I have always read reviews on Cruise Critic with a passion and enjoyed the opportunity to learn something about a cruise I was going to take. I marveled at the amount of time some people put into the review. I thought maybe I would share my thoughts on my last cruise hoping it may help someone plan for their upcoming trip. I sailed on the Norwegian Sun 1/1/2014. It was an 11-night itinerary featuring the ports of Cartagena, Columbia, Aruba, Curacao, St. Martin and St. Thomas.

The Ship: 4 stars. I have always liked smaller ships. Somewhere between 80, 000 and 110,000 tons seems about right to me. The Sun at 78,309 gross tons fit me perfectly. She is easy to navigate and well kept. Yes there are a few places her age is showing but the ship is clean, the entertainment very good and the staff some of the best I have experienced at sea. The captain Ronny Borg was exceptional. He mixed with the passengers throughout the cruise and even held a Q and A session towards the end of the trip. His candid response to questions was refreshing. At our Cruise Critic gathering 6 or 7 of the senior officers came and also took questions from the group. I was very impressed that they gave of their time on the first sea day to accommodate us. I would have given the Sun 5 stars except for some problems in the venues. The biggest problem is there is no good sized lounge to host entertainment like the game shows. You know, things like the Newly Wed Game, Liars Club, etc. Dazzles is the best they have, it is midship and everyone has to walk through the lounge when going from front to back. The shows were always at 8:30 pm and were filled to capacity. Standing room only really and many people just gave up and walked away. A minor complaint and there really isn’t anything that can be done, just wish they had a bigger lounge so everyone could attend. There aren’t a lot of bells and whistles on this ship and that is ok. It was still fun with plenty to do.

The Food: 4 stars. The food in the MDR’s was very good in quality. But after 11 days it became….well…. boring. NCL has a little different concept in the dining rooms. They have a bigger “classic menu” that stays the same throughout the cruise. Most cruise lines now days have this on the menu but not to this extent. Then on the other side of the menu you get the options that change every day. There are fewer appetizers and entrees on this side than you will find on other cruise lines. Like I said the food was good and the portions were just right for me. They were smaller than other cruise lines but my senior appetite just doesn’t need huge portions for me to be happy. Reduces the waste too. Lobster and Steak were served the first night so you want to be sure and go to the MDR for that meal. The steaks were always very tender and the other dishes were prepared just fine. Just maybe too much of the same thing. On a 7 night cruise this might not be so noticeable but on an 11 day cruise you do notice. The dessert menu also stayed the same throughout the cruise except for maybe 2 new items each night. That became a little boring after 11 days too. Maybe it is an effort to drive people to the specialty restaurants with a surcharge. We went to Le Bistro, Il Adagio and East Meets West Steakhouse. The meals in each of these restaurants were very good. The portions were bigger and the presentation of the food was very nice. We enjoyed each one. It actually went a long way in breaking up the same old thing in the dining room. I don’t usually like to pay extra for meals but the cruise was so reasonably priced that even with the extra $57 per person added to the cruise cost it was a steal. We would have paid much more on another line for sure. We didn’t go to the Sushi bar or the Teppanyaki Restaurant but since they share the space in East Meets West we did see them. The Teppanyaki only seats 12 people and so it only has 3 times available during the evening. It seemed to be sold out almost every day. The other restaurants seemed to have space available every day. We ate early, at 6 pm and there was always space available. We didn’t go to Moderno, the Brazilian style restaurant so I can’t comment on that. One night the MDR didn’t sound interesting so we went to the Tapas Bar for appetizers (free), then to the dinner buffet for cold raspberry soup (cold soups only available in the buffet, not on the MDR menu) and then into the sports bar for salads, chicken wings and French fries. We followed this up with a freshly made strawberry crepe made next to the ice cream station in the Garden Café. Read more