6/1 10 day Hawaiian Cruise on Norwegian Wind Review

[chipnchair]

Just got back from the 6/1 10-day Hawaiian cruise on the Norwegian Wind. My review appears below, please let me know if you have any questions. I *did* keep the freestyle dailys in case you have questions about those as well.

 

Briefly, we are *frequent* visitors to the islands so we booked our own air and hotel travel before/after the cruise. We also got dropped off/picked up by a local friend which means we can't speak to the NCL air/lodging/travel packages nor the airport transfer options. We also travel uber lightly (backpacks) and only with carry-on, so we also can't speak about luggage handling through personal experience.

 

EMBARKATION

was a breeze. Despite being first time NCL passengers and not getting to take advantage of the Latitudes boarding, we didn't wait more than a couple minutes in line. The check-in process was quick and painless.

 

PHOTOGRAPHY

We're camera shy so we didn't have any portraits taken. There are 2 photo stations right after they lei you :p and right before they sanitize your hands as you board. There is a (I believe) one time only deal for $150 for all pictures which I think is probably worth it since I noticed lots of opportunites where they would photograph you outside of just the formal nights. The photography staff (particularly Jack) are quite helpful. Even though we didn't get photographed, we attended his two days of seminars about photography and paid for the photo safari they offered on Fanning Island. It was only $15 per person and includes information and details about the island and the people and culture. In addition to a mile or so walking tour, there is also a visit to a villager's home. Both photo seminars were offered the two sea days before Fanning Island.

 

STATEROOM

We stayed on the promenade deck in an oceanview room and it was perfect for our simple needs. Our room was toward the middle of the ship so not much foot traffic outside the door as we weren't super close to the lobby/reception/excursion deck nor the stairways and elevators. We did like having the jog/walk path on the same deck cause we could just look out our window to see if it was a good time to do our daily walks. My initial concern about outside noise or how easy it would be for passengers to see in our room was alleviated as you really don't hear the walker/joggers. The windows are tinted but the room *can be* visible to the outside at night when your lights are on. There was also a privacy curtain separating the bedroom and the sitting room available. There was PLENTY of room for all of our stuff. The beds were quite comfortable. The bathroom, not surprisingly, is small, but you get used to it.

 

HOUSEKEEPING/LAUNDRY

We had an awesome pair of stewards who were quick, always friendly and never obtrusive. We were low maintenance as didn't order room service nor have much garbage. We did use the laundry service (*very* pricey) but I also opted to wash personal items and hang them on the line in the shower overnight and saved some money. The items dried quickly . They do the $25 for everything that can fit into a laundry/valet bag day but it's so far into the trip (7 days in) and you don't get your items back til 5:00pm the next night so it's not that useful, imho.

 

EXCURSIONS

As frequent visitors to the islands, we didn't book a single tour. Instead, we rented cars beforehand and drove around doing stuff on our own.While on our last Hawaiian cruise we played tour guide for family , this time around we avoided the usual attractions and just went to local towns, looked for ono kine kaukau and just hung out. As such, we can't speak about the NCL offered excursions. I will say that if you have been to the island before or feel comfortable exploring on your own, you're really better off renting a car/van and taking your group around as we looked at excursion prices and found they would really add up if you have a large group. I did notice some folks hiring taxis and having the drivers take them around to the sites and offer their POV/history. In the end, I suspect even that option was less $$ than the excursions. For those inclined to shop or don't want to do anything strenuous, all the ports had free shuttle/nearby options to satisfy those needs as well.

 

Fanning Island was interesting. When you stepped off the tender you could go to the right where the manicured beach and grass areas with the BBQ setup was or to the left where the natives held their swap meet and lived their lives. The photo safari was a good introduction to the atoll and way of life, and we were respectful not to be intrusive (well, most of the group was at least). As soon as our tour was over, we got our Republic of Kiribati passport stamp (the only time we set foot on the NCL prepared side of the island) and then headed back to the boat.

 

FOOD/BEVERAGES

If you don't drink water/iced tea or coffee and tea (juice in the morning) you will spend $ on beverages. They have the $50 soda card and at $1.73 a pop (pun intended) it can add up if you drink soda with every meal. Another option would be to bring your own bottled water and 6 packs of sodas on board from the local ports. Because of the way the cruise was set up, it's easier to do on the back-end (when you're hitting port after port after port) but on the front end, you need to really stock up for the at sea and Fanning island days. The staterooms have cups and fresh ice is delivered twice daily so you don't really need a fridge desperately. When I got to the point where I was rationing my bottled water, I took my bottle up to the Sports Bar or the Pizzaria and refilled it by pouring water from a clean cup into it (you can't/shouldn't fill it directly from the disepensers).

 

The food, overall, was pretty good. We mostly ate at the Four Seasons, Sports Bar, Pizzaria or the on-deck BBQs. We also ate at the Terraces and the Trattoria. Both were fine, but we're more on the casual side of freestyle, so we stuck with the aforementioned. Before the cruise I had asked about wearing shorts in the restaurants. I was pleased to find that wearing shorts or jeans or tank tops and flip flops was fine in the Sports Bar, Pizzaria and even the Four Seasons (with the exception of Formal night). Breakfast was the same buffet fare (portions were generous) day to day but there was good variety and themes.

 

The chocoholic buffet wasn't very impressive (compared to opulence on other cruises) but having it in the middle of the day assured more participation even if it broke up an at sea day.

 

We only had courteous and efficient service during all of our meals.

 

ONBOARD AMMENITIES AND ENTERTAINMENT

We didn't see very many of the shows, just Alfred and Seymour (hip hop comedy act), Wes Apae and the Sea Legs Circus at Sea (Jean Ann Ryan company). The most enjoyable, for us, was Alfred and Seymour, but others seemed to enjoy the other shows, as well. It's important to get to the Stardust Lounge early to get a seat. We usually got there anywhere from 20-30 minutes early and enjoyed the band while waiting.

 

The daily onboard activities were okay. The cooking and pastry demonstrations were somewhat weak as it was hard to see what was being demonstrated without an overhead mirror. Trivia games were fun but hard to take serious (cheaters!). The internet rates were $$$ and once connected, so slow you never really got any value. The library is limited but the game parlour was pretty decent. Lots of decks of cards, puzzles and games to choose from. There is no onboard casino, so there were lots of Bingo times. There was also daily cashless poker sessions for at sea days too.

 

The gym is separated into weights/machines in one room and cardio machines in the other. Both rooms are small, so it would often get crowded and it was hard to find room to stretch. Chantelle, the onboard gym expert held daily activities like walking a mile, doing stair climing, stretchs, cardio funk and other activities. The best thing about the gym is that it's open 24 hours, so if you really want to work out, you can find time to at some point. As mentioned, the jog/walk track is on the promenade deck and my only complaint was it seemed to often be closed due to deck washing or too much ocean spray.

 

Shopping is limited, but there are sales. I would suggest not buying stuff right away because there are one day sales that come later in the cruise, so you might want to hold off for more values. I did feel the logo merchandise apparel were pretty good quality and price. Be careful what you buy on Fanning Island as some of it might not be allowed to be taken off the ship when you get back to Honolulu.

 

The onboard entertainment crew is pretty lively and super friendly. We encountered pretty much all of them at point or another in passing or during activities and lectures.

 

Our cruise had a Hawaiian/Tahitian dance instructer (we didn't participate but we watched the graduation and everyone seemed to be having fun) who was also an Hawaiian expert who gave information about Kilauea (which we saw at night) and also Molokai (more on that later).

 

Lecture-wise, we sat throught several of the Hawaiian history and culture talks. Although informative, the best thing I received from it was the recommendation to read James Michener's book, Hawaii (which actually details much of what was being talked about). We also enjoyed the quickie language classes, particularly the ones taught by Frances, from the entertainment staff.

 

DISEMBARKATION

was also a breeze. We did the express walk-off and were off the boat around 7:45am with no problem.

 

MISC

We weren't able to tender safely on Kona day, so it became an at sea day. While some of the passengers were upset about this, Captain Lars made up for it by taking the boat past the impressive seacliffs of Molokai. June, the Hawaiian expert, gave us additional information about the island and, in particular, about Kalaupapa, the former colony for Hansen's disease patients. Very cool views as even though we have plans to visit Molokai, I can't imagine we'd get these views again.

 

Demographically, it's definitely not a singles cruise as most cruisers are older or families with a smattering newlyweds and younger couples.

 

I'm sure I'm missing lots of other stuff, so if you have any questions, just ask 'em!

 

Thanks for reading :)

[FSUJim]

Thanks for the great review and info (will be sailing on the Wind Aug. 13).

 

I was somewhat confused about you stating that you would go get water. This will only be my second cruise (Alaska on HAL in 2003), when I was on board that cruise I had some concerns about drinking the water, as no one directly said it was safe to drink from the tap. I recently e-mailed the center for disease control (they do the health inspections) and I quickly got NOT one but two detailed explanations that the water should be safe for drinking. Being from Florida I drink a lot of water anyway, so that was good news. Not sure if you had reason not to drink the water from the tap or if I misunderstood the post.

 

Thanks so much!

 

Jim

[NCmom]

I am assuming chipnchair's comments about the water are due to concerns about the transfers of germs, not the quality of the water. The ships I have been on have all had water dispensers at the beverage stations. You don't want to touch your bottle to the dispensers so you don't get the germs there, and so you don't transfer your germs from the bottle rim.

 

I wouldn't recommend drinking from the tap in your room, but the treated water tastes good to me.

 

Thanks for the review--I am on the next sailing of the Wind, and have been concerned, but now I am just excited.

[chipnchair]

Hi Jim,

 

At meals I'd order water with my meals. With the exception of one time (at the Sports Bar) right after we left Fanning Island -- not sure if it was just a coincidence, but the water was warm :eek: but noticeable enough we didn't drink it -- the (treated) water seemed fine to drink.

 

Ooops, I just read NCMom's comment and she's right on. It's about not touching your personal water bottle to the water/soda dispenser. The treated drinking water is fine to consume, imho.

 

Hope this helps!

[brisby2]

If you could scan the dailies and email or post them I would appreciate it.

 

Glad you had such a great trip. Looking forward to ours in September.

[chipnchair]

hi brisby,

 

i will scan and post them tomorrow.

 

:)

[Piesek]

For all you prospective cruisers on the "Wind" on this thread, I posted a member review of our trip on the Wind in May. It's the topmost review by Piesek. Bottom line: We had a great time and would do it again!:)

[breeding]

I was about to add my thread of our review when I noticed this one so I thought I would just add our families experience onto this thread. Basically it was the same GREAT cruise, but we had some definate differences, which is why they give you choices.

 

 

This was our first cruise and our families first time to most of Hawaii. My husband and I had been to Oahu ten years ago but that was it. We had a great time and loved the cruise life. Here is how our cruise went and our perspective.

 

We got to the NCL pier at about noon to a very large line but it went very quickly and we were on the boat in 10 – 15 minutes. We went straight to the sports bar to eat. We ate at the sports bar a few more times during the 10 days but it was only for the convenience in getting food fast. The food is buffet style not fine dining and there is usually a shortage on seating. That evening we went to the Four Seasons and had a great meal and the service was a little slow but the wait staff were very nice.

 

 

 

Our first day we got off at Hilo and went on the Lava Viewing adventure through NCL. It was a very long hot walk but after over 2 hours of walking we got to see running lava. This was a tough walk but we had two 12 year olds, a 14 year old and a 15 year old and we all made it very easily. There was another family with us in the beginning with a 10 and 12 year old that could not make it. After our walk we went to the Macadamia nut factory and had wonderful ice cream. We ate at the Terraces that evening and had wonderful food with wonderful service. Terraces became our favorite and we loved every meal and all the waiters. We especially loved most of the chilled soups. There were a couple of strange ones but most of the fruit flavors were really good. My husband got into the habit of ordering two entrées very easily and I don’t think he had a meal he didn’t love. This is the restraunt that you can not wear shorts and we didn’t mind putting on our capri’s and sundresses for an evening meal. I thought it was cold anyway and needed a jacket while at any indoor activity.

 

Two days out to Fanning Island and back are a wonderful way to relax. Our girls had great times all day with friends just playing and eating and we mostly just sat on lounge chairs, in the wet bar or the hot tub talking to people. The girls did not get involved in the kids club. Most of the activities they had really wanted to do seemed to be on the nights we made them go to bed early because we were going to go on excursions the next day. They met two girls from Florida and one from Georgia that they loved just hanging out with and playing basketball. We all went to the lei making classes and a few other craft type activities and we went to a few of the shows but most of the time we would get talking to someone new and the time would just slip away from us. We also ate at the deck BBQ on the sea days and thought that the food was great. We had rain or lots of wind most afternoons.

 

Fanning Island. We were on the Napali beach excursion and I am glad we did it. We got to be first ones off the ship and had played in the water for a couple hours before most everyone else got to get off the ship. It is a clean, and really nice beach at Napali. There is much more room, so it seems like you are on your own secluded island and beach. We bought some of the crafts and had some great coconut milk. They put a straw right in the coconut. Then we took the tender to Fanning and ate lunch. We walked part way toward the school but the flies were terrible and we had so many little kids that wanted to sing us a song for money that we turned back before we actually got all the way to the school. We had seen enough any way.

 

Kauai: We had rented a convertible and were just going to cruise around this island. We ended up getting to port over one hour late because of all the head wind coming from Fanning. The captain extended the day by one hour but I felt for those with non- NCL excursions. It took a long time to get through the immigration process also. We did not get to the car rental place until 11:30. We went to a Botanical garden that was fun and then went to Poi Po beach. The waves and current were so strong that the lifeguard cautioned us against letting the girls boogie board since they had never done it. They did get to snorkel and saw some fish but it wasn’t excellent conditions with all the waves. This was the night of lobster on the boat. It was excellent! We ate at Terreses and then went to the show and then went to Four Seasons and ate againJ!

 

Maui: We rented and SUV on this island. We got to Maui (Lahina) early and the captain started letting people off the boat at 7:45. We were at the car rental place by 8:30 but they were the slow ones this time and we did not get on the road until 9:00. We stopped at the shell station and got the CD and map for the road to Hana. This is not “IN” the shell station but a little house at the entrance to the shell station. We hiked back to Twin Falls, stopped at most of the Falls and overlooks and made it to the black rock beach by 2:00. It was so windy and the waves were so large that there was no getting in the water at all. We continued on going right through Hana, missed the beach at the hotel (we didn’t even see where it was at all) and got to the seven sacred pools at 3:00. The girls played in the pools for about 30 minutes and we continued on the forbidden road. We had heard about the non-pavement, the bumpiness, the very narrow road with steep banks but no one told us about how much it was like a rollercoaster. The girls loved it. We ended up getting to the winery by 4:58, which they closed at 5:00 but she let us in to taste some wines. That is a fun little stop that I wish we had more time to check out. We were back at the Lahina / Wialea intersection at 6:00 so we decided to go down toward the Grand Wialea hotel and check out the snorkeling there. It was also too wavy to snorkel but the girls played in the water for about 30 minutes. This is where life got a little messy. We got in a traffic jam because of a wreck on the way back to Lahina. We lost over 30 minutes and we were cutting it close to making it to the boat anyway. We ended up getting lost and a couple that were also on vacation helped us get to the pier and “hopefully” took our rental back to the rental shop. We were so tired and stressed out that night that we didn’t even order dessert just an entre’ and went to bed.

 

 

 

Kona: We had a fishing and snorkeling trip planned for this port. The swells in the ocean made the tendering process too dangerous so the whole tendering process was called off. The captain was very sorry and tried to make up for it with free cocktails for one hour. I knew that you should never count getting to a port I had heard it over and over for months but it was still very upsetting. We had a relaxing afternoon and decided to start packing early. The captain also took us by the Molekai shore line. We got some good pictures.

 

Our room was also an Ocean view on the promenade deck. We were at the very far end of the boat but there was little traffic in our area. We had lots of room for all 4 of us to put all our cloths in the closet on the shelves. Our room stewards were wonderful. We got 3 towel animals that the girls loved. We saw captain Lars in the hallways talking to passengers more than once. We had a cruise critic meet and greet and they set up everything and made sure we had a special spot. We had a lot of the captains head guys there and the cruise director spent the whole time just talking with us. Everyone was super helpful if you had a question. We liked being able to eat our chocolate in the middle of the afternoon. We did hear people in line complain about it not being at midnight, which I could not understand. As I mentioned earlier we loved Terraces restraunt. Everything was first class which we don't get to do here in rural Idaho very often. We loved the breakfast because it was not buffet style. I can cook most things on a breakfast buffet, I want something I couldn't cook. We ate at sharing tables most mornings because we would leave our girls in bed. This gave us a great opportunity to meet many new people.

 

 

One thing that happened to me that I wanted to let everyone know about is the side effects for the patch. I had put my patch on the first night and was doing ok, after I put my second patch on I woke up and could not see. My eyes were dilated and everything was fuzzy. I was also very shaky. We went to the ship doctor and they told me to take the patch off right away. They said they hate people using it because there are so many side effects. I started using melcazine for a few days that my doctor had prescribed for my girls but then switched to the ginger capsules. I felt better with the ginger than any other meds and no yucky taste in your mouth.

 

 

We loved our cruise but we are probably not the type to cruise very often. We have too many places we want to really check out and explore to be limited to the time off that you get while in a port. The disappointment that you get when you miss a port is just too great. If anyone has any questions that I can answer I would love to do so. Have Fun!!

[FLbeachbaby]

brief thoughts on wind-balcony room very nice, plenty of storage, tiny shower even the comedians made fun of it.

 

food-ate at bistro and it was fab. did the surf and turf and worth every penny also had the fondue, yummy

 

next favorite the trattoria for italian, then terraces for the regular meals. don't do buffets so had breakfast each day in the restaurant or on balcony, very nice.

some entrees were a miss for us, but we loaded up on appetizers.

 

ports-rented cars in each, easy driving-lots of traffic so plan for that.

 

ship does rock, it's the pacific ocean and not a mega-ship so beware if you are prone to motion sickness. captain does his best to steer clear of weather but... winter cruises must be VERY rocky cause summer sweels are generally calmer there.

 

on and off the ship was a breeze. had the ncl air and it was great. great way to see the islands, just don't be disappointed if you miss a port because of weather, it happens.

 

loved the cultural activities and the comedians, not the production shows.

 

did see lava at night, AMAZING.

 

thinking about going? do it, the most beautiful place we've ever been

[chipnchair]

It took a while, but I've scanned, PDFed and posted the files.

 

Wind Freestyle Dailies from 6/1-10

 

I had to borrow the web space of a friend of a friend, which is why it took a while. :o

 

Enjoy!

[chipnchair]

Just noticed the files weren't showing up on the other site where I was trying to host them. :o

 

I remembers another member cleverly using tripod to host, so i thought I would try that too.

 

hopefully this link will work better (I don't know if there will be bandwidth issues or not)

 

NCL Wind Freestyle Dailies 6/1-10, 2005

 

thank you for your patience! :)

[mshe]

FYI, 11-day dailies are available here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=190234

 

Pretty much the same I think :)

[chipnchair]

Hi MSHE,

 

Your original post was actually where I got the idea to host on Tripod, it worked beautifully. :)

 

Thanks!

[brisby2]

Chip,

 

Thanks so much for posting the dailies.

[brisby2]

Chip,

 

I know for formal night they say dark suit. My DH only owns a medium gray suit, would that be appropriate? How many men did you happen to see in tuxes? We are trying to decide whether he should rent a tux or can get away with his suit.

[deltachi96]

Any suit is fine and we did not even see that many people go formal as compared to other cruises. Some just wore shirts and ties and I even saw one in a basketball jersey!

[chipnchair]

Hi Brisby2,

 

Deltachi96 is right on. DH's medium gray suit will be fine as we saw several men wearing light colored suits, some even without ties. We didn't see many tuxedoes at all.

[mshe]

Chip,

 

I know for formal night they say dark suit. My DH only owns a medium gray suit, would that be appropriate? How many men did you happen to see in tuxes? We are trying to decide whether he should rent a tux or can get away with his suit.

 

No need for a tux. Hawaiian cruises are extremely causal, your DH in his medium grey suit will blend in fine. As for the tux, I only saw perhaps 5 or 10 ppl in tuxes. Actually you don't even need to dress up... the Four Seasons (casual dining room) serves the same food as the other restaurants.

 

BTW, NCL does have tux rental... it's only 80.00 something (not sure if it's for the week or not). If you prefer not to lug your suit along, tux rental maybe an option.

[Chicky331]

Hi All,

Thanks so much for your information. I was curious if the boat turns around when sailing by the volcano at night. I thought I read somewhere they did, but then I was reading the dailies that you all nicely posted and it said it was on the starboard side. I think our cabin is on the port side and was just curious if we had to go up to deck or if the boat would turn it around so we could have a viewing from our balcony. Thanks so much!

[Das K]

I will be on the July 23rd sailing of the Wind (an 11-night sailing), which is apparently the first Wind itinerary that goes for 2 nights in Lahaina. From reading the dailies, the 11 night trips do NOT go past the lava, since they have gone around the Big Island counter-clockwise from Hilo.

The 10-night trips go from Hilo to Fanning Island (clockwise from Hilo), allowing them to go past the Volcano.

If I am wrong, please correct me. Thanks!

[DaleJRFan]

For the Lava viewing you will definately want to be on deck because it is beautiful!! If you have a small pair of binoculars you should take them because that will allow you to see up close the lava as it flows into the ocean and creates steam. The captain did turn the ship around though so you get plenty of time to look. That was one of my favorite parts of the cruise, but my pictures didn't turn out at all it was just too dark, so you don't want to miss it!:)

[chipnchair]

Hi all,

 

I totally agree with DaleJRFan about checking out the lava from the decks, it'll be your best viewpoint. Pics are hard to get because of the distance but we got a few that turned out okay (we had digital slr and a pretty good zoom). But it'll never do seeing it out on the deck justice. Although since you have a balcony ...

 

I bet MSHE has an answer about whether the 11 day trips have you passing the lava at night.

 

I also echo the suggestion to take binoculars if you can. I wish I had them for the lava and for molokai.

[kapoho2]

The 11-night cruise does NOT pass by the lava. The ship leaves Hilo and heads north to Maui. The 10-night cruise does pass by the lava viewing, as it is heading south out of Hilo towards Fanning Island. From our house we can see the WIND as she passes by toward the volcano on the 10-night cruises. The ship is a beautiful sight all lit up at night!!

[FLbeachbaby]

we had a port side balcony and did view the lava from there as well as the deck. capt. lars floated by for some time and then tuned and made another pass. basically the whole ship full of passengers is on deck. you will not be sorry you paid the $$ for a balcony. i got the port side because i read it was the non smoking side, but smokers smoke where want it seems. it's scary watching them them flick it overboard!

[brisby2]

Thanks everyone, DH is relieved he can just wear his suit.