Norwegian Dawn 11/26/06
Norwegian Wind Cruise Review to Hawaii
Contributor Level:
Deck Hand
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 27
10 Night Hawaiian Islands (Honolulu Roundtrip)
Sail date: November 29, 2006
Ship: Norwegian Wind
Cabin type: Balcony
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 17 years ago
Review summary
It's not that I didn't enjoy my vacation (after all I was in the Hawaiian Islands!), I just wish I had informed myself more about the cruise before booking. The Norwegian Dawn is a foreign ship. So we were required to make a foreign port during our cruise. This entailed docking in Fanning Island for a day, a two-day trip each way from Hawaii. Although a beautiful, primitive island, it wasn't worth losing time at other ports. I was also disappointed in their tendering operations. It was hard to get off the ship unless you were on an excursion. Then there were long lines returning. In addition, if you waited until the last few tenders, it took forever to get back on the ship. On Maui, returning from the Pacific Paradise Luau, we got off the bus before 8pm and were not back on the ship until after 9:15pm. Largely due to the fact that they kept our tender waiting in the water while they packed the previous tender and returned it to its spot in the life boats.Ship experiences
Food and Dining
I was not impressed by the food. I expected excellent cuisine and failed to taste any in the Four Seasons, Terraces or La Trattoria. Le Bistro was fabulous, but it was impossible to get a reservation. My advice is to book all your reservations for La Trattoria and Le Bistro on the very first day of the cruise or else they get all booked up. You can eat in the Terraces or Four Seasons without a reservation but that entails waiting at least half an hour for a table unless you arrive after 8:45pm for dinner.
Entertainment
Excellent. The shows were great. However, my husband found the Broadway style shows every other night too repetitive to keep his interest. The Hawaiian crafts were also great and Karaoke is always a blast.
Service and Staff
The waiters were terrible. They would take our orders and not speak to us again for the rest of the meal. There were times we were not offered any drinks during dinner. However, the cruise director's staff was wonderful as well as the Hawaiian Ambassador, June.
Ship Quality
Overall decent for an older ship. It does not compare with the monsters they are building now with ice skating rinks and rock climbing walls. However, the first day of the cruise there was a leak in the jacuzzi causing a waterfall to come down in the Stardust Lounge.
Cabin / Stateroom
The stateroom was well-kept. Our stewards were fabulous. We stayed in Balcony Stateroom 8232 where we got a wonderful view of the volcanoes!!
Ports of call
Maui was my favorite port. There are lots of shops and the Maui Ocean Center was spectacular. This was also the only port where a Luau was offered, so if you have never been to one, you should go. However, Maui is a big tourist spot and had the biggest crowds. I was disappointed at this port because I had signed up for a zipline excursion through the cruise line. I was informed the night before that it was cancelled for lack of interest. When I arrived at Maui I tried to make alternate private arrangements but was informed these tours book up a week in advance.
Thumbs Up
0
Volcano National Park was beautiful and interesting. However, I was disappointed because I paid for an excursion to see molten lava, when we arrvied to our tour van we were informed there was no lava flowing that day so we would be doing other things around the park. Although the rest of the park was beautiful, I was disappointed that the cruise didn't even offer any partial refund.
A beautiful island but not worth the four days at sea that it required. We never got over to Napali Beach but were told it was beautiful. However, NCL provided beach chairs, refreshments and restrooms on the main beach. It didn't seem worth the $25 fee to tender to Napali Beach when all the facilities were at the main beach.
The helicopter tour of this "Garden Isle" was amazing. You should definitely splurge for at least one helicopter tour at one of the islands.
I didn't get to see much of this island due to NCL's tendering operations. They would let excursions off the boat first and then everyone else had to get tickets and wait for your number to be called. Even though we were docked at 8am, I was unable to get off the ship until after 11am.
Pros: Maui
Cons: Freestyle Cruising