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Note - this page contains multiple reviews.
Name: Lita Buher
Email: lbuher@trevecca.edu
Age: 28
Occupation: educator
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-Leeward
SailingDate: 8-2-99
Itinerary: Cancun, Key West
Cabin: 4025, Cat B
FoodDiningRoom: 95
CruiseDirector: 90
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService: 80
CruiseStaff: 90
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck: 90
DiningRoomService: 95
CabinQuietness: 75
FoodMidnightBuffets: 85
CabinSteward: 85
ShoreExcVariety:
FoodVariety: 85
DeckService: 75
ShoreExcValue:
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService:
TenderService: 85
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges:
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 85
EntertShowLounge: 85
OverallPortsofCall: 85
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 90
CruiseActivities: 80
Casino:
AirSeaProgram: 80
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 90
EmbarkDisembark: 90
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 80
Stabilization: 85
ShopsOnBoard: 85
SpaceRatio: 85
OverallCruiseValue: 80
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 10 Aug 1999
Time: 15:08:58
Remote Name: 198.146.120.2
Remote User:
Comments
My husband and I just returned from our first cruise celebrating our 5 year anniversary. I
had done quite a bit of
research, so I knew a lot about what to expect, especially from this particular ship. I
think that info was really helpful,
and helped us to not have expectations that were too high. To be honest, after we booked
the cruise and I started
doing some reading on the Leeward, I was quite worried. I shouldn't have been - I'm not
real sure what so many were
complaining about. There were some negative aspects of our experience, but nothing that
was terrible, by any
means. The most helpful reviews to me were the ones that were most detailed, so I'll try
to remember as much as I
can.
We booked through NCL's Air/Sea program, because we could actually fly into Miami cheaper
that way. We flew
down a day early so we wouldn't be so tired on the first day of the cruise, and I'm glad
we did that, especially since
our flight was at 5:30 in the morning! That gave us more time to enjoy our hotel and beach
in Miami, though. We
booked a room in the Miami Beach Ocean Resort, which was nice but nothing fancy. Our room
overlooked a street
and some ugly buildings, but we paid an extra $20 to upgrade to an oceanview room (well
worth it - glad they had
one available). The shuttle pick-up was supposed to be at 1:30 on the day of embarkation,
and we didn't want to wait
until then since we could begin boarding at 1:00. So we spent another $25 to get a cab to
the pier - arrived about
12:30 and had one of the few experiences of someone explicitly asking for a tip (the
porter). We did it, though,
because our luggage was pretty big and heavy and it was worth it to not deal with it
checking in and boarding. We
didn't get it in our cabin until almost 5:00, though.
Boarding was simple and painless, and we were on the ship before 1:00. They were pushing
those drinks in the
souvenier glasses, but all you have to do is say no a dozen times! After checking out our
cabin we went to eat in the
dining room - never did eat lunch in the Sports Bar - the dining room was too nice. While
I'm on the food subject, we
were pleasantly surprised by the quality. The only bad experience we had (besides the
awful tasting water- lemon
makes it better) was a breakfast we ordered through room service the first morning. After
that we had breakfast in
the Sports Bar - good variety and taste. We also went to two midnight buffets (get there
early - the line gets long
quick) and the food there was also good. Our waiter and bus boy weren't outstanding, but
we found no fault with
them. We had requested a table for two and got a really good one with an oceanview. When
we booked the cruise
we told our travel agent it was for our anniversary, and one night at dinner our maitre'd
and some of the waiters
brought us a little cake and sang to us. That was a nice touch. We had planned to try the
Le Bistro since we had
heard so many good things about it, and we even made reservations there for Thursday night
(since we had early
seating, we didn't want to miss time in Key West to get back for dinner). However, we
didn't know they would be
serving lobster in the main dining room the last night and didn't want to miss that.
Luckily our maitre'd allowed us to
sit in the late seating that night, because we had already missed the early one.
One of the things I was really worried about was motion sickness since I'm pretty prone to
it. We had really calm
seas, though, and I took ginger on a regular basis. I only took Dramamine once late one
night, and other than that I
barely knew we were moving.
Our cabin was very spacious, as we splurged and got a room with a sitting area - worth it
in our opinion because we
did spend some time there. The refigerator was handy since we took our own soft drinks and
water aboard to save
some money. The cabin steward was very good at slipping in and out - we didn't even see
him until the last night and
that was only by accident when we went back to get our camera. Good thing we didn't need
to ask him anything! No
fancy towel shapes or anything, but he kept the room cleaned and fresh. The only negative
about our room was that
we could really hear the engine noise and feel the vibration where we were - toward the
back of the ship and lower
down (room 4025). It kept us from getting a good night's sleep, but we did adapt a little.
It did drown out the noise
from the hallway and cabins beside us! We were near the elevator but weren't bothered by
it at all. One other bad
thing - we only found one plug-in, so take an extension cord with extra plug-ins.
It rained some during our day at sea, which was disappointing but couldn't be helped. I
went to the Art Auction -
mainly for the raffle - but I wasn't real impressed. We did go to the comedy show Monday
night and the Sea Legs on
Tuesday, both of which were pretty good. Wednesday night we watched a movie in the room
and Thursday was Key
West and a late dinner. Oh - the port lecture was helpful, but you don't have to actually
go - they do replay it on the
TV during the day. Same thing for the disembarkation lecture.
As for ports, we didn't do any shore excursions. We mainly wanted to just walk around on
our own. We went to the
Forum and La Fiesta in Cancun for shopping, but the vendors were too pushy. We spent some
time at the beach
next to the Forum - really pretty and not crowded at all. Went back to the ship early -
just not real impressed with
Cancun in general. We had hoped to get changed to Cozumel but no such luck. Key West was a
different story - a
really neat, unique town. Shopping was much more pleasant, and we walked to the
Southernmost Point and
Hemmingway's house (paid $7.50 a piece, mainly to pet the cats all over the place!). Oh -
cheap shirts and
sweatshirts in this town! It did rain again, so we missed the beautiful Key West sunset
and all the entertainers on
Mallory Pier.
The last morning was the only time we were bothered by those PA announcements - they
started way too early and
came way too often, mostly related to paying your bill. Disembarkation was pretty painless
- we were in the second
group and were off by 9:45 or so after leaving the room at 8:30 and hanging out in the
closed casino to wait for the
ship to be cleared.
Overall this was an enjoyable, relaxing experience for us. The Leeward really didn't look
that worn down to us,
though we don't have anything to compare her to. Since we don't drink or party and aren't
fond of just hanging out
with strangers, we did find that there weren't that many things to do at times. But we
took books and just took
advantage of the time to relax and enjoy each other's company. I'm glad we went, though
it's probably not something
we would do again on a regular basis. It has nothing to do with NCL or this ship - we just
think cruising may not be
our cup of tea. I would recommend NCL and the Leeward. It's a shame that they are not
renewing her lease. We
liked her small size and intimate feel, and it didn't take long at all to find our way
around, and we liked seeing some of
the same people repeatedly around the ship. Again, no major complaints, although again we
don't have anything to
compare this experience to!
If you have any other questions, please feel free to email me! I have lots more I could
say but don't want to take too
much time or space!
Name: Stanley Jakubowski
Email: sjakubowski@yahoo.com
Age: 56
Occupation: retired
NumberOfCruises: 10+
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-Leeward
SailingDate: September 1998
Itinerary: New England and Canada
Cabin: 408
FoodDiningRoom: 75
CruiseDirector: 78
CabinComfort: 50
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 65
CabinAmenities: 50
FoodLidoDeck: 75
DiningRoomService: 77
CabinQuietness: 72
FoodMidnightBuffets: 75
CabinSteward: 80
ShoreExcVariety:
FoodVariety: 75
DeckService:
ShoreExcValue:
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff: 75
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 50
LoungeService:
TenderService: 78
GoodForSeniors: 40
BeautySalonStaff: 77
EntertainmentLounges: 76
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 75
EntertShowLounge: 75
OverallPortsofCall: 85
BeautySalon: 77
EntertainmentPoolside:
CruiseActivities: 73
Casino: 73
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities: 85
ShipCleanliness: 40
EmbarkDisembark: 68
DiscoNightclubs: 66
DeckSpace: 77
Stabilization: 80
ShopsOnBoard: 74
SpaceRatio: 73
OverallCruiseValue: 69
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 25 Aug 1999
Time: 14:17:44
Remote Name: 216.132.126.230
Remote User:
Comments
I took this cruise with my wife, 34 year old single daughter and my 80 year old parents.
The cruise left from
Alexandria, Va. This meant that my parents did not have to fly. We could all get to and
from the ship by cab. This
was the primary reason we took this cruise.
Although the ship was much dirter than any other cruise we had been on that was not the
primary problem. The ship
allowed smoking in too many areas. Smoking was permitted in all lounges at all times,
except for the main lounge
during shows. After dinner, if you were not a smoker, there was no place to go for a drink
or to dance or to listen to
the lounge acts where you were not subject to a smoker right next to you. The casino was
also a smoking area and
one which you almost always had to pass through unless you were willing to go up or down a
deck. Smoking was
allowed in all passageways. Even in the few areas where smoking was not permitted, crew
members refused to take
any action when asked to when smoking was taking place.
The room used as the dining area for buffets, casual meals and for 24 hour coffee and tea
service was also in an
area open to smokers. Despite several attempts to have smokers and food kept apart the
senior officers of the crew
took no action. The cruise was difficult and unenjoyable since we were not able to enjoy
many of the things you
ordinarily take a cruise for. I would strongly recommend that anyone contemplating a NCL
or Leeward cruise avoid it
if you are at all sensitive to smoke.
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