Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

NCL Given Second Chance And...

PROCRUISE

By PROCRUISE,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

 Share

Recommended Posts

PROCRUISE

PROCRUISE

Posted
Posted

Our last, and only previous cruise with NCL was back in 2005. We cruised on The Star and did the Panama Canal itinerary. The cruise itself, through the canal, was wonderful. However, we found the ship crew to be less than friendly, cabins and balcony very small and the food, though very subjective, was frankly very poor. We basically wrote off NCL after the cruise.

 

Fast forward to 2013 and we were looking for a nice cruise to start 2014. We noticed a Southern Caribbean cruise on The NCL Sun leaving Miami on 1/1/14. The price for a balcony was good and the website we used offered a free room at The Hyatt Palace for 12/31/13. The big debate began whether we should risk using NCL again or go with CCL, HAL, Celebrity, or Princess who we had cruised with before with no complaints. Finally we decided to try NCL just one more time.

 

We arrived at the Port of Miami via The Hyatt shuttle at about 1050 hrs, which was in itself a strange experience since The Sun was the only ship there! The porters quickly took out luggage, we zoomed through security, checked in with a very friendly staff and had our boarding group tag ( number 10) and were seated by 1115 hrs! By 1130 hrs boarding started and we were on the ship around 1210 hrs. Our cabin (0050) was ready around 1330 hrs. The cabin was average size with lots of drawers and large closet for clothing, bed was comfortable, bathroom adequate and room steward immediately present to welcome us aboard.

 

Briefly this is what we found on NCL Sun: one of the most friendly staffs we've every cruised with, especially the senior officers who also attended our CC meet/mingle event. All of the evening shows were very good and the production numbers were exceptional. We ate all of our evening meals in The Seven Seas Dining Room and every meal was very good to excellent. We ate several small lunches in The Garden Cafe and found the food to be fresh and appealing. The daily activities gave us a large choice of things to do as well as the pleasure of relaxing and reading on our balcony, which we always enjoy. The ship was very clean and well maintained.

 

So, will we cruise with NCL again. Indeed! The NCL Sun was a very pleasant surprise, we were completely happy with the entire cruise and will definitely consider NCL in the future when looking at itineraries. Thank you to the entire crew and staff of The NCL Sun. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
DGP1111

DGP1111

Posted
Posted
. . . So, will we cruise with NCL again. Indeed! The NCL Sun was a very pleasant surprise, we were completely happy with the entire cruise and will definitely consider NCL in the future when looking at itineraries. Thank you to the entire crew and staff of The NCL Sun. :)

 

Glad to read you had an enjoyable cruise vacation.

Thanks for sharing. :)

NCL is my current 'go to' line.

 

.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
garycarla

garycarla

Posted
Posted
Our last, and only previous cruise with NCL was back in 2005. We cruised on The Star and did the Panama Canal itinerary. The cruise itself, through the canal, was wonderful. However, we found the ship crew to be less than friendly, cabins and balcony very small and the food, though very subjective, was frankly very poor. We basically wrote off NCL after the cruise. ...

 

Well, I was pleasantly surprised to see how this turned out. Sure expected a blast at NCL. So glad you had a great cruise.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Karysa

Karysa

Posted
Posted
Hey, the Sun is really, really good but try the Dawn. It is really, really great!!!

Welcome back. margretha

 

I like the observation lounge and great outdoor cafe that the SUN has and DAWN doesn't. Two voyages on each of these ships and I would take the SUN over the Dawn. I actually liked the Dawn in 2009 before the refurbishments than I did in 2011.

 

OP, glad you had a wonderful time on the SUN and I agree that the staff are fantastic on that ship.:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Starry Eyes

Starry Eyes

Posted
Posted

The Sun is an older ship yet delightful. I agree the senior officers are great...very visible and pleasant. I am glad the food was to your liking this time.

 

If cabin sizes are important to you, please realize the Sun, in general, has larger cabins than other NCL ships. Their newer ships have compact but serviceable cabins. That is enough for DH and I, but other people like a bit more floor space in the cabin. If you venture onto other NCL ships, yet want a bigger cabin, perhaps step up to a mini suite.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
newmexicoNita

newmexicoNita

Posted
Posted
Our last, and only previous cruise with NCL was back in 2005. We cruised on The Star and did the Panama Canal itinerary. The cruise itself, through the canal, was wonderful. However, we found the ship crew to be less than friendly, cabins and balcony very small and the food, though very subjective, was frankly very poor. We basically wrote off NCL after the cruise.

 

Fast forward to 2013 and we were looking for a nice cruise to start 2014. We noticed a Southern Caribbean cruise on The NCL Sun leaving Miami on 1/1/14. The price for a balcony was good and the website we used offered a free room at The Hyatt Palace for 12/31/13. The big debate began whether we should risk using NCL again or go with CCL, HAL, Celebrity, or Princess who we had cruised with before with no complaints. Finally we decided to try NCL just one more time.

 

We arrived at the Port of Miami via The Hyatt shuttle at about 1050 hrs, which was in itself a strange experience since The Sun was the only ship there! The porters quickly took out luggage, we zoomed through security, checked in with a very friendly staff and had our boarding group tag ( number 10) and were seated by 1115 hrs! By 1130 hrs boarding started and we were on the ship around 1210 hrs. Our cabin (0050) was ready around 1330 hrs. The cabin was average size with lots of drawers and large closet for clothing, bed was comfortable, bathroom adequate and room steward immediately present to welcome us aboard.

 

Briefly this is what we found on NCL Sun: one of the most friendly staffs we've every cruised with, especially the senior officers who also attended our CC meet/mingle event. All of the evening shows were very good and the production numbers were exceptional. We ate all of our evening meals in The Seven Seas Dining Room and every meal was very good to excellent. We ate several small lunches in The Garden Cafe and found the food to be fresh and appealing. The daily activities gave us a large choice of things to do as well as the pleasure of relaxing and reading on our balcony, which we always enjoy. The ship was very clean and well maintained.

 

So, will we cruise with NCL again. Indeed! The NCL Sun was a very pleasant surprise, we were completely happy with the entire cruise and will definitely consider NCL in the future when looking at itineraries. Thank you to the entire crew and staff of The NCL Sun. :)

 

Glad you took a gamble and cruised with them again. The Sun is a wonderful, no frills ship with a great crew...Most of the NCL ships take pride in friendly crew members and management, of course there are exceptions to every rule. We have experienced less the stiller service a few times, not only on NCL but other ships.It does make you wonder if you want to give it another try...

Link to comment
Share on other sites
BlueJai

BlueJai

Posted
Posted

I am so glad you gave NCL another chance and the Sun is wonderful. She is still my favourite ship (hoping for some new itineraries or good B2B's!) I have found great crew and staff on every ship but the Sun is still close to my heart. We will be on board is less than 4 weeks - not that I am counting :D

 

Great that you had a good trip!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
rsato

rsato

Posted
Posted

Obviously crews change with time and often reflect the priorities set by management. I was on the NCL Star in September 2013 and found the crew to be unusually friendly even by NCL standards. They weren't exactly Disney, but a lot more professional.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SCGamecock80

SCGamecock80

Posted
Posted
Our last, and only previous cruise with NCL was back in 2005. We cruised on The Star and did the Panama Canal itinerary. The cruise itself, through the canal, was wonderful. However, we found the ship crew to be less than friendly, cabins and balcony very small and the food, though very subjective, was frankly very poor. We basically wrote off NCL after the cruise.

 

VERY VERY HAPPY to read this review. We took our first NCL cruise over Thanksgiving on the Pearl. We were very disappointed in the staff overall. There were good things but the overall attitude took away from the cruise.

 

We had booked the SUN this March before booking the Nov Pearl trip so we were worried about cruising NCL again. But we have heard good things about the SUN and it seems to be a fav of many. My only concern is there are rumors that the staff is going to be pulled to the new big ship. I am hoping that will happen AFTER March.

 

We were drawn to NCL b/c of their itineraries and will cruise the other leg of the SUN if this trip goes well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Roxy84

Roxy84

Posted
Posted

Glad to read this review. We sailed on the Sun back in 2010 (British Isles, Norway, Iceland cruise). While the ports were amazing, we were not impressed with the service and entertainment. We want to do Alaska this year and were looking at the Sun again. Our favourite line is DCL , but for the price of and inside cabin we can get a balcony on the Sun, so perhaps it's time to give NCL another try. Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
PROCRUISE

PROCRUISE

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Our last, and only previous cruise with NCL was back in 2005. We cruised on The Star and did the Panama Canal itinerary. The cruise itself, through the canal, was wonderful. However, we found the ship crew to be less than friendly, cabins and balcony very small and the food, though very subjective, was frankly very poor. We basically wrote off NCL after the cruise.

 

VERY VERY HAPPY to read this review. We took our first NCL cruise over Thanksgiving on the Pearl. We were very disappointed in the staff overall. There were good things but the overall attitude took away from the cruise.

 

We had booked the SUN this March before booking the Nov Pearl trip so we were worried about cruising NCL again. But we have heard good things about the SUN and it seems to be a fav of many. My only concern is there are rumors that the staff is going to be pulled to the new big ship. I am hoping that will happen AFTER March.

 

We were drawn to NCL b/c of their itineraries and will cruise the other leg of the SUN if this trip goes well.

 

I don't think you'll be disappointed because of Ronny Borg, the Captain of The Sun. We went to his question/answer session and were VERY impressed. As he stated," I could spend most of my time in my office or "driving the ship." "However, in addition to wanting to make sure all our guests have a great cruise, I spend time with the crew members that right now are below, sorting trash and doing laundry because I want them to be happy also and I strive to make that happen." We instantly knew why the entire crew is so pleasant on The Sun. Enjoy your cruise! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...