The7Cs

Just off of the Sun in November - My wife is GF. We found every waiter and host extremely accommodating - and VERY knowledgeable of the menu options - and when they were not sure - they asked! The menu also had clearly labeled GF options. Additionally - it seems like it was also noted on our swipe cards - I recall handing MY card in for diner one night, and the host quietly commenting to the waiter, "Ahh - Mrs. 7C's is gluten free..."  

It was something I was worried about for my wife, and thankfully it was a non-issue - I was impressed.

11 hours ago, Love my butler said:

Could you tell us who were the General Manager, Concierge and your butler on your sailing?

Our Concierge was Armando, and our Butler was Francis - I'm sorry - I do not recall the name of the GM. 

22 minutes ago, Pauser said:

Thanks for taking the time to post this! We just booked the Sun for a 10-day Southern Caribbean in 2021. It's smaller than other ships we've sailed, but I don't like mega ships and we're pretty self-sufficient and laid back like your family. I'm looking forward to just relaxing! Sounds like you had a great cruise!

I think it is the perfect ship to relax and do your own thing - enjoy!

Hi!

I finally have time to put my thoughts together about our family trip in November. Hopefully this will help any first timers looking for info!

A little background - Wife and I are in our forties, with two boys, aged 14 and 11. We are a pretty laid back family and for the most part are happy relaxing vs. needing something exciting to do all the time. The Wife and I got the Premier drink package and two nights dining at the specialty restaurants, the boys got the soda package.

This was our family's first cruise and our first vacation in some time. We had been saving up for this trip, and with some unexpected bonus money, decided to go all out. We booked a forward Penthouse, and I put a VERY low bid on the Owner's Suite - and about a week before we left - our bid was accepted!

We arrived a few days early to Cocoa Beach, and spend a day at NASA - I HIGHLY recommend doing this - it was amazing and a highlight of the trip for the boys. When it came time to board the boat, we dropped the rental car off and it was an easy shuttle ride to the dock. We had printed out all of our paperwork, and we all had passports. We got in easily - and as we were "VIP's" they moved us right along and helped us every step of the way onto the boat.

Once on the boat, we met our concierge - who was AMAZING. Brought us right to lunch - and gave us the basic rundown of what to expect. We were a bit overwhelmed by it all, honestly. After lunch, we explored the boat, until our room was ready - and we went right up to check it out! The room was huge - but the balcony was the highlight. Amazing view, plenty of space, and our own private hot tub! We met our butler -- who was also AMAZING. He really connected with the boys, and my wife who was at first uncomfortable with the VIP treatment. Within a day, she felt right at home.

The first night the sea was VERY rough - my youngest did not feel great at dinner at the "Seven Seas" After dinner I asked the concierge if this was how rough the sea always is - and he thankfully said no - it was unusual... We survived the night, and in the morning and the rest of the trip things were much calmer. 

We spent a lot of time on the balcony, as we felt so lucky to have it!.. The boys enjoyed the pool deck. Wife and I enjoyed the bars and people watching. We went to see the comedian one night, with we all enjoyed, and the Rock n' Roll review - witch we all found a bit cheesy, honestly. My wife enjoyed her massage at the spa.

Pros:

• The Staff - always helpful and friendly!... My wife cried when we had to say goodbye to everyone.
• The Dining at Seven Seas and Four Seasons was great! 
• Finding the smaller quite bars around the ship - we enjoyed the Windjammer in particular
• I did well at the casino! woohoo!
• Great Stirrup Cay - very relaxing. Wife and I ate drank and read books. the kids snorkeled and paddle boarded.  
• Key West - Hemingway house was interesting - with we had more time in Key West

Cons:

• I don't think the Speciality dining at Cagey's or the Brazilian place was anything better than what Seven Seas and Four Seasons had to offer, honestly. Not bad, but nothing special.
• Peak hours at the bars - tough to get a drink. They were definitely understaffed. Bartenders were stressed, and showed it.
• Boat fit and finish - I know the Sun is an older boat, but I found it's outward appearance to be a little less "clean" than other boats in dock. The NCL logo, and awnings were covered in soot, for example, and in our room a light shade was broken, and a light fixture was dangling form its socket.  These in NO WAY affected our enjoyment - but I found it odd, and worth nothing.
• Nassau - We had nothing planned, and just walked around - in retrospect I would book an excursion.
• Rude people. I was shocked at how rude many of the passengers were to the staff - it was embarrassing. What's wrong with some folks?

All in all - it was a fantastic vacation - I would definitely cruise again - maybe to Alaska next time? we shall see!

Happy to answer any specific questions anyone might have.

I called on Saturday, had them add our middle names. Took about 10 min total. Our CSR said that the warning was mainly for those traveling by air booked through NCL, and those with recent name changes - but she agreed, better safe than sorry and was happy made the changes. 

We leave in a week - I'll be interested to see if anyone has trouble boarding without exactly matching documents...

Received this yesterday as well. Middle names on our passports... No middle names on our reservation, no way to add them on the site... Pretty silly to have to call them for this 10 days our from our trip.. but better safe than sorry I suppose. 

First timer here - we'll be on the Sun this month! Wooo! 

Anyway, we purchase the soda package for our teen boys, and as we were going over the do's and do not's of the cruise with them, the asked how they actually get the soda... and I had no idea?

Do they just go to restaurant and self serve fountain drinks?.. Or is there some other procedure they have to follow?

Also, I assume tap water (not bottled) is also available?

Thanks!

Did you happen to change anything from your original booking?  This happened to me for my upcoming trip. I had paid in full, then the website said I owed them $35.00...

I called, as I was worried like you they would cancel my trip...  I went through line by line with the person on the phone.

I had upgraded my stateroom from our original trip, and apparently due to this, it changed the cost of travel insurance - upping it the $35.

Might want to do a line by line look at your emailed receipt and the online info to see what you can find!

FYI - just saw that our stop in Grand Bahama Island has changed to Key West Florida - then Nassau then Great Stirrup Cay. I'd suspect others headed to the Bahamas will see this location change as well. I'm looking forward to our trip - and I do hope our tourist dollars can help with the recovery efforts!

Something similar happened to me - however it showed up as a negative credit that I had to pay.. lol... Basically my prepaid service charges dropped by $110. The website said I must PAY -$110... I called them - and they say they have refunded my card that amount - but I have yet to see the refund. 

Now it says I owe the $46 because they undercharged me for travel insurance?... Not sure how or why that happened. I payed everything on time and thought I was all set. 

I'm sure it will work out - but it's really not instilling a lot of confidence in NCL for me. Alternatively  when I call - everyone is friendly and tries their best to be helpful!

1 hour ago, richg35 said:

 

Amazing -- people need air conditioning and a private bathroom on the beach. We really are in the worst timeline.

 

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We've only been to Nassau and the options there are not great. Atlantis (crowded pools/beach/waterslide) sounds like you'd hate it. They do have an aquarium and a casino and that's what my parents did in Nassau last week. My wife and I did a tour of Nassau once, but I didn't really find it to be that interesting of a place. Last year my parents went to Blue Lagoon and said it sucked. Nassau is definitely a good day to stay on the ship and take advantage of discounted spa deals and so forth.

Thank you for your post! I appreciate all opinions - it's great to hear what everyone thinks, and we can make an informed  decision. 

2 hours ago, trivimp said:

Also, I love that you quoted Star Wars in your first two posts 

Heheheheh... Glad you appreciated it! 😉

2 hours ago, gaabbee said:

Not sure if it's available to you (suites and haven only) but I get the whole "hate the beach day" thing and that's why we booked a villa at great stirrup cay. AC, TV, private bathroom, special buffet, drink service, and if you want you can still go in the water!

2 hours ago, trivimp said:

If not a villa, then a cabana, maybe.  same idea but a little less luxe.  I love the cabanas, it gives you a home base with some shade & a place to sit that's not on the sand.

Thank you for your posts! 

14 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

1. IF your Wife and kids love the beach, you know what you have to do.  Learn to enjoy things they enjoy too.  

 

Yeah - I believe Great Stirrup Cay will be our beach day - And I'll be there smiling with sand in my shorts, and a big floppy hat. 

To quote Star Wars:

Padme: "We used to come here for school retreat. We would swim to that island every day. I love the water. We used to lie out on the sand and let the sun dry us and try to guess the names of the birds singing."

Anakin: "I don't like sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere."

5 minutes ago, ColeThornton said:

Welcome to Cruise Critic.  If you haven't done so already check out all the excursion information available on the Bahamas port of call forum.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/35-bahamas/

Perfect - Thank you!!!

1 minute ago, kfnesq said:

...Things I look for include food tours (you can find them in the Bahamas for sure, I know I've done them in Nassau, not sure about Grand Bahamas but I wouldn't be surprised), as well as distillery/wine/brewery tours....

I love this idea  - Thank you!

Ok... hear me out... I'm a 40something dude with a wife and two sons - age 11 and 14. We are taking our FIRST EVER cruise in November. We had originally planned our vacation of a lifetime to Cuba on NCL - but obviously that went down the tubes... So rebooked to go to the Bahamas - which is all well and good... but I REALLY dislike typical beach/vacation activities. If it were up to me, I'd never get off the boat!

That said - I'm happy to be on vacation, and have good quality family time - but would love to hear of any non-typical, safe, off-boat activities we could do as a family - or I could do by myself while the wife and kids snorkel or whatever. We as a family are all pretty laid back, and are ok going our separate ways for a bit - not a lot of drama in our lives around doing our own thing.

We will be going to Grand Bahama Island, Nassau and Great Stirrup Cay.

SOME FACTS ABOUT US

We are NOT risk takers or super adventurous - no sky diving or para-gliding for example - not even jet skis... But kayaking or hiking is up our ally for example.

The wife and kids love the beach - me, not so much - but I'm willing to suffer a bit.

The idea of a waterpark sounds dreadful.

The whole family is REALLY looking forward to visiting Kennedy Space Center before our trip.

The kids are up for anything - and will go with the flow of whatever we choose to do...

The wife is flexible - but will want to definitely do at least ONE excursion off boat as a family! 

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THINGS WE ENJOY (may not all be relevant to the trip - but gives you an idea about what i'm like!)

Eating (fine dining, street food - it''s all good)

Drinking booze ( The wife and I - not the kids, obviously!.. beer, bourbon, rum)

Cultural Activities/Art/Music

Fishing/Camping/Hiking

Golf

SiFi and Comics

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From the research I've done, it looks like Great Stirrup Cay would make for the best beach day... but definitely open to suggestions!

Help us, Cruise Critic folks, you're our only hope!