Gourmet Gal

Thanks for the balanced and informative review. I can tell that you put much thought into your observations and you truthfully presented positives and negatives. Unfortunately the negatives reflect many of the same observations reported by others across the fleet and including on Nova and including reviews from longterm SS cruisers. Many of the ships are receiving very mixed reviews especially in the last 9 months or so. It seems the RCI culture has fully infiltrated SS and turned it into something difficult to really categorize as luxury anymore. I will soon have my own review of a recent cruise on Spirit to post and had many similar experiences to yours.

Looking2Cruise are you an influencer or TA? I also find it unusual that you submitted your review to the cruise line before posting it here. Or perhaps you’re an attorney?

Most concerning that the launch of Nova as a new generation ship and the newest vessel did not include attention to service, food and wine quality. SS had a chance to put their best foot forward and really impress but the result seems to be muddled and underwhelming.

Well, the decision has been made now that my DH has tested positive for Covid. This is the second cruise he’s contracted Covid and luckily he’s not very sick this time. He developed a cough in the last few days of the cruise - there were more and more coughing people onboard as the cruise progressed, unmasked and not even covering their coughs. There were some people who clearly embarked with some sort of illness and obviously were not truthful on the health questionnaire. We masked when concerned about the amount of sick people around us and we both had Covid boosters several weeks before. Disappointing. I think we’re done with cruising.

The included excursion quality has indeed diminished. On my recent Spirit Med cruise the best included excursions that I had booked were changed to select excursions carrying a charge. My zero charge was grandfathered in but still, those excursions were only marginally better. The quality of tour guides was inconsistent and busses were full. One of the select excursions I booked was a cooking class in Trapani for $300 per person and it was almost torture. The couscous dish was one nobody would ever cook and the accompanying lunch was just okay but with very poor service. It all took place at a winery and the wines were not explained at all. If I ever book again with SS I’ll do so w/o “included” excursions. I don’t think they can properly execute the program anymore.

Yes, as mentioned it is frustrating there is an offer to book another “similar” itinerary but no details. I booked before a more than 30% increase on my Japan cruise and the 15% “discount” is not an incentive to rebook. In fact it is yet another incentive to delete SS from all my future travel plans. They promote cruises by encouraging to book before fares increase, cancel said cruise and then squeeze out a higher fare anyway if you choose to rebook. Original fares should be honored and prorated if the replacement cruise is shorter or longer.

The new replacement cruise has not yet been posted but all the others in that general time frame are now waitlisted. The replacement cruise is still planned for Japan Cherry Blossom time so the entire region has not be eliminated. I had booked a hard-to-get aft suite because of booking early but now, even if I wanted to rebook the choices may be limited. Anyway, we may just book a private tour of some new-to-us Japanese cities and sites. There are nice options that don’t include cruising.

Just received a notice that this cruise is canceled and there is a replacement cruise offered at 15% discount but the original cruise had a huge fare increase after we booked. Of course the details are not presented in the notification so am awaiting more info. All I know now is the replacement cruise is one day shorter with a similar itinerary on the same ship. We’re just off the Spirit and after that experience we were considering canceling the Japan cruise anyway and would have lost our deposit. Now if we opt for the refund we lose nothing. It’s tempting to take the money and run but I want to have all the details. Will follow up here if anyone is interested.

This is all encouraging feedback. On land I much prefer FS and resent the constant “nickel and diming” at RC. It seems though the upcoming FS yacht will be operated more like a floating hotel so my first thought is that compared to typical cruising then the FS product may not be as good a value. Any feedback regarding value as a cruise product at RC?

Quite a bit of speculation here. Does anyone really have the scoop? All that matters now is that SS is clearly not what it used to be and future actions by the company will determine if it is a blip or the new reality. I’m on Spirit right now and while it’s not a disaster, things do feel different. I have a few more days to go and I want to digest it all and will write a review or post some observations soon after. I am planning to try RC or FS on my next cruise, though.

You might do a further search here in the Ports of Call forum. There are many threads.

Supposedly none onboard Spirit now.

You would definitely need more sampling to determine if French labor laws are creating a deficit in service. You may also be making some assumptions. Staffing levels may vary by ship and the hotel managers may be more creative with covering each venue. And personally, I don’t care if there’s no staff to “greet” me nor does 5 minutes seem like a long time for a plate to be cleared.

The new champagne is nothing special.

Welcome to SS. The Moon is a lovely ship. My must do can be done on most ships and that’s a visit to the observation lounge during the morning sail-in. The SALT cooking classes are a nice activity as well. Th excursion groups seem to be at least 20 on my current voyage on Spirit and yesterday 2 bus groups converged on a winery for a tasting with about 50 people. Honestly, the excursions are hit or miss. You may want to read the descriptions carefully and perhaps choose a few and then book a few on your own. The ships are small so the Roll Calls are usually rather limited so you may not get the chance to share an excursion. Enjoy your cruise!

The point about timing and distances is valid. We’re on Spirit right now and I have a feeling that in most ports we’ll not be docked so departure times are 30-45 minutes in advance of the published tour times. So far after 2 ports there seems to be poor logistics. Everything is running late related to included excursions. If you book independently you will not be able to catch the tender until the first excursions have departed. You’ll have to just bully yourself onto the tender. With the new pricing structure it’s tempting to just book without excursions.

Just wow. How can that happen!?

Happy 50th. How wonderful! As for your questions someone else can chime in on the spa question. Excursions can be booked as soon as you make final payment and they are charged to your ship account. Be aware of any cancellation windows for penalties. Restaurants can be booked 120 days out from sail date at 12:01 AM EST. Sometimes even slightly before. So you can go online at 9:00 PM 121 days in advance. Only 2 restaurants have an upcharge and most can be reserved in advance. There are several threads in this SS forum with details about Nova and there are some reviews in the CC review section.

I never heard of nor experienced any food or drink item being depleted onboard SS. Seems like a bad sign - either mismanagement or penny pinching.

In what way?

You’ve been sailing for so long home will feel like an exotic port!

Thanks for taking the time to post a very sad review. I’m increasingly disturbed to read the many negative observations from recent cruisers. It’s becoming a doom loop with very few bright spots - the opposite of years past. Hope someone in charge is reading this forum and not thinking they can still get away with treating a very loyal clientele in this manner. I guess they think they can somehow impress a less sophisticated but wealth-off market segment. I’m boarding Spirit next week and will have to try to forget all I’ve been reading here and embark with a positive attitude and expectation. Hoping I won’t have to contribute to this sad saga that’s playing out here on this forum.

I thought you were on Muse?

Stickman, thanks for posting so much detail, especially the entertainment. We’ll be on Nova on a similar itinerary in 2026 and I’m just hoping the bean counters don’t nix the local onboard entertainment and the port send-offs by then. Whoops, maybe I shouldn’t give’em any ideas…

Sounds like they’re discouraging having meals in the stateroom. They really expect you to sit on a bench for dinner? What could be the reasoning?