littlelulu01

We were recently on the Spirit. Our atv tour through ncl was canceled. We didn’t get a chance to reschedule anything but will say the town is easily walkable. They have a Safeway grocery store and a free shuttle from ship to town. Tourism doesn’t seem to have taken off in the town just yet. I saw what I needed to of Valdez pretty quickly on foot and got back to the ship for a Starbucks onboard, sat outside and enjoyed watching bald eagles flying around, hot tubbed and got some warm sunshine while the ship was docked.

Great review. We were on your sailing. The Spirit is my new favorite ship too. Idk if it was so few passengers or if the ship is really just that easy to get around. We never had waits, experienced polite and friendly passengers and crew, and were able to slide right into vacation mode the second we boarded. I had some great excursions planned but many were cancelled due to lack of participation or weather. Our train and bike back to port from Canada only had 7 participants. We got stuck on our bikes for quite a while at the border due to the Canadian holiday but the group we were with had fun chatting and time flew.

😢 we just boarded the Spirit yesterday in Seward and it’s by far my new favorite ship. Perfect for Alaska.

Spoke with the Alaska Railroad rep who’s refunding me for the bus tickets I purchased on their website. She thought the train service would start next week.

Very understandable the née to switch but at least put a notification on website if zero train option. We were excited to take the train and spent extra for the opportunity. Booked directly with the cruise line for the 1pm train and spent considerably more $ than the bus fares. Tonight I received notice from cruise line of the switch to the bus service. I looked at the train company website and there was still 3 seats left on the 6:45 am train. Both the train and cruise companies were closed for the night so was not able to speak to a person. Not wanting to miss the opportunity for a train ride I paid again figuring that despite having to throw away my 1pm bus ticket from cruise line it would be worth it for a train trip. Now I realize I have just spent a few hundred extra to book a 6:45 am bus trip, I’ve also got the 1pm bus ride that I’ll proceed with given the more favorable time. Just frustrating the train website had no notice that trains aren’t even running. What a waste.

Thank you! I’ll call in the morning and see if I can get a refund.

We’re booked on the ncl Spirit May 17 Seward departure. Just received notification from ncl that the train transfer from Anchorage to Seward was cancelled due to snow and they’ve rescheduled us for a bus transfer. The train website has the early train transfer option available. They have closed for the night and only a few seats left so I booked the 6:45 train. Too close to sailing for a refund from cruise line but we really want the train option. Does anyone know how common it is for train to switch to bus option? Just wondering if I just threw away a few hundred extra only to still be put on the bus? Seems so strange that the train can’t run for ncl due to snow but the early time on same day is still scheduled?

They seem to increase annually. I try to pay for as many as possible as far in advance as possible. Sometimes it’s a negligible increase but more often they’re fairly significant jumps in price.

Thanks for your through review. I had the same reservations on this room but didn’t want to sour your opinion. Seems you had the same issues with the stateroom. We were in a haven penthouse for 10 nights prior to moving into your stateroom for the TA. The penthouse we had was incredibly noisy with non rectifiable ceiling noises that necessitated us sleeping in a room down a couple of decks in a nice quiet balcony room. Luckily your stateroom just had the one comparatively quiet creak in the bedroom ceiling. It was on our ta segment that husband and I got COVID. It was right before they ended the covid protocols and testing. I think we were the last mandated sailings to be tested before sailing. We were allowed to stay onboard and be treated /quarantined in the stateroom. So despite all the flaws with this room I was so thankful we had spent extra for this room with the balcony and hot tub. I did eventually get pretty stir crazy even in this suite and can tell u every little flaw with this room. I think the two top category suites are better equipped. This room seems like an afterthought design that just doesn’t work - right down to blowing the entire power to the suite and surrounding area each time I used the hardwired hairdryer in the bathroom. I told the engineers that something was definitely correlated and initially they told me it couldn’t be but 100% of the time i used it the power blew. I wonder if they subsequently just removed the hard wired hairdryer or fixed the issue. I wasn’t crazy about the Haven (except loved the Haven restaurant) but I absolutely loved the rest of the Prima. I think I’d either book non haven or one of the two top suites and seeing how expensive the aft hot tub suites are on 13, 14 and 15, I’m pretty sure I’m ok with non haven, specialty dining and extras such as spa pass on this class.

It’s not just cruise lines adding the service fees. Most restaurants do it now too. if dinner is $100 and there’s a 20% service fee added on, I might add a couple extra dollars for the “additional gratuity” for exceptional service but can also leave that additional gratuity line empty and know I’ve still squared away my server. I won’t be leaving an additional 20%. I think most people don’t want pay 40% more than list price. I see that service fee with the additional gratuity line pretty often in Washington State. It’s on ncl ships too. Easy way to take care of everyone when the expectations are that I’m going to get great service. I can remove it should I get bad service but I’ve never had the need to do so on ncl.

10186.

There was a hard wired hairdryer in bathroom. also a razor plug and a usb plug. Just no US or EU outlet. There was a mirror- just no makeup mirror. I got the makeup mirror from butler so I could see while curling/straightening hair. Also just used the same area to put my makeup on. It wasn’t that big a deal. I’m just used to having a dedicated area to myself to get ready and so it was just strange to have that area by the coffee machine - but that’s where the majority of room outlets were. Things could easily be different now. I know they were planning to get things like bathroom garbage cans when the ship got to New York so assume it might be better equipped now. when u want to fill or empty your hot tub just ask the cabin steward. It takes a couple hours for the water to heat up. ask for the special of the day for Meals in the Haven. The chef came up with some excellent variations on the menu like lobster rolls… so always good to ask.

There wasn’t a plug in for bathroom when we sailed but they might have put one in? Also no bar or foot rest to shave legs in shower. What the room might lack in amenities it makes up for on the balcony. closet space- the closet in the master bedroom is not very big but we were in Europe for several days before boarding and onboard for 22 nights so had a few things. I had hubby use that one and the dresser in there and I took the dresser and closet in the hallway. here’s a couple pictures. Enjoy every minute and hopefully u get great use of balcony space like we did. See how the tv doesn’t face the bed? That unit pulls out in case u want to watch tv in bed.

May 17th. I usually get a spa pass but $199 pp for use of loungers and no hot tub seems pretty steep so I’m passing on those. Will check it out onboard though in case it’s an area that warrants the extra $ or the price is listed wrong in my ncl.

The vibe on this ship is absolutely beautiful. For haven passengers, it’s a really easy way to get to the Haven without need to take an elevator down, walk over and then back up. The hot tubs in vibe are better located than the ones in haven. We had a Haven penthouse for a Europe sailing and then 12928 for the TA. We loved the hot tub on our balcony in 12928 and used it regularly but never got a chance to use the hot tubs in Haven when we had the smaller penthouse room because they were so packed whenever we tried to use. We didn’t get vibe passes but was a little frustrated till I got the layout down that I’d see the Haven right there but had to go down and around to get back to my room. Have a wonderful time! Btw- the television in master bedroom pulls out and can be moved to face bed. I didn’t realize that till the end of sailing and thought it was such a strange place to put a tv. Also- there was no plug in for my hair straightener.. or a makeup mirror in 12928. The butler found me a mirror and I used the plug in and table by the coffee maker to get ready.

Thanks again. I’m really looking forward to trying this ship. The vibe of the ship looks like a cross between the Haven and the Prima for adults. I don’t know why it’s not been on my radar to try before. I wanted to try an inside stateroom on a smaller ship like this one to test waters for future bookings to save $/cruise more but husband wasn’t ready to do that so we’re in a balcony. Got the last balcony aft on deck 10 after reading about it in various posts and KeithJenner’s previous positive comments. I’m pretty sure we’re not going to bid for upgrade either.

Thanks for your pictures. Ship looks beautiful! Just booked Alaska. I see there’s Starbucks self serve machines in buffet but did you notice anywhere else where Starbucks is sold? The lines at Starbucks on the Prima and Bliss were pretty crazy and I’m hoping this smaller ship will have easier access to my morning Starbucks fix.

Since I had no symptoms, I was told to wear high quality mask when outside my cabin, isolate self immediately and report any symptoms if noted, and was to be tested 5 days after exposure if no symptoms prior (They gave us KN95’s but I had my own supply of fit tested so used my own.) I think we were not made to separate because our stateroom was essentially set up so that we could easily be fully isolated from each other. regarding the food, we were able to get canned sodas, pelligrino, Starbucks nespresso pods… I had butler get me all hooked up prior to me testing positive and so I was able to work the machine/clean myself… We were initially ordering specialty menu items and using our credits but they had some miscommunications with that. When I switched over to the COVID call center the food and food service was much better. Delivery was timely and not awkward. Crew knew how to get us the meals and pick up the dirty dishes.

We were the last sailing with mandatory testing. We spent a week in Finland and Copenhagen prior to boarding the Prima so brought with us the emed proctored kits. I had a 6 pack just in case. We had tested negative for first leg and had those results loaded in the system. I was able to complete my proctoring prior to losing fast internet in Bruges but we didn’t get husband’s done in time when leaving port. On turnaround day husband woke up with symptoms. Never having covid previously and knowing we were about to have several sea days where we might not be able to get off the ship I was not sure what to do. In the end it all worked out and we made the right choice (for us anyway) by staying on the ship. I tested him and the ship retested to confirm results. Same thing when I contracted.

Not sure how current but we tested positive in October and were allowed to stay in our stateroom. Prima b2b with the TA. Husband tested positive on turnaround day. We were in the Haven. We were scheduled to move to a bigger room within the Haven for 2nd leg. After he tested positive they put him in a balcony room. When the new room was ready they gave us the option of him isolating in an inside stateroom or the separate bedroom of our new room. I’d already been exposed and figured I was going to catch it anyway so we just separated till I tested positive the next day. I was really surprised they didn’t kick us off the ship in Southampton. Immigration came to us when we got settled in the room. We were taken care, of free of charge, by the ship’s doctor and medical staff. Medicine like cold/flu pills were free. They offered us plaxovid for several hundred dollars but our symptoms were mild so we decided against taking that. We tested negative pretty quick. Crew checked our temperatures daily and tested us when we were eligible . Husband was let out of isolation after two days of negative tests in Reykjavik and I was freed a day or so later. They had us wear high quality masks till I think day 10. It was our first bout of COVID and I gotta say it wasn’t too bad. Helped that we had food delivered, a hot tub on our balcony and separate living room. I did the cleaning… till we were both cleared from isolation. I’ve never been so thankful in my life for splurging on the stateroom. It was more $ than I’d ever spent on a vacation but once we got sick the stateroom was our isolation quarters for many days. We used the hot tub several times a day, had a crazy amount of space on balcony and separate living room.

Agree. I for one love the flow of 6, 7 and 8. I found myself shopping more than I ever would on a ship. We were onboard for 22 days at first they had a ton of selection but by the time we crossed the Atlantic the stores were pretty picked over. Regarding small venues- they were having some technical difficulties in the main theater. From my understanding they will be utilizing the theater more but it’ll just take a while to work out the bugs. I noticed quite a bit of pop up entertainment. Would be getting a Starbucks and a guy would start performing spur of moment. More of an organic happening with entertainment to cut down crowds. Thanks for the great review.

Congratulations on his graduation. Just the fact he wants to vacation with you guys probably indicates he’s happy to hang out with you two. I met you both on the Jade pre COVID 😊. Our daughters had a great time meeting people their own age when they were on a Mediterranean sailing. Ncl sponsored some activities and meeting times/places and it wasn’t long before the 10 or so college age kids all got together. In fact our daughter is now engaged to the boy she met on the Jade!

We were recently onboard for 22 nights. Some of my negatives are pretty petty and also will likely get ironed out- just typical new ship issues so I won’t dwell on them. I’ve never spent that much $ on a cruise and hadn’t intended to be on the first few paying passenger sailings but due to supply chain issue delays we ended up sailing on a ship that was a little too new for my liking. My thoughts are that the ship is just beautiful! I love all the little spaces, smaller venues, great places outside, and think this class of ship will be a big hit. I’m not for the big huge pool deck and loved all the infinity pools, smaller outdoor venues, the beautiful vibe beach club that was imo nicest outdoor area area on any ship. The spa was stunning and once they get the components running correctly it will be a huge hit. The balcony rooms are beautiful. We had an issue with our first haven suite and they put us in a balcony room for a few nights till it got fixed. The balcony room was beautiful, so functional, spacious and whoever designed it deserves an award. The Haven- I love the fun touches like the artwork and fantastic books and artwork in the rooms and common areas. Again- you can tell so much thought was put into creating spaces that just work for relaxing. The food- I was impressed with the responsiveness to feedback. They started offering daily specials that were always good and fun like lobster rolls for lunch… the crew was fantastic on all levels. I was impressed with the entertainment. I know they have a few kinks to work out there too but the theater and shows are the best I’ve seen at sea. The crowding in areas ? It happens but if u go with the flow and are willing to adjust schedules, it’s pretty easy to go somewhere else for a meal or entertainment if one venue is too crowded. Loved indulge food hall. It’s fun and quick and easy. Indian food was the best but they had great nachos, chicken legs, Starbucks right there, serve yourself Coke. I personally loved the 6, 7 & 8 shops, the Starbucks, the atrium venues and actually had fun shopping on a cruise ship- something I never do. They did get pretty picked over towards the end of our 2nd leg. Love how easy to grab a Starbucks and listen to some music or just people watch. Our aft owners suite had a few missing things. Idk if they’re going to be added but seems strange that the one hard wired blow dryer has a cord that you have to bend over to get it close enough to dry hair. It also blew the power circuit when the hard wired blow dryer is on high. I asked for a makeup mirror and set up my own vanity area and used plug in by the nespresso machine but I kind of wonder how someone designs a room that’s a couple grand a night and the only strategic place to plug in a hair straightener is the drawer where the coffee supplies and dishes are. A few little things like this aside and the room grew on me. Our own private hot tub was a godsend and we used it a few times a day. I loved how I could lay in bed and watch the ocean. I loved the balcony. I loved how quick the haven elevators worked and once I figured out the lay of the ship it did make sense on how to get around. I think 160 haven suites is too many. I’d almost be inclined to do a vibe pass and skip the haven for warm weather sailings. We splurged and were thankful we did. All things considered, I’m most partial to the jewel class Haven but I will definitely sail this class again and if not in the Haven I’d pick this class of ship over anything else at sea.

Ncl prima deck plans on their website. Click, “view deck plan” for each deck and you’ll see them.

I meant 12, 13 and 15. I think they started sales really early on and at some point realized deck 10 cant support the hot tub but deck 11 can. Deck 11 rooms were originally much lower $. The pricing on those deck 11 rooms now reflects the hot tubs. We have one booked on the Viva and paid considerably more for it than the initial prima offering. Strange they don’t consider it an os