Upon first entering my cabin, interior cabin 0307 (on deck 10 forward), on the NCL Sun, I felt like Julia Roberts as Vivian in Pretty Woman. Specifically when she first sees Edward’s suite at the Beverly Wilshure hotel: an equal mix of shock and awe and delight. My eyes were first drawn to the chocolate covered strawberries on the desk (a Platinum loyalty perk) because, CHOCOLATE! I immediately selected the largest berry, removed the stem, and popped the whole thing into my mouth like a palmful of airplane peanuts. But before I could even swallow properly, I glanced around and declared to myself, dramatically and with brown and red juice dripping down my chin: “Holy s**t, this place is HUGE! And there’s a COUCH!”
While my cabin certainly made an excellent first impression (even if I didn’t – act like you’ve been here before), as I settled in and called 0307 home for the duration of my cruise, I found many additional things I loved about it. And a few I didn’t love. We’ll get to those shortly, but first, a tour (if you wouldn’t mind doing me a solid and subscribing to my YouTube channel, I’d so appreciate it. One of my goals for 2023 is to finally start focusing on video content, but there are certain things I can’t do until I reach enough subscribers):
So let’s talk about the many things I loved about this cabin. In addition to the size, I also loved the…
While the varnished wood and huge mirrors offered hints as to the true age of this ship (I can empathize – the tag on my leggings may say “Forever 21,” but the droopy rear occupying them would lead you to conclude otherwise), the white and pale teal furnishings made the cabin feel contemporary (and even larger).
Even though I don’t usually spend much time in my cabin (which is why I’m generally happy booking cheap insides so I can cruise more often), having a sofa in an inside cabin was a rare treat. So I took full advantage by repositioning one of the back cushions to lean against the other wall so I could sit with my feet up on the sofa while eating…treats…and binging Netflix downloads. It’s a tough life I live.
While the couch was among my favorite features of this interior cabin, see that tall narrow wood furniture piece next to it? It opens to a bunch of storage shelves. Which brings me to another of my favorite things about this cabin:
There was so much storage in this cabin, I’d bet my next 3 cruises that all my belongings (period, not just the ones I packed for this cruise) could fit nicely tucked away in it. I mean yeah, since selling all my belongings and moving from Pittsburgh to Seattle to become a cruise blogger, I’ve become a bit of a minimalist, choosing travel over “things” and enjoying the freedom of not being weighed down by a lot of stuff. Still, this cabin had a TON of storage. Between the large full closet, additional closet shelving, numerous drawers, nightstands next to the bed, and space in the desk and under the bed, even the heaviest of packers (I would point to my mother-in-law as an example, but she’s probably reading this) will have room for all their stuff plus a stowaway (I mean, if you insist).
In addition to how deep it was, I also loved that the closet had a light inside! I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen this in a cruise cabin before. Since that’s likely where I’ll be sleeping on the cruise you sneak me on, I’ll appreciate having that to read in the evenings.
While older ships often suffer from a lack of outlets, my cabin on the Sun had a USB port added to each side of the bed in her last major dry dock. Very useful for charging phones at night. However, keep in mind that there’s only one three-prong outlet (and one 220 volt), so if you need more than one three-prong and two USB’s, you might consider bringing along one of these:
If you’re anything like me, when you wake up in the night to pee, you also like to sneak a little snack. And a beverage to wash it down. Which causes you to meed to pee again a few hours later. And that pattern repeats itself four times through the course of the night. Shrug. Well you’re in luck! The mini fridge is right on your way back to bed! It comes stocked with a few beverages (for an extra charge), but you can either ask your cabin steward to remove them or just stick them in a drawer until the end of the cruise (be sure to mention this to your steward and return them at the end so you don’t accidentally get charged).
I found the swivel TV mount handy in order to position the TV to face me directly depending on where I decided to sit (on the couch, on the bed, on the little desk stool, so many options!). I didn’t watch much TV really, but when sailing in an inside cabin as a claustrophobic, I always leave the TV tuned to one of the outside cameras to give the illusion of a window. So if you wouldn’t mind directing it toward my closet bed when we sail together, that would be much appreciated.
I mention these hooks last because I didn’t discover them until the final day of my sailing and because they sort of straddle the line between love and hate. During the prior days, I’d found myself longing for a few hooks. By my logic I was on vacation and shouldn’t be expected to muscle open the closet door and properly hang jackets and other discarded clothing items on a hanger. So I just threw them on the side of the bed I wasn’t using and retired to my sofa for a few (plate fulls of) buffet desserts and Netflix.
And it was while reclining on the sofa, tilting my head back to stretch my neck, that I finally noticed them. I had to laugh because their position so close to the ceiling reminded me of my early days of dating Mr. Cruise. The first time I came to his place I remember finding the framed 12 x 12 poems he had lined up on the wall in his hallway so endearing. And I didn’t even question why they were all hung like an inch from the ceiling (with nothing below them). But when it came time to move him into my place and I had to use a fully extended ladder to get them down, I gave him a good razzing:
“Who lives here, Paul Bunyan, the Jolly Green Giant, and Frankenstein’s Monster?”
“You should have replaced the staircase down to the front door with a beanstalk.”
And so on. In fairness to Mr. Cruise, I should mention that he’s 6’4″ and I’m 5’3″ (with shoes on). And in defense of his gender…I got nothing. Because a woman never would have hung those poems like that. #sorrynotsorry
Anyway, back to the hooks – much like the poems, I loved their existence, but hated their placement.
This contraption on the wall above the toilet in the bathroom reminded me of the centralized vacuum system my parents had in our house growing up. And before I figured out it was supposed to be a hair dryer, I tried stuffing all the vegetables I’d hidden in a napkin at dinner up there for old time’s sake. And while there wasn’t any suction in, there also wasn’t much air coming out. So my hair remained wet and I had to come up with a plan B for my vegetables. Hot tip: While the sign above the toilet doesn’t specifically mention broccoli florets, it’s going to be a little embarrassing when the ship plumber accuses you of being 5.
Don’t accidentally turn on the light when you get up in the night to pee, because in your half-asleep state you may think yourself an overnight guest in a hospital and start checking all your parts for injuries: “Left knee’s a bit wonky, but the rest appears in working order. Oh, right! I’m on a cruise!”
While the all-white, institutional looking bathroom may remind you of your tonsillectomy, the food is MUCH better (and you don’t have to eat it through a straw).
I hate the heat. And I also hate the cold (but slightly less than the heat). Which is why when people ask me why I uprooted my whole life to move to Seattle a handful of years ago, I tell them: “To cruise, duh. And for the weather.” But that’s also why I hated the thermostat in my cabin on the Sun – I could never get my cabin to my optimum temperature of 70.325 degrees. The thermostat wasn’t any to fond of me either: “Why do you feel the need to be SO controlling? And oddly specific?”
Anyway, despite my pointing the arrow at every possible thickness on the red half circle, my cabin never got very warm. And we were sailing to Alaska toward the end of the season, so there were times when I really wanted to be warm.
I should have said tip, because there’s really only one…
Unless you have nothing better to do than stand there with the provided wall unit, waxing nostalgic all day about how far technology has come, only to head to dinner with locks only slightly less wet than they were at 8am when you promised your husband you’d join him at breakfast as soon as you finished up in the bathroom (trust me, he probably won’t even check on you), bring your own travel hair dryer. I have this one and highly recommend it:
I enjoyed my cabin on the Norwegian Sun so much, when it was time to disembark, I did this:
But it didn’t work (it never does), so instead I booked her again for just a few weeks later. Same itinerary, but this time with my mom to celebrate her birthday. In anticipation of accusations to the effect of, “you’re so redundant,” I upgraded mom and I to an oceanview cabin. Stay tuned! And with that…
Class Dismissed!
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