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Questions for NCL Sun fans!


bryanjaync
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Sailing for the first time on the NCL Sun in 2014, and have some questions.

 

1. We taking my 85 year old parents. Last year we sailed with them on the RCI Liberty of the Seas, and the size of the ship was 'challenging' for them. I think the size of the Sun will be much better getting around. Agree? Any specific mobility issues with the Sun? (They don't use walkers or wheel chairs, just tired out)

 

2. Confused on some dining options. Is the Moderno open for everyone for breakfast and lunch? Just sea days? So the Sports Bar does food, but only after 5:30 pm? Is the dining room open on embarkation day for Lunch? (Would love to have my folks avoid the buffet madness that day)

 

3. I know the shows may change by October 2014, but what are the current shows. My folks (especially Mom LOVES the evening shows).

 

4. Not thrilled about the $15/bottle charge to carry wine onboard. Other lines usually let 2 per cabin at no charge if consumed in room. Thought about buying my partner the wine package ($44/day plus gratuity), but it reads like i would have to buy it for me (recovering alcoholic for 23 years) and parents (would be on my VISA) who never drink alcohol. Plus ~$50 a day for his approx. 3 glasses a wine a day is just too much.

 

5. The sauna and steam rooms are no charge, right ?

 

Sure I will have more as the months go by. thanks.

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Sailing for the first time on the NCL Sun in 2014, and have some questions.

 

1. We taking my 85 year old parents. Last year we sailed with them on the RCI Liberty of the Seas, and the size of the ship was 'challenging' for them. I think the size of the Sun will be much better getting around. Agree? Any specific mobility issues with the Sun? (They don't use walkers or wheel chairs, just tired out)

 

2. Confused on some dining options. Is the Moderno open for everyone for breakfast and lunch? Just sea days? So the Sports Bar does food, but only after 5:30 pm? Is the dining room open on embarkation day for Lunch? (Would love to have my folks avoid the buffet madness that day)

 

3. I know the shows may change by October 2014, but what are the current shows. My folks (especially Mom LOVES the evening shows).

 

4. Not thrilled about the $15/bottle charge to carry wine onboard. Other lines usually let 2 per cabin at no charge if consumed in room. Thought about buying my partner the wine package ($44/day plus gratuity), but it reads like i would have to buy it for me (recovering alcoholic for 23 years) and parents (would be on my VISA) who never drink alcohol. Plus ~$50 a day for his approx. 3 glasses a wine a day is just too much.

 

1. The Sun is a nice small size and if you study the deck plans you should have no problems navigating. For example, the galley is located on Deck 5 (I think) between the 2 MDRs so if you are forward on Deck 5 and want to go aft, you'll have to go up to Deck 6 to go aft and then back down to Deck 5. Five minutes now and then studying the deck plans will limit the amount of extra walking.

 

2. During breakfast and lunch, Moderno's could be considered as overflow seating for the buffet. They do have another, smaller buffet station set up in there and it's much more peaceful than the buffet area itself. For a more leisurely experience, one of the MDRs will also be open. (Sometimes the MDRs are not open for lunch on port days.) On embarkation day one of the MDRs will be open for lunch but they will direct you to the buffet. Check the Freestyle Daily (that you will be handed during embarkation) to see which MDR is open for lunch.

 

3. The shows will change depending on the passenger mix but you can generally expect a couple of Broadway reviews, a comedian or two, an aerialist/acrobat show, and sometimes a musical quartet (vocalists). There will be some live music in the bars (and some DJs) and the music will range from pop to R&B to light jazz. Probably no string quartets.

 

4. We've actually come to enjoy the corkage program. We pay $15/bottle and we can drink the wines we want anywhere on the ship. If we don't finish the bottle they will happily store it for us and retrieve it the next night - no matter where we are on the ship. (They also do this for wines purchased on the ship.) I've walked up to the pool deck with a bottle of Champagne and had them ask me if I'd like for them to bring an ice bucket and flutes.

Edited by polySeraph
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I think the Sun is the perfect size - my Mom spent her 80th and 81st birthday on board. She has pretty bad arthritis and walking long distances can be a challenge. She got around just fine - sometimes stopping to rest a bit but really the ship was excellent. We also made sure her room was right at the elevators.

 

Enjoy! The Sun is awesome!

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The interior design of the Sun is a bit odd. Not bad, just confusing compared to the other ships we've been on. We've been on her three time and I'm just starting to get it figured out. I think it is cause by the Promenade deck being one deck above the lobby area. I'm assuming the MDR is open on embarkation day. It is on the other ships. I've never looked for sure though. Because of the Sun's smaller size, the buffet is somewhat small. Food good, just limited variety compared to the bigger ships. Modernos does serve breakfast items in the morning and has pasta/pizza during the lunch hours. Yes, open to everyone. And yes, the sports bar becomes a Blue Lagoon type food place after 5:30 pm. The Sun also has a Great Outdoors which excellent for breakfast and has grilled/buffet type items during most of the rest of the day. On our last cruise, there was a big group of Wounded Warriors on board. Some of those guys/gals were very, very limited in their physical mobility, most using wheel chairs or electric scooters. They were getting around all over the ship nicely. The Sun is a great ship. Love her.

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5. The sauna and steam rooms are no charge, right ?

 

 

Yes. There is no 'thermal suite' on the Sun, hence no Spa pass.

 

The steam and sauna is available to all, with lockers.

 

We sailed the Sun in the Baltics in 2011... really enjoyed the ship.

Here is a pictorial I did when we returned...

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1475741

 

:-)

Edited by computerworks
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Sailing for the first time on the NCL Sun in 2014, and have some questions.

 

1. We taking my 85 year old parents. Last year we sailed with them on the RCI Liberty of the Seas, and the size of the ship was 'challenging' for them. I think the size of the Sun will be much better getting around. Agree? Any specific mobility issues with the Sun? (They don't use walkers or wheel chairs, just tired out)

 

2. Confused on some dining options. Is the Moderno open for everyone for breakfast and lunch? Just sea days? So the Sports Bar does food, but only after 5:30 pm? Is the dining room open on embarkation day for Lunch? (Would love to have my folks avoid the buffet madness that day)

 

3. I know the shows may change by October 2014, but what are the current shows. My folks (especially Mom LOVES the evening shows).

 

4. Not thrilled about the $15/bottle charge to carry wine onboard. Other lines usually let 2 per cabin at no charge if consumed in room. Thought about buying my partner the wine package ($44/day plus gratuity), but it reads like i would have to buy it for me (recovering alcoholic for 23 years) and parents (would be on my VISA) who never drink alcohol. Plus ~$50 a day for his approx. 3 glasses a wine a day is just too much.

 

5. The sauna and steam rooms are no charge, right ?

 

Sure I will have more as the months go by. thanks.

 

Just off the Sun for their Thanksgiving cruise. Here are my thoughts....

 

1. Ship is easy to navigate. There are limited elevators in the atrium but there are elevators forward, mid and aft. I think you'll find the ship easy to navigate.

 

2. We ate lunch in the dining room when we boarded. They had the main dining room right off the atrium open - it may vary for your embarkation day. You can ask anyone in the atrium what is open and they will direct you.

One thing to note is that on embarkation day you will come in on deck 6 where the outdoor promenade deck is located and will be directed to deck 5 the main floor of the atrium. From the atrium you can find the Four Seasons dining room.

 

3. Can't help you here - DH and I don't frequent the shows.

 

4. Wines by the glass vary from $8 up to $12, so $50 for three glasses seems expensive. However you can buy a bottle of wine for less than the cost of three glasses and what you don't drink you can take with or have the dining staff store for the next nights dinner.

If you do have special wine that you like the $15 corkage fee is reasonable. I've carried on bottles and have been charged while other times they didn't charge me. YMMV.

 

Enjoy!

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