Without having to read this whole review, let me say that we absolutely loved our aft Penthouse Suite on the Sun and enjoyed the ship as a whole. Our Caribbean cruise was from April 5-12th; one of the last for this year but this review will be much more about the suite and ship than the itinerary. We consider ourselves 'value travelers' as opposed to 'budget travelers'. Our children are grown, the dog is dead, and for the past 10 years we've spent more on travel than our mortgage. It's been an important part of our lives.

We sailed under somewhat special circumstances. My DH was diagnosed with cancer last November, and we've spent the past 5 months involved with tests, surgery, and chemotherapy. We were able to squeeze this trip in between cycles of chemo. Some side effects of chemo don't lend themselves to taking a Caribbean cruise. Chemo causes photosensitivity, making sunburn a real hazard. It also totally disrupts the immune system so a Norovirus is actually dangerous, not just miserable.

We weighed those two negatives against a couple of advantages a cruise offers to some other side effects. For many people chemo causes a different taste in their mouths which means that some foods just seem to taste 'wrong'. It takes the fun out of eating out when you have no idea if something will taste good. Onboard you can just send it back and get something different. Along that same food issue, during chemo sometimes people are suddenly ravenous, and at other times, not hungry at all. The doctors want them to eat whenever they feel like it to avoid excessive weight loss. Boy does that fit into freestyle dining and room service! Fatigue is another very big issue. This is not a tiredness that can be 'worked through' waiting for a second wind, it can be debilitating, and the ability to rest, do nothing, or even nap, is critically important. But our biggest reason for wanting a cruise was we needed a break. And that's what we got! Read more