Norwegian Cruise Line

MS Norwegian Wind

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Operator: Norwegian Cruise Line
Year Built / Last Refurbished: 1993 / 1998
Length / Tonnage: 754 feet / 46,000
Number of Cabins / Passengers: 879 / 1,750
Officers / Crew: Norwegian / International
Operating Area: May through September, Alaska...remainder of year, Caribbean
Telephone / Fax: Tel 130 5713/5 / 130 130 5714/6

If one had a choice of ship to travel in, assuming all ships were heading where you might want to go, the Norwegian Wind might be it... we can think of few other ships that so wonderfully fulfill both the intent of their origins and their owners’ representations about them. WE THINK SHE’S THE BEST to Alaska and may just be about the best “7- day boat” anywhere. We really like this one! We were kind of surprised to learn that she is so good considering that her construction darn near brought about the collapse of NCL!!! Apparently, in an attempt to keep NCL competitive with the other big players who were ordering new ships as fast as plans could be drawn, the line’s founding family, Kloster, accepted hideously disadvantageous financing terms for the construction of the Norwegian Wind and her slightly elder sister Norwegian Dream... reputed in some quarters to have called for 19% interest... as the Norwegian Wind neared completion, money grew tighter and tighter and for a while it looked like NCL might not be able to take delivery of this exciting new ship.

It was a scramble and some say it led to the divestiture of Royal Viking Line and the eventual demise of Royal Cruise Line...but NCL got the Norwegian Wind into service. Without going into too many details of corporate history, let’s just say that it seems that in the last year and a half, NCL has turned the corner and looks like it’s here to stay....and all we can say is HURRAY!!! If any cruise line would accept a most improved cruise line award, NCL really deserves it, and our recent Alaska cruise in the Norwegian Wind has us ecstatically supportive of this phoenix of a line.

In a refreshing throwback to older concepts, the Norwegian Wind was designed as a ship, not as a hotel to fit into a floating hull....it works, and the public areas, both indoor and outdoor, are better for it! Walls of glass and a wide range of public rooms and passenger amenities combine to make the Norwegian Wind one of the best cruise ships out there today. From the basketball court atop Deck 12 where the Observatory holds sway forward and allows magnificent views to the sides as well as forward, public spaces here are both well arranged and well designed. We like the lack of any attempt to make the passenger spend money by blocking the fore and aft passages with shops. Casinos, boutiques, bars....Yes there IS a centrally located bar...Lucky’s....on Deck 10...and it’s part of an entertainment complex including the main lounge, casino and the lower level of the shopping center...But you can avoid it with no trouble nor sense of detour...

This ship is extremely well laid out...If there’s a complaint it’s that sight lines from some locations in the Stardust Lounge are less than optimal...but the Stardust Lounge is one of those rarities today...a real main Lounge...not some oversized barn of an auditorium with theater style seating...A versatile room, a comfortable room, the Stardust Lounge soars two decks high and is used for functions as divergent as a captain’s cocktail and a slide show...In here three times a week are production shows...NCL’s trademark Broadway show was put on in here...It was “George M”, and a more suitable Broadway show for a ship would be hard to find....But we like quiet entertainment and were thrilled to run into pianist Patty Rowe. We first met her a couple of years ago when we did a 21 night transAtlantic trip in the CROWN ODYSSEY and remembered how extraordinarily talented this woman is...She lived up to our memories...tickling the ivories for us and those passengers lucky enough to stop in for some quiet conversation in the Rendezvous Lounge...

And so it goes in the Norwegian Wind....quiet lounges, active lounges, a fast paced casino....and outside a terraced sun deck about the midships pool... Steiner’s has the concession for the beauty salon...I must tell you that no one can cut my thinning hair as well as they can! Shopping in the Norwegian Wind is fun....and there are six different stores in a shopping area located on the starboard side of two decks...Like most cruise lines today there are “art auctions” and though we don’t much like them....we know Phil Tauchas, the auctioneer here... and if ever a man were in his element, he is...perfect for the job and somehow able to remove whatever we usual find tacky and objectionable about the art auctions on cruise ships.

NCL menus include what people want to eat and eschew the unusual and the trendy. No pickled rattlesnake here!!!The Norwegian Wind feeds her passengers well and does it in several different dining rooms. In three different restaurants is assigned seating at each of two sittings. These rooms differ in decor and layout, and each appeals to the senses and sensibilities in its own way. Centrally located on Deck 9 is The Four Seasons Restaurant. This popular restaurant is also used for breakfast buffets and most late night buffets. Since this room is all on one level, this is the place to be seated if you are less than sure-footed. By only a few dozen seats The Terraces is the largest dining room on board. This sensational, high ceilinged room looks out through massive windows beyond the aft pool to the world astern. Equally imposing views are out to port and starboard, making this our favorite place to eat aboard this ship. For many reasons, though, it’s The Sun Terraces that has won the hearts and minds of devoted Norwegian Wind repeaters. Enter through its double doors aft on Deck 11 and let the feel of this “tropical oasis” take you away to another time and place...everyone seems to like this room’s wood floors, cane chairs and palm trees. Not as formal as the Terraces, this one is special in its own way and if they are available, a seat at one of the tables for four in either of the two semi-private areas on either side may be the best place of all for romantic dining. All restaurants are now nonsmoking rooms, and best of all for the shy among us, there are many tables for two.

There’s a fourth restaurant, Le Bistro, and it’s open for dinner only. A dark, quiet room, it’s neither too formal, nor at all pretentious. Main draws of a meal in here are these: you can go in for dinner anytime between 6:30 and 10:30PM, select items not on the menu in the other three dining rooms, and you can have a very nice, private dinner party with new friends who might be assigned to the other dining rooms. There’s no longer an extra charge to eat in here (though there used to be - $35.00 per head PLUS tip - so it was EASY to spend a “C”-note on dinner for 2 in here”)...now for a suggested gratuity of $5.00 per person, you can dine on specialties of the day or select from Le Bistro’s main menu. Reservations are accepted but not required. Combining the five or so entrees from Le Bistro with the menus from the main restaurants means that each night you can consider at least 10 different main course choices every day of your trip...

A word about Norwegian Wind’s cuisine.....it’s for the most part DELICIOUS. The freshest of breads, incredible smoked salmon (at least during the Alaska season), and tasty desserts....all well presented in portions small enough to allow you to order seconds without feeling guilty. If pressed to the wall to nit pick, we’d say the only things we didn’t crave again were the breakfast buffets...not surprising since the only typical American breakfasts we like are coffee and sidecars (just kidding...hey...Goldberg doesn’t drink at all. He’s a coffee fanatic and the ship’s coffee is not brewed for guys like him)...neither of us liked the coffee very much...so we switched to tea for most of the week....

Not only were we surprised and VERY pleased to discover DELICIOUS food at EVERY meal, we were bowled over by how nice the staff in the dining rooms is. These hardworking guys are so eager to please, professional and courteous....and their special talent of dancing and doing the limbo with flaming Baked Alaska on their heads is appreciated by all....even curmudgeonly us.

There’s a very small space off the Sports Bar where continental breakfast is available until 10am, and burgers, sandwiches, franks and salads are set out to feed the hungry between noon and 5pm. The food is good, hot and adequate for a tourist on the go. When the ship is with a full passenger load, this area gets a mite crowded, so you might consider it more as a snack grabbing area. Additional gobbling is available at the outdoor ice cream parlor, and besides the late night buffet...there are late night munchies served in the Observatory, and through 24 hour room service.

Any way you count ‘em, 623 cabins are a lot of rooms... and 879 after the stretching are plenty more. Of greatest interest will be a dozen new suites that are going to be built way up on 11 deck. But let’s talk about the 623 cabins she has now. Every one of them is fine. Now we know that you have heard that the Norwegian Wind’s cabins don’t have a lot of storage space, and we thought they didn’t either until we hopped on the Norwegian Wind at Vancouver a couple of weeks ago. Cleverly positioned in closets are shelves and a couple of storage baskets which fulfill the function of storage drawers....and while you may not get to pull them out to examine their contents as you might do with a drawer, nothing in this arrangement will roll open and slam shut if the seas (or cabin neighbors) are angry. Hear our stage whisper....Crystal Cruises, ever ready to declare itself the top, doesn’t do as well in providing space in standard cabins (on the HARMONY, anyway) to stow your duds.

The 93 inside cabins are perfectly acceptable with two lower beds and TV. There’s nothing minimum about the lowest priced outside cabins... they have two lower beds, (most convertible to a queen configuration,) a small living room alcove with love seat, easy chairs and coffee table, TV, satellite phone, and private facilities with shower only. Be warned that categories G and F have obstructed views. Superior deluxe suites and penthouses offer a little more room, a refrigerator and concierge service. These rooms are all pretty wonderful...almost as good as those we consider the best standard cabins in the business (hey..this is a review of the Norwegian Wind....so if you must know which we find the best in the business...read our other reviews...it’s in there....it’s in there....) The penthouse cabins have balconies, and anyone who requires lots and lots of room would be wise to consider booking adjoining penthouses, thereby doubling the living space. Right now, top dollar buys any of the ship’s six owners suites. These are big rooms with king size bed, generously proportioned sitting room, walk in closet, in addition to the standard double closet fitted in every standard cabin, and two good sized windows with views forward over the bow. There’s a stocked bar and refrigerator, so the suite is an excellent venue for small get togethers. Of course, denizens of owner’s suites are looked after by the concierge. The concierge also helps suite and penthouse passengers sort through things like what to do ashore, making reservations in Le Bistro, finding things out for you....things like that.

The Norwegian Wind is a great ship for anyone who wants a great cruise. Because NCL has a very active sports program they attract a lot of younger, active people, but since neither the Dive-In program nor Sports Afloat works is in any way obnoxious, no one should feel guilty if snoozing is as active as you want to get...it didn’t get in the way of any of my late afternoon naps...Passengers here tend to be younger than those aboard corresponding ships of, say...Princess and Holland America....The average age here must have been about 47...but there were people of all ages from grandparents to newborns. The ship attracts a wide variety of nationalities...Our little section of The Terraces included a quartette of twenty-something Americans, two classy, elegant couples from the island nation of Malta, an extended family of affluent Mexicans (with wonderfully well behaved children), a South African couple and an Israeli couple. There were also Germans, Dutch, Indian, Japanese, Korean and Philippine people among the passengers...Everyone seemed very pleased with the ship, the food and the service. We know we were...

Norwegian Wind will spend January through April sailing on 7-day Western Caribbean itineraries out of Miami. In late April she will repositions to Los Angeles via the Panama Canal and sail on a series of 5-Day Pacific Coastal cruises. In the summer she heads to Hawaii where she will remain for the next twelve months sailing on 10-Day Hawaiian Island itineraries from Honolulu.

I wish this ship did longer cruises on varying itineraries because if she did, I would probably end up spending several months a year cruising the world’s seas and oceans on this lovely liner. She’s a winner....a people pleaser...a real gem! She’s honest...she’s real and we love her. She is also incredibly warm and her crew and staff incredibly gracious...all things we really like...With each launch of a new ship, cruise lines seem hell bent on making prettier public spaces, and introducing the latest computer technology and gadgets in cabins....all well and good....but sometimes I think that these cruise execs figure that if a customer is wowed by more bells and whistles, they’ll be less concerned with lesser standards of food and service (after all, the line has to pay for their new ships some way, and with a tight budget, something has to give). NCL seems to take an opposite tack. Their ships are no floating palaces of corporate egotism....and the Norwegian Wind is a honest ship, with earnest crew, delicious food, and a spirit of warmth not outlined in some on board training manual. Who would have guessed that a “mass market” cruise line could produce such a feeling of home?