Restaurants on Sun

[flowy]

First time on the Sun and would like to try the restaurants -- any hints on what nights to book them and which are the best ones to try.

 

Going to Alaska in June!

 

Thanks Fran

[MagnoliaMan]

:) We were on SUN past December. We had most breakfasts and lunches (11 nites) at Garden Cafe (cafeteria or buffet), fresh food, good choices, great lunch salad bar and your pick of goodies to go with salads.

Dining rooms almost every nite at main seating dining room in Seven Seas, a couple times in Four Seasons Dining Room. Both very good, tasty food, varied menu, you cant go hungry and good choices.

We did Le Bistro (paid extra dining room upstairs), add on $15 per person, food good. BUT do not believe the $15 justified compared with main dining rooms offered meals without any extra charge.

Example: the nite we did Bistro, I had Salmon, very nicely done.

In main Seven Seas it was Prime Rib or Salmon (do you think they bring on

special salmon for Bistro as compared to same salmon for Seven Seas or Four Seasons? Dont Think so. It was very good, but not more than the main dining.

We had great service. When you go to reception desk in seven seas, ask for table being served by Everett from Jamaica or Diana from Indonesia.

They will cover you up with service. Just super. They may not be on ship at this time, hope so.

Notes on ship: Beautiful, well laid out, entertainment good, not super shows every nite this trip. Every day cant be a holiday, but still enjoyable

entertainmnet.

Four Seasons also very good. Kermit Miller, Maitre' d, does a fine job. As does the Maitre' d Jose on Seven Seas. Both know how to have their people extend the service to a supreme experience.

Glad you are on the Sun. Have a great cruise.

Enjoy Alaska. We did it about 7 years ago.

 

Magnolia Man;)

[ronandannette]

First time on the Sun and would like to try the restaurants -- any hints on what nights to book them and which are the best ones to try.

 

Thanks Fran

 

We were also Sun first-timers last fall on the southbound repo. The 4 Seasons and 7 Seas were always reasonably good, the buffet was consistently horrible, Le Bistro was a little disappointing after the build-up and the Steakhouse met our expectations. HOWEVER; we had one of the best meal of our lives, land or sea in Il Adagio. The atmosphere was sublime, the service impeccable and the food was very, very well done. Please don't miss the opportunity to try it!

 

Happy Sailing,

 

Annette:)

[momofmab]

We were on the Sun last month and chose to eat the majority of our dinners in the specialty restaurants. The only one we didn't try was Il Adagio. In our opinion, the service charges were well worth it for what we thought was remarkably better food then in the main dinning rooms. Our favorite was Le Bistro. Also wonderful was the Japanese Teppanakki. Make your reservations as soon as you board, however don't be afraid to walk-in without a reservation. We did this in Le Bistro, and although the hostess was visibly frazzled by our request to dine with no reservation, and claimed to be "booked", the restaurant was only 1/4 full at 7:30 p.m. and even less full by the time we left (this must be an NCL mystery as the specialty restaurants were never full when we were there, yet they always claimed to be "booked" :confused: ) Anyhow, if you like a good filet, we had two of the best we've ever tasted in Le Bistro and East Meets West. Enjoy!

[flowy]

Thanks for all the info -- saw the ship had a Tapas restaurant. Is there a charge for it? Are they open for lunch? Just wondering how you can make a reservation in advance for a restaurant for the first night out.

 

Thanks, Fran

[Cruise_More_Often]

The tapas restaurant, Las Ramblas (no charge) is open for lunch, serving wonderful sandwiches on croissants or baguettes. Some are made ahead and displayed behind glass cases, but if you don't see what you want, ask them to make one for you. They open for tapas at 5:30, and there is live entertainment in the evenings. Las Ramblas is also open in the mornings for breakfast, serving omelets.

 

Pacific Heights is also open for lunch, serving pasta and pizzas, both of which are excellent; for breakfast they serve waffles; and Healthy Choice for dinner.

 

Our favorite quick place for both breakfast and lunch was the Great Outdoor Cafe. It was never busy. Wear your jackets. I guess most of the cruisers thought it was too cold, so they waited in the long lines in the buffet.

 

We had great food every night. Our favorite servers were Helen and Mary Claire in Seven Seas and Fortunata in Four Seasons. We ate in every restaurant on the ship (we did the 3-day repo from SF prior to Alaska, so we had more days than usual). Teppanyaki is great fun, especially if you go with people you know. Il Adagio was as great as we remembered from our first trip on the Sun. Le Bistro is beautiful, and the food was wonderful. I was so full from a snack of fresh fruit and pizza in the afternoon that I couldn't eat dessert (awwww). East Meets West (Cagney's menu) has terrific steaks and even live lobster.

 

When you board the ship, make the dining room reservation desk in the Atrium your first stop. There you can check out the menus for all the specialty restaurants. You can also call from your cabin.

 

The Murder Mystery dinner was great fun. Watch your Freestyle Daily so you don't miss the signup.

 

If you have questions, ask, and I'll try to provide answers.

[newmexicoNita]

We also were on the Sun the same time as momofmab: We had prime rib the first night in the main dining room and beef strogonoff the last night; the other 5 nights we ate in specialty dining. One night we decided to just head to Las Ramblas for tapas and then later in the evening we headed to the sports bar for fish and chips. Every dinner we had was good, to very good and some outstanding. le Bistro has always been my favorite. Make your reservation the day you embark as soon as you can. This will give you the choice of times.

 

Most mornings we did the buffet or have omelettes in Las Ramblas; probably my least favorite part of our dining expereince as I enjoy lox but didn't want to do the buffet then head unother flight of stairs to meet DD in Las Ramblas. One morning we did the dining room; probably the best eggs benedict I have ever had was that morning. The biggest disappointment was the dining room for lunch. Whether it was what we ordered on just the dining lunches period, but it wasn't the best. I have never been overly impressed with NCLs dining lunches. NMnita

[Globaliser]

(this must be an NCL mystery as the specialty restaurants were never full when we were there, yet they always claimed to be "booked" :confused: )

I suspect that this will be to keep the quality up. The number of covers in the restaurant isn't the limiting factor if you're trying to produce quality food; it's the rate at which the kitchen/galley can cook food to order. So if the kitchen can only do 15 mains an hour, then you will only take bookings for 15 covers an hour, even if your restaurant can actually seat 60.

 

My personal favourite on the Sun is also Il Adagio, with the Bistro and the teppanyaki following fairly close behind.

[ubouu]

all those places sound great what about seafood where is the best seafood served...thanks

[kroberst]

CMO - please help me, I'm a bit confused on the buffet/Great Outdoor Cafe? Are these different locations? I saw on another post where you stated you usually avoided the buffet because of the lines but choose the cafe instead? First time on NCL and the Sun coming in 3 weeks - can you explain this to me?

 

My understanding thus far regarding dining options: (please correct if wrong)

Seven Seas and Four Seasons - main dining rooms, serve same menus

Pacific Heights - pizza/pasta, breakfast waffles

Las Ramblas - tapas, breakfast omelettes

Sports Bar - fish and chips, burgers

Le Bistro - french inspired with surcharge

Il Adagio - Italian inspired with surcharge

Teppanyaki - Japanese inspired with surcharge

East Meets West - steakhouse with surcharge

 

Another question for experienced Sun cruisers - how easy is it to hit multiple places and convene in one area to eat together? What I mean is... hubby wants an omelette but I want waffles - are these places relatively close so we could get our respective plates and meet up in another location to eat or can one of us take food from one venue into the other?

 

Am I missing anything from my restaurant listing?? Thanks!

 

K

[momofmab]

I suspect that this will be to keep the quality up. The number of covers in the restaurant isn't the limiting factor if you're trying to produce quality food; it's the rate at which the kitchen/galley can cook food to order. So if the kitchen can only do 15 mains an hour, then you will only take bookings for 15 covers an hour, even if your restaurant can actually seat 60.

 

That makes sense - thanks for explaining.

 

kroberst - some of the breakfast options are separated, which was a little frustrating until I learned where everything was:rolleyes: . The buffet is all in one place, but the omelets were in Las Ramblas on deck 12 (right above the buffet area) and the waffles are in Pacific Heights, which is in the same wing (that's a nautical term, y'all) as the buffet on Deck 11, but in a different area. I was traveling with young kids, so by the time I got them situated and ran back and forth, I never got a hot breakfast, but there are worse things than a cold breakfast in the Carribean ;) If you're all adults, it shouldn't be difficult to pick one place to meet (we liked Pacific Heights - it was quiet), and then go your separate ways to get your food.

[atlmichelle]

The Murder Mystery dinner was great fun. Watch your Freestyle Daily so you don't miss the signup.

 

I'm hoping there is a chance that the MMD was offered on the repo portion of your trip, CMO??? We're doing the September Sun repo, and this sounds like so much FUN!

[monicajay]

On the Sun when we did a morning buffet (only when in a rush for shore excursions, otherwise we loved the main dining room) my family would all start by getting a juice and cutlery. We then would head outside to choose a table and get "set-up". My DS always headed off in search of waffles, my DH in search of an omelete and my DD and I off to the main buffet. Sometimes one family member would make a request of another. My son got me to bring a box of cereal.

 

It worked well as we never had to roam around with food looking for a table and with juice and cutlery already done it leaves more hands available to carry the food.

:)

[Jett456]

I'm wondering why the Italian retaurant on the Sun has a surcharge and the Italian on the Dawn doesn't. Are they different menus or a different style of Italian. It doesn't seem to make sense that one would have a charge and the others not. Does anyone know?

[Cruise_More_Often]

The Great Outdoor Cafe is on Deck 11, and you can get to it by going into the Garden Cafe (the buffet) and heading out the aft door. Or, you can get to it by going into the Sports Bar and heading out the aft door. It is completely separate. There are two lines, but often one is closed. You can't find everything in there (like oatmeal, which you can find in the Buffet).

 

I agree that Pacific Heights is a good place to eat after you make your various selections. If it's not too smokey, you can also gather in the Sports Bar. All of the restaurants I mentioned in this post are on the 11th floor at the aft end of the ship.

 

No Murder Mystery Dinner on the repo cruise.

 

Il Adagio on the Sun is completely different from the Italian places on the Dawn and Star. Those are "created" in the evenings on one side of the Buffet. Il Adagio's menu is more extensive, and it is probably the prettiest restaurant on the Sun. It has banquettes for larger parties and tables for two in front of floor-to-ceiling windows. It's my favorite restaurant on the Sun. It's a little hard to find but worth it--right between the Windjammer Bar and Dazzles, you'll see a set of stairs that lead down to the 5th Deck. Above the stairs you will see "Il Adagio." Take the stairs down. You can also get to it by going all the way through Four Seasons. There is a door that leads to the foyer of Il Adagio.

 

Take some time to explore this ship. It will be worth it. If you board early enough, there is a tour of the public spaces.

 

Have fun, everyone!

[flowy]

Thanks for all the great info! Anyone have any thoughts on the best bars on the Sun? Love a great place to to have a drink before dinner.

 

thanks!

[electricron]

Thanks for all the great info! Anyone have any thoughts on the best bars on the Sun? Love a great place to to have a drink before dinner. thanks!

 

I like the Windjammer's Bar, conviently located near both main restaurants.

For a view, but a long way from the main restaurants, the Observation's Lounge. For a pre dinner snack, the Tapas Bar.

 

Try them all! :D