ncl-norwegiansea13

Note - this page contains multiple reviews.

Name: Regina Lahsin
Email: Rlahsin@excite.com
Age: 33
Occupation: Marketing Manager
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-Seaward
SailingDate: May 21, 2000
Itinerary: Cancun, Cozumel, Roatan
Cabin: 8232-deluxe outside
FoodDiningRoom: 80
CruiseDirector: 95
CabinComfort: 70
FoodRoomService: 80
CruiseStaff: 95
CabinAmenities: 65
FoodLidoDeck: 75
DiningRoomService: 95
CabinQuietness: 85
FoodMidnightBuffets: 85
CabinSteward: 100
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 90
DeckService: 95
ShoreExcValue: 85
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 85
TenderService: 85
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 90
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 90
EntertShowLounge: 80
OverallPortsofCall: 85
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 75
CruiseActivities: 85
Casino: 95
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 95
EmbarkDisembark: 98
DiscoNightclubs: 85
DeckSpace: 95
Stabilization: 90
ShopsOnBoard: 95
SpaceRatio: 95
OverallCruiseValue: 93
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 30 May 2000
Time: 09:38:11
Remote Name: chcga040-0770.splitrock.net
Remote User:

Comments

This was our first cruise, so I read as many reviews as possible prior to departing. The information provided
was so valuable, I've decided to contribute for future cruisers.

My husband and I booked our own airfare and flew into Houston the day before the cruise. Because we opted
to book our own transportation, we had to find our own way to the pier. We opted to use the NCL pier
transportation bus which proved to be both cost effective and very convenient. A representative of NCL is
available the day of cruising at the baggage claim area of each terminal. We simply showed her our cruise
documents, purchased the transfers and were on our way. The transfers cost $30 per person/round trip and
will be added to your on board account. A cab would have been much more costly.

Embarkation

Embarkation was a breeze. The line to check in seems impossibly long, but it moves very, very quickly. The
bus arrived at the pier terminal at approximately 1 pm, and we were on the ship by 1:45. They take the larger
pieces of luggage for you. They will be delivered to your stateroom later in the day.

We were escorted to our stateroom and quickly unpacked the few carry on items that we had. As has been
mentioned in other reviews, make sure to pack clothing to change into later in the day. Our larger luggage did
not arrive to our stateroom until almost 7:30 pm.

The Ship

We really enjoyed the ship, but being our first cruise, we had nothing to compare to. The layout is sensible,
and wayfinding signs are clearly visible throughout the ship. The ship appeared very clean at all times and
did not show as much wear as I had anticipated. There are ample public spaces, and we never felt like we
couldn't find a quiet place to curl up with a book away from others. There is a wonderful, quiet little area all
the way in the back of the ship on deck 8. You can access the area via the basketball court or through
Boomer's Disco. There were rarely more than 2 or 3 others in this area at any time. Very nice place to read
and watch the sea.

The pool area and sun deck were always hopping, but we never had any difficulty finding deck chairs either
at poolside or in the shady areas. I've heard that this can be a big problem on some other ships.

Be sure to visit Coconut Willy's on the sun deck for a cocktail. This was our very favorite place.

The one complaint that we had regarding the ship was the stateroom. Having read many, many reviews, I
knew that the rooms would be small, but I had no idea just how small. We didn't spend too much time in our
room, so it wasn't unbearable. Despite the size, there is ample storage space...remarkable really. Our toilet
died on us during the night, and it took the crew approximately one day to fix it. We were not happy about
this. During this time, the room took on a very, very unpleasant odor as did the hallway encompassing
approximately five or six other staterooms. Apparently, several of the rooms were having identical problems.

Food

You'll never go hungry, that's for sure. We ate in the dining room on three nights, Le Bistro on two nights and
grabbed a quick bite to eat via room service and the Big Apple on other other nights. The dining rooms are
nice, and the service is wonderful. The food in the dining room is good, but not exceptional. However, the
food in Le Bistro is phenomenal. Do not miss this experience. You may want to eat there earlier in the week
rather than later. They do not take reservations, and people tend to discover this little gem later on in the
week. The Big Apple provide typical cafeteria fare and is nothing special. It does the trick if you want a quick
and convenient meal.

Ports of Call

We stopped in all three ports. I'll take them in order.

Cancun As has been mentioned in other reviews, this port of call could be skipped entirely and nothing would
be lost. We tendered over at approximately 11 am and did some parasailing. We walked around for awhile,
but it became quickly apparent that all we were going to see were more hotels. We were back on the ship by
3pm. If I did this cruise again, I would probably just stay on the ship.

Cozumel We did our own thing in Cozumel rather than booking an excursion through the ship. We rented a
cab, and for about 8 dollars each way for two people, we went to Chankanab. It cost 10 dollars per person to
enter. Here we explored some ancient Mayan ruins and both snorkeled and scuba dived. What an amazing
experience. Neither of us had ever previously snorkeled or scuba dived. What amazed us is that you don't
need to be certified to scuba dive if you go with an instructor. After about 20 minutes of instruction, they
helped us with our gear and off we went. We dove to about 25 feet and saw the most incredible sea life. The
instructor took us on a 50 minute tour, and it cost $50 per person..well worth it. There are dive and snorkeling
shacks located all along the beach..you'll have no trouble locating one if you wish.

Roatan Roatan is an incredibly beatiful island. We booked the Tabyana Dive-In tour through the ship. I
recommend this if you want to snorkel as I did not see anywhere to rent snorkeling gear on the beach. The
coral reef is magnificent, and I can understand now why Roatan is considered one of the premier dive
locations in the world. The Dive-In instructor, Paul, is informative and very funny. He led a snorkeling tour
through the coral that was just wonderful. We did not have any problems with bugs as has been mentioned in
other reviews.

The island is very primative, yet beatifully so. We were not shocked by the poverty that is very prevelent
throughout the island...we knew what to expect.

Miscellaneous Items

The days that we spent at sea were wonderful and restful. We chose to sunbathe and read rather than
partake in many of the on board activities. However, there was always something happening if you want to
keep busy.

Debarkation

This went as smoothly as the embarkation. There were no problems, and everyone was off the ship by 11 am.

For our first cruising experience, we were happy. This is a very good value for the money and we will probably
cruise again in the future.

Name: Michael Eggert
Email: meggert1@pacbell.net
Age: 42
Occupation: CPA
NumberOfCruises: 2
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-Seaward
SailingDate: 5/21/00
Itinerary: Texarribean
Cabin: 6021/B
FoodDiningRoom: 88
CruiseDirector: 89
CabinComfort: 77
FoodRoomService: 88
CruiseStaff: 92
CabinAmenities: 85
FoodLidoDeck: 82
DiningRoomService: 100
CabinQuietness: 83
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 100
ShoreExcVariety:
FoodVariety: 95
DeckService: 85
ShoreExcValue:
GoodForHoneymoon: 95
CasinoStaff: 88
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 80
LoungeService: 85
TenderService: 90
GoodForSeniors: 85
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 100
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 100
OverallPortsofCall: 96
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 91
CruiseActivities: 91
Casino: 85
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 95
EmbarkDisembark: 98
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 92
Stabilization: 92
ShopsOnBoard: 89
SpaceRatio: 94
OverallCruiseValue: 96
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 03 Jun 2000
Time: 21:05:09
Remote Name: adsl-63-204-104-126.dsl.sndg02.pacbell.net
Remote User:

Comments

This was our second cruise together and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Our first cruise was on the Carnival
Elation, and, although we had an excellent time then, the Texaribbean cruise equaled or surpassed it in
almost every category.

I'll start from the beginning. We flew in to Intercontinental Airport the day before and stayed at the airport
Marriott. This proved to be the best choice since it is only a 3-minute tram ride to the airport. On Sunday we
went back to the airport, met the NCL representative and boarded our bus to the ship. Embarkation was a
breeze. It appeared organized and proceeded quickly. Once on board our bags arrived at our cabin within 30
minutes.

The cabin itself is very small (noticeably smaller than the Elation). However, there was very ample storage
space. The bathroom is also small and the shower is tiny with a capital T. We almost had to shower one leg at
a time. The mattresses are not the most comfortable. The ship had been recently refurbished but it appeared
that the mattresses were not included. The ship overall, despite its age, was very nice. It was clean and well
maintained. Every crewmember we met was very nice and attentive. Our steward, German, was not in our
face all the time, yet our cabin was always made up right away and beds turned down at night. The wait staff
was very good also. The cruise director and his staff were also excellent. Suzanna, the shore excursion
coordinator was excellent, giving us some very good ideas outside of the NCL excursion offerings. The only
negative with the crew was the number of waiters by the pool. They seemed to come one after the other with
their daily drink specials. Also, do not get pictures developed on board. They were terrible. Thankfully the
negatives were okay, and we had them reprinted at home.

The food was very good. We did not eat breakfast, and, on most days had lunch at the Big Apple Café near
the pool. Our dinners were all good, if not spectacular. The menu had lots of options, and everyone at our
table (3 couples) seemed to enjoy the food. One night we ordered room service (after returning from
Cancun). The service was quick. Another night we chose to eat at Le Bistro on the Sun Deck. This was
excellent. The French onion soup had cheese an inch thick. And the chocolate fondue for dessert was
extraordinary. Dining here at least once is a must. We would have eaten here again except we ran out of
days and were enjoying our tablemates very much. Speaking of our tablemates, one of the couples had their
luggage lost by the airlines. NCL gave him a free tuxedo rental for formal nights. Unfortunately she had to buy
a dress in the gift shop.

The entertainment on board is excellent. We especially enjoyed Johnny Thunder and all the productions by
the Jean Ryan Company. We went to the casino briefly and played bingo once. There seemed to be plenty to
do especially during the days at sea.

We enjoyed all of the ports. Thanks to former cruisers at cruiseopinion.com as well as research we did
beforehand we knew exactly what we wanted to do, and avoided the high priced and sometimes crowded
shore excursions. Cancun unexpectedly turned out to be our favorite port. After arriving by tender, we took a
taxi ($10) to Puerto Juarez where we boarded a fast water taxi ($4 each) to Isla Mujeres. There we took a taxi
to Playa Norte, a beach on the north end of the island. The beach had the most beautiful white sand and the
clearest, turquoise water we have ever seen. And there were not more than 20 people on the beach. Words
of warning to those with young families - a number of women were sunbathing topless. We were sitting directly
in front of the Zezil Ha restaurant and bar. A waiter waited on us bringing us lunch and drinks all afternoon.
After we left the island we shopped a little bit in Cancun before returning to the ship.

Cozumel, although very nice, was our most disappointing port. We shopped in the morning, which was fine.
After dropping our packages in our cabin, we took a taxi ($8) to Chankanaab State Park. Although very nice,
it was crowded and there weren't enough beach chairs. There were two Carnival ships in port with us, which
meant approximately 4,500 cruisers walking around the island. Some fellow passengers had gone to other
beaches and also said they were crowded and the ocean floor rocky. We had a very nice time here; we were
just a little bit disappointed.

Roatan is a bit of culture shock to US citizens who have not left the country very often. There is a great deal
of poverty here and it isn't hidden as well as it is in Cancun and Cozumel. Two-year-old children were
approaching us asking for money in Coxen Hole, the main city and shopping area. Having said that, the
snorkeling here is incredible and the beaches are very nice. We found out that approximately half the ship's
passengers take the shore excursion to Tabayana Beach. We originally planned to take a taxi there
ourselves and find a spot on an adjacent beach. However, Suzanna told us she had tried that the previous
week and been chased off. She suggested an independent excursion by a man named Paul David to Salt N
Pepper beach on Half Moon Bay. What a great choice! For $24 per person, we got transportation to and from
the beach in air-conditioned vans, and lunch (lobster tail, fish, and chicken). There were 12 of us from the
ship who took Suzanna's suggestion. There were no more than 30 people on the beach. It was also an
excellent snorkeling spot. We saw several of the snorkel tour groups swim out into Half Moon Bay. Bring an
underwater camera. There were lots and lots of colorful fish and coral. We had brought our own equipment
but there are plenty of places to rent.

Debarkation was also easy, although we had an early flight, thus were able to debark with the first group.

Overall the cruise was tremendously enjoyable. It's a shame NCL is discontinuing this itinerary out of Houston
at the end of this year. NCL is an excellent line and we have already booked another cruise aboard the Sky to
Alaska later this summer. We will be searching cruiseopinion.com for information and ideas. Enjoy!

Name: Barbara & Becky Havens
Email: bph@aristophanes.com
Age: 42 & 9
Occupation: software developer & kid
NumberOfCruises: 3
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-Seaward
SailingDate: 6/11/2000
Itinerary: Cancun/Cozumel/Roatan
Cabin: 8029/Deluxe Oceanview
FoodDiningRoom: 90
CruiseDirector: 80
CabinComfort: 80
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 85
CabinAmenities: 85
FoodLidoDeck: 75
DiningRoomService: 85
CabinQuietness: 75
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 85
ShoreExcVariety: 85
FoodVariety: 75
DeckService:
ShoreExcValue: 80
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff: 90
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 80
LoungeService:
TenderService: 70
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges:
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 90
OverallPortsofCall: 85
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 90
CruiseActivities: 85
Casino: 85
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 85
EmbarkDisembark: 75
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 85
Stabilization: 90
ShopsOnBoard: 85
SpaceRatio: 85
OverallCruiseValue: 85
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 22 Jun 2000
Time: 18:20:25
Remote Name: 1cust226.tnt7.denver.co.da.uu.net
Remote User:

Comments

--- PREVIOUS CRUISE EXPERIENCE My 9-year-old daughter and I cruised to Alaska on Holland America in
June of 1999. The passengers on that cruise were pretty old, on average, and there were few kids. (The
ship, the Nieuw Amsterdam, was quite old, as well.)

My 4-year-old son and I cruised the Mexican Riviera on Royal Caribbean in late March of 2000. On that
cruise, the passengers were much more diverse, the ship itself was really beautiful, and the children’s
program was truly exceptional.

--- BOOKING I booked this cruise via an auction on Egghead. (This was the second time I booked a cruise
that way.) NCL sent me an email to confirm the booking of a Category H outside stateroom, and offered
upgrades at the following prices:

Cat. G Oceanview Stateroom, Atlantic Deck: $25 per person; Cat. F Oceanview Stateroom, Main Deck: $50
per person; Cat. E Oceanview Stateroom, Promenade Deck: $75 per person Cat. D Deluxe Oceanview
Stateroom, Norway or Star Deck: $100 per person Cat. C Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom, Norway or Star
Deck: $125 per person Cat. B Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom, Promenade Deck: $150 per person

At that time, they also offered the opportunity to add a 3rd or 4th person (within the same room) for an
additional $279 per person, plus port charges.

We went for the $100 per-person upgrade, which put us up on the Norway Deck (Deck 8), with a good-sized
window.

--- GETTING TO THE SHIP We arrived in Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport one day ahead of
embarkation, to help ensure that we, and all of our luggage, would arrive in time for the cruise. (We didn’t
realize that Hobby Airport was closer to the port.) We stayed at the Hyatt near Bush Airport. At 10:30 on
Sunday morning, we took the hotel’s half-hourly shuttle back to the airport to catch the NCL bus (for $30
round-trip per person) to the ship. (I will note here that, when I called NCL on their 800 number, they
seemed surprisingly unaware that they even had a bus from the airport to the port, and couldn’t furnish
departure times. FYI, the buses run continuously from around 10:00, and it’s not hard to locate the NCL
representatives in the baggage claim area of the airport.)

--- EMBARKATION We arrived at the port a little before noon, and were allowed to board at about 12:15.
Embarkation was quite smooth. (I was a bit surprised that they didn’t ask for a credit card at that point;
instead, everyone had to visit the Onboard Credit desk later on to give them a card to charge incidentals
to.) Since we weren’t yet allowed into the staterooms, we went right to lunch in the Seven Seas dining room.
By the time we finished eating, the staterooms were ready, so we went off to find ours. Our bags arrived on
the deck at around 5:00 or 5:30, and when I spotted them, I hauled them to our room.

While docked in Houston, I noticed a number of little white splashes in the water near the ship. I looked more
carefully and discovered that these were caused by little flying fish!

I had my Sprint PCS phone with me, and had no trouble using it from the ship while it was in the port of
Houston. I was even able to use it after we’d been underway for an hour or two, which was better than I
expected.

--- SHIP/STATEROOM CONDITION Our stateroom was fine. It was small, of course, but with a good-sized
window. (Unfortunately, a lifeboat blocked almost the entire view, but it still let in a lot of sunlight.) There was
plenty of storage space. In other reviews, people complained about the mattresses, but I found them very
comfortable; I think the cruise line must have replaced them recently.

Our biggest trouble with the stateroom was that the toilet broke down twice during the trip. (One of those
times, the toilets on decks 6, 7 and 8 were all broken at once!) They fixed them quickly, but it was
troublesome at the time.

The ship really is showing some wear, and it took me a while to get past that. The tables and chairs on the
pool deck could really use a coat of paint, and the lounge chairs looked pretty worn out.

The engines made some really fearsome noises and vibrations while the ship was making its way from the
port to the open sea; it set all of the glassware in the dining room to rattling, and you couldn’t hear the
conversations at the table. Apparently, this is par for the course with this ship, but it was disturbing when it
happened for the first time (and annoying, even after you knew it was just the way the ship was).

--- INTERNET ACCESS Internet access is available on the ship for 75 cents per minute. (NOTE: On our last
cruise, Royal Caribbean offered much speedier internet access for 50 cents per minute.) NCL’s Internet
Manager is almost always on duty in the internet area (Deck 5, near the shop), and is quick to offer help in
getting online. (He actually doesn’t work for NCL; he works directly for the company that developed the
system.) I used the internet daily to check for emails from home; even at 75 cents a minute, it’s a lot cheaper
than ship-to-shore phone calls!

--- ENTERTAINMENT The Jean Anne Ryan Dancers put on three shows: a Broadway revue, Grease (a
shortened version), and Sea Legs Express. I attended the first two, and they were quite good.

A band called Caribbean Wave entertained regularly on the pool deck. They were really good, too, and they
set the tone for fun.

--- KIDS’ PROGRAM The kids’ program was about on par with Holland America’s, but nowhere near as good
as Royal Caribbean’s. NCL offered separate programs for 3-5’s, 6-8’s, 9-12’s and teens, with one counselor
per group. The kids’ room (the ‘Porthole’), was an uninspired little inside cubbyhole on Deck 3. There wasn’t
really room to do anything in there, so the older kids met elsewhere (for example, the 9-to-12’s generally
met in Boomer’s Disco.) Both HAL’s and RCCL’s kids’ programs gave the kids T-shirts to paint or tie-dye,
and also gave them the opportunity to earn points toward logo shirts, hats, etc. for participating in the
activities. In contrast, NCL’s program gave us the enviable opportunity to purchase a cheap (as opposed to
inexpensive) backpack with a T-shirt, glasses, hat and refillable soft drink cup for $39.50.

NCL had advertised that they now offer the kid program on the first night of the cruise, but in fact they’re just
there in the porthole collecting money and handing out backpacks; there’s no real program that night. They
also advertised that they had a cooking activity and that the kids would get chef’s hats, but this wasn’t true,
either. Finally, even on sea days, they program only provided about 6 hours’ activities per day (compared to
RCCL’s 9 hours per day). All in all, I can’t give the kids’ program very high marks.

--- FITNESS PROGRAM The fitness program was really fun. If you participated in a fitness activity during the
cruise, you got a ticket, and if you got 12 tickets, then you earned an ‘In Motion on the Ocean’ T-shirt. At
first, I thought it unlikely that I’d participate in much, but I started going to the 7 a.m. fitness walks (note: they
always started a little earlier than 7) and the really good stretch-and-relax class after that, and eventually I
did earn my 12 tickets. One couple we sat with at dinner actually participated in so many events that they
earned 3 shirts apiece – and gave me enough extra tickets that I could get an extra shirt, too! The fitness
instructor, Bob, was really good; he taught everything from Aqua Aerobics to Cardio Kick-Boxing to Yoga,
and he taught them all well.

--- FOOD The food was pretty good, but not fantastic. There were meals when I’d open the menu and find
that nothing was particularly appealing, but I always found something that was at least OK. Our waiter,
Fitzroy, was very nice, and he was very good with my daughter. Our busboy, Sunshine, never did get it
straight that I’m not a coffee drinker, but he was a funny guy, and when the waiters performed for us,
Sunshine proved to be a very funny dancer. (That makes up for a lot, in my book!) There were, surprisingly,
2 open-seating dinners (on Tuesday night, when we visited Cancun, and on Friday night, after a sea day).
On Friday night, I went to the Bistro with some of my table-mates, and my daughter had dinner with a family
we’d met on the ship. The Bistro was nice, but I didn’t feel like it was the can’t-miss experience I’d read about
in other cruise reviews.

The Big Apple offered typical cafeteria fare. There was often a pretty long line, especially for lunch. It takes
a few days to get used to their little ways, like where they hide the spoons and the ketchup. (I’m not going to
tell you; you have to find out for yourselves.) The food was OK.

Lickety Splits offered ice cream from 1 to 3 each day. They offered 3 flavors per day, and their default mode
of operation was to put one smallish scoop of ice cream into either a cup or a cone. It was a couple of days
before it occurred to me to ask for a double scoop, which they happily dispensed. If you’re a coconut fan,
don’t miss their coconut ice cream.

One safety note: the ship sets up an enormous kettle-style charcoal grill most days on the pool deck, for
cooking burgers and such. It smells great. However, I was always a bit nervous about the fact that it’s just
sitting in the middle of the deck, without so much as an orange traffic cone to call your attention to the fact
that it’s there and it’s really hot.

--- PORT/SHORE EXCURSIONS

-Cancun In previous cruise reviews, I’d read that the ship frequently had to leave out the Cancun stop due
to rough waters. I asked our dining-room waiter about it, and he said that that seldom happened.
Apparently, it’s left up to the Mexicans who run the tender services from the ship to the shore; if they feel it’s
safe to tender the passengers over to Cancun, then the ship puts in there.

The tendering process certainly delays things. Even though each tender holds about 400 passengers, it
does seem to take forever to get over there. People booked on shore excursions have first priority, and
then people on the fitness walk, and then people going on their own. Therefore, it might be a good idea to
go on the fitness walk (a 3-mile walk from the pier to the hotel zone), if only to get an earlier tender!

We were winging it in Cancun, as none of the shore excursions seemed right for us. We’d been told that
there was a good beach behind the ‘Forum By The Sea’ shopping center, so that’s where we went. That was
a good beach, but only for strong swimmers, as the tide was pretty heavy there. However, we met up with
another family from the ship there, and together we looked around until we found the much quieter beach
behind the Fiesta Americana hotel. The kids had a nice swim there.

We stopped for the requisite hair-braiding before tendering back to the ship. It took about 35 minutes for the
woman to make a dozen tiny French braids in my daughter’s hair, secure them with rubber bands, and sew
(yes, sew) beaded flowers next to each rubber band. NOTE: I’d been warned that these braids (which were
sported by almost every girl on the ship!) would cause a bad sunburn on each of the new little parts in
Becky’s hair. I dabbed waterproof SPF 30 sunscreen onto each of the parts before she went out in the sun
the next day, and she didn’t get sunburned at all.

-Cozumel We booked the Tulum/Xel-Ha shore excursion, which (along with the Chichen Itza shore excursion)
met at 6:00 a.m., i.e., before we even were docked. As soon as we docked and the ship was cleared, we
boarded a really nice tender and had a 45-minute ride to Playa del Carmen. There, we walked to a nearby
bus yard and boarded buses for Tulum. There was one rest stop along the way, and a place that also
sold…wait for it…SOUVENIRS! Yes, we had the opportunity to purchase SOUVENIRS at a rest stop! Imagine
that. Anyway, it was quite early in the day when we got to Tulum (maybe 9:30 or 10:00), and raining
buckets. Luckily, it cleared up fairly quickly, and we had a nice walk among the ruins. If you go, be sure to
go back behind the ruins to the cliff above the shoreline; it’s a pretty view. We had about an hour and a
quarter at Tulum, which felt like enough time to see everything. NOTE: The ship was offering Tulum
guidebooks for $8, but they were pretty skimpy. I bought what looked like the same guidebook for $5 at the
site.

We boarded the bus again and dug into the box lunches that the ship had sent along. There was plenty of
food in there, so we shared with the tour guide and the bus driver, who didn’t appear to have brought any
lunch with them. Then we proceeded to Xel-Ha, which is just a few minutes back along the way we’d come.

Xel-Ha was beautiful, but the layout there is a bit confusing, and we only had a couple of hours to see it. We
first stopped at the changing facility and got ready to go in the water. Large lockers were available there for
$2, so we got one. Then we proceeded to the lagoon to snorkel and swim. We never did figure out where
the river was, so we didn’t get to float down it. I found the place a bit challenging, as I have really bad vision
and can’t cope well without my glasses. I brought corrected swim goggles, and they worked fairly well in the
water, but I felt pretty foolish wearing them to walk around in.

Too soon, it was time to change and return to the bus. We got lost trying to find the changing rooms, and I
was a bit panicked that we’d be late, but we finally found them and then found the bus, so it all worked out
all right.

We were driven back to Playa del Carmen, where we boarded the crummiest tender of the trip. It was quite
wet; there wasn’t really a place on the floor where you could put your stuff and it would stay dry. Worse yet,
when we got back to the ship, we found that another tender was already alongside. I thought that we’d just
queue up after them, but no. Our tender crew tied up to the other tender and transferred us to the other
tender. This was a bit scary, as we had to hop across the open water, but everyone was transferred intact.
Then our tender took off – and we realized that the tender we were on was a party boat (i.e., filled with
drunk people) and that the ship hadn’t opened its door to let them board. We sat there for about 15 minutes
(while my daughter was feeling rather seasick), waiting for the blasted ship to realize that we were there.
Finally, the party boat’s crew got people to chant ‘Let us in! Let us in!’ and the ship deigned to open its
doors and let us in.

Apart from that last tendering experience, my only regrets about taking this shore excursion were that we
totally missed seeing anything of Cozumel (purported to be the best shopping port of the trip), and that we
didn’t have enough time at Xel-Ha.

-Roatan Roatan was quite hot and dry, even when we met our tour group at 9:15 a.m. We had signed up for
the Dolphin Encounter/Tabyana Beach combination. This was very pricey ($135 per person), but probably
worth it. (Note: while the Dolphin Encounter tour sold out within the first day or two of the cruise, the
Dolphin/Tabyana combo never sold out at all.)

We were greeted on the pier by a troupe of native dancers; they would pose for photos, for tips. Then we
boarded taxis to go to Anthony’s Key Resort, where the dolphins were. This was a slightly awkward situation
in that the taxis were loaded four to a car, and you kind of needed to coordinate the rest of your day with the
strangers who happened to be in your taxi. This didn’t end up causing a problem in our little group, but I
could see how it might.

The taxis were small private cars. Ours had no A/C…and no seat belts. This made me a bit uncomfortable,
but we went anyway, as we saw no reasonable alternative.

Our driver, who spoke some English, first took us to Anthony’s – about a 15-20 minute drive over mostly dirt
roads. Anthony’s was pretty nice, and was in a beautiful setting. A small, open motorboat took us to the area
where the dolphins were, and we were briefed and given the opportunity to change clothes. We watched the
previous group have their turn, and then we were up.

We were told to leave our cameras on the beach, and that we’d be told when we could get them and take
some photos. We were divided into four groups of four (we stayed with the group from our taxi), and met our
trainer, dolphin and videographer. There were two videographers, and each was assigned to two groups of
guests. We didn’t pay much attention to ours, as we didn’t intend to pay the $30 for the tape.

Our trainer told us to stand shoulder to shoulder with him, in a straight line, and to maintain that
configuration while we interacted with the dolphin. Then he called her over. Her name was Annie. We
stroked her back and her belly, and she gave us ‘kisses’ and made those Flipper noises for us. Later, she
did some jumps and danced backward on her tail. After about 10 minutes, we were told to get our cameras,
and I took some decent photos of her as my daughter hugged her. It was all pretty cool.

Our turn was over, all too soon. We grabbed our stuff and loaded back into the boats to return to the main
part of Anthony’s, where we were herded into the photo shop to view the videos. It turned out that there was
something wrong with our video; it looked a bit like it was playing in slow motion. Not too bad, but definitely
not quite right. So, they offered them to us for $10. While $30 was too much, $10 was just fine by me, so we
went for it.

Then we got back into our same taxi and headed for Tabyana Beach Resort. This took another 20 minutes
or so. Our driver let us out and we were met by a Tabyana representative, who told us what was (at least
theoretically) available there. We ate lunch (they had grilled chicken, burgers, pasta, etc.) and some really
weird iced tea (their own blend), and then headed for the beach. We were glad that we’d brought our own
(rather bulky) snorkeling equipment, as they wanted $15 for two hours’ rental…and all of their equipment
was already rented out, anyhow. Same deal with the lockers: there were plenty of little lockers, but they were
all already taken. I had some qualms about leaving my good digital camera on a beach chair, but it was
either that or miss some really excellent snorkeling, so I left it. It didn’t disappear.

Tabyana was pretty well-populated with cruisers; apparently, 900 of the 1700 passengers were there. While
the beach was pretty crowded (a bit challenging to find a lounge chair), there was still plenty of room in the
water. There were some really great coral formations, as well as a number of colorful fish. The water was
quite clear and its temperature was comfortable. I found it interesting that the ship sent lifeguards and
photographers. (One photographer was dressed in a tux and was offering beverages to snorkelers on a
silver tray while the other took photos.)

We had arranged a time to meet our fellow taxi passengers, and allowed ourselves some extra time for a bit
of shopping on the way back. It wasn’t until we got in the cab that we realized that our taxi driver had just
been waiting around the whole time we were snorkeling. If I’d known that, I’d at least have brought him a cold
Coke. Our driver was quite willing to take us past a shop or two, and, of course, we tipped him a bit extra for
it. (We didn’t find much we wanted to buy, though.)

--- LAST 2 SEA DAYS The last two days at sea went fast. There were a number of fitness activities,
including the only two water aerobics classes of the week. The kids put on a ‘Circus at Sea,’ the guest talent
show was held, and the big bingo game was played for $6000.

--- DEBARKATION On the last day of the cruise, NCL put out different colors of luggage tags in the Crystal
Court on Deck 4, along with a poster describing which color was meant for which people. (Of course, it was
all described in the debarkation talk, which was replayed repeatedly on the ship’s TV channel.) On other
cruise lines, you told them your needs (i.e., how you were going to depart the ship) and they left the tags in
your stateroom, but this was more or less done on the honor system. If you didn’t have a flight to catch, you
were supposed to just pick up the tags that corresponded to your deck number.

We had a 12:30 flight from Bush Intercontinental Airport. I was told that we’d be off the ship by 9:30, and I
think we would have been, except that a really bad storm passed over us just then, so we had to wait in line
until it moved on. Even with the delay, we got to the airport in good time.

Since we’d already paid for round-trip bus transportation from airport to ship, we headed for the buses after
clearing customs. The scene outside the terminal was pretty chaotic: passengers, luggage and porters all
milling around. There were two buses with ‘NCL’ signs on them and nothing to distinguish between them.
Luckily, I asked if there was a difference, and I learned that one was for Continental only, and the other for
all other airlines. (It would have been handy if they’d labeled them as such!) Also, we were never asked to
show proof that we’d paid our $60; we just made sure our luggage was on the bus, and then boarded it. I
think that the bus is the best deal for parties of 3 or less, but you do have to look after yourself in the crowd
scene.

Name: Johnnie Jordan
Email: jjordan69@the-cia.net
Age: 31
Occupation: Help Desk Technician
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-Seaward
SailingDate: June 11, 2000
Itinerary: Texarribean-Houston, Cancun, Cozumel, Roatan
Cabin: 3012
FoodDiningRoom: 90
CruiseDirector: 80
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 95
CabinAmenities: 95
FoodLidoDeck: 80
DiningRoomService: 98
CabinQuietness: 90
FoodMidnightBuffets: 95
CabinSteward: 98
ShoreExcVariety: 95
FoodVariety: 95
DeckService: 95
ShoreExcValue: 90
GoodForHoneymoon: 98
CasinoStaff: 80
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 90
LoungeService: 95
TenderService: 90
GoodForSeniors: 95
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges:
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 90
OverallPortsofCall: 98
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 95
CruiseActivities: 95
Casino: 85
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 95
EmbarkDisembark: 98
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 98
Stabilization: 95
ShopsOnBoard: 80
SpaceRatio: 90
OverallCruiseValue: 95
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 23 Jun 2000
Time: 15:14:29
Remote Name: maxc-39.the-cia.net
Remote User:

Comments

This was my first cruise and my roommate's second. He had previously sailed on an eastbound transatlantic
crossing on the QE2 in 1997.

Travel and Embarkation: I was fortunate that I have family living in Houston. We were able to drive to their
home and get a ride to the terminal. This saved us the $49.00 weekly parking charge.

We arrived at the Barbours Cut Terminal at about 12:20pm. We did not expect to be able to board until
1:00pm. We checked our large bags with a porter and headed into the busy terminal. The check in line was
long, but moved very quickly. Once we checked in and went through the metal detectors, we were allowed to
begin our long trek up the gangway to the ship after a brief 'welcome aboard' photo opportunity. When we
got on board, we went immediately to our room to drop off our carry on items. Afterwards, we stopped by the
excursion desk and preregistered for our excursions. The desk was not opened yet, but we had decided in
advance which excursions we wanted to do. We just filled out the forms and dropped them in the box. Our
excursion tickets were delivered to our room that evening.

Once we had taken care of that business, we went to the Seven Seas Dining Room for lunch, our first meal
on board. We were seated and eating our salads by 1:00pm. We were very impressed with the efficiency of
check in and embarkation.

Accommodations: Our cabin was an outside stateroom on deck 3, just down the hall from the 'Children's
Porthole'. I was a little concerned about that, but it turned out to not be a big deal. As we read in all of the
previous reviews, the cabins on the Sea are very small. We did not find it uncomfortable at all. The
bathroom was not much larger than an airplane bathroom, but with a small shower added. We had to be
careful when rinsing in the shower because it was possible to accidentally alter the shower temperature or
turn of the water completely when you turn around (this is not an exaggeration). I also noticed that there
were only two temperatures in the shower--warm and boiling. A cool shower is not to be had on the
Norwegian Sea.

Cabin Steward: We seldom saw our cabin steward, Jeffery Kaye, but he straightened our room each
morning while we were at breakfast and each evening while we were at dinner. Most evenings, there would
be a mint on our pillows when we came in from dinner. We were very impressed with him.

Dining: We ate most of our meals in the Four Seasons Dining Room, which was our assigned dining room.
We had two lunches and one breakfast in the Seven Seas, one lunch in Cancun, one lunch in Roatan, one
dinner in Le Bistro, and occasional snacks in the Big Apple Café. For the most part, we found the meals to
be very good. I especially enjoyed breakfasts and dinners. The lunch menus were not quite as good.

Breakfast was always open seating except for the final morning of the cruise. That was fine with us because
we tended to eat breakfast about 9:00am most days. The variety of breakfast foods did not change much
from day to day, but there were so many good choices I had something different every day.

Lunch was also open seating every day. I chose the 'Cooking Light' options a couple of days for lunch and
found them to be a little bland. I also noticed that my chicken and rice dish on embarkation day had only one
very small piece of chicken and a lot of rice. Also, at one lunch Club Sandwich was an option. By the time we
ate, they must have been running out of them because the people at our table were only given two or three
quarters of a sandwich. Some of our dinner table mates, who had eaten lunch earlier, had a full club
sandwich. In fairness to the crew, we never went hungry. There was always plenty of food to be had
somewhere.

Dinner was a highlight of every day. Our waiter, Gandi from Indonesia, and his assistant, Jose' from
Panama, took very good care of us every evening. We also enjoyed the company of our dinner
companions, Shaun and Wendy from Dallas, Jim and Sharon from Ohio, and Theda and Trisha from Ohio.
(Greetings to all of you!) We ate dinner during the late seating. Five of the evenings were assigned seating.
Two were open seating. One of the two open seating nights was Cancun night. We were in port until
10:00pm that evening. We took advantage of that opportunity to have dinner at Le Bistro. The other open
seating night, much to our chagrin, was the second formal night. That was also the farewell banquet and it
was supposed to be the Baked Alaska parade. Since it was open seating and everyone was eating at
different times, the parade was canceled. Baked Alaska was still served, just not flaming. By that point in the
cruise, we had become close enough to our table mates that we all decided that we wanted to meet outside
the restaurant at 8:30pm and request our normal table with our normal waiter. Fortunately, that worked out
very well. Also on that evening, our waiter was anxious for all of us to have two entrees–either two lobster
tails or lobster and Steak Diane. You would think he was working on commission. Nevertheless, the food was
outstanding and the service was impeccable.

My roommate and I did not drink at dinner, but one couple at our table had wine each night. The wine
stewardess, Rachel, took very good care of them. If they did not finish an entire bottle, she would set the
remainder aside for them to finish on another night. They seemed to be very impressed with her service.

Dinner at Le Bistro was probably the best meal we had on board. Le Bistro is a smaller, more intimate
restaurant on Deck 10 aft. We ate dinner at about 8:00pm that evening and did not have to wait to be
seated at all. In Le Bistro, the Caesar Salads are made at the table side. The appetizers and soups were
fabulous. The main courses were well presented and tasty. The most difficult decision we had to make
during the trip was whether to try the Bananas Foster, which was also prepared at the table side, or the
Chocolate Fondue, which I had heard many great things about. We chose the fondue. It was heavenly.
Luckily, Bananas Foster was offered as a desert later in the week in the main dining room.

We normally visited the Big Apple Café between 3:00-4:00pm to have some tea or juice. During that time,
they would also have hamburgers, hotdogs, pizza, and tortilla chips available. By the last full day of the
cruise, they were out of hamburgers, hotdogs, and tortilla chips.

A few comments about the food: I had several steak dishes on board. The steak was always prepared
exactly as requested. It was also very tasty. Fish dishes were also good, but often had several very small
bones. This was a turn-off to several people at our table.

Everyone at our table was very disappointed that NCL is moving to an entirely open seating experience. We
all valued the friendships that we built on this cruise. We do not think that the conversations will be as fruitful
with totally open seating. Instead, every meal will be spent introducing your self to everyone at the table and
telling about all of your previous voyages. It is fun to meet new people, but the introductions get really old by
the end of the week.

Midnight Buffets: We only went to one midnight buffet, the Chocoholic Buffet. It was amazing to see some of
the chocolate sculptures. Since we had eaten a late dinner, we were not hungry and only had a few
chocolate morsels. The items I tried were very good.

Cancun: We were not sure that we would be going to Cancun until we got there. According to the captain,
the waters were 'not too bad'. In all honesty, I can see why this boat misses this port a lot. The tender ride
can be a bit harrowing. We signed up for the 'Transfer to Isla Mujeres' excursion. We were the first group to
leave the boat and we took off from the ship directly to Isla Mujeres, a small island 5 miles from Cancun.
There was live music on the tender boat and free flowing drinks of all kinds. When we got to the island,
about half of our group went to the shopping district, the rest of us went to the beach for some swimming
and sunbathing. The beach was about a half-mile walk from the pier. When we got there, the tender guides
were kind enough to patrol the beach area while we had fun. The beach was free, but there was a minimal
charge if you wanted to use beach chairs or umbrellas. We stayed at the beach for about 2 hours before
heading back to the tender. Many locals joined us on the trip back to Cancun. The tender boat was a party
barge heading back–complete with more live music, free tequila shots, lots of complimentary drinks,
dancing, games and fun. The party boat dropped us at Fat Tuesday's where we could catch one of the
tenders back to the ship or shop around in Cancun. We decided to head back because we were a little tired.
The tender back to the ship was like a lost episode of Gilligan's Island. About half way back, the wind started
whipping and the rain started coming down. A ride that normally takes 30-40 minutes took us almost an
hour. We were more than ready for the safety of the ship. A number of people that I talked to got stuck on
the lower level of the tender boats. The lower level is not air conditioned and has absolutely no ventilation.
On at least one tender, it was so bad that a number of people were sick during the ride.

Cozumel: We signed up for the 'Dive-In Dzul-Ha Snorkeling' excursion in Cozumel. The ship had arranged
for taxis to take those of us on this excursion to the site at no extra charge. This was great except for the
fact that my roommate, who is 6'4 got stuck riding in the middle of the back seat of a Volkswagen taxi. He
was not comfortable at all. Fortunately, the ride was only about 10 minutes. We arrived and were shown how
to use the snorkeling equipment, then we were split into two groups and taken out to experience snorkeling.
The water was crystal clear and there was coral and fish only a few feet from the water's edge. We also saw
an eel, a crab and a lobster. The coral here is patchy and not reef-like, but it is still very beautiful. Our
guide, Bobby, was great at pointing out interesting things to us. The ships magician, Doug Anderson,
helped out with this excursion. He watched all of our belongings while we snorkeled. He was also kind
enough to move them when it started raining. We laughed when he quipped about us trusting the guy who
makes things disappear for a living. It is very slippery going in and coming out of the water. The snorkeling
area is very shallow, so underwater pictures taken here will turn out very well. One warning at Dzul-Ha, the
entrance to the snorkeling area is rocky and covered in moss and algae, which makes it very slippery. We
finished snorkeling by lunchtime, so we went back to the boat and had lunch. After lunch we walked around
the shopping area and found some pretty good buys. Cozumel was very busy on the day we were there.
Carnival's Sensation and Ecstasy and Celebrity's Century were also in port. They were, however, farther
down the shore than our ship.

Roatan: This is an absolutely beautiful island. It is very mountainous and the water is crystal clear. We
signed up for the 'Dive-In Tabyana Beach Snorkeling'. The drive to Tabyana Beach Resort is beautiful and
a bit scary. It takes about 40 minutes to get there. It is almost all up-hill and on very narrow roads. The last
15-20 minutes is dirt/gravel. The roads are so steep that our bus had to turn off the air conditioner to make
it up the hills. At some points, you could see the beaches to the north, south and west. It was quite
spectacular. If there is a threat of rain, it may be better to avoid this excursion because the steep dirt roads
turn to mud in the rain. Some of the buses have trouble making it up the hill in the rain. We were fortunate
enough to have beautiful weather for our trip. Tabyana Beach Resort has all of the amenities that you could
ever want: lockers, showers, clean restrooms, plenty of beach chairs–both shaded and in full sun, volleyball
court, and a gift shop. There was also an lunch served on the beach. This excursion was a little less formal
than our previous snorkeling excursion. You could snorkel on your own or with a guided tour that left every
hour on the hour. Since we were not that experienced, we decided to go on a tour. We went on the first tour,
which was led by Bobby. As in Cozumel, Bobby did a great job of showing us the sights and helping to make
the snorkeling experience memorable. A word of caution about Tabyana: Some of the coral is only a couple
of feet below the surface. There is only one narrow passage out to the first shelf where it is safer to snorkel.
If you are not familiar with the area, it is recommended that you snorkel on a guided tour or be especially
careful to be aware of where you are at all times. After snorkeling, we were ready for lunch and shortly
thereafter we headed back to the ship.

Sports Afloat: Bob, the Sports Afloat Coordinator, had activities scheduled all day everyday. I normally
participated in his 7:00am one-mile fitness walk and 7:40am stretch and relax class. Bob is the master of
stretching and relaxing. I always felt really good after that class. He also had an afternoon walk that I did
several days. The sports afloat program allows you to collect tickets for each activity that you do. If you have
twelve tickets by the end of the cruise, you can redeem them for a t-shirt. Believe me, it is very easy to earn
a t-shirt. Some people even get more than one.

Entertainment: Comedian, Doug Anderson, was very talented and funny. We saw him perform three times,
including his up-close magic show, which was targeted for the younger audience.

We only saw the comedian, Sam Grisbaum, perform during the farewell variety show. He was hilarious and
we wished that we had made it to his other shows.

Singer, Johnny Thunder, formerly of the Drifters, was quite a showman. For being 68 years old, he had a lot
of energy. He was going to be leaving the ship after a five-week run.

The poolside calypso band, Carribean Wave, was pretty good. I heard that they were leaving the boat after
our trip, though.

The Jean Ann Ryan Company did three shows. This company consists of 14 members–4 singers and 10
dancers. I thought that the majority of the singing was good and the dancing was fair, but often not
synchronized as well as it should have been. The production of Grease was very abbreviated and marred
by significant sound equipment problems. At times you could not hear some of the performers, at other
times the hissing and crackling was almost unbearable. The other two performances were better. From what
I could tell, all of the accompaniment music was pre-recorded, as were the background and choral vocals.
During one performance, a ship announcement forced the lip-synching cast to stop the performance and go
backstage and start over again. It was funny to see them moving their lips with out any sound at all.

The pools and hot tubs on the Sea were very nice, but often crowded during the day. We found the best
swimming times to be in the morning before lunch or late in the day.

Bingo is a huge event on board the Sea. We played two times during the week. We found the prices to be
very high, $28 for three faces each for four games. We had a lot of fun playing and learning the 'Bingo
Lingo', but the cost was definitely a factor.

We had an opportunity to take a bridge tour. First Officer, Svend from Denmark, told us about the different
equipment that they use for navigating and sailing. It was very informative. This tour is only done while the
boat is in port, so if you want to see the bridge you have to return to the boat a little early from one of the
ports.

Debarkation: This is a very time consuming process because the port of Houston will only allow 50-75
people off the boat at a time. Their customs area is very small. Our debarkation process was delayed due to
a thunderstorm that moved through the area during debarkation. There was a half-hour period where no
one got off the boat. We were one of the last groups to leave because we had ground transportation in
Houston. Once we were off the boat we were able to collect our luggage and make it through customs very
quickly.

Final Thoughts: On one hand, it is very sad that NCL is pulling the Sea out of Houston next January,
relegating it to 3 and 4 day cruises from Miami. On the other hand, it is an older ship by cruising standards
and it is probably the more sound financial move for NCL. Still, I think that Houston is a great port and I hope
that NCL will realize that soon.

One other thing we realized after the cruise was that we never saw the bridge crew and rarely saw the cruise
director, Soozy Atkins, in public areas or dining rooms. They almost seemed too remote. My roommate said
that when he sailed on the QE2, the officers were much more accessible.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable cruise experience. All things being the same, I would gladly do it again.
Unfortunately, with NCLs policy changes, we will have to think twice before sailing NCL again. We will
probably choose a line with more traditional cruising standards.

Back to NCL NorwegianSea