Review of 6/19 Spirit Posted-Thanks everyone

[snorkelmom19]

Hi,

 

My review of last weeks' Spirit cruise was just posted. I just wanted to thank everyone for all the excellent advice I received pre-cruise which helped make the vacation wonderful. If anyone needs more detail on anything, ask away and I'll answer whatever I can. I have sailed on 4 previous cruises and have to say that this was the most fun. Food was much better quality on NCL than on the Disney Wonder several years ago. I tried to give good detail in the excursions section--was pleasantly surprised with Chankanaab Park in Cozumel. Our balcony cabins were the last two connecting staterooms available between the kids club and the raffles terrace, but noise was not a problem, and I am a light sleeper. Thanks again for all the sage advice!

[dasmonkey]

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=85166

[Alvarado]

Thanks for posting the link.

[yoyocruiser]

Nice review. Glad you had a good vacation--sounds like a good time was had by all ages!! I think that is what I like about a cruise for families.

[chill6x6]

Hey snorkelmom!

I just looked at your review... It looks like your cabin was one of the main weak links in your cruise. What exactly did you not like about it? THANKS!

[snorkelmom19]

Hi,

 

Well I have to say it was about what I had expected for an older ship. It was showing some wear--nothing that needing to be fixed, but I guess the loveseat and bathroom could use a refurbishment, which I think is happening next year. The room was also smaller than the last 2 ships I have been on (Disney and Cunard). The 2 connecting staterooms were fine for 4 people, but I can't (IMO) imagine 6 people sharing. Bed was comfortable. I thought all the public areas looked good and we all had a great time. I hope that helps clarify things.

[rvsullivan]

Actually refurb is in September. Glad you enjoyed!:D

[Abear2]

Refurb in September ? I am on it September 18th, so I guess it's after that huh ? This will be my 5th time on the Spirit and another one for Mardi Gras next year ! I love that ship's crew ! :)

[rvsullivan]

Refurb in September ? I am on it September 18th, so I guess it's after that huh ? This will be my 5th time on the Spirit and another one for Mardi Gras next year ! I love that ship's crew ! :)

 

Yep, either one or two cruises after yours. I think about 3 weeks, last week of Sept and first two weeks of Oct, or somewhere about there.

[tracyd1014]

We are set to go on the Spirit on October 9 out of New Orleans. I had heard it was going to be refurbished and from what I understand I think our group will be the first to go. All the reviews I have read of the Spirit have been enlightening. We are really looking forward to the trip. We have been on many cruises but this will be a first with NCL.

[1SMURFF99A]

We are taking this same cruise in Dec. Could you tell us more about the Park in Cozuemel? We want to swim with the manatees there but the ship does not offer it at the Park. We want to book direct with them, but they don't refund if you cancel less than 4 days out. We are worried the ship may not get to stop for some reason and we would lose alot of money as there are 4 of us.

[snorkelmom19]

Hi,

 

I believe that if the ship doesn't dock for the manatee excursion you get either a 90% refund or a certificate to use within a year at any of their sites(not very useful to most people). Maybe someone else on CC has had to request a refund from them and can tell you if it was a hassle or not. We paid $226.00 for the four of us. This includes admission to the park which is now $22.00pp, lockers, showers. One thing you should be aware of is there is a time change difference between the ship and Cozumel. The ship docks at 8:00am ships time it is already 9:00 am in Cozumel. I booked the 10:00am manatee swim and was concerned the night before that we might not get there by 9:30 check in time, but we were at the park with plenty of time to spare. Taxi fare was $12 plus tip and took 10-15 minutes. I thought the park was very clean and had nice grounds. Allure of the Seas (that ship is huge!) had shore excursions there the day we were in port, but the park was not crowded. In the manatee area we posed for two pictures with the manatees and then had about 45 minutes to swim in their enclosure with them, feeding them romaine lettuce heads. There were also nurse sharks and rays to see in the same enclosure. There were a total of 8 people in our time slot.

 

If you walk down the beach there is a pool, a shallow lagoon, restaurant and bar, and a large beach with steps leading down through the rocks to the snorkeling area. There is not a lot of coral to see, but there is a large variety of fish, sea fans, cannons, statues. The water was crystal clear and gets pretty deep right away. This was my eight year old's favorite snorkeling of the trip--she really got the hang of it and wants to return to Chankanaab. Being that it was a park, there were life guards and no one hassled you on the beach to buy anything.

 

There were other things to see in the park but we were pretty exhausted after the encounters and were pretty fried from the sun. It would be a relatively cheap do it yourself snorkeling/beach day.

 

I hope this helps.