Just back from the sun on 3/1...

[ILOVEOSU]

My husband and I just returned from our honeymoon on the Sun. We had a wonderful time...so much so that we signed up for the Cruise Rewards to use toward our next cruise. This was my very first cruise and my husbands first with Norwegian. If anyone has any questions, I'd be happy to try to answer them.

 

Our flight and hotel

We flew Skybus into Ft Lauderdale from Columbus. Not a bad flight...we were a little late leaving Columbus because they had to de-ice our plane, but that can't be helped, of course. The flight was cheap and well worth the ride to Miami. We took a shuttle for $18 each from Ft Lauderdale to the Sofitel hotel in Miami. The drive took about an hour, but only because we had a rowdy group of guys who only knew that they wanted to go to South Beach, and apparently thought we were going to just drive them around until they decided exactly where. Our driver eventually just dropped them off on a corner somewhere. The Sofitel was a very nice hotel, very comfy beds. We only paid about $120 for the night through Priceline...not bad for a 4 star.

 

Embarkation

Very smooth process. We were on the ship having lunch by about 12 or 12:30. Our rooms were supposed to be ready by 1, but ours wasn't quite ready until around 1:30 or 2.

 

Our Stateroom

Absolutely perfect! We had a BA stateroom 0007. No big problems with noise...the gym is right above, but the only time we heard anything was in the middle of the afternoon during some kind of aerobics class. We had plenty of room for our clothes...lots of shelves nad drawers in addition to the closet. The bathroom is very small, but fine for us. We were supposed to have the honeymoon package waiting for us in the room, along with our bar set-up, but neither were there. A call to the reception desk quickly fixed the problem. They apparently forgot to deliver the honeymoon package, and the bar set-up was never requested, even though I had several communications with the ship coordinator and her replacement. It was still not really a big deal, though, because they had both to us within a couple of hours.

 

Food

This was the most pleasant surprise for me. After all of the bad reviews I read, I was really worried that the food would be bad. It was amazing! We had the buffet for breakfast a couple times and dinner once...it's best for breakfast I think. We ate in the main dining rooms most times. Every meal we had was absolutely wonderful. Never one complaint from us. We also ate in Las Ramblas, and thought it was very good.

Since we had the honeymoon package, we had dinner in Le Bistro one night. It was one of the best meals ever. We paid an extra $10 (it would have been free with the honeymoon pkg) to get the beef tenderloin meal...the dessert was the best chocolate souffle I have ever had. Drinks were expensive, of course, but they do have some deals, like the bucket of beer. $19.25 for 6 domestic beers, about $22 for 6 imports.

I have no idea what all of the complaints I read were about.

 

Ports

We had a great time at every port. In Roatan, we just kind of wandered around, found a nice bar and had beer (many beers), some chips and salsa and the local food...which was great.

In Belize we did cave tubing with cave-tubing.com. It was terrific. Yhonny is really great. It was a pretty big group. The only thing we wished were different was that we felt a little rushed in the caves. I think it was just because we spent a little more time driving around than they probably normally do at the beginning. We had to meet up with a few more people for our group, so it took a while to get to the caves. Oh, and I am a big dummy and wore my room key on a lanyard around my neck (so I wouldn't lose it) and lost it jumping off the little cliff into the water.:( Yhonny was my hero and actually found it in the water! :D Yhonny and his crew work very hard! They push and pull the groups through the caves.We passed several groups in the caves.

In Cozumel, we did a little shopping, then went to Paradise Beach. It was great! A little cool and windy, but nice weather considering we had a bunch of snow and ice in Columbus just a few days before. They have a water trampoline and all kinds of activities to do.

We didn't get to go Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas, but instead went to Nassau. We were disappointing, because Great Stirrup Cay looks beautiful in the pics, and we really just wanted to lay on the beack with a fruity drink, but we found a nice public beach on Paradise Island.

 

Staff

The staff on the Sun was amazing. The were quick to honor any request, drinks were great and served quickly, and every time we were in the dining room, the staff asked about how our trip was going. Our room stewards did a great job and even left us a couple of the towel animals two or three nights. They were adorable, and even though I am in my thirties, they were still a fun little treat.

 

Miscellaneous

We also went to a couple of the shows and really enjoyed both. We only went to the pool a couple of times, mostly because there was so much to do on the ship, we didn't get a chance to go more often. The pool was always pretty empty when we went, but the hot tubs are very popular. The gym was nice, plenty of equipment, with a pleasant staff.

My only real complaint with the cruise was the way a small number of the people on the ship behaved. I know this is to be expected when travelling, but it's disappointing to see how inconsiderate some people are. At the pool, we noticed one group had thrown their cigarette butts all over the ground right next to the pool where people walk...leaving them for the staff to clean up (along with all of their trash and towels on the side of the pool.) I couldn't believe it. And when we went to one show there was a group of people holding two rows of seats for people in the front area, that never even showed up for the show.

And my last peeve was the way they handled tendering. There were people who go to the tender line at 7:45 or 8 to stand in line (like we did)and then at 8:30 they would have 5 or 10 additional people join them. We actually had about 30 or 40 people in front of us one day when we got in line, and by the time they passed out the tender tickets, there were probably 70-80 in front of us. I'm sure this is to be expected anywhere you go, but it was just a little annoying. Seems like they could have a better process for handing out the tender tickets. My husband said on Princess they just went to the Lounge or Theater area and sat in the seats instead of a line...that way there was no holding places...you just sat in the first available seat.

Overall, it was an amazing trip. Like I said, we already put a deposit on our next trip with the cruise rewards and are looking forward to planning the next one. :)

[lgfromdg]

Thanks for the review. Most of the rcent ones have been very complimentary of the Sun. I can't wait for my turn :D

[ejmarf]

Thanks for your review... makes me sooooo excited for Saturday! One question, I am trying to arrange a group of us for getting off the ship "quickly" in Roatan and Belize for excursions. Do you have a suggested place for us to meet that's easy (like where we disembark) and also, what time would I need to tell people to meet me? A quick relpy would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[ILOVEOSU]

Thanks for your review... makes me sooooo excited for Saturday! One question, I am trying to arrange a group of us for getting off the ship "quickly" in Roatan and Belize for excursions. Do you have a suggested place for us to meet that's easy (like where we disembark) and also, what time would I need to tell people to meet me? A quick relpy would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

Well, getting off the boat in Roatan was easy for us because we docked, so you just walk right off. You would most likely want to meet up and head off the ship together for that stop since it would probably be pretty easy to do that. If that doesn't work, you could probably just meet up right outside of the dock area...there's a little market and a bar right outside of the dock.

 

For Belize you have to tender. Did you book your excursions already with NCL, or were you going to book with someone outside of NCL?

You'll want to get in line early for your tender tickets if you didn't book your excursion with NCL because, as I mentioned in my review, the tender ticket line gets pretty long. We lined up a half hour early and had ticket # 164 and 165 and we were at the docks by 9:30 or 9:45. If you want to meet up at the same time, it might be a good idea that everyone get in line for tender tickets around the same time, so you will be in or close to the same group when tendering.

If you booked an excursion already, I would think they will give you a place to meet up. We booked with cave-tubing.com in Belize and the confirmation email we got gave pretty clear directions of where to meet...it was a restaurant just outside of the terminal with plenty of room for a group to meet up.

 

If you haven't booked an excursion, you may want to just meet up in the dock area, or at the restaurant outside the terminal (Iguana Rana), then you can find an excursion to go with.

I hope this answers your question. Let me know if you have any others...I'd be happy to try and help. Enjoy your cruise!:D

[Toyz711]

i agree, for belize...get all your tender tickets for the group. have the group meet early and go on the tender together. you could do it a 2nd way, meet on the docks, where the tenders get off. but then you have no communications to find lost ones.

roatan has a big secure area, with music and dancers. easy to meet there. see photo attached.

[travelingfools]

We just returned on Saturday from a great trip on the Sun. We would send one in the group to get tender tickets and then plan a time to meet in the Outdoor Cafe. Several would get there a little early and have breakfast while waiting. It worked well. If I remember correctly, we'd get in line for the tender tickets about a half hour before and we always had tickets in the first 100.

[2008cruisemate]

Thanks for the review....makes me even more excited about Saturday!

 

Cheers

[ejmarf]

Well, getting off the boat in Roatan was easy for us because we docked, so you just walk right off. You would most likely want to meet up and head off the ship together for that stop since it would probably be pretty easy to do that. If that doesn't work, you could probably just meet up right outside of the dock area...there's a little market and a bar right outside of the dock.

 

For Belize you have to tender. Did you book your excursions already with NCL, or were you going to book with someone outside of NCL?

You'll want to get in line early for your tender tickets if you didn't book your excursion with NCL because, as I mentioned in my review, the tender ticket line gets pretty long. We lined up a half hour early and had ticket # 164 and 165 and we were at the docks by 9:30 or 9:45. If you want to meet up at the same time, it might be a good idea that everyone get in line for tender tickets around the same time, so you will be in or close to the same group when tendering.

If you booked an excursion already, I would think they will give you a place to meet up. We booked with cave-tubing.com in Belize and the confirmation email we got gave pretty clear directions of where to meet...it was a restaurant just outside of the terminal with plenty of room for a group to meet up.

 

If you haven't booked an excursion, you may want to just meet up in the dock area, or at the restaurant outside the terminal (Iguana Rana), then you can find an excursion to go with.

I hope this answers your question. Let me know if you have any others...I'd be happy to try and help. Enjoy your cruise!:D

 

Thanks so much for your help. We did book with cave-tubing.com for Belize and Victor Bodden for Roatan. Finding the tours isn't my concern, but what time do I tell people with my group to plan on coming to meet me, and do I tell them to meet on the ship in a specific sight or just when we find the tour guides? It seems like for the Belize tenders, we need to all be together and need to be there early for those early tenders... so what time do we get on line for the tender tickets, and where? Thanks again... Leaving here in 12 hours! :)

[ejmarf]

We just returned on Saturday from a great trip on the Sun. We would send one in the group to get tender tickets and then plan a time to meet in the Outdoor Cafe. Several would get there a little early and have breakfast while waiting. It worked well. If I remember correctly, we'd get in line for the tender tickets about a half hour before and we always had tickets in the first 100.

 

Thanks for your help... you said you would get in line "about a half hour before"... what time is that? I have people asking me for a time, and I want to give them a specific time. Is the outdoor cafe near where we get the tender tickets?

Thanks again.

[ILOVEOSU]

Thanks for your help... you said you would get in line "about a half hour before"... what time is that? I have people asking me for a time, and I want to give them a specific time. Is the outdoor cafe near where we get the tender tickets?

Thanks again.

 

Roatan won't be much of a problem for you...you can just meet in the area right off the ship, like in the picture on one of the previous posts, then meet up with your tour guide together.

 

For Belize, our tender tickets were passed out at 8:30 at the Champagne Bar (I think deck 6, but I'm not positive). The outdoor cafe is on deck 11, so it's not close to the tender area, but it only takes a few minutes to walk down there.

Other port days, the time for tender tickets was earlier. My husband and I had an early breakfast and got in line at 8 for Belize, and still had about 30 people in front of us...so many people came at 8:20 or 8:30 and the line was pretty long by then.

Like I said in my review, it was a little frustrating that there were so many people "holding" places in line...we ended up with probably an extra 40 or 50 people by the time the passed out tickets. If you all want to be off the ship at the same time, get in line for your tender tickets together. Yhonny with cave-tubing.com did send me an email with instructions where to meet, and it was really easy to find, so if someone in your group gets on a later tender, just meet up with them there. It will be easier than trying to designate a place in the dock area...it's pretty crowded.

Oh, and I read somewhere where someone said they send one person to wait in line for the tender tickets...we were told when we were in line that each person that needed a ticket had to be in line, and I did see some people being told they could only get one ticket per person. Not sure if the poster was saying that person held a place for their whole group (which isn't really fair to all of the people standing in line waiting), or if the person meant that they got tickets for the whole group, but I would have everyone get in line if you want ot have tender tickets together.

Enjoy your trip!:D Yhonny was a lot of fun. And be sure to take one of those disposable waterproof cameras with a flash. The caves are beautiful!

[ejmarf]

Roatan won't be much of a problem for you...you can just meet in the area right off the ship, like in the picture on one of the previous posts, then meet up with your tour guide together.

 

For Belize, our tender tickets were passed out at 8:30 at the Champagne Bar (I think deck 6, but I'm not positive). The outdoor cafe is on deck 11, so it's not close to the tender area, but it only takes a few minutes to walk down there.

Other port days, the time for tender tickets was earlier. My husband and I had an early breakfast and got in line at 8 for Belize, and still had about 30 people in front of us...so many people came at 8:20 or 8:30 and the line was pretty long by then.

Like I said in my review, it was a little frustrating that there were so many people "holding" places in line...we ended up with probably an extra 40 or 50 people by the time the passed out tickets. If you all want to be off the ship at the same time, get in line for your tender tickets together. Yhonny with cave-tubing.com did send me an email with instructions where to meet, and it was really easy to find, so if someone in your group gets on a later tender, just meet up with them there. It will be easier than trying to designate a place in the dock area...it's pretty crowded.

Oh, and I read somewhere where someone said they send one person to wait in line for the tender tickets...we were told when we were in line that each person that needed a ticket had to be in line, and I did see some people being told they could only get one ticket per person. Not sure if the poster was saying that person held a place for their whole group (which isn't really fair to all of the people standing in line waiting), or if the person meant that they got tickets for the whole group, but I would have everyone get in line if you want ot have tender tickets together.

Enjoy your trip!:D Yhonny was a lot of fun. And be sure to take one of those disposable waterproof cameras with a flash. The caves are beautiful!

 

Thank you sooooo much! Off we go!!!! :)

[gizmo22a]

Thank you ILOVEOSU, for the great review. We were on the Sun in January for our first cruise, and we, too, were really impressed by the food. We couldn't see why there were any complaints.

 

Yhonny and cave tubing was so much fun. It was like you were on the party bus. People shouldn't worry about missing a tender or missing the tour. Just line up at 7:45am at the Champagne Bar to get your ticket, and you will be on one of the first tenders. We met Yohnny at the meeting place by 9:30am and still had to wait for others till around 10:00am. He even stuck around and waited for a small group after we left and personally drove them in his pickup truck to his office to meet the bus. That was class!!!!

[ILOVEOSU]

Thank you ILOVEOSU, for the great review. We were on the Sun in January for our first cruise, and we, too, were really impressed by the food. We couldn't see why there were any complaints.

 

Yhonny and cave tubing was so much fun. It was like you were on the party bus. People shouldn't worry about missing a tender or missing the tour. Just line up at 7:45am at the Champagne Bar to get your ticket, and you will be on one of the first tenders. We met Yohnny at the meeting place by 9:30am and still had to wait for others till around 10:00am. He even stuck around and waited for a small group after we left and personally drove them in his pickup truck to his office to meet the bus. That was class!!!!

 

Same thing for us...we waited for a while for the later tenderers and Yhonny brought some others to meet us. No big deal, though. Yhonny had us back to the ship in plenty of time. It was a blast on the bus. Yhonny is so funny.

Only one thing with the party bus...some crazy guy riding his bike rode right in front of us. I swear I thought Sonny ran into him. He and Yhonny gave each other a look like "uh-oh!" :eek:

Definitely not the driving I'm used to in Columbus! :)