Reliving Spirit Cruise 6/2 - 6/10 through a review

[AnneNchris]

DAY ONE

Embarkation~ We left Long Island at 10:15 and completely lucked out because as unbelievable as it sounds there was no traffic…we arrived at the pier and about 11:15ish and my husband and I dropped off my mother, the kiddos, and the luggage and then went to park the car…easy enough…I would like to point out that we brought a ton of luggage…but hello…has anyone seen Gilligan’s IslandJ…I like to be fully prepared…I like to be prepared for all weather conditions…and what not…moving along…we got a great parking spot which included an amazing view of the ship…unfortunately because of security reasons we could not take a picture while in the parking area…no biggie…the visual will forever be with me and I do not think that any photo can do such a sight any justice…anyhow…we had heard that the Spirit had arrived a little behind schedule so we knew that there would be a bit of a wait…but it was all good because we were about to go on an eight day vacation and whether it started at 12 or 2 we were going to enjoy it…every last minute of it…even the waiting…latitude members were directed upstairs to wait…there was a Wedding party upstairs and the bride and the groom were waiting to board the ship so that they could become husband and wife…how sweet…my daughter thought this was “like the coolest thing and she totally is going do that someday”…I stated that would be great but she was not even going to be allowed out of the house for the next 30 years let alone meet a boy to fall in love and get married…hmmm slightly overprotective;) Moving on…we waited about an hour and fifteen minutes and were then brought downstairs to check in…whoo hoo…the line was moving along…and we were up next…we went up and were about 90% finished and guess what…the computers shut down…now I was not at all surprised…not because it was NCL…just simply because it was me and my quirky family, lol…there was of course the few passengers that acted as of they canceled the cruise just because the computers were down for a brief period of time…I swear there was some huge enough huffs and puffs to fill enough balloons for a kids first birthday party…and I remind you I stated a FEW passengers…but they obviously already had there mind made up about the type of vacation they were going to have …the computer problem was handled very efficiently and professionally and we moved right along…we were then aboard the Spirit…It was even more beautiful then I remembered…we quickly went to Windows our load of carry-on’s and all…and enjoyed an amazing lunch…with impeccable service…

Then off to check out our cabins…we were in cabin 11116 and my mom, our daughter, and our son were in 6530…the cabins were great…then off to the safety drill…it went very very smoothly…no problems…of course we heard the typical complaints…”its too hot for this”…hmmm….it amazes me how NCL must control the weather, lol

Sail away….priceless…sailing by Lady Liberty….going under the Bridge…breathtaking…and makes me tear up….

Then we went sat and chatted and off to explore the ship….

We registered the kids in the Kids Crew and they totally answered all of my questions…and believe me I had a bunch of them…then thy let us walk around the kids crew and show the kids everything…they gave us a week schedule for what the kids would be doing and it looked very exciting…and when we went over it with the kiddos they were SUPER excited….we explained to the kids that they would get to go hang out in the Kids Crew later that night and they were hyped!!!!!!

So…we went to our cabins and relaxed and then we went to dinner at Windows…we had the most WONDERFUL service…the Sr. Waiter was Jason Yap and the Jr. Waitress was Pam…amazing…they were terrific with the kids…and amused our 3 year old so that we actually had a relaxing dinner…

After dinner we dropped the kids off at the Kids Crew and hit the Casino for a little bit….whooohooo….what the heck it was vacation…

Then we picked the kids up and went to the welcome aboard show with the cruise director Darin…it was a good time and a great review of the week to come…

After the show it seemed time to call it a day…we were tired…and wanted to rest up for our amazing week!!!!

I will be back later to talk about Day 2 ….sorry but because I am reliving my cruise through this review…I may have to drag it out…LOL

[KerCar]

I'm LOVING your review already so drag it out as long as you'd like:):):)

[redsox#1]

great start to the review, can't Wait to read the rest. wife and i are on the 7/29/07 sailing can't wait. please hurry with the rest of the review!!!

[Patpcozy]

Me too! Tell us more. Glad you enjoyed it Pat

[coka]

Re-live it as long as you like! I love reading it so far, especially the side notes! Looking forward to more...

Coka

[lostie]

Best review since Lotteryfan, keep it coming!:)

[Lotteryfan]

Ann...where have you been??? Ever since you left on your cruise I kept thinking about you and wondering what you were doing on and off the ship. Then I expected a thread from you when you got back but nothing...until now.

 

I am now on the other side...waiting for you to tell me about your diary. Keep it coming. I have a million questions. Like John Travolta and Olivia Newton John sang in that "Grease" movie....Tell me more...tell me more....

[AnneNchris]

DAY TWO~~

Nothing beats waking up and turning over and seeing nothing but ocean…how can anything be better then this…unbelievable…okay so obviously we woke up…then a knock at the door which followed coffee and Danish…YUMMY…I know there have been complaints about the coffee…but none here…it was fantastic…of course sitting on the balcony and drinking my coffee while reading my daily may have had something to do with how wonderful the coffee tasted…but for real it was great…after this first cup of coffee…I was then prepared to begin the day…see for me…I do not feel it is safe for others to talk to me until I have had the first cup of the day…and considering I was on this vacation with my family I wanted to be my most pleasant self at all times…so in actuality the whole drinking coffee thing on the balcony was all for the family…you know taking one for the team…lol..

Anyway…off to breakfast at windows…delicious… …the Kids Crew started at 9 this day and would go until 12…Breezy was in the 10-12 group and was going to be participating in Ice Breakers and Name Games, and Jordan…aka…Spiderman…was in the 2-5 group and this particular morning he was going to be participating in get to know you games and parachute fun….as for Chris and I…we needed to unpack…so the kids went to plat and we went to unpack my month worth of luggage…after we unpacked we were so grateful for the amazing breakfast that we felt that we owed NCL a little more money then we originally paid so we made a stop in the casino to drop off that money…we then got the kiddos and guess what time it was….no sillies it was not Bingo time…it was time to eat…Windows again for lunch…yet again YUMMY…

On day two the kids crew second session of the day was not a sign in program it was one where the parents were required to participate…sounds fun…well Chris and Spiderman opted out of ball pit fun and choose pool fun…and Breezy and I were off to go play some Wii…now let me tell ya…that was a good time…I just watched but it was great to see how much fun these kids were having…then we played some Bingo with the kids…not exactly the Smashing type of Bingo…but for real playing bingo with a bunch of 8-12 year olds is pretty kick a$$...

Well it was Formal night…I do not want to try and guess how many people dressed up and how many didn’t…we did because I am a stay at home mommy and it feels great to get out of jeans and a T-shirt…I mean really how often do you see a woman walking around the grocery store or through the post office in a cocktail dress…so we got all dressed up…and went to the meet and greet and got to meet some WONDERFUL people…whom I would like to mention here I hope to get to cruise with again…anyway we found out that the meet and greet was technically moved to Tuesday afternoon…no problemo…off to Windows for Lobster…Beef Wellington…of course at this meal Spiderman fell sound asleep sitting up in his chair…it was only 6:00 but he was beat…so we let him nap…and he woke up right before dinner ended and said…”time for kids crew????”….

So off to the Kids Crew Breezy’s group was going to be doing Casino Royale & Operation Egg Drop…Jordan’s Group was doing fairytale evening…and for us adults…we were off to the Stardust Theater…to see Standing Room Only, this show is a tribute to the Great White Way and some of the best memorable show tunes…now Chris and I saw this show last year…but who cares…it was great again…if not better…we went to the 8:00 show so that we could make it to the Newlywed/ Not so Newlywed Game at 9:15 in the Galaxy of the Stars…

The Newlywed/Not so Newlywed game was great…Darin was very funny…but for real what made this show so funny were the couples…it was great and I thank those couples for those laughs…and for some interesting conversation that started due to some of the questions…

Well 10:00 came and it was time to pick up the VIP’s in my group (that would be my kiddo’s)…now I am embarrassed to admit this because I am only 30 but I was exhausted…we had planned on going to the New Years Eve party…but well that was never going to happen…so we went back to my mom and the kiddo’s room…got them settled…and decided to stop by the Blue Lagoon and pick up some food to bring back to our cabin…so then we went back to the cabin ate out food…and watched some Law and Order…wow…are we exciting or what…however…I wanted to be nice and rested for Bermuda...

Oh I must share the funny line of the day as I call it…Chris and I were walking around on the deck…and we heard this girl say to her mom…”Mom why do we have to go look out on the deck again” the mom responded…”We want to look at the ocean”…the little girl said…”ughhhhh there is nothing to see out there”…I could not stop laughing…not really because it was a funny statement just because I realized that I am getting older and it is a gift to get to a point in your life where sitting and looking around and seeing nothing but the ocean is all that I want to see…

Be back tomorrow to talk about Day Three

[AnneNchris]

Ann...where have you been??? Ever since you left on your cruise I kept thinking about you and wondering what you were doing on and off the ship. Then I expected a thread from you when you got back but nothing...until now.

 

I am now on the other side...waiting for you to tell me about your diary. Keep it coming. I have a million questions. Like John Travolta and Olivia Newton John sang in that "Grease" movie....Tell me more...tell me more....

 

I was in my I am home from vacation depression...lol...but I am back now:):) With oh sooo much to share...

oh and I think you should definitly go on our next cruise with us!!!

[rebeljohn]

Nice so far.................keep it coming...............

[Lotteryfan]

oh and I think you should definitly go on our next cruise with us!!!

 

I already have two more booked, the Crown to Bermuda on Oct 28 and the two week repo of the Spirit from New Orleans back to New York next March but the wife has me looking for more. I'll plan a third but the price has to be excellent. Any thoughts on when you would like to cruise again? Yes, I know, next week, but I don't think your husband would like that.

[lostie]

Love your very animated review!

[AnneNchris]

BERMUDA~~~

Having coffee on the balcony while watching the ship dock in Bermuda is breathtaking…unfortunately the weather was not breathtaking…once again NCL must have tricked us passengers and made us get on a ship where the weather was not going to cooperate with our wants, LOL…

We had a quick breakfast in Windows and then gathered our stuff together and headed out to Bermuda…we decided that because of the weather we were just going to stay in Kings Warf and wonder around to see what we could find…we went to the Glass Blowing factory and that was fascinating to watch how they make such beautiful treasures…we then were able to wonder around and look at the finished products…now I personally did not purchase any, because I live with children and as beautiful as these treasures were…they were a bit pricy to put in my home as targets…we then wondered over to Snorkel Park…this is very easy to get to from the ship…and it is a free beach…just because the weather was not going to cooperate was not going to stop my kids from at least getting there feet in the water…we played on the beach for a little…it was very peaceful and quite…and then when we left the beach the kids discovered the salt water fountain…it is right outside of the entrance to Snorkel Park…and WOW it was great for the kids…I was amazed that it was not packed with other kids looking to have fun…but it was just my little ones…and wow did I get some great video of this that I will treasure forever…then the rain started to come down….and our bellies started to rumble so we decided to head back for lunch….of course we could not go back without stopping at the “Mall” to see if there were any must haves…the Mall was nice…but there were no must haves for us…so back to the ship for lunch…Now I was not disappointed in Bermuda…I was disappointed that we did not get to see more…but this gave the Hubby and I a great excuse to talk about going back….

The rest of the day we took it easy with the kids…we did the pool but not for long because of the ify weather and we took quite time…then of course it was time to eat at Windows again…just Chris and I ate at Windows…because our son decided he was done with the restauraunts….so my wonderful mother took the kids to the Blue Lagoon for dinner, which the kids were thrilled with…the kids then went off to the Kids Crew…Breexy’s group was doing Caribbean Night, and Spiderman’s group was doing Caribbean night as well and making fruit loop lei’s…

The show for the night was Jeff Trachta…he was hysterical…he did some great impressions as well as sang some great songs…he really entertained us…

The next thing we did was go to the Galaxy of the Stars for Norwegian Squares…I sadly must say this was not great…the night before when we went to the Newlywed/Not so Newlywed Game, Darin engaged the audience and it was funny and exciting….this on the other hand seemed a little rushed…and was just not that greatL

We picked the kids up got them settled with my mom…and then wondered…grabbed a bite at the Blue Lagoon…hit the Casino for a little bit to drop off some money…and then had to call it a night…

I will be back later for Day four and five!!!!

[AnneNchris]

I already have two more booked, the Crown to Bermuda on Oct 28 and the two week repo of the Spirit from New Orleans back to New York next March but the wife has me looking for more. I'll plan a third but the price has to be excellent. Any thoughts on when you would like to cruise again? Yes, I know, next week, but I don't think your husband would like that.

 

How did you know I was going to say Next week, LOL...actually I am sad to say that I wont be able to go on another cruise until next June:( In December I am off to Paris...which I am thrilled with...but it is not a cruise:( We definitley want to go next summer on a cruise...any thoughts...any chance you were thinking of adding a third to your list;)

[KerCar]

I'm still LOVING your review!!!! Keep it coming!!!!

 

I can't believe we've already been home for over a week. Oh well, nothing left to do put plan my next one!!!! I'm looking at the Dawn to Bermuda either April or June 2008. It stays in Bermuda (my fave place in the whole wide world!)for 3 days. Perfect amount of time to enjoy the island with the kiddies. Everyone says if we loved the Spirit (which we did:)) we are going to LOVE the Dawn.

 

Here's a pic of the salt water fountain outside the Snorkel Park:

[VTSKIandCRUISEGUY]

I was at Kings Wharf last year and will be back next week. I don't remember seeing Snorkel Park. How do you get there from the ship?

 

Great review by the way. It's helping to get me through this week until we sail the Spirit on Saturday.

[KerCar]

I was at Kings Wharf last year and will be back next week. I don't remember seeing Snorkel Park. How do you get there from the ship?

 

Great review by the way. It's helping to get me through this week until we sail the Spirit on Saturday.

 

Once off the ship go right. Continue in that direction and you will see signs for the Snorkel Park. It was actually a really nice beach. Not as breathtaking as some of the southern shore beaches, but the snorkeling was great. The kids LOVED it there!!!!

 

Good luck getting through the rest of the week!!!! Be sure to let us know how your trip was:)

[juniordog]

Hi,

My husband and I were also on the Spirit June 2nd thur 10th, cabin 11560. Loved it, loved it!!!! Tortola was my favorite. I want to live there.

Going back on another cruise as soon as possible, hopefully on the Dawn with our kids. That was the only thing missing. The older one ages 25, 24 and 21 can't wait. Our two 15 years olds and our 14 years old want only to go to Great Adventures. Can you imagine.

I wonder if we crossed paths. We were in the casino alot playing 3 card polka.

 

It was a great cruise, wasn't it.

 

We live in Holbrook, Long Island and have met many good people on the ship. We have exchanged phone numbers and are planning a reunion.

 

Take care.

;)

[Lotteryfan]

We definitley want to go next summer on a cruise...any thoughts...any chance you were thinking of adding a third to your list;)

 

 

I AM thinking of adding a third...possibly for January...if my finances can afford it. However, I'm thinking of quitting my job soon so that might put a crimp in plans. Can't do a vacation without money or go on one if you start a new job.

[fkwok]

Hi. I am reliving the cruise through your awesome review. It was great meeting you and the family. Emily says hi too. She writes, "hows things going?"

 

Have you planned your next cruise yet? LOL.

[VTSKIandCRUISEGUY]

Once off the ship go right. Continue in that direction and you will see signs for the Snorkel Park. It was actually a really nice beach. Not as breathtaking as some of the southern shore beaches, but the snorkeling was great. The kids LOVED it there!!!!

 

Good luck getting through the rest of the week!!!! Be sure to let us know how your trip was:)

 

Thanks.

[SweetpeaOne]

Thanks for sharing your review. That's great thta your mom has the kids in her room. Very brave also...

[Welove2cruise2]

Looking forward to the rest of your review! We loved the Spirit when we sailed on her last year.

 

Was Ariel Jacobbe still on board? He is an amazing entertainer!

[AnneNchris]

Day Four~ Sea Day

Personally I love Sea days…they are a great time to relax…take in the sun if wanted…catch up on a good book…or just wonder around the beautiful ship…of course we started out this sea day with breakfast at Windows…you must have noticed by now that we do not like to miss ANY meals, lol…on sea days the Kids Crew is open from 9-12, 2-5, and 7-10…so this Sea day the kiddos went off to Kids crew…Spiderman had A stretchy wiggly morning and Breezy had a lazy tween movie choice morning…and us adults went to the card room to play some rummy…we also had our second Meet and Greet for Cruise Critic in Henry’s pub…this was great to see our CC friends again and Hugo, the Hotel Manager stopped by as did Darin the cruise director…they took the time to answer questions…tell some great stories and really make us feel welcome and as if they were truly there for us…not just because it was their job…during the afternoon we did the pool and quite time…you will note that quite time became a bit routine throughout this vacation and it is something I so recommend if you are traveling with a 3 year old…at least a 3 year old like mine…by the evening if we did not have quite time…he became very overwhelmed…so with adding quite time into our days it gave him a chance to regroup each day…so that he was all set for the night time…

After dinner at Windows…Spiderman was off to play Bob the Builder and Breezy was off to play Deal or no Deal and list-o-rama…and we went to The Stardust Theater to see Second City…this was a comedy show and it is hysterical…when we were on the Spirit last year they had this…there were different comedians but it was just as funny…some of the skits were the same…but some were different…if you are going on the Spirit this is definitely a show not to miss….

It was all in all a quite day and night….which are hard to some by….

Day Five ~ Tortola…to me Heaven on Earth…

A year and half ago my mother went on a cruise with her sisters and when she came back all she could talk about was this place called Tortola…so when we found this itinerary we knew it was meant to be…so anyway…we did not arrive in Tortola until 11:00 so this gave us plenty of time to have out usual breakfast in Windows and gather our things…and head out…when we got off the ship there were a ton of taxi’s and we grabbed one to Cane Beach for $6 a person…now the ride was well worth the money…the driver stopped for us to take pictures…but no pictures could ever depict the beautiful scenery that we witnessed…at once point we were on top of the road and looked down and we could see the unbelievable ocean through the trees and there was our ship looking as beautiful as ever…we arrived at the beach and it was spectacular…it was not ridiculously large like the beaches around here…it was just a slice of heaven…I truly wish I had the right words to describe this land…I wish I could paint a picture for people whom have never been there…unfortunately, I can not…I know that the scenery is something that I will forever cherish in my mind…and I can close my eyes and visualize it like I was there…but no words or pictures could ever do it justice…we set up on the beach…and the hubby and kids were right off to the water…I sat and took it all in…there was a man walking around selling coconuts…and they certainly did not look like the ones I get in my local grocery store…but I could not resist buying one…the man cut it up open for me to drink with a straw…and said when I was done he would open it up so that I could eat the inside…well after I dumped it out…can’t say it tasted great…he chopped it open and I tried it…it was kinda not my thing…but heck I tried it…then I saw the man that sold me coconut climbing the tree to gather more coconuts…wow…that was cool…talk about living an entirely different life…I would like to add here that when we first booked this itinerary I had read a few posts here on Cruise Critic that stated how they were so angry that NCL had Tortola as a port…and that this was a poverty stricken area and that people sis not want to be exposed to this poverty and blah blah blah…well these people may not have money…but what they seem to have and their land seems to make them way wealthier then I think I personally will ever be…we had lunch at this shack like place named Stanley’s and YUMMY…the kids had Burgers (surprise surprise) and Chris and I had fried shrimp…and my mom had a lobster salad sandwich…and of course we had pineapple soda…lunch was excellent…a little more swimming and then it was time to head back to the ship…it was hot…but a different type of hot….meaning that the sun just felt very strong…so we grabbed another taxi back and had one last chance to take it all in…now while we were driving back a horse randomly walked in front of the taxi…yeah that’s right…I said it…a horse…the taxi driver…just beeped his horn as if it was another car and we moved on…can you imaging driver on I76 or the belt parkway and having a horse just walk in front of the car…hahaha…priceless…the driver dropped Chris and I off before the ship where there was a shopping area…and took my mom and the kids back to the ship…we were able to get some T-shirts and stuff to bring home and then we went back to the ship…and of course had our quite time…

For the evening we had dinner in the Garden Room, which is beautiful and intimate…and then we dropped the kids off at Kids Crew…they were taking the Kids Crew to the night show Sharkbait…so we signed them in and headed off to the show also…Sharbait …which was a comedy Juggling show…this was the best show of the week by far…it was also great to hear the kids crew cracking up at these two guys…and now let me also tell you that my mother got chosen as a “volunteer” for the show and she was WONDERFUL…and I was proud to be there as her daughter…for me that is what made the show!!!!

It was a long day, a fantastic day, but a long day…so we headed to bed around 11:3o because we knew we had to be up for customs…

Later on I will talk about St. ThomasJ

[halos]

I'm LOVING your review already so drag it out as long as you'd like:):):)

 

DITTO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:D