Review of the Spirit Holiday Cruise (12/21/06-1/2/07)

[wiselindag]

This will be a long review of our cruise on the NCL Spirit over the holidays (12/21/06-1/2/07). I hope you find it helpful. As is always the case, everyone has a slightly different opinion of their cruise experience and this will be mine. Feel free to comment or ask questions.

 

Our background: We are a family of three. My husband and I are old enough to sail as "seniors" and our 17- year-old son (who will be 18 in another month) is a high school senior. Both husband and son have cruised numerous times and this was my 20th cruise (third on NCL, second time on the Spirit with most other cruises on RCCL and Celebrity).

 

Embarkation: We arrived at the port about 11 a.m. after driving down from our home in the Hudson Valley. We dropped off the luggage and then drove up to the roof to park. (N.B. Stay to the left since there is a dedicated cab lane on the right as you drive up to enter the pier area.) Everything is marked and parking is easy and safe (they check your car trunk and have security guards and a dog on the roof). When we entered the pier area we went up to the Latitudes area. If you are a member, you want to wait up there until they start letting people in because Latitudes gets on the ship first. I hadn't been on the NY pier since 1996 and it looked as bad as it did ten years ago... definitely needs improving. Dingy facility and folding chairs give people a negative first impression.

 

When we got called to embark I had a nasty surprise. When I had done my documents on line, I noticed my Latitudes number was missing. I called NCL and they said my cruise agent had to enter the information. My cruise agent did enter the information and knocked my husband off the page! As a result, when I checked on-line registration a few days before leaving home, my husband's name was missing from the reservation. I called NCL and to their credit, a supervisor worked with me to straighten it out. I then printed the pages with my husband's name on them. When we got to the pier (you probably guessed this!) the online pages had reverted back and my husband's name was missing. As a result, his key card was also missing. After several aggravating minutes the person who checked us in and the person who gave out the key cards managed to fix it again and give my husband his card, but it was a rocky start.

 

We did get on board about 12:30 and headed straight for Windows for lunch. I know Windows is open for lunch from reading posts, but the staff directed people to lunch in the buffet and Windows was practically empty. When we read the Cruise Daily for Embarkation it only mentioned Raffles for lunch, so it seems the cruise line prefers that people go to the buffet, but opens the restaurant for the savvy few who know about it. We had a lovely lunch with John, one of several excellent Windows waiters, and were seated next to the big windows with a great view of the Hudson while we dined.

 

The ship was beautifully decorated for the holidays with a giant tree in the Centrum, garlands of ivy, and smaller trees throughout the ship.

 

Reservations: Before lunch we stopped off at the Restaurant Reservations table in the Centrum to take care of dinner reservations. They had menus for the specialty restaurants, but only one menu for the Main Restaurants (not our first dinner which is what I thought!), so dates for Specialty Restaurant reservations were a bit of a guessing game. I figured the meals in Windows and the Garden Room would be good on the holidays, so I stayed away from those nights and from Lobster night (they were able to tell us when that was). I made a reservation for each of the Specialty Restaurants with relative ease (the line was much longer later in the afternoon). I have suggested to the Food and Beverage folks that they should post all of the cruise Main Dining Room menus near the desk to make reservations less of a guessing game. That way people can choose to eat in Specialty Restaurants on the nights they don’t wish to eat in the Dining Room. Although this suggestion seems obvious to me, it could be that it makes more dollars and cents to NCL to leave people guessing. On the other hand, I would think they want passengers to be happy with their dining choices, and this is one way to make that more likely to happen.

 

Cabin: After lunch we went to our cabin (CAT C - Deck 6 outside) and dropped off our hand luggage. The cabin, as expected, was small, but perfectly adequate for three of us. Charlie (ds) had a bunk,(which is pulled down at night) which meant that he was nicely out of the way and we didn't need to open the chair-bed. The drawer space in this cabin is minimal (four fairly shallow draws and four shelves in the closet). Because we had 12 days worth of clothes, we ended up leaving half the clothes in the suitcases (which slid easily from under the bed since we brought medium size bags) and using them as additional drawers. As reported, the bathroom is divided into a toilet section (with sliding door), a sink area with four small shelves, and a bigger-than average shower with sliding door, which works really well. All in all, the cabin is small, but perfectly adequate since we were rarely there. Throughout the cruise it was beautifully cared for by Whitzell and Romolo, who always had a smile and hello when we saw them in the hallway (and we saw them quite often). Our few requests (for some extra hangers and pillows, an extra Cruise Daily, and another glass) were quickly handled. Bravo to the housekeeping department! BTW, Deck 6 on this ship can only be accessed by the red stairs since the galley and dining room is between the cabin and Windows. This necessitates some extra walking, which is all to the good when you need some exercise! It did mean that we spent a lot of time walking through the Blue Lagoon on Deck 7!

 

Sailaway: After the muster drill (held just before sailing) we went up to the Galaxy of the Stars for the sailaway and to meet our Cruise Critic Roll Call friends. I wondered how we would recognize them until I spotted Danny's Landcraftdrums cap (his screen name) and then after being introduced to most of the O’Mara family and friends, were happy to meet Lukes (Mike, Syl, Katrina and Alyssa) and the Greatneckers -- Gary and Ruth. Sailing out of NYC after dark is truly spectacular... yes, we were scheduled to leave at 4, but didn't sail until after 5. The lights of Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty and the Verazanno Bridge all looked dazzling as we set off for our 12-day holiday... truly a great beginning to a lovely cruise.

 

Our luggage had arrived just prior to the muster drill and we had time to put it away before sailaway, so we were able to head down to our first dinner. As we stood out on deck for the drill, we could see that many people were still on line inside the terminal. The next morning we spotted some of them heading up to their make-up drill.

 

Dining: We had all of our non-Specialty Restaurant dinners in Windows with the exception of the last night, when we dined in the Garden Room with a large group of cruise critic friends. With the exception of the first night (when service was somewhat slow), we found the wait staff in Windows to be friendly and efficient and enjoyed the two meals (one dinner and one lunch in the Garden Room as well.) Service in the Specialty Restaurants is outstanding. Since we generally aimed for the 9:30 shows, we ate most dinners around 7 and found that gave us enough time for leisurely dining, a chance to do an errand or two and get to the Stardust Theater in time to get good seats for the show.

 

Food Quality: Food on this ship is generally good, but not great. I always found something to eat and often enjoyed the food, but compared to Celebrity dining (my three cruises prior to this one were on Celebrity) there is much that could be improved both in the Main Dining Rooms and in the Specialty Restaurants (with the exception of Shogun). The menus were good -- lots of variety, lean dining options, and international options, and the presentation generally looked nice, but the quality was very uneven. I didn't enjoy the beef anywhere on the ship, although it was tender enough. Part of the problem is that it often was dry. Another problem is that it was often over-spiced (or salted or whatever was put on the beef instead of just letting it taste like beef) and virtually always pre-sauced. On other lines the Asst. Waiter brings the sauce (or salad dressing or sour cream or whatever gets added to the food), offers it to you and then serves it to your specification. IMO that's better than preloading your salad or meat or other foods with sauces and spices in the kitchen.

 

To their credit, the soups were good and often excellent. The chilled soup tasted like dessert, but was always delicious (and yes, they are back on the dinner menus!). Caesar salad, which was always on the menu anyway, was often the salad option on the menu itself. IMO they could use more variety in the salads offered. The appetizers were pretty good and sometimes wonderful. Breads were consistently excellent. I especially liked the olive bread. I am a big bread stick fan, and missed bread sticks in the basket (although they did have them in Trattoria!). Dessert could use some work... not enough chocolate cake or different kinds of pie and way too many dough with apple combinations (I like this, but would prefer more variety!) I also missed the fanfare Celebrity provides by bringing over a dessert tray and explaining the options before you order. On the Spirit dessert was just another course and sometimes we even were asked to order it along with our main meal. To NCL’s credit, cappuccino and espresso were always available (without a surcharge) in the dining room and we applaud that!

 

Specialty Restaurants: We were unimpressed with LeBistro. We ordered the beef combination and duckling and were sorry they took the fruit fondue(which I had previously enjoyed) off the menu. There was plenty of fruit dipped in dark (or white) chocolate on the Chocaholic Buffet, however. The service in Cagneys was great (we were served by Jennifer and Leni), and the menu was terrific, but the food also underwhelmed. The creamed spinach was especially strange, but the onion rings were good. We enjoyed ourselves, but didn't think it was wonderful. The worst of the Specialty Restaurants was La Trattoria. IMO the menu was terrible -- very limited choices. I had trouble finding food I actually wanted to eat (hardly ever happens!!) and the Bolognese Sauce was positively awful due to the inclusion of some spice (I couldn’t figure out what it was) that isn’t usually in Bolognese sauce. I was surprised many people like this place (based on previous reviews). I think the problem is that on the Spirit there is no dedicated Italian Restaurant… it’s simply an area of the buffet dressed up for dinner. Because of limited cooking options in the buffet area, the food here is more limited than at the Italian eatery on the other ships. The winner among the specialties was Shogun. My husband and I ate from the pan-Asian menu (way too much food, but it was delicious). Charlie chose to eat sushi, which he thought was excellent (so the charge for us was $10 each and $15 for Charlie’s sushi).

 

The holiday menus in the Main Dining Rooms were excellent -- way better than every other menu with the exception of Lobster Night (also excellent). As I said, we usually ate around 7 p.m. and had no trouble getting in -- no wait. We did go about 6:45 on New Year's Eve and were glad we did since there were people on a long line that night. The Main Restaurants tend to be more crowded on the dress-up nights, lobster night, and in our case, for holidays.

 

Buffet: The buffet is undoubtedly in need of work. IMO it has the most problems of any area on the ship. Breakfast had everything you could want -- waffles, pancakes, french toast, cereals, fruit, smoked salmon, bagels, muffins, eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, pastries, etc. The problem is the organization. Trays and utensils are distributed from two lines at the back (one on each side). One line has fresh fruit including melon and pineapple; one line has the waffles and eggs made to order (omelets, fried eggs, etc.). If you want a fried egg and fresh fruit you either have to stand on two separate lines (with people waiting for trays and silverware and other items) or "cut in" to get the fresh fruit. This causes negative feelings since people at the end of the line think you're cutting in front of them (instead of getting fruit and leaving). Fresh Fruit should either be on both sides or taken out of the line and put with the cereals and other types of canned fruit on the round stations. Maybe something could be done with the ice cream area during breakfast time (fresh fruit there??) to increase the serving space and better differentiate areas.

 

The other problem is that there are not enough people stationed around the buffet at the various stations. One morning I had a five minute wait for a coffee cup (eventually someone brought another tray, but that should have been done as the cups were running low... not five minutes after they were gone!) The same problem happened with a spoon another morning. On that occasion I asked someone in uniform -- he walked entirely around the buffet with me to find one... same problem with a plate on another occasion, and milk on still another day.. My experience on other ships is that there are very attentive personnel in the buffet carrying trays and making sure that items don't run out or disappear. To NCL’s credit, the breakfast food was available until quite late in the morning so people who like to sleep in could still get breakfast even as lunch time approached!

 

Lunch in the buffet was ok, but not great. To their credit, they do have stir fry and a pasta bar every day. As is usually the case, the best spot for lunch is the dining room, but unfortunately NCL doesn't keep the dining room open long enough at lunch time. On port days the hours were 12-1:30. By the time we got back from the beach, the dining room was closed. On other ships, where the dining room is open from 12-2, it's possible to make it back in time to eat well. I didn’t try the Biergarten since hot dogs are not my favorite food, but others seemed to like it up there.

 

Blue Lagoon is a winner. This 24 hour eatery has enough items on the menu to satisfy anyone... Charlie ate here often and enjoyed it very much. My favorite was the fish and chips, but we also enjoyed some pound cake and banana bread with our tea after the show many evenings. Charlie especially liked the hot dogs and the potato skins. There were mixed reviews on the fried rice, tomato soup and the wonton soup, but I like that they are available at all hours.

 

Recreation: I used the internet cafe and the library -- both nice areas and sat out by the Tivoli pool when I could. Because the area underneath the overhang on both sides of the pool is filled with tables and chairs, there are never enough lounge chairs on sea days at Tivoli. On other occasions it was never a problem to find a space to lounge. The chairs on the promenade deck (7) are very nice, but there aren't enough of them.

 

They had the usual activities -- pool games, art auctions, alcoholic beverage tastings, and bingo. I need to say a word about bingo, which I play with great regularity on every other non-NCL cruise ship. If playing bingo on a cruise ship is a priority, you'd probably be better off on another line. IMO NCL ruins bingo. They use a computerized system with machines and charge a small fortune (you can still use paper, but even that is way too expensive and they constantly remind you that you can't compete against the machines with paper). So you're forced to use a machine, which takes the fun out of bingo and creates a poor people/rich people bingo game where some people have 72 cards (max with one machine) and some people have 6 cards. To add insult to injury, they only have four games at a time, so you pay more than on other lines for four games instead of five! Then if it wasn't bad enough, they increase the cost of the machines and the paper for the big games towards the end. I was so turned off that I missed many of the bingo sessions and didn't bother going to the last session where they gave away the jackpot. IMO bingo should be fun and it should be played in the traditional cruise ship way -- where everyone is one the same level because physically one person can't really do more than 6 cards at a time. They should charge no more than $30 a session (not $45 or $55!!) and should give you five games... and they should not change the rate structure towards the end of the week and force people to pay even more for four games on the raffle cruise give-away day. (BTW someone did win the free cruise on the raffle day and someone did win the free cruise on the Krackits. I don’t know if anyone ever won anything on the free spin in the casino.)

 

While we're on the subject of gambling, the casino is another area where the odds are really terrible (worse as far as I could see than any other ship I've been on) and the table games were so expensive that people went in there to gamble and walked out again because of the prices. As much as I like to play slot machines, they were so terrible that I stopped playing. Usually I can find a few machines that are fun (ok, I’m a little crazy and enjoy machines like stampede and machines that pop up and down), and that provide some kind of payoff to keep you playing. I never saw anyone win a jackpot when I was in the casino and didn't hear of any won either. Maybe someone won, but the pickings seemed very lean. In my experience, cruise ship casinos don't pay out much, but they usually pay more than this one. If a bunch of people won big on this cruise, I’d be glad to hear it!

 

Spa: I ended up going to the Spa twice -- once for a hot stones massage on a port day and once for a "Seduction of the Senses" special. Both times I was pleased to be in the good hands of MaryCar, who is a lovely person and an excellent masseuse. As others have noted, the sauna on this ship has a porthole so you can look out to sea, and the relaxation room is also very pleasant.

 

I didn't end up in the gym... combination of laziness and crowds in there every time I thought about it... the ship was full and the gym (which is rather small) was very well used.

 

Murder Mystery: We signed up for the Murder Mystery and played as a team with the Lukes (from the roll call). It was fun and diverting, but you really have to keep your wits about you when you’re working on the mystery and ordering and eating, all at the same time. Anyway, my husband, the lawyer, figured out the key clue and I did manage to figure out the murderer (not me!)

 

Entertainment: This was very mixed. I thought the production shows were good. People raved about the hypnotist, but I missed that show because we were at dinner with the captain (more about that lovely development later…). The comedy wasn't very funny. I was especially disappointed by the Second City Improv Troupe since I usually like improv very much, but it just didn't work very well in this case. Actually the funniest comic event might have been the Liars Club on the last night. That was funnier than most of the other comedy.

 

I liked Ricky Matthews and thought he did an excellent job as Cruise Director. He has lots of energy, can sing and dance, and has a good, dry sense of humor. Perhaps most important, he seemed to care about the passengers around the ship. Every time I passed him in the hallways he smiled and said hello. One night when he was hurrying to the theater and my husband was having trouble opening a door, he stopped and offered assistance. That concern for the individual welfare of the passengers seemed to be reflected in his staff as well… nice people.

 

Cruise Critics Meet and Greet and Latitudes: Big kudos to NCL on this one! On the first sea day we had a very nice gathering in Maharini's Nightclub (although not an ideal venue... the meeting room would have been better). I have been to gatherings such as this on Celebrity and RCCL, and IMO NCL does it best. Five ship's officers showed up to chat with us and make sure we had a good cruise. That's a lot of officers and really shows a corporate respect for these boards. Even better, they allotted 30 spaces for the officers’ dinner (on lobster night) for cruise critic members. We signed up and were delighted to be invited to a cocktail party in the Art Gallery and dinner. As it turned out, my husband and I and another couple dined with Captain Frank Juliussen in Windows, and this was truly wonderful. Captain Juliussen is a charming, humorous, and gracious host, and we were most fortunate to be his guests. All of the officers were frequently out and about the ship and were very accessible and open to suggestions. This is something for which NCL (and Captain Juliussen in particular) should be commended. The Captain also hosted a lovely Latitudes party, held on the first sea day.

 

Ports: On this 12 day cruise we visited St. Thomas, Antigua, Barbados, Grenada, Dominica, Tortola, and Great Stirrup Cay. I had been to five of the seven ports on other cruises and so went to the beach most of the time. Since the weather was great, the beach trips were excellent and very enjoyable. Tendering to GSC went smoothly. Another suggestion: NCL makes you line up to pick up towels... why?? On other ships the beach towels are given to each person in the cabin. When you come back, you leave the towels in the cabin and they are replaced by clean ones. The control is left to the cabin attendant, which makes sense. Going to Deck 7 to get towels, standing on line, and then signing out towels is an extra annoyance. To make matters worse, on the morning of GSC they ran out of towels and we had to stand on a long line and wait for them to deliver more!

 

Staff and Crew: For the twelve days we were on this ship, we found the service and the attitude of the staff and crew to be outstanding. They were helpful and friendly (what more could you ask?) Considering that the ship was full and this was the holiday season (not an easy time for people to be away from home), I thought they were great.

 

Debarkation: This was great. I loved being able to wait in the cabin and then walk off the ship with the luggage. Since we were on deck 6, when they called Express Debarkation (you need to sign up for this the day before!), we simply carried our bags up the steps and walked off the ship... easiest debarkation ever! Then we took the elevator up to the parking deck, jumped in the car, and were home in 40 minutes... really easy.

 

Summary: This was a lovely cruise. The Spirit is a very nice ship with some obvious limitations (due primarily to its provenance -- it started out as a gambling ship which probably accounts for the small cabins... the buffet has problems because it was designed for wok cooking, etc.) I enjoyed the people I met on this cruise, managed to gain five pounds, and was amazed at how smooth the sailing was on this trip (both to and from the islands!) Cruising for 12 days from our home port proved to be a winner for us. My son, who met many other teens on the ship and generally had a wonderful time, has already asked me to book another NCL cruise. While I’m not the greatest fan of freestyle, the improvements noted in the dining room service make it more of an option for me, and we will, no doubt, be on other NCL ships in the future.

 

Feel free to ask questions... I'll do my best to provide as many answers as possible. I am appreciative of the time and effort taken by many individuals who wrote about the Spirit and in so doing, helped me get ready for our cruise. It's the least I can do to pay it forward.

[Beachbum1944]

Thanks for the review. We were on the Spirit 2 years ago, and thought everything was great. We will be on her again this sat.

[AuntieBarb]

Wiselindag, thank you so much for your very informative review, with such personal flair at that!

 

Having been loyal to the Dawn, we've finally set our scopes on the Spirit's repositioning cruise in November. I realize there's many similarities among NCL's ships, but I felt like I was reading about the Dawn.

 

I have to agree with you on NCL's Bingo. Too pricey for so few games and they do indeed nab you in the end for the jackpot and cruise raffle. The problem is people continue to pay their prices. As long as they do, NCL will continue to get away with it! Even their payouts are too low for what they're raking in. Ah well, it's entertainment on a sea day and no one is forcing anyone to play.

 

Didn't the reception desk offer to copy the menus for you? That's what we've always done, so we can take a moment back in our stateroom to decide what nights we'd prefer specialty restaurants. Then if the reservation line isn't ringing busy, we either call the restaurants directly or stop by in person. I'm happy your reservations were handled favorably, but we've had occassion where there were conflicts between the atrium/centrum reservation list and the list at each individual restaurant. When that happens, the calls for rescheduling begin.

 

The line-up for the Stardust sounds almost the same as the Dawn. We've seen very little in new entertainment since 2004. Do you recall the names of their production shows?

 

Your itinerary was quite similar to our 1st cruise. Good to hear you enjoyed yourself!

[AdamsND04]

awesome review my cruise on the Spirit is only 62 days away!!!

[aces389]

Wiselindag has said it all.

 

We really enjoyed this cruise, smooth sailing from New York. Great weather on most of the Islands and we had a relaxing time.

 

The only thing that I would add to Linda's review was the nice touch of a brunch with the Officers on New Year's day. We sat and chatted with the Chief Engineer for about an hour.

 

Some people actually did win in the casino and I saw several thousand dollars paid, unfortunately not to me.

 

One other nice feature of this cruise was the number of food plates delivered to our room. It seemed that we had one delivered every day for the 12 days. I could not figure out why?

 

Comments on the buffet are spot on, the food needs to be warmer. Even the coffee needed to be hotter.

 

We had a balcony room on deck 9 and found it to be very comfortable for two people that brought many clothes.

 

Spirit is a ship with character and the NCl staff was always friendly.

 

There you have an organized review by Wiselindag and some random thought by me.

 

Happy New Year to all

:)

[Maryfrei]

Enjoyed your very thorough review, thanks:)!

[mush71]

To answer your question about the Once a day slot pull, Yes people do win at it. I won a $25 card to the casino on the Spirit in August. I was surprised I won anything. I played the slots and doubled my money. I was happy. I then went down to the desk and put it towards the room account. I am not a big gambler so when I win even a little I take it and am happy.

 

Sounds like a great cruise.

[fkwok]

Thanks for a great review (and a trip down memory lane!).

[Zeno]

I really enjoyed this review! Lots of detail (good and bad), comparisons made but not offensively, realistic attitude, no ridiculous statements - really an excellent review!!! Thanks very much for your efforts.

[bskmom]

Thanks for the taking the time to write your review. We are doing an Easter Cruise on the Spirit in April. we have been on The Dawn before and RCL. Do they cook down by the pool (BBQ) for lunck like they do the Dawn? My husband thought that was the best. We felt the food on the Dawn was actually better than RCL. Thanks again for writing

[lavigne101]

Thanks for taking the time to let us know how you enjoyed your cruise. We are sailing in March, first on NCL so the info is appreciated. Cheers.

[wiselindag]

Dear Friends,

 

Wow! I'm overwhelmed by all your positive comments and motivated to write more reviews. Thank you.

 

I realized after I posted that I never mentioned New Years Eve. NCL did a fine job. They decentralized the festivities to many locations around the ship and passed out party hats, noise-makers, and champagne as we got close to midnight. Ricky got on the p.a. and said the captain was going to do the countdown and that's what they did. It was chilly up on deck, so we went up after midnight to check out the action... definitely the place to be.

 

To answer your questions, the Production shows were called Standing Room Only, America's Beat, and Radio Waves.

 

No one offered to provide daily menus at the reservation desk. I asked and they said they had the specialty restaurants and one menu from the main dining room. Since our cruise was full and the lines were building, maybe they thought it would slow us down too much to have them there. If I'd waited until later, I'm not sure what would have been left... didn't want to take the chance.

 

As for pool barbecue, I can't provide much information. Last time I was on the Spirit (two years ago) there was outdoor cooking in the back of the buffet (overlooking the children's pool). This time the dailies list two outdoor barbecues (one on the sailing day when it was cool weather), but I never saw it. According to the Dailies, there was one other day when they had a pool barbecue, but I missed that one, too. I know they had tacos at the Tivoli pool one day... those I saw. I also saw the barbecue at GSC, but since we had to be back on the ship by 12:30, we didn't bother to go there... just waited until we returned to the ship and then had lunch. I was surprised at how many people were piling up their plates with barbecue at 10:30 in the morning! More barbecues on deck would have helped... maybe people were just starved for that kind of food, although it's hard to imagine how anyone could be starving after (at that point) 10 days on the Spirit!

 

Hi Aces... thanks for the additional info. Glad to hear someone won something in the casino.

 

Keep the questions coming!

 

Best regards and thanks again,

Linda

[maja]

Great review! Thanks for all the information.

We will be sailing on the Spirit 2/10 & have a few questions I was hoping you might be able to answer.

 

Can you tell me more about "Seduction of the Senses" ? How much did it cost? Was it offered all the time or was it a special?

 

Do you happen to remember if there was a self-serve espresso machine in Raffles? Dawn & Jewel have them.

 

Was there afternoon tea at Raffles?

 

Are there laundry rooms on the Spirit?

 

I heard there are chairs always available in the back near kid's area (stadium seats). Are they all in the shade or will sunlovers find a spot too?

 

thanks!!!

[wiselindag]

Hi Maja,

 

I'm glad you liked the review. To answer your questions:]

 

1) Seduction of the Senses was a "special price" for the entire cruise. I think it was $129 or $139 (could be off by $10 or so because I had a 30% off coupon which I was allowed to use on this). As I recall, it was whole body exfoliation, back and neck massage, foot massage and mini-facial. I had another combination package earlier in the cruise, so I'm not positive exactly what massages went with what package, but it was great and I enjoyed it very much. MaryKar did both my spa massages, and she was excellent. The other one was a port day special and involved hot stones, which is really a treat. I think that was $89.

 

I didn't see a self-serve espresso machine. Espresso and cappachino were served in the dining room, but I never saw it in Raffles... on the other hand, I didn't look for it, either, but I doubt it because I checked out what was available around both beverage stations and I think I would have noticed that.

 

There are afternoon "snacks" in raffles... doesn't rise to the level of a proper afternoon tea... just some small sandwiches, cookies, a few baked goods. If you're hungry, it's there, but IMO doesn't rise to the level of offerings on other ships. I think there was a formal afternoon tea once during our cruise, but I couldn't get there for some reason so I didn't get a chance to try it. I could be wrong.... maybe I'm mixing up this cruise with the one the month before.

 

There are no self-serve laundry rooms on the Spirit. They do have an offer 3/4 of the way through. Others reported it as a laundry bag for $20, but on our cruise it was $25. Don't know if they are raising the price, or just gouging because it was the holidays...

 

There are lots of lounges (and table and chair combos) in the back on several levels. You can sit in the sun or the shade.

 

I hope you have a wonderful cruise. If you think of more questions, don't hesitate to ask and I'll do my best to remember the answers!

 

Best regards,

Linda

[maja]

thank you!

[phillychick]

Great review & thanks for sharing your experience. Like you, my preferred cruise line is RCCL with the Navigator of the Seas being my favorite & the Enchantment of the Seas coming in a close 2nd. There will be 12 "girls" sailing the Spirit on 6/2 as we really liked the itinerary. You mentioned a Murder Mystery, is there an extra charge for this? How did you like the "free style" cruising - any suggestions for first timers???

 

Thanks again,

 

Barbara from Philly

[wiselindag]

Hey Barbara,

 

!2 women sailing together... sounds like a lot of fun! There is no charge for the murder mystery. Just sign up when they put the notice in the Daily... it will be in small print (no big box or anything to draw attention to it). In our case dining was in the regular dining room (Windows)... they made the reservations for the groups of 6, but since it was so early (5:15 or so), the dining room had plenty of tables anyway.

 

As for Freestyle, I'm still not sold, although my teenage son loves it because he doesn't have to eat dinner with his mom and dad. I guess variety is good. If you have strong preferences for a particular dining venue (or given the size of your group want to be sure you can eat together each night), you should make reservations when you get on the ship. Some places (e.g. Teppanyaki and Cagneys) are very small. Be aware that you can make reservations for the regular (non-charge) dining rooms Windows and the Garden Room every night if you like for your large group. Otherwise, the essence of freestyle is informality so you can just decide as you go along (as long as one large table is not required).

 

Actually Celebrity is my favorite, not RCCL! Although ships like the Navigator are wonderful and offer many options not available on the smaller ships, I much prefer the dining on Celebrity and that's my main issue with NCL... the food is simply not as good. Also, after the stateroom upgrades on the Century, there's no comparison in the accommodations -- The Century has nicer cabins than the Spirit, but that's apples and oranges since one is sailing out of Miami on 4 and 5 day cruises and the other is sailing out of NYC on a totally different itinerary. It's hard to beat the Spirit itinerary... it's great! Otherwise I find much to enjoy no matter what ship I'm on.

 

As you plan, feel free to email me with other questions.

 

Best regards,

Linda

[phillychick]

Thanks for your response. Sorry about the RCCL/Celebrity mix-up. My 2nd fave line is Celebrity & I'm sure you know is owned by RCCL. I know I'm one of the few that like the larger ships but I just love the Promanade on the Navigator. I can sit there all day, people watch & enjoy the strolling entertainers. & you are absolutely correct, Celebrity has the best food on any cruise line I've experienced so far but I have noticed that RCCL's have gotten alot better too. I'm assuming that the Celebrity chef's helped that!!

 

I'll be sure to check back with you with any questions.

 

Thanks again for your help.

 

Barbara from Philly