Poorly managed and oriented to cheap.
Norwegian Sun Cruise Review to South America
14 Night South America Eastbound (Santiago To Buenos Aires)
Sail date: February 13, 2016
Ship: Norwegian Sun
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 8046
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 8 years ago
Review summary
The bathroom glasses were not changed for the entire trip. The attendant simply dried them with a towel and left them. I'm sure that wasn't the attendant's fault -- it's the ship policy. It wouldn’t surprise me if the same glasses are still there for the next cruise.
The shows were not particularly good. The showband was great, and was usually the best part of the show. The entertainers that had shows were not very high quality. A good guitar player is not necessarily a good entertainer.
Greg Sampson was the best piano bar player I've ever seen. And the Amber strings were always good. When Wes and the showband members had shows they were always good, although the individual members who had shows were not that great. I got the impression that they simply used band members as the entertainment because it was cheaper than having real entertainers.
Repeated requests to find out what the pounding noise in our cabin was were passed off -- customer relations said i needed to talk to housekeeping; housekeeping said it was probably some maintenance going on but they didn't know what. 4 telephone calls, one trip to housekeeping, one trip to atrium, and finally someone came to our room and said he'd try to find out. Eventually the noise stopped. But hours, not minutes after complaining. After my first two calls they simply didn’t answer the phone for a while.
Internet service was the worst I've ever seen. The manager just explained that we couldn't expect to get internet in our room, or in the front or back of the ship, because the ship wasn't really set up for that. I bought the 24/7/14-day package and probably got 5% of that. If I moved from one spot to another on the ship, i lost connection. I could tell that the "counter" was still saying I was connected; but i couldn't do anything. If it had not been under a cruise ship terms, that would be fraud.
The Garden cafe had the lowest quality of food I've seen on a ship. Whatever we had for lunch was also there for dinner and then again tomorrow. Day after day, it was the same thing. And it's laid out and managed so poorly that it's really hard to get to the food. The lines of people trying to get one thing were in the way of people trying to get something else. And it seemed like the crew wasn't aware that people were not going to eat outside in the rain. There simply was no place to sit inside. They were really fast to take things while we were eating, but slow to clean tables for someone coming in.
I thought it was really strange that we were in an area with high quality wine and local fish, but we got Mondavi wine shipped from California, and generic fish chunks. Food was generally overcooked and dry. We ate at a restaurant off the ship whenever we could.
I was also surprised that the "ultimate beverage package" no longer included water. That seems like a ridiculous penny-pinching game.
The captain decided not to go to the Falklands "because of hurricane winds". I was watching weather forecasts regularly and they showed maximum gusts of 30 MPH. But he went all the way around the islands and wasted another day. The winds weren't that bad when we got into the area; they weren't any different when we left.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Onboard Activities
Entertainment
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
Ship tip
The ship might be fun again when the captain changes. It was good to get off the ship almost at any place.
Ports of call
Ushuaia, Tierra Del Fuego, Argentina
Port Stanley, Falkland Islands
4 Comments
Bubba54 8 years ago
It is unfortunate that the cruise did not live up to your expectations. A couple things to keep in mind pertaining to some of your comments...
Ship safety - #1 priority is safety of the ship and its passengers. A cruise ship sits tall in the water and acts as a sail. Wind of any kind will affect how a ship handles, especially in a port area. Port cancellations and re-routings are not uncommon in cruising and is a risk that every single passenger agrees to when signing their cruise contract. Disappointing yes... but consider the alternative if a ship is pushed into a dock or underwater rocks as a result of a surge while trying to maneuver itself. What may not seem that bad to you can be a real threat to a multi-million dollar vessel and its passengers and crew. Even you acknowledged that weather can turn nasty is the blink of an eye. Consider yourself lucky that the ship's captain had safety in mind.
#2 Food supply chain - What many people do not realize is that most popular cruise lines ship their food supply to distant ports for re-stocking mid voyage. They do not have any control over food safety otherwise. Sure, passengers can go ashore and eat at restaurants to get a flavor of local cuisine but that is a personal choice. If you get sick, well then... you only have yourself to blame. The food supply to thousands of people on a ship is an entirely different matter. Loading local food that is not subject to food processing safety regulation puts everyone at risk for heaven knows what. While some ships do select from local markets, it is often that they have long-term relations with the vendors they work with, the chef doesn't just walk into an open market and start picking up fish. It's a lot more complicated than that.
#3 Drink packages - Caveat emptor (buyer beware). Purchasers need to look at what is included and not included in the packages they buy. Most popular lines offer a water package separate from the drink package.
#4 Food quality - Read reviews about a particular ship before selecting a voyage. If there is one thing you can count on it is that food quality will be included in most consumer reviews. If 5 out of 10 reviewers complain about the food, there is a 50% chance that you won't like the food either. What odds are you willing to take regarding food quality on your next voyage.
Do hope your next voyage goes better.
I agree, well written CruisingCM
noname111 8 years ago
It is unfortunate that the cruise did not live up to your expectations. A couple things to keep in mind pertaining to some of your comments...
Ship safety - #1 priority is safety of the ship and its passengers. A cruise ship sits tall in the water and acts as a sail. Wind of any kind will affect how a ship handles, especially in a port area. Port cancellations and re-routings are not uncommon in cruising and is a risk that every single passenger agrees to when signing their cruise contract. Disappointing yes... but consider the alternative if a ship is pushed into a dock or underwater rocks as a result of a surge while trying to maneuver itself. What may not seem that bad to you can be a real threat to a multi-million dollar vessel and its passengers and crew. Even you acknowledged that weather can turn nasty is the blink of an eye. Consider yourself lucky that the ship's captain had safety in mind.
#2 Food supply chain - What many people do not realize is that most popular cruise lines ship their food supply to distant ports for re-stocking mid voyage. They do not have any control over food safety otherwise. Sure, passengers can go ashore and eat at restaurants to get a flavor of local cuisine but that is a personal choice. If you get sick, well then... you only have yourself to blame. The food supply to thousands of people on a ship is an entirely different matter. Loading local food that is not subject to food processing safety regulation puts everyone at risk for heaven knows what. While some ships do select from local markets, it is often that they have long-term relations with the vendors they work with, the chef doesn't just walk into an open market and start picking up fish. It's a lot more complicated than that.
#3 Drink packages - Caveat emptor (buyer beware). Purchasers need to look at what is included and not included in the packages they buy. Most popular lines offer a water package separate from the drink package.
#4 Food quality - Read reviews about a particular ship before selecting a voyage. If there is one thing you can count on it is that food quality will be included in most consumer reviews. If 5 out of 10 reviewers complain about the food, there is a 50% chance that you won't like the food either. What odds are you willing to take regarding food quality on your next voyage.
Do hope your next voyage goes better.
DKB 8 years ago
A note in favor of the ship's Captain. The captain sails that route weekly and also knows toe weather conditions better than we do, or any website as well as the fact that the weather can change at a moments notice for good or bad. The cruise lines do not intentionally try to upset passengers however some people cannot be satisfied. I have been on a cruise on the edge of a hurricane,,,,NOT PRETTY. If the captain felt it was not safe then it probably wasn't safe. You are on a vacation relax and go with the flow. By the way if the ship was moving how do you know how bad the winds were? If the ship had to use tenders there 30 MPH winds would make it somewhat dangerous to load and unload passengers.