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Norwegian Cruise Line

MS Norwegian Sea

Your Rating:
Reviewed by:Joan Fleser
# previous cruises: ?
Date of Trip: January 26, 2001
Itinerary: Bahamas

Overall this was a very enjoyable cruise. Although the ship is in need of refreshing everything was clean, the food good and the staff friendly and helpful. Our cabin was tiny but for a 3 night cruise it was acceptable, a longer cruise though, those tight quarters could be questionable. The embarkation went very smoothly. The line was huge when we got there, at least a hundred people ahead of us. I thought we'd be there forever but with so many agents I don't think it took more than 20-30 minutes. A big thumbs up for NCL's checking in. If you had a suite or were a Latitudes member check in was immediate. Disembarkation was equally as smooth. We left breakfast at 9:10 Am and were at the airport by 9:50 AM. One can't ask for better than that.

For the most part the public areas were very pleasant. We never had a problem finding a chair out by the pool or a table for that matter when we wanted to eat out there and there was no problem finding our way around the ship as the Sea is only 40,000 GWT. Small by today's standards. There was never anyone in the pools except for my daughter and myself because the water was COLD. The 2 hot tubs though were very popular. Unfortunately, the temperature in one was so hot no one could sit in it so the other tub was always crowded. That led to the water looking a bit grey after a while and unlike the pools the water in the hot tubs were not emptied at night. We did find a maintenance person the second day and asked him to turn the temperature down. He needed to go below deck to do that and said it would take about 15 min. so in the mean time I went up to the Sauna and toasted up there for awhile until the hot tub cooled down. The gym and sauna area was small but nicely outfitted. The N. Sea does have a walk-around promenade. More common on the older ships than the newer ones coming out today. There was also ping pong, golf and basket ball. The first two we used quite a bit. The main show room, although it didn't have totally unobstructed view, had good line of sight from just about anywhere. The other large lounge had a relatively big area for dancing. At one point I think there were at least 10 couples out on the floor moving around comfortably without bumping into each other.

The casino took up about 1/3 of deck 5 and it was always busy. I was kind of excited to see 5 cent slots (obviously I'm not a big gambler) but I was always so busy I never had a chance to. There were lots of nooks and crannies to hide in. The Explorer Lounge was especially nice. Situated up on deck 10 right between Le Bistro and Gatsby's it was a quiet little retreat looking out the big windows in the aft of the ship. I also liked the Piano Bar. Wood paneling and big windows made it very nice. They did use it for the Super Bowl Party on Sunday and a lot of cheers and moans could be heard 2 decks away. It was in the Piano Bar that I first noticed rust along the windows. I then noticed it other places as well. In addition, the carpeting in the hall ways was starting to look in need of replacement. My husband thought he had read that the Sea was going in to be refit sometime around April. If that's the case it's a good decision, this ship definitely needs to be refreshed. There was a spot on board where you could send and receive email. Unfortunately, it was in a bad spot, as far as privacy was concerned. It was located in a hallway right across from the main gift shop which was right between the casino and the main show room. Great advertisement that they have internet service but Zero for privacy.

Here is where the Freestyle cruising really came into play. Overall I have to say I enjoyed it. I liked not being restricted to having to show up at dinner at a certain hour. I know there are many who like the idea of the same table and waiter each day and the same dining companions as well. If you wanted the same table and waiter that was not a problem. All you had to do was tell the matre'd that's what you wanted and you were set. As far as dining companions that's another matter. If you found folks you really clicked with you could certainly make your own arrangements. Again with only a 3 day cruise it would have been hard to make life long friends even if we ate with them every meal. The service was excellent. I think the fear that the staff had no real incentive for good service was unfounded, at least on this ship. The waiters and busboys as well doted on my 7 year old daughter. They would always bring her entree out as soon as it was ready. One night she finished eating just as we were getting our entree so the waiter brought her out another plate of chicken fingers without even asking. They would tell riddles and do hand puppets to entertain her as well. I was talking with one waiter and I asked him how the staff felt about Freestyle and he said they were still unsure if they liked it or not. I told him many of the passengers were unsure as well because they liked having one waiter and getting to know him and having him getting to know them. He was rather surprised at this, which kind of surprised me.

We both found the food in the dining room very good. Sea Bass, scallops, prime rib, duck, beef wellington, it was all very good. Maybe not as elegantly presented as on other lines but we more than survived. We did not eat in the alternative restaurant Le Bistro but we did talk with others who did and they said both the food and the service was excellent. Along with the normal buffets and hot dogs and hamburgers every evening at 5 PM there was an on deck BBQ. One night it was steak and salmon, another had ribs and chicken. Although we didn't eat there either the food looked good and it smelled delicious. I did have some crab chowder one evening while sitting around the pool and it was yummy. They also had cheese buffets every evening at the wine bar and one evening there was a very popular sushi bar. Of course there was the usual room service and breakfast buffets with omelette and waffle stations. I have to say we didn't have a bad meal. The one negative thing I noticed was that it did take quite awhile for some of the tables around the pool to be bussed. Mostly every one dressed very nicely for dinner. Even though the dress code was Resort Casual people dressed more formally than that. Of course there were a couple that were less than resort casual but then there always are.

The cabins were tiny. There was my husband and myself along with our 7 y.o. daughter and that was pushing it. To pass another person you had to turn sideways and 3 people moving at once just didn't work. There was more than enough closet and drawer space for the 3 of us for a 3 day cruise. A 7 day cruise would have been tight. The decor was early 70's and definitely needed a redo. We never really noticed much outside noise except for all the announcements on the morning of disembarkation. The one big complaint I had was with the plumbing system. At least 2 out of the 3 nights we could hear the drains gurgling and smell the out gassing. Most unpleasant to say the least. Our cabin steward was very adequate. The room was always clean and tidy but he didn't go above and beyond the call of duty. We tend to use the ice bucket as a litmus test for cabin stewards. The first day it was filled but then never again even though we had bottles of champagne and beer in it. My husband always ended up refilling it himself.

The shows we saw were very good. The first night was a comedy juggler. I kind of moaned at the thought of this, thinking oh how second rate, but I was wrong. The man was hysterical. He had everyone rolling in the aisles. There was suppose to be another comedian with him but he was a little too sea sick to go on. The second night was a performance of the play Grease. Considering the constraints of time and space they did a very good job. The singer that did the Danny Zuko part was a John Travolta clone. The third night was a typical Las Vegas type review. It was OK but nothing spectacular. We didn't make any of the late nigh adult shows. We found all the cruise staff was very friendly and helpful.

We didn't take any of the excursions offered. We've been to the Bahamas several times so we just went ashore did a little shopping and then went over to Atlantis. If you plan on going over there they charge a hefty fee to use their beach and pools. In fact they won't even let you down there. Of course they will let you use the casino. Take note that the water ferry, though it says Atlantis on it does not take you to Atlantis. You're dropped off at the bridge and have to either walk over or take a cab. We did talk with some one who did the Dolphin Experience and thought it was pricey but a great time. Our second day was spent on NCL's private island and that was a great day. The beach was lovely, the food was good and plentiful as were the drinks and the weather nice. Not real hot but when we left home it was 6F, so I was not complaining. The one thing I could criticize was, although there were a lot of waiters constantly roaming up and down the beach they only had bar drinks that you had to buy. For water or ice tea you had to hoof it quite a ways. We went to the children's center the first night to see what was happening. Although it looks as if they had lots of fun things to do and we constantly saw them all over the ship my daughter choose not to participate. As this was such a short cruise it was fine with us. I have to say all the children on this ship were very well behaved. There was no running, screaming or deck chair incidents. The child care went to 1 AM and there was baby sitting available as well.

There was a complete range of people on this ship. Because it was so inexpensive there were a lot of young people aboard but the seniors were well represented as well. In fact half of the participants in the sexy leg contest were well into their 50's and 60's. We sat with 3 different groups of people at meals and 2 of those couples we could of easily spent more time as well as a couple we met on the tender. Overall it was a nice mix of people and we had a good time.

P.S. I realized after I read my review that I left out a very important critisim, the Free Style tipping. NCL automatically charges you $10 p/p/d. Actually a little high compared to the rates listed on Princess' web site. In thier literature NCL says, if you're not happy with the rate charged all you have to do is come to the Purser's desk and change it...... no problem. My husband and I thought we might test it to see if it was a problem or not and guess what, it was. We went to the desk about 10:03 PM on the last night of the cruise and told the Jr. Assit whatever that we wanted to make a change to our tips. We specifically didn't say if it was going to be increased or decreased. Our Jr. Assit. promptly told us we couldn't and was about to leave it at that. At the same time we both said, "what do you mean we can't change it". She then said all changes had to be made by 10:00 PM and remember this was only 10:03. I asked her where was this written. She never gave me an answer.

I then asked her was it ever announced over the loudspeaker and she said no. I then asked how were the passengers suppose to know this and she just shrugged her shoulders. My husband then asked to speak with her supervisor and she said he wasn't there. My thought was, we were on a ship in the middle of the ocean, he cerainly didn't leave the ship, go get him. Brian though in a louder voice asked to speak with her supervisor's supervisor. At this point the poor girls was looking more and more distressed and we were becoming more and more annoyed. She finally went back into the office and when she came out she had a sheet of paper with her which allowed her to make changes to our account. What I disliked most about this system, other than what I just wrote, is that the change in what you tip is not person specific. From what I can figure everything just goes into a general fund and is split among the staff. If you wanted to reward someone specifically I would give it to them directly as you would on any other ship. Just by increasing it on your account is no guarantee that the correct person would get it. I was not happy with the tipping system or the reception that we got at the Purser's desk at all. That unfortunately left a bad experience for us reagrding the new Freestyle system. NCL has to do some more refinement to do for us to be happy with this tipping system.