Cruise Ship Review

Since it debuted in late 2001, Norwegian Sun has been considered Norwegian Cruise Line's first real innovator. In particular, NCL's Freestyle Dining Concept first crystallized on Norwegian Sun, which raised quite a few eyebrows when it debuted with nine--count 'em nine--restaurants. Even its launch was unusual--the ship shared a splashy dual premier ceremony with Norwegian Star in Miami (how many cruise lines can you remember that actually debuted two new-builds on the same exact date and at the same locale?).

Certainly, Norwegian Sun has evolved and mellowed in the past few years. The ship sparkles from top to bottom with bright colors, happy staff, spacious accommodations and cheerful public spaces. Upon embarkation, I was immediately impressed with the level of attentiveness I received (the ship accommodates new guests as early as noon). I was greeted and directed to my cabin location, and several times was asked if I needed assistance with my carry-ons. Each staff member I passed offered a cheery "hello," and I felt welcome.

In fact, with so many ships and cruise lines from which to choose, it's often the little things that make a difference between a great experience and one that is so-so. For me, it's usually staff and crew behavior that drives my appreciation, and then touches like porcelain cups and real cream at the coffee stations, well-maintained and clean public rooms, attentive room stewards, and enjoyable activities for all age groups. All of these factors are present on this ship.

The 78,309-ton, 1,936-passenger ship will continue its exotic Western Caribbean itineraries from Miami, calling at Roatan, Belize, Cozumel, and Grand Cayman, through the spring of 2005. The ship spends summers in Alaska. After the 2005 season, beginning in fall, 2005, it will be home-ported in New Orleans calling at Belize, Roatan, Cozumel, and Playa del Carmen.

Dining

"Freestyle Cruising" allows guests to dine in a variety of restaurants and take advantage of menu options not available on other cruise lines at convenient times. Long shore day? Dine as late as 9:30pm, or as early as 5:30pm (there's also a 24-hour snack area and 24-hour room service for lighter fare).

Freestyle may not be for everyone. Purists who prefer set-seating, set-tablemate dining, can be accommodated in one of the ship's main restaurants.

There are two main dining rooms, Seven Seas, aft, which serves "contemporary" cuisine, and Four Seasons, midship, which serves "traditional" cuisine. In Seven Seas, lobster might be grilled, while in Four Seasons, it would be served steamed, with drawn butter. Meals are tasty and attractively served, and the wait staff is attentive and considerate.

Four other alternative dining venues have no surcharge, although Pacific Heights requires reservations. In partnership with Cooking Light magazine, this attractive space on Deck 11 with windows along the port side, provides tasty fare low in fat and sodium, with choices like mussels in white wine or Italian turkey-sausage pizza.

Other no-fee options include The Garden Cafe, the ship's buffet restaurant. By creating specific areas for specific dishes, it can be accessed from two sides. While the areas are smallish, it provides a wide variety of food. Although it's fairly standard cafeteria-style fare, some items are exceptional (the grilled tilapia was superb), and the carving station was always good. This is also the best dining spot for breakfast, with fresh waffles, omelets, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, pastries, and croissants.

There are separate dessert and fresh fruit stations, and an Indian curry station. At its busiest times it's occasionally difficult to find a table, but if the weather is nice, wander to the aft deck with your tray and sit outside. Replenish your drinks at The Great Outdoor Cafe, located here, which also serves fast-food items and snacks.

Las Ramblas is a lounge located on Deck 12 aft, and the spot of choice to meet before dining. It's a beautiful room that serves tapas, served with the accompaniment of a guitarist/singer. You can make a meal out of these delights, or have a couple for appetizers.

Those restaurants that levy a surcharge include Le Bistro, which offers French-inspired dining. The restaurant is gorgeous, with cozy booths, solicitous servers, and a menu filled with delicacies from escargot to foie gras. The signature dessert, chocolate fondue, is not to be missed--a pineapple boat of fresh fruit is presented with a dipping pot of melted chocolate. There's a $15 fee to dine here--worth every penny.

Il Adagio is located on Deck 5. This tucked-away gem features northern Italian cuisine, with specialties of pizza and pasta, among others. The cost to dine here is $12.50.

New to Norwegian Sun will be a steakhouse restaurant similar in style to Cagney's, found on Norwegian Dawn--and the surcharge will be $20.

Ginza serves a wide array of Japanese foods including sushi. The teppanyaki bar only seats 12, so make reservations early. Sushi is ordered a la carte at $2 to $5 per serving, or there's an "all you can eat" menu for only $10. This is a terrific deal.

Room service for standard staterooms is fairly basic, with the only hot items being ramen noodles with fried green onions, a small pizza (really good!), and the grilled cheese sandwich on the kid's menu. Other items include sandwiches, coffee, tea, hot chocolate, cookies, and chocolate cake. Breakfast is continental, selected from a simple menu on a door-hung card. The restaurant phones before they send your breakfast.

Suite guests get hot breakfast options, including eggs, bacon, sausage, and oatmeal, and can order lunch and dinner off of the main dining room menus during dining times.

Public Rooms

The layout of the ship makes it easy to navigate (there's one exception, explained below) with most of the public spaces located on Decks 5, 6, and 7, plus the pool/spa/Lido Deck (11) and the alternate restaurants and Sun Deck (12). A small but soaring atrium is located towards the forward end, with two banks of glass-enclosed elevators rising to Deck 12.

There are two main elevator banks, one forward of the atrium and one at the aft, and it's the latter that creates a problem. Those utilizing the aft elevators to get to the pool deck (or the Great Outdoor Cafe) have to wend their way through at least one restaurant before getting outside. This is particularly problematic when trying to get to the pool during busy dining times. The elevator bank is located smack in the middle of the aft dining spots, with the Garden Cafe on the starboard side and the Sports Bar and Pacific Heights on the port side. The only real way to avoid the awkwardness is to take the forward or atrium elevators to the pool or sports deck.

The rest of the ship flows nicely, with the occasional and expected hiccup due to galley placement (you can only reach Deck 4 from the forward elevators, and anything forward of the Seven Seas dining room on Deck 5 has to be accessed via the forward elevators as well).

The Deck 5 atrium area houses the front desk, concierge, shore excursions, and the Java Cafe (specialty coffees and pastries for an a la carte fee), plus the entrance to the Four Seasons Restaurant. Deck 6 is the most beautiful, and the most fun, with Dazzles, the main disco-nightclub just aft of the atrium; Windstar Lounge; and Havana Club, the cigar bar. The photo gallery is also located here, in a wide corridor with dark walnut wood panels and blue carpeting--it's very elegant, and opens out onto the exterior promenade. Located along this corridor is the lovely and well-stocked library, along with meeting rooms and card rooms. At the aft end is the entrance to the main theatre, the Stardust Lounge.

In an interesting design move, the whole atrium area of Deck 6 comprises the Internet Cafe, run by MTN/Digital Seas. Computer stations are scattered around the central core so anyone using them doesn't feel isolated. Packages can bring your rate down from the a la carte 75 cents per minute to as low as 40 cents per minute. Wireless internet is available--your laptop or theirs, your wireless card or theirs--but the "hot spots" on the Sun at this time are limited to the atrium area and right around the pool.

Deck 7 is home to the shopping arcade, a paradise of trinkets, logo items, toys, clothing, jewelry, clocks, knickknacks, snacks, and duty-free liquor and cigarettes, plus a high-priced branch of Colombia Emeralds International. It's also the location of the large Sun Club casino, nicely equipped with a variety of table games, slots, video poker etc. and even a special space for nickel slot players. (I was really hoping to see someone try the lone $100 slot machine, but it didn't happen while I was in the casino). At the forward end of Deck 7 is the Kid's Corner, and at the aft, the upper-level entrance to Stardust Lounge.

The Observation Lounge is located forward on Deck 12, a sunny viewing space during the day, and a hopping music and dance spot at night.

There is a small but lovely chapel on Deck 12 just adjacent to the Observation Lounge.

The ship has no self-serve laundry.

Entertainment

As usual, Norwegian Cruise Line excels in this arena, with its colorful production shows and Broadway-style reviews. With the venerable Jean Ann Ryan dance company and a myriad of other performers (magicians, comedians, and a Cirque du Soleil-like troupe of acrobats) the evening entertainment is stellar. The Stardust Lounge is a nice venue with excellent acoustics. The many upright support posts can interfere with line-of-sight if you don't select a seat carefully.

The many bars and nightclubs around the ship have separate entertainment by way of duos singing old rock and blues standards, a country and western singer, a guitarist/vocalist, pianist, and a calypso/reggae band at poolside. Wherever you go in the evening, there is music of some sort.

The best (or perhaps most outrageous) show of the week was the Ship 'n' Males Review ( a play on Chippendale's) wherein sundry crew members did a striptease down to their boxers or tighty-whities to blaring tunes like "Livin' La Vida Loca" or "I'm Too Sexy." Dazzles Nightclub was the most crowded on that evening, with lots of fun and laughter--and some good-humored embarrassment on the part of the stripping crew as hooting and catcalling ladies stuffed their briefs with dollar bills. It was fun, funny, not lewd, but definitely not for youngsters.

Daytime entertainment is more low-key, but there's plenty to see and do. Bingo, craft-making, art auctions, pool games, trivia contests, and the like are all available during the day, both while at sea and while in port. A movie is shown in Dazzles in the morning and another in the afternoon. In-room television stations include local channels while in port, CNN International, ESPN, an "oldies" sitcom channel, several ship-specific channels, and a couple of movie channels with a rotating selection. Not many of the movies were recent releases, though.

Fitness & Recreation

There are two pools on the main pool deck, and four hot tubs. A deck above (12), there is a kiddie pool and another hot tub. Several adults on my cruise chose to relax around the kids' pool when the main pools became too noisy or crowded. (There is something about the acoustics around the pool deck that makes it seem very loud.)

Forward of the pool is the Body Waves Spa on the starboard side and Body Waves Fitness Center and Aerobics Studio on port side, all nicely equipped for exercising. Use of the machines is free, but some classes have a small fee ($5 to $10). These include yoga, pilates, and spinning classes. The spa, a Mandara facility run by Steiner of London, is lovely, with genuinely nice personnel who try not to hard-sell their products. Treatments seem pricey but there are always specials, especially on port days. A full body treatment will run around $129, a facial around $89.

There are complimentary sauna and steam rooms for both men and women, a basketball court, two golf driving cages, batting cage, and shuffleboard court on Deck 12, and a ping-pong table on the pool deck.

Family

NCL is a family-oriented cruise line, with lots of parent-and-kids activities, a great children's program and even group babysitting until the wee hours. The Kid's Corner, located forward on Deck 7, is a series of three rooms with age-appropriate activities in each. What's really fun about the space is that you have to go down stairs to get to the rooms but there are viewing "portholes" for parents up above. The groups are broken down by compatible ages: 3 to 5, 6 to 8, and 10 to 12. A lot of time is devoted to outdoor activities ("so they can expend energy," the cruise director told me), and there are pizza-making parties for parents and kids and even a child-sized Chocoholic's Buffet arranged in the Pacific Heights restaurant concurrent with the one for adults. The program is free of charge; there is a nominal fee for after-hours group babysitting; plan on about $6 per hour.

Teens have their group activities, and a disco is set aside specifically for that age group (13 to 17).

Fellow Passengers

Norwegian Sun's guests are casual, sophisticated but unpretentious people who like the flexibility of Freestyle dining, ample staterooms, and lots of shipboard activities. The age range is from young families to seniors. The ship is filled with children during school vacation periods.

Dress Code

Casual. Even with Freestyle dining, most guests dress up a bit for supper, in resort-casual clothing. There is one optional formal night per seven-day cruise. Shorts, tank tops, bathing suits, and flip-flops are not allowed in any of the restaurants in the evenings. The fine-dining alternate restaurants require resort-casual clothing.

Gratuities

NCL's policy is to charge shipboard accounts $10 per day per guest ($5 for three-year-olds through 11-year-olds) for shipwide gratuities and service charges. That is sufficient to cover typical cruise tips, but most guests offer a cash "bonus" to their room teams. Bar drinks and spa services have an automatic 15 percent gratuity added. It is expected that room service personnel will be tipped on delivery ($1 or $2 is sufficient).

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