We sailed on the Norwegian Sun on 3/4/07 out of New Orleans. Travel party included my husband and I in one room and our one-year-old son and his favorite sitter in another. We were on deck 9 (Fjord) in 9076 and 9143. We've sailed once before (pre-baby) on the HAL Zuiderdam. Just because I always like to know this sort of thing when I read these, we are generally content people who want to make the best out of all situations.
EMBARKATION- We drove to New Orleans, arriving about 12. We parked in the terminal ($98- they accept cards or cash) and a porter took our luggage and then allowed us to self park. No problem finding a space. Security took a few minutes, not too bad. We were asked to see our documents, then sent to the normal line. I had read that we would have a separate line since we were in a suite, but we hardly had to wait, so no big deal. Then we got checked-in, our agent said we could pick up our keys in a separate room since we were suite guests. Someone took us to that room (our son and sitter were allowed to come in too, even though they were in a separate room that didn't qualify) Then, the agent in that room greeted us and got our keys. Weird, but whatever! We walked right on and could go straight to our rooms. We dropped our carry ons and had lunch in the main dining room. (More about the food below) We explored the ship which is sort of odd b/c you have to use certain levels to pass from forward to aft as some things are only accessible from one or the other (like the main dining rooms.) But it's cool once you get the hang of it.
ROOMS/DECOR- The general look of the ship is nice. Some of it is a little Vegas-like to me (bright carpets, etc) but other parts are really pretty (the great outdoors cafe was one of my favorites) Our rooms were nice. there was a good deal of wear on the carpets and furniture, but most everything was very comfortable. My only real complaint are the deck chairs. They were the same chairs as on the pool deck, but in bad shape. Stained and very worn. I do understand why, the ash from the stacks falls on the aft decks, and even though our great maid, Maria, kept it clean, it obviously affects the furniture. The bathroom more than made up for it. Really, really pretty. Lovely fixtures and tile. Beautiful wood cabinets. Full tub and separate shower. Tons of storage and a lovely little vanity area separate from the bathroom.