NCL Sun (Star?) Bow balcony questions

[TrinaLC]

Have tentatively booked 9003 (sister to 9203) on NCL Sun.

 

Would love to hear from anyone who has stayed in these, as well as links to pics.

 

Does anyone know if these are fully open to view from the bridge? The old "AC"/bow cabins on the Dawn are uncomfortably open to the bridge, especially on 10 - might reconsider if the same is true of the deck 9 bow cabins on the Sun.

 

Also, we've picked 9003 with its large inside space over 9002/9201, the neighbor suites. These seem to have slightly larger balconies, but oddly shaped inside spaces. While i am a balcony girl, it seemed to me that 9003 had plenty of balcony, so getting that plus better inside space was a plus. Any thoughts?

 

Also, I've seen conflicting reports if 9003 has a structural pole in the middle of the room. Anyone know?

 

Lastly, since this is an "end" balcony, would it be correct that even though it is not a wrap-around, there might be more sweeping views since only a balcony divider on one side?

 

 

Thanks in advance!

[joolytron]

Have tentatively booked 9003 (sister to 9203) on NCL Sun.

 

Would love to hear from anyone who has stayed in these, as well as links to pics.

 

Does anyone know if these are fully open to view from the bridge? The old "AC"/bow cabins on the Dawn are uncomfortably open to the bridge, especially on 10 - might reconsider if the same is true of the deck 9 bow cabins on the Sun.

 

Also, we've picked 9003 with its large inside space over 9002/9201, the neighbor suites. These seem to have slightly larger balconies, but oddly shaped inside spaces. While i am a balcony girl, it seemed to me that 9003 had plenty of balcony, so getting that plus better inside space was a plus. Any thoughts?

 

Also, I've seen conflicting reports if 9003 has a structural pole in the middle of the room. Anyone know?

 

Lastly, since this is an "end" balcony, would it be correct that even though it is not a wrap-around, there might be more sweeping views since only a balcony divider on one side?

 

 

Thanks in advance!

 

I am in room 9003 on the Sun on the July 19th Baltic cruise. I am really curious about this cabin as well, if anyone has stayed in it....

 

If nothing appears prior to my departure, I will try to post a few pictures on the cabin for you.

 

Thanks!

[TrinaLC]

Please do come back and post your reviews! I am surprised how little information is available about this cabin (and its twin).

 

I hope you have a great trip! Ours isn't until January, so we can really benefit from your insights, even changing to another bow cabin if it seems better.

[mamabeac]

We stayed in 9003 on the Sun in October of 2008. This was our first ever suite and we had 3 sharing the space. For us it was a wonderful experience. The bathroom was very spacious with a nice dressing area. The suite itself did have a pole in the middle but did not present a problem for us in any way. We loved the balcony and I enjoyed sunning in one of the loungers. The front part of the balcony is in view of the bridge but the back part was not. We loved being able to see where we were going. There really isn't a great side view due to the make-up of the ship but you can peek around and see pretty well.

 

One warning though -- there are sprinklers used to clean the bridge windows. Late one night I was sitting on the balcony and got a little shower when those sprinklers came on. I found it quite funny.

 

If you have any questions, I will try to answer them. I've attached a couple of pictures for you as well.

[mamabeac]

Looks like I forgot the pictures so I'll try once more.

[fiftyguy]

For what it's worth you might want to read through this thread.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=146468&highlight=sun+9003

[TrinaLC]

Looks like I forgot the pictures so I'll try once more.

 

Thank you so much!! (Hope the birthday person had a great birthday!)

 

 

Did you have any chance to compare 9003 to the room next to it - which I gather has a much larger balcony, but the room seems odd shaped and smaller?

[TrinaLC]

For what it's worth you might want to read through this thread.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=146468&highlight=sun+9003

 

thanks to you too!

[mamabeac]

I was not able to see the suite next to it. The only other suite we saw was an aft Romance Suite.

[rajones007]

Are these balconys at the bow not tremendously breezy when sailing? I'd like one of those rooms, but I have a hunch that when the ship is underway the balcony is pretty much unusable.

[mamabeac]

They can be very windy if you are standing at the edge of the balcony when sailing. However, I was quite comfortable when I was sitting on the chair or the lounger. For us, the best thing was being able to see firsthand exactly where we were going. We were also sailing in a warm climate where the wind was welcome.

[TrinaLC]

Reporting back:

 

9003 is a well sized room, with a really large and spacious bathroom, including a dressing area, walk in closet and large jetted tub (plus a small but more than adequate shower with great water pressure).

 

There is a pole in the room, but it fits well with the furniture and was not a negative at all.

 

The balcony is large - but roughly 1/5th of it - the side closest to the water - is "enclosed" - so the view is very partially obstructed. We actually did not mind this feature - it meant a good shady area to pull in a chair, and also provided wind shelter.

 

Although this cabin is under the bridge, you really are not in view of the officers on the bridge (unlike the Dawn bow cabins, which are completely exposed).

 

I did manage a peek into several other 9 bow cabins. The one second in has a balcony roughly 1/3 bigger, and that balcony is fully open (no partial obstruction). Also, even though the deck plans make the bedroom look smaller than 9003, in fact it appeared larger (and no pole). If I were to go back, I would pick this room over 9003.

 

Also looked into the center room - this has a bit of an awkward layout, with a divider between the bed and the hallway making the space feel small. Additionally, the TV is in the divider, facing the bed - in the other rooms, the TV was in a more typical wall console, and the viewing area was more from the couch/open space. In my opinion, this would be the "worst" of the 3 layouts I was able to see. (But still pretty nice!).

 

There is a large flat screen TV in this category room, but no fancy coffee machine (I don't think it would fit into the built in space).

 

We had a marvelous room steward, Hassan. Butler Theresa was helpful, but we didn't really use her services. Concierge Luiggi is terrific.

 

Happy to answer any questions.

[TrinaLC]

We stayed in 9003 on the Sun in October of 2008. This was our first ever suite and we had 3 sharing the space. For us it was a wonderful experience. The bathroom was very spacious with a nice dressing area. The suite itself did have a pole in the middle but did not present a problem for us in any way. We loved the balcony and I enjoyed sunning in one of the loungers. The front part of the balcony is in view of the bridge but the back part was not. We loved being able to see where we were going. There really isn't a great side view due to the make-up of the ship but you can peek around and see pretty well.

 

One warning though -- there are sprinklers used to clean the bridge windows. Late one night I was sitting on the balcony and got a little shower when those sprinklers came on. I found it quite funny.

 

If you have any questions, I will try to answer them. I've attached a couple of pictures for you as well.

 

Your description was spot on! I had forgotten what you wrote about the sprinklers. Every morning, there was a puddle on the deck - eventually we figured it was probably from washing the deck windows - but re-reading your post confirms it!