Just off the 6/11 Spirit - review

[hods93]

 

 

We just got back from the Spirit yesterday. What an absolutely beautiful ship!!! It was by far my favorite of all the ships we have been on. To give you a background on us: we traveled with three children, 5, 11 and 12. My 80 year old FIL also joined us. We are in our mid 40s.

This was our first cruise on NCL since they went freestyle. We had a really wonderful time.

 

Embarkation was OK. We got to the pier around 10:30 a.m. and boarded around 12:15. We are latitudes members and waited in the Latitudes area. It was fairly smooth.

 

When we boarded the ship our rooms were not available until 2 p.m. All the doors to the stateroom areas were shut and they did enforce the 2 p.m. rule. So beware, anything you bring on you must carry with you until 2 because they did not allow anything to be dropped in rooms.

 

The beauty of this ship is remarkable!! The Asian influence abounds throughout. The deep reds and blues of the carpeting enhances the beauty of the woods throughout this ship. The absence of neon flashing lights and over the top décor was welcoming for us.

 

Staterooms: We had an AC penthouse, Pisces Suite 10512 which was just the most beautiful room. The bathroom was spectacular!! We had the adjoining cabin. This was nice because we had the connecting door. It appeared that the balcony doors opened. We inquired and they told us they could not open them. This room was small compared to other balcony rooms we have been in. We also had inside room across the hall. This was fine.

 

Our butler was Erlindo an he was OK. We had breakfast delivered every morning which was wonderful. Erlindo was good and very accommodating. Did he go the extra mile - probably not but he was still great and I felt so lucky to even have a butler. On a couple of occasions we placed orders from the room service menus and it took him about one hour to deliver it. Again, no big deal. Room service for the other rooms was a different story. Our inside room ordered room service one night and it took 2 hours to get it.

 

Our concierge was Lisa Myers and she was the best. No request was ever too big for her. She made all of our dinner reservations. She was perky and always smiling. A definite asset for NCL. We used her much more than the butler. Cant say enough good about her.

 

Room stewards were good, although we did have to request soap numerous times (no big deal). All three rooms were sparkling clean at all times. The stewards were super friendly and really nice to our children.

 

I will continue soon with the rest.

[Maryfrei]

Thanks for sharing, looking forward to the next installment:)!

[jeannep]

Thanks for the review. Looking forward to more.

 

Thanks

Jeanne

[linsue1231]

Great review looking forward to more.

 

Linda

[judyf]

Thanks for sharing, waiting to read the rest!

[hods93]

Here is the rest of my review.

 

The food overall was OK. I hate to critique food because it is so subjective. We ate at Windows, Garden, Teppanyaki and La Trattoria. The food in the main dining rooms was alright. Some nights I found it hard to find something I liked on the menu. The portions are small. So order two main entrees if there is something that appeals to you. The best I had in the main dining rooms was the swordfish. It was delicious. Teppanyaki and La Trattoria were both excellent.

 

I thought the service in the main dining rooms was not so great. One night we waited 40 minutes to have our plates cleared and get our dessert menu. Finally, after 40 minutes we gave up and left. Also, the drinks we ordered with dinner in the main dining room often came after the salad and with our main entrée.

 

Also, we ate early because of the kids. The lines to get into the dining room for 5:30 were long. I recommend if you have a reservation walk to the right of the line. They seat reservations first. We did not know that and had a 5:30 reservation and did not get seated until 6 because we waited in line.

 

Raffles. What can you say about Raffles? The food was good - average for a buffet. The flow of passengers is bad. It is kind of confusing. Every man for himself attitude. No trays - but no big deal. Outdoor buffets were OK.

 

 

Blue Lagoon: Great wings, orders only had three wings so order several orders. Service was slow here. You will wait 15-25 minutes for wings.

 

Pools: The kids pool is awsome. All three kids loved it. It is not just for small children. Really important point: NCl has an attendant there so any child getting out of hand was asked to leave the pool for a short time out. I loved that because all the kids were well behaved.

 

Adult pool: Really very nice but very hard to find a chair. Because I chose not to be a chair hog, I did not go out early to save my seats. As a result, I did not get a chair by the pool. That OK though. Many college age kids onboard. They were all well behaved.

 

Ports: We went on the pontoon boat it was fun. We went down and met Alberto so the weather in Fla was not great. The ride down was not bad. We had only about two hours of bad seas during the night.

 

GSC: Great day. The best day of the whole cruise. I wish we could have stayed longer. They had a beach party at night. Word of warning, bring bug spray. We got eaten alive. The limbo dancer show on the island was not great. It really was not a limbo dancer at all. If there is something else to do - do it. Wished we had skipped it. The tender over and back was the worst part of the whole thing.

 

Beware, if you need handicap assistance NCL only has 6 sand wheelchairs on the island so you have to get there early. Also, ship to tender ramp is tough for those that need assistance. Friends of ours had to carry their handicapped wheel chair bound son down the ramp.

 

The tender over for the night party was bad. It took some people one hour in line to get the tender. We had a priority tender over so it wasn’t too bad. I have to admit, I was a little nervous because I wasn’t so sure they were keeping track of the number of people on the tender. There was snacks on the island that night, I think pizza. My kids said it was bad. The return tender trip took forever. It took us 45 minutes in line to get the tender. Same thing the next day. It was worth it though the weather was spectacular and the swimming was great.

 

My husband and his father parasailed which was wonderful. The kids snorkeled and had so much fun.

 

Bar service: I loved the fact I never had to wait to long to get a drink. I know this bothers some people to be hounded by the wait staff but I loved it. As soon as my drink was empty someone was over to help me. Tip: the coffee bar in the main atrium had wonderful specialty coffees if you like them.

 

Casino: Obvious, lots of fun but we didn’t win anything.

 

Shows: OK nothing to rave about. Not bad but not particularly memorable. Definitely entertaining.

 

Cruise director Ricky was really very good. He was funny and full of life.

 

Returning to NY was a zoo parade (no fault of NCL). Thousands of people waiting for rides because the Dawn, Spirit and CCL Victory were in port.

 

All in all, we had a wonderful trip. We met lots of nice people at our CC meeting which numerous department heads attended. We also met lots of really nice people onboard.

 

We have cruised numerous times before and I probably would not choose to cruise on those ships again because we like to try something new. If I had the chance to cruise on the Spirit again I would jump at it.

 

I would be happy to answer any questions.

[denandben]

I am sailing on the spirit in July to the eastern carribean. We are a family of four with two adjoining balcony stateroom. Did you see these rooms? How was the camp on board. Our experience on the Dawn and Crown were good and we are hoping for the same. Do they sell kids soda bands? What is the earliest reservation? On the crown the dining lines were terrible and I am hoping this will be better, we had no problem on the dawn. Any other info would be great. Thanks :rolleyes:

[hods93]

I am sailing on the spirit in July to the eastern carribean. We are a family of four with two adjoining balcony stateroom. Did you see these rooms? How was the camp on board. Our experience on the Dawn and Crown were good and we are hoping for the same. Do they sell kids soda bands? What is the earliest reservation? On the crown the dining lines were terrible and I am hoping this will be better, we had no problem on the dawn. Any other info would be great. Thanks :rolleyes:

 

Yes, I did see these rooms because my FIL had the adjoining balcony room to ours. They are nice. Just a bit smaller than we were used to on other lines. However, two in each room would be fine. For us one room would have been cramped since my kids fight all the time ;).

 

My kids did not do camp. Lots of kids (550 to be exact) on board and I only heard positive things. They sell soda cards. I bought backpacks for the kids with a hat, shirt, soda card and cup. They loved it and we got our monies worth.

 

The earliest reservation at windows was 5:30. Garden was 6. As I said the lines are horrific so if you have a reservation bypass the line. If you can make reservations do it the first day or two. We tried to make a last minute reservation at Windows and they were booked. Our conceirge Lisa ended up making one for us. But, do not wait or you will be out of luck.

[judyf]

GSC: Great day. The best day of the whole cruise. I wish we could have stayed longer.

 

I would like to hear more about this. Do you mean it was great during the day and not the evening? That's what I thought when reading your post.

 

I'm NOT looking forward to the overnight at GSC, I wish it would be at Nassau like the Dawn does. At least then you can go to Atlantis or Senor Frogs, there's something to do.

 

I think we will stay on the ship this evening as going off in those lines to be eaten alive and have old pizza and drinks at NCL prices, it makes sense to me to stay on the ship.

 

Can anyone tell me more about what's going on, on the ship this evening? What is there to do on GSC at night?

 

I love GSC during the day when you can sit in the sun, rent a tube and swim.

[hods93]

I would like to hear more about this. Do you mean it was great during the day and not the evening? That's what I thought when reading your post.

 

I'm NOT looking forward to the overnight at GSC, I wish it would be at Nassau like the Dawn does. At least then you can go to Atlantis or Senor Frogs, there's something to do.

 

I think we will stay on the ship this evening as going off in those lines to be eaten alive and have old pizza and drinks at NCL prices, it makes sense to me to stay on the ship.

 

Can anyone tell me more about what's going on, on the ship this evening? What is there to do on GSC at night?

 

I love GSC during the day when you can sit in the sun, rent a tube and swim.

 

When you arrive in the evening you can swim. Dont forget towels. None are available there. They really pumped up this Nassua Limbo King and we were really disappointed. He didnt limbo too much. He had some large man (a passenger) stand on him and did sit ups. It was disappointing. Then they had a passenger tug of war. They did have a live band and you could dance if you wanted. The sunset was nice and seeing the Spirit off shore with the lights on was beautiful.

 

We left before the end of the "Limbo King" and waited so long to get on a tender. I cant even imagine how long the line was after he ended. We got in line at about 10 p.m. and arrived back to the ship at about 11 p.m.

 

I think that I would have rathered stayed on the ship and enjoyed ithe quiet while everyone was at the island.

 

Dont misunderstand me, if we were in the 18-30 crowd this would have been a really great party, lots of fun. I probably would not have minded the lines. Being 40 something with kids, the bugs and lines got to me :D .

[gigizhere]

Hi Leann! Its Gigi......I feel sooooooooo bad that I missed the CC meeting! Did everyone else show up? By the time I remembered.....I couldnt find any of my party and it was too late! We had a good time....being our first cruise we have nothing to compare this one too. Would I cruise again? Maybe some day.....alone without children! ;) My daughter Nicole, the one you met...is not crazy about large crowds and waiting in line...she is used to our beach vacations in nags head where we rent an ocean front house and have the wide open beaches with not alot of people around. She was very happy when we went to GSC! She had a blast dancing with all the crew members and swimming. The pool on the ship was a bit small....and a little too deep to play around in. We went down to the kiddie pool which was awesome.....but there was soooooo many little ones in there....I didnt even try to see if she could go in. My other daughter had fun.....but wished she had a girlfriend around to hit the night spots with! I guess a week hangin with mom and dad would get old when you are 22! hey I went to the ship and dales with her....what more could she ask for! :D My nephew was one of the sick ones on the ship! Tuesday night he was up allllllllll night burning up with fever and you know what else! He had the salmon for dinner and I guess quite a few other people that ended up down in the medical center did also. So I am not sure if it was food poisening or that virus....either way he missed nassau and GSC at night...he did make it over during the day....but still didnt feel well. So it wasnt a very good vacation for their family. As for nassau....I wish we had more time....and had I known that the Discover Atlantis was what it was.....I would have NEVER paid $200 for us to go! Once again it was extremely hard for my daughter to walk that LONG walk in that heat to get to the hotel! It is a beautiful place.....and that only made it worse seeing it...saying....boy I wish I was staying there! Then to walk alll the way back to the bus....and only have like an hour to shop! I wish we would have skipped the Atlantis and just shopped...the straw market was a blast....and I only made it in the first five feet of the aisles! So we didnt buy anything...well my daughter jess did get a fendi purse....I figured we would go to the straw market on GSC.......well.....found out it was not the same! no haggeling there! Price marked is it! and it was much more than the real straw market was! So I wish they would make port canaveral a short stop and the Island or Nassau the long one! We went to Cocoa Beach....only for a few minutes.....when a HUGE wind came up and everyone went running for the bus! I felt like a homeless person with no place to go! By the time we made it to the bus....Nicole walks one pace-slow...lol....the bus was full...my sister-in-law was the last one on...so we waited in a shop til they sent the next one.

I did feel the boat rock that one night....around 3 am.....went to the bathroom and had to hold on!!!! but it wasnt as bad as I thought it would be.....I was soooooooooo worried that I would not like being in the middle of the ocean....so maybe one day we will sail again....now that we know what we are doing! hahaha the first few days....we walked around with that deer in the headlight look! By friday.....we were good....found a nice place to lay out up by the golf nets not so crowded.....and a discovered raffles terrace.....nice and quiet....able to sit and talk without hearing them sing...."HOT HOT HOT" hahaha when we first left port....and they were singing Rock the Boat....I thought...that is really cute.....lol by the end of the week......I was ready to put tape on their mouths!!!!!!

Once again ....sorry I missed the meeting....I was looking forward to meeting everyone! Talk to you soon!

[Pepi]

Hi Leann! Its Gigi......I feel sooooooooo bad that I missed the CC meeting! Did everyone else show up? By the time I remembered.....I couldnt find any of my party and it was too late! We had a good time....being our first cruise we have nothing to compare this one too. Would I cruise again? Maybe some day.....alone without children! ;) My daughter Nicole, the one you met...is not crazy about large crowds and waiting in line...she is used to our beach vacations in nags head where we rent an ocean front house and have the wide open beaches with not alot of people around. She was very happy when we went to GSC! She had a blast dancing with all the crew members and swimming. The pool on the ship was a bit small....and a little too deep to play around in. We went down to the kiddie pool which was awesome.....but there was soooooo many little ones in there....I didnt even try to see if she could go in. My other daughter had fun.....but wished she had a girlfriend around to hit the night spots with! I guess a week hangin with mom and dad would get old when you are 22! hey I went to the ship and dales with her....what more could she ask for! :D My nephew was one of the sick ones on the ship! Tuesday night he was up allllllllll night burning up with fever and you know what else! He had the salmon for dinner and I guess quite a few other people that ended up down in the medical center did also. So I am not sure if it was food poisening or that virus....either way he missed nassau and GSC at night...he did make it over during the day....but still didnt feel well. So it wasnt a very good vacation for their family. As for nassau....I wish we had more time....and had I known that the Discover Atlantis was what it was.....I would have NEVER paid $200 for us to go! Once again it was extremely hard for my daughter to walk that LONG walk in that heat to get to the hotel! It is a beautiful place.....and that only made it worse seeing it...saying....boy I wish I was staying there! Then to walk alll the way back to the bus....and only have like an hour to shop! I wish we would have skipped the Atlantis and just shopped...the straw market was a blast....and I only made it in the first five feet of the aisles! So we didnt buy anything...well my daughter jess did get a fendi purse....I figured we would go to the straw market on GSC.......well.....found out it was not the same! no haggeling there! Price marked is it! and it was much more than the real straw market was! So I wish they would make port canaveral a short stop and the Island or Nassau the long one! We went to Cocoa Beach....only for a few minutes.....when a HUGE wind came up and everyone went running for the bus! I felt like a homeless person with no place to go! By the time we made it to the bus....Nicole walks one pace-slow...lol....the bus was full...my sister-in-law was the last one on...so we waited in a shop til they sent the next one.

I did feel the boat rock that one night....around 3 am.....went to the bathroom and had to hold on!!!! but it wasnt as bad as I thought it would be.....I was soooooooooo worried that I would not like being in the middle of the ocean....so maybe one day we will sail again....now that we know what we are doing! hahaha the first few days....we walked around with that deer in the headlight look! By friday.....we were good....found a nice place to lay out up by the golf nets not so crowded.....and a discovered raffles terrace.....nice and quiet....able to sit and talk without hearing them sing...."HOT HOT HOT" hahaha when we first left port....and they were singing Rock the Boat....I thought...that is really cute.....lol by the end of the week......I was ready to put tape on their mouths!!!!!!

Once again ....sorry I missed the meeting....I was looking forward to meeting everyone! Talk to you soon!

 

Hi. I was on this sailing too. I wasn't aware that some people got ill on the sailing. I got a bit ill the first night out after eating the baby shrimp in Windows. Luckily, I did not eat a lot of it. After a few bites, I notice a strong iodine-like aftertaste and stopped eating it. I was sick for about 2 hours that night. No fever though. Also, on the last night, my son suddenly had sharp stomach pains..was in tears for a few minutes, they were so bad. This was very brief in duration as well and no fever. He had the chicken that night for dinner.

[gigizhere]

Hi. I was on this sailing too. I wasn't aware that some people got ill on the sailing. I got a bit ill the first night out after eating the baby shrimp in Windows. Luckily, I did not eat a lot of it. After a few bites, I notice a strong iodine-like aftertaste and stopped eating it. I was sick for about 2 hours that night. No fever though. Also, on the last night, my son suddenly had sharp stomach pains..was in tears for a few minutes, they were so bad. This was very brief in duration as well and no fever. He had the chicken that night for dinner.

 

Ohhh yes there were quite a few people sick......we talked to several personally...alot had ate the salmon...some mushrooms...soooo I dont know if it was from the food. When they took my nephew to the clinic...it was VERY crowded. One young boy approx 14 yrs old was down there shaking almost like convulsing his parents were both crying...another 80 yr old man was terribly sick..seems they all had fever terrible stomach pains, vomiting and diarrhea....they had alot on IV's and they had to quarantine many. If you noticed by wed. or thurs.....they were really pushing the hand sanitizer and on the island they served all the food from the buffet so no one would touch anything and they actually were washing the walls down. Glenford said they were sanitizing.

[Maryfrei]

When you arrive in the evening you can swim. Dont forget towels. None are available there. They really pumped up this Nassua Limbo King and we were really disappointed. He didnt limbo too much. He had some large man (a passenger) stand on him and did sit ups. It was disappointing. Then they had a passenger tug of war. They did have a live band and you could dance if you wanted. The sunset was nice and seeing the Spirit off shore with the lights on was beautiful.

 

We left before the end of the "Limbo King" and waited so long to get on a tender. I cant even imagine how long the line was after he ended. We got in line at about 10 p.m. and arrived back to the ship at about 11 p.m.

 

I think that I would have rathered stayed on the ship and enjoyed ithe quiet while everyone was at the island.

 

Dont misunderstand me, if we were in the 18-30 crowd this would have been a really great party, lots of fun. I probably would not have minded the lines. Being 40 something with kids, the bugs and lines got to me :D .

 

 

Thanks for the info on this. I too am leaning towards staying on board for the evening and heading over next day only:).

[hods93]

gigi, I didnt know there were people sick. I had a feeling though because the hand santizers of the private island and the staff serving at the buffet. Now I understand why they took the salmon off the menu and put swordfish in its place. They just said salmon was not available.

 

We missed you at the CC meeting. Some came, some didnt. I was happy we met at Beirgarten earlier. In Nassua we just shopped. Our plan was Atlantis but when we got off the ship my FIL and DS were SO hot they went back to the ship and the rest of us just shopped.

 

All in all, we had fun. Beautiful ship huh?

[cantwaitt]

One night we waited 40 minutes to have our plates cleared and get our dessert menu. Finally, after 40 minutes we gave up and left.

 

 

 

After a number of so free-style cruises, I must say that this is not uncommon. And after waiting 30 minutes for a table even though the dining room is half empty.

 

This is the only side of free-style I dislike and dread.

[hods93]

One night we waited 40 minutes to have our plates cleared and get our dessert menu. Finally, after 40 minutes we gave up and left.

 

 

 

After a number of so free-style cruises, I must say that this is not uncommon. And after waiting 30 minutes for a table even though the dining room is half empty.

 

This is the only side of free-style I dislike and dread.

 

I could never understand why when we left the dining room there was a long line and the were handing out pagers when there was so few people in there eating. I dont get it. Maybe not enough waitstaff:confused: .

[mypyr]

HI! I am cruising on 8/19 on the Spirit and honestly, after reading your comments, am trying to figure out how to CANCEL the cruise. We go on a cruise to relax, eat well, and see some sights. We like the pool, an penthouse suite with all the perks(which we are booked in), and FUN. This sounds AWFUL. No chairs by the pool, long waits, food poisoning...I am trying to find the good in the trip... I guess forewarned is forearmed but I think I will look into another, perhaps more upscale cruise line. This cruise on the Spirit will be our first mass-market cruise and if this is what I can expect, forget it.

Thanks for the heads up!

[hods93]

HI! I am cruising on 8/19 on the Spirit and honestly, after reading your comments, am trying to figure out how to CANCEL the cruise. We go on a cruise to relax, eat well, and see some sights. We like the pool, an penthouse suite with all the perks(which we are booked in), and FUN. This sounds AWFUL. No chairs by the pool, long waits, food poisoning...I am trying to find the good in the trip... I guess forewarned is forearmed but I think I will look into another, perhaps more upscale cruise line. This cruise on the Spirit will be our first mass-market cruise and if this is what I can expect, forget it.

Thanks for the heads up!

 

mypyr, please dont misunderstand me. I loved this ship. The penthouse suite we were in was worth its weight in gold. I probably will never have the opportunity again to have such a beautiful room on a cruise ship. Which cabin are you in?

 

The pool crowd thing I think is universal on all ships. I refuse to get up at the crack of dawn to put a towel on a chair. If you dont need to sit beside the pool there are many other decks you can get chair and sun.

 

Food poisoning or whatever it was can happen on any ship any time.

 

The line thing I can definately do without. I think the freestyle thing has yet to be perfected! This is the first time of any cruise we have been on that we waited in long lines so that should be a consideration for you. Also, if you choose to eat later you probably wont get as many lines. Tender lines cant be avoided. If you are in a penthouse you will get priority tender for the evening party.

[Maryfrei]

Hods93, do you remember which nights they offered half price specials and for which restaurants?

[hods93]

Hods93, do you remember which nights they offered half price specials and for which restaurants?

 

 

Offhand I do not remember. I think the first night at Le Bristo. I will check my dailies and post for you later.

[cantwaitt]

The Dawn also had lines on some nights.

 

However, the half-empty dining room (which irked me too) seems to be a Spirit thing. I don't get it either.

 

The chair hogs are on all ships and at all resorts as well.

 

The beauty about the Spriit is you have this beatiful, large deck in the back of the buffet room. Great view, especially when leaving ports.

 

BTW: Once when I was in Nassau for one of those half-day ports of calls, I went up to the pool deck to get a towel and for some reason noticed someone put towels on several chairs and then followed me down the stairs and got off the ship in Nassau.

 

He was all set when he retunred several hours later.

 

But, I think as the other poster said: "It is universal" among some cruisers, no matter the ship."

[Maryfrei]

Offhand I do not remember. I think the first night at Le Bristo. I will check my dailies and post for you later.

 

Many thanks!

[Pepi]

Ohhh yes there were quite a few people sick......we talked to several personally...alot had ate the salmon...some mushrooms...soooo I dont know if it was from the food. When they took my nephew to the clinic...it was VERY crowded. One young boy approx 14 yrs old was down there shaking almost like convulsing his parents were both crying...another 80 yr old man was terribly sick..seems they all had fever terrible stomach pains, vomiting and diarrhea....they had alot on IV's and they had to quarantine many. If you noticed by wed. or thurs.....they were really pushing the hand sanitizer and on the island they served all the food from the buffet so no one would touch anything and they actually were washing the walls down. Glenford said they were sanitizing.

 

Wow Gigi, I hadn't even notice they took the Salmon off the menu. Our son ordered it the second night out and said he didn't like it...so he didn't eat it. I had the mushrooms in my dish the first night..maybe it was that instead of the shrimp. Who knows. Boy, I feel bad for those who got that sick...but I do agree that this is something that can really happen anywhere. I've seen it at resorts and unfortunately at house parties too!

Overall, we enjoyed the sailing...I posted a review of our experience.

[mypyr]

Hods93-

Thanks for your reply...we will be in room 10500. I just found out that it has no bar area and no furniture on the balcony due to the wind. Also, my husband can't believe that we can't even bring liquor on board or get a free set up. Unfortunately, we got spoiled by Celebrity last year. We had an amazing cabin, butler, and we were truly treated specially-when we pay A LOT for a room, we do expect a certain level of service, you know?