Review of the fantastic 10 day Sun cruise - Nov. 25 to Dec. 5

[DMH15]

TBN Hubby here...

 

We did the Southern Caribbean about 6 weeks ago and agree that the Sun was one of our most relaxed vacations. This was our third NCL cruise and we chose it for the new to us stop in Colombia. We are Diamond on RCCL and Elite on =X= but found that we really enjoyed the Sun, particularly on this itennairy because we like to stay on the islands as long as possible and 'Freestyle' removes the pressure to get back and get ready to eat.

 

Unlike the OP we ate at several of the specialty restaurants and at the buffet in the evening. Ate in the main dining rooms one night each, and these were just fine, but our timing at the buffet was such that it was not at all crowded and we found the selection to be nice. Food not gourmet but neither are the other lines, now. Of the specialty restaurants, we rank the Bistro (??) and the Churrascateria good choices with very good food. Liked the tomato bisque and wings in the sports bar. The only dissapointment was the Italian restuarant that was definately NOT good and was not worth even the nominal $10 up-charge on our visit. Maybe it was just an off night for them but the food was very bad.

 

The freshly grilled burgers and other stuff on the deck each day were great and were by far the best burgers we have had on a ship (possible exception -- Johnny Rockets but that is a different story).

 

We were also at the opposite end of the room scale from the OP. We rarely are in our cabin and, as usual on the Caribbean, we had an inside cabin. On deck 8 but we were very impressed with the size -- much larger than most of the cabins we have been in over the years.

 

If you need skating rinks, rock walls, or merry-go-rounds, this smaller ship is probably not a good choice but The Sun has definitely entered our list of choices. Hoping to repeat this cruise next year to fulfill our future cruise we bought on board..

 

Sad to hear. Il Adagio, the Italian, used to be many NCL devotees' favorite. But the powers-to-be decided to dumb it down. I love most things about NCL but wish they would have left it alone. It is a beautiful venue but just not the place it used to be.

[capp]

TBN Hubby here...

 

We did the Southern Caribbean about 6 weeks ago and agree that the Sun was one of our most relaxed vacations. This was our third NCL cruise and we chose it for the new to us stop in Colombia. We are Diamond on RCCL and Elite on =X= but found that we really enjoyed the Sun, particularly on this itennairy because we like to stay on the islands as long as possible and 'Freestyle' removes the pressure to get back and get ready to eat.

 

Unlike the OP we ate at several of the specialty restaurants and at the buffet in the evening. Ate in the main dining rooms one night each, and these were just fine, but our timing at the buffet was such that it was not at all crowded and we found the selection to be nice. Food not gourmet but neither are the other lines, now. Of the specialty restaurants, we rank the Bistro (??) and the Churrascateria good choices with very good food. Liked the tomato bisque and wings in the sports bar. The only dissapointment was the Italian restuarant that was definately NOT good and was not worth even the nominal $10 up-charge on our visit. Maybe it was just an off night for them but the food was very bad.

 

The freshly grilled burgers and other stuff on the deck each day were great and were by far the best burgers we have had on a ship (possible exception -- Johnny Rockets but that is a different story).

 

We were also at the opposite end of the room scale from the OP. We rarely are in our cabin and, as usual on the Caribbean, we had an inside cabin. On deck 8 but we were very impressed with the size -- much larger than most of the cabins we have been in over the years.

 

If you need skating rinks, rock walls, or merry-go-rounds, this smaller ship is probably not a good choice but The Sun has definitely entered our list of choices. Hoping to repeat this cruise next year to fulfill our future cruise we bought on board..

 

We were on the Dawn last month for the Colonial repositioning cruise. Usually we steer clear of the Italian restaurant on all of the ships (except, I have to say the Osso Bucco has always been an amazing entree), but during our cruise they switched to a new menu....we ate at Impressions 3 times and each time it was excellent! There was a new lobster fettucini which was terrific both times we had it, a new shrimp risotto (I think - it was shrimp something)...and we both had the Osso Bucco with polenta all 3 times as entrees (I'm telling you, it rocks).

 

I sure hope the new menu is fleet-wide. We board the Sun in 51 days and Il Adagio is callin' our name!:)

[tinybabynurse]

Well, as it happens, the Shrimp Risotto is what my wife ordered and it was so over cooked that it resembled a paste of some sort with small lumps in it. I had Chicken parmigiana that was fair to good but, not excellent. We asked for a side portion (don't remember the name) that turned out to be 'bow tie' pasta in a tomato sauce. That dish managed to be both dry (with only a paint like coat of the sauce) AND badly cooked/soggy pasta. Quite odd.

 

The desert was good, as was the service, and the space was pretty.

 

Like I said, maybe they were having a bad day.

[snowbow]

We were on the Sun 11 day on Nov. 14. What a fantastic vacation--think one of our best ever. Had a fantastic balcony cabin and the best crew we have had all the way around. Three cheers for hotel director Steven Jacobsen. What a great guy! The Sun isn't our favorite ship--feels a little disjointed trying to get around--but was in very good condition and we liked it. Of course, we love the smaller ships. Itinerary was great, too. Lots of sea days and nice ports.

[tbtma]

Where are the pix? I dont see them....lol Thanks for the review, sailing the sun next Nov.

 

Bonnie

[jdvmd]

Where are the pix? I dont see them....lol Thanks for the review, sailing the sun next Nov.

 

Bonnie

 

You need to start at the beginning of the thread on page 1. Numerous pictures in the posts.

[Canagirl]

I uploaded to youtube the cruise in review video that was played during the Crew Talent Show if anyone is interested in viewing it:

 

[oldguysandgalls]

Excellent, excellent review, thank you. Now we really can't wait for our SUN cruise to set sail. Still counting months.... 10-9.....etc.etc.:D

[dml71913]

It is always important to set reasonable expectations for any planned trip. It is never realistic to expect open seating buffets to offer 6* quality dining experiences, for example. Norweigian is also not a super premium brand, and it certainly does NOT cost a 6* price. On the basis of what was promised (or at least perceived as promised) and what was actually delivered, the Norweigian Sun cruise rates a 9+ on a 1-10 scale, in my opinion. Here is my assessment:

1. Ship Condition: The ship is in excellent condition. Everything is in top working order. Aesthetically and cosmetically, the ship is virtually unblemished. You can't expect a floating hotel that houses 2000 guests and that is subject to rolling seas, vibrations, and constant movement to NOT have some maintnenace issues. When there were maintenance issues, they were promptly addressed.

2. Ship Size: 2000 passengers with a 900+ crew is a good mix. The ship is over 800 feet long and offers a lot of amenities. It is not a megaship that offers rock climbing and water park slides, but it also does not take you a $10 cab ride to get to the pool.

3. Food: Excellent selection on the buffet lines. There was always a good selection of freah fish, beef, pork, and lamb. The Sprinkles ice cream bar was open during the day and closed when the evening buffet closed. The food on the buffets was always fresh and varied and was consistently of high quality. The burgers (and more) in the aft of the ship were great when you just wanted something to eat after coming in from a tour, and the sports bar offered good food (but a LIMITED) sports viewing experience. The sports bar needs to have more availablity than 1 ESPN channel and NFL Channel.

4. Itinerariy: EXCELLENT. 5 ports with varied experiences available. Dominica and St. Lucia were rain forest tropical with waterfalls and lush scenery. Barbados, St. Maarten, and St. Thomas appealed more to beach and beautiful water sun lovers.

5. Crew: The officers were incredibly accessible. If you ever had a problem, I am quite certain that the right person would be contacted and that the issue would be addressed immediately. The average person you meet in the restaurant, on deck, or in the hall was always polite and smiling. I think the people genuienly like working on this ship.

6. Entertainment: Always good and sometimes great featured entertainment in the main room. Magic (excellent), hypotist, Cirque performers (excellent), a dynamic opera quality male singer (excellent), and in house entertainment troupe rotated shows. There was a LOT of other entertinment going on each night in many other locations. Something for everyone.

Like I said above, the Norweigian Sun offered excellent value for my travel dollars spent. My brother and I already placed a deposit for our next cruise. You simply cannot go wrong with this ship and this itinerary.

[shertwo]

Very well said and love the "$10 cab ride" 8) LOL!! comment. We will be on the Sun in less than one week now. Sailed once with NCL years ago and have been more than a little anxious about it however the great people here on CC have helped to calm me and I am now looking forward to the cruise. (By the way years and years ago it was a terrible experience!). Thanks!

[mafig]

I really want to go on the 11 day cruise next year.

 

I'm trying to decide if we should book the forward minisuite or could we get by with a standard balcony. I know the bathroom is larger in the mini, but I don't know about the cabin size, and I've had some posts that say the balcony in the mini is larger and others say it's not.

 

There are two dates next year that I'm considering....

 

Do you think the one that goes during Thanksgiving would have a lot of kids on it?

 

The other is in December and comes back right before Christmas. We have a cruise booked for next week that does the same, and it requires a bit of planning to get everything done at home before the cruise. Don't know if we want to do it again.

 

 

Wow ~ what a rambling post. That's how my mind is going. Trying to decide.:o

[Sauer-kraut]

 

Do you think the one that goes during Thanksgiving would have a lot of kids on it?

 

The other is in December and comes back right before Christmas. We have a cruise booked for next week that does the same, and it requires a bit of planning to get everything done at home before the cruise. Don't know if we want to do it again.

 

Yes, the Thanksgiving one will have a lot of children on it. PLUS the price is more than likely to be higher as well.

 

What needs to be done at home before you cruise at Christmas? I wouldn't even think about putting up decorations and such, why cause yourself undue stress before you leave? But the price might be a lot cheaper.

 

As for the mini balconies, I don't think there is much difference in size at all. You'll have 2 chairs and table out there, same on the regular balconies.

 

The room is bigger, with a curtain separating the bed from the sofa area and of course the bathroom with a bath.

[mafig]

Yes, the Thanksgiving one will have a lot of children on it. PLUS the price is more than likely to be higher as well. Well, at this point in time, the prices are more almost exactly the same. I was hoping that because the cruise is 11 days long, there wouldn't be many children, even though Thanksgiving falls during it.

 

What needs to be done at home before you cruise at Christmas? I wouldn't even think about putting up decorations and such, why cause yourself undue stress before you leave? But the price might be a lot cheaper. Christmas shopping. My family is in New Jersey so we have to shop, wrap and ship. This year we're on a cruise that leaves on Sun (Dec. 16) and we have decorated. We'll be home on the 23rd, which means I have to do food shopping for Christmas on the dreaded Christmas Eve.

 

As for the mini balconies, I don't think there is much difference in size at all. You'll have 2 chairs and table out there, same on the regular balconies.

 

The room is bigger, with a curtain separating the bed from the sofa area and of course the bathroom with a bath.

 

 

Thanks. I can't wait too long. The price for the mini suites has already risen $50 p/p since I started looking.

[Sauer-kraut]

Thanks. I can't wait too long. The price for the mini suites has already risen $50 p/p since I started looking.

 

Sorry my addled brain isn't computing. Of course the 11 day won't have many children on it, and if the price is the bascially the same I wouldn't worry about booking the earlier one.

 

As for the later one, well ... I'd just make someone else do the dinner(s) for the holidays. LOL (I'm a bit more like Ebenezer Scrooge than many others.:eek:)

 

Have a great time!

[newtocruisingcdn]

We were on the Sun for there 10 day Southern cruise,,,, totally enjoyed the ship,,, Ronie Borg the captain is a true gentleman and very approachable,,,, He said his job is make us the passengers feel safe, The staff were so accomodating in ever aspect,,, I have never lost weight on a cruise this was no exception.... We prefer early morning and early nights,,,, We ate at Il Adagio was great, fresh salmon and a white table cloth,,,, second specialty was the Bistro more quiet and spectacular food, worth the extra charge..... Ports Dominica found store people not overly friendly, we were only ship in port,,,,, St, Maarten clean and people friendly, but some stayed firm on their prices,,, St; John great Catamaran cuise and snorkle, Barbados, nice place would go back some day,,,, St Lucia a super day of seeing country side.... My wife said she would do this cruise again,,,,,, loved the Sun,,, and Milka is a sweetheart,,, Thanks again,,,,, Maybe should have booked later and get away from Northern Ontario winter weather,,,,,

[armwinder]

Well, as it happens, the Shrimp Risotto is what my wife ordered and it was so over cooked that it resembled a paste of some sort with small lumps in it. I had Chicken parmigiana that was fair to good but, not excellent. We asked for a side portion (don't remember the name) that turned out to be 'bow tie' pasta in a tomato sauce. That dish managed to be both dry (with only a paint like coat of the sauce) AND badly cooked/soggy pasta. Quite odd.

 

The desert was good, as was the service, and the space was pretty.

 

Like I said, maybe they were having a bad day.

 

We were on this cruise last week and had a good cruise, our first time on the Sun, we would go back. Our experience in the Italian restaurant was good. We booked the first night and received a free bottle of wine. We enjoyed the meal and ambiance so much we used one of our complimentary dinner vouchers for the II Adagio and the second experience was also very good. We have eaten in the Italian on other NCL ships and were not impressed.

 

We also learned the TVs are to be upgraded on the Sun starting this month.

[mafig]

 

We also learned the TVs are to be upgraded on the Sun starting this month.

 

 

Hooray! We don't watch a lot of TV in our room except in the morning when I'm beautifying:p/ But the flat screen TVs do make the room apprear more modern and they take up much less space. Glad to hear this news.:D

[armwinder]

It is reliable information, we got it from Steven Jacobsen directly at the beginning of a ships tour.

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for taking the time to do a review and all your wonderful photo's.

[snowbow]

I really want to go on the 11 day cruise next year.

 

I'm trying to decide if we should book the forward minisuite or could we get by with a standard balcony. I know the bathroom is larger in the mini, but I don't know about the cabin size, and I've had some posts that say the balcony in the mini is larger and others say it's not.

 

There are two dates next year that I'm considering....

 

Do you think the one that goes during Thanksgiving would have a lot of kids on it?

 

T:o

 

I heard there were only 90 children on our Sun Thanksgiving cruise this year. We hardly saw any, and the kids activities are so great that the parents we met said that their children would rather be there than with them. :D

[seagypsea]

We were on this cruise too! Plus we were the ones with the carpet drying machine... Happened on the next to last day.

 

I LOVED this ship. Your review was right on. I submitted a review when we got back and it still hasn't posted. They have to review it first and I guess they get tons of them.

 

Sorry you had a bad experience in Barbados. We've been there at least 5 times and have never had an issue. We did our favorite excursion there - the 5 Star Tiami catamaran. It was a 10 star in my book. If you are headed on this cruise, I highly recommend this excursion.

 

Note to the OP that asked about the casino - it's the smallest one I've ever seen on a ship. It's very smokey. It had one roulette table (which is what I play). I played twice for a very short time. They have something unique - a video type roulette thing. It a round table of sorts with at least 10 seat I think. The roulette wheel is in the middle and you use a touch screen to select your bets. It's all electronic and you can bet just $1 instead of the usual $5. They also have 2 blackjack tables that they set up at the pool at certain times, although I never saw anyone playing.

 

This ship will be moving to Alaska, I think after 2014, so enjoy it while you can.

[Karysa]

My thanks to the OP and all who added their own reviews and observations.:)

 

OP you mentioned that Alvin was on the entertainment staff. Do you happen to know if this is the same Alvin that was on the Dawn earlier this year? We will be on the Sun in a few weeks and we really enjoyed the Alvin that was on the Dawn. He is an excellent dancer and quite the ham. If I am not mistaken the Assistant Cruise Director on the Dawn was Johnny Sanchez, could this also be the JC Sanchez who is the Cruise Director on the Sun. He was young, maybe 5'7" tall and had a lot of energy. I hope that these two are on board the Sun as they both were a lot of fun!

 

Is there Kareoke on the Sun nightly? Can you eat out by the wake for dinner as well? Thanks again!:)

[jdvmd]

My thanks to the OP and all who added their own reviews and observations.:)

 

OP you mentioned that Alvin was on the entertainment staff. Do you happen to know if this is the same Alvin that was on the Dawn earlier this year? We will be on the Sun in a few weeks and we really enjoyed the Alvin that was on the Dawn. He is an excellent dancer and quite the ham. If I am not mistaken the Assistant Cruise Director on the Dawn was Johnny Sanchez, could this also be the JC Sanchez who is the Cruise Director on the Sun. He was young, maybe 5'7" tall and had a lot of energy. I hope that these two are on board the Sun as they both were a lot of fun!

 

Is there Kareoke on the Sun nightly? Can you eat out by the wake for dinner as well? Thanks again!:)

 

Think these two are definitely the same. We have had Alvin and Johnny Cash for several cruises now. They are great!

[Canagirl]

seagypsea - I'm glad you also enjoyed the cruise! This one will be hard to impossible to beat for us. I'm sure next time we'll say the cruise was good, but not as good as 2012 on the Sun.

 

I'm also waiting for my review to post (which is what I copied here).

 

My thanks to the OP and all who added their own reviews and observations.:)

 

OP you mentioned that Alvin was on the entertainment staff. Do you happen to know if this is the same Alvin that was on the Dawn earlier this year? We will be on the Sun in a few weeks and we really enjoyed the Alvin that was on the Dawn. He is an excellent dancer and quite the ham. If I am not mistaken the Assistant Cruise Director on the Dawn was Johnny Sanchez, could this also be the JC Sanchez who is the Cruise Director on the Sun. He was young, maybe 5'7" tall and had a lot of energy. I hope that these two are on board the Sun as they both were a lot of fun!

 

Is there Kareoke on the Sun nightly? Can you eat out by the wake for dinner as well? Thanks again!:)

 

As jdvmd mentioned, although I wasn't on the Dawn, very likely - almost positively they are the same. If you take a look at the youtube video I posted in post #32, JC Sanchez introduces the video and you can see Alvin at several points in the video (e.g. 2:34). The 2 of them as well as the rest of the cruise director staff made a huge difference in really making this the perfect cruise. They were all a great team. My understanding is that prior to our cruise there was a different cruise director - JC Sanchez boarded at the beginning of our cruise.

 

I believe they had Karaoke with Gabi most nights in Las Ramblas. I went and watched the first night, but after that I found I didn't make my way back there as there were so many other things going on.

[jdvmd]

seagypsea - I'm glad you also enjoyed the cruise! This one will be hard to impossible to beat for us. I'm sure next time we'll say the cruise was good, but not as good as 2012 on the Sun.

 

I'm also waiting for my review to post (which is what I copied here).

 

 

 

As jdvmd mentioned, although I wasn't on the Dawn, very likely - almost positively they are the same. If you take a look at the youtube video I posted in post #32, JC Sanchez introduces the video and you can see Alvin at several points in the video (e.g. 2:34). The 2 of them as well as the rest of the cruise director staff made a huge difference in really making this the perfect cruise. They were all a great team. My understanding is that prior to our cruise there was a different cruise director - JC Sanchez boarded at the beginning of our cruise.

 

I believe they had Karaoke with Gabi most nights in Las Ramblas. I went and watched the first night, but after that I found I didn't make my way back there as there were so many other things going on.

 

I have had Johnny and Alvin on the Dawn this past summer to Bermuda; on the Sky this past February and on the Sun for South America.