12/10/2006 The Sun Also Rises

[Retired not Expired]

12/10/06 The Sun Also Rises

From my view looking from the Intercontinental Hotel at 4:00 AM this Sunday morning, I could see a light rain falling. Even through the rain I knew a Sun would rise on the horizon. This was the NCL Sun as it made it’s way up the Mississippi River, its lights glistening in the mist from the river. Our home for the next week looked beautiful and inviting as we saw it at the pier. Life looks good on the Mississippi.

 

The Intercontinental made a very pleasant hotel for a pre-cruise in New Orleans, quiet, well maintained, and a staff that was ever vigilant in their quest to serve their guests. Each time we would pause while walking around the hotel, a staff member would appear to see if we needed anything or help finding something. For us, it was the perfect place for one night to find peace and a good restful sleep prior to our cruise. For those spending longer or wanting to be in the action, it may be a little out of the hot spots. The restaurant in the hotel was elegant with great food and service but may be a little pricey for those looking for something a little more simple. Only other things near were sandwich shops that close early on Saturday.

 

We found the Sun to be a beautiful ship with a crew that was hard working, pleasant, and very eager to please. We had the pleasure of meeting with Captain Paul von Knorring on a couple of occasions and speaking with him at length. This is a very soft spoken and dignified man who takes great pride in his ship, his crew, and his company. What really impressed me about him was the attentive way he listened to those speaking to him. He would look you in the eye and ask questions to be sure he understood the point you were trying to make. He wanted to know what you thought, good or bad. These same qualities were imbedded in his crew. They listened, reacted, and served with dignity, grace, and a smile.

 

Embarkation went well despite many showing up between noon and two. The one drawback were the Longshoremen taking the bags. There was no organization and they seems to care less about doing anything more than talking amongst themselves. I believe tips may have been the main thing for them as one passed by several people ahead of me when he saw money in my hand. He took my bags, received his tip, pointed me in the direction of the entry, and slowly took my bags to the carts. I believe the message they were giving was, have tip money in hand unless you want to stand there a while.

 

The lines were very long to security but with three scanners going, it only took about ten minutes. Lines were again long for check-in but we bypassed that by going to the VIP lounge since we had a Penthouse (9203). We were only a couple minutes before walking onto the ship. My advice would be to get there very early (11:00) or wait until after 2:00 to perhaps miss this large crowd.

 

I was immediately concerned about the amount of care taken by the crew to prevent sickness on this ship. It was much more than I had ever seen before. Every crew member who interacted with passengers, like the ones scanning your cards, wore rubber gloves. Each time you embarked, a crew member would spray your hands with a spray bottle. Each dining room had a crew member to make sure you used the hand sanitizer. Every Freestyle Daily had a blurb telling you to wash and sanitize frequently, especially when returning to the ship. There were also frequent mention of it on the TV. I never saw nor heard of anyone getting sick with Norovirus or anything else but motion sickness the first day and the buffet was self-serve, so perhaps NCL is just becoming more proactive on this.

 

The muster drill took place at 4:45 and only lasted about 5-6 minutes. Very painless. Of course, everyone looked elegant in their orange vests.

 

Only a couple of negatives. We were disappointed in that the ship was not all decked out for Christmas. A tree here and there and a couple of Poinsettias were all we found. We expected much more.

 

I also wish NCL would follow RCCL and place benches and deck chairs on the Promenade deck. Some say it’s because of the lifeboats but RCCL is set up the same. They place the chairs there after the muster drill and it is a wonderful place to get away from the noise of the pool deck and helps alleviate so many vying for a chair up there. It is also much more out of the elements when it rains. There is plenty of room by the bulkheads for the chairs, leaving the area for walking and running free. In fact, it causes people to congregate more by the bulkheads rather than the rails leaving more area open. RCCL also places ashtrays by the chairs on the Starboard side removing more of the smoke from the pool deck. With the open sides of the Promenade deck, the smoke quickly dissipates out to sea. Deck chairs on the Promenade are a win-win for everyone.

 

Food. A lot has been said here on CC lately about food. Although we want to believe we make up a cross section of cruisers, we really only make up a small percent of all cruisers and those with something negative to say will speak up more often than someone with a positive view. I believe I can sum up the views held by the majority by saying that on Friday night at the end of the shows when the crews come on stage to say goodbye, the largest, by far, of the cheers and applause was when the Chefs and kitchen staff were introduced.. It was very, very evident that on this cruise, the food and the new menus were a big hit with the majority of the passengers. Meat, Ha, there was lots of meat. Prime Rib, Steak, Pork Chops, Chicken, Duck, Veal, Fish and Seafood. Portions were adequate and presentation was very good. I have to say though, that I did not eat one meal in the buffet the whole trip. I did walk through the buffet twice and many did eat there and what I saw looked good. Many of the people eating there were dressed good enough for the main dining rooms so they didn’t eat there just to keep from dressing up. By the way, each Freestyle Daily plus signs in front of the dining rooms, stated no jeans, shorts, or tank tops permitted in any dining room after 5:30 PM except the buffet, Las Ramblas, and the Sports Bar. They did enforce it.

 

For our evening meals, we ate twice in the Four Seasons and once in the Seven Seas, both main dining rooms. We ate once each in East Meets West, Il Adagio, Le Bistro, and in one that is under used, perhaps because it is called Healthy Choice and Cooking Light, Pacific Heights. Those who skip Pacific Heights are missing a wonderful place to dine. No charge for this restaurant on this ship but reservations are suggested. Service was perhaps too good in all of these. None took more than 1 ½ hours and most less. We had no wait and no reservations for the main dining rooms.

 

As well as the Captain, I also talked with the Hotel Director, the Dining Room Supervisor, Head of Housekeeping, the Personnel Director, as well as several other Officers and Supervisors as we were invited to a couple different events with them all present. All told me they were very pleased with the response they have been getting from the new menus and I added my kudos to them as well.

 

I now have to mention five people who went well above and beyond to make this cruise very special to us. First is our Concierge, Mareike Temmen, a very sweet young lady from Germany, and Roel & Harry, our Butlers. These three not only took care of anything we asked of them, but checked with us often to see if they could do more or if we needed anything. The last two are Rommel Almanza and Norman Gordon, our Stateroom Stewards. Not only did they keep our cabin the cleanest and most comfortable we’ve ever had, they never met us anywhere on the ship without a smile that would light up the room and, like the other three, ask if there was anything else they could do for us.. These five are a great asset to Captain Knorring, this ship, and to NCL. They are to be commended and I highly recommend that NCL keep them in mind for any promotion for any position they may be qualified for.

 

My wife and I are older and limited in what we can do. I was very disappointed in tours that were available for people like us. There were very few that we could do and those were spending 2/3 of the time on busses not set up for Americans with narrow seats and little leg room and only 1/3 of the time at the points of interest. This cruise is ideal for those who can do the water activities like tubing, snorkel, scuba, kayaking, etc. With pristine waters and the finest reef in the Western part of the world, this is the cruise for those that can do these things.

 

One very negative and perhaps dangerous thing is the amount of people now using Express Disembarkation. On this ship, the elevators could not be used as people had them stuck on Deck 6 trying to get off with their luggage. The halls were full and they could not get off. All stairwells were also blocked. The ship was cut in half by this mass of people, many not happy. If there had been a medical emergency or a fire, it could have been chaos. My wife and I had a very hard time getting through to get to Deck 5 for our VIP disembarkation. The Express took almost two hours, 7 to 9, VIP at 9:00 and then the rest. From what I understand, lines were also long for immigration during the Express. For our VIP, we found our bags in less than a minute, about 30 seconds for immigration, and we were getting in a cab. I would imagine the rest had it easy too as there couldn’t have been that many left on the ship after Express. NCL needs to do something about this. If you don’t have a very early flight, I would NOT recommend Express Disembarkation. Stay another day or two in a hotel or get a late flight and enjoy the ship a while longer. It will end your cruise on a much more pleasant note.

 

We stayed over another day and stayed at the Ramada on Bourbon Street, right in the heart of the action in the French Quarters. I do recommend this hotel but try to get one of the rooms overlooking the courtyard rather than the street. Those overlooking the Courtyard are very quiet and has a door that opens onto a lanai. Since the Saints were in town, the hotel had been booked the night before and our room was not ready since we got there at 9:30 AM. They pre-checked us in and the Bell Captain stored our luggage leaving us free to roam. The blocks are very short in the French Quarters and we were only 1 ½ blocks from Pat O’Brien’s and four blocks, one east and three south, to Jackson Square, the St Louis Cathedral, the French Market, and Café de Monde for those wonderful beignets and coffee. We headed there first for the coffee and Beignets, then roamed a while taking in the sights. We had lunch just on the west side of the Square and headed back towards the hotel. Not much action going on except around the Square at this time of the day. Our room was ready and we were very pleased with it. Very clean and nicely done. The staff at this hotel was also very helpful and accommodating.

 

We spent most of the afternoon on the lanai enjoying the mid 70’s and sunshine, of which we had seen little on the cruise. After the sun went down and a shower for us, we headed back out. What a difference a few hours make. The streets were full and music blaring from every bar, shops and restaurants open. We decided to have dinner at the Gumbo Café about a block and a half from Jackson Square. They were full, so we spent some time talking to the owner who said the business was back to about 60% of pre-Katrina. With the amount of people on the streets, it was hard to imagine it wasn’t back more than that. We had a wonderful dinner of Red Beans and Rice with Smoked Sausage and then wandered down to Jackson Square to watch a large crowd gathering for a 60 year tradition of Christmas Carols in Jackson Square. At this point, we have had the Beignets and Red Beans and Rice, so we decided to complete the trio. We headed to Pat O’Brien’s for a Hurricane. It was as it was more than 40 years ago when we were last there. Those Hurricane glasses will now sit beside their 40 year old brothers in our sunroom. How great it was to see New Orleans coming back.

 

The title of my review is “The Sun also rises.” And the NCL Sun did rise to the occasion despite the clouds and rain we had through much of the week. When the NCL Spirit sails into New Orleans next November 18th to replace the Sun, it will have some tough shoes to fill. We’ll be on that cruise also so we expect it to live up to what the Sun has done. We’ll let you know.

 

Next up is the Pride of Aloha on January 28. This will be our second time on the Aloha but for the time being, we will savor our time on the Sun.

[hotspur]

Very thoughtful, informative, helpful review. Thanks, R not E. A pleasure having you on this board.

[mbisson]

R and E

Thanks for a great review. We've sailed the Sun twice and really enjoy that ship.

 

Sounds almost like express disembarkation might be becoming "too" popular. Even though we enjoy it, maybe NCL should rethink that one.

 

I always look forward to your postings on the board!

 

take care

-Monte

[Tarheelbelle]

We were on the 11/26 sailing of the Sun. There were Christmas trees, and lots of pine roping and red bows on all of the bannisters in the atrium and the steps that go to the main restaurants. Did they remove these?

["Only a couple of negatives. We were disappointed in that the ship was not all decked out for Christmas. A tree here and there and a couple of Poinsettias were all we found. We expected much more."]

 

We stayed in the Intercontinental on St. Charles 3 nights precruise and found it to be great too!!

[Don Haynes]

I agree. Express has turned into Mass disembarkation. Please return to the color system for the floors and call them one at a time.

[dwrist]

Retired--I hope the wonderful rest and peace that you and your wonderful wife needed was given to you both. What a wonderful way to descibe NO and the Sun. I could picture it in my mind. Thanks.:)

 

<..I too wonder if express disembarkation will be done away..>

[electricron]

Retired--I hope the wonderful rest and peace that you and your wonderful wife needed was given to you both. What a wonderful way to descibe NO and the Sun. I could picture it in my mind. Thanks.:)

 

<..I too wonder if express disembarkation will be done away..>

 

Who cares if they do?

Just because it's available doesn't mean you have to do it.

Do what I did, relax in your cabin, watch some TV, or drink some sodas with your soda card in the bars, and wait for the Express Diesmbarkation (I meant Mass Disembarkation) line to dissipate.

Within an hour, it will be gone, and you will be able to really express your way through Customs.

All you have to do is remember to book a later flight.

.

[NJLVW]

Retired, what a wonderful review. Very rounded. We will be back onboard her in March and I truly can't wait. It's so nice when there are folks like you who get home and do post a review. Positive or otherwise. I enjoy reading other peoples opinions. I am glad to hear the Intercontinental is nice as well as quiet. We will be staying there for our pre-cruise in March.

[WE LIKE TO CRUISE]

THANKS FOR THE REVIEW. MY WIFE AND I WILL BE ON THE SUN MARCH/25/2007 THANKS A KEEP CRUISING.;)

[whatawonderfulworld]

Welcome back. I enjoyed reading your review very much.

 

When we did express disembarkation off the Dawn it went very smoothly. We met the concierge in the theater and off we went...our luggage was outside and it went very quickly. Was the jam up caused by too many folks with just carryon's carrying them off?

 

 

Again, welcome back and thanks for the insightful review.

 

Ciao,

 

W A W W

[tpear3]

Thank you for your review. We cruise on the Sun this Sunday and are very excited. Did you go to any of the shows? Were the seas rough? You mentioned little sun--we are hoping for a change in the weather!!!

[Cosmopolitan]

RnE ~

 

Great review.

 

Your review is just like your posts...always level-headed and informative.

Thank you:)

 

I agree, express debarkation has gotten out of hand.

 

We are fortunate enough, like you, to have VIP debarkation BUT we have noticed (5 NCL cruises in the past 2 years) that the "express" has gone from bad to worse!

 

Our last cruise in Sept., '06, the passengers were all "screaming" at each other. Really screaming and rude! Holding elevators/blocking elevators and they all had many suitcases.

 

Then, the VIP people were complaining that they were held up by "express" people...it was a mess.

 

Our first NCL cruise did NOT have the express debarkation and it was much smoother.

 

NCL may have to take another look at this.

 

Glad you had a great cruise.

 

Have a great POA.

 

Look forward to your review:)

[IDKaren]

Embarkation went well despite many showing up between noon and two. The one drawback were the Longshoremen taking the bags. There was no organization and they seems to care less about doing anything more than talking amongst themselves. I believe tips may have been the main thing for them as one passed by several people ahead of me when he saw money in my hand. He took my bags, received his tip, pointed me in the direction of the entry, and slowly took my bags to the carts. I believe the message they were giving was, have tip money in hand unless you want to stand there a while

 

Thank you for your great review- I am on countdown till Jan 28.

Question regarding luggage- do you have to give up your luggage or can you carry it on. I travel with only a carryon size and back pack each-do these need to be taken by the porters or can I do it? THanks so much!

[Retired not Expired]

Tarheelbelle……You are right. I forgot, there was those Pine Roping on the rails. It may be I had just set my expectations way too high. I have never done a December cruise and had read about all the great decorations on the ships and was expecting a WOW Factor which I didn’t see. I’m the Tim Taylor (Home Improvement) of our neighborhood. My electric bill in my all electric home doubles with my outside decorations at Christmas. My bill drops a lot in January although it is much colder. This whole town goes all out and there is a lot of the WOW Factor. I was just expecting much more on the ship.

 

Dwrist……Thank you so much. The cruise did it’s job for us.

 

Whatawonderfulworld…….The jam up at disembarkation had very few people with just carry-ons. Most had all their luggage and a number had WAY too much to handle in this type situation.

 

Tpear3.……We saw a couple of the Jean Ann Ryan Shows. My wife enjoyed both very much. I did not care for the Cirque Pan show but that’s just not my type of entertainment. The cast is very talented. I’ve been involved in live shows here in Branson and could see a few rough edges at times but this was due to them putting on several different shows a week and not their talent. I thought they were exceptional when you look at all they are doing.

 

After we left the River into the Gulf around 1:00 AM Monday morning, the seas were a little rough (Up to 12 foot) until we reached the Yucatan that night and then smoothed out the rest of the cruise. I believe the frequency of the waves made this seem a little rougher. I’ve been in 20-25 foot seas that didn’t seem this bad. My wife would not take her meds like I asked her to as we left New Orleans and had motion sickness bad until the meds kicked in late Monday afternoon. If you are prone, start the meds when you leave New Orleans. That gives it 7-8 hours to start working before you hit the open water. Coming back was a breeze. The cruise prior had it bad coming back.

 

We were the second week of a two week cycle of clouds and showers. It did not start clearing until Friday afternoon. Fortunately for us, the rain always stopped when we were out except once so it did not affect us that much but I’m sure some were disappointed. The humidity did make the low 80’s seem much hotter. We’ve always had great weather on our cruises so I guess this was just our turn but it did not dampen the time we had.

 

IDKaren……Yes, you can carry on your luggage. It should fit through an airport type scanner for you to do so but I have seen people with much larger pieces take them through. They were hand searched.

[samtig]

Thanks so much for your review. The Sun's our favorite ship & we're going again in Feb. Can't wait!

[jmcdon7230]

"I did walk through the buffet twice and many did eat there and what I saw looked good. Many of the people eating there were dressed good enough for the main dining rooms so they didn’t eat there just to keep from dressing up."

 

This reminds me of a cousin who was recently on an NCL ship. I asked her how was the food in the main dining rooms compared to the speciality restaurants and she told me that they only ate at the "cafeteria" because they thought there was an extra fee to eat in the main dining rooms!

 

By the way.....she thought the food was "great".....ha, ha.

[Oppgaard]

We were on the same cruise as RETIRED and also in a Penthouse Suite just a few doors down from them.

 

I was getting ready to write a review but it would be almost exactly the same as the one posted here. The only difference would be the entertainment. I was not happy with the Jean Ann Ryan production shows. Perhaps it is because we cruise so often but the material they used is overdone plus it is too drab, dreary and depressing. I do not care to hear from Phantom, Les Mis, etc. I feel that a cruise ship production should be more upbeat, colorful and use material that would be more uplifiting. No, I don't mean rap, heavy metal, etc. but some great numbers from outstanding musicals with colorful costumes. The entertainers were very good and a couple were outstanding but in different material could have been amazing. I have a degree in Theatre Arts and can be a little picky to please so take this into consideration.

 

Once again, it was a fabulous cruise and we had a great time. We just now found out through cruise critic that our scheduled cruise in Hawaii on the SUN is going to be changed to the PRIDE OF ALOHA with a change in itinerary. We were looking forward to the SUN again but will go with the flow.

[Retired not Expired]

 

Once again, it was a fabulous cruise and we had a great time. We just now found out through cruise critic that our scheduled cruise in Hawaii on the SUN is going to be changed to the PRIDE OF ALOHA with a change in itinerary. We were looking forward to the SUN again but will go with the flow.

 

I've been on the Aloha before and will be on her again next month. Had a great cruise the first time and expect the same again.

 

The two ships have the same layout. When I was on the Sun, I felt right at home from being on the Aloha. Everything is in the same place. Main difference you will find is no casino being in Hawaii and the almost American crew which I found to be very good and friendly.

[cnjones1]

New menus! I'm so happy to hear it was a big hit! I hope someone posts them on these boards soon... Thanks for your review, it was lovely and informative!

[electricron]

I've been on the Aloha before and will be on her again next month. Had a great cruise the first time and expect the same again.

 

The two ships have the same layout. When I was on the Sun, I felt right at home from being on the Aloha. Everything is in the same place. Main difference you will find is no casino being in Hawaii and the almost American crew which I found to be very good and friendly.

 

Not everything is the same, the Sun has 26 Mini-Suites plus two more Owner's Suites forward on Deck 11 that the Pride of Aloha doesn't have. Instead the Pride of Aloha has the Spa and Outrigger Lounge forward on Deck 11, while the Sun also has the Spa on Deck 11, however the Observation Lounge is on Deck 12.

 

So, at the very top of these two sister ships, there are differences. Out of 1001 cabins, the Sun has slightly less than 30 more suites, including Mini-Suites. Although that's less than 3% difference, if you had previously booked the Sun's Deck 12 Mini-Suites, the Pride of Aloha can't match those accomodiations.

 

If these 3% of the Sun's passengers will not accept less, then the only ships sailing in Hawaii with Mini-Suites will be the Pride of America and Pride of Hawaii, which should have plenty of these cabins to spare. Only problem, they will be sailing 7 day itineraries vs the 10 or 11 days by the Pride of Aloha.

 

They will have to make the choice between rebooking for the cruise duration or for the cabins. I hope NCL offers compensation acceptable to most of these passengers. There will always be a few who will never be satisfied with the changes, and I'm sure we'll read about most of them here.

[whatawonderfulworld]

I knew there was something else I forgot to address last night. Out of our traveling group of 4, two have arthritis, one significant. We walk distances but grabbing/grasping while doable, is difficult.

 

When looking over shorex's I note that they have a difficulty level assigned. Have you found those levels to be accurate and would you be so kind to elaborate?

 

Many thanks.

 

Ciao,

 

W A W W

[Retired not Expired]

I knew there was something else I forgot to address last night. Out of our traveling group of 4, two have arthritis, one significant. We walk distances but grabbing/grasping while doable, is difficult.

 

When looking over shorex's I note that they have a difficulty level assigned. Have you found those levels to be accurate and would you be so kind to elaborate?

 

Many thanks.

 

Ciao,

 

W A W W

 

I've found the Level 1 (Easy) Tours to be the type anyone can do. There may be some minor obstacles but nothing like major stair climbing. I've done a few Level 2 Tour and made them but they are normally my limit. I can be on my feet 10-15 minutes and climb a couple flights of stairs. If walking slowly, I can most times go 20-25 minutes as standing hurts worse.

 

The worse thing is the mode of transportation in the Caribbean. They will jam 10-12 in a van for 6-8 making it hard to get in and out plus you are in there so tight you can't move. I need to move my legs once in a while. Even the busses have the seats much closer together than in the States and those are close enough.