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Diane

Age: 28
Occupation: Professional
Number of Cruises: 3
Cruise Line: Norwegian
Ship: Sun
Sailing Date: November 23rd, 2003
Itinerary: Western Caribbean

The best thing about NCL Sun is the freestyle crusing. It was really great. We ate at different time each night, either by ourselves or shared a table with others. There was a bit long wait for dinner at the main dining room (either Four Season or the Seven Sea) for people with a big group. As for small groups, the wait was short, especially if you didn't mind sharing the table. The food was great with upscale menu selection. If you want to try different foods, this is the ship to go. If you want the all American food, it was served everyday and night as a staple. So whatever your taste is, you would find something you like. The only disapointment was the buffet. The selection was poor at breakfast. Pancake and French toaste were served only once during the week long cruise. But it was open 24 hours a day everyday.

The ship was beautiful and looking new. But they allow smoking in many bars so we smell the smoke in the atrium and other public area. That was offensive. Plus our room had the smoke odor when we walked in. Good thing that we had a balcony room. We open the door to air out the smell throughout the trip.

Our room was nice and very clean. The attendents came twice a day to clean and then to turn down in the evening. We took shower after touring the island then went to dinner. When we got back from dinner, our room was made up with clean towels and the bathroom was spotless. All the mess was gone. Great hosekeeping service.

Our ports were Ocho Rio, Grand Cayman, Costa Maya, Cozumel. The ship tours were expensive so we didn't take any. We did our own research & booked tours on our own. It worked out great. Had a great time and save a lot.

There were a lot of bad things said about Jamaica. We took the general advice and didn't walk around by ourselves. We booked a day tour with a local Chef & Libby. It was $100 for 4 of us. So it came out to be $25/person. It was great. Chef waited for us few yards from the gate at the pier. We told him what we like to see and he took us there. He also took us outside Ocho Rio to see the real Jamaica, where people were friendly and not aggressive. By no means, Jamaica is very poor. There are million dollar mansions along the shore and then shaky shacks by the hills that the tin roof can easily be blown away by a storm. We toured the island in the morning. The went to Dunn's River Fall in the afternoon, when most of the tour groups were gone. The park cost $10 to get in. But once inside, it's like a different world, pretty and clean and friendly staff that would get out of their way to help you, from renting water shoes to guide you up the falls. Since all the tour groups were gone, we had the falls to ourselves. We took the time to climb it and stop often to take pictures. When we were ready to leave, Chef was waiting for us at the park entrance to take us back to the ship. That was $25 well spent day tour. We didn't have to pay up front. We paid Chef when he dropped us off back at the pier at the end of the day. I highly recommend them.

Next stop was Grand Cayman. This was a tender port. We didn't buy a tour with the ship so we had to wait for an hour to get on a tender to go on shore. That was a waste of time and ignoring. We booked the Stingray city snorkeling tour with Native Way Water Sports. They have people hold up a sign at the pier where the tender drop you off. They collected people and put us on a small bus. The drive to the marina was about 20 minutes through a nice town. Then we boarded a small boat out to the bay to snorkeling for 30 minutes. Then onto Stingray city to encounter the rays. The tour was $25 and we paid at the end of the tour. Another money well spent.

Next stop was Costa Maya. This is a new port in the Caribbean. We didn't find much info before the cruise. We wanted to take a 1/2 day ruin tour then spent the afternoon on a beach. This is a beautiful port with very natural scenary. The most natual out of the 4 ports on the cruise. We booked a Chochoobean ruin tour with a local vendor when we got to the pier. He was located to the left by the pink wall in the shopping plaza at the pier. It was $45. But the cost was only the ride and ruin entrance. We had to pay a guide to show us around and explain the ruins to us. The guid was only $25 for 6 of us in the group. But it was decivisng that we thought it was included in the tour. My suggestion is if you have 2 or more people in your group, negotiated a deal with the taxi driver to take you to the ruin and wait for you to take you back to the pier. The Chochoobean ruin was 1 hour ride from the pier each way. It was on newly paved highway so it was an enjoyable ride through the marshes and the flat wilderness. After the ruin tour, we went to the beach right off the pier. The sand was nice but a bit dirty with trash. It was rocky we had to wear water shoes. We stay on the beach until dark, a few minutes before the ship depart. Then walked back to the ship before sailing.

Last port was Cozumel. Like Grand Cayman, it's a very commercialized town with stores right off the pier. Taxi were everywhere. We did shopping in the morning. Then took a taxi to a beach near the pier Playa Azul for a quick swim. The taxi was $3 per person. The public beach section was very small, 50 feet long. But it was sandy stretch with hotels for a mile. There was fresh water outdoor shower and a restaurant. Taxi were also waiting to take people places. It was a nice quick get away. On our way back, the taxi driver asked for $5 per person. We bargain it down to $3 since that was what we paid getting there. Taxi fare was pre-determined before you get in the car. There was no meter. So make sure you agree on the price before getting in. Have small dollar bills ready for taxi since they don't give you change back in U.S. dollars.

Overall, it was a great trip, great value for the price of the cruise. We would take the freestyle crusing over the traditional ones.

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