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Ed Z

Age: 31 to 40
Number of Cruises: 3 to 5 Cruises
Ship: Norway
Sailing Date: July 8th, 2000
Itinerary: Eastern Caribbean 

My Review of the Norway 07/08/00-07/15/00

Embarkation:

NCL advises that you should arrive at the port at 1pm (unless you are a Latitudes Member) to check in and board the ship.  Well, we had stayed in Miami for 3 days prior to the cruise and had to be out of our hotel by 11am.  We decided to take a cab down to the port and see what would happen.  Called a cab, there is a flat rate from South Beach to the port (approx. $18, if I remember correctly).  We arrived at Dodge Island about 12:15.  The cabbie dumped our luggage out on the curb and there we stood.  A gentleman walked up checked our tags and took our luggage.  I asked him where to go, and after suggesting a tip, he directed us to the terminal entrance.  We walked in and there were about 15 people there, all in the regular passenger’s line.  We stood in line, were offered complimentary juice, and were whisked through the check-in procedure.  Snapped a picture, scanned the carry-ons, and we were aboard by 12:30!  Thank goodness.  We ran to the room dumped the luggage, and immediately went to the Shore Excursion Desk… ( More on those later ).

Sail-Away:

The sail-away party took place on the Pool Deck Aft, and from what I heard was nice, we chose however to stand on the top deck as the ship left port.  Even though they did not blow the stacks (what’s with that?) it was very exciting.  Sailboats would go by and the people would jump and waive, the cars going by on the MacArthur Causeway beeped their horns and waived.  Leaving Dodge Island, we were sandwiched between the Carnival Triumph and the RCI Grandeur of the Seas, we must have mad a majestic parade.  We stayed on deck as we passed Star Island, Palm Island and Fisher Island (waive to the rich and famous), and until we were out into the ocean facing South Beach.  Suddenly it was dinner time…

Stateroom:

We were in cabin V007, Viking Deck Forward.  The cabin was category M, the lowest category of outside cabin.  The room was small (110 sq. ft.) but more than ample for our needs.  I ordered a few extras for the room, including flowers, a Bon Voyage party with cake, balloons, streamers, confetti etc.  Champagne was chilling in the room and a fresh fruit basket on the dresser.  The room had an upper and lower bunk, small 3 drawer “dresser” beside the bed, and a small chair beside that.  A full length mirror on one wall and two closets on the opposite wall.  The closets were about 3 ft across and with the 3 drawers held all our clothes pretty easily ( 11 days worth ).  The bathroom was small but adequate; the shower though was quite small.  In all the room really was used only for changing clothes and sleeping, so the size was not important.  Speaking of sleeping, the room being so far forward, rocked with the ship, ever so slightly side to side, it was like rocking a baby to sleep… excellent.

Public Rooms:

Sports Illustrated Café:

I did not use this room a lot as I am not a big sports fan, but it was nicely decorated and very modern.  I did check out some of the memorabilia on the walls.  There was a singer nightly in the Café who was really great.  Also held in this location were midnight snacks, trivia contests, and art auctions

The Monte Carlo Casino:

A fantastic casino.  Amazing that it is at sea!  People were constantly in there, but it never seemed too crowded.  The drink servers were slow, but with patience you would get what you ordered.  Unfortunately the drinks are not free as in “real” casinos.  I even hit the jackpot on a video draw poker machine, $1000.00 and was paid in cash within 10 minutes.  The only drawback is the ATM machine, if you need to use it there is a $5.00 surcharge. (yikes).

Photo Gallery:

Located next to the casino, there were plenty of opportunities to check out your pictures.  We waited till the end of the week to purchase, and only got the ones we really liked.  The only exception was the day after the Captains Formal Night, they take formal couple shots, and we bought that right away as they had a special on the leather (like) portfolio.  The staff was very accommodating, I liked the picture so much and I wanted it perfect, they reprinted it 4 times until all the dust spots were gone, it turned out perfectly.

Leeward Dining Room:

This is my favorite of the two dining rooms… it seems much roomier than the Windward.  The décor is nice with brushed steel accents and a fantastic spiral staircase.  Our waiter Carlton was very attentive and humorous.  He kept us apprised of the up-coming events and menus.  The food was quite good, and they are generous with whatever you order.  There were several times we ordered multiple appetizers or desserts and there were no questions.  On the second formal night, steak and lobster entrees were offered and we all ordered both with no problem, just extra veggies…  We chose early seating by my choice, and it worked out well, late seating folks had to see the shows at 10:30, and I preferred to be in the casino or disco by that time.

Windward Dining Room:

This is a very beautiful room, and we only ate there for the Chocoholic Buffet.  I felt that even though it was visually stunning, the seating was far too cramped for my taste.

Sven’s Ice Cream Parlor:

Sadly only open a few hours a day, but at least it was free!

Shopping:

Just about anything you can think of is available from nail clippers to beaded gowns, from plastic paperweights to crystal figurines, and perfumes/colognes to liquor (which you cannot have until you leave).  The shops were well appointed, and we found some really good deals on colognes, watches and cigarettes.  I was confused by the liquor store sale of bottles in groups of three, customs allows only 1 bottle from the ship, and if you cannot drink it, then what happens???  I never did get a straight answer on that one…

Roman Spa:

Located on the Dolphin Deck at the bottom of the ship, where the original indoor pool was located.  ( I actually sailed the Norway in ’85 and it was still a working pool then.)  I did not use the spa, but took a short tour and it is gorgeous.

Saga Theater:

Three shows were done in this theater, “Sing, Sing, Sing”, “Guys and Dolls”, and “Sea Legs goes Hollywood”.  The productions were well done, though I liked “Sing…” and “Sea Legs” the best.  The theater is lovely, with a balcony. I found the balcony a little too hot for my tastes, especially wearing a suit.  It was the only room that I remember being uncomfortably warm.

North Cape Lounge:

the home of Bingo!  I got a little addicted to the bingo, but I did win $57 on a 7 way split game… it was pricey but fun.  The comedy shows were also held here, and the 2 that we saw were pretty good.  One guy commented on the legendary slow elevators and wanted to rename the ship s/s Stairmaster.  Also he made an observation on the absurdity of taking pictures of food… I did it anyway!  A very nice lounge with large windows located Pool Deck Aft.  Very important port talks were held here, I found them very informative.

Le Bistro:

Located just aft of the North Cape Lounge, is this reservation only restaurant and wine bar.  We made reservations on our first port day, thinking that we would miss dinner.  As an FYI, dinner is open seating on port days, so seating times are unimportant.  The food at Le Bistro was fantastic.  I had my first taste of escargot and they were amazing.  The food was good, but prepare for a wait as everything is prepared when ordered, but no longer a wait than a regular restaurant.

Great Outdoor Restaurant:

Food was ok.  Seating can be a nightmare, but you can simply take your trays in to the promenade on International

Deck or Club International.  Not bad for a quick breakfast while waiting for your tender.

Club International:

This room seems to be the same as it was when the s/s France sailed Trans-Atlantic.  The room is beautiful.  I was captivated by the sculptures of Neptune adorned with quartz.  Truly a beautiful sight.  This room was used for (among other things) the Captains Reception, nightly sushi bar (!), and had a great band nightly.

Windjammer Lounge:

I never got to go here, but have vowed that in Feb 01 I will enjoy at least 1 drink there.  It is decorated with sails and masts and ropes, it is quite cozy and there is usually a piano player there.

Dazzles:

This was a fun spot, from the first night 70’s party till the last night’s Karaoke party.  The sound system is good and the DJ’s music was actually up to date.  The light show and the dance floor leave something to be desired but a good time all around.  We actually got roped into impersonating the Village People for the 70’s party for the promise of a free drink… so we lead the crowd in a rendition of YMCA.

Swimming Pools:

The two saltwater pools on board were nice.  The Pool Deck pool was larger and more crowded.  I usually did not have a problem finding a deck chair and soaking in the sun.  The waiters were very attentive, and there were freebies and drink specials.  Once I did try to escape the crowds by going to the Sun Deck pool ( smaller and with an enclosed deck area).  Unfortunately there was a group of rowdy kids there without supervision, splashing, jumping and generally annoying the adults there… NCL could use some form of supervision around the pools to cut the horse-play.  The two hot tubs are located one deck up from there between the funnels.   They were a good size and it was not impossible to get in to one of them.  I really would have liked to have seen maybe 2 more.

Ports of Call:

St Maarten/ St Martin:

First port of the trip, Tuesday.  We opted out of any shore excursions here, and decided to explore on our own.  We found a taxi that took us to Indiana Beach, this was about a 15 min ride and was still on the Dutch side, there was a bar there and some water craft, but we decided to walk along the beach a ways.  Eventually, we made our way most of the way around the little “harbor” and found a white sand beach, there was no one else for ¼ mile on either side of us….   There also were no facilities here, so we stripped down and changed on the beach.  The water was beautiful, warm and clear.  The only 2 drawbacks were the undertow (very strong, may have been the location) and the water is extremely salty, when we left and our hair dried, we had “icicles” of salt hanging off our heads, very weird…  We of course went to the Guavaberry store and bought some to take home ( I really wish they would raise that customs limit… this guavaberry stuff is wonderful, but awfully pricey to order from the US).  We ended our day at Every’ting Cool on the beach.  They have a HUGE selection of frozen drinks; we had the Painkiller, yum.  We sat under an umbrella, listened to a band and gazed at the ship and all the people on the beach.  Local women were around offering hair braiding and beautiful sarongs.  We bartered with one and bought 2 sarongs, they have made nice wall hangings.  A wonderful day.  The island is still battling the effects of several hurricanes since 97 so the vegetation is not as lush as it could be, but the island was still great.

St. John/St. Thomas:

The second port day, Wednesday.  The ship arrives at St John by 6am and those with excursions leave the ship by about 6:30.  We chose the St. John Sailing.  We were taken on a catamaran out to Honeymoon Bay and taught to snorkel.  We were set loose for about 75-90 minutes of solo snorkeling.   The water was so clear, and the fish were stunning ( I had never snorkeled so this was all new to me ) we saw some amazing sights.  The most impressive was just as we were supposed to go back to the boat I spotted an octopus.  I called several people around and we watched it glide across the floor of the bay, changing colors as it went over rocks or sand.  We reboarded the catamaran and sailed to St. Thomas, about 45 minutes.  Free punch ( with or without rum ) was served.  We were taken to the back side of the island and boarded safari buses for a scenic ride to Charlotte Amalie.  We stopped at the top of a mountain for a spectacular view of Megan’s Bay and then another stop to see the harbor at Charlotte Amalie and the ships docked at Havensight, and the Norway in the distance.  We arrived in Charlotte Amalie, grabbed a sandwich and RAN around shopping as we had less than an hour till our next excursion.  We loaded up on the liquor at AH Riise, this shop is great because if you come in before 2pm (I think) they will ship your liquor to the ship for free.  We then boarded the Kon-Tiki Party Cruise.  There were plenty of people from the Norway, and the other 2 ships in port, Grandeur of the Seas and Zaandam.   We sailed out, with non-stop rum punch to a reef, then they opened the glass bottom and we could see the sea life.  They threw hot dog rolls in the water and the fish went nuts.  We then sailed to a beach on a small island adjacent to St Thomas.  We were left for an hour or so to swim and let the rum punch sink in.  We reboarded the Kon-Tiki to sail back to St. Thomas and the rum punch flowed, but this time the crew offered additional shots of rum in your punch.  There was a steel drum band and limbo’s etc.  The Kon-Tiki also has an open upper deck.  We arrived back at Charlotte Amalie, did some more quick shopping, and boarded the (last) tender back to the ship.  Liquor prices are unbeatable in St. Thomas.

Great Stirrup Cay:

Final Port, Friday.   Fun Place!  The snorkeling was great, and if you got the equipment through NCL, you could snorkel all day (we did twice ).  Doran was our sea life tour guide and pointed out different fish, and sights, and warned of what not to touch.  The food on the island was great, just your plain hamburgers, hot dogs etc, but very good.  The calypso band from the Pool Deck played on the island, and the music coupled with the views was breathtaking.  There is a small “straw” market on the island where locals sell their wares.  There are some good deals and they are always willing to bargain.  Wish the day at GSC were longer.

Staff:

We met some wonderful people on this ship.  The crew was completely helpful and friendly at every turn.  I never saw any nasty crewmembers; even the maintenance guys would smile and say hello.  I recommend a number of employees ( and even wrote a 5 page letter to NCL to advise of these outstanding people)  look for Patti Honacki, Bobbi Hawday, Torrance Turner, all hosts, and international hosts Pilar and Aurora – fantastic.  Doran of the Dive-In staff was very helpful and genial; he was also our muster captain and tour guide on Great Stirrup Cay.  There are several others, and I am sure you will find your own.

The trip included 3 days at sea, which may seem like a lot, but they were wonderful.  The daily Cruise News was packed with things to do all day, or sometimes we chose nothing at all.   Debarkation was a breeze, I did not like having to leave the cabin so early, thus we had to drag around 4 carry on bags everywhere we went.  I will look forward to Freestyle Cruising since they are supposed to have more relaxed debarkation.

A last thought….  Things I will never forget.

Standing on the back of the pool deck in formal wear transfixed by the moon and its reflections in the water.
The slight shaking of the ship as it picked up speed to get to Sint Maarten.
Rocking to sleep in my cabin.
Running around alone ( and nekkid ) on the beach in Sint Maarten.
Snorkeling in St. John.
Too many Fosters Lagers are not necessarily a good thing….
Winning $1000 in the Monte Carlo Casino.
Finding an awesome watch at an awesome price.

This was the best vacation of my life, and I wish I could do it every week….  Counting down till 2/17/01 for my next journey on the Norway.   I will miss her when she goes to Asia.

Ed Z a.k.a. Intrepid. 

Norway    8/85
Norway    7/8/00 –7/15/00
Norway    2/17/01 – 2/24/01

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