Norwegian Sun Review
NCL Sun to Alaska, a fair cruise but all-inclusive no more.
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The Norwegian Sun northbound sailing from Vancouver to Seward followed the well-worn path to Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway, and thence to sea days in Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier. This was our fourth NCL cruise, and we occupied two cabins, an outside for my wife and me, and the inside across the hall for our adult son. Our prior cruises with NCL were Hawaii and twice to the Mediterranean, east and west. I will say that the ships were all of a similar quality in terms of the vessel and service. However, on the Norwegian Sun, I did detect a marked tendency towards inconveniencing the passenger in the name of profit.
The first example of this is the prohibition of any liquids to be brought onto the NCL Sun, even open water bottles on an unseasonably hot day. While I recognize it is NCL's right to bar people from bringing case-lots of water or Coke onto the ship, I do not like having to empty my water bottle before entering security. It is bad enough that every half-liter of water thereafter cost several dollars, but what happened on the pier was beyond the pale. It is usual to be kept waiting on the pier for up to an hour before reaching the NCL Sun gangway, and is to be expected. However, after divesting ourselves of our last few ounces of water, we found nothing to drink for that intervening hour. I mean to say that on the pier, there were two huge beverage coolers, one for water and one for juice, both of which were empty. I mentioned it to a uniformed person in the waiting area, but she just said, "Don't worry about it, you're getting right on the ship." This is the wrong answer to give in customer service terms, and was also false in reality, as it was nearly a half-hour before we took the gangway and were able to purchase (overpriced) drinks. I think it is genuinely cruel to take people's drinks away on a historically hot day in Vancouver, then provide nothing in its place.
I understand that other cruise lines in this price class, such as Carnival, have barred passengers from boarding with case lots of soda or water. I also understand that Carnival charges only $3.99 for a six pack of bottled water. This still nets them a whopping great profit over supermarket prices for water, and shows some mercy to the passenger at the same time. Well done, Carnival. Shame on you, NCL.
Cabin Review
Oceanview Picture Window
My party occupied this cabin and the inside cabin 6107 across the passageway. They are on the infamous Oslo Deck 6a, which has no elevator access, but as a result has no through traffic, and so was very quiet. Both cabins were fine, of dimensions and amenities comparable to other NCL ships, and to other cruise lines in this price class. Nice bathroom with round shower. Weird furniture, where a small pull-out couch is very close to the foot of the bed, making it near impossible to get by, especially at night, whence I barked my shin more than once. Small TV with nothing to watch on it. A minibar with wildly overpriced snacks, which I never opened. Awful liquid toiletries in the shower, and a single oddly-scented bar of soap for two adults to share. Bring a bar of facial soap and a body bar for the shower. We always do, sad to say.
Port Reviews
Vancouver
Excellent cruise port, and a great city. We spent 4 days pre-cruise and enjoyed it thoroughly. We rode the HO-HO buses, our usual modus operandi for a new city, and saw all we wished to see. The north shore attractions of Grouse Mountain and the Capitano (sic?) suspension bridge were big hits.
Juneau
Went to the brand new Alaska State Museum, which occupied us for most of the day there.
Seward
Rented a car and drove one way to the airport for a late flight. Stopped at the Alaska Conservation Center then at Chair 5 Restaurant in Girdwood, and we recommend both highly.