NCL back to South America

[polySeraph]

Really sorry to hear that; I hate that NCL is taking away this space, and particularly on a ship that they are sending off to do an itinerary where the weather can be cold and wet.

 

 

I agree. That Observation Lounge and the deck in front of it were a big part of what made the South American cruise so special for us. All three of our cruises aboard the Sun have been cold weather cruises with spectacular scenery. It's hard for me to imagine cruising through all that glorious scenery on the Sun without its forward lounge.

[clojacks]

Just got off the phone with my PCC and he said they got a notice this am that the SA itineraries will be available by the end of the month.Spir

 

Maybe they are going to do what they did/doing to the Spirit or the Sky (can't remember which), they are changing some of the balcony suites (combining them) into penthouses - just a thought.

 

That is great news. Thanks for sharing.

[Turtles06]

I agree. That Observation Lounge and the deck in front of it were a big part of what made the South American cruise so special for us. All three of our cruises aboard the Sun have been cold weather cruises with spectacular scenery. It's hard for me to imagine cruising through all that glorious scenery on the Sun without its forward lounge.

 

It would certainly be something to consider v. another ship (cruise line) that still has a forward lounge (as the Celebrity Infinity does now).

[milolii]

Good morning, Has anyone heard anymore re: when dates will open up for 2015-3016?

 

 

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[rvsullivan]

I agree. That Observation Lounge and the deck in front of it were a big part of what made the South American cruise so special for us. All three of our cruises aboard the Sun have been cold weather cruises with spectacular scenery. It's hard for me to imagine cruising through all that glorious scenery on the Sun without its forward lounge.

 

We've done two cruises now in the suites that replaced the old Spinnaker lounges. They are spectacular!!! We will only book those on the ships that have them and are glad to see another ship converting. The old Spinnaker were completely underutilized according to two different Hotel Directors. If you really want the view I recommend the new suites. All of the benefits of the forward view with the perks of privacy.

[Squidward Q Tentacles]

Was it senior NCL staff spreading the rumors, or other guests with wishful thinking? Been a lot of wishful thinking for quite a while, but NCL keeps denying it.

 

I just posted a video of the Latitudes party and they talked about the new routes and ports.

 

[Turtles06]

We've done two cruises now in the suites that replaced the old Spinnaker lounges. They are spectacular!!! We will only book those on the ships that have them and are glad to see another ship converting. The old Spinnaker were completely underutilized according to two different Hotel Directors. If you really want the view I recommend the new suites. All of the benefits of the forward view with the perks of privacy.

 

You may not have meant it this way, but your comment --- put up in response to people bemoaning the loss of the Spinnaker -- is a little lacking in sensitivity. Not everyone can afford to cruise in a suite.

 

What NCL did here was to take away a unique, indoor observation lounge available to all, and limit the space to a very select few. Of course NCL is going to say the Spinnaker was "underutilized." What do you expect them to say -- we don't care who liked this forward observation lounge, we wanted to make more money from the space?

 

Imho, cruise ships need to have a good mix of public spaces, inside and out. NCL really took something good away here.

[herdingdogmom]

Good morning, Has anyone heard anymore re: when dates will open up for 2015-2016?

 

Back to the thread topic....South America itineraries. I too want to know if anyone has heard anything more on when the Sun will be available for booking 2015/2016. Is it next week?

Edited April 27, 2014 by herdingdogmom

[peg013]

You may not have meant it this way, but your comment --- put up in response to people bemoaning the loss of the Spinnaker -- is a little lacking in sensitivity. Not everyone can afford to cruise in a suite.

 

What NCL did here was to take away a unique, indoor observation lounge available to all, and limit the space to a very select few. Of course NCL is going to say the Spinnaker was "underutilized." What do you expect them to say -- we don't care who liked this forward observation lounge, we wanted to make more money from the space?

 

Imho, cruise ships need to have a good mix of public spaces, inside and out. NCL really took something good away here.

 

But the fact remains that the new suites are awesome whether you like them and can afford them or not. I fail to see the insensitivity on a thread about South American itineraries - not the bemoaning the loss of the Spinnaker Lounge. :confused:

 

I hope the new itineraries and especially the prices are soon available.

[Linda the Book Lover]

I just posted a video of the Latitudes party and they talked about the new routes and ports.

 

 

Thanks for the link. NCL has a Cape Horn page with no dates listed which is sad :( for those of us looking to see if we can afford the trip of a lifetime. The DH and I are not getting any younger and we are hoping the price will not set us back too much.

[polySeraph]

What NCL did here was to take away a unique, indoor observation lounge available to all, and limit the space to a very select few. Of course NCL is going to say the Spinnaker was "underutilized." What do you expect them to say -- we don't care who liked this forward observation lounge, we wanted to make more money from the space?

 

The Sun's Observation Lounge was heavily utilized on all three of my cold-weather cruises. What was underutilized on those cruises was the pool area.... well, except for a few hardy souls in the hot tubs.

 

If indeed the Observation Lounge is to be repurposed into suites, I can't really fault KS and the folks in the C-Suites for doing it. The SBs on my 2-week Norway-Iceland-Faroes itinerary were priced at $13K per person and they were all booked a year ahead of embarkation. If that is typical of demand for that type of cabin, replacing the Observation Lounge with 4 SAs could make a lot of shareholders very happy.

 

What it would mean for ComputerTravelGuy and me personally, however, is that we would probably not consider the Sun for any more Big Adventures. Oh, we might still consider taking the Sun (if the price was right) for one of those generic, garden-variety Caribbean cruises, but I strongly doubt that we will ever head off on one of those spectacular-scenery, cold-weather cruises on a ship with no indoor forward viewing area.

 

And yes, that makes me a little sad.

[crizzlyhug]

I just saw this Thread and want to put some more picture up.

I hope NCL is starting again to sail to south america and even more I hope to sail towards asia.

 

MS Norwegian Crown inbound to Puerto Chacabuco.

 

And some shots of Volcano Macá just to the starboard side of her.

[clojacks]

Initially, NCL said these itineraries and sailings were going to be available for booking by Latitudes members on April 15th. That passed and somebody said they were told that the bookings would be available by "the end of the month". I'm hoping that date doesn't pass us by too. I'm ready to take the leap, but if it goes too much longer, booking on another line becomes a real possibility. Particularly with the rumors regarding the Observation area. Out of curiosity, does anyone know what the ships sailing SA from the other lines, i.e. Celebrity Infinity, Golden Princess, Rhapsody OTS, and Holland's Zaandam have for observation areas?

[crizzlyhug]

On the Celebrity Infinity is the forward panorama lounge really nice:

 

Also the outer decks to the front are viewable but not practical for taking pictures because of disturbing ship-parts. Better are there the open decks at the aft.

 

More pictures of the Infinity you can find on my website from our cruise from Miami to Santiago de Chile thru the Panama Canal:

http://hurtigruten.bplaced.net/2012.12/index5.html

Edited April 28, 2014 by crizzlyhug

[Turtles06]

Particularly with the rumors regarding the Observation area. Out of curiosity, does anyone know what the ships sailing SA from the other lines, i.e. Celebrity Infinity, Golden Princess, Rhapsody OTS, and Holland's Zaandam have for observation areas?

 

I was on the Infinity's TA last fall. The Constellation Lounge on Deck 11 is an indoor, forward observation lounge. There's a bar and the space is often used during the day for activities like trivia, etc. Celebrity took away some of the port side of this lounge to turn it into the "Fun Factory" space for kids, but as you can see from a deck plan, there's still a good bit of glass, including all the way across the forward end. (It's still a beautiful spot, but I'm sure it's not as dramatic as it was pre-Fun Factory.)

[clojacks]

This may be a dumb question, but if we are going to book a balcony cabin, is there any concern whether there is an "observation area" or not? And as someone just mentioned, for photography, the observation areas are not really usable anyway? Specifically, under what conditions would I be concerned if they removed an observation area or not? Absolutely trying to be educated and not meaning to critique the attributes of an observation area or lack there of.

[crizzlyhug]

... is there any concern whether there is an "observation area" or not?

 

If you're going to cruise thru a fjord and the weather is bad, it nice to go inside a have look at the scenery from a warmer place. You can go outside if there is something interesting. Very useful for antarctica as I noticed by myself. If the weather is good there is no reason for a panorama-lounge. If you have balcony you only see one side and you can miss something good on the otherside. Hope this explains...

Edited April 28, 2014 by crizzlyhug

[Linda the Book Lover]

Thanks Stefan for the great pictures and the information. I am keeping my fingers crossed the DH says yes to this trip.

[dalgirl]

I know what they are waiting for - for me to return from Bermuda with my shiny, new FCC in hand to book next month;)

[kjquilts]

This may be a dumb question, but if we are going to book a balcony cabin, is there any concern whether there is an "observation area" or not? And as someone just mentioned, for photography, the observation areas are not really usable anyway? Specifically, under what conditions would I be concerned if they removed an observation area or not? Absolutely trying to be educated and not meaning to critique the attributes of an observation area or lack there of.

 

 

See below photo of the Sun showing the observation lounge as well as the open deck viewing area in front of it. You can see the side door from the outside area into the observation lounge. There is a corresponding door on the other side. This area was very well used during our Alaska cruise. People would step out to take photos and come back in to the lounge to warm up. The lounge was also used for dance classes and had a very good duo entertaining in the evenings.

 

We've stayed in both SJ and SG family suites on the Star that were converted from a lounge and really enjoyed them. In the case of the Star and the Dawn the conversion probably made sense because Norwegian was able to add a large number of suites and new inside staterooms. The observation lounge on the Sun is so small that I don't believe the conversion could create enough suites to make up for the loss of such a valuable public area to Sun lovers. I am truly hoping this is not planned for the rumored dry dock.

 

 

 

[Turtles06]

Following up on kjquilts' post above, here's a photo of the Sun showing the bow (and observation area) almost full on.

 

 

(NCL Sun in Ponta Delgada, photo by turtles06)

[tomhalv]

These are great shots f the Sun's Observation Lounge and outdoor area. I agree with all said earlier... NCL, PLEASE DON'T TAKE AWAY THE LOUNGE! We're scheduled for Alaska at the end of June so we'll take advantage of the lounge and outdoor areas for sure. We also are seriously looking forward to the S. America trips. It would be nice if someone from NCL would clarify what is going to happen here.

[milolii]

Thank you for the pictures.

 

 

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[clojacks]

So, today is the end of the month, which is when someone earlier in the thread said they were told by an NCL representative that Norwegian would be releasing prices and dates for SA in 2016. I haven't seen anything yet, and frankly, I'm pretty disappointed that NCL hasn't at least come out publicly and said they know they missed their previous sale "on sale" date, which was supposed to be 4/15, and that they now would be available to the Latitudes members on XXX date and the public on YYY date. There is too much competition from other lines out there for these itineraries, for NCL to be screwing around with it like this.

Edited April 30, 2014 by clojacks

[Linda the Book Lover]

Sadly I am disappointed as well about not having the South America information. MY DH wanted to know all the costs before we decide what to do with our deposit from the last cruise. I am almost agreeing with him that perhaps redoing the master bathroom is a better option.:confused: