Who just got back from the Sun?

[luv2cruise123]

Tell me everything, please!

 

Food? entertainment? Cabin? Embarkation time? Casino? Poker? BJ tournament? Weather? Best shore excursions? Temps inside public areas?

 

We sail Nov. 6 and are very anxious to hear reports on the first sailing!

[x2tpd]

OK... Heres my 2 cents.. This was my first cruise and I was BEYOND excited to go.

 

PLUS SIDE

1) The ship was immaculate and in great shape ALL THE TIME.

2) The staff was VERY nice ALL THE TIME.

3) The steakhouse restaurant East Meets West was very yummy.

4) Freestyle just rocks.. I love everything about it.

5) Pan Production, the comedian, and Que Noche! in the Stardust Lounge were all great.

 

CON SIDE

1) Garden Cafe Breakfast buffet is below the standard of Golden Corral, eat in the Seven Seas for breakfast whenever you can. My husband said the omlet station at the buffet was great if you must eat there.

2) Our room steward was nothing special... 2 towel animals for an entire 7 day cruise and he didnt even remove dirty glasses from our room.

3) Twice as Nice Duo in the Observation Lounge as well as the ships band in the Dazzles Lounge are both very B rated.

 

THINGS TO DO:

1) Go to the murder mystery dinner if they have one..very fun.

2) Country line dance lessons were great fun.

3) Casino staff was very nice and seats were always available.. very uncrowded on our tour.

 

Anyway... if you have any specific questions ask and I will be glad to answer... As for the ports Hurricane Wilma :mad: ruined everything.. we were unable to go to Roatan or Belize..spent time in Cozumel (2 days) and then unexpectedly went to Vera Cruz as a last resort.

[x2tpd]

Food? entertainment? Cabin? Embarkation time? Casino? Poker? BJ tournament? Weather? Best shore excursions? Temps inside public areas?

 

Oh...forgot ..... I would skip Xcaret.

As for the temperatures on the ship.. the air in our room.. Balcony on 9 was turned on as high/cool as it would go and it was barely good enough. My friends mentioned the same problem in their cabin but we all like it cool.

 

I didnt do the black jack tournament but it appeared to be a popular event.

 

As for embarkation we were first in line and got processed at about 11 am.. be early rather then late as at about 2 pm people were waiting in the sun in the parking lot for over 2 hours.

[pieshops]

i see you got processed at 11:00, what time did you arrive at the pier?

 

were there many people when you arrived?

[Cruiser#5]

Positive:

The breakfast in the Dining Room was good

East Meets West (steakhouse) the Best

The ship was very clean and well kept

Staff was informative

Casino was average, the staff were always available

(didn't particupate in the table games)

Slot tournamont was fun but hard to win!

Bingo was fun and could never win

Entertainment was great and funny

Embarkment was a the best I've ever encountered. Once the bus arrived (we circled around the parking lot about 3 times) we were in the cabin within less than 20 mins. I think were were on the ship around 11:30 a.m. Luggage was there within 1 hour upon arrival in the cabin

Room Stewards (Alicia and Robert) were both awesome. They did a fantastic job and they conversed with us!

The lineup at front desk was great..never busy

 

Not so positive

 

Butler services - Rommel and Henry. Never did figure out which one was which. I believe it was because of no formal introduction. They delivered our food with class but that's all that I saw of them

 

Buffet was okay but your food got cold fast because trying to find a seat in the place.

 

Laundry Service : The worst! They did a great job with all the whites and other coloured clothing but they turned my baby blue shorts and top into green. Not sure what they did but it was ruined. They did not reimburse me...come to think of it, I didn't get any apology

 

Galleria stores...not too impressive...have your basic needs and alot of previous cruise souvenirs and not enough of the current cruise souvenirs. Some items too pricy

 

One more negative but that's not the ships fault. The weather was the worst. Out of 16 days we got 4 days of sun. Due to tropical storm Stan and part of wilma

 

I hope this information helps

[shoreguy]

One question - did you get a chance to say hello to my buddy and bartender Gede?

[Spot]

For those cruisers that just returned from the Sun -

1. Is there anything you wish you had known before the cruise that would have enhanced your experience?

2. Did you have any problems getting reservations for the specialty dining? Could you make reservations on the phone from your cabin or did they need to be made in person?

3. Where was the best location on the ship (if you don't have a balcony in your cabin) to be outside where there is shade and not alot of activity around you?

4. What time would you recommend arriving at the pier to have a swift boarding experience?

5. Was there anything that you had not prepared to be disappointed or excited about?

 

Thank you in advance for helping those of us that are awaiting our upcoming Sun cruise.

[x2tpd]

1. Is there anything you wish you had known before the cruise that would have enhanced your experience?

2. Did you have any problems getting reservations for the specialty dining? Could you make reservations on the phone from your cabin or did they need to be made in person?

3. Where was the best location on the ship (if you don't have a balcony in your cabin) to be outside where there is shade and not alot of activity around you?

4. What time would you recommend arriving at the pier to have a swift boarding experience?

5. Was there anything that you had not prepared to be disappointed or excited about?

 

1) Not that we can think of.

2) You could make reservations from your room or on floor 5. We never had problems eatting in the specialty places but if you were dead set on a specific time make them sooner then later.

3) Well... deck 12 has less activity but not any shade I can remember and deck 11 is busy but has shade. I guess aft deck 11 is less busy then around the pool.

4) I would say 10 am should get you a front spot in the line and almost get you walking right on.

5) Not prepared for Hurricane WILMA!!!:mad:

[Spot]

You are very kind to have responded so quickly - thank you again and I'm sorry you were disappointed with Wilma.

[Host Caroline]

You are very kind to have responded so quickly - thank you again and I'm sorry you were disappointed with Wilma.

 

I think we were all disappointed with Wilma... have had 4 hurricane-affected cruises in 4 years.. in this season and with this cycle we are apparently in weather-wise..... it may be the same next year... Unfortunately...

[memphisdoug]

Remember to bring an alarm clock with you. Our room, a BC, did not have one.

 

If you can't find a place to sit near the buffet, walk to the other side of the ship and sit in the Sports Bar or Pacific Heights. There was always plenty of room there during breakfast and lunch.

 

I would skip any buffet with hot food that they set up near the pool. The food temperature always seemed rather luke warm. The only exception to this was one night when they had tacos. Those were great.

 

Others above have said how terrible the buffet food is. I found it quite good most of the time. Keep in mind that I have pretty simple food tastes and don't go for a lot of the "foo foo" type food in the main dining room. I was very happy with hot dogs and cheeseburgers for lunch on many days of our Panama cruise. The waffles and omlet station were very good for breakfast.

 

Our balcony room had a swing out door. It had a hook on it to hold it full open.

 

The safe operates with a code number that you make up and punch in. It is pretty large. I had our digital camera, a portable DVD player and our documents in it with room to spare.

 

I agree with the airconditioning comments. It is pretty weak in the rooms and some of the public areas as well. The sun coming thru all the glass seems to overwhelm it.

 

East Meets West Steakhouse was great. We ate there one night when they were having 50% off the extra charge. Pacific Heights was also very good plus it's free.

[las52]

Did anyone just coming off the Sun try to bring alcohol on ship. Interested in knowing how thorough NCL checked this in Port of Houston.

 

Thanks in advance:)

[kristy1277]

Hi X2tpd, why do you recommend skipping Xcaret? I would love to hear all your input about it. Thanks!