Back from the Amazing Sun 11 Day Southern!

[BlueJai]

We got back last night from the 11 day southern on the Sun. We had the most amazing time and I will definitely post a review. The ship was great, the staff and crew were absolutely wonderful and I can't imagine what could have made this a better cruise (other than still being there!).

 

We had a great M&G (thanks to DJMess!) and had a surprise visitor - Kevin Sheehan! He was on the ship for the first 3 days and we were all shocked when he came to the M&G and talked to the group.

 

Amazing trip, my most favourite ship and it just couldn't have been better.

 

Review to come!

bluejai

[DMH15]

We got back last night from the 11 day southern on the Sun. We had the most amazing time and I will definitely post a review. The ship was great, the staff and crew were absolutely wonderful and I can't imagine what could have made this a better cruise (other than still being there!).

 

We had a great M&G (thanks to DJMess!) and had a surprise visitor - Kevin Sheehan! He was on the ship for the first 3 days and we were all shocked when he came to the M&G and talked to the group.

 

Amazing trip, my most favourite ship and it just couldn't have been better.

 

Review to come!

bluejai

 

Wow! That's something! I had considered your cruise date but will be on the Sun 3/20 for the same itinerary. Looking forward to your review! Glad you had a great time.

[deladypilot]

Welcome back. Im looking forward to your review. We will be on that lovely ship in 83 days and I can not wait

[jdvmd]

We got back last night from the 11 day southern on the Sun. We had the most amazing time and I will definitely post a review. The ship was great, the staff and crew were absolutely wonderful and I can't imagine what could have made this a better cruise (other than still being there!).

 

We had a great M&G (thanks to DJMess!) and had a surprise visitor - Kevin Sheehan! He was on the ship for the first 3 days and we were all shocked when he came to the M&G and talked to the group.

 

Amazing trip, my most favourite ship and it just couldn't have been better.

 

Review to come!

bluejai

Sounds like you just had a perfect time! The Sun is a great ship!

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[BlueJai]

We were in Miami prior to the cruise so we were at the cruise terminal around 11:00. It was an early morning as we got up early to watch the Sun come in! Check in was a breeze, and we were given group 6 for boarding. There were already a lot of people there and the excitement was high!

 

We were on the ship by 12:00. We aren't ones to head for food, our first place to go is up to Deck 12 above the pool area. We put our suits on and order a bucket to start the day with! We always look to find a bar server in the area and this time 'our guys' were Kervin and Agus and Romwaldo. They were with us the entire trip and provided outstanding service.

 

We were travelling with another couple, and by the end of the trip, there were 8-10 of us together up on Deck 12 during sea days and after the port activities.

 

We have been on the Sun 6 times so coming on the ship is like coming home! I was so surprised just how many of the staff and crew that we had met last year were still there. It made for an amazing embarkation day.

 

So, the rooms were ready by 1:00 but we stayed up on Deck 12 until it was time to get ready for the muster drill at 3:30. When we went to our room to get ready for the muster drill, our suitcases had already been delivered! Awesome! Sailaway was prompt at 4:00.

 

Once unpacked, we wandered the ship and met some great people on our travels. Also, found some more friends from last year which made for some happy reunions.

 

For dinner we went to the Seven Seas. We all ordered steak and lobster and the food was really good. Our waiter not only brought our orders, but also brought another plate with 4 additional lobsters on it. Our waiters were Ray and LingLing and they were excellent. They both had a great sense of humour and we really enjoyed the whole experience.

 

After dinner we were off to Dazzles. We had a couple of drinks and enjoyed the show, then it was off to the Observation Lounge to go outside to see the stars. This is one of my favourite parts of the ship. A little Baileys on Ice to finish off Day 0!

 

We had a balcony cabin on Deck 10 - 0001. Great room, our room steward was Alvin. He just returned from vacation and was wonderful. As a side note, our room steward from last year, Perfecto, was working on the other side so another nice surprise to see him.

 

More to follow...

[camz]

Welcome Back! Glad to hear you enjoyed, yet another voyage aboard the Sun. Looking forward to hearing your full story. :)

[buckirj1]

Nice start to the review. I'm happy you had a great time. Can't wait to read about the rest!

[BlueJai]

Welcome Back! Glad to hear you enjoyed, yet another voyage aboard the Sun. Looking forward to hearing your full story. :)

 

Thanks! It was an amazing itinerary - a good balance between port days and sea (pool!) days. It was hard to leave on Sunday.

Bluejai

[sonicbuffalo]

We're going on her in October so we can't wait to read your full review...I am subscribing to it!

[BlueJai]

We're going on her in October so we can't wait to read your full review...I am subscribing to it!

 

Yeah! I have never done a detailed review this way, I have usually posted on the review page but I have loved reading others and the interaction so hopefully I can pull this off!

Bluejai

[rbrugler]

I get the feeling it was amazing! We were on the same itinerary on the Sun in early Feb. It was amazing too!

[BlueJai]

A couple of things before I forget from Day 0. When we arrived in the cabin after the muster drill, we received a call from the Concierge. We have never had that before so thought it a really nice touch. We turned platinum last year (and thanks to DH who supported me going back to the Sun as a surprise for my Mom's 80th birthday, I got to enjoy the platinum perks last year). However, this was the first time that we had received a phone call from the concierge.

 

When we returned later in the evening there was a plate of chocolate covered strawberries, again from the concierge. A lovely surprise.

 

As we were going through the paperwork that was left in our cabin, we saw, along with the regular platinum stuff, an invitation to the Captain's cocktail party the next evening. This really had us baffled, and we wondered why, but what the heck, we would love to attend.

 

So, back to Day 1 - Sea Day. Ordered coffee to the room the night before so a call came around 6:45 and coffee was delivered within about 5 minutes. I love this (unfortunately I can't find the room service button on my phone at home :D) So we have coffee on the balcony, then we go walking. We used to use the treadmills in the gym, but decided a few years ago that it was much nicer to use Deck 6. We do a good fast paced walk for an hour and the first morning there were lots of people out. Some running, some walking, some strolling, some just enjoying the morning. This makes walking fast a bit of a challenge but we got it done! Probably the worst part was the 5 flights of stairs up to deck 11 where we get water and cool down.

 

We try to do stairs whenever possible to help with the food and drink that we know we will be having. By the end of the trip, we were feeling pretty unsuccessful - everything was darn tight!:p

 

Breakfast for us is always the Outdoor Cafe. Love this area and on this trip there was always room to eat. Deck 12 at the pool area - where we like to hang out - was already filling up so on the way back from breakfast, I stayed on deck while my husband went down to prepare for the day. Once he came back up, I went down and changed. Our friends also came up early so we had secured our chairs - No Hogging! We do not put stuff on them and leave, we always make sure 1 of the 2 of us are there. However, that can't be said for many others - lots of towels on the chairs at 7:00 in the morning and some never even showed up for 4 hours. Grrrr (no flaming please!)

 

We had joined the roll call so at 10:30 we went to the cabin to clean up (and yes, gave up our chairs) and headed to the meeting which was being held in Las Ramblas. There was a good turnout and and our coordinator DJMess did a great job setting it up. Most of the officers were there with the exception of the Captain. They all spoke, and if you read the post by DJMess, you will know that at the end, Steven Jacobson, the Hotel Director said they had a special guest - and introduced Kevin Sheehan.

 

This was really exciting for all in the room, and we really couldn't believe it. He spoke for a few minutes to the group and even took some Q&A. If I can get the time to figure it out, I will try to post pictures later.

 

So, great M&G, met some really nice people and some even did a cabin crawl. For us, it was back to try and get some seats and enjoy some sun!

 

BBQ was held on the pool deck - regular fare of burgers, hot dogs, chicken, salad etc. Also Moderno had the pizza going as well as sandwich/salad/soup station. Other than looking for late night cookies, we didn't eat in the Garden Cafe so can't comment what was going on there.

 

Couldn't get a seat in the sun for awhile, but we sat at the bar area (go figure:D) and had something to eat and drink. Our guys found us and looked after us perfectly. Eventually we were able to grab some chairs up on 12 and enjoyed the afternoon.

 

We mentioned the cocktail to our travelling buddies (they are also platinum) that was to be held around 5:00 that night. As we were getting ready, they called to say they hadn't received an invitation. We were even more confused now, but decided we would go anyway. Did the standard receiving line and re-connected with some of the people we had met last year. We enjoyed the hour or so very much, and on our way out we met Omar - the concierge. We thank him for the call welcoming us and then quietly asked why we had been invited. It turns out we had been given VIP status which was such a surprise. So that explained the strawberries and the call and the reason we were there. Thanks NCL!

 

More to follow... (I tend to get a little too detailed so better stop for a bit!)

[Vol fan]

We are on the Sun in October as well, so looking forward to your review. Thanks for taking the time to post.

[heels/colts]

thanks for the detailed review. Can't wait for are first trip on the sun in oct.:D

[Warmer Climes]

Hi Guys and welcome back! The Dawn was good but not as good as the Sun last year!

 

Great review!

 

Barb

[CP50]

Will be on the Sun in October for the 11 day. Your wonderful review has become a must read for me. Thanks so much.:D

[BlueJai]

Hi Guys and welcome back! The Dawn was good but not as good as the Sun last year!

 

Great review!

 

Barb

 

Hey Barb, good to hear from you! I am sure the Dawn was great and I bet you had a great time! You know I love the Sun and this years trip was awesome with a really great itinerary.

Thanks!

[Econom405]

Can't wait to read more. I like those above will be sailing the Sun in October.

[BlueJai]

Our first cruise was on the Sun back in 2004. It was our first vacation in 20+ years and after much discussion we booked a cruise. It was all based on a birthday card my husband had given me years before where he promised a cruise on the Love Boat. Yes, it was in jest as I was a Love Boat Junkie but I kept the card for years. While deciding what to do he finally tells me he isn't sure about that whole water thing. You know, being in the middle of the ocean with no land in sight - just water. That certainly was a fly in the ointment, but in the end, he decided he would give it a try.

 

We went with Norwegian because of the Freestyle. We really weren't comfortable with the set seating with strangers so the Sun and Freestyle were the perfect option for us.

 

Walking on board that very first time was amazing. All I remember is being in awe, walking around with my mouth wide open as we entered the Atrium. From that moment on, I was hooked. We ate in the MDR that whole cruise and on the first night, our waiter was a gentleman from Turkey named Survet. We had never had such service and he set the tone for 7 nights of amazing meals where we felt so special and taken care of. He was of a different era and provided the type of service that we could have only imagined at that time.

 

So, last year when I was on board in April, (again because DH supported me going back to surprise my Mother for her birthday - DH is Newtonville Dan who also posts here), I was coming back on board from GSC and OMG, there is Survet! Yes, all those years later and I remembered him as if it had been yesterday, that was the impact he made on me. I ran over and said I remembered him and just to say how much he had meant to us all those years ago. He had actually left ship life for a few years and had just come back.

 

Ok, getting wordy again, but when we wandering the ship the first day, we ran into Survet and he was working in Four Seasons. After the cocktail party we went to Four Seasons and asked to be seated in his area and it was Amazing! We had a great visit with him and he treated us like royalty. Now, don't get me wrong, we have always had outstanding service in any of the MDR's or specialties, but with Survet it was even more so. Even 9 years later!

 

After dinner, we went to Dazzles for an after dinner drink and take in some entertainment, I think it was Soul.

 

Then it was back to the cabin, put out the room service card for coffee and call it a day! What an awesome Day 1.

 

Bluejai

[poffles]

Loving your review. Going on the Sun in November for first time and can't wait. Your review is making me even more excited .. nothing like wishing the time away.

[2boyzmom]

We are on the Sun in 6 days so keep posting!!! :)

[BlueJai]

Loving your review. Going on the Sun in November for first time and can't wait. Your review is making me even more excited .. nothing like wishing the time away.

 

I know exactly what you mean. I think when we booked this one we were 200+ days out! It was a long countdown but it is so worth it:)

[BlueJai]

Well, Day 2 started out much the same as Day 1. Coffee delivered early in the morning and off to exercise. There were fewer people on deck 6 this morning (go figure!) and we got the hour in and trudged up the 5 flights of stairs for water and to sit for a bit. Another great breakfast in the outdoor cafe, only this morning we took turns so that we could have one of us on Deck. The pool deck was pretty full of unused but toweled loungers so we headed to our usual spot on 12 and got our chairs. 3 of the 4 of us were there. The 4th member of our group ended up going to see the Medical centre because she wasn't feeling well.

 

So, the 3 of us enjoyed the sun, music and BBQ on deck. The weather was amazing and it was an awesome day. While we were on deck, we got talking to a couple of other couples. One of the couples lives 30 minutes from us and it turned out we worked in the same office 20+ years ago! Crazy small world. We spent a good day on deck so I can't really comment on much of the goings on around the ship that day.

 

We had made reservations for Moderno tonight. Unfortunately our travelling companions were not able to make it so Newtonville Dan (DH) and I went. We had an amazing evening. We did this last year and felt that we were too rushed, and consequently stuffed and done far too quickly. So tonight we opted to really take it slow and easy. Dinner lasted about two and a half hours and was really enjoyable. The service was good, and those delivering the meat (can't remember their proper name) were fun. It was a very relaxed. Dan ordered some dessert for himself (I was done!) and when I came back to the table, our server brought out 3 different ones for us to try. Yikes! After a 2+ hour meal, the last thing we or our waistbands needed was dessert (note to self, next time wear lose clothes!;)) We had planned to head to the observation lounge for a show but we took too long for dinner so it was a walk around deck and at some point, the day was done.

 

When we got back to our cabin, there was chocolate covered strawberries :eek:

 

More to come.....Cartagena is next

[djmess]

Enjoying reliving the cruise as you post!

 

We had a fabulous time also, even though Brandon was down a couple days do to his coughing and congestion.

 

Will definitely cruise the Sun again!!! Incredible crew!!!