Norwegian Sun: the trailblazing "Freestyle cruising" vessel - Ship of the Month

Cruise Travel, March-April, 2004 by Laurence Miller

For the cruise aficionado the first thing that the name NCL brings to mind is "Freestyle," This is the feature of all Norwegian Cruise Line's ships, including the Norwegian Sun, that enables passengers to do what they want when they want, especially in the dining and dress departments.

The Norwegian Sun was the first new NCL ship actually completed to accommodate this cruise lifestyle, making her maiden voyage September 10. 2001. The naming ceremony was delayed until November 17 so that it could also include the Norwegian Star and make a bigger splash (to the Star goes the distinction of being the first ship designed and built for Freestyle from the keel up).

The design of the Norwegian Sun was based on the blueprints for the Norwegian Sky; introduced two years earlier (the Sky will be refurbished to become the American-flag Pride of Aloha starting in early June). There are, however, a large number of changes and improvements aboard the Sun in areas passengers will notice.

There is lighter decor, more cabins with balconies (increased from 257 to 432), larger cabin size, windows replacing portholes in many units. and changes in layout that produce a wider choice of Freestyle dining. According to Cruise Business Review, the changes in decor were influenced by NCL's then-new parent company, Hong Kong based Star Cruises and were in process up to six months prior to Sun's maiden voyage.

Aboard the Norwegian Sun are nine separate Freestyle dining venues, an atrium that is larger and brighter in its upper reaches than that aboard the Star, and an observation Lounge almost identical in layout and charm to the earlier ship but one deck higher. Two years after her maiden voyage, the Norwegian Sun is in immaculate, fresh condition inside and out.

Freestyle brings the cruise experience more in line with vacations on land--you can dine how, when, with whom, and where you like, and the dress code is more informal than aboard other ships. This allows passengers to plan each day as it evolves and as the mood strikes, rather than having it scheduled around mealtimes.

On the minus side, the absence of fixed cycles means Freestyle less often brings passengers together in groups such as in bars before dinner and in the company of fixed table companions. For this reason Freestyle is probably hot, the choice for singles traveling alone.

Aboard the Norwegian Sun, Freestyle means the choice of dining agreeably in one of the two main dining rooms, the Seven Seas or the Four Seasons (the latter features more contemporary entrees); on exclusively Cooking Light fare in Pacific Heights; Italian-style in II Adagio; French in Le Bistro; Oriental at a teppanyaki & sushi bar in the Ginza; on Pacific Coast/Hawaiian/Asian fusion cuisine in East Meets West; with the greatest informality in the Garden Cafe, the buffet deck restaurant; or you can snack on tapas evenings in Las Ramblas.

The main dining rooms, the Garden Cafe, Las Ramblas, and Pacific Heights are without extra charge. Cover charges for most others are $10 per-person with $12.50 at Le Bistro. There is a la carte pricing for a few special items in some venues (e.g., fresh lobster selected from a tank, $25) and throughout the menu of the Ginza. However, the latter has a $10 "all you can eat" sushi tab if this is your preference.

The sushi bar is open for lunch as well as dinner, but other alternative dining venues are open for dinner only. The exception is when the vessel is cruising near Alaskan glaciers; then II Adagio and Le Bistro, which have floor-to-ceiling windows, are open for gastronomic glacier cruising.

Food in all the restaurants is good to excellent. At the time we were onboard, the standout was easily East Meets West. The number of cruise staff choosing this venue (they should know) bears this out. Everything, from the Oriental specialties to two-inch-thick rack of lamb, was outstanding. An under-patronized option were the dining-room lunches, which offered excellent food and fast service in quiet surroundings. As aboard many ships, the Garden Care buffet restaurant was less than the culinary high point, though the stations serving individual food items served appetizing fare.

If you think that this range of dining options is too good to be true at minimum fares that are sometimes less than $100 per day, what you will invest is extra time rather than money. The dinners in the various dining rooms generally rata from 90 minutes to two hours, really not too much more than aboard many other cruise lines that offer a narrower range of dining choices. However, you will find the friendliness, courtesy, and most often, the skill of dining room stewards to be in good supply.

Stepping onboard, the arriving passenger will find an inviting and highly attractive ship internally decorated in interesting but restrained excellent taste. Outside, there is good and well-sheltered deck space in an amidships lido and on decks higher up and forward. The Promenade Deck, true to its name, offers a walk-around promenade, 1,575 feet per lap or 3.5 circuits per mile.