Norwegian Sun Ship Review
We cruised on the newly renovated Norwegian Sun in June of 2023. The renovations were concluded in 2021 and we were able to see all of the updates while they were new and shiny. The ship was built in 2001, making it one of the oldest ships in the fleet, and coincidentally one of the smallest. We are going to break down our review into a few key categories to help give the picture of what cruising on the Norwegian Sun is like. We also have a full ship tour posted on Youtube @Northwoodsthornes.
norwegian sun ship layout
This ship in particular can be difficult to navigate. You will find yourself needing to pass through several areas to get around to your intended destination. For instance, our room was located near the stairwell on deck 8. To get from the pool deck to our room we had to either pass through the Garden Cafe or through the Sports Bar (that was often closed), to get to the stairwell. The only other options left us with going all the way to the front of the ship, down the stairs, and all the way to the back of the ship again. There are small instances like that spread throughout the ship. If you are someone who likes to hop from one activity to the next this ship will keep you on your toes. Bring your walking shoes.
gETTING ON AND OFF THE SHIP
When you board the ship from your port of embarkation, you will most likely board onto deck 6 on the jogging track. On our embarkation day we were funneled through the photo gallery and Windjammer Bar before being set free. On port days you will need to head towards the medical center on deck 4 to tender or to disembark the ship at a pier. It is highly recommended to get in line to get off the ship earlier than you need to. The lines can reach all the way up the stairwell at times.
stateROOMS
Decks 4, 8, 9, and 10 are entirely staterooms. Decks 5, 6, and 7 are a combination of shopping, entertainment, restaurants and staterooms. Deck 11 has some suites but is mostly pool deck, and Deck 12 has no staterooms. You have your typical choices of rooms-inside, balcony, suite, club suite, etc. The rooms themselves have been recently renovated but you will notice they are on the older side. Be sure to bring your outlet converters with you if you want more than one outlet. If you are going on an Alaska cruise having a balcony is is very, very nice. If that is not in your budget there are still plenty of places to hangout on the ship that have window access.
eNTERTAINMENT
The ship’s main entertainment areas are the casino, Stardust lounge, Bliss Ultra lounge, Windjammer bar, library, and game room. The casino is located on deck 7 near the shopping areas. The casino is small compared to the larger mega ships but it was always packed with people when it was open.
The Stardust lounge is the theater room where the main performances are held, and if you cruise Glacier Bay they have the ranger presentations here. They hold Bingo and Deal or No Deal here as well. There are two levels of seating and you can enter from two different decks if you’d like.
The Bliss Ultra lounge is located mid-ship on deck 8. It is a smaller performance area with a small stage, and a full bar off the right side. They hosted trivia here on our cruise, and transformed into more of a club scene at night. The Windjammer Bar is right around the corner from the Bliss Ultra lounge. This bar has a speakeasy/ bourbon bar feel to it.
Continuing down the hall from the Windjammer Bar is the library and game room. They are almost hidden, and you could walk right by them if you get distracted by the photo gallery. The library is small and opens up into the game room. They have a few games you can borrow while the library is open.
SHOPPING
Shopping onboard is very limited, but expected per the size of the ship. There are two main hallways with shops, one being the Tradewinds shop and the other being the Shopping Arcade. The Tradewinds shop is your typical souvenir and basic necessity store. They had shirts, sweatshirts, lanyards, etc. and your basics like deodorant and toothbrushes. On the far end of the Tradewinds shop is the duty free shop where you can purchase alcohol and perfume. The shopping arcade consisted of the cruise line’s affiliated jewelry and watches. In this case it was Effy jewelry and watches on the other end. Norwegian listed the portrait studio as shopping online, which it could be if you choose to get your family portraits done. The last spot for shopping is the photo gallery, Park West, that sets up in the main atrium and auctions art. Compared to the larger ships the shopping options are very small, but I would expect this for the smaller ships.
dINING
The Norwegian Sun has 6* dining rooms included in their cruise package that are complementary. The main dining rooms are the Seven Seas and Four Seasons dining rooms. The Seven Seas is in the stern of the ship and the Four Seasons is mid-ship, right next to the customer service desks. These dining rooms serve breakfast and dinner, and have dress codes.
There are “two” buffets onboard, the Garden Cafe and the Great Outdoors. The buffets are located very close together, on the same deck. The Garden Cafe is the main buffet and is completely indoors. You will find the most variety here, and they serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The Great Outdoors is just that, outdoors. They have much more limited operating hours and a limited menu with more casual foods. Think burgers, hot dogs and simple sandwiches.
The Sports Bar is a good dinner spot that opens in the late evenings. This spot is included in the complimentary cruise fare. They serve your typical sports bar spread of foods, and they are open late for the night owls. Moderno is your other a-typical spot to grab a bite to eat. Normally they are in the “specialty dining” category but they do have a breakfast and lunch setup that are complementary. Not many people find this spot so you may find some peace and quiet here.
Specialty Dining
Norwegian does a good job creating a lot of variety in their specialty dining. There is a specialty restaurant that will fit your taste buds. Los Lobos is a Mexican restaurant, La Cucina is an Italian restaurant, Moderno is a Brazilian steakhouse, Cagney’s is your traditional Steakhouse, Le Bistro is a French Restaurant, Teppanyaki is a Japanese Restaurant and finally there is the Sushi Bar. These are not included in your cruise fare and can add up if you eat here regularly. Norwegian does offer specialty dining packages that you can purchase before the cruise and may save you some money.
fITNESS ROOM AND SPA
The fitness center and spa are both located on the 11th deck, in the front of the ship. The gym is a good size compared to the size of the ship. There are several of each cardio machine, a weightlifting area and a stretching area. There is a separate room for classes that are additional charge. The spa is on the smaller side, there are a few nail and hair stations and a smaller section for spa treatments.
kIDS AREAS
This ship is not exactly kid-friendly. There is one pool, and one very small splash pad-jacuzzi area for kids on the pool deck. The arcade and Splash Academy are the only kid-dedicated areas for entertainment. There were a few kids on our cruise to Alaska but not nearly as many as you would see on a different ship. If you are looking to book a cruise for a young family, or have a lot of younger kids this ship may be boring for them.
pOOL DECK
The pool deck has four jacuzzis and two pools. One pool is adults only and the other is open for all ages. The jacuzzis are just that, jacuzzis, not hot tubs. So be prepared to get cold eventually while using them. There is no age limit enforced on this ship to get into the jacuzzis either, so you will run into sharing the space with kids. The Topsiders bar is right in front of the adults only pool, near the doors to the Garden Cafe.
Overall experience
We had a great time on our cruise to Alaska onboard the Norwegian Sun. We loved our stateroom (we had a balcony room), and the overall experience. There are a few things I wished were better.
Ideally there would be a kid-free jacuzzi. Even if there was just one it would have changed the experience entirely. We had a hard time relaxing when kids were constantly climbing in and out, as well as parents dropping their kids off on the pool deck and disappearing. I found myself hoping when I booked this cruise that there would be less kids because the ship didn’t have many amenities for young families, and that they would choose the Encore over the Sun. This was the case for the most part, but that also meant there were no adults only spaces to hide out in.
The flow of the Garden Cafe was so…wrong. It was always incredibly busy and the lines had no direction. If Norwegian were to do another remodel of this ship I would have suggested that they take out the Great Outdoors and turn it all into one area. Staff should have also been more directing of foot traffic during peak hours in the buffet lines.
Those were my two main complaints that stuck out to me on our cruise. Besides those very minor things, we had a great time on our 9 day cruise. The food, entertainment, and destinations were all fantastic. I would certainly sail onboard the Norwegian Sun again.