cruising in feb on Spirit

[rannoch]

This cruise is a surprise Silver Wedding trip (I'll tell my wife on Christmas Day), will be our first cruise, and as you would expect I want it to be remembered for the right reasons.

 

I booked for a 14 night cruise (it's actually the 5 night Western Caribbean followed by the 9 night Southern Caribbean) on Norwegian Spirit.

 

I saw some really bad reviews - mainly regarding the Freestype dining - poor service, long queues, long waits to get served, etc, and quite frankly I'm beginning to panic.

 

The itinery is ...

1 Miami

2 At Sea

3 George Town, Grand Cayman

4 Roatan (Isla Roatan), Bay Islands, Honduras

5 At Sea

6 Miami

7 At Sea

8 At Sea

9 Bridgetown, Barbados

10 St. George's, Grenada

11 Castries, St. Lucia

12 St. John's, Antigua

13 Road Town, Tortola, B.V.I.

14 At Sea

15 Miami

 

I will appreciate any tips, and advise about the ship and shore trips. The cabin is 8500.

 

Regards,

 

Rannoch

[Geobugs]

I was on the 12/3 sailing of the Spirit.

We enjoyed our cruise, I hope you do too.

I enjoyed the Freestyle dining.

The service was very good to excellent.

You can ask for the same waiter or waitress every night once you find a good one.

Lorna was an excellent one.

But don't expect them to hold a 10 minute conversation with you, they have other tables to serve.

For breakfast and lunch, we never had to wait at all.

Windows seats over 500 people.

For Dinner, we only waited for 10 minutes on the first formal night.

Otherwise, you walk up and ask for a table.

Waits occur directly after the shows, when 500 people spill down the stair cases expecting to find a table immediately but we went to the late shows.

I have to wait for 30 minutes at Olive Garden on any given Friday or Saturday night.

If it wasn't for freestyle, we could not have gone to dinner with our new found friends each night, think of that advantage.

[DEL67]

We were on a Spirit 5 day in November. Having had mixed feelings about our previous NCL cruise, we were very pleasantly surprised.

 

We thought that, in general, service was excellent. And we were not an easy group to serve as we were 11 in all, including 4 children. The only exception was the last evening when the service was not up to par.

 

We thought that the food was quite good in the dining room, but, at best, passable in the buffet As a result we ate lunch several times in the dining room, something we do not normally do. Although the dining room menu choices sometimes seemed strange or uninteresting, I always found something I enjoyed. The buffet was fine for breakfast, especially after we found out that they were making omelets out on deck. We also ate in the Bistro one evening. The food there was good, but not significantly better than the dining room except for the chocolate fondue which was great!

 

Yes, there were lines at dinnner. There were long waits on the formal (lobster) night and on the last evening. However, there were always large tables available because many of the people waiting were not willing to share a table. Expressing a willingness to share a table would probably reduce your wait.

[travelgirl101]

I thought I posted this earlier, but I'm not sure what happened. Take a look at the recent reviews of the Spirit. They're all very positive. I myself will be sailing in a couple of weeks, and I'll be happy to post any feedback/suggestions for you when I return.

[happytogoing]

I was on the 5-Day western Spirit Nov. 28... I would advise you to relax! The Spirit is a beautiful ship, the crew is friendly and helpful and the food is much better than some reviews indicate. Overall, the Spirit exceded my expectations in every way.

 

We did not wait for a table ever.... We ate in the dining room every night, at a variety of times...once seated, the service was very good and not slow, except on formal night, but gee, that could be because we asked for (an received) another round of escargot for our table because it was so darn good.

 

Many food options all day long - from deck barbeques, light meals in BierGarten, the buffet and Blue Lagoon is great for fast fresh food (24 hours). We loved freestyle - loved the flexibilty, and also enjoyed having meals with different people we met along the way, some of which were fellow cc members.

 

Enjoy....

[lazygal]

Don't panic. It is your first cruise and will always be special for that reason. The Spirit is a beautiful ship. Many of the poor reviews were from experienced cruisers who tend to compare one experience with another and also those not used to the "freestyle" cruise. (We ate early - as soon as the doors opened, so no lines)

 

Here's my advice: Freestyle or not, we stick to our regular eating schedule. On any cruiseline we eat at the first seating and then follow the planned activities for the evening. When we tried to wing it, we missed shows, etc. You are cruising during spring breaks and most people will prefer the late seating.

 

My advice would also be to pace yourselves with the long itinerary. Have your excursions planned out by reading the ports of call boards. Join the roll call for your sail date. Maybe buy your wife a new piece of luggage and have an NCL brochure inside. You can even checkout a "Frommers" Caribbean travel book for her to browse on Christmas Day.

 

She's a lucky lady!

[tuffy88]

My wife and I are cruising on the Spirit March 4, 2005. Have been on 4 previous NCL cruises and liked them all. Never had a problem with freestyle dining. Usually eat between 7:00pm and 8:00pm and never had a wait longer than 10 minuets. Usually no wait at all. We like freestyle dining. Have not been on the Spirit before, but the Wind, Crown, Sun, and the Sky were all very good. Cruised on the Sky about 2 months before it was renamed. Be sure and post what you thought of the Spirit when you return.

 

Charles

[joedel]

hi

my wife and another couple we will be on the feb 4th

this is our 1st ncl we have been on carnival and rcl we are a little concerned about the bad reviews

but its still cruising!

[zimmerjulie]

Rannoch,

Congratulations on your special anniversary!! In my opinion, you have chosen the greatest present possible.

 

I really think you will love the Spirit. It is a beautiful ship and very unique in many good ways!

 

I see that others have given you lots of good information regarding waits for dinner seating. I'll contribute that our family found that eating early freed up the rest of the night for all activities. We could make either show by eating at 5:30pm when the restaurants opened. When we ate later, we missed some activities that we would have liked to attend.

 

As to ports,

Grand Cayman - I would recommend a snorkeling with the stingrays excursion, if you are inclined to such adventures. It is an amazing and fascinating experience and the stingrays are so affectionate! We have gone twice, once with a ship-sponsored excursion and once through an independent provider, Native Way Watersports www.nativewaywatersports.com

 

Do take an excursion to see some of this beautiful island. The port area is intimidating to some...it was chaos when we were there, but when we met our tour provider and set out, we were enchanted by the beauty of this island and the friendliness of its people. (Others were turned off by the "poverty"). We enjoyed a relaxing day at a gorgeous beach and a delicious lunch at Fosters West Bay resort www.fostersroatan.com

 

Grenada was one of our all-time-favorite port stops, largely due to the personable and interesting tour we took there. We walked off the ship and past all of the aggressive taxi drivers trying to bully us into taking a tour with them. We walked the length of the shopping market there and found a more laid-back gentleman (older) and kinder-seeming who offered to take us on a tour. We negotiated a price (less than he asked, but with the prospect of making up the extra $10 at the end if we really liked the tour.) He took us all over this beautiful island...through rain forest, to tropical waterfall, to gorgeous beach with interesting narration throughout. I wish you luck at finding such a guide!!

 

Have a wonderful cruise!

Julie

[rannoch]

This is the fourth time I've tried to write this note. Every time I've started my wife has walked in the room and I've had to quickly close the window - oh the stress!!!

 

Many thiank for the reassurances and advice - very much appreciated.

 

I never thought of getting a travel guide, but I'll try to get to the book store. Failing that I'l wrap up the cruise brochure.

 

Regards,

 

Rannoch

[LakerVA]

We are on the spirit right now...we never waited in either Windows or Garden Rooms...we were always willing to share tables and met some great people. We dined in all of the specialty restaurants and only made a reservation one night...the others we walked in and were seated right away. Never had bad service anywhere. Food in Maxims, Shogun, and Bistro is superb. Food in Tratoria was average. Dining room food was ok...Buffet was ok. We ate the BBQ's and in Blue Lagoon.

If you want to guarantee a nice evening for your anniversay...make a reservation in Maxims, Shogun or Bistro. Atmosphere is very nice in all 3. Our favorite was Shogun...but we love sushi and other japanese dishes...and they had a ginger creme brulee that was AWESOME! I go in there everynight and just get a desert. Despite what others have said about the Spirit and the dining...we thought it was overall very good. The ship is really nice..and the staff was very friendly and accommodating.

 

The itinerary is great. We enjoyed every port...our least favorite being Barbados...and it's a tossup between Grenada, St. Lucia and Antigua as favorites. A great tour guide in Antigua was Derrick...when I get home...and remember...I'll email his info to you. He was a lot of fun.

 

Have a great cruise and Happy Anniversary.

[1kycat]

LakerVA....I'm glad you had (and are still having) a great time.

 

On another section of the board, Jumbie refered to a website with great pictures of when the Spirit was in Grenada this week.

 

It's at http://www.motorsportsgrenada.com/Pics/Ships/index.htm

 

By the way....when you have desert at Shogun....do you pay for that alacart?

[bonsat]

in btween several ncl freestyle cruises, we sailed traditional-style with celebrity. the thing we missed most was freestyle.

 

You'll love ncl. beautful ships, terrific ports, great food and the choice of where, when and what to eat and how to dress. and FREESTYLE!!!!

 

we will be on the 9-day cruise on 2/18. is this your cruise too?

[Twaincruisers]

We cruised the Southern itinerary in November and loved the Spirit...wish they would sell it to a line without freestyle! There was always a line for the dining rooms, even before they opened (people trying to beat the lines). Service was mostly OK, although always slow. The last night was was a real loser for us...got traded to a different waiter who drop us some coffee and never came back...what a way to end the trip: no service. Right now the ship is beautiful and unique. We enjoyed the Bier Garten and the Galaxy lounge. There are enough restaurants that you should be able to overcome any dining room service issues. One very important problems has cropped up for us since this cruise...now my wife thinks 7 night cruises are too short.

[platterb]

My husband and I too were on the 12/3 9-day sailing. We really had a wonderful time. Personally we like Freestyle and it actually fits with NCL. Our very first cruise in 1984 was on NCL and the Spirit was our 6th. We've also sailed on Celebrity, Royal Caribbean and Holland America. Since we love cruising, it be hard to say we didn't meet a cruise we didn't like.

 

One of the reasons we've often come back to NCL is both of us tend to be more of the outdoors, casual type. We've always found the cruise staff to be more personable and "fun." NCL was the first cruise line to offer Dive-in/Snokeling and their own private island. My husband just loves "resort casual." He sees vacations as the time to relax and sitting at dinner in a suit is not relaxing as far as he is concern. But remember, they still have the formal option so you can get dressed up if that's your cup of tea.

 

Not once during the 9 days, did we have to wait to be seated. But, we did tend to select a table for two and therefore didn't have to wait til the table was full before the dining experience began. Also, the larger the table, the longer the delay may be if you skip a particular course and others at the table don't. We also liked the way Windows was set up since alot of the tables for two were adjacent to the various Windows overlooking the sea throughout the dining room.

 

One big advantage of Freestyle is the ability to select what time you want to eat. We had the early sitting on Celebrity and actually missed dinner twice because of delays returning to the ship from shore excursions. From what I heard, alot of people who had to wait to be seated, attempted dinner during the busiest times of 7:00p - 8:00p. It seems they forget that on other cruise lines, it's 6:00p or 8:30p or nothing. The 7:00p-7:30p is not available there either. There is also the advantage of having more than one choice for where you would like to eat each night.

 

I can only guarantee you one thing............more than anything else, your overall cruise experience will be determined by the two of you. There are those who have nothing better to do than to complain. It's all about attitude. Sit back, relax, enjoy and have a wonderful trip.

[MSUcruisers]

Rannoch, we are on the 2-4-05 Spirit to the South Caribbean. This will be our 3rd NCL cruise. We've also been on 3 Carnival cruises. The food in the dining room is great on NCL ships, but we prefer to avoid the buffets whenever possible on both NCL and Carnival. Rannoch, what are your sailing dates? What a wonderful suprise for your wife!!!

 

Joedel, there is a roll call started for our cruise. It would be great if you and others sailing 2-04 could joining us at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=102101

[rannoch]

The cruise starts 27th February.

 

I told my wife yesterday, and as suggested here by lazygal, one of her presents was a Caribbean guide book, but I didn't give it to her until after Christmas dinner.

 

I think the response could be described as total shock, followed by tears (I was close to tears myself).

 

Regards,

 

Rannoch

[zimmerjulie]

Thank you for the update. I was wondering how your surprise played out. Congratulations!!!!!

[rannoch]

I knew my wife had recovered from the shock/surprise, when she said yesterday - ... but, I've nothing to wear!

 

We are now pouring through all the information we can find - mainly through this forum.

 

A couple of questions to be going on with (you can expect loads more) ...

 

We booked through cruisesonly.com, and I was told that the tickets would be available at embarkation, and I assumed that it was because we live in the UK. Would that be a normal procedure?

 

I've already asked questions about the assigned cabin - 8500, but still have concerns.

I've noticed that cabins 8502, 8506, 8508, and 8510 appear to be the only CC class cabins NOT assigned on deck 8. Is there something we should know about the location? If anyone has any information regarding this area or cabin 8500, I'd very grateful for details.

 

Thanks for your assistance.

 

Best Regards,

 

Rannoch

[FLACRUISER99]

Rannoch, We were also on the 12/3 trip and everything was wonderful. You should consider purchasing the HONEYMOON/ANNIVERSARY PACKAGE - $79 per stateroom http://www.ncl.com/more/honeymoon_mini.htm it is well worth the expense.

 

[shoreguy]

I knew my wife had recovered from the shock/surprise, when she said yesterday - ... but, I've nothing to wear!

 

We are now pouring through all the information we can find - mainly through this forum.

 

A couple of questions to be going on with (you can expect loads more) ...

 

We booked through cruisesonly.com, and I was told that the tickets would be available at embarkation, and I assumed that it was because we live in the UK. Would that be a normal procedure?

 

I've already asked questions about the assigned cabin - 8500, but still have concerns.

I've noticed that cabins 8502, 8506, 8508, and 8510 appear to be the only CC class cabins NOT assigned on deck 8. Is there something we should know about the location? If anyone has any information regarding this area or cabin 8500, I'd very grateful for details.

 

Thanks for your assistance.

 

Best Regards,

 

Rannoch

 

The cabins closest to the bow generally sell last. You may feel a bit more motion if you hit rough seas. That said 8500 looks like a great cabin. Bigger the any other outside or balcony. There are always a few special cabins on every ship. The location looks great easy access to the public areas and lifts. You will not have any traffic outside your door.

 

Picking up Documents at the pier is not a big deal. Just make sure you pre-register online and print the form. This will have all the information needed in case they have a problem finding your booking

 

Cheers

[MSUcruisers]

Rannoch, those of us who live in the U.S., we normally get our documents mailed to us 2-3 weeks before a cruise. Sometimes we are required to sign for them, depending on the TA.

 

Also, all the available cabins are not listed on the website. We just recently booked through NCL on the phone. The cabin I booked was not listed online as being available.

[travelgirl101]

Rannoch,

 

Natasha is right, the website only shows a maximum of 5 or 6 cabins regardless of how many are really available for that category.

 

As for the cabin itself, it looks like a great pick from what I can tell. I'll be on the Spirit next week, so I'll try to catch a peek for you to see if I can give you any feedback.

[LakerVA]

re: desert in Shogun....we normally just ate sushi which is ala carte...and when it came time for desert...I asked what they had...usually ice cream & sherbert...and I just asked for the creme brulee...they gave it to me and never charged me. If you pay the service charge for the full restaurant meal ($12.50 pp) the ginger creme brulee was one of the desert choices.

[hsc]

Our Docs [9 of us] arrived few days before Christmas for the Feb.18th sailing on the Spirit. Most of the reviews are positive, I'm encouraged it is going to be a good cruise. We have sailed on other NCL ships before without many problems.