Review of Norwegian Sun 11/4-11/14

[bugspost]

This was our first time on NCL......only our 3rd cruise ever. Let me start by saying that I truly believe the worst day on a cruise is always better than the best day at home...HA HA

 

We did enjoy our cruise though. Starting w/the ease of embarking the ship...very organized. When we got onboard, our cabin wasn't ready but our steward let us store our carryons under the bed & off we went to explore the ship.

 

The staff on the ship were exceptionally friendly & helpful. Cruise director Jamie was very good. Beantown Brian, although a goof ball was entertaining. The only area we found lacking was the Seven Seas dining room. We only ate breakfast & lunch in there but staff rarely smiled & seemed lacking in organization. Perhaps they were better at dinner. We ate in Four Seasons for dinner & staff was excellent there. Lobster dinner was the first night on our voyage. Lobsters were small but just ask for three as I did...HA HA!

 

Food on the ship was alright.......desserts were lacking but food definitely better in MDR than the buffet. Buffet not terrible but not as good. Casino had nice little buffet from 11pm-1am & poolside BBQ was good also. Room service menu is lacking w/not much to choose from but did enjoy the BLT. We also had fruit, croissants (chocolate ones yummy) every morning on our balcony w/coffee & tea. There is a coffee maker in your cabin.BUT the sports bar was great...wings, fish & chips, salads, burgers, etc. Also, happy hour from 4-6pm was great deal. For you beer drinkers, you could buy bucket,,6 beers for price of 5 & get 6 free........so for the price of 5 beers,,,you got 12.

 

We only tried the Brazilian steakhouse for specialty dining & it was exceptional. So much food. The salad bar alone was a meal. You better like meat if you go there. Chicken, sausage, beef ribs, pork ribs, lamb chops, filet mignon, sirloin fixed 3 ways, & glazed pineapple all brought to table on spits.

 

I really liked the cabin.......we were in balcony cabin. Lots of room & storage. The shower was a lot better than Princess. Didn't rub up against the walls or the shower curtain.

 

Our room steward seemed a bit rushed & frazzled. He did have 19 cabins to clean every day and many days forgot our towels but we just grabbed some off the cart so no biggie. He was friendly though.

 

Entertainment was okay. Did not enjoy the Rock On show but the ventriloquist comedian, Duo that did acrobatics & the comedian were very good. Also, the crew talent show was a blast. The White HOT party was a lot of fun. Dazzles was a great place to go for great talent.......The singer was from georgia w/her hubby on keyboards.........she had an amazing voice & her tribute to Divas was awesome.

 

We visited 5 islands, St. Thomas,Dominica,St. Lucia,Barbados & St. Maarten. We only did two excursions thru NCL. On St. Lucia, we took catamarran to Pitons & enjoyed it alot. On Barbados, we went to Copacabana Beach which was wonderful. The other islands, we did our own thing, shopping & beaches.

 

Overall, we had a wonderful time & will cruise w/NCL again. We took advantage of the $100 OBC & put down $250 deposit for future cruise. You have 4 years to use it. :) We will try another NCL ship though just to compare it to the Sun. Although Sun is older, we liked the size of it very much.

 

Disembarking was a breeze. Really like that you can take your own bags off ship instead of having to put them out night before although those that did said it was easy finding their bags.

Edited November 17, 2012 by bugspost

[david_sobe]

Welcome home

Thanks for the wonderful review

[DMH15]

I will be on the Sun for second time in March. I always enjoy reading reviews on this fine little ship. Glad you had fun.

[ksimpso3]

Thanks for your review. We were on the Sun in 2008 and loved it. It is smaller than some others, but it was probably our favorite. I want to do the itinerary you did soon!

[bugspost]

Thanks for your review. We were on the Sun in 2008 and loved it. It is smaller than some others, but it was probably our favorite. I want to do the itinerary you did soon!

 

It was perfect itinerary since 1st 2 days at sea........5 days hitting an island & last 2 days at sea........loved it!!

[relaxatsea]

Thanks so much for your review!

We've been on the Sun twice and are going again next month.

Can't wait to be back on the High Seas!

[susan33]

Thanks for the review. We really like the Sun and will do B2B southern Caribbean in Nov-Dec starting 2-weeks from today. We are happy to hear a favorable review from you.

[jdvmd]

Sounds like you enjoyed yourself! Have spent 23 days on the Sun and love her! Thanks for the review!

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the review!

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for the nice review of your cruise. Really enjoyed it, glad you had a good time.

[Belfairbelle]

Thanks Bugspost for the nice review! We will be going on the same cruise in January. Wondering about how far the ship is docked from town (Charlotte Amalie) on St. Thomas and if there are shuttles, etc.

 

Also, what kinds of things did you do on the other islands when you didn't do the ship's tours? Thanks again. Carol D.

[doxiegal]

Thanks Bugspost...We were also on the same cruise as you...we loved the Sun!!!! The only complaints we had, were we thought the dining rooms were a bit slow on 2 out of the 4 nights we ate in there. Also thought the pool band Titanium was awful.....Aside from that the cruise was very nice, entertainment was good, Ship was clean and staff very friendly, ports were very nice and embarking and disembarking were well organized as well. All in all we had a great cruise!!!

[TrinaLC]

Also loved the Sun! Can't wait to return.

 

Sports bar is great - drawing a blank at the name of its great afternoon/evening bar tender, who does all the card and similar tricks. I've never "hung out" at a bar before, but he made us want to do just that!

 

Also love the al fresco dining aft...

[cndycruiser]

What did you think of the pool band Titanium? I love a good pool band! Another poster on here gave it a poor review! Last year on the Star we had a wonderful one!! We go in Jan. so if they aren't any good, sure hope there is a new one by then

[msboo18]

Thanks for the review! We will be on her soon! Any experience with the $49/day drink package? Wondering if it includes champagne (mimosas), pool side service, casino service, etc...

[bugspost]

Thanks Bugspost for the nice review! We will be going on the same cruise in January. Wondering about how far the ship is docked from town (Charlotte Amalie) on St. Thomas and if there are shuttles, etc.

 

Also, what kinds of things did you do on the other islands when you didn't do the ship's tours? Thanks again. Carol D.

 

 

St. Thomas..........they did have open cabs......to go into town...I think it was $4 each way. We just stayed there at port shops & restaurants.....many that went downtown......said it was VERY crowded & more expensive then the shops in port. Talked to a shop owner in port (he had two shops in port & two in town) Anyhow,,,,,you can find everything in port there.

 

On St. Maarten, you have to take water taxi from port...we just strolled down the beach there & ended up getting two lounge chairs, umbrella & bucket of beer & spent day there..........very relaxing. Dominica, we walked around at stalls & shops & again had a few local beers. Many did take waterfall & rainforest tours..........not from ship........some liked it....others did not...a lot of walking I guess.

[bugspost]

What did you think of the pool band Titanium? I love a good pool band! Another poster on here gave it a poor review! Last year on the Star we had a wonderful one!! We go in Jan. so if they aren't any good, sure hope there is a new one by then

I thought Titanium was pretty good actually.........but the band in Dazzles was amazing...........she had an awesome voice.

[bugspost]

Thanks for the review! We will be on her soon! Any experience with the $49/day drink package? Wondering if it includes champagne (mimosas), pool side service, casino service, etc...

 

Did not do the drink package as happy hour in sports bar met our needs PLUS I earned free drink card in casino...........so was able to get drinks in casino to take to shows, pool, etc.

[SMSACE6]

Very nice review! Thanks for posting it.:)

[cndycruiser]

Thanks for the info about Dazzles. Will check it out for sure! Did you ever see any deals for Specialty restaurants. I have heard that on some 7 day cruises they had a $79 deal that allow you to go to six of the pay restaurants for that one fee.

[bugspost]

Thanks for the info about Dazzles. Will check it out for sure! Did you ever see any deals for Specialty restaurants. I have heard that on some 7 day cruises they had a $79 deal that allow you to go to six of the pay restaurants for that one fee.

 

did not see any deals like that.........only 5 on Sun....plus sushi one which is $15....if you pay for each one...would be $80.....$95 including sushi one......before we cruised..........they offered pre package for all...........but it really only saved a few bucks........decided not to commit to going to all of them............we only did the Brazilian steakhouse...well, worth the money but did hear the french Le Bistro & italian II Idagio restaurants were excellent.

Also, the Teppanyaki was the MOST popular one.......constantly busy. Cook at table like Benihani's.......AFlying shrimp. Onion volcanoes. Twirling knives. The sizzles and surprises never cease at our authentic Japanese Hibachi restaurant. Sit around a lively shared table as a skillful chef slices, chops and grills steak, seafood and chicken on a large steel grill right before your eyes. Our chilled, sake-infused Wasabi Cocktail will have you flipping too.

[DMH15]

Tepenyaki on the Sun is very small and sells out early.

 

Il Adagio is the most beautiful and intimate. It is also the venue for suite breakfast and lunch.

 

Moderno, previously Pacific Heights is beautiful at night with lots if windows.

 

Sports bar fun hangout.

 

Las Ramblas tapas a yawn for us.

 

Le Bistro is my favorite NCL restaurant, after they modified Il Adagio. It used to be the tops.

[bugspost]

Here are a few pics from the ship: our balcony cabin, Brazilian steakhouse, the pool, White hot party & waiters singing last night on cruise.

 

[bigjohnwvu]

Thanks for the review. Counting the days for our departure. Wondering about the NCL beach excursion at Barbados. DW and I thinking about this or doing our own thing. Would love to hear more about your experience.

[bugspost]

Thanks for the review. Counting the days for our departure. Wondering about the NCL beach excursion at Barbados. DW and I thinking about this or doing our own thing. Would love to hear more about your experience.

 

 

We went to Copacabana Beach vs the other one offered by NCL. Nice beach,,got two chairs w/umbrella & free rum punch...(only one per person) They have changing rooms & restrooms plus they have food to buy & beer is $2 a bottle...tried their local brand BANKS. It was 29.99 per person for the excursion.........maybe you could grab a cab & get a bit cheaper but I really think it was reasonable. We spent almost 4 hours on beach. Course, peddlers come up w/jewelry, dresses, etc. at first but in Barbados they all have to be licensed.......they left you alone after initial interaction. The beach was very clean.....the sand wonderful & water awesome! :)