On October 11, 1998, my husband and I cruised on Norwegian Cruise Line's (NCL) ship The Wind for a weeklong cruise to the Western Carribbean. Ports included: Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Cancun and Freeport.
I booked our cruise thru a cruise brokerage service: Cruise Line. The travel agent, John West, was excellent and found us a great rate considering we only booked about 6 weeks prior to the trip. We paid $1398 (which included cruise, taxes and port charges for two). One catch for the special rate was that we weren't guaranteed a particular room category. It's called booking by Run of Ship. You are guaranteed a cabin somewhere, but NCL will tell you where you are. I didn't care where it was as long as it wasn't between the janitor's closet and boiler room. Since our cabin on the Seaward was teeny tiny, I figured that nothing could be smaller. We were pleasantly surprised by when told our cabin was 8244 (midship, view partially obstucted by lifeboats). We arranged our own airfare and arrived at Miami airport at 9:30 am.
One of the reasons I like cruising so much besides the great food and ports-of-call is meeting so many different people. It's so easy just to sit in the jacuzzi and strike up conversations. I guess what I don't like about cruising is that its so hard to remember the names of all your new friends (especially after a few rum and cokes!). Sometimes it's just easier to come up with nicknames for people if you can't remember their names; like "Double Nipple Ring Man" or "The Fun Girls". The Captain of the Wind resembles Lewis on the Drew Carey Show, so of course we referred to him as Lewis. I wonder what other's called me....I'm sure something like "hot babe with great bod".
This was our second time cruising on NCL. On our first cruise, after we checked our baggage at the airport, that was the last we saw of it until we got into our cabin. However, in Miami, when we were greeted by the NCL representative they gave us instructions to pick up our luggage and bring it to another location at the airport to wait until 11 am to board the bus. Since we needed transfers to the ship, we paid $10 per person for the transfer on the NCL bus. The next time we don't have transfers, I will take a taxi (cost would have been the same, and we would have gotten to the pier much quicker instead of waiting at the airport). The buses arrived at 11:45/noon and we had to once again carry our luggage to the bus.
On our first cruise we joined NCL's frequent cruiser's program, Latitudes, which has special privileges, like a special check-in desk etc. At the pier, the Latitudes line was much longer than the regular check-in. We did, however, get priority boarding on the ship. We were in our room by 1 pm.
There is a sign saying that passengers are subject to search when you first board the boat but I've never seen it done. We took liquor on board in our carry-on. Some of my fellow passengers could have easily paid for another entire cruise with the money they spent on their bar bill at the end of the week. The Wind didn't have any x-ray machines.
The Food
Once you get on board, food is being served. Either buffet style on the Sports Deck, or in the dining rooms (with waiter service). Food was great the entire cruise...no real problems. Our waiter was a little overworked (at the end of the cruise he said they were short a waiter). Our water glasses were constantly running out and service was a little slow.
I do not have gourmet tastes. I am happy with a burger and fries. But I did try some new things like escargot and caviar. I also do not like most soups and there was soup on the dinner menu everynight. They usually also had a chilled soup, like cream of berries, so to me it was like drinking a milkshake with a spoon. If you do not care for any of the entrees served a particular night, grilled chicken breast and baked potatoes were always available. They also had a "spa cuisine" portion of the menu, which were healthy selections - low fat, low calories. I can't comment on those because I didn't try any!!!
Entertainment
We got our fill of the singing and dancing shows on our first cruise. We did, however, go to the two comedienne shows they had plus the one variety show. The seats in the Stardust lounge are uncomfortable. Grab a seat on one of the sofas instead.
Amenities to our Room (#8244)
a programmable safe
hairdryer
one large bed and sofa with fold-out bed (for single)
small clothesline in shower (for bathing suits)
adjustable height shower head
Panasonic tv set (13 inch?)
Sony Telephone ($5.95 per minute to call USA from it)
vanity/desk area with two AC/DC plugs and two sockets for international voltage
The Ports
Grand Cayman - The port in Grand Cayman is not deep enough for cruise ships so passengers must be tendered in on smaller boats. It was sort of chaotic and time consuming to get to the tender to take us to the island. Once there, the shops are only a few steps away from the dock. We spent the day walking around the shops and spending the rest of the day onboard. Boy was I surprised to see a worker in the lifeboat next to our window!! Good thing I wasn't nekked! The toilet in the room stopped working, someone on the floor had clogged the line. It was fixed within a few hours. After we got back to the ship, I thought I lost my room key, so I went to the reception desk and got another. The person working the desk did not ask for any kind of identification, it seemed lacking in security. I probably could have gotten anyone's room key if I wanted to. Money saving tip: mail your postcards from this island - Caymanian stamps are cheaper than Mexican stamps and have a nice picture of Diana Princess of Wales on them. (You will probably save about a whole quarter per postcard by doing this! woo-hoo) (The reception desk will sell you postage stamps--they will mail them for you too. Don't forget that you must have the proper stamp for whatever country you are in and they be mailed from that country.)
Cozumel - The ship docks right into town where shopping is within walking distance. We rented a moped for $25 and spent the day driving around the island and going to different beaches (and bars). Got stopped by Mexican police on a deserted road for not wearing helmets and going too fast. He was going to give us a ticket but when we said we were on NCL Wind and leaving that day, he said it would be a problem because if he gave us a ticket we would have to go to court the next day to pay the fine. Instead he just gave us a verbal warning. Phew. I was saddened to see some homeless dogs, especially a female dog with puppies on a deserted road looking for food.
Cancun - Another port where you must be tendered in. I was surprised that NCL allowed street vendors on the tender to sell their wares to the passengers. The tender drops you off at Fat Tuesday's beach bar. We spent a week in Cancun last year so we knew our way around. We were able to exchange a dollar bill for 10 pesos at Fat Tuesdays. The public bus costs 4 pesos per person. We caught a bus headed toward the mall Plaza Caracol and also Forums by the Sea (within walking distance of each other). I can't stand dealing with the agressive Mexican vendors "downtown". We ended up seeing Loco Por Mary (There's Something About Mary) at the nice movie theatre at the Forum, (it was only $2). It was in English with Spanish subtitles.
Freeport - this was a subsitute stop because the tender for NCL's Private island, Great Stirrup Cay, was being repaired. Had to take a taxi to get anywhere. The pier is in the boonies. Did some shopping at the International Bazaar - taxi ride is $3 each way.
Some Little Things that NCL could do better:
As we were waiting to board the tender to go back to the boat, the workers should have announced "get your boarding passes out and ready to show." We had to wait and wait while others rummaged to get their passes out.
Let ME have Thomas the Polish busboy at my table!! He was a cutie!! I'd give him a good tip too! hehe
A few nights there was Karaoke in the Observatory Lounge. The way the tv monitors were positioned, the singers would have to have their back to the audience in order to read the words. (Maybe they positioned the monitors that way on purpose!!)
I heard some complaints from the people whose cabins were on the same deck as the Stardust lounge. Anytime a show was on, you couldn't cut through the lounge to get to the rest of the deck (which included the casino, shops, and lounges). So they would have to take the elevator (or stairs) down one deck, cross over and go back up.
Other info:
NCL Drink menu: page 1 page 2 page 3
Remember, the small print says that a 15% gratuity is added to all drink prices
NCL Dream is the sister ship to the Wind - identical
The Wind didn't x-ray any purchases brought on-board from the islands. At Grand Cayman, it was impossible to buy liquor and hand-carry it back with you.
Don't bring any beach towels - NCL will supply all the beach towels you will need - even ones that you can borrow and bring into port.
Photos of the trip
The Wind Docked in Cozumel
Swimming Pool on Deck 9
Our Cabin
Cabin View
Another Cabin Shot
Our situation with Mexican Police Officer in Cozumel
Hard Rock Cafe in Cancun
Sun Deck on Wind
The wet bar with some new friends
Itinerary/Suggested Dinner Dress:
Sunday - arrival - Casual
Monday - at sea - Formal
Tuesday - Grand Cayman - Country
Wednesday - Cozumel - Carribbean
Thursday - Cancun - 50's and 60's
Friday - at sea - Formal
Saturday - Freeport (usually NCL's Private Island - Great Stirrup Cay) - Casual
I wore dresses each night for dinner. On casual nights, my husband generally wore nice golf shirts with Dockers (and sneakers). On Country night, a lot of people wore jeans to dinner. I would guess that only about 10% of the men wore tuxedos on Formal night and most women did not wear long gowns.
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