Just off the Sun not impressed....

[sjbdtz]

I agree with you on ship-size. I would rather see mid-sized new builds which could fit into most ports effortlessly.

 

Although I have never cruised on a mega ship, they seem to have crammed in smaller cabins, inadequate pool decks, public rooms and theaters. I would rather see the extra space on a mega ship, spent on larger public areas, with fewer but larger cabins. Just my opinion.

 

 

Those exist, on luxury lines.

 

 

For mainstream lines, with 'affordable' prices, it's a long-shot that they'll decide to forego the profit which might keep them afloat (pun intended), iin order to please a small percentage of people.

 

 

 

 

.

[tulch]

To the OP (and other responders), thank you for posting your review. It is unfortunate although not surprising, that posting negatives on an NCL board would draw out some defensive responses.

 

We started cruising on HAL. It was recommended to us by a multi-millionaire friend whose family always took HAL, including a "world" cruise every year. We hated it. We switched to RCL which was wonderful. We next tried NCL, which we felt was just as good but less expensive. We tried the CCL Splendor and Dream soon after they were launched. Again, wonderful!

 

We've found things we like and things we don't on almost every cruise. But we've become die-hard NCL fans because of their crews. The staff we've encountered on every NCL ship seem to "make" the cruise for us.

 

This will be our first trip on the Sun (three b2b's in January). (We tend toward slightly newer/larger Dawn- and Jewel-class.) We appreciate knowing what's not to be missed and the "skip it if you can" items. That's why these honest reviews really help out even those of us who think NCL cannot be beat. Thank you again for taking the time to post.

[dalgirl]

I hate that your first NCL cruise was on the Sun and I hate that having sailed on this ship you may never give NCL or one the newer ships a chance. As others have stated it is an older ship without all the upgrades and design qualities for freestyle that newer NCL ships have (that is why getting around the buffet was a problem). The NCL crews are wonderful and food is, as always, subjective. Having sailed on most of the NCL ships, I can also confirm that the Sun is one of our least favorite NCL ships - that "honor" goes to the Sky, even more outdated and in need of a complete overhaul than the Sun. The Pearl, Gem or Jewel while not as large are the new builds were built for freestyle and give a better picture of NCL.

 

However, having said that I also don't care for the Sun, we will be back on the Sun in Jan. 2016 for NCL's return to South America - itinerary trumps an older ship and I really do love NCL - more than I dislike the Sun.

 

We will have our first Celebrity cruise on the Millennium in April and knowing that it is not a new ship and having seen the negative reviews I am not expecting a lot from the ship. But I love to cruise and the ship is going where I want to go so I will give it a chance. I hope that you will give NCL another chance with another ship (NOT the Sky!). But if you don't there are enough cruiselines to keep you having a wonderful vacation at sea.

[Sauer-kraut]

Just a heads up about the SUN ... her cabins are basically the largest in the fleet. Sorry you found them small.

[luvcruzing]

I also sailed on the Sun last week. This was my ninth cruise with NCL, and the first one that I was disappointed in.

 

Food was pretty much what I've had on other ships, some good, some just okay. Skip the beef stroganoff on Saturday night if you can't tolerate spicy. My friend had it and was very uncomfortable the rest of the evening and the next day. Saturday's deep-fried mushroom appetizer was excellent (too bad there were only two). Prime rib one night was good. Didn't try the jerk chicken on another night.

 

Ate in Cagney's one night. I thought it was good. I had the 16 oz. ribeye steak - excellent, but I could only eat half. Such a shame. My friend had the 8 oz. filet, which was also excellent. Can't remember the vegetables or dessert. My friend had the potato soup and had to send it back, because it was not very warm. I had the shrimp cocktail. Three large shrimp - very good.

 

We had a balcony cabin, which I thought was pretty similar in size to the other older ships, except for the bathroom. It was very small with one of those round showers with the shower curtain that wraps itself around you, and one of those hose type hair dryers. I asked for a bar of soap for the shower - never got it.

 

Lunch on embarkation (which was a breeze - checked in and walked onto the ship without any waiting around 12:30) day was in the Four Seasons dining room, as well as breakfast on debarkation morning. We ate all our breakfasts in the MDR (Seven Seas). No complaints. I ate lunch a couple of times at the buffet, mostly a bowl of soup and a small salad. One day I had a chicken filet in a mushroom gravy which was excellent.

 

My friend watched a couple of the movies that were aired in Dazzles. Said unless you were sitting in the front row, it was difficult to see. Most of the ship was extremely cold to us.

 

My main complaint is the entertainment in the Stardust Lounge. Two comedians, Noodles (mediocre) and Thien Fu (pretty good, but sometimes difficult to understand) and the rest of the time it was production numbers. On my previous cruises, the entertainment was much better and included more professional acts.

 

Can't speak for the late-night entertainment. After the 7 o'clock show in the Stardust, you could find me in the casino. The popular Super King (multi-card poker and keno) machines were in short supply and almost always occupied.

 

It rained in Roatan, so my beach excursion was canceled and even though it stated "rain or shine," I wasn't charged. I stayed on the ship in Belize - a tender port. My friend went ashore, and I guess the tender process was okay. We docked in Costa Maya. It was a little bit cloudy, but a pretty nice day. Cozumel was hot and no problem getting off the ship.

 

Disembarkation couldn't have been easier. Just got our luggage and walked off on Deck 6 about 8 o'clock. No lines like I've experienced on other ships.

[zounds]

Great summary, Luvcruisin ! Thank you very much. We'll be on her for the 2d time in Jan.

[WeLoveDancing]

We were also on the Sun on the Nov 2nd sailing. We had a balcony stateroom (0245 - Deck 10 Starboard, under the Garden Cafe).

 

I thought the room was very nice; plenty of space for us; bed was reasonably firm; no extraneous noise; plenty of storage and a reasonable sized bathroom. Shower was ok, but the shower curtain was too long and kept billowing inward during a shower until I figured out how to control it. (Bathroom door & balcony door were both hard to shut & required 'slamming' to latch.) Only one nightstand for the bed; other side of the bed was up against the couch; had the steward get us a 'cafeteria' tray & used that on the end of the couch as our 2nd nightstand; worked fine.

 

I agree with others that the Garden Buffet left something to be desired; a bit disorganized; crowded. The "Outdoor Adventure" buffet was less crowded. Moderno, during the day, was nice (continental breakfast, pasta & pizza for lunch). Sports bar had snacks all night long. Room service, for us, was reasonably quick (30 to 45 minutes). The MDR (Seven Seas) was nice. Prompt seating (ate every night around 7pm); good, but sometimes slow, service; none of the food was a standout, but none was bad, either.

 

The main thing that made our trip great was the staff! Everyone was happy and smiling, and all gave the impression that they wanted to do everything they could to make our trip enjoyable. We filled out 2 staff commendation cards on this trip (filling out even one is a rarity for us). The Cruise Director's staff was excellent, as were the Customer Service folks.

 

I agree with other comments that the evening shows could have been lots better. But we enjoyed two of the musical groups they had onboard ... the Tuxedo Quartet and 'Into the Drift' were very good for listening and dancing. Tuxedo Quartet played & sang some beautiful classic Italian songs as well as some nice ballroom numbers. The dance floors in Dazzles and the Observation Lounge were both good.

 

It rained off & on during the day in Roatan, so we didn't go to the beach. In Belize, we don't care for the long tender ride, so we stayed onboard there, too. Went into town at Costa Maya (Mahahual) & enjoyed some beach time and good food at Tropicante; beautiful weather; mostly cloudy but warm. And we had a good time shopping and eating in Cozumel. Pancho's Backyard requires a cab ride, but has wonderful food (and a free Margarita with an online coupon).

 

Rick & Teresa

 

[GoofyCrew]

Thanks for the info regarding the Sun! We are embarking on our first cruise in January and we can't wait! Wish we could upgrade to a Suite, but a balcony will have to do!

[fshagan]

Our first cruise with NCL was on the Sky (the sister ship to the Sun) and our latest on the Sun. Both have very small bathrooms, although the cabins are good sized. The joke about the shower is that you can soap up the walls, step in, spin around a couple of times and get clean. The other joke is that ladies start to wear pants after the second day because shaving requires being a gymnast or, at least, realizing you really should have closed the lid on the toilet before showering. The other NCL ships we have been on, even if the cabins are smaller, have larger bathrooms (except he Epic, of course, where you poop in your room).

 

The buffet on the Sun is also small, taking up space on the starboard side only. It can get crowded. We ate breakfast on the port side where they had an omelet and waffle station, and a smaller (less crowded) buffet set up that many people did not know about. The newer ships have wonderful buffets and the Epic, even though I hated the ship itself, had one of the best buffets I've seen (and I'm not a big fan of buffets!)

 

Cagneys on the Sun is in what used to be called "East Meets West", which is why you walk through the seafood / sushi or teppenaki (sp?) restaurant to be seated. It has a wonderful view of the basketball hoop for ambiance, the sides are served cold and crammed into little aluminum pots, and the service is atrocious. Not worth it, so I would skip Cagney's. (We did enjoy the service and food in the Brazilian steakhouse thingy where you get a wide variety of meats).

 

We enjoyed our cruise though, as we really like Freestyle dining. Not sure what the comment about "nothing free about it" is supposed to mean. The word "freestyle" means "in which there are few restrictions", and that is absolutely true. There is no set dining time; any time the dining room is open you can go and be seated. There is no set table, or server, or dining room. You get to choose. There is no formal night where you are relegated with the other slobs to the buffet. The food in the MDR, buffets, and a couple of other places are certainly included in the cost of the cruise and could be considered "free in extra cost". So perhaps "nothing free about it" means the choices were not good rather than the concept not being described adequately by the phrase.

 

But thanks for your review. Like us, even when you don't like some things about vacation you still have fun. You might even enjoy a NCL cruise on a more modern ship.

[Freckles83]

(except he Epic, of course, where you poop in your room).

 

um... what?! :eek:

[Cruisercl]

"Originally Posted by fshagan

(except he Epic, of course, where you poop in your room)."

 

I spit soda all over my laptop laughing out loud at your 'observation' regarding the bathroom set-up in the Epic cabins. :p :p

Never heard it put quite that way. It does seem like that though. :)

Thanks for the laugh! ;)

[Cruiser Bruiser]

My only concern about the Sun has to do with the reviews for Cagney's - which I've seen mentioned above but more in various other reviews. Has anyone been to Cagney's on the Sun as well as on another ship and can write what's so different about the one on the Sun?

 

I'm happy to provide some input on Cagney's on the Sun and why it is different. This steakhouse used to be called East Meets West until Norwegian decided to change the name for reasons of brand consistency. However, the East Meets West name makes more sense given the configuration of the restaurant on this ship. Cagney's shares a space with Teppanyaki (which only has one table), the sushi bar and Ginza, the Asian restaurant. As a consequence, the Cagney's portion doesn't have the elegance or intimacy that you would expect if you had dined at Cagney's on other ships. However, I found the food to be very good. There have been complaints about the side dishes being served in steel ramekins. I think the idea is to keep the sides warm longer, but a couple folks really had problems with them. I don't get it. I hope this helps.

[fshagan]

There have been complaints about the side dishes being served in steel ramekins. I think the idea is to keep the sides warm longer, but a couple folks really had problems with them. I don't get it. I hope this helps.

 

Hey John ... we were on the same cruise! We did enjoy ourselves and like the Sun.

 

But Cagney's ... I'm sure the purpose of the little aluminum pots is so they can have the someone dish the sides without worrying about presentation and the servers can add the pots to the plate when the meat is ready. The chef doesn't have to worry about the sides. Makes sense, but the execution of the strategy was flawed.

 

It would be different if the food was hot ... my baked potato had trouble melting the butter for heaven's sake. How long does it take a baked potator to get cool enough that it won't melt butter?

 

And the green beans were not only cold, but had pieces of broccoli in them. I like both green beans and broccoli, so even cold so it wasn't that big a problem. But the extra cost of Cagney's puts it in the over-priced category. We had better food in the MDR on that cruise.

 

My wife went down to complain ... I'm more of the keep quiet but "never again" type while on board ... and she refused their offer to comp the meal. We ate it, so we paid for it. My wife said they had quite a few complaints about Cagney's that night with a person ahead of her and two people behind her from the restaurant at the guest services desk (or where ever she went).

 

So it could have been an off night except ... of the four times we've eaten dinner in Cagney's on four different ships only one has been a meal I think is worth the extra cost. It's just an opinion, of course, but it is based on my experience.

[PathfinderEss]

Glad you had a good cruise even though you were not impressed with the ship.

Edited November 16, 2014 by PathfinderEss

[Cargill]

Norwegian Sun was our first cruise, and therefore this is my first post. We took an 8-day trip from Alaska to Vancouver in late August.

 

I was nervous about cruising to say the least - I imagined a very mature demographic, and that we would be dodging Zimmer frames and playing shuffleboard on the deck. As it happens we were among the older crowd (62, 60), although there was a large cohort a bit older than us - farmers and retired real estate types from Iowa and Florida - that sort of thing.

 

Most passengers were in their 30s to 50s, and there were quite of few teens and young children on board as well. In summary, we enjoyed it immensely, and have already booked a Mediterranean cruise (with HAL) for April 2015.

 

Obviously I have nothing to compare it to, but we really liked the ship. We had an inside cabin that was snug, but well appointed in just about every way, and even the shower was adequate.

 

We also liked the layout - our cabin 6311 was on level 6A (a small mezzanine section), just aft of the Atrium area, and close to the Promenade Deck, which we used a great deal for exercise. We would choose it again.

 

We had dinner in both of the Main Dining Rooms - mostly Four Seasons, but occasionally Seven Seas. Breakfast we had in the Garden Cafe, but by about Day 5 we discovered breakfast in the Moderno Cafe nearby, and we preferred its deli style more.

 

We also used the buffet for lunch on one sea day, and the MDR on the other, and frequented the Great Outdoors area when the weather was warm - and we did have mostly good weather. I was impressed by all the buffet offerings, both hot and cold, and the menu selections in both MDRs we found more than adequate. As noted above, we don't expect much variety for breakfast, and mostly chose the same items each day.

 

Waitstaff in restaurants and buffet areas we found very good all the time - we did not wait too long for a meal course on any occasion, and if we requested a slower pace, then this was accommodated.

 

Getting on and off the ship (both at the start and at the end) seemed smooth and hassle-free, as were the shore excursions, including the one occasion (Icy Straits) that was undertaken by tender - no issues arose at all (but again, I have nothing to compare it to).

 

The ship was lively and busy in some ways, but we never really found it impossible to find a table where and when we wanted it. We really liked the freestyle dining method, and we were always provided with a table for two, and could have amiable conversations with our neighbours whenever we wished - very pleasant.

 

The Sports Bar was very snug and welcoming - and in fact that whole section of the ship (including the Garden Cafe, Great Outdoors, and Moderno) was well laid out, and had the convenience of a resort, with less walking.

 

We also enjoyed the Observation Deck lounge at the very bow of the ship high up - it was great for relaxing and chatting. The weather was too cool (or windy) to use the pool deck areas at all, so can't comment on the outdoor options very much.

 

The highlights of the cruise (and there were many) were (1) going extremely close to Hubbard Glacier (it was a still sunny day) for a long time, (2) cruising into Tracy Arm, and (3) renting a car in Skagway and driving into the Yukon Territory - we chose this over the White Pass Railroad, and were glad we did.

 

I have only two criticisms: (1) there were too many staff - so there was almost a level of redundancy or over-servicing (but I am used to Western restaurants where one or two very busy waitstaff do a very good job rushing around), and (2) much of the entertainment was pretty cheesy, aiming to appeal to a pretty low level - not all - some of the piano bar entertainers etc were good.

 

So overall, it was a really positive experience, and would sail on Norwegian Sun again without hesitation. It will be interesting to compare it with HAL Zuiderdam next year.

Edited December 9, 2014 by Cargill

[Jan1210]

I have cruised on Costa, Carnival, Disney and RCCL but the 11/30/14 cruise was my first on NCL and it was on the Sun. My travel companion had never cruised before so the entire experience was new to him.

 

We had a balcony cabin and I had no complaint about the cabin other than the small shower. There was plenty of storage in the cabin for all that we brought with us.

 

We were directly above the theater on Deck 8 and could hear the thumping of music every night. Fortunately, it stopped by 9:30.

 

The food was most disappointing. I was looking forward to the Freestyle Dining because both of us are retired and don't enjoy dressing up for dinner. We ate at the Garden Cafe for most meals. While, the presentation of the good was good, the taste of most everything we had could best be described as bland. Even the beautiful desserts were mostly tasteless. They also have no imagination when it comes to reusing leftovers. You can't serve the same food and give it a different name and expect people not to notice. Putting mashed potatoes on chili does not make it a shepherds pie! One evening we decided to eat in the Seven Seas dining room. We both ordered a sirloin steak. While it tasted ok, it was tough and difficult to chew. The coffee in the dining rooms and the buffet line could curl your hair. We found it necessary to put 1/2 cup hot water in the coffee cup before pouring any coffee in it. That helped. We discussed this with the head of the cafe and were told most people compliment him on the coffee.

 

The entertainment was ok, not the top entertainers I've seen on other cruise lines. There was a comedian, Troy Thirdgill, who was very good and a ventriloquist who was good, just not very funny. The rest of the week was the crew productions. Several of the singers and dancers were outstanding but most just average.

 

If you plan on needing the internet onboard, be prepared to pay $.75 per minute. Even the package deals were expensive and still limited. They(NCL) would probably have had more takers if they made the price more reasonable.

 

Disembarking the ship turned into a nightmare. Because of fog, the Port of Tampa was closed so we were over 2 hours late docking. Instead of being off the ship by 9:30, it was closer to 11:30 when we got off. After picking up our luggage, we then had to snake our way through the luggage warehouse through customs.

 

Unfortunately, this wasn't the end of our disappointment. We both received our online charges the morning we docked in Tampa and found no issues with the amounts. Upon returning home, I checked my credit card balance and found a 2nd item had been added from NCL. It took 5 days and 2 phone calls before someone told me my account was charged for items removed from the minibar in the room. I told them we had NOT removed anything from the minibar and was told they would be happy to credit my account as soon as we sent them a letter stating we did not take anything from the minibar and had it signed by both of us. I was also told it could take 6-8 weeks to 'investigate'.

 

I have heard some very nice things about NCL and was looking forward to this cruise but will not sail with NCL again.

[katyjeka]

We've sailed ncl for over fifteen years and really enjoy the line. I wish u would have taken a different ship for your first ncl experience. The Sun is our least favorite, although we did have a great time on her. We just feel the other ships are more comparable to other lines. Of course we are the crazy family who was very disappointed with the Disney Line, so what do we know!!!

[mitsugirly]

We just got off a 7day cruise out of Tampa on Norwegian Sun. This was our first time using NCL having 6 adults in our party we have many trips under our belt. Mostly with Holland and Princess and Carnival.

First off most of the staff on board were excellent, besides a very rude food server at the poolside BBQ on the last day. The cruise was just lacking in the little things we take for granted on the other cruise lines. The ship was in ok shape for its age. It was getting new carpet during the trip. The staterooms were very small.The Balcony stateroom was the smallest I have ever been in. the bathroom was 5ft in width. The shower was a joke. Understanding that, that was the size when they built the ship.

The food was very disappointing in all. We ate at 3 specialty restaurants all were very good. If you were not eating at a restaurant and in the dining room or the crowed buffet then the food was extremely inconsistent. Most of the dining room food was warm not hot. Nothing really stood out as a great meal. Deserts in the buffet and dining room seemed underwhelming. The Norwegian cheesecake was hands down the best desert followed by the chocolate truffle cake.

The buffet is in a weird spot so trying to get around the people in line is a hassle. They have a few other buffet lines set up but are smaller and carried the same items almost everyday. So we were not impressed with freestyle dining. There is nothing free about it.

We ordered room service twice during the trip. The first time was just for 2 ginger ales. After waiting a hour I called again and was told it was being delivered. Over a hour for them to bring 2 sodas to a room. The second time we waited 40 minutes for a Salad and chicken tenders and never received the cookies we order. So room service was a failure.

We had 4 ports of call during the trip all were fine we heard good and bad things. We had excursion everyday in our group everyone had fun. The only weird thing was we booked a excursion in Cozemel for Playa Mia. It doesn't include transportation even though it is booked through NCl. The cab cost for 6 is $34 each way. Royal Caribeenan had 2 tour busses there which was included in the

cost.

Going on a cruise is a great way to vacation. Even when things don't go as planned it is still not a bad time. We all had a good time and in the end thats all that matters. We just were not impressed with our first taste of NCL

 

Sorry to hear NCL did not live up to what you had hoped. I primarily cruise with NCL and have only cruised with Carnival once and RC once. I do have to agree with you on the food...especially the buffet. It was lacking. We just got off the Sun in November and then did the Sky the week after (which is the sister ship of the Sun with the same layout) and both ships were lacking in the "food" department and especially at the buffet. I have always managed to find something that I like at the buffet and this time around, it was challenging. It's one of the smallest buffets I have ever seen on a NCL ship, which I think is part of the problem. :(