Sun Review - 1/19

[megalin77]

We had a great time on our cruise, and noted both some positives and negatives, both of which I wanted to share. There were 4 of us – my sister and myself (in our 20s) and our parents. Overall, we found the trip to be a good value.

 

FOOD: We really didn’t enjoy the food. But we just kept telling ourselves: “You get what we paid for!” And for what we paid, the food was fine. We usually ended up eating salad and bread in the buffet. We tried East Meets West and were very disappointed – the steak was overcooked and flavorless, and the salmon had no flavor. However, the mocha crème brûlée was good, as were the veggie sides (although not the au gratin potatoes). We ate in Teppanyaki as well, and found the sushi to be fine – nothing special, but it was ok. We ate in Le Bistro, and that was the best meal that we had – the goat cheese tart was good, as was the onion soup. The crème brûlée was good, and the cheese platter (ONLY in Le Bistro!) was very good; the chocolate mousse was not good.

 

We also ate in Seven Seas, but only three times throughout our trip. We had good service once, and terrible service twice; but bland, dry food all three times. We ordered room service twice, and were unimpressed – the cheese platter was a joke, and the brownies tasted VERY strange.

 

I know I sound a bit negative, but we were able to find things to eat in the buffet. I do think that the food was on par with the price that we paid.

 

We didn’t find drinks (beer/wine or liquor) to be very expensive – in fact, they were often less expensive than they are on land – but we all live in big cities, so our views may be skewed.

 

PUBLIC ROOMS: The ship was fine. We weren’t wowed by the public rooms, but you’re on a cruise ship! Look out the window, and that’s the view we were there for. Really not much to say.

 

CABIN: We were in two balcony cabins (Category BC), 8255 and 8256. The cabins were good – lots of storage space, and the balconies were nice, with comfortable chairs. The mattresses were well-loved, but we asked for egg crates, and then they were fine. Our stewards were good.

 

The bathroom is definitely small (especially the shower), but very manageable. Again, good storage. Always tons of hot water, and surprisingly great water pressure!

 

ENTERTAINMENT: We enjoyed Don Dunne in Las Ramblas, especially on Irish pub nights. Other than that, we found the entertainment lacking – we were unimpressed with the dancers/singers and the piano players. We tried a couple of the shows, but ended up leaving early – all the more time to enjoy being outside in the middle of January!

 

SPA & FITNESS: We all did yoga one day, and enjoyed the class. It was very full! We also all visited the spa – massages (deep tissue and hot stone) and the LaTherapie facial were excellent. However, skip the manicures/pedicures – we were not impressed.

 

SHORE EXCURSIONS: In Roatan, we did a tour on our own with Victor Bodden tours. Henry was our driver, and he was great! We had planned to do ziplining, sightseeing, and snorkeling. Due to rough seas, snorkeling was out. The Great Jungle Canopy zipline was great – we felt really safe the whole time, and we all had a fantastic time. The island is just beautiful, and really unspoiled. Great trip.

 

In Belize, we did NCL’s tour to Lamani. What an experience!! It was raining – and you travel to the ruins by open boat! We were all soaked and freezing when we arrived, but then the rain stopped and it was a gorgeous trip. Wonderful climb to the top of the ruins, and then the sun even came out for our boat trip back. Highly recommended.

 

In Cozumel, two of us did the NCL “Discover Scuba” excursion, which was very good. Only 4 people were on the trip. Again, we were very impressed. However, we were NOT impressed when walking around Cozumel itself – definitely the worst port for being attacked by people to come into their stores. And everything was VERY expensive – more so than at home, in fact. Those of us who didn’t scuba wished that we had either done some sort of excursion or stayed on the ship.

 

Due to rough seas, we skipped Great Stirrup Cay and went to Nassau. We got off the ship, walked around for a little bit and made our duty-free purchases. Much nicer port than Cozumel, at least for us!

 

EMBARKATION: Fantastic. So easy – hardly any lines getting on or off the ship. We were really impressed with their efficiency. I can’t really say much, except that NCL really has this down!

 

OTHER: We did bar setup; definitely worth it for wine (which is ordered through Reservations, and is the same price as bottles on the ship, but just SO convenient to have it waiting for you) and liquor (which is ordered through the Ship Coordinator. However, the beer wasn't really worth it - the beer helmets on the ship are actually a better deal (if I am doing my math correctly).

[Pszaffveauhraunne]

Thanks for the review, and glad you had a good time. I'm also planning to do the discover scuba in Cozumel like you did, and am glad to hear that it was a positive experience.

 

If you don't mind me asking, were there lockers available at the excursion site to store wallets and cameras, etc?

 

Thanks!

[Impala]

I was quite surprised to read your review tonight. It was quite different from what I've been reading over the last couple of weeks. I am, however, happy that you all did have a good time.

 

Do you mind if I ask what other cruises/cruise lines you've been on and how they compared to this one on the Sun. We'll be sailing on the Sun on 2/9.

[kmacht]

Could you post some more details on the discover Scuba excursion? I am thinking about doing this on our upcoming SUN cruise as well. I am specifically looking for, how long was the excursion, how deep and how long was the final dive, did you practice in a pool or in shallow water, etc.

 

Thanks,

 

Keith

[NEW 2 CRUISIN]

Thanks for sharing!

 

Have you been on any other cruises?

Just curious how they compared, because you had some very differing opinions from recent cruisers.

 

Glad you were aboe to make the best of it!

 

:)

[crazydaisy90]

On the same cruise, which we loved and I have already reviewed. My only comment is about room service. 6 of us travelled in 3 cabins on the same deck. We would get together for 'happy hour' after 4:00 to review our days. Someone would call room service and let them know we had 6 in the cabin for snacks. We got some lovely fruit platters, veggie plates and pizza to munch on. Also, if you got a meal you didn't like, the staff was quick to remove it and bring something else. People need to let the staff know when they are unhappy and it's quickly made right. All you have to do is ask.

Sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise.

[megalin77]

Thanks everyone! We did indeed have a great time; I'm just trying to be honest about what we saw. We did let the staff know when we weren't enjoying the food, but there's really nothing they could do - and I don't blame them for it at all! We've been on cruises on HAL and Disney in the past. The HAL cruise was a long time ago, but I do remember enjoying the food and finding the service to be very good- again, it was a LONG time ago, so I can't speak for recent trips. The Disney service was incredible, and the food was significantly better than NCL.

 

I didn't actually do the Scuba expedition - I'm trying to get more info from my other family members, but everyone's a little busy coming back from vacation! I don't know about lockers, unfortunately. Dad & Sis did the trip; here's the info as accurately as I remember it: they met at the end of the pier, and then took a van to another pier. At that point, the certified divers in their group got in a boat and went out into the deep water. The Discover Scuba people went to an restaurant and had a class to learn about what they were going to do. They then put on all their (heavy) equipment, and walked out into the water. They practiced breathing until everyone was comfortable; they then practiced clearing their masks until everyone was comfortable with that. When the instructor was sure that everyone was ready to go out, they went underwater. The deepest they went was about 40 feet, I believe. They said they felt really safe the entire time, and that the instructor was careful about making sure that everyone was paying attention and knew how to do every step correctly.

 

They were finished way before the experienced divers because there was apparently a guy in their group who was using up a ton of his air! The instructor paid for them to take a cab back to the ship. I think it ended up lasting about 3 hours, including the class. They both want to scuba again!

 

Hope that helps; if I find out anything about lockers, I'll let you know.

[megalin77]

There were lockers for belongings on the Discover Scuba excursion - no problem with storing cameras/wallets in them.

[Pszaffveauhraunne]

There were lockers for belongings on the Discover Scuba excursion - no problem with storing cameras/wallets in them.

 

Fantastic news. Thanks Megalin77, for checking! :)