Sun Panama Canal/Alaska B2B Review of Sorts

[mugtech]

Just got back from 29 days on the Sun from Tampa through the Panama Canal to Vancouver and then 10 days round trip to Alaska. I am going to try to hit the high points that I remember best and also info that may be helpful to others doing b2b, changing Latitudes status after the first cruise etc. I booked the b2b cruises over a year ago and knew we would be gold for the first leg, platinum for the second, and the transition was quite easy. More on that later. I have an excellent PCC at NCL, and every time the prices came down before final payment was due he adjusted our fares but never called it a rebooking, so we still received double the Latitudes points for booking more than 9 months ahead of time even though our final amounts were about $700 less each. We booked it as two separate cruises, allowing us to use a cruise reward for each cruise, saving us $100 from the gitgo. I looked at doing the Star next year going from Tampa to Copenhagen in 14 days across the Atlantic, then 7 days in Norway, then 9 days doing the Baltic for 30 days in total. Priced individually the inside cabin came to about $2,700, but the 30 day cruise was offered as one big cruise, with the inside cabins starting at over $3,000. When I asked Cruise Consultant George about this during our last days on the Sun, he had no explanation.

When I booked this cruise it was no problem to get the same inside cabin, 9133, for both cruises. We had never been on the Sun before, but I used my usual approach of getting a cabin on a deck with all cabins above and all cabins below, so deck 9 it was. Never have had noise or smell problems. I know some like to book middle of the ship as low as possible, the calmest place to be during rough seas. We did that once on the Gem for the 2012 Sandy cruise, and that aspect was good, but when the elevators could not be used one day it was a good workout to climb the steps every meal to deck 11. In addition deck 4 lead to the gangway, so we had some heavy traffic days in port. Going through cruise withdrawal right now, am forced to go buy food and prepare it. I need to plan my next cruise soon. I will continue this later, glad to answer any questions.

[mugtech]

We found that the Sun was designed to be our kind of ship, with 1936 passengers double occupancy, a nice size. As a ship it is very similar to the Spirit, our favorite, without some of the items unique to Spirit such as the tiered table levels behind the garden cafe, the beautiful Asian art and design. Although the Spirit is 3 years older than the Sun, in 2014 it was in better shape than the Sun in 2015, probably because the Sun is scheduled for 5/1/16 dry dock. Most of the time one of the rear elevators was not functioning, but this did not cause very much congestion except when the Stardust shows were over. Our inside cabin seemed to be the biggest one we have had, with the most storage space I can remember, for we had two 50 pound checked bags and two 20 pound carry ons and felt like we had plenty of space in the cabin. Jennifer was our Filipina stewardess, one of 450 Filipino crew members, and was very good at taking care of all of our needs and wants. The crew overall was very friendly and helpful, and when they realized we were on for another 10 days they became even more willing to help us with whatever we requested, made us feel special. The cruise director is from Australia and was sensitive to the needs of the Canadians on board, over 700 out of Tampa and over 1,000 to Alaska. Every night after the Stardust 7PM shows he announced recent ice hockey scores. On April 25 they had Anzac Day in the Observation Lounge, marking 100 years since the start of the Galipoli invasion of Turkey. There were about 90 Aussies and Kiwis aboard, with their version of taps being played by the Sun orchestra trumpeter followed by a brief reading about never forgetting those who fought for freedom, followed by Anzac biscuits for everyone. We tendered two ports in 29 days, and all went quite well both times, no problems getting on or off.

I spoke to Cruise Consultant George and he assured me it would be no problem getting our status changed to Platinum after the first 19 day cruise, and it went through very easily. In Vancouver we got off the ship and were grouped together with other in transit passengers, about 150 did the 29 days, and then were back on the ship right before the new passengers started checking in. Since we had been in Victoria, BC the day before and just signed customs forms saying we had nothing, there was none of that for any of us in transits. We had our room keys that were still functional, but at 5PM we had to see George, he put us into the computer as platinum, and then we went down to guest services and had new room keys printed with platinum replacing the gold. Since George knew our status change ahead of time, by the time we got our keys changed we had already munched on our chocolate covered strawberries and had been given all the paperwork required to get the new benefits, including 2 free bags of laundry, two dinners for two at specialty restaurants, discounts on photos and NCL gear, two behind the scenes ship tours. We received a bottle of wine plus a bottle with each specialty restaurant meal, so 3 unopened bottles came home with us, causing weight problems at the Vancouver airport. More on that later.

[Linda the Book Lover]

Really nice of George to make that happen for you. I cannot imagine being away from home for 29 days so I am really looking forward to your continued review.

[mugtech]

The itinerary for this cruise will not be repeated in the near future, certainly not by the Sun, as it is scheduled for South America and some Mexican Riviera and then back to Alaska. We pulled out of Tampa on Sunday, 4/19/15, for 3 days at sea to get around Cuba and down to Cartagena, Columbia. We pulled in at 7AM and had to be back on board by 1:30PM. We were most impressed by the torture devises used during the inquisition which they had on display, the church was also an old beauty. We had to buy some medication, so a local woman lead us on a three block walk to a drugstore, where I made a $19 purchase with a US $20 and received 2,000 pesos in change, supposedly the going rate. I gave it to our guide, not much English was spoken through the entire transaction. The next day we went through the canal, and it was a unique experience. I have always had an interest in the politics and engineering involved, and if that interests you then you might want to read David McCullough's "The Path Between the Seas", 600 pages about the French failure and the US success from 1870-1914. It took all day, and there were various vantage points around the ship to view and take pictures as the Sun climbed the first 3 locks to get to the lake and then three more locks to get into the Pacific, about 12 hours from start to finish. A Panamanian who spoke English very well was brought on board to tell us what was happening, and at one point he went to the Stardust to answer questions. While we were crossing the lake a Royal Caribbean ship passed us headed for the Atlantic. Other than the noise of that meeting the whole journey had a very soft feeling to it, averaging 5 miles an hour to get through. After another sea day we stopped in Puntarenas, Costa Rica, and my wife was very surprised as we took a bus ride into the interior, saying "This looks just like in the provinces in the Philippines." The translation of that is that we were on 2 lane blacktops with houses made out of cinder blocks with tin roofs and no air conditioning. This also meant plenty of fruit trees and beautiful flowers, and while it was 85F and humid, it was more comfortable than the Philippines in April. Another day at sea was followed by consecutive days in Huatulco and Acapulco, Mexico. Everyone should see the beauty of Acapulco from the heights and catch the cliff divers. Another day at sea and then we were in Cabo San Lucas, at the southern tip of Baja, California. One could have seen the Hotel California which was the inspiration for the Eagle's song, but we took a desert tour instead. The glass factory stop was informative, but only two glass blowers were there, as May 1 is a holiday. We enjoyed hanging out and checking out San Jose del Cabo, a quaint, tree-lined streets town. After another sea day we stopped in LA, and since it was the first USA port since Tampa EVERYONE had to get off the ship and go through the usual security check. No one was allowed back on the ship until everyone was registered as having left the ship. It was a 9 AM port call and no one was left back on until 12:30PM. Another sea day and then SF. It was great to go under the Golden Gate Bridge in the fog, just like my father did 68 years ago while in the army coming home from the Philippines and Japan. Another sea day and then we had to fill out the customs paperwork to go ashore in Victoria, BC and then the next day the cruise ended in Vancouver. Quite the 19 days, but nothing quite as breathtaking as the Alaskan wilderness the next 10 days.

[mugtech]

The entertainment for 29 days was mostly very good, a few excellent, and one terrible. The terrible one was a Beatles tribute band, which was off key and just not good in any respect. Of course they played "Hear Comes the Sun" and it was just not George Harrison. I only heard three songs, but our cruising buddies stuck it out and informed us it did not get any better. We skipped the hypnotist and the female vocalist, but saw every other show, and we showed up 5 minutes before show time and still got good seats, it is a small theater. Oh What a Night was 4 vocalists doing the whole Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons greatest hits on their first full show, and then two nights later they did another completely different set of Four Seasons tunes, and they were the best harmony of the entire cruise. Of course the first night they did a 10 minute medley on the introductory showtime, which included a production crew number and a stand up comedian. Then the production people did some good in house shows, one of which included a lot of Four Seasons songs. When they did Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl" we were informed that he wrote that song as a tribute to, you guessed it, The Four Seasons. On day 9 of the Alaska cruise The Flashback 4, four male vocalists, came on to sing 20 minutes of Four Seasons songs. They did other music of that era also and quite well. I had already stopped going to one of the complementary restaurants called The Four Seasons. The Sun Showband and the production singers and dancers did a great last night show, probably my favorite because they did Steppenwolf, CCR, Steve Stills, Journey, Queen and The Who among others, the most energetic 50 minutes of the cruise. Back on 4/30 Catch a Wave did a Beach Boys tribute rather well, their claim to fame being that they were asked to play for Brian Wilson and the band when his house was made some kind of California monument or historical site. Comedians David Naster, Rex Havens, and some other guy were funny but nothing too noteworthy, mostly avoided the usual cruise jokes about food and small cabins.

The production people also did a melodrama based on the music of Burt Bacharach called The Look of Love. It was well done, just not my kind of music.

My favorite was the classically trained pianist David Howarth who played a wide variety of music and was in sync with the house band. He played Scott Joplin's The Entertainer, a medley from movies by John Williams, some Elton John and some Liberace. He did two completely different shows, the second one he played chopsticks using chopsticks and a medley of James Bond music. The most surprising thing I heard was when he played "Nutrocker", a variation from The Nutcracker. I had heard the song, a little longer version, done by Emerson Lake and Palmer circa 1970 on their live album "Pictures at an Exhibition". I asked David about it after the show, and it seems it had been written by someone for piano in England previously, so I got some online searching to do.

James Morris played piano bar tunes, did a few name that tunes just for fun, and did very well on what has become the standards, Elton John and Billy Joel. I didn't do much other bar room music listening or attend any of the 70's or white hot parties, I was usually in bed early because I love to get out early and walk for 30 minutes while the sun comes up, nothing like being out there when its quiet and the sun slowly eases up from the sea, especially the first 4 days of the cruise. There is a walk way all the way around the ship on deck 6 with arrows pointing the way to avoid any collisions at the corners. Unfortunately the deck is only open all the way around after 8 AM, so I just walked back and forth on the port side of the ship until the sun came up. By the time we hit Canada and Alaska the sun was coming up before 5 AM, so I gave that idea up.

I enjoyed playing trivia on all the sea days and when I could fit it in on port days. I found this to be a great way to meet and socialize with other cruisers, as on each leg of the cruise I was teamed up with 4 or 5 others for most every trivia and name that tune. I had gone to some Roll Call meet and greets on other cruises, but I found just going early and talking to people seemed to work best for me.

My wife always networks with the Filipinos on the ship, both passengers and crew. On the last night of the canal cruise Eddie Spaghetti from South Philly(Philippines) helped arrange a Filipino meal in The Seven Seas for 5 couples plus a Filipino singer, Phillip, from the production performers and a female singer, Daphne, from Atlanta, Georgia. On the last night of the Alaska cruise we had managed to request salmon sinagong, a Filipino soup usually made with some other fish, and it was excellent. And big bowls of rice.

Le Bistro was our favorite specialty restaurant, probably because Moderno was so meat intensive. The food was very good at both places, we just liked the choices at Le Bistro better. The wife was getting bored with complementary dining after 29 days, but I had no problem with the selections or the variety available.

I don't know if we will ever do the canal again, but we both agreed that Alaska is on the list again in a few years. This was the first cruise of the season, and I only wore my jacket on one day, many days were very sunny t-shirt weather. Perhaps next time we will go on a 14 day b2b, for it appears the only thing missed by going before June was the whales. A few were spotted, but most say later is better for whales.

Rather than fly from Vancouver to Newark on the day we got off the ship, a monday, we stayed in the Days Inn 10 minutes from the airport and flew out on Tuesday. The Air Canada tickets were so much cheaper on Tuesday than Monday that we paid for a hotel and some good Japanese food and still came out ahead. When we bought the airplane tickets back in November it was a 3:15 PM flight getting into Newark at 11:30 PM. Then in December we were informed that the flight would be leaving at 9AM, getting into NJ at 5:15 PM, with no change in price. It was a $34.50 Canadian cab ride to the Days Inn, we waited in line only about 15 minutes to get a cab as we were the last ones off the ship when we had to leave about 9:45 AM. We had previously been told our room would not be available until 4 PM, so we stashed our bags at the hotel and took a walk. When we returned at 1:30 PM they informed us that our room was ready, we could check in. While we were waiting to check in the man in front of us was asked what time his flight was the next day to determine shuttle time. It went like this "Is your flight an international flight, sir?" And he immediately replied, "Oh no, we're just flying to New York." "Sir, you are in Canada, so a flight to New York is an international flight". We had a 5:20 AM wake up call and a 6:20 shuttle service to the airport, and their complementary breakfast started at 5:30 AM. No eggs or bacon or sausage I noticed, realizing I never eat any of that for breakfast at home, but it was the first stages of cruise withdrawal. The Days Inn was adequate for our purposes, the only trouble anyone could have is if they are allergic to cats. They have a fat lazy cat who keeps switching lobby furniture as his place to sleep, has perfected the art of ignoring people. At the airport things got confusing for everyone involved. Would could not check in online, and when we got to the counter we were told that we were double booked. I explained the flight time change back in December after buying my ticket in November, and she said. "You bought your ticket very early" So it was my fault it got double booked? Then we started playing the luggage shell game. Both of the bags we were checking in were over 23.9 kg since we were bringing home 3 bottles of wine, half a dozen t-shirts and a ream of paper we did not have 31 days before. So we took enough out to get the checked ones under 23.9. As a result the 10kg limit carry ons had over 13 kgs in them. So we started trying to pull items out of the carry ons and put them in our jacket pockets, which were just about maxed out in the first place. So she pulled us from in front of her desk and had us go behind a screen to sort it out. So we put enough stuff back in the checked luggage to get our carry ons down to a little more than 10 kg, so she finally said "Close enough" So we got our boarding passes and I was in seat B and my wife in seat E of the same row. So the staff member at gate 82 heard my story and said he would take care of it, and 10 minutes later he called us back to his desk to give us seats E & F. Then it was announced that anyone having carry ons could check them for free, so we did. As we boarded the plane I heard a woman say "The plane must not be full, they didn't even weigh my luggage" It wasn't full, no one sat in seat B which we had originally been assigned. We also went through USA customs in Vancouver before we boarded the plane, so when we got to Newark we picked up our luggage and got out of town.

[mugtech]

One other item about our cruise that seems worth mentioning. Our first day at sea out of Tampa we were informed that the carpeting on deck nine between the inside and balcony cabins would be replaced over the next few days, sorry for the inconvenience. So everything got ripped up and replaced by the standard carpets with all the fish swimming forward except a few red ones swimming the other way. The workers were there about 10 hours a day wearing masks. My wife developed a cough and was spitting out mucus, so she went to deck three med center and the doc gave her antibiotics to be taken once a day for five days plus expectorant and advil to be taken three times a day. After 5 days her cough was worse, so another doc x-rayed and discovered no pneumonia. His analysis was broncitus, giving her a different antibiotic to take every 8 hours for seven days plus two nebulizer lung treatments that day. All of this cost us $450 and she did improve after 4 days of the new antibiotic. Breaks of the game, I thought, wonderful weather but bad luck on the health. I had a cough for about 5 days, but I got past it with a few advils and cough drops. After day 7 the ship store ran out of Ricola, had to settle for Halls. Then at the question and answer period with the captain and other staff, another passenger said "I noticed a lot of people on this cruise have been coughing, especially the ones on deck nine where the carpet was replaced. Did the carpet replacement cause this?" Logical question. The cruise director answered the question by saying "Please talk to me about this privately after we are done here." That was an unsettling feeling for me. One would think he would have denied a connection, so what was the real story? My wife was feeling better and we were excited about the 10 day Alaska cruise coming up, so we did not pursue it, never got any more info on the subject. Knowing what I know now I would ask to be provided with the same protection the workers used 10 hours a day since we lived and slept there every day, especially since most of the work in our section was done on three sea days.

Edited May 24, 2015 by mugtech

[Linda the Book Lover]

It is wonderful to read your wife got better.