NCL Sun Review 3/31-4/7

[stiej]

Just got home yesterday from the Western sailing of the NCL Sun from Port Canaveral. Here is our cruise:

 

We are the family that upgraded to have the connecting Aft Penthouse and aft balcony room so our kids would have their own beds. We were informed by NCL that only the people actually booked in the penthouse (my daughter and I) would have suite privileges where my son and husband would not. We emailed Kevin Sheehan about this as we were upset and were called back the next day by his assistant who assured us we would have no problems. Guess what - NO problems! So, don't worry about booking an adjoining stateroom, we were all treated exactly the same.

 

Embarkation: We were cutting it close getting to the pier. I mean like are we going to get to board close. We ended up getting there at 2:45 (they ask that you be there by 3 as they shut down at 330). But, everything was fine. We went quickly through the terminal and got VIP check in. We had cabins 9076 and 9077. Our concierge David and butler Dilip met with us and Dilip escorted us to our rooms which were already ready. 9076 was huge with a nice living room, but watch plopping down on the couch or you might fracture your tailbone! It is NOT soft! Does the cabin/ship show signs of wear? Yes. Should that ruin your trip - no. The view from this cabin is phenomenal. The kids were in 9077 next door which was a very small comparative to other lines we have been on (first NCL cruise), balcony stateroom, but it worked fine. The concierge lunch had already been shut down, so we ate upstairs at the buffet. Had the muster drill and off we went. We ate dinner that night at Il Adagio. It was pretty good. Calamari and pasta fagioli (but chicken based? not like the pasta fagioli I am used to) and a seafood alfredo for dinner.

 

Day 1 (sea day): One thing that surprised me about the entire cruise is that it never felt crowded. Maybe that is because we are coming off of ships like the Disney Magic, Carnival Dream where they are crowded, but you figure on a sea day the pools would be slammed, restaurants super crowded but it never felt like that. We ate breakfast in Il Adagio for the concierge guests. Excellent hot breakfast menu. Lunch was in the buffet. We did dinner at Le Bistro - YUM! A must eat. Escargot, the most tender beef. Delicious. The hubby and I got a couples massage from Cherry and Connie and it was divine. The kids played at the pool. My son and I did Bingo twice. Kids always got a free pack when they played with an adult. Overall a great day.

 

Day 2 (cozumel) - We signed up to play the Amazing Cozumel Race. We were a little concerned since we had the kids with us (11 and 8) but we were excited. We were one of two teams from Norwegian. The other 16 teams were either people staying in Cozumel or from the two Royal Caribbean ships. Teams ranged from 2 up to like 10. It was a BLAST! If you are a high adrenaline, adventure sort of group - this is a must do. It is played very similar as it is on tv and you are running all over Cozumel solving clues. It ends at a Mexican Restaurant where you get a free drink and chips and salsa (most also buy lunch which is HUGE portions. If you get the quesadillas, just split it with someone). We ended up coming in 4th out of 18 which I dont think is too shabby! After the game, we stopped in some shops for souvenirs and then back to the ship. We ended up eating at the buffet since we were tired!

 

Day 3 (Grand Cayman) - The kids and I did the Turtles and Stingrays tour. The husband was supposed to do the dive but they cancelled it. He was a little surprised. They said the diving at the wall had too strong of a current, but they usually will just change dive sites. But, nope cancelled it. And because they called the kids room (where he was technically in) he didnt get the message. So, he got over to shore (tender port) with all of his gear and nada. So, he ended up doing a snorkel tour which he said was ok. We had a great guide (His name was pilot), for our tour. We got out to the turtle farm as he narrated. He gave us a guided tour and then we got a whole 12 minutes left to look around. That was my biggest complaint. It felt so rushed. My kids wanted to hold the baby hatchlings but my daughter wanted to get a stuffed turtle from the gift shop. By the time we got to the bus, we were among the last. Wish there had been more time there. It is a very interesting facility. Then, we were off to the Stingray City portion of the tour. Let me recommend, bring food. You have no lunch provided and no real opportunity to get food. This tour met at noon and we didnt get dropped back off in town until 5. My kids were starving. We had taken a couple of cookies, but blew threw those pretty fast. It is a pretty long trip out to stingray city and frankly it has become so touristy - you are kind of like people soup out there. We did the stingray excursion several years ago and there were stingrays everywhere, but now there are more people than stingrays and it seems like each guide kiind of has "their" stingray. We got pictures holding the stingray, "kissing" the stingray, and you had the choice to feed it as well. When we got back to town at 5, we had about an hour and a half before the last tender, so I took the kids to margaritaville. Most of the shops had already closed. This margaritaville has a slide, so we ordered some coconut shrimp and let them play for about 30-40 minutes then walked over to the tenders and back to the ship. We ate Teppanyaki that night. This is the hardest restaurant to get since I think they only seat 12 at the hibachi. Personally, it was pretty good, but not as good as our local hibachi restaurant? May be just a personal preference. It was a fun show though. Our cooks were very entertaining.

 

Day 4 (Jamaica) - We did a private excursion with Marva Shaw from knowjamaica dot com. Her son Javier was our guide. We had 3 other families from the ship with us. Much better than the 90+ ppl on the grand cayman excursion. We started at Dunns River Falls. Can you say crowded? This is another place that wasnt as crowded last time we were there. We had about 20 people in our chain and I dont know if the guide wasnt as good or the people leading the chain were just impatient. I definitely only recommend this to people in good physical shape. Small children should be at your own risk. My husband ended up helping the elderly couple behind him as our group often didnt wait for the guide and I think we ended up going up the falls in a more difficult pattern. After the falls, we went to Calypso Rafting to tube the White River. It was fun. There is a short break in the middle for you take pictures or you can buy water, coke or beer. After that, we went to Mahoghany Beach where we at lunch and the kids swam for a little bit. Some local kids ended up out there close to when we were about to leave and told the group of kids from our tour that they needed to move?? It was almost time to go anyway. We ate grilled conch (and husband ate jerk conch) it is very rubbery and probably wouldnt do that again. Javier dropped us off at the shopping area where we ended up at Margaritaville and the kids slid on their waterslide until it was time to walk back to the ship. About a 5-6 minute walk with some very pushy salesppl. Just say no and keep walking. My daughter (8) did the kids ice cream mani/pedi party at the spa that night. She really enjoyed that. Then, we ate at the buffet.

 

Day 5 (at sea) - My daughter woke up bawling around 8 am and I took her to the ship dr (first time) where they diagnosed her with an ear infection. He gave her some advil, decongestant and Amoxicillin. She went back to the room and went back to sleep so we tag teamed breakfast with our son. My son and I then went and played Bingo - where I won! Yay. When we got back. I forgot to mention two nights before, my husband got called on stage for deal or no deal where he won $477. Pretty cool. Someone else won a free cruise the 2nd deal or no deal playing from the audience. My daughter felt better around lunch time and we went to the buffet. My son and i played the afternoon session of bingo and we had booked a 2nd couples massage. Our daughter felt well enough and went to the kids club (she wasn't contagious) while we got our 2nd massage - hot stone this time. We also ate our own dinner at Ginza for sushi. And we at out in the great outdoor cafe for dessert from the buffet. Very nice evening.

 

Day 6 (Great Stirrup Cay) - This was our beach day. The kids wanted to do the hippo slide but it was too windy. So, all we did was beach, lunch, beach. It was a little too cold for me in the water, but my husband went out with the kids. They built sand castles. Lunch was good under the covered pavillion, but watch the seagulls, they are not playing. They will take your food. We let the kids get a few things from the locals marketplace and then back to the boat. As we were leaving, we noticed a big dark cloud coming up. We made it back fine, but the last tender was in a pouring thunderstorm with 50 knot winds. They had to keep circling to get the tender to the ship and when they finally did, they cheered. You could hear them all throughout the ship. I had an acupuncture appt. Did it work? I dont know. We ate dinner at Moderno Churrascaria (sp) the brazilian steakhouse. By far the best dinner of the cruise. The meat was delicious. The little cheesy ball breads divine. The seafood chowder...I could just go on and on. A definite must eat. We played the last bingo session where we didnt win :( nor did we win the free cruise raffle :(.

 

Shows - We went to the hypnotist...still dont believe it but the show was amusing. We also did the magician - he was pretty good. Not the best show line up we have done, but ok.

 

Overall impressions - Not pushy on alcohol sales, liked that. For a spring break cruise with over 600 kids on board, mostly very well behaved. Older ship, has some blemishes, its not the super shiny new ship - but it was a great place for our family spring break vacation.

 

Biggest con - I loved the layout of our room and the view from our room but I would NEVER book their aft rooms again. The shaking back there when coming into port (especially coming back into Canaveral) was unbearable. Our doors were rattled open, I thought my teeth were going to rattle out. I have never had another cabin - even aft cabins - where there was that much motion and vibration. If you book it, bring some Ambien because especially the last night coming in to Canaveral - we were literally awake from 5am forward because the motion would not stop.

 

Disembarkation - Took a while to clear the ship. We were off and waiting for my husband to pick us up with luggage by say 930ish. A little later than we are used to.

 

Would we do the Sun again? Yes. The crew was unbelievably nice. Would we do NCL again? Probably. I wish they would get a little more kid friendly - ie Childrens programming on tv. Our kids wake up before us and they did not have a dedicated childrens channel for them to watch. And they didnt love the kids club like they have on other ships - but that may just be my kids.

 

Thanks for reading. Let me know if you have any questions while everything is still fresh in my mind! :)

[vols_159]

Glad you had a awesome cruise!!..

[jints07]

So glad to hear the room arrangements worked out! I am even more glad that the CEO himself clarified it so some of the nits around here have nothing more to say (but they will :rolleyes:).

[NLH Arizona]

Great review. Thanks for clarifying the suite perks for non-suite passengers traveling with you, I'm sure we will all be emailing Mr. Sheehan when we are in the same situation...thanks so much for telling us it will work.

[tony007]

Thanks for the review. We are getting ready to go on same ship/itinerary.

Sounds like I may be able to get a lounge chair in the pool area on this cruise :)

[Sara_smile]

Welcome back and thanks for the review. I am very surprised that NCl allowed everyone to get suite perks since one cabin was not a suite. I am not trying to sound harsh and I am glad your family got to stick together. It is just that we read all the time on these boards with people booking friends and family in other cabins and still want the suite perks for everyone.

Not sure it would work all the time but I think the reason they allowed it this time is that the Sun does not have a courtyard?

I just would see trouble if every family booked the other half in other cabins and want all the suite perks.

Not trying to sound harsh just pointing out that most times this would not be allowed.

Glad you had a great time and were able to get all the perks together.

[kclcruise]

Thanks for the review. We are getting ready to go on same ship/itinerary.

Sounds like I may be able to get a lounge chair in the pool area on this cruise :)

 

 

Not so sure about that. I was on the same cruise. We could not get a chair on the 1st Sea Day anywhere near the pool. ( We have kids to watch) and the second Sea Day my husband got 1 chair at 7 AM. Non-Sea Days were great. Despite the lack of chairs we still had fun.:D

[vols_159]

i would bet most of the time this wont work.. what kind of rooms did the op have b4 she upgraded? or did she buy a addiotional aft room? ncl.prolly made $$ from the deal so they added the suite perks.. just 1 question did the op have to pay a higher dsc for thr aft balcony room? extra tip ffor the butler?

[Pokeraddict]

I"m glad that i don't have a problem with people milking the system while others take the legitimate route

[stiej]

I dont feel like we were "milking" the system. We could not put our family of 4 in the penthouse when we booked because all quad occupancy was taken, which at the time was fine with us because we wanted the extra space. We actually paid more for the 2 cabins Aft penthouse and aft balcony than we would have paid for the 4 in one cabin as we would have gotten 3rd and 4th passenger discounts where we paid 1st and 2nd passenger for both. They said it was because we were immediate family travelling with children under 18. We didnt book 2 cabins to try to "milk" the system for my two children. Seriously?? I think this policy is in place to keep my family of 4 and our brother and his family next door from using the perks. But, you really think it makes sense to tell a family who first could NOT book all 4 into one cabin that ok, Mom and the 2 kids can go to the breakfasts, lunch and priority tender - but dad - who actually is staying in the penthouse shouldn't go? This was not us taking grandma and her staying next door to get more adults extra perks - this was one set of mom and dad with their 2 children. I guess if that bothers you that we were able to eat breakfast together and tender together, then que sera. We had a great trip and feel like NCL did the right thing. Now - we did not get extras in the other room such as the daily fruit, daily afternoon snack, etc. - but that was fine. We were mainly concerned about being able to stay together. The only thing we actually used the concierge for was one reservation at teppanyaki. We actually made all of our other reservations, I handled all the shore excursions before we left. The only time we saw our butler was in the afternoons when he dropped off snacks. We were not trying to milk anything - we just wanted to stay together as our immediate family.

[Medtech2]

Great review. Thanks for clarifying the suite perks for non-suite passengers traveling with you, I'm sure we will all be emailing Mr. Sheehan when we are in the same situation...thanks so much for telling us it will work.

According to the NCL website, children CAN be booked in an ADJOINING room, so there was no need to put an adult in each room on the reservation. Children would then get suite perks with their parents no question.

 

It was nice, though, That Mr. Sheheen's office responded so promptly and nicely...

[Medtech2]

Thanks for the review. We are getting ready to go on same ship/itinerary.

Sounds like I may be able to get a lounge chair in the pool area on this cruise :)

Hey, you haven't joined the Roll Call!

 

Come on over!

 

Don't miss the Meet and Greet!

[stiej]

We booked directly through NCL and were told there has to be an adult over 18 listed on each cabin with minor children in it. The whole time my husband and I were going to be in the penthouse and my children in the room next door. We were also told that was the policy by Mr. Sheehan's representative. I guess I am just stunned trying to figure out exactly how my family "milked" the system. My husband eating breakfast with us in Il Adagio is going to throw NCL under the bus?

[Medtech2]

I dont feel like we were "milking" the system. We could not put our family of 4 in the penthouse when we booked because all quad occupancy was taken, which at the time was fine with us because we wanted the extra space. We actually paid more for the 2 cabins Aft penthouse and aft balcony than we would have paid for the 4 in one cabin as we would have gotten 3rd and 4th passenger discounts where we paid 1st and 2nd passenger for both. They said it was because we were immediate family travelling with children under 18. We didnt book 2 cabins to try to "milk" the system for my two children. Seriously?? I think this policy is in place to keep my family of 4 and our brother and his family next door from using the perks. But, you really think it makes sense to tell a family who first could NOT book all 4 into one cabin that ok, Mom and the 2 kids can go to the breakfasts, lunch and priority tender - but dad - who actually is staying in the penthouse shouldn't go? This was not us taking grandma and her staying next door to get more adults extra perks - this was one set of mom and dad with their 2 children. I guess if that bothers you that we were able to eat breakfast together and tender together, then que sera. We had a great trip and feel like NCL did the right thing. Now - we did not get extras in the other room such as the daily fruit, daily afternoon snack, etc. - but that was fine. We were mainly concerned about being able to stay together. The only thing we actually used the concierge for was one reservation at teppanyaki. We actually made all of our other reservations, I handled all the shore excursions before we left. The only time we saw our butler was in the afternoons when he dropped off snacks. We were not trying to milk anything - we just wanted to stay together as our immediate family.

You really don't need to defend yourself--you are exactly right...

 

BTW, my husband had accupuncture on the Epic and it worked so well that he now sees a doctor here for ongoing knee problems. He has reached the point where it is no longer needed but it did take some time...

 

I am SO glad you all had a great time! I have been debating that Stingray City tour but am having reservations about it being so crowded, same with Dunn River Falls....

 

I do want to see the turtle farm, though. Do you think it would be worth it just to go to that if we tender at noon and the turtle farm closes at 5?

[Medtech2]

We booked directly through NCL and were told there has to be an adult over 18 listed on each cabin with minor children in it. The whole time my husband and I were going to be in the penthouse and my children in the room next door. We were also told that was the policy by Mr. Sheehan's representative. I guess I am just stunned trying to figure out exactly how my family "milked" the system. My husband eating breakfast with us in Il Adagio is going to throw NCL under the bus?

This is from NCL FAQ's:

 

Company policy dictates that a passenger under 21 years of age must be accompanied in the same or connecting stateroom by a passenger 21 years of age or older at the time of embarkation

 

So, I read that to mean one passenger over 21 in one of the connecting rooms, but not necessarily both, as it states "A passenger" not a passenger in each stateroom...

[stiej]

I think if you did the turtle farm alone, you would have plenty of time. Have the kids wear bathing suits because they have a wading area where the kids (and adults) can actually get in one of the tanks with some of the younger turtles. They also have a snack bar if you get hungry (and have time!). The hands on was great. My daughter loved it so much we ended up finding her a pair of sea turtle earrings on the ship so she would always think about them. Now, the stingrays scared her (and several of the adults as they are still barbed). HTH!

[courageteaches]

Sun 3/31

Loved our Balcony, Freestyle dining, NCL in general is the best we have tried the rest and stay with the best.

We have sailed the pearl and the dawn, we miss the lay out, the sun is confusing several floors that have little access. We kept using the promenade to get to other places but that was like getting on an interstate with all the joggers! We pretended we were on the amazing race everytime we used it.

Entertainment - the musical show has been the same on the last 3 NCl cruises, enough of the Jersey Boys Already! I don't want to be popular and hear another song from Wicked ever again. The Mod musical was awful, we walked out of that one. Hypontist? not original. I enjoyed the rock show, not my thing but the singing was good and the band was too.

Churruscario was awful in my opinion. Tough meat on a stick and very unsanitary. She kept putting the end of skewer on my son's plate that he was eating off, so the best dinner of your cruise was probably shared! All of the meat was overcooked and saved NCL money because I got tired of chewing. We enjoyed this restaurant because it was funny to keep getting meat that was worse each time it came. We laughed so hard I was afraid they were going to throw us out. The salad bar and ceviche were good though. Loved all of the other restaurants; Il Adagio has good Pizza, Le Bistro is always great, Teppanyaki was as expected, steakhouse was ok- the oysters tasted like mud, don't get those.

The pool was crowded on sea days but we figured out to get in the hot tub at 7:00 am and then get breakfast and then go to The sauna and steam room at the spa which is free which no one seems to realize.

I was really worried about that tender at GSC and I thought NCL should have left those people on shore until the storm was over, we watched the lightning strike all around them - people get hit by lightning on boats in Florida commonly. I thought it was neat how the captain tilted the ship with the ballasts to get the tender unloaded

[david_sobe]

Sun 3/31

Loved our Balcony, Freestyle dining, NCL in general is the best we have tried the rest and stay with the best.

We have sailed the pearl and the dawn, we miss the lay out, the sun is confusing several floors that have little access. We kept using the promenade to get to other places but that was like getting on an interstate with all the joggers! We pretended we were on the amazing race everytime we used it.

Entertainment - the musical show has been the same on the last 3 NCl cruises, enough of the Jersey Boys Already! I don't want to be popular and hear another song from Wicked ever again. The Mod musical was awful, we walked out of that one. Hypontist? not original. I enjoyed the rock show, not my thing but the singing was good and the band was too.

Churruscario was awful in my opinion. Tough meat on a stick and very unsanitary. She kept putting the end of skewer on my son's plate that he was eating off, so the best dinner of your cruise was probably shared! All of the meat was overcooked and saved NCL money because I got tired of chewing. We enjoyed this restaurant because it was funny to keep getting meat that was worse each time it came. We laughed so hard I was afraid they were going to throw us out. The salad bar and ceviche were good though. Loved all of the other restaurants; Il Adagio has good Pizza, Le Bistro is always great, Teppanyaki was as expected, steakhouse was ok- the oysters tasted like mud, don't get those.

The pool was crowded on sea days but we figured out to get in the hot tub at 7:00 am and then get breakfast and then go to The sauna and steam room at the spa which is free which no one seems to realize.

I was really worried about that tender at GSC and I thought NCL should have left those people on shore until the storm was over, we watched the lightning strike all around them - people get hit by lightning on boats in Florida commonly. I thought it was neat how the captain tilted the ship with the ballasts to get the tender unloaded

WOW

They really need to train the staff better. I have heard similiar stories like this. I am not a Moderno fan either and much prefer Cagneys where you get your own steak (and dont have to share)

 

:)

[vols_159]

WOW

They really need to train the staff better. I have heard similiar stories like this. I am not a Moderno fan either and much prefer Cagneys where you get your own steak (and dont have to share)

 

:)

 

 

IVe ate at moderno 3x its amazing.. awesome meats the house special is the best.. All 3 times was on the sun and would go back tomorrow! didnt care much for the lamb or sausage but all the steaks were so favlorful! i kept cuttin the meats in smaller pieces just to enjoy it longer!

[emcelh]

I dont feel like we were "milking" the system. We could not put our family of 4 in the penthouse when we booked because all quad occupancy was taken, which at the time was fine with us because we wanted the extra space. We actually paid more for the 2 cabins Aft penthouse and aft balcony than we would have paid for the 4 in one cabin as we would have gotten 3rd and 4th passenger discounts where we paid 1st and 2nd passenger for both. They said it was because we were immediate family travelling with children under 18. We didnt book 2 cabins to try to "milk" the system for my two children. Seriously?? I think this policy is in place to keep my family of 4 and our brother and his family next door from using the perks. But, you really think it makes sense to tell a family who first could NOT book all 4 into one cabin that ok, Mom and the 2 kids can go to the breakfasts, lunch and priority tender - but dad - who actually is staying in the penthouse shouldn't go? This was not us taking grandma and her staying next door to get more adults extra perks - this was one set of mom and dad with their 2 children. I guess if that bothers you that we were able to eat breakfast together and tender together, then que sera. We had a great trip and feel like NCL did the right thing. Now - we did not get extras in the other room such as the daily fruit, daily afternoon snack, etc. - but that was fine. We were mainly concerned about being able to stay together. The only thing we actually used the concierge for was one reservation at teppanyaki. We actually made all of our other reservations, I handled all the shore excursions before we left. The only time we saw our butler was in the afternoons when he dropped off snacks. We were not trying to milk anything - we just wanted to stay together as our immediate family.

 

I don't see it as "milking the system" either. It's possible that this may not happen on all ships or all cruises but I'm glad it worked out for you.

[AceDoc]

We booked directly through NCL and were told there has to be an adult over 18 listed on each cabin with minor children in it. The whole time my husband and I were going to be in the penthouse and my children in the room next door. We were also told that was the policy by Mr. Sheehan's representative. I guess I am just stunned trying to figure out exactly how my family "milked" the system. My husband eating breakfast with us in Il Adagio is going to throw NCL under the bus?

 

Don't waste your time on trying to figure that out. You had the option of putting 4 in a suite (with suite privileges for all four) or spending more for a suite plus an adjoining, provided that you could have suite privileges for the kids. It sounds like NCL was the financial benefactor of this. Gld you had a great time!

[natachanne]

Biggest con - I loved the layout of our room and the view from our room but I would NEVER book their aft rooms again. The shaking back there when coming into port (especially coming back into Canaveral) was unbearable. Our doors were rattled open, I thought my teeth were going to rattle out. I have never had another cabin - even aft cabins - where there was that much motion and vibration.

 

Thanks for your very interesting review. I always wanted to book an aft cabin but I will definitly not try it on this ship!!

[DMH15]

We booked directly through NCL and were told there has to be an adult over 18 listed on each cabin with minor children in it. The whole time my husband and I were going to be in the penthouse and my children in the room next door. We were also told that was the policy by Mr. Sheehan's representative. I guess I am just stunned trying to figure out exactly how my family "milked" the system. My husband eating breakfast with us in Il Adagio is going to throw NCL under the bus?

I remember your original thread. Please do not feel like you milked the system. I hope anyone who suspects you did would read your entire original thread. You are correct. Since the Sun has NO 2 bedroom suites your options were limited.

 

What????? We NEVER experienced vibration like you described in 9076 on the Sun.

 

Glad you had fun.

[Partyatsea]

I dont feel like we were "milking" the system. We could not put our family of 4 in the penthouse when we booked because all quad occupancy was taken, which at the time was fine with us because we wanted the extra space. We actually paid more for the 2 cabins Aft penthouse and aft balcony than we would have paid for the 4 in one cabin as we would have gotten 3rd and 4th passenger discounts where we paid 1st and 2nd passenger for both. They said it was because we were immediate family travelling with children under 18. We didnt book 2 cabins to try to "milk" the system for my two children. Seriously?? I think this policy is in place to keep my family of 4 and our brother and his family next door from using the perks. But, you really think it makes sense to tell a family who first could NOT book all 4 into one cabin that ok, Mom and the 2 kids can go to the breakfasts, lunch and priority tender - but dad - who actually is staying in the penthouse shouldn't go? This was not us taking grandma and her staying next door to get more adults extra perks - this was one set of mom and dad with their 2 children. I guess if that bothers you that we were able to eat breakfast together and tender together, then que sera. We had a great trip and feel like NCL did the right thing. Now - we did not get extras in the other room such as the daily fruit, daily afternoon snack, etc. - but that was fine. We were mainly concerned about being able to stay together. The only thing we actually used the concierge for was one reservation at teppanyaki. We actually made all of our other reservations, I handled all the shore excursions before we left. The only time we saw our butler was in the afternoons when he dropped off snacks. We were not trying to milk anything - we just wanted to stay together as our immediate family.

 

 

Really don't feel you have to defend yourself. Glad you had a great cruise. Thanks for sharing!