Sun Western Caribbean Thanksgiving Cruise: my thoughts

[rjm11]

We just returned from a great week on the Sun, doing our third Western Caribbean trip. Here are my bulleted thoughts:

1. The staff was FANTASTIC. Specifically, our butler (Jayson), concierge (Patrick) and room steward (Arvin) couldn't have been better- extremely friendly, very helpful, and just everything you'd expect. I had posted a thread last month wondering if butler service was overall declining, as our last couple weren't great... but this was definitely NOT the case- Jayson was great.

2. The ship worked great for us- we liked the smaller feel. Our kids are happy with a pool... don't need much else... and we loved the set up of the pool deck on the sun. We were in an aft penthouse on deck 8....

3. Liked the aft penthouse, but we were NOT prepared for the horribly loud side thrusters coming on at about 5-6am every morning when we were getting close to port. It sounded like the world was ending- and the whole place shook. The kids came rocketing out of their sofa bed convinced the ship was going down. This happened every morning, about an hour or so before we docked- so I'm guessing it was the use of side thrusters for positioning into a channel, or slowing the speed or something. It was LOUD.

4. Our room also had some "issues".... there was a pipe that was leaking from the ceiling onto the carpet in the bedroom, and after using the bathtub, the bathroom flooded (an inch of water all over the floor). We called Arvin, who brought maintenance right away. They snaked the drain, and arranged to replace the pipe when we would be out of the room. Arvin brought a very large heater/dryer for the carpet. This was all taken care of quickly, and we didn't complain. But later Patrick the concierge found us and told us they would cover the cost of our dinner at Cagney's including a bottle of wine for our inconvenience. We were very appreciative, and didn't ask for/expect that. Although we were on deck 8 (8077) we did not notice noise from the Stardust below.

5. We tried the family photo process Perspectives. This is new thing I think (we hadn't seen it before) where you can have an outdoor photo shoot with a photographer for your group/family. We were a family of 4- two kids 8 and 7. We had it scheduled for outside around sunset. She also took pictures indoors at the studio. The pictures were beautiful, and it's much nicer than the generic sets they use before dinner. The catch is that although there is no sitting fee, and that part is free, the actual photos are HORRIBLY EXPENSIVE. We did buy some, but just be warned. They are much more expensive than the other photos they take before dinner. There are some packages, but still lots of money.

6. Thanksgiving dinner we had in the main dining room. Turkey, stuffing, yams, green beans. We asked for mashed potatoes too. It was only OK- VERY salty gravy. We also ate in Teppanyaki (FANTASTIC- I don't know why this is the first time we've done this... I'll definitely do it again!)... La Cucina (nice).... Le Bistro (excellent) and Cagneys (very good). Both dinners in the main dining room were only OK- they haven't started on the new menus yet.

7. The spa seemed to be even more expensive... they've raised rates in the last year... with almost no "specials". I remember when there were daily specials all the time- now there are not.

8. Kids club- there were 400 kids onboard, which I didn't think was a lot for a holiday week. My Kids were so/so on the club (they always are), but liked the circus at sea thing and participated in that. Counselors seemed good... but maybe a little too flirty with each other for my taste.

9. We are platinum, so we had two complimentary dinners- one in LeBistro and one in LaCucina. We were pleased to see that there is a whole wine menu specifically for the complimentary bottles- we were expecting just house red or white. We were able to find some good stuff on there. We also did the wine tasting on the first sea day... good with the exception of the white zin which I never like.

10. We FINALLY got to try to the Chef's Table (bribed the kids to stay in the kids club for 3 hours)... it was as excellent as most reviews say. We really enjoyed it and will hope to do it again.

11. Ports- we did Maya Key in Roatan for the 3rd time.... still love that snorkeling. Excellent. In Belize our sharks/rays was cancelled- weather was bad- we did go ashore for about an hour, but then returned. Costa Maya- Maya Chan- for the 3rd time. The road there was even worse than last time somehow, but the service was still just as excellent. The weather wasn't great that day though- kind of chilly. Cozumel- we did Chankanaab- I booked a special on their site for NCL passengers- for $99 per person, we got the full Manatee Encounter, Sea Lion Encounter, and Dolphin Adventure Swim. It was great to be able to do the swim with all three, but pretty much took the whole day- that place was packed with 7 ships in port... though they do a great job at organizing it all, and it never really felt crowded.

 

I'm happy to answer any questions!

[dexddd]

Nice review. We stayed aft on the Sun and they are the side thrusters when docking. I wouldn't say any worse than we've had on a ship that size but we were also up a couple floors.

[Laszlo]

Maya Chan road was worse? After last years ride I didn't think the road could get any worse. We had a 4 in a Dodge Caravan taxi, I lost count at 50 times bottoming out in the ditches LOL

[rjm11]

Maya Chan road was worse? After last years ride I didn't think the road could get any worse. We had a 4 in a Dodge Caravan taxi, I lost count at 50 times bottoming out in the ditches LOL

 

well the last time we were there was March 2013... so it had been about 18 months or so. But there were whole areas with backhoes and such where the road (Dirt as it was) had been removed and was now less than dirt.... just torn up piles that were almost impassable. It looked like they were planning to lay new "road", but it wasn't there yet. It also appeared to have been recently washed out, as there was white salt/mud residue very high up on the plants indicating recent flooding. We still made it in a regular minivan taxi... it was just slower and more torn up than I recall in 2012 and 2013.

[Laszlo]

We were there in November of 2013 and the owner was talking about getting front end loader to repair it himself since the town does nothing for them

[CTCruiser001]

What night was the Chef's Table and where was it held?

 

Thanks for your review!

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I497 using Forums mobile app

[dreamingmermaid]

Was there any murder mystery lunch/dinner theatre? If so, do you remember which day or prices? I see conflicting information on whether this is still offered.

[bostongal965]

We just got off the same cruise, and agree with the comment about the wonderful staff! Wish the weather had been better, but that's not NCL's fault. This was my third trip on the Sun - I love that ship!

[rjm11]

What night was the Chef's Table and where was it held?

 

Thanks for your review!

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I497 using Forums mobile app

 

The Chef's Table was Tuesday night (Roatan), starting at 6:00pm. We were done around 9pm. It was held in a small private dining room off of the Four Seasons main dining room. It was very nice.

 

FYI- we were worried about whether the kids club would be open in time... they were open all day because it was a port day. We fed the kids in the buffet, then dropped them at the kids club and met the Chef's Table group at the champagne bar (as directed) before dinner.

[rjm11]

Was there any murder mystery lunch/dinner theatre? If so, do you remember which day or prices? I see conflicting information on whether this is still offered.

 

Yes, there was a Murder Mystery dinner advertised. I think it was the last sea day (Saturday) but I'm not sure... we didn't attend it so I don't know what the cost was. They did have a menu posted- I think it was a 3 course menu with 2 choices for each- the mains were chicken and salmon I think. And I remember seeing that the desserts were assorted mini eclairs. I'm pretty sure the first was soup/salad or something....

[bobg529]

The Chef's Table was Tuesday night (Roatan), starting at 6:00pm. We were done around 9pm. It was held in a small private dining room off of the Four Seasons main dining room. It was very nice.

 

FYI- we were worried about whether the kids club would be open in time... they were open all day because it was a port day. We fed the kids in the buffet, then dropped them at the kids club and met the Chef's Table group at the champagne bar (as directed) before dinner.

 

 

Hi, it was very nice meeting you and your husband at the Chef's Table. I quite enjoyed it myself, in fact if you remember it was my second go around, having also done it on the Gem in January. Sorry you guys weren't able to make the galley tour on Friday. Our chef was very hospitable and took us personally through the entire galley, including the food storage areas and the bakery down on deck 3. All that fresh baked bread smelled wonderful! :D

[NJLVW]

Thank you so much for taking the time to write your review. The Sun is my favorite ship and can't wait to be back onboard. I am reading everything I can until we leave. :D

 

Thank you

[rjm11]

Hi, it was very nice meeting you and your husband at the Chef's Table. I quite enjoyed it myself, in fact if you remember it was my second go around, having also done it on the Gem in January. Sorry you guys weren't able to make the galley tour on Friday. Our chef was very hospitable and took us personally through the entire galley, including the food storage areas and the bakery down on deck 3. All that fresh baked bread smelled wonderful! :D

 

Hi Bob- we really enjoyed meeting you too... maybe we'll see you again at a Chef's table sometime!

[Lollygil]

what was the price for the chef's table?

[newmexicoNita]

We just returned from a great week on the Sun, doing our third Western Caribbean trip. Here are my bulleted thoughts:

1. The staff was FANTASTIC. Specifically, our butler (Jayson), concierge (Patrick) and room steward (Arvin) couldn't have been better- extremely friendly, very helpful, and just everything you'd expect. I had posted a thread last month wondering if butler service was overall declining, as our last couple weren't great... but this was definitely NOT the case- Jayson was great.

2. The ship worked great for us- we liked the smaller feel. Our kids are happy with a pool... don't need much else... and we loved the set up of the pool deck on the sun. We were in an aft penthouse on deck 8....

3. Liked the aft penthouse, but we were NOT prepared for the horribly loud side thrusters coming on at about 5-6am every morning when we were getting close to port. It sounded like the world was ending- and the whole place shook. The kids came rocketing out of their sofa bed convinced the ship was going down. This happened every morning, about an hour or so before we docked- so I'm guessing it was the use of side thrusters for positioning into a channel, or slowing the speed or something. It was LOUD.

4. Our room also had some "issues".... there was a pipe that was leaking from the ceiling onto the carpet in the bedroom, and after using the bathtub, the bathroom flooded (an inch of water all over the floor). We called Arvin, who brought maintenance right away. They snaked the drain, and arranged to replace the pipe when we would be out of the room. Arvin brought a very large heater/dryer for the carpet. This was all taken care of quickly, and we didn't complain. But later Patrick the concierge found us and told us they would cover the cost of our dinner at Cagney's including a bottle of wine for our inconvenience. We were very appreciative, and didn't ask for/expect that. Although we were on deck 8 (8077) we did not notice noise from the Stardust below.

5. We tried the family photo process Perspectives. This is new thing I think (we hadn't seen it before) where you can have an outdoor photo shoot with a photographer for your group/family. We were a family of 4- two kids 8 and 7. We had it scheduled for outside around sunset. She also took pictures indoors at the studio. The pictures were beautiful, and it's much nicer than the generic sets they use before dinner. The catch is that although there is no sitting fee, and that part is free, the actual photos are HORRIBLY EXPENSIVE. We did buy some, but just be warned. They are much more expensive than the other photos they take before dinner. There are some packages, but still lots of money.

6. Thanksgiving dinner we had in the main dining room. Turkey, stuffing, yams, green beans. We asked for mashed potatoes too. It was only OK- VERY salty gravy. We also ate in Teppanyaki (FANTASTIC- I don't know why this is the first time we've done this... I'll definitely do it again!)... La Cucina (nice).... Le Bistro (excellent) and Cagneys (very good). Both dinners in the main dining room were only OK- they haven't started on the new menus yet.

7. The spa seemed to be even more expensive... they've raised rates in the last year... with almost no "specials". I remember when there were daily specials all the time- now there are not.

8. Kids club- there were 400 kids onboard, which I didn't think was a lot for a holiday week. My Kids were so/so on the club (they always are), but liked the circus at sea thing and participated in that. Counselors seemed good... but maybe a little too flirty with each other for my taste.

9. We are platinum, so we had two complimentary dinners- one in LeBistro and one in LaCucina. We were pleased to see that there is a whole wine menu specifically for the complimentary bottles- we were expecting just house red or white. We were able to find some good stuff on there. We also did the wine tasting on the first sea day... good with the exception of the white zin which I never like.

10. We FINALLY got to try to the Chef's Table (bribed the kids to stay in the kids club for 3 hours)... it was as excellent as most reviews say. We really enjoyed it and will hope to do it again.

11. Ports- we did Maya Key in Roatan for the 3rd time.... still love that snorkeling. Excellent. In Belize our sharks/rays was cancelled- weather was bad- we did go ashore for about an hour, but then returned. Costa Maya- Maya Chan- for the 3rd time. The road there was even worse than last time somehow, but the service was still just as excellent. The weather wasn't great that day though- kind of chilly. Cozumel- we did Chankanaab- I booked a special on their site for NCL passengers- for $99 per person, we got the full Manatee Encounter, Sea Lion Encounter, and Dolphin Adventure Swim. It was great to be able to do the swim with all three, but pretty much took the whole day- that place was packed with 7 ships in port... though they do a great job at organizing it all, and it never really felt crowded.

 

I'm happy to answer any questions!

 

Glad the Sun worked for you. I am always shocked when I read a negative about the ship. It has always been one of our favorites. I know everyone has different tastes, but to us "the Sun" offers the size and service that fit our needs.

[coscab]

Thanks for the informative review, the Sun is our favorite ship, glad you had a wonderful cruise. We will be in a forward penthouse in March 2015, do you know if Jayson will still be on the ship and if he was also assigned to the forward suites as well as the aft?

In Dec. we had our first suite experience, we were on the Pearl and had Totaram as our butler, he truly spoiled us, it would be nice to have another great butler in March.

[DMH15]

what was the price for the chef's table?

 

 

$99