Spirit Review 10/9-10/23 (Long)

[mrclean1]

My first stab at this on this board, this was our 2nd NCL cruise and the 2nd time we sailed the Spirit this year. I have gleaned much info here and will try to give a little back. I meant to try and do this live, but there was just not enough time in the day, so I will put it up in segments over the next couple days, as I put it together from my notes. I will answer any questions as I am able to.

Steve

Friday October 9, Boston, MA

Our day began waiting for the 12:00 shuttle from our hotel in Boston, while waiting we met some very nice people traveling with us from LA, Reno and Michigan. A quick 15 minute trip and we were at the port. Had to be one of the most disorganized embarkations I have ever experienced. It took us more than an hour and a half to get thru the line and on the ship. I have never seen more people carry on their own luggage in all my life (What’s up with that?) It was a long wait even though we accidentally got in the Platinum Latitudes line, if not for that it would have taken at least another 30 minutes. A couple that arrived in line behind us immediately began complaining about the wait and ranting about how as suite passengers they were supposed to have priority embarkation. After a while I suggested that while we all knew he was a “suite passenger” they would have no idea until they saw his paperwork, which was going to be awhile. I suggested he find someone and show them, or failing that he could just borrow my sharpie and write it on his hat so everyone else would know too They eventually did get pulled from the line but only boarded the ship about 10 minutes ahead of us anyway.
Once aboard we went to Raffles for lunch, it was adequate, nothing to write home about, average is probably the best description. We then went to our cabin on deck 11, 2 of our suitcases arrived within minutes and we were able to begin unpacking before the muster drill. Turns out it was the second time this year we have sailed away from Boston on this ship in really lousy weather, not a problem, but sure would be nice to see the sun. Our excursion tickets, casino cards and welcome info were all there. Room service arrived un-announced with a platter of cookies complements of the casino (nice touch ).
On a side note, while I expected the demographics on this trip to be older than our last one in June to Bermuda, I really wasn’t prepared for the number of wheelchairs, walkers and electric carts that I am seeing, average age is way, way up there. God bless them, I hope I am still mobile when I reach their age, but this trip will prove tough for them as a lot of them have mobility issues and with tender ports and very hilly terrain, it is not going to be easy.
Spent some time in the casino (not successfully) and DW and I went to Blue Lagoon for wings and cheesecake before calling it a day.

Saturday October 10, Bar Harbor, ME

We anchored off of Bar Harbor this morning and are sharing the town with the Crown Princess, it made for a very crowded day, cruise passengers outnumbered the townies probably 2 to 1. Weather was nice, though if you were a leaf peeper, hopefully green was your color, we are a bit early and the leaves are just beginning to turn, no real color here yet. DW and I scheduled no tours here as we actually live a couple hours away and just walked around town, some great sales if you are a shopper as a lot of these shops will be closing for the season soon.
File this under the “we are not very organized section” DW and I opted to wait to leave the ship until around 10:30ish to avoid the rush, when we got to deck 4, the tender line looped around the hall like a conga line, people in wheelchairs and walkers were trying to exit the elevators, but the lines were blocking the doors, to say the least, it was a real mess, totally unorganized...We finally boarded a whale watch boat to tender us to the dock, minutes later we arrived and motored in circles waiting to dock. After about 15 minutes of this and much grumbling from many passengers who were watching all of the other tenders come and go, the staff made the following announcement. “Sorry for the delay folks, but as you can see, there is an ambulance at the dock blocking the passengers from leaving the bus behind it who are trying to get on the boat that is docked where we need to go, should only be a little while” Well it seems the patient that the ambulance was waiting for was a medical evacuation from our own ship and was in fact on our own tender So now 5 minutes later the next announcement is “OK folks I have just been informed that the ambulance is waiting for us as we have their patient on board, so we are going to dock at another space debark the medical staff and patient, then move over to our regular slip, where you will then be able to leave the ship” Holy Moly...note to self, try to stay healthy this trip, this was pretty messed up... Later in the day I found out that this was the second medical evacuation of the trip and we had only sailed less that 24 hours ago, hopefully everyone will be OK.
On a better note, once ashore we did have a nice day, then a late lunch of lobster rolls and lobster and corn chowder in town, made a few purchases and were back aboard by 4:00PM. We had another delivery of some beautiful chocolates compliments of the casino. After a “power nap” we played in the slot tournament with disappointing results and went to the 7:30 show, a ventriloquist (Joel Leder) which did not really impress us,
so we left after 15 minutes, went up to Raffles for a snack, as we were still pretty full from lunch. Wifey decided to call it a day, but being the trooper that I am, I went back to the casino to make an additional deposit into NCL’s corporate account. One of these days I hope to make a withdrawal...
This trip sure doesn’t look like a profitable venture for NCL, the bars are empty, casino is not very busy and basically the sidewalks are rolled up at 9:00PM. This is the second night in a row that the bartender out at Raffles Terrace was doing his best impression of the Maytag repairman, no one there, no activity at all.
Overall I’d rate the day a B, but ship organization no better than a C-

Sunday October 11, Saint John, New Brunswick

Here we are in Saint John, NB, this morning DW and I walked down to the Market Place and around the downtown area. I had a tour scheduled for 12:15 but DW opted to stay behind and shop...turned out to not be a good choice on her part as it was Sunday, earlier the shops were not open and she assumed they would open later in the day, but we had the double whammy of it also being Canadian Thanksgiving Weekend, so her day was a bust and she was not a happy camper when I returned at 4:14. Ah well, got to roll with the punches and go with the flow....
I on the other hand had a great day I took a Coastal Photography tour that was great. There were 19 of us who boarded a mini bus with a photo professional and toured reversing falls, another falls about 40 minutes away (La Prea?) and then traveled along the coast stopping at a
small fishing harbor and a beautiful beach on the Bay of Fundy before returning to the ship. Our guide was a photo pro for the newspaper and gave us many great tips and much one on one instruction throughout the tour. Based on areas toured and knowledge received I would rate this
experience as one of the best cruise ship tours I have ever taken. Still no vibrant foliage, so the leaf peepers may be a little disappointed.
Food service both timing and quality is disappointing, but not a deal breaker, after all we didn’t take this trip to experience a gourmet adventure, and I am not starving for sure. I had breakfast early, walked about town and then left on the photo tour. Upon returning at 4:15, I was starving and wanted a little something to hold me until dinner. Well, Raffles wasn’t open yet, none of the outdoor grills were operating as there is nobody out on deck, so I ended up at Blue Lagoon again and had fish & chips. Would have been nice to go to the buffet and just have a lite snack but we’ll survive. On a lighter note, the corridors leading to Windows looked like rush hour on I-95 in Boca at 4:55 with everyone trying to get in at the 5:00 opening, half the ship must have been there
DW and I took in the 7:30 Broadway show and were impressed with its quality, along with the entertainers at Champagne Charlies, on the way to the theater we saw just one party of 3 in Cagney’s, you could shoot buckshot in the specialty eateries and not hurt anyone. In fact, I went to the bar at 6:00 to watch the Patriots for a while and there were 6 other people there, and this on a cruise departing from Boston I guess if it’s not free they are just not doing it. Went out for a cigar and a drink on Raffles Terrace and again had the place to myself. The casino beat me up again before bed, one of these days the casino gods will smile on me......We have not scheduled any tours while in Halifax tomorrow, but may have to re-think that as it is Thanksgiving Day there and everything will probably be closed again.
I rate today a solid B+, but of course Mama thinks different......Sigh..

to be continues....

[red lobster]

Thank you for taking the time to post your cruise experience. We have taken a cruise on the Spirit this April, so I am really enjoying your review.

[LindaKE]

Hi mrclean1. We were on the first leg of your cruise. The reason for the long delay at embarkation was that the Coast Guard pulled a surprise security check that morning. No one could board until the Coast Guard permitted it. We were there earlier than you, in the first 250, and NCL did a good job of letting us know what was going on. I guess there was a back up in the line by the time you got there, and they had stopped updating everyone.

[sottovoce]

We were on both legs, too.

Food in main dining rooms was fine. Beef Wellington, rack of lamb, prime rib, turkey scallopini, chicken piccata were all very good. Chilled soups at almost every lunch and dinner. Service was fine. Servers didn't have time to schmooze, which was fine with us. F&B director was seemingly everywhere, even helping to set tables during busy periods. Crew amazingly friendly and accommodating at all times.

Buffet variety was amazing considering Spirit wasn't built with action stations a la Jewel, etc. Custom crepes station at dinner was wonderful. Tiramisu in buffet was best ever. Ribs were outstanding, as were grilled vegetables. Excellent assortment of cheeses at lunch and dinner. Terrific whole grain breads. Pretzels!

Bistro and Shogun were both superb.

Some people let something like the delay in boarding--not NCL's fault, as Linda pointed out--make them sour.

How anyone can complain about food quality is beyond me.

[tigerlilycruiser12]

Originally Posted by sottovoce

We were on both legs, too.

Food in main dining rooms was fine. Beef Wellington, rack of lamb, prime rib, turkey scallopini, chicken piccata were all very good. Chilled soups at almost every lunch and dinner. Service was fine. Servers didn't have time to schmooze, which was fine with us. F&B director was seemingly everywhere, even helping to set tables during busy periods. Crew amazingly friendly and accommodating at all times.

Buffet variety was amazing considering Spirit wasn't built with action stations a la Jewel, etc. Custom crepes station at dinner was wonderful. Tiramisu in buffet was best ever. Ribs were outstanding, as were grilled vegetables. Excellent assortment of cheeses at lunch and dinner. Terrific whole grain breads. Pretzels!

Bistro and Shogun were both superb.

Some people let something like the delay in boarding--not NCL's fault, as Linda pointed out--make them sour.

How anyone can complain about food quality is beyond me.

We were on the Spirit in Sept. and I agree the food was superb. the selections were very good. It was one of the best cruises I have taken. The service was terrific. We are going to go again in Sept.

[RalphWiggum]

MrClean1,

Thank you for taking the time to share your first review on these boards. I enjoyed reading the first part and look forward to the rest.

Please disregard the posters above who can not seem to comprehend the fact that others may have a different opinion than the one that they have. I hope you are not deterred from posting again because your review is the type of review that many on CC like to read - it's balanced (lists both positives and negatives), descriptive without resorting to overused superlatives that tell you very little (i.e, "the worst I've ever had", "it was a nightmare", "it was superb/outstanding/excellent") and detailed.

[mrclean1]

RW, Thanks, I know and take it with a grain of salt....Food is very subjective and I've tried to stay away from details there. I am trying to put together an honest interpetation from my point of view, that won't really reflect others, only mine.
Some NCL fans can be very defensive of their favorite product. That's OK, I really have no first choice at the moment, but obviously came back a second time....so it's not like I hate it. This is only the first snippet, and I promise it does get better, we really did enjoy ourselves...

Steve

[sottovoce]

Originally Posted by mrclean1

Some NCL fans can be very defensive of their favorite product.

Sorry, pal, but uninformed, speculative statements like "I guess if it’s not free they are just not doing it" ruin your credibility.

And, at 4:15 you could have had a choice of three soups, burgers, franks, chicken wings, fish and chips, a prosciutto and cheese panini, chef's salad, cheesecake or pound cake in Blue Lagoon, or desserts, cookies, scones, along with a variety of small sandwiches at Raffles. Inaccuracies ruin credibility, too.

[mrclean1]

Linda, I figured something was up, though no one updated any of us in the line, not that it was a big deal, I was just pointing out the fact that it was very unusual not just for NCL, but also for any other other line we have sailed. The only reason I brought it up was because of the "suite guy" behind us who was really having a fit...
Sottovoce, I wasn't being critical of NCL, just relating our experience is all, and if I came across as "sour" it wasn't intended. You do need to lighten up, your opinion is just that, yours, and if you are entitled to one, than so am I. As far as food quality, my MIL thinks the food on American Airlines is the best in the world, so go figure...
RalphWiggum, what part of the city are you in? My sister lives in Brooklyn Heights and works for House Beautiful.

Steve

[RalphWiggum]

mrclean1,

I need to update my profile, as I moved out of NYC three years ago. (Incidentally, today was the first day that I figured out/got around to getting a picture for my avatar, after having joined in 2003.) I live in CT now, about a 45 minute train ride from NYC. FYI, when I lived in NY, I lived in the Hell's Kitchen/Times Square area in an apartment overlooking the NY passenger ship terminal - that was back when all the lines still left from Manhattan. Watching the ships come in and out each weekend helped me re-live cruises past, as does reading colorful reviews like yours.

[mrclean1]

Part 2

Monday October 12, Halifax, Nova Scotia

We docked in Halifax, NS this morning and were greeted with a beautiful sun shiny crisp fall day. We opted not to book any tours here and will just recon the area for our return visit next week on our way back to Boston. Most stores were closed, due to the holiday, but we did do a little shopping at the port and generally toured the area utilizing FRED (Free Rides Everywhere Downtown) a great service by the way, more ports should consider this kind of service. It is essentially a hop on hop off bus route of about 45 minutes around downtown, that makes about 8 or 9 different stops. The info booth in the terminal was very helpful and when we return next week, we will again utilize FRED.
We took some time to tour the Maritime Museum and enjoyed it very much, then walked the boardwalk back to the ships terminal from there. Once back on board, it was time for another power nap. Again we just did Raffles for a snack and skipped dinner. I hesitate to really rate the food as it is such a subjective subject, but I will try to do a comprehensive summary at the end of our trip, lets just leave it that tonight was pretty poor.
We went to the Second City comedy, improv show and while they did have a couple of pretty funny skits, our take was it was not great, there’s 45 minutes out of my life I will never get back. Based on the number of people in the elevator and theater lobbies waiting to get in at 7:00, you would have thought we were attending a Broadway opening. The entertainers at Champagne Charlies were however excellent as usual.
On a lighter note again, at some point in the elevator, with another couple with us, I made mention of the fact that there were actually 2 people in the pool today (I actually stated it very politely, not saying, hey did you see the 2 crazy people in the pool today when it was only 48 degrees.) Well, you guessed it, they responded, “yeah, that was us ” and it was great.... I wanted to ask them if they lived at the North Pole or Antarctica or something, but my DW kicked me in the ankle and gave me the “will you just shut up look.” We got back to the cabin and laughed about it for the next 30 minutes. Really, what are the odds that on a ship of 1900+ passengers we would meet up with those two. With odds like that, I know one thing, I’m buying a Paradise Lotto ticket this evening. I finished the evening in the casino where it was much busier than in the past, and where I finally got them to give some money back
I rate today at a B

Tuesday October 13, Sydney, Nova Scotia

This morning we are in Sydney, NS where we docked at 9:00. Honestly, there is not much to do here, DW and I walked thru downtown across Charlotte Street and visited some of the shops. Of course she had to make her customary stop at the Canadian national treasure “Tim Horton’s” for a coffee, it’s not the same as her beloved Dunkin Donuts, but you know the old saying “any port in a storm”. Speaking of coffee, for my taste, the product aboard is the best of any line we have sailed so far. Finishing downtown, we walked through the historical district visiting the St. Patrick’s Church museum. I found a photo store where I purchased a polarizing filter and lens hood to replace a broken one for my camera.
We boarded ship around 2:30 and had a quick lunch (snack) in Raffle’s (Ho Hum) and then spent some time in the aft hot tub prior to sailaway. While we were out, room service again delivered a beautiful tray of ornately decorated sweets compliments of the casino. Took a power nap and then we were off to Le Bistro for our 7:00 reservation. Dinner was fantastic, as usual there, but there were only 4 tables occupied when we arrived and just 5 there when we left. Unless we are doing something that is free, we feel like we have the ship to ourselves. As we walked past Cagney’s it looked like few people were in there too.
Finished the evening in the Casino, with a few cocktails at a blackjack table where once again I made a withdrawal from the NCL corporate account. Also played craps for a while successfully, but if they were smart they would lower the 10 dollar minimum and perhaps get some more people to play.
I did not play long as it is not much fun playing a table by yourself and I never see anyone else
playing.
Today rates a B+



Wednesday October 14


We are at sea today, sailing our way up to the St. Lawrence. The day is brilliantly sunny, but cold. Captain says the water is about 40 and the air about 42 degrees, so again there are really no outside activities, but I do notice people in all of the hot tubs, I’ll be there later before dinner. Again we did breakfast at Raffle’s, DW and I had our own little slot tournament at side by side 2 cent machines (she won of course ) And after 90 minutes of play we were up $1.38....Played the quarter slots for 40 minutes, won $100.00 and decided to try our hand at roulette, where we returned most of the money to them, and then went to Blue Lagoon for soup and wings, before an afternoon nap. So far a great relaxing day. Captain says that we can expect a high of only about 33 tomorrow with snow showers or flurries.
While getting ready for dinner, room service delivered a platter of fruit and cheese along with a nice bottle of Pinot Grigio compliments of the casino. Our casino hosts Gina and Belinda have treated us royally and the
only thing dragging this trips rating down in our view is the mediocre food quality and complete absence of any outdoor activities.
This evening we had dinner at La Trattoria, and in a word it was awful. DW ordered the shrimp, which was described as sauteed on a bed of risotto, it came out as cocktail shrimp on a bed of risotto, my chicken Parmesan came out with a square slice of mozzarella melted on top, something I would expect in a low budget Italian eatery but not in a up-charge venue. The pasta was no better than that offered on the buffet, but the selections were more varied, DW thought the Alfredo sauce on the buffet was better than that in the restaurant, my Pesto was at best so so. . We did note that it was full with only 1 empty table, the only eatery we’ve noted like that, so obviously some people enjoy it, I know how subjective food can be, but for us, we won’t be back there again.....
DW is coming down with a cold, so decided to call it a day early in the evening, I finished the night in the Casino as usual, playing blackjack for 2 hours, and making another withdrawal from NCL....A host, Gina arrived tableside to inquire as to how things were going, I responded that it was just fine and she said that she was going to make my day even better and gave me vouchers for a free dinner and bottle of wine in any venue of our choice. Things are looking up.
Today’s rating is a B-, even after a disappointing dinner.

to be continued again....

[tigerlilycruiser12]

Originally Posted by RalphWiggum

MrClean1,

Thank you for taking the time to share your first review on these boards. I enjoyed reading the first part and look forward to the rest.

Please disregard the posters above who can not seem to comprehend the fact that others may have a different opinion than the one that they have. I hope you are not deterred from posting again because your review is the type of review that many on CC like to read - it's balanced (lists both positives and negatives), descriptive without resorting to overused superlatives that tell you very little (i.e, "the worst I've ever had", "it was a nightmare", "it was superb/outstanding/excellent") and detailed.

Sorry..I forgot to thank you for taking your time to write this review and yes I am enjoying it all..the good and not so good. I enjoy hearing about everyones experiences.

Oh ya..and Ralph...food is subjective and we are all intitled to our opinions...I posted when I went on the spirit the food was wonderful....doesn't mean it was wonderful for everyone. We all have different taste. So to make a statement to disregard my post or opinion...and Mrclean1 would not post the rest of the review because of it is truly uncalled for.

[tigerlilycruiser12]

Mr clean1

I still am enjoying your review. I did not go to the Tarattorla....but heard others say the same thing. we enjoyed champagne Charlie to.

[RalphWiggum]

tigerlily12


I think the statement...

"Some people let something like the delay in boarding--not NCL's fault, as Linda pointed out--make them sour.

How anyone can complain about food quality is beyond me."

...which was in the post before you and which you quoted and (seemingly) agreed with, was a little harsh, given the overall tone of mrclean's review and given the fact that he was a first time reviewer. I apologize for offending you, and I did not intend to, which is why I didn't name anyone specifically when asking mrclean to ignore the negative feedback and post away.

I'm glad we are both enjoying the continuation of his review.

Mrclean, again thanks. Are you a member of Casino at Sea?

[paiagirl]

Mrclean1, thanks for your review and anxious to read the rest of it. We are planning on the same itinerary on the Spirit next year and am enjoying reading your review. Please keep it up.

[tigerlilycruiser12]

Originally Posted by RalphWiggum

tigerlily12


I think the statement...

"Some people let something like the delay in boarding--not NCL's fault, as Linda pointed out--make them sour.

How anyone can complain about food quality is beyond me."

...which was in the post before you and which you quoted and (seemingly) agreed with, was a little harsh, given the overall tone of mrclean's review and given the fact that he was a first time reviewer. I apologize for offending you, and I did not intend to, which is why I didn't name anyone specifically when asking mrclean to ignore the negative feedback and post away.

I'm glad we are both enjoying the continuation of his review.

Mrclean, again thanks. Are you a member of Casino at Sea?

thank you Ralph Wiggum...I now understand why you posted that. I might have taken it a bit personal. I do think the best reviews are balenced with the good and not so good.

[mrclean1]

Paiagirl, we picked this cruise for it's itinerary and for the most part loved it, so much so, we may do it again next year. It was our opinion that the second week was better than the first, and if we do it again I would go 2 weeks earlier and hope for a little warmer weather. we chose the later date assuming the color would be better and as it turned out, we were early going up and late coming down. The best color was in Portland, our last full day, but that is something that can not be timed, it would just be luck of the draw...
RalphWiggum, we did book through Casinos At Sea, based on info we got from this site and were amazed to receive a full comp after only one trip with them. We sailed for port fees and taxes. I guess the best advice I can give is ask for what you want, they can only say no, at which point you are no worse off. I do not know their procedures, or what it takes to qualify and I am sure that it would vary depending on availability. We booked only 3 weeks prior to sailing and for all I know, they may have had many open cabins they wanted to fill. In any case, we were thrilled.
Tigerlily, thanks for the encouragement, when writing stuff like this it is hard to convey emotion, sometimes my dry sense of humor can get me in trouble. I did not intend to ruffle any feathers. Just wanted to convey my honest view and I stress the MY, I would hope no one makes a choice based on my opinion only, everyone really needs to try it for themselves before they can decide whether it is worth it or not.

[amistad]

I am glad you are writing a complete review, I can never write a good review, I jump around too much. We went on the Spirit this April out of New Orleans and really enjoyed it. I thought it was my favorite breakfast buffets out of over 25 cruises, but I took my 2 yr. old Grandson to the buffet at night and it looked like slim pickins for dinner, but for a 2 yr. old it was fine. My Husband and I did enjoy eating in the Garden and Cagney's though. Did you do any of the beer and food pairings or martini or margarita tastings? Keep up the good writing I am enjoying everything, we have alway's wanted to do the East coast iten., but I am not a cold weather person so I have never booked because of that.

[paiagirl]

Mrclean1, thanks for your response.

I am interested in the photo shore excursion that you took. Have you noticed if only 1 spouse had a camera or was it only for those with cameras?

[mrclean1]

Amistad, I met a lot of Texans on this trip, I know what you mean about the cold, even though I live in MA and my wife and I met at a ski area, as each year goes by I find it harder and harder to take. We now spend a good part of the winter in FL. I agree about the buffet for breakfast, we ate there most mornings and to be fair it was excellent. The other meals, not so much, the thing is that when they first open, it is presented beautifully and looks great, but when it gets picked over no one seems to be really trying to put things back in order. My other issue is that most of the foods are not really hot as time progresses. In fairness, they did have some great stuff, and some not so great. Our last night of the trip out of Portland, they had a steamship round of beef, we were there early and it was excellent, 30 minutes later when my wife went back for more, it was gone and they were carving a ham instead. Not sure if they ever got another one out there, but kind of weird that they would be out by 6:00PM when they are open until 9:00PM. I did not do any of the food and beer pairings, and margarita's are not my style, Padron straight up for me . I have done martini tastings, but not here, I'm not a fan of the exotics, I prefer the classic martini (shaken not stirred ) with a couple of olives. Get some winter clothes and do it, it is a beautiful part of North America, you won't regret it... BTW I have a sister in Dallas and a neice in Austin, and we recently attended a wedding in Fredricksburg (who knew there were so many Germans in Texas )... I'm not a professional writer by any means, but if you like my style, I started a new hobby in June that I've been wanting to do for years, restoring a classic car and I have a blog documenting the process, you can find me at my58caddy dot com (it's not a commercial site, but not sure if I can put a link in here)

Paiagirl, there were some couple's with only one camera, and others who had no interest in photography. That is what made it so cool, I got a 3 hour photo lesson with a pro almost one on one, most of the time, as many were there just for the scenic views and local history. I actually had a second photo tour scheduled when we were in PEI that got canceled in the second week due to lack of participation, that was a bummer, I was looking forward to it.