Sun Review Sailed 3/3/12..The Good, The Bad and The Rude

[MikeandAmy]

Let us start off by saying we still love NCL after cruising 5 times, but will not sail on the Sun again.

 

Embarkation was smooth as can be at Port Canaveral much less chaotic as Miami no waiting in line or having to sit in groups. We boarded by 11:30 a.m. and the rooms were ready by 1:30 pm. The Four Seasons was open for lunch and they were inviting everyone to come and eat.

 

We arrived in our room only to smell a very strong sewer/urine odor in our bathroom. We tried to find our room steward but no one was lurking around so we called and reported it. Several staff came by and smelled it and finally they came in a bleached the bathroom. It reappeared about halfway through the cruise and upon talking to other passengers on the 10th floor they had the same issue.

 

The Good: Balcony room was very roomy, lots of storage space and balcony was adequate enough to enjoy. The bathroom....horrible! Very small compared to the Dawn and Pearl. There is very little room in the shower and the toilet is in between the shower and sink and the hair dryer is right above the toilet. I would definitely advise bringing your own hair dryer. It puts out little air and the one in our room kept falling apart.

 

Food: The Chocolate Extravaganza was available one night during the cruise and it was YUMMY! It was available in the main dining rooms, not sure about the buffet area as we only ate there for breakfast a few times. Room service was very limited but the pizza is worth the $5 delivery charge. It is a large size and very tasty. A must try is the Moderno/Brazilian specialty restaurant. It is well worth the cover charge $20/pp and go hungry they bring you lots of different meats to try over and over again. The East Meets West steakhouse was great as well. The main dining rooms were good, the typical NCL style menu nothing over the top in our opinion and breakfast was the same everyday in all areas so the variety was boring.

 

Not Smooth Sailing: We experienced up to 20 foot swells the first two days into the cruise and lots of people including one of us got sea sick. Barf bags were readily available in common areas. Winds were high at gale force and when we arrived in Cozumel our beach trip was canceled but NCL refunded our money because they had red flag warnings out. The winds were very rough there but the rest of the cruise it began to taper off.

 

The Bad: The Sun has very little entertainment in our opinion. This ship is catered more for the older crowds for laid back cruisers. The magician/comedian was not funny, the rock show was terrible and the cruise director or lack of was not really enthusiastic and most of the upper crew members had been moved to the Sun from the Star so they were just "there" in comparison to other cruises where they are usually fun and upbeat. The ship is smaller than the Pearl or Dawn from our experience so we never got lost and really stayed more in our room than anything. Chair hogs were out in full force on the days we could go outside. Surprisingly the pool is big but deck area is small. Lots of wear and tear you could see in certain areas even though it has been refurbished. And we talked with several couples over the week and all had the same sentiment this ship is not their favorite after being on some of the bigger/nicer ones on NCL.

 

The Rude: Okay going to get on my soap box...people are just plain out RUDE! Not NCL staff but cruisers. I can't tell you how many times we would stand in line to get on the elevators and people would cut in front of us and go ahead and then just look at us like we they were "entitled" to get on there first. Keep in mind the elevators fill up quickly b/c they are small so we would have to wait several times even before being cut in line. One girl even said I have to get my family on as if there was some sort of fire to hurry up and get on first. Just unbelievable the way people were acting and sad to say the group of spring breakers were MUCH nicer than most of the other crowds who were a bit snobby and just outright RUDE. In the casino we were harrased by a passenger who wanted the slot machine we were using and had to get the manager involved to ask them to leave us alone that is how bad it was so please people enjoy your vacation and leave the attitude and rudeness at the door.

 

We are still loyal to NCL but this ship is just not for us, we will stick with the larger ones from now on.

 

Feel free to ask any questions.

[Squidward Q Tentacles]

I think the rudest person I saw on my last cruise was at the elevator trying to get on. The elevator was one of the glass ones in the atrium, a lady and I were waiting for one when the elevator showed up. It had 5 people on it and I told her to go and I would catch the next one. She got on and there was just enough room for me to get on. As the doors were closing two ladies showed up and one of them stuck her hand in and made the doors open as they were closing. She tried to squeeze in and said loudly there would be plenty of room if the people in the back just moved in more. A guy from the back yelled back he was not moving anymore. She kept telling her friend to get in and her friend kept saying no. She finally let the doors close and when it stopped at the next floor the two people in the back needed to get off. That meant that the three of us that got on last had to get off so the two in the back could exit. The man was a big man, bigger than me and I am pretty big. The lady with him was also a bit on the big side. As they walked past the rude lady she said "I guess it was full". Rude remark number two I thought.

[aac1691]

wow well I hope my husband and I have a good experience. Hopefully the crowd in Dec isn't too bad!! Lucky for me I am the calm collective one, my husband on the other hand is more out there person. If someone does anything to upset him he will make sure it is known and that it gets taken care of.

[ryty44]

It really stinks when a cruise doesn't meet the quality and enjoyment we anticipate. So much goes into our vacations, money, time off, preparation and we are there for a really great time.

 

I'm glad you enjoyed part of the trip and after reading your review, this is a ship I will avoid. I really enjoy the Jewel :).

 

We found an obnoxious amount of fellow cruisers on our last cruise. While I choose not to go toe to toe with self absorbed fellow cruisers I let my point be known. When someone jumped in front of others and squuezed on the elevator, I would turn to my child and say, remember you always want to wait your turn, as the obnoxious person who didn't wait there turn stood next to us. Or when we finally found a poolside lounge chair next to a lady xwho had strewn her stuff over the six chairs next to us, I would make one of my kids tell me, don't forget we need to save a chair for daddy just so I could say loud enough for the self absorbed person next to me would hear me say, honey we can't it is against the rules and it is rude. The cruise tells us the only way to save a chair is to be sitting on the chair. This is everyone's vacation and if everyone on the ship was thoughtful and considerate all 2,000 plus people would have a great week.

 

My husband reminds me I am wasting oxygen....selfish, self absorbed people care about one thing, themselves but at least I can put my head on my pillow at night knowing I try and be the best person I can be.

 

I do wish NCL would enforce their lounge chair policy. If a chair has someone's belongings on it for more then 30 minutes the items should be moved to the towel swap area for pick up. I have seen chairs with belongings on them for hours never to have an actual human utilize their chair! Makes me mad!

[stiej]

Rude cruisers just dont stop with NCL. We went on the Disney Dream in Sept and while waiting in line for the waterslide, a lady and her kids walked up the stairs, around us and got in front of us. My mouth just dropped. I was stunned in disbelief and I said well that is just rude. The woman turned around and said, "Sorry, but my son ran ahead of us and I can't separate our family." So instead of her son and friend in front of us, we end up with her son and friend, her and the other two kids. If my kids would have gotten that far ahead of us, I would have snatched him back to the back of the line if we couldn't separate the family. I think society in general is just rude, you just get to be in very close quarters with a lot of people for a week on a cruise.

[Sauer-kraut]

On the SUN the glass elevators are in the center. If there is a line or congestion just walk to the forward bank of elevators, there are 4 there I believe. If you are already on the forward side of the glass elevators in the atrium just turn around and you'll see the wall elevators.

[david_sobe]

Welcome home and thanks for the review. Usually people say the bigger ships are too crowded and prefer smaller ships. Your review was a refreshing change where you actually prefer a larger ship (like me).

Humankind is full of bad or rude people unfortunately. Before I take a cruise I tell myself to not let those things get to me. A cruise is a different kind of vacation where you are on vacation with 3500 people all at the same time sharing things. You cant allow them to ruin your vacation since you paid so much money for it.

You only experienced one week, can you imagine what the cruise ship workers deal with 24/7.

After cruising the mega ships like Epic, all other cruise entertainment is so boring to me. We just cruise the Sky again and did not attend most of the entertainment left early at one show.

[fergusonvt]

Sorry you didn't like the Sun. I took my first cruise on her and we all loved her. So much that we are thinking of changing our Gem cruise to go back on her. We had a much different experience but then every cruise is different. She is a much smaller ship without a lot of the bells and whistles but we knew that when we booked her and had a great time.

 

I hear you about rude cruisers. On our Star cruise we were waiting in line to get seated (dining room had just opened so there were plenty of seats). About four people kept saying they were part of a group that was already seated. They kept hinting for us to let them in front of us. Like waiting another 3 minutes was going to make a big difference. I just ignored them.

[MikeandAmy]

It was amazing.... In the MDR there was one couple who got so upset because they could not get a window seat... It was about 6pm and hour after the MDR opened, if you want a window seat get there early... We never got seated near the window, but we never had a problem seeing whats going on outside...

[MikeandAmy]

Welcome home and thanks for the review. Usually people say the bigger ships are too crowded and prefer smaller ships. Your review was a refreshing change where you actually prefer a larger ship (like me).

Humankind is full of bad or rude people unfortunately. Before I take a cruise I tell myself to not let those things get to me. A cruise is a different kind of vacation where you are on vacation with 3500 people all at the same time sharing things. You cant allow them to ruin your vacation since you paid so much money for it.

You only experienced one week, can you imagine what the cruise ship workers deal with 24/7.

After cruising the mega ships like Epic, all other cruise entertainment is so boring to me. We just cruise the Sky again and did not attend most of the entertainment left early at one show.

 

 

We are looking at the Epic in January.... Have you done the spa suite?

[david_sobe]

We are looking at the Epic in January.... Have you done the spa suite?

Not done a Spa Suite but they look amazing. I was in a penthouse and now booked 2 bedroom villa

[Nalagh]

Sounds like you and Amy need a make up for it cruise( hint a aft ph is still open next to us on the Star !:p) I hear that buckets of beer are real easy to get, and there is this girl named Cherie who will tell the rude casino peeps what she thinks...:D

 

Seriously, glad you got a vacation. I am sorry that it was not up to par with your other sailings. Looks like you guys have a great cruise to look forward to and you will appreciate it even more!

[Medtech2]

It was amazing.... In the MDR there was one couple who got so upset because they could not get a window seat... It was about 6pm and hour after the MDR opened, if you want a window seat get there early... We never got seated near the window, but we never had a problem seeing whats going on outside...

I don't understand why the people who wanted a window seat did not tell the hostess and then step aside to wait for one to open up....

[MikeandAmy]

Sounds like you and Amy need a make up for it cruise( hint a aft ph is still open next to us on the Star !:p) I hear that buckets of beer are real easy to get, and there is this girl named Cherie who will tell the rude casino peeps what she thinks...:D

 

Seriously, glad you got a vacation. I am sorry that it was not up to par with your other sailings. Looks like you guys have a great cruise to look forward to and you will appreciate it even more!

 

 

We are looking at the Epic in 2013 for the same date you are booked :)

 

What cat did you book?

[Nalagh]

We are looking at the Epic in 2013 for the same date you are booked :)

 

What cat did you book?

 

That would be wonderful!! Right now we are booked for an S5, but considering a DOS as it is my 40th birthday and Daniel will have just had his.

[MikeandAmy]

That would be wonderful!! Right now we are booked for an S5, but considering a DOS as it is my 40th birthday and Daniel will have just had his.

 

This will be our 15th wedding anniversary!!! 2 parties in one lol...

 

email me at michael.vincent08@gmail.com

[SeaShark]

Thanks for sharing your experiences on the Sun.

 

I completely understand your comments about rude cruisers...one of my big pet peeves (are there other kinds? ;)) is people who insist on trying to get on an elevator before the people that are already on it can get off...they just have no patience what-so-ever.

 

 

I was very surprised by some of the posted responses to your review. Responding to rude people by being rude yourself doesn't seem to be a productive solution. It just seems like it will only breed more rudeness.

[MikeandAmy]

Thanks for sharing your experiences on the Sun.

 

I completely understand your comments about rude cruisers...one of my big pet peeves (are there other kinds? ;)) is people who insist on trying to get on an elevator before the people that are already on it can get off...they just have no patience what-so-ever.

 

 

I was very surprised by some of the posted responses to your review. Responding to rude people by being rude yourself doesn't seem to be a productive solution. It just seems like it will only breed more rudeness.

 

I had a few words with the woman in the casino because she would not stop, the casino manager was standing there when I did and she understood... The one who pushed her way in front of us at the elevator I said something but she laughed as the door was closing.... My wife had to calm me down a few times, there is no reason to be rude, we all are trying to get to the same place... They almost need to have an orderly line to the elevators and have someone from NCL controlling them...

[aknz]

That's the conclusion I've come to and it's not just on cruises.

 

People allow their children to run around and cause problems, never reprimanding them for rudeness. This is going to give us a generation of rude, "entitled" people who honestly think it's their right to go first, push in, sit when an elderly person is standing etc etc.

 

How about the "watch sales" (this was on the Epic) where you get watches marked at $70-100 for $20. I refused to go but my daughter was determined she wanted one for her boyfriend so she and her brother set off. When they got there there was an absolute scrum of people with baskets, grabbing all of the watches they could. We went to find her after half an hour or so to find that she was literally battered an bruised, people had pushed and shoved etc. She managed to hold onto a watch she wanted and proceeded to buy it. When we got back to the room, she took it out to show us and guess what, the second hand had fallen off. Poor thing had to go back through the crowds to get a refund. Moral of the story "you gets what you pays for". I do wonder what people do with the seven watch sets they buy?

 

My husband is of the school of thought that one must make a point of telling people when they are rude but I believe it makes no difference. Just try not to let it ruin your vacation (golly, the American word just popped out, I mean holiday, must be spending too long on cruise critic). I just remind myself with a shake of the head that there's no accounting for people!:D

[SeaShark]

I had a few words with the woman in the casino because she would not stop, the casino manager was standing there when I did and she understood... The one who pushed her way in front of us at the elevator I said something but she laughed as the door was closing.... My wife had to calm me down a few times, there is no reason to be rude, we all are trying to get to the same place... They almost need to have an orderly line to the elevators and have someone from NCL controlling them...

 

Yes, but the last portion of my comment was prefaced by: "I was very surprised by some of the posted responses to your review.". I was not commenting on anything that you had posted.

[MikeandAmy]

Yes, but the last portion of my comment was prefaced by: "I was very surprised by some of the posted responses to your review.". I was not commenting on anything that you had posted.

 

Oh I understand.... I was just making a comment...

[Nalagh]

This will be our 15th wedding anniversary!!! 2 parties in one lol...

 

email me at michael.vincent08@gmail.com

 

:D Sounds like a week of fun and parties!! I will email you.