Norwegian Sun Review
Rating by category
Additional details
Ship: A few quick buzzwords to start off with. Old, Small, Outdated, Disappointing, Dangerous (more on that soon).
This was only my 2nd cruise ever, and likely my last unless the right opportunity presents itself. My first cruise was on the Carnival Legend, so I am using that for my basis of comparison. This ship felt very old and very small. I was expecting much more to do, more places to easily grab a drink, and more options as far as quick and easy food. Sadly I was let down in all of these expectations. I spent a lot of time in 2 places on the upper decks. In the "hot" tub, and in playing with my nephew on the table tennis table. The "hot" tub was warm at best. When you cruise to Alaska you want a hot hot tub, not a warm one. The bubbles (not jets) only stayed on for 2 minutes at a time either, so it was basically impossible to relax as you were always having to hit the button. It was a big disappointment. The table tennis court was pretty terrible also. The net on the table was basically broken and rigged to be barely standing. The floor was extremely slippery when it was wet or humid out, and worst of all there was absolutely no wind protection of any kind, so when we were under way there was zero chance of playing a game, as the ball would move 5 feet in the air minimum. The drinks were pretty decent, but I felt like a lot of the mixed drinks were a little light on the pour. The Red Blend wine was good, and I drank that most of the time with dinner.
Onto the DANGER... I rang the doorbell outside of my MILs suite, standing with 2 of her friends that were staying 2 rooms over when we heard a loud CRACK! We all luckily scattered before the BOOM! Approximately 5-6 rectangular ceiling tiles along with some lighting, electrical, and fire suppressant systems came crashing down. Everyone rushed out of their rooms to investigate and could not believe their eyes. After we ensured that everyone was okay we called down to guest services to report the incident. Their response time was laughably terrible. It was over 10 minutes for the first person to come to offer any kind of assistance. It was just a security guard, who then radioed that yes it was indeed bad and they needed to send some more help ASAP. Their definition is quite different than mine of ASAP. About 15 minutes later they finally sent more people up to take photos, and speak with one of my MILs friends, who did get slightly grazed by a ceiling tile. Eventually a carpenter finally arrived to secure the ceiling back up with screws. After this incident I started to pay attention to the ceiling around the rest of the ship, and there were MANY spots where the ceiling was very close to coming out of the track that was holding them up. I proceeded with caution for the rest of the cruise. No one offered any kind of apology or explanation as the time I am writing this review. I still am in disbelief.
Cabin Review
Cabin: This will be a review of two different cabins. My MIL had an Aft Penthouse Suite, and we got a separate inside cabin that was an ADA room for my wife and I.
I'll start with our room. It was roomy for a cheap inside room, but there are disadvantages to the ADA room. The bathroom was roomy, but also reminded me of a hospital. The floor was flat, so it got pretty wet anytime you tried to take a shower. Speaking of showers every time I turned around to try to rinse myself off I found myself bumping the handle and half scalded myself. There was a very fine line with the temperature adjustment. To get a nice hot shower was tough. It was either 2nd degree burn hot, or pretty cool. I am not sure why they feel the need to have such hot water on the ship. Seems hazardous to me. Even in sinks to wash your hands you risk getting injured. Also the first night and the last night our AC seemed to be non-functional for whatever reason. We talked to the Steward about it, and they fixed it and it was very nice and cool when it was working. Everything else about the room was pretty typical. Nothing outstanding, but nothing too bad either.
Onto the Suite Life... This was a nice large room in comparison to the inside room, but still pretty cramped. Walking in the front door led you into a small hallway which was very narrow. It was pretty tight, and two people could not pass each other comfortably. There were many nice touches. Lots of nice glassware, a fancy coffee maker, a dvd player with surround sound, and seating for 5. Speaking of seating... the couch (which folded into a bed) was the most uncomfortable piece of furniture I have ever sat on. If you would sit down to fast you'd risk cracking your tail bone. The wife and I had hoped to sleep on it a few nights just to be able to see the sunrise. That idea was quickly shot out the window. There were two highlights of the suite. One of which is the very large balcony. There was room for about 8 people on it with ease. There were 2 tables, 2 chairs, and 2 lounging chairs. The lounging chairs in this case just got in the way because it was too cold to lounge out there. The downside to the balcony was they re varnished the railing on the day we embarked. They must not have used a fast setting type though, because the next day it rained, and it looked like someone poured cream cheese icing over the whole thing. It was pretty gross, and if you would accidentally bump up against it, you'd have a gross, sticky mess on your hands. The other highlight was the bathroom. It had a large jetted tub with shower, a separate stand up shower, and a water closet for the toilet. The room also came with a butler in addition to the regular room steward. That was a nice treat. The staff in the suite was the highlight. I would expect that though, as these must be the best of the best to serve their VIP customers. I'll touch more on the staff a little later.