Just arrived back home from SUN (12/8-12/15)

This was my FIRST CRUISE...

And it was an EXCELLENT experience for me and my cabin mate!

The hard working staff of this ship deserves a FIVE STAR recommendation!!!

They are VERY POLITE (even started to call me by my first name), and PROFESSIONAL!

The on board Itineraries (entertainment) were EXCELLENT! There was always something on the SUN, for all to be occupied.

My cabin mate had come on board with staples (stitches), and when she was not feeling well, they served her "Hand & Foot"! Not just the Stewart, but others not even having to do with housekeeping (Billy & Steve)!

The Cabin Stewart and his assistant (Clark & "Chocolate Man" {his generosity with pillow mints earned him that name}) was friendly, courteous, and had our room made up TWICE A DAY!

Our auto drip coffee maker ("G" upgrade) was not working properly, and the Cabin Stewart (Clark) had it repaired by the next day! (even though I didn't mind visiting the girls at the garden cafe)...

Speaking of which...

The ladies working graveyard shift at the Garden Cafe (aft of the ship) were as sweet and accommodating as can be, and we always talked to a 4:00-5:00 am cup of coffee, while the sun rose on the horizon! I was in awe when the sun appeared and took many photos of the occasion.

It is a sight to see!!!

The information desk personnel, went beyond their call of duty, on multiple occasions, and in particular, when my cabin mate left her cell phone charger at home, they pulled out a box of different chargers to see if we could use any of them. They did not have to do this.

The entire crew made sure that we were sanitary prior to entering any food area, insisting that we visit alcohol stations.

The entire ship was SPOTLESS, and very well maintained, even with painters putting detailed touches on the beautiful decor, while the ship was rocking (due to rough seas)!

Unfortunately, the passengers on the east coast (Caribbean itinerary) are losing this fine vessel, being that they are repositioning to the west coast come April/May of 2008. Our loss is your gain.

I will miss her, and her fine staff.

The SUN receives a 5 STAR rating, for cleanliness, beauty, courtesy, on board itinerary, and overall great, hard working people.

I HIGHLY recommend this fine vessel for all cruisers.

The disadvantages were not of the crew, or the vessel, but with some of the arrogant, self centered people who look down on these fine hard working people who go the extra distance to insure that you are treated well...

All they want is to be "Thanked" and greeted with the same courtesy as they strive to give the people who cruise. After all, they are human beings.

Furthermore, I find it disturbing that there are those individuals that would treat these people, as if they were slaves, or beneath them, by leaving trash everywhere (beer bottles, uneaten food on the floors, glasses with partial liquid in the elevators, cigar & cigarette butts on the floors, dents in elevator doors from idiots' who enjoy punching them, towels left on deck by inconsiderate people instead of disposing them in the used towel drops, etc...)

Overall, I avoided these imbeciles, did our own thing, and made the best of our cruise, while being considerate of others.

There will be a few morons that will say the opposite of this particular critique, however, you be the judge.

Occupants of Stateroom 4242 (12/8-12/15)

PS: This is my personal opinion, and I am not looking for any sort of compensation from this company...nor am I, or anyone I know, in anyway affiliated with NCL!

Thank You.

Glad you had such a good time :) Thank you for the review - we are looking forward to our trip on the Sun in just 3 weeks :)

Glad you had such a good time :) Thank you for the review - we are looking forward to our trip on the Sun in just 3 weeks :)

First off... It is my pleasure to assist you!

Secondly, bring PLENTY of film, go to the Garden Cafe (Deck 11 AFT)(roughly 5:00am), grab a cup of coffee, look east, and relax!!!

You and your family WILL BE MESMERIZED, then snap away when the sun begins to rise!

Third, you will not want to leave at the end of your cruise!

For dinner, try attending the Seven Seas restaurant and/or the Four Seasons...

The food and service is fantastic and is a bargain at NO ADDITIONAL COST to you!!!

Make sure you visit Dazzles (Deck 6) and participate for family filled fun and prizes. (Music & Movie trivia was a blast)

AND

The Starlight lounge for great entertainment. (Make sure you catch PAN!...this show is similar to Cirque de Solei)

Buffets...

The restaurant at the pool area was OK. I found it to be fine. The breads were fresh for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The SUN only served unsalted butter, but it was good nevertheless. The scrambled eggs (to me at least)

are edible but are similar to powdered eggs (that I used to eat in the service). The pancakes are small, but good. Plenty of bacon and sausage.

Fruit cups are also available. I especially enjoyed the pineapple slices.

Ice Cream is available at Sprinkles, and is tasty. You can also get waffles here, and they are cooked to order.

I constantly read on how the buffet lines are always long...

If everyone eats at 6:00-7:00, then just go at 7:30-8:00. I never had to wait that long, even if there was a lot of people there! Anyway, that's not the crews fault! They did their part, and they shouldn't be held responsible for the slower people who can't make up their minds?!

Final note, and MOST IMPORTANT...

Use the alcohol stations ALL THE TIME! They are EVERYWHERE in the food areas!

Thanks for the review! It's nice to see positive reviews coming out of the ship recently. I'm a very happy go lucky guy and don't go out of my to cause problems. I also clean up after myself and totally agree with you that if all cruisers were that much more considerate and said thank you for the service they got it would make the crew happier to serve you and thereby enhancing the vacation experience!! It makes total sense!! :)

I'm more of a late night guy myself. Not sure if I'll ever get up early to see a sunrise but I do appreciate your thoughts on trying for it. Usually I like a good place to see the sunset. That's my big thing.

Hand sanitizing stations are a no brainer. I just wish they'd use the sanitizer that has aloe in it. I do prefer to sanitize everywhere because there are just far too many people who don't wash their hands after using the bathrooms and they spread germs all over the darn place. Sick disgusting people... wish I could spray them all with lysol! :eek:

PAN was one production show, do you remember the other production shows name??

Thanks again for your review! Sailing in 4 weeks (right after Mona) and I can't wait!!

~J

We were also on this sailing also. We've been on 5 criuses total. but this was our 1st NCL cruise. I have to agree with the OP...It was fantastic!!!!

In fact it was so good, that we are looking to book an alsaka cruise in May on, none other than, NCL.

We arrived home at about 7:30pm...and we were hoping for turn down service and a four course meal...:D :D :D :confused: :(

I will post an official review soon...But I can say that your vacation is what you make of it...and we made ours FANTASTIC!!!!

hollywoodnc ~ Great, detailed review:)

CrusinMaterial ~ I utilize the sanitizers constantly also. I now carry a bottle of aloe hand lotion in my bag when on the ship;)

I'm with you on the hand sanitizers -- better safe than sorry.

Like CruisinMaterial - we're more night owls than early risors - I am more likely to see 5am going to be rather than waking in the morning. ;)

Did you happen to notice- is there a piano bar singalong on board? We're pretty big piano bar fans :)

Thanks for the advice on the food, buffets, etc. We are also pretty easy to please - and we clean up after ourselves. I don't understand those who don't.

Thanks again! :)

I'm with you on the hand sanitizers -- better safe than sorry.

Like CruisinMaterial - we're more night owls than early risors - I am more likely to see 5am going to be rather than waking in the morning. ;)

Did you happen to notice- is there a piano bar singalong on board? We're pretty big piano bar fans :)

 

Thanks for the advice on the food, buffets, etc. We are also pretty easy to please - and we clean up after ourselves. I don't understand those who don't.

 

Thanks again! :)

Wow, MonaCK...you're cruising soon.

I'm with you, I see the sunrise before I go to bed;)

Have a wonderful cruise:)

Furthermore, I find it disturbing that there are those individuals that would treat these people, as if they were slaves, or beneath them, by leaving trash everywhere...

Truth be known, they probably leave their home in the same condition. Affordable cruising means one does not have to rise very far up the food chain to be able to cruise.

In my experience, the people with the least power and position back home seem to most relish being "king" for a week on a cruise ship. Too bad the emporer is naked.

These are probably the people who come here posting that the service was lousy, when actually the service was appropriately treating the morons as they deserved to be treated.

Salty Dingo - You know... that's a remarkably good point about the people being treated as they should and these "idiots" not liking it. LOL That was funny and true all at the same time! :D

Cosmopolitan - I'd love to carry aloe lotion with me around the ship in a handbag but alas... I'm a guy and we guys just don't do handbags! It's against the male rules of fashion! :p :rolleyes: Maybe I could make a suggestion for NCL to start using Purell's sanitizer with Aloe. That's what I use at work all the time and it never dries me out. Or maybe you could come along and carry the aloe in your handbag and share it? ;)

MonaCK - Make sure you leave that disco in one piece for me!! You can have the piano bar... unless it's Matt Yee then you won't find me in one! I can't wait to play the Wii though. I haven't been able to get my hands on one here now that I can afford to get one... all the places are sold out for Christmas!! :( Wii bowling rocks! I can't wait to sail and I'm betting you can't either! I was almost on your cruise but couldn't be sure if I'd get the time off from work so I had to go with the next week. You guys seem to have quite the lively roll call!

jemrtt - I look forward to your cruise review! If you can, be detailed on the ship's entertainment. This is what will keep me occupied during the sea days! Thanks!

Happy Sunday All!

This was our 1st NCL cruise after some with Princess, Royal, & Costa. We thought the quality and presentation of the food was a plus not to mention the number of venues, the level and quality of service from the entire staff was remarkable, the coffee was very good (Princess: please note!), no extra charge for capuccino, cabin was fine. Every cruise line has its signature: Royal has excellent entertainment, Princess has good food and entertainment, etc. We were very pleasantly surprised by the overall quality of everything and would definitely choose NCL again. We agree with all the postings about some of the people who come on a cruise and bring their negativity with them: they haven't had a good day yet, have no idea how to treat service staff, and in general - it's all about them and there is no cure for what they have. Anyone who is about the embark on this cruise will have a lovely vacation!

Great to hear such positive things from recent Sun cruisers. Thanks for the info on the Garden Cafe, I'm sure I'll be spending alot time there as I'm an "early riser" myself.

As far as the "self centered" people you are refering to. This is the one thing about cruising that I cannot get used to. It's not just on board either. I think Salty Dog might be onto something with the "Food Chain" idea. Funny, I very seldom see this behavior when taking Non Cruise Vacations.

Glad you enjoyed your trip.

A one post wonder....hmmm...I smell a troll. ;)

This person obviously just wants to stir things up with her talk of a "perfect" time.

psssst.....please insert sarcastic smart-arse tone when you read this. I am kidding. :cool:

We'll be on the Sun on Jan 19 - all 12 of us - everybody is getting really excited and your review makes it even more so.

We've never been anywhere where we haven't had a wonderful time and met great people. Find and please and thank you and a smile in any language goes a long way towards making new friends.

My better half is delighted to discover the where abouts of the ice cream station. Is it soft ice cream? (His favorite).

Thanks for the review! It's nice to see positive reviews coming out of the ship recently. I'm a very happy go lucky guy and don't go out of my to cause problems. I also clean up after myself and totally agree with you that if all cruisers were that much more considerate and said thank you for the service they got it would make the crew happier to serve you and thereby enhancing the vacation experience!! It makes total sense!! :)

 

I'm more of a late night guy myself. Not sure if I'll ever get up early to see a sunrise but I do appreciate your thoughts on trying for it. Usually I like a good place to see the sunset. That's my big thing.

 

Hand sanitizing stations are a no brainer. I just wish they'd use the sanitizer that has aloe in it. I do prefer to sanitize everywhere because there are just far too many people who don't wash their hands after using the bathrooms and they spread germs all over the darn place. Sick disgusting people... wish I could spray them all with lysol! :eek:

 

PAN was one production show, do you remember the other production shows name??

 

Thanks again for your review! Sailing in 4 weeks (right after Mona) and I can't wait!!

~J

"PAN was one production show, do you remember the other production shows name??"

Well, I know one was a "Talent" show involving cruisers who volunteered to sing, and one guy who told jokes. Something similar to a SUN American Idol, and the best person won a prize. Both of these were at the Starlight Lounge (Deck 6).

" I'm more of a late night guy myself..."

OK...then stay up till 5:00/30 and then go to bed. Be forewarned that you'll miss out on that suntan (LOL)!

Have a great time.

We were also on this sailing also. We've been on 5 criuses total. but this was our 1st NCL cruise. I have to agree with the OP...It was fantastic!!!!

In fact it was so good, that we are looking to book an alsaka cruise in May on, none other than, NCL.

We arrived home at about 7:30pm...and we were hoping for turn down service and a four course meal...:D :D :D :confused: :(

 

 

I will post an official review soon...But I can say that your vacation is what you make of it...and we made ours FANTASTIC!!!!

You do know that this particular ship is repositioning to the west coast, don't you? In fact I think it IS going to Alaska. In June it's doing the Mexican coast.

hollywoodnc ~ Great, detailed review:)

 

CrusinMaterial ~ I utilize the sanitizers constantly also. I now carry a bottle of aloe hand lotion in my bag when on the ship;)

Thank You for your kind remark.

Speaking of hand sanitizers...

Being a clown, that I am, I did stick my face under one of these sanitizers, and ended up with a mouthful of isopropal alcohol! (Don't try this at home!)

The girl there, and a few passengers there, got a good laugh! :D

hollywoodnc ~ Great, detailed review:)

 

CrusinMaterial ~ I utilize the sanitizers constantly also. I now carry a bottle of aloe hand lotion in my bag when on the ship;)

Thank You for your kind remark.

Speaking of hand sanitizers...

Being a clown, that I am, I did stick my face under one of these sanitizers, and ended up with a mouthful of isopropal alcohol! (Don't try this at home!)

The girl there, and a few passengers there, got a good laugh! :D

I'm with you on the hand sanitizers -- better safe than sorry.

Like CruisinMaterial - we're more night owls than early risors - I am more likely to see 5am going to be rather than waking in the morning. ;)

Did you happen to notice- is there a piano bar singalong on board? We're pretty big piano bar fans :)

 

Thanks for the advice on the food, buffets, etc. We are also pretty easy to please - and we clean up after ourselves. I don't understand those who don't.

 

Thanks again! :)

Monack...

YES there is a Piano bar outside of Dazzles (Deck 6), between Dazzles and the library.

Monack...

YES there is a Piano bar outside of Dazzles (Deck 6), between Dazzles and the library.

Truth be known, they probably leave their home in the same condition. Affordable cruising means one does not have to rise very far up the food chain to be able to cruise.

 

In my experience, the people with the least power and position back home seem to most relish being "king" for a week on a cruise ship. Too bad the emporer is naked.

 

These are probably the people who come here posting that the service was lousy, when actually the service was appropriately treating the morons as they deserved to be treated.

Thanks for writing this.

I am very glad I saw it.

...

I feel much better.

I too want to thankyou for your review. I and my wife are sceduled to be on the Sun Feb 9th. This will be our first NCL cruise. We have 8 other cruises we have been on, all on RCI and Celebrity. We just wanted a change. I have had serious reservations with all the bad publicity on these boards. I actually had considered changing to another cruise just to be safe.

My hopes are that it will be a great time and that I can rebuff some of the negative reviews when I return.

Thanks again,

From Minnesota

You do know that this particular ship is repositioning to the west coast, don't you? In fact I think it IS going to Alaska. In June it's doing the Mexican coast.

At first, I thought about that. We went to the cruise rewards program on the ship and they told us all about it. However, my husband would like to try either the Star or Pearl for alaska...since we have not been on them yet. we are shooting for May/June. thanks for the info.:)

CONGRATS, hollywoodnc, on your first cruise! You picked a wonderful ship and a fabulous cruise line for your very first!! You are now officially bitten by the cruising-bug! Welcome to our world .... :D

The Sun repositions every year. Does a transcanal, then up to seattle/vancouver then sails to Alaska for the summertime, then it goes back down south, transcanal, then to miami for the winter season. So, I dont think that the western Caribbean is going to be losing a good ship.