| I just booked a cruise on the RCCL's Sun Viking for March 17, 1991. My only
other cruise was on the Song of America when it was doing the Eastern
Caribbean (the same route the Sovereign of the Seas does now). Sun
Viking appears to be the smallest of RCCL's ships, and the only one of
the smaller ones that they have not lengthened. I had originally wanted to
book on the Song of Norway, but there was a special discount on this
particular sailing of the Sun Viking. The itinerary is San Juan,
Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Barts, and St. Thomas.
I have seen notes about the Song of Norway, but nothing about this
ship. Has anyone sailed on it? What did you think of it in relation
to other ships you have cruised on?
If I got seasick on the Song of America in the Atlantic, but not in
the Caribbean, what are my chances of not getting sick on this smaller
ship?
Thanks for the info in advance
Linda
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| Sorry to be so late with this trip report, but this is my third
try to enter it. Twice I have had it all typed, only to lose the
connection. Third time never fails.
We had a wonderful trip on the Sun Viking!! We've been back for
a week now, and it all seems like a dream that never really
happened.
The flight down from Boston at approximately 3:30 pm. was very
comfortable. We were greeted by representatives of the cruise line
at the airport. It was a good thing. If we had been trying to make
our own arrangements to reach the ship we might have missed departure.
We were sent to the ship by bus, watching the clock every inch of the
way. We arrived at the ship at about 9:30, and it departs at 10:00!
At least, if we had been late on their own transportation, they would
have led up departure for us.
The ship had just come out of dry dock in September. Although the decor
wasn't the glitzy neon of the newer ships, everything was in perfect
condition. The woman travelling with us is a cleanness nut. When my
house has just been cleaned it looks like hers when she starts. She
couldn't even find anything that wasn't kept to her standards!
Due to the late arrival we had missed the lifeboat drill and had to
attend a short makeup session the next morning. We had also missed the
welcome aboard dinner, but there was plenty of food at the midnight
buffet.
Our cabin was on the lowest passenger deck, exactly in the middle, a
larger outside cabin. The only difference in the larger versus regular
cabins was the bed arrangement (on adjacent walls instead of opposite
each other) and a small chair and table in the room. It did feel like
a bit more space to move around. Being low and midships, if there was
motion (and we ran into a lot of it on this trip) we felt it the least
that we could.
We were seated in a small, quiet area off of the main dining room. Our
table was next to a window, so we could watch the scenery as the ship
passed by during meals. Our waiter, Akbal (from Turkey) and our busboy
Palmer (from Jamaica) gave us impeccable service. They learned our
basic likes and dislikes by the second day. The food was wonderful!
It took great restraint not to eat 8 times a day!! I only gained two
pounds, but it wasn't easy.
I loved Barbados, but we had all been there before for a week's stay.
We went to the hotel where we had stayed and used its beach for the
morning. The water was very rough, and the lifeguards wouldn't let
anyone in the ocean. We went to a market and picked up a couple of
items we had liked when we were there before -- hot sauce, unrefined
sugar, some drawings done by a Bajan artist.
St. Lucia was pretty, but there weren't many beaches to entice me back
for a week's stay. We took a tour with a taxi driver to Soufrier and
to the volcano. It was over 2 hours each way on steep, hairpin-turned,
pot-holed roads. I never got seasick, but I was carsick on this ride.
St. Barts is gorgeous! There were no ship's tours sponsored there, but
you could rent a jeep or a car. We took a taxi to St. Jean beach, just
on the other side of the island from the town, beyond the aiport. In
fact, the runway ends on the beach! The largest plane that can land
at St. Bart's is 20 passengers.
The beach was beautiful, with water of various shades of turquoise.
There were reefs to snorkel, and, because of the reefs, a nice area
to windsurf. Lessons in both and rentals were available right on the
beach.
Another feature of this beach, which the men in the party enjoyed, was
the "top optional" dress code.
Food on St. Barts is very expensive, though. A hamburger and a coke
were $14 US!!
The water was expected to be very rough during the night we were to be
at sea after St. Barts. The captain obtained permission from the
harbormaster to remain anchored in the harbor until 6:30 the next
morning. All paperwork had been processed as if we were no longer
in the country, so the casino and gift shop could open as usual when
out to sea. Since we were only had to travel 13 miles to St. Maarten
for the next day, there was no problem with our schedule. We were only
going to drift out at sea all night anyway.
We took a tour on St. Maarten. We were taken around the south side of
the island, both Dutch and French, and were given a period of time to
shop in the French capital. There are some beautiful hotels and beaches
in St. Maarten, and there are some hotels that have been abandoned. Our
bus driver, who was the best driver I have ever seen, said that hotel
occupancy on the island is down. There is a lot of construction going
on. When it is finished, it will probably be very nice.
There was great shopping in St. Maarten, probably equal to St. Thomas.
I some some things there that were a better deal than in Charlotte
Amalie. One store had loose blue topaz, citrine, and amethyst for $6.95
per carat! Of course, we bought some loose gems.
St. Thomas was like coming home. This was our fourth trip there. By now
we know who the good shops are and what are good deals. We didn't get a
chance to go to the beach because we had to have our bags packed and
ready for pick-up by 9:00 pm. We sat around the pool instead. We did
get some great buys in St. Thomas.
The next morning we had to eat first breakfast because our flight was
so early (10:55). We had special tags to place on our bags to be sure
they were the first ones off of the ship. We were sent to one of the
lounges. Flights were called, we sadly left the ship, went through
customs right there on the dock, then checked our backs with the
airline, agian right there on the dock. After the excellent way RCCL
ran everything without a hitch, it was a shock to get back to the
normal operations of U.S. Customs and American Airlines.
We arrived back in Boston about 2:30 pm local time. Most of us still
felt like the ground was moving under our feet.
One big warning to anyone booked on these two flights to and from San
Juan: BE SURE YOU HAVE A POSITIVE SEAT ASSIGNMENT FOR YOUR RETURN
FLIGHT BEFORE YOU LEAVE!!! The flight was greatly oversold the day we
were coming home. We had no problem because we had seats reserved.
Many people who did not had to stay in San Juan until the 7:25 PM
flight.
It was a wonderful trip; I'd do it again tomorrow.
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