Why are Spirit Reviews so bad on Trip Advisor

[newmexicoNita]

All recent reviews seem to say bad food, no at sea activities, pool too small, etc etc

 

Does anyone have anything positive to say about recent sailings on Spirit - particularly those travelling with children over the age of 5?

I am one of the many that pays little attention to TripAdvisor. For whatever reason it seems there are always more negatives than positives regardless of what the posters are reviewing.

 

Read some of the latest reviews on the Spirit here. No ship is perfect and yes, she isn't brand spankin new. She was not originally build for NCL so, from that I have heard the cabins are a little small and some of the public areas are the same, but have also read she is in excellent condition. As for kids activities, very rarely do any of the NCL ships get bad reviews on the program.

 

Nita

[KerCar]

 

Also for balance. There is a strong instinct by some regulars here dismiss any and all criticism of NCL. The mantra is that all "bad" reviews are the product of chronic complainers, should be discarded and if you had any problems, your expectations were too high. On the flip side, most of the over the top positive reviews are from people who probably just got back, are pining for their lost vacation and are comparing the trip with their work day, also of little value. Someone that I met through here posted a "perfect" review of our cruise right upon arrival. A few days later, while commenting on my review this person admitted that there were many issues. Never made it to their review though.

 

I just got back from my second trip on the Spirit. I posted a review which was done in installments over the course of a week. My review included an entire installment of complaints. Even with complaints, my review was VERY well received on this board. If I recall correctly, even though you didn't have the best time on your cruise, you wrote an extremely well written and balanced review that was received well by many. My point is that the regulars don't always dismiss negativity, as long as it is done in a constructive and useful way. Some people post horrible reviews on this board for the sole purpose of pissing off the regulars. Some of them are not even real.

 

BTW~I was talking to one of the kid's crew counselors about your sailing. She said there were 800 kids that week :eek: Our sailing only had 250. Even she admited that that sailing was INSANE. Perhaps, some of the problems you encountered on your spring break cruise have not been experienced by those of us who have sailed on the off weeks??? I would imagine that 550 extra kids on a cruise would make a significant difference. I can't wait to read all the summer "kid's sail for free" Sky reviews later this year;)

[wolfcel]

We just got off the Spirit a little over 2 weeks ago. We had a great time.

Here is the review I wrote for CC. Any questions, please feel free to ask.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=41789

[csaeroach]

We just got off the Spirit on May 17th and loved it... one of the better cruises we did.... ship is in excellent condition, food was very good, shows were good. No compaints from us.... really enjoyed the Spirit.

Cabins are a bit small, but they have everything you need. Public areas are very nice, dining rooms are very nice. Garden Room is much smaller and seems very busy. Windows never had to wait in line at all for a table.

Raffles was crazy so we avoided it as much as possible... way to many people trying to get food all at the same time. Much more enjoyable experience in the dining rooms. Chocolate buffett was very good. We loved everything about this cruise.

[newmexicoNita]

Just for balance here, we didn't love the Spirit! Nor did the other 5 families we traveled with. I don't hate the Spirit or NCL, but my Spirit experience was a >>little<< less than I hoped for and less than I have received on a competing line

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=41215

 

Also for balance. There is a strong instinct by some regulars here dismiss any and all criticism of NCL. The mantra is that all "bad" reviews are the product of chronic complainers, should be discarded and if you had any problems, your expectations were too high. On the flip side, most of the over the top positive reviews are from people who probably just got back, are pining for their lost vacation and are comparing the trip with their work day, also of little value. Someone that I met through here posted a "perfect" review of our cruise right upon arrival. A few days later, while commenting on my review this person admitted that there were many issues. Never made it to their review though.

 

Personally, I tend to discount the overly sour, overly sweet and any that mention concierge/butler/owners suite/courtyard/platinum Latitude member/etc. (since that will not be my experience on board).

I am a true NCL loyalist as most know and yet, when I write a review it is very well balanced as there are pros and cons to all experiences in life. The worst cruise for us was certainly not one that would deserve a "horrible experience" title and the best would not be listed as perfect. I will defend NCL when I think criticism is unfair or over exaggerated, but I will also be quick to say what I think when something isn't perfect. actually I think it is the negative reviews that are written right after sailing when a few problems or many in the eyes of the poster have left a bad taste. If they were to wait a day or so, maybe a week and re-think the experience, they would probably realize the cruise was better than they thought. At least that is how i see it, others may feel different.

 

Nita

[dtiger]

I've been on 2 Spirit repositioning cruises, 15 days and 14 days and the Spirit is great.