Norwegian Sun Review
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For our 25th anniversary we went on our first-ever cruise. Overall, we had a fantastic time. We flew to Miami a few days before embarkation, which helped us have a relaxing start to our adventure rather than rushing to get from the airport to the port. One tip: we rented a car from Alamo, which included a free shuttle from the airport to the cruise terminal. Alamo upgraded us plus ended up giving us a discount when we went to pay when we returned the car. Their shuttle was quick and reliable, and we met our first "cruise friends" on the shuttle on the way to our ship! We stayed the first night at a Days Inn near the airport. It was cheap, but definitely on the lower side of the quality scale. We're pretty simple folk, so that was okay with us, but I didn't want to stay there again on our way home. We spent our second night in Key Largo - amazing! Loved Key Largo. Our final night we wanted to be sure we were back on the mainland to minimize any delays in getting to the ship on time, so we stayed at another (better yet even cheaper) Days Inn in Homestead.
We booked an outside ocean view cabin. We expected a porthole - the little 12-inch kind. What we got was a beautiful 3-foot diameter window. The cabin was small, but we expected that. It's not like we spent a great deal of time there. The bathroom is basically like one in a camper trailer. That was a bit small. Next time I think we'll see what the price difference is to move up to a suite with a larger bathroom. Everything was great in our cabin, and our stewardess was fabulous.
Overall the ship was lovely. Friends who had cruised before advised us to book a longer cruise on a ship with less amenities, in keeping with our budget, instead of booking on the Epic for a shorter cruise. They said that since we'd never been on a cruise, we'd be in awe of the ship even if it wasn't "top of the line," and they were absolutely right. We were delighted with the ship and enjoyed exploring all it had to offer. There were way more activities than we could participate in. In the end, we mostly spent our evenings relaxing in one of the many lounges, playing cards and listening to the amazing music. (Yeah, I know that sounds lame, but hey, it's what we enjoyed doing! That's the joy of cruising - you can do as much or as little as you like.) We did enjoy some of the shows onboard. We didn't care for their Broadway-style shows put on by their own singing/dancing group. They definitely weren't Broadway quality. We did like a couple of the singers, and the cruise director's magic show was very good. Our favorite entertainers were off the main stage - a singing duo that performed in several of the lounges over the course of the cruise.
Cabin Review
Our cabin was clean and comfortable, although a bit small (as we expected). The best feature was the porthole. We expected a small porthole; what we got was a beautiful 3-foot diameter circular window. It was completely private during our days at sea, and we enjoyed leaving the curtains open at night to let in the moonlight. There was ample storage under the bed for our suitcases, and we managed to fit our belongings into the closet and cupboards. The bathroom is quite small (I couldn't manage to shave my legs in the shower!). There was plenty of space in the bathroom, though, to store our toiletries. One thing to note: there is only one outlet in the suite, on the desk under the mirror, unless you choose to unplug the TV and use that outlet. Both outlets are a considerable distance from the bed, so bring a LONG extension cord if you require a CPAP machine for sleeping. If you have more than one electronic device to charge overnight, you'll also want an extension cord. The outlet in the bathroom is labelled for shaver only (although we did use it to charge an iPhone), but it only works if the bathroom light is on.