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Note - this page contains multiple reviews.
Name: Shawna & Terry Moore
Email: tmnet284@istar.ca
Age: 32 & 33
Occupation: Health Professional & Military
NumberOfCruises: 8
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-Seaward
SailingDate: July 13, 1997.
Itinerary: Southern Caribbean, Barbados Itinerary
FoodDiningRoom: 88
CruiseDirector: 85
CabinComfort: 90
FoodRoomService: 90
CruiseStaff: 85
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck: 82
DiningRoomService: 90
CabinQuietness: 90
FoodMidnightBuffets: 85
CabinSteward: 85
ShoreExcVariety: 85
FoodVariety: 85
DeckService: 85
ShoreExcValue: 85
GoodForHoneymoon: 85
CasinoStaff: 90
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 80
LoungeService: 90
TenderService: 90
GoodForSeniors: 75
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 90
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 85
OverallPortsofCall: 95
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 85
CruiseActivities: 90
Casino: 85
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 85
EmbarkDisembark: 95
DiscoNightclubs: 90
DeckSpace: 80
Stabilization: 90
ShopsOnBoard: 88
SpaceRatio: 90
OverallCruiseValue: 95
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 14 Sep 1997
Time: 22:35:44
Remote Name: 198.53.127.89
Remote User:
Comments
We (Terry & Shawna Moore, ages 33 and 32) had two weeks summer vacation and wanted to
spend as much time cruising as possible. We
decided on the Southern Caribbean route because we like the busy island a day schedule and
the temperatures are cooler in the
SouthernCarib. in the summer as compared to the Eastern and especially the Western routes.
We were on the "Inspiration" last year so we
decided to sail on the "Seaward" and "Monarch of the Seas" this
summer. Havingpreviously sailed on the "Seaward" in 1994 we decided to do
her the first week and save the "Monarch" for the second week.We left home
(Halifax, Nova Scotia) on a Saturday and about 12 hours later we
arrived in San Juan. We had to fly down the day before to be sure of not missing the
ship.(We looked after our own airfare.) We figured
arriving the night before we would get a good nights sleep before boarding the ship the
following day. Wrong! We took a taxi from the airport
to the Ramada Hotel Condado.( taxi was $15 + .50/piece of luggage plus tip.) We arrived in
the Condado area at midnight to realize our hotel
was located on the main party drag. The street (Ashford Ave.) was packed with cars
cruising up and down the strip with music blaring-- we had
arrived at party central. It took probably20 min. to just drive a short distance up the
street to our hotel, traffic was practically at a standstill. (I
don't understand why taxi drivers continue to blow their horns when it obviously does no
good.)We checked into the hotel. The lobby,
restaurant, pool area, etc. seemed fine but the floors above and rooms are very run down.
Dirty, stained carpets, wall paper hanging off the
walls, water stains on thewalls and ceiling. We were on the top security floor so I'd hate
to see how the other floors looked. The room was clean
although quite run down. The bathroom seemed okay but the lights barely worked in there
and we hoped that wasn't intentional. It was close to
1 am by now and we just wanted a place to crash for the night. As luck (or lack thereof)
would have it, we were on the street side of the hotel
as opposed to the beachside so we got to listen to all the traffic andmusic on the street
until after 3 am. When that stopped we were subjected
to a car alarm that went off outside our window everytime a heavier vehicle drove by, that
turned out to be on average about everyhalf hour.
So much for the good nights sleep! The room cost $118 totalfor the night. We found the
hotel through the internet so we had no idea what we
were getting.
Sunday we took a taxi to the "Seaward" at pier one.($12 plus tip)We arrived at
12:50 pm and were onboard by 1pm, it was a quick check-in,
not many people boarding at all. The main reason for this is probably because almost 1/3
of the passengers (from Britain) embark/disembark
in Santo Domingo. Most spend one week in the Dominican Replublic and one or two weeks
cruising. The "Seaward" alternates her route each
week so there were a lot of people onboard for two weeks. We hadn't eaten yet so we headed
to the diningroom for a delicious buffet lunch
(1-3pm), food was also available in the casual dining area from noon until well after
midnight. (The casual dining area was where you could get
lemonade, fruit punch or orange juice anytime of the day throughout the cruise.)Usually
when we first board we run around exploring the
whole ship but having been on the "Seaward" before there was no need to do so. I
thought this would be a disappointment because there
wouldn't be the initial excitement of a new ship but it was actually a neat feeling to
already "know"the ship.We had an outside cabin on deck
two. We had booked the last available outside cabin. Our room was about the same size as
the cabins on RCCL's older class ships and we
know how people complain how small their cabins are. It was fine for two people. There was
lots of storage space (broken up into smaller areas
though) and there was actually too many hangers. There is no safe in the room, valuables
arestored at the pursers desk. There is a hairdryer,
soap, shampoo, conditioner, moisturizer and a shower cap. A 12" tv but no remote
thathas two movie channels, CNN, a channel that shows
port talks,etc. and sometimes a local station. I can't remember if there was a channel
showing the view from the bridge but there usually is. Our
cabin steward was fine. He made the bed up as one the first night and it wasjust the two
beds pushed together with seperate sheets. I was
upset figuring NCL had resorted to Carnival's lazy tactics but the followingday the beds
were made up as one with the king size sheet so it was
probably just a matter of time constraints on the first night.We carried our luggage
onboard, we didn't have to but figured since we arrived
early at the ship it would give us a chance to unpack. While unpacking I decided we would
have to go on a search for a travel iron as our
clothes were very wrinkled. In the past we never seemed to havea problem but this time
that was not the case. We stopped at the tourist
bureau in San Juan right on the waterfront where they were very helpful giving us the
names of stores to check for the iron. Whenreboarding
the ship I was very paranoid the staff would say something as everything goes through the
x-ray machine and I knew irons weren't supposed
to be used in the cabins. Nothing was said and I'm sure I wasn't the only one onboard with
a travel iron. At every port we visited passengers
had to walk through the metal detectors and bags were x-rayed. As for the continual
question of bringing liquor onboard, from what I could tell
it was no problem to bring it onboard in San Juan but at all the ports of call your liquor
was held until the end of the cruise. We spent a couple
hours walking through the oldpart of San Juan and checking out El Morro, they start
closing there at 4:45pm so head there early, we didn't
have as much time as we wouldof liked. Neither of us are that crazy about San Juan, we
just got a negative feel for the place last year, maybe it
just takes getting used to. Before dinner we signed up for two snorkling tours through
NCL's Dive-In program. I got up the nerve to try
snorkling last year in Cozumel on NCL's "Leeward" and was very impressed with
their set-up. I'm a weak swimmer and the fact they give you
the vest to wear anda couple of the divers are in the water with the group is very
reassuring. Dinner was casual open seating (6-10pm) which
makes sense as people were still arriving on the ship. We sailed at 10:20 pm, the
"Seaward" is the first ship to leave. Sailing out of the port at
nightis wonderful. We found a quiet spot at the aft of the ship and it was very romantic
watching the lights on shore slip by. You can also see
the lights of the "Monarch" and "Inspiration" following you out. The
first night there are no real shows, there is the sailaway party, bands
playing in various lounges and the tours ashore talk. Monday we slept in and had breakfast
in the casual dining area. They serve breakfast
until 11am there which is great for us late risers. It is the usual breakfast fare, no
complaints. We were in Santo Domingo from 12-5 pm. There
were a number of British passengers disembarking and embarking but this is done at one end
of the ship while the other passengers use the
gangway at the stern of the ship. The only thing I noticed was some passengers hanging
around in the stairwells waiting to be allowed to
disembark as they had to clear outof their cabins so the stewards could get them ready for
the new passengers. In Santo Domingo we hired a
guide outside the terminal fora walking tour of the old city. The guides there have to
take a special course to be qualified. We had Thomas who
was great but thought we needed a picture of every single thing we saw. And we had to be
in the photos! Oh well it was easier to let him take
the camera and take the picture than argue. 20 photos in Santo Domingo is a little extreme
though. The tour cost $20 for about 2 hours plus
$8 each way for the taxi from the pier to the city and back. That's $36 plus tips, the
ship's walking tour was $26/person. I wouldn't go into the
city without a guide and just walk around, it may be okay but there are so many police and
armed guards everywhere the place doesn'treally
have a safe feel.(Plus without a guide you'd have no idea what you were seeing and where
to go.) However, the locals there did seem quite
friendly and the ones we encountered weren't aggressive at all. You could probably take a
taxi to the main shopping spot (Atarazana) which is
about 2km of shops on each side of a pedestrian street. Santo Domingo is very poor, dirty
and there is garbage everywhere. Notjust litter but
piles of garbage. Lifeboat drill was held before we left Santo Domingo and was really well
organized. All the crew wear bright orange caps
which makes them very easy to identify. Tonight wasassigned seatings for dinner, we had
late seating which we love. We always eat late at
home, usually 8pm so late seating fits our scheduleperfectly. We found our table and to
our surprise we were seated with the exact same two
couples we had dinner with the following night at open seating, now what are the odds of
that?! They were both from Texas and travelling
together. One couple it was their first cruise and the other couple it was their sixth
cruise. (the first five all onthe "Norway") One of the first
questions they asked us was our cabin number and whether we had a lifeboat or a liferaft.
Turns out they were assigned to a liferaft and
decided they would feel safer in a lifeboat so if the ship went down they were going to
claim to be from our cabin and go in our lifeboat. The
lifeboat is lowered to the side of the ship, people get in and then it is lowered to the
water. With the liferafts you throw the raft in and have to
jump into the water and climb into the raft. Terry (my husband who is in the navy)
informed them that the raft lands upside down in the water
and the first people in the water have to flip it right side up before they can even try
to get in it and then they pull others into it. They weren't
told that detail at their lifeboat drill and were even more keen on stealing our lifeboat
should the ship go down. Terry said he preferred the rafts
to the boats anyway, less people inside to controland keep calm. It was quite the humorous
discussion, night two and we were discussing the
ship sinking. Throughout the rest of the cruise our tablemates continued to be very
entertaining and lots of fun. Our waiter and assistant waiter
were great and very friendly and also entertaining. We like NCL food and found the meals
to be quite good but that is a matter of personal
taste. The diningroom had a great atmosphere and we found the staff there as well as
throughout the restof the ship to be very friendly and
they always seemed to be having a good time. A happy crew sets the whole atmosphere for
the ship and the"Seaward" had a great feel to her.
Evening show that night was Kenny James a singer of mostly Motown music who was excellent,
the audience really got into it. Tuesday was a
day at sea. We slept in and just had a lazy day. It was formal night and the Captain's
welcome party. There was a long line to meet the captain,
we just went in the other side and straight for the free champagne. After the party there
was lots of champagne still available and they
encouraged people to take it to dinner with them. The Broadway show that night had plenty
of seats. Many passengers were onboard for two
weeks and probably already saw it. Thelate night comedian was packed, Jim McDonald who was
hilarious. (This was his last week onboard.) The
"Seaward" has a joke of the day box. You put a joke in it and one joke a day is
read before one of the shows by the cruise director. My joke
was read prior to the show that night so we got free drinks from the cruise staff, kind of
nice. We got to chat a bit with the cruise director, Karen
Campbell from Maine,it was her first week as cruise director, she did a great job. That
night was the Chocoholic Buffet, one not to miss.
Wednesday, Barbados 11-7pm .This was our first snorkling trip ($40 each) we signed up for.
If you need towels you get them from yourcabin
steward. They are nice big beach towels and when you return to the ship you give them back
at the gangway and tell them your cabin number.
If you don't return them you are charged a $25 fee. This is something new on NCL but it
seemed perfectly fair to me, I've seen toomany people
in the past just leave towels on the beach and not return them to the ship. We went to
Folkstone Marine Park, there is music andnon-alcoholic
drinks on the way there on the "Bajan Queen". It was good snorkling, not as
colorful and clear as Cozumel but bigger fish. We did have some
rain showers while there that didn't help visibility.We snorkled for two hours, then 1/2
hour of swimming, diving and rope swinging off the boat.
On the way back there was free rum punch and Barbados beer. Terry didn't like either so
just drank coke, I had 1 and 1/2 glasses of rum
punch and was having a great time. (The drinks are about 75% rum and 25% punch). They
teach you some caribbean danceson the way back
and then you make as much noise as possible as you pass the other cruise ships in the
harbour on your way back to the "Seaward". Not as
wild as the "Jolly Roger" tours but lots of fun. They fill everyones glass as
you leave the boat so you have a bunch ofdrunks boarding the
Seaward mid-afternoon all carrying their drinks with them. (no they didn't confiscate our
glasses). A cute touch hanging above the doorway of
the "Seaward" where you board the ship isa wooden "Welcome Home" sign.
We had a Latitudes (repeat cruiser) party to go to at 5 pm so we
didn't do anything besides the snorkling tour in Barbados. The latitudes membership had
allowed us a lower price when booking the cruise, the
Times Fax delivered to our cabin daily and the party onboard. The latitudes party had free
rum punch orwhiskey sours. Poor Terry didn't really
like either but I was back into the rum punch. The winner of the most cruises with NCL had
done eight with them, the cruise director asked what
was their favorite ship and the politically correct answer would of been the
"Seaward" since that was the ship we were on but they promptly
replied the "Norway". It was quite funny. We ate dinner that night at "Le
Bistro" the alternative diningroom. We had been on four previous NCL
cruises and still hadn't tried "Le Bistro" so we figured it was about time.
Itwas nice, small, very romantic and much quieter than the regular
diningroom. The food seemed a bit better than the diningroom as well. Make your
reservations early as it was quite busy. It costs $5/person for
tips. We've always had great tablemates so we enjoy the regular diningroom but "Le
Bistro" is a nice option. We left Barbados that night at
9pm instead of the scheduled 7pm, no reason was given. We were pulled away from the pier
by tugs which were ready to go at the right time
but waited around for awhile and then once they started it took awhile to get us pulled
out. I don't know if this is the regular routine or not for
this port or if the ship was having mechanical difficulties which might explain the
delay.The main diningroom always had a noticeable vibration to
it and was rather loud and I had read ofrumours of engine trouble on previous cruises. We
didn't use tugs at any of the other ports so maybe
there was just less room to manuever in Barbados? We were in bed by 11 am this night which
is really early for us, too much rum punch
perhaps? The Grease musical was tonight. Wesaw and enjoyed it back in 1994 so skipped it
this time. Thursday, Dominica 8-5pm. We went to
Trafalgar Falls last year when we were on the "Inspiration" and enjoyed it. We
had no idea what to do this time around. We probably should
have signed up for a ship'stour but didn't. Ship's tours usually cost more than doing
things on your own but this is an island where it is more
difficult to do your own sight-seeing. (All the taxis want to take you to Trafalgar
Falls.)We walked into town and up the hill aways to Tropic
Crafts. It is muchquieter and nicer once you get away from the tourist bureau and the
craft market behind it. We bought soaps and hand lotion
that is made on the island. My mother-in-law swears it is the best hand lotion she has
ever used. Dominica is a poor island but Roseau (where
we docked) was much cleaner than Santo Domingo. The botanical gardens are within walking
distance from the ship which we also saw last
year. One of ourtablemates went snorkling and there were micro-organisms in the water that
stung people, similar to jelly fish stings, some
people were affected more than others. The guides said it didn't happen often but if the
tides were in a certain direction they were present. All
the people that went snorkling had to be sprayed with vinegar once they got out of the
water and they couldn't shower for a couple hours
afterward because the warm water would reactivate them. I was quite happy it wasn't one of
the snorkling tours we had signed up for, I swell
up like crazy when stung/bit by anything. That night a magican (Tony Albano) entertained,
he was just okay. There was a barbecue on deck for
country and western night. It was very windy. I don't know ifcharcoal barbecues on the
deck of a windy cruiseship are a good idea, just stay
clear of the sparks and if a fire started at least we were near the swimming pools :) The
buffet was good but mostly just your usual barbecue
fare. Friday, Antigua, 8-5pm. We finally got up early enough to make it to breakfast in
the diningroom. All week breakfast was open seating
from 7-9:30 am. There are more choices in the diningroom for breakfastcompared to the
casual dining area. (Although the menu is the same
allweek.) We took a taxi to Nelson's Dockyard on the other side of the island. It is a 40
min. drive each way and slow going in some spots
because there is a lot of road work being done and several detours. Itcost $20 each way by
taxi and the driver did wait for us while we wereat
the dockyard. It cost $2.50 each to get into the dockyard. We had 1/2 an hour there which
we thought wouldn't be enough time but it was.We
were disappointed with the dockyard. It was nice and interesting because the area was
restored but we didn't realize the inside of the
buildings were being used for modern day commercial purposes. (A bank,hotel ,restaurant,
art gallery, etc.) There is a museum that was
interesting. For another $16 we could have gone to Shirley Heights fora view of the area
and surrounding islands but it was raining and cloudy
by then so we didn't bother. For the two of us to do this it was only slightly cheaper
than the ship's tour. We had lunch on the ship and spent
the afternoon shopping. The "Not So Newly Wed" game before dinner was very
entertaining. This was the second formal night and we had the
Baked Alaskan parade in the diningroom. They definitelyneed new speakers in there, the
music sounded pretty bad. I was the designated
dance with the waiter person, actually I was just the closest female to the aisle and he
always grabbed me to dance. The first time he grabbed
me I had my shoes half on,(any female who doesn't wear high heels that often should be
able to identify) but I managed to get up without
tripping, awkward as it was. Any other nightif they started playing music I made sure to
have my shoes on and not have a mouthful of food, just
in case. We skipped the pre-dinner show,having seen a similar one on a previous cruise but
we heard it was a really good show. (Well except
the one time a guy slid on one of the chairs and had the leg of it land on one of the
singers toes, I guess an obvious dirty look was given. The
whole dance team was new onboard and still getting used to the routine.) That night one of
our tablemates brought a bottle of wine to dinner
to share. (There is a $7corkage fee.) There was a funny story to go with the wine. A
couple nights previous she had gotten a phone call while
in the cabin. She was asked by the Captain's representative if she would like to join the
Captain at his table for dinner. She said just a minute I'll
checkwith my husband. She told her husband they were invited to eat at the Captain's
table, was he interested? He said sure and she went
back to the phone and said they would accept the invite. The lady on the phonesaid there
was just one spot at the table and the invite was only
for her. The wife said she would not go without her husband so that was the end of that.
The next day the wine was delivered with apologies
for the mix-up. The strange thing about the call was they asked for her by her maiden name
and she was registered on the ship under her
married name. (Although she had cruised with NCL in the past.) The husband figured the
Captain was "after" his wife and when the Captain
announced at one of the parties that he would soon be transferred to the "Norwegian
Crown" based out of Houston, that's when he really got
worried. That's where he and his wife lived! After dinner we played bingo which is quite
expensive so we try to limit it to once per cruise. ($27/
pack of cards for five games.) No we didn't win, surprise, surprise! Saturday, St. Thomas
8-5:30 pm. We got up early enough to eat breakfast
in the diningroom again, wow two days in a row. However we weren't up early of our own
freewill. Because St. Thomas is part of the U.S. we
had to go through the Immigration inspection at 7:15 am. (This is still better than having
to go through Immigration in San Juan as you have to
be up even earlier when arriving there.) We did our second snorkling trip today to Coki
Beach ($30 each). It was really good, lots of fish and
clear water, better than the snorkling in Barbados. Our group took two open air taxis to
the beach and one ofthe dive-in instructers watched
everyone's stuff that is left on the beach. Coki Beach is a smaller beach than I expected
but most people that go there go for the snorkling or
diving not the beach. We were right beside the old Coral World that was destroyed two
years ago in the hurricanes. They have just started to
survey it for repairs. In the afternoon we shopped in downtown Charlotte Amalie in search
of a new camera since mine had decided to die on
me the previous day. It was acting strange all week but I just thought the batteries were
dying. (By the way, photos onboard cost $6.95 for a
5"x7" and $19.95 for an 8"x10".) As we left St. Thomas we had about 50
seagulls follow us out. They were flying/coasting on the air currents
right along the top railings above the pool and people were feeding them pretzels. They
would take the food right out of your hand. It made
forsome neat photos, good thing I had just got my new camera. They followed us quite aways
out and eventually they dropped out of the air
current and flew off. (Okay it's not as neat as having dolphins following you but it
provided entertainment for awhile.) Around 6:30 pm we were
in the cabin and getting ready for dinner and waiting for room service. (After leaving
each island we would order room service while getting
ready for dinner just to hold us over. Snack foods, usually brownies, ice-cream or potato
chips. It only took 10-15 min. to arrive and we tipped
a couple dollars to whoever brought it.) The ship suddenly got quieter than usual and the
tv went black and then showed a computer rebooting
then went back to the regular programming.My husband immediately recognized the engines
had been shut down. Whenour room service
arrived I asked the delivery guy about it. He said they did this every week because if
they kept going they would get to San Juan too soon so
they just drift for awhile. He said around 2 am they would start the engines up again and
we would head straight into San Juan. I thought this
was strange as I figured someone on the newsgroup that had previously sailed her would of
mentioned this. We weren't concerned though as
everything else seemed to be working. We were just curious about it. Maybe they were just
trying to save fuel instead of cruising around in
circles? The problem with stopping the ship and letting it drift though was it started to
rock a fair bit. Wedidn't mind the motion, in fact we were
watching the reports on CNN ofa tropical storm developing around Puerto Rico and we were
hoping to go through it to feel some motion on the
ship and add a bit of excitement. When the engines shut down one of the couples from our
table were in the casual dining area which is at the
back of the ship.They, more so than us, felt and heard the difference. This was the couple
on their first cruise and when this occurred the
husband insisted they return to the cabin to be near their lifejackets just incase. I
guess he figured that would give them a head start to get to
our lifeboat and leave us with their liferaft :) We went to dinner as usual and the other
couple met us there since the ship by now had
beendrifting for about 2 hours and they figured it was safe to leave the lifejackets. The
wife from the second couple came to dinner but her
husband felt sick from the ship's motion. She said it had taken her forever to get him to
try a different cruise ship after sailing on the"Norway"
five times. Now he had to end up getting seasick on the "Seaward" she'd never
get him on a different ship again. Around 9pm the engines
started up again so the room service delivery guy's story of them starting up again at 2
am was incorrect. Or maybe that was theusual routine
and because of a tropical storm in the area it was too rough to drift this week (although
it wasn't that bad). We never foundout what the
reason was. As soon as the ship started moving again thatsolved the rocking problem and
probably made lots of people feel better. The show
the last night was a combination of the singer, magican and comedian from earlier in the
week. The comedian stole the show with his slide show
of pictures he had taken during the week. Histheory on the cruise was we had just visited
the same island all week and the islanders kept
changing the signs. And since it was dark at night when we sailed we didn't really go
anywhere, we just did circlesaround one island. We
passed in our comment card, thankfully we got nopleas for excellent ratings and the only
crew (besides the cruise director) that even
mentioned the card were the dive-in staff. Our luggage had to be put in the hallway before
2 am. One lady was quite upset that her bag was
somewhere on the bottom of a very large pile ofsuitcases outside the elevators. She was
having a hard time convincingher husband to help
her rescue it from the bottom of the pile. (The pile was almost to the ceiling.)
Sunday--We were supposed to arrive in San Juan at 6am but I
awokeat 3:30 am and we were already docked there. Earlier in the morning we had passed the
"Inspiration" and "Monarch" sailing in what
looked like squares outside of the harbour, just killing time. I thought at first we may
have docked early to avoid any bad weather that might be
in the area. If that were the case though the other two cruiseships probably would have
come in early as well. We had planned to get up for
the second seating breakfast (today was the only day of assigned seating breakfast) but
only awoke when we heard the first announcementat
8 am for passengers to start disembarking. We were supposed to be out of the cabin by 8:30
am. We ate in the casual dining area (only
continental breakfast available this last morning) and then waited in one of the lounges.
We actually wanted to be the last ones off the ship so
we could kill time because we were heading over to the "Monarch" for week two of
our vacation. We waited as long as possible and at 10 am
we got off the ship, the tail end of the last group that was called to debark. It was
pretty easy to find our luggage. We had a wonderful cruise.
Cruising is a lot about expectations. We had been on the ship before so we knew what to
expect. We had heardrumours on the newsgroup
that the ship was getting run down so we wentprepared for this. We found the ship to be
fine, yes there are areas that the carpet needs
replacing and there are signs of wear and tear but the ship is over 9 years old.
Considering that she is doing prettygood in my opinion. My
favourite spot on the ship is on the promenade deck at the front of the ship. The ship has
a promenade deck you can walk all the way around
on and it's located down on deck six close to the water so you can hear the waves. (It
would be much nicer if it were a wooden deck instead of
the blue metal though.) Late at night inthe darkness, watching the water and sky and stars
and listening to the ship's bell softly ringing as the
ship slightly pitches up and down, that's probably my favourite part of a cruise.--Shawna
( Email: tmnet284@istar.ca )
Name: Maury and Theresa Gruben
Email: MTGruben23@aol.com
Age: 31 & 30
Occupation: Financial Analyst & Hair Stylist
NumberOfCruises: 3
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-Seaward
SailingDate: 08/31/97
Itinerary: Southern Caribbean - Exotic
FoodDiningRoom: 89
CruiseDirector: 100
CabinComfort: 89
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 95
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck: 89
DiningRoomService: 89
CabinQuietness: 92
FoodMidnightBuffets: 92
CabinSteward: 82
ShoreExcVariety: 92
FoodVariety: 85
DeckService: 95
ShoreExcValue: 80
GoodForHoneymoon: 92
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService:
TenderService: 95
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff: 95
EntertainmentLounges: 87
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 92
OverallPortsofCall: 95
BeautySalon: 95
EntertainmentPoolside: 92
CruiseActivities: 92
Casino: 90
AirSeaProgram: 80
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 89
EmbarkDisembark: 95
DiscoNightclubs: 92
DeckSpace: 89
Stabilization: 85
ShopsOnBoard: 90
SpaceRatio: 92
OverallCruiseValue: 90
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 20 Sep 1997
Time: 01:15:18
Remote Name: 152.163.195.240
Remote User:
Comments
We have been on the Seaward twice, the first being our honeymoon(Barbados), with two years
between cruises. The itinerary both times were
great, with Santo Domingo being the exception. We highly recommend the rain forest tour in
Martinique. Barbados has a wonderful beach
front at the Hilton, forget Harrison's cave, although the drive around some the island was
nice. Gorgeous water. We went kayaking in St.
Kitts,which was alot of fun. St. Maarten had excellent prices on T-shirts from vendors(3
for $10). Unfortunately, we missed out on St. Thomas
both times due to the hurricane season and re-routes. Do not book your cruise during mid
August thru mid October! It can be a real
disappointment.
We found that the entertainment was wonderful with a great variety. The staff was fabulous
and very friendly. This ship has the best cruise
directors. Last year we went on Royal caribbean and found that it was a bit more glitzy
and fresher looking. The food was good, nothing too
exceptional. This cruise we happened to sit on a small table with just one other couple.
You feel as if your missing out as you look around the
diningroom at others. The difference is significant. We'd recommend requesting otherwise
prior. Our cabin steward did just the basics. The
photography on the ship was very good. We noticed that the ship wasn't as glamorous as we
thought from our first experience. Of course,
being on RCCL didn't help. We definately would recommend this ship for it's great
itinarary, friendly crew and a overall nice atmosphere at a
decent price.
Name: Tracy Sutherland
Email: TMPoodle@aol.com
Age: 31
Occupation: Computer Operations Technician
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-Seaward
SailingDate: 09/21/97
Itinerary: Santa Domingo-Barbados-Dominica-Antigua-St. Thomas
FoodDiningRoom: 89
CruiseDirector: 85
CabinComfort: 82
FoodRoomService: 93
CruiseStaff: 93
CabinAmenities: 91
FoodLidoDeck: 90
DiningRoomService: 96
CabinQuietness: 92
FoodMidnightBuffets: 87
CabinSteward: 85
ShoreExcVariety: 97
FoodVariety: 96
DeckService:
ShoreExcValue: 74
GoodForHoneymoon: 96
CasinoStaff: 92
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 87
TenderService:
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff: 87
EntertainmentLounges: 84
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 83
OverallPortsofCall: 89
BeautySalon: 80
EntertainmentPoolside: 94
CruiseActivities: 97
Casino: 96
AirSeaProgram: 98
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 89
EmbarkDisembark: 98
DiscoNightclubs: 85
DeckSpace: 81
Stabilization: 85
ShopsOnBoard: 80
SpaceRatio: 93
OverallCruiseValue: 93
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 10 Oct 1997
Time: 11:30:49
Remote Name: 199.228.142.5
Remote User:
Comments
This was the first cruise(as well as our honeymoon) for both my husband and myself.
Needless to say we had mixed expectations for our cruising
experience. Let me start by saying that the air/sea program is great. All our transfers
and luggage were handled perfectly and both the embarkation and
disembarkation went extremely fast. Our cabin #2033 was smaller than we expected (of
course) and the beds were more like cots than real beds, yet
they were still reasonably comfortable. The cabin had ample storage space but it was quite
cramped for two people. The layout of the ship is nice, not too
big or too small. The ship seemed to me to be a bit on the run down side although we heard
it was being refurbished in October. We had early seating in
the Four Seasons dining room. The first night being open seating we met two wonderful
people whose company we enjoyed for the rest of our cruise. The
food was abundant in both the dining rooms and the Big Apple Cafe. We usually spent our
mornings in the Big Apple as it has a wonderful view from the
back of the ship and is very charming and cozy. The food in the dining room was
inconsistent in taste and preparation. The most noticable being the so
called lobster tails. They were really not tails, the lobster was split down the middle
and the claws were taken off. Also the meat was very tough and fishy
tasting. One thing not to miss though is the prime rib. I have had some great prime rib in
my life, but this was to die for. It melts in your mouth. The other
food was pretty good for the most part. By the end of the week I found myself ordering
less courses as I always seemed to be full. Believe me, you WILL
NOT go hungry on this ship. The presentation is wonderful and the wait staff including the
bus boys all seemed to have a lot of fun. Our waiter found out
the first night that I liked the wafers that came with the ice cream, so each subsequent
night I found one more wafer in my ice cream than the night before.
As far as the ship board activities and entertainment are concerned, there is more than
enough to do for just about anyone. From napkin folding classes
to bingo to pool games and dance classes everyone should find something that they enjoy.
The only show we went to was the Broadway review and it was
just okay, nothing special at all. The casino was fun. Both my husband and myself ended up
ahead in our wagers. He played the slots and I stuck to the
roulette most of the time. The craps table was almost always completely empty. I was
astonished and asked the croupier. He told me that he thought it was
because most people were either scared or just didn't know how to play. The best thing by
far about our cruise was the snorkeling excursions that we took
as part of NCL's Dive-In program. All of the dive instructors (Dante, Domenick, Collin and
Dean) were stupendous. They were fun, friendly, knowledgeable
and ready to help anyone and everyone with anything. We took the Barbados trip on
Wednesday and the St. Thomas trip on Saturday. St. Thomas' Coki
Beach was the best (especially for first timers like us). It was a gorgeous, white sandy
beach with crystal blue waters clear to about 40-45 feet deep. We
saw beautiful coral as we were right next to Coral World that was destroyed in a hurricane
(but fortunately being rebuilt). The fish were abundant and we
saw many different species. The water at Coki Beach was much more calm than at Barbados.
In Barbados, we took a boat out to the coast and got in the
water far from the beach. The water there was very choppy and the current made it
difficult for us to swim. The dive instructors threw stale dinner rolls in
the water and the large fish went into a feeding frenzy right around you. You really have
to experience it to appreciate it. One of the fish jumped right over
my husband's back. Make sure to go on at least one Dive-In excursion while onboard. You
won't regret it!!!! The other shore excursions we went on were
the Santa Domingo City Tour, Trafalgar Falls in Dominica and Millers at the Beach in
Antigua. The Santa Domingo tour was long and it was very hot and
humid. The city is poor and dirty. Despite this, we still had fun. The buses are air
conditioned and the tour guide was knowledgeable. We enjoyed this tour
for the historical perspective it provided. Sites visited included Christopher Columubus
lighthouse, Diego Columbus' house, The Amber museum and the City
Aquarium, where by the way I talk a guy down from $15 to $4 for a hat made from plantain
leaves. Trafalgar Falls was the second best excursion that we
went on. We had mini buses and went to Symes-Villa, the Botanical gardens, Trafalgar
Falls, and then to Tropicrafts for souvenirs. The walk up to the falls
is through a winding rain forest and it is on uneven steps made of stones and logs. Not
for the weak at heart. Once you get to the falls, you get maybe
about 5 minutes to watch the falls from a viewing platform which is extremely crowded. One
word of caution at Tropicrafts, watch the T-Shirts. We spent
$10 on one and it was 100% cotton and shrank the first time it was washed. The whole
island of Dominica is beautiful and breathtaking, probably the best
scenic island of all the ports. Looks a lot like the movie Jurrasic Park. DON'T go to
Millers at the Beach. This is such total rip off. We spend $29 per person
for the trip, $16 for taxis and $7 for drinks (that weren't included with their drink
coupons). It cost us $81 and we found out we could have gotten
everything that we did for about $35 on our own. The beach is free and the chairs were
2/$12. The lunch of chicken and ribs was okay, but the drinks you
get with the coupons are about 4-6 ozs each. Also, people we getting stung by jellyfish
type things in the water. All things considered this did not make for
an enjoyable excursion. St. Thomas was pretty, but unless you are going to buy jewelry,
liquor or perfume you will probably be disappointed like we were.
We were expecting open markets with things like straw hats, souvenirs, pottery and such
and although you can find it, you can't sneeze without finding a
jewelry store right in front of your face. This island is too commericialized for its own
good, at least the parts we saw. I also had a massage in the beauty
salon. It was nice but for $43 dollars for a 1/2 hour it wasn't worth the money. My
husband gives better back rubs and they are free! One of the nice
lounges we spent time in was Gatsby's on the deck 10. My husband bought Cuban cigars and
seeing that they could not be brought back into the US, he
had to smoke them on board. We had some terrific talks there. It was a very relaxing
lounge.
All said, though we paid a total of $2150 for everything (cruise, air, port charges and
insurance) I think it was a hell of a deal for what we paid. The room
charges add up quick along with the extra $150 or so in tips, so be prepared to fork over
another $1000 at least once you are on board. And that's not
including souvenirs. Oh by the way, we got a $100 bar credit because we were honeymooners.
Have fun, Seaward is a good value and we definitely would
go on a NCL cruise again! The staff were almost always friendly and courteous.
Name: Joan Gerke
Email: jgerke@empnet.com
Age: 47
Occupation: Insurance Agent
NumberOfCruises: 3
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-Seaward
SailingDate: September 1996
Itinerary: S. Caribbean - Aruba
FoodDiningRoom: 80
CruiseDirector: 85
CabinComfort: 90
FoodRoomService: 75
CruiseStaff: 90
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck:
DiningRoomService: 80
CabinQuietness: 95
FoodMidnightBuffets: 90
CabinSteward: 95
ShoreExcVariety: 95
FoodVariety: 80
DeckService:
ShoreExcValue: 70
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff: 85
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 60
LoungeService:
TenderService:
GoodForSeniors: 70
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 75
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 70
EntertShowLounge: 75
OverallPortsofCall: 95
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside:
CruiseActivities: 85
Casino: 85
AirSeaProgram: 90
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 85
EmbarkDisembark: 90
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 100
Stabilization: 90
ShopsOnBoard: 85
SpaceRatio: 100
OverallCruiseValue: 95
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 01 Dec 1997
Time: 23:10:17
Remote Name: 208.205.165.198
Remote User:
Comments
This was our second cruise both on Norwegian. The Seaward is a MUCH smaller boat than most
you will
encounter. The boat was only half filled, which left the staff plenty of time to pamper
us, and they did. It was
interesting talking to the staff about why they were with Norwegian and why they were on a
cruise line. Many of
the staff are from third world countries and the mix of ethniticity is a welcome addition
to the cruise. The cabins
were pretty small so we upgraded to a category A. We had three people in our cabin and it
was cozy. When we
upgraded to the higher category we got a larger room, MUCH more storage space and a large
bath along with a
tub! For the first time cruisers in our group, they thought the food was great. Actually,
it was not nearly as good
as the Dreamward and the quality and variety were not as good. We saw a lot of left overs
recycled in the Big
Apple Restaurant by the pool. This is a great place for informal lunches, breakfast, etc.
Anything goes. It is like a
cafeteria and many of us ate there a lot. Our itinery was FABULOUS. Aruba was wonderful
for snorkeling. We took
a sailing ship to a ship wreck. The water is warm, more fish than I have seen anywhere
else, and it was the most
memorable part of the cruise. However, the people that toured the island were greatly
disappointed because it is
a desert island with no jungle or lush vegetation. If you don't like the water, this is
not the island for you. We then
went to Curacao. It was really beautiful. It has been devasted by many hurricanes and
there are blue tarps on
many roof tops. We went scuba diving - a rush because the stingrays and fish come right up
to you. You also get
to feed the sharks (while in the water) and sea turtles. A quick lesson enables you to go
to the bottom of the
shallow lagoon. Not for the claustrophobic. Good value. Everyone told us to make our
purchases in St. Thomas.
You can get a better deal in Aurba or Curacao. Everyone bargains and the products are the
same almost
everywhere. We are going on our third cruise with Norwegian, our second on Dreamward.
Obviously we enjoy NCL
and heard many people on other cruise lines lamenting their food and accommodations. We
all looked smug.
Name: Chris/Nancy Harvey
Email: cinder@wcnet.org
Age: 30
Occupation: Social Work
NumberOfCruises: 5
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-Seaward
SailingDate: 11/30/97
Itinerary: Exotic Caribbean
FoodDiningRoom: 90
CruiseDirector: 92
CabinComfort: 85
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 92
CabinAmenities: 89
FoodLidoDeck: 93
DiningRoomService: 100
CabinQuietness: 95
FoodMidnightBuffets: 90
CabinSteward: 79
ShoreExcVariety: 94
FoodVariety: 94
DeckService: 85
ShoreExcValue: 85
GoodForHoneymoon: 95
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 82
LoungeService: 94
TenderService:
GoodForSeniors: 89
BeautySalonStaff: 88
EntertainmentLounges: 85
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 88
EntertShowLounge: 95
OverallPortsofCall: 97
BeautySalon: 88
EntertainmentPoolside: 85
CruiseActivities: 92
Casino: 92
AirSeaProgram: 85
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 93
EmbarkDisembark: 98
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 95
Stabilization: 95
ShopsOnBoard: 92
SpaceRatio: 94
OverallCruiseValue: 94
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 27 Dec 1997
Time: 17:03:44
Remote Name: 205.133.171.73
Remote User:
Comments
As the review indicated, this was our 5th cruise, but our first NCL cruise. Overall, we
were very satisfied with the ship and the cruise line.
After a very rocky start (due to plane delays we missed the boat) we arrived at the ship
the second day. The ship staff was very
accommodating and we quickly were able to settle in to our cabin. The cabins storage space
was more ample than some of the other
cruiselines, and the ship was very clean. Compared to other cruiselines, NCL has an
extensive menu for people requirinf special diets (ie low
fat, sugar free, etc.) This was a very refreshing feature for us. Additionally, we
particularly liked the fact that many of the public areas in the
ship were non smoking. The 'Le Bistro' was well worth the experience. Also, we liked the
fact that NCL stresses that comfort over formal
social graces. This resulted in people from all walks of life feeleing comfortable, within
creating a fast food restaurant atmosphere
(pleasantly pampered). The ports of call offered a good variety. We would highly recommend
the 'Discover Dominica' tour and the sea
kayaking in St. Thomas, but would avoid the Jolly Roger pirate cruise in BarbadoS, if one
desires to actual snorkle (they do not even provide
fins!). It is more of a booze cruise than anything else. We had such a good time on NCL
cruislines, that we were planning our next NCL cruise
while onthe way home. Also, check out Latitudes( the repeat cruiser program) it is a great
program, particularly when compared to what
other cruiselines offer. See you on our next NCL cruise.
Name: Gail Schmerling
Email: schmerl@hotmail.com
Age: 48
Occupation: Counselor
NumberOfCruises: 4
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-Seaward
SailingDate: 12/28/97
Itinerary: Southern Carribean
FoodDiningRoom: 75
CruiseDirector: 85
CabinComfort: 80
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 85
CabinAmenities: 80
FoodLidoDeck: 75
DiningRoomService: 80
CabinQuietness: 85
FoodMidnightBuffets: 72
CabinSteward: 80
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 80
DeckService: 85
ShoreExcValue: 80
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 95
TenderService:
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 80
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 85
EntertShowLounge: 85
OverallPortsofCall: 90
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 85
CruiseActivities: 90
Casino:
AirSeaProgram: 90
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 90
EmbarkDisembark: 95
DiscoNightclubs: 90
DeckSpace: 90
Stabilization: 80
ShopsOnBoard:
SpaceRatio: 90
OverallCruiseValue: 90
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 06 Jan 1998
Time: 11:30:36
Remote Name: 205.197.108.9
Remote User:
Comments
Overall this cruise was pretty good. Had we not sailed on Royal Carriben several times
before we probably would have rated this cruise
higher. However the amenities and food and service could not match Royal Carribeans. The
food was so-so. Our dining room service was
good. Our room steward did his job, but added no special touches. The ships entertainers
were good, but the entertainers they brought in
were lacking. The cruise staff were very friendly and helpful. The itinery was good.
Although the stop in Santo Domingo could be left out and
never be missed. I definitely recommend taking one of the tours of Dominica. It's a
beautiful island and worth hiking in the rainforest. Our
tour guide was wonderful.We took the 'Best of Dominica' tour offered by the ship.They get
a lot of rain on Dominica, but the sun stays out, so
there are almost constant rainbows. On Barbados we went to the beach at the Boatyard. It
was very nice and friendlier than the beach at the
Hilton which really doesn't want people other than their guests. Antigua is loaded with
wonderful beaches. This time we went to Runaway
Beach which was delightful. When we docked in St. Thomas we took the ferry over to St.
John. One of the ship's excursions was a ferry over to
St. John. We boarded right where the ship was docked which saved time getting to the
public ferry. Trunk Bay on St. John was beautiful. The
ferry ride over was quite rough, but we loved it. We met wonderful people which helped
make this a wonderful experience. We find if you meet
fun people and make your own good times,any shortcomings on the ship can be overlooked.
We had an early flight home and were concerned about getting to the sirport on time. NCL
took good care of us. They got us off the ship
before any debarkation had started and got us to the airport in plenty of time. In fact,
this was one of the smoothest trips home we ever had.
Name: Marcheta Crouch
Email: Crouch@shelbynet.net
Age: 43
Occupation: Home Care Worker
NumberOfCruises: 3
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-Seaward
SailingDate: November 30, 1997
Itinerary: Southern Caribbean
FoodDiningRoom: 90
CruiseDirector: 95
CabinComfort: 90
FoodRoomService: 90
CruiseStaff: 85
CabinAmenities: 85
FoodLidoDeck: 80
DiningRoomService: 95
CabinQuietness: 95
FoodMidnightBuffets: 90
CabinSteward: 90
ShoreExcVariety: 95
FoodVariety: 90
DeckService: 80
ShoreExcValue: 95
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff: 70
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 85
LoungeService: 80
TenderService:
GoodForSeniors: 80
BeautySalonStaff: 90
EntertainmentLounges: 80
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 85
EntertShowLounge: 95
OverallPortsofCall: 95
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 80
CruiseActivities: 90
Casino: 95
AirSeaProgram: 90
MedicalFacilities: 95
ShipCleanliness: 95
EmbarkDisembark: 90
DiscoNightclubs: 90
DeckSpace: 90
Stabilization: 90
ShopsOnBoard: 80
SpaceRatio: 80
OverallCruiseValue: 90
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 19 Jan 1998
Time: 17:05:53
Remote Name: 206.246.132.144
Remote User:
Comments
This ship was overall a good cruise ship. We went with a large group of friends, 16, and
everyone was mostly pleased with
our week onboard. Our room on the Atlantic deck had a large window, two lower beds that
went together at night to form a
double and two pull-down upper beds. We shared a room with another couple to cut costs. I
don't recommend that! We
were very cramped, but for two people it would have been fine.
The ports of call were all good except for the Dominican Republic. Some of our group went
ashore and were frightened
because of several different people carrying guns, some of them were machine guns.
Dominica was a beautiful Island but
the rainforest that we visited was very crowded on the trails with people standing in line
to see the waterfalls. I recommend
hiring a taxi and asking him to take you to the less popular areas. We took a biking
adventure from the ship on St. Thomas.
I highly recommend that excursion if you are into biking. It was wonderful and we stayed
on a beautiful beach, Magens Bay,
for the afternoon and took our own taxi back to the ship.
The food was good in the main dining room, but the Big Apple Cafe was mediocre and by the
end of the week the fruit was
mostly all gone.
There was enough entertainment to keep us busy but it could have been better if they had
had some big name
entertainment. The dance group onboard were good but we saw them in three different shows
during the week. The dance
band got old, playing the same stuff every night. The cruise director was excellent though
and tried to keep everyone
involved and entertained.
This ship was smaller than our last cruise on the Norway so it was a letdown because there
was not as much variety of
activities and the Midnight buffet was not as large. But, our friends had not cruised
before and loved the ship overall.
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