Key West & Cozumel on the NCL Sun, Feb 17 - 22 Review

[bostongal965]

About us: DH & I are in our mid-fifties, and this was our 11th cruise, 9th on NCL, and 5th on the Sun! Needless to say, we like the ship! We like a mid-winter getaway to be able to wear flip-flops and see the sun, with our biggest goal being relaxation. I'm a teacher, and my district has a week-long break the week of President's Day in February, so that's when we usually sail. We used to go for 7-day cruises, but we've really found a 5-day to be the sweet spot for our winter escape - I still have some time to catch up on work, and I don't have to find a sub and take an extra pre- or post-day for travel. Because of my job, we like to be able to drive to our port - since we live outside Atlanta, that makes Port Canaveral a great choice - we've sailed from there 6 out of our 11 times.

 

Booking: I wouldn't usually include this, but this one had some interesting developments. Originally our plan was a Cuba cruise, so I was watching the different cruise lines prices and itineraries for our Feb window. Then...the door closed on Cuba, and the prices dropped...a lot! We like the Sun and we like sailing out of PC, so when I saw a great price on sail-away rate, I booked it. The Sun was still all-inclusive for drinks, and we just earned platinum on our last cruise, so we didn't care about the Free at Sea perks.

 

Even though the Sun went back to the normal Free at Sea beverage package, we were told that our all-inclusive drinks would automatically convert over. At that time, our DSC dropped from $20 to $15 a day, so let the savings begin! Normally, I never see a price drop for the week I sail, since it's a really popular break week in the northeast & more districts in GA are having a break then, too. But...the price did drop...a lot! So much so that it was cheaper to rebook and pay the Free at Sea gratuities on the drink package - not to mention move from the 4th deck to the 6th deck. And still the price dropped again! This time, I asked for OBC - I saw on this board that the usual offer is 25% of the price difference, and that's exactly what I got. 

 

Pre-Cruise: we stayed at the Radisson Resort at the Port on their Park & Stay package. They have a shuttle that will take you to the port and pick you up when you return.  We watched the prices for this one a bit as it went up and down - we actually considered staying somewhere cheaper in Cocoa and parking at the port, but - FYI -  the port charges you an extra day. The price dropped to a rate with which we were happy, and so we booked it. Worked out really well. The night before, we went over to the Cocoa Beach Pier - took a walk down the beach at sunset, and ate dinner at the Riki Tiki Tavern at the end of the pier - felt like the vacation had started before we were on the ship!

 

Embarkation: We got to the port around 10:30. We went to the platinum line to check-in, which did save time as they were doing a more intensive passport check (due to the Corona virus), and the non-latitudes line got busy quickly. We also had a double-page version of the health form to complete.  Shortly after we checked in, they called Priority Access first (looked to be about 10 - 15 people), then our one ambassador by name (impressive, I thought), then platinum/platinum plus - took about 5 minutes.

 

The Ship: Like I said, we like the ship! It is older and smaller, but it has a certain charm. This was our 5th time on it, so it felt like home (and I knew where all the public restrooms were - very important when you have the drink package, haha). The dry-dock in 2018 really spruced it up, and the spaces look great - there were even some furniture updates from when I was last on in 2018, right after the refresh. My favorite areas remain the Great Outdoors Café and the Observation Lounge - I'm also a fan of the Windjammer Bar. The pool deck seems a little bigger in proportion to the size of the ship compared to some of the newer ships - pretty sure the pools aren't heated - it was a little cool that day, and I did not see many people in the pool - not even the hardy little kids you usually see in the water. For smokers, they moved the smoking area to the top deck section near Champs bar. This was actually a great move as the smoke mostly went up and away - they also kept Champs bar open more. We got to do the platinum behind-the-scene tour, and we saw the back stage of the theatre, the laundry, and the main galley. Very interesting!

 

The Room: We booked an inside on the Oslo deck - deck 6a. This funky little deck can only be accessed by a set of stairs on deck 7 - no elevator access. It was actually well located - near the forward elevators. The hallway was very quiet. We've booked a wide variety of rooms on the Sun - aft balconies, forward balconies, sideways insides...this was a smaller inside, sleeps 3, with the third on a foldout loveseat. I think that would be awfully tight. The room had plenty of storage, a new flat screen TV, the love seat, and a stool for the desk area. My only complaint is that it was very tight between the end of the bed and the love seat.  

 

The bathroom is the infamous Sun bathroom - small, circular shower with a curtain. However, it had great hot water with awesome pressure. I like the Sun's bathroom - I like being able to put all my toiletries on the little shelves - DH said it "appeals to my meticulous nature." Hah!

 

The Food & Drink: We ate in La Cucina, Le Bistro, the main dining room (breakfast, lunch, and dinner), and the Sports Bar.  Wings in the Sports Bar were not as good as I remembered (they were fine - just not as good). I really wish the Sun had a true O'Sheehan's/Local. All our meals in the main dining room were fine - there were some new menu choices on there that were very tasty, and some yummy old standbys as well. We enjoyed being able to use our platinum benefits for the first time in the specialty restaurants. We were told ahead of time that it was good for an appetizer, entrée less than $35, and dessert. We also got to choose a bottle of wine from a special list for Le Bistro. Service was pretty good in La Cucina, but not as much in Le Bistro - it was not the server's fault - he was very personable and was hustling. It was very busy, and they sat three couples, including us, in his section at the same time. We had to sign for our meal in La Cucina, but not in Le Bistro - not sure why.

 

We stopped going to the specialty restaurants when they became a la carte. If we were paying for our meal at La Cucina, it would've been $86 before tips...I don't even pay that much at our local fancy Italian restaurant! I miss the old $15 upcharge. Funny thought I had - I remember the move to a la carte pricing was supposedly because Andy Stewart's wife wanted to be able to go in and order Cagney's cheesecake without ordering a meal and paying the upcharge. I was wondering if anyone ever actually did that - just go into a specialty restaurant for appetizers or desserts?

 

They had some new drinks on the drink menu - that was fun to try!

 

The Ports - Key West & Cozumel: In Key West we were docked at Old Mole/Navy pier. This is where you have to take the special trolley to Mallory Square to get off the Navy base. They announced that people would have to line up for tickets, however, gold and up Latitudes, suite guests, and priority access passengers could just join the line when they were ready to leave. We did our own thing in Key West - a short walk to the Truman Little White House (very nice tour - interesting history), lunch at First Flight, a restaurant across the street (the former home of the Pan Am ticket office and the first international flight in 1927 from Key West to Cuba - cool), a walk to Kermit's for some frozen key lime pie on a stick, and a return to the ship - great afternoon.

 

For Cozumel we booked an excursion through NCL (10% platinum discount was applied online when I booked) to do a Coral Reef Restoration & Snorkel. It was very interesting -  we learned about coral, and then planted some mangrove seeds. Finally we went snorkeling and saw the artificial reefs and the platforms where the corals were being grown. It was nice to feel like you were giving back to a place, and the snorkeling was neat.

 

The Entertainment: The Sun does not have the Broadway shows or Howl at the Moon like the bigger ships. However, the live music at the pool and in the bars were all really good. World Beat production show was very entertaining. The magician's show in the theatre was very good - we did not have a chance to see the comedian. We also didn't see the Rock You Tonight production show as we've seen it three times before - it's vert entertaining and worth seeing at least once!

 

The Spa: I made the mistake of saying "Sure, I'd like to enter the spa raffle" on embarkation day...big mistake. I thought the spa attendant would just give me the card to fill out...nooo, I had to take a round-the-world tour of stations outlining all the amazing things they could do...meanwhile, DH is waiting patiently outside for me.  Ha, don't let that happen to you! I did get one service - a hair cut & style - it was great. The stylist took his time and did a magnificent job. He's the only one for whom I filled out a Vacation Hero card this time - service was fine, but it was not as outstanding as I remember in the past.  They did have some great massage & facial specials mid-week, and I wish I had known to wait for the specials, but I really needed a new 'do, so it was all good.

 

Debarkation: Relatively painless - we did the self-walk-off. Customs was doing the new facial recognition thing, and that would've been great if it recognized DH! He just had to go an agent - cursory glance at his passport, and we were on our way!

 

So those the highlights! If anyone has any questions, I'll check back and answer if I can - I didn't save the dailies, and I forgot my camera so I didn't get a lot of pictures. I don't play bingo or Deal or No Deal, so I can't really help with that. All in all it was a wonderful, relaxing 5 days, and I had a great time!

 

[luv2c00k]

Thanks so much for this review.   I will be on the Sun March 8th.   Taking my BFF on her first ever cruise.   DH and I have been on the Spirit twice and love the smaller ships.   I think 5 days on the Sun will be perfect for us.   

[ggTexasGal]

bostongal965, Thank you for your review  Very enjoyable to read.

[SplashOfWater]

Great review, thank you! We'll be on the Sun in May. It will be our fourth time sailing on her, the last time being five years ago. DH and I enjoy the smaller ships like the Sun, Dawn and Jewel class.

[bostongal965]

13 hours ago, luv2c00k said:

Thanks so much for this review.   I will be on the Sun March 8th.   Taking my BFF on her first ever cruise.   DH and I have been on the Spirit twice and love the smaller ships.   I think 5 days on the Sun will be perfect for us.   

 

I think your BFF will have a blast! The Sun was our first cruise, and we became instant addicts! 

[bostongal965]

12 hours ago, ggTexasGal said:

bostongal965, Thank you for your review  Very enjoyable to read.

 

You're welcome! It's fun to relive the cruise a little after it's over. Thanks for your kind words!

[bostongal965]

12 hours ago, akmarshall said:

Great review, thank you! We'll be on the Sun in May. It will be our fourth time sailing on her, the last time being five years ago. DH and I enjoy the smaller ships like the Sun, Dawn and Jewel class.

 

I think you'll love the updates from the refresh - she's so pretty now! The only thing I miss is the old Las Ramblas place - not only did I love the sangria and snacks up there, I also loved the décor. We planned to try Los Lobos on both our 2018 trip & this cruise, but we never made it. 

 

We've done the Epic & the Getaway, and they were fun, but I prefer the smaller ships overall.  This one seemed so relaxing, and my husband and I thought it was because we knew the ship so well - we didn't get lost, we knew the better times to do stuff - it was great.