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Note - this page contains multiple reviews.
Name: Pat & Sonja M.
Email: webmaster@cruiseopinion.com
Age: 29, 32
Occupation: Business owners
NumberOfCruises: 25
TravelAgent: Yes
Ship: NCL-Windward
SailingDate: 10/01/99
Itinerary: 11-day Hawaii
Cabin: Deluxe outside
FoodDiningRoom: 83
CruiseDirector: 92
CabinComfort: 91
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 92
CabinAmenities: 89
FoodLidoDeck: 90
DiningRoomService: 94
CabinQuietness: 88
FoodMidnightBuffets: 85
CabinSteward: 95
ShoreExcVariety: 92
FoodVariety: 90
DeckService: 90
ShoreExcValue: 75
GoodForHoneymoon: 25
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland: 0
GoodForFamilies: 25
LoungeService: 90
TenderService: 79
GoodForSeniors: 88
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 82
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 85
EntertShowLounge: 81
OverallPortsofCall: 995
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 90
CruiseActivities: 83
Casino: 85
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 91
EmbarkDisembark: 97
DiscoNightclubs: 81
DeckSpace: 94
Stabilization: 89
ShopsOnBoard: 85
SpaceRatio: 92
OverallCruiseValue: 82
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 12 Nov 1999
Time: 07:59:01
Remote Name: ts002d33.lan-mi.concentric.net
Remote User:
Comments
Norwegian Wind 10 day Hawaii cruise, 10/01/99
This was a greatly anticipated trip for us, as home remodeling and other events had
prevented us from taking any
cruises for quite a long time. We were ready to get away, and our last experience in
Hawaii was fantastic.
After a long flight, we arrived about 3pm local time and breezed through embarkation in
5-10 minutes. While not having
the "wow" factor of a grand atrium, the lobby area was very nicely presented
with a display of fruit carvings and a lei
greeting for all passengers.
Rather than detail each day of the trip, I'll do our usual analysis of just describing
what in our view were the highlights
and lowlights of the trip. If you're the type that wants to skip to the end, I'll
summarize by saying it was a good cruise
overall. Not fantastic, but a good experience at a hefty premium price over a comparable
Caribbean trip.
Positives:
The service in the dining room (even at open seating meals, which were most breakfasts and
lunches) was great. The
servers are truly friendly, funny, and working hard to please. The cruise staff were also
excellent and very helpful. Our
cabin steward was great, and almost invisible.
They did a couple neat things related to the Hawaiian itinerary. First, they brought a
Hawaiian lecturer aboard, which
was hugely popular. She gave talks on Hawaiian traditions, classes in grass skirt making,
hula, etc. Also, they had a
Hawaiian dance group named Tihati on board for the entire trip. They were very
entertaining and talented, and they
were truly nice to speak with off stage.
There were a couple evening deck parties with themed buffets which were done very nicely.
The outdoor, b-b-q buffet
quality was very good. Also, many days at sea there was an outdoor lunch buffet which
served great grilled ribs, fish,
and burgers.
There was a great choice of shore excursions on the different islands, and pricing was
average. For example, in Hilo
you could take a bus tour to Volcanoes national park for approx. $70/pp. While this tour
included a lecturer and lunch at
the park, we were able to rent a car for about $35 and pay $10 admission to the park to do
the same thing. The staff
gave honest, informative port talks that were for the most part (except for plugging Hilo
Hattie's) free of sales pitches.
Karen was an excellent cruise director. She's one of the only ones we've seen that was
actually involved with and
speaking to passengers outside of formal functions. She was dancing with several of the
little old men during the
evening deck parties!
There was plenty of deck space for sunning, and many pools and jacuzzis available for our
enjoyment.
Now for the negatives:
The worst part of all was the scheduled four days at sea, that turned into five days at
sea. Five out of eleven days
seemed to most on board, including us, as a big waste of time. We would have strongly
preferred to spend those days
in port on Hawaii. Now, this is not really NCL's fault - the Jones Act requires it.
Everyone on board agreed this is an
antiquated law that needs to be changed right away. Basically, it states that a foreign
registered ship can't pick up and
drop off passengers in a US port without a stop in a foreign country. Thus, the scheduled
stop at NCL's private island,
which required four days round trip at sea for a 6 hour scheduled stop. Think of the fuel
wasted for this!
Unfortunately, there were many very elderly passengers on board and a couple became very
ill. This required that we
go to Christmas island rather than the private island, as Christmas had a landing strip
large enough to get a coast
guard plane in to rescue the ill passengers. When we finally arrived there, the tide was
too low to tender in, so we had
to turn around and sail back to Hawaii - a total of five days wasted at sea. Now don't get
us wrong, we love a day or two
at sea. But to have traveled all this way to Hawaii and have almost half the trip spent no
in the islands seemed to most
on board like a monumental waste.
The food quality, while excellent in Le Bistro (we ate there four nights) was hit or miss
in the dining room. Some entrees
were very good while some were very bland.
There were some plumbing problems, as our toilet was inoperative from time to time during
the trip.
The overall look and feel of the ship was nice, but in no way awe-inspiring. There was no
"wow" factor like you have on
many new ships.
The entertainment and activities were geared primarily to the 60+ age group, which I guess
is to be expected with the
demographic of most passengers that can afford the time/expense of a more exotic
itinerary. But there was not a whole
lot to do for the 18-35 age group, as far as evening activities are concerned.
We arrived in almost every port late. This meant in several cases we only had 6-7 hours in
that port. When most ports
were so close together, why couldn't we have arrived at 6-7 am each day and had longer to
enjoy the island, rather
than beginning debarkation at 10-11am on some days (and having to be back on board by
5pm).
Hawaii in general:
We still love it there. We can't comment on the ship excursions as we again rented a car
in each port and went out on
our own. The big island is still our favorite - beautiful and largely undeveloped. In
Kauai we visited Waimea canyon -
what an awesome sight. And we hiked down to get a great view of the Na'Pali coast. It was
just breathtaking. Also, in
Kona we drove up to the Hilton Wailooka. What a phenomenal property, with Venice-like
canals running through the
grounds and little gondola boats to take you around. They also do the "swimming with
dolphins" adventure from this
resort.
Overall, it was a great getaway primarily due to our love of Hawaii. The ship was good,
not great. Some cruises we take
where the ship is the destination, some where the destination is the destination. This was
the latter. The good
experience was somewhat tempered by having to spend almost half the trip at sea, when most
passengers would have
greatly preferred having those days to enjoy in Hawaii. And this was a fairly expensive
trip - it's hard to say if it was
worth two to three times an average 7-day Caribbean cruise. For the wonderful experience
of visiting Hawaii, yes. But
for the ship itself, no.
Name: Clay Caldwell
Email: gonole1972@aol.com
Age: 49
Occupation: Financial Planner
NumberOfCruises: 7
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-Windward
SailingDate: 8/2/99
Itinerary: Alaska
Cabin: Outside Suite
FoodDiningRoom: 90
CruiseDirector: 90
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 90
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck: 95
DiningRoomService: 80
CabinQuietness: 100
FoodMidnightBuffets: 90
CabinSteward: 100
ShoreExcVariety: 100
FoodVariety: 90
DeckService: 60
ShoreExcValue: 90
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff: 60
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 90
LoungeService: 60
TenderService: 90
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 80
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 50
EntertShowLounge: 90
OverallPortsofCall: 100
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside:
CruiseActivities: 80
Casino: 50
AirSeaProgram: 95
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 100
EmbarkDisembark: 95
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 100
Stabilization: 100
ShopsOnBoard: 90
SpaceRatio: 95
OverallCruiseValue: 95
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 27 Aug 1999
Time: 10:39:58
Remote Name: 12.8.17.130
Remote User:
Comments
First and foremost...Alaska by cruise ship is not to be missed. The first week of August
turned out to be a great
time and we lucked into a complete week of no rain. The scenery and itinerary is
spectacular. We sailed in and
out of Vancouver after flying into Seattle. The Air/Sea package departing and returning to
Tampa, Fl. was a big
plus. NCL really has the plane and baggage services down to a science and we were very
happy with our trip to
and from the ship.
We have sailed the Wind, before and after the stretching, and the ship remains a pleasure
to be aboard. The first
trip we made on her was in the Caribbean so we noticed (understandably) the lack of
outdoor activities and
service we were used now that we were in Alaska. Although the weather for the week was
unbelievable (partly
cloudy and 70-80* and only cool morning was at Glacier Bay the deck service was
poor.....during sailing everyone
was sunbathing and sightseeing on deck but NCL only had two waiters on deck so I usually
had to get up and go
get a drink.....I'm spoiled).
Our cabin was great with a large picture window, couch, chairs and plenty of closet space.
Our cabin steward was
also wonderful and since we were traveling with our children, who were across the hall
from us, she was always
letting us know who was coming and going. She called my wife 'Momma Lisa' and me 'Mr.
Clay' and would tell us
the kids are 'still sleeping' 'or they just left' and also tell our kids our comings and
goings. We all got a great kick
out of her.
Our friends had a cabin above us with a balcony which was also very nice. Since I like to
be out and about and not
stay in the cabin that was not as important to us, but would highly recommend either a
window or balcony,
specially with the mountains, waterfalls, etc in view all the time.
The food and entertainment was above average and although our waiter did a good job seemed
to be stiff most of
the time. Also the casino staff was OK but not a friendly and outgoing as on many prior
cruises........most of them
seemed bored and lacked enthusiasm. It might have something to do with the low
participation in the casino, more
so than the Caribbean, since people are not inclined to be inside the ship during sailings
as they are on sea days
down south.
I highly recommend the following shore excursions: (We booked all excursions on the ship,
although probably paid
a 10-15% premium over dock price. My oldest son who works on Holland America said he felt
that it would save us
hassles and disappointment if we picked the wrong tour or company on the dock.....he was
right)
Juneau: Whale watching trip on small cabin cruiser - limit 6 people. Worth extra price
over larger vessels with 40
people since boat can go all over the passage faster looking for whales and got great
up-close pictures. (Walked
over to the Tram in the morning before our whale watching trip and went up to the
top...great idea)
Skagway: White Pass Train and bus back down. Do not miss this trip!!! Awesome experience.
I stood outside
between the cars the whole time and it was amazing! My wife sat inside the car and
listened to the history
narrative we traveled and she throughtly enjoyed it. Our friends took the train and hiking
trip to the glacier which
they also enjoyed very much......but they were tired after the 8 mile hike.
Ketchican: One of my sons and I took Misty Fjords float plane flight (15 passenger plane,
twin engine, pilot-copilot
crew which was important to me as an retired Eastern Airline pilot....I don't like single
engine airplanes and they
were very professional) Each passenger had headsets with the co-pilot talking about the
park and also played
great music while flying (i.e. Theme from 'Out of Africa). The even supply a jack so you
can plug your video
camera into the system so you record music and commentary instead of engines. Luckily the
weather was clear
and bright so it was spectacular with a landing on a lake high in the mountains for
pictures while standing on the
pontoons. While we flew my wife shopped!!! and enjoyed every shop. They also walked up to
Dolly's and said it
was something everyone should try and see.
This is our 3 time on NCL and as always, was well pleased and will not hesitate to sail
NCL again soon. We will go
to Alaska again.
Name: Roger Stansbury
Email: RStansb549@aol.com
Age: 44
Occupation: Attorney
NumberOfCruises: 8
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-Windward
SailingDate: !0/01/99
Itinerary: 10 day Hawaiian Cruise
Cabin: 4017/E Outside Stateroom
FoodDiningRoom: 87
CruiseDirector: 92
CabinComfort: 96
FoodRoomService: 94
CruiseStaff: 92
CabinAmenities: 91
FoodLidoDeck: 82
DiningRoomService: 97
CabinQuietness: 93
FoodMidnightBuffets: 85
CabinSteward: 90
ShoreExcVariety:
FoodVariety: 88
DeckService: 90
ShoreExcValue:
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff: 80
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 92
LoungeService: 90
TenderService: 92
GoodForSeniors: 92
BeautySalonStaff: 90
EntertainmentLounges: 82
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 90
EntertShowLounge: 79
OverallPortsofCall: 98
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 95
CruiseActivities: 99
Casino: 90
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 90
EmbarkDisembark: 98
DiscoNightclubs: 92
DeckSpace: 95
Stabilization: 94
ShopsOnBoard: 88
SpaceRatio: 93
OverallCruiseValue: 96
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 19 Oct 1999
Time: 01:07:11
Remote Name: spider-wm053.proxy.aol.com
Remote User:
Comments
We are Latitudes memebers and we bypassed very long lines at embarkation. Everything went
smoothly. When we
embarked they stopped the picture taking upon boarding the ship. We were sweating and did
not miss the pictures
anyway. We were greeted with a shell lei and were escorted by a white gloved cabin steward
to our cabin. A nice
touch. Baggage was delivered promptly to the stateroom. The cabin was small, but very,
very efficient. I was
expecting the worst from messages I had read on bulliten boards prior to sailing, but I
was pleasantly surprised. The
cabin was very comfortable. Overall the ship was clean, though the carpeting was stained
in many areas. The public
areas were nice and there were little nooks and crannys to get away from feeling yoy were
on a larger ship. The
service was very good, especially in the dining rooms.
The food was fair to good. I have sailed on NCL before and
the food was not up to par. The salads and breads very good. The desserts and the main
entrees were just okay.
Usually one entree each evening was very good and the others were not. On past cruises
often all of the entrees
were delicious. The food on deck was fair and I would not recommend the long lines to get
deck food. It was fait to
poor. The pizza was also poor. The midnight buffets were also fair. Often it contained the
leftovers of the day. The
Stardust Show Lounge (main showroom)is poor. Since they have stretched the ship, they have
added collumns and
posts which obcsure the line of sight. Also, the sound system cut out several times during
the cruise. It also seemed
that there were more people than seats and squabbles with people saving seats, etc. The
comedians were
excellant, but the George M. and Sea Legs at Sea shows were old and tired. The casino
layout was nice. However,
the casino workers seemed tired, cranky and not as fun as other ships I have been on. They
acted like dealers at
second rate Reno casinos who wanted to be working somewhere else.
Room service was very good. Most orders
were delivered within 25 minutes. They served fresh fruit poolside which was nice. There
was no problem getting
chairs on deck and the Splash Bar was excellant. The best feature of this cruise was the
Hawaiian culture/music/arts
& crafts/hula lessons/Tahitian Dancing provided during the cruise. You couldn't help
but get in the Aloha spirit and
you could learn more about the history and culture of the Hawaiian people. This whole
program made the cruise
very special. The shore excursions seemed okay. We rented a car on every island and did
our own thing. Pick up a
Hawaiian guide book and you can save a lot of time and money and do a better job than the
tour bus excursion. We
also snorkeled the best spots on the islands. If you reserve a car in advance you can tour
the islands in style in a
convertable for a fraction of the cost of the bus tours.
There were a lot of very elderly 75+ men and women on
board during our cruise and although most were very nice, there were a few that complained
and whined about
every little thing all of the time. Many people I spoke with also felt that some of these
geezers got on their nerves. I
got in the habit of using the stairs rather than being stuck in an elevator with some of
these old whiners. After
visiting Kona on the Big Island, we sailed for two days toward Fanning Island. The captain
switched to Christmas
Island in order to medically evacuate two elderly persons with medical emergencies. The
ship anchored off
Christmas Island and after the medical patients were off-loaded, the captain determined
the tide was too low to
off-load the passengers on the ship's tenders. So we turned around and sailed two more
days back to Hilo. Five
days at sea were wasted. I know you can't predict those types of emergencies, but I saw at
least a half dozen
passengers on this cruise who were in walkers and oxygen and I believe they weren't fit to
sail. The other ports,
Hilo, Lahaina, Lihue were fabulous.
Disembarkation was also a breeze. We purchased an airport transfer from the
ship to the airport. (We flew back for four more days on Maui.) Less than one hour from
the time they called
passengers with orange tags, we retrieved our luggage, and were driven to the aiport. This
was the best
disembarkation of any cruise we have been on. Overall, this was a great cruise for the
money and a great way to
see Hawaii. Hawaii is expensive. the cost of rooms and food are very high. Also it costs
$89 to fly each way from
island to island. By taking the ship, you save a fortune and you can get a feel for each
of the various islands. The
Wind is comfortable and the service excellant. Although the food was just okay, you never
went hungry and unless
you were one of the cranky old people on board, you couldn't help but have a fantastic
time!
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