The SUN is scaring me now...

[kmavb]

WOW...I've been reading quite a few POOR/SOUR reviews about the NCL SUN. A little scary now that we're booked to sail on it next month. EEEKKK!!! NOT GOOD!!! Are there any HAPPY reviews/stories that people can share???

:(

[NCL_Cruiser]

WOW...I've been reading quite a few POOR/SOUR reviews about the NCL SUN. A little scary now that we're booked to sail on it next month. EEEKKK!!! NOT GOOD!!! Are there any HAPPY reviews/stories that people can share???

:(

 

I've talked with MANY people who've sailed on the Sun in the last couple months...all of whom are cruising veterans. They've indicated that the ship was great, the food was wonderful, and their vacation was as good as or better than any other they've taken...Take every review with a shaker of salt (a grain just won't cut it) and expect to have a great time!:D

[Lib0007]

Are there any HAPPY reviews/stories that people can share???

:(

 

 

YES!! Just off the Sun yesterday - loved it!! She is a fine ship with a great crew. We had a great time and enjoyed every minute. I'll write more later.

[electricron]

Poor reviews recently?

 

Here's the latest Sun reviews at Cruise Critic:

** cloud hiding the sun

Central America/Panama Canal schmidlapp 03/08

***** Great Itinerary on the Sun!

Western Caribbean logjordan 03/08

***** Sun Great for Kids

Western Caribbean Kristi3934 03/08

*** Easter Cruise on Sun

Western Caribbean Ann0513 03/08

**** Family w/Kids + Adult Friends

Western Caribbean mholder 03/08

*****+ We loved the Sun!

Western Caribbean mizbear 03/08

*****+ THE FABULOUS SUN

Western Caribbean s57126 03/08

*****+ Take Me Back To The Sun!

Western Caribbean scooter0304 03/08

**** kid and grandma cruise

Western Caribbean AF 03/08

**** UnBeliezeble

Western Caribbean The Goods 03/08

*****+ The Sun Shines Brightly!

Western Caribbean ChBoxers800 03/08

*** OK but not Great

Western Caribbean Hebejeebe 03/08

***** Western Caribbean on the Sun

Western Caribbean carnac767 03/08

**** Had a blast!

Western Caribbean jlmcmm1110 03/08

*****+ NCL Awesome!

Western Caribbean cbehymer 03/08

**** Exotic W.Carib. Itinerary

Western Caribbean jansails 03/08

 

Let's total the results. Let's give a point for each star, and a half point for a +. There were 16 reviews dated 3/08, therefore if everyone gave the Sun 5+ stars, a maximum of 88 points. The Sun received 68.5 stars.

That's an average over 4 stars. That's very good.

 

Here's Cruise Critics recommended grading level for each star.

 

6 stars = Exceptional in every way

5 stars = Excellent

4 stars = Very good

3 stars = Good

2 stars = Fair

1 star = Limited appeal

 

I do not consider 4 stars so poor a rating that should worry anyone:cool: .

[Carnac767]

We cruised the Sun last month and had a wonderful time. You have nothing to worry about. Have fun.

[Lowie]

your vacation will be what you make of it, we had a great time despite some problems. if anyone saw me on that cruise they wouldn't have known how many problems we were having because we like to laugh and have fun. don't change your cruise, you may just have the best week of your life!

 

p.s. just stick to four seasons when you go to the dining room when possible and sit with jonathan and shailani, you won't be sorry.

[isles1]

When you read a poor review about something travel related, you can usually see that something had gone bad that tainted the entire trip for the reviewer. All of a sudden all the servers/staff are unprofessional, everything is dirty, and gosh darn it nothing seems to be going right.

 

For every below-average to poor review for a ship there seems to be nine glowing reviews. The travel experience is very subjective and people enter into the process with different expectations. Sometimes something does happen along the way that sets the tone of the trip for that person.

 

The latest poor review here for the Sun that was posted yesterday (which is probably the one you are worried about said that all of (or perhaps many, I'm not sure) their meals took almost 3 hours to complete with unexceptable time passing between courses. Others on the same ship encountered no service issues. The reviewer seemed to let the issue re: the cabin door not closing effect their outlook on the rest of the experience. I could be wrong, but that was my take on it based on the tone of the review.

 

I really would not worry about it.

[watchdiva]

Like the others have said, you really need to take every review (positive AND negative) with a grain of salt. One pax perception of what is good or bad about a cruise may NOT be the same perception as another pax's.

 

I go on every cruise with an attitude that my cruise will be great and don't worry overly much about blips that can/will occur on any sailing that I happen to be on.

 

We've had safes that had to be unlocked 3 times by the ships engineer (all because I messed up:eek: ), doors that stuck, OBC's that weren't credited immediately to our account, etc and have laughed about all of them! I've had prime rib ordered rare and served well (yes, I did return it and yes the next cut was perfect) and laughed about it.

 

Please - don't worry/stress over any less than positive reviews you read. Your cruise will be what you make of it (how you approach those "blips" along the way and how you manage to deal with them).

 

Expect to have a great cruise and you will!

[BeachBumMama]

If you are that worried, I'll sacrifice myself and go in your place. It's not too late for a name change.:D :D

[CruisnGram]

I too had a wonderful trip on the Sun. If you would like to read the review, click the link below. There are also some pictures of the ship in the pic link.

 

Relax, ignore the naysayers, and have a wonderuful trip! :D

[llachance]

a great time a couple of weeks ago and have signed up for another trip on her in December. Yes the service in the dining room could be slow - therefore we missed a couple of shows but through cruise critics we met a great bunch of people and had a great time with all!

[blackerbys17]

I'm sailing on her next Saturday. I'll let you know what I think then!

[BabsterA]

I've just written a long review that hasn't posted yet, but our experience on the 4/5 - 4/12 cruise was WONDERFUL! AND 2.0 arrived with the sailing that departed yesterday, so there may be additional changes that could affect your experience.

 

We tried three of the specialty restaurants and have mixed reviews, but overall the food was good. We ate in the Seven Seas several nights and always found something we liked on the menu. Our service was good all three nights. Of course, our attitude from the start was that since we didn't have to cook it and clean up afterwards, we were already happy!

 

Our cabins (Penthouse and Balcony) on deck 9 were very nice and the staff was WONDERFUL! (Penthouse was amazing!)

 

I do hope 2.0 will do something to improve the Java Cafe - we only tried it once and the coffee was AWFUL. BUT my son is a barista and we are all pretty particular about our coffee! The coffee in the dining room and for room service was good and we didn't really miss the specialty drinks we enjoy at home.

 

We enjoyed our excursions (Gumblimba Park, Snorkeling in Belize and Swimming with the Dophins in Cozumel.) Oh, try to hit the Wet Lizard in Belize - the salsa and ceviche was WONDERFUL and they make a nice margarita! The view is sensational, too! We were returned to the ship from the excursion, dumped our beach stuff and grabbed the first available tender back to the port. I'm SO glad we did! We enjoyed our lunch at the Lizard, shopped and were totally whipped when we got back to the ship that night.

 

As far as reviews go, remember that everyone has an opinion and some folks seem to focus on what went wrong and let it color their every experience. If you want to have a good time and a good experience, you probably will! We found almost everyone to be extremely pleasant and helpful. I wasn't impressed with the croupier at the roulette table, so I played a few spins and moved on. Ended up hitting on the slots a few minutes later, so came out a few bucks ahead.

 

My son and his girlfriend hung out in the cigar lounge several evenings and were adopted by one of the servers there. They were great friends by the time I got to go to the lounge with them.

 

If our experience is any indicator, you will have a WONDERFUL time! I didn't have enough room to relate every single enjoyable moment of the cruise in my review, but it was the most relaxing week of my life and I wished I didn't have to leave the ship!

[cheekymole]

Thanks for your review, which penthouse were you in on the Sun if you don't mind me asking?

[CruisinMaterial]

Check out my review from the NCL Sun in January of 2008. I sailed on her and was worried just like the OP was about negative comments. The NCL Sun is a beautiful ship and I love her so much I'll probably be back on her for the South America itinerary she's running this winter! She's a well-kept ship with an awesome crew - with the exception of that beaut they call a Cruise Director. Linda was such a PITA but don't let her rain on your parade! :D

 

Bon Voyage!

[Cruise_More_Often]

We've been on the Sun 3 times and just booked another cruise on her for 2009. She is a beautiful little ship. We have particularly enjoyed Las Ramblas -- a tapas bar/cafe where you can get breakfast, sandwiches for dinner and tapas for a pre-dinner snack (or dinner if you eat enough of them) and the best sangria ever (with nightly entertainment). The Sun also has a Great Outdoors Cafe, where you can sit outside under a huge awning and enjoy the glorious aft views.

 

I'm already getting excited to get back on her, but I have to wait until 2009. :(

 

Cruisin, I just read you post. I can't believe Linda is still around. She was a fill-in CD when we were on the Sun in 2004, and I thought for sure she would have gone bye-bye by now.

[nyllrap]

We just got off the Sun yesterday and had a great time. We are 2 couples, in our fifties. This was my 6th cruise, and the second time on the Sun - we sailed on the Sun in Alaska this past summer. Our previous cruises were the Norwegian Majesty, Carnival's Imagination, RCI's Sovereign of the Seas, and RCI's Majesty of the Seas. We have not yet been on any new megaships, so I am just comparing the Sun to what I have been on previously.

Anyway, we all had a great time. I love the Sun and think she is beautiful.

We had our first room with a window (have always booked inside cabins in the past) and I really enjoyed that. We ate in the Seven Seas or the Four Seasons most nights, and I thought the food was good. The buffet was fine for buffet food, but I prefer to be served and to called "Madam!"

I just really had nothing to complain about the entire cruise. If there was anything I was disappointed in, it was the salmon during breakfast. I always enjoy the pink raw type and they had a gray smoked salmon which I didn't care for. For the price, it was a great cruise!

[newmexicoNita]

WOW...I've been reading quite a few POOR/SOUR reviews about the NCL SUN. A little scary now that we're booked to sail on it next month. EEEKKK!!! NOT GOOD!!! Are there any HAPPY reviews/stories that people can share???

:(

what bad or sour reviews, one or two, maybe a few more? Have you read the reviews on other ships, other websites? It doesn't make much difference what line or ship you have booked you can find negatives. One example, the Jewel!!! 99% of the people who sail on the Jewel love every minute of their cruise, but since day one, 2 plus years ago there have been those who did not enjoy sailing on her. The Sun is consistantly getting top ratings from CDC, has many, many repeat cruisers and offers a great product for the money. Don't let a few bad reviews worry you. If you take these reveiws to heart too much you are setting yourself up for having a bad cruise experience.

 

NIta

[NEW 2 CRUISIN]

WOW...I've been reading quite a few POOR/SOUR reviews about the NCL SUN. A little scary now that we're booked to sail on it next month. EEEKKK!!! NOT GOOD!!! Are there any HAPPY reviews/stories that people can share???

:(

 

 

I don't even believe you.

 

Show us all the bad reviews you read. If you truly did that much review reading, you would see that the overwhelming majority of reviews for the SUN are GOOD TO EXCELLENT - including MINE from 2 weeks ago!

 

What's the point of creating a false world to get yourself all worked up over?

 

Yeah, I know it sounds harsh, but so is claiming you can't find anythign good to read about the SUN.

 

:cool:

[EVdriver]

We were on the Sun back in December and had a great time. The staff was truly excellent. If there was anything I was slightly displeased about, it was that the buffet area is somewhat small compared to the newer ships. The food was fine, the area just was not as large to accomodate more selections. I would travel again on the Sun without hesitation.

[Rickdabear]

There are always a couple of people on each cruise -- usually someone who didn't want to be there to began with and was dragged there by their spouse -- all they do is complain about everything. Don't let them spoil your good time. Go and enjoy yourself.

Da Bear

[CruisnGram]

She's a well-kept ship with an awesome crew - with the exception of that beaut they call a Cruise Director. Linda was such a PITA but don't let her rain on your parade! :D

 

Bon Voyage!

 

See how much views differ? We LOVED Linda. Found her personable, fun to talk with, very professional and a dry sense of humor that was unique. Many liked Demitri a lot better but we found him to be pretty full of himself. Not nearly as approachable and easy to talk to as Linda. A guy that was all showman until you talked to him one on one. Go figure! LOL

[Cruise_More_Often]

See how much views differ? We LOVED Linda. Found her personable, fun to talk with, very professional and a dry sense of humor that was unique.

This sounds better! We never actually talked to Linda, and that's our fault. If she's still on the Sun in 2009, I'll make a point of getting to know her.

[mcpepe]

WOW...I've been reading quite a few POOR/SOUR reviews about the NCL SUN. A little scary now that we're booked to sail on it next month. EEEKKK!!! NOT GOOD!!! Are there any HAPPY reviews/stories that people can share???

:(

 

 

I sailed on the Sun over New Year's and loved her! I wrote up a report here somewhere but it gets buried. Were there people on the ship who probably didn't have a good time? I'm sure there were.......but we had a fantastic time. Some folks (including many here) complain about things that have no impact on my cruise experience. Have a great time and read the negatives with a grain of salt.

[exstasie]

Just got off my first cruise ever yersterday, which was the Sun, and had an amazing time! Couldn't have has asked for anything better!

 

My full review is in Sun 4/5 - 4/12 review thread below!

 

PS. Me and my GF are both in our early 20s and didn't have anything to complain about and thought the service was excellent!