Norwegian Sun Review

4.0 / 5.0
2,168 reviews
See all photos
Editor Rating
4.0
Very Good
Overall
Jodi Ornstein
Contributor

Built in 2001, Norwegian Sun underwent a three-week bow-to-stern renovation in May 2018, which resulted in refreshed staterooms, restaurants and public spaces, and three new venues -- Los Lobos Cantina, Bliss Ultra Lounge and Spinnaker Lounge.

Part of the cruise line's Norwegian Edge program -- which was designed to elevate the standard of excellence across its fleet -- the revitalized Norwegian Sun boasts lots of bright, open spaces both inside and out; cozy, intimate nooks throughout the ship; and signature favorites that are popular with Norwegian Cruise Line passengers. Ocean lovers will appreciate the amount of sea blues and wave-like design elements around the ship, from the atrium, various lounges and restaurants to staterooms and the spa.

The bright multi-deck atrium, complete with a large circular skylight at the top, is the hub of the ship and features three decks of shopping, lounging and learning about your cruise. Four inward-facing glass elevators make for great views of the action below. A midsized ship with less than 2,000 passengers (double occupancy), Norwegian Sun is big enough to offer plenty of onboard amenities and space, yet small enough to not feel overwhelming. Service is spot on, with crew members around the ship who are highly visible, friendly and eager to help, whether it's to point you in the direction of the lounge, answer a question about a shore excursion or handle a special stateroom request.

Norwegian Cruise Line favorites remain, such as the ship's fun, relaxed atmosphere and action-packed days and nights, its can't-miss sunshine hull artwork and the clever way of reminding passengers which direction they're going in stateroom hallways: The fish on the carpet swim forward (except of course, that one rebellious fish). Side note: Try the Rebellious Fish cocktail.

Pros

Refurbished spaces boast clean, modern design; a plethora of tasty dining options abounds.

Cons

Buffets are often congested and signage is lacking; there are no water slides/water parks.

Bottom Line

Great overall experience with tons of dining and activity choices and itinerary options.

About

Passengers: 1936
Crew: 906
Passenger to Crew: 2.14:1
Launched: 2001
Shore Excursions: 695

Inclusions

Included with your cruise fare:

  • Meals in two main dining rooms, the Garden Cafe buffet and at the Sports Bar, Great Outdoors Cafe and Topsiders Bar and Grill; also continental breakfast room service choices

  • Main theater shows

  • Most activities unless otherwise noted

  • Use of the fitness center, but not most classes

  • Kids programming at the Splash Academy Kids club, except for late-night activities and mealtime supervision

Not included with your cruise fare:

  • Daily service fees ($15 per person, per day for standard staterooms; $18 per person, per day for anyone in The Haven, Concierge cabins and all Suites)

  • Room service ($9.95 per order, waived for suites and continental breakfast orders)

  • Drinks, except water, tea, coffee and select juices from the buffet

  • Most specialty dining

  • Mandara Spa and Salon services and treatments

  • Automatic gratuity of 20 percent on all beverage purchases, as well as on all spa, salon and specialty dining reservations/appointments

  • Most fitness classes

  • Selected daily activities including but not limited to alcohol tasting, bingo, gameshows (such as Deal or No Deal) and casino gaming

  • The Splash Academy after-hours programs

  • Shore tours

  • Wi-Fi packages

  • Photos and artwork

Fellow Passengers

Norwegian Cruise Line generally attracts a younger crowd and Sun's value means there are lots of passengers coming from nearby in the United States. Known for being a family-friendly cruise line, there are younger families mixed with multigenerational travelers as well as some honeymooners and younger couples.

As with all Norwegian ships, passengers enjoy the casual onboard ambience, so you'll find plenty of fun, relaxed cruise mates, many who are loyal to the line and have sailed multiple times.

Norwegian Sun Dress Code

Daytime: Norwegian's casual dress code is about as relaxed as you can get. By day, pool wear and resort casual are acceptable around the ship.

Evening: At night, dress is "cruise casual," which means khakis, jeans, shorts, casual shirts and no tank tops for men and casual dresses, skirts, pants, capris, shorts, nice jeans and tops for women. In the evening, resort casual and shorts are allowed in all dining venues except Le Bistro and Seven Seas Restaurant. Tank tops, flip-flops or baseball caps are not allowed anywhere. One night per cruise features the chance to take photos with the captain, so many passengers choose to go all-out in their fancy clothes, especially if they scored an invite to the captain's cocktail party. Others still prefer to keep it casual and stick with shorts by the pool, which is perfectly fine as well. There is no formal policy onboard. Also, don't forget to pack you best whites for the White Hot Party, which is held every cruise.

Not permitted: As far as dining dress guidelines, during the day as well as in the Garden Cafe for breakfast, lunch or dinner, passengers must wear cover-ups, shirts and footwear. Some restaurants also require a collared shirt and slacks (shorts don't count).Tank tops and baseball caps are also never permitted.

For more information, visit Cruise Line Dress Codes: Norwegian Cruise Line.

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More about Norwegian Sun

Where does Norwegian Sun sail from?

Norwegian Sun departs from Seattle, Rome, Civitavecchia, Lisbon, Istanbul, Le Havre, Le Havre, Copenhagen, Haifa, Tokyo, Seoul (Incheon), Bali, Tanah Ampo, Taipei (Keelung), Singapore, Dubai, Klong Tuey, Bangkok, Laem Chabang, Bangkok, Klong Tuey, Laem Chabang, Kuala Lumpur (Port Klang), Miami, Vancouver, Honolulu, Tahiti, Auckland, and Melbourne

Where does Norwegian Sun sail to?

Norwegian Sun cruises to Seattle, Sitka, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, Icy Strait, Ketchikan, Victoria, Haines, Rome (Civitavecchia), Florence (Livorno), Villefranche, Marseille, Barcelona, Ibiza, Palma de Mallorca (Majorca), Seville, Lisbon, Madeira (Funchal), Tenerife, Las Palmas (Gran Canaria), Lanzarote, Agadir, Casablanca, Istanbul, Kusadasi, Mykonos, Athens (Piraeus), Santorini, Taormina (Messina), Naples, Ponta Delgada, Crete (Heraklion), Malta (Valletta), Porto (Leixoes), La Coruna, Bilbao, La Rochelle-La Pallice, Amsterdam, Brugge (Bruges), Le Havre, London (Greenwich, Tower Bridge, Tilbury), Gibraltar, Copenhagen, Haifa (Tel Aviv), Jerusalem (Ashdod), Cairo (Port Said), Alexandria, Rhodes, Katakolon (Olympia), Corfu, Tokyo (Yokohama), Osaka, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Seoul (Incheon), Kagoshima, Bali, Kelang (Kuala Lumpur), Nha Trang, Singapore, Taipei (Keelung), Manila, Boracay, Penang, Phuket, Colombo, Kochi (Cochin), Mangalore, Mormugao (Goa), Muscat, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Doha, Aqaba (Petra), Safaga, Hakodate, Seward, Langkawi, Koh Samui, Bangkok (Laem Chabang), Trieste, Ravenna (Bologna), Split, Dubrovnik, Kotor, Koper, Miami, Great Stirrup Cay, Bimini, Nassau, Vancouver, Maui, Hilo, Kauai, Honolulu, Rangiroa, Bora Bora, Raiatea, Moorea, Tahiti (Papeete), Auckland, Tauranga, Napier, Picton, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, Dusky Sound, Hobart, Burnie, Melbourne, Brisbane, Cairns, Cooktown, Darwin, Komodo Island, Portland (Australia), Adelaide, Kangaroo Island, Gisborne, Sydney (Australia), Eden (Australia), Rarotonga, Pago Pago, Apia, Samoa (formerly Western Samoa), Lautoka, Isle of Pines (New Caledonia), Kobe, Hong Kong, Sihanoukville, Cartagena (Colombia), Colon (Cristobal), Puntarenas (Puerto Caldera), San Juan, Puerto Quetzal (Antigua), Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, Manzanillo, and Cabo San Lucas

How much does it cost to go on Norwegian Sun?

Cruises on Norwegian Sun start from $589 per person.

Is Norwegian Sun a good ship to cruise on?

Norwegian Sun won 9 awards over the years.
Norwegian Sun Cruiser Reviews

Amazing Alaska Cruise

Overall we had a wonderful and unique experience on our cruise to Alaska on the Norwegian Sun. PS. Our embarkation was horrible.Read More
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DanaMcAd Red8tree

couple2-5 Cruises

Age 60s

Great Cruise and good value for money.

We boarded the Norwegian Sun in Seattle and sailed up the west coast of Canada and USA to Alaska.Read More
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GerryandWendy

few6-10 Cruises

Age 70s

Okay but...

This was the second time we'd sailed on the Norwegian Sun but we enjoyed the first time more and noticed some subtle changes which had made the cruise more expensive.Read More
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Trujillo123

few6-10 Cruises

Age 69s

Norwegian Sun 17 Night Panama Canal and South America

Entertainment on board was very good with our favorite being the Norwegian Sun production cast in the two shows they had. Somewhat disappointed that they only had two shows in 17 days.Read More
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sbachleda

many10+ Cruises

Age 71s

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