ncl-leewardjm021698

Name: Jeff Malin
Email: jmalin@erols.com
Age: 16
Occupation: Student
NumberOfCruises: 4
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-Leeward
SailingDate: Monday, February 16, 1998
Itinerary: 4-day Key West/Mexico
FoodDiningRoom: 80
CruiseDirector: 95
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService: 90
CruiseStaff: 95
CabinAmenities: 95
FoodLidoDeck: 90
DiningRoomService: 98
CabinQuietness: 85
FoodMidnightBuffets: 80
CabinSteward: 95
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 85
DeckService: 85
ShoreExcValue: 95
GoodForHoneymoon: 95
CasinoStaff: 95
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 80
LoungeService: 85
TenderService: 85
GoodForSeniors: 85
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 95
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 90
EntertShowLounge: 98
OverallPortsofCall: 95
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 90
CruiseActivities: 85
Casino: 90
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities: 90
ShipCleanliness: 95
EmbarkDisembark: 90
DiscoNightclubs: 85
DeckSpace: 90
Stabilization: 75
ShopsOnBoard: 85
SpaceRatio: 90
OverallCruiseValue: 95
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 27 Feb 1998
Time: 22:36:34
Remote Name: 207.172.39.155
Remote User:

Comments

I returned recently from a 4-day cruise on NCL's Leeward, from Miami to Key West, Cancun, and Cozumel. Overall, the cruise was very enjoyable,
and my family would definitely cruise on NCL again. I have been on four cruises, the last of which was on NCL's Dreamward to Bermuda. The quality
of the trip and NCL's skilled staff made this one of the best. Our cruise left on February 16th, and returned on the 20th. The term 'four-day cruise'
actually means three full days, with two partial days on both ends. This time of year, the ship was not completely full, while it was not empty either.
The vast majority onboard were couples, with a smaller number of families and kids.

The Leeward is the smallest ship in NCL's fleet, at only 25,000
tons, and with a capacity of only about 1000 passengers. With ten decks, however, it is the same height as many larger vessels, sacrificing instead
its overall length, which was approximately five hundred feet. This design means that the ship has most of the same facilities as other much larger
ships, losing only a large number of passenger cabins. This was very evident in the distance between the fore and aft main stairwells; on other ships,
a corridor hundreds of feet long connects the passenger cabins on all decks; on Leeward, the main hallway on each floor was only about 100 feet
long. Moving around the ship is very easy. Passengers who do not like to take long flights of stairs, however, should not assume that because the
ship is small, there are fewer stairways…

The main promenade deck is located on deck 5, while the rest of the activity areas are on decks 8, 9, and
10. Cabins are located on decks 2, 3, 4, and 7, with their size and class generally increasing with their deck number. The ship was not very crowded
in any areas; the shows in the Stardust Lounge were full without being crowded, and there were some free lounge chairs on deck at almost all times
of the day. The ship has most of the trademark features of other NCL ships. It features two dining rooms, one on deck 5, and one on deck eight, with
Le Bistro, an alternative restaurant, located on deck 9. The Sports Bar and Grill, also located on deck 9, provides buffet-style Breakfast and Lunch,
along with a fairly heavy array of snacks in the afternoons. In the dining rooms, main seating lunch and dinner are at noon and 6pm, respectively,
while late seating meals are served at 1:30 and 8:30 pm. Overall, we were impressed by the quality of the food in the Sports Bar, while we found the
dinners in the dining rooms to be high on fanciness and presentation, but low on taste and quality. We are lunch three days in the Sports Bar, where
they served hamburgers, hot dogs, polish sausage, pizza, pasta, and salads every day, along with various deserts. The single line, although it was
often long, moved quickly, and there always seemed somehow be plenty of seating. There were tables for about 100 inside, with seating for about
20 more on a deck outside. Some people chose to take their meals out the other exit, to eat by the pool, or above on the sun deck.

The staff was
fairly efficient, clearing tables almost as soon as they were vacated. In the dining room, we felt that our water and busboy were both superb, with
fast and efficient service, and quickly fixed any errors, which were usually due to a miscommunication by someone at the table. On the first night,
when two of the passengers at our table were seasick in their cabins (more on this later), without being asked, our waiter presented the one
remaining member of their group at our table with several hot, wrapped items of food to bring back to the cabin, saying it was '...in case they are
hungry later'. This is the second NCL ship that has impressed us with the skill of their dining room staff, and it helps compensate for the food, which
was usually good, but not superb. The one annoying element was the dining room steward, who makes the rounds of the dining room the first night
to 'meet' everyone there, probably in the hopes of a tip at the cruise's end, and tries to make smalltalk with every table. He is not too successful.
Other than that, the staff was very good.

The midnight buffets were nice, but not great. They appeared to be much smaller than those on
Dreamward, and the food, like on Dreamward, was okay. The famed 'Chocoholic Buffet' does not live up to the hype, and neither do the rest. The
buffets were usually not very crowded, and the times that I did go, I spend about 10 minutes nibbling on various items before leaving. Our cabins
were very nice, especially considering what we paid for them. We booked our cruise directly from NCL, and got what they called 'run of the ship'
rooms, which meant that we would get whatever rooms they happened to have available for us, and might not know until we got aboard the ship
which rooms were ours. Because we have always felt that rooms are not very important, this plan was the best for us, because it was the least
expensive of any rooms on the ship. We arrived at the Port of Miami and checked in, which was very quick, for five of us, it took about 5 minutes at a
desk, and we did not wait in any line. We are members of latitudes, and used the 'special' check in windows, but at the time we arrived, about 4
hours before sailing, there were no lines anywhere, even at the 'regular' windows. There, we were assigned two rooms, but then told that one of the
rooms had been 'upgraded'. Great, we thought, a better room. It indeed was, they gave us two outside rooms, on decks 4, and 5. The only problem
was that the room that they upgraded us to had only 2 beds, and we had three people to stay in it. We had told them that we needed three beds, so
we returned back down the gangway to the check in area, where we met with the head of the operations there. She consulted her book, found that
indeed the room had only two beds, and apologized. Then she amazed us. After looking in the book for a little bit for a different room, she looked
up, and I expected her to say 'sorry, we don't have any other rooms in that category that will hold three passengers, we'll have to move you back to
your original room'. Instead, she looked at me and asked 'how would you like your own room'. So, to recap, for the price for the two least expensive
rooms on the ship, we received three rooms: one four-person inside room (used by one person, myself), and two middle-level outside rooms. And
finally, one of the outside rooms had a horribly disgusting smell in it, which no amount of cleaning by the room stewards could get rid of. So it was
upgraded to a 'superior deluxe outside stateroom' on deck 7, the largest class of rooms, aside from the 4 owners suites.

All in all, we were
extremely pleased, to say the least, and felt that NCL graciously turned their mistakes into great bonuses for us. I do think that our rooms were due
in part to the fact that the ship was not too full... had it been carrying its maximum capacity of passengers, we would probably have been stuck with
two micro-economy rooms above the engines on deck 2. Our cabin stewards were attentive and quick. My room was always straightened out,
cleaned, and the beds made when I returned to it before lunch, and before dinner. They will watch to see when you leave, and they make clean your
room fairly soon afterwards. It was a good quality of service in this respect. The first night was, unfortunately for many, extremely rough. The ship
heaved back and forth, violently at times, and the passengers who were out of their cabins were knocking into walls and each other often. Many
people were sick, and the ship appeared deserted by midnight, with everyone in their cabins. Late seating dinner had about 25 people in our dining
room. The ship is fairly small, and that contributed to the movement, which was due to the heavy winds and high seas. I have read about the
Leeward being less stable than other ships, and I would have to agree. The staff handled everything very well however. One of the ships officers told
us that the ride would get calmer at about 11pm when we made a westward turn into the Gulf of Mexico, and indeed, it got noticeably calmer. That
night was the most rough, the time at sea returning from Mexico was fairly calm. I am personally not effected by seasickness, but many people visibly
were, and this was not the greatest night. On to the destination: Mexico (oh yes, and Key West also). The ships first stop is Key West, a lovely little
island at the southernmost tip of Florida, visited by any and every cruise ship that passes near it. The ship docks in the morning, and leaves at noon,
with enough time for some sightseeing or shopping. For first-timers, I recommend the Mel Fisher Museum, a gigantic display of treasures recovered
from sunken ships off the Florida coast. On this occasion, I took a $65.00 jet-ski tour of the island, more for the jet-ski part than the tour part. The 16
passengers on the tour are bussed about ½ a mile to a hotel, behind which lies the jet-ski operators. You ride two to a jet-ski, so I wouldn't
recommend going single (only 2 people did on my tour: myself, and another gentlemen who was luckily very nice). The tour lasts about an hour on
the water, and is quite fun, although I wonder if it would not have been worth it to spend my money on my own jet-ski from one of the rental places
10 feet from the docks. Departing Key West at noon, the ship sets off for Mexico, where it arrives at about 8:00 am, the next morning. 'Arrives'
means that it gets close enough to Cancun, then plops down its anchor, because it remains offshore, due to the shallowness of the water, and the
lack of a dock. Passengers departing for one of the shore excursions are the first allowed off… all others are gently reminded to wait until the
shore excursion passengers have disembarked, before they will be allowed to leave. The first tender tied alongside the ship, after considerable
effort, due to the very rough seas. The same tour aboard the Carnival's 'Ecstasy' was cancelled two years ago when we tried to go on it because the
seas were too choppy for the tender to dock. The seas this time looked just as choppy, but the tender went ahead and was able to dock. After about
a 20 minute ride, we got to land, where we walked down the dock, through a bar, and out into a parking lot where about 6 tour busses for different
tours were waiting to take us all to our destinations. The busses were large, had comfortable seats, and were air conditioned well. The staff handed
out boxed lunches which were prepared on the ship, two to a person (I guess they brought too many). Granola bars, cheese and crackers, fruit,
and two sandwiches were all fine, although the sandwiches had about ½ ounce of meat on each. We were then introduced to Carlos, our bilingual
tour guide, who spend the next two hours telling us all about Mexico, the local area, and especially about the Mayan people and the ruins of Tulum,
which we were going to visit. After a 20-minute stop for a bathroom break (and to let us buy souvenirs from a huge roadside gift store), we finally got
to Tulum. A $1.00 tram took us about ½ mile down a path from the parking lot, to the entrance to the walled city, where we were escorted through
the gates and into Tulum. The ruins are impressive, very large, and well-preserved. You are unfortunately not allowed to climb the stairs of the
temple, or to enter almost any of the ruins. Carlos took the group around the ruins for about 45 minutes, explaining several locations. Several
people left the group earlier, as while Carlos was very knowledgeable, he was also a bit long-winded on each site. The extreme heat was also
annoying, there was very little relief. We climbed up the hill to the cliffs, and saw a magnificent view of the ocean, a white sand beach far below us,
and the ruins overlooking the turquoise-blue seas. It is quite a view; make sure to bring your cameras. We were given an hour and a half a the
ruins, which was plenty for me, is I was extremely hot after about 15 minutes. We were not escorted around, but simply given a time to be back on
the bus, and roamed around on our own. When it was time to go, we took the tram back, and boarded the bus about a minute before the time they
had given us. The shades had been drawn and the air conditioning had been left on, so it was wonderfully cool when we got back. About two
minutes after we got on, the bus left for it's next stop, Xel-Ha. Xel-Ha (pronounced shell-hah), is an absolutely magnificent natural water park. A
natural spring feeds a fresh-water river, which flows gently down a scenic twisting path, into a beautiful blue lagoon, which stretches for about 600
meters, until it reaches the open ocean. Surrounding the lagoon are footpaths cut through the woods, which connect a wide array of natural
attractions. There are underground water caves that you can swim into from the lagoon, then look up out of skylights to people on the trail above.
You can pick up inntertubes free of charge (you give them a picture ID as collateral), and use them to float down the river, into the lagoon. A shaded
tram runs about ½ mile around the end of the lagoon, taking you from the lounge chairs and restaurants on one side, to the footpaths and the river
on the other side. As you float down the river, you can stop along the sides at various 'rides', like a rope swing out over the water, or my personal
favorite, a 15-foot rock clip with a rope and handholds cut into it, which you can climb up, then jump off of into the river (don't worry, it's deep
enough. Just don't dive headfirst). There are no lifeguards or staff anywhere to be seen, so it's advisable to go with another person. This was one of
the most fantastic places I have been in my life. I chose to forgo the inner tubes, and instead swam from one side of the lagoon to the other, hiked
the footpath back to the river, then swam down the entire river, into the lagoon, across, and back to the beach where my family was. The swim was
fantastic. On a side note however, I was ill with painful stomach cramps, fever, and chills that night, and I think that it was from swallowing some water
while I was swimming- try not to. After reluctantly getting back on the bus, we departed, once again very promptly. The ride back to Playa Del
Carmen, where a tender takes us to Cozumel, was about 45 minutes. We got there just in the nick of time to catch the ferry, which sailed, once
again, about 3 minutes after we got on. We were very impressed with the timing of the tour operators - we never waited for anything to depart. The
ferry is very large, and enclosed, with two decks, and large comfortable chairs, a far cry from the two-hundred people cramped onto two decks of
picnic-table style benches that was the tender ride from the ship to the mainland. After about a 45 minute ride, the ferry arrived at the main docks, in
downtown Cozumel, Mexico. There are many shops there, and we wandered through them before catching a cab ride to the ship docks. The ferry
arrives back at Cozumel about 2 and a half hours before the Leeward arrives, so plan to spend some time at the shops, or at the ship docks. There
is a nice bar near the pier, where you can literally sit and watch your ship come in, as the Leeward appears on the horizon, then slowly pulls closer.
It finally docked next to Carnival's Ecstasy and NCL's Dreamward, which co-incidentally meant that three out of the four ships that I had been on in
the past 3 years were all docked next to each other. We re-boarded, where I promptly returned to my cabin, ill, and went to sleep. I woke up at
about 3:00 in the morning, feeling much better. The pursers desk was staffed, as it is 24-hours a day, and they were happy to give me several
aspirins. I drank some coffee in the Sports Bar, which is also available 24-hours a day, and went back to sleep, waking up again the next morning,
when we were already far out so sea, on our way back to Miami. The last day had several activities: final 'giant jackpot' bingo games, wacky Olympic
games staged on deck, a trap-shooting tournament, a very good show: The Pirates of Penzance, and other games and contests. I spend the last
night dancing with several people I met in the observatory lounge, which turns into a disco at night. After it closed at about 3:00 am, we all left to go
to sleep. The last day, we woke up early, to find ourselves docked in Miami. We ate breakfast in the dining room, which was the only time we did that
during the cruise; we usually ate breakfast in the Sports Bar. After eating, we gathered our things and left our cabins (our large suitcases were
already packed and picked up the night before). We went out on deck to wait for disembarkation, as they allowed everyone to leave the ship in
different color-coded groups. Our group, red was called about 15 minutes after the ship was cleared to disembark passengers by customs, and we
made out way off. Baggage claim in the terminal was a little bit hectic, but we found all of our bags - eventually. We picked up our car in the parking
lot right next to the terminal (which charged $45 to park for 4 days), and waved goodbye to the ship. Overall, I think that this cruise was very good,
and I would recommend it strongly to anyone looking for a fairly short getaway. I would also strongly recommend the combination Tulum and Xel-Ha
Lagoon tour which we took ($85.00 per person). If you have any questions, please e-mail me at jmalin@erols.com, as I will be happy to answer
them.

Back to NCL Leeward