Norwegian Sun Review

Couldn't get enough Fun on the Sun

Review for the Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Norwegian Sun
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taris_kellog
6-10 Cruises • Age 50s

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Sail Date: Dec 2011
Cabin: Aft-Facing Mini-Suite

My husband and I just completed a 7 day Carib cruise on the Norwegian Sun going to Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Jamaica, and Great Stirrup Cay. We are seasoned travelers and therefore do not expect to live above the standards we live with at home; i.e. demanding a fresh towel every day, demanding fresh sheets every night, grumbling if the fork is not placed in the proper position at the table. At the same time we understand you get what you pay for, and you get back what you give to others. We go on vacation to have fun, relax, maybe go to a new destination or do something new and different. We don't make any expectations for our vacation, and we go with the flow.

I'll talk a little about the Norwegian Sun. This is the second time I've been on the Sun with the first being in 2005 during hurricane Wilma. Right off the bat I know she is sea-worthy (LOL). I understand the ship went thru some dry dock time and the improvements are extraordinary. New carpet, new bathroom countertops, new eating facilities. Good job NCL! The ship is laid out nicely and easy to get around. We had an aft-facing mini suite and couldn't have asked for a better room. The room feels like it is about the size of 2 balcony rooms with a huge bathroom. There was ample space around the bed and couch for two people to easily move around. There is tons of storage space with a credenza in the room and then floor to ceiling drawers/cabinet in the closet. The bathroom has a vanity with a chair and lighted mirror and a drawer containing a hair dryer. This space was valuable to me. There was also the regular sink with drawers underneath and large mirror over the sink and shelves on either side of the mirror. Complimentary lotion provided and replenished as used. The shower also had a full size bath tub with shower gel and shampoo. One thing I did notice about the shower/tub was that you had to raise your leg over the side of the tub and step up about 8-10 inches. No big deal, but I could see someone falling when wet and stepping out. Use the handles to steady yourself or sit down on the side of the tub and swing your legs out. Inside the closet going into the bathroom was an electronic safe. Big enough for a small laptop (like a 13"). When re-programming it we had to really push some of the buttons. It looked like some of the numbers we used more than others and thus required a bit more effort. No big deal as we were able to program the safe and had no problems getting in it. The bed is hard as a brick, 'course I like a soft bed. There were a total of 4 pillows on our bed, and I put one (the non feather one) behind my back and used the feather pillow for my head. Worked out just fine. I'm sure the couch folded out to accommodate 2 more people, but we didn't mess with it. It was nice to curl up on when it was raining and read. Admittedly the tv was rather small, about a 15". But, I didn't come on a cruise to watch tv; I would rather watch the view outside the balcony.

The balcony was large enough for 2 chaise loungers , 2 regular chairs, and a small table for drinks. We didn't use the regular chairs and therefore stacked them in a corner out of the way. We found ourselves laying out on our balcony way more than in a beach chair by the pool. The view from the balcony is amazing. You get a full 180 degree view. Granted, you can't see what's coming, but we took the advice of another couple and turned the tv on the station for the ship web cam and we then knew what was in front of the ship. The view is not blocked by the stateroom partitions since the aft of the ship is sloped. On this particular cruise we had sun on our balcony during the morning going to Cozumel, and after Cozumel we had sun on the balcony in the evenings.

Cabin Review

Aft-Facing Mini-Suite

Cabin M1

We had an aft-facing mini suite and couldn't have asked for a better room. The room feels like it is about the size of 2 balcony rooms with a huge bathroom. There was ample space around the bed and couch for two people to easily move around. There is tons of storage space with a credenza in the room and then floor to ceiling drawers/cabinet in the closet. The bathroom has a vanity with a chair and lighted mirror and a drawer containing a hair dryer. This space was valuable to me. There was also the regular sink with drawers underneath and large mirror over the sink and shelves on either side of the mirror. Complimentary lotion provided and replenished as used. The shower also had a full size bath tub with shower gel and shampoo. One thing I did notice about the shower/tub was that you had to raise your leg over the side of the tub and step up about 8-10 inches. No big deal, but I could see someone falling when wet and stepping out. Use the handles to steady yourself or sit down on the side of the tub and swing your legs out. Inside the closet going into the bathroom was an electronic safe. Big enough for a small laptop (like a 13"). When re-programming it we had to really push some of the buttons. It looked like some of the numbers we used more than others and thus required a bit more effort. No big deal as we were able to program the safe and had no problems getting in it. The bed is hard as a brick, 'course I like a soft bed. There were a total of 4 pillows on our bed, and I put one (the non feather one) behind my back and used the feather pillow for my head. Worked out just fine. I'm sure the couch folded out to accommodate 2 more people, but we didn't mess with it. It was nice to curl up on when it was raining and read. Admittedly the tv was rather small, about a 15". But, I didn't come on a cruise to watch tv; I would rather watch the view outside the balcony.

The balcony was large enough for 2 chaise loungers , 2 regular chairs, and a small table for drinks. We didn't use the regular chairs and therefore stacked them in a corner out of the way. We found ourselves laying out on our balcony way more than in a beach chair by the pool. The view from the balcony is amazing. You get a full 180 degree view. Granted, you can't see what's coming, but we took the advice of another couple and turned the tv on the station for the ship web cam and we then knew what was in front of the ship. The view is not blocked by the stateroom partitions since the aft of the ship is sloped. On this particular cruise we had sun on our balcony during the morning going to Cozumel, and after Cozumel we had sun on the balcony in the evenings.

Some folks wonder about the noise and wind in an aft facing room. First, there is NO wind at all. Even when the wind was blowing 50mph outside one day there was nothing on our balcony. The main noise we would hear was the moving of the chairs in the Great Outdoors right above us. A couple mornings at 4am the staff (I guess) started re-arranging the tables/chairs in the outdoor seating area. Then one morning at 3am I was awakened by the chair noise. I think it was the wind blowing them around maybe, because it was 3am and the Great Outdoors doesn't open until 7am. I don't know, but that was the main noise, and I am such a light sleeper. If you are a heavy sleeper you may not hear anything. We couldn't hear people talking or mingling, and we couldn't hear dishes when sailing. When in port you could hear a little bit of people talking but they had to be at the railing at the back of the ship and you had to be outside at your railing. We became accustomed to the chair noise after a few days, and do not consider this to be a deal-breaker on the room. We also had a tiny bit of soot on the chairs, but so not a big deal. I sneaked an extra wash cloth to wipe down the chairs and rail from soot and rain. We had no food come onto our balcony from the Great Outdoors. The only other noise/sensation was when the ship was speeding up or slowing down quickly (coming in and out of port). We could feel a vibration from the propellers, but again no big deal. The benefits of an aft facing room far outweigh the trivial bothers.

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