Review of The Sun ~ August 8th, Alaska - PART ONE

[Casshew]

Review of NCL Sun ~ Alaska ~ August 8th - 15th, 2004

 

 

I will have a photo link soon!

 

 

Who went?

 

 

Myself (Cassie) and my 10 year old daughter, Noel and my Mom & Dad

 

 

Reservations

 

I booked 2 BA Cabins online and when I went to call in my deposit a few days later the agent told me she could book me at the BC rate for the BA Cabin.

 

I found the reservations agent to be efficient and helpful, saving me about 150.00 per cabin.

 

Months later I received an email saying that AD suites wee available for upgrade and I switched our BA's to an AD (8202) and an AB (romance 8203) for 250.00 more per person.

 

 

 

Embarkation

 

 

When we arrived at canada Place in Vancouver it was a very busy place with both the Sun and the Veendam passengers sharing the same security area. Once past security we headed into the main embarkation area to check in and there were many, many people in several lines.

 

Because we had the suites I went to the desk marked "Suite Check-in" and there was no one there. They took our photos and swiped my credit card, gave us our room keys and asked us to have a seat. There was a little tray of cold drinks, pastries & sandwiches that my Dad helped himself to and about 5 minutes later Ray Williams (the Concierge ) arrived and welcomed us then had a lady escort us to the immigration desk to a VIP line and then she sent us onboard the ship. It was literally 15 minutes from security to boarding.

 

Once onboard another lady escorted us to our suites on Deck 8, at the bow.

 

 

Suites

 

 

AD - 8202 Not as large as I had imagined but extremely comfortable and well laid out. Queensize Bed that can be set up as 2 twins, 2 bedside tables, double sofa bed, 2 upholstered chairs, coffee table, dining table with 4 chairs, large 27 inch Television in a corner cabinet with DVD player and surround sound. Another desk area with cabinets for glassware, Coffee maker, fridge etc.. glass sliding balcony doors to a HUGE teak balcony at least 10 feet deep and 20 feet wide with 2 chaise lounge chairs, 2 regular chairs and a small table.

 

The shining point of this cabin was the bathroom/walk in closet area... tons of area to hang clothes and drawers for unpacking. Makeup/blowdrier vanity area with a chair... large jacuzzi tub with a sloped back and shower in the tub, also a separate shower stall and separate toilet area, double sink with marble countertops, toiletries etc... just beautiful.

 

 

AB - 8203 The same size as 8202 but there is a column in the middle of the room and a canopy of curtains around the bed that make it feel less roomy than 8202. The identical furniture to 8202 except the bed won't come apart to make twins.

 

The balcony is smaller.. still 10 feet deep but maybe only 15 feet wide, however you can veiw out the side of the ship which you cannot do from 8202. This balcony has different furniture (nicer) 2 teak chaise lounges with cushions and a table and 4 chairs.

 

The bathroom/walk in closet area of 8203 is larger than 8202 with a heart shaped jacuzzi tub :) separate shower stall, separate toilet area and a single sink with marble counter. The closet area again has tons of space and a make up mirror and chair to sit at.

 

 

Butlers

 

These cabins come with 2 butlers that work the same shift 7am - 10 pm Amit & Henry dropped in to see us even before sailing to introduce themselves and tell us of the services they would provide. They had my parents order 3 complimentary bottles of liquor and asked them what soda they wanted stocked in their fridge every day.

 

We used the butlers several times, even if you just call for normal room service the butler is who will deliver your food. The will set up your table with linens and pour your coffee, tea or drinks and lay everything out for you.. we were very spoiled!

 

There are 20 suites on the ship.. some at the bow, some at the aft. Henry was who we saw most of the time but the other one made sure he popped in to say hello, personally I think this is a racket to get tipped from everyone :D. Obviously we tipped henry the most$ because he is who did all the serving, but Amit showed up on the last night and the last morning to stake his place and make sure we did not forget about him.

 

 

Concierge

 

 

Ray Williams is the concierge and he sends treats to your room everday like chocolate covered strawberries, chocolate truffles, cheese & fruit, crackers and salmon etc... also champagne on your first night. He looked after cancelling my wrangell excursion and would send up DVD's that my daughter would order from the DVD library every day. He gave us VIP tender passes for Juneau which saved us a HUGE wait in a line of thousands.. we did not take advantage of the restaurant reservations but he will look after all of yours for the whole week while others only get to book the day ahead.

 

 

Cabin Steward/Stewardess

 

 

Excellent! we had Leslie and Georgiana and they worked very hard... we would leave for breakfast and when we were back our suites would be done. In the evenings we would go for dinner or a stroll and when we returned our beds would be turned down and we always had towel animals swans, dogs, elephant, crocodile, turtles. Very nice people to chat to always pleasant and would stop what they were doing to say hello and have a little chat with my Dad.

 

Ship

 

 

Like a shiny penny, everything spotless and well looked after.. there was always someone doing something, wiping railings, elevator walls, certainly no lack of crew on the Sun.. hard working people everywhere you look.

 

 

Crew

 

If you meet anyones eyes they would smile and say hello, very friendly and welcoming and helpful if you are lost.

 

Spa Staff ~ if you go anywhere near the spa for the first few days you will practically be assulted by pretty women trying to entice you in for a facial or a massage

 

 

 

Food

 

 

Every morning we ate in the Seven Seas Dining Room for breakfast... what a place and a great escape from the busy buffet. I think you would have to be insane to skip the sit down breakfast in the Seven Seas. The menu is excellent with your normal breakfast fare, but also everyday they had a special dish you could pick like "Cheese Blintz". Eggs Benedict or Huevos Rancheros... The service here was excellent, it made you feel like it was going to be a great day.

 

Lunch Buffet.. we ate here everyday for lunch, usually inside and I found the food to be very good except the first 3 days the soups were all a fishy type - and as none of us eats fish we were disappointed there were no 'normal' soups but after tuesday they stopped with the fish varieties and had better ones like beef vegetable, scotch broth, corn chowder etc...

 

My daughter didn't like anything (picky eater) so I would walk across to the where they had pizza and bring her a couple of slices or I would go outside and get her fries and a hot dog.

 

Dinner ~ we ate in the Four Seasons only once and it was delicious. Noel had Chicken Parmesana, my dad had roast beef and I had a Veal chop with polenta and every dish was great. (My Mom just had the soup)

 

The other nights we either had the butler serve dinner in the cabin or we went to the buffet. My dad and I were in love with the cheese section.. they had a huge selection of bleu, cheddars, caraway, swiss, mozzerlla, etc.. every night we loaded up on cheese and crackers with fruit.. before we even got to the dinner part of dinner :D yum!

 

The buffet did not run as efficiently as it could ~ there seemed to always be a bottle neck in the middle of the room. That would be my one complaint that they need to rework the buffet flow of guests.

 

I found the food quality & variety to be excellent and also I liked the coffee which is new for me, usually I hate the coffee on ships. The bread & rolls were incredible, also the pastries.. the desserts were hit and miss, but they always had ice cream.. pistachio.. yum!

 

Drinks - I heard people complaining about the drinks onboard, I had a few pina coladas and margaritas etc.. and they were fine, just like they taste anywhere.. my Dad enjoyed the Corona and my Mom had about 100 cups of tea. They had chocolate milk for my daughter (which she loves)

 

I bought her a soda wristband, and she used it all the time (when she remembered to wear it) also we took soda from my parents fridge in the 8203.

 

 

Continued here - Part 2

[Host CMLA]

Great review so far! Thanks. I can't wait to go to part two now. Sounds like everything was great to this point.

[Casshew]

We sailed on the Norwegian Sun last August (2005) :rolleyes: and today I JUST finally uploaded everything for viewing.

 

www.casshew.com <--- Click on Alaskan Cruise

 

Photos from

 

- ketchikan & lumberjack show

- juneau & whale watching

- wrangell & a flight over the Glaciers

- Skagway and the Gold Dredge/White Pass tour

- Tracy Arm & Sawyer Glacier

- Romance & Penthouse Suites

& Whistler BC

 

Please sign my guest book if you are so inclined (on first page)

[CatskillsMom]

Beautiful Photos, thanks for sharing them.

 

Alaska is a place I've always wanted to go...

[SailAways]

We can all dream, can't we.

Hopefully, we will work our way to an outside cabin next cruise!

Thanks so much for sharing - your photos are great. You all look so happy. Why not??

I especially like the photo of the ship heading towards Lion's Gate Bridge - we have been there, so it brings back memories.

Thanks again.

[Galley Girl]

The only thing I can say is WOW! They are beautiful.

Thank you for the eye candy.

Joanne

[dgund]

Your pictures are beautiful! Thanks for sharing.

[Spot]

Going to Alaska this next September is something we are planning and your photos surely made up our minds - thank you!!

[Casshew]

Photos from this cruise are now up at my website

[Spot]

Thank you for an upbeat review of your experience on the Sun.

I can hardly wait to go on her next month.

[Don Haynes]

Thanks for the wonderful review, we'll be cruising next month on the Sun.

[electricron]

Thanks for the wonderful review, we'll be cruising next month on the Sun.

 

So will I. Which cruise will you be on?

I'm on the December 11th cruise. Maybe we will meet aboard?