Welcome to Your Favorites, where you have the opportunity to share your travel experiences with fellow Internet Travelers around the world.

Norwegian Cruise Line

MS Norwegian Wind

Your Rating:
Reviewed by: Janice Hirshberg
# previous cruises: 14
Date of Trip: December 23, 2000
Itinerary: Caribbean - Western

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.

The Wind is a ship that has been stretched to add more staterooms, without increasing the size of most public areas. My husband and I saw no problem, but another person in our party complained about the difficulty of finding a deck chair. The pool areas are going to get updated in a January 2001 dry-dock. Poles and other people obstruct visibility in the show lounge. The room does not slope enough. My husband and I did not find a bar that was quiet and cozy like on the Grand Princess or Vision of the Seas.

The food presentation was very good. The variety of food was good. There were a lot of problems with food service. Hot foods on the breakfast buffets were cold. Served dinners at night were often cold -- meat not properly cooked. The problems are largely due to the additional, inexperienced staff unable to cope. One in our party asked for ketchup. The waiter poured half a bottle on the plate. There were many dropped dishes; the wine steward services were spotty. I would also not recommend LeBistro Restaurant. They serve only a portion of what's served in the main dining room for an additional fee.

We were very disappointed with our cabin P1 class (penthouse suite), 8268. The bathroom,cabin and closet doors all intersected at one point. The room was only two feet wider than the bed. Only one person could be moving at a time. The bathroom was the same size as in the lower class staterooms. We were hitting elbows. There is very little useful counter space (unlike Princess, RCI and Carnival). The room and verandah were 199 square feet. Remember, this class of rooms is only 1 below the owners suites.

The entertainers were very good. There are three production numbers. While we may not have cared for some of the shows' content, they were professionally staged. Overall the cruise staff was o.k. There were a fair number of problems, and it was difficult to get correct information sometimes.

We went to Key West, Cozumel, Roatan and Belize. At Belize, we went to the Mayan ruins, Altun Ha. The trip was horrible and the ladies' rest facilities were disgraceful. We saw absolutely no tourist accommodations in Belize. Since we don't snorkle, we won't go back. Roatan was lovely, and we enjoyed a very scenic ride. Key West was enjoyable despite the cold and wind. Cozumel is always one of our favorites.

It looked like the typical passenger was between 30 - 55. It is surprising that NCL does not understand its cruising population. Why they insist on playing Big Band music at all functions is a mystery. We didn't meet anybody other than our family.