Spirit: Barcelona & Canary Islands

[Hydrokitty]

Hi NCL sailors: I'm a frequent river cruises with only 2 ocean cruises, one of which was so bad and one that was so good (Celebrity)

it makes me want to go again! I'm looking at the cruise that starts and ends in Barcelona and visits Canary Islands because it stops in Grenada and offers an excursion to the Alhambra (NCL seems to be the only line that does).

 

1. I am a little confused at the dining. Can you book a set time and table for dinner for the length of the cruise in the main dining room? How is the food? Primary issue with bad cruise was the food...the buffet was inedible and the I got food poisoning in the dining room.

 

2. I've seen what appears to be a really good price for an aft facing penthouse suite with a large balcony, butler and concierge. I sailed once on Celebrity and saw aft facing cabins that had lovely huge balconies with spectacular views.....and no privacy. For $100 more I can get the same room but not aft facing. Any drawbacks to either that I'm missing?

 

3. I've never had a butler and don't know what he does? Is he/she intrusive or only show up when you call? I read the thread about butlers and apparently as long as his name doesn't start with "J" I'm good.:D

 

4. One of the shore excursions I am most interested in is the Alhambra from Grenada. It's listed as a 9 hour excursion. Has anyone taken it and what are your recommendations. description said I should be able to walk 2 miles....that's a lot, is it really that much or is it stop and go?

 

5. Our balcony cabin on horrible cruise had a vibration that just wouldn't quit. We asked about it and were told there was nothing they could do. It was so bad that you had to hold onto the wall in the shower! Also A/C didn't work and room was like a sauna (in Alaska). That was fixed after they discovered I was leaving balcony door open at night.

 

I'm not really picky....I want a clean room and ship, with good food served at a table by a waiter, a room that doesn't vibrate. Everything else I can handle.

[Froggitt]

Is this a new itinery, as it didn't do Grenada this winter......was Lanzarotte, Tenerife, Casablanca, Malaga.

 

No you cant book a time for dinner. Usually max half an hour wait if you decide to go right after a show, otherwise minimal wait. Food in the MDRs was generally cold and gloopy. Food in the pay restaurants was great.

 

Didn't notice any vibration.

[j-9]

I am taking this cruise in November, in the aft penthouse. I haven't sailed in this cabin before, but have been in it on a cabin crawl. Looked very nice. If you search on YouTube there are some video tours. We chose aft as I thought it might be a bit chilly, and this would have us out of the breeze.

 

If you are in a suite, you have access to the suite dining room for breakfast and lunch. MDR meals honestly can be hit or miss. The buffet was actually quite good, and the specialty restaurants can be very good. I'm debating buying the ultimate dining plan and just eating in the specialty restaurants each night.

 

I don't know about booking a set time each night. We usually just go when we get hungry. I haven't had to do it, but I think if you are in a suite, getting you into the restaurant of your choice at the time of your choice is something the concierge will do for you.

 

We were in a suite on the Sun last time we sailed with NCL. It was a great experience. We didn't find the butler intrusive, but he did stop by at least twice a day. On sea days we tended to be in the cabin as the balcony was huge, so interacted with him. My husband enjoyed picking the wine for the evening each morning with him, and he would have it ready later that afternoon. He would replenish our fruit bowl and replace any used stemware or dishes with fresh. He would bring our afternoon snack, and quickly learned what we preferred. We never had a meal in the cabin, but he would have been happy to bring serve it for us.

 

(Not to go off topic, but I noticed your bucket list. We did china with Viking, and it was fantastic. Also for Australia, if you are interested in the Great Barrier Reef, check out coral princess cruises. We did the 4 day cruise, and wished we had done the full week. Can't even describe how spectacular it was)

 

Happy sailing!

[Hydrokitty]

I am taking this cruise in November, in the aft penthouse. I haven't sailed in this cabin before, but have been in it on a cabin crawl. Looked very nice. If you search on YouTube there are some video tours. We chose aft as I thought it might be a bit chilly, and this would have us out of the breeze.

 

(Not to go off topic, but I noticed your bucket list. We did china with Viking, and it was fantastic. Also for Australia, if you are interested in the Great Barrier Reef, check out coral princess cruises. We did the 4 day cruise, and wished we had done the full week. Can't even describe how spectacular it was)

 

Happy sailing!

Hi J-9, thanks for the input. I'll be honest, between your post and Froggitt's I'm having serious second thoughts. Perhaps a land tour might be best....or a DIY of Barcelona and Grenada. I don't cruise to eat, but I do expect to have good food and both of you seem to agree that the food is not one of the best parts of NCL.

 

The only aft suites I have ever seen were when we were on Celebrity and our balcony cabin was about 3 cabins forward from them. They looked beautiful, and the view was spectacular, but I noticed when I was on the Lido deck having coffee I could look over the railing and right down on their balcony!

 

As for China, due to a really serious accident, I now have walking issues, and I had to cancel my scheduled China trip. I had booked it for October with Vantage but I cannot do that kind of walking any more, so we substituted a river cruise to Switzerland: Rhine and Moselle. One of the reasons I'm interested in ocean cruising is that our last cruise on Celebrity through the Panama Canal was so absolutely wonderful and I really liked the slow pace and the level of shore excursions where we could opt for a city "drive" tour with as much walking as we wanted, or a more in depth excursion to a particular location we were interested in. Barrier Reef is also on my bucket list, although not listed yet. Tell me more about Coral Princess cruise. Did you fly to Australia? That seems a terribly long flight for a 4 day cruise, you must have done land too, yes? Celebrity has an interesting cruise from Honolulu to Australia and New Zealand, but I'm having trouble convincing DH that a 24+ hour flight isn't really so bad if we fly from NY to SFO, visit friends for a few days; then fly to Honolulu and chill for a few days, then fly to Sydney and catch the cruise. He says there's not enough room for all the wine they would have to have on board the plane!!!:D

[Hydrokitty]

Is this a new itinery, as it didn't do Grenada this winter......was Lanzarotte, Tenerife, Casablanca, Malaga.

 

No you cant book a time for dinner. Usually max half an hour wait if you decide to go right after a show, otherwise minimal wait. Food in the MDRs was generally cold and gloopy. Food in the pay restaurants was great.

 

Didn't notice any vibration.

 

Hi Froggitt, cruise I was looking at is 10 days,3/16-3/26/15 and goes Barcelona, Casablanca, Funchal, Tenerife, Lanzarote, Grenada and Barcelona on the Spirit. The Alhambra excursion is from Grenada, but I think you might be able to do it from Malaga as well. I am seriously reconsidering this cruise because of the lack of a set table and time for dinner but mostly your description of the food...cold and gloopy does nothing for me....and while I appreciate good food I am operating on the "all inclusive" cruise level. It seems that NCL is really pushing their pay restaurants and expensive dining package and cutting corners in the main dining room is one way to push people to eat in the money making specialty restaurants....

[j-9]

Hi Hydrokitty,

Didn't mean to turn you off. I never experienced anything like cold gloppy food, and always enjoyed my meals. I just like the specialty dining as you can customize what you get a bit easier than in the banquet style MDR. And the desserts are better :)

We are doing this cruise partially to see the Canary Islands. If I was mostly interested in Barcelona and Granada, I personally would do a land based and plan to spend 3 or 4 days in each of a couple of locations.

 

Sorry to hear about your accident, and too bad you had to cancel China. It was a great experience, but lots of walking.

 

We are on the west coast, so Australia is a 15 hour flight away for us. We did primarily a land vacation, with stays in Sydney, Cairns, and Ayers Rock. The cruise was out of Cairns. Small ship with 45 passengers. The snorkelling experience could not be beat by any shore based trip. The ship basically backed up to the reef in exclusive mooring spots, so we were the only people there. It has ruined Caribbean and even Hawaii snorkelling for me.

[Froggitt]

As a suite passenger, you may be able to get the concierge to reserve a table for the MDRs.

 

We found the MDR food (often barely warm, dry, everything doused in gloopy gravy) and service to be poor (had to ask for water/bread/menu etc), however others found it fine. Same at breakfast there......a wait of half an hour for a cold bagel, water instead of juice, asking multiple times for a cup of tea......lead me to believe thy have staffing and management issues. There was also some talk about the galley being on a different deck, which was why everything was cold by the time it arrived at your table.

 

Even when we asked for the supervisor, he came, mumbled unintelligibly, went away and did nothing.

Edited May 31, 2014 by Froggitt

[mypleasure]

There is no cruise on any line that goes to Granada. The cruise you are referring to ports at Malaga. It is a couple of hours drive, depending on traffic each way to Granada and the Alhambra. That is why it is 9 hours long. We have not done that tour as we are not fans of long bus journeys, they make my knees seize up. Once there the walking would be stop start as you tour the buildings with nowhere to sit while the guide does their explanation.

 

I won't comment on the food onboard other than to say I have had some great meals and some that were average with only one bad meal ever but that was something not to my taste rather than badly cooked. One persons bad meal is another persons great meal. It is a very personal thing and individuals differ in their opinions.

[Hydrokitty]

Thank you all for responding and being so honest! I think we have reconsidered the type of trip we should take here....and will do it on our own. We've traveled enough to feel comfortable in airports and I speak Spanish, French and Italian well enough to ask for directions and tell people where I need to go. I REALLY want to go to Barcelona and Granada and I'd like to visit Madrid as well. Now I'm off to buy Frommers and Fodor's for Spain and start planning. Again thanks for the help and if any of you are thinking of river cruising, I'll see you on that thread and would be happy to answer any questions. FYI: if you haven't tried a river cruise, you should, you'll be hooked!!

[4774Papa]

Hydrokitty,

We have done three cruises on NCL. It is our second favorite line after Celebrity.

The food in the MDR is not bad, but not as good as the MDR on Celebrity. The pay restaurants on NCL are excellent.

 

NCL tends to have a lively atmosphere and we enjoy cruising with them.

 

We did the Canary Island cruise on the Jade in 2011. We stopped in Malaga and did the excursion to Alhambra.

 

The Alhambra is special, but there is a fair amount of walking involved.

 

Another choice is a land trip to southern Spain. Malaga has an airport that I believe has international flights.

 

You might consider taking in Grenada (Alhambra), Cordoba and Seville on a land trip. Spend about a week or a bit more. It is a wonderful part of Spain. Seville is the place to see of the three cities.

 

You could probably do the trip taking the train, once you are in southern Spain or rent a car. Don't go in the middle of the summer, it gets really hot there in the summer.

[Froggitt]

Another choice is a land trip to southern Spain. Malaga has an airport that I believe has international flights.

 

You might consider taking in Grenada (Alhambra), Cordoba and Seville on a land trip. Spend about a week or a bit more. It is a wonderful part of Spain. Seville is the place to see of the three cities.

 

You could probably do the trip taking the train, once you are in southern Spain or rent a car. Don't go in the middle of the summer, it gets really hot there in the summer.

There is also an option to start that cruise in Malaga before/after your land trip, as opposed to Barcelona. Or there was this year, and maybe 10% over the passengers turned over in Malaga.

[TracieABD]

Hi H-Kitty-

I did this cruise in January, and completed a pretty detailed "Live from". I was in a forward suite. I did a private excursion to the Alhambra.

 

This is link to my blog:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974054

 

I would be happy to answer any questions.

 

Tracie-Lynn

[Hydrokitty]

Hi H-Kitty-

I did this cruise in January, and completed a pretty detailed "Live from". I was in a forward suite. I did a private excursion to the Alhambra.

 

This is link to my blog:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974054

 

I would be happy to answer any questions.

 

Tracie-Lynn

 

Dear Tracie-Lynn: I just finished reading your review and it is one of the best I've ever read. It was fact-filled, interesting, funny, and a wonderful read.

 

You have given me so much more to think about now since I have mobility issues similar to your Mom's, but I do not need a w/c all the time. Your description of the Alhambra was most encouraging, the fact that it only took 2 hours to get there with your private guide and that it was so accessible, gives me great hope.

 

Everyone seems to be in agreement about NCL MDR, so I guess if I book this I'll just have to accept the fact that we'll be paying extra to eat in specialty restaurants, although this really goes against the grain for me.

 

I could easily relate to the panic you must have felt in nearly missing the ship. We were at a port in Turkey and a group of four very nearly missed sailing, which was as scheduled, the captain finally told their friends you have 5 minutes to get them here or I'm giving their passports to the port officer. All of a sudden a taxi screamed up to the gangway and the four of them got out laughing and laden with packages. They were shopping! The captain was furious!!! But it was a lesson learned for us.

 

Have a wonderful cruise to Bali....and thank you again for this comprehensive, honest and thoroughly entertaining review of the Spirit! :D