Norwegian Sun

The 2001-built Norwegian Sun cruise ship is the second Sky-class NCL vessel, with sisterships Norwegian Sky and Costa Victoria (1996-2021). NCL Sun is currently the company's only liner operated with all-inclusive cruise deals (ticket prices are inclusive of unlimited beverages, including alcohol).

The vessel (IMO number 9218131) is currently Bahamas-flagged (MMSI 311109000) and registered in Nassau.

History - construction and ownership

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) is a subsidiary company of the shipping corporation Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH). NCL was founded in 1966, headquartered in Miami (Florida USA) and publicly traded (NASDAQ) company listed on NYSE (NYC). NCLH's major shareholders are the corporations Apollo Global Management (American), Genting Group (Malaysian) and TPG Capital (American). In 2017, the brand NCL had a worldwide cruise market share 8,7% (passengers) and 8,4% (revenue). NCLH (shipowner) owns the brands NCL, Oceania and RSSC-Regent.

The 1950-passenger ship Norwegian Sun entered service in a dual christening ceremony in 2001 at the Port of Miami with Norwegian Star. The famous TV presenter Brooke Burke acted as the ship's godmother. NCL Sun was constructed at Lloyd Werft shipyard (Bremerhaven, Germany). A 12-day drydock in early 2011 saw the ship sparkling with bright colors from top to bottom, spacious accommodations (the 33 suites were refreshed) and pretty public spaces. Sun also received a Brazilian-style churrascaria, which debuted on Norwegian Epic.

Decks and Cabins

Norwegian Sun staterooms (968 total, in 32 grades) include 52x Suites, 380x Balcony, 213x Oceanview and 293x Inside cabins. Most staterooms are sized 150-170 ft2 (14-16 m2). The largest accommodations are the Owners Suites (570 ft2 / 53 m2, with terrace sized 260 ft2 / 24 m2).

The boat has 12 decks, of which 9 are passenger-accessible and 8 with cabins.

Shipboard dining options - Food and Drinks

Norwegian Sun is NCL's first cruise ship planned definitely for Freestyle Cruising (eat at any place and time, dressed in what you like). Cruisers can have a good time with freestyle dining and a lot of options to choose from. They can try gourmet cuisine or go to Le Bistro to taste innovative dishes. Norwegian Sun offers two main dining rooms for the passengers seeking a traditional dining experience: Four Seasons and Seven Seas, both very flexible. Guests can make reservations for the same time each night, or choose different times, based on their schedule. Both MDRs are open nightly for dinner. Each day, one of the two provides open-seating breakfast and lunch. Compared to the cuisine and service in the specialty restaurants, the dining rooms experience doesn't lag. If you are looking for something different, Il Adagio, Le Bistro and Ginza are there to present various food from Italian to Sushi Bars but all are at a cost ranging from $10 per person and up.

Follows the complete list of Norwegian Sun restaurants and food bars.

• Seven Seas Restaurant (forward Dining Room, complimentary, with Your Time dining)
• Le Bistro (French dinner-only specialty restaurant; reservations-only; US$20 cover charge)
• Four Seasons Restaurant (aft-location Dining Room; complimentary; Freestyle dining)
• Il Adagio (Italian specialty restaurant; cover charge US$15, reservations-only)
• Great Outdoor Cafe (complimentary lido buffet restaurant)
• Topsiders Bar & Grill (complimentary poolside bar)
• Cagney’s Steakhouse (specialty dinner restaurant for prime steaks and gourmet seafood; reservations-only, US$30 cover charge per person and free Kids Menu)
• Moderno Churrascaria (Brazilian steakhouse; reservations-only; US$20 per person cover charge; with outdoor seating waterfront area)
• Teppanyaki Room (Japanese Hibachi specialty restaurant at surcharge US$25 pp; located inside Cagney’s)
• Sushi Bar (Ginza restaurant)
• East Meets West Steakhouse (specialty dinner restaurant for prime steaks and gourmet seafood)
• Los Lobos Cantina (Mexican eatery replacing Las Ramblas Restaurant & Bar during 2018 refurb)
• Garden Cafe (complimentary buffet restaurant with various cuisine stations); Kid's Cafe.

Shipboard entertainment options - Fun and Sport

The domed 8-deck-high Atrium, with nice elevators, is the heart of the vessel. Norwegian Sun has twelve bars/lounges plus some to suit intimate moods. There is also an Internet Café on the Promenade Deck with 24 computer stations (basic fee is 75 cents per minute, after a one-time $3.95 activation charge). The NCL Sun is also the spot for enrichment classes, lectures, computer classes and children's programs. When the moon goes up, passengers may enjoy Broadway-style revues presented in the 2-deck Stardust Lounge, complete with a proscenium stage. Entertainment options also include the NCL's FIREWORKS show (on each voyage), "Rock of Ages", "Cirque Dreams", "Illusionarium" (magicians show).

Additional amenities include: Complimentary 24-hour Room-Service, Supervised Kids Program ("NCL Kids"), Internet/WiFi Access, Laundry. NCL Sun tipping/gratuities (US$12 pp per day). Norwegian Sun cruise ship weddings are held in an onboard chapel.

Follows the complete list of Norwegian Sun lounges, clubs and other entertainment venues for kids, teens and adults.

• Stardust Theatre (1000-seat; features Broadway-style musical productions; two grand shows per night)
• Windjammer Bar; Champagne Bar; Champs Bar; Stardust Lounge; Sports Bar; Topsiders Bar; Sprinkles (ice cream bar); Java Cafe
• Bliss Ultra Lounge (replacing Dazzles Disco & Nightclub during 2018 refurb)
• Spinnaker Lounge (replacing Observation Lounge & Disco Nightclub during 2018 refurb)
• Sun Atrium (midship hub area with a big-size LED screen, dance area and live entertainment)
• Atrium Cafe & Bar (specialty tea & coffee bar)
• LifeStyles Room; TechStyles Room
• East Indies Meeting Rooms; East Indies Library & Conference Room
• Internet Cafe (24-hour); Art Gallery; Photo Gallery & Shop
• Sun Club Casino
• Galleria Shops (tax and duty-free shops)
• Body Waves Spa & Fitness Centre (Spa treatment rooms, sauna, herbal steam room, thalassotherapy pool, Beauty Salon; Body Waves Fitness Centre); 2 swimming pools, 5 Whirlpools, tennis tables
• Kid’s Corner Club; Splashes (kids pool); The Zone Teen Club & Disco; Video Games Arcade
• Combined sports court; Jogging Track; Golf Nets.

Itineraries

Norwegian Sun itinerary program was originally based on Caribbean (Cuba) cruises from Florida and around South America voyages leaving from homeports Buenos Aires Argentina and Valparaiso-Santiago Chile.

• Starting May 7, 2018, the ship was repositioned to Port Canaveral (Orlando Florida) for all-inclusive 4-day Cuba cruises (Mondays departures) to Havana with Key West Florida, alternating with 3-day itineraries to Bahamas (Fridays departures) to either Freeport or Nassau and Great Stirrup Cay Island.
• All departures are from Port Canaveral's "Cruise Terminal 10", at 4 pm. Arrivals back to homeport are at 7 am.
• In the period September 9 - October 14 (2018) were scheduled all six 7-day roundtrips from Miami to Havana, Great Stirrup Cay Bahamas, Costa Maya Mexico and Harvest Caye Belize. In 2018-2019, the ship offers on relocation westbound and eastbound 14-day winter itineraries between Valparaiso and Buenos Aires.
• NCL's Cuban cruise program was based on two Florida-homeported liners - Norwegian Sky (from Miami) and Norwegian Sun (from Port Canaveral). Following the US Gov's June 2019-issued ban on group travel to Cuba from USA, NCL revised all its scheduled itineraries visiting Cuban seaports. All planned departures beyond September 2 (2019) were auto-canceled. Cuba-visiting itineraries prior to September 2nd were modified to exclude Havana and visit other Caribbean ports - including in Bahamas (Great Stirrup Cay Island, Freeport, Nassau) and Florida (Key West).

Due to the Coronavirus crisis, the NCL ship Sun was paused for 2+ years (March 2020 thru May 2022), restarting on May 5th in Alaska (7-day roundtrips from homeport Seattle WA). The planned inaugural season in Asia was originally based on homeporting in Tokyo Japan, but the program was canceled. The Alaskan deployment 2022 was to be followed by an Asian program (with homeporting in Singapore, Laem Chabang-Bangkok Thailand, Hong Kong China, Tokyo Japan) but this deployment was also canceled and replaced with Canary Islands (winter 2022-2023).

The NCL Sun ship was christened traditionally at PortMiami on November 17, 2001, in a dual ceremony - together with the fleetmate NCL Star. Sun ship's godmother was "Miss America 2001" Angela Baraquio (Asian-American). The liner is of the Sky-class NCL vessels, with sisterships NCL Sky and Costa Victoria.

2001 was the year when two brand new ships were delivered to the NCL company - Sun and Star. Both vessels were ordered and built specifically to embrace the line's revolutionary innovative "Freestyle Cruising" concept. All the three Sky-class ships together worth more than 1 billion USD - at that time a huge investment in this market.

NCL Sun refurbishment 2018 review

The list changes after the 3-week drydock 2018 refurbishment (April, done in Victoria BC) includes:

• extensive renovation of all staterooms, public areas, restaurants, bars, lounges
• stateroom upgrades - new flat HDTVs (infotainment system), USB ports, carpets, headboards, artworks, some furniture
• Bliss Ultra Lounge (ex Dazzles disco nightclub)
• Los Lobos Cantina (Mexican restaurant, former Las Ramblas Bar Restaurant)
• Spinnaker Lounge (ex Observation Lounge)
• renovated Cagney's Steakhouse, La Cucina, Le Bistro, Teppanyaki, Main Dining Rooms (Four Seasons, Seven Seas), Mandara Spa, Stardust Lounge, Theater, Sun Casino, Splash Academy (kids park), pool deck
• During drydock 2016, Norwegian Sun was retrofitted with new "scrubbers" (exhaust gas cleaning systems). The new scrubber technology reduces the equivalent of approx 1500 tons of the poisonous gas Sulfur Oxide. Norwegian Cruise Line was the first cruise company retrofitting with a scrubber hybrid system vessels while in service. The new in-line scrubbers (5 units) are lightweight and able to operate in a dry mode, as well as in open and closed loops.

Both drydocks (2016 and 2018) were part of NCL's "Norwegian Edge" program for fleetwide upgrades (2-year project budgeted USD 400 million). Each drydock costs around USD 35-40 million.