Review of NCL Sun W. Caribbean 10/15/06

[ialacruiser]

I'd like to start by saying we had such a great time on this cruise! While there are some small things that went wrong, on the whole, NCL staff did a fantastic job, and made our honeymoon amazing.

 

Embarkation/First Day

 

There was quite a long line for check-in at the pier. I think NCL did a good job of monitoring the line, and they had a place for us to sit down while we waited, without losing out place in line. The Latitudes line was quite a bit shorter, but we couldn't use it as this was our first cruise. We got checked in with no problem and go on board. Our cabin (8022) was nicer and bigger than expected. We LOVED having a balcony all to ourselves. The bathroom was tiny, but big enough for the two of us. There was plenty of drawer and closet space and lots of shelves. We ordered the anniversary package and the strawberries and wine were waiting for us in our room. We had dinner the first night at the buffet. The food was good, but there was quite a long line--it was the longest line I saw all week. We went up near the top of the ship for casting off, and it was lovely to watch New Orleans pass by. Our luggage was delivered in a timely fashion.

 

Monday morning neither of us felt very well. We had really rough seas and the ship was just rolling from side to side. We went to Seven Seas for lunch, but being at the back of the ship just made things worse, so we spent most of Monday in our cabin reading. This was not a lot of fun, but not NCL's fault! However, the rough seas meant that we could not get up to speed and we did arrive at our first stop over two hours late. We were feeling much better by Monday night, though, and were able to enjoy more of the ship. We also got our anniversary canapes Monday night, but these were not great.

 

Costa Maya

 

We were supposed to do the Boat Blast and Snorkel shore excursion, but Tuesday morning we found a letter on our door saying that it had been cancelled. I do wish that this had either been put under our door or there had been a general announcement about it, so we could have found out as quickly as possible. We went to the Shore Excursion desk to book another one, and the staff there were very helpful in showing us which excursions were available. We decided to go with a Mayan ruins expedition. After arriving at Costa Maya, we found the line for our excursion, only to be told that there wasn't enough time to go out to the ruins we had chosen, so we could go to Chacchoben (another set of ruins). We did decide to take this option, and had a good time on the excursion. If you have questions about it, or any other excursion, just ask--I don't want to go into too much detail here. When we got back to the ship, we did go to check and make sure our account had been charged the correct amount, and it had. So that was nice, and good customer service. We left Costa Maya pretty close to on time and set off for our next stop.

 

Guatemala

 

This was a fun stop for us! First, we got taken to our shore excursion on a boat instead of a bus, which always makes things more fun. We booked the Eco Kayak Adventure, which was run out of a local resort. We took a small boat to the resort, which was just beautiful. Before we got off the boat they told us when boats would run us back to the pier, and that we would be charged extra if we went back to the pier and then wanted to return to the resort. We did our kayaking excursion, which was fun, and then had a chance to enjoy the resort's other amenities, which included several swimming pools and some cool waterslides. They also had pool volleyball, a beach area, and several places with hammocks. There was a lighthouse that we climbed where you could get a beautiful view. The resort had a buffet lunch that they were getting ready to unveil when we left to go back to the boat. When we left that evening, all sorts of people gathered at the pier to wish us farewell. There were a ton of official vehicles with their lights on and horns blaring and lots of local people were dancing and waving--it was really great. Everyone was out on their balconies and we were all waving goodbye.

 

Belize

 

Belize was our favorite stop. We booked a really wonderful excursion--the Aerial Trek and cave tubing. Our bus ride out to the location was also lots of fun--the tour guide gave us lots of interesting information about Belize and didn't try to sell us anything. The zip lining was just an amazing experience. The whole area was just so lush and beautiful, and everyone we encountered on this excursion was professional, polite, and competent. We had a great lunch, and the cave tubing was a wonderful way to cool off. My husband and I decided that Belize was definitely a place we wanted to return to. We also found a cheap internet cafe near the pier where would could check e-mail for less than the cruise ship was charging.

 

Cozumel

 

In Cozumel we did the Dolphin Swim Adventure, which took place at Chakanaab Park. This was a good deal, because after the dolphin swim, we were able to explore the rest of the park. Although some of the areas were still being repaired from hurricane damage, there was still lots of fun to be had. We ended up at the beach and rented snorkel gear for $10 each, and had a lot of fun snorkeling around. We saw some beautiful fish and coral. After the excursion we were dropped back off near the pier, which is a very commercial area. We looked around some, but were pretty tired and my husband was a little sunburned, so we decided to go back to the boat.

 

Last Day / Debarkation

 

We enjoyed our last day at sea much more than the first, since we weren't sick. We did mostly hole up in our room (honeymooners), but did manage to get out and see a few shows. We finally had a chance to eat breakfast in the Seven Seas, which was wonderfully--husband finally got his eggs Benedict. We ate dinner that night (for our one week anniversary -- with the package) at Le Bistro. Service there was very slow, even though they were only half full, and it took us 2 hours to get through dinner. However, we had nowhere to go and a nice bottle of wine, so we didn't care.

 

Debarkation was pretty easy--we left our luggage out the night before and we were able to find it at the pier (although it wasn't where we were told to look). Our bill was as expected and we paid by credit card. My parents picked us up--the pier is not really set up well for people being picked up in cars--there was a very long line of people driving through. It was very sad to have our cards scanned that last time.

 

Food

 

Frankly, I was expecting average food from what I've read here--people comparing it to Olive Garden and so forth. I was pleasantly surprised to find that was not accurate. The food was amazing--there was only one night when I couldn't find anything I wanted as an entree and that's because I'm picky and don't like salmon or lamb. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner we ate so well on this cruise, I'm amazed that I didn't gain 10 pounds. We ate at Four Seasons whenever possible, and Seven Seas when the first wasn't open (I just like the decor better). We had the buffet on port days so that we could get done quickly. We did eat at the waffle station one morning--very yummy. Our food was always served at a correct temperature and I found the wait staff courteous and quick. Most meals we had, with 3 courses, took about 45 minutes. The only specialty restaurant we tried was Le Bistro, and the food there was fantastic, but, as I mentioned before, the service was slower. As we were advised on the boards, we had them box up our cake and had the fondue for dessert--it was good, but the filet mignon and the cream of forest mushroom soup were better. If you can't tell, I very much enjoyed the food.

 

Shows

 

We did attend most of the evening shows in the Stardust Lounge and enjoyed almost all of them. The Jean Ann Ryan company did a fantastic job on two of the shows, but we were not overly impressed with Cirque Pan. That may have been because it was the only show where we had talking children behind us, but it was a little nonsensical. However, they have fantastic singers. We also saw a comedian/juggler who was absolutely amazing.

 

Wow, this has gotten pretty long. :) In summary, I will just say that we had a great time, and I would be happy to answer any questions I can!

[newlywedcruisers]

Funny you should mention the decor difference between four seasons and seven seas. We ate at Four seasons Monday for lunch, and then went to Seven Seas for dinner. My DW Becky said, when we sat down, "isn't this where we sat for lunch?"

Anyways, glad you liked the ship, she was amazing to us. I bet next time you'll take the bonine (I know I will) when you get to sea!

[ialacruiser]

We actually were taking dramamine from before we got on the ship, and then switched to bonine after--neither one seemed to work very well. Or rather, they kept us from throwing up, but we were still kind of icky feeling. :) I saw a lot of people with the patch behind their ears--we might try that next time.

[KKeeganS]

Thanks for the review in general and the info on the cave tubing/zip lining in Belize in particular. Did you book that excursion well in advance? We're sailing there in March and I'm just wondering how much of a jump I need in booking.

 

Thanks!

[newlywedcruisers]

We actually were taking dramamine from before we got on the ship, and then switched to bonine after--neither one seemed to work very well. Or rather, they kept us from throwing up, but we were still kind of icky feeling. :) I saw a lot of people with the patch behind their ears--we might try that next time.

Wow, thats a shame. I figured I wouldn't be seasick so I didn't take any meds, but once I took the bonine I felt better.

How big were the swells? I think ours were in the neighborhood of 16 ft.

[Marlissa]

How big were the swells? I think ours were in the neighborhood of 16 ft.

 

Weren't you on the same cruise as OP?

[ialacruiser]

Thanks for the review in general and the info on the cave tubing/zip lining in Belize in particular. Did you book that excursion well in advance? We're sailing there in March and I'm just wondering how much of a jump I need in booking.

 

Thanks!

 

I am one of the very impatient ones who was fussing about the shore excursions not being up as promised. I booked it on the internet as soon as I could--so I don't really know what the demand was. Sorry I can't help you more.

[ialacruiser]

Weren't you on the same cruise as OP?

 

Yes, I think he was. :)

[newlywedcruisers]

Yes, I think he was. :)

... WOW... Way to read right? I just read "Sun Review" and figured becuase of todays date, it had to be this last 22-29 sailing.

 

You know the airplane commercials "Wanna get away fast?" That applies here :o

[KKeeganS]

... WOW... Way to read right? I just read "Sun Review" and figured becuase of todays date, it had to be this last 22-29 sailing.

 

You know the airplane commercials "Wanna get away fast?" That applies here :o

 

I bet most folks read your screenname and just figure there are other reasons you might not have noticed the swells (or you were flat out the reason the boat was rockin' ;) ) Congrats on our marriage!

 

Iala, thanks for the info. I'm actually the same way, so I'm just going to book now and not worry about it later!