Follow the Ham Fam as we Chase the Sun!

[L1211]

10 hours ago, sclipere23 said:

following - we leave next week for same cruise 🙂

Enjoy!

How exciting!  I love the “pre-cruise” week!  

[L1211]

7 hours ago, cincicruisers said:

Great start, looking forward to more

Thank you for following!!  More to come in a few hours!  

[L1211]

Relaxing morning. Hotel offers breakfast, typical powdered eggs, bacon and make yourself waffles. They also have Pastries, cereals and Fruit, juice and coffee. Not a bad cold spread. 
 

The grounds are small but lovely. Zero entry pool and even a tiki bar serving drinks till 10. 
 

 

[L1211]

The DH. Coffee and college football review. Never a bad start to the day. 

[L1211]

First time I’ve been to a Homewood Suites with a restaurant and bar. Here’s the limited menu. 

[L1211]

Hotel review- I definitely recommend the Homewood Suites Cape Canaveral.  this place is great for a family traveling looking for a place close to the port. Updated, friendly, clean, roomy with free snacks/wine and beer (huge caveat on the wine!) and breakfast. Lovely grounds with pool and tiki bar. Close to plenty of restaurants on the bay. And, we now know there is a mall only 8 miles away, the College athlete who Has to workout daily, a condition of coming on the trip, didn’t bring workout shoes...  

 

But, I made a mistake booking it. I always book a reward Hilton room when we travel. I travel so much for work, that’s one perk!  Last time we traveled out of this port, we stayed on Coco Beach. Such a better choice!  It was a much older Hilton, but beachfront. Would be nice to be listening to the ocean roar right now as the girls sleep in. My bad!  Hotel is nice, but I’d go for location!!

 

 

[L1211]

12 hours ago, mugtech said:

Good to set lofty goals, great learning experience for your lovely daughters.

Excellent point!!

[Starry Eyes]

1 hour ago, L1211 said:

Here’s the view from the hotel. Was dark when we arrived. Didn’t realize we were so close to the port!  Anyone know who this beauty is?  Didn’t see the hull.

One can see the Royal Caribbean insignia, so I suspect that is Mariner of the Seas, as that is the older RCI ship currently doing 3&4 night sailings out of Port Canaveral.

 

Have fun on the Sun.  She is quite different from the away class ships; I hope your family finds things to enjoy on the smaller ship.  Wishing you clear skies and warm breezes.

[Dawnya00]

Sooooooooooooo glad I found this thread! Me and my SON head out on the SUN in 2 weeks!  We have a late arrival the night before the cruise but I am biting the bullet and heading to Cocoa Beach so that we can wake up to the ocean prior to boarding.

He is 20 and I will be getting him the parental waiver for beer and wine and paying ala carte for his drinks. We did do the AI for the beach days so he can have some variety to his beverages.

I am hoping there are still some young adults on the cruise when we go. I plan to spend time with him but I imagine he wants to hang out with others his own age. He is joining the Air Force next month so this is going to be much needed mom/son time. Great photos!

 

 

Edited January 3, 2020 by Dawnya00
added info

[L1211]

40 minutes ago, Dawnya00 said:

Sooooooooooooo glad I found this thread! Me and my SON head out on the SUN in 2 weeks!  We have a late arrival the night before the cruise but I am biting the bullet and heading to Cocoa Beach so that we can wake up to the ocean prior to boarding.

He is 20 and I will be getting him the parental waiver for beer and wine and paying ala carte for his drinks. We did do the AI for the beach days so he can have some variety to his beverages.

I am hoping there are still some young adults on the cruise when we go. I plan to spend time with him but I imagine he wants to hang out with others his own age. He is joining the Air Force next month so this is going to be much needed mom/son time. Great photos!

 

 

Yay!!  I love pre-cruise so I’m sure this will help you pass the days!!!  What a wonderful mother-son time!!  You made the right call. I was up early while the girls slept in. I was really wishing for an oceanfront hotel!!!  Totally worth the extra drive in and out. 

[L1211]

47 minutes ago, Starry Eyes said:

One can see the Royal Caribbean insignia, so I suspect that is Mariner of the Seas, as that is the older RCI ship currently doing 3&4 night sailings out of Port Canaveral.

 

Have fun on the Sun.  She is quite different from the away class ships; I hope your family finds things to enjoy on the smaller ship.  Wishing you clear skies and warm breezes.

I missed the RC anchor!  Thank you. Yeah, the girls only wanted a short cruise so the Away class wasn’t an option. I’m afraid it will be more like our RCCL cruises in the evenings. Slow post-dinner. They tend to sleep in and stay up late. We shall see...

[L1211]

18 hours ago, stefmaia said:

Yes, you can get a bottle at dinner, bring a champagne stopper on board with you, and if there is any left you can take it back to your cabin. If there are 2 of you with the package you can order one each.

https://www.amazon.com/Champagne-Stopper-Pump-Keeps-Bubbly/dp/B07XMR7B4H/ref=asc_df_B07XMR7B4H/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=385184468284&hvpos=1o2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4355137076628523163&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=t&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9052452&hvtargid=aud-801381245258:pla-845319857163&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=78287726853&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=385184468284&hvpos=1o2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4355137076628523163&hvqmt=&hvdev=t&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9052452&hvtargid=aud-801381245258:pla-845319857163

 

That quckly recoups your upgrade payment.

Hey there, made a wine stopper run this morning!  Don’t you love cruise critic!!

[L1211]

Driving yourself to the port is quite easy with a rental. The rental center was less than a mile from the Homewood Suites with free shuttles to the port. Shuttle was waiting, but not our shuttle...  

[Stealthdog]

Hope you have a great time!  I really enjoyed the Sun when I was on her before.  I think you definitely made the right choice with Los Lobos - I would not use the meal package on Lobos because the ala carte costs are lower than the other restaurants.

[stefmaia]

15 minutes ago, L1211 said:

Hey there, made a wine stopper run this morning!  Don’t you love cruise critic!!

Breakfast Wine !!!! 🙂

[L1211]

19 hours ago, stefmaia said:

Yes, you can get a bottle at dinner, bring a champagne stopper on board with you, and if there is any left you can take it back to your cabin. If there are 2 of you with the package you can order one each.

https://www.amazon.com/Champagne-Stopper-Pump-Keeps-Bubbly/dp/B07XMR7B4H/ref=asc_df_B07XMR7B4H/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=385184468284&hvpos=1o2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4355137076628523163&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=t&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9052452&hvtargid=aud-801381245258:pla-845319857163&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=78287726853&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=385184468284&hvpos=1o2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4355137076628523163&hvqmt=&hvdev=t&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9052452&hvtargid=aud-801381245258:pla-845319857163

 

That quckly recoups your upgrade payment.

Hey there, made a wine stopper run this morning!  Don’t you love cruise critic!!

[L1211]

Wow!  So, we showed up exactly 1 hour behind our planned time due to the workout shoe episode with the scholarship athlete...  we pulled into the rental car return at 11:57 and were boarding The Sun at 12:19!  How’s that for fastest embankment ever!!!  
 

here we are boarding. 

[ziggyuk]

1 hour ago, L1211 said:

Hey there, made a wine stopper run this morning!  Don’t you love cruise critic!!

 

Take care with those, they are wine stoppers as opposed to champagne stoppers, they should be OK but without the neck lock they might fly out unexpectedly adding to the entertainment 🍾

[L1211]

Lunch was a success. We went to the MDR, always like a sit down lunch on embarkation day. Service was good food was even better. Here’s the menu. So much for war on seafood. Showed up on the Sun!

[L1211]

21 hours ago, stefmaia said:

 

[L1211]

Here are our choices. Calamari 8/10. Almost perfectly crispy, lovely aoli, DD loved the roasted tomato soup, Cajun shrimp arugula salad was a huge hit, had it as my entree and blue crab salad the big winner!!  

[L1211]

Drinks were good. A really nice Chardonnay from the PPB and Bloody Marys. 

[L1211]

And then the good times ended. Huge disappointment in the room. I used a NCL rep to help me choose the room. We booked early so way over paid for “choice” of room. I wanted OV rooms that looked like the picture advertised (same floor plan as a balcony with only a full window). Wow, that is NOT what I got. Second pic is what the rep helped me select. The first  is our actual rooms. We’re in an inside cabins with a window. I called and even tried to pay to move, sailing full, no way. So, Im the sucker who paid about double what others around me paid for this crap room. Not a good way to start, experience or end a cruise. Feeling cheated. 

[L1211]

So we have might have the smallest room on the ship. Maybe 5 inches clearance? Yeah. I’m not happy. I was very specific on room because we USE our room. Can’t wait to snuggle up on this “sofa” and watch a movie. 

[Love my butler]

57 minutes ago, L1211 said:

And then the good times ended. Huge disappointment in the room. I used a NCL rep to help me choose the room. We booked early so way over paid for “choice” of room. I wanted OV rooms that looked like the picture advertised (same floor plan as a balcony with only a full window). Wow, that is NOT what I got. Second pic is what the rep helped me select. The first  is our actual rooms. We’re in an inside cabins with a window. I called and even tried to pay to move, sailing full, no way. So, Im the sucker who paid about double what others around me paid for this crap room. Not a good way to start, experience or end a cruise. Feeling cheated. 

Welcome to NCL.  The rep has probably never set foot on a cruise ship and told you anything you wanted to hear to get the paid booking.  The cheerleaders on here will blame you for not doing your due diligence.  Shame on you....