Sun trip 10/23/2005

[famtrav]

We sailed out of Houston on the Sun on 10/23. If you are driving the port is pretty easy to find. The directions on the NCL site are easy to follow. Don't forget to have your $49 in cash to pay for the week. Check in was done on the boat and was pretty quick and efficient. We decided to check out our room first. We had booked a KK guarantee and when we got our room assignment we noticed it was a large handicapped room. It was so big we could have referred to it as our suite. The bathroom was huge as well. Some of the other cabin doors were open and I must report the other cabins looked to be of normal size. They have DVD players in the room. I know, I know, who watches tv, but the newest camcorders are of the type you can put the dvd right in the player and check it out. I have to talk about Freestyle Dining, specialty restaurants, the entertainment. I have to take my son to school and I will give full details later.

[Milwaukee]

we are in category BA! and in a handicapped room as well, does the room have a CD/DVD player. has anyone been in a category BA handicapped room?

 

what level was kk on or was your handicapped room on a differant level? if so what level?

 

thanks for all the help:)

[Spot]

We are in an II handicap cabin for 12/11 - do you have any photos?

I'm anxious to hear the details of your cruise - thanks for sharing your experiences.

[famtrav]

KK is on the 10th floor. If you go to travelocity.com they have great maps of the ship including the square footage of the rooms, so you could look at 0105 and compare. The only weird thing about the room was the shower. There is no rim around it. I understand the wheelchairs need to roll right in. Even though it has these 4 in.wide drains the water went everywhere. I finally started using the large pool towels and making a wall. OK, before I go into dining, I have to admit I am picky in restaurants. Picky about the food and service. We eat out a lot. I fell in love with cruising in part because of the dining experience. I really like being catered to. I always liked the people we sat with (for the most part) loved having someone always there to fill my drink, knowing after the first day little things about me, you get the picture. Also, I really thought Royal had great food. My husband and I agreed we do not like freestyle. It was hit and miss with the service. We found them distant and cold. We did have a waiter named Agong fom Fiji that was great, but it's hard to find the same waiters. There are two main restaurants and they flip around. The food was not as good as Royal to me in the main restaurants. One night, we went to Il Adagio, and the food was really wonderful, and the service as well. It comes out of the same kitchen as Four Seasons, so at $20 per person, including our son (no discounted price for children, and you child haters just back off here) I thought it was somewhat insulting. Why should you have to pay that much to get the great food? Also remember, they put $10 per day per adult, $5 for kids, for tips on your acct. That ceremony of giving the money to your waiter, asst waiter, and room steward, etc. is gone. I personally think it shows in the service. I don't want to give the wrong impression. It's slow, it's impersonal, and if that's ok with you you will like it. To end this on a positive, the entertainment was so good. The Jean Ann Ryan Company that did the productions, wow. They were out of this world. They had two comedians and they were both very funny. Nothing inapropriate or off color if you have children or just don't like it. It was a Peter Sasso and Fred Klett. The other entertainment, like Roots band that plays Caribbean music on the pool deck, they were good. The cruise director Simon and the asst Julia were both real nice and very approachable. My son did participate in the kid's program some. It was ok. Any questions let me know

[schubes]

May I ask how old your son is? What did he have to say about the Kids Club? I was under the impression that at the extra fee restaurants, the children could order off the children's menu at no charge. Please advise, as this may change our plan of action for dinner. Thanks!

[luv2cruise123]

Which do you recommend? What were the prices and did you have trouble getting reservations?

[famtrav]

Yes you are right. I apologize. He is 5 and could have ordered off the kids menu. However, the menu is the same lunch and dinner. Spaghetti with meat sauce, hot dog, or burger, chicken nuggets. Some kids are kind of picky and eat that all the time. I had a sister that ate plain burgers, ketchup only, for years. She still eats like that. We could have fed him a something and gone on our own as well. We eat together and he eats more like an adult. He liked the kids club a lot. I thought they had it set up a little weird. They have 2-5 together. He is 2 months away from six, and if you have kids you know that is a huge developmental range. It was 10 or so 2 and 3's, a couple of 4's, and him. He did have a lot of fun though. They made a lot of crafts, they did a little thing where they painted their faces like pirates, made balloon swords, and marched through the ship singing. My husband and I were in the Java cafe having a drink and playing cards and heard his voice. It was the cutest thing. They say they are not a babysitting service, but they are. They do stay pretty active, but they watch quite a bit of television too. Could have been the age group. Can't complain. He loved it and other than shows wanted to go all the time. The hours are 9-12, 2-5, and 7-10. You have to sign up for later which we did not do, and pay $5 per hour.

[schubes]

Thank you so much for answering. I haven't read too much about the kids club so your information was helpful. I do agree about having 2 year olds with 5 year olds...not a good combination. My son is 10, so hopefully he will be with children near his age....he loves the kids club, especially the late night pary zone (RCCL), I have to set an alarm in order to pick him up on time!

[famtrav]

We only ate at Il Adagio. My parents ate at Le Bistro on another NCL boat loved it. I did not hear of anyone having trouble getting in, and there were some people there who did not have reservations there that got right in.

[famtrav]

I forgot to put the prices. The menu I have for them says $12.50 per person, but I could have sworn the menu they had at the reservation desk said $20. East meets West, the menu says $25 per person. Le Bistro, $15 per person. Sushi at Ginza $10 per person, and the Teppanyaki $12.50 pp.

[DOING GR8]

I had Sushi one night and the teppayaki the other. Sushi is $10.00 for all you can eat Rolls. or you can order a la cart. for $2 to 3 and some plates are $8 to $12.

 

The Teppayaki was $10.00 to $15.00 for the imperial feast.

 

Lobster was $32.00 for or $42.50 for the steak and lobster.

 

The ran out of Lobster the night were are there. Also the seating was 5:30,7:30 and 9:30 for the cooking room or 6:30 and 8:30 if you ate outside the room. They would bring you your food but you couldn't see them cook it which was half the fun.