Back from the Amazing Sun 11 Day Southern!

[2boyzmom]

Thanks for reminding me to bring the skirts with the elastic waist!!

[QuattroRomeo]

Thank you for your wonderful review, and do not be worried about getting "too detailed"- we love it!!:p

[carollois]

Thanks for your great review, I am loving reading all about it. Don't worry about being too detailed, there is no such thing as far as I am concerned! I want to go on this itinerary some day, so I am looking forward to the rest of your review. :D

 

Carol

[medicalma'am]

Looking forward to reading more! I have never been on the Sun but it is my sister's favorite ship.

[Newtonville Dan]

Hey BlueJai

 

Great review you got going here. It makes me feel like I was there with you. Oh right...., I was.

 

Can't wait to see how much fun we had in the in the next few days. It's hard to believe that one week ago today we were in St Thomas and our trip was nearly over.

 

Gotta go into work now and build 300 cars. See you in about 9 hrs.

 

Dan

[BlueJai]

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!!!

 

Oh, that is too bad that Brandon was not feeling well, hopefully he is better now. Again, Thanks so much for your efforts in setting up the M&G. It was a good time and an amazing surprise to see Kevin Sheehan.

Bluejai

[BlueJai]

Looking forward to reading more! I have never been on the Sun but it is my sister's favorite ship.

 

Thanks so much. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed you and your sisters review. I loved the different perspectives that you each brought and couldn't wait to see each new post.

Bluejai

[BlueJai]

Hey BlueJai

 

Great review you got going here. It makes me feel like I was there with you. Oh right...., I was.

 

Can't wait to see how much fun we had in the in the next few days. It's hard to believe that one week ago today we were in St Thomas and our trip was nearly over.

 

Gotta go into work now and build 300 cars. See you in about 9 hrs.

 

Dan

 

Good Morning Hon, I'll see you soon! A week ago today we we were enjoying a great day in St. Thomas, this morning it just darn cold. Brrrr. See you soon, we'll have a drink and look at pictures!

xoxo

[BlueJai]

We picked this trip for 2 reasons. First was - well I love the Sun, staff and crew! Second was there were no 7 day back to back itineraries this year so the 11 day was a good option. A couple of years ago we figured that once we had paid to get to Miami which is a good chunk of the budget, we we would take 2 weeks vacation instead of 1.

 

We had only ever been to St. Thomas before so seeing 4 new ports was exciting too.

 

It was dark as we started to see lights of Columbia. We had discussed what to do in this port. One of our friends on board is from Columbia and he actually suggested the Mud Volcanoes. On New Years Eve, after celebrating the New Year in, Dan agreed that the Mud Volcano sounded like a good idea (Note - don't make rash decisions while under the influence :D). It isn't something that we would normally ever do, so it sounded fun.

 

Well, after the celebration of New Years wore off, Dan wasn't so sure anymore. In the end, we decided on the Carriage ride tour offered through the ship. One of our friends that we were travelling with had been hurt and was still dealing with knee issues. So, this option seemed like a good way to see some of the old city without doing too much climbing or walking.

 

We had read all the reviews we could find and the one thing that was suggested was to go early, as later in the day it just gets hotter and hotter. So we pre-booked and the tickets were in the cabin on embarkation day.

 

So pulling into Cartagena, I was absolutely amazed at what a big city it was. Tall buildings, condos, it could have been any big city in North America. The actual port is very industrial, lucky for us, we had a great view of the skyline from the balcony.

 

No exercise this morning as we had to meet in the Stardust Theatre for 8:15. Up to the Outdoor Cafe for an early breakfast and picture taking. We met and they walked us off using one of the crew staircases (elevators for those that required it) and once we were off the ship our bus was right there waiting. This was by far the easiest excursion to get to. I think there was 2 or 3 buses on the tour. Comfortable and air conditioned. Note here that if you do have a tour, make sure you are on time, Norwegian is nothing if not prompt! They announced that there were not washrooms in the terminal building (for those taking a shuttle there) and for us, we wouldn't see a washroom until the shopping part of the tour. Those than ran to the ladies room had to rush to catch up as the tour was leaving on time!

 

The tour operator had a gentleman on board - William - who gave us a commentary on what we were seeing as we drove through town. He was very informative, and was open to answering questions. He also gave us tips on how much to pay for things like t-shirts, hats, cigars. While we were driving through the city, there were many people coming to the bus windows selling necklaces, hats etc. Not sure why because I am pretty sure the driver wasn't going to open the door for them. So, a bit of a drive through the city and we entered the old city for our carriage ride.

 

Exiting the bus, there were many vendors selling things, but a polite no thank you and they pretty much left you alone. There were 4 to each carriage and soon we were on our tour of the old city. It was an amazing way to see it. I can't imagine what it would be like just walking around as it is a really big place.

 

William stayed with the carriage ride, often moving up and down the line to explain things we were seeing. The ride through the town was awesome, it was a nice pace that allowed us to take in all the sights and the beauty of the buildings. Going up and down the streets and seeing the rennovated buildings and the older ones, churches, hotels etc was really beautiful. I took a small pocket camera for this tour because I thought the bigger camera would be a hindrance. Using the smaller camera (and I was travelling backwards) I was just able to point and click randomly through out the tour.

 

After the carriage ride, we stopped at a shopping area within the walled city. William told us which stores to go in (not sure why - was he getting a kick back? or were these the one's that took US money?) He suggested 3 stores and he stayed with the group going between. Outside of the stores there are vendors also selling things like t-shirts, linens, hats, belts, necklaces. But once you went into a store, they would leave you.

 

The recommended stores had souvenier type stuff as well as clothing, purses, hats, jewelry (emeralds!).

 

The buses were waiting for us in the shopping area so you can go back when you are ready. A nice touch is that they had cold water for us upon returning. The trip back was another tour outside of the walled city and again, William gave a great narrative. Once we got back to the port, some asked to get off at the terminal building and the driver stopped to let them off, and for the rest of us, we were taken right back to the ship. Awesome!

 

There is a shuttle that goes between the terminal building and ship - apparently it is like a 2 minute ride.

 

We left the ship around 8:30 and when we got back on board it was 11:00. Timing was good and as it was getting hotter and hotter, we were happy that we did the early tour.

 

More to come....

[2boyzmom]

We picked this trip for 2 reasons. First was - well I love the Sun, staff and crew! Second was there were no 7 day back to back itineraries this year so the 11 day was a good option. A couple of years ago we figured that once we had paid to get to Miami which is a good chunk of the budget, we we would take 2 weeks vacation instead of 1.

 

We had only ever been to St. Thomas before so seeing 4 new ports was exciting too.

 

It was dark as we started to see lights of Columbia. We had discussed what to do in this port. One of our friends on board is from Columbia and he actually suggested the Mud Volcanoes. On New Years Eve, after celebrating the New Year in, Dan agreed that the Mud Volcano sounded like a good idea (Note - don't make rash decisions while under the influence :D). It isn't something that we would normally ever do, so it sounded fun.

 

Well, after the celebration of New Years wore off, Dan wasn't so sure anymore. In the end, we decided on the Carriage ride tour offered through the ship. One of our friends that we were travelling with had been hurt and was still dealing with knee issues. So, this option seemed like a good way to see some of the old city without doing too much climbing or walking.

 

We had read all the reviews we could find and the one thing that was suggested was to go early, as later in the day it just gets hotter and hotter. So we pre-booked and the tickets were in the cabin on embarkation day.

 

So pulling into Cartagena, I was absolutely amazed at what a big city it was. Tall buildings, condos, it could have been any big city in North America. The actual port is very industrial, lucky for us, we had a great view of the skyline from the balcony.

 

No exercise this morning as we had to meet in the Stardust Theatre for 8:15. Up to the Outdoor Cafe for an early breakfast and picture taking. We met and they walked us off using one of the crew staircases (elevators for those that required it) and once we were off the ship our bus was right there waiting. This was by far the easiest excursion to get to. I think there was 2 or 3 buses on the tour. Comfortable and air conditioned. Note here that if you do have a tour, make sure you are on time, Norwegian is nothing if not prompt! They announced that there were not washrooms in the terminal building (for those taking a shuttle there) and for us, we wouldn't see a washroom until the shopping part of the tour. Those than ran to the ladies room had to rush to catch up as the tour was leaving on time!

 

The tour operator had a gentleman on board - William - who gave us a commentary on what we were seeing as we drove through town. He was very informative, and was open to answering questions. He also gave us tips on how much to pay for things like t-shirts, hats, cigars. While we were driving through the city, there were many people coming to the bus windows selling necklaces, hats etc. Not sure why because I am pretty sure the driver wasn't going to open the door for them. So, a bit of a drive through the city and we entered the old city for our carriage ride.

 

Exiting the bus, there were many vendors selling things, but a polite no thank you and they pretty much left you alone. There were 4 to each carriage and soon we were on our tour of the old city. It was an amazing way to see it. I can't imagine what it would be like just walking around as it is a really big place.

 

William stayed with the carriage ride, often moving up and down the line to explain things we were seeing. The ride through the town was awesome, it was a nice pace that allowed us to take in all the sights and the beauty of the buildings. Going up and down the streets and seeing the rennovated buildings and the older ones, churches, hotels etc was really beautiful. I took a small pocket camera for this tour because I thought the bigger camera would be a hindrance. Using the smaller camera (and I was travelling backwards) I was just able to point and click randomly through out the tour.

 

After the carriage ride, we stopped at a shopping area within the walled city. William told us which stores to go in (not sure why - was he getting a kick back? or were these the one's that took US money?) He suggested 3 stores and he stayed with the group going between. Outside of the stores there are vendors also selling things like t-shirts, linens, hats, belts, necklaces. But once you went into a store, they would leave you.

 

The recommended stores had souvenier type stuff as well as clothing, purses, hats, jewelry (emeralds!).

 

The buses were waiting for us in the shopping area so you can go back when you are ready. A nice touch is that they had cold water for us upon returning. The trip back was another tour outside of the walled city and again, William gave a great narrative. Once we got back to the port, some asked to get off at the terminal building and the driver stopped to let them off, and for the rest of us, we were taken right back to the ship. Awesome!

 

There is a shuttle that goes between the terminal building and ship - apparently it is like a 2 minute ride.

 

We left the ship around 8:30 and when we got back on board it was 11:00. Timing was good and as it was getting hotter and hotter, we were happy that we did the early tour.

 

More to come....

 

What was cheaper- the store prices or the vendors on the street?

[BlueJai]

What was cheaper- the store prices or the vendors on the street?

 

Actually I am not sure. Dan always buys t-shirts when we go away so he was looking to get something but I really just wondered. Our travelling friends - he bought a t-shirt and she an emerald ring at one of the stores. We weren't sure that this was the place to buy an emerald - but what the heck, she was on vacation and was happy with her purchase :)

[BlueJai]

Returning to the ship was lovey and we went back to our stateroom to enjoy the balcony and cold drink for a bit. Then it was off to Deck 12 to enjoy some sun and swim in the pool. The Island Princess had joined us in port earlier in the morning, and while we were in deck, the Horizon pulled in beside us.

 

Deck 12 was very empty and extremely hot, we lasted about an hour and then had to head to the shade for a bit. Sat down in the bar area and spent some time visiting.

 

We had reservations for Il Adagio tonight and were eating early so we could go to the 7:30 show - Terrance B the hypnotist.

 

Dinner was a 50/50 split. The Carbonara was amazing as was the chicken parmagian and shrimp risotto. The Lobster Fettucini was way to fishy tasting for me (I know, it's fish - but just way to fishy tasting) and Dan ordered the Veal Shank which he wasn't so thrilled about. But the rest of the meal including the bread with the infused oil was really good.

 

Terrance B. was a really good show. We had never been to see a Hypnotist before and it was a great show. One of our travelling buddies has been hypnotized in the past and it took all his willpower not to be drawn in. Terrance B. offers seminars later in the week - one for weight loss, one for insomnia and another for stress.

 

Dropped by the photo gallery and dazzles after the show for a night cap. When we returned to the cabin, there was another plate of goodies to add to the ever expanding waist and hips!

 

So it was a great day. Cartagena is a really pretty city and the tour to the walled city was really nice. I don't know that I would be heading off in Columbia without a ships tour at this time, but it was a nice stop.

 

Next, Aruba....

[Rochesterboatingdotcom]

Cartagena can be done safely outside of the ship tours. We got a cab just outside the gate with another couple and he took us to the monestary, the fort and the walled city for $60 for all of us. He spent the whole day with us which included having some food and drinks in the city. We really enjoyed this port and would do it again given the chance.

[Arzeena]

Love your review!:)

Looking forward to reading more of it!

We are doing this itinerary in October.

[BlueJai]

Cartagena can be done safely outside of the ship tours. We got a cab just outside the gate with another couple and he took us to the monestary, the fort and the walled city for $60 for all of us. He spent the whole day with us which included having some food and drinks in the city. We really enjoyed this port and would do it again given the chance.

 

That is awesome! We weren't sure and took the easy way for our first trip there. We really did enjoy it and would love to go back. I am sure the trip to the Monastery was amazing.

[BlueJai]

Love your review!:)

Looking forward to reading more of it!

We are doing this itinerary in October.

 

Wow, lots of people going in October. Makes me wish we could go again (better check the lottery ticket :D)

I am sure you will enjoy this itinerary, it is amazing.

[sonicbuffalo]

I love this thread....great information....keep it coming.......can't wait to hear about Aruba...we've been there and to Curacao but looking for something different to do. The last time we went with Bully.

[Canuck1954Mom]

Thanks so much BluJai, this has been great information. We are already booked for the carriage ride in Cartagena...now I'm really looking forward to it!:)

[BlueJai]

I love this thread....great information....keep it coming.......can't wait to hear about Aruba...we've been there and to Curacao but looking for something different to do. The last time we went with Bully.

 

Thanks for your nice comments. I always thought there wasn't a lot of info on the Sun (while waiting the 200+ days till we would board) so I wanted to share.

[BlueJai]

Thanks so much BluJai, this has been great information. We are already booked for the carriage ride in Cartagena...now I'm really looking forward to it!:)

 

Awesome! We really did enjoy it. We found that going early was good and we felt for the first time in Cartagena, it would give us a good view of the area. And, it is so convenient in that they pick you up right at the ship and deliver you back.

 

I hope you have a fantastic time!

[put me on a ship]

We're doing this itinerary in Dec., and the carriage ride sounds pretty cool! Can't wait for more of your review....Aruba and Curacao are new ports for us, as is Cartagena!

[BlueJai]

I have to tell you that as I sit here getting ready for the recap of Aruba, I am mourning the fact that a week ago I was sitting up on Deck 12 getting in every last bit of enjoyment of our vacation. But, I digress...

 

Our day started as usual, a little coffee, an hour walk on Deck 6 (where at this point in the cruise you could almost shoot a canon because there were so few people) and then trudge up the 5 flights of stairs for water and a rest.

 

Because we would be arriving in port later, we secured our seats on Deck 12 after breakfast and sat back to enjoy some sun. As I mentioned earlier, our group of 4 had expanded to 8 and we were fortunate that we all were early risers and enjoyed being on deck (meaning no one in our group was up at the crack of dawn putting towels on all the chairs!) But they were out in full force, there were days where the towels would be there early morning and no one claimed the seats for many hours (and some days not at all! - ooops, digressing again)

 

The Aruba stop is on Sunday and based on the CC forums, we learned that it was possible that some things would be closed. We were the only ship in port that day and so we figured things wouldn't be too busy. I did some research on CC and decided that we would go to Amsterdam Manor on Eagle Beach. All the beaches in Aruba are public so you can pretty much go anywhere, I just wanted to ensure that where ever we ended up, we had washrooms and food/drink if we wanted them (ok, really just wanted to make sure there were washrooms close by).

 

I had sent the people at Amsterdam Manor an email early February and they replied with some information about their facility and assured us it was a quick cab ride away (or I think you can also take a bus).

 

So we enjoyed Deck 12 until the rush of people leaving the ship was over and then we disembarked and went to the taxi stand which is just outside the terminal.

 

We had a bit of a wait to get a taxi - perhaps because is was Sunday. We were taken to Amsterdam Manor, which on the beach side is really a bar with some seating. We thought it wouldn't be too difficult to get chairs, but we were wrong. Perhaps because it was later in the day, all chairs were already 'sold'. Not a problem though, we were able to sit in the lounge area of the bar which is just a step up from the beach. We had great service from the staff, a great view of the beach and water, and we were able to sit there for a couple of hours - going back and forth to the water to cool off. The beach was amazing, the day was perfect.

 

We stayed only for a couple of hours then the bar staff called a cab for us. It was there within about 5 minutes. He took us back to the terminal where they have a number of shops with your basic souveniers - t-shirts, dresses etc. We wandered around for a bit, then back home to the ship.

 

The 4 of us parted company for a bit, and Dan and I ended up heading back to Deck 12. We hadn't made any plans for dinner at this point, nor were we even thinking about it. We were so enjoying the scenery and I think I might have ordered a bottle of wine - it was a great afternoon.

 

So, on the Sun they are doing something new - I think they have done it 2 or 3 times now. It is called 'Dinner under the Stars' and they do a big Caribbean buffet/BBQ on Deck 11. They set out extra tables and all the tables are set with placemats and cutlery. I can't remember what time they started serving but I think it went to 8:00ish. Our friends came up and found us still on deck, and we ended up getting a plate from the buffet. The food was excellent and it was a really nice change of pace.

 

A note here - you will always see officers out and about on the Sun. They are everywhere and approachable. Steven Jacobson was the hotel director on our trip and he was often seen at the pool buffet helping to serve. During Dinner under the Stars, he was working the carving station for quite some time, serving passengers and chatting to all. (He could also be found serving ice cream for passengers coming back on board - St. Thomas, or serving sauces during the sea days at the pool side buffet - great guy!)

 

At this point it is getting dark and I am still in my bathing suit on Deck 12. Dan had gone to the room earlier and changed so I ran down and got cleaned up and prepared a bag of laundry to be picked up by our room. steward. Came back up and we were getting ready to leave port so I ran around the ship trying to get some pictures of Aruba at night.

 

We probably sat out until 10:00ish (could have earlier or later ... wine haze :D) and we really enjoyed this evening. Definitely a little different and I think they are having pretty good success with this event.

 

We wandered around the ship for a bit, stopped in at Dazzles and then it was off to the Outdoor Cafe for Dan to find some chocolate chip cookies before calling it a day - and a great one it was.

 

 

Next up.... Curacao

[Arzeena]

Wow, lots of people going in October. Makes me wish we could go again (better check the lottery ticket :D)

I am sure you will enjoy this itinerary, it is amazing.

 

Come on over!:D

keep buying that lottery ticket!

[Nalagh]

Look at what you made me do to my poor husband, I asked him to pick dates for this ship and route! :p

 

I am so loving your review!

 

Cherie

[BlueJai]

Look at what you made me do to my poor husband, I asked him to pick dates for this ship and route! :p

 

I am so loving your review!

 

Cherie

 

Hey Cherie! I would definitely recommend this one! After being on the Sky for our warm up, the Sun was an amazingly relaxing trip. We absolutely loved the itinerary and there was a great balance between being on the go and chillin on deck with a big cold Ceasar and perhaps the odd glass (bottle) of wine.

 

I don't think you have been on the Sun, it is small like the Sky but the rooms are much bigger. The crew and staff are outstanding and I would go again in a minute if I could! Although after the Epic, it will seem ever so small to you.

 

On a side note, what do you use for your pictures to get them on here? I really want to post some but just haven't done the research to do it.

 

Say hey to Terri and I hope you guys are doing well. I guess you will leaving again soon!!! It was so great meeting you guys on the Sky and we really enjoyed our time together. I plan to do a quick review of the Sky when I am done with this one.

 

Jai & Dan