TYPE OF SHIPS Superliners and megaliners.
TYPE OF CRUISES Mainstream, mass market, modestly upscale, wholesome ambience.
CRUISE LINE’S STRENGTHS
• outstanding facilities and activities
• entertainment
• product consistency
• innovative amenities
CRUISE LINE’S SHORTCOMINGS
• small cabins on older fleet
• limited storage in cabins on older fleet
• impersonal nature of big ships
STANDARD FEATURES
Officers - Norwegian, international.
Staff - Dining, Cabin: international; Cruise: American and British.
Dining facilities - Two seatings for dinner plus midnight buffet; indoor/outdoor cafe with breakfast and lunch buffet; alternative dining for dinner with table service on all ships. Voyager and Freedom classes, three-level dining room; five alternative venues; Radiance, Freedom class, six venues. Johnny Rockets, Freedom and Voyager classes, Majesty, Sovereign of the Seas.
Special diets - Low-fat, low-cholesterol, lean cuisine. Full vegetarian menus. Request kosher at time of booking.
Room service - 24 hours with light menu; dining room menus for lunch/dinner.
Dress code - Casual but neat by day, informal in evening; one or two nights formal/semiformal. Tuxedo rental available.
Cabin amenities - Direct-dial telephone, radio, television, daily world news update, bathtubs in suites, suites with marble baths on Majesty, Monarch; Family Suites; Voyager, Radiance, Freedom classes: cyber-cabins.
Electrical outlets - 110 AC.
Wheelchair access - Ramps on all ships; 4 cabins on Majesty, Monarch, Empress, 6 cabins on Sovereign, 17 on Legend/Splendour, 15 on Vision and Radiance, 26 on Voyager class, 32 on Freedom class.
Recreation and entertainment - Show lounge with entertainment nightly, disco, bingo, horse racing, movies, wine tastings, dance lessons. Viking Crown Lounge, bars/lounges, card room, library, Internet cafe.
Sports and other activities - Two outdoor pools; sports deck with basketball, table tennis, shuffleboard. Miniature golf course on Legend, Splendour, Radiance, Freedom and Voyager classes. Climbing walls fleetwide. Ice rink on Voyager and Freedom classes; trampoline, 3 pools, Enchantment; boxing ring, FlowRider surf simulator, H20 Zone aqua park, 3 swimming pools, Freedom class.
Beauty and fitness - Beauty/barber shop, massage, sauna, Vitality fitness program, jogging track, health club. Solarium, elaborate spa on Vision, Voyager, Radiance, and Freedom classes; cantilevered whirlpools, Freedom.
Other facilities - Boutiques, medical facilities, laundry and dry cleaning services, meeting rooms, Internet and e-mail service, cinema/theatre on Monarch, Sovereign, Freedom and Voyager classes; florist, chapel, ice-cream parlor (also on Majesty), karate room on Freedom class.
Children’s facilities - Year-round youth programs. Playrooms and teen centers on Sovereign, Vision, Voyager, Radiance and Freedom classes, plus Empress of the Seas; teen nightclub on Majesty, Monarch, and Vision, Freedom and Voyager classes. Fisher-Price program for infants and their parents.
Theme cruises - Jazz, country music, variety of sports.
Smoking Public - rooms are nonsmoking except in designated areas.
RCI suggested tipping - Per person per day, cabin steward $3.50; dining room waiter, $3.50; assistant waiter, $2; 15% added to bar/wine bill.
Credit cards - For cruise payment and onboard charges: American Express, Carte Blanche, Diners Club, Discover, MasterCard, Visa, JCB.
Copyright 2007 by Kay Showker, The Unnoficial Guide to Cruises 10th Edition, John Wiley & Sons, reproduced with permission
Unofficial Guide © 2009
