NCL Sun transatlantic 10-4 - 10-16 review

[Carnival Platinum Cruiser]

We are very experienced cruisers 25+ with CCL and a few RCCL, this was our first NCL cruise. This short review is broken up into 3 categories the infamous good, bad and ugly.

 

The GOOD:

 

1) Excellent staff - Great room stewards and firendly crew overall

 

2) Freestyle dining was very good - Never had to wait for a table and very good efficient waiters overall.

 

3) MDR food was good overall - Some dishes were very good, pleasantly surprised.

 

4) Entertainment was very good overall - Most of the brought in acts were good. Don't miss fourever, Tracy Childs and the crew talent show.

 

The Bad:

 

1) Food in the garden cafe was not good overall

 

2) Cancelled port due to hurricane Otto so we took a more southerly course from Portugal to avoid the storm. No complaints about that but why did NCL not get another port to go to? We went within 50 miles of Madiera, Spain ( a frequent stop for many transatlantic cruises) or maybe to Bermuda? A whopping $4.23 in port charges per person refunded when the port charges were $190 overall per person.

 

3) Onboard activities on sea days were lacking. Trivia was mobbed everyday as there was not much else to do. They had crafts on some days but that was pretty pathetic in imagination.

 

the UGLY:

 

1) Setup in the garden cafe is horrible. One 1 line with no trays. Never a place to sit at almost anytime with signs in the aft corridor directing overflow to be seated in the sports bar or 1 deck up. Very congested, too small and needs to be redesigned. RCCL has this mastered compared to NCL.

 

2) Close to chaos debarking due to many idiots not going to immigration/customs onboard which caused delays getting off. Not NCLs fault but it was mass confusion and only 1 key card reader was working when it was time to get off. Lots of pushing, yelling and security did nothing.

 

Overall a good cruise on a somewhat generic looking ship. We would sail with them again with the right price but prefer RCCL and CCL overall.

 

Any questions?

[debnjoe1438]

We are very experienced cruisers 25+ with CCL and a few RCCL, this was our first NCL cruise. This short review is broken up into 3 categories the infamous good, bad and ugly.

 

The GOOD:

 

1) Excellent staff - Great room stewards and firendly crew overall

 

2) Freestyle dining was very good - Never had to wait for a table and very good efficient waiters overall.

 

3) MDR food was good overall - Some dishes were very good, pleasantly surprised.

 

4) Entertainment was very good overall - Most of the brought in acts were good. Don't miss fourever, Tracy Childs and the crew talent show.

 

The Bad:

 

1) Food in the garden cafe was not good overall

 

2) Cancelled port due to hurricane Otto so we took a more southerly course from Portugal to avoid the storm. No complaints about that but why did NCL not get another port to go to? We went within 50 miles of Madiera, Spain ( a frequent stop for many transatlantic cruises) or maybe to Bermuda? A whopping $4.23 in port charges per person refunded when the port charges were $190 overall per person.

 

3) Onboard activities on sea days were lacking. Trivia was mobbed everyday as there was not much else to do. They had crafts on some days but that was pretty pathetic in imagination.

 

the UGLY:

 

1) Setup in the garden cafe is horrible. One 1 line with no trays. Never a place to sit at almost anytime with signs in the aft corridor directing overflow to be seated in the sports bar or 1 deck up. Very congested, too small and needs to be redesigned. RCCL has this mastered compared to NCL.

 

2) Close to chaos debarking due to many idiots not going to immigration/customs onboard which caused delays getting off. Not NCLs fault but it was mass confusion and only 1 key card reader was working when it was time to get off. Lots of pushing, yelling and security did nothing.

 

Overall a good cruise on a somewhat generic looking ship. We would sail with them again with the right price but prefer RCCL and CCL overall.

 

Any questions?

 

Thanks for the review. I'm thinking I may have to avoid the Garden Cafe. No questions at the moment.

 

I would recommend you try NCL Jewel. The Garden Cafe here can sometimes be crowed, however the food was great on my 1st cruise. Second trip on the Jewel, I never made it to the Garden Cafe. (Well passed through and get coffee and Ice cream)

[valleyvillage]

On our last cruise we managed to avoid the buffet entirely. We had not really set out to do that, it just happened. And we suddenly realized, WE LOVE THIS NEW POLICY! Yes, we actually shouted.

• We always ate too much from the buffet
  
• It was too crowded
  
• All the smells mixed together were slightly nauseating
  
• Buffets seem to bring out the worst behavior in some individuals
  
• This one darling little girl was dancing around the food, she really was cute, but she kept sneezing!
  
• Grab the pretzel rolls and run!
  

Between room service, the MDRs, the specialty restaurants and the Blue Lagoon we never went hungry!

[newmexicoNita]

We are very experienced cruisers 25+ with CCL and a few RCCL, this was our first NCL cruise. This short review is broken up into 3 categories the infamous good, bad and ugly.

 

The GOOD:

 

1) Excellent staff - Great room stewards and firendly crew overall

 

2) Freestyle dining was very good - Never had to wait for a table and very good efficient waiters overall.

 

3) MDR food was good overall - Some dishes were very good, pleasantly surprised.

 

4) Entertainment was very good overall - Most of the brought in acts were good. Don't miss fourever, Tracy Childs and the crew talent show.

 

The Bad:

 

1) Food in the garden cafe was not good overall

 

2) Cancelled port due to hurricane Otto so we took a more southerly course from Portugal to avoid the storm. No complaints about that but why did NCL not get another port to go to? We went within 50 miles of Madiera, Spain ( a frequent stop for many transatlantic cruises) or maybe to Bermuda? A whopping $4.23 in port charges per person refunded when the port charges were $190 overall per person.

 

3) Onboard activities on sea days were lacking. Trivia was mobbed everyday as there was not much else to do. They had crafts on some days but that was pretty pathetic in imagination.

 

the UGLY:

 

1) Setup in the garden cafe is horrible. One 1 line with no trays. Never a place to sit at almost anytime with signs in the aft corridor directing overflow to be seated in the sports bar or 1 deck up. Very congested, too small and needs to be redesigned. RCCL has this mastered compared to NCL.

 

2) Close to chaos debarking due to many idiots not going to immigration/customs onboard which caused delays getting off. Not NCLs fault but it was mass confusion and only 1 key card reader was working when it was time to get off. Lots of pushing, yelling and security did nothing.

 

Overall a good cruise on a somewhat generic looking ship. We would sail with them again with the right price but prefer RCCL and CCL overall.

 

Any questions?

 

thanks for an objective, short review. I certainly can't comment on too much, but can on the port situation. Cruise lines can not just decide to go to a different port. No one knows the situation, the port could have been full that day, the ship may not have permission to use the port, there are many reasons why. As for the port refund, that is standard. I have know NCL to have an hour open bar when they miss a port, I have know other lines to do similar and I have been on ships that do nothing. We did RCI twice and missed ports. Neither time did we even get our port charges back. This shouldn't be, but it happens.

 

I certainly agree with you on the buffet set up, but I disagree on the food quality in the buffet. Of course we all know food is subjective. We usually only use the buffet for breakfast and sometimes lunch. as for the buffet set up, hopefully, when they go into dry dock they will try and do something about it.

 

Nita

[mtwingcpa]

I haven't been on the Sun (one of NCL's older ships), but NCL has definitely mastered the buffet (both layout and food quality) on its newer ships, like the Pearl. It's too bad they haven't retrofitted similar setups to their older boats.

[Carnival Platinum Cruiser]

thanks for an objective, short review. I certainly can't comment on too much, but can on the port situation. Cruise lines can not just decide to go to a different port. No one knows the situation, the port could have been full that day, the ship may not have permission to use the port, there are many reasons why. As for the port refund, that is standard. I have know NCL to have an hour open bar when they miss a port, I have know other lines to do similar and I have been on ships that do nothing. We did RCI twice and missed ports. Neither time did we even get our port charges back. This shouldn't be, but it happens.

 

I certainly agree with you on the buffet set up, but I disagree on the food quality in the buffet. Of course we all know food is subjective. We usually only use the buffet for breakfast and sometimes lunch. as for the buffet set up, hopefully, when they go into dry dock they will try and do something about it.

 

Nita

 

I can only comment on my comparisons with other lines in the buffet and IMO it was not very good (desserts were poor) and the layout was terrible. As far as changing ports other lines I have been on have done so at a moments notice due to weather. As far as changing to Madeira, Spain there were no other ships in port that day so that was not an issue. Other NCL ships have used that port in the past so I don't know why the Sun could not.

 

In any event the cruise was good and would sail NCL again but not as good as our May 2010 TA cruise on the JOS RCCL, just wish a few things were a bit different but no cruise is perfect IMO on any mass market cruise line.

[Sauer-kraut]

I can only comment on my comparisons with other lines in the buffet and IMO it was not very good (desserts were poor) and the layout was terrible. As far as changing ports other lines I have been on have done so at a moments notice due to weather. As far as changing to Madeira, Spain there were no other ships in port that day so that was not an issue. Other NCL ships have used that port in the past so I don't know why the Sun could not.

 

The reason that we could not port in Madeira nor at the Canaries was that because we went so far south out of the way to avoid the huge low pressure zone in the Atlantic as well as Hurricane Otto that we needed that day to make into Port Canaveral on time. In fact the captian said that he needed to increase our speed 1 knot for the rest of the crossing as well to keep to the time schedule. Hence we did not have enough time to dock and go around the storms.

[newmexicoNita]

The reason that we could not port in Madeira nor at the Canaries was that because we went so far south out of the way to avoid the huge low pressure zone in the Atlantic as well as Hurricane Otto that we needed that day to make into Port Canaveral on time. In fact the captian said that he needed to increase our speed 1 knot for the rest of the crossing as well to keep to the time schedule. Hence we did not have enough time to dock and go around the storms.

 

Thanks for having an answer. I was sure there would be some explanation, usually there are reasons for missing ports and not using the closest one. Even 50 miles can create wasted time..

 

Nita

[Carnival Platinum Cruiser]

The reason that we could not port in Madeira nor at the Canaries was that because we went so far south out of the way to avoid the huge low pressure zone in the Atlantic as well as Hurricane Otto that we needed that day to make into Port Canaveral on time. In fact the captian said that he needed to increase our speed 1 knot for the rest of the crossing as well to keep to the time schedule. Hence we did not have enough time to dock and go around the storms.

 

If that is the case why were we docked at 2:30AM in port Canaveral not 8 AM as scheduled? That alone is 5 1/2 hours not to mention the 16.5 knots we were doing for 4 straight days which is no where near an average 18-19 knots on most cruises going anywhere. While there may have been other reasons that theory is not valid.

[barbyj]

[

2) Cancelled port due to hurricane Otto so we took a more southerly course from Portugal to avoid the storm. No complaints about that but why did NCL not get another port to go to? We went within 50 miles of Madiera, Spain ( a frequent stop for many transatlantic cruises) or maybe to Bermuda? A whopping $4.23 in port charges per person refunded when the port charges were $190 overall per person.

 

 

Any questions?

 

FYI, Madeira is a possession of Porturgal, not Spain. It's a shame you missed it, it is one of my favorite places.

[gliles]

Thanks for having an answer. I was sure there would be some explanation, usually there are reasons for missing ports and not using the closest one. Even 50 miles can create wasted time..

 

Nita

 

HOWEVER, I have no doubt that with the hour delay bunkering in Dover, it was known that we weren't going to call in Ponta Delgada before we left and I sure would have liked to have known that before Lisbon so that I could make the most of the souvenirs and local cuisine in Portugal, yes my fault I know but it would have been nice to have been told that there was a possibility we wouldn't make that stop.

As for the other comments, I agree and would add under the "Bad" that the back of the ship was hot and smelled like sewage, at least on decks 5 & 6. And a few random thoughts of mine...

• I would also say that there were a few surly waiters, why? Don't know.
  
• The service from all the staff was mixed at best.
  
• The future cruise consultant couldn't give us the time of day, maybe she had somewhere else to be?
  
• The people in the shops were generally unfriendly with a few exceptions, being Lucia and the others in the Colombia Emeralds shop...they were very friendly.
  
• Those round chairs all over have to go, my a$$ just isn't shaped like that. I swear some of them were trying to kick me out!
  
• Bingo way over priced for the tiny prizes.
  
• Slot machine variety not too good and of course I lost all the time but that's to be expected. And a couple machines disappeared towards the end of the cruise and they put cushions where they were to make it look like they never existed.
  
• The Casino staff was great and very nice and not pushy
  
• I didn't really even know who the Kardashians were but sure was able to "keep up with them" and it seems Hugh Heffner gives all his former girlfriends shows on E!
  
• Seems they could get a better variety of TV channels, maybe not.
  
• Smallest (narrowest I should say) balcony cabin I have ever had, in fact narrower than an inside I had once.
  
• Luckily the motion didn't make us sick, we felt great.
  
• While I had some trouble finding a lounger at the pool, I didn't really notice chair hogs. People seemed to pick up their things when they went in but I can't imagine what a mess the deck will be for the Caribbean.
  
• Speaking of that, I heard that 400 people stayed on for the Caribbean, lucky dogs.
  
• I also heard someone was taken off at 0200 on the 16th. Sad. But if it wasn't a death or serious illness, they were the only ones to get off in a timely manner!
  

I'm sure I have more to say and will when it comes to me but that's all for now. All in all we had an excellent time, so relaxed at times I felt drugged.

[gliles]

If that is the case why were we docked at 2:30AM in port Canaveral not 8 AM as scheduled? That alone is 5 1/2 hours not to mention the 16.5 knots we were doing for 4 straight days which is no where near an average 18-19 knots on most cruises going anywhere. While there may have been other reasons that theory is not valid.

 

Good point and actually I think it was 130AM wasn't it? I was sound asleep but that's what I heard.

[newmexicoNita]

[

2) Cancelled port due to hurricane Otto so we took a more southerly course from Portugal to avoid the storm. No complaints about that but why did NCL not get another port to go to? We went within 50 miles of Madiera, Spain ( a frequent stop for many transatlantic cruises) or maybe to Bermuda? A whopping $4.23 in port charges per person refunded when the port charges were $190 overall per person.

 

 

Any questions?

 

FYI, Madeira is a possession of Porturgal, not Spain. It's a shame you missed it, it is one of my favorite places.

 

Port charges are different in every port, that is why you can see 2 cruises, using almost the identical ports (with one being a little different) and getting a huge price difference. A perfect example is Alaska, some of the ports might have charges of $50 per person, another $6 or The Panama Canal. Port charges on a Panama canal cruise are much higher than any cruise we have taken or any I have booked. As for not choosing another port, I don't think any of us can give an absolute answer to that. i know mising a favorite port is very disappointing, it happened to us on our No Atlantic crossing 5 years ago. The port most of us were the most excited about was cancelled at the very last minute. Yes, some carried on like crazy, most of us just found other things to do that day.

 

 

Nita

[AerynSun_JohnCrighton]

Thanks for the reivew. The buffet was the same on the Sky... so we avoider it as much as possible... I try to avoid buffets now as well, I've seen/heard some nasty things... no fault of the line, just people w/ bad/nasty habits. We much prefer the dinning room, espcially on embark...no lines and quieter... ;)

[billco]

[*]While I had some trouble finding a lounger at the pool, I didn't really notice chair hogs. People seemed to pick up their things when they went in but I can't imagine what a mess the deck will be for the Caribbean.

[*]I also heard someone was taken off at 0200 on the 16th. Sad. But if it wasn't a death or serious illness, they were the only ones to get off in a timely manner!

We were having lunch in the Seven Seas MDR and the woman sitting next to us asked the server for a glass of wine. She said she had left her key card in her bag on the lounge chair at the pool and wanted to know if she could just sign for it. After some argument, the server said she could get fired for that. The woman argued a bit more, but finally gave up. So, I think there might have been a few chair hogs. IMO, anyone who would go to the MDR for lunch and leave her stuff on a lounge chair meets the chair hog definition. As we were waiting in the Atrium to disembark, we heard one of the staff talking to someone else on her walkie talkie that someone had died on the cruise.

[Globaliser]

If that is the case why were we docked at 2:30AM in port Canaveral not 8 AM as scheduled? That alone is 5 1/2 hours not to mention the 16.5 knots we were doing for 4 straight days which is no where near an average 18-19 knots on most cruises going anywhere. While there may have been other reasons that theory is not valid.

Whether or not that's right, ships can't just turn up and dock as if it were parking at a shopping mall that looked attractive as it passed by. So there are probably lots of good reasons why the port was cancelled and replaced by a sea day.

[HARP]

I found the service over all to be subpar.

Waiters not trained or supervised right.

Lots but not all crew members acted like they didn't want to be there or I get my tips anyway.

I hope things improve on this ship very soon.

 

The speed adjustment 2.5 days out of Flordia was for a medical emergency.

They went as fast as the ship could go to get the lady that was ill to port.

This info came stright from the Captain when I talked to him and asked about the speed increase.

[billco]

I found the service over all to be subpar.

Waiters not trained or supervised right.

Lots but not all crew members acted like they didn't want to be there or I get my tips anyway.

I hope things improve on this ship very soon.

I feel we might have been on two different ships. This was our first NCL cruise after 9 Princess cruises in the past 6 years. So, naturally I couldn't help comparing.

Except for breakfast, we ate most of our meals in the Seven Seas MDR. One night, we ate at Adagio. After the Margarita Tasting, we got a bit waylaid and didn't make it to dinner

.

I found the service over all to be excellent. As servers alternated between buffet, specialty restaurants, and MDR, they appeared to me to be well trained, friendly and professional in all venues. I did not have one less than positive contact with a crew member.

 

I prefer NCL's version of anytime dining to Princess. On Princess, more of the tables seat 8 or more and you either need a reservation or a wait for a table for two. On the Sun, there were many 2 and 4 person tables. While, we were often asked if we would like to share, we only said yes once and never had to wait on a table.

 

As a runner training for a marathon, it was important that I be able to keep up my training. The Promenade Deck was mostly wide and had lanes designated for runners and joggers. The Princess Grand Class has a narrow Promenade Deck that you have to go up one deck at the bow and can be very windy.

 

I preferred the Fitness Room on the Sun to the ones on the newer Princess ships, in that it was isolated from the weight/cardio room. It had a nice little corner where I could practice my Yoga without bothering anybody.

 

We had an excellent room steward.

 

I was a bit worried about the food choices after seeing some of the previous reviews. We are vegetarian. The vegetarian choice on the menu was always very good.

 

We had an aft balcony, which we really liked. I definitely prefer the shower and fixtures over Princess. My wife liked having a coffee maker. The only negative I can think of was sometimes there was black soot on the balcony, so we had to put a towel on the chair.

 

Not quite as much entertainment as on Princess, but we don't go to many shows anyway. I did notice the theater wasn't as hard to find a seat as on Princess. IMO, Fourever was one of the best acts I have ever seen on a cruise ship.

 

While just about every activity seemed geared to buying something, we never felt pressure. Princess is more aggressive on pictures and videos.

 

Princess has much better tv selection.

 

There were a few areas that smelled like sewage.

 

Easy Walk-off was a bit chaotic for the folks who had gathered in the Atrium.

 

Bottom line for us was that we thoroughly enjoyed this cruise, just as we have enjoyed all of our Princess cruises. Glad we have another choice when looking for itineraries.

[gliles]

I found the service over all to be subpar.

Waiters not trained or supervised right.

Lots but not all crew members acted like they didn't want to be there or I get my tips anyway.

I hope things improve on this ship very soon.

 

I agree, but I did have an excellent time because, well...that's what I do!

[JColquhoun]

Do you have any Pictures?

J.

[gliles]

Do you have any Pictures?

J.

 

Yes, of what? Lisbon or the pool or what?

[Sauer-kraut]

Yes, of what? Lisbon or the pool or what?

 

Well....we know there aren't any of the copper pool.....:(

 

I'll have my very few pics up on a shutterfly site soon, I'll post it in my signature.

[stairgy]

After reading all the reviews of the Sun before leaving for our cruise, we were somewhat uncertain what to expect. We have to admit that we were pleasantly surprised with this cruise. We had excellent service and one of the quickest embarkations ever. We were impressed with the staff from the time we stepped on board. We loved having a balcony room on the port side of the ship as we had the sun from morning until night. And that side of the ship seemed warmer and out of the breeze. We were disappointed, as were others, that we could not go to the Azores and thought NCL would do something more than $4.23 credit per person to try and provide quality customer recovery. We realize no one controls the weather, but it would have been nice if they had given everyone a voucher to use at a restaurant or for ship activities. Our cabin stewards were great and we usually avoided the buffet and ate breakfast in the dining room or in the Pacific Heights. This is a very private area and we were very happy with the food provided there. We also enjoyed the Sports Bar especially the popcorn at 2 pm. We attended all the educational movies in the afternoon about Magellan, the Vikings, the Spanish Armada etc and felt there should have been more movies like that for a cruise across the Atlantic. I am not sure that NCL takes into consideration that a transatlantic cruise requires a different venue for daily events...9 days at sea requires some variety. We enjoyed golfing in the Ryder Cup which really enabled us to meet other golfers on the cruise. We truly enjoyed the DOTS group and all the activities that were planned for us to socialize.

In summary, we would love to do another TA cruise again. The downside for us was the NCL disembarkation. It was very unorganized and their was a noticeable lack of leadership among the staff. It was as if they hid from the chaos and didn't want to assist in the process. We noticed a mortuary car at the ship when we disembarked so there could have been some issues occurring, however, there was no excuse for the crowded halls of people waiting to leave. We stood in line for 45 minutes in a crowded stairway and we were among the carry off your own luggage group. At that point, we were happy we had not put down the deposit for a future NCL cruise. We never want to go through that craziness again. Everything else about the Sun was good for us and we would like to see the ship after it is dry docked...this cruise made us want to take another...maybe NCL, maybe not.