Just back from the Spirit 9/16 thru 9/24

[disfan13]

Had a GREAT time! This was our first time on NCL - we may be hooked! Though we only have RCCL to compare it to. We liked the Spirit better. Had a real rough first night in the north atlantic - lots of sea sickness that night - though I took a bonnine and felt better. Won't go into a full review just yet but overall it was a real nice cruise. Lots of great entertainment / food and we were impressed with our balcony cabin on deck 11. The only meal we didn't care for was the Garden Room one night. The service was real slow and the food was not good. Probably from our entree selections...

 

Anyway it was a GREAT cruise and we're sorry to have it end! I'll answer some questions... In between laundry..

[jimswims]

Hi disfan13:

 

We were on the Spirit 8 day in August. We had a great time as well. I look forward to reading your review.

[cruiser12]

Looking forward toward your review. We are booked for next year. GHlad you had a good time.

[cathi007]

Also looking forward to your review, we are going on the Spirit Nov 19, southern carrib. we have a balcony on 9th floor any info will help. thx

[TheYearofMe]

Hi Cathi, I will be on the Dec 10 southern on the Spirit. I too am on the 9th floor midship. I can't wait to read your review!!! Please let me know when the ship docks back in NY so I know when to show up to the pier.

 

Thanks,

Patti

[ImpulsivePuppy]

what was the itin for this one?

[disfan13]

The Itin was St Thomas, Tortola then Bermuda..

 

Left NYC 9/16. Had great weather. Got to the pier before noon and was on the ship around 12:30. we were not lattitude members - this was our first experience with NCL. There were 4 of us - 2 couples. We walked around exploring some. Wanted to make some reservations for the specialty restaurants. FYI the individual restarants would not allow us to make the reservations. So I called at 2:00 when our cabin was ready. Before we went to the cabin we had lunch at Windows. Not bad..We were on deck 11 in a balcony. Our friends were on deck 10 in a balcony. Made some reservations for the specialty restaurants - 1st night - Le Bistro.

 

Went to our cabin - no luggage yet - no problem.. Went back out and went up to the pool deck - had a cocktail and did some more walking around. We went up to the front of the ship for the sail off which was delayed a bit for some reason - bo big deal. We totally enjoyed sailing out of NYC!

 

At around 6 we went to our cabin - luggage was there - unpacked with plenty of room - took showers got dressed and met our friends in the Galaxy of the stars for a drink. ( A nightly tradition). The waters were getting a bit rough I guess as the ship started to rock... By the time of our 8:30 ressies the boat was really rocking! ( The only other time we sailed was once to Canada and it was choppy - no big deal...) This was getting pretty choppy though - one of our friends couldn't eat - she ended up sick the whole night until she put on the patch at about 5 AM. Didn't see her again till about 5 that afternoon! Not sure if this was normal for sailing out of NYC - but it was a very rough night! If I had to leave the casino then I MUST have been sick... I ended up taking a bonnie and felt better.

 

By the way - we LOVED Le Bistro - awesome Filet Mignon and loved the fondu desert! GREAT service - they offered for us to take something to our friend who got sick.

 

Not going to go into details for each day - will give the highlights...

 

Weather the first sea day was ok - sunny with a couple of thunder storms that lasted a few minutes - just ran under the covered area near the pool bar upstairs.. Plenty of cocktails by the pool made for a great day! I loved the band caribbean vibes!! Perfect poolside music.

 

Dinner at Windows. LOVE Freestyle!!!! I called and asked just to be sure that "formal" wasn't a must! We did not want to do formal on this cruise. We had a great dinner at Windows with Imade as our waiter. He was the best! Took very good care of us (as we took care of him as well). Had surf & Turf. and some good wine..

 

Next sea day - PERFECT weather - the pool area was a bit more crowded but still had a great day. Again - plenty of cocktails - good friends and fun. I think this was the Blackjack Tourny - I didn't do so well... Had dinner at Cagneys. Had the porterhouse - PERFECT.

 

St Thomas - got in around 11:30 - we opted not to go to a beach - kind of wish we had. This was our first time and went shopping downtown. YIKES! These people are rough LOL. Went back to the ship for a bit then headed out again - we had booked a sunset champagne sail. Well this turned out to be a booze cruise, I would not have booked this as the others in my party hardly drink and the one who got sick never drinks... Note - we had the BEST time here - 3 of us were pretty much trashed LOL! we were not alone!!!

 

Had a deck party that night which I thought was lots of fun! Way too much food though!

 

Tortola - woke up early - had breakfast in windows then headed off the ship and took a taxi to Great Cane Bay. What an adventure to get there in the open taxi's! The beach was absolutely beautiful! Stayed for about 3 hours then headed back to the ship - we left port at 3! This night was Sho Gun. WE were all very pleasantly surprised - we all loved our meals! The sea's once again got rough - big time swells... Had to take another bonnie this night.

 

The next morning the swells were still pretty big but not too bad, though they did NOT fill up the pool this day!! It was real hot so it made it tough to hang out soutside. Ate at Garden Room. Horrible service - this was surprising as we had exceptional service every where else. The food wasn't great either.. Hmmm - maybe an off night?

 

We woke up the next morning pulling into Bermuda. This was by far the nicest port to us. Very clean - everyone was so nice! Took a taxi to Horseshoe bay. Very nice beah! Hung out for a couple of hours then took a taxi to Hamilton, Walked around some then had lunch at an english pub. Very nice! Took the ferry back to Kings Warf - this thing booked back to the ship in no time! Bot back on the ship - had dinner again in Windows - had a great meal with good service. Gambled some then woke up

 

Last sea day was another nice day. Hung out by the pool most of the day. Made ressies for 8:30 at Le Bistro.... WOW again! Had surf & turf and again - everything here was good.

 

Overall - we absolutely LOVED the Spirit and NCL. The staff were all fantastic! We will definitely be back - next time probably the dawn!

 

I'm not a great writter but thought I'd share my thoughts.

[disfan13]

double post!

[Unearthed]

I was on the cruise too....it's funny reading your post because I keep nodding and smiling. I'll post my thoughts in a bit....I was in cabin 9526 so I think maybe I can answer a few peoples questions.

[coka]

I miss the Spirit (sailed her in February)...beautiful ship and great crew! I even miss the rough day at sea! Thanks for writing a review.

Coka

[neverthought]

Great review, I too was nodding my head in agreement. We sailed on the Spirit for 8 day 9/2-10 and we had a fantastic time. We also had a balcony on deck 11 and it was wonderful, can't sail w/o a balcony now. Our only problem was with an excursion in St.Thomas, but can't let one thing spoil the cruise. We also went on the sunset sail, and as stated "no one was walking a straight line that night",LOL:D We too thought Bermuda was the best, we will be booking a cruise to just Bermuda next. Thanks for the memory boost.

[judyf]

took a taxi to Great Cane Bay

 

How much was the taxi?

 

Great review thanks for taking the time to post.

[cathi007]

Disfan13, thanks for the review and your writting was great.

Patti, I will write a review the day, or maybe two, after I get back.

Unearthed, I am in 9580, a BD balcony, is that what you had, what did you think? Any suggestions? We did ocean view our first cruise and the second one we did balcony, now theres no going back I need the balcony, thanks everyone, Cathi

[disfan13]

Neverthought - the booze cruise was a riot!!! I would definitely do that again LOL.

 

Judy the taxi cost $6 per person each way - lots cheaper than the excursion - just let the taxi driver what time you wish to return. We saw excursion folks at the same beach and their transportation back to the ship was late.

[shipmatesasds]

We were also on the same cruise, balcony deck 11 and I happen to agree with you, the Spirit was lovely, restaurants were great, except for the Garden Room, too slow, they even forgot our desserts, we had to remind the waitress! I would, should say, we are planning two other cruises in the future, one on the Dawn and another on the Gem. :D

[judyf]

Neverthought - the booze cruise was a riot!!! I would definitely do that again LOL.

 

Judy the taxi cost $6 per person each way - lots cheaper than the excursion - just let the taxi driver what time you wish to return. We saw excursion folks at the same beach and their transportation back to the ship was late.

 

Thanks, At least the ship will wait for them. I perfer to do things on my own. Some ports you're better off booing through the ship. It all depends.

[disfan13]

the Spirit was lovely, restaurants were great, except for the Garden Room, too slow, they even forgot our desserts, we had to remind the waitress!

We were on our way out when the waitress finally decided to bring us our coffee's. At least 15 minute's after desert...

[Dolphins]

We were also on the same cruise, balcony deck 11 and I happen to agree with you, the Spirit was lovely, restaurants were great, except for the Garden Room, too slow, they even forgot our desserts, we had to remind the waitress! I would, should say, we are planning two other cruises in the future, one on the Dawn and another on the Gem. :D

 

Happy you enjoyed the Spirit. We sail on her for the first time next month. We have sailed the Dawn many times, our favorite ship.

 

You said the service was slow in the Garden Room? Did you have a large group? I would think service for dinner would be slower in Windows because it is a large room. On the Dawn, we found service better in Impressions and Aqua for dinner than the more crowded larger Venetian? Enjoy the Dawn.

[CruiseGuy65]

Hey, we were also on this sailing. Your review is right on.

We had a very nice time. The ship is great, the food is very good. Had a very nice time meeting people and enjoying the ports as well. The crew does a great job of making you have a great time and the service in the restuarants is great. Hey.. you are on vacation, so its OK to wait a few minutes for your dessert !!

We enjoyed a lot of activiites on the ship... casino, Martini tasting ( a must, best deal on the ship) and Marharinis nightclub as well.

The ships performing crew are excellent. Great singers and dancers. I think they do 3 or 4 different shows during the week, as well as perform as the nightclub sometimes as well.

 

Disregard the negativity about this ship. We are educated professionals (who aren't snooty) and we thought the ship has a lot to offer and the food is definitely above average. We never had a bad meal. If you dont liek something you order, jsut order soemthing else. They are more than happy to bring you anything you want. Also, for what you are paying, you cant find a better vacation value anywhere.

 

My only comment would be that the cabins are a little tight. Have had bigger on Carnival. But they are more than adequate and after all, this is a cruise ship, not the Hilton !

[disfan13]

Hey.. you are on vacation, so its OK to wait a few minutes for your dessert !!

Hey I agree - we weren't really upset - but there were only 3 of us - and it was a long wait.

 

I've read lots of reviews about this ship - lots of negative one's. I decided a while ago that I will go and judge for myself. And I'm glad I did - like I said - overall we had a GREAT vacation with great food, service and lots of fun.