NCL SUN REVIEW Part 1 1/1/05-1/08/05

[Clay Clayton]

This #%$*^ board is making me break this up into parts...sorry it is so long! Holler if you have any questions.

 

Overview

After our Alaska cruise on Celebrity’s Summit last year, my expectations for our relatively last minute, relatively inexpensive NCL cruise were relatively low. I didn’t expect to really like the whole “freestyle” style- was worried that we wouldn’t meet new folks, wouldn’t be able to figure out where to go eat, figured the food would be marginal at best, and had decided that the service wouldn’t be as attentive. In general I was wrong! Freestyle had some unexpected benefits, the food was only marginally differenent than Celebrity and the desserts were significantly better and the service was just as good if not better in most cases. All in all, our trip was great and if you factor in the basic cost it was phenomenal.

 

Embarkation

We arrived at the Port of Miami at 11:35 and were on the ship with a drink in our hand by 12:05 so NCL seems to have the whole getting you on down to a science. I think it helped that I had my glittery pink Elton John-esque “2005” glasses on to celebrate the New Year as they made everyone smile, even the security folks. For those who just have to know, we did stow away a small plastic flask of illicit vodka and another of illicit gin in the luggage and when the bags appeared at our cabin around 2, they were both still inside. The same can’t be said for others on the ship however. I noticed several cabin doors with a nice letter notifying the passengers that the luggage had been confiscated and where they could come to pick it up. So I highly suggest not trying to bring on a whole case full of anything!

 

Cabin

We were in Cabin 4029, an outside cabin on the lowest passenger deck. We had booked for an inside but got upgraded when we made the reservation to an outside for the same price. After our grand (it was a handicapped accessible) veranda room on the Summit, this was going to be a test to see just how awful a regular cabin would be. Overall consensus was that the cabin was just fine….that while it would have been nice to have a veranda, like everyone says, you really don’t spend that much time in your cabin anyway. I think the biggest thing we missed was having that pre dinner cocktail in our room. It just wasn’t very comfortable for lounging except in bed…so we ended up not using all that booze we smuggled on board. As far as the argument for outside vs. inside, we decided that while the outside was nice that it really wouldn’t be worth paying anymore than 25 bucks a piece for the benefit of being able to look out in the morning to see the sun or lack thereof was only marginally better than the benefit of a completely dark room for naptime that an inside cabin would offer. There was plenty of storage and closet space, the pre-molded plastic all-in-one piece bathrooms was a masterpiece of simple yet functional design and the beds were comfortable enough. The light in the closet was a nice surprise as was the double rods for hanging, although since we hadn’t brought formal wear, we didn’t even need it. There was a small refrigerator with nothing in it – so no need to ask the steward to remove anything like on Summit and an electric water heater with tea and instant coffee. Never used that, we always got room service to deliver coffee as our wake up call on the mornings we had to be up early. If you do this, it might be a good idea to put out the tip the night before because when they call you to tell you your breakfast is on the way, you only have a minute before the knock on our door. All in all , I was pleased with the room, however, the interior colors were atrocious…the green bedspreads clashed with everything else….I guess all the more reason to not stay in the cabin!

[Clay Clayton]

Food & Drink

As noted previously, we had been impressed with Celebrity’s food and service and were apprehensive about NCL. All in all NCL does a good job with their dining. We found that the quality of food in both the main and specialty dining rooms was about the same as on Celebrity though perhaps not as adventuresome. The biggest surprise was that the Specialty Restaurants really didn’t offer very much for the additional charge other than more intimate surroundings – rather than dining with 200 other people, there were only 30 or 40 in the room. The food was not significantly better nor was the service. This was the primary difference between Celebrity’s Specialty restaurant and those on the Sun. We ended up eating in all the restaurants on Board and our favorite was Il Adagio, the Italian restaurant, but each of them offered something interesting. Our least favorite was East meets West – I think this was because it was one of the most expensive, yet you got less food (3 courses vs 4 or 5) and the service was mediocre at best. While for big boys like us it would be hard to make a meal in Las Ramblas, the Tapa’s bar, it did become our favorite for pre dinner hors d’ouvres. The marinated goat cheese was incredible as were the spicy olives! The Sangria here is also good, though I think it is very overpriced at 25 bucks for a pitcher. Other favorites dishes were: waffles from the waffle station for breakfast at the buffet, the escargot from Le Bistro, the chocolate fondue from Le Bistro, the carpaccio from Il Adagio, the tuna tartare from East Meets West, and Floating Islands from the Seven Seas during the Presidents Dinner….oh, and a self serve bowl of fries with chili and cheese on top from the Great Outdoor Café eaten with a margarita by the pool in the afternoon!

 

Drinks were fine though as always expensive. We spent most early evenings with the “Friends of Dorothy” with Eliza and Christopher at the Champagne bar even though we only had champagne once. They are a fine server and bartender – very friendly and helpful and FUN! During dinner, we took advantage of NCL’s program which allows you to buy a bottle of wine in one restaurant and if you don’t finish it, have it stored and brought to whichever restaurant you go to next. This was one of my fears about Freestyle – that I would have to drink (and pay) by the glass…but this program worked beautifully. We also took advantage of their buy 5 get one free bottle program. The best part is, if you loose a receipt, just go to the guest services desk and they will print them out for you. And the Sangria in Las Ramblas counts as a bottle…..so we actually did their buy 6, get one free program I guess!

[Clay Clayton]

Entertainment

Colin was our cruise director and he was a hoot! Unfortunately for future Sun passengers, this was his last week on board, he was going to New York to sail on the Dawn? The productions I saw were good, some better than others of course. But I found that the cruise director shows/games were the best. The “Liar” show was the best. The Assistant CD, Ray-Ray has a dry delivery not unlike Stephen Wright (am I showing my age now?) and he had me in the aisles laughing several times.

 

Ports

Grand Cayman - We booked privately through Capt Bryan’s for the Stingray City/Reef snorkel. Plenty of time from when we got off the ship to walk the four blocks to their pickup point – after checking in, we ended up backtracking to the Tortuga Rum shop, buying our duty free liquor for delivery to the ship, having a sample of their rum cake and still made it back to the pickup point with thirty minutes to spare. There was a short van ride to the other side of the island where we boarded a catamaran for the ride out to Stingray City. Unfortunately, there were very strong winds the day we were blowing directly from the direction we wanted to go, so we motored out to Stingray City. Despite the choppy water and the blustery wind, we had a great time with the Stingrays – pretty incredible to hold and touch one. After everyone had their chance at the rays, we were supposed to go to the reef, but due to the high winds/rough seas, we instead made two stops – one at “The Aquarium” – saw lots of fish, one of the hands went in with us and used some of the leftover squid from Stingray City to draw an eel out of his hiding so we could all see and take pictures. We then moved to another spot with lots of interesting coral. After snorkeling here in Key West, it was interesting to see very clear water even though it was so rough and be able to have such good visibility.

 

Roatan

This was my first visit to a third world country and it had a great effect on me – not a particularly pleasing one I am afraid. I was glad that we had previously elected to make Roatan our “ship day” to relax and not plan to do too much. The Sun docked from 8 til about 11 and then moved to anchorage and tendered the rest of the day. We decided to walk into/through town and then get back to the ship before the move to anchorage. This worked well for us. You need to be prepared for the hoards of taxi drivers and kids wanting to “help” you with your bags. Most seemed innocent enough but I did hear other passengers talk of having to remove hands from their backpacks etc. We visited the supermarket which was interesting as well as buying a wonderful ceramic vase made by some Indian women trying to recreate pottery made by their Mayan ancestors. A number of my fellow passengers had a great time on both of the beach trips offered by the ship and if I ever made it back, we would probably try to do this. They said the country was absolutely beautiful once you got out of the town.

[Clay Clayton]

Belize

The Sun was tendered as are all ships in Belize and the Port operates various high speed tenders for the long ride (15 minutes?) to the dock. We had gone back and fourth on whether to privately book a cave tubing trip or to go to Lamanai with the ships excursion to see the Ruins there. We eventually decided to go to Lamanai. While it was a great trip and I am glad we did it, I was somewhat disappointed in how the ship handled it all. For some inexplicable reason, they didn’t make sure all of us on this excursion were on the same tender which meant those of us on the first one sat on the bus for 15 minutes or more waiting on the second part of the group to arrive. After we were underway, we traveled for nearly an hour to the river, where after a potty break, we were loaded up on three boats. As we were now running late, we didn’t stop as much on the way up the river to look at wildlife as others on the Boards have discussed. We stopped once to see a baby crocodile and one other time I think to see an egret. The ride up the river was fun though. Upon arrival at the ruin site, we were told to “go have lunch up there” Up there was a pavilion with picnic tables and a two line buffet serving chicken, yellow rice, black beans & rice, cole slaw, really tasty salsa, chips and a coconut tart for dessert. After lunch we were herded up to the ruins – unfortuanately no time to go through the museum which appeared to have some nice exhibits. There were several other groups at the site the day we were there and each group tried to stay out of the other’ s way but there was some confusion on who was with which group. The tour guide who led our two busloads took us all together through three sites and told us some basic information at each. However, between language difficulties and I think a basic lack of real knowledge I was left wanting to know more about the ruins. Several of us said we wished rather than a guide that there was a CD or MP3 system that you could use with headphones. The ruins are incredible. You can climb up one of them for a great view out to the river. We also heard howler monkeys and caught a glimpse of them through the canopy, though it was impossible to snap a picture. After seeing the monkeys, we headed back towards the dock to reboard our boats. Since we had been returned to two groups for the tours and had been separated there was lots of confusion on how to break back into three boats worth of folks particularly after it rained. The trip back down the river was very fast due to the rain without any stops. We then transferred back to the busses after a reststop and time to buy a coke or a beer from the VERY smart lady at the dock who had both on sale at reasonable prices. The trip back into town was uneventful, most folks dozed. We arrived back at the dock about an hour before the last tender so we had time to make a quick stop at the Pharmacy for some purchases and then got in the long line to board the tenders.

 

Cozumel

The Sun docked in Cozumel beside the Voyager of the Seas which made the Sun look like a toy boat! We had elected to privately book the Dolphin Snorkel and Swim in combination with the Sea Lion swim at Chankanaab Park. We had no problem grabbing a taxi to the park, set price of $10 to get there. The park is impressive, includes a small display of Mayan replicas, a bontanical garden which was very nice except none of the plants were identified, a lagoon, caves to scuba through, a nice beach and a restaurant – all this was in addition to the Dolphin experience. It appears the park was not designed for the crowds that it is now drawing so there was difficulty in getting a locker, changing room etc. With all the cruise ships in town, it was VERY crowded in the morning but by the afternoon it seemed to have thinned out some. The dolphin snorkel involved a quick orientation for about a hundred folks, being divided into groups of 10 or so then walking out to the docks where each group gets down in the water on a raised metal platform (wear dive shoes – the wire is uncomfortable on bare feet), where the trainer takes the dolphin through its paces – swim by, jump in front of you, kisses your cheek etc. You then swim out about 30 feet from the platform and the dolphin swims by, you grab hold and he pulls you back to the platform…pretty amazing! All of this is done with a still and video photographer standing by to record it for future purchase or you can have your underwater/waterproof camera with you. The group then swims out with snorkels and the dolphin and trainer work together under water all around the group. All it all it was a great way to be with the dolphins though I wish it had of been a little less choreographed. But I guess when you have hundreds doing it in a single day, you must set up the procedure and everyone follow it. We then attended the sea lion show and then after the audience left, eight of us got to go in and swim and play with a sea lion. Similar to the dolphin experience, very choreographed although we were the last swim of the day and the Sea Lion’s weren’t cooperating which made it more fun…the trainer would direct them to jump over our heads and they wouldn’t so he would have to try again. If I had to choose to do just one of these experiences due to time or budget, I would choose the Sea Lion as it is a much more personal experience, smaller group, etc. We had lunch at the Park, there is a nice shaded structure with a bar, Mexican band and a restaurant. However the service is AWFUL! It took us three tables to finally get someone to wait on us and while the food came very quickly and was relatively tasty (nothing special) we never did get a check despite asking for it several times. Since we were afraid we were going to miss our Sea Lion adventure, we ended up just leaving what we hope was enough cash on the table. After our Sea Lion experience, we headed back to the park entrance where there were a number of cabs waiting and we made it back to town with a couple of hours to spare before our ship left. We wandered around, did some shopping etc and then reboarded the ship. If I had it to do over again, I think I would try to book the first dolphin swim after an early lunch and have lunch in town and then come out to just to do the swim.

[Clay Clayton]

Disembarkation

We elected to do the express departure, where you carry your own luggage off, but it appeared that NCL had the rest well organized. We got up around 8, showered, went up to the buffet and had a quick breakfast (no waffle or omelet stations) and then went back to our room and were off the ship by 9:15 or so. Customs was a breeze, maybe 6 or 10 folks in each line, really no holdups at all.

 

Things I wished I had of known or remembered:

1. If I had of known about NCL’s wine program where the bottle follows you, I wouldn’t have worried about having to drink by the glass.

2. That the chocolate buffet was on the last sea day at 2 PM, so I wouldn’t have scheduled my massage then.

3. That the ships time is adjusted to be the same as the Ports of Call – spent lots of time scheduling private excursions thinking that there was an hour time difference.

4. To bring a plastic mug for tea and water – I always forget that the ships only provide really tiny glasses.

5. More than one underwater camera – ended up having to buy one in Cozumel for 21 bucks, while they were $15 on the ship and only $10 at home.

[albertiger]

great review, we were aboard the week of 12/11/04 and had a really great time also. surprised to see Ray-Ray as we cruised with him in Hawaii in 03! glad you liked NCL, we alternate back and forth between NCL and Celebrity all the time, next is Constellation. sometimes you feel like a suit, sometimes you dont! :D

[cliffd64]

Sounds like a great time :)

 

 

I appreciate your comparisons to Celebrity.... I have never been on a Celebrity cruise and it's nice to see a fair review of the two lines.

 

We will be on the Sun for the second time in November out of New Orleans :)

[newbe dave]

Thanks for the excellent review of your cruise on the Sun. We are booked for the 2/25 cruise (our first cruise so we are really ignorant to these things) and really enjoy reading about it. I do have a question about the excursion in Belize (Lamanai). I would assume that there is no concern bringing a nice camera along on the boat ride. Nothing that would cause damage to the camera. Just thinking ahead.

 

Everything on the ship sounds great. I have decided that I want to go to Le Bistro if only for the Chocolate Fondue. I keep reading that it is a must have. Anyway, thank you and the many others on this board very much for all of the information.

[trvlbug]

Clay,

 

Thanks for the review. It was a great read. We are doing a Coastal on her in September and I have been rather worried as we are used to RCL. Sounds like it should be okay. One question. I love Sangria (a little too much sometimes LOL) and was wondering how many glasses you would get out of a pitcher for $25? Sounds a little expensive. Could you order by the glass? Thanks

 

Trish

[The Cellar Dweller]

Clay

 

Very well put. Yes, I agree with your feelings toward the residents of Roatan. It is very heart breaking., but they are happy with their suroundings. It's always interesting to read someone elses review and then think about the things you wish you had done or the things you did but may have done differently. I know you compared your cruising to the Celebrity, how would you rate the the Sun (NCL) to the rest?

[Corl4]

Hi Clay!

 

I enjoyed reading your review...it was great meeting you and Mike. We are all having cruise withdrawl so we booked another! We're going to the same ports but on Carnival this time. We've done Carnival before and have been very impressed so thought we'd try it again. DD fell in love with the little kids on Roatan and since she took lots of black and white pictures of them and when we got home realized that she forgot to put the film in the camera, I guess we need to go back!

 

I thought Ray Ray was very funny in the Liar's Club...didn't think much of him before that. And loved Colin...the Sun's loss is the Dawn's gain!

 

Did you get the chocolate fondue in Le Bistro? Delicious!

 

 

Hope all is well....take care!

 

Beth

[Clay Clayton]

Lets see if I can answer everyones questions....

 

Newbe Dave: I think there shouldn't be a problem with a regular camera, we took ours and didn't have a problem except for having to put it away during the rain.

 

trvlbug: I think you probably got five glasses or so of sangria from a pitcher...if you could get them to cut down on the amount of fruit you could probably get a couple of more. They do sell it by the glass but it comes from a premixed bowl full rather than being made fresh for you.....we were sitting with the partner of the Hotel Director and he said it was MUCH better fresh made but I never had just a glass so I can't confirm or deny or tell you how much it costs.

 

cellardweller: Sorry I can't be more help...with the exception of a spring break cruise in 1980 on Carnival, I have only been on the Summit and the Sun.

 

corl4: Great meeting you too...I am jealous! We spent the drive back to Key West trying to figure out how much we would have to budget each week to do three or four cruises a year!!! And yes we got the choclate fondue in LeBistro....problem was, not enough stuff to dip and they didn't have a way for me to take the leftover sauce upstairs to pour over some ice cream!

[coka]

Great review Clay! You were on my favorite ship/favorite itinerary! Glad to read that you were pleasantly surprised! I hope the CC's were helpful before you went as you are always so helpful on the Key West boards! So, if I do not meet you in real life KW, then maybe I meet you on the Sun sometime!!! Oh, kinda hard leaving the ship going home to Key West, huh??? We are all freezing up here!!!! Happy New Year!

Coka

[mrs. meziggy]

Hi Clay, Mike and Beth,

It was great meeting you all! We had a wonderful time on the Sun as well.

Clay, your review was great. We all agree! We are booked for Alaska in July and looking to book eastern caribbean sometime in November. We just can't cruise enough. Guess we are going to work more overtime.

[roddee]

Clay,

 

Thanks for the terrific review. We will be leaving next week (22nd) and are looking forward to it. We have cruised NCL before but on the Wind and Sky. This will be a new experience to be on the Sun. We did nearly the same itinerary on Carnival in May when we took our kids and their spouses. This time we are trying different things while in port. We did the cave-tubing and now are going to Lamanai, so it was good to hear that you enjoyed it. This will be our first time to visit Roatan ( last cruise went to Costa Maya). We are booked on the Canopy tour and still looking for someone who has taken that excursion and can report more on it.

 

We will be booking for January sometime in the summer.....

 

Will have a Sangria in your honor on our trip...

Dee

[WDWfan13]

Roddee,

 

Check out the Roatan board, I know somebody posted a review of the canopy tour there.