Review of Mediterranean Cruise - 14 Days on NCL Spirit May 4-18, 2017 (with photos)

SeahawkSiren · June 5, 2017

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SeahawkSiren · June 5, 2017

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SeahawkSiren · June 5, 2017

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We loved visiting Pompeii, it was one of our favorite excursions on the cruise! I think next time we visit though we will just take the train from Naples and spend a lot more time there. It is such a massive site that 2.5 hours was not nearly enough time. But that gives us more to look forward to on a future visit.

SeahawkSiren · June 5, 2017

After Pompeii it was time for lunch. And guess what food we were going to have in Naples for lunch? OK, now as someone whose favorite food, by far, is pizza, how exciting is it to be in the city that supposedly invented pizza!?!

We ate at Pizzeria Il Golfo, a casual little place near the cruise terminal overlooking the harbor.

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Yum!

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View of Mount Vesuvius

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SeahawkSiren · June 5, 2017

Saying goodbye to Naples. Part of me did not want to say goodbye as I knew our cruise was soon coming to an end.

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A spectacular sunset on what was our last night on the ship.

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It’s been a whirlwind trip and it was now unfortunately really starting to sink in that this amazing cruise was nearly over. But it was time to pack up the suitcases and get ready to leave the ship the next morning.

Huntingdon1701 · June 5, 2017

Thanks for the review. I'm just deciding between a similar cruise to this on the Spirit, or a fjords visit on the Jade, and this has made me feel happier about the Spirit (which I haven't been on yet). Intrigued by the forthcoming comment on the bathroom though!

SeahawkSiren · June 5, 2017

It's going to take me some time to go through all of my Rome photos so stay tuned as we still have the Colosseum and the Vatican to see.

I will finish up my review with Rome and final thoughts on the ship at a later date, probably not until the weekend as the reality of work is looming for me for the rest of the week and I will not have time in the evenings to go through all my photos. I will be back to answer any questions in the interim though. I hope you have enjoyed the review so far.

cabincop · June 5, 2017

I loved Malta. Been twice. Sad they took it off 7day cruises. Great reviews. Thanks

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riclop · June 6, 2017

Thanks for the review.

DeanDeeDee · June 6, 2017

Love your review. I am sailing on the Epic in April on the TA, making it a B2B with the first Med. cruise. Though most of our ports of call will be different, some will be the same. Following your review and seeing your beautiful photos have really made me so anxious for our cruise; I can't wait! Thank you so much.:)

anonmom · June 6, 2017

Oh, no, I meant a beer menu! I thought Escape was the only NCL ship with a variety of craft beers. Hoping I'm wrong and that the Spirit's Bier Garden also has a decent selection.

I don't think those are inside rooms, I think they are only decorative windows. Someone else may chime in if I'm mistaken about that. I never saw anywhere on the ship where you could be on the other side of those windows looking down into the atrium.

I did not take pics of any menus. I know there is a recent thread here with pics of the menus. The only food that the Bier Garten served on our cruise were the same things that were served poolside - burgers, hot dogs, chicken, pasta salad, etc. We never saw a separate menu for the Bier Garten. Also, the times listed in the dailies of when the Bier Garten would be serving food were not always accurate. Several times we went up there looking for quick bites at the times listed in the dailies and food was not there at those times on the days we tried to go. :confused:

Yes, we thought the Spirit was a beautiful ship. Dated in some respects but for a ship that is nearly 20 years old we thought she was in really good shape for her age. The bathroom in our cabin really needed an upgrade too (I will get into that more at the end of my review). Glad you may consider sailing on the Spirit. We also thought she was really the perfect size ship for the Mediterreanean as well. Would definitely sail on her again regardless of a few dated aspects.

Enjoy Valletta. It was one of my favorite ports of the entire cruise. A really beautiful place.

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SeahawkSiren · June 6, 2017

Oh, no, I meant a beer menu! I thought Escape was the only NCL ship with a variety of craft beers. Hoping I'm wrong and that the Spirit's Bier Garden also has a decent selection.

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The Spirit's Bier Garten only had one beer on tap, Heineken. DH said there were probably 15 or so different choices for bottled beer but since he much prefers beer on tap he stuck to Heineken when we were there.

And Henry's Pub only had two beers on tap, Heineken and Bass Ale.

We have never been on the Escape but I know DH is really hoping for a District Brew House (or something similar) on the Bliss. Our next cruise will be on that ship next year. Living in the Seattle area we have no shortage of craft beers!

anonmom · June 7, 2017

The Spirit's Bier Garten only had one beer on tap, Heineken. DH said there were probably 15 or so different choices for bottled beer but since he much prefers beer on tap he stuck to Heineken when we were there.

And Henry's Pub only had two beers on tap, Heineken and Bass Ale.

We have never been on the Escape but I know DH is really hoping for a District Brew House (or something similar) on the Bliss. Our next cruise will be on that ship next year. Living in the Seattle area we have no shortage of craft beers!

Ah, that is disappointing. My fiancé is really looking forward to the District Brew House this December. We are similarly lucky to have a lot of great local craft beers and ciders here in Minneapolis. I'm always down to try a new alcoholic beverage, regardless of whether it is spirits, cider, beer or wine, but cocktails are my true love, so it doesn't matter as much for me.

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Flickjax · June 9, 2017

Ah, that is disappointing. My fiancé is really looking forward to the District Brew House this December. We are similarly lucky to have a lot of great local craft beers and ciders here in Minneapolis. I'm always down to try a new alcoholic beverage, regardless of whether it is spirits, cider, beer or wine, but cocktails are my true love, so it doesn't matter as much for me.

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Heineken and Bass are both great beers, but the bottled selections looks good too.

hancogran · June 9, 2017

Loving your review! We were on Jewel of the Seas (Greek Isle cruise, May 6 - 15) and after seeing the pic of Jewel and checking our itinerary, we were in Athens the same day as you. We also got to the Acropolis very early but by the time we left it was crazy! We were glad to get out of there.

SeahawkSiren · June 10, 2017

Loving your review! We were on Jewel of the Seas (Greek Isle cruise, May 6 - 15) and after seeing the pic of Jewel and checking our itinerary, we were in Athens the same day as you. We also got to the Acropolis very early but by the time we left it was crazy! We were glad to get out of there.

Glad you were able to be at the Acropolis early too. We had the Rick Steve Mediterranean Cruise Ports book with us and have to agree with his statement in the book that its miserably packed with tour groups froom 10:00 to 12:30. It was like being in a completely different place before 10:00. The Acropolis is amazing though. So glad we got to experience it.

SeahawkSiren · June 10, 2017

Thursday, May 18 – Civitavecchia to Rome, Italy. I got up very early and enjoyed some coffee on our balcony as I watched the sunrise and sail into Civitavecchia. I was bummed that our cruise was ending but was also very happy and thankful for the places we visited and the multitude of amazing things we experienced.

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But wait! Our vacation is not over quite yet! Now it’s on to stay in Rome for 2 nights!

We took advantage of early disembarkation after the self walk offs. Gold level and above were the next group to disembark so we were off the ship before 8:00 which was good as we had a transfer to Rome scheduled for 8:30.

We split the cost of the transfer to Rome with another couple from the CC Meet and Greet. It was booked with All Transfers in Rome and the total cost was 140 Euros. It took over 90 minutes to get from the port to Rome.

SeahawkSiren · June 10, 2017

We stayed at the Hotel Lancelot near the Colosseum. An outstanding hotel with superior service. This hotel has been owned by the same family since the 1970’s and it’s very clear they take pride in their lovely property. This hotel came with excellent reviews from Rick Steves, tripadvisor, and here on CC. We did splurge on a 6th floor (the highest floor) room with a private terrace and a view of the Colosseum. We paid roughly $229.00 per night and that price also included a buffet style breakfast and free wi-fi in the hotel. A very reasonable price IMO for the location in ancient Rome. It was within a 10 minute walk to the Colosseum.

Side note - Budget wise we were trying to stay under $250.00 per night in both Barcelona and Rome, and accomplished that in both places, even with private terrace rooms at both locations.

If you want modern and luxurious this hotel is not for you. But if you want old world charm while in Rome, this is the place!

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Hotel dining room

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Hotel bar area/lounge

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SeahawkSiren · June 10, 2017

A garden area for guests

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SeahawkSiren · June 10, 2017

Our room on the 6th floor

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SeahawkSiren · June 10, 2017

Our private terrace

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Of all the photos I was sending to friends and family via text, this one got the most compliments. A zoomed in shot of the Colosseum with the flowers from our terrace. I too love this photo and think I will have it blown up and framed.

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SeahawkSiren · June 10, 2017

After checking into our hotel early it was time for our Colosseum tour. We booked the “VIP Colosseum Underground Tour with Roman Forum & Palatine Hill” tour with Walks of Italy. An outstanding tour with Gianluigi (“Gigi”), an excellent guide! This tour was approximately 4 hours. Since this was a guided tour we were able to go to exclusive areas of the Colosseum that are closed to the general public including the Colosseum underground, walking on the arena floor, and viewing from the third tier. Our tour group contained only 12 people (the maximum allowed) which made for a much more enjoyable experience.

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