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Miami – Costa Maya – Roatan – Belize City – Cozumel – Miami
The
Norwegian Sun, built in 1999,
was the last ship NCL launched before the truly “Freestyle” designed new
builds which include
 the Norwegian Star, Norwegian Dawn and, soon to come,
the Norwegian Jewel. At 77,000 tons the Sun was designed as a sister ship
to the Norwegian Sky (which has since been renamed the Pride of Aloha and
sails under NCL’s U.S.-Flagged arm – NCL America). The ship is mid-sized
by current standards, with a double occupancy capacity of 1936 guests.
The Ship
I found the ship to be in excellent
condition. The public areas are aesthetically pleasing and the overall
maintenance to the ship is evident. On several occasions during my
cruise, I noticed crew working on and cleaning both interior and exterior
areas. The attention to upkeep is noticeable as the ship is in excellent
shape.
The
ship’s layout is done well, with the exception of a handful of staterooms
which are located on deck 6a and are not accessible by elevator. The
public areas are mainly on decks 5, 6, and 7. The restaurants are spread
between decks 4 and 12.
The Public Rooms
Stardust Lounge (capacity 1,066)
– Located on deck 6 and 7 aft, this two level theatre is the ship’s main
lounge and is where the main shows are presented nightly. The Stardust
Lounge features comfortable seating, straight sight lines, and excellent
audio visual equipment. For large groups, this lounge could be used for
theatre-style meetings and special performances. I wouldn’t suggest
cocktail receptions in this lounge unless necessitated by the size of the
group. The ship offers better areas for this.
Observation Lounge (capacity 342) – Located on deck 12 forward, this
room features panoramic ocean views across the bow of the vessel. This
lounge features live music throughout the cruise in the evenings and is
best suited for private cocktail parties.
Dazzles Nightclub (capacity 335) – Located on deck 6 midship, Dazzles
is the ship’s disco complete with neon lighting, large dancefloor and an
excellent sound system. The room can be used for meetings and events as
there are doors that can be shut on both ends of the lounge. However,
being situated midship, guests need to walk through this lounge to get
forward or aft. Therefore, this room is the last option for a private
event in my opinion.
Windjammer Bar / Havana Club (capacity 64 / 31) – The Windjammer bar
is located on deck 6, just aft of Dazzles nightclub and is a great bar.
Rich wood and leather seats are featured here. The nautical décor is very
nice also. This is a great place to unwind and enjoy a pre dinner
cocktail if you are dining in the vicinity. The Havana Club is basically
the back area of the Windjammer and is a cigar bar, featuring comfortable
seating and a well stocked humidor. Neither offers any privacy being
located on the promenade so these are not ideal locales for private
events.
Sports Bar (capacity 62) – Located on deck 11 aft, the Sports Bar
features many televisions broadcasting the events of the day. I was lucky
enough to be onboard during the World Series and this was the place to be
to watch the games. During the daytime, soccer is the broadcast of
choice. On Sunday, the NFL game of the day was also on here. This room
could be used for a private event if the theme was desired.
There are various other public rooms and lounges. The deck bars are well
staffed and are a great place to enjoy the days at sea. The Java Café
offers many coffee specialties and is conveniently located near the
internet café on deck 6. The Champagne Bar features champagnes and wines
by the glass and is located on deck 6 also.
The Restaurants
Four Seasons Restaurant (capacity
564) – Located on deck 5 midship, the Four Seasons is one of the ship’s
main restaurants. Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, the Four Seasons
features international cuisine. Freestyle cruising allows you to choose
when to dine with the Four Seasons being open from 6 – 11 for dinner
nightly. The food was well prepared and service was good. The wine list
was thorough, offering several wines in each price category.
Seven Seas Restaurant (capacity 594) – The Seven Seas is the second of
the ship’s main restaurants and features the same menu as the Four
Seasons. The Seven Seas is located on Deck 5 aft.
Il Adagio Restaurant (capacity 84) – This is the Italian specialty
restaurant located on deck 5 midship. There is a $12.50 per person
surcharge here and it is well worth it. The food was excellent as was the
service. The menu offers many choices. The veal chop was prepared
perfectly and may have been the best meal I have ever had on a mass market
cruise ship. This is a “don’t miss” for the NCL Sun.
Le Bistro Restaurant (capacity 90) – Located on deck 12 aft, Le Bisto
is the French specialty restaurant. A $15.00 per person surcharge applies
at Le Bistro. Once again a diverse menu and excellent service is
delivered. The menu is truly more international than French, but overall
this was a very good dining experience.
Ginza (capacity 165) – Located on deck 12 aft, Ginza is the ship’s
Japanese specialty restaurant and features a sushi bar and teppanyaki
room. I dined in the teppanyaki room and the chefs were true showmen and
the food was good. We enjoyed sushi as well and the sushi chef was
excellent, accommodating our requests for sushi that was not featured on
the menu. The restaurant has a $15.00 per person surcharge. Interesting
is that sushi is offered a la carte and carry additional charges. There
is a $10.00 per person “all you can eat” sushi choice, which is the best
option for those that enjoy sushi. Sushi appetizers are available in the
teppanyaki room and main menus and are included in the general surcharge.
East Meets West (capacity 65) – This restaurant features Pan-Asian
cuisine and is located on deck 12 aft. There is a $15 per person
surcharge here but the food is excellent with the service to match. A
creative menu combined with elegant presentation makes this another
must-do on the Sun.
Pacific Heights (capacity 102) – This specialty restaurant features
innovative, healthy choices. Pacific Heights does require reservations,
as do all specialty restaurants, but does not carry a surcharge. This
restaurant is located on deck 11 aft also.
Garden Café Restaurant (capacity 477) – Located on deck 11 aft, the
Garden Café is open for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late night snacks.
For breakfast, the buffet is supplemented with two omelet stations, a
fresh fruit bar, and a hot cereal and oatmeal station. The food is
refreshed often and the choices are fairly diverse. Lunch in the Garden
Café is quite good with the buffet having various hot food choices along
with soups and salads. Dinners are also good with carving stations,
grilled steaks cooked to order, pasta stations, and salads.
Las Ramblas Tapas Bar (capacity 81) – Located aft on deck 12, Las
Ramblas is a great room reminiscent of a Spanish tapas bar. Open in the
evenings, Las Ramblas feature authentic Spanish tapas. Live music accent
the ambience here and the room is one of the best on the ship. I think
this room is one of the best for a private cocktail venue.
Other Notables
The Norwegian Sun, as all NCL ships, feature the Mandara Spa, a leading
operator of exotic resort spas in the world. The name "Mandara" comes
from an ancient Sanskrit legend about the gods' quest to find the elixir
of immortality and eternal youth. Mandara spa, originating in Bali, has
embraced the legend. With over 45 land and sea-based spas worldwide and on
Norwegian Cruise Line, they have developed unique and exotic spa
treatments to reflect the beauty, spirit and traditions of Bali.
The casino offered various table games and plenty of slot choices. The
staff here is excellent and the gaming is lively. This is one of the
best run casinos at sea for high rollers and beginners alike.
NCL also has various internet and cellular phone packages. Guests are
able to make and receive calls on their mobile phone while the ship is at
sea through NCL’s Freestyle Cellular service (a partnership with AT&T).
So long as you have a GSM phone and international plan, you can take
advantage of this. The price varies depending on your plan and main
carrier. My calls were billed to me at $1.49 per minute in total. This
is a great deal considering calls from your stateroom are billed at $6.95
per minute. Check with your carrier for exact details. The internet café
was quite busy with many plans available from $0.75 per minute to $0.25
per minute depending on volume purchases. The ship also has wi-fi
hotspots and you can use your laptop or rent on onboard if you like.
The Experience
As a former NCL employee, I was very
interested to see how the product had changed in the past 6 years. Also, I was very curious as to how the “Freestyle”
cruising concept works on board. Overall, the cruise was very good. The
ship’s staff is well trained and the cruise offers various entertainment
and events for a wide spectrum of tastes. Freestyle cruising is an
excellent innovation for individual guests, but has been a challenge for
incentive programs. From what I experienced, I offer the following
suggestions for a successful incentive program on NCL:
-
Plan for more cocktail parties. On most seven night cruises, a
typical incentive group would have a welcome and farewell cocktail
reception. I suggest increasing from two to three or even four. The
reason is that your group will not dine together for most of the cruise
as they will be taking advantage of specialty restaurants and enjoying
the freedoms of Freestyle by dining when they want. Rather than trying
to structure their experience by setting times for the main dining
rooms, allow them to congregate at receptions. Worldwide can negotiate
these into your contracts most of the time.
-
Plan for on board credits. Because most of the specialty
restaurants carry surcharges, plan on $100 per cabin on board credit.
This figure will cover 3 nights at specialty restaurants for a party of
two.
-
Do group shore excursions. This is another great way to do events
as an entire group. In some cases, Worldwide can arrange for exclusive
group excursions depending on the size of the group and itinerary.
-
Do cabin amenity
drops on port days. Because the guests will be dining at various
times and venues, doing your cabin deliveries during port stops make it
easier to get the amenities to your group at the same time.
There is no doubt that
NCL’s Freestyle Cruising concept allows guests more freedoms on their
cruise. With a bit of planning and innovation, you can create a custom
cruise incentive on NCL. We look forward to hearing from you and to
assist with your next cruise program.
Submitted by: Leon Banossian, October 23 – 30, 2004. The views
expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect
those of WWTCA.
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