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Name: Eugene F White
Email: Ewhite125@aol.com
Age: 61
Occupation: Retired Firefighter
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-Leeward
SailingDate: July 28,1998
Itinerary: Cancun Mx-Alexandria VA
FoodDiningRoom: 95
CruiseDirector: 90
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService: 95
CruiseStaff: 95
CabinAmenities: 95
FoodLidoDeck: 95
DiningRoomService: 95
CabinQuietness: 90
FoodMidnightBuffets: 95
CabinSteward: 90
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 95
DeckService: 95
ShoreExcValue: 85
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland: 100
GoodForFamilies: 90
LoungeService: 90
TenderService: 95
GoodForSeniors: 95
BeautySalonStaff: 95
EntertainmentLounges: 90
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 90
OverallPortsofCall: 95
BeautySalon: 95
EntertainmentPoolside: 90
CruiseActivities: 95
Casino: 90
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 100
EmbarkDisembark: 100
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 95
Stabilization: 95
ShopsOnBoard: 90
SpaceRatio: 95
OverallCruiseValue: 95
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 17 Aug 1998
Time: 14:53:14
Remote Name: 205.188.192.27
Remote User:
Comments
THE TRIP 7-28-98 through 8/5/98
The big day finally arrived my wife and I were up at 4:00AM. We
had packed the day before so we just had to shower and get
dressed. Sit around for a
while and enjoy some coffee. Our limousine arrived right on time,
5:30 AM. We then loaded the luggage and left for Dulles.
We arrived at Dulles at 6:00 AM and saw the Didion people with
their signs directing us to the ticket counter for United
Airlines. Where we were to check
in our luggage and have our passports checked. Of course there
were long lines as the aircraft was booked solid.
After checking in our luggage and receiving our seat assignments
and directions to the plane, we still had quite a bit of time
before we would board. I
checked with one of the lady's from Didion Travel about a place
to grab a quick breakfast. She directed us to go down stairs from
the ticket counters.
Guess what? There were not any places open. So we wasted about 15
minutes looking. We then decided to board the shuttle that would
take us to the
mid terminal. There we found many places to have a coffee, sweet
roll, or breakfast. But not enough time because we were supposed
to be boarding the
aircraft. And as luck would have it, we could have had a full
breakfast, as we were around thirty minutes late boarding.
After finally boarding our DC-10 and finding our seats located in
row 27 seats A&B and stowing our carry on bags in the
overhead we were ready to go.
The seat configuration was very tight especially for me, as I am
over six feet tall. The pilot finally received permission for
push back at 8:32 AM now 32
minutes late. We taxied out and were wheels up at 8:42 AM. Around
9:15 AM the stewardess finally served us a cup of coffee. We were
notified that they
were 100 meals short. So you could have a choice of a blueberry
muffin or a breakfast. I opted for the breakfast (should have
taken the muffin) How can
you be 100 meals short on a Charter Flt? They knew how many
passengers would be on the flt. We did had a very nice &
smooth flt to Cancun MX
approxmently 2 Hrs and 51 minutes.
So now the real test began. The lines to check into Mexico were
very long and there were only 4 officials to take and check our
documents. But the
terminal was air-conditioned which was a blessing. After finally
having our paperwork completed, we then had to look for our
luggage. The carrousel had
been stopped and luggage was all over the place. The problem was
that you had to go all over the place and find it. Our luggage
was in three different
areas of the baggage claim section. Then on to customs where more
lines were formed. You had to go up and push a button on what
looked like a stop
light if you got green you could go ahead. If you received a red,
then you had to open up your luggage for inspection. We were
lucky we got green.
You then proceeded outside where we were met by Didion people.
The first I had seen other than two on board the plane. Our
luggage was then placed
on trucks for transportation to the ship and we were directed to
the buses for transportation to the hotel. When boarding the
buses A rep from Didion
then took our paperwork and we were given a white plastic card
with instructions not to lose it, as this was what we needed to
board the buses to the
ship. And to board the ship. On the way to the hotel we received
the wonderful news! THERE WERE NO ROOMS AVAIABLE AT THE
HOTEL.When I had
spoken to my travel agent from Didion weeks before about the room
situation I was told there were plenty of rooms and I would not
have to make
reservations until we were in Cancun. As my wife has Lupus and
becomes tired very easy this was a major concern. But we thought
we could fall back on
the Hospitality Room that Didion was supposed to have. After
approxmently a thirty-minute ride to the hotel, I then began
checking with the Didion
peoples as to the location of the hospitality room. She told me
the hotel had not given them the room number as of yet. I do not
know if they ever had a
room. I never found anyone on board the ship that had been to
this room. Didion really dropped the ball on this.
We decided not to sit around the hotel until 9:30 PM when the
buses were scheduled to leave for the ship and took the side trip
to Xcaret. When this tour
was over we would go directly to the ship which was only about 10
minutes away. The tour was very expensive approxmently $150,00
for both of us but I
still believe the best move I made. Xcaret was beautiful and the
show we saw that evening great. When we did leave to go to the
ship we were the first
bus to arrive. And the Leeward looked beautiful in the dark all
lit up. Everyone had to pause for a moment and have their picture
take, and then check in
with one of the ships officers. He wanted our tickets. We showed
him our white plastic cards and told him the Didion people had
taken them in Cancun. No
one on board the ship or anyone connected with the buses has yet
to ask for the white plastic cards. We then learned along with
some other passengers
they had taken the wrong papers, so we had to wait a few minutes
more so he could write new tickets. We were then given our
boarding passes and
proceeded to the gangway. We were met on board and showed to our
cabin. What a pleasant surprise to find that our luggage had
already been placed
in front of our cabin door, when we were boarding the members of
the crew were still bringing luggage aboard. We both had a nice
shower dressed in
clean clothes and went to the buffet that was set up. I learned
later during the week that some passengers that stayed at the
hotel did not arrive until
after 1:00 AM
The Cruise Ship:
Our cabin #7213 was just great! The only thing we could have ask
for was a little more drawer space for clothing, we also came to
find out we did not
need as many clothes as we had taken. We were under the
impression that we would need to dress up a little more for
dinner."Coat& Tie etc". This was
not the case; casual clothes were the norm except for the two
formal dinners. We were assigned to the Four Seasons dining room
and early dinner. Our
table was # 86. This was a table for eight we had requested a
table for six but this was not a problem, our dinner partners
were quite enjoyable folks. I
can not say enough good things about our waiter Anthony he was
just wonderful in every way, and our busboy knew our wants and
needs after the first
night. Who preferred coffee, tea etc? The food was outstanding
and the service at every meal was excellent. Every member of the
crew and officers of
the Leeward were what I would consider excellent employees always
very polite and more than willing to help you with any questions
or problems you
might have.
Ports of Call:
Our first port of call was Cozumel; my wife and I took the first
tender over as the ship had to anchor in the harbor. We lucked
out on this as the tender
took us to a dock right in the main part of town, so we could
just walk to anyplace that was of interest to us. The shopping
was good and we did find many
bargains. The Mexican people were very polite and really went out
of their way to make us feel welcome.
Key West Fla.:
The ship docked right in the heart of the main area of Key West,
very convient to all the shops and places one would like to see.
As we have been to Key
West before we just went ashore and did some shopping and the
usual tourist type things, photos etc.
Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas:
Both my wife and I feel this was the best of all our ports. We
signed up for the first tender to the island. Again we had to
anchor a short distance away.
Members of the Leeward crew had gone to the island before the
passengers to set up for the cook out and to prepare the lunch we
were to enjoy while
there. The water was fantastic, cool and clear as a bell. You
could stand and watch many different species of fish swimming
about you, there were plenty
of large sun umbrellas and chairs for sitting on the beach band
playing calypso type music. The cook-out was just wonderful,
along with the usual
hamburgers & hotdogs we were able to enjoy steamship round of
beef, plenty of salads and fresh fruits, watermelon and
cantaloupes all you could
possible ask for. What a wonderful time we had here.
Port Canaveral, Fla.:
We set sail for Port Canaveral from Stirrup Cay, and for the
first time experienced some rough seas. The ship did some
pitching but neither my wife nor
myself experienced any motion sickness, "this may be to the
patches we had applied earlier in order to prevent
seasickness" I spoke to other passengers
the next day and some had a problem with motion sickness. The
only problem we found with the pitching of the ship was on Deck #
9. Their were quite a
few teenagers who were laying on the floor around the elevator,
and with the ships motion trying to get around them was at times
a hazard. I cannot find
fault with the crew of the Leeward for this. Their parents should
have taken more responsibility and known what their children were
up to. We arrived at
port just a little later than expected due to the rough sea. We
both decided not to take any of the shore trips mainly because of
the short time we would
be in port. We did go ashore and take a taxi to Cocoa Beach and
check out some shopping. The cost of the taxi ride was $9.00 each
way. We had a
great driver and she gave us her business card so we could give
her a call when we were ready to return to the ship, which we
did. The only mistake we
made on this trip, we went too early as this was Sunday and most
places did not open until around noon.
Charleston South Carolina:
What a beautiful city Charleston is, we signed up for the
carriage rides along with two of our dinner partners and really
had a wonderful trip. The weather
was just perfect not to hot or humid. The driver of our two-mule
team wagon was excellent as far as showing us around and giving
us the little known
facts of the city. Our tour went to the battery area of
Charleston. The city has the tours split up to different parts of
the city in order to keep the traffic from
becoming two congested because of the horse and mule drawn
vehicles doing tours. After the tour we went to the open-air
market and found some nice
bargains and made a few purchases. My wife collects empty perfume
bottles and found some she really liked and were moderately
priced.
Alexandria VA:
Our last day at sea and on the way back to Alexandria, We sailed
past Virginia Beach and I was able to take a couple of great
photos of the sunset. Our
last formal dinner was held this night and was simple great. I
arose early so I could watch our ship come through the W. W.
Bridge and dock at Robinson
Terminal. Neither my wife nor I wanted to leave the ship what a
wonderful time we had. Would I cruise on NCL again with Didion
Travel? In a heartbeat.
We are already considering a trip for next year.
Things I feel Didion needs improvement on:
(1) The charter airlines should have known how many passengers
would be on board and had enough meals for everyone. (2) A faster
way to get
through immigrations in Mexico. (Probably no solution to this)
(3) Hospitality room should have already been set up at the hotel
when passengers arrive.
Especially after having to get up so early for the flight. (4)
Day rooms need to be booked ahead of time, to assure that you
would be able to have one.
With a late check out if ship is sailing later and you are
staying in Cancun. (5) Possibility of sailing from Florida
instead of Cancun Mexico. (6) A more
willing Didion Representative on board the ship. Although I was
not in need of his service for any cabin changes or other
problems, I saw him from time to
time on the ship and he never spoke or acknowledges who he was.
Since I work in the transportation field myself, I think he
should at least inquire if
passengers are enjoying themselves? And if everything is going
all right.
Gene White Alexandria Virginia
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