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Name: Paul Slinski
Email: slinskps@erols.com
Age: 40+
Occupation: Self Employed
NumberOfCruises: 10
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-NorwegianCrown
SailingDate: 4/1/96
Itinerary: Western Caribbean
FoodDiningRoom: 80
CruiseDirector: 95
CabinComfort: 90
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 90
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck: 75
DiningRoomService: 85
CabinQuietness: 90
FoodMidnightBuffets: 80
CabinSteward: 85
ShoreExcVariety: 85
FoodVariety: 85
DeckService: 85
ShoreExcValue:
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff: 85
PrivateIsland: 95
GoodForFamilies: 90
LoungeService: 90
TenderService: 90
GoodForSeniors: 50
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 95
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 85
EntertShowLounge: 95
OverallPortsofCall: 85
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 90
CruiseActivities: 90
Casino: 90
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 95
EmbarkDisembark: 95
DiscoNightclubs: 95
DeckSpace: 75
Stabilization: 90
ShopsOnBoard: 85
SpaceRatio: 75
OverallCruiseValue: 85
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 30 Nov 1996
Time: 09:54:26
Remote Name: 205.177.154.138
Remote User:
Comments
We were on the innagural sailing of the Norwegian Crown (after it had been transferred
from Royal Cruise Lines). As expected, there were a few bumpy spots resulting from the
bringing together of a new crew. The dining room while elegant, is crowded and noisy when
full. The food and service started off as adequate but improved markedly during the week.
By weeks end it was up to NCL standards. There was not enough deck space or lounge chairs
for a ship doing the caribbean circuit. Also the Lido buffet, alternate dining and sports
bar had not been installed. The cabins were roomy, and finely appointed with enougth
storage space to last for an extended voyage. Entertainment was up to the usual high NCL
standards -- excellent shows, on-board activities and a great party at the private island.
We'll try her again this year when all the wrinkles are ironed out.
Name: Terry M. Weekly
Email: tweekly@sunline.net
Age: 51
Occupation: U.S. Army Retired
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-NorwegianCrown
SailingDate: 14 December 1996
Itinerary: 7-day Western Caribbean
FoodDiningRoom: 97
CruiseDirector: 95
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService: 79
CruiseStaff: 95
CabinAmenities: 94
FoodLidoDeck: --
DiningRoomService: 98
CabinQuietness: 95
FoodMidnightBuffets: --
CabinSteward: 99
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 98
DeckService: --
ShoreExcValue: 80
GoodForHoneymoon: 89
CasinoStaff: --
PrivateIsland: 90
GoodForFamilies: 80
LoungeService: --
TenderService: 93
GoodForSeniors: 92
BeautySalonStaff: --
EntertainmentLounges: 85
WheelchairAccess: --
ExerciseFacilities: 87
EntertShowLounge: 96
OverallPortsofCall: 86
BeautySalon: --
EntertainmentPoolside: 89
CruiseActivities: 87
Casino: 86
AirSeaProgram: --
MedicalFacilities: --
ShipCleanliness: 98
EmbarkDisembark: 95
DiscoNightclubs: 90
DeckSpace: 89
Stabilization: 94
ShopsOnBoard: 91
SpaceRatio: 93
OverallCruiseValue: 96
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 27 Dec 1996
Time: 23:36:33
Remote Name: 207.30.57.34
Remote User:
Comments
Ports of call for the cruise were Grand Cayman, Cozumel, NCL's private island - Great
Stirrup Cay, and Key West. While this was our first cruise, we had done considerable
research regarding ships and cruiselines before going. As a result, we had developed a
very definite set of expectations regarding the cruise experience. I am happy to report
that we were not disappointed. Cruising on the Norwegian Crown was an excellent experience
and, in my view, a great value for the dollar.
The positive: -- Cleanliness of the ship. Everything from staterooms to public areas was
always immaculate. -- Both food and service in the Main Dining Room were outstanding. The
variety and quality of the food was excellent at all meals. 4 main entrees plus low
calorie "Spa Cuisine" were available at both lunch and dinner. Several low
calorie options were also available at breakfast. The food was always well presented and
delivered hot. The dining room was pleasant and never felt crowded. The staff was superb.
-- We had a "Delux Outside Stateroom" (#5041) on the Laguna Deck. It was larger
than we had expected and provided more than adequate closet and drawer space. Our cabin
steward was excellent and unobtrusively kept everything ship shape. The towels were of
outstanding quality and were always fresh. We were very surprised at the quietness of the
room. Even though the cabins on both sides were occupied, we never heard anyone through
the walls. -- The shows by the Jean Ann Ryan Dance Company in the Main Show Lounge were
excellent. -- The embarkation/debarkation processes were well organized and handled very
smoothly. We arrived at the terminal one hour before boarding was to begin. The wait in
the processing line was about 40 minutes. 15 minutes later we were on the ship and in our
cabin. Our luggage was waiting when we returned from lunch. Debarkation was conducted
according to follow-on travel arrangements (ie. early departing flights first). Since we
were driving, we were last off the ship, yet we were still off by 10:00AM (arrival in Port
was 7:00AM). -- The general ambiance of the ship was very comfortable. Even though
approximately 1000 persons were aboard, the interior areas of the ship never seemed
crowded. No where did we see furniture or carpets which appeared to be excessively worn.
The negative: -- On days at sea, the Pool Deck area at the rear of the ship was always
very crowded. Getting a lounger there was nearly impossible unless you came early. There
were always, however, open deck areas on other parts of the ship where lounge chairs could
be found. -- The Room Service Menu is somewhat limited in choices. Only a Continental
breakfast (no eggs) is available in your room for breakfast. Only 3 types of sandwiches
and a few associated items are available at other times. -- The 2 pools onboard were both
small. Swimming laps was impossible if more than two people were in the pool which was
most of the time. -- The exercise room contained 3 treadmills, 2 stair machines, 4
exercise bikes and only 2 pieces of nautilus-type equipment. Could have been more
complete. -- Jogging is only allowed on the deck from 10:00am-12:00 noon, and from
5:00-6:00pm, both inconvienient times for most joggers. Also, the deck is very narrow in
places which makes passing walkers very difficult. Most mornings there is an organized
walk at 8:00am. -- I felt that most shore excursions were overpriced compared to what it
appeared you arrange on your own if you had prior knowledge of the ports. As an example,
it cost $25 to rent snorkle equipment on the ship. In Grand Cayman, you could rent snorkle
gear at the Eden Rock Dive Center, the same place the ship excursion walked to, for $9.00.
I had my own snorkle equipment, yet I still had to pay the full excursion rate if I wanted
to go on any of the ship-sponsored snorkle excursions. -- No hair dryers were provided in
the staterooms.
In summary, we found the Norwegian Crown to be a very comfortable ship which exceeded our
expectations in almost every way. It is a great value for the dollar and we would not
hesitate to sail on the Crown or with NCL again.
Name: Robin Conway
Email: robin.a.conway@boeing.com
Age: 38
Occupation: Engineer
NumberOfCruises: 6
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-NorwegianCrown
SailingDate: 2/22/97
Itinerary: Western Caribbean
FoodDiningRoom: 65
CruiseDirector: 90
CabinComfort: 85
FoodRoomService: 50
CruiseStaff: 85
CabinAmenities: 85
FoodLidoDeck: 75
DiningRoomService: 60
CabinQuietness: 90
FoodMidnightBuffets: 75
CabinSteward: 50
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 60
DeckService:
ShoreExcValue: 80
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland: 100
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 80
TenderService: 90
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 80
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 75
EntertShowLounge: 90
OverallPortsofCall: 85
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 90
CruiseActivities: 75
Casino: 80
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 80
EmbarkDisembark: 100
DiscoNightclubs: 80
DeckSpace: 65
Stabilization: 90
ShopsOnBoard: 75
SpaceRatio: 80
OverallCruiseValue: 80
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 05 Mar 1997
Time: 14:58:49
Remote Name: 199.238.253.11
Remote User:
Comments
The Norwegian Crown is a good ship. The staff is friendly and enthusiastic. The cruise
director was the least obnoxious we've ever dealt with.
A major disappointment on the cruise was the food. It was bland and without distinction. We were even served spoiled milk in the dining room. The variety of food was nil. Red meat was usually overcooked, and for a menu so heavily weighted on fish the preparation of such was downright poor. The menu is made to look varied by assigning exotic names to common dishes. Overcooked roast beef is still overcooked roast beef whether in English, Italian, or Norwegian. Two exceptions to the food sadness were the pastries, which were first class, and the Chocoholic Midnight Buffet which is worth staying up for. The Maitre d' was an ogre, not nice and unfortunately physically intimidating. There were three nights of dancing waiters with desserts. This is too much, they are barely servicable as waiters, don't make them entertain as well.
The NC has small deck spaces. The deck chairs are always 100% occupied, poolside or otherwise. There is no wide promenade deck. The only deck on which you can circumnavigate the ship has several sections that require people to go sideways to squeeze by one another. Some of the public facilities, most notably the show rooms and lounges are showing extreme wear, including torn and stained upholstery and carpeting. The shops are small and offer little of exceptional value. They are also poorly stocked with personal sundries and 'drugstore' items.
Our room was excellent. We had a small suite on the Riviera deck which included a bathtub and three large picture windows. The bed was hard. We never met our cabin steward and he did only the minimum amount of cleaning and straightening required to keep us from complaining. The onboard fitness program was great. There were lots of fitness activities that varied from strenuous to lecture.
The shore excursions were the usual for this itenerary and were of average price. We took a long trip to Chichen Itza in the Yucatan. The ships description of this excursion is poor. It should be noted that the trip requires two 45 minute ferry rides in a hot enclosed space over a very rough channel. Many people on our trip suffered (and vomited). Also, very wierdly, the box lunches provided by the ship include a fish sandwich. This trip is 11 hours long in 90 degree heat, the choice of box lunch food needs to be better. The NCL private island at Big Stirrup Quay is fantastic. Superior beach, adequate lounge chairs, decent food. Line up a few minutes early to get tickets on the first tender out, it's well worth it.
Finally, the embarkation and debarkation process was the smoothest I've ever been through. I'll sail this ship again. Overall I'd rate the NC toward the bottom of the list of 'top tier' major ships.
Name: Jonathan Golaner
Email: jgolaner@umdacc.umd.edu
Age: 37
Occupation: CPA
NumberOfCruises: 9
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-NorwegianCrown
SailingDate: 03/01/97
Itinerary: Western Caribbean
FoodDiningRoom: 90
CruiseDirector: 100
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService: 90
CruiseStaff: 95
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck: 90
DiningRoomService: 10
CabinQuietness: 90
FoodMidnightBuffets: 90
CabinSteward: 80
ShoreExcVariety:
FoodVariety: 80
DeckService:
ShoreExcValue:
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland: 95
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService:
TenderService: 70
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 90
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 90
EntertShowLounge: 90
OverallPortsofCall: 90
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 95
CruiseActivities: 95
Casino:
AirSeaProgram: 95
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 80
EmbarkDisembark: 95
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 85
Stabilization: 85
ShopsOnBoard:
SpaceRatio: 80
OverallCruiseValue: 75
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 09 Mar 1997
Time: 19:32:34
Remote Name: 128.8.21.64
Remote User:
Comments
We have just returned from a one week cruise on the Norwegian Crown. This was my 9th
cruise and 4th with NCL. Several expectations were exceeded on this cruise. They include:
The ship has many beautiful areas with large amounts of wood and marble, even marble
floors in the public restrooms. The Crown Lounge on the top deck is wonderful, the spa on
deck one is spotlessly clean and very attractive. I thought the quality of the food was
the best of any NCL cruise to date. The entertainment was also excellent! The Lattitudes
party for repeat customers was excellent, we were served free cocktails in the Top of the
Crown Lounge, followed by a short lecture, followed by more cocktails and elegant hors
d'oeuvres.
I must say the Cruise Director was by far the best!!!! He name is Daniel Cooper. He was helpful, sincere, and polished! One of the highlights of the cruise was a two day lecture covering the interiors of *ships of the past* presented by Mr. Cooper. There is also a theater that shows a different movie every day, a great idea, sometimes it's nice to relax inside on a very warm day.
Our cabin #9034 - S1 Suite was top drawer. Abundant closet space plus I think I counted 29 drawers. The bathroom was also elegant with gray and white marble floors, marble walls and spacious marble countertops. The bathroom also included recessed shelves (also marble) in the wall, undersink storage, and a whirlpool tub.
Now the bad points: Most of the buffet breakfasts and lunches are served in 'The Yacht Club' - unfortunately the area was not designed to handle 1,000 hungry people at one time. As you exit the buffet there is a major traffic jam. People are exiting the buffet, others trying to enter from seperate outside doors near the pool area, and others trying to go back to the buffet, plus passengers trying to select/prepare a beverage all in the same place - that is only about 4 feet wide..... go figure??? Another thing I could not understand that complicated the traffic was -- why is the fresh lemon on one left side of a 15 foot beverage counter and the iced tea on the complete right hand side???
But I would say the most disappointing part of our cruise was the dining room service at dinner. We had late seating with a table of 9 people. Our waiter was NOT friendly - even nasty at times, slow.....as dinner progressed our table was consistently one full course behind the rest of the dining room, and he was also not accurate...no one at our table received what was honestly ordered for a complete meal...items ordered never appeared, water and tea glasses refilled VERY slowly if at all. Let's just say the service we received was so poor, I skipped dinner the last 3 nights. I would have said something to the Head Waiter, but first, as I completely viewed the dining room there was no place to be moved, plus he appeared so overwhelmed I may have confused matters more. I guess there is no such thing as a perfect vacation.
Conclusion: The NCL Crown is a very handsome ship, if the 'Yacht Club' is refurbished it will be one of the most elegant ships afloat old or new. The Cruise Director is so good, it's worth going on the ship just to see the flawless job performed by Mr. Daniel Cooper. Maybe our waiter and busboy were having a bad day, or two, or week??? Hopefully NCL will add their signature 'Sports Bar/Grill' and Le Bistro dining option for this cruise. If you have any questions, I will be happy to respond if possible at jgolaner@umdacc.umd.edu
Name: Ian Black
Email: thatguy@glinx.com
Age: 45
Occupation: Police Officer
NumberOfCruises: 8
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-NorwegianCrown
SailingDate: March 8, 1997
Itinerary: Western Caribbean
FoodDiningRoom: 89
CruiseDirector: 95
CabinComfort: 89
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 95
CabinAmenities: 89
FoodLidoDeck: 80
DiningRoomService: 95
CabinQuietness: 97
FoodMidnightBuffets: 90
CabinSteward: 85
ShoreExcVariety:
FoodVariety: 90
DeckService: 85
ShoreExcValue:
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland: 95
GoodForFamilies: 95
LoungeService: 95
TenderService: 80
GoodForSeniors: 90
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 90
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 90
EntertShowLounge: 90
OverallPortsofCall: 95
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 90
CruiseActivities:
Casino:
AirSeaProgram: 10
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 89
EmbarkDisembark: 90
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 90
Stabilization: 90
ShopsOnBoard: 85
SpaceRatio: 80
OverallCruiseValue: 90
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 16 Mar 1997
Time: 19:05:07
Remote Name: 205.150.39.156
Remote User:
Comments
First some background. My wife and I took our first cruise in 1991 and this was our eighth
cruise and we have already booked our ninth for November of this year. We really enjoy
cruising.
To get it out of the way, here is the negative. We booked this cruise in November of 1996
as a Christmas present/surprise for our children and at that time we booked the air/sea.
Eleven days before the cruise (March 8th) we still did not have any documentation so we
called our travel agent at the Cruise Line Inc. It was then that we found out that NCL had
forgotten about us and had not booked our air passage. We live in Nova Scotia, Canada and
we were travelling on March school break. We spent the next seven days in a panic not
knowing whether or not we would be able to take our children and two of their friends on
the trip we had promised at Christmas. Our travel agent kept trying and on Monday, four
days before we were supposed to fly to Fort Lauderdale we called NCL direct ourselves. We
were told that they were aware of the problem and 'Were working on it'. Finally, on
Tuesday, three days before we were to leave my wife got on the phone with NCL and refused
to get off the line until we had the flights. She spent hours on 'hold' but at 6 o'clock
in the evening we did get our flight details. Thanks to our travel agent NCL did arrange
to fly us first class part of the way, but because the flights were arranged last minute,
what should have been a six hour trip turned out to be an eighteen hour nightmare. Flights
were cancelled and we had to be rerouted and we got to Fort Lauderdale at 12:30 Saturday
morning. It was not a pleasant way to start a 'relaxing' family vacation.
Once that was past, the rest of the trip was a great experience. Saturday morning at the
hotel the NCL representatives were very helpful and the check-in procedure was easy. We
got on the bus and walked on to the cruise ship.
This was our fifth ship and our second NCL cruise (Dreamward in December 1995). The ship
is compact but well laid out and we found the space to be very good. Because of the
problem NCL had caused with the air bookings they had upgraded our room to a suite
although the four children were still in a quad on deck five. The extra room of the suite
was nice but there was no extra service which I would have expected with the additional
cost of a suite. It was nice to have the extra space but I would not pay the extra cost of
a suite if the space was then only difference. The food was very good and the service in
the dining room was most pleasant. We like to go to the buffet for breakfast and lunch and
we found that the food at the buffet was not as good as we expected, although it was
acceptable. The evening shows were generally good, we particularily enjoyed the Fettucini
Brothers and Chuck Moore. The cruise director, Dottie, was a treat - pleasant and not
'sweet and phoney' like we have experienced in the past. The itinerary (Grand Caymen,
Cozumel and Key West) was delightful.
This was our second NCL cruise and all in all it was a good trip once we got past the air
passage disaster. NCL has a good product, suitable for all age groups and we will go with
them again....keeping very close tabs on any air passage arrangements. The Crown is going
to Europe for the summer and if you were thinking about a cruise over there, give this
ship a try ... just be sure they book your flights!
Name: David Benson
Email: benson@startext.net
Age: 45
Occupation: Software engineer
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-NorwegianCrown
SailingDate: March 15, 1997
Itinerary: Western Carribean (7-day)
FoodDiningRoom: 100
CruiseDirector: 95
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 95
CabinAmenities: 95
FoodLidoDeck: 95
DiningRoomService: 100
CabinQuietness: 95
FoodMidnightBuffets: 95
CabinSteward: 100
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 100
DeckService:
ShoreExcValue: 95
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland: 100
GoodForFamilies: 95
LoungeService:
TenderService: 65
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 90
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 90
EntertShowLounge: 80
OverallPortsofCall: 95
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 90
CruiseActivities: 90
Casino:
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 100
EmbarkDisembark: 100
DiscoNightclubs: 90
DeckSpace: 85
Stabilization: 85
ShopsOnBoard: 85
SpaceRatio:
OverallCruiseValue: 95
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 08 Apr 1997
Time: 21:35:48
Remote Name: 205.172.61.105
Remote User:
Comments
Norwegian Cruise Line M/S Norwegian Crown Western Caribbean - 7 Days
We sailed from Fort Lauderdale on Saturday, March 15, 1997. The departure was well
organized. Lines were not
particularly long at the check-in counters, and there was a lounge area in the terminal
with ice water and fresh orange
juice. We did have a graphic example of the advantage of having the cruise line make your
airline arrangements -- one
or two flights were late getting in, so they delayed the ship?s departure for about 45
minutes until everyone finally made
it on board.
Our party consisted of 4 people. My wife and I are both 45, and our daughters are 14 and
17. We stayed in two
two-person cabins. While the passenger list was definitely weighted toward retired people,
there were a reasonable
number of younger couples and families as well. There were approximately 30 teenagers on
board, as well as about 30
college students on spring break.
Our cabins were on the Marina Deck (Deck 6). This is the deck that the dining room,
information and shore excursion
desks, and lower level of shops are on. We were very pleased at being centrally located on
the ship. On the other hand,
our cabins were located toward the end of a cul-de-sac passageway, so there were virtually
no passers-by. The cabins
were very quite. We were located almost directly under the piano bar in the casino, but
never heard a sound from it.
Our cabins were officially described as 'superior deluxe outside (A)'. They were very
comfortable and had adequate
storage space.
Our room steward was very friendly and very efficient. He attended to our room at least
twice a day, so the towels
were always fresh and the bed always neatly made. We ran into him only occasionally, but
he was always easy to find if
we needed something, and delighted to be able to help us. Beach towels were placed in our
rooms in the evening if we
had scheduled a shore excursion that involved swimming. At Key West, the weather was
somewhat threatening, so
plastic raincoats appeared shortly before we went ashore.
Our waiter and busboy were two of the highlights of the trip. Their service was
wonderfully attentive. Our waiter always
had a recommendation from the menu, and his advice was always right on key. Our orders
were always filled promptly
and accurately. If we discovered after receiving our food that it was not quite what we
expected, our waiter would
cheerfully replace it with another selection, as well as providing seconds if requested.
It only took our busboy one night
to discover that we always drink iced tea with dinner -- after that, he served it without
our having to ask for it. It seemed
to us that our table received especially attentive service because of our two daughters --
our waiter seemed to really
dote on them.
The food in the dining room was absolutely wonderful. I was amazed that they were
consistently able to serve food that
was so well prepared and presented. We were not disappointed in a single one of our
selections. I have read some
reviews and comments in the news group to the effect that the food was not all that great
on this particular ship. Either
the Norwegian Crown greatly improved their food service, or we have vastly different ideas
about what constitutes
really good food. Since our table mates also seemed to think the food was excellent, it
does not seem to be just us.
We opted for the main seating (6:00 PM dinner) rather than the late seating (8:00 PM
dinner). That did not seem to be a
problem on shore excursion days. Generally, the ship sailed by 5:00 PM or so anyway, so
being ready for dinner at
6:00 PM was not a problem. On the one day that we did have a later departure, they simply
dinner times for both
seatings. They also rescheduled the shows that evening so that the show for late-seating
diners was scheduled first. That
way, there was something for the late-seating folks to do while they waited. For
breakfast, they were trying out 'open
seating,' with no assigned times. You just show up when you want to. That seemed to work
OK, and there were no
traffic jams or waits to be seated that I was aware of.
For breakfast and lunch, we generally went to the buffets in the Yacht Club. For
breakfast, they offered hot cereal,
canned and fresh fruits and melon, cold cereal, scrambled eggs, hash brown potatoes,
pancakes or French toast, rolls
and muffins, sweet rolls, cold cuts and cheese, and often some type of cold salmon (this
is Norwegian Cruise Line, after
all). At lunch, they would have soup, a couple of hot entrees, rolls and bread, cold cuts,
several types of cheese, and
fresh fruits and melon.
The late-night buffets were also very good. Our favorites were NCL?s signature
'Chocoholic' buffet, which featured just
about anything you could imagine made of chocolate, and the Italian buffet, which included
a variety of hot and cold
Italian dishes.
We thought that the shows were good, but not great. They offered comedians on two nights,
and musical reviews the
other nights. The musical reviews were somewhat constrained due to the small stage and low
ceiling. One of the musical
reviews was a condensed version of 'Will Rogers Follies', which we did not think was so
great (the musical, not the
performers). One of the comedians did routines that combined comedy and juggling. He had
us practically in tears, we
were laughing so hard.
In addition to the shows, there were other activities in the evenings. On Caribbean night,
there was a limbo contest and
Caribbean-style line dancing in the outside pool area. On country and western night, there
was c&w line dancing. One
evening offered karaoke in the disco, and one evening there was the 'Almost Newlyweds
Game', in which volunteer
couples from the audience showed how much (or little) they knew about each other. On our
cruise, the game resulted in
a tie between the longest-married couple (married 46 years) and the newest couple (1-1/2
years). On 50?s and 60?s
night, there was a sock hop that included hula-hoop and Twist contests. There was also a
passenger talent show on the
final night of the cruise.
We were generally quite pleased with the shore excursions. Although we probably could have
done the same things for
less money by going ashore and making our own arrangements, we felt a lot more secure
having everything done for us.
We also liked the security of knowing that if something went wrong (bus or boat
breakdowns, or whatever), the ship
would wait for us. The excursions we went one were:
· Stingray City Dive-In (Grand Cayman) -- There are two excursions to Stingray City. One
involves cruising over the
area in a glass-bottomed boat, but no swimming. The other involves getting in the water
with the stingrays. We went on
the latter. There have been a lot of comments about this in the newsgroup, all positive.
They were right! This was truly a
wonderful experience. We took a 30-minute ride in a boat to a sandbar that has formed just
inside the barrier reef that
protects the large bay on the north side of the island. The water ranged from waist deep
or less to a little over my head
(I am 5ft 10in), depending on how far away I got from the main location. As advertised,
the rays were 'up close and
personal' -- you had to be careful not to step on them. Some of them seemed to enjoy
playing 'chicken' with you. They
would swim directly at you, then veer off at the very last instant so that they just
barely brushed you with the softest
touch. More likely, they were trying to determine if you ere offering food, but it did
seem kind of like a game. The rays
were not in the least aggressive (unless perhaps you happened to be holding a handful of
squid), and permitted
themselves to be held and stroked.
Since the bottom is smooth sand, there are very few fish there except for the stingrays.
The ship issued us masks and snorkels, but no fins. The water is so shallow, fins would be
more of a hindrance than a
help. We also wore the floatation vests that all of NCL?s Dive-In programs use. These are
inflatable via a small tube, so
you can adjust the buoyancy they provide to suit your personal condition. They also have a
carbon dioxide cartridge that
can be triggered to fully inflate the vest if you feel you are in trouble. Again, these
were not really necessary at Stingray
City, but (1) were required by NCL?s insurance, and (2) helped distinguish people on NCL?s
excursion from other
people on different excursions.
· Tulum / Xel-Ha (Cozumel) -- This tour required a 45-minute ferry ride from the island
of Cozumel to Playa del
Carmen on the mainland of the Yucatan Peninsula. The ride from Cozumel to the mainland was
terrible. The boat
pitched and rolled rather violently, and a significant percentage of the passengers got
seasick to the point of vomiting.
Even I felt very uneasy, and I do not normally get seasick.
Next was a bus ride of about 45 minutes down the coast to Tulum (pronounced 'too-LOOM').
We were led by a very
knowledgeable guide who filled us in on a lot of information about the Maya and their
culture. He also conducted us on
our tour through the ruins. Since Tulum is right on the ocean, there was a nice sea breeze
and it was not too hot. The
ruins were probably not as impressive as Chichén Itzá, but were nonetheless quite
impressive.
The parking area and all of the shops at Tulum are kept a half mile or so back from the
ruins. There is a tram that you
can ride from the entrance back to the ruins for $1 US each way, but the walk is not
difficult. There are no concessions
or shops at the ruins themselves. If you even think you will get thirsty, be sure and get
something to take with you.
After a guided tour of around 45 minutes and another 15 minutes or so to roam around on
our own, we got back on the
bus and went back up the coast for about 10 or 15 minutes to Xel-Ha (pronounced
'Shell-Ha'). Xel-Ha is a Mexican
National Park, and is a very beautiful and spotlessly clean facility. It is located on a
good-sized lagoon where a river
feeds into the sea, so the water is calm and protected, and a little less salty than the
sea. It is excellent for swimming or
snorkeling. The ship does not provide snorkel equipment for this excursion, so if you want
to snorkel, you have to rent
equipment for about $10-$12 US. As a small side benefit, they provide a new snorkel with
each rental, so you get a
small souvenir to keep. The water was very clear, and there was a wide variety of fish.
There are changing facilities and
lockers, so you can put on a swim suit at the park if you don?t want to wear one all day.
A couple of interesting notes: First, the park bans the use of sunscreen lotions. I
presume this is to protect the water and
fish. Since the exchange of water with the ocean is somewhat limited, it is possible that
the oils from sunscreen products
could build up. If you are very fair, bring a t-shirt to wear while swimming. Second, all
prices in the park are listed in
pesos. This is a little difficult to determine at first, since they use the '$' symbol for
pesos. However, everyone seemed to
accept US currency. An exchange rate is posted at the entrance to the park (it was 8 pesos
to $1 US while we were
there -- the best rate we saw in our limited stay in Mexico).
The ride back from the mainland to Cozumel was better -- still fairly active, but no one
seemed to be getting seasick.
I?m not sure if it was the difference in vessels, or the fact that we took seasickness
pills provided by the tour sponsor
from the ship before we boarded. On both of the ferries, the crew sold Mexican-style
cotton blankets, t-shirts, and
silver jewelry. The prices seemed very reasonable. If you are tempted by the silver
jewelry, you might consider waiting
until late in the return trip to make your purchase. The prices seemed to get better and
better as we approached
Cozumel.
· Stirrup Cay -- This is not really an excursion, since you do not have to pay an
additional fee for it. NCL has purchased
an island in the Bahamas, and their ships (at least those on Western Caribbean routes)
spend a day there. It was
wonderful! We are not particularly beach-lovers, but we had a great time. The beach is
white sand and the waters are
crystal clear. If you want to snorkel and do not own your own gear, you do have to rent it
for $20 for the day. It was
well worth it. There are a wide variety of tropical fish, a few stingrays and a variety of
other marine life. We even got to
meet Charlie, the resident barracuda. Charlie is about 3? long, and has apparently gotten
used to having people around,
because no one seemed concerned about his presence. The ship provides lunch and iced tea
or water; other beverages
are available for purchase on your shipboard account. A few natives of nearby islands have
set up a small market area
offering a variety of t-shirts, jewelry, and souvenirs. One popular attraction among the
younger ladies was hair braids.
Several of the Bahamians offered hair braiding in the Caribbean style.
One thing we neglected to do was apply sunscreen adequately to the backs of our legs. You
generally think of that area
as somewhat protected. But guess what is most exposed to the sun if you are floating
around snorkeling? We all came
home with pretty severe sunburns on the backs of our thighs, knees, and calves.
· Key West -- We signed up for the Sand Key dive-in excursion. Unfortunately, there was a
rain squall headed for the
area, so the tour ship-sponsored was canceled. Several of the other tours were canceled as
well. We were offered the
opportunity cancel, or to go on the tour independently (without the ship?s dive-in
instructor accompanying us) for $10
less than the ship?s excursion price. We elected not to go -- after the ferry ride from
Cozumel to Playa del Carmen, we
were leery of small craft in choppy waters.
As I said above, this was our first cruise -- and we are defintely hooked!
Name: Dorothy Frontuto
Email: djdot@epix.net
Age: 47
Occupation: Tax Clerk
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-NorwegianCrown
SailingDate: 4/13/1996
Itinerary: Western Caribbean
FoodDiningRoom: 98
CruiseDirector: 100
CabinComfort: 90
FoodRoomService: 95
CruiseStaff: 95
CabinAmenities: 95
FoodLidoDeck: 90
DiningRoomService: 98
CabinQuietness: 90
FoodMidnightBuffets: 95
CabinSteward: 95
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 95
DeckService: 85
ShoreExcValue: 85
GoodForHoneymoon: 95
CasinoStaff: 85
PrivateIsland: 98
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService:
TenderService: 90
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 90
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 90
EntertShowLounge: 98
OverallPortsofCall: 88
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 98
CruiseActivities: 95
Casino: 88
AirSeaProgram: 90
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 99
EmbarkDisembark: 95
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 90
Stabilization: 99
ShopsOnBoard: 85
SpaceRatio: 90
OverallCruiseValue: 98
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 09 Apr 1997
Time: 07:21:34
Remote Name: 199.224.90.164
Remote User:
Comments
My husband and I took this cruise to celebrate our 30th anniversary and were not
dissapointed! When we got to the
airport that morning and our plane couldn't leave because of some problem they were
having, we were immediately put
on another flight so we wouldn't be late for the ship sailing. We were in plenty of time
to board and get setup before
sailing.
We went to find our room which was an inside cat J on the Laguna deck. It was very handy
to everything going on.
Only one floor up to eat and two up to the pool, casino, and lounge. We thought the rooms
were going to be smaller by
what people were telling us but were happy with the size they were. We had plenty of space
to put everything away and
the bathroom had a seperate shower which wasn't TOO small. The food on the ship was
excellent, as was the waiter
we had. We ate in the dinning room as often as we could because of the excellent service.
The cruise director, Dottie, was excellent! She was so good at getting people up and
moving doing the dance and
singing. The entire staff was very helpful and polite. We tried to do everything possible
on the ship but I know we
missed some things that I would have liked to do. There is just so much to do that you
can't get to it all. After 2 nights,
we couldn't even make it to the Midnight Buffet because we were too tired and full. They
had people of all age groups
on this ship but mostly older couples. We didn't want a party cruise so this was great for
us. A few small children with
parents but not many. I didn't see a lot of teanagers either. Make sure you go to the
beaches that they suggest when you
are in Cozumel or you will end up paying more. Stingray City was worth the money on Grand
Cayman if you don't mind
a bus tip around the island.
I didn't really find anything that was bad about it. We had a wonderful time and are
planning another one for 4/97
possibly on the Norway - Eastern Caribbean this time. I hope it will be as good as the
last one.
Name: Letha & Jay Fadely
Email: lfadely@nciinc.com
Age: 53
Occupation: Sr. Admin.
NumberOfCruises: 5
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-NorwegianCrown
SailingDate: 10/19/96
Itinerary: Western Caribbean
FoodDiningRoom: 95
CruiseDirector: 75
CabinComfort: 100
FoodRoomService: 100
CruiseStaff: 75
CabinAmenities: 100
FoodLidoDeck: 95
DiningRoomService: 95
CabinQuietness: 100
FoodMidnightBuffets: 95
CabinSteward: 95
ShoreExcVariety: 100
FoodVariety: 95
DeckService: 90
ShoreExcValue: 95
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland: 100
GoodForFamilies: 95
LoungeService: 95
TenderService: 95
GoodForSeniors: 95
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 80
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 95
EntertShowLounge: 80
OverallPortsofCall: 95
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 80
CruiseActivities: 80
Casino:
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 100
EmbarkDisembark: 100
DiscoNightclubs: 80
DeckSpace: 95
Stabilization: 95
ShopsOnBoard: 95
SpaceRatio: 95
OverallCruiseValue: 90
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 09 Jun 1997
Time: 11:32:37
Remote Name: 206.2.24.13
Remote User:
Comments
This was our second cruise on NCL, we are NCL club members. Love the way that NCL treats
their second and third
time cruiser. This is a beatiful ship and our cabin was outstanding. Outside with a great
view. Food was above average
for a cruise and the service was great. We loved the private island of any of the cruise
lines we have been on before. This
was the highlight of the cruise and here the cruise director made up for all the so so
time on the ship, especialy the pool
shows.
Would and will go again on NCL. Love the shops on board and the sales were outstanding.
Food was great, and the
midnight buffet was above average. Overall, have a great time and will do it again.
Name: David Barnes
Email: barned@neesnet.com
Age: 31
Occupation: Electrical Engineer
NumberOfCruises: 7
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-NorwegianCrown
SailingDate: 6/18/97
Itinerary: Norwegian Fjords/North Cape
FoodDiningRoom: 90
CruiseDirector: 98
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 95
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck: 85
DiningRoomService: 90
CabinQuietness: 85
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 100
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 95
DeckService: 90
ShoreExcValue: 75
GoodForHoneymoon: 70
CasinoStaff: 90
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 80
LoungeService: 95
TenderService: 80
GoodForSeniors: 95
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 100
WheelchairAccess: 90
ExerciseFacilities: 100
EntertShowLounge: 100
OverallPortsofCall: 100
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside:
CruiseActivities: 80
Casino: 95
AirSeaProgram: 80
MedicalFacilities: 95
ShipCleanliness: 100
EmbarkDisembark: 90
DiscoNightclubs: 80
DeckSpace: 95
Stabilization: 100
ShopsOnBoard: 90
SpaceRatio:
OverallCruiseValue: 95
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 11 Jul 1997
Time: 12:04:53
Remote Name: 192.146.145.220
Remote User:
Comments
This was our (myself and my wife) first cruise to Europe, our first 12-day cruise, and our
fifth cruise on NCL.
Overall, the cruise was excellent. The Norwegian Crown was transferred from Royal Cruise
Line to NCL last year and
is a beautiful ship - both in layout and in size. With approximately 850 people on board,
it was small enough for us to
get to know many other passengers yet spacious enough that we didn't feel cramped. The
outside deck layout on the
Crown is well-suited to European cruises, but with no pool on the top deck she isn’t
as good as other NCL ships for
Caribbean cruises. The fitness/pool area down on the lowest deck was excellent. We only
wished that the outside pools
were heated to allow swimming (as do Princess ships).
As with all of our past NCL cruises, the food and shows were excellent. On-board
activities were lacking - especially
for people our age. The average age on the ship was about 70 so at 30 and 31 we were one
of the youngest couples.
Needless to say, the nightlife on the cruise was a bit subdued. The Top of the Crown was
excellent and provided a
relaxing place to sit and look at the sights.
Our cabin steward was the best ever and we had excellent dining room service. The only
dining-related problem
involved seating arrangements. We requested a table of 4 or 6 and were placed at a table
of 9. On our first night, our
table only had 8 places and 7 people were already there so the Matre’ D sat us at a
table of 6 with one other couple
who didn’t speak english. We then were relocated to another table of 6 with one other
couple who did speak english.
The remaining days were excellent, but one must question whether NCL rolls dice to
determine table seating.
The Norwegian Fjords/North Cape itinerary was excellent and we would highly recommend this
to anyone. The ship
was not fully booked and the second North Cape cruise set for July 12 was cancelled
because of lack of interest. This
is sad considering the beauty of Norway. NCL really needs to advertise better.
We had great weather and enjoyed every port - especially Flaam. The beauty of the fjords
goes beyond explanation
aside from comparing it to Yosemite crossed with Ireland. The shore excursions were pretty
expensive and we could
have done similar excursions on our own at much less cost. By the end of the cruise, we
pretty much wandered the
ports on our own and still had a great time. Our greatest problem with NCL was that their
shore excursion people
knew very little about the ports. Even though this was the only cruise to the North Cape
this year, they really should
have prepared better. In many ports, NCL information sheets highlighted places which
closed even before the ship
arrived in port. This was annoying. Our only other ‘problem’ on the cruise
involved the air/sea program. For whatever
reason, NCL seems to suffer from disorganization problems in their airports. We were met
by NCL representatives at
the gate in London and sent to a meeting area where we then waited for 2 hours without
being told anything. Finally
the reps came and gathered us for the bus. As fate would have it, my wife had gone to the
ladies room and we got the
last 2 seats on the bus. NCL could learn something from Princess in the area of
organization.
Nevertheless, we had a great cruise and would recommend this to anyone. Unfortunately, the
Norwegian Fjords/North
Cape doesn’t appear on any intineraries for 1998. With any luck, NCL will figure out
how to advertise better and they
will add one for next year.
Name: Peter Scott Wolf
Email: pwolf@mitretek.org
Age: 30
Occupation: Secretary/Musician
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-NorwegianCrown
SailingDate: April 5, 1997
Itinerary: Western Caribbean
FoodDiningRoom: 85
CruiseDirector: 85
CabinComfort: 70
FoodRoomService: 96
CruiseStaff: 85
CabinAmenities: 75
FoodLidoDeck:
DiningRoomService: 98
CabinQuietness: 90
FoodMidnightBuffets: 90
CabinSteward: 88
ShoreExcVariety: 25
FoodVariety: 85
DeckService: 76
ShoreExcValue: 60
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff: 95
PrivateIsland: 0
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService:
TenderService: 15
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 90
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 75
EntertShowLounge:
OverallPortsofCall: 10
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 85
CruiseActivities: 60
Casino: 80
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 87
EmbarkDisembark: 23
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 90
Stabilization:
ShopsOnBoard: 87
SpaceRatio:
OverallCruiseValue: 50
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 26 Aug 1997
Time: 08:17:16
Remote Name: 206.241.50.33
Remote User:
Comments
Norwegian Crown - Western Caribbean April 5, 1997 - April 12, 1997
From: Peter Scott Wolf <pwolf@mitretek.org>
Review: Norwegian Crown Western Caribbean Sailing Date: April 5, 1997 # of Cruises: This
was our first # of Cruises on NCL: Our first
Overall Grade of Cruise: D+ Do it again?: Yes, but most likely not on Norwegian
I would like to make this review as short and to the point as possible, but with how many
things went wrong on this cruise it may be a little
difficult. Let me start by quoting the NCL slogan... "It's different out here".
Well, if they mean it's different because you miss your
ports-of-call, have to stand in long lines, have the cruise changed from a western
caribbean to an eastern caribbean, etc. then the slogan
is perfect. The itinerary starts the story well. We were supposed to have nearly four full
days at four different ports and two days at sea.
As it turned out we had 2 full days and one 3 hour period in three different ports. They
substituted Nassau for Grand Cayman - which no
one really cared about going to.
The itinerary we payed for: Depart from Ft. Lauderdale: April 5 - 4:00 pm Grand Cayman:
April 7 - 8:00 am to 3:00 pm Cozumel: April 8 -
10:00 am to 9:00 pm Great Stirrup Cay (NCL's private island): April 10 - 10:00 am to 5:00
pm Key West: April 11 - 10:00 am to 6:00 pm
Arrive back in Ft. Lauderdale: April 12 - morning
The intinerary we got: Depart from Ft. Lauderdale: April 5 - 6:00 pm Cozumel: April 7 -
5:00 pm to April 8 - 4:30 pm Key West: April 9 -
4:15 pm to 7:30 pm Nassau: April 10 - evening to April 11 - 4:30 pm Arrive back in Ft.
Lauderdale: April 12 - morning
The main reason we booked this cruise was because of the itinerary. There were three
primary things we wanted to do. These were
snorkel at Stingray City in Grand Cayman, Take a light tackle fishing trip out of Key
West, and go to Margarittaville (yes I am a Parrothead).
Well the only one we got to do was go to Margarittaville and we were forced to miss one of
our formal dinners to do so.
It all started Sunday morning when they turned the ship around and headed back to Key West
because of a sick crew member. Apparently
NCL has never heard of helicopters, sea-planes, or smaller, faster boats. Instead they
found it reasonable to take an entire ship full of
paying customers 8 hours out of their way and cause them to miss Grand Cayman entirely. I
was given the excuse that it was too windy for
a helicopter by a crew member. An Air Force pilot who was a passenger on board said they
could have easily air-lifted the crew member
off the ship but it would have been a little more risky and a lot more expensive. After
talking to other passengers I found that the crew
member was the chief engineer and a very good friend of the captain and most thought that
if it were a passenger they would have used
a helicopter. It was apparently much cheaper to not use a helicopter and not sail all the
way down to Grand Cayman.
Cozumel was our first stop - it was fine. We spent an extra half day there which was
basically a waste of time. The crew loved it because
they had the night off. I found it difficult to feel glad for them while I was feeling
that I had wasted $2000.
Our next stop was Key West. The original itinerary had us there for a full day. After the
incident with the crew member we were told we
would have 5-6 hours there. We arrived at Key West after 2:00 pm and didn't get off the
ship until 4:15 pm. We waited in line for over an
hour to get off the ship. All aboard was at 7:30 pm which only gave us about 3 hours and
like I said before caused us to miss our second
formal dinner.
Our next stop was supposed to be Great Stirrup Cay (NCL's private island) but because of
weather we were unable to use tenders to get
ashore. Actually, they got one tender full of people on the island and then had to bring
them back on board. This was obviously because
of the weather and couldn't be helped. If it were the only thing that went wrong I would
understand, but it just got to the point where
enough is enough.
This brings me to the next point. I feel they did not take into consideration the majority
of the passengers feelings when planning the
alternate itinerary. Most of the passengers were on the ship to go to Grand Cayman and
would have skipped any other port-of-call to go
there.
Our last port-of-call was Nassau, Bahamas. According to some passengers NCL has their own
port there and can go there anytime. They
use this when scheduling gets messed up. Think about that - to me that's not a good sign -
it makes me wonder how often this happens on
NCL. Nassau was okay - I liked our two other ports better.
The ship itself was what I expected. Like I said before this was my first cruise so the
only thing I have to compare it to is what I have heard.
If the cruise would have gone as scheduled I would have given it an A rating. Even if we
would have missed Great Stirrup Cay because of
the weather I would have given it at least an A-. I believe the main incident that messed
up the entire schedule could have been avoided if
NCL had cared more about the paying customers aboard.
I want to mention one of the most disturbing things I heard on the ship. Another passenger
told me there was an older woman curled up
on the floor near the pursor's desk crying her eyes out after we missed Great Stirrup Cay.
She apparently 'saved years to go on this
cruise and everything was going wrong'. This was a far cry from the relaxing, romantic
atmosphere we were promised. Yes, we were
promised - the first page of their brochure says 'Good morning (it's not just a greeting -
it's a promise)' then it goes on to say how your
first morning will be the most relaxing time of your life, etc. Well, our first
morning/day was the most stressful day I had experienced in a
long time - I would have rather been at home!
I wrote to NCL and they sent us two coupons for 25 percent off our next 7 day cruise. Even
though it is a nice gesture, and it is better
than nothing, I feel 50 percent would have been fair. Overall, if you don't count the
stress induced by constantly hearing the Captain over
the intercom telling the passengers of yet another problem, I felt the cruise we went on
was equivalent to 4 day cruise with 2-3
ports-of-call. A cruise like that is usually around half the price we paid.
The one thing this cruise did show me was how great cruises can be. We are definetely
going to take another cruise for our next vacation
to Grand Cayman. Which cruise line? Hopefully we'll find one that cares a little more
about it's passengers - one that realizes who pays the
bills!
If anyone has questions or comments about this review feel free to e-mail me at the
address listed above.
Name: Mary Ellen McDermott
Email: dtchs@aol.com
Age: 42
Occupation: Controller
NumberOfCruises: 2
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-NorwegianCrown
SailingDate: 3/8/97
Itinerary: Western Carribean
FoodDiningRoom: 95
CruiseDirector: 90
CabinComfort: 90
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 99
CabinAmenities: 92
FoodLidoDeck: 90
DiningRoomService: 90
CabinQuietness: 80
FoodMidnightBuffets: 90
CabinSteward: 100
ShoreExcVariety:
FoodVariety: 85
DeckService: 90
ShoreExcValue:
GoodForHoneymoon: 95
CasinoStaff: 90
PrivateIsland: 97
GoodForFamilies: 50
LoungeService: 95
TenderService: 80
GoodForSeniors: 85
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 70
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 95
EntertShowLounge: 99
OverallPortsofCall: 80
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 88
CruiseActivities: 75
Casino: 70
AirSeaProgram: 75
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 95
EmbarkDisembark: 70
DiscoNightclubs: 75
DeckSpace: 70
Stabilization: 98
ShopsOnBoard: 70
SpaceRatio: 93
OverallCruiseValue: 95
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 05 Nov 1997
Time: 20:47:32
Remote Name: 152.163.207.36
Remote User:
Comments
We found the Norwegian Crown to be a beautiful ship with a staff to be truly proud of. The
food was excellent
in terms of both preparation and presentation. Our Cabin Steward kept our room spotless
and accomadated
our particular requests (for time of cleaning, extra towels, etc.) cheerfully. The shows
were great -- however,
the refreshment service provided during them was on the slow side. The lounge
entertainment was too
extreme for us -- with the Top of the Crown having a v.e.r.y s.l.o.w... three piece group
that nearly put us to
sleep; and LOUD disco/rap style music in the larger lounge. Our room (Coral Deck) was
large (for a cruise
ship) and had a BIG window which really made a big difference to us -- our cabin on our
previous cruise had
only a port hole. The twin beds were perpendicular to each other -- not the best.
The only disappointment we had was that the ship was late into each port -- sometimes by a
few hours --
causing our stays on each of the islands and Key West to be somewhat shorter than
scheduled. We
disembarked Ft. Lauderdale a few hours late as well. The pools, gym, sauna, whirlpools
were all super. We
enjoyed the carribean style band in the pool areas, as well as the daily frozen drink
specials.
Only having been on one other cruise, we're certainly not experts. But I really had to
think for a bit to come
up with any negatives at all. Overall, our experience on the Norwegian Crown was
outstanding, due in great
part to their staff. We would definitely sail with Norwegian again.
Name: S. Mann
Email: cestfiu@earthlink.net
Age: 49
Occupation: Professional
NumberOfCruises: 6
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-NorwegianCrown
SailingDate: Dec 6, 1997
Itinerary: TransAtlantic (Southampton to Miami)
FoodDiningRoom: 94
CruiseDirector: 100
CabinComfort: 98
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 92
CabinAmenities: 95
FoodLidoDeck:
DiningRoomService: 98
CabinQuietness: 99
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 95
ShoreExcVariety:
FoodVariety: 100
DeckService:
ShoreExcValue:
GoodForHoneymoon: 92
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 90
LoungeService: 95
TenderService:
GoodForSeniors: 96
BeautySalonStaff: 99
EntertainmentLounges: 93
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 90
EntertShowLounge: 89
OverallPortsofCall:
BeautySalon: 98
EntertainmentPoolside:
CruiseActivities:
Casino:
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 99
EmbarkDisembark: 95
DiscoNightclubs: 90
DeckSpace:
Stabilization: 99
ShopsOnBoard:
SpaceRatio:
OverallCruiseValue: 98
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 22 Dec 1997
Time: 21:45:19
Remote Name: 153.37.88.243
Remote User:
Comments
The Norwegian Crown is a beautifully designed and operated ship with a loyal following. I
would recommend her for both cruise novices and
frequent-cruisers.
Our cruise was a 2-week trans-Atlantic crossing in December, with only 2 ports of call.
This type of cruise only appeals to those who like to
sail more than they like to shop, and have more than a week to spend doing it. Typically,
the ship was not full - only about 1/3 capacity - so it
would be inappropriate of me to have responded to questions concerning space. We had
beaucoups. Similarly, the two ports were interesting
enough, but the purpose of this cruise was not to visit ports, so I did not respond there.
There was a children's program, but only one child on
board, so she had her own personal member of the Cruise Director's staff - an unusual
staff-to-customer rating. And we spent a lot of time
indoors because of the weather, so I didn't rate deck space, deck stewards, or outdoor
activities. From the skewed samplings we got, however,
I believe all of these ratings would be high.
The Cruise Director, Dottie Kulasa, and the Captain, Aage Hoodvick (I did not check the
spelling of the Captain's name) were extraordinary.
Dottie kept programs going for the entire 14 days and the Captain was more sociable than
any I have ever sailed with. We were also blessed
with an extraordinary talent at the piano bar. Neal Fullerton was on his first sailing gig
and developed big crowds by the end of the cruise. He
moved to the Westward after arriving in Miami, however.
The Top of the Crown is a fabulous room on the 11th deck forward, with a 360 degree view,
including the bow. Crossing the Bay of Biscay we
were in 30-foot seas and 50 mph winds. This was the ONLY place to be to watch the waves
crashing over the bow, with sprays as high as the
lounge! No other ship that I know of could have allowed such a view in such weather. It
was fantastic. And the view is great in calm weather
too.
One highlight came on our last day. At sunset (a 10+ edition) we rendezvoused with the
Norway at NCL's island. After the appropriate
whistle blowing and other protocols, the two ships sailed back towards Miami together,
side-by-side for awhile.
The ship is extremely stable in relatively calm seas and has a great layout where almost
everything you need is on Deck 6 or 7. This is great
for those passengers who might have difficulty getting around, particularly if they book a
cabin on one of those decks. There are 4 good-sized
elevators, but they do get slow at meal times.
The interior design is modern (of course, the ship was built in 1988) and new carpets,
mattresses, and other furniture had just been
installed. The Lido Bar was expanded to create a sports bar. The Yacht Club received wood
paneling and dark blue carpeting - a great
improvement from the previous design, as we hear it.
Music every night in 3 or 4 locations. Small dance floors make things cozy for ballroom
dancers, but we managed. And for those who sail to
gamble - at least on this trip, the Casino was paying out to almost every player.
The Norwegian Crown starts a new South American itinerary in January and will be sailing
out of New York during the summer months. Go.
Enjoy. Tell them I sent you.
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