Considering switching my honeymoon cruise to Norwegian

The Spirit is the most "romantic" NCL ship by design.

It's not as entertaining as the largest ones, the spa isn't that great, but it delivers much more of a "cruise ship at sea" feel.

Happy sailing!

Romantic is a good thing for a honeymoon :)

I was reading some reviews that said the cabin had a lot of issues with yellow water and hot steam from the shower setting off the fire alarm. I don’t know if I can handle a problematic cabin for two weeks. Is this ship known to have cabin issues or was this a more isolated issue?

Is the Jade similar to the Spirit? That cruise of yours sounds amazing with those ports. We would be getting a balcony and probably spend a lot of time out there on sea days

Spirit and Jade are similar in size and recently remodeled. We have loved every Norwegian cruise we have been on including Alaska, Bermuda, New England/Canada, and most recently Europe.

Regarding your question about disembarking, generally if we docked at 7 AM we were off by 8 AM unless it was a tender port. When returning to the ship, all aboard was usually an hour before sailing NCL is great with communicating essential times the night before port.

(Allow a buffer if you plan excursions outside of the ones NCL offers.)

Spirit and Jade are similar in size and recently remodeled. We have loved every Norwegian cruise we have been on including Alaska, Bermuda, New England/Canada, and most recently Europe.

 

Regarding your question about disembarking, generally if we docked at 7 AM we were off by 8 AM unless it was a tender port. When returning to the ship, all aboard was usually an hour before sailing NCL is great with communicating essential times the night before port.

(Allow a buffer if you plan excursions outside of the ones NCL offers.)

I prefer doing excursions through the cruise line so I don’t get left behind lol. Are Norwegian excursions good?

There are sooooo many really cool excursions for Alaska, more than what the cruise line will offer. Why not have a look at the Alaska board you might find something really neat in a smaller group, riding in zodiacs for whale watching comes to mind. Also access your Roll Call maybe people are trying to fill a private tour and you'll save a lot of money.

I have never used a cruise ship excursion so I can't help you on how NCL stacks up.

My SIL and friend did a B2B Ned cruise this year. They loved it. They sailed with us on the Gem and liked the size of the ship. Even thought the oldest ship she said everything worked great and the crew were amazing. She was on the ship for 21 days.

I have no experience on DCL but going in with an open mind, roll with the punches as sometimes trips don’t always go as planned, I think you’ll a great time. If the itinerary and dates work I’d say jump at it.

Have a great time and wedding

So we decided we are going to make the switch to Spirit! For choosing a room it looks like all the balconies on deck 10 aren’t available. If I called over doing it online would they maybe see a different inventory? Is there anywhere we should avoid? I’m a really light sleeper so finding a room that would be quieter would be good.

Also when I book the cruise should I book it under my future name or my current name? I’m planning on changing it over after the wedding and this cruise is months later so it should be all done by then

So we decided we are going to make the switch to Spirit! For choosing a room it looks like all the balconies on deck 10 aren’t available. If I called over doing it online would they maybe see a different inventory? Is there anywhere we should avoid? I’m a really light sleeper so finding a room that would be quieter would be good.

 

Also when I book the cruise should I book it under my future name or my current name? I’m planning on changing it over after the wedding and this cruise is months later so it should be all done by then

When we booked deck 10 didn’t show as an option but our TA booked us on it.

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When we booked deck 10 didn’t show as an option but our TA booked us on it.

 

 

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I’ve never used a TA before. I’ll try calling them to see if I can get one of those rooms

Honeymoon? Disney all the way.

Itinerary is important, but some places are more port intensive than others. Also, the ports themselves may require a LOT more time to really experience than a cruise ship allows.

Unless you actively hate Disney, 100% take the Disney cruise on your honeymoon. There's a ton of little stuff they do (or planned out when designing the ship so YOU don't have to think about or do anything). You can do Norwegian another time.

Name changes can take longer than you think. If your trip is less than 3 months after the wedding I’d wait on changing your name until after the trip.

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Name changes can take longer than you think. If your trip is less than 3 months after the wedding I’d wait on changing your name until after the trip.

 

 

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I’m changing my name in January and this cruise is in September. Changing the name can take more than 3 months? It’s tough being a girl lol

Honeymoon? Disney all the way.

 

Itinerary is important, but some places are more port intensive than others. Also, the ports themselves may require a LOT more time to really experience than a cruise ship allows.

 

Unless you actively hate Disney, 100% take the Disney cruise on your honeymoon. There's a ton of little stuff they do (or planned out when designing the ship so YOU don't have to think about or do anything). You can do Norwegian another time.

We love Disney, are getting married Disney actually lol. I know I’ll love the Disney ship, but the ports on Norwegian are better. For Disney they only go to Dublin, Belfast, Greenock Scotland, and Liverpool. The ones for Norwegian seem like places that are harder to get to on another trip. The bad reviews for the boat are scary though lol

We love Disney, are getting married Disney actually lol. I know I’ll love the Disney ship, but the ports on Norwegian are better. For Disney they only go to Dublin, Belfast, Greenock Scotland, and Liverpool. The ones for Norwegian seem like places that are harder to get to on another trip. The bad reviews for the boat are scary though lol

Hello FSU girl,

I am from Miami (I'm wondering if your username is because you are also from Florida?). I am cruising next month with Spirit. I have also read mixed reviews but decided to give it a try. But I am also booked on the same itinerary you are talking about next year in Sept on the Spirit. The ports called to me. So I'm hoping my experience next month will convince me to stick with the itinerary next year. I'm sure it will! Congrats on your engagement.

Hello FSU girl,

 

I am from Miami (I'm wondering if your username is because you are also from Florida?). I am cruising next month with Spirit. I have also read mixed reviews but decided to give it a try. But I am also booked on the same itinerary you are talking about next year in Sept on the Spirit. The ports called to me. So I'm hoping my experience next month will convince me to stick with the itinerary next year. I'm sure it will! Congrats on your engagement.

Yes I’m from Florida I went to FSU. Well if you see a honeymoon couple next September is could be us lol

I was on the Spirit prior to the last refurb, and it was probably the worst cruise we've ever been on. It wasn't an awful time, but compared to other NCL ships it wasn't good. We had a lot of bad service issues in the restaurants and buffet.

That being said, we're booked to go on the Spirit again next year for their Ultimate Baltics cruise in August. Our reasoning was pretty much the same as yours -- the itinerary is one of a kind, and with only one sea day over 15 days we figure we won't be on the ship all that much where it should stand in the way of enjoying the ports.

I was on the Spirit prior to the last refurb, and it was probably the worst cruise we've ever been on. It wasn't an awful time, but compared to other NCL ships it wasn't good. We had a lot of bad service issues in the restaurants and buffet.

 

That being said, we're booked to go on the Spirit again next year for their Ultimate Baltics cruise in August. Our reasoning was pretty much the same as yours -- the itinerary is one of a kind, and with only one sea day over 15 days we figure we won't be on the ship all that much where it should stand in the way of enjoying the ports.

Do you think the itinerary is still worth it when my cruise has 4 sea days? I didn’t realize there was an extra day because it’s labeled as Dublin but it’s because they leave at 1am, but the final port isn’t until 5am the next day

FSU girl, book in the name that is on your passport!! Otherwise you'll have to bring your marriage license to prove its you with a new name. Make it easy on yourself.

Are there other cruise lines that have a similar itinerary? What about a smaller boutique cruise? I have been on DCL and love it so I can imagine it wold be a disappointment to go on a much older ship, but for Disney prices I bet you could get something nice on a more boutique line. As much as I love DCL their pricing has gotten too high!

Are there other cruise lines that have a similar itinerary? What about a smaller boutique cruise? I have been on DCL and love it so I can imagine it wold be a disappointment to go on a much older ship, but for Disney prices I bet you could get something nice on a more boutique line. As much as I love DCL their pricing has gotten too high!

We have to stick to the dates we have taken off for work so it makes more difficult to find a cruise that would work. This itinerary is pretty unique I haven’t seen any like it before. Disney ships are really nice and I agree their pricing is getting a little crazy. The price of our 7 night is the same as the Norwegian 14 day one

Older does not mean awful. These ships are updated and refurbed. I’d take 14 days with a wonderful itinerary in a heartbeat over a 7 day less exciting itinerary with character breakfasts.

And remember, more people will post about things they perceive as bad, than will post about the good and normal and pleasant. Those things just tend to get overlooked. Human nature.

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Do you think the itinerary is still worth it when my cruise has 4 sea days? I didn’t realize there was an extra day because it’s labeled as Dublin but it’s because they leave at 1am, but the final port isn’t until 5am the next day

It looks like you have five actual sea days, since that third day in Reykjavik isn't really a port day either if you're departing at 6 am.

I guess it depends on whether you're more likely to remember the cruise for the ship experience, or for the ports. It sounds like you're really excited about the ports, so I would say go for it.

We sailed the ncl star in the baltics. It’s an older ship, and everything was fine except the free food. Some people are happy with the food, but if you are picky about food just add a dining package and you’ll be fine. Most of the specialty restaurants were excellent. I’d go with ncl for the better itinerary. But you’ll be much better off with private excursions - we’ve done them all over the world, saved money and had great experiences.

It looks like you have five actual sea days, since that third day in Reykjavik isn't really a port day either if you're departing at 6 am.

 

I guess it depends on whether you're more likely to remember the cruise for the ship experience, or for the ports. It sounds like you're really excited about the ports, so I would say go for it.

Ugh 5 sea days? That is a lot of sea days, I don’t like how the way it’s laid out it makes it look like only 3. I don’t know if I can handle that many sea days on a boat I might not like.

I’ve started looking looking at other Norwegian cruises in my dates. They have one that’s a week on Epic in the Med, I’d love to do that and my Disney cruise but flying from Barcelona to London on the cruise day seems too stressful. But if I did the one from Rome it would give us time to spend in Rome and another city and we could do Haven for 2 Grand less than our Disney cruise. Or do a 9 night that goes to the Baltic, but those ports don’t really wow me so that seems less likely.

We sailed the ncl star in the baltics. It’s an older ship, and everything was fine except the free food. Some people are happy with the food, but if you are picky about food just add a dining package and you’ll be fine. Most of the specialty restaurants were excellent. I’d go with ncl for the better itinerary. But you’ll be much better off with private excursions - we’ve done them all over the world, saved money and had great experiences.

I’ve always gone with the cruises excursions since they guarantee you get back on the ship. How would I find excursions privately?