Follow the Ham Fam as we Chase the Sun!

[edspec]

Thank-you Ziggyuk!

That sounds like a doable plan.

[zencruisers]

Thank you for taking the time to share your vacation.

[L1211]

1 hour ago, edspec said:

 

Now we are at Hilton Garden Inn lake Buena Vista in Orlando doing a day pass hotel stay. It’s a great deal if you’ve never done it.  we are   paying $89 for the hours of 9 to 4. Our flight is not until 7 PM tonight so we chose this hotel option to have a place to stay today.  Although the hotel was only $159 for the night, by doing it this way we got To check in early versus the 3 PM check-in time which would’ve done is no good.  Place is nice and updated. Feels new.  I have to work today so the free Wi-Fi also comes in handy. The girls intend to sun by the pool.  Nice way to finish the vacay!

[stefmaia]

Thoroughly enjoyed your vacation report, thank you for bringing us with you.

[Cheesegirl23]

Great review! Thanks for this.  Im considering a smaller ship for an anniversary cruise with hubby - he's never cruised and is very nervous lol. Nice to see all a smaller ship has to offer! What is the website you use for the day pass? Im going in March on the encore, but have a super late flight back home from fort Lauderdale.  Thanks!

[MargoLane]

New member here. We're sailing next week and your review has been very helpful. 

[Dawnya00]

Thanks for bringing us along!

[parrothead0918]

Thank you for letting us vicariously enjoy your cruise with your family.  We are returning to our cruising roots and sailing on the Sun Monday, 1/13, and are excited to return to the ship we started cruising on when it ws a brand new ship.  Your posts were enjoyable, informative and really got us excited.

[MargoLane]

22 minutes ago, parrothead0918 said:

Thank you for letting us vicariously enjoy your cruise with your family.  We are returning to our cruising roots and sailing on the Sun Monday, 1/13, and are excited to return to the ship we started cruising on when it ws a brand new ship.  Your posts were enjoyable, informative and really got us excited.

That's our sailing, too!

[Nclcruise1415]

Thoroughly enjoyed following along. Thank you for sharing your adventures!

[BoundForSea]

This was one of the best Live blogs Ive seen on here! Super informative and fun! We were on Sun in June of 18 and loved it, booked a last minute next week, same itinerary as you guys. 

 

You also inspired me to upgrade our Guarantee OV assignment on deck 4 to a Balcony BX Guarantee. Thats no bueno!! 

 

Thanks again, some great tips and info on here. Glad you guys had a great time. 

 

Any “would have done differently” look backs (other than the room)? 

 

 

Edited January 8, 2020 by BoundForSea

[L1211]

3 hours ago, MargoLane said:

New member here. We're sailing next week and your review has been very helpful. 

Welcome to Cruise Critic!  It may not seem like

it but I’ve done a ton of research on here and hav found it very valuable (and entertaining!  Love to read about other’s cruises!). Glad you enjoyed!!! 

[L1211]

4 hours ago, stefmaia said:

Thoroughly enjoyed your vacation report, thank you for bringing us with you.

Really enjoyed having you along and your encouragement!  Thanks!’

[L1211]

1 hour ago, parrothead0918 said:

Thank you for letting us vicariously enjoy your cruise with your family.  We are returning to our cruising roots and sailing on the Sun Monday, 1/13, and are excited to return to the ship we started cruising on when it ws a brand new ship.  Your posts were enjoyable, informative and really got us excited.

Oh I wish I was boarding on the 13th. Excited for you!!!  Enjoy. It’s a fun ship!!

[L1211]

4 hours ago, Cheesegirl23 said:

Great review! Thanks for this.  Im considering a smaller ship for an anniversary cruise with hubby - he's never cruised and is very nervous lol. Nice to see all a smaller ship has to offer! What is the website you use for the day pass? Im going in March on the encore, but have a super late flight back home from fort Lauderdale.  Thanks!

I will say the smaller ship moved much more than the mega ships we’ve sailed. No one got seasick but the girls had a couple of queasy nights when it was really bad. But, the smaller ship is also easy to navigate and we could find one another easily!

 

the site is just daypass.com. They had several options in Orlando, you pick the times that work best for you. 
 

enjoy!!

[L1211]

45 minutes ago, BoundForSea said:

This was one of the best Live blogs Ive seen on here! Super informative and fun! We were on Sun in June of 18 and loved it, booked a last minute next week, same itinerary as you guys. 

 

You also inspired me to upgrade our Guarantee OV assignment on deck 4 to a Balcony BX Guarantee. Thats no bueno!! 

 

Thanks again, some great tips and info on here. Glad you guys had a great time. 

 

Any “would have done differently” look backs (other than the room)? 

 

 

Oh I’m so jealous!  We would have upgraded to balconies, they were about $200 less than We paid but we would have lost our air if we did so. So stuck with the with the crappy rooms. 
 

great question!  Here are a few things we wish we’d done:

- used the app!  We’d forgotten the functionality and it would have come in handy for reaching one another. But the ship is small and we found one another pretty easily. The app is also handy for what’s going on about the ship. 
- Nightly entertainment!  I made late dinner reservations that conflicted with show times. We never made it to the Stardust theatre. Would have pushed that all up to accommodate 9:30 show times. We weren’t done with dinner till 10/10:30. 
- visited the observation lounge outside area. Only found that while in port. 
-  eaten crepes!

- eaten a MDR breakfast. 
-planned better for Costa Maya. There are much better beach clubs.  
 

that’s what comes to mind now. Enjoy your cruise!!

 

[L1211]

2 hours ago, Dawnya00 said:

Thanks for bringing us along!

Enjoyed having you along!!  Thanks!!

[L1211]

21 hours ago, L1211 said:

Appetizers. Tomato soup with grilled

cheese. Shrimp. Tuna tare Tare. Followed by lobster bisque and wedge salad.  All good. 

I have to finish Cagney’s review. Hands down the family favorite. I may have voted Le Bisteo but they thought the food and service at Cagney’s were better. For entrees, the three Carnivores has the 8oz filet, each with a different sauce. I had the grilled seafood platter. 
 

the seafood Platter was good overall. The grilled fish was inedible. So dry snd tough! But,

there was much more. The “crab cake nugget” was outstanding. It was very small but very good. Scallops small and a bit fishy. Jumbo grilled shrimp were excellent! I didn’t eat the calamari.
 

All three thought the filets were perfectly cooked, again. And they loved getting to choose sides. We had cream corn (good), cheesy polenta (really good), al gratin potatoes (just ok), mushrooms (phenomenal), truffle fries (too full!), sautéd spinach (really good). 
 

dinner was a huge success!

[L1211]

and Dessert. You are thinking no way!  But we plaited through. You know, for the blog!  The girls shared the 7 layer chocolate cake. It is a really moist almost flourless style with ganache frosting. Amazing!!  The DH makes excellent creme brûlée and we almost never order it out. We tried it and it too was incredible. Our server also brought a cheesecake. That was our least fav, but really good. 

[Lorey2007]

Regarding room selection I always use cruisedeckplans dot com.  For about $5 for a 3 year membership you can view very ship imaginable with pictures of rooms that members have posted.  I won 't choose a room unless I can see a actual picture. 

[L1211]

Just now, Lorey2007 said:

Regarding room selection I always use cruisedeckplans dot com.  For about $5 for a 3 year membership you can view very ship imaginable with pictures of rooms that members have posted.  I won 't choose a room unless I can see a actual picture. 

That is such a great tip!!!  I would have never booked these rooms had I viewed a pic!  Thank you. So worth it!!! 

[PlayCousin]

I chimed in earlier.  Just wanted to say thanks again.  Lovely, positive report.  I enjoyed reading it.  

[L1211]

1 hour ago, PlayCousin said:

I chimed in earlier.  Just wanted to say thanks again.  Lovely, positive report.  I enjoyed reading it.  

Thank you so much!  We enjoyed sailing her. 

[marazad16]

I'm so sorry to see this end. It was terrific to follow along! You covered it all and I am even more excited to board her next week. Now plan another so we have something to look forward to. 🙂 

[Lorey2007]

13 hours ago, L1211 said:

That is such a great tip!!!  I would have never booked these rooms had I viewed a pic!  Thank you. So worth it!!! 

You can also upload ship & room pictures & they will pay for them. Deposit to your account .