Cruising The Caribbean:

The Norwegian Windward

December 1995

I never really pictured myself ever going on a cruise this early on in my life.  I guess one day me and my sister were just going through some cruise brochures and thought that it was a really cool idea.  Well, one thing led to another and the next thing we knew we were planning our trip for a cruise.   My parents weren't too convinced on going so we thought we'd just go together.   Eventually, my mom decided to tag along...that was fine with us.  Well, after doing some extensive research, we decided to book on the Norwegian Windward.  We booked a Southern Caribbean Cruise which included the ports of call you see below. 

San Juan, Puerto Rico - St. Barts - St. Lucia - St. Thomas - Barbados -

Virgin Gorda/Tortola - San Juan

Norwegian had great rates for the cruise and the best itinerary that we could find so that's why we went with them.  We were very lucky that since we booked really early, we received a 5 category upgrade.  That was awesome!  When most people think of cruising, they just think of a bunch of 60+ y/o people on board.  Well, on some cruise lines that's really the case but it's not always true.  I really think it depends on what time of year you go and which line you go on as well.  Norwegian is known for it's great dive and sports programs so generally, it will tend to attract a more sporty/younger crowd.  Carnival is also good if you're looking more for a party atmosphere or a younger crowd.  We went in December right when most college aged kids were off for the holidays so we had a really good mix of people. 

Old San Juan

Onboard the ship, there are just countless amounts of things you can do.  You can go to the spa, weight room, sports bar, shop, tan on the deck, hit the pool, etc...  You basically can do as much or as little as you want on a cruise.  That's the beauty of it all.  On a cruise, you'll have to choose if you want either a late or early dinner seating.  We ended up choosing the late seating.  The reason behind that is because it just gives you more time to relax after a long day on shore.  The ship usually leaves each port around 5 or so... early dinner starts at about 6:30.  That means you'd more or less have to hit the showers immediately right after getting back on board etc... just very rushed.  The later seating allows you relax a bit, go on deck, and then get ready for dinner.  I mean the timing for the late dinner is also great for watching shows as right after you're done dinner, you can just head right into the theatere to go and catch a show. 

The Sunset in St. Bart's

Luckily, Norwegian wasn't very sticky on their dress codes.  I know some lines are very picky about what you can wear in the dining room and around the inside of the ship.  They were generally fairly laid back.   I guess as long as you didn't look like a bum, nobody really bothered you. 

Onboard a catamaran in St. Lucia

Each night on the cruise, there was a special theme night.  There was a 60's night, country western night, Caribbean night and a few other themed nights.  Basically, the parties start at night on the outside decks.   They'll have things like hula hoop contests, limbo contests etc...  Also, the midnight buffets are also themed around these events as well.  Talking about food, the food is generally fairly good on the ships.  You can order as much or as little as you want.  Your servers will gladly get you anything that's on the menu.   Room service on the ship wasn't too great though.  The menu was rather limited but OK if you just needed a snack. 

The midnight buffet aboard the ship.

There are tons of optional excursions that you can take when you dock into town.  We ended taking a few but not all of them.  In some places, you may just want to take a cab into town to do some shopping or just take a cab to get you to the nearest beach.  Usually cabs are very inexpensive and there are plenty around.  Some of the excursions are very expensive though and it's often cheaper to just even hire a cab for the whole day.  Just negotiate a flat rate before hopping in. 

Just hopping out of the water in St. Bart's