Sun Review Week of 1/29 - 2/5

[conlan18]

This is my 9th NCL cruise. Over the years there have been some changes but we still love NCL. For this cruise it was myself, my husband, and three year old son.

 

Boarding was nice and easy no headaches. We had an outside room on deck 5. Room was an average size with plenty of storage. Our room steward was very good. We went to the buffet and sat outside. That night we just walked around the ship. I really enjoyed the Sun. She's not a huge ship and the boat never seemed crowded. It was a nice relaxed atmosphere.

 

Sunday we were in Nassau. We had originally planned on going to the Sheraton but my husband wasn't feeling well. I got off the ship and checked out some of the stores. I decided to go back on the ship and enjoy a nice quiet ship.

 

Tuesday we went to St. Thomas - We had a medical emergency on the boat and we ended up docking at Crown Bay. Not as many stores as Havensight. We went to Emerald Beach. I had been at Emerald Beach last year and I don't remember it being so rocky to get into the water. We had a great time. After the beach we went back to the dock, did some shopping and had a drink.

 

Wednesday we went to St. Martin. Loved it. I took the water taxi to Phillisburg and went to the beach in town. I had read reports that the beach was not a nice beach. In my opinion, it was a great choice. The beach was close to the ship, plenty of shops/bars, the chairs were $6.00. There were people walking the beach selling items plus there were people selling drinks/beers at a reasonable price. The water was clean and beautiful.

 

I thought the ship was in very good condition. Each morning I had breakfast in the Brazilian restaurant. They served danish, fruit, etc. It was always nice and quiet. All of the food that we had was very good including the buffet. We ate a couple of meals in the main dining room, plenty of choices and the service was excellent.

 

The only area that was not great was the entertainment. It was fine by me but I have been on other NCL cruises were there was much more of a selection to pick from at nighttime.

 

I am already looking forward to our cruise next year.

[AerynSun_JohnCrighton]

Thanks for the review... on her soon!

 

I take it you didn't try the 'new' extra cost Brazilian rest? Trying to decide if I want to or not...

 

Was breakfast/lunch quieter in that rest as opposed to the buffet?

 

You said not much choice in entertainment... was there no tastings to go to? No dance classes etc???

[amcb]

This is my 9th NCL cruise. Over the years there have been some changes but we still love NCL. For this cruise it was myself, my husband, and three year old son.

 

 

I am interested to hear how your son liked it. We'll be traveling in a little less than a month with a 2 (almost 3) and 4.5 year old. What did your son most enjoy? Did he try the kids club?

 

I would very much appreciate any insight you could provide.

 

Thanks!

 

:-) amcb

[BEACHBARB]

We were on the same cruise with you and went to the same beaches. We were at Emerald Bay in May and it was beautiful and you are right - it was not rocky then and there wasn't any drop off to get in the water. Phillipsburg is awesome. We've done the Orient Beach and Pinnel Island and tours and like Phillipsburg better. We also ate breakfast most mornings in Moderno. One of the workers there said he worked there in the evenings and it was so good we should try it but we never did. My nephew had lunch there every day for the pasta alfredo which he said was excellent and he had wings every night in the sports bar. We never ate in the buffet because it was such a zoo. Just run in and grab some desserts and ate at the Great Outdoors too which was nice. Also Las Rambas tapas - best nachos!!! Ask for Joy. She was great.

[bluesea777]

Tuesday we went to St. Thomas - We went to Emerald Beach. I had been at Emerald Beach last year and I don't remember it being so rocky to get into the water.

 

We were on the same cruise with you and went to the same beaches. We were at Emerald Bay in May and it was beautiful and you are right - it was not rocky then and there wasn't any drop off to get in the water.

 

Looks like the Hurricane Earl back in Aug 2010 stole the sand in his wake. It usually takes a bit of time for the sand to return.

[bluesea777]

Good review about the Sun!

 

As for the new Moderno - ex-Pacific Heights - it looks like NCL did it right! It continues to serve breakfast and lunch like before but in the evenings it's Moderno.

 

When we were on the Sun we walked up to Pacific Heights to look at dinner menu a few times and each time we decided to go elsewhere instead. But we had pasta and pizza there once or twice for lunch and we thought the set up there was good for lunchtimes - for people with pasta/pizza fix.

 

We loved Moderno on Epic - we ate there twice.

[Mary Ellen]

Thank you for sharing your experience with us.

[newmexicoNita]

thanks for giving us an overall view of your experience on my favorite ship.

 

Nita

[conlan18]

My son loved the kids club. He begged us to. Not sure what he did there. I just know that liked it. There were only 5 kids in the range of 2 -5 years old. There were times that he was the only kid but he wanted to stay. I would sign your son up and see how it likes it. I was surprised how much he liked it.

 

The still have the beer/wine/martini tasting on the ship.

 

Moderno restaurant is a great choice for lunch or breakfast. Much quieter than the buffet. I just loved it in the mornings.