Has anyone sailed on the Norwegian Wind? Can anyone tell me anything about the ship, or their experience? I've seen postings about many of the other NCL ships, just not the wind.
We have several friends that sailed her doing the 11 day Hawaii at different times. They both had plumming(sewage oder) problems and some minor engine problems.
The Dream is her sister ship and her mechanical problems are well know by people that follow this board. The Wind also has had more than average mechanical problems and this would be a matter of real concern to me.
Cookie - Do you know how long ago it was that they sailed? I ask because I've heard that a lot of the problems with this ship have been taken care of, including the engine problems and the odor problems...But of course it's all hearsay.
We're already booked on the ship for the Dec. 28 sailing - No matter what is going on, we'll make the best of it and have a wonderful trip...I was just kind of curious about what might be in store for us!
Has anyone sailed on the Norwegian Wind? Can anyone tell me anything about the ship, or their experience? I've seen postings about many of the other NCL ships, just not the wind.
We were on the Wind in August and had a great time. The ship is older and poorly layed out, but the staff was friendly and the food was fine. It was our first cruise on NCL, having cruised with Princess and Carnival in the past. We had a category CC cabin and it was smaller than we had hoped, but had tons of storage. We didn't care for most of the "shows", but did enjoy the couple in the observatory lounge and the polynesian cast. Hawaiian ports were all nice, but we really enjoyed our day at Napali Beach. We did notice sewage odors a couple times, but nothing too bad. We went with low expectations, and found that over all our cruise was a lot of fun.
My wife and I just returned from a 10-day cruise on the Wind and loved it. We have cruised with NCL five times in the past. This was the first in Hawaii. It was the first on the Wind, however, we sailed twice on the
Dream which is an identical sister ship.
Let me know specifically what you would like to know about this ship.'
Thanks, Jim! I've just read very mixed reviews, but the bad ones seem to be old. I wondered if there were any current problems with the ship. I've also heard that a couple of the NCL ships have engine problems, and I was afraid the Wind was one of them.
Did you buy any alcoholic drinks on the ship? Do you know what the prices were?
Were there any shore excursions that are musts?
And a question that you might not be able to answer - Our cabin was "upgraded" from one with a porthole to one with a window on a much higher deck - But it has an obstructed view. Do you know what that means?
Nickle,
To answer your questions:
1. No we experienced no mechanical problems on the Wind.
2. We did have engine problems on the Dream in March but nothing like that on the Wind last week.
3. We bought soda cards and did not drink alchoholic drinks. I can tell you that the specials of the day were between $7-9.00 and most include the souvenier glass.
4. There are some good shore excursions but they are expensive if you buy on the boat. In almost every port you can get the same excursions from vendors on the dock as you get off the ship. The disadvantage is that the ship lets the passengers with their excursions off first and if the tenders are being used, it can take a long time to get to shore. This cuts down on the time you have available to take an excursion. Your price will be about 20-50% less if you contract with a local, private vendor on the dock. We took a bus trip on Kuaii that was 4.5 hours and included the canyon, a large waterfall, coffee plantation and tasting, beach tour and blowhole on the south shore. It cost $45 per person. The ship wanted $90. On Mauii we rented a car for $40 and drove all over the island for the day. In Honolulu, you can ride the public bus for $2 per person and get to almost any location on the island. There is one route (#55) that will take you on a complete circle of the island for $2 and it takes almost 5 hours. It goes past Pearl Harbor, the Bonsai Pipeline, etc. WE also rented a car one dayfor $45
SPECIAL NOTE: FANNING ISLAND- They will tell you that if you want to snorkel or sail (14' Hobie Wave) you need to a special beach and pay $40 extra. The problem is that there is no food, drinks or bathrooms on that side of the island and you need to take a tender to the other side to get those things. For FREE, the regular tenders will take you to the side with all the facilities and they have truck tours of the island ($10 PP), bike rentals, etc. You can also just walk around on the island and I HIGHLY recommend that you do so. The way that these people live is like the stone ages. You won't believe it.
5. On your question regarding obstructed view, I wouldn't worry about it. Most of the rooms on this ship, other than the suites, are identical in size and configuration. If you can get one on an upper deck, ocean-view, take it. There is probably part of the ships structure that is in front of the window but if you are like us, you don't spend much time in the room. If you are on deck 7 make sure you keep your drapes closed when changing since this is the deck that has the walking/jogging track.
Thank you, Jim, for spending so much time on my questions! I just replied to a message on another board, but it was before I saw your answers here, so disregard that post.
Connect with Facebook
Norwegian Wind
Linear Mode
