Back from Spirit 1/2/07-1/13/07

[JerseyGem]

What a great cruise! The Spirit is a great ship, so for all of you who've read bad reviews- relax! You'll have a great time. Although the ship is not the newest in the fleet, she's in great shape and beautifully designed. Almost all crew members were delightful- CD John was a bundle of energy- (he must never sleep); he was everywhere and always pumping things up! We had a good CruiseCritic meeting (very easy to set up); several officers/staff (Hugo, John, etc) came to the CC meeting to welcome us aboard. CC members were invited to attend the "Dining with the Ship's Officers dinner"- definitely do this! DH & I will post a full review soon- after sorting through the laundry and the bills! But we will try to answer any questions.

 

Our cruise was the Southern itinerary; ports were St Thomas, Antigua, Barbados, Grenada, Domenica, and Tortola. The first four are great ports for going to a beach (and shopping). Domenica is beautiful but not as well-equipped to handle tourists- consider a ship's excursion there. Tortola is a short stop- do not try to go to the Baths (Virgin Gorda) on your own (apparently we left several people there!). We only did one NCL Shore Excursion-swimming with the turtles in Barbados. If you've signed up for shore excursions through the NCL web site, be forewarned that the ship's actual shore excursions are different. Check your tickets very carefully for times and descriptions. We had pre-registered for two excursions and the times for both were changed from the afternoon to very early AM (and you will not be notified about the changes). Other people had the actual excursion changed, and in one case, the excursion was cancelled as people waited on the dock for it to begin. Fortunately, we read the small print and discovered the changes while we still had time to cancel. And check your "running tab"; the Shore excursion desk charged us multiple times for the same excursion. Dealing with the Shore Excursion staff was the only "negative" about the cruise!

 

Briefly: New menu is a vast improvement over last year's menu on the Dawn. I still would like to see more vegetables and more whole grain products (but I'm picky!) One down side- the orange juice is not really orange juice- it's orange flavored juice cocktail (lots of high fructose corn syrup!) We preferred the service in Gardens rather than Windows, but both are fine and have the same menu. Our only specialty restaurant was the Sushi bar in Shogun. I enjoyed our selections there and will do it again when we cruise the Spirit. Freestyle Daily: rather confusing- not well edited (wrong times and activities, reminders to sign up for excursions for ports that we didn't visit). I liked the old style better.

Cabin: we had an upsell (YEAH!!!) to a balcony on Deck 11. Great location. The sofa bed isn't very comfortable- DD ended up putting pillows under the mattress at the head of the bed to cushion the hard bars of the frame. Storage space would have been great for two, but if your third person is a DD like mine (lots of clothes and shoes), you'll be a little tight. Suitcases fit under the bed, bring a power strip, shoe holder bag, etc; all the usual CruiseCritic advice. We brought a small cooler, and the cabin attendant kept it full of ice.

 

So my quick post is now turning into a review - but laundry is still piled up, so ask any questions! Lynn

[Snowrose]

JGem, I see you speak of a cooler that was kept filled with ice. Don't they have ice buckets on the Spirit? I remember ice buckets in the cabins on my previous cruises - but it has been a long time.

 

TIA,

 

Teri

[JerseyGem]

Sorry for the confusion! Yes, they have small ice buckets, which are kept full of ice for putting into drinks, etc. If you don't have a cooler, you can even put one or two cans (beer, soda, etc) into the ice bucket to chill. But we also brought a cooler- as in "picnic cooler, ice chest, etc- (depends on where you're from!), since the Spirit doesn't have little refrigerators (except maybe in the suites?). We kept a six pack of beer, several cans of soda and a few wine bottles chilled and ready! Also good for keeping fruit, cheese, milk, etc for a quick snack (when we're too lazy to walk to Raffles!) Cheers!

[Snowrose]

JGem, were you charged anything for bringing on the 6 pack of beer?

 

TIA,

 

Teri

[VoyageVirgin]

Hi Teri - just saw your post. NCL (and other cruise lines) do not allow you to bring any alcohol onboard with you. Except for wine - which they then charge a $15.00 per bottle corkage fee for. Some do smuggle it on - but you take the chance of them removing it from your luggage (they call you to a special room where you actually remove it) and give it back when the cruise is over. Someone did say that "helmets" of beer were back on board - buy 5 get 1 free - and they're put on ice in a bucket for you that you can take just about anywhere on board. (I think) Bar set up can be ordered from the ships coordinator - for the Spirit that would be Christina Hernandez - I'd call today if I were you - might be a bit late now. If you do a search on the main board you will find a listing of whats available - or she will tell you over the phone what the cost is. Bar set up is the most economical way to go - on board liquor pricing is much higher.

 

Good luck with it.

[JerseyGem]

Teri; NCL sometimes charges a $15 corking fee for wine you bring onboard. We weren't charged this, but we didn't bring any of our own wine to the dining rooms. Each night, we bought a bottle of NCL's wine at dinner (a minimum of $30 for the less expensive wines). I haven't heard of anyone being charged for beer. If they want to be really picky, I guess they would just hold your beer until the last day. We "hid" our beer in a suitcase- only had a little, so I guess they weren't too concerned. I certainly don't recommend trying to bring on a case of beer!

 

At each port, DH bought a few bottles of the local beer (Carib, Banks, Kabuli, etc), since he does like to sample different kinds- that is, ones that aren't on the ship. I'm sure the bottles/cans were seen on the x-ray as we reboarded at each port, but NCL didn't seem to care about a little beer- and certainly didn't care about soda! They only seemed to be looking for hard liquor (which they would "hold" for you until the last day). We were discreet with our beer purchases- and even bought a few bottles of wine at some ports- as long as we had them in our beach bag, we were fine.

 

If you like beer, be advised that the only draft beer in Henry's was Bass, not the four types listed on the bar menu. Heineken was on tap in the beirgarden. In the beginning of the cruise, your draft was in a large glass (therefore a good buy). By the middle/end of the cruise, they were serving it in a small glass (half the size at the same price), supposedly because they ran out of large glasses. That's when we started bringing beer on board!

 

Of course we might have been lucky because the crew might have remembered me from initial boarding in NYC. When they x-rayed my carry-on bags, they told me I couldn't board the ship with knitting needles. Only medically approved needles (eg, for diabetics) could be brought on board. Since mine were not medically necessary (and I didn't have a dr's note- LOL), they said they wouldn't let me board with them. Needless to say, after standing in line for over an hour in that hot terminal, I pitched a royal hissy-fit! I demanded a supervisor, and lots of terminal and ships crew came over (as well as security- obviously I was dangerous). It was finally resolved that I would be allowed to bring my knitting on board- mostly after DD exclaimed (loudly) that if I wanted to kill someone, I wouldn't use a plastic knitting needle, but would go to Cagney's, order steak, and use NCL's sharp steak knife. Aren't kids great?

 

So maybe they were just afraid to confront us again!

[Snowrose]

When they x-rayed my carry-on bags, they told me I couldn't board the ship with knitting needles. Only medically approved needles (eg, for diabetics) could be brought on board. Since mine were not medically necessary (and I didn't have a dr's note- LOL), they said they wouldn't let me board with them. Needless to say, after standing in line for over an hour in that hot terminal, I pitched a royal hissy-fit! I demanded a supervisor, and lots of terminal and ships crew came over (as well as security- obviously I was dangerous). It was finally resolved that I would be allowed to bring my knitting on board- mostly after DD exclaimed (loudly) that if I wanted to kill someone, I wouldn't use a plastic knitting needle, but would go to Cagney's, order steak, and use NCL's sharp steak knife. Aren't kids great?

 

So maybe they were just afraid to confront us again!

 

 

Sounds like somebody went to an airport class on obsessive baggage checking! Glad your knitting needles were deemed safe, JGem! :D

 

Thanks for the info, VV and GJem! We're trying to get a handle of how things run. :)

[CPT Trips]

 

Sounds like somebody went to an airport class on obsessive baggage checking! Glad your knitting needles were deemed safe, JGem! :D

 

Thanks for the info, VV and GJem! We're trying to get a handle of how things run. :)

What is interesting is that you are permitted to take knitting needles on an airplane. There was no explaination for this guy's actions . . .

[CPT Trips]

 

Sounds like somebody went to an airport class on obsessive baggage checking! Glad your knitting needles were deemed safe, JGem! :D

 

Thanks for the info, VV and GJem! We're trying to get a handle of how things run. :)

What is interesting is that you are permitted to take knitting needles on an airplane. There was no explaination for this guy's actions . . .

JG's DH

[From a land down under]

I think because the ship was delayed in arrival/departure there was a slightly more relaxed approach to checking luggage for booze ie chuck bags on board as fast as you can because we're late! Friends of ours managed to get some hard liquor onboard and our two fridge packs of coke passed without question in a suitcase. No trips to the naughty room for anyone we came across!

[ETski]

JerseyGem Who is the CD on the Spirit, did you say John? Is he new or just filling in for someone?

[lukes]

Yes JerseyGem, Let us know more about the CD. We sailed on the Spirit just prior to you, Dec 21-Jan 2 and John was the Assistant CD. Ricky was the CD. Who was John's assistant? We had a great time with all the Cruise directors staff and are wondering if there were some promotions or just fill-ins. Please give us the run down. Thanks

[JerseyGem]

The Cruise Director was John Ibrahim (AKA Captain DownUnder!). He was great. One rumor is that he was on "try-out" our cruise. Please remember that this is a rumor! I never saw Ricky until the last day, when the Captain introduced some crew members (at the farewell show) and introduced one man as "Ricky, Your Cruise Director." We all looked at each other and said who's that? Meanwhile John was up on the stage running the farewell show! So who knows what was up?????

 

I don't know who was the official assistant; I actually don't remember them saying anyone in particular. Some of the staff were Jay, Glenn, ?? I can't remember all the names, sorry!

 

If John was on trial: NCL should give him a job as CD!

[JERSYGRL111]

Glad to see your review...do you have a copy of the spa menu with prices...i am dying to get my hands on one...trying to plan a spa budget...

[CPT Trips]

Glad to see your review...do you have a copy of the spa menu with prices...i am dying to get my hands on one...trying to plan a spa budget...

It's the other half . . . sorry, we can't help you out on the spa. The only thing I remember was that always had some special going on - detox, teeth whitening or get your hair done for the photographers.

The only extra cost menu we did was the sushi. That was good!

[lukes]

Thanks for the update jerseyGem. On our cruise Ricky & John shared most of the duties, sometiimes it was one or the other and many times it was both. John did have a bundle of energy and would make a good CD. some of the other staff were Jay & Joseph.

 

For Jersygrl111. I will try to get my wife to post, she may have some spa prices for you. She did get her hair cut it was $85. She didn't have any other spa treatments but may remember some of the prices, I just remember everything seemed very expensive. But then I think it's expensive on land also. HaHa

[stevepaolino]

The Cruise Director was John Ibrahim (AKA Captain DownUnder!). He was great. One rumor is that he was on "try-out" our cruise. Please remember that this is a rumor! I never saw Ricky until the last day, when the Captain introduced some crew members (at the farewell show) and introduced one man as "Ricky, Your Cruise Director." We all looked at each other and said who's that? Meanwhile John was up on the stage running the farewell show! So who knows what was up?????

 

I don't know who was the official assistant; I actually don't remember them saying anyone in particular. Some of the staff were Jay, Glenn, ?? I can't remember all the names, sorry!

 

If John was on trial: NCL should give him a job as CD!

 

I asked a crew member about this and although I did not get the full answer, my understanding was that John was standing in for "someone" who I figured was Ricky. It seemed as though Ricky all of a sudden showed up for the Carribean Deck Party the one night. Why? I did not find out. Perhaps he ws either sick or just letting John take the reins to test out the job. John told me that as of about a year ago he was a fitness instructor on the ship and just then about a year ago started working with Ricky on his staff. So maybe due to his high energy, he wanted to try out as CD. He did a great job I must say!

 

By the way, does anyone know what the song was called that they played when John would get up to introduce the show each night? I asked him and he said what sounded like "Feel the Love" but he could not remember the singer's name. Can anyone confirm or correct this? It's that song that had an acoustic guitar sound at the beginning and then moved into someone singing something that you couldn't hear.