NCL Spirit Med Cruise Q&A

[Da-Painter]

Did you get WIFI on the ship?

if so, where?

What was the cost?

thanks

We used the ships internet, 75 cents per minute, and its s.....l......o.....w.........

;)

[luv-2-travel]

Did you text while at sea?

If so, did the ship charge you for that?

Thanks

 

Yes I did text while at sea and the ship did not charge

 

However there are sometimes at sea where you will not get a signal - just be patient and keep trying

Edited May 26, 2013 by luv-2-travel

[Realitoes]

Did you get WIFI on the ship?

if so, where?

What was the cost?

thanks

 

We got the $100.00 WIFI package which had about 250 minutes. The as you go price was like 75 cents a minute. It was ridiculously slow even for Satellite Internet. If I had to do over, wouldn't have wasted the money. We found free WIFI at every port except in Turkey.

Edited May 26, 2013 by Realitoes

[Realitoes]

Did you text while at sea?

If so, did the ship charge you for that?

Thanks

 

The ship doesn't charge per se for your mobile phone access. NCL does utilize a Satellite network you can connect to, and receives monies from the provider when you use it. Your carrier in most cases (depending on your plan with them) will charge you a higher tariff (to pay the Satellite provider) for the time you accessed the ships satellite network.

[Azure Moon]

of the captain, hotel director, food & beverage director, cruise director, concierge, butlers, and anyone else you can think of.

 

Thanks!

[jenjens1023]

of the captain, hotel director, food & beverage director, cruise director, concierge, butlers, and anyone else you can think of.

 

Thanks!

 

I don't know names of the big-wigs, but the crew I dealt with on a daily basis were outstanding.

 

Our cabin steward, Assit, was the best, kindest, friendliest I have had in five cruises.

 

Mawel in Winows restaurant happened to be on wheelchair duty on embarkation day and helped get us on board quickly and efficiently (my daughter had a sprained ankle, so we thought the wheel chair would make the long wait in line less painful. We never imagined it would get us on the ship so quickly.) We requested him as our waiter every night. I've never had a waiter go to such an effort to make sure everything was to our liking.

 

The cruise director's staff was very friendly and lots of fun. There were probably only a dozen passengers near my DD's age (22), which made it difficult to find each other to meet and hang out, but the cruise staff always made DD feel welcome and special at the events she attended. Extra thanks to Hector, Anastasia and Rob for that.

 

All in all I would say the crew on the Spirit were the best I have ever had the pleasure to sail with.

[milolii]

The ship doesn't charge per se for your mobile phone access. NCL does utilize a Satellite network you can connect to, and receives monies from the provider when you use it. Your carrier in most cases (depending on your plan with them) will charge you a higher tariff (to pay the Satellite provider) for the time you accessed the ships satellite network.

 

thank you!

[hnsummers]

There were two. I want to say, off the top of my head, Day 4 and Day 9 or 10. $24.95 and yes, it's the standard white bag. Your room attendant leaves it all on the bed for you, and then it's delivered in two days, folded, in a wicker basket. One word of caution - a lot of our clothes' color faded, which was really disappointing.

 

In the past I have taken a hand wash solution to wash basics in the sink in my room. Washed in the evening and were dry the next day. Since it is during the hotter months I tend to wear cotton so it is easy to wash.

[hnsummers]

Is there a link to the Q&A that was mentioned? I may have missed it.

 

Also, how easy was it to get on the train to Rome? I am with my husband and two children. Were you able to get seats? My concern is having the children and also we will be there on a Monday. Will we be fighting rush hour commuters?

[MollyMoo1]

This is a really useful thread! Can you tell me, do the balcony cabins have a fridge?

[jenjens1023]

Is there a link to the Q&A that was mentioned? I may have missed it.

 

You didn't miss it, this is it!

 

This is a really useful thread! Can you tell me, do the balcony cabins have a fridge?

 

Yes. It's small and filled with expensive mini bar stuff, but there was room to put a few other things in it, or you can ask you steward to empty it.

[Da-Painter]

This is a really useful thread! Can you tell me, do the balcony cabins have a fridge?

Yes, and we had our room steward remove everything, so we could put our stuff in there.

Re laundry, DW is Platinum, so we get a free laundry. There was a mid week laundry special. Our room steward, Charlie, took our laundry, and it was back the next day. They even ironed the t-shirts. If we had factored in doing laundry on the ship, we would have packed less clothes. We packed for 2+ weeks, figuring out wearing clean clothes. So next time, we can take less clothes. Then DW and I will both be Platinum, and get laundry done twice.

And agree, the crew on the ship are great. They are to be commended. :):):)

[kapitman]

Is there a link to the Q&A that was mentioned? I may have missed it.

 

Also, how easy was it to get on the train to Rome? I am with my husband and two children. Were you able to get seats? My concern is having the children and also we will be there on a Monday. Will we be fighting rush hour commuters?

 

 

To get to the train station in Civitivecchia was easy. You can buy your train pass from the station or from the newspaper stand just outside the station. It is a Berg Ticket. Make sure you activate it at they yellow machine inside the train station!! As far as seats go...we traveled to Rome as a large group of about 14 and half of us found seats.

[nickycaps]

How long does it take to get off the ship once its docked?

Edited May 30, 2013 by nickycaps
wrong post

[readyforadventure1]

Nicky and any others,

 

I am already signed up with the maximum number for a private excursion. However, I am trying to find a few more people to join in for an excursion to Cinque Terre when we are in Livorno. I am not interested in going to Florence or Pisa (have been to both already). The collection of five colorful fishing villages looks wonderful! There are only three people signed up so far and I think we have to have at least six. Check out the sight for Share a Shore Excursion to find the details. Hope you decide to join in.

 

Kathy

[kapitman]

How long does it take to get off the ship once its docked?

 

It never took too long, but there are some customs things to do...

[FairyGodmother55]

In the past I have taken a hand wash solution to wash basics in the sink in my room. Washed in the evening and were dry the next day. Since it is during the hotter months I tend to wear cotton so it is easy to wash.

 

Be warned, we were not informed of the first laundry day, only the one at the end ofvthe trip, and had to resort to washing stuff out by hand. We spoke to others who confirmed there WAS an earlier laundry day, so ASK about it as soon as you get on!!!

[FairyGodmother55]

Just got off Spirit.. Wifi in most ports.. Free in Venice and Athens right at terminal, and if not most cafes etc had wifi, they had signs in the windows, just ask for the code.

We did the hoho bus at the port in Athens and it was great cause you didn't have to deal with taxis or walking to the metro and when we finally saw the bus stop and public bus, we were VERY grateful we were on the hoho bus! Only wish we had gotten off ship a bit earlier. Bus took us right to Acropolis when you get off, and then you pick up bus back to port down street from Acropolis museum, near Temple of Zeus ( take back exit at Acropolis near amphitheater) Very, very easy DIY!!

[mypleasure]

of the captain, hotel director, food & beverage director, cruise director, concierge, butlers, and anyone else you can think of.

 

Thanks!

 

Captain: Vanja Litovic until early July and then Lars Bengtsson (10 weeks on-10 weeks off)

Hotel Director: Orazio Caci then Armando DaSilva - These two are great and very customer focussed

Food & Beverage: Mohammed Hassan - Lovely man

Cruise Director: A really energetic Italian fellow. I liked him but cannot remember his name!

Concierge: Karabi

Butlers: No clue we didn't have one

[mypleasure]

All in all I would say the crew on the Spirit were the best I have ever had the pleasure to sail with.

 

They really are an outstanding crew and a credit to NCL

[sweetpea222]

Just got off Spirit.. Wifi in most ports.. Free in Venice and Athens right at terminal, and if not most cafes etc had wifi, they had signs in the windows, just ask for the code.

We did the hoho bus at the port in Athens and it was great cause you didn't have to deal with taxis or walking to the metro and when we finally saw the bus stop and public bus, we were VERY grateful we were on the hoho bus! Only wish we had gotten off ship a bit earlier. Bus took us right to Acropolis when you get off, and then you pick up bus back to port down street from Acropolis museum, near Temple of Zeus ( take back exit at Acropolis near amphitheater) Very, very easy DIY!!

 

We were planning to DIY Athens. Which HOHO bus company did you use? Did you purchase the tickets ahead of time, online? Did it take a long time to get to the Acropolis? We really just plan on seeing the Acropolis, the museum, and then wandering around the Plaka, so would be using it more for transportation than touring. My husband and I have both been to Athens before, but will have our kids with us this time and want to make the day as enjoyable as possible (and easy as possible, as I know how hot and crowded it will likely be).

[FairyGodmother55]

We were planning to DIY Athens. Which HOHO bus company did you use? Did you purchase the tickets ahead of time, online? Did it take a long time to get to the Acropolis? We really just plan on seeing the Acropolis, the museum, and then wandering around the Plaka, so would be using it more for transportation than touring. My husband and I have both been to Athens before, but will have our kids with us this time and want to make the day as enjoyable as possible (and easy as possible, as I know how hot and crowded it will likely be).

 

It was the " yellow" HOHO bus, and we found it as soon as we got off the ship (head to the LEFT and across a parking lot, you can't miss the tour buses) Be warned, cab drivers will try and convince you to take their tour!! There was also a " red" bus that did the same route. You can get your ticket right there, in fact we got a "discount". It was well worth the cost for us (15 E each) because we wanted transport into Athens without dealing with walking to the metro and we wanted just to see a few things. To be honest, the Acropolis museum was not what we expected, and we would have skipped it and spent more time on the bus instead. It took about 30 min to get to the Acropolis and they drop you off right at the main entrance.

[sweetpea222]

Thank you for the info. We will keep an eye out for the red bus as we leave the port. Did you have to wait long for the bus to fill before leaving?

 

Just looked up the red and blue hoho bus routes, and it looks like the combined red/blue itinerary runs every 30 minutes from the port area. From looking at their website, it looks like the combined route costs a bit more but I am thinking it's because of the transport to and from the port.

 

Thank you so much for sharing info! We're sailing on July 10. :)

Edited June 8, 2013 by sweetpea222

[FairyGodmother55]

Glad to help! Just writing up trip report on main NCL page, so enjoy! Ask away...

[crucer]

[quote=Seaing the World;

we were in room 6512, a oceanview. It was fine. We have always had a balcony, but with having to book this three weeks before the cruise we got what we could get. We were one of the castaways, from the cancelled Sunshine Cruise, and that a whole other story.

Debi.

 

Debi, was a friger or minibar in your cabin?

I'm going in a few month with the Spirit and we have cabin 6507 i wonder if in this cabin is also a fridger.this is a insidecabin.