NCL Spirit post Dry Dock

Hi Cassicruiser. yes the tables and chairs are outdated, but not tatty. We had a balcony cabin on deck 9 and whether all the mattresses were replaced I couldn't say. If I were you I wouldn't worry too much about the Spirit. I think it is lovely and will be happy to go on it next year, changes or not. I think the most important thing is the destination of the cruise, and the one I want to go on is the Spirit, so that's fine.

 

Also it is a very friendly boat and the staff always seem happy. I didn't hear anyone complaining when I was aboard. It was our 4th time. Last year was the Epic for the same cruise.

 

Any more questions, just ask and enjoy your cruise.

Great to hear the Spirit is still in good shape. We definitely booked this cruise for the itinerary, but still want a nice ship. We are easy to please and don't need bells and whistles, and it sounds like we will be very happy. :)

We all have our priorities -- mine is a good hairdryer :). I was hoping they replaced the antiquated box and hose dryers with a real blowdryer.

We all have our priorities -- mine is a good hairdryer :). I was hoping they replaced the antiquated box and hose dryers with a real blowdryer.

Me too! I always take my own and have never had a problem taking it on a ship and using it, but have read here that there is a sign by the plug point that it's not to be used for a hairdryer. I also read a couple of posts where someone said they used it anyway and it was fine. Not sure why the Spirit would be different than any other ship re plug points so hopefully it will be fine to use my own. Alternative is to walk around Europe looking like a crazy hair lady 😲

I read on another thread that the Spirit has American standard and European plugs. My cousin bought me a Babyliss dual-voltage travel dryer for Christmas that I plan to take with me. When I went to France and Italy in 2015, all of the hotels had real blowdryers so I didn't need to bring mine. The blowdryer is extra weight in the suitcase that I'm willing to suffer through.

Me too! I always take my own and have never had a problem taking it on a ship and using it, but have read here that there is a sign by the plug point that it's not to be used for a hairdryer. I also read a couple of posts where someone said they used it anyway and it was fine. Not sure why the Spirit would be different than any other ship re plug points so hopefully it will be fine to use my own. Alternative is to walk around Europe looking like a crazy hair lady 😲

I read on another thread that the Spirit has American standard and European plugs. My cousin bought me a Babyliss dual-voltage travel dryer for Christmas that I plan to take with me. When I went to France and Italy in 2015, all of the hotels had real blowdryers so I didn't need to bring mine. The blowdryer is extra weight in the suitcase that I'm willing to suffer through.

hi folks........... I have just returned off SPIRIT........... one traveller had a travel iron confiscated, hair dryer in en-suite, my wife took her own straighteners............ we called guest services and had an iron & ironing board delivered to state room, inside state-room there was 3 plugs at the dressing table 1 UK, 1 US, 1 EU......... we travelled with small adapters for US & EU so ended up with 3 UK sockets suitable for charging mobile whilst straightening hair & using laptop too!!! hope this helps :D

A real hairdryer -- like the kind made post-1970? I don't intend to bring an iron - or even use one. My packing rule is wrinkle-free clothes or wear the wrinkles :). 51 days until we sail (if my math is correct).

A real hairdryer -- like the kind made post-1970? I don't intend to bring an iron - or even use one. My packing rule is wrinkle-free clothes or wear the wrinkles :). 51 days until we sail (if my math is correct).

I bring an empty travel size spray bottle, fill it with water, and spritz our clothes as they are unpacked and hung in the closet. Smooth with my hands, and the moisture from all the very slightly damp clothes eliminates almost all the wrinkles.

Sounds like we're safe then, bringing a hairdryer on board. Whew.

I dont worry about ironing either - good tip about the spray bottle though.

Another question for those that have just come off the Spirit - I've read a few reports of sewage smells on some decks, did you notice anything? I wonder if the plumbing was attended to in the drydock. We were on an older RCI ship 7 years ago (Rhapsody of the seas) which we loved, but the sewage smell in the corridor was pretty bad! Never had that on any other ship since. Didnt ruin our cruise at all but.. yuk...

Sounds like we're safe then, bringing a hairdryer on board. Whew.

I dont worry about ironing either - good tip about the spray bottle though.

 

Another question for those that have just come off the Spirit - I've read a few reports of sewage smells on some decks, did you notice anything? I wonder if the plumbing was attended to in the drydock. We were on an older RCI ship 7 years ago (Rhapsody of the seas) which we loved, but the sewage smell in the corridor was pretty bad! Never had that on any other ship since. Didnt ruin our cruise at all but.. yuk...

No bad smells we noticed.

Sounds like we're safe then, bringing a hairdryer on board. Whew.

I dont worry about ironing either - good tip about the spray bottle though.

 

Another question for those that have just come off the Spirit - I've read a few reports of sewage smells on some decks, did you notice anything? I wonder if the plumbing was attended to in the drydock. We were on an older RCI ship 7 years ago (Rhapsody of the seas) which we loved, but the sewage smell in the corridor was pretty bad! Never had that on any other ship since. Didnt ruin our cruise at all but.. yuk...

nothing last week.......sweet as a daisy :D

Excellent, thanks you two 😁

i am about to make deposit on spirit for myself and 12 yr old grandaughter. her first trip to europe. departure is june 18. from what i am reading the price here on CC:halo::halo:i am quoted seems high 4290 for a cat BC balcony with the free at sea perk this is ncl quote,the discounters charge less. have the fares gone up this season or is this what is considered less expensive than the other ships in the med?

That certainly seems higher than I would expect. Maybe the prices have increased recently.

i am about to make deposit on spirit for myself and 12 yr old grandaughter. her first trip to europe. departure is june 18. from what i am reading the price here on CC:halo::halo:i am quoted seems high 4290 for a cat BC balcony with the free at sea perk this is ncl quote,the discounters charge less. have the fares gone up this season or is this what is considered less expensive than the other ships in the med?

That certainly seems higher than I would expect. Maybe the prices have increased recently.

Maybe the price is higher because it is not just 7 days but 11 days cruise....? And also because you are booking the cruise rather "late"? I have paid $3860 for two persons in a Balcony GTY cabin on the Spirit in May 2017, but that is a 14 days cruise. And I booked it already in May 2016.

i am about to make deposit on spirit for myself and 12 yr old grandaughter. her first trip to europe. departure is june 18. from what i am reading the price here on CC:halo::halo:i am quoted seems high 4290 for a cat BC balcony with the free at sea perk this is ncl quote,the discounters charge less. have the fares gone up this season or is this what is considered less expensive than the other ships in the med?

Costco is showing a BB for $4250, and a BD for $4190, plus NCL's promo, plus $310 obc.

This thread has really gone off topic :D - I keep coming back to it to see if anyone has posted info on any changes to the Spirit post dry dock but it's now about cruise pricing. Not to be rude but I'd still like to see more info on the Spirit post drydock if anyone has any to share so perhaps a different thread could be started for the new pricing discussion.

This thread has really gone off topic :D - I keep coming back to it to see if anyone has posted info on any changes to the Spirit post dry dock but it's now about cruise pricing. Not to be rude but I'd still like to see more info on the Spirit post drydock if anyone has any to share so perhaps a different thread could be started for the new pricing discussion.

I think that the problem is that there has not really been many changes. Just a bit of tidying up.

I think that the problem is that there has not really been many changes. Just a bit of tidying up.

True - I guess I'm just looking for any observations on the Spirit from very recent cruisers (other than the formal reviews, as people mostly do those reviews if they are very happy or very unhappy).

True - I guess I'm just looking for any observations on the Spirit from very recent cruisers (other than the formal reviews, as people mostly do those reviews if they are very happy or very unhappy).

I'm on the Spirit in April (the cruise before yours I believe, based on the roll call you are on). I usually do a live report, although I'm not sure whether I will be doing so this time. I will certainly be able to try to answer some questions though.

I'm on the Spirit in April (the cruise before yours I believe, based on the roll call you are on). I usually do a live report, although I'm not sure whether I will be doing so this time. I will certainly be able to try to answer some questions though.

Wonderful, if you do one I'll definitely be following along. Have a wonderful cruise and keep the ship nice for us :D

Wonderful, if you do one I'll definitely be following along. Have a wonderful cruise and keep the ship nice for us :D

I'll drink to that... right now... not a UBP in sight! :beer-toast:

Since the Spirit just came out of a short Dry Dock, does anybody know what improvements have been made to the ship.

 

Would also like to know the name of the ship officers, cruise director, etc.

Just came off the 2/23 sailing of the Spirit to the Canary Islands. Although we have been on several NCL ships, this is the first time on the Spirit, so, can't do an after dry dock comparison.

I can only give my impresssions. The room was clean beds very comfortable (might be new mattress), shower seemed new and clean, basin had small chips on the edge. One day we found a "wet paint" sign writen on the back of an old daily schedule, taped on the side of the basin counter. Not sure what was painted. The room had only one plug in outlet by the desk that can be used for either American or European power. It was a nuisance because you can only plug in one type of power device at a time. We had to charge our scooter battery and iPad alternately. The reception desk had outlet bars for checking out but it didn't help our situation. The TV remotes were certainly ancient. It had to be exchanged three times. The room steward kept telling us they worked for him (when he stood) right under the TV. We didn't want to have to get up to stand under the TV to change channels every time.

We had aft cabins. We could not hear the announcements. We had experienced rough seas several times, especially at night. One night, the sliding closet door kept sliding back and forth, banging the edge loudly each time. In the other cabin, the shower door fell off from the shaking. Not sure if we happened to run into unusually bad weather, as someone heard the captain said, or just the ship is old.

My main complaint is with the quality of the food served.

The daily dinner menu in the main dining rooms changed only by two to three entrees each day. There were many pasta dishes. Most of the soups were watery or tasteless. Gone are the days when they had lobster one night, scallops, and escargot, cold soups, and fancy desserts. The breakfast buffet was the same every single day. The saving grace is the friendliness off the dining room wait staff. Our wait person was Jenny.

The most outstanding service we had was from the shore excursion staff. They bent over backwards to make sure I was well taken care of on the excursions because I have mobility issues. If you choose to go with the ship's excursions, they are very honest and knowledgeable. Ina is the assistant manager in charge. Mariana was the person who took care of my needs.

Hope the info is helpful!

My main complaint is with the quality of the food served.

The daily dinner menu in the main dining rooms changed only by two to three entrees each day. There were many pasta dishes. Most of the soups were watery or tasteless. Gone are the days when they had lobster one night, scallops, and escargot, cold soups, and fancy desserts. The breakfast buffet was the same every single day.

That's quite interesting.

Whilst many of the comments you make are pretty standard for NCL ships (i.e. no Lobster anywhere), your post does make me wonder about what menus they are using.

I assumed they would have moved over to the new menus, but they have about 5-6 changing entrees each day, have scallops and an escargot starter on some nights, and are quite lacking in Pasta dishes (it's actually an issue for those of us with fussy kids).

Makes me wonder whether they are still using the old menus. Whether that is a good thing or not is a matter of personal preference.

Certainly, if you haven't cruised with NCL since 2010 then I think you will have had many of these issues with the food on any NCL ship.

Speaking for myself, I value your contribution to the forum greatly KJ and I'm sure that others do too. I look forward to any information that you can post regarding your next trip on Spirit. We are off on May 18.

Have an amazing cruise.

Just came off the 2/23 sailing of the Spirit to the Canary Islands. Although we have been on several NCL ships, this is the first time on the Spirit, so, can't do an after dry dock comparison.

Hope the info is helpful!

Thanks for taking the time to give us some of your feedback.

Heard that some public areas may have new carpet and La Trattoria (Italian) is still a section of the Raffles Court (Buffet) that is partitioned at dinner time.