My first time making a review on this site (but a long-time reader of others' reviews), so I hope I'm doing this right...... Just got back from this cruise. It's our third, all on NCL (the others-- Dawn- 2009, and Spirit- 2011). This ship is "older" and "smaller" than the BIG dogs these days, but in great shape. Kind of a strange layout sometimes where you have to walk thru one area to get to another, but why focus on small stuff like that? We found the staff-- without exception-- was really awesome (and I hate that word). Of course, the shows were all very good (some REALLY good-- as in the comedian, and magician).

The food-- the Garden Buffet was always really good. I heard some say it could use maybe a few addn'l choices and variations. We liked it and I'd give it a "B+" for bfst, and a "B" for supper. Always spotless, a solid choice for getting what you want, at wierd and/or short timeframes. Worked great for us! We ate at 3 of the specialty restaurants-- Moderno, Le Bistro, and Il Adagio. My view(s)- (1) Moderno-- Wonderful, upgraded salad bar! Liked the rack of lamb, the filet, and the preminum sirloin (can't think of the name), the best. My opinion- go ahead and be T-rex for one night!! GO FOR IT. (2) Le Bistro-- because it was good on our previous 2 cruises. The appetizer- mussels in a cream sauce- and main course Rack of Lamb were both excellent. My wife's "Fruits de Mer" not as good as at other Le Bistros. (3) Il Adagio-- My ribeye steak and my wife's lobster fettucine were both GREAT. Desserts off the scale delicious!!! The service at all 3 places was fantastic.

Lastly, don't know how to review the PORTS we stopped at (individually), so I'll just throw out what we thought and you can take in any or all you want (or not). (1) Miami-- We stayed at the Beacon Hotel in South Miami Beach (appx $200/nt). Spendy but fun. Walked around in the Art Deco district and sight-saw, ate, drank, and took it all in. Great. (2) Cartegena-- Took an NCL tour (Exploring magnificent Cartegena) because after all- it's Colombia. (Side note-- make sure of the EXACT title/name of your tour!!- The names are sometimes very similar). The area inside of the "walled city" is truly beautiful and extremely historical. The tours are different!!! They go to different places!!! We felt on edge there a little bit, but enjoyed it. (3) Aruba-- we just walked around the Oranjestad/ marina area sightseeing. We're not Scuba-ers or snorkelers, but enjoyed this stop in our own way, meeting up with some new-found ship-friends for beers on the upper deck of the "Local Store" (Check that place out!!) (4) Curacao-- Took a cab w/4 others off the ship for a 3 1/2 hour island tour ($25PP + any tip). Great! Hato caves, Schiarloo area, Chobolobo (the Curacao liquier factory), and then walked around downtown Willemstad a while. A just plain fantastic day! (5) St Maarten-- Again, a 3 1/2-hr "taxi-tour" ($30PP + any tip) All around the island. Stood by "the fence" at the airport for a "JET BLAST" and also had one fly right over us while landing. I'll NEVER forget either---- DON'T MISS THAT. Drove all up around the French side. Some areas beautiful- some not so much. (6) Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas-- been here before-- just walked around and enjoyed the downtown, quenching our thirsts here & there. Neat city-- If it's your first visit-- GET OUTTA TOWN AND SEE STUFF. There's lots to see & do here. Anyway-- sorry about this long-winded post. Hope you can uses some of it if you go on the 11-day Southern Caribbean aboard the NCL Sun. We loved it. You will too---- the Old Coach