Norwegian Wind

[Radiomark]

My wife and I sailed on Norwegian Wind about 5 years ago. I have a couple of questions for anybody that's sailed her recently (or recently and before Freestyle Dining):

 

1) When we were on the Wind they didn't have Freestyle Dining. How's the food now compared to what it used to be like?

 

2) How many restaurants are open to Freestyle Dining and come with the cruise price?

 

3) What kind of shape is the boat in? When we cruised before, the boat was showing some signs of wear, although that didn't really matter to us. We loved the boat and had a great time.

 

4) How's the Wind's Hawaii intinterary? We did Western Caribbean when we sailed her before.

 

We're considering booking a Hawaii 11 day and thought I'd get a bit of an update on the ship if possible.

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Mark

[tommy]

Mark we just got off the Wind today,have to get some sleep will give review today or tomorrow.You only pay for 1 restaurant,she is a clean ship but needs help in many areas.Itinerary is good lots of tendering,And I didn't think Fanning Island was worth 4 days at sea 4 rough days.Will give you a better update after we get some sleep.My wife kept a journal. TOM

[terrytallent1]

There are lots of reviews on the wind doing the 11 day Hawaii trip. We are sailing on the wind for 11 days starting March 11 and will give our review in April. If you want to go to the thread for those of us sailing March 11 you can "lurk" and read what we have discovered about the good, the bad and the ugly.

[NCmom]

We did the 10 night wind in June of 2005. I thought the ship was still in decent condition, although there were some areas of disrepair. It didn't affect my enjoyment of the cruise.

 

There were two full service dining rooms open each night which served the same menu: Terraces and Four Seasons. We had a slight wait one night at Four Seasons, and ended up sharing a large table with several other couples. We dined mostly in the Terraces. I went into the cruise not expecting much, but found the food to be surprisingly good. There is also a free restaurant that serves mostly italian, but we were never able to get in there--the wait was over 1 hour each time we tried--it is my understanding that they now accept reservations for La Trattoria. The buffet is located in the Sports Bar. We ate here a couple of nights, and thought it was perfectly acceptable. The only complaint I had was the drink glasses are tiny juice sized. There is also a pizza place, but we rarely ate here. we didn't try LeBistro. OUr DD enjoyed room service.

 

I loved going to the various islands, and loved the trip down to Fanning Island. I found it very relaxing.

[p2lockhart]

Mark, we cruised the Wind on 11/26/05 and had a fantastic time.

 

1. Among the dining rooms where there is no extra charge, we thought the food was good in the main dining rooms, but best in La Trattoria. We also enjoyed Le Bistro. I you have a balcony or better, you can take advantage of the concierge service and make dinner reservations anywhere. We made reservations every night, wherever we were eating, including the Terraces. By doing this, we never had to wait in line.

 

2. I concur with NCMom's answer to your second inquiry.

 

3. The ship could stand some sprucing up, but we were perfectly content. Some of the upholstery was warn here and there. We had the cabin steward put egg crates on our bed upon arrival. Personally, I love the smaller ships with more wood like the Wind. There are not many like them any more. I found her easy to get around on. I loved our location aft on deck eight. There is a deck aft on deck 8 where you can lounge and watch the wake, and have a great view.

 

4. We loved the itinerary. One of the reasons we chose this cruise was to have all the days at sea to relax and unwind after to grueling schedule of different ports every day at the beginning. Our group of 6 all enjoyed Fanning Island and thought it was worth the trip.

[normjoan]

Mark,we just got off the Wind,Enjoyed most of it,must say we to were not impressed with Fanning Island.Hard to relax with the ship bouncing all over and the wind was so bad we couldnt stay by pools for long.Bingo way to exspensive for my blood.Food and entertainment good 1 day not so good the next.We found it really hard to get around for a small ship.Elavators very small and the middle of ship very wierd.The crew was friendly.Also they didnt open middle pool or hot tubs until 4th day,chemical problem or broken pipe depending on who you ask.We to had fun but were a little disappointed.I didnt take notes but if you have any questions ask while its fresh on my mind I will try to answer. JOAN

[golfnut1]

NormJoan.....how expensive is expensive for Bingo? I love to play on sea days. Know it's comparing apples and oranges, but on another line to Alaska this past summer, it was $20 for 3 cards, and we got the final card free for the blackout game. If people wanted to play the blackout and only purchased one card, they had to pay extra.

 

We're going on the Wind - HNL to Ensenada, April 1 - have 5 or 6 sea days, so will need something to do for those days:)

 

Thanks for the reviews of the restaurants! Our anniversary will be during our cruise, so would you recommend the anniversary package or just booking Le Bistro? It seems to be the "ulta" restaurant.

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

 

 

 

T

[normjoan]

I paid 39 dollars for 6 cards,I did win on the 2nd day and split the pot 3 ways for a whopping 40 dollars.But theres not much to do on sea days. JOAN

[p2lockhart]

Golfnut1, we enjoyed the anniversary package on our recent Wind cruise. It includes a dinner at Le Bistro, among other things.

[golfnut1]

Thanks, think I'll just book the package and surprise DH for our anniversary. Appreciate your input.

[nappa]

My wife and I sailed on Norwegian Wind about 5 years ago. I have a couple of questions for anybody that's sailed her recently (or recently and before Freestyle Dining):

 

1) When we were on the Wind they didn't have Freestyle Dining. How's the food now compared to what it used to be like?

 

2) How many restaurants are open to Freestyle Dining and come with the cruise price?

 

3) What kind of shape is the boat in? When we cruised before, the boat was showing some signs of wear, although that didn't really matter to us. We loved the boat and had a great time.

 

4) How's the Wind's Hawaii intinterary? We did Western Caribbean when we sailed her before.

 

We're considering booking a Hawaii 11 day and thought I'd get a bit of an update on the ship if possible.

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Mark

 

Hi Mark

I've got some photos of the Wind from my recent cruise if you wanted to see what she looks like now. They're at http://community.webshots.com/user/tgwall

 

Nappa

[electricron]

Here's a listing of the Wind's restaurants:

 

Four Seasons Main Restaurant (Main Dining Room)

Cuisine: Continental

Dress Code: No shorts or jeans after 6:00 p.m. in the dining rooms.

Surcharge: No

Reservations Required: No

Hours: Breakfast: 7:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.

Lunch: 12:00 noon – 2:30 p.m.

Dinner: 5:30 p.m. – 12:00 a.m.

 

Sun Terrace Dining Room

Cuisine: Italian

Dress Code: No shorts or jeans after 6:00 p.m. in the dining rooms.

Surcharge: No

Reservations Required: No

Hours: Breakfast: 7:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.

Lunch: 12:00 noon – 2:30 p.m.

Dinner: 5:30 p.m. – 12:00 a.m.

 

The Terraces Dining Room

Cuisine: Continental

Dress Code: No shorts or jeans after 6:00 p.m. in the dining rooms.

Surcharge: No

Reservations Required: No

Hours: Breakfast: 7:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.

Lunch: 12:00 noon – 2:30 p.m.

Dinner: 5:30 p.m. – 12:00 a.m.

 

Le Bistro French Restaurant

Cuisine: Light Italian and Continental

Dress Code: No shorts or jeans after 6:00 p.m. in the dining rooms.

Surcharge: Yes, $15 per person

Reservations Required: Yes

Hours: Dinner Only: 6:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.

 

Outdoor Café/Pizzeria

Cuisine: Assorted Buffet, Snacks, Pizza

Dress Code: Casual

Surcharge: No

Reservations Required: No

Hours: Check onboard

 

In addition to the restaurants mentioned above, the Norwegian Wind also features 24 hour room service.

 

The only pay speciality restaurant aboard the Wind is the Le Bristo.

[NCmom]

The information listed on electricron's post is incorrect.

 

The Sun Terraces is no longer open for breakfast or dinner. It has overflow seating from the Sports Bar. This is where La Trattoria is located in the evening.

 

The hours and dress codes are also different for the main restaurants.

 

The list also leaves out the Sports Bar which is where the buffet is located each day.

[CruisinMatt]

The other addendum is that sometimes on nice night they will have dining under the stars near the center of the ship, It's usually the Terraces Menu.