New to Norweigan

[bike1964]

Hello all,

I have 16 cruises under my belt. 8 with Carnival and 8 with RCCL. We are considering an inside cabin on the Spirit out of NOLA in Feb 2010. Price is right, has 4 ports of call, and New Orleans is about a 10 hour drive for us.

That being said, is there anything I need to be concerned about? I am anxious to try the anytime dining. (bored with the same old dinner routine/menu's) One concern I have is that evidently all inside cabins have quads? is that true on all Norweigan ships? Do they stick out of the wall? I have banged my head several times getting out of bed on various other cruises. We are budget minded cruisers and usually sail ships because of the ports of call and usually have an inside cabin. We really don't care too much about the ship itself as long as the food/service are good.

Anyone out there have experience with the Spirit? Good, bad, ugly? Please advise. I am one cruise away from Platnium on Carnival and 2 cruises away from Diamond on RCCL, but the perks anymore aren't really worth it. No biggie in my book.

[RaMar]

Originally Posted by bike1964

Hello all,

I have 16 cruises under my belt. 8 with Carnival and 8 with RCCL. We are considering an inside cabin on the Spirit out of NOLA in Feb 2010. Price is right, has 4 ports of call, and New Orleans is about a 10 hour drive for us.

That being said, is there anything I need to be concerned about? I am anxious to try the anytime dining. (bored with the same old dinner routine/menu's) One concern I have is that evidently all inside cabins have quads? is that true on all Norweigan ships? Do they stick out of the wall? I have banged my head several times getting out of bed on various other cruises. We are budget minded cruisers and usually sail ships because of the ports of call and usually have an inside cabin. We really don't care too much about the ship itself as long as the food/service are good.

Anyone out there have experience with the Spirit? Good, bad, ugly? Please advise. I am one cruise away from Platnium on Carnival and 2 cruises away from Diamond on RCCL, but the perks anymore aren't really worth it. No biggie in my book.

With 16 cruises under your belt, you are well seasoned. I will be on my 21st cruise on the Spirit in December and I will write a review upon returning. Have done just 2 prior cruises on NCL and have had no complaints at all. Just 1 cruise on Carnival and I loved it too! I will say, go for it and enjoy the experience.

[bike1964]

Thanks for the reply. I will look for your review!!! (hopefully with pic's) We have sailed out of NOLA many times and it's so easy for us. Not a big fan of flying. (particularly in Feb!!)

[silkhair1]

Usually there is 1 trundle type bed and i overhead bed in the insides. (my experience on the Spirit) We were int eh same cabin both times. I know what you mean about hitting your head, but I only have that happen when the bed is down. How many in your cabin? Spirit is an older/smaller ship, but very nice. I am doing my first Carnival this summer. so I can't compare there, but we LOVE the anytime dining because it works so well with our kids, but that being said, you don't really get to know your wait staff as well. You can request the same wait staff, but it is not the same. If that does not bother you all should be well. Have fun!!!!!!

[ugen512]

I have been on Spirit 2x and still feel it was the nicest ship interior I have been on. Can't say much about the IS since we had BL both times.

[flashdog_1]

Parking in New Orleans is extremely expensive (up to $25 a night). Go to the Gulf Coast departures board for suggestions about a hotel there that gives free or reduced rate parking, and come a day early at least, to see N.O. If parking is free, then your hotel will be cheaper than a week's parking fees elsewhere.

[IWORK2CRUISE]

You shouldn't have a problem with an inside on Spirit. We were very comfortable, twice. The upper berth does not fold into the wall but doesn't protrude out very far when closed.
The ship is quite lovely with a lot of pretty woodwork and an Asian theme.
The bathrooms are quite comfortable, with a fairly large walk-in shower.
The Promenade deck is fun as there are some nice places to sit outside and enjoy either the Blue Lagoon or Henry's Pub.
The Bier Garten up top is a great spot for an afternoon drink and snack and overlooks the pool.
Have breakfast on Raffles Terrace and ovelook the Buccaneers chidlrens area at the back of the ship.

[sillysailor 1955]

We sailed a couple of years back on the Spirit (we have also sailed on the Dawn and Jade). The Spirit is my favorite NCL ship. It has lovely teak wood decks . We stayed in an oceanview room on the Spirit (we had balcony on Dawn and Jade) - the room was so warm and comfortable it was my favorite of the three ships. I really loved the Asian style motiff on this ship. I'm sure you will enjoy it.

[amistad]

If the cabins in the jj category 9551 or 9051 are available they are 170 sq. ft. instead of 149. There are also some aft cabins on deck nine that are 160 sq. ft. if that helps on space. We did this cruise in April and we are Diamond on RCI and have 9 cruises with Carnival, but the flight to New Orleans is only 3 hours compared to 7 hours for Florida so I am with you on it being so much easier. I really enjoyed our NCL experience on the Spirit. The food is not quite as good as Carnival, but probably equal to RCI, and as far as service goes we had a really nice wait team the second night so we just requested them the rest of the week. We ate in the Garden diningroom and never had a wait and we went at all different times. I was suprised at how relaxed the dress code was, and I loved the dress up or not idea, the whole experience was very relaxing. Have a good time and don't stress out about it, I was so worried that I had made the wrong decision going with NCL since the boards seem to really be harsh on comparing them with the other cruiseline, but they are more similar then different.

[bike1964]

Thanks again for all of the replies. IMHO you can't go wrong on any cruise line!! My main concern is ports of call, and location of the ship. It doesn't make any difference to me who waits on me as long as the service is good.

[slotaddict]

I have beeen on the Spirit, but not in an inside... The spirit is a great ship for your first NCL cruise - she is charming, the service is great and the crew is top notch.