Norwegian Sun/Mexican Riviera

[Elawies]

I have searched most of the boards for advice on the Sun and haven't really found much. For instance,I now know that there is a shower curtain in a round shower, and that it is rather small. But that doesn't bother me at all. I have also read that we shouldn't miss dining in the Adagio restaurant. We are going to the Mexican Riviera on 10/13/08 and other than a roll call with a few posting from some younger people, who have small children and babies, I haven't seen much activity. For those of you who have traveled on the Sun, please share your experiences with me. For those of you who have traveled the Mexican Riviera, I would appreciate any information on shore excursions, etc. as this appears to be the first trip to the Riviera for the Sun. We are senior couples (68 to 72) and we have balcony cabins on Fjord Deck. We enjoy traveling around the port cities, experiencing local culture, eating well, and having a cigar after dinner or taking in a show. How was the entertainment on the Sun and did you go to the cigar bar? It appears that the balcony cabin gives us the priviledge of having express check in, the glass of champagne and fruit, robes, and what else? Since they are repositioning from Alaska to the Riviera, do you think there will be crew changes? If so, then I really can't ask for the matre de named Alex. Any information will be greatly appreciated. Thank you. Elawies:)

[mpk218]

I think you will really enjoy the Sun , she a great ship . She's of the smaller size and has a great crew , which should remain the same for MR . The cigar lounge was one of the larger ones I can remember seeing .

 

mpk

[hamiltito]

We sailed on the Sun for our very first cruise, but it was so long ago that I don't really have much constructive advice about the ship.

 

However, I will say that Acapulco was easily the very worst port of call that we have visited on any of our three cruises. I'm a big fan of excursions that go inland and allow us to see the countryside and culture, but when we stopped in Acapulco I didn't take the Taxco excursion I wanted because it took the entire time in port and I didn't want to miss out on seeing "fabulous" and "sexy" Acapulco. If I had known just how much of a poor, dirty, open sewer of a city Acapulco was, I wouldn't have hesitated to go on that trip or any other excursion that took me away from the city on that stop.

 

As for the cigar bar, I'd personally recommend bringing along your own cigars to smoke on the cruise. I didn't visit the cigar room on the Sun, but on the Star the selction was limited and the prices were high (at least compared to my local tobacconist). I personally prefer to smoke out on deck late at night, rather spending my time sitting indoors when I could be out in the pleasant tropical weather.

[Cruise_More_Often]

The Sun is a beautiful ship. We've been on her three times, and she's one of my favorites.

 

In addition to Il Adagio, we liked Las Ramblas for lunch and for evening entertainment. Le Bistro on the Sun is beautiful and has floor-to-ceiling windows. Teppanyaki is also a fun restaurant for a group.

 

One my favorite places on the ship is the Great Outdoors Cafe, which is right outside the buffet. It has a buffet line of its own, and the deck area is covered, making it a great place to sit and watch the wake.

 

I'm sure you will enjoy the Windjammer Bar (right next to the Cigar Bar), where a pianist is usually playing. And the Observation Lounge (Sports Deck, at the bow) is a beautiful place to spend some time watching the ocean.

 

You say your Meet and Greet thread isn't really active, so maybe you can check out some of the other meet and greet threads for the Sun's MR cruises to get ideas about excursions. And I'm sure, with the cruise being 11 days in length, there will be plenty of people your age cruising with you.

 

When we went to the Mexican Riviera (on the Star), we went whale watching in Baja and kayaking in Acapulco (we're in our early 60s).

 

In Puerto Vallarta we took a taxi into town and took one of the little San Francisco-like trolleys for a tour of the downtown area, followed by a walk through town and lunch at a local cafe.

 

In Acapulco, if you haven't seen the cliff divers, you should probably do that, either on an NCL excursion or on your own.

 

When we were in Zihuatanejo, we walked along the beach. They've built a seawall walkway almost the entire way around the little bay, and there are numerous places to stop for beverages or lunch and to buy souvenirs.

 

Have fun on the Sun!

[Elawies]

Many thanks for your comments and observations regarding the Sun. I am going to incorporate all your suggestions into our cruise, especially the observations regarding Acapulco and the cliff divers. We definitely will be bringing our own cigars and will check our the Windjammer Cafe. I like the idea of taking one of the trolleys in Puerto Vallarta. Sounds like fun. Thanks again, I appreciate the help. Elawies

[big green]

Go to the cruise critic ports board to get more info on the Mexican Riveria.

 

Big Green

[CruisingAmazona]

Hi. I am on the Sun on 10-1, just before your cruise, doing the same itinerary. I have also sailed the Sun before (Feb. 08). She is, in fact, a great ship. Not one of the bigger ones, but immaculately clean and the crew is fantastic. I have booked most of my tours through the NCL website because although I usually find them somewhat more expensive than booking them elsewhere, I don't think their prices are outrageously high and I am somewhat concerned about safety in ports so I prefer to stay with NCL sponsored tours. In Acapulco, we have booked a day trip with NCL, and plan to take a taxi (those recognized as safe by NCL outside in the pier) to go see the cliff divers. I have been to Acapulco before and the divers are not to be missed, but I would suggest you see them either at dusk or at night, it's a much prettier experience...and please don't listen to anything negative about Acapulco. It's a beautiful city, world known, with lots of great people and beautiful sights. Just be safe, stay with the group, don't go into any type of unsafe adventure on your own, and you will be fine. I am looking forward to returning to Acapulco again. You will enjoy this ship and this trip!

[SwimnwFishes]

On our cruise to Mexico on the Star we had THE most fantastic whale watching tour out of Cabo. I swear....that tour company PAID those whales. Disney couldn't have done better.

 

I wish I remembered the name of the company, but it was an excursion from the ship.

 

It was a great cruise....on a beautiful ship...

[stan1]

Have made many trips to Mexican Riviera (Princess, HAL). I agree that Acapulco has changed for the worse, and is now crowded and the downtown area is just not pleasant, BUT: a ship's tour seeing the divers will get you to the hotel at the right time, to the view terraces and usually includes a drink the divers are more spectacular at dusk, but a little diffiuclt to arrange with a cruise ship (get there, get back in time, etc.). There is a very large indoor city market place in Acapulco, about two blocks from the ship as well as shopping at the indoor mall where your ship will be docked. The market place is very complete (clothing ,shoes, as well as items for tourists) and prices are lower than the mall area. Most people at the marketplace speak some English; it is quite safe (but not air conditioned). YOu can also take a day tour out to the Pacific Beach at the Princess hotel: nice beach, water.

The complete city tour of Puerta Vallarta is a good first visit experience (see the downtown area, the cathedral, walk about, get taken to some shops for overpriced tourist items, wind up after a pretty drive down the coast for some coastal views at a large cafe.

I would take the complete city tour in Mazatlan either from the ship's excursion office, or you may be able to find a van at the pier taking tourists for the same tour at a much lower price. Be sure you can understand the van driver's English.

Cabo San Lucas to me is primarily a shopping, drinking, and eating (shrimp & fish)experience, and you can walk all over from the pier where the tender drops passengers.

Hope this is helpful.

Stan

Stan

[DizzyDallasDi]

I sailed on the Sun in April and thought she was a delightful ship with a fabulous crew. I'm not sure what you're specifically wanting to know about the ship but I can't imagine that you wouldn't love her. I loved the fact that she wasn't a mega-size ship with so many people that getting elevators or tables in restaurants was a problem. I suggest taking the spa tour on your first day. They have a raffle and give away lots of treatments...I won a hot stone massage :D The pool attendants and bartenders are very friendly and fun-loviing...they really seemed to enjoy helping you enjoy yourself. The casino wasn't very nice to me, but that's certainly something I'm familiar with. The bartender in the casino was wonderful and remembered what I wanted after just one night there...what a memory!

 

You're going to love the Sun and I hope you have a fantastic vacation!

 

Diane

[newmexicoNita]

I have searched most of the boards for advice on the Sun and haven't really found much. For instance,I now know that there is a shower curtain in a round shower, and that it is rather small. But that doesn't bother me at all. I have also read that we shouldn't miss dining in the Adagio restaurant. We are going to the Mexican Riviera on 10/13/08 and other than a roll call with a few posting from some younger people, who have small children and babies, I haven't seen much activity. For those of you who have traveled on the Sun, please share your experiences with me. For those of you who have traveled the Mexican Riviera, I would appreciate any information on shore excursions, etc. as this appears to be the first trip to the Riviera for the Sun. We are senior couples (68 to 72) and we have balcony cabins on Fjord Deck. We enjoy traveling around the port cities, experiencing local culture, eating well, and having a cigar after dinner or taking in a show. How was the entertainment on the Sun and did you go to the cigar bar? It appears that the balcony cabin gives us the priviledge of having express check in, the glass of champagne and fruit, robes, and what else? Since they are repositioning from Alaska to the Riviera, do you think there will be crew changes? If so, then I really can't ask for the matre de named Alex. Any information will be greatly appreciated. Thank you. Elawies:)

our favorite NCL ship and I have clients that feel the same. The cabins are not large, but very well laid out with plenty of storage. The shower is small but the bathrooms nicer than on some ships we have cruised.

 

We happen to love the entertainment and the casino, like everthing, this is a matter of opinion. Didn't do the cigar bar, hubby doesn't smoke anymore and I try to keep it down to just smoking when I gamble. As for on board activities, we have always found plenty to do, but some are reporting back the activities have been cut back, I hope this isn't the case.

 

I don't know about the ports, we have done the M Riv twice in the past year. Not being a real lover of that part of the world, we found the ports to be very similar. I guess living in So Calif most of our lives and visiting Mexico so many times we just are not impressed anymore, but we did absolutely love Cabo.

 

My advise, if you don't do anything else, be sure and have tapas in Las Rambles prior to dinner at least once or make it your dinner. We did this on our last Sun cruise. We had a couple of glasses of wine, the wonderful tapas and later in the evening went to the sports bar for a sandwhich.

 

I can't imagine anyone cruising on the Sun and not coming back with glowing reviews. She is just a wonderful ship, the perfect size and always has a friendly crew. The secret to good service, ask the crew about themselves. They love knowing someone cares about them. Oh Le Bistro is a must as well.

 

oh, a couple more things: you will be too early to do Whale watching (too bad, it is wonderful experience) and be prepared for some pretty hot weather. It doesn't cool down much until mid or late November..

NIta

[Elawies]

My thanks again to all who took the time to answer my questions re the Sun. It won't be much longer now and I can hardly wait. We plan on seeing the divers in Acapulco, the city sights in Puerto Vallarta, and the countryside in Ixtapa. Those are ship excursions. The other stops we will "browse" either on foot or by taxi. I'm a little concerned about the heat, but we live in Florida, so this time of year it is hot everywhere. We'll just have to pace ourselves. Thanks so much for your input. Elawies;)