TYPE OF SHIPS: Modern superliners and new megaliners.
TYPE OF CRUISES: Contemporary, mainstream, emphasising “Freestyle Cruising.”
CRUISE LINE’S STRENGTHS
• sports activities
• Freestyle Cruising options and flexibility
• variety of dining venues
• nonsmoking cabins
• innovative ships
CRUISE LINE’S SHORTCOMINGS
• loud deck music
• small bathrooms on some ships
• family accommodations and offerings
• unusual luxury accommodations
• Hawaii-only itineraries
STANDARD FEATURES
Officers - Norwegian.
Staff Dining and Cabin - international; Cruise: American and British.
Dining facilities - Majesty and Dream, 6; Star and Sun, 11; Spirit, 9; Dawn, 11; Jewel, Pearl, Gem, 10; Pride of America, 9, Pride of Aloha, 6, Pride of Hawaii,10 — all with
open seating, some with charge ($10–$20). Embarkation lunch; Chocoholic, midnight buffets; Sports Bar & Grill; ice-cream parlors; pizzerias; French, Italian, Spanish, Asian, and steak house specialty restaurants.
Special diets - Vegetarian, low-salt/calorie, kosher; must be requested 14 to 30 days in advance.
Room service - 24 hours.
Dress code - Casual by day, informal in evening. Optional formal/semiformal attire one night on short cruises, two on seven-day.
Cabin amenities - Phone, refrigerator, some bathrooms with tub, sitting areas in standard cabins on newest ships, television with CNN and ESPN, safe, hairdryers. Majesty, ironing board. Jewel-class ships, coffeemakers, espresso in suites, terry robes.
Electrical outlets - 110 AC.
Wheelchair access - Dream, Majesty 7 cabins; Spirit, 4; Sun, Star, 20; Dawn, 24; Jewel, Pearl, Gem, 27. All have cabins with bathtubs with grab bars. Newer ships: Braille indicators for elevator buttons and cabin numbers, electrical hoists for pools and Jacuzzis, tender boats accessible via wheelchair. Older ships: barriers to wheelchairs removed, ramps built.
Recreation and entertainment - Up to 11 lounges, sports bars; Broadway shows, Las Vegas–style revues, comedy, nightclub, disco, casino, library. Wine tastings, singles, honeymooner parties, video arcade. Martini, winetasting bars on newest ships.
Sports and other activities - Sports Afloat program with golf practice, basketball, volleyball, table tennis. Snorkeling; scuba for certified divers. Private island with water sports rental equipment. Most ships, two swimming pools (Jewel, three pools); jogging track. Pearl and Gem, four bowling alleys ($5 with shoes), climbing wall and full-dimension tennis court and viewing stand.
Beauty and fitness - Aerobics, fitness center, sauna, jogging track, barber/beauty salon. Spa on Dream, Spirit, Jewel-class, Sun.
Other facilities - Medical, dry cleaning/laundry. Meeting facilities; 24-hour Internet cafe and wireless access fleetwide—$0.75 per minute, packages available; laptop rental, $20 per day; WiFi network card, $10 per day.
Children’s facilities - New and enhanced year-round program for ages 2–17 in four age-specific levels with youth counselors. Children’s menus, fares, babysitting. Dawn, Star, Spirit, kids’ splash pool, playroom; Dream, Majesty, Spirit, Jewel-class, unlimited soda packages, $16, backpack with unlimited soda program, $39.50; teen passport, $34.50.
Smoking - Nonsmoking dining rooms; nonsmoking sections in public rooms.
NCL suggested tipping - NCL automatically applies a service charge to passenger’s shipboard account: $10 per passenger per day for those ages 13 and older, $5 per day for children ages 3–12; no charge for children under age 3. Charges can be adjusted; 15% added to bar tabs and spa Services.
Credit cards - For cruise payment and onboard charges: American Express, Visa,
MasterCard, Discover.
Copyright 2007 by Kay Showker, The Unnoficial Guide to Cruises 10th Edition, John Wiley & Sons, reproduced with permission
Unofficial Guide © 2009
