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new to ncl..spirit q's

moonmom

By moonmom,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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moonmom

moonmom

Posted
Posted

Hello fellow cruisers!

 

We have just recently booked the 10/29 sailing of the Spirit and we're reading everything we can about the ship and ncl's policies.....

 

I understand that you can bring water, soda, juice...pay a $15 fee for your wine and champagne...and you can pre-purchase bar sets ups...

 

If you wouldn't mind i have a few questions (to start anyway!)

 

--IF you were to bring wine/champage...does it have to be something that is NOT offered on the ship?

 

--we are a party of 2...we DO still need to make ressies in any of the specialty restaurants right? We do tend to have late meals (after 9 is fine with us..) What are the usual serving hours in the restaurants? can't seem to find that information....

 

--since we are a small party....do you reccommend that we make all of our ressies upon boarding?

 

--we'll be in a bd cabin near the aft elevators on the 9th deck (9162)....any obstruction from the lifeboats on the deck below? Any feedback on this or any similar balcony cabin would be great!

 

Since i can't get enough information to satisfy...anything else you would care to add would be appreciated!

 

Happy sails and thanks!

jane

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johnql

johnql

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--IF you were to bring wine/champage...does it have to be something that is NOT offered on the ship?

Sorry, can't help you here, but I would guess that if you're willing to pay the corkage, it shouldn't matter.

 

--we are a party of 2...we DO still need to make ressies in any of the specialty restaurants right? We do tend to have late meals (after 9 is fine with us..) What are the usual serving hours in the restaurants? can't seem to find that information....

Yes, you need reservations in all of the specialty restaurants, including the non-surcharge one (La Trattoria). The serving hours are generally 5:30 to 10, but I wouldn't recommend walking in the door at 9:55 - the staff is usually very busy cleaning, resetting tables, etc. at that time. Arriving between 9 and 9:30 would be fine.

 

--since we are a small party....do you reccommend that we make all of our ressies upon boarding?

Not necessarily, except for the venues that book up fast (La Trattoria because it's included and Teppanyaki because it's so small). Since you're a small party and you're willing to dine late, you probably wouldn't have a problem getting reservations even if you waited. However, if you know that you want to dine in Le Bistro or Cagney's, for instance, I would book it as soon as you've made the decision.

 

--we'll be in a bd cabin near the aft elevators on the 9th deck (9162)....any obstruction from the lifeboats on the deck below? Any feedback on this or any similar balcony cabin would be great!

Don't know.

 

Since i can't get enough information to satisfy...anything else you would care to add would be appreciated!

Here's a link to my Spirit review from my February sailing:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=301151&highlight=spirit+review

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Lifes Vacation

Lifes Vacation

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I just returned this past Sunday, 8/13 from the 8 day Spirit cruise. Ship was great.

 

To answer some of your questions:

 

No matter how many in your party it is always advisable to reserve in all the specialty restaurants. We had 4 in our party, and did not make any reservations until the 2nd or 3rd day and were still able to get 7:30 seatings in La Trattoria, Shogun and Le Bistro. On our 4th day we booked Cagneys, but could only get 8:30 or later. I would recommend booking right away, assuming there is not a long line. Otherwise wait unitl the next day or when the line goes down. I am not easy to please when it comes to food. Shogun was OK, definitely good enough to eat, but not the best by far. Spring rolls were very good, everything else, just OK. Le Bistro, way over rated. Cagney's, I was surprised. It was actually very good. They ran out of Lobster, so they substituted whole lobster with tails, and I had the Porterhouse, it was very good.

 

You can bring on water, soda etc but no alcohol. Wine and Champagne you will be charged $15 per bottle. If you bring on cases of water, as we did, only 2 of 3 cases made it to our rooms. NCL was kind enough to supply us with some other bottled water since our one case was missing.

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moonmom

moonmom

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thanks for your replies! great review johnql...have you posted any pics??

 

one more question....i've been looking at lots of photos and notice that there is a coffee maker in the cabins....are they regular 4 cup drip coffee makers? do i bring my own filters and coffee??

 

thanks in advance ;)

 

jane

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johnql

johnql

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thanks for your replies! great review johnql...have you posted any pics??

 

one more question....i've been looking at lots of photos and notice that there is a coffee maker in the cabins....are they regular 4 cup drip coffee makers? do i bring my own filters and coffee??

 

thanks in advance ;)

 

jane

Yes, here's a link to my Spirit photos:

 

http://community.webshots.com/album/547851798ebHrxZ

 

I'm not certain but I think the coffee makers are more hot water heaters to be used with supplied packets of instant coffee.

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bangzoom6877

bangzoom6877

Posted
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You will love the Spirit! I went on the 8-night itinerary on July 22nd and it was wonderful. You need to reserve for specialty restaurants, no matter how small your party is. Do this as soon as you know when you want to go. If you are flexible with times (as it sounds like you are), you shouldn't have a problem getting a reservation. In fact, I believe that La Trattoria (Italian) was booked up most nights, except for the 9:30 seating. So that should be no problem for you.

 

As far as bringing alcohol onboard, you are not allowed to, and they will confiscate until the final evening of your cruise. However, when we were in St. Thomas, we bought a bottle of Chambord liqueur. It was in the plastic bag from the liquor store (with the liquor store's name on the bag), passed through the x-ray machine when we re-boarded the ship, and we were prepared to have them tag it and allow us to pick it up on the final night of the cruise. To our surprise, they did nothing and said nothing and we brought the bottle to the cabin. I suppose it's hit or miss. The $15 corkage fee applies to each bottle you bring onboard (not purchased through NCL), regardless of the brand.

 

As far as your cabin, just so you know, the kids' crew area (indoor), arcade, and the kids' pool are all on deck 10 aft, right above the area of your cabin. I point this out because when we were on the Norwegian Sea in 2002 (also before we had a son), our TA did not inform us that our cabin was 2 doors down from the kids' crew, and we couldn't relax during the day. I didn't complain to the kids' crew because it was during the day and not at night, and it was not anything unusual going on or anyone causing problems or anything like that. So I felt I had no right to complain about regular activities...it was just a bad location. Since then I always check the ship's deck plans before I book so that I am not anywhere near the kids' crew area, even though I now have my own child. Granted, my room had been right by the area so it was likely to be noisy during the day, and I am not sure if you would hear anything from one deck beneath the area. One more thing about an aft cabin...one of our CC group members had the owner's suite on deck 9 aft. He did mention in his review here that, although it didn't bother the 2 of them, you could feel some vibration occasionally from the engine. He said some of the things in the room would rattle a little, but it did not bother him or his wife. He also mentioned that if you are a very light sleeper it might bother you. Again, his suite was at the very back of the ship, so right near the aft elevators may be different.

 

The Spirit is great!! The food is wonderful...we didn't even eat in any of the specialty restaurants this time! The dining room was so good that we went there each evening. We had the same outstanding waiter in Windows every night (Mark, but he is on vacation now), except one night when we went to the Garden Room instead to check it out, and we had excellent service in there by Gusti. If he is still on the ship, see if you can get him as a waiter at least one time...very attentive and wonderful service. The shows are excellent too, and the hypnotist Dr. Trance is not to be missed! I was up onstage and everyone knew who I was after that night! Drinks are great too...just ask that they serve you the drink in the regular cup instead of the souvenir glass...you will save around $3 or $4 each drink if you do that! We did that and it paid off. That is of course, unless you want to bring home some souvenir glasses. We have so many from past cruises and this was the first time we brought none home...except for the one that came with the Buswackers in St. Thomas at the top of Paradise Point! ;)

 

-Bonnie

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jimswims

jimswims

Posted
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Here's the links to my pictures and review from the 6 day Spirit cruise last month.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=383727

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=391521

 

Hope it helps some.

 

Wow...thanks for sharing those judyf...they are great pictures as well...I do not think I can wait one more day....We will post our review and pic's when we get back!

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