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Note - this page contains multiple reviews.
Name: Kirk Sooter
Email: ksooter@aol.com
Age: 33
Occupation: U.S. Government
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-Norway
SailingDate: 11/14/98
Itinerary: Eastern Caribbean
Cabin: Viking 092
FoodDiningRoom: 95
CruiseDirector: 90
CabinComfort: 75
FoodRoomService: 100
CruiseStaff: 90
CabinAmenities: 80
FoodLidoDeck: 80
DiningRoomService: 100
CabinQuietness: 70
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 90
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 80
DeckService: 80
ShoreExcValue: 80
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff: 80
PrivateIsland: 50
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService:
TenderService: 50
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff: 50
EntertainmentLounges:
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 10
EntertShowLounge: 80
OverallPortsofCall: 90
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 90
CruiseActivities: 90
Casino: 90
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness:
EmbarkDisembark:
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace:
Stabilization: 90
ShopsOnBoard: 90
SpaceRatio: 90
OverallCruiseValue: 95
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 05 Aug 1999
Time: 10:19:28
Remote Name: defender.fda.gov
Remote User:
Comments
This was my first cruise. I went with my girlfriend who had been previously on several
Celebrity and Carnival
cruises. I picked the Norway because of her heritage and age (I didn't know when she might
be "retired" and didn't
want to pass up the opportunity of sailing on her). This cruise was the Country Music
theme cruise, with Tanya
Tucker, the Kinleys, and Ricochet.
Simply put, this was the most relaxing, carefree and invigorating vacation I've ever
spent. Every care was attended
to and it was very welcome after nearly 5 years without a serious vacation.
I had previously read negative reviews about the Norway. Her CDC rating for food and
health inspections wasn't at
the top; she was old; the food was plentiful but not great, etc., etc. I experienced none
of the negativities I read
about.
The food was excellent and the service impeccable. My girlfriend had stomach trouble
throughout most of the
cruise and only skim milk would calm her stomach. Our bus boy, Bussillio, provided her
with a cold glass of skim
milk immediately after dinner with no prompting. Our waiter, Donald -- such service. No
resturant could compare.
Wine steward Derrick was equally great. Having experienced a cruise and gone on one of the
"lesser" lines, I now
question the blue blood, nose in the sky complaints about food. The menu is extremely
varied (although I did learn
later that NCL's menu is the same for all ships) and if you don't like or want something,
ask for something
different! Or go eat in Le Bistro. The menu there is better and so is the food. However,
the service is not. You
would think it would be but not so. All of our other meals were excellent, particularly
the menu at sit down
breakfast. I would have to agree with others that the chocoholic buffet is overrated. My
girlfriend was instantly
disappointed at the lack of chocolate covered strawberries. Chocolate covered bananas were
a substitute, but not
up to par with the real thing.
The cabin service was excellent. The room was also good, but the mattress need replacing.
The Norway had
excellent stabilization, helped in part by the perfect weather we had. The gentle rocking
we experienced was
wonderful for sleeping. Wish my bed could do that. I am not a morning person but that
extra benefit made me get
up quickly and refreshed. Although we didn't hear any noise from any adjoining rooms, we
heard complaints from
others that they did.
While in St. Maarten, we were instantly ambushed by the time share solicitors.
Phillipsburg is quaint, but
unremarkable. If you take this ship or any other to St. Thomas, and an excursion to St.
John is part of the cruise,
there is a catamaran I highly recommend. I believe the name is Island Time (they have a
web site, I believe). We
cruised around St. John to the outer islands, then back to Cinnamon Bay for snorkeling and
a totally pristine
secluded beach on the northern side. Definitely the highlight of the cruise. 5 hours, then
sailed to St. Thomas for
some jewelry and liquor shopping. Any man interested in proposing to his significant
other, the Caribbean islands
are definitely the place to shop for jewelry. Excellent prices. Although the selection on
one island will be different
from another. If you see something you like, get it then and there.
Norwegian's private island, Great Stirrup Cay, is nice, but no better than the shore
excursions on the other ports.
Also because the Norway's draft is too deep to dock, the tender tickets are given out
first come-first served. We
didn't get over to the island until after 3:00 PM and no food and again we weren't real
impressed.
The exercise facilities could definitely use some improvements. Also the placement of the
basketball court means
the ball encounters wind at either end, so don't expect Michael Jordan type numbers.
There are announcements constantly, although at a noise level that doesn't irritate. The
problem of course is that
you tend to ignore them and wouldn't you know the announcement you just dismissed is
something you wanted to
do. That happened a couple of times.
Tanya and the Kinleys were great. We didn't go to Ricochet because we had heard from
others who went earlier
in the week that they were uninspired. Indeed the members of Ricochet appeared more
interested in bagging
honeys than earning their pay. I might also say they were after some barely legals also.
The comedian, something
Naster, was side splitting. The Broadway shows are nice but I don't really get into them.
No problems embarking or disembarking. The drink prices are reasonable and were hit with
sufficient booze (a
complaint I had read about previously). There were no problems with the bill regarding any
fraud or unincurred
charges. A word of caution about Norwegian is that you can just sign for anything and they
accept the name and
room number you give them. Check your bill often to ensure no unincurred charges get made
against your
account. Additional words of advice include waiting until that last day at sea to buy
anything onboard (perfume,
t-shirts, etc.). Also another trick to keep in mind is to bring your own liquor in plastic
bottles. The luggage is often
run through metal detectors. I wouldn't call the practice cheap, just frugal. Maybe as a
result the drink prices might
come down. You know, supply and demand...
For my first cruise, this was everything I expected and more. I plan to make it a yearly
event. The only question is
where to go and who will take us.
Name: Harold & Tracey Burnett
Email: vicburn@hotmail.com
Age: 30
Occupation: Teacher
NumberOfCruises: 2
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-Norway
SailingDate: 8/28/99
Itinerary: Eastern Caribbean
Cabin: B130
FoodDiningRoom: 80
CruiseDirector: 70
CabinComfort: 65
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 75
CabinAmenities: 65
FoodLidoDeck: 60
DiningRoomService: 85
CabinQuietness: 70
FoodMidnightBuffets: 65
CabinSteward: 85
ShoreExcVariety: 85
FoodVariety: 65
DeckService: 85
ShoreExcValue: 85
GoodForHoneymoon: 75
CasinoStaff: 90
PrivateIsland: 80
GoodForFamilies: 80
LoungeService: 85
TenderService: 85
GoodForSeniors: 50
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 90
WheelchairAccess: 50
ExerciseFacilities: 75
EntertShowLounge: 70
OverallPortsofCall: 85
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 85
CruiseActivities: 50
Casino: 85
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 85
EmbarkDisembark: 85
DiscoNightclubs: 60
DeckSpace: 70
Stabilization: 85
ShopsOnBoard: 75
SpaceRatio:
OverallCruiseValue: 85
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 06 Sep 1999
Time: 20:01:48
Remote Name: dialup-209.245.76.162.losangeles1.level3.net
Remote User:
Comments
I guess I'll begin at the beginning. We were very concerned by how inexpensive the Norway
was and wondered
would we be travelling on the Titanic. We were pleasantly surprised to find a very
adequate cruise ship which if
given the same price would definately sail again.
With that out of the way, the rooms on the Norway are not the best inside or outside
cabins. In fact, I don't think I
will go on the ship again unless I can stay on the Fjord or Sun decks. My wife and I
looked at several cabins on
each deck on the last day of the cruise while others were debarking. That was an excellent
idea and we will do
that on every other ship we go on. So we got a pretty good feel of the cabins. They are in
drastic need of
updating. I've read the ship was redecorated in 1996 seems more like 1966. The Sun deck is
the top deck, those
rooms are the nicest and probably don't cost that much.
Unless you need a lot of exercise choose another cruise ship. Since the boat is older, the
elevators run slowly. My
wife thought they were broken because she never used them. There are about 12 floors on
this ship and your
usual way to access them is the stairs. We'd walk off all our food from the dining room,
just getting back to our
room! I would have hated to be wheelchair bound on the Norway for a week. When you do
catch an elevator it is
only big enough for about 4 people. The sign says 12 but it lied.
In my opinion, the Windward dining room is much nicer than the Windward. We found the
Windward to be very
dark and it gives you the false allusion that you can open those shutters for sunlight.
The food in both dining
rooms is the same. The food in the dining rooms is much better than at the Outdoor Buffet.
To us the food was
only average. We've been on RCCL where we thought it was excellent. The one thing that
made the food above
average was that it was prepared for you 3 times a day and served hot. The steaks were
generally small and not
that tender. My wife said the fish on the menu was really good. I did notice they only
offer 3 dinner entrees where I
believe we had at least 5 on RCCL. Because of the limited selection I found myself
ordering multiple entrees of the
same thing. The also don't give you very much in the way of vegetables. They give you
green peas with almost
every entree. No real variety. The salad selection was only fair.
The nightly shows they had left me wanting more. We really didn't care for their
productions and left early each
night. Instead of pushing the evening shows Norway should push the bands in both the Club
Internationale and
the Sports Illustrated Lounge. The 2 were excellent and perform nightly. The Club
Internationale is a great place
to go before dinner and after those guys in there are really talented. My wife stayed up
till almost 2AM one night
listening to the band.
We found a lot of families onboard. We met the nicest people we've ever met on a cruise
ship on the Norway. On
our last cruise we met only 1 couple we still keep in contact with. We met at least 10
people which we plan on
meeting with outside the cruise. The folks onboard were so nice. I guess somebody had to
be since we didn't think
the crew was all that friendly. I think the cabin steward and head waiter should get to
know their you. They should
make your dining a pleasure and each time you return to your room you should feel like the
cabin steward didn't
force you to leave so he could clean the room. The cruise director on this ship was corny
and got on my nerves.
There were not of onboard activiites. Really, how much bingo can you play in a week? I
think the Norway tries to
trap you. They have the largest casino afloat it seems. It was really large. The deck
space was limited and there
weren't alot of activities so I was forced to spend a great deal of time in the casino. I
don't know what I'd do with my
time if I didn't love blackjack. The dealers were very nice and the slots seemed pretty
loose. I didn't lose any
money and I played every night. In fact I left the ship with more than I brought onboard.
The situation on the pool decks left me abit puzzled. The pool is not very large for a
ship its size. There is another
pool which is even smaller than a standard home pool. Because the ship is not that wide
the deck chairs keep you
crammed like sardines by the pool. There is more deck space on the Sun deck but no
entertainment up there.
When a band is not playing it would be nice to hear some recorded music. Most come to the
pool deck before
12:00 noon when the band starts playing There is no music recorded or otherwise at the
other pool. There are 2
hottubs which are really nice. I could tell they were relatively new. We missed the
centrum which is on most newer
ships. The shops they did have kinda sucked. Why would you need a Fossil watch store
onboard a boat?
In summary, though the Norway had some drawbacks it is a definate deal for your money. It
seems great for a
family. We would definatley sail her again.
Name: Larry & Lori Ledgerwood
Email: hypatia@peganet.com
Age: 51
Occupation: travel agent
NumberOfCruises: 30
TravelAgent: Yes
Ship: NCL-Norway
SailingDate: August 28, 1999
Itinerary: St. Martin/St. Thomas/NCL Private Island
Cabin: A030/M
FoodDiningRoom: 85
CruiseDirector: 65
CabinComfort: 90
FoodRoomService: 85
CruiseStaff: 65
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck: 60
DiningRoomService: 65
CabinQuietness: 90
FoodMidnightBuffets: 70
CabinSteward: 88
ShoreExcVariety: 80
FoodVariety: 75
DeckService: 75
ShoreExcValue: 40
GoodForHoneymoon: 80
CasinoStaff: 80
PrivateIsland: 70
GoodForFamilies: 80
LoungeService: 80
TenderService: 50
GoodForSeniors: 70
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 95
WheelchairAccess: 60
ExerciseFacilities: 80
EntertShowLounge: 95
OverallPortsofCall: 85
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 95
CruiseActivities: 85
Casino: 85
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 75
EmbarkDisembark: 40
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 60
Stabilization: 70
ShopsOnBoard: 85
SpaceRatio: 70
OverallCruiseValue: 80
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 07 Sep 1999
Time: 10:12:49
Remote Name: peg7b-ts108.peganet.com
Remote User:
Comments
We always have a great time on cruises, but we had to work hard to overcome the problems
on this cruise. We
thought that we might have some bad weather due to hurricanes, but everyday was
bright,sunny, and hot. The ship
was filled to capacity, 2300 passengers. We found out that NCL had sold an additional 8
cabins and had no cabins for
the extra guests. They prayed for cancellations. We never found out what finally happened.
We booked category N, the cheapest and were upgraded to category M, which is an outside
cabin with uppers and
lowers. Our cabin was good in size, but our friends who sailed with us had a much smaller
cabin. We were told that
they were both 132 sq. ft. No way. The cabin across the hall from us was a category F,
much higher in price than ours
but smaller than our cabin! Passengers were in long lines at the Pursers counter. They
complained about their cabin
size. They complained about only having hot water. They complained about not getting what
they paid for. The
Pursers office finally placed a sign stating that there were no cabins available.
Our cabin was near the Windward dining room but we were assigned to the Leeward dining
room. We had to go up a
floor, walk to the other end of the ship, then go back down a flight of stairs. This
became exhausting. Seniors and
those in wheelchairs had a horrible time with this.
One of the worst problems NCL seems to be having is that their staff is not happy. We saw
several loud arguements
between staff. Others seemed very unhappy being on this ship. Lots of pouty people. Very
few happy people. Other
passengers noticed this also. Everyone wondered if it was just that they were overwelmed
by a full ship.
We like to go to the buffets for lunch and for the midnight buffet, but we ended up eating
in the dining room. The
dining room food was so much better than the buffets. If you look at the sample menus on
NCL's site, they don't seem
to pertain to the Norway. A lot of fish, but not as many shrimp dinners as the Majesty or
Crown. Very few pasta dishes.
Every night our busboy brought butter, but no bread until we asked for it. I'm not a loud
person, but I have to admit
that it became frustrating when they forgot my desert one night, and my entree two other
nights. My husbands salad
on another night. Our friends were lucky, they received their meals!
The deck was always full. My husband would go up to the pool and not find a space to sit.
One of the whirlpools was
broke. The lounges were also too full. Shows were standing room only. NCL broke up to
passengers in to 3 groups to
see the main shows.
The tenders were very slow. At the private island the back panel goes down and you feel
like you are back at D-day.
But the panel is in the middle of thick loose sand. Many seniors had a difficult time
walking thru the sand. Handicapped
passengers had to be carried. Only 3 hammocks. Passengers fought over beach chairs, rafts,
picnic tables, and
shady places.
The prices of shore excursions were much higher than other cruise lines for the same
thing. Passengers complained
when quite a few were cancelled without giving much of a reason. Bingo was priced high.
Many passengers said that
they couldn't afford to play at those prices. NCL gave the impression that all they cared
about was making money and
not passenger service. Maybe they shouldn't book the Norway past 1700, if they can't
handle the extra passengers.
The biggest slap in the face came a couple of days into the cruise. Everyone was given a
letter saying that they would
be charged $1.75 per person on their credit card for the tax that passed 6/25. Passengers
complained in droves that
they had paid for their cruise in full and they would be calling their credit card to
delete the charge. The Pursers office
just said, 'Blame it on your President Clinton'. $1.75 times 2300 passengers is $4,025.00.
I guess it's a fund to help
pay to repair the Dream.
Name: Felicia Fox
Email: freebo1@gateway.net
Age: 41
Occupation: Customer Relations
NumberOfCruises: 7
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-Norway
SailingDate: 08/28/99
Itinerary: eastern caribbean
Cabin: P071
FoodDiningRoom: 89
CruiseDirector: 90
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 85
CabinAmenities: 95
FoodLidoDeck: 85
DiningRoomService: 85
CabinQuietness: 90
FoodMidnightBuffets: 85
CabinSteward: 85
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 85
DeckService: 85
ShoreExcValue: 85
GoodForHoneymoon: 95
CasinoStaff: 90
PrivateIsland: 99
GoodForFamilies: 95
LoungeService: 95
TenderService: 95
GoodForSeniors: 95
BeautySalonStaff: 50
EntertainmentLounges: 99
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge:
OverallPortsofCall: 99
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 90
CruiseActivities: 95
Casino: 99
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 100
EmbarkDisembark: 95
DiscoNightclubs: 95
DeckSpace: 95
Stabilization: 99
ShopsOnBoard: 95
SpaceRatio: 95
OverallCruiseValue: 99
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 07 Sep 1999
Time: 15:30:05
Remote Name: 1cust200.tnt3.fort-lauderdale.fl.da.uu.net
Remote User:
Comments
I just returned from my fourth trip on the Norway, the first being in 1985, and must say
this was the best. Besides the
elegance of this great lady, I believe the design of sitting areas from the Great Outdoor
Resturant to the seats on the
Champs Elysees (smoking) and Fifth Avenue (non-smoking)cafes, plus the open seating in the
dining rooms for
breakfast and lunch make this a perfect setting for meeting new people each day. My
travelling companion and I met a
wide variety of interesting, fun, and exciting people. We have both been on 3 other cruise
lines and have found
meeting people to be very limited due to ship layout. The food, however, this trip did not
live up to previous Norway
trips but we were having so much fun at dinner that no one seemed to mind. I was also less
than happy this time with
the massage I had, as were others we talked to. Again, my previous Norway massages were so
good I sometimes had
more than one during the week. I would tell future passengers not to be discouraged since
most of the staff were
newcomers to the ship since she just started sailing the Caribbean again the week before
after sailing Europe for
some time. My favorite spot is the Great Outdoor Resturant for early morning coffee
watching the sun rise. I have
some gorgeous pictures on film and in my mind which are priceless.
Name: Paul and Sheena Vivian
Email: paul@frontiercom.bc.ca
Age: 41
Occupation: Accountant/Emergency Planner
NumberOfCruises: 3
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-Norway
SailingDate: August 28, 1999
Itinerary: Eastern Carribbean
Cabin: N141
FoodDiningRoom: 80
CruiseDirector: 75
CabinComfort: 75
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 80
CabinAmenities: 80
FoodLidoDeck: 75
DiningRoomService: 75
CabinQuietness: 75
FoodMidnightBuffets: 70
CabinSteward: 85
ShoreExcVariety: 80
FoodVariety: 80
DeckService:
ShoreExcValue:
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland: 90
GoodForFamilies: 75
LoungeService: 75
TenderService: 85
GoodForSeniors: 50
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 90
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 80
EntertShowLounge: 90
OverallPortsofCall: 85
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 90
CruiseActivities: 75
Casino:
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 85
EmbarkDisembark: 80
DiscoNightclubs: 80
DeckSpace: 75
Stabilization: 80
ShopsOnBoard: 75
SpaceRatio: 75
OverallCruiseValue: 80
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 10 Sep 1999
Time: 15:29:23
Remote Name: knvnt.knv.com
Remote User:
Comments
On the one hand, we enjoyed this cruise and although it was not perfect we thought it good
value particularly in light of
what we paid. On the other hand, most of the people on the cruise that we talked to who
had done other cruises
thought it to be among the worst that they had ever been on. After reading other reviewers
comments (the frequent
cruisers seem to be much less positive about the Norway than the beginners) our conclusion
is that this is a good
cruise for first timers or those on a budget, but there are better choices for the
experience cruiser. Here's why:
The age of the ship (built in 1962) means that most of the cabins are on the small size.
We had a cabin for 4 (our
children, ages 8 and 11 were with us) and thought it adequate , since we didn't spend any
great amount of time in it
except for sleeping. It had a double bed for us and two bunks for the kids with a small TV
and fridge.
We liked the classical nature of the ship and didn't really mind the fact that it shows a
bit of wear and tear in spots. The
pools really are too small for a ship carrying over 2000 passengers though. It's
definitely not a ship for mobility
challenged seniors as well-it's huge and the elevators are slow.
The fitness facilities, although not extensive, seemed adequate as we participated in
quite a few of the fitness
programs and they never seemed to be overly crowded. The Norway hands out vouchers for
participating in their
fitness program that can be redeemed at the end of the week for a free T Shirt. The
programs were quite varied
ranging from aerobics classes and basketball free throw contests to fitness walks on some
of the port islands. Overall,
we gave the Norway's fitness program high marks.
Our dining experiences on the Norway were fine, although nothing exceptional. The food
quality in the dining room was
generally pretty good, and the service was competent. As was the case on the other NCL
cruise that we were on, the
dining room staff don't seem to be encouraged to develop any kind of rapport with the
passengers, and as a result the
service ends up seeming somewhat impersonal. The exception was our meal in "Le
Bistro" , the Norway's small,
alternative dinner establishment, where we dined one evening without the children. The
menu at Le Bistro was more
interesting and the service was similar to what we have come to expect at better quality
restaurants. It was definitely
worth the $5.00 per person gratuity that it cost us. As for the food at the outside
cafeteria, it was what you would
expect of cafeteria food. The midnight buffets were somewhat of a disappointment in their
quantity and variety of food.
The much publicized "chocoholic buffet" in particular ran out of food long
before it should have.
As mentioned, our children were on this cruise with us. They had a great time, but not
particularly because of the
children's programs offered by the Norway. Our 11 year old son was in a group of 9-12 year
olds, who were allowed
the run of the ship as part of a fairly unstructured program (scavenger hunts, disco
nights etc). That suited him fine.
Our 8 year old daughter however was in a program for 6-8 year olds. The kids in that group
were in the same room as
the 3-5 year olds and they had the same program. Thus, our eight year old had the same
program as for the three
year olds. Not surprisingly, by the middle of the cruise, she preferred to spend time with
us by the pool and at the
shows rather than in the childrens program.
We were impressed by the quality of entertainment on the cruise. We enjoy Broadway style
shows, and the three that
the ship's company performed were better than we anticipated. The lounge musicians and
entertainers were also first
rate. I think that the quality of entertainment was one of the highlights of the cruise
for us. The Norway uses a colored
ticket system for ensuring that the shows don't get overcrowded. Since we were travelling
with children that wasn't that
convenient for us, but we gradually realized that no one ever checked the tickets anyway,
so we ended up going to the
performances that we wanted to.
The on board activities were a bit skimpy considering that the cruise has 3 1/2 days at
sea. We aren'r gamblers, so
the casino and bingo held little interest. Thank goodness for the fitness programs,
because the other organized
activities seemed to be mainly sales pitches of one sort or another.
The ports of call were fairly interesting. The tender process was much better than we
expected it to be based on other
reviews we read. We expected to have long waits to get onshore. These never materialized.
We simply made sure that
we were present when the tender tickets were first being handed out, and we never had a
problem getting off the ship
early. We didn't do any organized shore excursions- they were just too expensive for a
family of four. Instead, we did
'do it yourself' excursions. On St Martin we rented a mini van with another family, drove
to Orient Beach where we took
a water taxi to a snorkelling area, after which we drove to Marigot (the French capital)
for lunch. It was a more
interesting experience than an arranged shore excursion and cost less than half of what
the shore excursions would
have cost. At St Thomas, we got off at St John, and did a 45 minute fitness hike with the
ships' fitness staff to a lovely
beach. Afterwards we hiked on our own for a while (most of the island is a National Park)
and caught a ferry to St
Thomas where we shopped until reboarding the ship. Unless you really can't get up early
enough, you really shouldn't
miss St John, and the fitness hike represents a great shore excursion for only $8.00-the
cost of the ferry back to St
Thomas. By the way, the prices in St Martin seemed better to us than in St Thomas, where
we didn't see any great
bargains except for liquor. Finally, NCL's private island Great Stirrup Cay, was great for
relaxing on th beach and it
had good snorkelling. We were pleasantly surprised.
All in all, this is a decent cruise if the price is right.
Name: Lynda
Email: lyndammr@mediaone.net
Age: 36
Occupation: homemaker
NumberOfCruises: 16
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-Norway
SailingDate: 8-21-99
Itinerary: Eastern Caribbean
Cabin: P030
FoodDiningRoom: 78
CruiseDirector: 75
CabinComfort: 85
FoodRoomService: 50
CruiseStaff: 87
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck: 70
DiningRoomService: 87
CabinQuietness: 80
FoodMidnightBuffets: 65
CabinSteward: 100
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 80
DeckService: 90
ShoreExcValue: 80
GoodForHoneymoon: 75
CasinoStaff: 70
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 70
LoungeService: 95
TenderService: 80
GoodForSeniors: 80
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 70
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 80
OverallPortsofCall: 90
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 60
CruiseActivities: 65
Casino: 95
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 89
EmbarkDisembark: 90
DiscoNightclubs: 80
DeckSpace: 90
Stabilization: 90
ShopsOnBoard: 95
SpaceRatio: 80
OverallCruiseValue: 78
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 12 Sep 1999
Time: 13:58:21
Remote Name: tamw74-17.pompano.net
Remote User:
Comments
This is my second cruise on NCL and I will not cruise on any of their ships in the future.
I decided not to judge NCL by
one cruise that we took in May, but I should of cancelled the Norway and taken a different
cruise line.
Food: The poistive thing is that you have the choice of dining room to have breakfast and
open seating lunches, and
breakfast was an open seating from 7am-10am which was very nice.
Breakfast- breakfast was always good with all the breakfast choices available. Eggs were
always cooked perfectly.
Lunch- Lunch in the dining room was just fair, nothing real special, but simple. We had
ordered the french dip to find
no cheese placed on the sandwich which was served on a partially stale roll. Choices were
very limited.
Dinner- An a assortment of choices, but the beef/meats were on the tasteless side, but
tender. The beef was always
cooked on the more well side from how you ordered it, we had to ordered our steaks medium
rare and had them
served just medium. There was no choice of salad as other cruise lines give you, and the
hot soups were not good.
Dessert choices were a disappointment, except for the crepes suzette which was terrific,
and ice cream and sherbert
was always offered. You can order complimentary cappachino or espresso and that was a nice
touch. An assortment
of flavored hot teas were also available.
Dining Rooms- There are two dining rooms, the Leeward and the Windward. We requested the
Leeward since our
travel agent told us she prefereed that one and a couple other people have told us the
same thing. The Leeward has
more smaller tables than the Windward and the tables in the Leeward were more spread out.
We did eat our first
breakfast in the Windward and never went back to that dining room again. It was too noisy
(because it has a high
ceiling) and the tables and chairs were to close to one another. We agree with the other
people who told us the
Leeward was a nicer dining room, glad I had listened to them. Service in Dining Room:
Service was just very good, but
we have found our past two Carnival cruises to be better! Our waiter Alfanso was quiet, he
did his job but didn't go out
of the way. He was nice enough to cut her meat on three different evenings, and our busboy
Malchor also just did his
job ok.
Cabin: The size of our cabin was a surprise to us as it was larger than the ones on
Carnival. The bathroom was a
decent size, the mattresses were just ok and the tv was very small. There were plenty of
closets, we were four to our
cabin (2 children with us) and had four closets and plenty of drawer space for all four of
us. There was a small glass
table out to the side of the room with two chairs. Hair shampoo, shower cap, needle and
thread, skin lotion were given
each day.
People have told us that you hear creaky noises in the rooms during the night and they
were certainly right! You also
hear the toilet bowls flush from staterooms above and next to you. Our air- conditioning
worked great and our cabin
steward was the best!! He found our luggage for us and bought each piece to the cabin so
that we were able to make
dinner ( first seating in the Leeward dining room), he made the beds the way we had asked
him to, extra pillows were
given to all four of us and we always had fresh bath towels available each day. Carlos was
extremely friendly and you
can tell he took pride in his work. He always spoke to the kids and when he saw me
"updated me" on when he saw my
children. We could not ask for a better cabin steward!!
Activities: What activities? The activities were extremely limited. Practically the only
daytime thing that one could do is
to play bingo daily or take a cha cha or tango dancing lesson. Boring!!! Other cruise
lines offer trivia contests, name
that tune, cooking classes, etc. There was nothing to do other than to pay for a massage,
play bingo which was not
cheap, play in the casino when you weren't in port, but nothing else.
Entertainment: We were very disappointed. We saw three shows which were just OK, but
catered to the senior crowd.
The comedy show was terrible, and so were the couple that showed us dances from the older
days. Passenger talent
night was the best and the Sea Legs show the entertainers really did a wonderful show,
that is if you enjoy shows in
that nature. Overall, we didn't see one show that we could say we had enjoyed very much.
Club International had the
same people playing the same things each evening, and the Sports Cafe had a band on a few
occasions which was
just ok. The casino was large and had non-smoking gaming tables. I was impressed with the
casino as it was large and
with a good assortment of slot machines.
Pool: The rear pool was extremely crowded and the band that played there was limited in
the amount of time they
played music. Most of the time recordings were sent over the speakers with music. The
other pool which was located in
the center of the ship was always not crowded and there was plenty of sunny outdoor deck
space. There is a very very
limited amount of shaded outdoor deck space on the Norway.
Service: I found the service on this cruise to be very good, as I never had a problem in
finding somebody to get a
drink. The waiters always had a smile on their faces and drinks were not forced or pushed.
My drinks were always
made perfectly and were not skimpy on the alcohol. Soda's were priced as other cruise
lines and there was always fruit
punch, watered down OJ, iced tea, lemonade, along with coffee and assorted teas available
out at the Great Outdoor
Restaurant.
Great Outdoor Restaurant: I don't know why they didn't enclose this in air-conditioning
when they added the two decks
onto the Norway, it would be much nicer if they did. It was always hot, when it rained,
well you guess the rest.....but you
can bring our tray of food into one of the lounges on the ship to eat. Breakfast here was
not good and very slow!! The
only good thing here was that you were able to get eggs sunnyside and other cruise lines
only give you scrambled.
There was a fruit carving station and the fruit was always tasty. I found everything to be
confusing, all mixed around in
different places, and long lines. Lunch, was just good, the hamburgers were the best all
four of us ever had, they were
very tasty, the french fries were always good. They did offer different things for lunch
including a carving station and a
fruit station which in my opinion, without having this, I would rate the food there to be
poor. By 3pm or a little after that
you won't find anything to eat there. If your in port for the day, and don't get back to
the ship to have lunch, your kind
of out of luck until dinner. Ice cream was served at Svens daily from 2-4pm, the ice cream
was good and there was a
choice of a couple toppings, butterscotch or fudge. Room Service- Discraceful!!! A few
sandwiches offered..... my
daughter ordered a sandwich two different days to find one slice of meat and one slice of
cheese on this thick roll!!
Shame on them!!! Room service did come at a good pace but as I said it wasen't worth
ordering anything from.
Overall, the food was fair, the entertainment was not enjoyable to us and the cruise was a
disappointment. To make
things worse, we never got to Great Stirrup Cay due to hurricane Dennis, but no other
cruise port was substituted in
it's place or no shipboard credit was given to us as other cruise lines would of done for
us. No activities were made
due to missing the port, it was just boring.
Trolland-If your to cruise on NCL thinking the children's program is great turn the other
way!! Trolland was closed most
of the time, and when it was open, they never did the activities that were supposed to be
planned. My daughter found
trolland to be open two different times and the arts and crafts that was supposed to take
place at that time were not
given. Instead the children were just throwing a beach ball to eachother, sure, the
children were not allowed to say a
word, this was part of the game (it lasted an hour, I stayed to watch thinking my daughter
may want to try it) but in
reality it was the way for the two counselors to have the room quiet! It was the worse
children's program I have ever
seen on any cruise line. Everything that NCL customer service representatives and the
brochures explained about the
children's activities were all a lie and false!! Shame on you again NCL!
My advice is to tell you that if you can't afford another cruise line do yourself a favor
and wait till you can. We are sorry
we have taken this second NCL cruise this year, but figured we cannot judge the cruise
line by one cruise.....but we
were wrong, as this cruise was more of a disappointment like the other one also was.
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