Just off the Sun 4/5-12

[Lowie]

Well, we're home. i'm going to write a full review. but as i started i realized that it sounded like one big slam fest, so here is my 'not so mini review'

 

i must say that I will probably not sail on NCL again, and certainly will avoid the Sun unless i get a fabulous deal. My parents who sailed with us are calling to cancel their Jewel cruise first thing Monday morning, they've been on dozens of cruises and were very disappointed with NCL.

 

yes, there were highlights, but the problems we encountered somewhat overshadowed them.

 

did we have fun?? absolutely!! we are the kind of people who make lemonade out of lemons, but i hate to pay good money to have to overlook so many issues with poor service, bad food and what we call the "no problem" attitude. in other words the staff says "no problem" and promise to do something then you never hear from them again.

 

although I can see why some people will rave about this cruise, we had some specific problems that took way too many trips to reception to get fixed. our cabin door not closing being the worst. it kept being left completely open by the steward and our kids and all of our posessions open to anyone who walked by. we finally had to contact the hotel manager (assistant really as the manager was away for some reason) he was SUPER nice and got it done ASAP, but that was on day 3!

 

we heard several complaints in the restaurants (both pay and free) about the service, maitre d's being called over to several tables. service was extremely slow, meals taking 2.5 to 3 hours.. but not a good 3 hours, it was waiting 45 minutes for one course, then 45 minutes for the next, then missing the late show even before you could consider dessert. in il adagio we seriously waited for more the 90 minutes from app to entree. we were about to walk out when the maitre d' came to apologize. we should have walked out.

 

we finally met a terrific assistant maitre d' and followed him from one restaurant to another, and he set us up with his best servers, so our final few days were actually pretty terrific. his name is alexander reyes and he is in four seasons.. also ask for jonathan and shailani's table. you WON'T go wrong! we wrote out style cards for all three of them, along with the assist hotel manager, carlos.

 

as for the buffet.. well, we went there a few times, but usually found that the choices were not to our liking. my daughter got a burger and when she picked it up to take a bite my mom noticed that the bottom of the bun was moldy and the hot dog buns were rock hard. we told the manager there and he quickly remedied that situation. during the first part of the week the service there was slow to clear tables, but they seemed to speed up over the week. a few times the staff there were cute with the kids and did some magic tricks, but mainly they were just doing their thing and not interacting with the diners.

 

the kids had a good time in the kids club, better then carnival by far! they liked that the couselors spoke english (american young adults) and spent a few sessions there. i wish they'd keep it open to 11:00 p.m. so you either don't have to pay extra, or pick them up during show time. oh well, we hardly made it to the shows because dinners took so darn long.

 

on roatan we went with Victor Bodden tours. it was a nice day. our guide was Cardi, and he was very very nice! we went to the orphanage, which is really more like a safe house for kids who's parents are in jail or addicted to drugs. these kids are not allowed to be adopted even though they almost always stay there until 18 years old. then to the iguana farm, we only stayed a few minutes but it was worth the money to us. the kids loved it and we took lots of good pictures. then to Victor's house for the monkey. that was so fun!!! there is only one monkey to hold but it was so sweet and cuddly! now i want a monkey! we also bought some souvies and back on board early.

 

belize was Altun Ha on an NCL tour. we got on a lovely air conditioned bus with a VERY chatty guide (so chatty, some people complained about her) soon after the bus got a "flat" and lucky for us :::insert sarcasm here::: there was another bus that just happened to be right there to pick us up. none of us felt or saw a flat. the next bus was older and barely had a/c. the guide pretty much held court in the bright sunlight at altun ha while she droned on and on about building A1 or B6 (whatever, i forget what she said cause it was 99 degrees out and all i heard was blah blah blah) then after listening to her she says, "ok friends you now have 10 minutes to climb the ruins and get back to the bus" 10 minutes!!!:eek: I swear i am not exaggerating. we did climb the one with the hand rail (i chose these ruins for the handrail availability) and once on the top stayed for about 2 minutes and afraid to hold up the bus we all ran down... well, by saying 'ran' i mean that i wimped out and went down the first section of steps on my butt:o hey, other people saw me do it and followed suit. unfortunately the a/c didn't pickup on the ride back and one little girl threw up from the heat.

 

cozumel... should have been paradise beach but we decided to just do some shopping and go back on the ship to relax. i'm glad we did, we are planning on being back there in december anyway.

 

Great stirrup caye. this was a nice day, we originally weren't even going to leave the ship but ended up going and i'm glad we did. we rented a super large round float and the kids had a blast on it. it was a bit pricey at $25 for the day.

 

some other cool stuff; quest was cool, bingo is much more fair then on carnival (at least there are multiple games) we won $380!! we also liked our balcony cabins, they were roomy enough, nice storage and also a little clip to keep the balcony door open. the bathroom was sufficient even if the shower felt like an MRI machine! my parents ocean view was very cramped and seemed much smaller then ours. we were able to rearrange their furniture a bit so my dad wouldn't have to climb over the sofa bed.

 

disembarkation, as also mentioned in various reviews, was quick and painless. sad to be done with vacation, but eager to get home.

 

p.s. i had set up the cruise critic meet and greet for our roll call. when i boarded there was a note from the coordinator confirming our place and time, followed by a call from her which was very nice. we had about 30 people show up along with the cruise director, Denny. no drinks or food provided.

[seattle2000]

I am so sorry to hear about your bad time on the Sun! We have considered sailing on her, but decided the reviews were all a little too sad to risk our vacation on it. We have been happy on our two Star sailings, but will probably look at a newer ship (like the Pearl) for our next NCL trip.

 

For what its worth, the larger, newer NCL ships seem to have a more responsive crew and better facilities. If your parents are not 100% set on cancelling, it might be worthwhile checking out the Jewel's reviews (but I would definitely understand wanting to cancel after an experience like that).

 

You should definitely consider writing a letter to NCL, outlining your issues with housekeeping and dining service. I would have been upset, too.

[newmexicoNita]

I am so sorry to hear about your bad time on the Sun! We have considered sailing on her, but decided the reviews were all a little too sad to risk our vacation on it. We have been happy on our two Star sailings, but will probably look at a newer ship (like the Pearl) for our next NCL trip.

 

For what its worth, the larger, newer NCL ships seem to have a more responsive crew and better facilities. If your parents are not 100% set on cancelling, it might be worthwhile checking out the Jewel's reviews (but I would definitely understand wanting to cancel after an experience like that).

 

You should definitely consider writing a letter to NCL, outlining your issues with housekeeping and dining service. I would have been upset, too.

other than this reveiw and a couple others, where are the "sad" reviews? I am shocked at this one, but I do realize these things can happen. We sailed on Princess in January. Like Lowie, on the Sun, we had concerns that just were never answered to our satisfaction, we didn't care for our room stewardess and the dining room service both paid and main dining rooms was almost a joke. Did we have a good time? Yes, would we cruise Princess again, probably because we would not judge a cruise by one sailing, but were we disappointed? Yes, very.....

 

Lowie, you made a mention about no food or drinks at your meet and greet. At ours on princess there were not even any crew members there.

 

Nita

 

ps: I am sorry you have decided not to cruise the Sun, we prefer her to the Star, but again, this is simply opinion.

[nyllrap]

I am also just off the Sun. Our experience was totally different. We had a great time, thought the food was decent, no service problems at all, the room was very nice, etc.

[CruisnGram]

To the person who is considering the Sun, please read my review which is linked at the end of this message.

 

OP: I'm very sorry that you had a poor experience. Like Nita, I'm shocked. Our Sun cruise could not have been more different then yours.

 

You don't have to tell me about the wonderful, AMAZING, Alexander. He's mentioned more then once in my review. Only difference between you and us is that we met Alexander our first day aboard so you know how our service was all week long.

 

Again, really sorry you didn't enjoy the Sun.

[TMHCARS]

Sorry to hear about your experience. We got off of the Sun 3/29 and had a fabulous time. This was our 3rd NCL cruise in the past year - Dream 3/07, Dawn 6/08 and Sun 3/08. All trips were great! We're hooked so much that we just booked the Star out of LA in 11/08.

[Lowie]

cruisngram, we have no doubt that had we met alex on the first day we would have had a much different experience and we told him that he really turned much of our cruise around. he was well compensated for his attitude and helpfulness :) the issue with our cabin door however really soured most of our first several days.

 

nita, i mentioned the lack of food and drinks at the meet and greet just for reference. i wasn't expecting anything, but i know there have been lots of varied info out there. some m & g's have several staff members. it was fine though. we had a nice turnout and a cute gift swap.

[CruisnGram]

cruisngram, we have no doubt that had we met alex on the first day we would have had a much different experience and we told him that he really turned much of our cruise around. he was well compensated for his attitude and helpfulness :) .

 

He was amazing for sure. And plain adorable as well. I told him that this old lady wanted to take him home with her. Not to make him wait on me but just too look at those adorable dimples every day! :D

[seattle2000]

Nita, I'm sure the Sun is a very fine ship. But we have our choice of the Sun, the Star, and the Pearl when sailing to Alaska (I live in Seattle), with an added charge (for us) of getting to/from Vancouver when sailing on the Sun. Pricewise, they are comparable for us.

 

We are also pretty shipbound with the kids, so for our situation, the Star and the Pearl are better choices (more kid-friendly amenities, better bathrooms, reports of slightly better food, etc). This is not to say that I would turn down a free or even well-priced cruise on the Sun to any locale, or that it is not a better ship for you and yours. As always, every group of travellers will have their own preferences.

 

Happy sailing!

[NEW 2 CRUISIN]

WOW!

 

Aside from the malfunctioning door, I'm not seeing anything wrong with the rest of the cruise so far.... :confused:

 

We were on the SUN the week before you and the main Dining Rooms were an operation in efficiency and precision! Meals would only take longer when one orders multiple appetizers or soups and salads before they can serve the main entrees.

 

Otherwise, everything was served very promptly for us and we enjoyed the chance to chat with each other in between courses. We were in no hurry, but got down to the Seven Seas around 6 and the 4 of us still made the early show each night without rushing!

 

:)

[budat2130]

Lowie,

First of all thanks for getting it all done. We enjoyed the m & g and the swap.

We haven't been on very many cruises yet and only 4 of NCL's. We have never had a bad cruise including the Sun, and had a great time. IF we were making comparisons we would rate the Sun experience as the 20th in line. Did we have a great time..absolutely. Would we purposely go on the Sun again... only if the price was extremely extremely good..

What was wrong.. Nothing that made us not have a good time as that is attitude as you have said. We laughed and enjoyed and had a ball, but when you make the comparisons the Sun is on the bottom. Still sailable, but to us on the bottom of our list to ever do again.

To us mostly small things, such as we have never been on another cruise where the ship was as filthy as the Sun, in that we mean that none of the employees that remove the used plates and silverware even carry a cleaning cloth with them. We only ate in the Garden Cafe area for 7 days and never saw a table really cleaned. The windows in most places haven't been cleaned in months or maybe years. that was just sorry. The tables around the pool section are chipped, stained and most anyone would be ashamed to put them out. Nary a waiter carries a cleaning cloth. we watched on man wipe off 14 tables with the same rag with NO disenfectant or soap. We cleaned our balcony windows and the tables and chairs were untouched by JORGE and crew the week we were there. In different areas you can see where NO one has touched different places with a mop or cleaner in a long, long time. Mildew on the tile work in the bathroom and shower curtains. We laughed at all the hand cleaning modules and some of them didn't work as they run out of juice.. Out of the 20 Cruises we have experiences this is the only one that dazzled us that the Virus didn't appear and we tried to be very careful, maybe that is why it took us 2-3 cups to find some without drippings or lipstick on them and this was in several areas of the Garden Cafe area.

Our Cabin was 9219 and the best location on the ship, but the service was on the bottom of the list comparatively. I finally drew the wife and SIL an animal on paper and put it on the bed. that was the only one all week. 3 of us in the room and still could only get 2 cups, etc;

The Ship is just there and can do nothing to clean itself, our opinion is that they (SUN) have a Management Problem. The other NCL ships we have sailed were fantastic in keeping a clean and orderly ship.

The workers don't seem to know what to do or what is expected and the white outfitted Supervisors don't seem to care from what we saw. So from a layman viewpoint it really seemed that most were just putting out fires from complaints and not doing what should be done on a daily basis the keep the ship up to par.

Again we had a great cruise.. when our tour got cancelled NO problem with billing. Lots and Lots of nice people onboard and we are sure that there are lots of employees that want to do a great job and most do, and we are very thankful that out of 20 Cruises this is the first one that has been like this.. so maybe the next 19 will be as great at the one's before the Sun and we will look forward to that if the Good Lord allows us more.

 

God Bless.. and have a great Sunday in Church.

 

Bud, Brenda and Maggie.

 

PS: Hang in there Lowie, the Truth is the Truth and say it like it is..

[CruisnGram]

Wow, this is so amazing to me. I found the Sun to be absolutely spotless. Am a late night person and had to pick my way around the crew at 3 am polishing, vacuming, etc. While we were in Roatan, the window washers were out powerwashing the windows and decks clean. And I saw guys with paintbrushes touching up all the murals around the promenade deck all week.

 

I was also told that the Sun was voted the best for service amongst all NCL fleet for the past two years.

 

As per the towel animals, you should have complained. I know that seems silly but I was told by our steward that NCL requires them to leave towel animals on at least 3 nights. It's not the matter of getting a towel animal, it's a matter of a steward not doing their job. Just so you know for the next time.

 

I'm really sorry that it wasn't great for you.

[budat2130]

We had a great time... you can't stop us from having a great time without gangrene setting in... that doesn't mean everything is perfect.. we had no intention of complaining for NO lack of animals, but belive it is a mgt. problem they have. Most businesses have a check list to make sure they are doing what they promote.

We asked for a form to rate & fill out as was stated in the daily info sheet and was told by the staff at the Pursers office that they will e-mail one and the only ones put in the cabins are for those without E-mail addresses.

We also saw them cleaning windows like crazy with hoses and the trolley, but go down to the pool deck and try to look out as well as other areas and it is pretty obvious they haven't been touched in a long time.

Don't think we didn't enjoy the Cruise.. WE DID.. but it could have been a lot more enjoyable and that is what we will us to select our next one.

 

Happy Sailing

 

Bud, Brenda & Margarge

[flac4vert]

Just got back off the 4/5 sailing as well. Sorry didn't make the m&g but was busy off enjoying the ship and lost track of time. I found comparatively speaking having just sailed on the Majesty both vessels to be worlds apart. Majesty had it's charm and crew were wonderful. However the vessel itself couldn't keep up with the schedule. Really can't blame the ole girl sailing all the way from Charleston.

 

Anyways on to the Sun.....

 

0215 was our cabin and we found it to be in top shape and kept very clean and tidy. Can't remember who our stewards were as we rarely saw them as we were out and about.

 

The service in Seven Seas seemed to be poorer in my opinion than 4Seasons. Seven Seas they seemed to be in a big rush to get appetizers out and then entrees. I saw waiters scraping the table with a dirty cloth and an old knife. :rolleyes: Not sure I understand that but heh whatever gets the job done.

 

My main complaint is the Accessibility options. My wife is blind and it was just horrible getting on and off the tender in Belize. She didn't want to go to Cozumel until I finally reached someone who understood what I was talking about. Erika the Concierge was great and came through with flying colors. From what I understand alot of the crew are at the end of their contracts and are preoccupied with getting home to family. Albeit not an excuse for bad service.

 

My only other real complaint was the kids running up and down Deck 10 at 1AM slamming doors and causing us to get woken up on more than one occasion.

 

Otherwise the SUN is a good ship IMHO and I would definetly sail on her again and actually thinking about changing our Alaska and Panama Canal to the Sun. Sorry you had a less than favorable experience Lowie, but all things considered I think it was a great cruise.

 

(BELIZE) That heat was horrendous that we just snapped some pictures and walked around a bit and headed right to the market. The bus ride was a terror and a few times I thought we would end up in the river :) But overall Belize was great.

 

Loved Roatan and the Iguanas, didn't do the Monkey place but did it with Victor Bodden Tours. Hector was knowledgable but quiet and reserved, probably could have gotten more information from him but our friends were too busy insulting his country and the food. :rolleyes: Something about getting sick and not drinking anything yada yada blah blah. We ate and drank to our hearts content and were perfectly fine.

[Lowie]

 

The service in Seven Seas seemed to be poorer in my opinion than 4Seasons. Seven Seas they seemed to be in a big rush to get appetizers out and then entrees. I saw waiters scraping the table with a dirty cloth and an old knife. :rolleyes: Not sure I understand that but heh whatever gets the job done.

 

My main complaint is the Accessibility options. My wife is blind and it was just horrible getting on and off the tender in Belize. She didn't want to go to Cozumel until I finally reached someone who understood what I was talking about. Erika the Concierge was great and came through with flying colors. From what I understand alot of the crew are at the end of their contracts and are preoccupied with getting home to family. Albeit not an excuse for bad service.

 

(BELIZE) That heat was horrendous that we just snapped some pictures and walked around a bit and headed right to the market. The bus ride was a terror and a few times I thought we would end up in the river :) But overall Belize was great.

 

sorry that i cut your post to shreds. :) we also gravitated towards four seasons after we met Alex, although the first half of our first night there was horrendous, salad being served in a steaming hot plate, loooong wait, angry guy at next table with similar issues.

 

i'm sorry i didn't know about your wife, my husband is also blind and had some small issues with accessibility but he's very sure on his feet so tendering wasn't an issue for him. i do think i saw you and your wife on the pier in cozumel.

 

and as for that heat in belize.... right you are! being stuck with a long winded tour guide in the direct sunlight was just plain evil!

[newmexicoNita]

cruisngram, we have no doubt that had we met alex on the first day we would have had a much different experience and we told him that he really turned much of our cruise around. he was well compensated for his attitude and helpfulness :) the issue with our cabin door however really soured most of our first several days.

 

nita, i mentioned the lack of food and drinks at the meet and greet just for reference. i wasn't expecting anything, but i know there have been lots of varied info out there. some m & g's have several staff members. it was fine though. we had a nice turnout and a cute gift swap.

Gift swaps are so much fun. We usually do 2 MandG; one informal on the first evening and the second on a sea day. That is usually when we do the swap and meet with management staff.

 

Nita

[newmexicoNita]

Nita, I'm sure the Sun is a very fine ship. But we have our choice of the Sun, the Star, and the Pearl when sailing to Alaska (I live in Seattle), with an added charge (for us) of getting to/from Vancouver when sailing on the Sun. Pricewise, they are comparable for us.

 

We are also pretty shipbound with the kids, so for our situation, the Star and the Pearl are better choices (more kid-friendly amenities, better bathrooms, reports of slightly better food, etc). This is not to say that I would turn down a free or even well-priced cruise on the Sun to any locale, or that it is not a better ship for you and yours. As always, every group of travellers will have their own preferences.

 

Happy sailing!

living in Seattle I don't blame you. I have several cabins booked for clients sailing Alaska in June and July. Some are doing the Star and others the Sun.

 

Nita

[newmexicoNita]

Wow, this is so amazing to me. I found the Sun to be absolutely spotless. Am a late night person and had to pick my way around the crew at 3 am polishing, vacuming, etc. While we were in Roatan, the window washers were out powerwashing the windows and decks clean. And I saw guys with paintbrushes touching up all the murals around the promenade deck all week.

 

I was also told that the Sun was voted the best for service amongst all NCL fleet for the past two years.

 

As per the towel animals, you should have complained. I know that seems silly but I was told by our steward that NCL requires them to leave towel animals on at least 3 nights. It's not the matter of getting a towel animal, it's a matter of a steward not doing their job. Just so you know for the next time.

 

I'm really sorry that it wasn't great for you.

we got no towel animals on Princess; this shouldn't be a big deal, but, yes, you are right, it does make a little difference. As for cleanliness: the Sun consistantly gets high marks for cleanliness; I don't know when it was last inspected but has gotten ratingss as high as 100% many times. Wonder what happened?

Just checked; last time cdc inspected the Sun 10/27/07 she got a rating of 99%.

 

Nita

[Lib0007]

Just off the Sun yesterday as well. Lori, it was great to meet you and the others at the M&G (sorry I was late) - thanks again for arranging everything.

 

We had very good experiences on our cruise. No, the Sun isn't perfect . . . there are some problems but nothing that really affected us much. Probably the worst for me was the a/c in our cabin didn't work very well. I complained the first 3 days - someone came by every day and left a card - they called several times to ask if it was better, but unfortunately, they never fixed it. but it was livable.

 

As far as the food, we loved all of our meals - but only ate in the dining room 3 times for dinner; the rest of the dinners were in the specialty restaurants which we LOVED. Some of the service was slow but it gave us more time to drink and laugh!

 

I do agree with the comments about the Garden Cafe (well the Outdoor cafe) - it was hard to find a clean table. They had one person clearing tables in that huge area. As far as cleanliness of the ship in general, I thought it was in great shape and never saw anything else dirty. Our cabin steward was very quiet but did a great job and we had towel animals 3 or 4 nights.

 

The one area that NCL lacks IMO is the onboard activities - although they did have some trivia, pool games, bingo, etc., these things were a little boring to me and in no way matched up to the activities that Carnival offers. The CD (Denny) was hardly seen except at the shows which, by the way, were phenomenal and the best we've ever seen at sea. We were fortunate to have the Jean Ann Ryan dancers as this was their last week on board.

 

I was cruising with my husband, 9 year old son, and a friend who was on his first cruise - I think he is now hooked and can't wait to book another. I will definitely cruise NCL again most likely some day, but I think I enjoy Carnival and RCI a bit better.

 

I'm going to try and write a complete review a little later.

[Carnac767]

Well, to each his own. We loved the Sun, found the ship to be spotless, and had a great cruise. Was it perfect? Of course not. Nothing is ever perfect. As for the "chatty" guide to Altun Ha. I know you're referring to Simone. Too bad you tuned her out because she was a treasure trove of history about Mayan culture and architecture. We had a lot of fun on that excursion--maybe it was the Belikin beers I had at Altun Ha. :)

 

Thanks for taking the time to post your review. Sorry your cruise experience wasn't the best.

[Lowie]

carnac, our guide was rosalind, who ranted for about 5 straight minutes on the corrupt and lying government of belize. nearly screaming into her microphone.

we missed out on the beer, souvies and anything else altun ha offered as she left us absolutely no time for that.

[Blue Hen Mom]

Its so hard to believe that it was that bad! My husband and I were on the sun mar.1 and we have no complaints what so ever! We had the best time! We loved every minute of our time there and didnt want to get off the ship at the end of the week! We thought the ship was spotless and the food was delicous! Everyone was so kind and always smiling! We loved freestyling eating whenever you felt like it. We honestly could not find one thing wrong with the sun or her crew! Sorry you didnt feel the same. We will be cruising with her again next year!

[Carnac767]

carnac, our guide was rosalind, who ranted for about 5 straight minutes on the corrupt and lying government of belize. nearly screaming into her microphone.

we missed out on the beer, souvies and anything else altun ha offered as she left us absolutely no time for that.

That's too bad. Simone was great (and left me with plenty of time for Belikin) :) :)

[susan bt]

Just got back yesterday and cruise number 23 was wonderful.

Positives:

The friendly staff

Lunches in Seven Seas

Breakfast in Seven Seas

Dinner in Seven Seas

All the desserts

Tapas

Fins and Flippers in Roatan

Lamanai in Belize

Great Stirrup Cay

Well maintained ship

 

 

Negatives:

3 hour dinner in East meets West the first night (we ate in the regular dining rooms the rest of the cruise)

Very crowded pool deck with no shade on any deck above pool deck

We had a fun time and would sail the Sun again.

[Lib0007]

 

Negatives:

3 hour dinner in East meets West the first night

 

 

 

We were also there the first night (maybe you were seated near us?). We had a great waiter from Colombia. the food was fantastic but it was 50 minutes between salad and entree. Our total meal time was over 2 hours and we skipped dessert. We were offered several times a complimentary drink . . . so we finally took him up on it. that was our only slow service except lunch the first day in the dining room. It was a nice lunch but took forever.