NCL Wind in Hawaii

[Deb in Cali]

What can other NCL cruisers tell me about the Wind. There isn't a single thread on this ship going back several pages. Is it a ghost ship ? LOL. :eek:

 

I have a hold on a Hawaiian cruise leaving on 11-29 for mom and myself. I have cruised twice on Princess and my mother has sailed on Royal C, Celebrity, and Carnival. I am not sure if she has sailed on NCL or not.

 

I am surprising her with a cruise and I was checking prices, dates and intineries, and this one looked like it would work. The cruise goes to Fanning Island which looks/sounds like paradise even more so than Hawaii, if that is possible. :p

[idreamofparis]

I think mine was the last review of the Wind. I was on the 4/27 repositioning cruise from San Francisco to Vancouver. There were quite a few experienced cruisers on board who said, don't judge cruising in general by this cruise. It was my first, so that was hard advice to follow.

 

I loved the floor to ceiling windows in much of the common area on board. It was cold and windy for most of the trip, so it was great to be able to sit comfortably in one of the many lounges and be able to watch the ocean.

 

There was a lot of movement and it was hard to keep my footing without holding on at times. I don't get seasick, but a lot of people were miserable. This was the north Pacific, though, in windy weather.

 

The dining staff were wonderful--willing to accommodate special requests, replace food that wasn't palatable, quick to serve. I saw my cabin steward only once, and she seemed in a big hurry to get to the next cabin.

 

Le Bistro is wonderful--especially the filet mignon and chocolate fondue. The menu was imaginative in the other dining rooms, (didn't try La Trattoria), but the taste of the food wasn't memorable, with a few exceptions (cheese blintzes and moussaka).

 

My DD and I were trying to determine if cruising is for us. Our conclusion was that we would not cruise again unless there were very few at-sea days and it was a tropical location. We were cold and bored much of the time during the day. There was always plenty to do in the evenings, though.

 

Hope that helps!

[Deb in Cali]

I have sailed three time along the California to Vancouver/Alaska. I must be good luck because it was the smoothing sailing most passengers had experienced. Every time I had trouble believing we were on a ship and at sea, it felt more like a very large hotel. But then I don't get seasick even when it is really rough. :)

 

I was looking for info on the Hawaii experience, but I also want to know about the ship itself. The Regal Princess is also smaller, older ship so I don't think that the Wind will be a dissapointment to me as far as size, ammenities, etc.

 

The agent said that there isn't a casino on board, is that true?. I don't care, but perhaps my mother's friend isn't going to be happy to hear that she can't play the slots.

 

We are scheduled to sail to Fanning Island on our cruise. Another CC member that wasn't thrilled with his experience there, so I would like to hear from others that have been there to see if they had the same opinion.

 

On my last cruise a buffet staff was apologizing that he thought that my special order omelet was taking too long. I laughed and explained that as long as they were doing the cooking and cleaning, I wasn't the type that complains.

[NCmom]

We sailed on the Wind last July around Hawaii and to Fanning Island and had a great cruise.

 

I went into this cruise with lower expectations--I knew she was an older ship with less bells and whistles. My expectations were exceeded!

 

The cabin: we were in two connecting Cat F on the bottom floor, 4th. Loved the location, the room had two portholes, and a seating area with a smal sofa and chair. There weren't alot of drawers, but the closet had a number of shelves, so we two were very comfortable in our room.

 

The staff: I had never sailed NCL before, and was afraid that the service charge would hurt service. There were no problems with service. Our room attendant was very friendly, and did a great job with our room. He also iced our drinks in our cooler every time he did anything in the room. The wait staff was also very friendly. We had the same waitress for dinner three nights in a row, and then we started to ask for her. She remembered us and our preferences. We ate usually around 6, and only encountered a long wait once--which was about 30 minutes, but we sat in the lounge and enjoyed the piano player and drinks while we waited. We were never able to get into LaTratoria, and didn't try for LeBistro, since we enjoyed the "included" food. The buffet left a little bit to be desired--the glasses they had were juice glasses for all meals, and the space was a bit crowded--at breakfast, I normally went to the restaurant below the sports bar to sit. We tried to go to the chocolate buffet, but it was too crowded.

 

The entertainment: there were some hits, and some misses. I enjoyed the production shows, and the comedians; didn't care for the "vocal stylings" guy. I enjoyed trying the hula classes, and some of the craft classes. We also enjoyed trivia. There is no casino onboard. I thought it was very relaxing. I also enjoyed sitting on deck 7 (I think that was the deck #) and reading or people watching.

 

The ports: loved visiting the ports, and renting cars to see exactly what we wanted to. We enjoyed Fanning, even without going over to the beach where you paid (we signed up to go over, but wasn't going to be allowed there until after 12, and I didn't want to spend $25 pp for a couple of hours.) It is a beautiful island--we loved playing in the water, but did get a little sunburned, in spite of the sunscreen.

 

The trip was a little more rocky than I was used to, but I never got sick, or even had to take a bonine.

 

The jet lag on the return trip was awful, which is the only reason I would hesitate to go back again. I would definitely recommend this cruise.

[electricron]

Here's the posted reviews from just this year at the cruise critic member reviews page:

Cheryllsr 04/06 Hawaii 5 Stars

F11 03/06 Hawaii 5 Stars

rantoofast 03/06 Hawaii 4 Stars

terrytallent1 03/06 Hawaii 5 Stars

Karmicdelights 03/06 Hawaii 5 Stars

BetsyT 03/06 Hawaii 4 Stars

gcurry 03/06 Hawaii 4 Stars

Karakopet 02/06 Hawaii 3 Stars

Trixsand 02/06 Hawaii 5 Stars

bespeck 01/06 Hawaii 4 Stars

crazic3 01/06 Hawaii 4 Stars

 

You can find links to these reviews at

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/getreviews.cfm?action=ship&ShipID=47

 

If reviews for a ship is usually missing in the NCL forum, it's usually doing well.

[kapoho2]

We have done the Wind cruise around the islands twice now, and are soon going to book it again for this coming fall. I guess you can say we love the Wind. We live in Hawaii, so the flight to and from the cruise is a snap for us!!

 

True, there is NO casino while the Wind is in Hawaii, but there will be bingo everyday while the ship is at sea..to and from Fanning Island.

 

We have made it to Fanning Island three times now (twice and the Wind and once on the Star) and we have thoroughly enjoyed it each time. We have never gone over to the "pay" beach...we find the swiming and lounging just fine at the beach by the tender pier. There are plenty of cocktail servers on the beach.....so the only thing you have to get up for is the barbeque...which is very nice. NCL brings over all the food and sets up different BBQ and drink stations. Lots of work for the crew involved!!

 

The craft market on Fanning is one of a kind. Mostly shell crafts. Bring lots of single dollar bills and have fun.

 

We have always enjoyed the food and the crew on the Wind. The nightly shows are entertaining. And, on the sea days....there are a ton of activities going on onboard.

 

The cabins tend to be larger than the newer ships....we always book an inside cabin. It has everything we need....however, there is no refrigerator. But, the ice bucket is kept filled.

 

And, the price is usually very good for the Wind Hawaii cruise.

 

If you have any other questions...feel free to ask. Have fun!

[CruisinMK]

I live in Hawaii and love cruising here, nice just hopping a cab to the ship.

 

When I went to fanning island, the open seas there were very rough. Most passengers got seasick but we were fine.

 

Fanning Island itself was really lame compared to the Hawaii stops, so we're never going back. We very much prefer the pure Hawaii itinerary of the American flagged ships, with overnights on both Maui and Kauai.

 

The wind itinerary is longer, but the shorter 7 day American flagged itineraries have 50% more time in Hawaii! I like the idea of a longer itinerary, but not when it results in less time in Hawaii, rough open sea days in a row, and lame fanning island. :) For those with limited vacation time in Hawaii, in my opinion most would be better off with a 7 day cruise + 3 day land stay, than 10 day wind itinerary. The price for the wind is pretty great though, have to admit.

 

I have nothing against a smaller older ship, they definitely have their own appeal. The wind also just got a bunch of work done on it in drydock, so that's good. It's leaving NCL next year.

[Deb in Cali]

Electric Ron

 

Thank you, thank you for the link. Your point that missing reviews mean good things not bad is a good point.

 

I have a hold with NCL for the cruise. The hold expires today, so I have to get busy. I Had better get my American Express warmed up for some high useage in the next day or so making reservations. I have warned my DH so he doesn't faint when the bill comes in. :eek:

 

My Mom is going to be soooo surprised. She is being informed about the cruise in her Mother's Day Card. I am going to make a card/book that will inform her in a story, that she is going on a trip. In the looonnngggg drawn out story she will discover that she is going to Hawaii, then it will tell her that it includes a cruse. She is going to be bouncing by the time she reads it all the way through. I hope that she can handle the excitement.

[F11]

Fanning stop is highlight of cruise!!!! Nothing in Hawaii compares to beaches,charm,weather,folks as Fanning has!!! Do not miss it!!!!!

[lilibel]

Dear Deb in Cali,

 

We were on the Wind 11/26/2005 - 12/7/2005. Loved it.

 

Go to "Roll Call" Norwegian Cruise Line, There is a VERY LONG roll call with lots of information.

 

Have a good time!

 

Lillie

[slothandle]

From what I have been able to gather, Fanning Island is not going to be on the itinerary very much longer. Take advantage of it. It is a wonderful experience.

 

I agree with all of the above, the Wind is a wonderful, older ship. Someone described her like a grand old lady.

 

Have fun, Pat

[foursum]

We were on the Wind last April. There were two things that made it special 1. Hiking the volcano on the Big Island and 2. Fanning Island. Both were great and exceeded our expectations.

 

The sea days to Fanning were great. Seas smooth, enjoyable days, good shows at night and bingo! Fanning was wonderful. Went to private beach- snorkeled, but in shallow water, walked the beach, relaxed in the sun. Went to the town dock for lunch, visited market, mailed postcards to ourselves--which arrived in Oct as a great reminder of our trip.

 

At the end of 10 days, we were ready for 10 more--still things we hadn't time to do, places on the ship we hadn't been.

 

If you're lucky, Patty and Jose will be entertaining you in the Observatory Lounge.

 

The cruise was terrific--the red-eye from HNL to ROC was tough.