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NCL - Norwegian Cruise Lines
Norwsegian Sun Cruise Review
Eastern Caribbean

Yury Menaker
Age: 34
Occupation: Owner of small business
Number of Cruises: 5
Sailing Date: April 15th, 2006

After reading so many negative reviews we were somewhat unsure about sailing on Sun... Though we always take reviews with a grain of salt. Prior to this cruise we sailed with Celebrity, RCCL, Holland and Carnival and had other lines to compare NCL to.

First of all we liked our cruise a lot. Ship was very clean,we loved it's design and size. It reminded us Century Class ships of Celebrity or Vision Class of RCCL. It's easy to navigate and never crowded, also there are many cozy places.

Service was spotless from state room attendant as well as from waiters. It was our very first free style cruise and we didn't know what to expect.. From our previous cruises we loved personal attention from wait teams, but we didn't find lack of service just because we had different waiters every night. We loved being able to pick the location of our table!!! We rarely were getting tables by the window on previous cruises. Never had to wait for the table, although we usually went to the dining room between 6:30 and 7:30 to avoid crowds.

Food. It's very subjective matter. We aren't "meat and potato" people, and Celebrity is still #1 for us, but we didn't find anything wrong with NCL food, except that we would loved to have escargots, some seafood and lobster on some nights. Dishes that we did eat were tasty and good,and NOT lukewarm as many wrote in their reviews. Loved lamb chops!!! Missed omelet's made to order for breakfast, but not a huge problem. Desserts were wonderful and we could order cappuccino and espresso in the dining room for free with our dinner.

Entertainment was up to par with the other lines, and 3 production shows were interesting. (We usually only attend production shows)We were impressed with live music everywhere and band by the pool was doing good job too. Caribbean pool party was weaker than on Celebrity we thought.

For people who like to stay fit fitness center is great with many treadmills , bikes and TV's. Also there is a nice full basketball court, which was very important for our 14 yo.

Itinerary. Miami - Day at Sea - Cayo Levantado - Tortola - St.Thomas - Day at Sea - Great Stirrup Cay - Miami

I much prefer Eastern Caribbean to West because of the hilly and beautiful islands. We absolutely loved Tortola and St.Thomas were we took private excursions : island drive and beach break on each island. Both islands have terrific places to take pictures and amazing beaches. We didn't care much for Cayo Levantado. We didn't get to Cayo because after slow tendering we didn't have time and wish to take another water taxi to Cayo. Place were we were tendered to was dirty, smelly, poor and filled with beggars. (I know, it's not nice thing to say, but beggars always are making me feel somewhat guilty)

Great Stirrup Cay is a nice stop. Holland America's Half Moon Cay is still number one for us , but this is also nice private island. Very friendly staff, clean beach and water, many umbrellas and chairs. BBQ was tasty.

Embarkation and debarkation were quick and efficient, tendering on the other hand was slow, with each person getting own number and waiting in line.

Overall I would recommend this cruise to all people looking for nice , relaxing cruise with good service and decent food. It's not for cruisers looking for luxury atmosphere and cuisine (although we didn't attend specialty restaurants ,so we probably missed some great food)

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