Spirit 12/8 review

[cruiser82]

I've just returned from the 12/8 Spirit sailing from NYC and since everyone here was so helpful in the months prior to this cruise I wanted to post a review to return the favor, but please be gentle as it's my first review! I'll try to give an overview of the main components of the cruise here and then answer any specific questions anyone might have in later posts. I'm 23 and was cruising with my mother and a group of about 15 others, ranging in age from 11 to 72.

 

From LGA to the Pier: We flew Independence Air from IAD to LGA and arrived around 11:30am. We got a cab (very friendly driver- we used to live in NY but moved to VA when I was 5 so he pointed out some important landmarks in case I didn't remember what was what) and the fare was $40.00 including tip and took about 35 minutes. He suggested that leaving from Newark airport would have been more convenient which went against the advice of most of the people here, but I found LGA to be very convenient.

 

Embarkation: Upon arrival at the pier a little after noon we saw the long line of people waiting outside the pier terminal to catch taxis and we thought oh dear, I hope that isn't us in 10 days! We walked into the terminal after dropping off our bags and looked for the VIP waiting area since we had the Owner's Suite. We were greeted by one of the pier workers who whisked us away to the other end of the terminal (bypassing the large group of people in the non-VIP waiting area) and were escorted to the check in line to get our keycards. After that, we were greeted by Alex our concierge and he escorted us onto the ship and gave us a mini tour on the way to our suite. I think we must have been one of the first passengers on the ship because it looked pretty empty. Once on our deck we saw Armando our butler waiting for us at the end of the hall and Alex handed us over to him to give us a tour of the room.

 

Our Stateroom: We had the Tokyo Suite (AA- 9708, aft). It was a very beautiful room but as people here have mentioned it was a bit awkwardly laid out, especially in the lounge area. It was more than enough room for my mother and I and there was also plenty of room to entertain, as we did several times during the cruise. There is a second bathroom adjacent to the dining room, which was a nice surprise. The balcony was a good size lengthwise but was very narrow in width, especially as we just had a huge balcony on an AE on the Pride of America (POA) in August. The furniture and decor of the suite was very pleasant, although I thought the deck furniture could have been improved a little bit but again, as we just came off the new POA we might have been spoiled by the 'newness' of the furniture. My mom found a pair of binoculars in one of the drawers and since no one here mentioned them as being a perk of the room we think a previous guest might have left them. The cabin steward and stewardess were very friendly and did a great job attending to the cabin, and they left cute towels animals every night, including some I've never seen before. The only negative comment I have about the room was the noise it made when at sea. The vibrations and clattering were terrible! The glasses in the bar vibrated a bit but that was easily fixed by spacing them out a bit more and moving them more towards the front, and the TV in the bedroom made noise but that was easily fixed by placing a washcloth under it but there was nothing that could be done about the rest of the noise. It seemed to be a combination of the walls creaking and ship noises, maybe the engines or propellers. It wasn't so loud that we couldn't sleep, but it was definitely a problem.

 

The ship: I was impressed with the Spirit, especially since my expectations were perhaps a bit low since I've only been on the newer NCL ships. I knew it was one of the smallest in the fleet, but I didn't get that impression as it still took me days to figure out where stuff was located! I didn't see any major signs of age although some of the carpeting around the elevators could do with replacing but overall I found the appearance of the ship to be very nice. I'm not usually prone to seasickness but after learning it was a smaller ship and reading the reviews about the number of seasickness incidents I decided to pack some Dramamine, and I'm so glad that I did. I think it was the first sea day that was really bad for me, but after taking two pills I was fine.

 

Onboard Activities: I found this to be a bit of a disappointment. I was unsure about have four sea days but I thought it would be ok since they would keep us entertained with loads of stuff to do onboard but there didn't seem to be much for me to do. I thought the shows (NCL production shows and other entertainers) were good; better than PoA but not better than the Star. We went to the Ship-n-males show and found it to be a laugh but not as good as the one we went to on the Star. We enjoyed listening to Pryme Tyme and the other evening singers in the Galaxy of the Stars. We only played Bingo on the day they had a special promotion of $19 for three cards to play during five games. If you're a latitudes member and plan to play Bingo, be sure to mention it when buying your cards because Latitudes members get free cards to use during the last game. I spent a lot of time in the casino and was actually ahead most of the time, but I put the money right back in of course. I actually saw several people win jackpots so the machines do pay out! Overall, I'd give the casino high marks but the rest of the entertainment and activites I would rate as ok.

 

Dining: We primarily had our lunches and snacks in the buffet (Raffles) and dinner in the main dining rooms. We did not go to any of the specialty restaurants so I cannot comment on them, but I can relay the feelings of some of the people I was travelling with. They were very impressed with the steakhouse (Cagney's) but did not have a good dining experience in the Italian restaurant (Trattoria) as they felt the menu was too limited and that the waiters rushed them during their meal. We ate in the Garden Room once and the remainder of the time in Windows. I thought the food was good and the service very good. I thought the buffet area was a bit of a mess as people were always running into each other (more so than on other cruise buffets) and the food was a bit iffy as some days it was pretty good and other days it wasn't. I usually love eating breakfast while on a cruise but I only did it once this time because I did not find it to my liking, but other people in our group enjoyed it.

 

Ports: I enjoyed the different islands we visited, although it would have been nice to spend more time in each port but I understand that a cruise is really just a sample of the destinations. We did NCL excursions in three of the ports, and were overall very pleased with them.

 

 

Disembarkation: As our return flight was scheduled for 5:15pm we decided to do express debarkation to try to get on the 12:35pm flight, which we were able to do. We met Alex in Henry's Pub at 7:45 and he personally escorted us off the ship around 8:15am once the ship was cleared. We got a cab and headed back to LGA, and this time the trip took about 25 minutes. Both embarkation and disembarkation were virtually painless.

 

Conclusion: I enjoyed this cruise and think most people who go on this ship and itinerary will enjoy it as well. There are a few areas that could use improvement but they weren't so bad that they ruined the cruise. We have always enjoyed NCL and freestyle cruising and are already planning our next NCL cruise for this summer.

[Dolphins]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise. It's hard to believe that you and Sol t were on the same cruise?

[jodyrick]

Thanks for the review. We are heading out on Spirit's 11/19 sailing in cabin 9710 - the ajoining penthouse to the cabin you were just in. Glad to know about the vibration - this is our first time in an AFT cabin - we normally do middle or towards front of ship but we said, what the heck, go for an AFT penthouse - the price was great! We'll plan to bring ear plugs or get extra towels to stuff between the clattering items. I guess with the ship heading out full steam ahead from NY to the Caribbean, vibration from the propellers is something unavoidable... was it noisy going between ports in the calmer seas?

 

This will be our first NCL - freestyle cruise - from what i'm reading thus far - there are specialty restaurants that require a fee to eat in? Which are considered fee based restaurants?

 

Thanks,

Rick - New Orleans

[Maryfrei]

The only negative comment I have about the room was the noise it made when at sea. The vibrations and clattering were terrible! The glasses in the bar vibrated a bit but that was easily fixed by spacing them out a bit more and moving them more towards the front, and the TV in the bedroom made noise but that was easily fixed by placing a washcloth under it but there was nothing that could be done about the rest of the noise. It seemed to be a combination of the walls creaking and ship noises, maybe the engines or propellers. It wasn't so loud that we couldn't sleep, but it was definitely a problem.

 

I noticed that vibration thing on my one nighter, and I thought it was probably the location of my cabin, 10627. Since then, however, I've seen this referenced in several other reviews. I'm so curious now to find out what's causing this. Any ideas?

[EPFudbutter]

When you arrived at the pier, we were in that long line for cabs that you mentioned, having just disimbarked. The reason that it was so long was that the QM2 arrived just before we did and between the two boats, there are enough people to make up a small town. They had a system whereby you received a ticket with a number as you exited the pier and the dispatcher called out those numbers in order as cabs appeared. In the interim, we had a blast talking to people on the line.

 

The amazing thing is that we got off just an hour and a half or so before you got on. The fact tat they can turn this huge ship around so fast speaks of an incredibly organized process. I'm impressed.

 

It was freezing cold when you sailed (colder than the norm) and you are lucky that you missed the snowstorm the next day. Wasn't it fabulous how the weather warms up and the water turns bluer as you head to the Caribbean?

 

Darn, thinking about this, now I want to be back on board sitting in the sun in a lounger. Somebody give me the tomarrow's winning LOTTO numbers please !

[cruiser82]

We got a great price as well via an upsell from our AB. There didn't seem to be any noticeable difference in the vibrations in the room based on the ship's location. As long as the ship was moving there were loud vibrations with the only exception being the arrival back in NYC! Hopefully someone else with an aft cabin will write a review because it might not be a problem with all aft cabins, we might have just been unlucky.

 

We've always enjoyed freestyle cruising because we like the flexibility it offers, although I know some people prefer the traditional cruise experience so it's just a matter of personal choice. On the Spirit the Specialty Restaurants are:

 

Shogun- Asian cuisine (12.50pp). Sushi, teppanyaki (a la carte pricing)

Cagney's- steak house (20.00pp)

Le Bistro- mediterranean (15.00pp)

La Trattoria- pasta specialties (no additional charge)

 

On the first night a lot of people book their dinner reservations for the entire length of the cruise so that's something you might want to consider doing for the specialty restaurants. There is a fee is $5.00pp for cancelled reservations after 5:00pm so that's something to keep in mind as well. Hope this helps! :)

[cruiser82]

I noticed that vibration thing on my one nighter, and I thought it was probably the location of my cabin, 10627. Since then, however, I've seen this referenced in several other reviews. I'm so curious now to find out what's causing this. Any ideas?

 

I have no idea what it could be, but I hope they get it sorted out soon!

[cruiser82]

When you arrived at the pier, we were in that long line for cabs that you mentioned, having just disimbarked. The reason that it was so long was that the QM2 arrived just before we did and between the two boats, there are enough people to make up a small town.

 

Ah, that explains it! I did see the QM2 there but silly me, I didn't make the connection. :)

 

It was freezing cold when you sailed (colder than the norm) and you are lucky that you missed the snowstorm the next day. Wasn't it fabulous how the weather warms up and the water turns bluer as you head to the Caribbean?

I LOVE watching the water turn bluer, it's one of the things I like best about having a balcony.

[Zeno]

Nicely detailed review. I am glad that your cruise was an overall good experience.

[cruiser82]

Thanks Zeno. I was pleasantly surprised by the Spirit and I'm sure everyone else who sails her will have an enjoyable time as well :)