Conference abbott::cruise_travel

I couldn't pass up the chance to comment on the S/S Norway!  My
wife and I just got back from a 7 day cruise on the Norway (9/10-9/17).
The ship is so big and so well engineered for heavy seas (it used to
sail the N. Atlantic) that we didn't ever feel we were at sea even
though the seas were a little rougher due to Gilbert.  By the way they
didn't even need to use the stabilizers on our trip.

The Norway is an incredible city with 6 night clubs and a broadway
style theater.  The entertainment on our cruise was doubled since
we booked a "50's 60's theme cruise".  Besides the normal (actually
very superb) Norway entertainment, we had Herb Reid and the Platters,
Wolfman Jack, Rain, The Jeffrey's, Bobby Rydell, and the Diamonds.
This meant that from our early sitting dinner at 6:00 pm until about
midnight was spoken for each night.  Of course they had at least
3 of the nightclubs hopping until 2 or 3 in the morning.  

The food and service was superb!  One thing I especially appreciated
was the lack of pressure to spend extra money.  They had some very
professional photographers that were just about everywhere but you
went down to the photo gallery at your leisure and bought only the
pictures you wanted (or none if you preferred).  The drinks (I thought)
were extremely reasonable in price.

The Norway's schedule includes St Maarten, St John and St Thomas and
their own private island "Great Stirrup Cay".  I highly recommend 
snorkelling on their island -- the water is great!

We got one of their better staterooms because they were all out of
lesser rooms with a queen-sized bed but in the future I'd get one
of the lesser ones and spend the savings in St. Thomas.  It turned
out for the best for us because my wife broke her foot in St Maarten
(Watch those broken down sidewalks) and the bigger cabin was easier
to get a wheelchair into.

There is a lot of shopping available on the ship and it is competitive
with the Virgin Islands prices.

My only regret is that I don't have another weeks vacation to go again!

I'd be glad to answer anyone's questions regarding NCL or S/S Norway.
You're going to have a blast!

Regards,

	Bob Grant (still mentally on the cruise!)

    REF: 36.0
    
    ANXIOUSLY AWAITING YOUR INPUT ON THE NORWAY - MY FAMILY AND I ARE
    BOOKED ON THE NORWAY FOR MARCH 25, 1989 - WOULD LOVE TO HEAR HOW
    YOU LIKED IT !!!  THANKS - KATHY SHIELDS
    

    S/S NORWAY                    			Registry: NORWEGIAN
                                                
    	Gross Tonnage: 70,203	Cruise Speed: 17 Knots	Beam: 110 Feet
    
    	Over-all Length: 1,035 Feet	Draft: 34 Feet  MPG: 35 ft/gal 
    
    	Engines: Steam Turbins 2 Main; 70,000 HP                 
                        
    	(The NORWAY is longer than the QE II and the newly commisioned
         SOVEREIGN OF THE SEA. The SOVEREIGN is higher and does not
         appear to have as much open deck space as the NORWAY.) 
                                 
    o------------------------------------------------------------------------o
                                                               
    The NORWAY is the last of the great Trans-Atlantic Ocean Liners.
    Her keel was laid in 1957 and she was commisioned as the S/S FRANCE
    in the early 1960's ('63 sticks to mind). One of the primary design
    goals was to build the fastest ship to cross from Le Harve to New York.
    
    The FRANCE consumed in one day what the NORWAY now consumes in an
    entire week in fuel.
    	                          
    The end of the S/S FRANCE was in sight at the time of her commisioning.
    
    	>Jet travel was coming of age. Ocean crossings were faster and
         cheaper by air.
    
    	>The oil embargos and price hikes during the early 1970's made
         further governmental subsidizations too expensive.
    
    The S/S FRANCE was then moth-balled for 5 yrs. 
    
    NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINES made an offer and bought the FRANCE to make
    her NCL's flagship. Her name was changed to the S/S NORWAY. A few
    years and a few million dollars later this elegant ship was given re-birth
    as a warm water cruiser.
                                                             
    And what a ship she is...! This is the GRAND DAME of the cruise
    ships in my opinion.
    
    The ship is clean; someone is continually painting and scrubbing
    her down.
    
    The service is superb.
    
    The entertainment included two full scale Broadway Shows and a guest
    entertainer. Plus night club acts & sports figures; we had Dave
    Cowens aboard who helped with the fun & games.
    
    On the down side (no fault of the ship) we had rough weather:
    the last day was 8 to 12 ft seas, so they didn't run the landing
    craft into the Great Stirup Cay. 
    
    The landing craft were fun. They each hold 450 persons and run right
    up onto the sandy beaches. The diamond plate front end drops and
    shoppers armed with shopping bags and credit cards storm the beach!
    
    I agree, the best shopping is on St. Thomas. But on St. Martin you
    can get good barter prices on wooden craft items to pass out to
    your friends when you get back. (And cold Heinekin on the street for
    $1 a bottle.)
    
    Shall I keep rambling?
    
     We had a great time on a wonderful ship. But if we were to go again
    it would be fun to go in a group with a few couples; do I hear a
    sponsor out there?!?!
    
    
    Doug

    I agree with all the previous comments about the NORWAY it's a great
    ship, we had a lot of fun on there the week starting 11/26/88 to
    12/03/88.
    We too had to by pass their private island due to high seas, but
    we had the FOUR ACES on board for entertainment they were great
    along with all the other entertainers.
    The Christmas decorations on board were outstanding.
    

    Just got back from our 7 day cruise on the Norway (12/17 - 12/24).

    We had a GREAT time.  The entertainment the best of any ship I've been
    on.  The food was excellent, service very good, accommodations were very
    good also.

    I loved the itinerary although I wished the Norway did 10 day cruises
    rather than 7 days.  I'd of loved to spend additional days in St.
    Marteen, St. John/St. Thomas, and their private island.

    The seas were a little rough our first night out of Miami but that
    added to the cruise.  After all, why spend a week on a ship if it
    doesn't feel like you're sailing?

    I thought with so many people on board the ship would seem crowded. 
    Not so.  We always found good seats for all the shows, plenty of deck
    chairs, and if lines formed for anything they were not bad at all.

    I'd do this cruise again as well as recommend it to others.

    If anyone is planning on going and needs someone to carry their bags
    I'd be happy to volunteer!

    Joe

    This is my first peek at the CRUISE notes conference and I think
    its great. I am taking the family on an Easter Cruise  (MARCH 25,
    1989) on the NORWAY and am very excited about the positive comments
    I just read. I would like to meet any of you that might be on the
    ship at the same time. This will be my 4th cruise. The first two
    were on NCL's Sunward II and it was great. Last year we went on
    an Easter cruise on the Carnival HOLIDAY and were very disappointed
    in the food, entertainment and crowded condition. 
    
    Hope to see some of you at Easter.
    
    Happy New Year!!!!!
    
    Len Uronis @ the Rochester ACT

    THIS IS GREAT NEWS - MY FAMILY AND I (SON - AGE 9 AND DAUGHTER AGE
    11) ARE ALSO BOOKED ON THE NORWAY FOR 3/25/89 - WHAT AGES ARE YOUR
    FAMILY?? THIS IS OUR SECOND CRUISE AND I AM ALSO PLEASED TO HEAR
    SUCH FAVORABLE COMMENTS ON THE NORWAY.  IT IS REALLY IRONIC TO READ
    YOUR NOTE BECAUSE WE WERE ORIGINALLY BOOKED FOR 3/25 ON THE CARNIVAL
    HOLIDAY AND CANCELED THAT RESERVATION TO BOOK ON THE NORWAY AFTER
    SO MANY PEOPLE HIGHLY RECOMMENDED IT.  I'VE HEARD THE NORWAY HAS
    A GREAT KIDS PROGRAM WHICH WAS REAL IMPORTANT TO MY HUSBAND AND
    I. IF YOU HAVE HEARD ANYTHING ABOUT IT - PLEASE REPLY.  WILL LOOK
    FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AND YOURS ON OUR MARCH CRUISE - COUNTING THE
    DAYS TILL WE TAKE OFF !!!  KATHY SHIELDS - @ EJO 

    Kathy, we are looking forward to meeting your family on the Norway,
    March 25th. Our cabin is I001 which is forward on the International
    deck. We have three high energy boys ages 14, 12, & 9 (lord help
    us). They will spend most of their time in the video arcade. 
    The childrens program on the Holiday seemed to draw mostly younger
    kids (under 9); however, they did offer some parties and activities
    for the older kids also. I assume NCL's program will be similar.
    We have been on the NCL private island twice before and it's great.
    We are looking forward to doing as much snorkeling as possible.
    I hope the locals aren't as pesky as in JAMAICA at our ports of
    call. I believe we are signed up for the early seating for meals.
    This will be our 4th cruise so if you have any questions you can
    drop me a note at my vmsmail address if you do not want to use notes.
    To get warmed up for the cruise we are going to Disneyworld on Feb
    10th.

    
    Len, What a coincidence -- we tried to book either I001 or 002 (because
    of their size) but they were already taken (guess who?).  We end
    up with I036 just down the hall from your cabin.  I'm sure our kids
    will meet up in the arcade or ice cream parlor.  We took the Disney
    Premier Cruise last march and the kids spent the majority of their
    time in the arcade.  Glad to hear your favorable comments on NCL's
    private island.  I have a number of friends who have been on the
    Norway with rave reviews.  I'll be curious to see who our entertainer
    will be since I've been told it is usually a "star performer". I
    was also told that they usually have a professional athlete (either
    NBA or NFL ) aboard each cruise.  This will only be our 2nd cruise.
    We were "hooked" after the first one (only 4 night) and would like
    to take one each year.  We are going down ahead and spending 3 nites
    in Pompano Beach (work on our tans).  Will be looking forward to
    seeing you on the 25th.   Kathy
    
    P.S.  Any idea if they do anything special for the kids for Easter
    (i.e. Easter Baskets, etc) - I'm sure cruise or not my kids will
    still be counting on it so maybe I has better bring something along
    on board??
    

    Kathy, this is a small world. Glad your on the same deck. Do't know
    what they might do special for Easter. Seems that last Easter they
    had an egg hut or something. Never fear we all know that they won't
    be bored. We have some friends in pompano beach that we met on our
    first cruise. I really like it there. We would like to cruise every
    year but it's just too expensive for the entire family. Just the
    two of us wouldn't be bad but we got to start thinking about those
    college costs. Keep an eye on this notes file for future updates.
    
    Regards,
    
    Len

    Kathy,
    
    We went on an Easter vacation cruise on Admiral Cruises.  They
    had Easter baskets as centerpieces at each table and I think
    they had an egg hunt.  However, my daughter was 8 at the time
    so I made sure I brought stuff with me so that the Easter
    bunny 'visited' our cabin (flat stuff like books, children's
    magazines, etc. so it would pack easily).  My son who was
    13 was happy with the money the Easter bunny left in a card
    so that he could use it at the arcade.
    
    Ro
    

    
    In '87 we sailed the Homeric Home Lines and loved it.  The Homeric
    was new and the sleeping rooms were very large.
    
    This year we are sailing on the Norway, April 15th, with a group
    of 22 friends.  Our rooms are on the Viking Deck #134-102, Category
    #5.
    
    Can any of you experienced, Norway sailors give me any hints, advice,
    etc.?
    
    What was the dress during Dinner and Captain's nights?
    Did you particpate in the Masquerade Party?
    What would you suggest to see on St. Thomas, St. Johns and St. Martin?
    What would you stay away from?
    
    I have organized this trip, and I would love to be able to give
    our group some first hand opinions.
    
    Thanks for your help.
    Pam 
    
    
                                
    
    

    The best vacation yet!!
    
    We sailed the Norway April 14-22 with a group of 22, during a major
    school vacation week.
    
    First, due to the Eastern strike, on Friday evening we were flown to
    Miami via a special United Charter Flight and put up at the Omni Hotel.
    All of the bus transfers, hotel check ins, etc. were handled with
    professionalism and speed.  The same scenerio happened on the way
    back; again we were put up at the Omni until Early Sunday morning.
    NCL did an excellent job in providing us the best convenient and
    comfortable alternatives in a situation they had no control over.
    
    Our rooms (Level 5 Outside Superior Cabin) were large, clean and
    comfortable.  The steward was great, never seen but we always had a
    clean room!  Ice buckets filled every day and fresh fruit baskets
    were delivered twice during the week.  There was a refrigerator
    in the room which was great for those cold beers after a day in
    the sun!
    
    The entertainment was SUPERB!!  I thought I was in Las Vegas or
    Hollywood.  Don't miss out on any of the shows.  They were
    professionally well done!
               
    Take the time to visit all of the lounges and dining rooms.  Each
    one was different, catering to different tastes from Disco to Ball
    room dancing to a small piano bar.  
    
    The islands . . . 
    
    We took the 2 1/2 hour St. John Tour and would highly recommend
    it.  We saw a lot of the isalnd and thougth it was a most scenic
    that we visited.  Beautiful bays, very colorful, unpopulated, clean,
    ... a place that we all want to go back to.
    
    St. Thomas was nice.  Most had been there before so we went to Megans
    Bay to spend a day at the beach and did some shopping after.  
    
    St. Martin was nice and new to all of us.  We rented two vans and
    toured both sides of the island.  Then we went to Dawn beach to swim.
    Beautiful water with waves!  Shopped on both sides but left most
    of our shopping for St. Thomas.  Prices seemed good.  We did not
    go through the Ship for any of our trips in St. Martin and did not
    have any problems.  The van drivers were very nice and well informed.
    There was more poverty on this island then St. Thomas.
    
    Great Stirrup Cay was fun.  I took the advise from another note
    and got our tandem tickets early and got on the first tandem in
    order to get an umbrella.  There are plenty of rafts, floats, etc.,
    but they are short of umbrellas.  With a full ship, the beach did
    get crowded, but an unexpected tropical rain storm took care of
    that real fast!  Bring a big plastic bag for anything that you don't
    want to get wet as there are no buildings that you can go into for
    shelter.  After the 20 minute rain, the sun came out and we enjoyed
    the day at the beach.  There are a few T-shirt and souvenir huts
    for shopping.  They also had a hamburg/hot dogs/beans cookout which
    was not very good when comparing it to their meals served in the
    dining room!  Great Stirrup Cay is a day at the beach.  Heard the
    snorkling was good, but not great.  The tandems went to andfrom
    the ship on a regular schedule so you can leave to go back on the
    ship at any time.
    
    
    2400 PEOPLE  . . .
    
    The one concern I had when booking on the Norway was the number
    of people on one ship.  What a pleasant surprise!  Our ship was
    full (over 2000 people) and at no time did we feel rushed or crowded,
    there were no waiting in lines and there was always plenty of room.
    I would suggest getting to the shows 30 minutes before show time
    to get a good seat.  Thet serve cocktails prior to the show.
     
    
    Last but not least - FOOD . . .
    
    We found all of the meals to be excellent.  Not one complaint from
    22 people should say it all!  The servings were adequate, but not
    large, so don't be afraid to ask for more, or order two!  Our motto
    was, if you can't decide, order both!  
    
    We did not do any of the midnight buffets as we had late seating.
    The Gala buffet was very nice and worth seeing even if you're not
    eating.  I would recommend the dining room for all your meals rather
    than the buffets for breakfast or lunch (just my personal preference).
                
    If anyone has any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.  
    
    If was a wonderful ship and I would recommend it highly.
    
    Pam
    
       
       
    

My wife and I will be taking our first cruise April 21,1990 onboard the 
Norway.  We will be booking the cruise this Thursday (8/3) thru Young's
Travel in Fitchburg, Ma.  Young's is offering a 17 % discount for this cruise.

I speaking with the travel agent over the phone, we expressed an interest in a 
category 3 or category 4 cabin with a double bed.  There are no category 3
cabins available, and only one category 4 cabin with a double bed available.

The available cabin is v260 on the Viking deck.  This cabin is the next to the
last cabin in the rear of the ship.  My question is, is this a good location
for a cabin ?, or should a look for a lower category cabin more towards the
middle of the ship ?

Any and all comments and recommendations are welcome, as well as any other
anyone can provide before I book the cruise.

Thanks,

Tom Chappel
CHAP::Chappel
223-2443
MLO 5-5 in the Mill

    My thoughts...

    The Norway is such a large ship, and the route it takes through the
    Caribbean is fairly smooth anyway, I personally do not feel it makes a
    big difference whether you are fore, aft or in the middle.

    Joe

    RE: .14 
    
    SEE MY NOTE 36.13 -- NORWAY CRUISE
    
    Also, from my Group Cruise in April 1989, one couple stayed in V262.
     We were a little concerned when we booked it because it was right
    next to the Disco.  They said that they didn't hear any noise at
    all.  They wanted a double bed, and that was the reason they were
    a little far away from the rest of us.  I will double check with
    them this week to be sure and will write again.  Except for the
    double bed, I don't believe their room was much different from ours
    which were level 5 V126-V92.  We found the Viking Deck smooth sailing
    and a convenient location.  
    
    Pam
     

     
	Thanks for the previous replies, (and phone call, Joe).  I spoke
with my travel agent again yesterday (8/1). We switched our cabin to
V163, (I think that's it, but, I don't have the info with me today)  
which is mid-ship. V163 does not have a double bed, but two single
beds that can be locked together, which should fine.

	I'm glad to hear the positive comments on the Viking Deck.

	I made a few more arrangements yesterday, including selecting the
"Miami Early Bird Special", which brings us into Miami the day before the
cruise leaves.  We selected the "Late" seating for meals.  My travel
agent also asked if we preferred a "large" or a "small" table.  A small
table being a table of 4, a large table being a table of 10.  We selected
a "small" table, any thoughts on this ? My travel agent said it is not a 
firm commitment, but just to give the cruise line an idea of what to expect.
 

I think that's about it for now,


Tom

    Regarding table size...

    Once again this is personal taste but we prefer a table for 6 or 8.
    Why not a table for 4?  Because if the other couple are real
    quiet people the conversation can get really boring.  At least at
    a table for 6 or 8 the chances of all the other couples being dead 
    heads is less likely.  Plus there are times when maybe you don't want 
    to have a running conversation yourself and it gives you the opportunity
    to sit back, relax, listen and enjoy.

    But you should do what you feel the most comfortable with.  We have
    been on two cruises where we've dined at a table for four.  Both times
    the other couples were fantastic people.  We really enjoyed their
    company.  One couple was in their late seventies (us - early thirties). 
    As we were sitting at the table and saw them walking towards us we
    thought, "Oh no!  Not for fourteen days!".  But they turned out to be
    some of the most interesting and pleasant people we've ever dined with
    onboard any ship.  So you never can tell.

    Joe

     THE NORWAY CRUISE OF APRIL 15TH
    
      I AM A NEW EMPLOY OF DEC AND HAVE BEEN HERE SINCE 6/26. IN READING
    THE NOTES I SAW A FEW PEOPLE WHO WENT ON THIS SAME CRUISE. I TOTALLY
    AGREE THIS IS THE MOST GORGEOUS SHIP AND EVERYTHING ABOUT IT WAS
    FANTASTIC. 
      THE SERVICE, THE FOOD, THE ENTERTAINMENT WERE THE BEST, ALTHOUGH
    I HAVE NEVER BEEN ON A CRUISE BEFORE IT WAS THE ONLY WAY TO VACATION.
      MY HUSBAND AND I ALONG WITH THE 8 OTHER COUPLES WE WENT WITH ALL
    WANT TO RETURN TO THIS SHIP IN 1990 FOR A REUNION. 
       AS OTHERS HAVE STATED THE HOTEL OMNI WAS GREAT AND THEY REALLY
    WERE QUITE ORGANIZED CONSIDERING THE LARGE CROWD THEY WERE TO RECIEVE
    ALL AT ONCE. WE HAD ORIGINALLY BOOKED TO STAY TWO EXTRA DAYS IN
    MIAMI AFTER THE CRUISE BUT DUE TO EASTERN THIS HAD TO BE CANCELED.
    I WOULD LOVE TO SHARE SOME OF MY PHOTOS AND STORIES WITH ANYONE
    WHO WOULD LIKE TO MEET. WE TOOK $113.00 WORTH OF PICTURES,AND WHO
    KNOWS SOMEONE FROM DEC COULD BE IN SOME OF THESE SHOTS.
       I ALSO WAS VERY LUCKY AND WON $400.00 IN THE CASINO ON THE SLOT
    MACHINES!!! WHAT A GREAT TRIP AND WHAT MEMORIES.
        I CAN BE REACHED AT 6047EXT OR ESKIMO ANY TIME 7:30-3:30.
    

	Has anyone seen the 1990 NCL brochure ?  I recently booked a cruise
on the Norway for April 21,1990 using the 1989 brochure.  

	My travel agent had not received the 1990 brochure as of two weeks
ago.  I was wondering what, if any, changes (besides the prices) there are
for 1990.


Thanks,

Tom     

    Tom,
    
    I received the 1990 book last week.  I haven't really checked it
    out too much...many of the same pictures....I think I remember their
    new ship is going to be doing 3-4 day cruises to Bermuda.  I picked
    it up while waiting for the Princess Brouchures.  I will check it
    out and bring it in tomorrow.  Give me a call if I can answer something
    specific.
    
    Joe Pflanz

    
    I just booked a cruise on the SS NORWAY for DEC 12-19. My first cruise,
    I'm looking forward to it (and to relaxing!). 
    
    This notes file has been a wonderful source of information. I have a
    nice big file of things to do while on the cruise/islands.
    
    The itinerary starts in Miami, St. Thomas/John, St. Marting, Pleasure
    Island. At first I was hoping for more islands but now I'm glad that I
    will have some at sea day's. Now I won't feel so tempted to try and do
    everything on every island and can thoroughly enjoy the boat (and the
    food!)
    
    I will try to remember to add a trip report when I get back. I booked
    the cruise through Thomas Cook in the Natick Mall. Maybe not the most
    rock bottom price around, but it's fine for me and I wanted some hand
    holding for my first booking.