Just Home From The Spirit - 12-2 to 12-9 Cruise

[Rowan555]

We just got home 2 hours ago and I'm in the midst of unpacking and going through a million emails. I will be writing a review shortly, as well as a comprehensive "NCL Spirit v. Carnival Fantasy" which several people here have asked me to do. In the meantime, if you have any questions I'm happy to answer them.

 

And one note - Jeans are allowed in ALL the dining venues at night - the new rule is no "torn jeans" after 5 PM. I took a photo of the sign since there's so much conflicting info on this board. I'll post the photo later.

 

 

Susan

[jp2001]

Can you tell us if you liked the cruise and to what extent (on a 1 to 10 scale maybe).

 

Can't wait to read your review.

[aprilwaters]

and can you please tell us if there are really bedbugs? Don't want to start a bashing thread again, but I have 2 weeks before my final payment is due and I don't want to board if this is the case. Thanks

[Rowan555]

We didn't hear anything about bedbugs. There were lots of bugs in the ports, and I'm sure if people didn't use Off they might have brought some bugs back onto the ship and into their rooms.

 

I would rate this cruise a 5 out of 10. It was mediocre in every way. I just posted a review, and I'm also going to post my "Fantasy V. Spirit" thread in a minute. They'll both be here on the NCL board.

[jtfire006]

well i just got back also, it was the most boring time i have ever had, i could not wait to get off the boat. the food was good in the pay restaruants, but the buffet was plain. the cruise director was never seen anywhere on the ship, after about 8 pm it seemed everybody was in bed, no ones in any of the clubs, no dancing no nothing, the casino had a few people, but thats because thats all there was to do. no way will i ever go back on a norwegian cruise agian. everbody i talked to said they would not go back either. my cruise was free and i am still bitching, so that should tell you something. the only port that i thought was good was cozumel, the others the beaches were really bad. cozumel was beatiful.

if you want to lay around, go to the ports and come back to the ship to go to bed this cruise is for you, if you want to do anything fun after 6pm

you better look elsewhere. there will be others that will post the same review as i have. if anybody says they had fun after hours they live a boring life. i couldnt wait to get home to go back to work, thats how bad it was. probally a 3 out of 10

[silkhair1]

well i just got back also, it was the most boring time i have ever had, i could not wait to get off the boat. the food was good in the pay restaruants, but the buffet was plain. the cruise director was never seen anywhere on the ship, after about 8 pm it seemed everybody was in bed, no ones in any of the clubs, no dancing no nothing, the casino had a few people, but thats because thats all there was to do. no way will i ever go back on a norwegian cruise agian. everbody i talked to said they would not go back either. my cruise was free and i am still bitching, so that should tell you something. the only port that i thought was good was cozumel, the others the beaches were really bad. cozumel was beatiful.

if you want to lay around, go to the ports and come back to the ship to go to bed this cruise is for you, if you want to do anything fun after 6pm

you better look elsewhere. there will be others that will post the same review as i have. if anybody says they had fun after hours they live a boring life. i couldnt wait to get home to go back to work, thats how bad it was. probally a 3 out of 10

 

Sorry you hated your cruise.

[jtfire006]

just was thinking it would be a lot more than it was. it was relaxing we just laid around and did nothing. which we didnt plan on doing. although cozumel was the highlight of the trip. just will get there by carnival next time. never agian on norwegian

[jtfire006]

 

 

and after you cruise you are going to say that you cant wait to get off the spirit.

:D

the kids should have fun, i did hear that was ok, as long as they dont get sick from the buffet

[silkhair1]

just was thinking it would be a lot more than it was. it was relaxing we just laid around and did nothing. which we didnt plan on doing. although cozumel was the highlight of the trip. just will get there by carnival next time. never agian on norwegian

I always think an OK cruise is still better than working. LOL We are going in 1 month and I am looking forward to doing nothing except keep my kids happy. They are easy so I will be OK. I have not done Carnival yet. I hope your next cruise is better for you.

[teacher2cruiser]

We're doing this trip in January. The relaxing and doing nothing sounds fine to me, but I was hoping for NOT boring. What about your time in port? Any excursions you'd recommend?

[Rowan555]

just was thinking it would be a lot more than it was. it was relaxing we just laid around and did nothing. which we didnt plan on doing. although cozumel was the highlight of the trip. just will get there by carnival next time. never agian on norwegian

 

 

I'll definitely let you know how the 4 day to Cozumel on the Fantasy is when we go in January - that may be the thing for you guys to try as well! We've only done the 5 day before, but I hear the 4 day is a bit "rowdier", which might be a good thing after the Spirit, right? We're hoping to party all night and sleep all morning, so we'll have a detailed review of the late night activities.

[Rowan555]

I always think an OK cruise is still better than working. LOL We are going in 1 month and I am looking forward to doing nothing except keep my kids happy. They are easy so I will be OK. I have not done Carnival yet. I hope your next cruise is better for you.

 

 

Oh, that's definitely true - we had a good time. I was just hoping for a bit more fun at night - or anytime, really. The kids LOVED the kids' program, so that was a big plus for us. If they had hated it and been with us all week we would have all been bored together!

[silkhair1]

 

 

 

and after you cruise you are going to say that you cant wait to get off the spirit.

:D

 

the kids should have fun, i did hear that was ok, as long as they dont get sick from the buffet

The kids usually have fun on cruises. They love them. I hope no one gets sick from the buffet. Did that happen on your trip?

[Rowan555]

We're doing this trip in January. The relaxing and doing nothing sounds fine to me, but I was hoping for NOT boring. What about your time in port? Any excursions you'd recommend?

 

In Roatan we went to the iguana farm - if you have kids, I highly recommend that. Otherwise I'd just hit a beach. Time in port is VERY limited, so don't spend a lot of money on an excursion - just get a taxi to take you where you want to go.

 

In Guatemala we did the waterfalls and we all loved it. We paid $105 for 2 adults and 2 kids to take a little driving tour of the city and then go to the waterfalls. Ship's price was $69 per person - so just bring some cash to the port terminal and find a tour provider there. You can do shopping tours, the waterfalls, a boat tour on the river, and lots of other things. Happy Fish has a website with prices, where you can at least see what the different options are - don't book online, though, the prices in the terminal are significantly lower and there are tons of tour providers available. They told us that they aren't making any money when the Spirit is in port because "the people are so old, they just want to shop in the terminal and go back on the ship." So it's easy to find tour operators who want your business!

 

In Belize we did the ATV jungle tour with cavetubing dot com - you can also do the tubing and ATV combo, which many people did and enjoyed. My kids didn't want to do the tubing. There's also a nice shopping area where the tender lets you off, so set aside some time to shop.

[silkhair1]

We want to do a beach snorkel thing. Do you suggest an on board one or waiting til we get somewhere? Which port do you suggest also?

[ohio_cruiser]

We will be sailing on the Spirit starting next week Sunday, December 16th. This will be our 8th cruise with NCL, first on the Spirit. Sorry that some of you didn’t like it.

Is there still a lobster night in the main dining rooms and if so which night of the cruise was it on?

Thanks,

Ohio_cruiser

[Rowan555]

We want to do a beach snorkel thing. Do you suggest an on board one or waiting til we get somewhere? Which port do you suggest also?

 

Belize is a good place to do this, and Cozumel is always great for snorkeling. I would recommend booking on your own in Cozumel, and possibly even Belize - there are many tour operators at the terminal. You can hit a beach and take a little boat out for a snorkel tour, it's usually about $20 or so to do this. At Chankanaab National Park you can snorkel right off the beach as well, but obviously it's not as good as going out on a boat. Go to the Cozumel board for ideas on the best snorkeling. Some people went to Bannister Island in Belize and did snorkel tours there - they seemed to really enjoy it.

[Rowan555]

We will be sailing on the Spirit starting next week Sunday, December 16th. This will be our 8th cruise with NCL, first on the Spirit. Sorry that some of you didn’t like it.

Is there still a lobster night in the main dining rooms and if so which night of the cruise was it on?

Thanks,

Ohio_cruiser

 

 

Lobster night was the day we were in Cozumel.

[Cruisin2Relax]

Thanks for the update! We'll be on the Dec. 16th sailing. I had to smile reading the reviews about the 'boring cruise'. I tend to be a little nervous around party crowds b/c I see the danger and liability in every situation due to my job description. If we're part of the youngest and wildest group on the ship, it'll be great. I'm looking forward to having everyone else sit around worrying about me. :D

[MikeyB]

I was also on this cruise. In fact, I think I ATV with Rowan555. I was the last on the line. I have cruise about 7 times with NCL. This one was disappointing. The Captain's Welcome dinner is now gone! The Jean Anne Ryan company is now gone! Menu choices are now gone...portions are smaller. Food, however, at dinner was good. Avoid the Blue Lagoon on any ship. I need to gather my thoughts!

[SHOTPAR]

I guess life is what you make it. We had wonderful weather and a plesant crew. We were never at a loss for things to do. We do not depend on others to entertain us we make our own fun. We had a drink each night at Champagne Charlies and met some nice people along with a friendly staff. We are poker players and after the first night in the casino we had a group that met at the poker table and we played almost a friendly home type game till the wee hours. We had a mt and greet which was attended by senior members of the crew. We were never bored and never lacked for things to do.

[SHOTPAR]

I guess life is what you make it. We had wonderful weather and a plesant crew. We were never at a loss for things to do. We do not depend on others to entertain us we make our own fun. We had a drink each night at Champagne Charlies and met some nice people along with a friendly staff. We are poker players and after the first night in the casino we had a group that met at the poker table and we played almost a friendly home type game till the wee hours. We had a meet and greet which was attended by senior members of the crew. We were never bored and never lacked for things to do.

[newmexicoNita]

I guess life is what you make it. We had wonderful weather and a plesant crew. We were never at a loss for things to do. We do not depend on others to entertain us we make our own fun. We had a drink each night at Champagne Charlies and met some nice people along with a friendly staff. We are poker players and after the first night in the casino we had a group that met at the poker table and we played almost a friendly home type game till the wee hours. We had a meet and greet which was attended by senior members of the crew. We were never bored and never lacked for things to do.

i think you have the answer; some need to have organized activities to have fun, others make their own. the only cruise we have taken and we have taken a llot where we did have some problems with night life was on HAL. After 9pm with the exception of the casino and casino bar everything was totally quiet. This would be fine (I hove the casino) but it was really tiny so not too many people could play at once.

 

There are always a few bars to hang out, action after 11pm in the lounges, plus of course the show, etc. maybe we are must not night people like some.

 

Nita

[Rowan555]

i think you have the answer; some need to have organized activities to have fun, others make their own. the only cruise we have taken and we have taken a llot where we did have some problems with night life was on HAL. After 9pm with the exception of the casino and casino bar everything was totally quiet. This would be fine (I hove the casino) but it was really tiny so not too many people could play at once.

 

There are always a few bars to hang out, action after 11pm in the lounges, plus of course the show, etc. maybe we are must not night people like some.

 

Nita

 

 

Just to be clear, we DID have fun. We totally enjoyed our week. I just found the ship to be lacking in the "fun factor" that I've experienced on Carnival. We made it a good time, but in my opinion there is just more to DO on Carnival, both during the day and at night. We don't participate in many of the organized activities or go to the shows, so that didn't even matter - but when it's 11 PM and the disco is DEAD, and all anyone is doing is sleeping or playing slot machines, that makes for a bit of a boring night. It was like that pretty every night, which was somewhat disappointing.

[patehren]

What do you mean about no menu choices? We are sailing on the Spirit on Dec. 23. I have seen old menus for other NCL ships but nothing on the Spirit. Does anyone have a menu or can you describe what the menu is like?

Pat