Norwegian Sun Review

4.0 / 5.0
2,169 reviews

Like the ship hate the weather

Review for Alaska Cruise on Norwegian Sun
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surreybill
First Time Cruiser • Age 50s

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Sail Date: Jul 2008
Cabin: Mid-Ship Oceanview Porthole Window
Traveled with children

For starters this was our first cruise so I don't have a benchmark to compare it to.

We arrived at the cruise ship terminal around noon, by taxi. There was a long line up to go through the metal detector but it was moving at a good pace, next came the long line ups for customs. Americans and Canadians had a fast moving line, others were in a different line, a bit slower. After that was the fast moving line to the NCL check in, lots of NCL staff, very efficient. They took some info, took our pictures, and issued us our room keys/onboard credit cards. We were on board a few minutes after that. A glass of champagne was offered as we boarded. We were told our rooms would not be ready for two hours, and were offered lunch in the buffet. We took the glass elevators up to the eleventh floor. There was no staffer there. We walked a ways, saw a sign that said swimming pool, so we turned around and headed the other way, back past the elevators. Finally a staffer showed up, and told the people in front of us to take the door labeled swimming pool as the restaurant is past the swimming pool.

Lunch was good. A decent variety, and very neat and tidy. It was difficult finding seating. Announcement was made over the p.a. that all rooms are ready. We proceeded to our room. We had oceanview on the starboard side, fourth floor (right side when facing front) mid way. The room was tight, but manageable. Our luggage had not arrived. I like the room safe, you put in your own combo, and you're good to go. We cleaned up, and headed to the upper deck to lounge in the sun. Our luggage arrived a little while later. Everyone's luggage was left in the hallways just outside their door. One big complaint, the room looked great, but the kid's bed was as hard as a rock. I would be embarrassed offering someone that type of bed. We asked our room steward for help, and he put a mattress topper on it. It was bearable, but not enjoyable. Our adult bed was fine. A typical day was get up, get ready, head up to the buffet, as the dining rooms closed by the time we got there. The food was OK, but one gets tired of the same food for the whole week. It would have been nice if they mixed it up a little. You get a custom made omelets, sausage, bacon, eggs, potatoes, fruits, yogurt, toast, buns, cereal, cold cuts, cheeses, every day. I guess this breakfast is better than no breakfast. A simple thing that NCL could do would be to label their meats in the buffet as to beef, pork or both. Just saying sausage, or bacon does not cut it, for the ethnic crowds. Lunch was usually in a dining room, and dinner was usually in a dining room as well. We checked the menus at the pay places and the food didn't sound terribly appetizing. (a bit too fancy for our humble tastes). Food in the free dining rooms (four seasons, seven seas) was already fancy, and tasty. We were usually seated immediately, with our longest wait being about ten minutes one busy dinner evening. They always provided breads and butter in case you were starving. Food was served in good time, and you were never rushed out of there. We had lobster one night, rack of lamb another night. Crème brule, and soufflE another night. They seemed to have at least one low fat meal, and at least one vegetarian meal, each night in the dining rooms. Service was top notch, nothing to complain about. Prices for the alcohol were decent, a beer in the four dollar range, and a can of pop for a couple of bucks. Freestyle is great, choose which restaurant you want and choose when you want to go, no reservations necessary. Room service is hit and miss. The room service menu is extremely limited. A couple of pizzas, a few sandwiches, a few salads, a few desserts. One evening we waited for an hour for our room service. Food was good, but they forgot the drinks. Another time we ordered room service and they erred on the desserts. I have to admit the food was good, its just that they missed items. The ice cream bar was open most of the time, my daughter loved the ice cream and yogurt. I was a little disappointed that they ran out of sugar free ice cream the day we boarded. I asked for sugar free the third day and was again told they were out. The desserts looked great, with good variety. Our room had a porthole which was adequate. With the poor weather we had most of the trip, I was glad I had not laid out the extra cash for a balcony. We had rain 3 days, and cold, windy weather for another two days. The port hole was good to let you know how to dress, before you left your room, mind you, rain gear was the usual, for our trip. The air conditioning (central ship unit) sounded impressive, but didn't actually cool the room much. I don't know how people take the heat when this ship hits the warm climates. Our six year old was happy with the kids programs. The kids swimming pool was great, in her opinion. It was a little small when you got more than four kids in there. Some parents just opted for the full size main pools for their kids, when the kids pool was overcrowded. As we had a lot of rain, finding indoor accommodation was a necessity. The observation lounge on deck 12 was not to loud, and was reasonable when trying to read. The view was great as well. The lounges mid ship around the elevators, are great if you want to check out the view, chat with friends, and people watch. They had a lot of shows in the evenings and the three we saw were great. The magician was humorous, and very good. The dance troupe was excellent also. The fitness room always looked busy, and clean. Deck six was open to the elements and was great once in a while, and good for taking photos. On boarding day we had an evacuation drill at 5pm. You are asked to go to your rooms at 4:45. You asked to find your life jackets, put them on, and head to your muster station on deck 6. Your muster station is listed on the back of your room door. Unfortunately the large show lounge is on the other side of the casino (most direct route). The smell of smoke lingers in that casino. The good thing is the smell doesn't leak into the rest of the ship. They have bingo on a number of days, and you may want to wait until later in the week to play, as that is when they have the best deals on bingo. I found it a little pricey, the best deal was $50 for a number of electronic cards. Just letting you know about the price in case you want to schedule something else for that day. They have jewelry seminars almost daily. The daily program stated everyone attending the seminar will receive a free bracelet or something. I was impressed with the seminar, I learned something about diamond grading, colors etc. I was disappointed after the seminar. The daily program said we would receive the bracelet, but in actual fact, we would only receive a coupon for the bracelet. We would have to go to the jewelry store in town to get it. On a couple of occasions, the wife dragged me to a jewelry seminar, so I could get trinkets for our daughter. We got our coupons, and went to town, we were told only one trinket per room. The policy does not bother me, but it should have been made clear before the seminar.

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Mid-Ship Oceanview Porthole Window

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