Wind - Hawaiian

[phabric]

First time on Norwegian cruiseline (have cruised Princess, RC) and to Hawaiian.

 

Does anybody have any helpful hints about the Wind. I have found out that there is no casino on board.

 

Any tours that anybody can recommend.

[KeystoneCruiser]

There is no gambling/gaming allowed in Hawaiian waters under Hawaiian law and that is why there is no casino. The "Pride" ships do not even offer Bingo for that reason. I believe that the Wind does offer Bingo on the trip to and from Fanning Island since they are out of Hawaiian waters.

 

As far as tips, here is brief overview of Freestyle Dining and Optional formal nights, the biggest difference between NCL and the other lines:

 

I love Freestyle and that is why I only cruise on NCL.

 

Freestyle is all about your choice. Freestyle gives you the choice to eat WHEN you want, with WHO you want, WHERE you want, and HOW you want.

 

1.) You do not have assigned dining times. You can go the main restaurants anytime that they are open (5:30-9:30) and simply tell them how many of you there are and they will seat you, just like a shoreside restaurant. Unless you are a large group, you cannot make reservations in the main dining rooms. Sometimes this can cause you to wait a few minutes (usually less than 20) for a table if you dine during the peak hours of 6:30-8:00.

 

2.) You do have to make reservations for the Specialty Restaurants and most of them have a cover charge of $10-20 per person. (but that is only for the entree, you can have as many apetizers, salads, sides and desserts that you want.). You can make these for the entire week when you board. Not all specialty restaurants have a cover charge (LaTrattatoria for example) but all require reservations. There is an Italian one, a steakhouse, a tex-mex, and an asian one, just to name a few.

 

3.) You do not have assigned tablemates. You can dine with just your family or perhaps the friends you met that day. They have tables from 2 people to 10 people. You can also request to be seated with new people if you like. You usually do not have the same waiters each night, but you can request them!

 

4.) You can dress as you like. (within limits) All formal nights on all NCL ships are OPTIONAL in all dining venues. You do not have to dress up and can still eat anywhere. On formal night, only about 40% of the passengers will dress up and that will range from tuxes to shirt/tie. The other 60% will be in resort casual. (the 40% drops to about 30% dressed up on the Hawaiin cruises since Hawaiian attire is also an acceptable dress.)

 

With that said, you do have to dress in at least Resort Casual every night to dine in the restaurants. Resort casual simply means no shorts, jeans or t-shirts. Polo shirts, sun dresses, kahkis, and sneakers are all perfectly acceptable! I have never worn any more than a polo shirt, kahkis and sneakers to any meal on five NCL cruises! You will not feel out of place! The best part...the chance to dress as you feel comfortable.

[NCmom]

We loved our trip on the wind. The Wind was not built for free-style, so there aren't as many specialty restaurants as keystone outlined. The Wind has the following restaurants:

 

The Terraces and the one in the middle of the ship (can't remember the name right now); These are the regular, seated. order from the menu dining rooms. They serve the same menu each night. The Terraces is slightly smaller, and aft--we prefered to dine here--just liked the staff and atmosphere more. As east coasters, we ate earlier than we normally do at home, around 5:30-6, and only had to wait more than 10 minutes once time. There is a nice lounge area for waiting. One of these will also be open for breakfast and lunch.

 

The Sports Bar: Buffet area. The menu for dinner each night changed with themes-Mexican, Chinese, American. The seating area in here is small; for breakfast and lunch they used the Sun Terrace for overflow seating, which was one flight down. (FOr dinner, the Sun Terrace becomes LaTratoria). The drink glasses in here are TINY juice glasses only. I would bring a mug if I were cruising the Wind again. This is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

 

Mid-ship pool deck restaurant: continental breakfast, pizza, some snack, There are only 3 tables in here since most people just grab food to eat somewhere else.

 

LaTrattoria: This is a specialty restaurant which serves Italian, with a different menu each night. For two nights of our cruise, it served Mexican. We never ate here since each time we tried to, the expected wait time exceeded an hour. When we cruised, they didn't take reservations. I ahve read on here that they now do take reservations. No additional charge

 

LeBistro: Reservations required $15 per person charge, with additonal amount for surf and turf. Located between the two regular dining rooms.

 

They also offered on deck barbeques a few at sea days.

 

We loved the Wind--they offer lots of classes, trivia, etc. for the sea days. Have a great trip.

[MidtheNight]

you cannot make reservations in the main dining rooms.

 

Yes, you can....we've done it on our last three cruises when we've come across a waiter we really liked. Just told the maitre'd who noted it and what nights and times we wanted.

[foursum]

We hiked to the lava flow when in Hilo, went on a snorkeling trip to Molikini when in Lahaina and went deep sea fishing when in Kona. Enjoyed them all. Rented a car on Kauai and went to Poipu Beach and on Fanning went to the private beach area. Worked out well for us.

[KeystoneCruiser]

Yes, you can....we've done it on our last three cruises when we've come across a waiter we really liked. Just told the maitre'd who noted it and what nights and times we wanted.

 

I've had just the opposite experience. On my last two cruises when our large group broke up to try different restaurants, we were told that groups smaller than 8 could not make reservations in the main restaurants and we were not allowed. If we wanted a certain waiter, we could ask for them but were also told that that could cause an additional wait time until one of their tables opened up.