(Semi?) - Live From the Sun | Panama Canal | MIA to SEA 04/21 - 05/11

[SailAwayWme]

I think I might have added myself. If not, I’m sure I’ll see anyone here at the events. It’s sort of a small ship from what I’m gathering, we are bound to run into each other. Unfortunately I’m not sure I filled out the link correctly but I’ll be aboard and in the groups. I’m excited to see others cruising along with me. If there is a way to DM contact me. 

[smillerholmes]

4 minutes ago, SailAwayWme said:

I think I might have added myself. If not, I’m sure I’ll see anyone here at the events. It’s sort of a small ship from what I’m gathering, we are bound to run into each other. Unfortunately I’m not sure I filled out the link correctly but I’ll be aboard and in the groups. I’m excited to see others cruising along with me. If there is a way to DM contact me. 

The Meet & Greet is Saturday, 04/22 at 10:30 AM in the Spinnaker Lounge - hope to see you there!

[SailAwayWme]

I filled if out I’m 92

[SailAwayWme]

I think that me3)

[smillerholmes]

I was getting a little antsy, but THE most important supply has finally arrived.  These little buggers are getting harder and harder to find!

 

 

 

[Travel Junkie Judy]

I hope some folks got their upgrades.  It looks like the suites are all sold out.

I just went and checked again and it shows that all cabins are gone except inside. 

I think we will have a full ship.

 

Judy

[smillerholmes]

T-24 hours to go...Bags are packed, checked in with AA.  Upgrade Advantage offer still shows "pending".  Inventory has appeared to be fluctuating the last few days with balconies and ocean view cabins showing up intermittently only to go away quickly.  This is a very full sailing so not much hope for an upgrade.  

[disneylover89]

Following along, have a wonderful time!

[IsanTom]

On 4/7/2023 at 11:12 PM, smillerholmes said:

Thanks! I will take any inside info I can get.

Following!

[mking8288]

Enjoy your TA ... 600 disembarked in NY and 200 embarked, with possible some staying onward for the next (PC) segment - and, everyone had to get off in NY to clear CBP - before being allowed to go back up the ship again (facial recognition used, it was quick for everyone).  

 

They should have the ship cleared in Miami easily & quickly, and then get you folks onboard ... Bon Voyage, we are T minus 48 hours on a different ship, all packed & ready to go too ... woohoo !!! 

[smillerholmes]

41 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

Enjoy your TA ... 600 disembarked in NY and 200 embarked, with possible some staying onward for the next (PC) segment - and, everyone had to get off in NY to clear CBP - before being allowed to go back up the ship again (facial recognition used, it was quick for everyone).  

 

They should have the ship cleared in Miami easily & quickly, and then get you folks onboard ... Bon Voyage, we are T minus 48 hours on a different ship, all packed & ready to go too ... woohoo !!! 

Thanks for the info!  Just realized that may be a factor in the delayed upgrades decisions.  Thanks again and have an awesome cruise yourself!

[Von & John]

We're here - Arrived late last night...

One for night & a bag drag...

 

[smillerholmes]

15 hours ago, Von & John said:

We're here - Arrived late last night...

One for night & a bag drag...

 

Tomorrow is today and I'm here to get this party started!

😆

[smillerholmes]

My apologies for the tardiness on this report - some internet problems, some I was just tired and some was information gathering so here goes....

 

Pictures to be uploaded after hours because the internet is ridiculously slow right now.

 

Day 1 - American Airlines did not disappoint.  Flight left on time and arrived on time - Miami Airport at 09:06.  I bought a transfer from NCL to get to the ship.  I've never flown into MIA so imagine my surprise when all the major cruise companies have their own little check in desk to assist guests.  You can even buy a transfer at that point if you had not already secured transportation.   I checked in and was surprised to find myself in group 2.  Group 1 was being called at that time.  Approximately 10 minutes later group 2 was called and our luggage was loaded by a friendly gentleman and  maybe another 15 minutes or so and we were on our way.  We made one more stop to pick up a few more passengers and headed to the port.

 

As we approached there were 5 ships readily visible, there could have been more.  Because I had been waiting to hear about my upgrade (that did not happen!) I didn't print my luggage tags, so when we got off the bus I had to wait for a porter to make a manual tag.  He was quick and efficient, but a couple of people left their bags near his work station that already had tags on them - as they were walking away he flat out asked them for a tip to handle their bags.  Interesting.  Even more interesting the passenger that left his bag turned around and said "that's what you get paid to do".  Oh my!

 

Side note:  Miami was moist and steamy.  Like REALLY moist and REALLY steamy.

 

While the signs were all in place for the various types of "specialty" cruisers - Casino etc.  everyone was directed to one line and there was no waiting for check in.   Check in was quick and efficient.  They took my picture - AGAIN and I was directed to the waiting area within 5 minutes.

 

As I was looking for a seat an announcement was made that Latitude levels Platinum and above could board the ship.  Boarding the ship took about 10 minutes.  You were immediately directed to your assembly station.  As the Sun is an older ship most of the assembly stations are actually outside on the deck.  I was checked in promptly and voila! Stepped on the ship at 11:35 AM.

 

As soon as I stepped on I was near the Photography/Library area and they had a station set up for accepting carry on bags until the cabins were available.  I declined, because all I had was my backpack. I was looking forward to lunch, but I did not want the buffet.  So I headed to Seven Seas, but it didn't open until noon.

 

Whenever I board a new ship I like to start at the top and work my way down so up to Deck 12 which has several of the specialty restaurants:  Los Lobos, Teppanyaki and Cagneys.  None were open so I headed down to Deck 11 - the buffet which kind of flows into Moderno and Moderno flows into the Sports Bar and the Sports bar flows into the TopSiders and the TopSiders flows back into the buffet.  So just a wee bit different.  I wanted to take a few pics, but it was so crazy and crowded, I thought I should just head down to the Seven Seas for lunch.  On the way there I passed Guest Services and it was the normal embarkation madness one would expect.

 

Lunch was yum - service was quick and efficient.  In fact, they were so efficient I had time to go scope out the Casino.  It's cute, but it's tiny and for those that want to know smoking is allowed throughout.

 

As I was trying to navigate my way through the ship I have to say I see why the 678 concept is so popular on the newer ships.  I had fun trying to figure out when to go up/down to get through/around the middle.  Just as my backpack was starting to get heavy on pops an announcement to let me know that I cannot proceed to my cabin because "finishing touches are being applied"!

 

I wandered around a bit and my first impression is that the ship is absolutely beautiful.  It's very clean and well maintained and I can see why there are many fans of this ship.

 

SPA:  There is a spa.  There is a "relaxation area"/coed and a sauna and steam room/single sex.  The cost for this was $159 for the full 20 days.  If I had to guess why this is not available for purchase on the web, it would be to avoid refund requests from those that would expect stone loungers and the thermal suite.

 

STARBUCKS:  The Starbucks on board is what they refer to as WPS "we proudly serve".  They only carry limited items from the normal menu, so you CANNOT use your Starbucks app to pay for drinks.  However, the "Starbucks package" works there just fine.  Go figure...

 

Cabins announced ready and available at 2:05 pm.  I can honestly say I was very surprised at the size of my cabin.  It's bigger than I expected, much bigger.  Lots of paperwork on my desk, but notably missing was my WATER - oh no!   Those (2) 1 liter bottles were nowhere to be found.  😁

 

Time for dinner...Four Seasons - food and service were excellent!  After that I headed to the Casino and in my best Forest Gump voice "that's all I have to say about that".

 

Pictures are coming....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mking8288]

Hello from the North Atlantic, Bermuda bound to your PC crossing on the Sun. 

 

EMC's satellite WiFi onboard is usable good, it's dinner time so that too busy with data traffic. I made sure VPN is turned off. 

 

 

[smillerholmes]

7 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

Hello from the North Atlantic, Bermuda bound to your PC crossing on the Sun. 

 

EMC's satellite WiFi onboard is usable good, it's dinner time so that too busy with data traffic. I made sure VPN is turned off. 

 

 

You are so lucky! 

[fastpitchdad]

8 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

Hello from the North Atlantic, Bermuda bound to your PC crossing on the Sun. 

 

EMC's satellite WiFi onboard is usable good, it's dinner time so that too busy with data traffic. I made sure VPN is turned off. 

 

 

 

That is MUCH better than I was able to get on the Sun last fall, did they upgrade the system. 

[mking8288]

1 hour ago, fastpitchdad said:

 

That is MUCH better than I was able to get on the Sun last fall, did they upgrade the system. 

I know, this is on the Google Pixel 7 Pro now, will fire up the Lenovo Chromebook later tonight & see how that go. 

 

Yeah, better than the Getaway in January or Joy last September, they didn't do any upgrade & sure isn't Starlink. 

 

Haven't checked w friends that just got off the Sun's TA earlier this week, which apparently had no upgrade either but said to be okay generally. 

 

Go figures 🤔🤔🤔

[smillerholmes]

Day 2

 

Slept like a baby.  Maybe it was the Casino drinks or the Inside cabin and all the darkness it offers and maybe not…

 

I didn’t go to bed exceptionally late, but I did sleep very late for me.  I barely made it to Seven Seas for breakfast which ended at 09:30. I usually peruse the Daily before going to bed, but I didn’t and while enjoying my breakfast I noted that Nicaragua had been officially cancelled with extended hours for the next port stop:  Acajutla, El Salvador.  I went to Guest Services because I remembered that I had not signed up for Dinner with the Officers, Ship Tour and Wine Tasting. 

 

For those wondering I did get a print out of my account and no credit for port fees had been posted.  However, credit for my excursion had been posted.

 

I made my way to the Spinnaker Lounge for the Meet & Greet and with 150+ people it was quite well attended.  @AlaskaNurse did an awesome job setting that up.  Tamera and her husband were gracious hosts.  The event included name tags, “at your service cards” and raffle entry for NCL swag.  There were 6 officers in attendance and lots of individuals offering information on games and gatherings around the ship as well as offers to share transport for private excursions.

 

Lunch at the Sports Bar with food I got from the buffet? Yep!  It was just too hot to eat outside.  I ran into one of the crew from my 23 days on the Getaway in September 2022 and she even remembered my drink.  Nothing fancy, but she called it our right away orange/cranberry juice mixed.  I want to say that made my day, but it left me thinking that combo may be weird?!?

 

Casino:  Not sure if this is common knowledge, but I forgot to cash in a voucher from my last cruise on the Epic in December.  When I called to book this cruise I mentioned it because I read the voucher and it looked like I was going to be out $500+, but Casino guy said it happens all the time just take the voucher to the cage and they will redeem it.  I was skeptical, because I’d never seen this mentioned on any of the threads I have read, but it was true!  She made a copy and sent the info over to Epic and a few hours later I had my cash.   

 

17:15 a solo gathering that ended with our names being taken and a promise that future gatherings would be held in the Spinnaker Lounge as the Havana Bar was too small to accommodate.  The “organizer” said he could not get reserevations for so many on short notice.

 

18:00 time for an Art History Seminar.  The Park West Auctioneer is “very passionate” about art and even though I knew the sell was coming he was still delightful to listen to.  A well put together event, with “extra” raffle tickets provided for the auction scheduled the following day.

 

Dinner at Four Seasons.  I love salmon tartare! I had planned to go to see Rachel Dudt: A Pocket–Sized Showgirl, but I became distracted by my extra $500+ dollars and the Casino won out.

[smillerholmes]

Day 3

 

Woke up and my body was feeling bad - as I left out for breakfast I saw my cabin attendant and let him know I needed a mattress topper.  

 

I think I may have forgotten to mention it, but upon meeting him on Day 1 I requested ice and towel animals whenever he had the time.  Ephraim is awsome and so far I have two!  Also, my missing water arrived as well as treats from the Casino.  I had been getting water from the Casino so no big deal, just noting for future water threads….

 

Seven Seas for breakfast.  The only thing I have found lacking is their choices of available teas.  That tea box is just sad.  

 

There was a Latitudes Event in the Spinnaker Lounge but alas, I missed it because well, the Casino.

 

12:30 The Champagne Art Auction.  I know this is not everyone’s cup of tea, but I love looking at the art and hearing stories about the artist that create it.  I bought nothing, but I had a good time.  Let the record show they served a decent champagne it was not the Duc - it was actually drinkable.  

 

Lunch from the buffet, but eaten in the Sports Bar again.  

 

I hung out in the steam room and sauna for a bit - nice and relaxing.

 

Shower followed by dinner at Seven Seas.  One thing I find odd.  I have heard several of the other servers taking orders asking about allergies.  None of my servers have asked me which is not the norm.  I don’t order anything with raw tomatoes, but I know they sometimes use tomato for garnish so I mention it.  Every other ship that’s the first thing they ask or if it’s already in their system and they confirm.

 

A nightcap in the Casino and early to bed because tomorrow is Cartagena.

[smillerholmes]

Day 4

 

We are already docked and I head to breakfast in Seven Seas…uneventful with the exception of a couple next to me bickering about “alone time”.  And they were speaking loudly enough for a couple two tables away to turn to stare at them.  As I was sitting next to them I found it extremely awkward and I had to focus really hard on reading my Freestyle Daily.  Just as I was finishing up breakfast the ship lost power.  The power came back on about 30 minutes later.

 

For Cartagena I bought the HOHO excursion.  I ended up not using it because as I exited the ship it was so hot I just knew I would be miserable on that bus.  So, I walked for a bit and came upon the Port Oasis.  A sanctuary for animals from failed smuggling attempts that are found and rehomed here.  You know there’s a gift shop…but I will say everything was reasonably priced. 

 

They had a Juan Valdez cafe…anybody who knows me knows that even though it was steamy hot outside I had to sample the goods.  Pretty good even though I’m pretty sure Juan Valdez did *not* pick those beans.

 

I returned to the ship got started writing this update only to have the power fail again.  No internet and no air conditioning.  All aboard time is 13:30 and as I sit here many are returning from excursions to find no A/C and no elevators.

 

It’s approximately noon and there are a couple of servers walking around in the atrium delivering sandwiches (chicken salad, tuna salad or pork) as well as water.  There have been 3 announcements from the Cruise Director indicating “testing” continues.  It is quite warm in this area.  There is now a small army including Cruise Next staff  distributing sandwiches and water between floors 5, 6 and 7.  This doesn’t look good for the “testing”  Still no power.  

 

Power on at about 13:20.  And because of that the internet is even slower than usual.   Grrr….pictures coming.

[www3traveler]

WOW!!!  What an adventure.  Have they said why the power was out?

 

When you can, would you please be kind enough to post a list of the Officers-- both Bridge and Hotel?  Thank You

 

I have very fond memories of a cruise on The Sun a long time ago.

[JIMESOPUS]

I truly hope this " power" issue is resolved before 5/11, DW will not be happy.

When we boarded the Prima last year for the TA the power went out. I have read since then that there is still a random power issue with her.

Edited April 24, 2023 by JIMESOPUS

[smillerholmes]

[smillerholmes]

The Captain just came on, we are here until midnight. All systems are not back online yet. I was in the Atrium and when I returned to my room, I had no power. It's 87F and very humid. Only the TopSiders is available for food right now.