Review: The Sun.. post dry-dock

[JKW2010]

We arrived at the port in Port Canaveral about 10:30.. they didn't let us board until 11:30.. but once they gave us the green light.. it was fast and smooth. While we were waiting we were seating in lined up chairs while they offered us banana bread and orange juice.

 

We were not allowed into our rooms until 2:00.. but they made announcement at 1:00 that our rooms were ready. We ate at The Great Outdoors while we waited.. and checked out the rest of the ship. The food at the Great Outdoors was okay.. nothing fancy, but we didn't want to eat on the big buffet in the Garden Cafe with everyone else. The Great Outdoors is a great place to start.. on the front of the ship with great scenery.

 

We had an interior room on the 10th floor. Very spacious I thought.. although this was our first cruise. We had plenty of extra space to unpack and didn't need all of the drawers and shelves. It was great to be able to be soo organized. It was bigger than our friends window room on the 5th floor. We were very happy with our interior room.. it had our queen-ish bed, a full couch and a pull down bed.. although we didn't use it. The bathroom was small... but worked just fine. We had 6 shelves to put our things on and 4 hooks on the door, with a "close-line" in the shower.

 

Some of our favorite places:

The Observation deck was a beautiful place to have a drink, read a book, and relax.. with karaoke there from 8:30-9:30 each night.

 

Los Rambles: Great tapas for a pre-dinner snack. It opens at 5:30 and had live guitar music.

 

Seven Seas: This main dining room was a little more hidden with a very pretty entrance.. not as many people found it earlier on anyway. It is kind of tucked away and you can only get to it from the back of the ship. The food was awesome! They had lobster, escargot, and my favorite.. chilled peach soup! About 7 or 8 options each day for the main dish.

 

Piano Bar: This was between Dazzles and the photo gallery...I can't quite remember the name of it, but the piano player was really funny, talented, and entertaining. He loved talking to the audience.. we skipped a few of the shows in the stardust theatre to watch him.. and he'll even let you sing along with the microphone if you want to. Very entertaining.

 

Beds: no floral bed spreads :) Nice white clean linens with a towel animal each night. I liked the variety of the lighting in the rooms also.. i liked the dim side bed lights.

 

What we didn't like:

The carpet and decor in the Garden Cafe (main buffet).. very ugly and tacky.. although the food wasn't too bad... okay.. it was really tasty :)

 

Pools: I don't think they were heated (but I don't think it got above the 70s on our cruise).. but can't complain too much. Hot tubs were nice and hot.

 

 

 

What was new:

ALmost ALL of the carpets were new.. except the garden cafe (what a shame!).. and the cabins.. but i think those were replaced sort of recently. They refinished all of the deck boards.. and were replacing the "blue stuff" on the upper decks by the basketball court.

 

Pacific Heights was still available for breakfast and lunch (very good and usually pretty empty).. unfortunately they turn it into another pay specialty restaurant for dinner. It is a Brazilian steak house with a $25 fee I believe.

 

Ports:

This was a shorter 4 night cruise, but we were able to stop every day at a different bahama island. Freeport, Nassau, and Great Stirrup Cay. We did the dolphin encounter in Freeport, did our own walking tour in Nassau.. as well as took a taxi over to Cabbage beach where we were able to buy pina coladas and bahama mamas to drink out of coconuts.. we also went snorkeling there (we didn't see much.. but it was very pretty). Awesome beach! We walked the coast line of GSC.. very pretty.. loved the small beachy island.. layed on the hammocks.. snorkeled (saw a lot of fish by the small little reef/plant clusters).. and got stung by a jellyfish :( Luckily they had a first aid station near by where they sprayed me down with vinegar.. we took it easy and went back to the ship after that.

 

Shows:

There was a comedian the first night.. he was kind of funny. Then a dance/musical the next night with 4 girls in the show (we skipped to go to the piano bar), The next night was a juggler (although we didn't know that until we got there.. they called him a gravity defying showman), and another musical where the same 4 girls performed (we skipped out on this show again).

 

The Sun is a great ship and I would love to cruise on her again. During our cruise, I would say my husband and I were about the youngest cruisers (we're in our mid/upper 20s).. there were a lot of cruisers in their 60s and 70s.. and few families. But I think the demographics change with each sailing.

 

We weren't sure if we would like cruising before we went, but this convinced us we would like to cruise again. We loved the relaxed atmosphere and being able to get off the ship without having to plan how to get there. Oh, and did I say .. we loved the food :)

[lambs2]

Thanks so much for sharing your review with us. We love the Sun too and have been so anxious to read a review after the short dry dock to see what changes had been made since our transatlantic last spring. The Brazilian steak house replacing Pacific Heights at night has been a subject of discussion on this board for quite some time. Looking forward to trying it, but wondering why the surcharge was only $18.pp on the Epic and now is $25 on the Sun. East Meets West and Teppanaki are already$25. pp on the Sun so was hoping it would be a bit less.

 

So glad that the SUN still has the Observation Lounge however! After the STAR lost her front lounge to some new suites some of us were worried the Sun would lose hers too.

[biker@sea]

Thanks for the review. Good job.

Hope the jellyfish thing was not to painful. :eek:

[sparks1093]

Thanks for the review, can't wait for our trip on her!

[amcb]

The Sun is a great ship and I would love to cruise on her again. During our cruise, I would say my husband and I were about the youngest cruisers (we're in our mid/upper 20s).. there were a lot of cruisers in their 60s and 70s.. and few families. But I think the demographics change with each sailing.

 

We weren't sure if we would like cruising before we went, but this convinced us we would like to cruise again. We loved the relaxed atmosphere and being able to get off the ship without having to plan how to get there. Oh, and did I say .. we loved the food :)

 

Congratulations on your first cruise! DH and I went on our first cruise as a couple at about your age and haven't stopped since (well, minus a couple of year hiatus when the kids came along). We'll be taking our first cruise with our kiddos (2.5 and 4) on the Sun in about a month. We were excited to hear about the updates after drydock.

 

:-) amcb

[RaMar]

Thanks for the update, can't wait to sail in three weeks.:):):):):)

[misstiffany]

Myself and boyfriend were on this cruise as well - and yes, I did notice it was mostly an older crowd (we're in our late 20's/early 30's) but it was pretty much the exact same demographic as our first cruise a few years ago - a winter mid-week getaway when all the kids are still in school. The younger crowd shows up in during spring break and summer :)

 

Las Ramblas was a favorite of ours too, and so was the Observation Lounge with it's great views and 2 for 1 martini hour!!! :D

[Mary Ellen]

Thank you for sharing your experience with us.

[abs711]

Great review! Thank you! Welcome to cruising it is an addiction!

[Norwegian Cruise Line]

Dear Cruise Critic Members,

 

JKW2010 - Thank you for your review of Norwegian Sun. We value your feedback and appreciate your post. We are glad you enjoyed the cruise.

 

We would like to address the confusion surrounding the pricing of Norwegian Sun’s new restaurant, Moderno Churrascaria. The price is the same $20 cover charge as on Norwegian Epic.

 

Regards,

Norwegian Cruise Line

[lambs2]

Dear Cruise Critic Members,

 

JKW2010 - Thank you for your review of Norwegian Sun. We value your feedback and appreciate your post. We are glad you enjoyed the cruise.

 

We would like to address the confusion surrounding the pricing of Norwegian Sun’s new restaurant, Moderno Churrascaria. The price is the same $20 cover charge as on Norwegian Epic.

 

Regards,

Norwegian Cruise Line

 

Good to know the correct price (right from THE authoratative source)! Thanks for clearing up the true cost Of Moderno Churrascaria!

[Kancruze]

Dear Cruise Critic Members,

 

JKW2010 - Thank you for your review of Norwegian Sun. We value your feedback and appreciate your post. We are glad you enjoyed the cruise.

 

We would like to address the confusion surrounding the pricing of Norwegian Sun’s new restaurant, Moderno Churrascaria. The price is the same $20 cover charge as on Norwegian Epic.

 

Regards,

Norwegian Cruise Line

 

WOW! I'm impressed you took the time to clear up the misconception. That says to me that what we think matters to them. Thank you NCL.

We do love the Sun and its crew.

[newmexicoNita]

thanks so much for your balanced review. Welcome to the world of cruising and welcome to CC.

 

NCL PR, love it when you take the time to explain things to us.

 

Nita

[JKW2010]

Sorry I got that price wrong :eek:

Thanks NCL!

[Sauer-kraut]

We ate at The Great Outdoors while we waited.. and checked out the rest of the ship. The food at the Great Outdoors was okay.. nothing fancy, but we didn't want to eat on the big buffet in the Garden Cafe with everyone else. The Great Outdoors is a great place to start.. on the front of the ship with great scenery.

 

:)

 

Actually it is ALL the way AFT at the back of the ship. ;)

[JKW2010]

Actually it is ALL the way AFT at the back of the ship. ;)

 

Oops.. you're right! Sorry.. I wrote my review in a bit of a rush.

[Carnac767]

Thanks for posting your review. We liked the Sun and can't wait to sail on her again. Obviously the average age of the crowd depends upon where/when you're sailing. Last time we were on Sun it was Spring Break and 90% of the pax were college age (i.e. amateur drinkers). We had a blast. Of course, we had a blast on the Dream when the average age seemed to be 70.

[singinglizzie]

What about the bedding, was it new? My PCC told me they were going to replace all the bedding with the new bliss beds. Did this happen? Thanks.

[JKW2010]

What about the bedding, was it new? My PCC told me they were going to replace all the bedding with the new bliss beds. Did this happen? Thanks.

 

Well.. I'm not sure b/c I don't know what it was like before. The beds were very comfortable and had the nice white comforter with crisp sheets. I've never cruised before, so I was a little sad that I was able to tell the bed was made of 2 small beds.. I wouldn't want to sleep in the middle because it is harder there.. I had to move to one side of it. But both sides were very fluffy ;) Does that help?

[DGP1111]

. . . We weren't sure if we would like cruising before we went, but this convinced us we would like to cruise again. :)

 

Thanks SO much, JKW, for the great info!!! :)

[esther e]

Could you please tell me if there were steps or only ladders into the pool? My old knees don't like the ladders. thanks.

[JKW2010]

Could you please tell me if there were steps or only ladders into the pool? My old knees don't like the ladders. thanks.

 

I'm pretty sure it was only ladders to the pools :( Steps for the hot tubs tho ;)

[Tennessee_Holly]

We weren't sure if we would like cruising before we went, but this convinced us we would like to cruise again. We loved the relaxed atmosphere and being able to get off the ship without having to plan how to get there. Oh, and did I say .. we loved the food :)

 

Thanks for the great review! We also took our first cruise last year on the other smaller ship, the NCL Sky, and we absolutely loved it. We're a younger couple also (23 & 26) and even though the majority of people on board were older, we had a blast. :cool: I think it's safe to say we LOVE cruising.

 

Great to hear a review post dry dock! We're sailing on the Sun March 19 and we are super excited about every little aspect of our cruise. From the relaxation to the sunshine to the new people to excursions to the FOOD. Now, if just the day would hurry and get here!

[Zeno]

Could you please tell me if there were steps or only ladders into the pool? My old knees don't like the ladders. thanks.

 

Don't worry Esther - at least one of the pools has proper steps and not a ladder. (I have bad knees too and can remember getting into the bigger pool easily.)

 

Looking at middle of photo notice - STAIRS leading into circular part of larger pool. Ladders are at the bottom. I used the stairs.

 

http://www.americandiscountcruises.com/images/norwegian_ships/ships/norwegian-sun/gallery/oasis-pool.jpg

[esther e]

Wow!! Thanks so much. This is great news for us. My knees and joints will be very happy.:)