Writers John and Sally Macdonald based this independent review on their 7-night Alaska cruise departing from Vancouver, British Columbia.

A Norwegian Sun “freestyle” cruise is all about freedom of choice -- do what you want, when you want. A hyper freestyle activity schedule keeps the ship rocking from dawn workouts through late-night disco parties. Passengers choose freestyle dining from a medley of fine-dining restaurants and casual cafés, buffet lines and snack bars. Dress is freestyle too; the only rule in most dining rooms is no jeans, shorts, or T-shirts after 5:30 PM.

Sun is aptly named. A seven-story atrium with clear glass elevators spills sunlight through amidships public areas. Bold art marks the decks, from big Georgia O’Keefe-style flowers to bright landscapes.

Why Norwegian Sun?

• Energy: There’s a gotta-do-something attitude going on all the time. Choose kickboxing or salsa dance lessons, Scrabble or Name That Tune, passenger talent shows or karaoke parties, slot tournaments or fruit carving. And that’s just part of one morning’s schedule.
• Flexibility: Freestyle cruising means you do what you want whenever you feel like it. Wear pretty much whatever strikes your fancy; formal night is an option, not a command. Eat when and with whom you choose.
• Ample dining options: Sun’s two main dining rooms, five specialty restaurants, two buffets, and tapas bar offer French, Italian, Asian, and American gourmet cuisines, plus pizza, hamburgers, and sushi any night of the week. On a diet? Healthy selections appear on every menu. And freestyle dining means there's no signing up for early or late seating and no table reserved for you. Dine alone or in a group any time you please.

Who should go
Sun’s a smart choice for anyone desiring a flexible, resort-style vacation, or those who’d rather leave the tie and heels at home -- resort casual is the attitude here. Most passengers are 40+, but there are plenty of activities for people of all ages. Socials help kids meet and singles mingle.

Who shouldn’t go
Children who are easily bored or require lots of canned stimulation – think Disney – probably wouldn’t be happy. Ditto for sophisticated couples looking for a more formal, traditional cruising experience.

Hits and misses

• Don’t miss: The Jean-Ann Ryan song-and-dance troupe’s over-the-top shows, wowing with slickly produced musical revues and body-torqueing Cirque du Soleil-style productions
• Best part of the ship: The Observation Lounge’s versatility -- a quiet spot to curl up with a book in the morning, watch the waves for sea life during the day, and socialize at night as it morphs into a soft-rock dance club
• Best experience: A behind-the-scenes slide show tour of the ship, answering everyone’s how-many-in-a-week questions: Gallons of fuel? 53,000… Eggs? 400,000… Ice cream? 600 gallons…
• Best shipboard activities: Bingo -- as the social director told a room full of 20-something players: “This is full-impact bingo, not your normal religious-experience church bingo.” Turn your hearing aid down for this one; the audience is egged on to “holler all you want or dance in the aisles if you’re so moved. We don’t care!”
• Needs improvement: Embarkation procedures -- don’t expect to be whisked aboard in time for lunch under beach umbrellas on aft deck
• Activities to skip: Lectures on ports of call provide good information, but the presentation can be something of a snore

How to meet the captain
For most passengers, the captain is just a disembodied voice on the intercom. But on formal night he’ll pose for photos with anyone who’s willing to dress up and wait in line. Another evening, he’s available to meet and greet VIPs and cruisers who’ve taken more than one NCL trip. For more face time, purchase the romance package; for as little as $249, couples receive a trip to the ship’s bridge (in addition to a champagne dinner and private massages). Oh, and don’t expect to run into him in the dining room; with freestyle, he has as many dining choices as anyone.

Tip: Embarkation times vary by port. Because of the sometimes slow check-in process, have a late brunch ashore and head for the ship mid-afternoon after the early birds have run the sign-in gauntlet. And keep your carry-on light -- you may still find yourself standing in line.

Want to eat late, European style? Dine early with the kids? Or just graze morning to night? Freestyle’s whenever, whatever dining allows passengers to make their own choices. Two main dining rooms serve up traditional cruise ship fare while five specialty restaurants take a gourmet step further. Buffet lines surprise with the tender lamb chops and a mean chicken pot pie. And sandwich-and-cookie snack bars materialize at various locations throughout the day and evening. Former White House chef Henry Haller designed menus, adding a dash of first-family favorites including Lyndon Johnson’s favorite: Beef tenderloin; and Jacqueline Kennedy’s preferred meal: An uninspired but slimming garden salad.

Daily meals are served with imagination and flourish by wait staff in crisp naval-style uniforms. This is not home cooking. Try the yummy chilled blueberry soup and foie gras appetizer. Vegetarian and healthy choices are available each meal. Low-cal dishes were devised in partnership with Cooking Light Magazine and are often the tastiest items on the menu. At lunch, try a wrap stuffed with delightfully seasoned catfish and coleslaw; and for breakfast, the poached egg and spinach Benedict served on a huge artichoke heart.

Much is made of distinctions between the two rooms: Four Seasons serves continental cuisine whereas Seven Seas advertises “traditional” fare. In truth, there’s very little difference. Four Seasons potatoes might be roasted continental-style, while Seven Seas’s are mashed traditional-style, but the Caesar salad and chocolate mousse are the same. And identical white-linen and fresh-flower décor give the two rooms a virtually identical ambience. No cover charge.

Il Adagio
No meatballs on this menu. Fine Italian cuisine, up-close views of passing landscapes, and plenty of tables for two make Il Adagio Sun’s most romantic restaurant. The décor is highlighted by marble columns, grape vines, and sun-splashed Tuscan colors. Try the creamy prawns-and-pasta dish that exaggerates with a promise of 40 garlic cloves in every serving but gets an A+ for garlicky good taste. Cover charge: $12.50 per person.

East Meets West
An Asian-fusion menu features such quirky combos as Moroccan-spiced lamb with Thai eggplant or warm vichyssoise with poached quail eggs. The décor is also unconventional but it works, with walls juxtaposing bold stripes of faux blond maple and maroon marble onto washes of sea blue and pale green. Artwork in eye-popping colors isn’t hung on the wall but painted directly into built-in shadow boxes. Cover charge: $15 ($25 for lobster).

Le Bistro
The French Mediterranean menu covers the usual escargot drowning in butter and finely bearnaised filet mignon but the pièce de résistance is the Fire Star menu: Meaty medallions or chunks of seafood marinated then fired tableside and served with grilled vegetables. It’s all cooked in the kitchen of course, but the blaze makes diners feel special. Cover charge: $15 ($18 for the Fire Star).

Ginza
Get up a dinner party for the Teppanyaki grill, where the chefs juggle steaks, prawns, knives, and spatulas with equal aplomb. Or pull up a chair at the sushi bar and see rice- and raw fish-art being created. Pay $10 for beef or seafood cooked on the Teppanyaki grill, or for all-you-can-eat sushi. Otherwise, pricing is à la carte (with market price for lobster).

Heard on the deck: “I don’t know about that sushi restaurant. I mean, I like Asian food, but I only like ordinary Asian food.”

Other dining options

• Garden Café – This 24/7 buffet serves up to 6,000 meals per day -- 95% of meals served onboard. Needless to say, it’s always bustling. Its counterpart, the Great Outdoor Café, is the place to build your own hamburger.
• Las Ramblas – Pick up deli sandwiches and soup for lunch, tapas (Mediterranean-style hors d’oeuvres) and sangria (red- or white-wine fruit punch) after 5:30 PM.
• Pacific Heights – Dieting? This no-fee alternative restaurant allows diners to think low: Low cholesterol, low fat, low salt, and low cal, with a dinner menu devised by the people at Cooking Light magazine. Confusingly, dieters should steer clear at lunchtime, for that’s when Pacific Heights goes fat city, dishing up hard-to-resist pizzas and creamy pastas.
• Sports Bar – Just like home, with buffalo wings, nachos, and ball games on the telly.
• Room Service – There’s no extra charge for room service, but expect a limited menu. Breakfast is continental, and orders must be in by 4 AM. Later in the day you’ll get the usual sandwiches, soups, and salads. One nice touch (though not free): Cabin cocktail parties for 4-6 shipboard friends. Hors d’oeuvres, with canapes, caviar, or foie gras with truffles, will cost $16-30.

Best dining

• Dish: The beef tenderloin with a mild-if-you-want-it Szechuan crust, served with gingered shiitake mushrooms and somen noodles, served at East Meets West
• Dessert: It’s a tie; why not try both? Tempura chocolate cake (imagine crisp tempura crust surrounding melt-on-your-fork chocolate) and flaming Bananas Foster, both served at East Meets West
• Restaurant: East Meets West, although the garlic shrimp at Il Adagio is delectable
• Food seminar: The chefs’ show-off demo features a zabaglione studded with berries and rich with Marsala wine, or the popular show-and-tell on how to turn raw veggies into works of art, but it goes so quickly most people couldn’t possibly repeat the feat

How to…

• Get a table for two: With freestyle dining no one has to sit at a table for 10 if they don’t want to -- just say no when the maître d’ asks if you’d like to dine with anyone else
• Celebrate a birthday or anniversary: A decorated cake will be provided just for the asking
• Change seating: No problem -- with no seat assignments, you’ll eat at whatever table is available
• Dress for formal night: Whatever makes you most comfortable -- some will wear their sparkliest duds, but plenty will show up to the dining room in sport shirts and sneakers
• Dress the rest of the time: It’s come-as-you-are in the Garden Café, Sports Bar, and Las Ramblas, but all other restaurants recommended “resort casual” -- anything but jeans and tank tops

Tips:

• Say “yes” every now and then to tables for six or more. With so many dining and activity choices, it’s one of the few ways to make new friends onboard.
• Freestyle doesn’t mean free for nothing. Most drinks, including pop and bottled water, are extra.
• Didn’t finish that bottle of wine at dinner? Your waiter will tag it and put it away for the next meal. Don’t worry if you decide to eat at another restaurant; the bottle will find you.
• Watch the Four Seasons and Seven Seas menus for gourmet specials like lobster or escargot. They’re free there but cost extra at specialty restaurants.
• Though reservations are urged for all specialty restaurants, tables are usually available.
• If you’re celebrating a birthday or anniversary and want more hoopla than a free cake with dinner, order a celebratory package for as low as $79. You’ll get dinner and wine in Le Bistro and champagne in your room. Spend a bit more and get massages, photos, breakfast in bed, and the chance to say “hi” to the captain.

Heard on the deck: “I’m not sure I like this freestyle dining. You actually have to think about eating on this cruise.”

Nautical fabrics, prints in primary colors, and highly varnished wood add a subtle cheeriness to cabins. More than half have ocean views, with balconies or picture-window–style portholes. Inside rooms are as spacious as oceanviews; some sleep up to five, although that’s pretty much wall-to-wall people. Bathrooms are, how shall we say, compact; you’ll have to splurge for a minisuite to get a real bath. Suites and penthouses have wide-angle forward or aft views and décor that’s serviceable but not swank: Rust-colored upholstery with the same shiny wood as the mid-price and inside cabins. Some suite bathrooms have Jacuzzi tubs.

In-room TVs offer CNN and ESPN, non-stop movies, comedy reruns, and shipboard shows on activities and shore excursions.

Cabins for guests with disabilities
Of the 20 wheelchair-accessible cabins, four have balconies, but they are not wheelchair friendly: Sliding-glass doors have high thresholds as barriers against the elements.

Tips:

• If you want fresh flowers but can’t afford the type of cabin where they’re delivered daily, order breakfast from room service the first morning. It comes with a vase of posies that will last the rest of the cruise.
• With no self-service laundries onboard, be sure to take along plenty of underwear, or prepare to have your laundry done for a fee.

Heard on the deck (from a woman wandering a corridor looking for her cabin): “By the end of this cruise, I’ll know my way around, I reckon. It’s been a real walking tour, but a fun one.”

Click to view a virtual tour

With two large pools, a kiddy pool, and five hot tubs, the open pool deck is the place to gather when the weather’s good. But when the weather turns, guests head to the Great Outdoor Café with a huge umbrella protecting against chilly winds or showers. Sun’s 12 bars and lounges offer a variety of atmospheres to fit any mood. But if you’re looking for some quiet time, head to the well-stocked mahoganied library, with some books still on the bestseller lists, or to the nearby card room which houses board games and cards for playing Bridge.

Bars, lounges, and casino
Don’t expect specialty drinks to differ from bar to bar, though the ambience will. Rock the night away in Dazzles Cabaret. For a quieter nightclub experience, visit the softly lit Observation Lounge, where a soft-rock duo performs. For an intimate drink, head to the dark Windjammer piano bar, separated from the Havana Cigar Bar by a cloud of blue smoke.

The casino is a high-traffic zone, with 195 slots and 11 table games. It’s suitably Vegas -- razzle-dazzle bright and bling-blang noisy.

Heard on the deck: “I won $400 right off and the attendant guy comes over to me and says, ‘Is that slot broken again?’ I’m going to try it again tonight and hope they didn’t get it fixed.”

Shows
The Stardust Lounge, the main entertainment venue, is suitably glam and glitzy. Behind the sparkle-plenty purple curtain is a proscenium stage that can hide enough scenery to make you believe you’re in a Broadway theater. The dance troupe recreates “My Fair Lady” and half a dozen other popular musicals in one revue, then turns around the next evening and performs a tribal version of Peter Pan complete with Neverland scenery and aerial acts. This is also the spot for the always popular (for female passengers, anyway) “Ships ‘n’ Males,” an adult dance revue performed by male crew.

Heard on the deck (in the audience before the “Ship ‘n’ Males” dance revue): “The social director told us we might want to bring cash to stash in the trunks of the hunks.”

Weddings and vow renewals
Sun’s faith-neutral chapel, with back-lit stained-glass windows but no religious symbols, will accommodate up to 25 wedding guests. Packages are available ranging from $799 for an intimate ceremony with six guests to $2,399 for a full-blown, pre-cruise wedding and luncheon reception for 25. Up to 50 non-sailing guests can be accommodated for $39 each.

Looking for…

• Quietest spot: The Observation Lounge may be a rock-spot at night, but during the day it’s a favorite reading room -- everyone whispers, if they talk at all
• Liveliest spot: Dazzles Cabaret sees guests rock and roll to favorites from the ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s
• Best view: The Observation Lounge keeps the bow and open water in plain sight; decks to starboard and port are the best spots to watch the ship dock and leave port
• Best drink: The Iceadelic: Any rummy, fruity concoction you choose, served in a take-home, glow-in-the-dark neon glass, the perfect souvenir
• Best show: “Encore Mr. Producer,” an hour-long Broadway redux in the Stardust Lounge, shines with well-staged vignettes from half a dozen of the best musicals ever
• Best activity: When the joint gets jumping, the blackjack tables upstairs in the casino shake, and crossing a time zone prompts a “New Year’s Eve” party complete with funny hats and noise-makers

Tips:

• Don’t depend on the library. Books must be checked out, and hours are limited (it doubles as a conference center). The best spot for daytime reading is the Observation Lounge.
• Spotlights and floor-to-ceiling columns block the view from some seats in the Stardust Lounge, so arrive early to get an unobstructed seat.
• Don’t miss the exhibit on the casino wall showing the history of playing cards and dice. Did you know the earliest reference to modern-style playing cards with royalty in clubs, hearts, spades, and diamonds was in 1377?
• Wheelchair-bound passengers can reach all areas of the ship, though they might have to take the long way around. Elevators are well placed and operate frequently.

Spa and salon
The Body Waves Spa and Salon hints at Nirvana with low lights, piped-in New Age music, and colorful body wraps in East Indian prints. But don't expect great luxury. Décor in the waiting room is forgettable and the treatment rooms are small and plain but clean. A 55-minute, $117 facial promises to solve any skin problem you might have and last for six weeks. It's probably not that good, but you'll walk out feeling relaxed and wrinkle-free even if you manage to say "no" to a complete line of products to take home. Schedule a facial or massage when the ship is in port, when tempting daily specials are offered – up to 20% off selected massages or facials – and most cruisers are ashore seeing the sights. Also be sure to call the beauty salon early for formal night updo appointments as slots fill quickly. Several afternoons, though, the salon was naptime-quiet and virtually deserted.

Fitness areas
With 7 treadmills, 10 stationary bicycles, 8 elliptical exercisers, free weights, yoga, aerobics, stretching, and Pilates, freestyle dining is the only excuse for not keeping ship-shape. Most work-out sessions are free, though some classes charge $5. Walkers and joggers round the deck each morning; three times around equals one mile. And dance classes are part of each day’s group activities -- don’t choose between the cha-cha, salsa, or country-western… take ‘em all. The basketball/volleyball court is large, well-used, and surrounded by a net to catch wayward balls. The weight room, aerobics center, sauna, and steam rooms cover as much space as some athletic clubs.

Heard on the deck (after a dance class):
Man: “Okay now, that was a one, two, three, four, and five, right?”
Woman: “How can you get a count of five on the cha-cha? You need another dance lesson.”

There’s no such thing as full price. Brochures clipped to cabin doors offer 50 percent savings on emeralds, diamonds, and topaz. There are lots of champagne freebies, although to collect you may put yourself in danger of buying something -- sign up for the art auction and collect a glass of bubbly, then go to the duty-free shop’s “let us show you our lower-than-land prices” party and get another. For serious shoppers, there’s the usual gold by the inch, china figurines, and an “everything under $10” boutique.

Tips:

• To get free champagne at the art auction you’ll have to sign up and get a bidding card. Sit on it if you must to avoid coming home with an unwanted Picasso print worth next week’s paycheck.
• Stay away from the White Elephant sale put on by the shopping mall folks unless you really like neon plastic shot glasses and ship’s logo paraphernalia.
• If you buy inexpensive duty-free liquor, don’t expect to be able to take it up to your cabin. You’ll get it upon disembarking the ship at the end of the cruise.

Heard on the deck (at the shopping mall): “I keep telling myself as long as I stay out here in the hallway, I’m not spending money. I’m allergic to spending money.”

Children ages 2-17 will find a variety of scheduled activities. Two- to five-year-olds can be parked in Kids Korner for a day-camp experience that includes games, singing, “Let’s Pretend” on their own little stage, and visits to the frozen yogurt bar. Youngsters 6-12 have their own Kids’ Crew activity room with age-appropriate games (think Twister, scavenger hunts, and karaoke). Babysitting is always offered during the evening. When the ship is in port, babysitting is available during the day. The charge is $5 an hour.

Older kids 12 to 17 party late into the evening in the Teen Club, a separate room that hops with popular music. Teens get together for several meals and a “Babe and Hunk Hunt” of the ship. For unstructured fun, there’s always a pickup game of basketball or shuffleboard on the top deck. The video arcade offers a blinking, whirring, exploding good time. And everyone in the family is welcome at TV-inspired games in the Stardust Lounge. Think Wheel of Fortune or Family Feud, not Survivor or Fear Factor.

The soda pop program could save parents a bundle. It works like this: $28.50 buys a souvenir mug and unlimited refills of pop throughout the cruise; add another $6.75 for non-alcoholic designer drinks ad infinitum -- think boozeless Pina Coladas. With a glass of Coke going for $1.50, a thirsty teen can down that much easily.

Tips:

• Video games are marked for parental guidance -- “Life-like violence mild” or “Suitable for all ages.”
• Beware when passing the kiddie pool on the way to the top deck; it doesn’t take five-year-olds long to figure out how to squirt the fountain toward passersby for a soaking good laugh.

Heard on the deck (at the shopping mall): “My 11-year-old is just bored stiff. It’s just babysitting down there in Kid’s Corner, and the games are stupid. It’s a good thing she likes to shop.”

Norwegian Sun summers in Alaska, making roundtrip Vancouver sailings. She spends her winters sailing the Western Caribbean out of Miami.

• Type of cruise - Resort-Casual
• Total cabins - 968
• Private balcony cabins - 432
• Decks - 9
• Total crew - 950
• Ship size - Large
• Passenger capacity - 2002
• Tonnage - 77000
• Officers nationality - Scandinavian/International
• Registry - Bahamas
• Year entered service - 2001
• Ship length - 848