marbleski

can't wait for more!

For those interested in the food, here are a few pics of the food you'll eat on your next cruise.

The appetizers

The salads

Cheesecake was excellent.

Eggs and Omelets made to order were my breakfast choice of the day. We ate our breakfast in the lido each day. Never did make it to the dining room for breakfast.

OH breakfast in the lido

My favourite vacation breakfast. Don't get to eat this at home...... bacon, fried eggs and sausages that is LOL

A few more pics around the ship

The Ship

As soon as we boarded we headed to the front desk to make a reservation at the Teppanyaki restaurant for the last night of the cruise, as it could only be booked once onboard. We made reservations online at the other specialty restaurants on the first day they became available. For our stateroom category this was the 80 day mark.

We encouraged our new found cruise mates to make reservations at the specialty restaurants. They were able to join us for two of the four specialty dining reservations. Both La Bistro and Cagney’s were already booked for the dates and times we reserved. I suggest booking your dining times online as early as possible. They can always be changed once you are onboard.

Back to the ship.

We love the Spirit. Although the oldest of the fleet, she is a classic. Much smaller than the Getaway we cruised on last year.

Here are some of the many (way too many to list them all) pluses in no particular order, that comes to mind at this late at night ……….

You feel like you are on a ship. The size is perfect for our liking and there are plenty of spaces to “get away” from the crowds compared to much larger Getaway LOL.The Galaxy of the Stars forward lounge on deck 12 is an excellent venue which hosted many activities.This lounge also provides a great view. The buffet layout flows nicely and has plenty of both indoor and outdoor seating. The outdoor seating has both sun and shaded tables with great views at the back of the ship. Made to order eggs and omelets in the buffet were a daily ritual. Wings and cheesecake at the blue lagoon, but only found time to eat there once. Excellent service throughout and great food most of the time. We were never hungry. La Bistro and Teppanyaki were exceptional. Cagney’s was so so. My steak was good but OH had a medium well that came out as hard and tough as a hockey puck. Windows restaurant has great window seats. It's much quieter than the Garden restaurant. As usual, you can count on NCL to provide excellent shows. We skipped a few as we have seen them before or were busy doing something better.

The promenade is the deal maker for me. It is made of teak, wide and close to the water. Walking laps on this deck is very enjoyable. Very few people use this space. It also has loungers on both sides which provide a great place in the shade to relax, read and watch the ocean go by. The wind had a nip in the air while at sea this time of the year. However,it did get hot lounging in the direct sunshine.

The back of ship is old school cruising. The tiered levels on the back provide great sea views from many angles. Plenty of outside seating to enjoy breakfast on both sea and late port arrival days.

Getting off the ship on port days was uneventful. There were very little to no line-ups at the times we got off. Maybe due to us being some of the first to disembark at most ports. For some reason we had to bring passports and show them to local officials to get back on the ship in Italy but had to turn in our passports before departing the ship in Greece.

There was a slight delay getting off in Corfu. NCL staff had the gangway down and were on the pier but customs ordered them to return to the ship. About 10 minutes later we cleared customs.

There were a couple of negatives and they were related. First, there was a sewer smell at times in certain places in the stateroom hallways. Nothing major but noticeable now and then.

Second, the bathrooms are still dated and in need of a complete overhaul. They seem no worst for wear than our last time on the Spirit (fall 2015 Caribbean cruise). Our bathroom on deck 10 had a smell of mold and or sewer. It was not unbearable but enough to have second thoughts about another cruise on our favourite ship. We were sure to keep our bathroom room door closed at all times. Compared to the Getaway bathrooms, the Spirit is big let down.

Other stuff of interest – the Internet was OK, no major issues. This cruise had the least number of both young children and young adults we have yet to see on a cruise. There were very few young adults of similar ages to our boys. This makes complete since as both these age categories are better suited for the activities and amenities provided by the mega ships. I’m sure both age groups will make more of a presence in the summer months, as it did on our August 2015 Med cruise on the Spirit.

Some pics around the Spirit

Day six for us now. We arrived in Civitavecchia, the gateway to the Spirit.

As we exited the train station we met another couple from our cruise. They happened to arrive on the same train and also hiked the trails of Cinque Terra pre cruise. We hit it off right away. It was a nice day and since we all liked to hike we decided to take the leisurely stroll to our ship or port entrance, whichever happened to be closer.

I assumed the Spirit would be at pier 12, a short walk around the back of the castle not far from the train station. We rounded the corner of the castle and our ship was no where in sight. The ship could be seen in the far distance which I believe was pier 25.

After a bit of confusion, we caught a port shuttle bus on it’s way to the main port entrance. We picked up more passengers by the McDonald's stop. Once we arrived at the main entrance we transferred to the shuttle which delivered us to our ship. There was a line up for the shuttle. We waited about 15 to 20 minutes.

By the time we boarded our shuttle the line up was gone, everyone in the line behind us made it on board. We probably arrived at the peak boarding time. The shuttle dropped us off next to the ship. We handed our luggage to the staff at the pier and our luggage was placed in a bin and on the way to our ship. We walked a short distance to the check in area. As I recall the check in was non-eventful. It was very smooth and quick.

Before I get to the ship review I though I would share our Tim’s SIM Card Experience.

While in Genoa we purchased a SIM card from the largest provider in Italy. The company is called TIM. There are others Wind and Vidaphone. The card cost 25 Euros for unlimited phone calls in Italy and 4 Gigs of data for 30 days throughout the EU countries. Without the phone calls the card was about 18 euros.

TIP: Put your phone on airplane mode while at sea. When we arrived at our first port (Dubrovnik) we could not get cell service. We visited a TIM's store on day 2 in Venice and found out that we exhausted our data due to the roaming charges while at sea. We paid 5 more euros to put the data back on our phone.

The card did not work again in Split. Once we took the phone off airplane mode we received a text message in Italian welcoming us to Croatia. Some how I managed to press the correct numbers on the phone and after a few transfers spoke to an English speaking representative who reset the phone. It worked once again but we never did figure out the issue.

I will not use Tim’s Sim the next time.

Next up the Spirit.

Cinque Terre last few ...........

More Cinque Terre Photos

Not sure how this mountainside restaurant gets their supplies delivered but it sure makes for a great break along the hiking trails to take in the view and enjoy a cold beer and freshly squeezed juice mixtures.

We departed May 1, and arrived in Genoa Italy the following morning. We spent four nights in La Spezia in the Cinque Terre region. We choose this town and Airbnb due to location. The Airbnb was located an easy 6 minute walk to the train station. The typical European standing room only balcony overlooked Piazza Garibaldi at the edge of the old town. The square was surrounded by restaurants in eyesight of our balcony. The nearby supermarket was handy for purchasing fruit, snacks, water, beer, wine and other goodies. Daily gelato across the narrow street was a must. The Gelato was needed as we are early diners and the reservations did not start until 7:00 pm. We enjoyed the evening meals dining outside on the busy pedestrian narrow streets.

We had one evening and three full days to explore the region. Each day we leisurely hiked between towns followed by exploring the cliff side villages. Early May is an ideal time for hiking as the temperatures are bearable and the summer crowds have yet to arrive.

We purchased a two day Cinque Terra card which included train/bus travel between Levento in the North and La Spezia in the south. This card also included the hiking passes which were required for our first two hikes. The five Cinque Terre villages dotted the coastline between these two larger towns. The third day we hiked one of the free trails and spent the afternoon at the beach in northern most village of Monterosso al Mare.

We had the nearby towns of Levento, Lerici, Portovenere, Palmaria Island and Biassa on our “just in case we have time” list but we did not want to over do it before our port intensive cruise.

Florence, Pisa and Lucca are easy day trips if so inclined.

We departed La Spezia on train #8655 Frecciabianca at 8:16 am and arrived at Civitavecchia 11:14 am. Here are some pics from our pre-cruise stay.

Next post our ship – the Spirit.

Local winery promoting their products along the hiking trails through the hillside vineyards

Paying it forward.

I hope this review will assist others cruising this itinerary. Once again, thanks to my fellow Cruise Critic posters whose valuable information assisted us in another dream vacation.

Background info …. We are mid and early 50’s. This is our third cruise in Europe and our third cruise on the Spirit. We cruised the 12 day Grand med on the Spirit in 2015 and the 9 day Baltic cruise on the Getaway in 2017. Our two boys travelled with us on both cruises. This time it was just the two of us as the boys had other commitments.

We downgraded to an inside room from balconies on our previous two European cruises. For those interested we bid $285 USD each for a balcony upgrade but is was not in the cards. The ship was sold out, unlike the Getaway last year when the boys were upgraded from inside to balcony for $70 USD apiece.

Next post our pre-cruise stay in La Spezia, Italy.

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Does anyone know how often NCL adjusts their exchange rates for pricing?

 

Right now, the rate is sitting at 1.23826, but NCL's pricing on the Canadian site is still reflecting 1.34.

 

Therefore, they are overcharging Canadians, but most wouldn't know this if you don't consistently monitor prices or have access to a VPN network to view the US NCL site.

 

Another question is if I call NCL to book a cruise and direct the agent to this information, would they be able to charge me in Canadian dollars using the ACTUAL exchange rate? Or do they have to go by the Canadian website pricing and not the US website?

Call your NCL cruise consultant and get a quote in both Canadian and USD. At the moment it is cheaper to pay in USD.

OK great. Have booked seats based on the assumption the front of the rail car is on the left of the computer screen but I guess you never know which way it will end up facing so we'll follow your suggestion re. the dining car.

Hoping to avoid taxis entirely as our hotel has arranged for pickup at the airport and the trip to the train stn.

Thanks for all the help. Did you tour the castle in Prague and if so, did you opt for the limited admission or the full one? Hopefully my questions are at least bringing back fond memories of the trip.

It was around 5 pm or so when we arrived at the Castle grounds and the churches/museums were just closing. We wandered around the castle grounds which are quite nice, especially the views. Be sure to visit the Golden Lane area on the grounds. While at the Castle check out nearby Novy Svet to walk the streets lost in time.

Prior to visiting the castle area we visited the Lennon Wall and took the funicular to Petrin Hill and the boys climbed Petrin Tower and did the Mirror Maze. Between Petrin Hill and castle we stopped by the Strahov Monastery for a beer brewed at their Brewery. We actually backtracked after touring the castle grounds, Novy Svet and Loreto area and ate dinner at the restaurant at the Strahov Monastery. The walk down the hill toward the river after dinner was also nice, with some neat little shops to browse around.

Prague Castle

St. Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle - this place is massive. Maybe worth a visit inside. By 5 pm the Castle grounds were deserted.

Golden Lane at Prague Castle

Novy Svet near Prague Castle

View of Vltava River and St. Vitus Cathedral taken on walk down from the Strahov Monastery

View of Vltava River with the Prague Castle in the background taken from Vyshrad Fortress

Thanks for this. Exactly the kind of detail I was looking for... so did you book First Class seats? Looking at the carriage map for EC 174 on the Czech reservation site are the right hand seats at the top of the railcar or the bottom? In second class, the compartments are at the top (aisle at the bottom) but it's not clear which direction the carriages will be facing on the Prague to Berlin journey.

We booked four 2nd class tickets. On the CZ site you can tick a box to reserve your seat for a small fee. Once you tick the box note just under the box you can select something similar to change your seat. If not, I assume the system will assign you two seats together.

Based on my research I thought the front of the car was on the right side on the computer screen. So I picked seats 36 window, 34 aisle and the facing seats 35 window and 37 aisle, with the table in between. I believe were in car 258 or 260. Once we got on board the cars were reversed for our trip and we ended up on the wrong side.

All was good as we moved into the dinning car around 11:20 am and we sat on the right hand side. We enjoyed our meal during the two hours or so travelling along the Elbe River. TIP Happy Hour on EC 174 is from 10:28 - 11:55 with reduced prices on lunch and drinks. OS went back for a second meal before we arrived in Berlin and the regular menu prices were reasonable.

If you have any more questions sent them along.

TIP - Prague taxi drivers exist to separate you from your money. They have one of best public transits systems in Europe. Easy to use, very cheap, clean and very frequent.

Great pics! Thanks.

Thanks for following.

We did and seen a lot over three weeks. Our trip went fairly close to our plan. Krakow, Prague and Berlin were a good mix to tie in with the history of Russia. Many, many, many trip highlights, special moments and great photos for my annual vacation photo book. Our trip provided a brief exposure to some amazing cultures, people and places. Trying different food, beer and wine was an added bonus.

We live in a northern climate so we prefer warm weather vacations and cruises. That said, the Baltic temperatures were ideal for walking and exploring. Once back on the ship however, it took some getting used too. Where did all the deck people go! It was opposite to the warm weather cruising we are accustomed too. At sea most were inside and the pool and upper decks were pretty much empty.

The Baltic cruise brought us to some great ports. Thanks for following along. There were 3,700 passengers on this cruise and we all experienced similar things but we see things differently. So, be sure to look at the reviews posted by others. Hopefully you can take a tip or two from each of us to make your trip planning easier and your vacation more fun. When you return make a small contribution to CC by assisting others with their travel plans.

Any questions send them along.

Happy Cruising

Here are a few pics of the Getaway.

More Stockholm Photos

Gamla Stan

Gamla Stan

Gamla Stan

Gamla Stan

View from Balcony docked in Nynashamn

View from upper deck leaving Nynashamn - sunny but as soon the ship started leaving the wind was a tad cool.

Nynashamn/Stockholm

Nice walking temperatures again today. Thank goodness because our day started with a 20 minute walk to the train station in Nynashamn. We found out while on the road, via CC that we would be docking at Nynashamn instead of Stockholm. Real bummer, as it threw our loosely planned day out the window or should I say off the ship.

Anticipating this was a possibility, my notes on taking the train from Nynashamn to Stockholm came in handy. Concerned about getting the maximum use of our time in Stockholm we decided last minute to book the NCL shore excursion shuttle to/from Stockholm. Tip - not a good idea. It was sold out with a possibility of additional buses being added. We got the early morning call informing us there was no room on the bus.

Back to plan B, the train. As we arrived at the station the train was pulling in and the ticket booth had a long line. TIP - leave the ship as soon as the gangway hits the ground. We noticed a self-service kiosk on the platform next to our train. We had two choices, try the ticket booth line or the empty kiosk on the train platform. Since we had great success using similar kiosks at other places on our trip we beat it to the empty kiosk. Due to the language barrier with the machine, a bit of panic set in as there were many ticket options to choose from. We managed to purchase four tickets of some sort, one transaction at a time. We got the last ticket out of the machine just in time to catch the train. Whew, we were seconds from waiting for the next train.

The estimated travel time was approximately 1 hour 10 minutes. It ended up taking about 1 hour 40 minutes. Chatting with a local on the return train and he mentioned the train network has been expanding outside Stockholm in recent years and there are times when trains have to wait their turn to access the main line into the city center. That is probably why we had a few long stops as we neared the city.

We exited the Stockholm train station and as luck would have it we exited next to the bus stop needed to get us to the Vasa Museum. The bus pulled in the same time as we arrived at the stop. It happened so fast I did not catch the bus number. Once off the bus, the Vasa Museum was about a five minute walk at the most.

There were two lines at museum entrance, one for groups and one for individuals. The individual line moved faster as most visitors arrived by the bus load. We did the short English Tour (included in the entrance fee) at 11:00 am. TIP - take your ear phone sets if you wish to do as self-guided tour. They have free wi-fi and free bathrooms. Overall, a great museum. I recommend the visit as it was more interesting than I anticipated.

From there we walked to the dock just past the Abba Museum and caught the ferry to Gamla Stan. This time our luck ran out and we missed catching the ferry by 30 seconds. They closed the gate to the dock just as we arrived. You can’t win them all.

On the plus side we were first in line for the next ferry which arrived about 15 minutes later. Upon boarding there was a stampede to the front of the boat, as many wanted to enjoy the view from the front. The time on the ferry seemed to pass much too quickly and we docked in Gamla Stan in no time.

We spent the remaining time exploring the old part of town as we worked our way back to the train station. It was a bit tricky finding the proper underground entrance to the train station. Mostly because there were a number of entrances and we caught the bus so fast after exiting the terminal in the morning that we never gave much thought to mark our bearings as to where we popped up. TIP - give yourself plenty of time to find your train platform at the end of the day.

The train ride back had quite a few cruise passengers, so there were no worries about the ship leaving us behind. There were no delays and the return trip was on schedule and on time. Be sure to get on the first half of the train as the cars near the back split somewhere along the way and go off in another direction. Walk on the right side of the street on the way back to the ship and there is a small opening in the trees to get a nice picture sitting on a rail with the ship in the background.

Stockholm is far nicer than expected. We could have used much more time. A great port to start or end your cruise. Docking at the S167 Stadsgarden terminal in Stockholm would be so, so, so much better. I hope the cruise gods are on your side and you get the opportunity to dock in the city.

Be sure to have a plan B in case you get diverted to Nynashamn. If the boys were not with us to navigate, our day might not have been so much fun. If they weren’t with us it would have been best for us to catch the NCL shuttle.

Vasa Museum

On the walk to the Ferry dock

Taken from the Ferry

Gamla Stan

Gamla Stan

Gamla Stan

Enjoying your review and the excellent photos! Any more detail on the train trip between Prague and Berlin? We are travelling this route as well... boarding the ship in Warnemunde.

We took train EC174 which departed 10:28 am arriving in Berlin 2:57 pm. If you have not booked your ticket, you can purchase from either the German or Czech site. We used the Czech site, I believe we could choose our seats on this site while we could not on the German site. We booked early to get four seats with a table so we could be facing one another.

About 30 to 45 minutes after departure the Elbe River valley will be on your right side. Book seats on the right side. Better still eat in the dinning car at this time and enjoy a lovely meal while travelling along the river. The ride along the river will last your entire meal. Again sit on the right side in the dining car.

The train is faster and smoother than via rail. The dining car and food is quite good on the Via Rail (Montreal to Halifax route) but much better on the Czech train. There was free wifi early in the trip but we lost connection by the time we sat to eat. As a result we could not pay by visa. The menu is priced in both Euros and Czech Koruna so you can pay in either currency.

Helsinki

Time to move along to our day in Helsinki. Another nice day. Another DIY. We didn’t have much of a plan for Helsinki. OS was up early waiting for the gangway to open. He was off to take the ferry to the Suomenlinna Sea Fortress. Meanwhile, we lagged behind and took a later tram from port into town. TIP. You can see the tram stop to your right from the ship. Follow the colored lines on the walkway. Have a few Euros to pay the driver. We met OS 10:30 am at Market Square. OS enjoyed the island and the great views from on the ferry.

Market Square is an Interesting place for a look about and chat with the local vendors. The market consists of local souvenirs and clothing vendors. There are also a number of fresh fish and produce vendors. The freshly cooked salmon looked delicious but it was a bit early for lunch. If I were to do a do over I would visit the Suomenlina Sea Fortress but at a slower pace than OS son did. This would get you back to Market Square around 11:30 am. A perfect time to browse the market and try the fresh salmon. Hopefully your visit coincides with the month long wild salmon season.

We also visited Rock Church. A great place to sit, relax and check in back home (free wifi). Next we walked through a park, watched some local pre-teens play baseball and found a neat place for a snack on the water (Regatta). A nice setting, great views and warm fire pit for those in need to warm up. From there it was a short walk to the Sibelius Monument. We poked around a few more streets, hopped a bus to a tram stop and made a transfer back to port.

Market Square is on the other side of the fountain

Market Square Kiosk

Behind Rock Church

Regatta Cafe - quiet and peaceful cafe to sit overlooking the water (without fellow cruise passengers)

Views on the walk between the Cafe and Sibelius Monument.

Took this from the tram on the way back to the port. This guy is about a 3 to 5 minute walk from the tram stop at the Port. Would have made a fun pic of me and the boys for my photo book.

 

You should switch to T-Mobile. The plans includes free data roaming in 140+ different countries.

 

Would be a nice but we do not have T-Mobile. A great for option for our neighbours south of the boarder. Our carrier has very high add on rates for packages in Europe. OS German sim card was our best option.

 

Great TIP for US residents to look into.

 

Wow. Complicated for me too. I actually read about getting a special sim card in Rick Steves guidebook. I think I am going to call AT and T before I go. My son switched to T mobile who apparently has a great international plan, but he is in Europe for 6 months; me only 2 weeks. Thank you so much for the information! This thread is keeping you busy!!:D

 

My brother's son lives in Germany and he had the sim card for travelling outside Germany. He sent it in the mail a few days before oldest son left for Switzerland. It was the cheapest option as our international plans in Canada would have cost much more to have access to that much data for OS travels around Europe.

Thanks so much for your amazing pics and detailed review!!!

I am reliving my trip from the star last year.

Funny because when I booked the cruise I barely heard of Tallinn and that was my favorite port. I agree warmunde was beautiful and for me a very nice surprise:-)

Question did u have to get a visa in Russia? We didn't with the ship tour. I know some private companies would get them as well.

Did I read correctly your son had a night on the town there? Was your visa including that?

Thanks

Kerri

Best Guides tour company supplied the visa papers. Upon booking the tour we sent our passport information on the required forms and within a few days the tour tickets arrived via email. We printed the tickets at home and showed the tickets at customs and that was it.

The evening tour was with a different company. Can't remember the name at the moment as our CC tour mates arranged the night time pub crawl for the students.

There were five booked on the tour and they met up with a pub crawl tour (with none cruise passengers). After the pub crawl the five of them watched the bridge opening with the tour company they hired.

Hi there, I would be interested in any info you can give me on airport transfers on the return to Copenhagen. What times they run and prices? We have an early flight back 10:50 so trying to decide if waiting and booking an NCL transfer or book a van for us to meet us on arrival at the port. Any info welcome

NCL has tranfers, not sure of the cost as we got a taxi to the Generator Hostel and not the airport. I believe the NCL shuttle was available for flights departing after 12:00 or 12:30. There were plenty of taxis.

The CC Baltic ports page has lots of good information and hopefully someone will jump in and be of better help.

We did not do any NCL excursions. St. Petersburg is the only port we booked independent tours. The remainder were do it yourself with our oldest son using his cell phone for maps, GPS, and local transportation.

 

I need to learn more about using my iPhone in Europe. Did OS have a special data plan and/or apps to help with the above? We use AT and T. Thank you in advance.

 

 

OS had sim card sent from Germany to his place of stay in Switzerland. He paid 5 Euros per week for 500 mb of data (no text or phone calls). We used WhatsApp or facebook messenger to keep in contact with him. It did not work in Russia or Hungary. We did not need it in Russia as we were on a tour with a guide and driver. To keep in touch from Budapest he had to find free wifi.

 

Other than Russia it worked fine in the other ports. Germany was a little different, he used the same card but had to buy a monthly data package from a German carrier. As soon as we crossed into Germany from the Czech Republic the 5 euro a week package did not work.

We did not do any NCL excursions. St. Petersburg is the only port we booked independent tours. The remainder were do it yourself with our oldest son using his cell phone for maps, GPS, and local transportation.

 

I need to learn more about using my iPhone in Europe. Did OS have a special data plan and/or apps to help with the above? We use AT and T. Thank you in advance.

 

 

OS had a sim card sent from Germany to his place of stay in Switzerland. He paid 5 Euros per week for 500 mb of data (no text or phone calls). We used WhatsApp or facebook messenger to keep in contact with him while he was travelling and we were at home in Canada.

 

The sim card did not work in Russia or Hungary. We did not need it in Russia as we were on a tour with a guide and driver. To keep in touch with us from Budapest he had to find free wifi.

 

Other than Russia it worked fine in the other ports. Germany was a little different,. As soon as we crossed into Germany from the Czech Republic the 5 euro a week package did not work, he used the same card but had to buy a monthly data package from a German carrier.

 

A bit complicated for me, but for his age group it's just routine.