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Note - this page contains multiple reviews.
Name: Ann Carroll
Email: donaldcarroll@worldnet.att.net
Age: 58
Occupation: Office Manager
NumberOfCruises: 7
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-Windward
SailingDate: September 29, 2000
Itinerary: Hawaii Islands and Fanning Island
Cabin: Cat. A - 6059
FoodDiningRoom: 97
CruiseDirector: 80
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 85
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck: 90
DiningRoomService: 95
CabinQuietness: 90
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 95
ShoreExcVariety: 85
FoodVariety: 90
DeckService:
ShoreExcValue: 80
GoodForHoneymoon: 70
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland: 70
GoodForFamilies: 70
LoungeService: 85
TenderService: 90
GoodForSeniors: 85
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 85
WheelchairAccess: 80
ExerciseFacilities: 80
EntertShowLounge: 85
OverallPortsofCall: 90
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside:
CruiseActivities: 90
Casino: 85
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 95
EmbarkDisembark: 90
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 90
Stabilization: 90
ShopsOnBoard: 70
SpaceRatio: 85
OverallCruiseValue: 95
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 05 Nov 2000
Time: 16:15:26
Remote Name: 229.manchester-03-04rs.nh.dial-access.att.net
Remote User:
Comments
My husband and I chose Deck 6 cabin with picture window but our daughter and her husband chose
Deck 8 with balcony.
Food: dining room service was excellent. George (waiter) and Marcellino - asst. waiter were great on
Table 62 in the Terrace Room. Mr. Hafizi, Maitre D was superb, he checked on every table in his
section every evening. Food was some of the best we have had on a cruise (Radison, Renaissance,
Royal Caribbean and NCL). We ate in the Bistro on the first formal night and the filet mignon was
excellent. Our ticket package had said that Wind had changed to 'freestyle dining and country casual
for dress', however this was incorrect. We ate breakfast on the deck by the Sportsbar and enjoyed
fresh fruit and pastries. A full buffet was available as well as omelets made to order for those that
wanted it.
Cabin: Deck 6, 6059 non-smoking. Knox our steward was great and greeted us by name when he saw
us in the corridor. We have cruised on the Wind before and enjoy the picture window on Deck 6.
Tender Service: Had to tender at Kona and Maui and also at Fanning Island. In rough seas, this could
be a problem and service did have to be suspended at Fanning Island after lunch and only used to
tender passengers back to the ship.
Cleanliness and Space Ratio: Could not find fault with the Wind or its maintenance. When boat was
stretched, the Stardust Lounge was not increased in size and this is a problem of an evening when
there is a good show as it appears not enough space for everyone.
Shipboard Activities: Even with 4 days at sea, there was always something to do on board. A great
Hawaiian lady by the name of June was on board, she taught Hula dancing and arts and crafts. We
made some great leis from nuts, ribbons and on the last day, NCL had some orchid blossom flown in
from Hilo and we made fresh orchid leis. Her classes were full, even she was surprised at the number
of people present, but she was fantastic and NCL provided all of the supplies.
Ports of Call: Hilo and Kona on Hawaii, Lahaina at Maui, Nilliwili at Kauai and Fanning Island. This was
our first visit to Hawaii so it gave us a brief overview of the islands. Fanning Island is very primitive but
we were told about this. NCL is doing a lot of improvements here and according to the Captain when
NCL visits this island on a year round basis, starting in 2002, a lot more improvements will have been
made.
Shore Excursions: Some excursions were very limited in number but outside arrangements can be
made. All of the tour guides we had were very good about their knowledge of Hawaii and their
heritage. Tendering at some ports could present problems if seas rough and depending upon the age
of people on board.
Shops on Board: don't think really purchased anything. Hoped to buy a Wind Hawaii sweatshirt but
because of only 3/4 sailings this year, the shirt was not available.
Embarkation/Disembarkation: no problems. We did a two day pre-cruise stay in Honolulu at the
Radisson Prince Kuhio (very good) and the bus transferred us from the hotel to the dock. We checked
in immediately with the Latitudes table and straight on to the ship. We ate lunch in the Terrace Room
and our luggage was delivered to our cabin. Disembarkation - we waited for our color to be called and
found our luggage very easily. We did our own air arrangements rather than use NCL air/sea
program.
Negative comments: too many groups on board and they took over the public areas quite often -
especially the Observatory Lounge. I think NCL should allow so many groups and restrict the use of
the lounges. On previous cruises, we have enjoyed ballroom dancing but on this cruise, the showband
was nearly non-existant before shows and the other musical groups left much to be desired for
ballroom dancing purposes. The average age on this cruise was definitely senior citizen which did
present some problems in tendering, especially the wheelchair or people with walkers. This also meant
the elevators were constantly full but this didn't affect us since we normally used the stairs. The
exercise rooms are also very small for a ship of this size and on rainy mornings it was very difficult to
find space for group exercises, especially when the Observatory was reserved for private groups.
Final Comment: We thoroughly enjoyed the cruise and will cruise NCL again and have in fact already
booked on the NCL Dream for South America in early 2001.
Name: Bruce Lovell
Email: blovell1496@hotmail.com
Age: 60
Occupation: Retired
NumberOfCruises: 6
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-Windward
SailingDate: November 19, 2000
Itinerary: Panama Canal Repositioning
Cabin: 5208
FoodDiningRoom: 85
CruiseDirector: 85
CabinComfort: 97
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 25
CabinAmenities: 92
FoodLidoDeck: 75
DiningRoomService: 82
CabinQuietness: 2
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 90
ShoreExcVariety: 85
FoodVariety: 80
DeckService:
ShoreExcValue:
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 95
LoungeService: 75
TenderService:
GoodForSeniors: 90
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges:
WheelchairAccess: 95
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge:
OverallPortsofCall: 87
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside:
CruiseActivities: 75
Casino:
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 95
EmbarkDisembark: 99
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 87
Stabilization: 92
ShopsOnBoard: 45
SpaceRatio: 87
OverallCruiseValue: 68
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 08 Dec 2000
Time: 23:08:54
Remote Name: pppa96-resaleboulder1-2r7012.dialinx.net
Remote User:
Comments
I will never cruise on NCL again. This 16-night repositioning cruise (San Diego-Miami via the Panama
Canal) would have been a good experience but for a continuing major noise problem accompanied by a
poor attitude and unwillingness of cruise staff to provide any kind of relief.
Our cabin (5208) was near the forward end of deck 5 on the starboard side. That portion of deck 5 was
above a crew-only area. Beginning about 8 days into the cruise we were subjected to extreme noise
levels from below. Some kind of heavy metalwork was going on with drilling, metal sawing, pounding,
dropping of tools and periodic dropping of very heavy objects causing the whole cabin to shudder. This
work continued for the rest of the cruise (another 8 days or so) beginning about 8 AM every day and
going on well into the evening.
Our attempts to resolve the problem with cruise staff were not fruitful. At first they tried denial,
pretending to be unaware of any noise problem. When they could no longer sustain that (others near us
were also complaining) they said that the work was necessary 'for the safety of the ship'. Maybe it was
and maybe it wasn't, but if the ship was in that bad a shape they never should have taken it out!
At first they told us they could not move us because all the cabins were full. Later they offered to move
us to an inside cabin elsewhere on the ship. Unfortunately my significant other has claustrophobia so
this was out of the question.
When we requested to speak with the Purser or some other person in a higher position we were told we
could not!! This to me was the absolute height of arrogance and that alone would cause me to never
deal with NCL again.
We had booked the trip through Grand Circle as about one-third of the passengers had. Grand Circle
had six of their people on board so we started working with them on the problem. They did manage to
talk with the Purser but got no action. On the final full day of the cruise the NCL staff offered to move us
to an outside cabin which somehow miraculously seemed to be available. At that point we were about to
go ashore in Nassau and we were due in Miami early the next morning so we declined. This came a little
late after suffering this incredible noise for 7 days or so.
We like to take afternoon naps when we cruise. That was utterly impossible. Sleeping late was
impossible. We both had repeated headaches from this noise. I felt that if NCL truly could not solve the
problem then the least they could do would be to offer us some kind of adjustment in the form of
shipboard credit or a discount on a future cruise. We discussed this with the Grand Circle reps and they
agreed to go back to the Purser's staff and see what they could do.
Result: Nada. Zilch. Zip. I couldn't believe how utterly uncaring of their guests they could be. They
screwed up and wouldn't even try to make it right. We will not be cruising on NCL or its new parent, Star,
again.
Now, some comments on other aspects of the cruise (Other than that, Mrs Lincoln, how did you like the
play?):
Embarkation and Debarkation were excellent, the best I have ever experienced. The cabin (aside from
the noise problem) was the best I have ever had. I loved the little sitting area. I did not like the duvets on
the bed. It was too hot most of the time at night and with a duvet you can't turn down layers as you can
with a conventional sheet and blankets, it's all or nothing.
For the first half of the cruise we were chronically late arriving in ports. Also, the air conditioning was
completely off on two nights in all cabins making it very hard to sleep. The rest of the time the
temperature in the cabin ranged from a little too warm to uncomfortably hot even though the control was
turned all the way down. When people complained the mornings after the absence of any A/C, staff lied
and said it broke down but would be fixed soon.
I had already figured out there was a connection between the lack of A/C and the late arrivals in port. I
am an engineer and I had a GPS unit and frquently checked our postion and speed. I knew we were
going to be late long before they told us. At Puntarenas, Costa Rica we could look out our window and
see everything being loaded on the ship. The ship left an hour or two late and from the activity on the
dock it was obvious they were waiting for something very critical. Finally a truck came bearing four very
large and heavy parts which were quickly inspected by ship's engineers and brought on board. Next
morning we were miraculously going considerably faster than ever before and still had A/C.
I finally verified through one of the Grand Circle guys that one of the engines was not functioning
properly until they got the parts. It was then obvious they had turned off the A/C at night those two
nights because there was insufficient power to run it without losing additional speed and arriving in port
even later. After the second night the complaints were so bad they backed off and elected to leave the
A/C on and arrive later still in port.
Rather than lying to people they should have owned up to the problem; on any cruise with 1600 people
of diverse background and life experience, someone is going to figure it out and spread the word. Poor
public relations.
Another thing I didn't like was the fact that all the time it seemed like they were trying to sell something
that cost extra. Very aggressive marketing. The daily ship's paper was little more than a list of things all
of which cost extra. At meals they took up valuable table space by putting two large bottles of water on
each table that cost extra. I never saw anyone drink it, there was nothing wrong with the regular water
they served. They said they would be selling bottled water at the gangway during shore excursions so I
bought a bottle before I got off once. I thought it would be the same large (one liter?) bottle I had seen in
the dining room but found it was a tiny half-liter (1.05 pint) bottle for which they charged $2.00! That
works out to about $16 a gallon or about 8 times the price of the most expensive gasoline in the US!!
Talk about price gouging! Everyone should take empty bottles and fill at their bathroom sink or on the
Lido before going on shore excursions.
The day we went through the Panama Canal they announced they would be selling ice cream bars on
deck. I thought all food items were supposed to be included in the price of the cruise. False
advertising??
I know that to some extent all cruises are pushing extra-cost items but I have never seen such an
extreme case of it as on this cruise.
Also, until very recently I believe, there was no extra charge to dine in Le Bistro, although they
suggested a $5 per person gratuity. Well, they are now charging $10 per person to be added to your
shipboard account if you eat in Le Bistro. I suppose they also expect the $5 gratuity in addition. We did
not eat there because of this as a matter of principle. I was gratified to see that it never looked like more
than a very few people were eating in Le Bistro.
Now, on a more positive note, the Panama Canal Transit was fantastic. I had never been through it
before and it was everything I was expecting and more. There were plenty of places on the ship to get a
good view.
In the credit-where-credit-is-due department: There were not many children on this cruise due to the
length and timing but I could see they had an excellent program for children. I passed by the children's
area numerous times and they were always well-supervised and having fun without being rowdy. The
two girls I saw running this program did a great job. One day they got the kids all decorated up in
costumes and took them on a parade around the ship. Normally I don't care much for that kind of thing
but this was well done and enjoyed by the kids and the passengers alike.
One final note: NCL has one super-excellent employee, Beatrice Moine from France, who is an assistant
maitre'd. The other assistant maitre'd's did little or nothing but she worked hard and made sure the wait
staff did their jobs, helping them when needed. She was not afraid to get her hands dirty. She visited
every table every meal in her area and her customer relations skills are wonderful. Her appearance and
demeanor were impeccable. Even when she was scraping dirty plates into a bin she somehow managed
to look elegant. She was an outstanding bright spot on this cruise and I hope NCL realizes her value
and acts accordingly.
Name: Sid Hoover
Email: hooversid@netscape.net
Age: 79
Occupation: Real Estate Broker
NumberOfCruises: 2
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-Windward
SailingDate: Noverber 19 2000
Itinerary: Panama Canal
Cabin: 6249 A
FoodDiningRoom: 80
CruiseDirector: 90
CabinComfort: 100
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 80
CabinAmenities: 100
FoodLidoDeck:
DiningRoomService: 100
CabinQuietness: 90
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 90
ShoreExcVariety:
FoodVariety: 100
DeckService:
ShoreExcValue:
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService:
TenderService:
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges:
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 100
OverallPortsofCall: 100
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside:
CruiseActivities: 100
Casino:
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 90
EmbarkDisembark:
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace:
Stabilization:
ShopsOnBoard: 80
SpaceRatio:
OverallCruiseValue: 100
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 26 Dec 2000
Time: 19:07:41
Remote Name: adsl-208-191-192-148.dsl.rcsntx.swbell.net
Remote User:
Comments
Panama Canal - Norwegian Wind - November 19 - December 5 We had a wonderful cruise. No negatives.
Everything first rate. We couldn?t ask for more.
We boarded the ship for lunch and a tour of our home away from home on Sunday 11/19. Our stateroom was
on deck six, about two decks off the water. There are twelve total. There was plenty of storage space, a
bathroom with a small shower that we nearly enjoyed when we figured how to handle the spray wand. There
was a combination lock safe in the closet. We were assigned a interesting window seat for dinner each night.
It was a table for two on a circular wall that extended out over the side of the ship. Unfortunately, it was close
to dark many nights when dinner is served at 6:00 p.m.. We could eat in any of four other restaurants for
breakfast and lunch. We shared tables with a bunch of other guests. All but one were good companions. We
had a well trained waiter and bus boy. They anticipate your every wish without interfering with your
conversation. They are remote, yet very friendly. As are many of the crew, he is from the Philippines. He
works for eight months a year without a day off, from 06:00 am until 10:00 p.m.. It is one of the few times that
we enjoyed leaving a generous tip.
The TV in the stateroom had maybe ten channels, half were about ship activities. There were two movie
channels and CNN was the only real contact with the world. One channel had a picture of a chart with the
location of the ship. You could check out the name of the next island , lighthouse etc.
The other guests looked like it was a seniors cruise, average age about 65. 535 were booked by one travel
agency . Nearly 400 were from England, possibly 100 from Canada. The ship said they were sold out which
would total 2,030 passengers and 900 crew. We suspect that they sold 1,800 and let the crew stay in some of
the inside cabins.
Some small dolphins followed alongside our window for a few minutes on the first day at sea. Most of the way
to Mexico the sea barely had a wave. The first day with possibly seven foot waves was on the way to Aruba
and again possibly ten foot waves from the stern as we moved north across the Caribbean towards Cuba. We
slowed down a bit and took some pills, but only passed up one meal. We went to hour long classes each day
we were at sea, crafts and photography. Both the instructors were excellent. We understand that some
receive a free cruise. At any one time there are a number of activities going on, something for everyone.
We took bus tours in two of the Mexican Ports. Puerto Vallarta hasn?t changed much and not to the better.
The harbor at Manzanillo has been improved to a modern container port. Everywhere we looked there are
new buildings, active plantations, and a prosperous appearance. It is the principal west coast port for Mexico.
Acapulco is even more crowded than we remember and has lost whatever charm it might have had.
For the next two nights and one day we adjusted to the at sea routine. We got a glimpse of Costa Rica on a
bus tour to a inland valley about two hours away from the sea. Every patch of land is cultivated, mostly coffee
and bananas. The climate is nearly ideal away from the ocean this close to the equator. Their is little change
summer to winter yet it does cool at night at higher elevations. We saw enough that we would like to see more,
especially the capital city San Jose. It would have been four hours from the ship. The first group of
entertainers flew home from Costa Rica. They had put on a professional show every night plus many specialty
acts. The second group did a good job and stayed the rest of the trip.
The BIG event was the crossing of Panama. The ship had a reservation to start at 06:30 a.m., Wednesday,
November 29. We went under a high bridge near Panama City that is the Pan-American Highway and entered
the first locks with two that raised us about 60 feet. We motored about a mile over a lake to a second lock that
raised us about another 25 feet , a total of 85 feet above sea level. This second lock was the one in the photo
in the live web site. . Fortunately the clouds were overcast, making the temperature comfortable but very
humid. We were told it is miserable when the sun is out. We were on one deck or another the 25 mile trip on a
large lake before we got to the locks on the east coast that had three locks to take us down the 85 feet. There
were eight ships waiting their turn. Without reservations it can take 48 hours. There were twenty five more
ships in the Atlantic waiting to enter. It took nine hours total from sea to sea. The ship paid a $136,000 fee.
We didn?t know what to expect about Aruba. I have heard it described as an ideal destination. It turns out that
they have about 600,000 visitors each year via air and 250,000 by cruisers. It is one huge tourist trap with
dozens of large, expensive hotels. Strangely, the weather is dry and windy. About 17 inches of rain a year.
The prevailing wind must be from the west which is Venezuela only 15 miles away. Aruba is a Dutch territory.
and is actually east of New York and one time zone ahead.. I best review my geography. We steamed 60
hours north west past Cuba and Puerto Rico to the Bahamas. It rained much of one day and the sea was
pretty rough. We were scheduled to spend Monday at a private island in the Bahamas, but because of the
wind we spent the day in Nassau. I never thought I would spend the money to go there, but we saw the high
lights and it was o k. I didn?t know it belonged to the British. They drive on the left side of the streets. Two
other cruise ships were in town when we were. The town and 180,000 residents look to tourist for their living. I
knew I could not express all the experiences and excitement we had or how much fun we had sharing it. We
are both delighted that we took the time while we both were reasonably healthy.I was told that we traveled a
total of about 4,500 miles by boat. At 20 miles per hour that's 225 hours. We enjoyed every minute of it. Sid
Hoover
Name: william Lashley
Email: william_l_45429@yahoo.com
Age: 48
Occupation: fiscal officer
NumberOfCruises: 15
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-Windward
SailingDate: 12-16-00
Itinerary: exotic caribbean
Cabin: 8254
FoodDiningRoom: 95
CruiseDirector: 99
CabinComfort: 85
FoodRoomService: 85
CruiseStaff: 97
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck: 90
DiningRoomService: 99
CabinQuietness: 95
FoodMidnightBuffets: 95
CabinSteward: 95
ShoreExcVariety: 80
FoodVariety: 90
DeckService: 90
ShoreExcValue: 75
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff: 75
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 85
LoungeService: 85
TenderService: 60
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 85
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 90
EntertShowLounge: 97
OverallPortsofCall: 100
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 85
CruiseActivities: 90
Casino: 85
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities: 95
ShipCleanliness: 90
EmbarkDisembark: 85
DiscoNightclubs: 80
DeckSpace: 80
Stabilization: 90
ShopsOnBoard: 90
SpaceRatio: 80
OverallCruiseValue: 90
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 02 Jan 2001
Time: 12:30:30
Remote Name: 63.85.12.108
Remote User:
Comments
We took this cruise for two reasons one we enjoy NCL and two we wanted to climb on Mayan sites. If you are
looking for a cruise that offers value for your dollar this is it. We have been on others - carnival, Royal Craib
etc. and they all have good points but for your dollar spent you get a lot with NCL. The high points first. The
crew was very friendly and went out of the way to please you. Not only did our waiter Renado learn all our
names the first day, he got to know what we wanted and was really ready to have our food out in a hurry. -
also a complaint that others have had about the portions not being as big as other ships. If we wanted more
we just asked. The cabin stewart - Mae was in our room when we werent and always available if we needed
him. The ship was clean and the staff was always working on keeping it up. One of the nicest things that
happened on this ship was that the captain - Paul was out and about. We saw him almost daily and he always
took time to talk to the passenger and answer any questions they might have. Also the cruise director - Rich
was on another boat we were on when he was just starting out. Again he was always availble to the
passengers. I have nothing but the highest praise for the staff of the wind.
The food was good. Always something on the menu that everyone liked. we had a large group and can be
hard to please. The deck food and the food in the sports bar is just what you think it would be. Still it was good
and as much as you wanted. Room service is available 24 - 7 and the pizza was good. Lots of kids and lots of
pizza served on our trip. A tip for people who havent been on NCL befor - after you check into your room and
go around the ship be sure to go to one of the dining rooms for a sit-down lunch. deck food is deck food.
The ports of call on this go around are the real reason we went - Caymans -ok but not want you would think.
To many people in a small port town with other boats in port also. Roatan - good snorkling but a real shock to
many. You must take an excersusion nothing in the port. we checked with the crew and they recommended a
guy who rounds up people at the docks and takes them to his restaurant and swiming area - his name was
Paul David, very interesting to talk to and a nice place to swim and sit on the north side of the island Belize
City - Alata Ha - the mayan site was breathtaking and you can still climb on them. Most places have been
closed to exploring but this one might have the same no climbing rules soon Cozumel - This use to be one of
my top ports but it is suffering from the westernization of the port. To many outside firms are driving the locals
from the prime real estate to the back roads. Check down the little roads for the best deals on handmade
goods and local flavors.
The only two bad points getting on the boat was not as smooth as in the past. Latitude members were getting
on after people who were not members they should be sure to take care of their past cruisers first. Also the
tenders into cayman was terrible. We used lifeboats with ships crew driving. The one we were on backed the
life boat into the ship and knocked out the back window. They when we got to port he could not tie up at the
dock. I don't think the kid had ever driven a boat.
Would i take this boat again. in a heartbeat - but NCL is sending this boat to Asia - just when you find another
good ship and crew.
Name: Jan Hirshberg
Email: j.hirshberg@worldnet.att.net
Age: 52
Occupation: Senior Developer (computer)
NumberOfCruises: 14
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-Windward
SailingDate: December 23, 2000
Itinerary: Western Caribbean
Cabin: 8268 / P1
FoodDiningRoom: 80
CruiseDirector: 85
CabinComfort: 71
FoodRoomService: 80
CruiseStaff: 82
CabinAmenities: 71
FoodLidoDeck: 80
DiningRoomService: 82
CabinQuietness: 90
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 80
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 85
DeckService:
ShoreExcValue: 75
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 81
LoungeService: 85
TenderService: 90
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges:
WheelchairAccess: 81
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 90
OverallPortsofCall: 85
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside:
CruiseActivities: 83
Casino:
AirSeaProgram: 75
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 82
EmbarkDisembark: 85
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 80
Stabilization: 75
ShopsOnBoard: 75
SpaceRatio: 80
OverallCruiseValue: 80
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 10 Jan 2001
Time: 16:23:24
Remote Name: 41.jacksonville-01-02rs.fl.dial-access.att.net
Remote User:
Comments
This is a review of our cruise on Norwegian Wind December 23, 2000 through December 30, 2000. This
cruise went to Key West, Roatan (Honduras), Belize and Cozumel and was fully booked. Please note that after
the Wind completes its 2001 Alaska and Hawaii cruises, it is going to be repositioned in the Far East.
We have been on a total of 14 cruises; three of these have been on NCL. This is the first time we traveled
with other people. The other group included family members: two adults and one teenager; these people had
not cruised recently. Our overall rating is good, although we wished we could rate it higher. We have tried to
discount factors that are outside of NCL’s control.
Norwegian Wind is a ship that was stretched in 1998 to nearly double the number of passengers that it can
accommodate. While this enlargement appeared to increase the size of the Four Seasons Restaurant, there
was little impact on the other public areas. Prior Internet reviews have indicated that the increased
passengers have put a strain on public areas. We saw no problems, but a family member did report that
finding a vacant deck chair on the upper deck was difficult. We were informed that the Wind is going into
dry-dock very shortly to increase the size of the back pool area and to add another outside restaurant.
Stateroom: We routinely book larger outside rooms or rooms with verandahs. On the Wind, we had a ‘P1’
cabin – called a Penthouse Suite. This is only one category below the Owners Suites. Our comments are
based on comparable class rooms on Carnival, RCI and Princess.
We felt our stateroom was very disappointing. Not only was it small (199 square fee including the ‘verandah’),
it was not designed for passenger comfort. The cabin door, the bathroom door and the closet doors all
intersect at one location. Only one person could be moving in that area. The cabin was only approximately
two feet wider than the bed. The three other lines mentioned had an in-room bar and plenty of counter space.
Our stateroom hand a tiny desk and tiny coffee table.
The bathroom, quite frankly, was disgraceful for this cabin class. It was exactly the same layout and size as in
the lowest class on the ship. We were hitting our elbows on the walls and one of us could not even stand
inside. The bathroom did have a built in hairdryer.
While NCL wants to economize on ship space, it needs to be very careful about what it is selling as a suite. It
simply does not fare very well against its competition. We learned that a couple booked two Owner’s Suites for
$24,000. They were also extremely unhappy.
We expect our plumbing in the stateroom to work; this is non-negotiable. There is a very serious plumbing
problem on the Wind. The toilets intermittently fail to work. We called the help number, and it’s hard to say if
anything was done. The problem persisted and was not isolated to our category of stateroom. Our family
members on the fourth deck reported the same problem. There was also the smell of sewage in the stairwells
at various locations in the ship.
Cabin service was good, not great.
Perks with a Penthouse Suite: Like the other cruise lines, you are provided with free bathrobes. These
appeared a couple of days into the cruise and disappeared a couple of days before the end. There was a
bottle of champagne in an ice bucket the first day, and one tray of fruit. Because of the space problems, there
was really no room for the fruit.
A butler service was available for our class of rooms. We made only one request – book a reservation in the
alternative restaurant. That request was not done properly.
Change in NCL Ownership: Star Cruises is now the parent company of NCL and is transitioning to Freestyle
cruising. What happened on our cruise was that many of the experienced staff are overwhelmed with training
large numbers of inexperienced persons. This is particularly apparent in the dining room.
Dining Service: The Wind has three ‘regular’ dining rooms and one alternative dining room, LeBistro. It
appeared to us that the same menus were served in all the regular dining rooms. We were assigned the Four
Seasons and found it to be one of the best dining rooms we’ve seen. We sat a small table near a window. We
also had lunches in the Terraces and enjoyed it.
Our cruise was a transition to Freestyle cruising. The breakfasts were buffet and lunches were served or
buffet. We did not go to any of the ‘midnight’ buffets nor were these publicized very much.
The quality of the food for our group was comparable to RCI and Princess. We felt that the presentation was
excellent; the food looked nice on the plate. However, there were considerable service problems largely due
to the new staff. The Wind has a real problem with food temperature in the dining rooms and especially on the
buffets. Our Christmas dinner was ruined by poor service. The food was cold because it sat out a long time,
and ordered courses were not served. There was no apology for the skipped course and no attempted
correction. There were problems within the group about improperly cooked food.
These problems were not the fault of the waiter, who is extremely experienced. He had an assistant waiter who
had no experience. When you asked for ketchup, he dumped half a bottle on your plate. There were many
crashes from dropped dishes. Wine service was very spotty, although the maitre-d’ did try to improve the
service.
Le Bistro: The alternative dining on Wind is not a success, as the room was never fully booked during our
cruise. There is a $10 per person additional charge. Le Bistro’s menu is a subset of the regular menu with
one ‘special’. We went to Le Bistro to celebrate a birthday. Service was o.k., but there was a real ‘attitude’
when one filet was undercooked. The ‘special’ was a tasteless chicken breast. At the end of the dinner, we
were informed that the ‘specials’ were never any good. That statement is correct.
Entertainment: The Wind had a show every night. There are singers and dancers (the Rand group) and
comics. There were three production shows, including Smokey Joe’s Café. We felt that these were well
staged, and the performers did a good job. It should be noted that the showroom is on a ship built in the early
1990’s. There is a real visibility problem between poles and the lack of true stadium seating. It appeared that
there was enough seating at all shows.
Tours: We went on various tours every place except Cozumel. We enjoyed Key West and Roatan. The tour in
Belize to Altun Ha was extremely uncomfortable, and there are no reasonable tourist rest facilities.
There were some problems in managing the tours. First, we booked group tickets as soon as we were on the
ship. Only one set of tickets was delivered to us. The others were ‘lost’. We had a weather problem in Belize:
there was dense fog. NCL felt it was unsafe to tender until the fog cleared. That is a correct decision.
However, they made everyone wait in the showroom for two hours until it was safe to tender. Two hours is a
sizeable investment of our vacation time, and this was not fun.
Embarkation: We are Latitudes members and were checked in within five minutes and were on the ship
around 12:00 p.m.
Reservations: We had a lot of trouble with NCL over our reservations. Our travel agent must have called NCL
12 times to get this fixed. In addition, the tickets were not delivered on a timely basis.
Name: Larry Berger
Email: bialy@bellsouth.net
Age: 54
Occupation: Government Logistician
NumberOfCruises: 5
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-Windward
SailingDate: Jan 6, 2001
Itinerary: Western Carib (Grand Cayman/Roatan/Belize/Cozumel
Cabin: Cat F Cabin 4210
FoodDiningRoom: 70
CruiseDirector: 95
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService: 70
CruiseStaff: 90
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck: 80
DiningRoomService: 80
CabinQuietness: 85
FoodMidnightBuffets: 90
CabinSteward: 95
ShoreExcVariety: 85
FoodVariety: 80
DeckService: 85
ShoreExcValue: 85
GoodForHoneymoon: 85
CasinoStaff: 85
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 95
LoungeService: 90
TenderService: 90
GoodForSeniors: 95
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 100
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 90
EntertShowLounge: 100
OverallPortsofCall: 95
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 85
CruiseActivities: 85
Casino: 85
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities: 95
ShipCleanliness: 90
EmbarkDisembark: 100
DiscoNightclubs: 90
DeckSpace: 85
Stabilization: 90
ShopsOnBoard: 90
SpaceRatio: 85
OverallCruiseValue: 90
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 14 Jan 2001
Time: 23:47:27
Remote Name: host-216-77-217-49.fll.bellsouth.net
Remote User:
Comments
We booked this cruise to join my uncle for his 80th birthday. There were 18 of us - and when the cruise was
booked, six months prior to sailing, my uncle requested that we all be assigned to the Terrace (rear) dining
room. We were not assigned to that dining room and ate in the forward dining room. Although we were given
two adjacent tables, they were on different levels separated by one step and a railing which required walking
appx 50 feet to get from table to table.
Check in was very pleasant, and in fact, simple - we were in our stateroom within 15 minutes. The room
proved to be quite comfortable with two beds placed together to create a near king size sleeping platform.
The room was not crowded and we were amazed that we could fit all of our large luggage under the bed.
Sailing from Miami was over 1 hour late.
Dining had not gone to freestyle (although it soon will) so we were assigned to early seating in the forward
dining room (i already forgot the name of the dining room). Our dining staff, Marcello and Mohammed Ali,
were the best. They were attentive and responsive to all of our needs. The only problem was that since
breakfast and lunch were "open seating" these meals were served by other staff members who were must less
than attentive. It showed that since our tips were not going to make it to these people, they really didn't care.
Very little attention was given to personal preferences - and, in fact, we had one server pour decaf coffee
from a pot, then, when asked for regular coffee, use the same pot to pour coffee. The same kind of situation
occured when you asked for sugar free ice cream, it was always a guess what you were really being served.
This may e the result of the language barriers between the foreign staff and passengers.
Food quality was not stable. One dinner included a lamb shiskebob which, when served proved to be no more
than pieces of lamb meat loaf speared on a skewer. Overall, food quality was mediocre - overly spiced and
salted in many cases. Even our head waiter, who was temporarily assigned to the ship from the Norway,
stated that many of the food items were of lesser quality than was served on the Norway.
The ship was going to drydock at the end of our cruise - and it appeared that they did not take on a full load
of provisions for this sailing. By thursday they had run out of diet coke, strawberries, yoghurt, regular iced tea
and god knows what else. My wife who was is diabetic was served pre-mixed sweetened iced tea. Similarly,
she was served regular ice cream instead of sugar free. This occured during the entire week of sailing and it
became a standing joke among us since the differences between the two ice creams was quite obvious.
Criuse activities and entertainment was great - although the trip to Roatan was far from exciting. The Cruise
Director had it all together and was a pleasure to have on board.
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