Norwegian Sun 15/7/12 Baltics Review - Pictures and Food and Dailies!

[JerseyJaguar]

Your pictures make me smile. I was on this cruise in May and I like reliving the excitement of it with you.

[somebodyII]

Keep it coming, love the review! So excited to see the pics - we're on the Sun in 80 days!

 

Are you going to be on it October 14th-24th?

 

Donna

[wabbit42]

Monday 16th July - Warnemunde

 

 

The view from our balcony. We had a good view of the ports on most days, which we weren't expecting.

 

A bright and early start today for our first day in port. Today was a long day, from 7am until the ship left at 10pm. The ship stays so long because many people go on excursions to Berlin, which require a 3 hour train journey each way on top of the time taken to look around the city.

 

We decided against the Berlin excursion because of the long, tiring day and the cost. Also, we live in Europe so it's not far to go! We ate breakfast at the Great Outdoors where the buffet was not too crowded. This day we had an army of seagulls waiting for some food, many more than at other ports.

 

 

We chose to spend the day in Rostock, the nearby town. We departed from the boat at about 9:20am and followed the crowds to the station. It is only about a five minute walk. There we tried to use the machine to buy a 24 hour unlimited ticket like in Copenhagen, but had no luck. The women in the ticket office were far more helpful. We even found a helpful leaflet which showed each step of getting the train and tram from Warnemunde to Rostock and back.

 

The train left at 9:37 and was 9 stops until 'Haupt-banhof', the central station in Rostock. From there we took the number 5 tram 5 stops to 'Kropeliner Tor' (the number 6 tram can also be used). We were hoping to take a walking tour of the town from the base of an old tower, but sadly it was cancelled. Instead, we had a coffee at a cafe with a view of the tower.

 

 

Afterwards, we walked through the nearby park and did some caching. The park took us through some nice botanical gardens, although there was also quite a lot of graffiti on the way. Eventually we emerged near the town's market square. We had passed it on the tram and there was also a section of the old wall.

 

 

Old Gate

 

 

Market Square

 

 

Tram

 

 

From here we walked down the main street of the town where all the shops are located, and realised it was the other end of the street with the old tower on it. We bought some drinks and snacks to put in the cabin's mini fridge and stopped off at tourist information for their free wifi. Then we had lunch at Burger King (ha) and went to the tram. The same tram (number 5 or 6) takes you back to the station, just make sure you get the one going in the opposite direction to which you came! The train back goes from platform 1 or 2, depending on the time. I din't write down what time we got back to the boat, but at a guess I'd say 2:30pm.

 

To be continued...

[Newtonville Dan]

A few, our cabin stewardess was great and always greeted us when she saw us. Also, the waitress in the Sushi bar knew us by name and always greeted us too, even when in the Garden Cafe in the mornings.

 

 

Hey wabbit What a great review so far. By any chance are you referring to Annabelle.

 

We were on board back in late Feb and my wife was back on the last cruise before the Sun headed over to you guys. Annabelle was one of the first crew we met on the ship. What a delightful young lady. Always a smile and warm greeting. When we saw her throughout the cruise was like seeing family.

 

The crew and staff on the Sun are so great any more tidbits would be super. We also spent a lot of time on the observation lounge deck and the outdoor cafe. Looking forward to the rest of the review.

 

We will be back on the Sun in Feb. 2013

 

Dan (& bluejai)

[Jessicalou]

Really enjoying your review and the great pictures! We are hoping to do this cruise and so all the tips are great!

 

I look forward to the next instalment!

[wabbit42]

Hey wabbit What a great review so far. By any chance are you referring to Annabelle.

 

We were on board back in late Feb and my wife was back on the last cruise before the Sun headed over to you guys. Annabelle was one of the first crew we met on the ship. What a delightful young lady. Always a smile and warm greeting. When we saw her throughout the cruise was like seeing family.

 

The crew and staff on the Sun are so great any more tidbits would be super. We also spent a lot of time on the observation lounge deck and the outdoor cafe. Looking forward to the rest of the review.

 

We will be back on the Sun in Feb. 2013

 

Dan (& bluejai)

 

Sadly I don't remember the name, bad I know :(

 

But I agree, the staff on the boat were great :D

[wabbit42]

Really enjoying your review and the great pictures! We are hoping to do this cruise and so all the tips are great!

 

I look forward to the next instalment!

 

I was hoping someone would find the tips helpful - it is the kind of thing I found missing when planning our trip. I hope you enjoy it (if you in fact do it :) ).

[joeholiday2]

Wabbit.

 

Thanks so much for the review, it's great as we have just booked today to go on next Thursday's cruise.

The info you are giving about using public transport is fantastic for us, please keep posting, it's so much appreciated.

 

Joe & Steph.

[wabbit42]

Sunday 16th July - Warnemunde continued...

 

 

Once in our room we were introduced to our first towel animal of the cruise!

 

 

We had missed those. Also there was a present for Dad.

 

 

 

Lastly we booked a table at Teppanyaki, because it was likely to be the least crowded evening of the cruise which meant there were seats available.

 

We had seen a ferry that crosses the river that docks right in front of the Sun. So we looked at it and it was included in our public transport pass, so we took a ride. It was a great opportunity for pictures of the Sun from the opposite side of the river, with no obstacles in the way.

 

 

 

Afterwards we walked up to the lighthouse (on the opposite side of the river from the town). It was a good walk and there was hardly anyone about. Again, it offered some good views of the town and was a round trip of about 2km.

 

We then caught the ferry back and headed into Warnemunde. Walking through Alte Strom was good, although very crowded with all the niche shops and restaurants, clearly a tourist-supported street. Looking at the pictures you'll see why though:

 

 

We then went to the beach, which is I believe the widest sand beach in Europe.

 

 

We then returned to the ship for our Teppanyaki reservation :D .

[wabbit42]

Wabbit.

 

Thanks so much for the review, it's great as we have just booked today to go on next Thursday's cruise.

The info you are giving about using public transport is fantastic for us, please keep posting, it's so much appreciated.

 

Joe & Steph.

 

I'll try and dig out that leaflet I was talking about and photo it, because if you follow it you really can't go wrong. That is, if you decide to go into Rostock, it's not the only place you can go!

 

Also I forgot to mention, the 'Tageskarte' (public transport ticket) was €4.60 each.

[wabbit42]

Wabbit.

 

Thanks so much for the review, it's great as we have just booked today to go on next Thursday's cruise.

The info you are giving about using public transport is fantastic for us, please keep posting, it's so much appreciated.

 

Joe & Steph.

 

Found it :).

 

Just follow it from top-left clockwise. Like I said, it even tells you the platforms and tram numbers! Also the prices are shown underneath.

 

[joeholiday2]

Thank you very much, you are a star.

We will more than likely go to Rostock.

 

I'm off to watch the Olympic opening ceremony now, should be a really good show.

 

Joe.

[NYGirl1002]

Great review. I'm really enjoying it and can't wait for more

[wabbit42]

Thank you very much, you are a star.

We will more than likely go to Rostock.

 

I'm off to watch the Olympic opening ceremony now, should be a really good show.

 

Joe.

 

Me too, so no more updates until tomorrow :D

[debnjoe1438]

Great review, love the pictures.

[PathfinderEss]

Enjoying your review and wonderful pictures. Thanks for posting them.

[toberman]

OK Wabbit... the Olympic show is over for like 3 hours now. It's only, what...3am your time?? What's the hold up on new postings ? :) It's only 11pm here in NA !!

Kidding of course .... hope you slept in this am. Looking forward to the rest of your posts. Will be on the Sun this fall and really interested in your observations.

[A1SusieQ]

Great job so far. You are a talented photographer!

[wabbit42]

OK Wabbit... the Olympic show is over for like 3 hours now. It's only, what...3am your time?? What's the hold up on new postings ? :) It's only 11pm here in NA !!

Kidding of course .... hope you slept in this am. Looking forward to the rest of your posts. Will be on the Sun this fall and really interested in your observations.

 

OK OK, gimme a chance ;) .

 

 

:D

[wabbit42]

Monday 16th July - Teppanyaki Part 1

 

 

We had booked the 7:15pm sitting of Teppanyaki for the evening. I will dedicate this post to pictures of the chefs making the food, and the next slide to the actual food.

 

Me and Dad had two seats on a corner, so I was facing across but he was facing forwards. The venue seats 12 people on the Sun, and it was full, unsurprisingly. The chef closest to us was cooking the vegetables and meat, and the far chef was cooking the rice and the seafood.

 

It was a good show, and these pictures really don't give it justice. There are some good videos on youtube.

 

 

 

 

 

[francina]

Love your review. Great pictures.

[wabbit42]

Monday 16th July - Teppanyaki Part 2

 

 

The starters of the evening were Miso Soup and a seaweed salad. Both were good and a pleasant start to the evening. Also we had a plate of edamame (pea pods soaked in salt water). I only took a photo of the soup :( .

 

 

Miso Soup

 

 

For the main course you got a choice of seafood, meat or both. I opted for 'Land and Sea', which is filet mignon and jumbo shrimp and Dad just had filet mignon. These were served up with egg fried rice and a little stack of fried vegetables.

 

The rice chef played a little game where he flung egg at you and you had to catch it... with your mouth. Some people were better than others...

 

 

 

 

 

The jumbo shrimp were really big and tasted great. The filet was also good. To be honest, I thought all of the food was very good, so I'll save myself typing that out every time!

 

Finally, dessert. I chose the fruit sashimi and Dad had the Green Tea Cake. I didn't photo the cake, but it was really good.

 

 

 

Teppanyaki is a good evening's meal and entertainment and if you can pay the $25 cover charge I think it is well worth it.

[balconybuphs]

Hi,

What a great and interesting review...keep it coming!!

Thank you!

Geo

[wabbit42]

Monday 16th July - Warnemunde Sailaway

 

We retreated back to our cabin where we had a good view of the NCL excursions coming back from Berlin.

 

 

The NCL groups had their own train and got to leave the platform via a special gate which leads straight into the cruise terminal. There were about 500 people leaving there, which explained why the boat was so empty!

 

 

Lonely :(

 

 

Afterwards I headed up to the Observation balcony for the sailaway. it was quite crowded but I got a good view because I got there early. There was a ship blocking the way out of port which led to many extended blows of the horn from the Sun, which led to responses from other ships in the harbour and even car horns in the town! There were also lots of people lining the shore who had come to wave us off.

 

 

Then I headed down to the Great Outdoors to snap a few final photos of the evening.

 

 

And of course for some snacks! On the port side of the GO buffet they have cake and cookies every night. Not one to miss!

 

 

Now on to the sea day...

[Esperanza7]

Thank you, I am so enjoying your reviews and pictures. We're doing this cruise on the Star next year but I'm already making great notes from your postings. Hope you don't get fed up before you reach the end!!! ;) Esperanza