Sun semi-review Feb 11th – 20th Be Warned!

[VoyageVirgin]

This ship is haunted.:eek: Doors and drawers were mysteriously opening and closing by themselves the first couple of days. Objects would suddenly leap off of tables and shelves. Things were constantly appearing out of thin air……..sparkling wines, chocolate covered strawberries, fruit plates, truffles, salmon & sushi, cheese plates, chocolate mousse tarts, shrimp cocktails, pates, flowers and our fruit bowl was always full and fresh no matter how much we ate. Things would disappear as well. Every time we came back to our suite, our mess was always gone. And the spookiest thing was inanimate objects changing shapes in the evenings. We had towels that took the form of rabbits, elephants, swans and stingrays. Be careful, because there are definitely some unseen forces at work on the Sun.

 

 

I had planned on doing a full and in-depth review of our back to back cruises on the Sun but time and circumstances have not worked in our favor. So just a short review this time without too much filler. Please keep in mind that this was DW’s first cruise and my second. My only cruise was in the mid 70’s on the S.S. Nevasa (a former troop ship) It was an educational cruise where I shared a dormitory style room with 16 others and all the food was deep fried including the toast. The Norwegian Sun would have had to sink to be rated worse than that experience. On the other hand I was single in those days and there were some passengers from an all girl’s school in Lancaster, England on board.

 

The bad stuff – (Nothing much of importance to report that was NCL’s fault!! I know that this will not make some of the NCL Bashers happy, but that’s the way it was for us.)

 

- Le Bistro - DW’s fillet was under cooked and tough…...mine was great.

- Le Bistro - wine glasses were always empty (the waitress had too many tables)

- Le Bistro – I couldn’t get anyone’s attention to get cream and sugar for DW’s coffee so I snuck over to a recently vacated table to get theirs. The Maitre d' caught me and made a federal case out of this with the servers. We just wanted to hide under our chairs. Next time DW said she will do without.

- Le Bistro was definitely below our expectations after reading many CC reviews.

- Photographers, and in particular during dinner in the specialty restaurants , Please, no means NO.

- Force 9 gale winds and 12-18 seas result in a surprising amount of rocking and rolling when you are in the foremost penthouse (8202). DW had better days but was not as bad as many of the green faces we saw!

- Weather was generally crappy, usually overcast, sometimes rainy (although none of our excursions were rained out) and most places talked about record cold temperatures. It was still better than what we left behind in Ontario!

- Outside decks were closed for much of the trip due to high winds.

- Military presence in many ports. Reassuring and unsettling at the same time but understood as to their necessity.

- Taxi ride from Samana Bay to Santiago, Dominican Republic. Three hours filled with near-death experiences (mostly for dogs and people on scooters).

 

The very bad stuff

- My DW’s wonderful mother took suddenly took ill back in Canada and died midtrip, We had to endure a very long day at sea before we could get off the ship in Samana Bay.

 

The OK stuff

 

- The main restaurants and buffets. Just as expected from CC reviews so no disappointments here. Not great or super nor horrible or terrible. Some cruisers really need to get a grip on their expectations. My one concern here is that both the Seven Seas and Four Seasons shared the same menu each day and since these are the main “free” restaurants it would have been nice to have two different menus available to choose from. Since we only ate in the main restaurants once (and one time from room service) this wasn’t a big deal to us.

 

 

The good stuff

- The ship was beautiful and pretty well laid out. Everyone had nice little pocket sized ship layouts, but after a few days the ship was easy to navigate from memory.

- There is no shortage of food choices aboard. Even with a full schedule we always had time check out the day’s menus and plan accordingly. We always found something to make us happy.

- Pools and hot tubs always had room and always had chairs available. Unless you had to have a particular chair in a particular location or wanted to have a hot tub all to yourself (which you could most often), we never saw any shortage of available space. Not having an empty chair in the choicest spot is NOT the same as there being no chairs available. Get a grip people.

- I love kids (have one of my own) and other people’s kids were not a problem on this cruise.

- Atlantis submarine in Cozumel, Quirigua Archaeological Explorer in Santo Tomas and Bacalar Highlights and Seven Color Lagoon all fun, all through NCL, and all likely available privately for less money. No regrets on any of these excursions.

- New cruise ship port of Costa Maya.

 

 

The great stuff

- East Meets West (FYI it is not half price on first night) and Il Adagio……….service and food as per CC reviews………………excellent.

- Romance Package…...great value…..did this twice………one for each cruise.

- Senor Frogs in Cozumel,…………….I got some great blackmail video of DW in this place.:D Do this place if you can, but do your shopping first. DW is not the best negotiator after five FREE shots of tequila!

- The people we met.:) In particular the friends from CC that we met at Tapas, although we never got a chance to know better or say goodbye to those from our second cruise. Our loss.:(

- Penthouse perks………Butlers, Concierge, sparkling wines, chocolate covered strawberries, fruit plates, truffles, salmon & sushi, cheese plates, chocolate mousse tarts, shrimp cocktails, pates, flowers, fruit bowl always full, preferred embarkation, early tenders, etc, etc, etc…..absolutely worth the money (And we paid full price for back to back with no upselling)

- One of the largest balconies on the front of ship. The floor plans are not accurate nor do they do the cabin justice.

- Aerial Trek and Cave Tubing through NCL in Belize. Two guides, twenty four people, more expensive than private tours, but we had a blast!! Never going to get images of DW zipping 70 feet above the ground out of my mind. Didn’t think she had it in her!

- The crew……. In particular our Butlers, Henry and Rommel, our Stewards, Vangie and Jonald and our Concierge, Anca.:) These five people would be one of the main reasons we will return to NCL. From the start they made us feel like we were the only passengers that they had to take care of. Always there when we needed something and in most cases anticipating our needs before we knew what they were. The old over used cliché “they were just like family” comes to mind but that’s what we felt from them. When they learned of my DW’s mother’s death, I felt genuine sorrow from them for my DW. As great as they were before the tragic news, they somehow stepped it up to another level at this point. And for those that might have had it cross their minds, I never once had the feeling that they turned it on for their tips. In particular, Henry and Anca went waaaay beyond what anyone could or would expect, even under these circumstances. They made all the arrangements that were necessary for us to get off in Samana Bay in record time. Everything from luggage, tendering, dealing with immigration (thank you Maria!) and having their Port Agent with a taxi ready for the 3 hour trip to Santiago. When the dust settles, we will make sure that NCL is aware of the efforts on our behalf by all those involved.

 

 

I have left out much of our experience do to time and space (this has gone on longer than intended….sorry) and there was much that we didn’t see or do. We were leaving most of the shows till the second week of the cruise so we saw none at all. We did see Roots Link, Marcus Dagan, Don Dunn and Twice as Nice, and all were good solid entertainment.

 

Although our first cruising experience ended prematurely and on a sad note we have decided to rebook when we can and we will plan to do another two weeks. And NCL will be our cruiseline of choice.

[haras]

For taking the time to write a review during a difficult moment in your family's life. Although I was sad to hear of the passing of your MIL, it's nice to hear stories where others help in your moment of need. The staff on the Sun sounds like went above and beyond what they could to make your transition home as smooth as possible. Thank you again for your review.

[Zeno]

Thanks for the review. Sorry to hear about your MIL's death. What a terribly sad thing to have to deal with on a vacation!

Interesting your comments about Le Bistro - on our cruise in Jan we were a little disappointed with the service too. The service at Il Adaggio was much superior. Other than that and one night in the dining room, we found the wait service to be pretty good - so I wonder if they are having a management problem at Le Bistro. Luckily we found the food at Le Bistro quite good or we would have been disappointed with our evening there.

[KRANKYK]

:D I loved your intro: Things were constantly appearing out of thin air……..sparkling wines, chocolate covered strawberries, fruit plates, truffles, salmon & sushi, cheese plates, chocolate mousse tarts, shrimp cocktails, pates, flowers and our fruit bowl was always full and fresh no matter how much we ate. Things would disappear as well. Every time we came back to our suite, our mess was always gone. And the spookiest thing was inanimate objects changing shapes in the evenings. We had towels that took the form of rabbits, elephants, swans and stingrays. Be careful, because there are definitely some unseen forces at work on the Sun.

Very sorry about you mother in-law :(

[pool girl]

You and your family are incredible. To take the time to post a review during such a sad time in your lives is amazing. It seems to me you are pretty strong people and you will be ok. I am sorry to hear of your loss. Thank-you for the review and the humor of the intro. It was very amusing. Take care.

[newmexicoNita]

As everyone else has said, I am so sorry to hear about your MIL. As for a couple comments you made; interesting your views on Le Bistro: DH has never liked it as much as I do, but he loves Cagney's (not on the Sun) I prefer Le Bistro: Santa Domingo: when our eldest daughter went to work for an airline many years ago her first vacation came up and she had no one to travel with plus it was mid winter and there were very few, what we refer as interline discounts available. Like a good mother, I agreed to travel with her: only place we could find to go: Santa Domingo. We too thought our lives were over when the taxi driver took us from the airport to our hotel> At one point I told my daughter, the guy should pay us to ride with him. Then the appearance of all these soldiers with machine guns. We just knew we had made a horrible mistake. Well we spent 4 days there, have not been back, but not because we haven't wanted to: there just seems to always be somewhere else to do. We loved Santa Domingo after we got over the cultural shock. Glad you had a nice cruise as far as it went and look forward to more details written in a wonderful way. Even DH who is a professional writer enjoyed reading everything you had to say. NMnita

[macfamily]

I loved your intro too! So sorry for your loss and that you had to cut your trip short. We just got off the Sun yesterday (2/18-2/25) and you missed a great week. The weather was fabulous! Hope you will be able to cruise again soon!

[alexis4014]

Hi guys,

 

Burt and I are so sorry to hear about your mother/MIL!! We're glad to hear that you all enjoyed (as much as possible) the second leg of your two week trek. We really enjoyed our week on the Sun. It was a real pleasure meeting you!

 

Alex

[007Alaska]

Sorry to hear about your MIL and missing the end of the cruise. Curious about which room you were in? We were on the Sun on 2/4 in room 9001 up front. Looked the like the room next to the AB cabin on deck 8 had a pretty good sized deck. Wondered if that is the one you were in?

[Pursers Office]

It was refreshing to read your review in spite of your sad news . With a attitude like yours your next cruise will be even better . :) :)

[greenie]

My most sincere condolances for your loss ... how sad and difficult that must have been (and still is). :(

 

Your review was a pleasure to read. A very clever intro (boy, do you know how to hook 'em! Bet some NCL bashers got all excited by your title then were deflated rather quickly, heh heh)

 

The cruise sounds wonderful and happy to hear you had the best of the best Concierge/Butler/Room Steward experience. That's the way it should be every time and I'm glad it was that way for you and your DW.

[VoyageVirgin]

Thank you everyone for your thoughtful and kind words. It was nice to see DW smiling when she read some of your posts.:)

 

Alexis4014 and Burt .....thank you and the pleasure was all ours.:)

007Alaska..........yes, we were in 8202, next to the AB suite and the balcony was huge! We had room for two chaise loungers, two regular chairs, a table and a volleyball court.:rolleyes: Seriously, we could have easily handled six to eight chairs.

I did email NCL to pass on our appreciation to the crew who had been so helpful. My email read in part,

"...........If there is any way that NCL can convey to these kind people our gratitude once more, we would be in your debt. .................."

Within fifteen minutes, we received the following email reply.

"Dear Mr Robertson,

Consider it done. Thank you very much for your kind letter and the heartfelt commendations of our shipboard colleagues. I will pass them on myself. Please also accept from me my condolences on the passing of your wife's mother.

Sincerely,

Colin Veitch"

I don't know if the response was actually from Mr. Veitch or not but it is nice that someone took their time to respond and hopefully Anca, Henry, Rommel, Vangie, Jonald and Maria will know that they have found a space in our hearts, for a very long time.

[pjwert]

Dear Marj and Gary,

 

Our heartfelt condolences to you both!

 

We so enjoyed meeting you! AND your "haunted cruise" review mirrored our time on the Sun too. Amazing!

 

Take good care.

 

Our thoughts are with you,

Peggy, Bob

[starfamily]

I loved your review- great intro! I am so sorry about your family's loss, my sincere condolences.

We are in 8002 which I believe is the identical cabin to yours. Do you have any photos of the cabin you could email me? I am very interested in the layout and the veranda. you can send them to morin10@charter.net

were you able to use the veranda or was the wind too much? I am quite worried about that. Did you eat any of your meals in the cabin? I was told the butler will bring them to you from any of the restaurants if you wish. could you tell me more about the romance package? Lastly, is there a curtain seperating the bed from the livingroom area? thanks!

[richtersl]

We stayed in 8002 and have photos of it here: http://lrichters.smugmug.com/gallery/1251466

 

Didn't I already answer your question about the wind in a different post? But in a nutshell, the balcony is very usable when the ship is moving. We even had the balcony doors open during sea days!

[Fam of 5]

VoyageVirgin, Fist let me express my condolences on the passing of your MIL. I just wanted to let you know that unfortunatley we had a similar experience this past year on the Majesty. I lost a young nephew very suddenly and had to cut our trip short. I could not believe the outstanding crew and the help they gave us during this difficult time. I too wrote to Mr. Veitch to tell him of his outstanding employees and how they made our arrangments to fly home and transfers to the airport painless. He responded quickly and assured me he would be in touch with the Captain and crew. They took my kids for walks and even out for ice creams while our travel plans were being made. Just to let you know, my kids have stayed in contact with quite a few crew members and they all reported that a copy of my letter was given to them and one put in their personel file. It was nice of you to acknowledge their kindness. I like to think those with a good experience will be as willing to write as those with complaints. I too will sail NCl again as this has made be a loyal custoimer.

[starfamily]

Hi Linda, yes you did, I was just asking if they encountered problems, several people said it is an issue and I was hoping to hear more people who agreed with you that it was not. I am hoping to be able to sleep with the balcony doors open so that is good to know that you could.

I will ask you Linda, did you ever dine in your cabin? Since the veranda is so large I was thinking we could put the diningroom table out there to eat dinner since we can order in from any restaurant with the butler, again I guess it would depend on the wind?

[WaldosPepper]

VoyageVirgin - what a wonderful review.

 

Please accept my deepest condolences on the loss of your loved one. I know all too well how difficult it is, particularly when it happens at the same time as your cruise. May you and your wife find Peace. ;)

 

Bravo for contacting Mr. Veitch to send your message of gratitude. NCL staff are amazing in circumstances such as these, and it's important that they be recognized for their compassion as well as their professionalism.

 

May your next cruise be as wonderful. ;)

[richtersl]

Yes, you can dine out there if you like. I sat out there and read magazines.

 

We also slept with the balcony doors open.

 

But, you needed to be careful at night with the lights in that cabin (and the rest of the front-facing ones on that deck). You can keep your doors open at night as long as there is no light from inside your cabin reaching the balcony. If you have the inside lights on, you need to keep your curtains drawn. This is so the lights from your cabin do not interfere with the bridge crew who is navigating the ship. To get around that at night, we used the bathroom light as a night light.

 

The balcony has a special light you can turn on at night so you can sit out there after dark. It's soooooooo relaxing. :D

[starfamily]

Now they don't look down at you from the bridge do they?

Not that I am planning on doing something that should not be seen but just wondering

[richtersl]

LOL...no, they have more important things to do. :D

 

Check this photo out:

 

 

 

Notice that the chairs are in a sheltered area. You can see just a bit of the roofline. The way they were set up in that photo no one can see you sitting there, except the guy on the passing Carnival ship with the binoculars. :p (just kidding)

 

The only way we could see others and they could see us was if we leaned up against the railing.

[jwitt2]

Gary and Marge,

Don't know if you will still see this, I just found your thread. So sorry to hear about your mother-in-law. We enjoyed meeting you and sharing the cruise with you on your first leg. Your review was entertaining. Hope that you will have some happy cruises in the future.

 

Jo Ann and Jack

[VoyageVirgin]

The balcony is very private - we did not have our meals there - but I don't see why you couldn't (other than it would be a pain to get the table out there) Loved standing out there at night - so relaxing. We didn't leave the door open when the decks were closed due to high winds - but most of the time we did have them open - love fresh air. Just be sure to close the deck doors prior to opening your cabin door - the backdraft will slam the cabin door - and your butler might get hurt. You'll see what I mean when you get there. The Romance Package is in the NCL brochure - and includes wine/dinner at Le Bistro/ chocolate dipped strawberries/ and a cake and champagne party with photo. Very nice at a very reasonable rate. In your cabin you do get full sized speciality soaps, shampoo, conditioner, cotton balls, q-tips, bath salts, lotion, mending kit (small) shower cap, blow dryer (in the vanity table) etc.. I loved the bathroom. separate shower, w/c has a separate door, vanity area with great lighting, whirlpool bath with another shower head and so much closet space I was spoiled. We stored our luggage under the bed to leave floor space for all my "shoes". Free DVD's from the conscierge if you're in the mood for movies. The butler will order and deliver your dinner for you - and has the daily menus available for your viewing. The breakfast menu is in the leather bound info book at the bar area - we had breakfast in the room every morning - very good. There is no curtain separating the bed from the sitting area (or at least not in our room) but the bed is made up fairly quickly so usually not a problem with us. I hope I've answered all your questions and that you have a very enjoyable trip with NCL - we certainly were more than happy with their service.

[VoyageVirgin]

Hi Jo & Jack - Thank you for your condolences - we did enjoy meeting all the CC'rs and hope to see you all again soon. Looking at booking for the first two weeks in April/06 for a even greater needed rest. We were just starting to unwind at the start of the second leg. Some things are just not meant to be - but we loved NCL Sun and will return.

Thanks again

Marj

[VoyageVirgin]

Hey Peggy & Bob - Glad to see you arrived home safely - so very nice to meet you both and a heartfelt thank you for your condolences. Trying time but they say what doesn't knock you down strengthens you in the end. Will miss my mom terribly - but at least she didn't suffer long. So surprising, she was diagnosed on Friday 17th and passed away early on the 19th.

Loved getting together with you and Bob - and we will be heading back hopefully soon. Want that relaxing roll again - but hopefully Mother Nature behaves herself this time. No more 18 footers please.....

 

Best regards to all

Marj