Considering the Spirit--Should I Book?

[globe9]

Hi Everyone,

 

I'm a veteran cruiser and have cruised NCL, RCCL(now RCI), Carnival, Sitmar, and Commodore. I've sailed NCL twice and both times the ship was the Starward(back in the early 90's). The last 3 cruises I've taken however were Carnival and that is only b/c I like being able to cruise out of New Orleans, my hometown, and not having the stress of air travel, etc. The Spirit will be calling New Orleans home for a while and I am considering trying out NCL again. What is the Spirit like? I've done the Carnival Fantasy for the last 2 years--how does the Spirit compare? Is she bigger? What about the restaurants? Someone who has cruised NCL before told me that they didn't like it b/c every eating venue, besides the dining room and poolside buffet weren't included in the fare and was extra. I found this hard to believe. I know the supper clubs are extra, but just how many of the eating venues are extra? I've checked the NCL website and it does not say. What are the drink prices averaging for cocktails onboard? Any hidden charges/fees, etc. that will pop up? How much is the drink card---if there is one? What would be the best deck for an inside cabin?(trying to save some money). My g-friend gets motion sickness, so I try to stick to the center of the ship, but I don't like being too far down either. I usually do Empress Deck on Carnival...what would be comparable on NCL?

 

I know these are a lot of questions. Thanks so much for any help!

Nicole

[Toyz711]

i am going in 3 weeks, this will be my 3rd NCL cruise. 1st back on the windward, also back in the 90s. the last one, on the NCL star, was great.

the spirit has 2 main dining rooms, a 24 hr cafe (blue lagoon), la trattoria, the buffet and a couple of grills...all included.

cagney's (the steakhouse), le bistro (french crusine), a sushi bar, tappanyaki and shogun are surcharges. surcharges can ran from $15 to $30.

the ship gets good reviews and i love NCL's dining ..we love eating on OUR time. (hate early/late seating)...but for us, this cruise, it's the ports.

will have a full review in less the a month:D

[globe9]

Thanks for the reply. I'll be looking forward to your review.

[garycarla]

We are doing our 4th NCL, 2nd out of New Orleans on Spirit. Good ship, good time. There are plenty of options OTHER than the pay restaurants. But even then, at $20 they are not that much. I am thinking NCL might be just a small step up from Carnival, but not enough to say so.

 

Go to NCL.com and you can see the ship layout. From there you can pick the lower levels that work for you. No booze drink cards, but they have soda card.

 

You might want to go to the REVIEW section vs. waiting for more reviews to show up. Link is at top right. Note that the Sun has also sailed out of New Orleans recently.

[Toyz711]

we have a BD balcony on deck 9, usually like higher...but the price was right for this cabin. mid-ship...should be good. will let you know all the secrets as soon as i get back.:D

[crusingkim]

We r going on the spirit in dec. I was wondering, is there a charge to swim in the indoor pool (aquaswim)? And is it a better ship than the Dream?

[Don Haynes]

Yes, the indoor pool is in the spa, and there is a per day charge or a weekly spa charge to use it.

 

I consider the Spirit a new freestyle ship even though its almost ten years in age. The Dream is several years older and of a different non freestyle class.

[Dolphins]

We have sailed twice on the Spirit and would not hesitate to sail on her again- especially if Ariel Jacobe was at the piano in Champagne Charlies.

[jp2001]

I have sailed twice with NCL, once on the Dawn and once on the Spirit. I just LOVED the Spirit.

 

The free restaurants are: 2 main dinning rooms, Blue Lagoon that serve a limited amount of items in a very casual atmosphere 24-hrs, Buffet, Bier Garten Grill that serve German favorites and also La Trattoria, Italian venue, is free but you need to reserve early the day before to have a chance to get a seat. There are also other dinning options for a small fee (between 12$ and 25$) and they SOMETIMES (not on all cruises) offer 50% off at certain times. The Dawn has one more free venue but it's not enough for me to prefer the Spirit.

 

I have a review on the Review Board from when the Spirit was sailing 6-nights Bahamas cruises round-trip New Orleans.

 

I have two more cruises booked on the Spirit (found great deals for this particular ship), the first roundtrip New Orleans and the 2nd is a 13-nights repositioning cruise from New York to New Orleans. I can’t wait!

 

JP

[crusingkim]

thank you for the info...can i ask one more ? Is there a charge for the workout room and the use of the steam room? Sorry about all the ?, first time on this ship. We sailed the dream about 4 years ago, so I was not sure about any changes.

[theshireshihtzu]

thank you for the info...can i ask one more ? Is there a charge for the workout room and the use of the steam room? Sorry about all the ?, first time on this ship. We sailed the dream about 4 years ago, so I was not sure about any changes.

 

 

Work-out room NC

Steam room is the Spa and there is a pre day charge.

[luv2cruise123]

I personally think their soda card is way overpriced. I don;t like that you can't preorder wine like you can on Carnival.

 

We will be leaving this Sunday on the Spirit's first sailing from New Orleans. We've been on the Fantasy also many times. I will be curious to see the differences besdies the free style dining concept.

 

I'm going with an open mind or trying to - my last NCL cruise on the Sun was not that great in the food dept. when compared to Carnival IMHO.

 

Have already told hubby we would be trying the restaurants that charge. I hope their dining room service is speedier than the Sun also!

 

Debbie in MS

[crusingkim]

wow...... I can't believe they charge for the steam room!!! Does anyone know the charge? Is it by the day or week? wow...that is something we love about CCL....they have a great steam room. (no charge)

[jp2001]

Really, I don't think they charge for the steam room since it's located in the changing rooms, if I remember well. The gym is free (except for some of the group classes).

I've never been on other cruise lines but, in my opinion, the food ranges from good to excellent in all venues.