Mitsugirly's extensive back to belly sun & sky review

[mitsugirly]

 

 

Notice there are not ANY slides on this ship. I can enjoy myself no matter what, but Sakari's first words when we hit the pool deck "Where are the big slides? I don't like this ship. Can we get on that one?" And points to the Carnival Pride docked in front of us. Sigh. I told her to live with it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were 2 of these round stairs on the ship and according to the blue prints on NCL, they are showers. I didn't discover that this was a shower until the next to last day. LOL I had always walked in front of them and not behind them because there were people sitting at the tables there. Once the hubby told Sakari "This is your new shower area" and she said "No way, people will see me!"

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

I can tell you on one side, it was NOT a shower, but the towel exchange area instead.

 

 

 

A few night pictures

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The water that night reminded me of glass or ice

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

Next up is Topsiders bar at the end of the pool.

 

 

 

See these round bars strategically placed forcing you to walk one way or the other? They would create a bad traffic flow with the decks were full. They had tables and chairs up against the pool area, which made for a very tight squeeze most of the time. They didn't have any chairs placed against them, so maybe they discovered these things were not a good idea although you could tell they were supposed to have chairs since there was a rail around the bottom to place your feet, just like at the bar. There was people that would pull up the high chairs from the tables though to sit there, blocking even more of the traffic flow.

 

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

On one side you walk into the Garden Cafe. This is one of the free eating area's and it is the buffet. It says that it holds 194 people. You could get breakfast, lunch or dinner here.

 

The place was probably the smallest buffet I had ever seen before. But the seating area was plenty and extended toward the back of the ship before going out to the aft, which had more seating out there.

 

I have to admit, even though the area was small, we never had a problem finding a seat. The food selection however...

 

To the right as soon as you walked in, you would find the ice cream area. They had soft serve or regular scoop ice cream. This is also where you find the crepes!!! YUM! I visited frequently.

 

To the left of there was a drink station with coffee, teas, juices, water and the flavored drinks.

 

 

 

 

 

You would also find numerous drinks stations placed along the walk way of the buffet so that one area wasn't always crowded.

 

 

 

The lights in this place kind of reminded me of the Pearl/Jewel lighting.

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[retiring soon]

HI all!

 

mitsugirly ~ enjoying your review as always!:D You do such a great job. I was surprised to see how nice the theatre is on this ship compared to Dawn (which I just got off). The seats on it have no place to put a drink & are quite close together.

 

The Sun looks like quite a colourful ship, love the purples too.

 

I'm with you, this Norwegian would rather eat too!;)

 

~ Jo ~ :)

[mitsugirly]

On the opposite side (from the pool deck on the right), is Moderno. I have looked and looked and could not find pictures of this place. I find it hard to believe that I forgot because we spent a lot of time in here eating. They "might" be with my daily pictures of the review...we'll have to see.

 

However, during the breakfast times, you could go over to Moderno and eat breakfast. I was WONDERFUL and never crowded. I'm not sure if people just didn't know and headed to the buffet or what. But we loved it over there.

 

They had omelette's made your way, waffles made your way with all the toppings, a bar set up with fruits, cereals and such, a few tables set up banquet style with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and ???? why can I not remember what was in the 4th bin? Maybe some type of potatoes? Either way, it was plenty enough of a choice for us to fill our belly for a nice relaxing morning.

 

Right past Moderno was the Video Zone, which was of course an arcade. I never did see anyone in here at any given time when we would pass. I think the "video-arcade" days have long past myself. Everyone plays xbox or playstation at home. LOL

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

Next up would be the Sports Bar and we loved it here. It is the Sun's "Blue Lagoon/O'Sheehans" area although not open 24/7 like on most ships. Sigh*

 

Anyhow, you could get everything on the menu that you would in the Blue Lagoon and the food was yummy as always-just some wack hours IMO. LOL

 

 

 

See the penny machine? You could pick from 4 different backgrounds and pay $1 to get a penny (provided by the machine) smashed with the picture on it. Yes, we did it for Sakari and something to add to my scrapbook for the cruise. :D

 

 

 

 

 

There was t.v's with various sports playing all day long and in every direciton for all of your sports fans.

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

 

 

Everything in here was sports related of course and they had signed memorabilia everywhere.

 

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

Heading out the back door to the aft, you will come to the Great Outdoors area. There's plenty of seating facing the wake of the ship and also more food! I love this area on the ships.

 

There's 2 sides and usually 1 side stays open longer than the other, but there's usually a decent selection of sandwiches that you won't find anywhere else on the ship, including the buffet. So it's a nice change.

 

They do seem to rotate hours with the Garden Cafe though. So, if one is open, usually the other is closed and vice versa. So it can be a hit or miss at times if you want to eat there.

 

There is also a drink station out there, so no need to run back inside for drinks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then there is a bar on the back as well.

 

[morry2121]

Enjoying your review! Wow, lots of pics. Wondering where all the passengers are.....did you take the pictures in the middle of the night or did you have a private cruise? lol Seems all my pictures on the ship have all kinds of strangers in them haha. Keep them coming please.

[Aturnee]

That picture of the treadmills facing the sea brought back a memory! It was almost fun to run and watch the colors of the sea change! Haven't done it again LOL!

[mitsugirly]

Keep um coming, can't wait to see the pool deck and upper forward deck!

 

Hope you liked the pool deck. Thanks for joining. :)

 

Enjoying the pics.

 

Thanks so much. :)

[mitsugirly]

HI all!

 

mitsugirly ~ enjoying your review as always!:D You do such a great job. I was surprised to see how nice the theatre is on this ship compared to Dawn (which I just got off). The seats on it have no place to put a drink & are quite close together.

 

The Sun looks like quite a colourful ship, love the purples too.

 

I'm with you, this Norwegian would rather eat too!;)

 

~ Jo ~ :)

 

Thanks so much. Yes, we really liked the seating in the theater. Even the couch seating on the 1st floor was nice to sit at and comfy with the tables in the front. Much different than some of the other ships.

 

She's very colorful in the theater. I like color. :p

 

Enjoying your review! Wow, lots of pics. Wondering where all the passengers are.....did you take the pictures in the middle of the night or did you have a private cruise? lol Seems all my pictures on the ship have all kinds of strangers in them haha. Keep them coming please.

 

Ha ha, everyone always ask me about the pics and where the passengers are at. I take pictures all during the week to try to get pictures without a lot of people in them. But honestly, this ship didn't feel like there were many people on it. It was never crowded and we never waited in line for anything...even when eating. I loved this cruise.

 

One thing I have learned over my cruising years is that everyone always comes on board the first day and heads for the buffet and pool area. This is the perfect opportunity to explore all the venues and get great pictures. Another good time is at night when most are either at dinner, a show or gambling. You can get a lot of good pictures then as well. Then of course when venues are closed (like the MDR and such) or nothing going on in a certain place, you will find them empty and the perfect opportunity to get pictures without people in them.

 

However, if I see something I want a picture of, I have been known to wait until a passenger passes to get them out of the picture as well. :D

[mitsugirly]

That picture of the treadmills facing the sea brought back a memory! It was almost fun to run and watch the colors of the sea change! Haven't done it again LOL!

 

I imagine that would be nice, but me being me...I would rather sit on the deck facing the ocean and watch the colors change. LOL :p

[mitsugirly]

Up to the next deck....deck 12.

 

We will start with Las Ramblas Bar & Restaurant. We passed through this area a lot during the cruise and we also had our meet & greet here as well. It's a cute little area and they had hot and cold Tapas, which we didn't try but it says it's complimentary. I knew that others stated the food in this area was like comfort food and it was free, but the food was behind the counter in a glass case and every time we went in, there either wasn't someone on the other side to serve you or I found others there and would pick out something and then go to the register and be rung up. So, I started doubting that it was a free dining area. I guess I didn't think about it until after the cruise that maybe they were purchasing drinks or something? I just know that every time I seen someone there, they were being rang up and a key card given.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The "sun" lights on the Sun. LOL

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

One last picture.

 

 

 

[hpecorari]

Up to the next deck....deck 12.

 

We will start with Las Ramblas Bar & Restaurant. We passed through this area a lot during the cruise and we also had our meet & greet here as well. It's a cute little area and they had hot and cold Tapas, which we didn't try but it says it's complimentary. I knew that others stated the food in this area was like comfort food and it was free, but the food was behind the counter in a glass case and every time we went in, there either wasn't someone on the other side to serve you or I found others there and would pick out something and then go to the register and be rung up. So, I started doubting that it was a free dining area. I guess I didn't think about it until after the cruise that maybe they were purchasing drinks or something? I just know that every time I seen someone there, they were being rang up and a key card given.

 

The last time I was on the sun I remember going there and it, also, is where I hosted our Meet and Greet. The Tapas are free. You do have to pay for your drinks, however. At least they were the last time I sailed her.

 

Harriet

[mitsugirly]

On the opposite side of Las Ramblas you have Le Bistro. I'm not a big meat eater, so we have never eaten here. However, when you come in the doors for the upper Deck (of 12) from the aft of the ship, you either go left into Las Ramblas or if you turn right, it's Le Bistro. However, this is not an entrance, but yet only has a curtain there. Of course, I had to stick my head in once to get pictures and one of the crew members gave me a really weird look.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

Ok, I'm off for a few hours. I have an interview and me and my oldest daughter are going to the grocery store to get things for Thanksgiving dinner. Then I'll devote my time to more of the review when I return.

 

Once again, thanks for joining me. :)

[jethrojam]

Great Review so far! Looking forward to sailing with you on the Dawn in May, hopefully celebrating your new job! Good luck at the Interview :)

[lisakoivu]

I just couldn't help but laugh at this. :p :D

 

Phew, it wasn't just me!

[soaringfalcon]

You give such a feel for the ship!!! I feel like I'm there. I love that atrium and the pool at night.

 

So hopefully Sakari participated in Kids Club this time and didn't sit and refuse to join in the activities and never, ever do any art projects ;)

 

Hope your interview went well!

[Susie51]

I was on Sun in 2005 and the smoking policy was different then.

 

The card room was on the Promenade deck, but I don't remember the deck number.

 

DIL spent time near the sports bar, because she could smoke in there or right outside of it. Believe it or not, this was the first time I saw a bucket of beer. I'm picturing the beer in a helmet shaped bucket. Does anyone remember it served this way?