Norwegian Cruise Line

MV Norwegian Sun

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Operator: Norwegian Cruise Line
Year Built / Last Refurbished: 2001/ 2001
Length / Tonnage: 853 / 77,104
Number of Cabins / Passengers: 1,001 / 2,002
Officers / Crew: Norwegian / International
Operating Area: Canada/New England, Caribbean.

She entered service in September of 2001 and was specifically built to support NCL's free-style cruising program. On board passengers have the option of dining in 10 restaurants serving Italian, Chinese, Spanish, French, Californian and Japanese cuisine.

Her public areas are spread over fifteen decks and flow nicely from one area to the next. Lounges and bars include: Dazzles Nightclub, Observation Lounge, Stardust Lounge, Sun Club Casino, 24-Hour Indoor/Outdoor Café, Champagne Bar, Havana Cigar Club, Garden Café, Internet Café, The Zone, Java Café and Sports Bar. Restauarants include: Las Ramblas Tapas Bar & Restaurant, Windjammer Bar, Four Seasons (Main Restaurant), Ginza Japanese Restaurant, Il Adagio Restaurant, Le Bistro, Seven Seas Dining Room, East Meets West, and Pacific Heights serving "healthy" meals.

In addition to a towering eight-deck-high, glass-domed atrium, she has two pools, five whirlpools, a full service spa and salon, exercise gym with separate aerobics area, and a two-story main show lounge with proscenium stage.

Passengers can dine in five of the ten restaurants without additional charges however the others have either a $10 per person cover charge or they hit you with an a-la-carte menu. Some have hidden costs - for example, there is no signage to tell passengers that the appetizers in the Tapas Bar are $1.00 per serving. While this is all part of NCL's free-style cruising program, the nickel and dime" approach can get old quickly - especially for veteran cruise passengers.

The French restaurant - Le Bistro - has the best food and service aboard the ship. The waiters are attentive and the food is served on time and at the correct temperature. At the other end of the scale is the Italian restaurant - ill Adagio. Food is average and the service can range from average to poor.

Her 1,001 cabins include thirty-six suites, and 107 mini-suites complete with balconies.

Because NCL has a very active sports program they attract a lot of younger, active people. Passengers here tend to be younger than those aboard corresponding ships of, say...Princess and Holland America.

She operates on a Western Caribbean itinerary from Miami with stops at George Town (Grand Cayman), Roatan (Bay Islands), Belize City (Belize), and Cozumel (Mexico) plus two days at sea.

With the introduction of free-style cruising, the newer ships in the NCL fleet have lost some of the warmth of the past. With the wider variety of options it has become increasingly more difficult for the staff to get to know you - and you to get the know the staff and your fellow passengers. If you haven't cruised before, you will probably have a good, if not great time on board the Norwegian Sun. If you are a veteran cruiser, you may find NCL's free-style approach lacking in terms of quality and service.