TexasviaAtlanta

Was going to try one more time to see if anyone could provide some insight. Thanks!

To save some additional money we changed to an ocean view room on the Spirit for our upcoming cruise. Room options were limited and we are now on the 8th floor above the casino. I am curious for those who have stayed in the same place how loud it remains all night? Could you smell the smoke in your room? I know I can't change it now but curious to know what to expect. Thanks!

I forgot to mention that my kids LOVED the putt putt golf and the rock climbing wall!

Good afternoon,

We went on the NOS out of Galveston on the September 20th sailing. We are a family of 4 (mom, dad, 9 year old daughter, 7 year old son). This was our first ever cruise so we did not have anything to compare it to since we always take a beach vacation.

We arrived at the port around 10:30. We had reserved Lighthouse parking ahead of time based on comments I saw here. Within 10 minutes of parking the bus had picked us up and took us to the port. We only spent about 40 minutes total going through security and getting checked in. We quickly had our sea passes and about 11:15 we were called to get on the ship. Thankfully, we had read ahead of time about going directly to the buffet which we did and had no problem getting a seat. However, when we left about 45 minutes later it was standing room only. We all had our swimsuits on under our clothes so headed out to the pool until we could get to our room at 1 pm. It was crowded but the kids could still find a spot in the pool and they had NFL football on the TV. We soon had a cold drink in our hand and we were all happy!

At 1pm we went to find our room which was 6500. This is a family room (no balcony) but it did have 2 very large round windows. We were at the very front of the ship right in front of the helicopter pad. The room was quiet the entire time and much larger then I expected. It had a small cutout with bunk beds, a light for each bed, and a closet so our kids thought that was great with the curtins. Then we had one bathroom, king size bed, and a couch. The room included a lot of storage.

We enjoyed the main dining room although we were not thrilled to be at a table for 10. Given this was our first cruise I did not know I could have requested a table of 4. Everyone was very nice but by the end of the day our kids could be a little grouchy. We thought the food was fine. I have seen lots of reviews about how bad it was but overall we thought most of it tasted like the food you would get at a conference. Our table attendant was fantastic and he always brought out extra entrees for us all to try. We ended up eating in the main dining room 4 times. We ate at the buffet a couple nights and it was fine for when we were all tired and did not want to get dressed up. In fact one night they made pasta in front of you that was very good. I was surprised at the Main Dining room how casual everyone was dressed. I had told my husband no shorts and we saw all kind of men and women in shorts and once even saw a lady wearing a cover up over her swimsuit.

Our son gets motion sickness and we had brought sea bands and kids Dramamine with us and did not miss one dose. However, 24 hours in he started getting very sick and we ended up going to the infirmary more than once. The nurses were fantastic and we finally got his medication right so that he could half way enjoy the trip. He and I ended up having to stay on the boat during the Cozumel trip because he was so weak and sick.

The kids club was great and my daughter got to enjoy it several times. She would go to dinner with us and then she would go for the evening from 7-10. Now because of the time of year they only had 39 kids on the boat ages 6-12. That meant some days there were very few kids and she did not enjoy it then. The other thing to note is that the night before they leave a list of what they will be doing in the kids club during the certain hours. We found multiple nights they never did most of those which caused a little drama. When you tell the kids they are doing an ice cream sundae party and then never do it causes drama:)! Thankfully, the ice cream was almost always available by the pool. Another thing to note is that to get to the kids club you have to walk through a huge arcade. We knew about that ahead of time and so had already set the stage for our kids that they would not be playing games that cost $1-3 for each play. They never even asked us to play!

We enjoyed the pools but it really surprised us how small they were. Many times you could get in and stand but there was really little room for the kids to play or swim in the pool. We were also disappointed that all of the activities around the pool were only for adults. You would think if you are doing a belly flop contest for adults that it would not hurt to keep the pool closed 15 more minutes to let the kids do it.

Our room attendant was amazing and we tipped him multiple times since he had to help clean up our room so many times with our sick boy. We found the medicine stopped the throwing up but he still felt quezy and uncomfortable the entire cruise.

Nighttime entertainment: We enjoyed the women against men competition and the Kareoke. We did not attend most of the entertainment because much of it did not start until after 10. This was unusual because the average age on this cruise had to be 50 or higher. Many looked like they were heading to bed earlier then 10.

We did go to the Promenade several nights to grab dessert. The sandwich and pizza options were very slim.

We very much enjoyed Grand Caymen. It was the only port we did not do an excursion at. We walked out of the port and walked down to one of the restaurants and they had stairs straight out into the ocean and we had a great time snorkeling. We then headed to Margaritaville and enjoyed the slide and pool before heading back to the ship.

Jamaica was not nearly as pretty and I did not feel as safe with our kids. We took a local food tour and had locals walk us around to different restaurants/houses to try the local food. We enjoyed the tour but it was VERY hot and our kids were uncomfortable.

Overall, we had a good time it would have been much better had our son done better. We will not be going on another one as a family because Patrick struggled so much. We thought having 3 full sea days was too many but I understand they have to do that coming out of Galveston. We thought the ship was very nice, the food was decent, and there was enough to keep us all busy.

Again this is just our opinion just wanted to share!

We cruise for the first time this coming Sunday on the Navigator. My question is I see if you buy an individual drink you then pay an extra 18% charge. If you have the drink package is that 18% included in the package? I am trying to decide if I get a drink package and only order drinks that fall within it will I need to account for any charges other then the cost of the package? Thank you!

Thank you for all the tips! This is exactly what I was looking for. I had not thought to bring cards or anything and I think my kids would enjoy that in the library one night!:):)

Good morning, I cannot find the new thread link on the NOS forum so thought I would post here. We are a family of 4 including a 7 year old boy and 9 year old girl and this is the first cruise for all of us. We sail on September 20th! I am looking for tips of things I need to definitely bring or do so that we have a great time! I am worried that there will be very few kids given the time of year we are going so want to make sure I am prepared. Our son does get motion sickness so he always wears the motion bands and I will have childrens Dramamine just in case it is needed. Will the kids need there sea passes with them all the time or can we carry them for them? If you have traveled with kids this age before what do you always make sure you have with you? We are really looking forward to our trip!

It does not look like we can reserve lunch times at the specialty restaurants ahead of time?