I'm new to the board and to the pleasures of the cruise.....love reading all your comments.

My wife and will be travelling over from Liverpool UK, to Miami in October to board the SS Norway's eastern Caribbean cruise.
Really looking forward to it, but have some slight reservations which maybe some of you can help me with.

I've read a few scare stories on various cruise boards regarding the size of the cabins....what i want to know is (and please forgive my naiveity) What are the best (ie affordable but comfortable!) size cabins to opt for?....is it possible to upgrade to larger accommodation once you are on board?...and if so, who do you see about doing so?

Also, If any one has took the eastern carribean route can they reccommend/warn me off any of the excursions..........I was checking out the NCL page earlier and I did'nt realise there were soo many to choose from!

Finally, a bloke I work with tells me that October is a bad time to take the Carribean route as its the worst period of the hurricane season.....obviously, this doesn't exactly fill me with glee........can someone please put my mind at rest(!)

Sorry to bombard you with questions, but as the month of October draws closer I'm becoming more and more excited by the prospect of the holiday....and i find this website extremely useful as everyone i Work with is sick to death of hearing me going on about it!

Cheers
K P Kirby
kevin@edt.org.uk

I sailed the Norway last Oct. and had a good time! She's nothing like today's ships, but that's the wonderful thing about her. I was on the Viking deck, and yes, those cabins(inside) are quite small (120 sq. ft). However, the bathroom was enormous. One excursion I enjoyed was the "Golden Eagle" catermaran in St. Martin. We sailed to a private island where we swam and explored. The return was quite a lively party, which was fun for everyone. Enjoy the ship and have a great time.

I was in a D-grade Norway deck; it was fine. Friends were in C-grade on Viking deck; it was a bit bigger. It's those "one lower bed plus pullman" cabins I'd avoid!!!

However, my advice: if you keep the space as clutter-free as possible, the space will seem larger. That means unpack all your clothes into the closet and drawers, and stash the suitcase under the bed or in the closet. Never having to step over stuff has a positive psychological impact.

I have cruised in the Caribbean in October and we are leaving on the Norway in 5 weeks and I am not worried about the weather. The way I look at is, they know where the storms are and will steer clear.

Have a great trip.

We had a good time on our cruise in the Virgin Islands. St. Maarten was a disappointment. The island was hit by Hurricane Lenny last fall, and there is a lot of cleanup that still needs to be done. St. Maarten is colonized by the French and Dutch. We landed on the Dutch side and took a taxi to the French side, with a stop at Orient Beach. Beautiful beach, but part of it is a nude beach, and most of those folks should keep their clothes on. Even allowing for the hurricane, though, we didn’t care for St. Maarten as much as we did St. John and St. Thomas. Those islands are clean and beautiful.

We bought snorkel equipment a couple of weeks before we sailed. We snorkeled on St. John, St. Thomas, and Great Stirrup Cay, and really enjoyed it. We got off the ship at 6:45 am in St. John and hiked to Honeymoon Beach. We had been there last year and remembered that it wasn’t crowded at all. We ferried over to St. Thomas mid-day and took a cab to Coki Beach. We snorkeled there for a couple of hours, then went shopping downtown. The taxi took us through some very scenic areas. Both islands are very beautiful.

Great Stirrup Cay (Bahamas) was too crowded. We were tendered onto the beach and we snorkeled a while. My son and two friends went out deep into the ocean where he saw lots of fish, and even watched a small shark eat a tropical fish. He came back safely, so I guess all is well.

We did enjoy our cruise, but there were some unhappy people on board. There were a few problems with the a/c. The food was good, not great. The service was very good to excellent. Some of the entertainment was outstanding, some bad, some nights almost nothing was offered. NCL cut a lot of corners on this cruise.

My husband had to have a special diet, and the waitstaff impressed us with their ability and willingness to cater to his special needs, particularly the maitre’d. We were very grateful to them.

Since so many people refer to The Norway as a 'classy lady', we expected some charm. She wasn’t in bad shape, but she was still a little drab. When you see her from shore, she’s a beautiful ship, but I couldn’t find any other endearing characteristics. There was nothing special or classic about any of the public areas. My apologies to the legions of Norway-lovers. We really hoped to join your ranks. We still had a good cruise, though.

Our room on Viking Deck was large (242 sq. ft), the service was very good. We made some nice friends this trip and we had a good time.

Go with an open mind and you'll have a good cruise.