was it that bad?

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donder6160

Guest
My coworker just returned from the June 19th cruise on the wind, and she said it was horrible. The service was terrible, the food worse, they closed the bar at the pool at 4:00, and they didn't even change the beds. She said she wouldn't recommend this cruise to anyone. I need some more feedback, I'm booked on the same cruise for April of 2005. Am I throwing my money away, should I cancel and look at another cruise line. I need more feedback. HELP, thanks
 
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newmexicoNita

Guest
doder, I haven't been on the Wind, but it does get mixed reviews. As for not changing the sheets your co worker is certainly not a seasoned traveler. Hotels and cruise ships no longer change bedding unless requested. DO you change your sheets at home more than once a week? If you do you are different from 90 plus % of the rest of the world. As for closing the pool bar at 4pm, either she is missing something or there was a reason. Remember one of the biggest money makers for cruiselines is the bars. why would they close at 4pm? Food is subjective. We have cruised (or I have 15 times) 6 on NCL. Mass produced cruise line which are most of the lines serve similar food. If you are inclined to frequent "Ruths Chris" you will be disappointed plus belong on an upscale line. If you like "Outback" you will be more than happy with the food on any NCL ship. Dont' let one person ruin your plans. I have a good friend right here who hated their cruise on the Majesty. They prefer the formality and pampering they feel they get on Celebrity. We did Celebrity last Nov and prefer the freestyle, relaxed atmosphere of NCL. It depends on what you are looking for in a vacation.

NMNita
 
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ralphschaefer

Guest
Our group of four couples sailed on the Wind on the ten day itinerary in Hawaii on May 19. I posted my review of this cruise which you may have read. I rated it as two stars and agree that the service is slow, the food mediocre, the entertainment fair, Hawaii spectacular, and the itinerary exceptional. If I wanted to do Hawaii I would not hesitate to do this cruise. However, I have been on several prior cruises, including Carnival 7, Royal Carribean 2, Princess 1, NCL 1, Holland America 1, and I would say that the service, food, and entertainment were below any of our previous ones. As an example many people continously downgrade Carnival cruises but in our opinion all of our previous Carnival cruises were much better than this NCL cruise when it came to food, service, activities on-board, and the entertainment. Oh and the pool bar does close at 4:00 and there is no casino on this ship. Write for followup on specifics. Good Luck!
 
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newmexicoNita

Guest
Everyone has his/her own opinions and that's what makes these boards not only enjoyable but informative. I think I am totally shocked though to hear him say the entertainment is better on Carnival of all lines. Food wise, we feel NCL is heads above Carnival with exception of the Pizza. Especially breakfast and lunch. On Carnival 4 of us ordered lox one morning. The servings were so small we all ordered a second one just to have enough lox to cover 1/2 of our bagel. They did bring more, but we were so embassessed because of the attitude we never ordered more of anything. This could have been just a bad experience. As for no casino on the Wind, I am surprised Ralph didn't explain why?

NMnita
 
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WCoastCdnCruisers

Guest
The "why" of no casino is because of Hawai'ian laws. The cruise lines had to agree to close their casinos in Hawai'ian waters. The Pride of Aloha and America are being purposely built with no casino. If they ever leave the Hawai'i waters, they can add one back in. Laurey
 
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newmexicoNita

Guest
WC, this was the point I was getting to: the poster who hated the ship used no casino as one negative about NCL instead of approaching it this way. For me, no casino would be a big problem. For the rest of our family and most of our friends it would be of no concern. I'm the one that feels the need to donate money to all those nice people in the casino. I get me quarters or whatever, hit the machines and watch the money get sucked up.

NMNita
 
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donder6160

Guest
I thank you all for your responses. Ralph if you wouldn't hesitate to do the cruise again, even with some of the negatives you listed, that tells me a lot. We are going to keep our reservations and we will have a good time. How could we not it is Hawaii and we will be staying for 3 nights after our cruise.
Thanks,
Donna
 
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ralphschaefer

Guest
Donna, if I were you I would plan to stay the three nights prior to the cruise rather than after the cruise. This way you will not risk missing the ship if your flights have a problem and you are late getting into Honolulu. On our cruise our United flight out of LA had mechanical problems and was delayed 6 1/2 hrs. United had to fly another plane in from SF. Instead of arriving at 2:30 pm we arrived at 9:00 pm. We were flying up a day early. If we hadn't we would have missed the ship.

Also to newmexiconita, I have cruised on the NCL Dream and now the Wind and I would rate all of the Carnival cruises (7) that we have taken as good or, especially in food and entertainment, better than both of these NCL cruises. Our group of eight were in agreement with this and most were more out spoken than I am. In fact several of our friends have written NCL to complain. The things that makes this cruise are Hawaii and the itinerary. I do plan to try another NCL cruise but not anytime soon.
 
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newmexicoNita

Guest
Ralph, We all know there are many choices for good reason. What one likes someone else will pick apart. I didn't mean to tear anything you said apart except for the part about the casino. We all know no ship that does Hawaii can have a casino so that has nothing to do with NCL. I was very surprised about your statement regarding entertainment as most professional reviewers give NCL max points for entertainment. If you are referring to onboard activities, I would have to agree about Carnival. We too found the activities to be great if you like to be busy all the time. We miss the horse races on NCL that used to be one of the most fun parts of any cruise. Many lines have discontinued this activity. Darn!!! Food is far to subjective to try and conpare. We have found the food on NCL to be better than Carnival for breakfast and lunch, but not always dinner. We enjoy the alternative dining rooms but haven't cruised the Wind so am referring to other NCL ships. If you do decide to give them another try I would suggest something like the Dawn or Sun or even newer. You will be surprisingly happy I bet. NMNita
 
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