ncl-norwegiansea15

Note - this page contains multiple reviews.

Name: Chuck Payne
Email: chuck@guardian-ipco.com
Age: 38
Occupation: Business Manager
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-Seaward
SailingDate: July 23 - July 30
Itinerary: Houston- Cancun - Cozumel - Roatan - Houston
Cabin: 3102
FoodDiningRoom: 90
CruiseDirector: 100
CabinComfort: 85
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 95
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck: 90
DiningRoomService:
CabinQuietness: 80
FoodMidnightBuffets: 100
CabinSteward: 100
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 100
DeckService: 95
ShoreExcValue: 70
GoodForHoneymoon: 60
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 95
LoungeService: 90
TenderService: 90
GoodForSeniors: 90
BeautySalonStaff: 95
EntertainmentLounges: 100
WheelchairAccess: 80
ExerciseFacilities: 90
EntertShowLounge: 100
OverallPortsofCall: 80
BeautySalon: 100
EntertainmentPoolside: 100
CruiseActivities: 85
Casino:
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 95
EmbarkDisembark: 100
DiscoNightclubs: 95
DeckSpace: 95
Stabilization: 100
ShopsOnBoard: 95
SpaceRatio: 85
OverallCruiseValue: 100
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 08 Aug 2000
Time: 16:09:06
Remote Name: fcs01bhm.bhm.bellsouth.net
Remote User:

Comments

This was out first cruise and we looked forward to it with extreme excitement. We were going along
with a group of 31 that consisted of mostly family members. The only negative that I can think of for
the entire trip was the fact that we booked this cruise in January and at that time we booked seating
arrangements in the dinning rooms together as a group. The travel agency stated that all we had to
do was to request that we be seated with certain family members. So my wife and her twin sister both
put on the seating request that our two families be seated together. Well, when we got on the ship,
not only were we not seated together but were in separate dinning rooms. (Not to mention that when
we got our tickets they had separate dinning times all together even though we had requested the
same dinning times - this was taken care of before we left home though). After speaking with one
dinning room manager and not getting a positive response, we went to the other manager and he
took care of our request on the spot. I took rearranging some chairs at one table but we finally got to
sit as a family for the early seating in the Four Season dinning room. Thanks to Cecil for all of the
help. The food was excellent and the service was as good as could be expected. We were the last
table to leave the first two nights but were among the first to be waited on the remainder of the trip.
Nelson, our waiter, paid special attention to the kids at our table and all had a wonderful time. During
open seating a couple of times we were rewarded with the best waiter that I have had the pleasure of
having in a long time. Ask for Poison Ivy for an especially good time. The public rooms were
wonderful, the sound systems were great, lighting was superb and the talent was wonderful. They did
tend to get hot during the end of the shows but the cool drinks were never far away. Speaking of cool
drinks, all of our drinks were ordered virgin and there needs to be price break for this. We paid the
same for drinks as other people that ordered with alcohol and it can get expensive. The rooms were
small, but we had read this on all of the other cruise reviews and were looking forward to spending a
week in a closet. I was actually surprised at the amount of room available. Because this was our first
cruise and did not know how big a cabin could be, we were not expecting a lot and were pleasantly
surprised. One group of people tha had cabins in the rear of the ship said they experienced earth
quake type shakings on a number of occasions. After talking to the information desk about this, they
were promptly given another cabin that had become available in Cancun bya a family that had to
return home early in the trip. They were very accomidating. The destinations were ok. Cancun was
extremely commercialized, the snorkeling at Cozumel was outstanding and the swimming and
snorkeling at Half Moon Bay in Roatan was out of this world. We took a thirteen year old, an 11 year
old and two nine year olds on each destination trip and they all had a great time. We didn’t book trips
on the cruise line shore excursions because they filled up early and we also had a person on our trip
that spoke the local language and booked all of our trips for us with local business and excursion
people at each dock. We just headed out on our own and had a world of fun. The poverty at Roatan
is slightly upsetting. But the tourist sections were more than we expected. Overall, this was the trip of
a lifetime. Would I go back again? I wonder if they have room for me next week.

Name: Ed Allstun
Email: EAllstun@AOL.COM
Age: 40
Occupation: Executive - General American
NumberOfCruises: 2
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-Seaward
SailingDate: July 30, 2000
Itinerary: Cancun/Cozumel/Roatan
Cabin: 3165
FoodDiningRoom: 87
CruiseDirector: 85
CabinComfort: 82
FoodRoomService: 82
CruiseStaff: 87
CabinAmenities: 75
FoodLidoDeck: 82
DiningRoomService: 91
CabinQuietness: 80
FoodMidnightBuffets: 85
CabinSteward: 85
ShoreExcVariety: 85
FoodVariety: 85
DeckService: 82
ShoreExcValue: 80
GoodForHoneymoon: 75
CasinoStaff: 75
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 85
LoungeService:
TenderService:
GoodForSeniors: 75
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 80
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 70
EntertShowLounge: 90
OverallPortsofCall: 80
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 85
CruiseActivities: 83
Casino: 75
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 85
EmbarkDisembark: 85
DiscoNightclubs: 85
DeckSpace: 85
Stabilization: 85
ShopsOnBoard: 81
SpaceRatio: 85
OverallCruiseValue: 87
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 17 Aug 2000
Time: 13:16:38
Remote Name: general.american.genam.com
Remote User:

Comments

This was a second cruise for my wife and I (our first was on the Celebrity Mercury in 1999). The
first cruise with our 3 children and my mother. This particular cruise was chosen because of the
departure from Houston. We had to be in Houston for other matters and decided to take the cruise
while there. Otherwise I probably would have chosen a different ship mainly, based on the reviews I
have seen. Fortunatly the cruise turned out to be much better than expected for us. Possibly due
to our low expectations.

The Ship:

The state of the ship was in fact quite satisfactory. I was prepared to see worn through carpet and
chipped paint. In fact the upkeep of the ship was very good. The central fountain area was quite
beautiful. Not as grand as the Mercury but very nice. I don't remember seeing any facet of the ship
that did not seem 'ship shape'. The rooms are quite small but also quite adequate. We had two
staterooms with 3 in each room. In each stateroom is a bunk that folds down from the wall. Not as
flimsy and small as I had envisioned before the cruise. In fact, a couple of times I crawled up on the
bunk to snuggle my son. I could easily have slept up there myself (5'10 - Less than 200 lbs). As
many other reviewers have stated you should not spend that much time in the room anyway. What I
really did miss in the room (that the Mercury had) was a refrigerator and especially a room safe.
The only other complaint on the room would be the decor is out of date. It was well maintained,
simply looked like brand new stuff from the 60's. The shower is the butt of a lot of jokes on the ship
due to it's size. But I always had hot water and the pressure wan't bad either. So I would rate the
bathroom satisfactory. The dining rooms were fine (decoration wise), but this is an area that was
not as elegant as I had expected. Again probably because the Mercury was so elegant. The simple
chairs and decorations in the main dining rooms was more like a tippins than a 5 start restaurant.
But this did not affect the food or service which was excellent.

Service: The service on the ship was simply excellent. Especially our waiter service. In every aspect
our table service in the dining room was as good as any service I have received in the best of
restaurants on land. Remeber that we had 3 childred with us (5, 7, 12). My children received the
same respect and service as my wife and I. Even when my 5 year old son ordered Escargot,
pheasant soup, and Lobster Tail for dinner (which he ate and loved). To me this is one of the big
features of a cruise. The food and service. I had a great time introducing my children to the food
and the opportunity to have them experience the service and etiquette in a nice restaurant aura.

One complaint I would have regarding service is the wine/bar stewardess assigned to us in the
main dining room. My family rarely drinks alcohol. I have never aquired a taste for wine. The wine
stewardess seemed offended, almost unbelieving when we did not order wine. She would questions
our 'no thank you' with statements like 'are you sure?'. She then continued to come back to our
table evening after evening, sometimes twice giving me the feeling she was pushing wine or drinks
on us. I was not offended at the original offer to be sure, but it was getting old with her pushy
attitude regarding drinks. But by the end of the week we all agreed we hated to see her even
headed our direction.

Food: The food was very, very good in the dining rooms on the ship. As other reviewers have
pointed out, serving this many people at one time makes it almost impossible to get actual 5 star
quality food. But cudo's for the effort the staff makes. We ate almost every meal in the dining room.
I was not particularly fond of the Big Apple Cafe food. There is a very noticable difference in food
quality as compared to the Main Dining Rooms. For example at breakfast the Big Apple Cafe would
serve 'fake' scrambled eggs. In the dining room I might choose between eggs any way I like,
omelets with a list of possible ingredients, a greek fritatta, or ranchos nuevos (excuse the spelling).
The Big Apple was all in all not even close to the cafe style restaurant on the Mercury. However the
main dining room food was very close in quality. The exception in the dining room was the beef
(which I saw on several other reviews). The steaks were really tough. A very poor quality of meat. It
is actually interesting how much better all of the entree's were than the beef. All the fish dishes
were very good.

I should also mention Le Bistro. An alternative dining restaurant. The food was excellent and the
service matched.

Ports: As seems to be very usual on this ship, Cancun was cancelled. We therefore went on to
Cozumel and stayed in port overnight. The captain said it was due to the waves and haing to be
portered to shore. My kids were dissapointed because we had talked so much about Excaret which
we were then unable to go to. It seems like they should drop that port as much as I hear it is
cancelled. Cozumel is okay but I have been there before so it did not offer anything new to me. An
exception was when we tried to go to a beach with the kids. The information desk told us to go to
Play Del Sol beach. We go into a cab with a very nice driver we began to trust. He said 'Playa Del
Sol is very crowded and not so good', and that he jknw of a beach close by that was much better.
Boy was he right on. He took us to a beach called Palancar Beach. We drove right by Playa Del Sol
to get there. When we arrived we were the only ones on the beach. Beautiful sands with cabanas
and chairs galore. Reasonable priced food was served here. The best surprise was a monkey they
had on a long leash. My children played with the monkey for at least an hour. It would grab their
hat or sunglasses and run up a tree. Then bring it back. It would swing on the palm leaves all
around us. After a few minutes the monkey was on my shildrens shoulders. What a wonderful
experience. To my younger kids it was a highlight of the trip. Unfortunatly in Cozumel we had
signed up for a reef snorkel. We rode out on the boat for about an hour only to be informed the
waves were too strong and we would not be able to snorkel. My daughter was disappointed but we
were still able to snorkel in Roatan. Roatan Honduras was a good port. We went to Tabyana
Beach. Two of us to snorkel and the other 4 for the beach. We paid extra to snorkel, but as it
turned out we were just snorkeling from the beach. since we had our own equipment it would have
been the same trip if we had only paid for the beach. However, the beach was very good and the
snorkeling was some of the best I have ever done. It was unbelievable how clear the water was and
the numbers of fishes. There was food included with the Tabyana Beach excursion but it was not
that good. Hamburgers and Hot Dogs.

Entertainment: The shows were top notch. The only show I was ready to leave during was the
Johnny Thunder show. I am a little too young for a medley of 50's tunes. My mother however
enjoyed him tremendously. The dancers and singers were excellent. Especially in the shortened
version of Grease. We also found the magician (Doug Anderson) and the comedian (Carlos ?) to
be very good. My children thought Doug Anderson was the best. A word of advice, the theatre has
some seats that are not very good. You should get there early to get a good seat.

One last point. The kids crew program was good for my 5 and 7 year olds. My 12 year old thought
the stuff they did was for younger kids. She did however have a great time running around the ship
with a couple of friends she made on the ship.

All in all this was an excellent vacation. The Norwegian Sea is a fine cruise ship. Not the most grand
on the sea but not the most expensive either. An all around excellent value. I would not hesitate to
cruise her again. On a scale of 1-10 easily an 8.5. In my opinion anyone who completely trashes
this crew as no good is a person who doesn't enjoy many things in life.

Name: Kathryn Dailey
Email: kdailey@mindspring.com
Age: 42
Occupation: Homemaker
NumberOfCruises: 5
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-Seaward
SailingDate: 08/13/00
Itinerary: Texaribbean
Cabin: 8207/Category A
FoodDiningRoom: 70
CruiseDirector: 80
CabinComfort: 75
FoodRoomService: 85
CruiseStaff: 89
CabinAmenities: 85
FoodLidoDeck: 80
DiningRoomService: 85
CabinQuietness: 90
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 85
ShoreExcVariety: 80
FoodVariety: 79
DeckService: 90
ShoreExcValue: 75
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff: 65
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 75
LoungeService: 90
TenderService: 85
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff: 89
EntertainmentLounges:
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 90
OverallPortsofCall: 80
BeautySalon: 80
EntertainmentPoolside: 80
CruiseActivities: 75
Casino: 80
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 85
EmbarkDisembark: 90
DiscoNightclubs: 75
DeckSpace: 89
Stabilization: 80
ShopsOnBoard: 88
SpaceRatio: 75
OverallCruiseValue: 90
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 23 Aug 2000
Time: 22:40:41
Remote Name: user-33qt5t2.dialup.mindspring.com
Remote User:

Comments

This was my first cruise on Norwegian Cruise Lines. I have one previous cruise on Carnival, one
cruise on Celebrity, and two cruises on Princess. I have a cruise on Royal Caribbean planned for
March 2000. My previous cruises have been with my husband. This cruise was with my 18 year old
daugher.

This cruise was purchased by auction at the Egghead web site. It was to be a category M
stateroom on my choice of three August dates. I was notified by NCL that my bid was successful. I
chose to upgrade to a category C stateroom and purchase the cruise insurance. After several
weeks of frustrating attempts at communication with the NCL rep who handled auctioned cruises, I
had everything taken care of by a different person at NCL and had a complimentary upgrade to a
category A stateroom. This attention to customer satisfaction was very much appreciated.

We flew to Houston Hobby on the morning of the cruise. We headed down to baggage claim to get
our luggage and meet the cruise rep at the information booth. We waited a very short time before
being placed on a bus. We reached the cruise terminal and were able to immediately get the paper
work done. After a brief wait in the terminal, we were allowed on the ship in the public areas, since
the staterooms were not quite ready. We had lunch in the dining room, got our table and dining
room assignment from the maitre de, and established ship board credit. At about 1:30 PM, they
made an announcement that the staterooms were ready. The room was small and had two windows
with a view that was barely obstructed by the lifeboats. The bathroom size was adequate and had a
bathtub/shower combination. The cabin and bathroom were clean, but showed some wear. The
mauve laminate furniture would not have been my choice of décor. The bedspreads showed much
wear and were faded. The narrower than usual twin beds were very low to the floor and had very
thin foam mattresses. The cabin had an in-room safe and a refrigerator. We were on the smoking
optional side of the ship, but did not notice a cigarette odor in the room. We never heard any noise
from any of the rooms around us. Even on the 8th floor, we did have some significant vibrations as
we were circling before going into ports.

The ship was clean and well maintained. The elevators on the ship were very small and none of the
elevators went to every floor on the ship. The only elevators that went to deck 10 were very small.
I'm not sure that a wheelchair would have fit on these elevators. Three people completely filled up
one of these elevators.

We passed by the edges of tropical storm Beryl. The captain kept the ship out of the rainy areas.
We had some extra wind on deck and some rough seas. The boat handled these waters very well.
The rocking motion of the boat during this storm was not any more than the motion of the Princess
boats in normal seas.

There were plenty of deck chairs for everyone around the pools. The bar servers were always
available, but were never obtrusive. The band, Joy, that played on deck was very good, but
seemed to have a very limited number of songs to play each day. The two pools and two hot tubs
always had people in them, but were never packed. The free ice cream served in the afternoons
on deck was welcome treat.

My daughter and I had a manicure in the beauty salon. The staff was very friendly and
professional, but at $36 it was pricey. They did not try to get us to purchase any other products at
that time.

The entertainment on the ship was enjoyable. The comedian was funny and the group that did
Grease did a great job. The entertainment on this ship far exceeded the entertainment that we had
experienced on Princess cruise lines.

The casino was a big very active place. You had to walk through the casino to get from the front of
the ship to the back of the ship. One night while passing through, I stopped and put $1 in a video
poker game. A casino attendant came over and asked my 18 year old daughter to leave the casino
immediately. I felt that he treated her badly. She was not gambling and I had only stopped for a
second. There were many young teens in the casino walking around with buckets of tokens playing
the slot machines.

My daughter went to the disco one night at about 11 PM. At almost 19 years old and a sophomore
at college, she did not feel comfortable being in the disco with all the 13 to 14 year olds. She went
back after midnight one night when they said that only those with a picture ID who were over 18
could be present. The same very young teens were present. She did not go back again.

We ordered room service breakfast each morning, which arrived on time. The breakfast offered
was only a limited continental breakfast. I wrote in a bagel and cream cheese each day and
received it. On another day, we ordered a chicken Cesar salad and a cheese pizza at lunch time.
The salad was very good, but small. The pizza was only about a 6 inch pizza and arrived cold.

We tried the Big Apple Café (buffet style dining) at lunch time one day. It was very crowded. The
design does not allow traffic to flow through freely or quickly. The buffet area was not open most
nights during dinner time. Late in the afternoon, at the time that I would have liked a salad, the only
food offered there was pizza, French fries, hamburgers, and hot dogs.

We had one meal at Le Petite Bistro, which is the alternative dining option. They suggest a $5 per
person gratuity for this meal. It is on the 10th floor and has a very nice view. We were able to get a
small table for just the two of us. We never received the soup portion of our meal that we had
ordered. The other food was good, but the portions were very small. We both ordered a grilled
shrimp and mussel entrée that did not have mussels in it.

Our regular dining room was the Seven Seas dining room at a table for 6. We enjoyed our dinner
companions very much, and our waiter, Fitzroy, did a great job. There was a dish shaking vibration
in this dining room on several nights. The busboys were not assigned to a single waiter as on other
cruises and were running the whole night. Because of this, service was not as attentive as I am
accustomed to on cruise ships. The food choices were not great. There was no food served that
was excellent. There were few foods served that were very good. The fish dishes that I had were all
dry and overcooked. I expected the beef to be good on a cruise out of Texas, but this was not the
case. The beef cuts were very thin, tough, and always overcooked. There were only a few good
desserts, but it was easy to pass them up on most nights. I think that this was the only cruise that I
have been on that I have actually lost weight.

The itinerary was okay, but not great. Most people seemed a little bored with two back to back sea
days on the last two days of the cruise.

Cancun was an okay stop. I found the shore excursion desk to be not helpful at all with any
information about Cancun. We ended up just renting a chair on the beach next to the pier. It was
pretty crowded and dirty.

In Cozumel, we spent the morning shopping in town. We went back to the ship and had lunch and
then took a taxi to Chankanaab. We found two chairs on the beach and had a great time
snorkeling and walking around on the nature trails.

In Roatan, we met Paul David at the dock and went over to his restaurant area for the day. For
$24, we had transportation to and from Salt & Pepper, beach chairs, and a lunch that included
lobster, snapper, and chicken. Lunch was great! We had remembered to pack our insect repellant,
so we weren't bothered by the sand fleas. We rented a float for two on the beach and also
snorkeling gear. The water was crystal clear. The reef was very colorful.

On the first of our last two sea days, we had an extraordinary opportunity to see whale sharks. The
captain announced that we were approaching them. I had expected to see a couple at a distance.
There were hundreds of them on both sides of the ship as far as you could see. These are huge
creatures that are 40 to 60 feet long. We were even able to circle and spend more time in the
middle of these gentle giants.

Disembarkation was easy and quick. We were off the boat before 9 AM and on the way to the
airport shortly after. I purchased the NCL transportation to and from the airport. I would not do that
again. The NCL transportation was $30 for each person for a round trip, which totaled $60 for the
two of us. A taxi would have only cost $35 each way. We did not have to wait for a full bus from the
airport to the pier, but sat for over 45 minutes at the pier waiting for our bus to fill up. It would have
been worth the $10 to go to the airport on our schedule.

This cruise experience was enjoyable. I didn't go expecting a superior experience, and I didn't get
one. If I had paid full price for this cruise, I would have been very disappointed, but I think that I got
what I paid for. If I was planning a regular price cruise, NCL wouldn't be the cruise line of my choice,
but I will check out their specials on cruises in the future. I think that NCL cares about their
customers and will work to improve their product.

Name: Sultan Ahmed
Email: sahmed@vignette.com
Age: 37
Occupation: Software Engineer
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-Seaward
SailingDate: August 13, 2000
Itinerary: Western Caribbean
Cabin: 7224
FoodDiningRoom: 85
CruiseDirector: 80
CabinComfort: 80
FoodRoomService: 85
CruiseStaff: 80
CabinAmenities: 85
FoodLidoDeck: n/a
DiningRoomService: 90
CabinQuietness: 90
FoodMidnightBuffets: n/a
CabinSteward: 85
ShoreExcVariety: 85
FoodVariety: 85
DeckService: 80
ShoreExcValue: 50
GoodForHoneymoon: 80
CasinoStaff: n/a
PrivateIsland: n/a
GoodForFamilies: 80
LoungeService: 80
TenderService: 85
GoodForSeniors: 85
BeautySalonStaff: 70
EntertainmentLounges: 80
WheelchairAccess: n/a
ExerciseFacilities: 85
EntertShowLounge: 85
OverallPortsofCall: 75
BeautySalon: 50
EntertainmentPoolside: 85
CruiseActivities: 85
Casino: 80
AirSeaProgram: n/a
MedicalFacilities: n/a
ShipCleanliness: 85
EmbarkDisembark: 80
DiscoNightclubs: n/a
DeckSpace: 90
Stabilization: 85
ShopsOnBoard: 75
SpaceRatio: 80
OverallCruiseValue: 85
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 24 Aug 2000
Time: 18:08:22
Remote Name: host127.vignette.com
Remote User:

Comments

This was our (my wife and myself) first cruise, having been land travelers for many years. We
booked the cruise only two weeks ahead of time. The price was good, and we drove from Austin to
Houston, so we did not have to spend money for the airfare. Just the $49 parking fees at the port.
The parking lot is just across the pier, and a small one, so walking back to the pier is very easy. I
booked the cruise directly with NCL, since our travel agents could not find anything reasonable in
such a short notice.

Checking this site for tips and talks from previous cruise travelers were immensely helpful.

Embark: We arrived at the port at around 2:15pm. Most people already boarded the ship, so there
was not much of a line. In 15 minutes or so we were in our cabin. Went for some quick lunch
immediately, up in the Big Apple Cafe. The lugguage arrived in several batches, the last by
6:00pm.

Food: The lobster was good. The President's dinner was not all that presidential, but good
presentation nonetheless. The formal nights as well as the baked Alaska were all good. The waiter,
Emmanuel from Portugal was superb. We had by far the best service from him on board. If he
senesed that I did not like certain appetizers all that much, he would get me something on his own,
which I thought was very nice of him. The other dining room staff were ok. We had the first table
into the dining room, almost not quite inside the big room. This was kind of good and bad. We were
about to get in and out easily, but we missed out on the big picture of the dining room, if there was
one. There were six on our table. An elderly couple and another young couple, all from Houston,
were our tablemates. We enjoyed their company very much. In many ways, they made the trip a lot
more memorable. The cafe was ok, and I liked the flexible hours. It had an omlette station, which
suited me very well. I like omlettes for breakfast everyday! I also tried the La Bistro. The food had
too much salt, but it was still very well done.

Shore Excursions: Overpriced. But we still took them just to avoid hassles. In Cancun, we took the
"Sail to Isla Mujeres" tour, in Cozumel, "Dolphin Encounter", and in Roatan, "Roatan Sightseeing
and Beach". Cancun was extremely hot and I got dehydrated. I did not enjoy this tour at all. People
who drink would perhaps like this one, since they serve beer, tequila etc. as well as soft drinks
non-stop. No need to pay extra for this. The dolphin tour was enjoyable. But $95 is just too much
for it. The Chankanab park, however, in my opinion, is not to be missed. The Roatan sightseeing
can be missed, but we enjoyed it nonetheless.

Photography: The formal photos are expensive: $24.95 each, but 3 for $45. But the quality is very
poor. They are very grainy. Also, I could see a faint vertical line across my nose on all three of ours
for the second formal night. We did not buy these. We did by some others. In all, we spent about
$50 in photos. However, photography is my hobby, so I took a lot of pictures myself, which came
out good. Also, the photos taken at the Dolphin encounter by the staff there were much better
quality than any on the ship. Films and picture development on board is ridiculously expensive, so
take enough of your own.

Shows: We enjoyed the comedy magic of Doug Anderson very much. Also, George Solomon and
the Sea Leg Express were very entertaining. Go early to get good seats. There are quite a few
pillers that obstruct views from the back. Also, there are two kinds of seats in the main hall. The
fixed rows are taller, and seat higher. In between, there are movable seats that seat lower. If you
are a small person, then these seats are no good for you.

Art auctions: What a rip-off! I looked on for a few minutes. The stuff people buying for $1200!

Sports/Exercise activities: With the intent not to gain pounds from all the foodstuff, I participated in
many organized fitness activities. The coordinator, Bob, was great. His morning walk, flex and
stretch session, as well as as programs were very useful. He is also such a nice person to talk to
on variety of issue, including shore excursions and sightseeing, other tips and tricks. In the end, we
got enough tickets for two T-shirts.

Room service: Did not use much, but the serive was prompt. However, when I asked for tea, they
usually forgot suger and cream. When I asked for a pizza, they gave such a small one that it was
barely enough for one person, even though I mentioned we were two.

Deck space, other amenities: The ship was very full, but there we ample deck space for everyone.
The promenade deck can be used for jogging around the ship. It is nice and open. The ship
appeared well-built and stable. Some people complained about noise and vibration, but we did not
feel anything. For an older ship, it is well-maintained, and looked good for the most part. Lots of
on-board activities, and we never felt bored.

Debarkation: We knew what to expect, so not much problems. They started letting people off at
8:30am, and by 11:00am, everybody was off, at least, it appeared to me that way.

I would go with NCL again. However, I feel sad that NCL would discontinue the Texaribbean.

Name: Don & Monika Elder
Email: dontwobears@prodigy.net
Age: 40+ (Both)
Occupation: Medical Professionals
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-Seaward
SailingDate: July 9,2000
Itinerary: Cancun, Cozumel,Honduras
Cabin: 6205
FoodDiningRoom: 92
CruiseDirector: 89
CabinComfort: 75
FoodRoomService: 70
CruiseStaff: 90
CabinAmenities: 75
FoodLidoDeck: 85
DiningRoomService: 98
CabinQuietness: 98
FoodMidnightBuffets: 90
CabinSteward: 99
ShoreExcVariety: 95
FoodVariety: 95
DeckService: 95
ShoreExcValue: 95
GoodForHoneymoon: 85
CasinoStaff: 98
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 90
LoungeService: 95
TenderService: 65
GoodForSeniors: 90
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 90
WheelchairAccess: 95
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 98
OverallPortsofCall: 90
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 95
CruiseActivities: 95
Casino: 98
AirSeaProgram: 85
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 95
EmbarkDisembark: 85
DiscoNightclubs: 90
DeckSpace: 90
Stabilization: 98
ShopsOnBoard: 90
SpaceRatio: 90
OverallCruiseValue: 95
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 17 Sep 2000
Time: 07:21:21
Remote Name: ppp-207-193-31-186.snantx.swbell.net
Remote User:

Comments

This was our 25th wedding anniversary and they forgot our cake:-(. Although they made up for it in
service!! The food was well prepared and to our wishs (they went out of their way to accomodate) right
down to the breads, pastries and deserts. Although I felt the room was somewhat small, we had so
much to do and see that we spent very little time in the cabin. The down side to the cabin was the
mattresses, somewhat hard and uncomfortable, but the room was ALWAYS clean and fresh smelling.
The bands were great! The lounges even better!! The Bistro on the NCL Sea was fantastic! The
Casino Staff were frendly and fun! What I really enjoyed was the differant Ethnic staff members
on-board (my German is better because of them, so is my Spanish) "And Mann....the drinks are too
cool man!!" For a Couple in their late 40's, with grown children and now on our own, we will be back
very soon! We had a great time!! And now that we have our sea-legs, we want more of it!! We were
fussed over, made over, fed to popping, and tickled to death!! NCL has been at this a long time and it
shows, you thought of everything ('cept the cake! Ha Ha) Thank you all so very much for some really
GREAT memories.

Back to NCL NorwegianSea