side of the ship.

that weird jog was on the Jewel class ships, so I was used to that, the galley for both restaurants is between them, but yes VERY confusing at first!

AFT to FWD on deck 11 - Do you still have to walk through the buffet? they Retrofitted Moderno into what's a hallway on the Pearl!

I sailed the Sun in 2014, 14 days Vancouver to Alaska to Vancouver. I kept getting lost & finding dead ends, I attributed it to my bad sense of direction & that the ship was one deck smaller than the Pearl, which I sailed 2010 & 2013. Now that I have sailed other ships, weird & awkward covers the deck plans!

I took the Sky in May, but same itinerary as you. Did specialty dining, though, as I assumed the MDR would be pretty mediocre. I can't imagine even on a 3-day doing every single meal at MDR.