The Sun Alaska May 13 to 20

[thawan]

Alaska NCL Sun May 13 – 20, 2007

 

About us: This was our second cruise, the first was the Wind to Alaska last year, which we loved and DH did not think we could top it. Little did he know. LOL

 

Embarkation day. We arrived at Canada Place about 12:45, little or no line ups, I think port staff at Canada Place took the fiasco of May 4th to heart as there where staff everywhere giving directions. I saw the Alaskan coupon book, at least 3 different places, before boarding. I would recommend getting it, as it has some history, coupons and maps of the ports. We were sitting in the Garden Café (after dropping off carry ons) by 1:15

 

The ship. Is well maintained and clean, with the sanitizer globes at the entrance of all eating areas and the casino. It was funny to watch when people tried to walk past the sanitizer, as the staff would step in front of the passenger, smile and point to the globe. Even funnier when it was a 5’ maybe a 100lb lady staff member and the cruiser was 6” 200lb man. I saw that more than once.

 

The cabin: We had an inside, bottom deck, in the middle. Yes it was small, but had lots of drawers, hangers and shelves. It was also nice to have a little frig. There was a coffee maker in the room, but I never used it, as we preferred to have our coffee on deck.

 

The food, We didn’t do any specialty restraints as we didn’t want to have a set dining time. We had dinner in the Four Seasons twice. Very good (and hot) both times. One morning we had the made to order omelets and another the waffles, both very good.

The rest of the time we did the buffet. I know it sounds silly but the variety was good, and mid week I discovered the cold peas. I don’t know how they did it, but they tasted like they had been picked and shelled just before serving. The majority of the desserts were good too.

 

The staff is so friendly and cheerful, even at 5:30am I still got a cheerful good morning. DH and I wore our Wind hoodies a lot. And talked to a number of staff that had been on the Wind. One waiter told us that most of the Wind staff were on the Sun. The drink waiters were always asking if you wanted a drink but not enough to be annoying. If you had a coffee or something in front of you, they didn’t ask.

 

The photos: They were around, but again not enough to be annoying, we even bought 3. We tendered in Ketchikan and I really don’t remember if they were set up there or not. Juneau they separated everyone to take 2 pictures and dh was thro before I had a chance to get both of us in one picture. In Skagway I explained to dh that I wanted us both in the picture, when they tried to separate us I told them I wanted us together. And I was directed a little further on, where they had the anchor set up. Which was good for them, cause I bought that one.

 

Entertainment.There was the usual games that the CD staff put on. Tho not much at the pools because it was too cold most of the time. There were good shows in the different bars, but our favorite was Duo Royal in the observation lounge. She had a very good voice. They did a tribute to Patsy Cline that was really good.

 

Shows, sorry not our thing so we didn’t go to any.

 

Ketchikan. The Sun tendered, we had never tendered before but the Sun crew made it painless. We just did a walking tour on our own, including Creek street, interesting little shops. We made it a point to go to Cedar Chest Fine Arts & Gifts on Main St. (we were there last year). A very nice selection of reasonably priced souvenirs. I got a pair of earrings to go with the necklace I got last year. Must have been in the mid 70f when we sailed away.

 

Juneau. We just did a walkabout, then about 11am it started raining – hard. So we went back to the ship to get ready for our Tracy Arm Fjord & Glacier Explorer excursion. That catamaran sure can move, so if prone to seasickness, take something. We did not get all the way in to Sawyer glacier, two more turns and we would have. But on the way to Tracy arm we saw whales!!. The catamaran stopped for about 15 min. We saw them breeching. It was like they were putting on a show just for us, saying come on in and play the waters fine.

 

Skagway: We were docked at the Ore dock, which was not a problem. We had booked the Glacier Point Wilderness Safari but when we got to the cabin there was a notice that it had been cancelled due to the fact that the lake was still frozen.

 

So the second choice was the Ultimate Yukon and White Pass Railroad. What a delightful trip. There were 3 big buses waiting for us. Very comfortable seats, lot of leg room (dh is 6’ 3”) individual airflow. The young girl (looked 17 & maybe a 100lbs) collecting the tickets was actually our bus driver. The first thing she said after she introduced herself was that she was fully qualified and had been training for 3 months. Karly was absolutely delightful, pointing out what we were seeing and giving history of the passing scenery. We could not have asked for a better guide.

 

Our first stop was Caribou Crossing and a wonderful lunch, barbeque chicken, baked potato, coleslaw, coffee and tea. I saw the 4 other buses and thought oh great we are going to spend half the time here waiting in line to get some food, not going to happen, we’ll have our granola bars first. But we got in line and it was a slow walk and they had lots of tables to sit at. We only got to see the gift shop (wanting something to prove we were in the Yukon) but the other buildings looked interesting.

 

Our second stop was Car Crossing. All I can say is interesting, but beautiful scenery. We then drove to Emerald Lake, It was about 10% frozen, but we able to see the colour. Karly then drove us to Frazer to catch the train. Which was delightful, Dh spent the whole trip on the transom. Which he had mainly to himself because the others were not dressed warm enough.

 

We took a lot of pictures from inside the bus, Karly told us they were specially designed from Kodak. If you angled the camera slightly you would not get window reflection, but the best was dh sitting on the isle seat, using the zoom to get past ppl..

 

For those that do not want to drive, I would highly recommend this tour.

 

Disembarking: We were the third to last colour group. So we waited (at the Outdoor Café) till the colour before us was called, then went down and got our carry ons, and again it was a slow walk from ship to cab, with no real waiting time between. We must have been among the last 100 people off.

 

We did free style dinning as it was meant to be. We got hungry, we went looking for something to eat. We ate when and where WE wanted to. All in all a great cruise. And yes dh thinks this years topped last years.

 

p.s. I was thinking about the cruise at work today and I can’t think of one thing that went wrong or was even annoying.

[mbisson]

All in all a great cruise. And yes dh thinks this years topped last years.

 

p.s. I was thinking about the cruise at work today and I can’t think of one thing that went wrong or was even annoying.

 

 

So what's up for next year? We'll be on the Pearl :D

 

Glad you had a great cruise. We like the Sun as well

[treenrn]

Thanks for the review, I will be on the Sun June 3-10, can't wait! Glad you enjoyed yourself.

[Droopy_Sails]

In all the interest surrounding the new ships--and they are exciting--sometimes the slightly older ships get overlooked. The Sun is a beauty of a ship with a great crew and lots of dining and activity options to choose from. Can't wait to sail her again.

[Stillfloatin']

In all the interest surrounding the new ships--and they are exciting--sometimes the slightly older ships get overlooked. The Sun is a beauty of a ship with a great crew and lots of dining and activity options to choose from. Can't wait to sail her again.

 

Glad to hear that because we'll be sailing her next year to South America and I was worried we might have gotten spoiled on our Pearl and Jewel cruises.

[Droopy_Sails]

Glad to hear that because we'll be sailing her next year to South America and I was worried we might have gotten spoiled on our Pearl and Jewel cruises.

 

We plan to do the Valparaiso-Buenos Aires itinerary over Christmas/New Year's 2008-09, and I'm glad it's on the Sun. We sailed her through the Panama Canal in 2004 and it was my favorite cruise ever.

 

She doesn't have as many bells and whistles as the Pearl (which I haven't sailed, although I thoroughly enjoyed the Jewel), but she's a great ship and will keep you plenty happy for two weeks. She even has two dining venues the Jewel lacks: Pacific Heights (Cooking Light restaurant) and Il Adagio (I think I'm remembering the name right--it was a nice Italian restaurant we preferred to the Jewel's Mama's Kitchen). We loved Il Adagio so much we won't miss the lack of a Cagney's, which we feel is overrated...we know tastes differ, though! I believe they've adjusted the Asian restaurant on the Sun to include some steakhouse fare, although I'm not sure.

[Dale&Joan]

Thanks for the good detailed report. We just got off the Pride of Aloha Hawaiian Cruise and loved it.

 

We are thinking of taking an Alaskan cruise next May. I noticed it is about 10 degrees cooler than July/Aug.

 

We will strongly consider a 14 day cruise and flying from Los Angeles to San Francisco and cruising Alaska for 14 days, ending up in Vancouver and flying back.

 

You can get good deals on repositioning cruises and have done them before. I can get a two week Alaskan Cruise next May for about $1,100 inside cabin.

 

Everyone says the Alaskan cruise is one where you have to get a balcony and I can see why. If the weather during May is still OK, we would rather see the sights from the pool deck with an inside cabin and go on a cruise for 14 days instead of seven.

 

What to you think? Thanks in advance for any help anyone.

[Droopy_Sails]

Everyone has different needs, Dale&Joan, but I tend to your way of thinking. I'd rather have 14 days in an inside than 7 in a balcony. Like you, we just stay up on deck a lot.

[thawan]

Dale&Joan We had an inside, deck 4 (near the belge pump) :) We were only in it to sleep and change. A balcony would be nice, but I think I would be wondering what the other side was seeing. So I would be out on deck anyway.

[SweetpeaOne]

Thanks for sharing your story. Sounds like you had a really nice time.