10 Days of Sun on the Sun

[Honeysquared]

This was our 2nd NCL cruise, the first being the Dawn to Bermuda in Sept 2011. We booked this cruise as our honeymoon, mostly for the ports and length. After reading a bunch of what seemed like negative stuff about the Sun, I was a little leery. They couldn't be further from the truth. The Sun is a wonderful ship, doesn't show its age (like a lot of people think) and offers everything we needed. However, I think I found the people that write those crazy things. I overheard one man complain to his wife how it absolutely ridiculous you couldn't pull up your charges on your TV. Really? That's what you worry about on a cruise? I also overheard a woman tell someone else from another ship that "nothing is together onboard. It's all spread out" ????????????? First off, the Sun is almost the smallest ship in the fleet, so nothing is ever really that far. Secondly, what is the expectation? Everything to be on Deck 6? Other than that, I didn't hear too many other negative things.

 

Embarkation - we arrived around 10:30, flew right through security and check in and then waited until 11:45 for our group to be called. Flew right in, and was on board by 12. Rooms were ready by 1:15. The crew on the Sun is awesome, simply put. Everyone smiling and saying hello, making sure that you are taken care of.

 

Food - ranged from good to excellent. Our expectation is that not every meal is going to be out of this world. We did the buffet for breakfast 5 days and Seven Seas the other 5. Both were equally as good. We only did Four Seasons for dinner because I wanted to wear shorts and flip flops at night. Service was excellent. We did sushi one night - excellent and cheap ($17 filled us up.) We did Tepanyaki one night - best $ we spent. Food was phenomenal and the show was great. Then we did Il Addagio twice. Best value on the ship. $15pp and the food was amazing.

 

Casino - usually smoky. As a former smoker, I finally realized how gross it is. But, its a casino, and I expected it. Had fun playing 3 card, kind of disappointed there was no Caribbean Stud.

 

Shows - were mostly good. Terrance the hypnotist was funny. Comedian, I didn't find funny at all. The two musicals were well done with some good music.

 

Other thoughts - The observation lounge is a beautiful spot. Plus 2 for 1 everyday from 4-6. Buckets of beer were NOT included in this (I thought they were).

Pools seemed larger than the Dawn. Usual issue of people throwing towels on seats by 7:30am.

Las Ramblas - disappointed in the scope of the Tapas. NCL could hit a home run with this type of place. We fully expected to go there every night for some apps before dinner, but only went once.

Every ship should have a Great Outdoors.

Every day in port, they would roll out a carpet, place some chairs and a couch on it, under a tent and serve water, juice and cookies. Thought that was a very nice touch to come back to. No other ship we ran into did this.

Captain and staff were visible and great, except for the 3 man crew that couldn't figure out how to drive the rescue boat. The captain had spotted a life raft off the coast of the Dominican Republic. When the crew went into the water, they seemed frazzled and started going in circles, literally. The boat's steering did not work correctly. Needless to say, the life boat was empty, thankfully.

Music everywhere was very well done. A little of something for everyone.

Front desk was helpful in finding one of our suitcases. The new luggage tags you print out at home are not a good idea. It's computer paper. People do not handle luggage with a lot of respect. Turns out, it had come off, and someone replaced with a tag of 9033. We were in 8024. We had it by 10pm the first night, so no big deal.

 

Overall - we loved the ship, the crew and the islands (next review). I don't think there is anything we would have done differently, or wished we had. NCL continues to be our favorite cruise line.

 

For people wondering if you should book this cruise or this ship, well, it's up to you. It's extremely clean and well run. Do you need to see your charges on your TV? If you do, then this ship is not for you. If you can look past that, you won't regret your choice.

[Honeysquared]

St. Thomas - we docked early and we went straight to Red Hook and caught the 9am to St. John. Went straight to Trunk Bay. Awesome place and not too crowded considering there were 6 ships in port. Had lunch at Woody's, shopped and caught the 2pm back. Very easy to do yourself.

 

Dominica - we tried to get on a tour to Trafalgar Falls and the beach, but it sold out. Taxi drivers outside of the gate were a little annoying, but very nice. Just say no thanks, and they thank you for coming to the island. We walked around the shops/tents - mostly junk. Had a few beers on the porch of a nearby hotel and that was about it.

 

Barbados - what a beautiful island with incredibly nice people. We did the Copacabana Beach Day. Beach was nice, got a free drink and a mini tour. If we were to go back, we would get our own taxi and go to the Boatyard. Much bigger and more to eat. Probably cost the same or a little less to do that.

 

St. Lucia - did the mud bath/catamaran ride. Awesome. Long tour (over 6 hours) but well worth it. You see a good part of the island, get good info and some unbelievable pictures. Mud baths are hot, but fun to do. Catamaran was cool too. One thing you have to try (we were told by a friend to do it), when we stopped to swim, locals (vendors as they like to call them) come up in kayaks. Get one to cut a coconut up for you and drink the water. It's amazing, nothing like you get here in bottles. We loved this island, maybe the best of them all.

 

St. Maarten - went to Phillipsburg on our own in the am. I find the taxi people to be very annoying. I appear to be the only one. Everyone loves this island. Downtown is clean, and if you like to shop, this is the place (I get bored in about 5 min, so I could care less). We had booked an afternoon beach bash to Orient beach. Nice little trip. Had 2 hours or so at the beach. And free rum punch. As much as you could handle. Waves were huge, and they were actually letting people back out ahead of time because of this. Nice beach and a good time.

[BEACHBARB]

We'll be on the Sun 2/6 - where did you dock in St. Thomas?

[Sauer-kraut]

Glad you liked the Sun, she's a special ship if you get along without a rock climbing wall and an account on your TV ;)

[Honeysquared]

We'll be on the Sun 2/6 - where did you dock in St. Thomas?

 

We docked at Crown Bay. There were 4 other ships at Havensight (including the Epic). I have no idea why we went there vs the other, probably timing. When we got off we were the only one there, when we got back, RCCL had a monster docked next to us.

[heels/colts]

Glad to here you loved the sun.We will be on her in October for honeymoon, cant wait first time on NCL.

How long did it take to get to red hook.

[tiggerfan616]

We'll be on the Sun 2/6 - where did you dock in St. Thomas?

 

 

Beachbarb head over and check out the Roll Call for the 2/6 sailing we have a great bunch of people and a very active roll call. M&G has been scheduled, we are also having a slot pull and cabin crawl/poker run.

 

Stop in and say hi!

[welove2cruise*]

I read the two for one buckets were in the Sports Bar. Just out of curiosity..could you order 4 or 5 beers during 2 for 1 and get them all left unopened?

[Karysa]

Thanks for the great detailed review. I was on the Sun on the New Years cruise which was the other route. I had many of the same observations that you had. My official review has been posted on the cruise review board.

 

Since we are going to do the 10 day route in March I am interested to hear if Crowne Bay is the usual pier for this route. On our 11 day we docked at Havensight.

 

Glad to hear that you had a wonderful cruise.:)

[NMLady]

We were on the Sun for 33 days, b2b2b cruises, and loved it. I'm glad you loved it as much as we did.

[BlueJai]

The Sun is my favourite ship and I loved reading your comments. We are doing the 11 day next month and I was interested in where you docked in St. Thomas. We have only ever docked at Havensight (sp?), but the pictures I have seen show the Sun in the other area. What is there when you get off the ship? Did you need to take a taxi to get to the ferry?

Thanks again for your review!

Jai

[mafig]

What kind of cabin were you in? Can you describe its condition?

:)

[Honeysquared]

Glad to here you loved the sun.We will be on her in October for honeymoon, cant wait first time on NCL.

How long did it take to get to red hook.

 

Since we docked at Crown Bay which is about 5-10 further than Havensight, and we got picked up at 8am with traffic probably took about 35 minutes.

[Honeysquared]

I read the two for one buckets were in the Sports Bar. Just out of curiosity..could you order 4 or 5 beers during 2 for 1 and get them all left unopened?

 

They did have a 2 for 1 in the sports bar during the Patriots game. I heard the bartender say that because it was the last NFL game of the day, it was 2 for 1. I did not see or hear anyone getting a free bucket. I had already ordered one when they turned it into 2 for 1, so I missed out. At the observation lounge, you could order 3 and get 3 free. I did that a few times, the bartender up there is awesome. Keep in mind, the 2 for 1 is only domestic beer and well booze. They also offer a red and white wine, which is a house wine. No frozen drinks or shots.

[Honeysquared]

The Sun is my favourite ship and I loved reading your comments. We are doing the 11 day next month and I was interested in where you docked in St. Thomas. We have only ever docked at Havensight (sp?), but the pictures I have seen show the Sun in the other area. What is there when you get off the ship? Did you need to take a taxi to get to the ferry?

Thanks again for your review!

Jai

 

I'm not quite sure why we docked there. I happened to be awake when we pulled into St. Thomas around 6:30 and 3 ships (that I could see), were already docked at Havensight. So maybe they pulled in earlier and got the better spot? By the time we got off a little before 8, we were the only ones at Crowne Bay. There were 6 ships in port that day, and someone gets booted to the other place. There is some shopping and a little outdoor market there. Mostly jewelery and some clothing places. You will need to take a taxi to get anywhere from there. The taxi we took to Red Hook was $11/pp one way. If you do dock at Crowne Bay, look at the rocks as you are walking by, there are usually giant iguanas just hanging out there.

[Honeysquared]

What kind of cabin were you in? Can you describe its condition?

:)

 

We were in 8024, a port side balcony. I felt the room was a bit bigger than the balcony we had on the Dawn. The bathroom seemed to be smaller. I'm 6'1" and the shower turned out to be a challenge for me. Besides that, the room was clean. We did have a wet spot under the ac vent one day, told our room steward about it and they had it cleaned up and dry by the time we went to bed. Also got chocolate covered strawberries out of it. Not a bad deal. The balcony had a door instead of a sliding glass door, and I actually like that better. Balcony size itself seemed to be the same as the Dawn.

[heels/colts]

Due you have any pictures of your room. Honeysqared

[Karysa]

I'm not quite sure why we docked there. I happened to be awake when we pulled into St. Thomas around 6:30 and 3 ships (that I could see), were already docked at Havensight. So maybe they pulled in earlier and got the better spot? By the time we got off a little before 8, we were the only ones at Crowne Bay. There were 6 ships in port that day, and someone gets booted to the other place. There is some shopping and a little outdoor market there. Mostly jewelery and some clothing places. You will need to take a taxi to get anywhere from there. The taxi we took to Red Hook was $11/pp one way. If you do dock at Crowne Bay, look at the rocks as you are walking by, there are usually giant iguanas just hanging out there.

 

I hope that we dock here on our 10 day Sun cruise in March. I have never been to Water Island USVI and the ferry to it leaves from Crowne Bay which would make it a different and inexpensive day in St. Thomas for us.:)

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for your review, glad you had a good time.

[plank]

We'll be on the Sun 2/6 - where did you dock in St. Thomas?

 

Hey Beach Barb, Definitely come visit over at the roll call! Nice folks and fun things planned:) Peggy

[sonicbuffalo]

Thanks for the post....we're doing the 11 day in October. ...sounds like everyone enjoyed the ship!

[2boyzmom]

Thank you for the great review. We are on the 11 day sailing on the Sun in March. I agree that you cannot make everyone happy. I am looking forward to a smaller sized ship. My kids are 11 and 13 and I feel more comfortable with a ship this size and giving them a little freedom to venture out. I love the idea of the observation deck bar area. So many ships have stuck treadmills in this space which is a real shame. I have read from others that the tapas were not great, but heard the sangria was excellent! For other cruisers, there are a few sites you can find that will tell you how many ships will be in port the day you arrive. That gives you an idea how early to venture out and beat the beach crowds along with potential change in docking like in St.Thomas.

[Karysa]

Thank you for the great review. We are on the 11 day sailing on the Sun in March. I agree that you cannot make everyone happy. I am looking forward to a smaller sized ship. My kids are 11 and 13 and I feel more comfortable with a ship this size and giving them a little freedom to venture out. I love the idea of the observation deck bar area. So many ships have stuck treadmills in this space which is a real shame. I have read from others that the tapas were not great, but heard the sangria was excellent! For other cruisers, there are a few sites you can find that will tell you how many ships will be in port the day you arrive. That gives you an idea how early to venture out and beat the beach crowds along with potential change in docking like in St.Thomas.

 

Where can you find where you will be docking in St. Thomas? I did read that we will be there with a port load of over 21,000 people on 7 ships so I know that it will be busy!:)

[jdvmd]

Have sailed on the Sun twice and love that ship! So glad you had a great time!

[2boyzmom]

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