JW and Jerome's Sun-Sensational Norwegian Sun St. Patty's Day 2011 Cruise Review

[cruiseguys2009]

Sun-Sensational Review of St Patty's Day Cruise on the Norwegian Sun 3-12-2011 to 3-19-2011

 

 

You know, with so many of my previous reviews, I have to sit and think for several days following the cruise, to make sure that I am going to be completely positive and sure about everything that I will write. This time, I have had to take an extra day, just to be sure of how I truly felt about the experiences that made up the big picture. The experiences that are made memorable, are ones that bring joy and giddiness in thinking back, so that is what I would like to convey, the best part of the journey, and touching on one particular area that can be improved.

 

Lets start with my Partner and I. We are early 50's, in the "Biz", as my Partner Fly's for a Major Airline (begins with a "U" and just merged with "C") and I am a Hotelier (the one that begins with "M" and ends in "TT). We are both in the Customer Service and Lodging Industry and have both been recognized Nationally in our industries, for our own Excellence. Therefore, we only take Cruises when we vacation since that is the last bastion of Real Customer Service that resembles what we old timers give to our guest and we want to receive in return. Needless to say, I, am the very much outgoing of the two and usually become the more famous on the cruise, because my Life Motto is "Have as much fun as possible and take as many people with me as I can". And for those of you who were on this particular sailing with us, I am the one with the Silver Sequined Disco Ball Shirt.

 

We drove to Port Canaveral from our home in Central Florida, and the trip took just over an hour. When we are sailing from Port Canaveral, we always get off I-95 at Melbourne and take A1A up. It's a great scenic ride up past the U.S. Air Force Base and thru Cocoa Beach onto the Port. It is so much fun coming this way, finally up over the bridge at the Port, immediately catching the sight of all the ships in port, waiting for us, and then, the anticipation rises and I always suddenly have to tinkle. I find myself suddenly having to go right now as I write this, you too? We left our home around 9:35 AM and its just shy of 11AM.

 

The parking at the port is so easy and very reasonable as opposed to other ports in Florida, only $107.00 for a 7 day cruise. We followed the directions to the luggage drop off first, then after tipping the Porters, (4 bags, $20.00) with my usual statement of "Please take good care of these", I close the trunk and get back into the car to finally park. We go on to the parking entrance gate and simply get a computer ticket (which I do not keep in the car), then swing around and find a spot. We parked our car literally in the shadow of the Norwegian Sun and her big bright Red, Orange and Yellow Sunshine Logo. Yay, we are here!

 

There is already activity on board and the final passengers have mostly disembarked and here we come! Oh my, what do I hear coming from the loud speakers on the ship....an announcement from the Cruise Director....I recognize her voice....it's SHONA BLAIR........!!!!!!!!! More on Shona later, she is Fantabulously, Wonderifically, Fantastic. Now I really have to tinkle....SHONA! SHONA!

 

We have our carry on luggage rolling along with us, and I am legally carrying a professional wine case with the maximum allowed two bottles of wine. Yes I can purchase wine on board, but not a bottle of 1999 Piper Millennium Champagne or La Crème Pino Noir 1993. I will gladly pay the $15.00 corkage, which you do right there at security...yes, they are waiting for you! Once we were through Security, our wine was "Stickered" and we signed our Sail and Sign voucher for $30.00 and we were up the escalator to start the check in process....where is the men's room I have to tinkle.....I am so excited.

 

Ahh, handed the medical forms. Have I had the flu? NO. Have I had symptoms of a cold, (can't spell the "D" word so I will just say) squirts, sniffles, anything other than a hangover? NO. Okay, good to go and get in a line. Line? What line? Lots of people but no lines! I am escorted right to a Guest Relations Gentleman holding number 23 and one swipe of our passports and another of my credit card, well, that’s it, we are all set. I still have to tinkle but I forgot all about it in the excitement of it all.....

 

Now on to the seating/waiting area. We were escorted to the seating area and no sooner do I plant my butt in a seat, we are going on board! Here we go....Yay! I have to tinkle. Oh boy, we are going on board. SHONA! SHONA! The arrival onboard is always surreal, this time we swiped our card on the deck once we were across the gang planks....what a gorgeous day too. Crystal clear sky and waters, a bit cooler, but for all the Northerners, a welcome change I was sure.

 

We entered on Deck 6, and followed along with everyone else thru the Photo Gallery, Dazzles and then into the Grand Atrium. Polished, gleaming, bright and gorgeous. The Norwegian Sun is decidedly smaller than the rest of her Sisters we have been on, and it was truly easy to get to know the ship in a couple of hours.

Yikes, have to tinkle....I am looking, looking for a rest room and find myself taking the stairs down to Deck 5 in the center of the Atrium and almost like metal to a magnet, wound up at the Java Bar. "Hello Kalina!" I uttered these words every morning from that point on. "Hello Kalina, Mega Mary Please!" (That’s a rather large, Mega, Bloody Mary made with Svedka Vodka in an even larger wonderful Norwegian Sun Glass Stein that will surely weigh your luggage down if you take them home!)

[cruiseguys2009]

I HAVE TO TINKLE! Okay, I pull myself away from my Mega Mary and wander around and find Mr. Matthew Theisson, who is one of the awesome members of the Crew dedicated to the children on board. Every kid loves Matthew! All I heard from friend's children on board was "Matthew this" and "Matthew that" and "how fun Matthew is" and "how they all love Matthew" and "mommy can Matthew come home with us?" Then on embarkation day, all the kids crying because they were leaving their big brother Matthew. Wow, that is an incredible impression of how NCL takes care of kids. We never, nor did our friends with children, saw the kids during the cruise. All the kids wanted to do was to stay with the kids program and that ended up giving mommies and daddies much needed relief vacation time too. Wow....Okay so I have digressed and I have to tinkle, and I find myself asking Mr. Matthew Theisson, (after looking at his name tag and he is the children's counselor) humorously, for the "little boys" room. With an eyebrow raised, he directed me to the third door on the left to which I was not paying attention and went to the second door on the left and to the screams of Silver ladies...ooops, I know better, the picture of the person with two legs, not the triangle. Phew, finally made it. What a sparklie clean bathroom. Wow.

 

Okay, it's feeding time, so I am hungry! Tradition has it that my Partner and I always have lunch in the Main Dining Room on embarkation (On ships that offer this, it's like NCL is the only one lately), as we try to stay away from the buffets. Nothing against the Buffet Restaurants, but we have Golden Corral at home. We want a dining experience...always! We found the Seven Seas Restaurant on Deck 5. This offers the embarkation lunch and last day breakfast, along with all the formal dining room lunches as well. Plus an exceptional experience each night for dinner. Seven Seas is the more formal of the two restaurants on board. The Four Seasons dining room offers the same menu, but you can dress casual. We were escorted to a wonderful window table and thus the EXPERIENCE has begun.

Overall, the service in the Seven Seas was absolutely on par and EXCELLENT at every single meal. As it's freestyle, you don't have the opportunity to get to know a particular waiter, unless you request them and/or, if they are not also assigned a specialty restaurant for dinner. We loved so many Service Staff in the dining room but Ricky and Almirra stand out. Almirra is so good that the Il Adagio Italian Restaurant had to borrow her one night because she is THAT good. Ricky is your Vintage "Cruise Ship" Waiter..."Oh Ricky, Your So Fine, Your So Fine You Blow My Mind...Hey Ricky!" We found ourselves requesting Ricky and singing this over and over....what fun! The menu is the same for lunch and everything, yes everything is fantastic. I kept ordering the Chicken Milanese (Breaded Chicken Breast in a Lemon, White Wine and Caper Sauce) several times, and my Partner had the New York Sirloin Steak, yes I said, New York Sirloin Steak...for lunch...everyday. Yes, everyday. Yum!

 

Bing Bang Bong....there are the bells, and there is the announcement that the staterooms are ready. With carry on luggage in tow, we are off to deck 9 to cabin 9246, Balcony. Wow. Centrally located. We immediately met Fernando "Ferdie" Velasquez. Ferdie was extraordinary and went out of his way for us as well as everyone else in his section. He knew our names in 5 minutes and took care of every request we had! Truly a professional and truly an asset to NCL. Into the stateroom we go!

 

Well, its clean, smells great, and smaller than I expected. It is dated, but also has been a bit refreshed. The cabin has the new linens, but original and stained sofa/bed, and an obsolete television that is frustrating to use and there are not many channels....oh, I forgot, I am on vacation and that means from television too! Nonetheless, I could not view my room account information on the television, so it needs an update. We brought our lap top and the in-room Onboard Satellite Internet Connection is fantastic. Overall, we had everything we needed, including a well working refrigerator and mini bar.

I then had to check out the most important part....to the "Johnny". Well, its well organized and encapsulated. It's an "In-the-Round" shower and I felt like I was the ingredients in a Tylenol capsule when I took a shower. It is unusual but entirely adequate. Everything in the Johnny worked fine and there was plenty of storage for all the items. I loved the WHOOSH of the Johnny....and felt that many mornings I would be Whooshed right along with everything else! Word of caution, don't flush when you are on the Johnny, you will get pressure stuck, and if you are a man, half of "you" will follow the whoosh!

A word of note: There is no bar soap, so you need to bring bar soap it you prefer it to the "mystery soap gel" and "mystery shampoo" in the dispensers provided. We also had a coffee maker with ample condiments and coffee, though we brought our own coffee with our own coffee filters, as we already knew this. The storage in the cabin is perfect. I bring lots and lots of clothes or I call "Wear". You know "Deck" Wear, "Formal" Wear", "Under" Wear, "St Thomas" Wear, "Shoe" Wear, "Disembarkation" Wear, and the like. I had more than enough room for everything I brought and then some!

 

We asked our room steward Fernando to see if he could find us two feather pillows and, voila, they were on the bed that evening upon returning from our gallivanting all over the ship. More great service, part of what we have come to expect from NCL, and they have not disappointed us.

However, our beds were not the new ones being brought in, and from our balcony we did see new NCL mattresses being offloaded onto the ship but they had not been installed in our room yet. The beds were very uncomfortable, but really, there was nothing that could be done. I usually sleep like a baby on a ship, but just not on this trip. Oh well, I will have enough sleep when I am dead.......time to party!

 

Bing Bang Bong. The Life Boat Drill. Yes, you have to go on deck for the drill. It is not the inconvenience its made out to be, and yes, you have to line up and be accounted for (they have a list, so no skipping out). Yes, its mandatory. But, you don't have to wear the life vests anymore so it’s a social event. I loved it and it was the traditional start of the cruise just as we were about to leave the dock.

After the drill, we hurried back to our cabin to pop the cork on the 1999 Piper and head on out to our balcony for the traditional sail-away. With the Ships Horn blasting, we leave Port Canaveral waving at all the "Shore People". Bye, Bye Shore People flying Canadian Flags....they are always there, every weekend! Wow.

[cruiseguys2009]

The three ports of call were Nassau, Bahamas, St Thomas, and St Maarten. As we had just done this same itinerary in October on the Carnival Dream (Which followed us everywhere we went on this cruise), the ports were so familiar having been to them many, many times previously.

 

Nassau will be fantastic when the new Straw Market Center Building is completed. They are on "Whatever Time Man", and its been 6 years already, so maybe next summer it will be complete. The Straw Market has lots of, "wonderfully illegal" (in the USA), phony Designer Watches and Purses with all the highly desirable Logo merchandise....don't do it...you get caught, you forfeit it at customs. And don't think they won't notice a Rolex, phony or not, when you walk thru customs....snagged! We usually go to Atlantis on our own, we love the casino there, so we hitch a taxi for $4.00 per person plus a dollar tip "man" to the driver, and we are there.

 

The Norwegian Sun has a Shore Excursion for the Atlantis Water Parks that is very, very expensive. But from what I have heard, especially those passengers with kids, guest's found the excursion exhilarating and exciting, though short, but overall was well worth the expense to them.

 

St. Thomas. Okay, to me, having been there a gazillion times, there are beautiful beaches galore, great excursions and they say wonderful shopping. Shopping first. It's a glorified Jewelry Shopping Mall with Hawkers and scary salespeople, really? If I were in the market for jewelry, I would really rather go to Tiffany and Co (which is in St Maarten by the way) or to Jared! Also, in St Maarten you can buy an un-set stone and it is entirely duty free. Little known fact. Now beaches. Maygan's Bay is absolutely gorgeous and if you just want a beach, fantabulous. Taxi's are waiting at the pier to whisk you away to the beach, or join a shore excursion with the NCL Sun and have a blast.

 

Lastly, there are other things to do. Last time, we researched a wonderful sailing yacht, the Simplicity, had 7 hours of open bar, lunch and went snorkeling and had a wonderful time with two other couples we met on cruise critic. This time, though, we took the sky ride to the Paradise Point Lookout and Restaurant. Oh My Gawd. It's Amazing!

 

We bought our tickets on the NCL Sun at the excursion desk, $19.00 verses $18.00 at the ride. The time it took to get to the sky ride? What time, 5 minute walk from the ship thru the Haven Sight Shops and then to the Sky Ride Building. The line to get onto the sky ride? What line? The ride is every five minutes. You stand in the gondolas, 8 people maximum. Oh My Gawd....exhilarating, scary and I had to Tinkle!

 

Once you get on top of the mountain and walk out to the rim, you get the Money Shot of the "Mother of All" St Thomas Photos. Amazing. Up there you'll find the Paradise Point Restaurant, Bar and Gift Boutique, and you MUST have the famous Bushwacker cocktail which was invented by them (for me it's a Tallywacker...ha! reinvented my own drink there!). Sadly, I found the food as barely passable American fare. I ordered a Medium Rare Cheese Burger with Provolone and a Side Salad and an hour later out came a Well Done Cold Cheeseburger with Cheddar and Cold French Fries and no Side Salad. I did not order Fries. I reminded the server (who told me she was a server on St Thomas for 18 years) that I had not gotten what I ordered, and she replied "Oh, I am sorry, do ya wanna to wait for another one?" Eh, no, and then Eighty Bucks, for the two of us later (and they had the Gaul to add gratuity).....I felt totally BUSHWACKED. Down we go on the gondola, yikes, I forgot to Tinkle....its a fun ride down. Back to the NCL SUN for Professional Service Please.

 

I still would recommend the ride up, and go to the bar, walk around to take pictures, you don't really need a table, and enjoy the festive entertainment up there while you relax. Just Don't Eat There! Otherwise, it is a lot of fun and I will do it again in October when we return on the Norwegian Sun.

 

In Saint Maarten, last October when we were there, we did Bernard's Tours and that gave us a great overview of the two Countries, several beaches and shopping.

 

We found that this time, we wanted more beach and lots of shopping. We opted to take the Water Taxi ($6.00 all day pass) from the Ship to Grand Bay Beach. Once there, we are dropped off right in the middle of downtown Phillipsburg and all the shops. Plus we are directly on the brand new beautiful Grand Bay Beach overlooking the cruise ships A beautiful site. As we turned right, off the water taxi, walking on the boardwalk, the Hawkers are chiming in "Candy Cane, Mary Jane, anything to make you go Insane". I barked back that they were about "thirty years too late"!

 

There are rows and rows of colorful beach chairs and umbrellas for rent, and each section is divided by different colors, making the beach a festive atmosphere. There so are many unique hawkers, trying to get us to choose their site on the beach with different "deals". We chose the Haddon House Hotel Lounges and "Gary" to take care of us. These are the Blue Padded Chairs with Blue Striped Umbrellas. Two Chairs, One Umbrella, a Bucket of 5 beers (we chose bud light) and all the Sun you would need for twenty bucks. Yes Please! Wow!

 

As we were located right on the crystal clear blue waters of Saint Maarten, the view of the ships in port is magnificent. We hear lots of island steel drums playing and we are in heaven. The water was refreshing and calm as well as a cooling relief from the Caribbean sun. Okay, I am hungry. Feeding Time.

 

We have heard about a wonderful and famous place called the Blue Bitch Bar. We venture over to it as we found we were very close and were drawn by their wonderful Island Rhythm. It was about two o'clock and the restaurant was packed, but found that there was a change over taking place and we were able to snag a table beachside by the music. The drink here is a Bitch Slap ....had to have one, then another and two knocked me on my feet!

 

We also had the best Haitian Voo Doo Chicken Wings (that did not make us Doo Doo later, so they were good) and the most incredible Medium Rare Cheeseburger Ever. My partner had the Fall-Off-The-Bone Ribs and they were amazing. We highly recommend this escape, and it is located four buildings down (to the right) from the Catholic Church on the waterfront.

 

After lunch we went shopping on Main Street which is one block off the boardwalk and picked up four men's colognes for a fraction of the USA Department Store prices. There are many fragrance shops, but I found that most sell older versions of cologne and perfume. The best shop we found for current and new fragrance is "Lipstick". It's very well known and located right in the center of town. Buy at least three bottles and when the clerk is totaling up the order, ask for a discount. They will always add an additional percent off. For us, we purchased four bottles and the total was $185.00, additional discount brought it down to $160.00. Very Nice.....Wow.

 

My advice on liquor. The Duty Free shop onboard the ship was a bit more expensive than on shore both in St Thomas and Saint Maarten. In my experience, if the ship is sailing to Saint Maarten, buy your liquor there. If your ship is sailing to Tortola, buy your liquor there. However, the deals on the ship are comparable to any other island. For Example:

 

Absolut Vodka Liter: NCL Sun Duty Free: $12.75 St Maarten: $8.99-10.00

 

Crown Royal Liter: NCL Sun Duty Free: $17.50 St Maarten: Two for $30.00 plus free 1/2 liter

 

Once we were back on board they DO confiscate the liquor but gave it back to us at a designated time and place on the last night. Our designated time was 9PM-11PM at the Java Café. Very quick and orderly. The only catch was if you bought the liquor on board at the Duty Free Shop, you could pick it up after 6PM and take a little nip off of it before beddie bye.

[cruiseguys2009]

We have covered the Ports, now lets cover the Restaurants.

 

Seven Seas: The more formal of the Main Dining Rooms, whether it be Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner, the service is impeccable and professional. A special mention must go out to Ryan, the Assistant Matre'D who really understands his staff and their relationships with the guest. Ryan is a wonderful and proud member of NCL and it shows, and he made me feel very good about choosing this cruise, as his attitude and that of the rest of the service staff was extremely positive and uniquely happy. I say uniquely, as this is not the norm nowadays. We enjoyed Breakfast, some Lunches and some Dinners here. Each occasion was perfect, and there was always something on the menu to enjoy, and yes, I did order several appetizers. As a matter of fact, I enjoyed an appetizer in one of the specialty restaurants so much, that after telling Ryan about it, he made arrangements, as a surprise on the last night, to bring the whole table the appetizer from the other restaurant. That is memorable service! ( A+)

 

I also was able to meet an incredible Officer. Estoban, the Food and Beverage Director and Restaurant Manager. What a history as a Seaman he has, and we had figured out that we had sailed together years earlier on Premier Cruise Lines Star Ships Royale and Oceanic. We remembered each other and several other crew members too. Well his expertise in being in the industry for so many years proved worthy on the Norwegian Sun as the service in almost every food outlet is Outstanding and Exceeded Our Expectations.

 

Four Seasons: This is the exact same menu as the Seven Seas, but less formal. This restaurant was packed by 5PM with the Silver Crowd and you can wear just about anything( At 4:30 PM there is a huge line with all the Silver's fighting to get in.....forgetting they are on a cruise ship and all the food is free and they are not going to run out!). Trust me, what passed for clothes on this sailing was as much a surprise to me sometimes. Also, this is the restaurant that parents with small children dined in as well, so expect cheerios on the floor, too. It's louder and scary as the Silver's are so demanding that they all want it RIGHT NOW! Yikes. (N/R)

 

Il Adagio: ($10.00 upcharge) This is the Italian Ristorante. There have been many changes in two years since we have sailed on the Dawn and went to the Italian Restaurant then. Gone is the Appetizer Cart and replaced with a small Antipasto Plate. Then the marvelous bread and breadsticks. The entrée's are all still wonderful, and I opted for Pasta and was not disappointed. Our server was Almirra and was extraordinarily professional. We brought our own bottle of wine, which was opened by yet another wonderful Assistant Matre'd, Sondra. We enjoyed meeting Sondra and she insisted we have a marvelous time. The same went for each of her oh, say 100 guests that night. She INSISTED all of us had a good time and provided the service, style and ambiance to make that happen. There was a sincerity and a desire to provide for us by Sondra and all her staff. Truly another NCL gem. ( A+)

 

East Meets West Steakhouse: ($25.00 upcharge + $10.00 Lobster additional upcharge) After worrying that I was not going to like this specialty restaurant, confused in my thinking they were going to smother some Asian Infused sauce all over a 32 ounce Porterhouse, I was reassured that its really just "Cagney's" Steakhouse. Only some Brainiac at NCL thought they would not have to renovate half of the original Asian Restaurant, and just plunk down the same menu from Cagney's, leaving the Chinese artwork on the walls and call it East Meets West. Cost cutting? Yes. Confusing? Very. Actually, it's a bit annoying. You want to be eating a Steer, like in Cagney's, and you are listening to the ding, ping, ting of Asian inspired muzac. The service staff now where nears or compares to other Cagney's we have eaten in. The service was just plain, non-communicative. The back server, she was incredible and should have been the front server. The front server was a recording, over and over "I make you happy, what ever you need to make happy", then he would sing, like we sometimes do, "Thank Yeeeew". He would bring me a drink, "I make you happy......"Thank Yeeew". He would pour water, "I make you happy....."Thank Yeeew". He brought our food, he took our order, and said that after repeating every item....it got to the point that everyone in the restaurant would repeat "Thank Yeeew" when he did, but he did not get the joke. You could hear the giggles. Anyway, annoying as it was, along with the décor and the very, very slow service, when we did get our food, it was absolutely Cagney's and delicious. I had to do something unusual though, I had to have a doggie bag (I have a fridge in the cabin!) and I was not going to let one ounce of my incredible steak go to waste. I just lost my appetite with the prolonged waiting in between courses. Food (A+) Service (C-) Atmosphere © and I am being generous.

 

Le Bistro: ($20.00 upcharge) The formal French Bistro Restaurant. We enjoyed this restaurant on "Dress Up or Not" Night, in our Tuxedos. We knew that in most of the other restaurants, there would be few Tuxedos. Since we opt for the Seafaring Traditions, but also knew that in Le Bistro, without a Tuxedo on this night, one might feel Under-dressed. You might say that this is the Formal of the Formal on Dress Up or Not Night. We ate with others we had met on the Cruise Critic roll call and had a perfectly marvelous time and yes, another incredible dinner. However, they too have changed the menu and I want to say that I can't blame NCL, in this economic climate, for doing so. The Rack of Lamb is two to three chops, not the full rack that was once carved tableside. Gone are the tableside salads, and the only glitch seemed to be when all of us ordered a salad, what was brought to us, was a HUH? moment. It was just a bowl of that really rough and mangled chicory lettuce. That’s it, chicory lettuce. No dressing, no tomatoes, no veggies, just chicory. The server proceeded to professionally offer fresh ground pepper from a grinder onto what should have been an under-garnish for something else. Chicory? We all looked at each other, shrugged and had another sip of our Martini's and Wine. We did not eat the salad, we each took a bite at the same time and looked at each other and laughed. Other than that quite unique and giggle (one of MY all-time unique) moments, the food, ambiance and service was spectacular. (A-)

 

Las Rambla's Tapas Bar: (Free) Go, just go. Its fun, quick, unique, and four different small appetizers offered each night. So much fun to have a Martini before dinner, listen to a great guitar player, and have an appetizer, then head out for your evening. Most of the folks we talked to just didn't get it, until I would drag them by the arm, had them sit in the restaurant, try the Tapas (appetizers), and then they would say "Wow I did not know this was here!" Its fun, and just do it. Highly Recommended. (A+)

 

Ginza and Sushi Bar: ($15.00 upcharge) Wonderful Sushi made in front of you at a Traditional Sushi Counter and you can interact with the staff, and also have a sit down experience. Very well executed and very beautiful décor. (A)

 

Teppanyaki: ($25.00 upcharge) Benihana's at Sea the NCL way. Good performances, Great Food and one of the best shows on the ship. Pay attention, One of the Best Shows on the Ship. Worth the upcharge and worth the experience. (A+)

 

Great Outdoors Café: (Free Buffet) In my opinion, the Better Buffet. Bypass the Golden Corral (The Garden Café) and the crowd, head to the back of the ship, and you will find two glorious full service Buffets, somewhat identical to the Golden Corral, sorry, Garden Café. Plus, no line, better outdoor seating under a gorgeous canopy, no screaming children, and the best tables at sea. I loved lingering at the tables in the very stern of the ship, great for coffee in the morning if you don't have a balcony. This is the greatest balcony of them all, the Great Outdoors. (B+)

 

The Garden Café: (Free) Okay, enough about Golden Corral. But it is, Blanche, it is! It has a carving station, a salad bar (although the dressing is located at the beginning and the lettuce at the end...??) the food is themed daily and absolutely fresh. There is immediate replacement of empty or close-to-empty food platters. It smells fantastic and the presentation is always marvelous. I was impressed by the service staff (like Yeah) and their amazing work to immediately clean plates and tables so there is plenty of space for the next guest. They work so hard, and I want to give a special shout-out to Ika, Love the Watch, Girl! Fresh, Exciting, Colorful, Tasty and very NCL. I give the buffet a (B)

 

The Sports Bar: (Free) Yes the Wings are fantastic. Especially at 5:30 in the morning. Actually, everything is great at 5:30 in the morning, but trust me, the wings are fantastic. Be willing to wait for them, but they are definitely worth the wait. (A)

 

Room Service: The Best BLT on the Ocean, never got past the incredible BLT. Yum num num, that too is really good at 5:30 in the morning if you are just getting in.....(A+)

 

Moderno Churrascaria: (20.00 upcharge) Saved the best for last. Awesome, Creative and WOW! I loved the 8 different meats being served and you can have as much as you want, you just play Red Light, Green Light. The Churrascaria Master visits the table with a new exciting meat, carves it for you off his skewer, and then departs, until the next meat. He/She does this at least 8 times with different offerings. YUM! on the Sausage Stuffed with Cheese, Chicken and the Rib Eye. More Please, I left my card Green the whole time...don't stop! Word of Caution thou: Don't fill up on the marvelous buffet of appetizers. You will not believe your eyes when the different selections of Meat really start coming at you. On a personal note, Yes Dourree, I miss you very much and you are the BEST Matre'D on the Norwegian Sun. He is Ryan's roommate from the Seven Seas and I was paid to say that. Only joking, really! I loved the service, the food and the presentation. NCL has a big hit! (A+++++)

[cruiseguys2009]

Entertainment:

 

I have been delaying what I have not wanted to say that is the most, in my opinion, disappointing part of the journey.

Only because I am perplexed and dismayed. What happened to the NCL having the Best In Entertainment?

NCL's groundbreaking Cutting Edge Entertainment?

NCL's Jean Anne Ryan Entertainment PRODUCTIONS THAT I WOULD PAY TO SEE????

Another Brainiac at NCL, for financial reasons that looked good on a spread sheet, decided to cancel the LIFETIME CONTRACT with Jean Anne Ryan Productions. REVOLTING MISTAKE.

What we are left with, is a big mess of Junior High School Productions, embarrassingly delivered by an obviously talented cast, but with Junior High School Cheerleading Choreography, along with equally embarrassing costumes and amateurish sets that resemble store fixtures left over from the Salvation Army Thrift Barn.

The Dancers and Performers work really, really hard, but they literally have to make the best of an embarrassment of production flaws.

 

The most horrifying was the last night and the show was titled "Encore".

The four Lead Singers were absolutely marvelous, Broadway performance quality.

The arrangements, lighting and most of all, the costumes, were horribly, shockingly wrong, and disgusting.

The lead singers are doing a montage of very well UNKNOWN Broadway numbers, with the Dancers doing Cheer Leading steps from Junior High School, when all of the sudden they break into ABBA, and the four Lead Singers are forced to wear these costumes that are the most shocking, revealing, cheap, gold velvet, and tacky, form fitting rags, that are so unflattering, you want to run out of the theater and find an upchuck bag...they are that bad.

The gasps of the audience abound when one of male Lead Singers, a bit on the overweight side, comes out into the audience. Then, returning to the stage, it's like... oh my gosh, I am seeing every rock and roll of his body, then he turns around, and since the costumes are gold velvet, we see the "Crack and Great Divide of the Golden Moon!" as he bounces back upstage.

 

To continue, there is the ever most talented Gene Yaws who is a well known Broadway Leading Man Performer and also is embarrassingly subjected to the Golden "Fleeced" Costume.

He turns into the light and you hear the gasps of the audience as his Family Jewels are being displayed to the East, West, North and for some reason also the South. Obviously, with these ridiculous costumes, ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL. How embarrassing, having a performer like Broadway star like Gene Yaws of Jekyll and Hyde fame, and subjecting him to a Junior High School Production of songs no one has ever heard before. Shameful.

And in a cheap costume that now everyone knows what he's got. Disgraceful.

 

I inquired after the show, what was Jean Anne Ryan thinking?

I was told that Jean Anne Ryan is NO LONGER a part of NCL and they cancelled her Lifetime Contract.

Who is the Brainiac who decided this?

The entertainment on NCL was the best of the BEST. All cruise lines played catch-up with NCL. Now even with RCCL offering Broadway Productions of Wicked, Chicago and now Hairspray, NCL still had Jean Anne Ryan. Not anyore. Carnival has the amazingly fantastic new Comedy Club Shows, and now NCL has Second City, but on this sailing, had just a comedian.

His name was ROD LONG. Don't get me started on the name, but his name is decidedly funnier than his comedy act.

 

Kevin Sheehan?????? What are you thinking?

There were two well respected ENTITY'S in the Cruise Entertainment industry. DISNEY and NCL/JEAN ANNE RYAN Productions. Now, once the mighty Entertainment of NCL is now downgraded to just...well....bleeach....it's poo poo. You let every other cruise line catch you with your pants down. Big Time. It took forty years for NCL build the Best Entertainment in the business with a lot of "First's in the Industry", and less than four months to tear it all apart.

You can take the Sun's current entertainment package along with all the un-winning bingo cards and line them all on the bottom of a bird cage. In my opinion!

[cruiseguys2009]

Finding out WHY veteran Broadway Performer Gene Yaws was onboard and how NCL was lucky to have him aboard was much more fun.

 

Lets talk about staff, shall we?:

 

Cruise Director: SHONA BLAIR.....YAWS. It seems that the best Cruise Director in the business married one of the most talented and recognized Broadway Leading Men, Mr. Gene Yaws. So, Shona Blair is now SHONA BLAIR YAWS! Yay Yaws! I met Shona two years ago on the Norwegian Dawn. How does she always get stuck with spring break cruises? We had a blast with her then, and when I found out she was the Cruise Director on the Norwegian Sun for our sailing, I just had to book it, it was the deciding factor. No one was disappointed with Shona. As usual, there were the Spring Breakers, and she did a great job of keeping them entertained. The Silvers, well, a bit less on this cruise, but still sailing...they had the Newlywed Game, the Liars Club, and Trivia, all well attended. Plus Bingo with Johnny Cash. Then there was Us. Us represented the rest of the ship. Not yet Silver, and certainly older than spring breakers. All in all, we had a blast. If you could see the activities that Shona got us involved in and the spur of the moment fun, I love Shona. I want to revive the college chant we heard all over the ship for her....SHONA! SHONA! SHONA!

 

Hotel Director: Well it starts at the top. And it was an honor to have met a Legend. For over 40 years at NCL, Mr. William Les Riley has been a constant. It was a pleasure to meet such an icon of the industry on one of his last sailings and I wish him Godspeed. He has trained an army of the Best Customer Service Individuals in the Industry, and funny thing, these talented, hard working, Associates keep coming back to renew their contracts. The individuals we talked to said they were on their 10th, 12th, 15th, 20th contract with NCL. Happiness starts at the top. Happy Staff have Happy Managers that transcends into Happy Customers then into Happy Stockholders. Les is an iconic example of the Best in Customer Service and I personally thank him, for all the happiness I felt onboard the Norwegian Sun.

 

Housekeeping Director: Minnie Mouse! Yes, it's really Minnie. And I have a wonderful story about Minnie. It was our second day, and I was wandering around the main atrium, on the 6th floor, with my Mega Mary. When Minnie, all decked out in her white Dress Uniform was doing daily inspections of the cleaning staff. I think they call the cleaning staff UTILITY. Anyway, there was an obviously nervous, new recruit, polishing the brass rungs on the staircase, but not correctly. Minnie, graciously stopped her from cleaning, took her cleaning cloths, and literally got down on her hands and knees in her White Dress Uniform and professionally, politely and in a very fun, humorous manner, showed this young recruit how to properly clean the railings. Minnie did not know I was watching. Now I have been in other situations, ships, and what have you, where the Supervisors would yell and scream and bark, but not Minnie, no. With humor, professionalism and just plain grit, got on her hands and knees and Taught the young recruit the proper procedure, and with the utmost of respect. THIS IS A BIG WOW for me! Minnie gets the Golden Star, you know why? Because again, she is happy, been with NCL for 25 years and probably did that same utility job once. Minnie and so many others at NCL just like her get the biggest (A+++++).

 

Executive Casino Host: Sharon. Oh so professional, polite, and had a fun streak to her. I loved her sense of humor and really enjoyed getting to know her. I look forward to seeing Sharon again in October when we return to the Norwegian Sun and Casino's At Sea.

 

Concierge: Karin. We interacted frequently and I really appreciated Karin's style and her anticipatory gifts of customer service she has, to make the Guest feel totally welcome and appreciated. Thank you Karin for all you did for us. I do miss the NCL Concierge "Legend" himself, Anchumann, who has left NCL to go into business for himself in his native homeland. Karin filled in very nicely and is an asset to the Concierge program.

 

Pool Bar Server: Sophia. I have to tell you this wonderful Customer Service story. Okay, you pay like 60 bucks with gratuity for Unlimited Sodas for the week, and they give you a special NCL Souvenir Mug. You can go to any bar and show your ID and get a refill at no cost. Well that is sometimes easier said than done. At some bars, the bartenders are gracious and immediately refill your cup with a big smile and conversation. Other's, like the pool bar, give you Attitude with a capital A, that’s if they acknowledge you because they are too busy shooting the breeze with the other bar servers. Certainly not talking to customers as there aren't any at the bar, except us folks lined up for our soda refills. Rude, nasty and not very nice. Only at this one bar. Every other bar, the bartenders are so nice. Well, that does trickle down to the Pool Servers too. I never asked a pool bar server to get me a refill of soda. Sophia saw me going up a couple of times for my refill, and just politely asked me if she could get me my refills for me the next time. It would be "HER PLEASURE". Well knock me over, I thought I had too much sun and was hallucinating. Guess what, I love Sophia. The fact that she remembered, and came to me every day, and just picked up my cup, without me asking, and had it refilled was worth the price of my cruise ticket. That is the best Customer Service I have ever received and Sophia should be commended for being the Best! (A++++)

 

Captain Ronny: The Captain was funny, charming and very personable and would always stop to shake hands and chat for a moment. We loved bumping into him in St Thomas in his Dress Whites. And my favorite was seeing the Captain at the White Hot Party. That was a first for me. The Captain was quite visible and involved which made a difference on this cruise.

[cruiseguys2009]

White Hot Party:

Don’t ever miss the Traditional NCL White Hot Party. It's high energy, pure fun and this was the Best Dance Production of the Cruise.

Finally, a great performance by the hard working talented dancers.

Plus there was an exhibition of the Michael Jackson "Thriller" Passenger Dancers who had been rehearsing all week. Great job.

This party also coincided with St Patrick's Day and it was double decker White and Green Hot Fun. Thank you Shona for putting on a marvelous extravaganza.

I wore my Silver Sequins that night. I looked like a human disco ball!

[cruiseguys2009]

There are so many Hard Working Crew Members everywhere on board the Norwegian Sun and NCL should be very, very proud of the amazing achievements accomplished every day by this remarkable Team.

 

There is one subject left I need to broach.

Gratuity.

I was dismayed at the amount of (primarily Silver) Guests going up to the Guest Services Desk and asking to have their "Gratuities Removed". I stood next to a woman who asked just that, and as she was leaving the desk, I asked her, "Did she have a problem with a staff member?" She replied, "All of her group had it removed, we just told them we will tip on our own, but we can't afford to give out almost a hundred bucks in tips for each of us." I almost died in my tracks, and as she was going on the elevator, I used my arm to hold the door open, to which I said "How dare you Cheap Out on these hard working people!" "You tip when you go to eat in a restaurant, and you ate at least three times every day, In A Restaurant, didn't you? I simply said that "She disrespected the crew by doing that, and the crew's only measure of compensation is thru our generosity". White as a ghost she was, white as a ghost.

 

We over tip and that’s what we do.

Maybe, like Holland America, gratuities should be included with the price of the fare, and that’s the way to go in the future. I am so upset at those that are not gracious for what is received.

And truthfully, I would like to see some of these same people be put to work for just one week on a ship, 70 hours a week. I know that after just six hours, they would throw themselves overboard as they could not handle the pressure or the job.

[cruiseguys2009]

Our week on the Norwegian Sun was truly a joy.

 

The company stands ready to please every guest. We Ate too much, We Laughed too much, We certainly Drank too much, and We Lived So Much! Wow!

 

All in all, we had a great and wonderful cruise. I am still very much an avid fan of NCL.

Please look after the Entertainment Factors I mentioned.

Continue with the incredible service, and once again, Thank you, thank you all at NCL, for everything you do for us when we travel. We are eternally grateful.

 

JW and Jerome, Cruiseguys2009.

[NJGeorge]

Wow! after reading all that its time to....tinkle.

[cruiseguys2009]

Wow! after reading all that its time to....tinkle.

 

 

That is fabulous. Thank you!

[umpy10]

A most enjoyable and informative review , well done !! My DW and I have never cruised and as we're celebrating our 40th on the Sun this Oct. , I try to read as many reviews about the Sun as possible. And yours is the best so far!! I thoroughly enjoyed your reviews of the dining venues , most informative.

Thank You agin for a Great Review..................We can't wait for Oct. :D:D

[RNPJN]

There are so many Hard Working Crew Members everywhere on board the Norwegian Sun and NCL should be very, very proud of the amazing achievements accomplished every day by this remarkable Team.

 

 

There is one subject left I need to broach.

 

Gratuity.

 

I was dismayed at the amount of (primarily Silver) Guests going up to the Guest Services Desk and asking to have their "Gratuities Removed". I stood next to a woman who asked just that, and as she was leaving the desk, I asked her, "Did she have a problem with a staff member?" She replied, "All of her group had it removed, we just told them we will tip on our own, but we can't afford to give out almost a hundred bucks in tips for each of us." I almost died in my tracks, and as she was going on the elevator, I used my arm to hold the door open, to which I said "How dare you Cheap Out on these hard working people!" "You tip when you go to eat in a restaurant, and you ate at least three times every day, In A Restaurant, didn't you? I simply said that "She disrespected the crew by doing that, and the crew's only measure of compensation is thru our generosity". White as a ghost she was, white as a ghost.

 

 

We over tip and that’s what we do.

 

Maybe, like Holland America, gratuities should be included with the price of the fare, and that’s the way to go in the future. I am so upset at those that are not gracious for what is received.

 

And truthfully, I would like to see some of these same people be put to work for just one week on a ship, 70 hours a week. I know that after just six hours, they would throw themselves overboard as they could not handle the pressure or the job.

 

 

 

We couldn't agree with you more on this subject!!! It is just amazing to see how many pax stand in line at the end of the cruise so their tip charge will be removed. If they go in with the intention of doing so, they should just stay home. & honestly, do any of them have a legitimate complaint to begin with? Shame on them.

We do cruise often and when our daughters come along, wow, it really adds to the expense. But there's no way we would ever stiff the employees because we've overextended ourselves.

This charge should always, always be budgeted into your travel plans. And if you have a choice of buying another round of drinks or having something extra to leave your steward...morally, you know what you should do. Its a sad sate of affairs when people cannot even bring themselves to tip the bare minimum.

And thats another issue to bring up - the people who do not tip on the excursions. In the big picture, is it really going to hurt you to part with a couple of bucks? Especially when it means so much to these people who have to put up with so much. You're right, they could not survive walking a mile in their shoes.

[RNPJN]

Forgot to thank you for such a great detailed review of the Sun. Obviously we like that ship too because we have 3 more cruises planned on her. The staff are just so friendly and fun.

You didn't mention the Indian Lunch Buffet. Do you know if that is still available? We're not crazy about Indian food but tried it on our last cruise on the Sun. It was amazing!!! I enjoyed it more than the jazz brunch because its finally something different, so hopefully they still have it. And glad to hear you liked Moderno. We tried it on the Epic & hopefully its going to eventually go fleet-wide.

[Carnac767]

Thanks for the entertaining review. Shona was our CD on Jewel in September and was terrific (also has the best gams I've ever seen on a CD :)) I hope she's our CD for the Sun's crossing next year. Also completely agree with you about JAR entertainment. We miss them. Glad to hear the good review about Moderno and am looking forward to that. Haven't been able to get a good Churrascaria fix since we gave up Sao Paulo to the Triple Seven. Thanks again.

[Cruzin_Susan]

Loved reading your review. It was very entertaining. We can't wait to be back on the sky!!!

[RNPJN]

Thanks for the entertaining review. Shona was our CD on Jewel in September and was terrific (also has the best gams I've ever seen on a CD :)) I hope she's our CD for the Sun's crossing next year. Also completely agree with you about JAR entertainment. We miss them. Glad to hear the good review about Moderno and am looking forward to that. Haven't been able to get a good Churrascaria fix since we gave up Sao Paulo to the Triple Seven. Thanks again.

Sorry this is completely off the topic, but I noticed you're doing the transatlantic to Copenhagen. We're actually doing a round trip cruise from that city and we've been checking out the hotels. Have you researched any yet? - and yes, I'm looking for as cheap as possible

[zounds]

Damn ! I've read long descriptive reviews before, but yours takes the cake. Thank you very much for the well thought out, well written observations. We won't be on the Sun til Dec., but I really enjoy hearing about everyone's experiences. I particularly liked your descriptions of the "entertainment" and agree as I thought it was pretty lame on our last 2 NCL cruises (Spirit and Sky). Oh well, as long as the service, food and ports are good, cruising is still the way to vacation ! steve

[Carnac767]

Sorry this is completely off the topic, but I noticed you're doing the transatlantic to Copenhagen. We're actually doing a round trip cruise from that city and we've been checking out the hotels. Have you researched any yet? - and yes, I'm looking for as cheap as possible

 

Your best source for info on that topic would be the Roll Call for the April 23, 2011 Sun Translant. I'll really haven't started looking at CPH hotels yet.

[GoVikes]

Cruiseguys,

Loved reading your review! Sounds like you had a great time. I can't wait for our cruise on the Sun!

 

RNPJN,

Have you looked into a hostel in Copenhagen? They seem to be more affordable than many of the hotels.

[cruiseguys2009]

Thank you all so much for the feedback. As I always state "In My Opinion". I am not a whiner, and I try to tell it as I experienced it, injecting my humor into the truth.

One note, the Indian themed buffet is in the Great Outdoors and there was no Jazz Brunch in Le Bistro this cruise that I was aware of. We did this on the Dawn and loved it, but did not come across it on the Norwegian Sun this time.

[runmomrun]

Thanks for the balanced review!

 

It was a fun read!

[cygnets]

Thank you for the review, I loved it.

 

I hope our paths cross on a cruise some day, amazingly fun people you meet are also what make cruising memorable.

 

Happy sailing

[cruiseguys2009]

Thank you for the review, I loved it.

 

I hope our paths cross on a cruise some day, amazingly fun people you meet are also what make cruising memorable.

 

Happy sailing

 

I agree, and I have also found that the MOST FUN people are Cruise Critic people! We have so much fun before the Cruise starts and forge long lasting friendships and bonds that are remarkable!

 

Thank you for your kind words too.

 

JW

[LadyShiva]

Wonderful, wonderful review! Thank you for taking the time to write everything up. :) I really enjoyed every detail you included... well, except for the tacky people removing the service charge... My face looked like this :eek: in reaction to her "reason" for removing the gratuity! Tacky tacky tacky!!!

 

But your glowing words of compassion, charm, and appreciation of the people working on the ship... that's going to keep a smile on my face all day! :)

 

Great job writing the review!