All about a SUN cruise

[Pluto_fan]

The only negative thing I can say about the Sun is they made me get off when my cruise was over.:mad::rolleyes::D

 

Agree 100%!!

 

I guess I had to get off so that Fitzemt could get on...we had the trip right before yours.

 

We loved the Sun and would return in a heartbeat. :)

[JerseyJaguar]

I've only been on one NCL cruise, and it was the Sun in the Baltics. I have had bigger balcony rooms, with nicer bathrooms, but I've never enjoyed a balcony room that much. I could lie on the bed and still see out perfectly. I was so tired when we were going through the archipelago out of Stockholm (because I'd awaken at 3:30am when we headed in) that I was napping on and off, but whenever I woke up I could see all the islands, sometimes so close it was amazing. Never had sightlines like that before.

 

I thought the crew was great, if I'd pass my steward even off the ship in port he'd make a point of saying hello and asking how my day was.

 

After reading a lot of NCL reviews I'd figured the food wouldn't be so good, but I was satisfied with it. Ate in the dining room most nights unless I got back to the ship late or was eating in the speciality restaurants.

 

btw, Le Bistro is worth the extra $20, that was amazing. East/West steakhouse was good too, but service was very slow. I wouldn't pay for the Japanese place again, compared to the other two very overpriced and not enough food for the price.

 

Enjoy!!

[chipsy57]

Agree 100%!!

 

I guess I had to get off so that Fitzemt could get on...we had the trip right before yours.

 

We loved the Sun and would return in a heartbeat. :)

 

It's the same to us because we've been also a cruise before Fitzemt ... :D

 

Our only negative thing about the SUN was the strange food arrangement (noodles-fruites-hot food-bread-salad-sweets) and the chaos at standing in line at the small area at the Garden Cafe.

 

The arrangement at the Garden Cafe on the JADE is much better

 

Greetings from Austria

chipsy57

[Jamisonke]

Apparently, I'll be the only dissenting voice here regarding the Sun. We sailed her in 2006 for the first time on a 7-day Alaska cruise and loved her. We sailed her again in 2009 on a 19-day South America cruise and had a less enjoyable experience. She felt old and tired. She looked, to us, that she hadn't been well maintained. The hull was showing rust, carpets were tattered in spots and she felt unclean overall. The concierge on the Sun in 2009 was rude and we found the staff to be less welcoming than we had previously. We were taken aback when we didn't have the same impression we had only 3 years earlier. We didn't let those things ruin our trip, but we certainly noticed them. As for the Sun, we have decided to avoid her, opting for the Jewel class ships for now.

[DMH15]

Apparently, I'll be the only dissenting voice here regarding the Sun. We sailed her in 2006 for the first time on a 7-day Alaska cruise and loved her. We sailed her again in 2009 on a 19-day South America cruise and had a less enjoyable experience. She felt old and tired. She looked, to us, that she hadn't been well maintained. The hull was showing rust, carpets were tattered in spots and she felt unclean overall. The concierge on the Sun in 2009 was rude and we found the staff to be less welcoming than we had previously. We were taken aback when we didn't have the same impression we had only 3 years earlier. We didn't let those things ruin our trip, but we certainly noticed them. As for the Sun, we have decided to avoid her, opting for the Jewel class ships for now.

 

Wow, I was on the Sun in 2009 for S America and LOVED it! I had previously been on the Jewel and the Dawn, and both were great but the Sun is my fave. Our concierge was Karin G and she was incredible. My mom and I both thought she was phenomenal! We did not feel the Sun was run down or unclean. We are returning next March to our same, favorite stern PH.

 

I am not disputing your take on the Sun just pointing out how differently two people can see the same thing.

[chipsy57]

Apparently, I'll be the only dissenting voice here regarding the Sun. We sailed her in 2006 for the first time on a 7-day Alaska cruise and loved her. We sailed her again in 2009 on a 19-day South America cruise and had a less enjoyable experience. She felt old and tired. She looked, to us, that she hadn't been well maintained. The hull was showing rust, carpets were tattered in spots and she felt unclean overall. ...

 

The SUN was refurbished in 2011 and for me (my 2nd cruise after the JADE in April 2012) it seems that the SUN was in better condition than the younger JADE but I don't know how the SUN looks liked before the renovation :confused:

 

Greetings from Austria

chipsy57

[Jamisonke]

I am not disputing your take on the Sun just pointing out how differently two people can see the same thing.

 

We had other problems on the cruise and found Karin to be unhelpful. It is interesting to get two very different opinions.

[Jamisonke]

The SUN was refurbished in 2011 and for me (my 2nd cruise after the JADE in April 2012) it seems that the SUN was in better condition than the younger JADE but I don't know how the SUN looks liked before the renovation :confused:

 

And interestingly, we absolutely lived the Jade. So much so that we sailed her back to back in 2010 and 2011.

[Clay Clayton]

The SUN was refurbished in 2011 and for me (my 2nd cruise after the JADE in April 2012) it seems that the SUN was in better condition than the younger JADE but I don't know how the SUN looks liked before the renovation :confused:

 

Greetings from Austria

chipsy57

 

Having sailed just before and not too long after the refurbishment, it didn't make any big differences to most of the spaces. The non-suite staterooms weren't touched. The public spaces got new carpet and all but it was to my eyes, not much different that it was before. While I love the Sun, I was really hoping for a bow to stern upgrade - modernize it. But given the economy I can understand why they only dry docked it for upgrades that improved their bottom line - more fuel efficient systems, etc.

[trishbebears]

Although I haven't been on that many cruises, I think that there are 6 staterooms on the Sun that are probably the best on any cruise line: 2 owner suites, 2 balconies & 2 minis on Deck 11, totally forward.

 

We were in mini-suite 11001. It is the pool deck, totally forward and above the bridge. It is also right in the middle of the ship. What ever the Captain & others on the bridge see, that is what you see from the balcony. We had a totally fabulous view of Coit Tower in San Francisco on the day we departed and a wonderful sail under the Golden Gate Bridge--even better than on a friends 65 ft. sail boat--because we were so much higher. :D

 

My only complaint was that the buffet in the Garden Cafe wasn't laid out very user friendly. :( It was generally a continuous, meandering buffet and you had to start at one end and continue to the other. I didn't eat there very often. This was in Oct 2009 and I heard it was to be changed in 2010.