Spirit Review 6 day 4/27-5/3 PART 2

[maryln]

MON. 4/28 AT SEA:

I didn't sleep very well the first night. The Spirit was rockin' back & forth enough that I felt I was about to fall out of bed a couple times. The weather was pretty nasty all day. Info. on the TV said 7.5 to 12 ft. rough waves & we were moving along at 19.7 to 19.9 knots.

We had breakfast in Windows. DH had Eggs Benedict & said the sauce tasted funny. Four year old DGD loved the dollar pancakes & the apple juice with a straw. There was a great turnout for our CC Meet & Greet in Henry's Pub at 10AM. Quite a few of the officers & crew showed up. I really enjoyed meeting everyone...a really nice bunch of people. I took DGD to the Ball Pit Fun at Kid's Crew from 2 to 3:30. "Parents must supervise" it says in the Kid's Crew printout. There were some older kids with some pent up energy which were knocking the toddlers over. There were quite a few crying kids including some of the bigger ones. Maybe they should break that activity up by age group. If I was going to do that again I'd go around 3:00 when it quieted down a bit. DH got a workout in the AquaSwim pool then felt queasy, so I gave him a couple ginger capsules & that seemed to help a lot. I really liked reading the news from the Bridge on the TV. At 5PM we had gone 500 nautical miles with 408 to go until Port Canaveral. There was a Latitudes Cocktail Reception at 5 PM, but we didn't go. The order of dress was resort casual. We ate dinner at The Garden at 6PM. It was lobster night & DH said it was mushy. We went to Captain Gunnar Hammerin's VIP cocktail reception after dinner. DGD met one of her new friends there & they spent quite a while with the captain. Everyone was really nice and came up to us & introduced themselves. After that we went to the 7:30 "On Broadway" show. There was also one at 9:30. We always enjoy those types of shows. The performers stood at the theater exits on deck 7 afterwards. DGD got a kick out of meeting them & I took a pile of photos. They were supposed to perform again on Thurs., but didn't for some reason.:( I would have liked to go to The Newly Wed Not So Newly Wed Game Show at 8:45, but we pooped out. Those can be a hoot if they get the right people participating.

 

TUES. 4/29 PORT CANAVERAL:

Sunny with smooth sailing! It was fun seeing the space center from the ship as we were arriving & we also saw a submarine. We brought enough binoculars for each of us. We met Jacky, the concierge, at Henry's Pub at noon for disembarkation. We were off the ship at 12:30. I booked the NCL transfers only to WDW & bought the entrance tickets online beforehand through Disney. I think there were 2 buses & they left Port Canveral at 12:50. We arrived at the WDW Transportation Center at 2PM & rode the monorail to the Magic Kingdom. My DH & I have been there before, but many years ago so I read up on it so I had a basic plan what we were going to do. The weather was beautiful & the crowd wasn't bad. We hung around Fantasyland & Mickey's Toontown & got a lot more in than I thought we would in that short amount of time. It was a great day. We'll have to take her back someday. We were back on the bus at 7:30 & it left at 7:45 & arrived back at the ship around 9PM. We went right up to La Trattoria & they seated us right away..well, DH had to change out of his shorts. La Trattoria was just OK. It's located in the back of Raffles. They pull some green curtains to make it more into a room & put white table cloths & Italian flags on the tables. It didn't seem like a separate restaurant to me like it did on the Jewel. The waiter told us if we wanted ice cream to let him know early, because he has to go down 6 decks to get it. That sort of made us feel quilty, but we ordered it for our DGD anyways. There is still no charge in this restaurant as of our sailing. I lost one of our key cards somewhere between getting back on the ship & the restaurant so I had to make my first of many trips during the cruise to the reception desk to get new ones. They kept demagnetizing for some reason. I made sure they weren't near any magnets & the black stripes weren't touching. I don't know...no biggy. Second City was at 7:30 & 9:30 in the Stardust Theater so we missed both of those shows.

 

WED. 4/30 NASSAU:

The ship was really rocking back & forth most of the night. DGD slept until 10:30...the cradle effect I guess. At 10AM the captain made an announcement that we would be arriving in Nassau an hour and a half late (3PM) because of mechanical problems.:( I felt like crying. I had spent so much time planning this day. I had made a reservation for DH & DGD for the dolphin shallow water interaction at Dolphin Cay at Atlantis at 3:10, the last time slot of the day. I was going to buy an observer pass for myself when we got there so I could take photos & movies. If I can't get a credit I'll call Am.X & see if they can help me. I shouldn't have talked so much about the dolphins to my DGD for months beforehand. A taxi driver rounded up a bunch of us at the end of the pier & we followed him to his van to go to Atlantis. It was $4.00 each. It was a beatiful day. This was my third time to Nassau, but my first time to Atlantis. I had originally booked a room at the Comfort Suites Paradise Island, but then someone on CC mentioned there was an Atlantis special rate listed at travelzoo as one of their top 20 specials of the week. It was perfect timing so I booked a room in the Coral Towers at Atlantis & canceled the other one. The room was really nice with a great view. We had a great time. DH & DGD rode in a tube on the Lazy River Ride & they swam for a while then I took her to a kiddie pool. We were given wristbands when we picked up towels at the pool to wear while using the pools. DH went to play tennis around 5:30. He's a tennis pro & wanted a tennis workout so I called a week before & set up a match for him with their tennis pro. He gave DH his card so it will be a little easier next time to get through to the right person. This evening DH said he'd like to go back there. OK, I'm ready! It was nice having the room to shower in. In the evening we walked past the stores & through the casino & went to The Dig to see the fish. I thought I had read that it's dark in there at night, because it's lit by the sun, but there were lights on. I didn't see any guards, for those of you who would like to go there in the evening. DGD loved it, but was upset she didn't see a shark. I forgot about the underwater predator tunnel. Next time. We took a taxi back to the ship around 9PM and ate at The Garden. We missed the magic show at 9:00, but saw the husband & wife team, Richard Burr & Josette, on Thurs. night.

 

THURS. 5/1 FREEPORT:

We arrived at 7AM in Freeport. Jacky bailed us out big time. She got DH & DGD booked on the dolphin excursion there. I stayed on the ship, because there are no observers allowed & I didn't feel like shopping. After getting a copy of our bill printed at the reception desk, I spent a lot of time getting a gift shop charge taken off. I watched everyone return from their excursions. That line got really long. DH & DGD's bus didn't return until around 12:30. I couldn't wait to hear how it went. They seemed to have had a great time, but one thing....DH left the photos he bought on the bus of her kissing the dolphin. I've made quite a few phone calls & they keep them on file so I'll be getting them one way or another. All's A-O.K. We left Freeport at 1 PM. We spent the rest of the afternoon at the Kiddie pools. DH & DGD went down one of the slides together. BRRRR! Not 80.6 degrees like they said it is. That was the end of that. They both sat in the kids hot tub for a very long time. DH tried the AquaSwim pool again & he was OK this time. We ate dinner at Cagney's from 7 to 9. NOW DH was happy. :) I've never seen him eat so much. That lobster was much better than the one on Mon. I had filet mignon which was very good, also. We ordered off the kid's menu in the speciality restaurants for DGD & had her try some of our food. We went to the show at 9:30. There was also one at 7:30. It was supposed to be "On the Radio", but Chantz Powell played the trumpet then the magician & his wife showed us some great magic tricks instead. The Chocoholic Buffet was in the Windows dining room from 11PM to midnight. We didn't make it.

 

FRI. 5/2 AT SEA:

DGD went to Kids Crew for the first time at 9AM. The theme was "Monsters and Aliens" in the AM. We went to the Tivoli pool in the PM, but the water was too cold so we went back to the kids pool area. I really like it back there. The cold water didn't seem to bother the older kids. The deck around the pools can get really hot & slippery. I should have had her wear her water shoes. I had been concerned about the height of the railing back there, because it's a straight drop to sea behind the pools. There are chairs there & pexiglass which I couldn't see in the photos I had seen. We just didn't take our eyes off of her, because she's a real climber. Maybe if the pexiglass was higher it wouldn't seem so dangerous. :confused:

At 3PM we were off the coast of N.C. Mostly sunny. 1.5 to 4 ft. slight waves. 25.4 knots! :eek: Whoa ,Nellie! So far we had traveled 1906 nautical miles from NYC, 577 from Freeport & there were 384 to go.

DGD went to Kids Crew at 3:45 for Cookies with the Captain. They took a photo which, of course, we bought. DH went back to the AquaSwim pool. There are actually 2 of them, but only one person is supposed to use them at a time & no one under 18. Someone was in the other one & a big group came in after him so he lucked out. You have to go through the spa to get to the room they're in. You leave out the other side. This is what sold my DH on this cruise. We have a similar pool at our house & after I returned from my Jan. Jewel girl cruise he saw how ecited I was about it & said he'd go on a cruise if I found a ship with a pool with the current. Low & behold I found the Spirit leaving out of NYC with 2 of them!

I picked up a map I had ordered earlier in the day at the reception desk. Our course is charted out on it & it's sign by the captain & it has the dates & whatever else you want to say on it like "Our First Cruise" for example. It was $6.95.

We ate at Cagney's again. There was another little girl at the table next to us in the back room. The two of them had a great time together. It was a little hard keeping them quiet...the lady behind us kept going ssshhhh! I felt uncomfortable. The waitstaff seems unorganized in Cagney's. We could never figure out which was actually our waiter & it took a long time to clear plates between courses & to bring the next course. The good food made up for the service, though. All the waiters are great with the kids. The International Crew Show was at 9:00. Jacky had seats reserved for us in the front row. We just needed to spend $25.00 for drinks so we bought a bottle of wine & that covered it. DGD's new friend sat with us & they enjoyed the show very much. I was diappointed they didn't do "Fountains".

11:15PM 22.5 knots

I packed until 1AM. Our luggage had to be out in the hall by 2AM. DH locked himself out & he was in his tighty whities. I didn't let him panic too long...just two rings on the doorbell. That was pretty funny.

 

SAT. 5/3 NYC:

We arrived early...around 9AM. We met Jacky at Henry's Pub for VIP debarkation at 10:30. We lost sight of her at one point & the escalator in the terminal wasn't working so we walked down a back hallway to an elevator & got in the long long line for customs. My cell phone rang & it was the porter with our luggage with Jacky trying to find us. I'm glad I put that # on the tags. They took us out of the line & whisked us right through customs....then we waited & waited for our DD to pick us up. She drove through the Lincoln Tunnel 3 times & ended up in Hoboken, but I talked her to the pier & we were out of there around noon. I drove & it was a little confusing finding the Lincoln Tunnel, because there were signs saying to find an alternate route to the tunnel on Sat. & Sun. I've never been so happy to see the NJ Turnpike! Maybe we'll try a limo next time.:D

 

Gosh, it's almost 4AM & I have to go to work tomorrow, but not until 3PM.

 

I'd sail on the Spirit again in a heart beat. Feel free to ask questions & I'll try to answer them. I'm going to figure out how to share some of our photos & scan the Dailies. Anyone going on the Spirit, enjoy your cruise and anyone thinking about it...go for it!

[Kellismom]

Excellent review! Was so nice meeting you. Good Luck with getting your money back for the dolphin encounter in Nassua.

 

We had a great trip also.

[maryln]

Excellent review! Was so nice meeting you. Good Luck with getting your money back for the dolphin encounter in Nassua.

 

We had a great trip also.

Thanks for the kind words. It was nice meeting you also.

[KerCar]

Great review! You sound like a wonderful grandmother:)

 

Thanks for the info on the Atlantis after dark! I'd like to head over there after an early dinner just to check it out. Sounds like there is plenty to do in the evening.

 

Do you recall, is there anything to do within walking distance of the ship in Pt Canaveral? Just wondering if we would be able to walk around before our scheduled tour or perhaps in the early evening??? Thanks:)

[maryln]

Great review! You sound like a wonderful grandmother:)

 

Thanks for the info on the Atlantis after dark! I'd like to head over there after an early dinner just to check it out. Sounds like there is plenty to do in the evening.

 

Do you recall, is there anything to do within walking distance of the ship in Pt Canaveral? Just wondering if we would be able to walk around before our scheduled tour or perhaps in the early evening??? Thanks:)

That's so nice of you to say. My co-workers say they want to come back as my granddaughter. Gotta do it while you can, you know? ;)

I honestly did not see anything within walking distance from the ship. Maybe some of the pax who rented cars could tell you what's in the area.

Have a wonderful cruise!

[dukejr]

Great review! You sound like a wonderful grandmother:)

 

Thanks for the info on the Atlantis after dark! I'd like to head over there after an early dinner just to check it out. Sounds like there is plenty to do in the evening.

 

Do you recall, is there anything to do within walking distance of the ship in Pt Canaveral? Just wondering if we would be able to walk around before our scheduled tour or perhaps in the early evening??? Thanks:)

 

There is nothing in walking distance where you dock in Pt. Canaveral, just big parking lots. You need to use the shuttle to get to anything of interest..

[RICOANDHOPE]

What Kind Of Mechanical Probelms Were They Having ?

[maryln]

What Kind Of Mechanical Probelms Were They Having ?

No one would say. I was thinking it might have been a stabilizer, because the ship was rocking so much during the night. At the pier in NYC I took a photo of workers handling 2 long rods. They were around 15 ft. long & 24" in diameter. Those might be the replacement parts for whatever the problem was. Just a guess. :confused:

[Chipster2]

Thanks for Part 2, it was a wonderful review. Glad to hear that everyone had such a good time. Looking forward to seeing some of the pictures.

[debjo]

For Maryln...

What a superb review...I didn't want it to end! I was glad to read such a comprehensive "report" from someone in a penthouse suite. Your "review" sounded like some of our past ones...with all the little "oddities" that happen to make things comical in the telling...i.e. your DS needing the port-a-potty on the way to the terminal, your DH getting locked out of your cabin, and losing the concierge when you were disembarking! You had us chuckling all through your review!

 

We'll be in our first penthouse (AC) suite on the SPIRIT in 10 days (on the Eastern Caribbean itinerary for 8 days)...so I've a few questions:

 

1. Did you have to wait for all the "suite" passengers to be assembled at the pier terminal before the concierge escorted you on to the ship...or did she take you aboard in smaller groups? Did you have color-coded key cards as outlined in the new Freestyle 2.0 upgrades, which flagged you as "suite" passengers?

 

2. You mentioned that you had TWO butlers! I was under the impression there was ONE butler. I know that the butlers & the concierge ARE NOT part of the auto-tipping program, so I'm wondering how you handled tipping each of the two butlers? Do all the penthouse suites have TWO butlers? Did you also have a Cabin Steward in addition to the TWO butlers?

 

3. You seem to fit so much into your schedule onboard. I had forgotten about the Latitudes Party. Too bad you didn't make it. But how did you ever have dinner at the GARDEN at 6:00 pm...get to the Captain's Cocktail Reception afterwards and still make the 7:30 "On Broadway" show????

Was this Captain's Cocktail Reception the regular Captain's Party that everyone gets to attend...or was it one that was open only to Suite Passengers?

 

I hope you figure out how to post some of your pictures & the Dailies. Thanks again for such an enjoyable and comprehensive review...and for sharing it with us so quickly after your return home!

 

Debjo

[maryln]

1. Did you have to wait for all the "suite" passengers to be assembled at the pier terminal before the concierge escorted you on to the ship...or did she take you aboard in smaller groups? Did you have color-coded key cards as outlined in the new Freestyle 2.0 upgrades, which flagged you as "suite" passengers?

 

***We went on in groups. We were in the first group, because we had our key cards already. As soon as we were on board Jacky went back to get the others. I wish we didn't have so many carry-on items, because for about a half an hour we carried them all over the ship until I thought to ask if we could just drop them off in the suite. That was fine. We boarded at 12:30 and all cabins were ready at 2:00.

Our cards were gold, but I don't know if they're really color-coded yet. Everytime I had them replaced I'd get another gold one. When I had one replaced on the Jewel they gave me a different color. They swipe the cards when you're entering the dining room & we always got a good table by a window.

 

2. You mentioned that you had TWO butlers! I was under the impression there was ONE butler. I know that the butlers & the concierge ARE NOT part of the auto-tipping program, so I'm wondering how you handled tipping each of the two butlers? Do all the penthouse suites have TWO butlers? Did you also have a Cabin Steward in addition to the TWO butlers?

 

***We had the concierge, Jacky, 2 butlers, Jojit & Jose, and 2 stewards, another Jose & Leonardo. I took a box of thank you cards with me & hopefully they were happy with their tips. I just went with my gut feeling. I wish there were some guidlines for that.

 

3. You seem to fit so much into your schedule onboard. I had forgotten about the Latitudes Party. Too bad you didn't make it. But how did you ever have dinner at the GARDEN at 6:00 pm...get to the Captain's Cocktail Reception afterwards and still make the 7:30 "On Broadway" show????

 

***The waiters in the Garden moved very quickly, not like in Cagney's where it took at least 2 hours to eat.

We arrived at the cocktail party a little late, but that was O.K.

 

Was this Captain's Cocktail Reception the regular Captain's Party that everyone gets to attend...or was it one that was open only to Suite Passengers?

 

***Only VIP passengers. There were many officers and other crew there, also. It was from 7 to 7:45PM in the Art Gallery on deck 7 forward across from LeBistro.

 

I hope you figure out how to post some of your pictures & the Dailies.

 

***Which suite are you going to be in? I took some photos of some of the other suites on the last day. I'm waiting for my daughter to help me with the photos. I know I click on "manage attachments", but I can't seem to find where the photos are located. I'm working on it. If you'd like, I could email you some photos. I've got that down pat.

 

I'm glad you liked my review.

Mary Ellen

[ilovewdw]

Mary Ellen, GREAT review! It was so nice to meet you at the M&G at Henry's Pub! Your cabin sounds INCREDIBLE! I hope we can stay in a suite one year! And I agree, the part where DH got locked out of his cabin in his tighty whities...definitely got a chuckle out of me! :D

[JACruiser]

 

***Which suite are you going to be in? I took some photos of some of the other suites on the last day. I'm waiting for my daughter to help me with the photos. I know I click on "manage attachments", but I can't seem to find where the photos are located. I'm working on it. If you'd like, I could email you some photos. I've got that down pat.

 

I'm glad you liked my review.

Mary Ellen

 

Did you get any photos of cabin 10000? If you did, and could upload them, it would be great.

[debjo]

For Maryln...

Thanks for all your answers...they will definitely help with our planning. We're in one of the aft AC cabins. Glad to find out ahead of time that there may be TWO butlers in addition to TWO cabin stewards, so we can better plan for some extra "tip" money. I guess I'm getting confused as to what the Cabin Stewards will be doing and what the Butler may be doing for you in the Penthouse Suites...sometimes it seems their duties may overlap, so I wonder which one I should be talking to, should we need something extra. We've only ever had one or two cabin stewards before. The second cabin steward acted more as an assistant to the primary one. Usually, we only saw the primary cabin steward. Did you actually run into your two Cabin Stewards very often? We usually like to talk with them a couple times each day and I'm wondering if they are more unobtrustive in their duties when they are taking care of the suites with the Butlers?

 

Debjo

[maryln]

For Maryln...

Thanks for all your answers...they will definitely help with our planning. We're in one of the aft AC cabins. Glad to find out ahead of time that there may be TWO butlers in addition to TWO cabin stewards, so we can better plan for some extra "tip" money. I guess I'm getting confused as to what the Cabin Stewards will be doing and what the Butler may be doing for you in the Penthouse Suites...sometimes it seems their duties may overlap, so I wonder which one I should be talking to, should we need something extra. We've only ever had one or two cabin stewards before. The second cabin steward acted more as an assistant to the primary one. Usually, we only saw the primary cabin steward. Did you actually run into your two Cabin Stewards very often? We usually like to talk with them a couple times each day and I'm wondering if they are more unobtrustive in their duties when they are taking care of the suites with the Butlers?

 

Debjo

The concierge made restaurant reservations, got DH & DGD spots in the dolphin excursion which was fully booked and she got us off the ship early when in port, once having us going down the crew stairs & through the crew quarters on deck 4. We received quite a few memos from her. If we weren't in the suite, she'd leave them outside the door. The butlers take care of the food, beverages & any other item you need for your suite. They delivered different treats & fruit every day. We could have used the butlers a lot more then we did. We didn't have one meal delivered to us & never asked for DVD's or anything. Right after you arrive they'll introduce themselves to you & explain everything to you. You'll be given phone #'s for the concierge & butlers.

The stewards cleaned the suite & brought the ice. I usually saw them in the hall so I'd let them know we were out of the suite. There was a "make up my cabin", "do not disturb" wheel outside our door.

It took me a while to get used to the doorbell. It made a sound like what you hear before an announcement was going to be made. There are a million light switches in 10502. The steward showed me which turned on which light. I thought a light was out, but the switch was on the other side of the room.

[maryln]

Did you get any photos of cabin 10000? If you did, and could upload them, it would be great.

Yes, I did take photos of 10000. I'd really like to attach some thumbnails. I use Kodak EasyShare software. I'm still trying to figure out how to do it. :confused: I wonder who I can ask. Maybe I'll drive over to the Cruise Critic office. It's a couple miles from my house. ;) I could email the photos to you, if you'd like.

[JACruiser]

If you could e-mail them to jacruiser@gmail.com that would be great. Thanks so much! :D

[maryln]

If you could e-mail them to jacruiser@gmail.com that would be great. Thanks so much! :D

I just sent them. Enjoy!

[debjo]

For maryln...

Thanks for the brief description of "duties"...it should help us a lot! Did you also get pagers or cell phones to carry around with you on the ship so you could call the concierge or butler -or- are you limited to using your cabin phone and "house" phones on the ship?

Thanks also for the heads-up on the doorbell...don't think we've ever had a doorbell on a ship before! I know about confusing light switches...we never did figure them all out on our two cruises on the Sun Princess and HAL Westerdam!

 

Debjo

[maryln]

For maryln...

Thanks for the brief description of "duties"...it should help us a lot! Did you also get pagers or cell phones to carry around with you on the ship so you could call the concierge or butler -or- are you limited to using your cabin phone and "house" phones on the ship?

Thanks also for the heads-up on the doorbell...don't think we've ever had a doorbell on a ship before! I know about confusing light switches...we never did figure them all out on our two cruises on the Sun Princess and HAL Westerdam!

 

Debjo

We just used the house & suite phones. FYI- I just posted more info under part 1 of my review.

[clever7981]

Glad you had a very good time and thank you for the informative review.

 

With all due respect, I don't blame the lady in Cagney's for "sshhhing" the children. Cagney's is a premium restaurant and children should only be present if they are old enough to dine without disturbing other passengers. Those paying for upscale dining options are entitled to an adult environment in which they may enjoy the food and ambience free of young children.

 

Again, thanks for the review.

[Sea Hound]

Thanks for the great review!

 

Sea Hound:D

[maryln]

Excellent review! Was so nice meeting you. Good Luck with getting your money back for the dolphin encounter in Nassau.

 

We had a great trip also.

I just found out today that Am X helped me get the $240.00 back for the missed excursion at Dolphin Cay at Atlantis. We missed it, because the Spirit was late arriving in Nassau. Now I'm happy.:D