Beware of what you think you are paying for!! Most likely it is NOT SO!! So I chose this cruise being that I had the Forth of July week off from my job. This fit great in to my plans, and I didn't have to rush back to work on Tuesday...Embarkation and disembarkation were very smooth! That being said..... I didn't have big expectations for the ship, although the Norwegian Sun was refurbished in 2018 and the public rooms and cabins had the refreshed look, the feel of the ship was still old and out dated. Also, I wasn't aware that every passenger on the ship had the free drink package...so really, this is a "drunk" cruise. Beware! It felt like a half step up from a Carnival party cruise. On that note, one thing I was disappointed in was that there were no enrichment activities available during the day, such as classes or tastings, etc., that I have always enjoyed on other cruises. I believe that that this is due to the open bar policy, and Norwegian doesn't expect that a bunch of drunk cruisers would have the need for learning anything. They did have PLENY of BINGO though! yay :( I upgraded to a balcony cabin so that we could receive the "Take all" package offered to balcony guests. This is where I had the most problems with this cruise. BEWARE BEWARE!!! This offer included the top shelf drinks package, 100 minutes of WIFI and specialty dining for all nights of our cruise. There was also a $50 credit for a shore excursion for ONLY 1 passenger per cabin, but because most of the excursions cost a lot more than needed to be, we opted to not book one. The only package to be worth this upgrade was the drink package. We did enjoy top shelf alcohol (Grey Goose and Hendricks martinis, and a very nice bottle of champagne at dinner. at no additional charge!) very enjoyable! As far as the specialty dining, I made reservations for the Cagney's steak house the first night, followed by the Italian restaurant the 2nd night, and the French place on the 3rd night. After reserving these dining options, I was prompted to add them to a shopping cart, and then 'check out'. So, if you don't have the dining package like I was offered, you would see the cost of the restaurants in your cart, and have the option to pay the upgrade as these specialty places are not included in the included cost of the cruise. In my cart, however, the extra cost for my reservations came out $0.00, so no extra charge for the 3 nights dinners. Or so I thought! On the first night we had an outstanding dinner at Cagney's complete with a fantastic bottle of wine and absolutely exceptional service from our waitress Rhoda! We couldn't wait for the next specialty dinner. However, When we arrived for our table the next night at the Italian restaurant, we were informed that we had been entitled to 1 specialty dining experience for the length of the cruise and we had used that the last night, and it would cost us each $40 additional to eat there. I brought my printed payment proof document down the customer service desk to find out what was up and was told that according to my cruise card we were only assigned 1 specialty experience. I then showed the annoyed rep that I had made the 3 reservations and that the payment came out to $0. This is where I really feel that Norwegian has lost my business forever...back and forth the reps went with each other for over 20 minutes, only to conclude that they didn't feel that we had the bookings according to the "Ultimate Dining Package" that I had upgraded to receive, only reservations. Anyway, I got the same response as many other passengers I had talked to, that they would send a message to the Miami headquarters, and hopefully receive a response the next day, or later. This made me really confused as I asked how was that going allow me to eat at the specialty restaurants without having to pay for them as my package entitled me to? Needless to say, we never heard one word from customer service, or from the Miami office since and it left me with a very disappointed feeling overall for the cruise experience! Also, the "free" WIFI was useless, as neither me nor my roommate was ever able to get a web page on our phones or my tablet...just kept loading, while using up the free minutes! Very inadequate system. In conclusion, I know that this is a way too long review, but I am just trying to warn folks to beware of the so called 'free perks', as they may not be as expected. This cruise cost us over $800. each for 3 nights. I feel that we could have saved a lot by booking on Carnival for a similar, but much cheaper experience! Thanks for listening. Read Less

Needed a two bedroom to travel with a snorer. The ship is huge. Food in the Haven was excellent. The Manhattan room was very good but didn’t return because the band was very very loud. The Burn the Floor show was great but didn’t see others. I have been on many cruise lines and never experienced one before this one that charges for the better shows and charges for cocktails and umbrellas on their private island. REALLY?? With our drink package on their island we were offered beer but all alcohol otherwise you had to pay for. Fortunately we did find some shade so didn’t have to rent the umbrella. The biggest disappointment was at St Thomas. We had to be back on the ship at 1:30. So after taking an excursion we had to get right back to the ship. I did really enjoy everything about the Haven’s cabin, dining room, clubs and bar but the only criticism is when the band starts playing on deck 15 the piped in music at the Posh club should be turned down so you don’t have to listen to two songs at the same time. We would have enjoyed hearing the live music only. Also the service in the Haven was top notch. Read Less

This cruise chose me. I won this cruise on my cruise last May, playing Wheel of Fortune. The Magic was clean and well kept. We ate at every food venue on board, and everything was good, no complaints. Our room was cleaned every time we stepped out. The room attendant was excellent,he kept our ice bucket replenished as we requested. Room service was wonderful,they delivered our coffee at 8:00 am as requested. Dr.E was the best cruise director, he knows how to keep a packed ship happy, even the muster drill was fun. The ship was clean,and big enough,we never had to wait in line for anything, The shows were good.The wait staff and servers were fantastic, Too many sea days, one more stop would have been nice. All in all, Magic was more than I expected.Casino was nice too,when you can find a seat. Drinks were good too. Dr.E was the icing on the cake, Read Less

This was my first ever cruise. Family of 4 (kids 2 and 6). Embarkation: Not too bad, but we were very rushed. Our time to get on the ship was close to 2 pm which I think was the latest group time assigned. That left almost no time to start to get familiar with the ship before the mandatory safety drill at 4 pm. The safety drill, while necessary, is painful and long. Finally about 5 pm we were "released" to start the cruise, but our dinner seating was 5:45. We rushed to dinner, then rushed to find the theater for the 8:30 show. We were confused and exhausted after the first day. Some folks are able to get on hours earlier and explore the layout and get a plan in place for the day (and get some lunch that we had to skip, but clearly paid for!). After that first day though, it was smooth sailing. Our cabin was on the 6th deck, so we had a veranda (while small, highly recommend). Room was spacious by ship standards, and we had no problems navigating with the 4 of us in there. Cabin cleanliness was great, and the room host was equally good. Room was cleaned twice a day and we had no issues at all with anything there. The ship itself is amazing. Everything was clean clean clean, and there is so much to do, we literally only got about half done of what was available (never even made it to several bars, the sports deck, or some of the other restaurants). In the end, thats marketing genus by Disney, as people will just have to come back again to do it all. Food: REALLY good.I was shocked at the quality given it is mass produced. Cabanas buffet for breakfast and lunch is easy, and outstanding. Of course, you can go to a more formal spot for either meal, but Cabanas was the way to go. Dinner was simply amazing. Here is the key point for a great dinner : LISTEN TO YOUR WAIT STAFF! They will tell you a couple options that you should get. Do it. Don't vary to other stuff. Trust their recommendations. But, if you must, like me, take a chance on something they don't recommend, out staff went ahead and brought what was requested, waited a few minutes, then brought the recommended dish anyway! And of course, they were 100% on point with it. I got the pasta one night (it was OK), and they knew it would think i t was just OK, so they followed up with an amazing Filet that was a clear winner. The wait staff also really took the time to know the family and what we like. For example, the first night my son got a Shirley Temple to drink and loved it. Each additional night, when we got to our table, a Shirley Temple was already waiting on him with his name on it. Thats service. They also knew my wife loved the suffle dessert, and even though it was not on the menu the other nights, they brought her one anyway (along with her "other" dessert selection). The wait staff was BETTER than any 5 star steak house you have ever been too, and I have been to my share of them. The shows were also well done and the right length for kids. Here are my excursion thoughts: 1. Atlantis - Bahamas - Don't waste your time. Stay on the boat and explore the boat. Been to a water park before? Thats all it is. For $180 per person for the day on Atlantis, its not worth it at all. Its a hassle packing up for the day, getting off early in the morning and then rushing back. There is a Casino there you can go gamble, which I LOVE to do, but figure you are at least already down the $180 per person just to get off the ship, you have to hit it big to offset the cost. Skip this excursion completely. 2. Castaway Cay - Another moment of marketing brilliance by Disney. "Hey, lets buy an island, turn it into another money maker!" It worked. I do think you should get off ship for this one. Snorkeling is really fun and easy to do, beaches are really nice, great food at the BBQ place etc.... My kids loved going to the kids clubs. My 6 year old could not wait for us to drop him off there each day so he could play. It was stress free, great child care, and the adults got to go get some drinks in the adults only areas. Its really fantastic for everyone. Character Meet n Greets - Be prepared for long lines (up to 45 minutes each character) just to get a picture. Its awful. But, the kids love it. Whatareyagoingtodo. Is Disney expensive? Absolutely. But I think overall, if you skip the way overpriced Atlantis excursion, enjoy the boat that day, it is worth it. We will run it back next year for sure. Read Less

This was by far the most expensive cruise I've ever sailed and by far my least favorite. The staff was a miserable group of college students. They talked about how they were under contract for 6 months and couldn't wait for it to end because they all hated worked for Disney. The food was horrible!!! The main dining room offered Bison, ox tail, wild boar, etc. with very few (sometimes no) traditional choices. And there is NO flexibility with dining time or menu choices. With Royal Caribbean, you can request "My Time" Dining - which means you eat when you are hungry and/or when you are ready. Norwegian & Carnival do something similar. Disney assigns you a time of either 6 or 8:30. No exceptions. Kids order from the same kid menu every day. No exceptions. (RCI, Norwegian & Carnival let the kids order whatever they want). Disney assigns you to sit with another family for the full cruise. (RCI, Norwegian & Carnival allow you to request a private table every night). While I liked having the bathroom split into two private rooms, the room itself was quite small - smaller than other cruise lines. When you complain about anything to Guest Services, their answer is that they hired many outside agencies to manage specific tasks - and none of them work together. Example - Disney college kids are in the costumes for the photo ops, but I was told that the photographers were a 3rd party company. They also used a 3rd party event planning service to create the schedule showing when characters would appear at specific locations for photo ops. Since none of them collaborated on where and when the characters and photographers should be, the photo experience was very often a chaotic mess!! I even have to give entertainment a low mark due to how disorganized the staff was, and how rude they were to guests when we asked questions. This includes excursions too. My mother travels with us. She uses a scooter due to mobility issues. On a Disney ship, everyone has to gather in a theater or bar before exiting the ship for an excursion. We were told to arrive 15 minutes ahead of everyone else so they could make room for the scooter. When we arrived at the time specified by the Disney staff, we were scolded for arriving early and told to leave the theater area. We returned 15 minutes later (with hundreds of others). Then they couldn't make room for the scooter, we ended up at the back of the theater/back of the line and our tour bus ended up leaving without us. They had to call the bus via radio to have them return for us. And I'm sorry, but I spent TWICE what I usually spend on a cruise in order to take my kids on a Disney cruise. I did not like the number of "Adult only" restaurants and areas of the ship. At one point, my four year old had to use a bathroom on Deck 11 - same deck as the "pools". I was told that half of the bathrooms on that floor are adult only since there is an adult only restaurant on that deck. I was SHOCKED to see Disney turn kids away from a bathroom!!!! NEVER AGAIN!!!! Read Less