Sublime Scandinavian Sailing: gay "small group" cruise in Baltic finds great value on NCL
I recently accompanied a gay group of 52 cruisers to Scandinavia and Russia on the Norwegian Sun. Many friends and clients have asked how the trip was.
View of Copenhagen Port from a Cruise Ship. Image courtesy Tourism Copenhagen.
In a nutshell: it is one of the most-exciting cruises you can take in Europe.
The Trip. We sailed from Dover (London’s major port) on board the 3-star Norwegian Sun. 12-day Baltic Cruise sailed to Copenhagen, Denmark; Warnemunde, Germany (for Berlin); Tallinn, Estonia; St. Petersburg (for 2 very short days, 3 would have been perfect); Helsinki, Finland; Stockholm, Sweden; and returned to England.
Sailing in mid-summer allowed us to experience the season called “White Nights,” so-called because the sun is up almost 24-hours. “Night” lasts only a few short hours and really is just a long twilight that gives way to sunrise—gorgeous and breathtaking sunset-sunrises. Weather in mid-summer is generally great!
Sitting on my balcony at midnight with the moon on one horizon and the sun on the other was sublime. The sea was ablaze with brilliant light and had an inky black shimmer…amazing.
NCL Norwegian Sun is great for gay group cruises. Image courtesy NCL.
The Ship. The Sun is nearly 10 years old. She has not been refurbished but is impeccably maintained and clean. She was well-painted, clean, and although her furnishings are outdated, not a bad cruise choice. This is one of NCL’s two oldest ships and was one of the first purpose-built “Freestyle Ships”.
This ship is going to get an overhaul in the near future although nobody can give me a straight answer as to when. The Norwegian Sun could use some updated color schemes and furnishings-she would surely shine!
The Sun does not have the excitement of maritime architecture of newer NCL ships. But, she offers great value. You cannot beat the prices offered for this ship. She is almost 80,000 tons, carries 1,900 passengers, and is easy to get around barring a couple of specialty restaurants high atop the ship and a lousy-designed Garden Café (the ship’s one downfall).
I love the freestyle concept as it allows a more resort like atmosphere. I am not one to eat at the same time every night, am not ritualistic, and enjoy a relaxed dress code… This part is for me!
NCL Norwegian Sun Balcony Stateroom
My stateroom. I had a balcony stateroom on Deck 10. It was nearly 250 square feet with a nice-sized, well-maintained balcony. There was more than adequate storage with a double door closet, six full drawers, 11 shelves, storage under the bed, a full six-foot sofa bed (could convert for 3rd passenger), and a spacious bathroom with plentiful storage. Guests in some cabins complained about the shower stall and curtain wrapping itself around them, but I never had that problem. The water pressure was superb, and Elemis shampoo, body soap was replenished by my two cabin attendants. Anyway, the room was decorated in kitschy little boy bedroom decor with anchors abounding on fabrics and carpets and a TV that was a vestige from the past. This all needs updating but it was in great ship. The bed was very comfortable but NCL has upgraded all bedding on all ships with new pillows and thick foam mattress covers for a more comfortable guest rest.
NCL Gay Friendly. NCL was the early-adopter of Friends of Dorothy (GLBT) gatherings. They are a GLBT friendly cruise line all around and host these gatherings on a daily basis. They are also the first cruise line to use a GLBT godmother with comic icon Rosie O’Donnell being the gal who christened NCL’s beautiful Norwegian Pearl.
My room stewards had no issues with my partner and I requesting the beds being put together as one bed. We were always made to be felt as welcome guests on this GLBT friendly ship
The Service. My cabin attendants were “oh so friendly” but sometimes inefficient Indonesians. Delights as they were, they always forgot my special requests.
The service throughout the ship was good to adequate. I found the bar staff incredibly good although drinks are now very expensive. Costs have increased some 25% in the last year. I predict this is due to cruise pricing plummeting after the market crash last year. This is a chance for them to increase revenues. The dining room service was a little lackluster but food was delivered quickly and warm. The food ranged from average to quite good. I was baffled at this factor but never went hungry. I thought the poorly designed Garden Cafe (24 hour eatery) has great food, selection, and always replenished. It just isn’t big enough for this size of ship. Freestyle worked well too. I never saw any lines or experienced drama about waiting for a meal anywhere. It was also easy to get a reservation in any of the fee based restaurants (where the food is all cooked to order and better than the dining room). I particularly liked these venues as it felt more resort like to me than going to a large convention style dining hall. The food program worked quite well I just think the staff could use a little “up with the people” training in personality and finesse.
Entertainment. The shows were pretty good but activity seemed to lack. The art auction seemed to be the main event onboard. I felt a few cultural lectures might have made us all feel a little better. A shopping talk for each port is not telling the story of Russia! The lines were long at shipboard art auctions but I think the guests were going for the free art giveaways and champagne rather than buying “Art.”
Overall While I am a luxury traveler and prefer to surround myself with the best, the 3-star Norwegian Sun did not leave me with any bad taste in my mouth. She offered incredible value, efficient cruise experience, the best embarkation, disembarkation, and luggage delivery I have had in years… Even the pickiest guy or gal can be happy on a ship that makes you feel welcome.
What / when is Value for this itinerary? I have so many friends who talk about saving money and want to go when the price is “right.” To save money, some of them have travelled to Scandinavia in the early-season when the weather can be nasty. I say: make the most of your experience, shell out a little bit more, and travel during the PEAK season which is June-August. Enough of the commercial about when to go. It is true though… This season is incredible…
This is in thanks to being in the Baltic during the peak Summer White Nights. If you are going to take this cruise, please go from mid-late June to mid-August… I don’t think you will be disappointed…
Happy Cruising. Tom Baker
Mark, 
Brian Legacy, 
Jay and 5 others are discussing. 
Lawrence is discussing. 
Joseph 11:53 am on April 24, 2010 Permalink |
I’m a little worried at how hard Atlantis has been finding it to fill up some of these itineraries. The Baltic cruise in 2008 was fantastic. I’d consider going on this one, but we just got back from the North Asia cruise & can’t take another 2 weeks off of work.
Randall Shirley 7:00 pm on April 24, 2010 Permalink |
Europe seems to have soooo many available mainstream itineraries these days, I personally think it may be losing some of its cruise appeal–especially considering the cost associated with airfare, and generally hotels on both ends of the sailing. There are obviously plenty of gays who haven’t yet been, but those who can afford the European itineraries have likely already been. So the market for these cruises may now be much more budget-oriented, and a lot of people in that demographic (including me) may be choosing to sail closer to home for now.
Peter 10:13 pm on April 28, 2010 Permalink |
Yes they do appear to be having their own entertainment – see beloww copied from their website.
Fresh and exciting entertainment abounds, starting with our signature productions in the modern 1000-seat theater. Featuring our hilarious comedians, unique variety entertainers, Broadway stars, massive stage productions, special guests, and much more.
Intimate venues showcase the best in gay and lesbian cabaret talent, including our own unique piano bar singers. Novel cultural options abound, including gues
Randall Shirley 10:25 pm on April 28, 2010 Permalink |
Thanks for clarifying, Peter. However, to my eyes, they don’t seem to be putting the emphasis on entertainment that I’ve seen in the past–no big names are mentioned. In fact, the description doesn’t sound much different than standard cruise fare, and I’ve edited my original post as I now see that they’ve mentioned late night parties. However, it seems they’re downplaying those aspects by lumping them in with the ship’s regular shows, casino, and features.
Don’t get me wrong–I’m not saying Atlantis won’t put on a nice and unique cruise. I’m sure it’ll be loads of fun. I’m just trying to spot places where they might be able to pull their pricing model closer in line with mainstream cruising.
Philipp' 3:22 am on May 2, 2010 Permalink |
Still seems a bit pricey, as we have been on non-specifically-gay cruises. If there is a weak interest from the american market, Atlantis would do well to market to European clientele. We would be able to take a train to the port. While we know the cities, it is always nice to visit them by sea. Local entertainment would cost less (at least, no travel to/from expenses).
DIEGO 11:46 pm on June 18, 2010 Permalink |
Hello, I’m looking for to go to the next tryp trhu copenaghen and amsterdam, I’m single but I heard that if you go by yourself it’s neceseary to page doble amount of the price. That’s true? it’s possible to share?
I will appreciate if some one can inform me
Diego
Jay 11:29 pm on July 11, 2010 Permalink |
Atlantis is not worth the value….. Boring entertainment, 500+ more for the same room on the same ship to the same place…. Last years cruise was a mess to Mexico, and the entertainment was exactly the same…. My friends and I are not going back.
Brian Legacy 1:17 pm on January 18, 2012 Permalink |
I agree Atlantis has been using the same entertainment for years. They think that a drag queen is what the gays want to see. Not everyone is 21 as they show in their ads, and some of us could care less about a man in a dress. It’s always the same, a Drag Queen, a Gay Piano Player, A Gay Singer YIKES how about using your imagination we are much more than that, look around there is great GAY talent out there. If you are going to charge us more for a cruise you had better start giving us more. (I am done with Atlantis and RSVP until I hear better prices and BETTER entertainment.
Mark 2:11 pm on February 4, 2012 Permalink |
I agree, I might be gay but I do NOT want to see a man dressed as a woman. I want a man to act and look like a man. Dump the drag shows.
The double price for a gay cruise as compared to a normal cruise is a concern for many of us who have been on gay cruises from day one. They are having difficulties filling the ships as many gay men are going on normal cruises for 1/2 the price and just traveling in a group. Another thing to consider is they are booking some of the gay cruises on carnival cruise line, the parent company of Costa… where you can be killed for no extra charge. Carnival is well know as the trash of the cruise ship industry. DO NOT BOOK IT. Carnival is not worth the normal rate and it will never be worth the double price of a gay cruise.