rsachek

Omg...thanks so much for these and the dailies you uploaded also...going on Spirit in June and was looking for up-to-date pics!

No problem. I have sooooo many more photos to go! Let me know if you have any questions.

Next up is Henry's Pub which we really enjoyed. Stopped there for at least one drink every night before dinner. It felt authentic, almost like not on a ship.

And the Blue Lagoon where snack food is always available. We stopped here a few times for pretty decent chicken wings after we got back onboard from a long day in port. Although the "hot" sauce was kinda mild... and had a slight BBQ flavor.

So, I have been procrastinating on doing a comprehensive review of my recent 10-day cruise on the Norwegian Spirit. In the meantime though, I thought I'd share a bunch of photos if anybody is interested? Maybe talking about it will get the creative juices flowing for my full review lol!

I apologize for the quality of some of the photos. I woke up at 5:00 am one morning so I could take many of these shots without people in them. But it was still very dark outside and the fluorescent lighting alone wasn't kind. Also, I hadn't drank any coffee yet.

Should we begin in the atrium? Click any photo to enlarge.

The Cafe is on lowest level of atrium (Deck 7). Shops on Deck 8.

Champagne Charley's on Deck 8.

The distance is about 14 kilometers. Travel by taxi will take 15 minutes or 30 minutes by bus. Taxi cost is approximately €20 each way and bus costs €3 per person each way but children <5 years are free.

Why not check them out on google maps yourself? I set up the first one for you.

None of those hotels are very close to the port. If only staying for one night, I would try to be in the more touristy areas of Gothic Quarter and La Rambla so at least you will get a taste of the city. They are closer to the port, as well.

I think it would be a long walk. We took the city shuttle from the port to the Columbus Circle and the took the Metro which has a stop near the Sagrada Familia. Best to buy tickets online so you avoid the long wait on site.

Totally agree. It'll be at least 4-5 miles each way depending on where exactly you're docked.

Take the T3 port bus ("blue bus") from the cruise terminal to the Columbus Monument at the bottom of Las Rambla. Then you can take the metro to Sagrada Familia. You will have to transfer from Line 3 to Line 2. You can print the exact steps from google maps before you travel or screenshot the directions on your phone. Be very careful/alert on the metro because the touristy routes and stations are heavily targeted by pickpockets.

Do you remember which day was the laundry special?

Yes. We received the promotion flyer on night 4 of the 10 night cruise. The laundry bag was collected the following morning, by noon at latest.

You're all certainly welcome.

And here is the drink menu from the inside bars. The outside bars had another plastic menu with tropical and frozen drinks. Unfortunately, I neglected to photograph it but all tropical drink prices were <$15, so included for those with drink packages.

Also, the wines by the glass represented here are the same ones that are available in the two MDR's. One or two of the reds were tolerable but mostly, the wines by the glass were pretty poor and limited to only one choice per varietal.

Just like the title says, I scanned all of the dailies from my February 23, 2018 – March 5, 2018 10-night cruise on NCL’s Norwegian Spirit and posted them on my blog. This cruise was supposed to call on the Canary Islands and Madeira, but those ports were cancelled because of bad weather. So we wound up visiting additional ports in Spain and Morocco instead.

Link:

http://travel4brews.com/2018/03/15/norwegian-spirit-daily-programs/

I was going to just post all the scans here but you're limited to 6 photos per post so would have taken 7 posts to fit them all (10 days x 4 pages each day). I can still do that if people prefer it that way? Bar menus are to follow shortly.

Not sure if this info finds you too late but...

Just last month, we did Casablanca to Rabat on our own. I would really reconsider the ships excursion in favor of taking the train yourself. The train station in Casablanca is just outside the gates of the port, about a mile walk or €5 taxi. Round trip tickets are $8 in 2nd class or $16 in first class and there is train every 1/2 hour. Train takes 75 minutes each way.

Once in Rabat, all of the popular points of interest are walkable from the Rabat Ville train station if you're physically fit, but trams and taxis are also available.

We had about 4 1/2 hours in Rabat and managed to see the Hassan Tower/Mausoleum, the medina, and Kasbah of the Udayas without feeling rushed. Since your ship is in port much longer than ours was, you could easily add the Chellah Gardens to your intinerary, as well as a nice lunch.

You could see all of the main sights in 2 hours, especially if traveling by coach, but it will definitely feel rushed.

I listed detailed instructions on how to take the train on my blog. And here is how we spent our half day in Rabat.

Sadly, the ship seems to be running out of its nine lives. Driving by her South Philly berth, I'm always amazed she is still there.

Yeah, I think after the Crystal gift and the latest round of fundraising is exhausted, it's finally going to scrap. Consider the fact that the loose monetary policy and prolonged low interest rates of the Federal Reserve (and all global central banks, really) have created a massive speculative bubble and rampant commercial development over the past several years. And yet the ship still can't find a suitor even in these ideal conditions. It just doesn't bode well.

In case anyone still cares, there is a new crowdfunding campaign for the ship:

go fund me dot com /wearetheunitedstates

*edit: would not allow the link to be posted for some reason

I think the funniest part of this campaign is that even if the $100k goal is met, that'll keep the ship in docking fees for what, a whole month and a half?!

Here is a really excellent article that I recently read about the past and current plight of the ship.

https://billypenn.com/2017/01/25/anchored-philly-will-probably-be-stuck-with-the-ss-united-states-forever/

I think it is pretty widely accepted at this point that NCL only bought the SSUS (and the Independence) to prevent competition on their inter-Hawaii route under the Jones Act and were never truly serious about a return to service. Of course, NCL America and its predominantly American crew was not exactly a great success and they have now pared down to just one ship. So what is Crsytal's angle that would compel them to spend more than purpose built new construction? Just the nostalgia factor?

It is absolutely amazing how they always seem to pull off a miracle at the last minute and buy a few more months. I guess we shall see if they can do it yet again.

Even with the downturn in scrap metal prices, I'm sure the ship could still be profitably scrapped in India or Bangladesh but they want to go with a "responsible U.S.-based recycler".

The problems with this ship as an attraction are fourfold as I see it.

1. It's completely empty inside. Just a gutted shell. And the lifeboats have all been removed. There is literally nothing original to see.

2. The ship's history was short and not very interesting. Yes, it was slightly faster than other large liners, but that's about it. If anything, the running mate SS America had a far more storied past, having operated for forty years and serving as troop ship in WWII.

3. Modern society is just not that interested in maritime history. To wit, Celebrity just announced that they are removing their liner-themed restaurants from some of their ships.

4. Investors know they will never recover their massive outlay. The only way this ship ever gets restored or repurposed is with at least some public funds involved and it isn't important enough to warrant that (see points 1-3).

Ironically, a recent tidbit mentioned that scrap prices are currently so low that the conservancy might actually have to pay to have the ship towed away as opposed to selling it.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20151019_Cash-poor_SS_United_States_sends_out_SOS.html

Just for the record, I am liner enthusiast and a great fan of this ship, but I am also realistic.

Sorry, should have been more clear. You can use avios (on the BA website) to book AA flights within the United States. I have flown three of them already this year!

The credit card website advice is to move your BA Avios to Iberia and book there. The same flight will cost you less. But I have been unable to move my Avios because apparently you have to activate the Iberia FF account by booking one flight directly with them. So they accumulate at BA ...

You do not have to book a flight to activate the Iberia account. Buying 1000 (the smallest amount) of Avios points when logged into your Iberia Plus account will activate it. Or you can also transfer a small number of points from another loyalty program, like Amex. Your Iberia account also needs to have been open at least 90 days to transfer from BA.

Now all that said, there are some great award flights to be had from BA without transferring to Iberia. BA alliance partners such as Air Berlin, Aer Lingus, AA, etc. (all bookable online at BA executive club) do not charge the outrageous fees and surcharges that BA does for awards flights on its own planes.

But my point to the OP is that you have to fly an actual BA flight to use the companion pass and you will be fee'd to death, probably making the companion pass not worth it.

petlover, just a word of caution about using a BA companion pass...

To use the companion pass, you must fly on a BA plane (as opposed to their alliance partners) and the taxes and fees will be outrageous. I just did a mock booking round-trip LAX-LHR June 2015 and the fees are $713 per person in addition to whatever number of points are required. Needless to say, you could almost purchase outright an economy ticket for what BA is collecting in fees on the award ticket.

It sounds counterintuitive but using Avios for an actual BA flight is almost never a good idea. The companion pass is tough to get rid of - I have one that is expiring soon as well.