We originally booked the NCL Sun, pre-Katrina, leaving from NOLA.
Instead, we got to drive past NOLA and on to the Port of Houston.
Getting there:
As we approached NO through Mississippi on I-59, the landscape took on a
surrealistic appearance. The trees along the highway looked as if some
giant creature had come along and just plucked off the top halves of
most of the conifers - leaving only the remaining half trunks standing.
A picture couldn't do the scale of the scene justice, this went on for
many miles. Increasingly, we began to see roofs clad in bright blue
plastic tarps, FEMA trucks and travel trailers, occasionally
interspersed with "camps" of RVs and tents.
Traveling west on I-12, just N of Lake Ponchartrain, there were many
homes and businesses that were waiting for new roofs, siding, brickwork,
and normalcy. There were still piles of debris waiting for pick
up. The highway banks were mostly clean, but still littered in spots
with pieces of insulation and twisted bits of unrecognizable metal.
Embarkation:
Arriving at the Port of Houston the following morning, we dropped
off our luggage and parked in the adjacent fenced lot for $49. Entering
the terminal, we were instructed to have a seat. The staff called
guests into the check-in line by seat row. This kept the line short and
time spent standing to a minimum. To my surprise, check-in was done on
board the ship in the Stardust Lounge via laptops. Very quick and easy.
Cabin:
I had booked the largest inside cabin available, but when prices dropped
during the non-refundable period, I asked my TA to try to rebook me for
a balcony. After 45 minutes on hold with NCL, we gave up waiting for
NCL to "get back to us" that morning. Still no answer that afternoon,
so my expectations were low. The next morning, however, a balcony!
Enjoyed the electric hot pot for making tea, full length sofa on the
balcony end of the room, and the frig. Shower was excellent. The
built-in hairdryer over the commode would have been better placed near
the vanity. My only real negative for the cabin concerned the little
shorty-backed chairs on the balcony - perhaps comfy for a child - but
not for adults. Cabin service met our expectations.
Food:
Dined 3 times in the main dining room. We shared a large table once and
had a table for 2 on the other occasions. Service was good, but the
food was spotty in quality.
Our experience in Le Bistro (French) was our worst dining experience on
the ship. Food was hit and miss. My Caesar salad was so salty it was
inedible, and I like salt. "Service" was provided by an inept tag team
of 2 that either weren't around or duplicated themselves (bringing the
dessert cart twice, asking if we wanted drinks twice, etc...) There were
longer than normal waits between courses as well. Fully half the tables
in the restaurant were unoccupied, but the wait staff seemed
preoccupied and hurried. Cover charge was $15. 50% off offered on the
first 2 nights of sailing.
Il Adagio (Italian) the following evening, was great. Great service and
tasty food. Well worth the $12.50 cover.
We ate lunch at the Ginza sushi bar twice (charge) - Good experience
here, but not a popular venue. We also heard good reports on the Ginzu
Teppanyaki for dinner, but didn't try it ourselves.
Our final night, getting a little tired of food (imagine that)
we wandered into the spanish tapas (snacks) bar - Las Ramblas. We tried
the sangria - it had perhaps a half inch of bits of fruit floating on
top. Neither of us cared for it. Something about chewing on pieces of
lime rind, perhaps. Olive tappenade and toast, olives, room temp fried
fish cakes (blech) and a spoonful of popcorn shrimp salad left us
heading to the buffet to get a plate of freshly made tuscan spaghetti.
Chocolate Buffet - Imagine 400 pounds of chocolate as cake, pie,
chocolate covered fruit, etc...This event was very well attended judging
by what remained of the buffet by the time I got there.
There is also the East Meets West Steakhouse ($20 cover) and a Pacific
Heights (cooking light and no cover, but reservations required for
dinner) that we did not experience.
Entertainment:
Not as good as I've experienced on RCCL and not as well attended, from
what I saw. I attended one full stage show and part of 2 others.
Ship:
We sailed at about 3/4 full, so it was very uncrowded.
Captain Trygve Vorren is a pro. Crew looked professional and attentive.
Mandatory antibacterial handwash during initial boarding. We did this
reboarding from Roatan as well. There were also signs that discouraged
handshaking posted outside the group meetings.
Pool deck had 2 pools with a quad of whirlpools between them.
There was a separate pool for the kiddies, as well.
You could walk the length of the ship except on level 5 where one of the
main dining rooms is located midship. Here you need to go up/down a
level to get to the other side. A minor, but frequent, inconvenience.
My design preference is for a large open atrium, high ceilings, and
loads of glass that the RCCL ships offer. On NCL Sun, public areas
seemed a bit more closed in, less glass, lower ceilings. OTHO, the Sun
was squeaky clean, the cabin was well laid out, there was adequate
public space and I could have easily spent a few more days here.
Freestyle:
Our first experience, and we liked it. We could ask for a large table
when we felt social and decline one when we wanted more privacy. We
could sample special restaurants or hit the buffet without feeling we
were abandoning our table mates at dinner. We could eat when we felt
hungry rather than by the clock. Formal night was optional and we opted
out for this cruise. We experienced mostly very good service from
wait staff despite the automatic tipping policy.
Ports:
We went scuba diving at every one.
- Cozumel -
We tendered to the ferry dock from our anchored position near town.
Since we had time to spare, we stopped for virgin drinks and a plate of
nachos at Las Palmeras. Convenient, but expensive for what we got. We
had pre-arranged our diving before leaving home and took a taxi to the
Caleta where we met with our dive boat staff and a couple of divers from
another ship.
We dove Palancar Caves for the first dive. Very nice swim-thrus here.
Our 2nd dive was extremely nice. We spotted more Eagle Rays on this
dive than we've ever seen in a single dive. Also saw turtles, a
Splendid Toadfish, and just a great variety of marine life.
Topside there is damage. No surprise considering the hurricane sat on
this island for more than 2 days. But for those of us who come to dive -
Cozumel definitely remains a worthwhile destination if you find a place
to stay and don't mind having the reef to yourselves. Hotel rooms will
be limited until the bigger resorts on the south end resume service.
- Belize -
We arranged our diving through the ship. I rarely book diving through
the ship, but logistics ruled here. For the princely sum of $140pp (we
had a $124 credit for port changes that took a little of the sting out),
the dive boat picked us up at the anchored ship. About 2 dozen divers
divided into 3 groups made 2 tank dives on the Turneffe Atolls. Skill
levels were intentionally mixed so that no one DM would get all of the
beginners. Let's just say that I wouldn't book this tour again. Diving
here is worthwhile, but Cozumel was better.
- Roatan, Honduras -
The ship docked at Coxen Hole. There were kids begging for change.
Kids selling cheap jewelry. Most of the "craft" tables were selling
identical crafts. Hand carved boxes, vases and canes, cheap beaded
jewelry, and 5 dollar T shirts dominated most every table.
Leaving Coxen Hole by taxi, I was glad I wasn't the one driving.
Pedestrians and bicyclists on the narrow, twisting roads left very
little room for error. We passed by the luxurious homes of the folks
that own Fantasy Island (remember "The plane, the plane!")
We also passed by many dilapidated little homes without window screens
that were surrounded by mud and/or standing water and sometimes trash.
Mosquitos, Malaria, and Dengue Fever quickly came to mind. Water
sanitation (lack of) and thoughts of intestinal parasites, ear
infections, and the like weren't far behind either. Be cautious here.
We arranged to do some diving independently. Macro marine life & coral
was plentiful, but so were the no see-ums. Between dives, I rolled down
the top of my wet suit and got quite a few nibbles from these sand fleas.
Bring some DEET, it will at least keep the mosquitos at bay.
Debarking:
Chose the "Express Debarkation". No color tags. Just get all your
luggage, get in line and leave. We were in our car at 7:30am.
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699085. Re: Tickets here
699085699086. Re: Coffeepot in the room?
699086699087. Re: Sun Princess Cruise Director
699087699088. Re: Tickets here
699088699089. Re: Changed Itinerary Compensation
699089699090. Re: OT: C in WDW, was Re: About Muster Station Drills
699090699091. ENTERTAINER
699091699092. Re: ENTERTAINER
699092699093. Re: OT: C in WDW, was Re: About Muster Station Drills
699093699094. Re: Sun Princess Cruise Director
699094699095. Re: Hand Sanitizers on the cruise ships ?
699095699096. Re: Formal Dresses, Evening Dresses, Prom Dresses, Jackets, Jeans, JL699097. Re: Changed Itinerary Compensation
699097699098. Re: ENTERTAINER
699098699099. Re: Changed Itinerary Compensation
699099699100. Weather in the Bahamas during first week of May
699100699101. Re: OT: C in WDW, was Re: About Muster Station Drills
699101699102. Re: Weather in the Bahamas during first week of May
699102699103. Re: Formal Dresses, Evening Dresses, Prom Dresses, Jackets, Jeans, JL699104. Re: OT: C in WDW, was Re: About Muster Station Drills
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