Norwegian Sun Review

NCL Awesome!

Review for the Western Caribbean Cruise on Norwegian Sun

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Sail Date: Mar 2008
Cabin: Penthouse with Balcony

This is the fourth cruise for us, a middle aged professional couple from the cold Ohio We have cruised on RC and Carnival before, and this is the second on NCL. Obviously I am going to say it was awesome partly due to our having a penthouse suite that included the butler services....but I wanted to include the review of the overall services, as well. As you have read in other reviews, if you can swing the little extra it costs for the penthouse suite then go for it! It is worth every single extra penny. It was especially worthwhile for my husband and I, who like to spend much of the evenings and much of the sea days away from the public and on our private balcony. We always take the binoculars, (don't forget to pack those) and enjoy looking for dolphins, birds, etc., as we cruise. They will also come in handy on the excursions and when in port. First the suite: two large rooms, ( a sitting room and the bedroom)and a walk through bathroom that includes a separate toilet area, a "dressing" area which includes a make-up table, and a whirlpool bath as well as a separate shower room. The multiple closets and drawers were more than enough for our storage and you can store the suitcases under the bed. Yes, the bed was hard and we requested the foam overlays which helped. We were on the back corner of the ship and enjoyed the large balcony which included two lounge chairs and a table with two chairs. It is hard to believe that there was lots of room left over! We enjoyed being able to order room service from any restaurant, so enjoyed some dinners in our suite. Our butler Naveen was attentive, prompt and pleasant. Note: if you have this service they are not included in the daily service charge billed, so you need to include extra tipping for his services. We had not considered this in our budget so I thought I would point this out! We had breakfast in our room each morning, and this was delivered always at the time we requested. The main dining rooms were ok, as you can see by most of the reviews this ship is not know for outstanding food. We enjoyed the service more in the Four Seas Dining room, but the food and menu the same in both main rooms. We only participated in the buffet one night and it appeared fine considering it was buffet food. The speciality restaurants were ok, again nothing outstanding. We did not try the Steak Restaurant. Excursions: We did the Belize zoo and river tour and it was great! In Roatan we went on the clear kayak tour and it was fun. We did the deluxe beach excursion in Cozumel and hated that....crowded, rude staff and poor food and drinks. The private island was fine, though if you do not get on the first tender and get off the tender boat first you will miss out on securing the lounge chairs. There are plenty of beach chairs, though. The food was good, being the usual hamburgers/hotdogs, but excellent quality I thought. My husband walked to the lighthouse and saw iguanas along the way. The water here was awesome, clear and shallow for a distance, and I enjoyed the floats. We also saw many fish and a stingray while swimming...too cool! What was outstanding was the NCL crew: they were ALL pleasant and were enthusiastic about their jobs, which would be really hard for me in their shoes! They always spoke first, and appeared to go out of their way to please the customers. This definitely stood out from the other cruiselines we have sailed on. Does this make a difference? We think it does...for the overall positive experience we are all seeking! So to wrap it up: NCL is an excellent company and ranks right along with Royal Caribbean. All the cruiselines have difficulty with preparing excellent food for massive amounts of people with multiple tastes and needs, and if you do not go on a cruise just for the food you will not be disappointed in NCL and this ship! We are thinking of booking again on this ship and will definitely sail on NCL again! The worst part, of course is returning to reality and shoveling the driveway before we could enter, as Ohio had over a foot of snow while we were gone.....that was hard to do while nursing our sunburn, LOL. We are enjoying out 130 pictures, though..... and that helps to re-live the memories!! Have FUN!

Cabin Review

Penthouse with Balcony

Cabin SE
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