Sun Newbie

[mrsp]

:cool: We are seasoned cruisers on many of the other lines but never have gone on NCL. We choose this for being able to drive to New Orleans and since we will have a 23 month old with us (our one and only adopted granddaughter so there is no quedstion about leaving her, we waited 15 years for her), this is the only line that does not charge for under 2, just port tax.

 

That being said, here is my question: Please tell me what you like best about the SUN, we will be on the 9th floor, out is a double and the kids in a triple.

 

I am somewhat leary about the food since I haven't really read anything good about the food. I love the food on Carnival and Princess, does it comapre?

 

I have read most everything else is comparable to the other lines. PLEASE, NEED YOUR IMPUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:) :)

[KeystoneCruiser]

Although I have never been on the Sun, I have been on other NCL ships and the most important difference is the Freestyle Dining.

 

With Freestyle Dining:

1.) You do not have set dining times. If you want to eat in the main dining rooms (free), you just show up at the door when you want between 5:30 and 9:30 p.m. ) and tell the maitre'd how many and he/she will seat you just like a regular restaurant.

 

2.) You do not have tablemates. You can ask to be seated with others or you can dine alone.

 

3.) There are serveral specialty restuarants to choose from offering steak, tex-mex, italian, asian, etc. Some of these are free and others have a cover charge of $15-25 per person. These also require advance reservations that you can make while on board.

 

4.) You do not have to dress up for dinner. Resort Casual is always accepted in all the restaurants. Resort Casual means polo shirts, kahkis, sun dresses, etc.. Basically no jeans, t-shirts, shorts, cut-offs, etc. in the dining areas after 5:00 p.m.. There is an OPTIONAL formal night where you may dress up if you want, but you will find that only about 50% of the passengers dress up.

 

5.) There is a buffet that you can go to for all meals which has no dress code. There is also room service.

 

6.) There is no tipping. You will be charged a service charge of $10 per person per day ($5 for children), which is automatically added to your on board account and this goes to pay gratuities for those who provided you service.

 

7.) You can remain in your cabin until your color tag is called to disembark. No need to go to the public areas and be herded around like the other cruise lines do.

 

 

I have always found the food to be good in the restaurants on the NCL ships that I have been on, but when it comes to food, I am easy to please. I have found the buffets to not be as good, but they are buffets, what can you expect!! In addition to many rotating selections each night, they always offer steak, grilled chicken, baked potatoe and Ceasar Salads in addition each night. My mother in law raves about their soups.

 

Personally, I don't eat in the specialty restuarants that have a cover charge because I refuse to pay for what I believe should be free. I have eaten in the free specialty restaurants and they are very good.

 

Hope this helps.

[Zeno]

I have been on the Sun and I liked it very much - so much that I will be on it again next January. The food is fine. I enjoyed the waffle and omlet stations at the buffet for breakfast. We only ate in the dining rooms for dinner and except for one appetizer (that was promptly replaced with another) everything was good to very good. The only entree I would NOT recommend (I had it on my first NCL cruise) is the lamb kebab - really not good. Although oddly enough all other lamb dishes were great. My husband is a pretty fussy eater and he always seemed to find something he enjoyed.

[newmexicoNita]

:cool: We are seasoned cruisers on many of the other lines but never have gone on NCL. We choose this for being able to drive to New Orleans and since we will have a 23 month old with us (our one and only adopted granddaughter so there is no quedstion about leaving her, we waited 15 years for her), this is the only line that does not charge for under 2, just port tax.

 

That being said, here is my question: Please tell me what you like best about the SUN, we will be on the 9th floor, out is a double and the kids in a triple.

 

I am somewhat leary about the food since I haven't really read anything good about the food. I love the food on Carnival and Princess, does it comapre?

 

I have read most everything else is comparable to the other lines. PLEASE, NEED YOUR IMPUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:) :)

I have a couple of comments to make and I admit I am a true NCL loyalist. I have cruised on all the mass marketed lines with the exception of Princess. Depending on the ship and your tastes foods are about the same in my view. What NCL does well, Carnival doesn't, what Carnival does well, Princess doesn't. I could go on and on, but I think if you have read reviews as you say you have, which I am sure you wouldn't say it otherwise, you would be hard pressed to find anyone knocking the food on the Sun. We do think the food on Celebrity, dinners and lunches in the dining room are a little better, but we like the buffets on NCL better than any line. We are not big buffet eaters and don't think any would win a gourmet award, nor would we expect them to. Food is subjective as we all know. Of course the added feature for NCL is the various choices you have. Not only do you have the 2 dining rooms, you can choose to eat in the Light and healthy restaurant or the Tapa bar plus the nightly buffet or you can go with the specialty restaurants. BTW, traveling with a 23 month old is fine and no one should judge your decision. I think most of us just feel that the work involved may outweigh the pleasures as stated by many who have tried it. Have a wonderful family cruise. Don't worry about the food. Be sure and report back to us. NMNita

[newmexicoNita]

I have been on the Sun and I liked it very much - so much that I will be on it again next January. The food is fine. I enjoyed the waffle and omlet stations at the buffet for breakfast. We only ate in the dining rooms for dinner and except for one appetizer (that was promptly replaced with another) everything was good to very good. The only entree I would NOT recommend (I had it on my first NCL cruise) is the lamb kebab - really not good. Although oddly enough all other lamb dishes were great. My husband is a pretty fussy eater and he always seemed to find something he enjoyed.

Zeno, the lamb kabobs are not fit for a lamb to eat, I agree. After 7 NCL cruises this was the only dish I thought was awful. If you are accustome to eating ground lamb it would have been oK> Bad is right. I wish I had sent it back. NMNita

[SA Traveler]

We've not been on the Sun (we will be in February!) but were were on Pride of Aloha and I thought the food was fine. We also enjoyed Freestyle dining (and we did NOT expect to like it). On POA we really enjoyed the Italian specialty restaurant so we'll probably try the ones on the Sun. Our favorite line is Royal Caribbean but we've also been on Princess, HAL and a couple of others no longer sailing. We picked the Sun cruise for the itinerary and we expect we'll love it! Lou

[sally r]

We did a 21 day cruise on the Sun in April. It was our first NCL cruise in many years. We mostly cruise RCCL.

 

We loved freestyle. It was fantastic and so stress free. We also had some of the best service on the Sun. Our cabin attendants were wonderful. We had a mini suite on the aft (9078) and found some of the cabin amenities really nice. Good lighting, plenty of outlets and a coffee maker!

 

We did enjoy the meals. Had some of the best cuts of beef ever. The buffet was sometimes crowded but we just took our trays (or a waiter would!) over to the Sports Bar. We did spend a lot of time at the Sports Bar. They had a great menu and a wonderful view. I loved that they had little bags of popcorn in the afternoon.

 

I guess the downside of the Sun would be the size and age of the ship. She is a bit small, but then we were on her for quite a while. Did like that there were lots of small elevators as opposed to just a few large ones. Less stopping and lots faster. Guest Relations was a bit weird. It was like talking to the wall behind them.

 

Overall, it was a wonderful cruise and I know you will also enjoy yours!

[Zeno]

Zeno, the lamb kabobs are not fit for a lamb to eat, I agree. After 7 NCL cruises this was the only dish I thought was awful. If you are accustome to eating ground lamb it would have been oK> Bad is right. I wish I had sent it back. NMNita

 

We should start a movement to ban those lamb kebabs. Truly they are the only thing I had that I REALLY thought was not good (I sent back an appetizer on the Sun but that was strictly a matter of personal taste - my dh loved that same appetizer). When I was on the Sky, the lamb kebabs were the very first entree I had on the ship. I should have sent it back but I was already pretty much full after my appetizer and salad - so I did not bother. Luckily dh and our friend had ordered different things and they both loved their entrees or I would have been dreading my next entree in the dining room. I love lamb and after the vile kebabs I was somewhat nervous when I ordered another lamb entree later on in the week - I was so relieved when it was quite good.

[newmexicoNita]

We should start a movement to ban those lamb kebabs. Truly they are the only thing I had that I REALLY thought was not good (I sent back an appetizer on the Sun but that was strictly a matter of personal taste - my dh loved that same appetizer). When I was on the Sky, the lamb kebabs were the very first entree I had on the ship. I should have sent it back but I was already pretty much full after my appetizer and salad - so I did not bother. Luckily dh and our friend had ordered different things and they both loved their entrees or I would have been dreading my next entree in the dining room. I love lamb and after the vile kebabs I was somewhat nervous when I ordered another lamb entree later on in the week - I was so relieved when it was quite good.

when you are ready to start the movement I am ready to follow and what do you bet lots of others are. If nothing else, us just warning those getting ready to cruise may help. I will for sure mention them on our next comment card if they have them. LOL NMNita

[Kay and Hal]

We should start a movement to ban those lamb kebabs.

 

LOL! I personally don't see how/why anyone eats lamb to begin with, but then, maybe I am just a picky eater?:D

 

No offense meant to anyone who enjoys lamb, of course. I don't like it, and it doesn't seem (to me) to be something that many places could prepare well to begin with.