Spirit 9 Night Southern Caribbean ?s/Advice Needed

[discjoker]

I am pondering whether to book the 9 night Southern Caribbean on the Spirit (April departure). I checked the reviews section and it seemed like the cruise on the Spirit that got consistent poor rating was the Southern Caribbean. The itinerary looks great but the poor reviews has me worried. Also, from what I read the Spirit was created with shorter cruises in mind. Will it hold up service and quality wise on a 9 night voyage?

 

I love NCL and I am sure I will have a blast if I decide to book this cruise but I want to make sure I am making the right choice. The consistent poor reviews (well there was one good one) on the Southern Caribbean itinerary makes me worried. Any advice? Thanks. :)

[cmdchiefthom]

I booked this itinerary last May for that exact reason, the ports. I had a horrible experience last April aboard the Sky, now the POA. The primary reason was the crew transition from international to all-American. Service, attitude and food were terrible and I posted my review on this board. However, the positive experiences we had in the ports, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Dominica made the negative onboard experiences tolerable.

 

When I saw the Spirit's itinerary advertised, I had to ask myself if the risk was worth the itinerary. My answer was yes. Even if the Spirit was as bad as the Sky, the ports were worth it! I have been plesantly suprised by most of the reviews I've read on this ship, and its' 9 day itinerary. None of the negative comments on food quality, quantity, and the "Free-Style" chaos in the main dining rooms, hard beds, lack of storage space, come close to the total break-down of quality and service I experienced last year, and for that I'm very optimistic about the Spirit.

 

So the way I look at it, as for the ship, anything, even the MS Scumbucket would be better than the Sky, and it sounds like most cruisers aboard the Spirit at least, enjoyed their trip for the most part.

 

So I'm counting the days till the first of April, and am planning to have a fantastic time. Take a chance and I'm sure you'll really enjoy this itinerary.

[ctdahlquist]

There is something fishy about the Caribbean reviews since they are almost the opposite of the Alaska reviews. It is the same ship with the same crew. Do Caribbean cruisers have different expectations?

 

I'm leaving on the Spirit this Friday, and I'm not worried one bit. Ninety percent of the message board postings have been very positive. I've been on some cruises where the ship experience was dreadful (Olympia Countess in Greece), but I had a wonderful time anyway because of all the amazing ports-of-call. This ship is light-years ahead of the Countess, so I'm looking forward to a great trip. I'll be sure to provide my own thoughts when I return.

[terkov]

 

I was on the 12/3 sailing and had a great time. I personally feel the postings from the Spirit have gotten better. I was very nervous prior to sailing due to the negative posts, but right before we left they started to get better.

 

 

Do some searches for Spirit reviews in the boards and you will see the positive posts I began seeing.

 

 

It is a pretty ship with great staff. Will you find someone that is not that friendly, probably. Will you find that at any hotel or restaurant, YES. Should one person ruin your trip, I do not think so.

 

 

If you like NCL, then you will like the Spirit. (i.e. if you like freestyle then this concept will not be anything for you to not like) Most of the complaints i read were: Waited too long to be seated, people did not dress up, servers were slow, did not remember me. Most of these are FREESTYLE things (which we personally love!!) I wait at local restaurants to be seated all the time, so a 10 minute wait to enjoy a table for 2 was no big deal. We are on vacation, so to sit down to enjoy a 5 course meal that takes 1.5 hours sometimes was again, NO big deal to us. When I eat out at home, the waiter takes my order. To tell them what I want to drink is common. I expect that on my cruise as well. Did some people wear kaki pants on formal night, yes, my husband being one of them. Did other dressed up cruisers make comments, yes, a few did. (not only to him but others choosing to not wear a suit/tie or tux) But again, this is the joy of freestyling. (we think)

 

 

So again, I think some of the complaints were around the freestyle concept.

 

Also, I think there were some kinks when it first came over from Asia, but again, began ironing out as they sailed along. (ie no ice machines but now they have them)

 

 

Our biggest complaint (personal opinion here) was Grenada. It was so devastated from Ivan that it was not our favorite port. I (personally) would have rather gone somewhere else.

[Lineaway]

I completely agree with the previous postings. I think it comes down to if you like Freestyle or not.

 

I have been on RCI (1X) NCL (2X) and HAL (tour with a lunch) so I have other Cruiselines to compare to. What I noticed was the ships cleanliness, quality of staff and entertainment was similar. What was different was the food on RCI to me was mediocre and the food on NCL was much better (HAL was good too) but thats my opinion. As for the Freestyle, I personally like Freestyle if you are traveling in a group but prefer assigned dinning if its just my wife and I. I also noticed that NCL doesn't stress much of a dresscode in their flyers and RCI did. What I observed was just the opposite onboard. I was turned away from the midnite Chocoholic buffet (NCL) because I had shorts on yet I noticed a lady on RCI in the maindinning area durring Formal night wearing what only can be described as a "Floral Clownsuit."

 

I do believe that right now the Spirit offers one of the better cruise values for a 9 day than the other lines. We will be on the April 1 sailing and it was by far the best price over most of the other 7 day cruises. I was once told to pick a cruise you pick your ports then price then ship. NCL tends to fill the blanks rather well for me. I have full confidence booking our third NCL cruise. We are a group of three adults and four children I believe there will be something for all of us.

[LakerVA]

Don't worry...you'll like the Spirit. My husband and I had a great time on our 12/17-26/04 cruise. The ports were wonderful...we docked at Grenada instead of tendering which was nice. The staff was more than accommodating (in our opinion). So if something is not to your liking...mention it and they will do everything they can to make your cruise a good one.

[discjoker]

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[discjoker]

LakerVA and others who have been on the 9 night Southern Caribbean itinerary, what is the makeup of the guests onboard? I am thinking for the holiday sailing that LakerVA was on it wouldn't be representative of what it usually is like but I would like to know what to expect. Because it is a little longer I would assume that it might tend to be a little older clientelle.

[Twaincruisers]

My wife and I don't like freestyle, but we loved the Spirit (Nov 5, Southern)! We especially enjoyed the Galaxy Lounge and the Biergarten. Food was Ok, nothing special. Beverage and specialty restaurant staff were great; dining room had little enthusiasm or warmth...we even got "traded" on our last night so our waiter could take a big table...our substitute dropped off coffee and left. Because of the Asian motif and the design of the main showroom, it is a very interesting ship. We had the added "benefit" of very rough (20 ft) seas after leaving Tortola when the outer decks were closed. The Cafe in the Atrium is great for coffee and dessert, as well as people watching. We were deeply disappointed by the fact that we chose the cruise for St Vincent and they changed back to Grenada. Grenada was a very beautiful island and will be so again, but it is destroyed. Walk around the harbor to The Nutmeg for an excellent rum punch and overlook of the harbor.

[LakerVA]

The 12/17-26 sailing was completely full...2250 passengers and almost 500 children. We found the age range to be very varied...young couples, young with children, middle aged w children, middle age w/o children, seniors...you name it...everyone was there! Lots of family groups from what I could tell.

[JUSRN]

We were on the first 9 day cruise on the Spirit 10/22/04. We loved it!!!

 

The Asian motif of the ship made it very attractive and different. The quantity and quality of the food was as good as any other cruise line I've been on in my opinion. The friendliness off the staff was as good as any other cruise line I've been on. WHO CARES IF THERE ISN'T A LOT OF STORAGE IN THE CABIN. DEAL WITH IT!

 

I agree that many of the complaints are associated with Freestyle which we personally LOVE. The service in the dining rooms was slow at times. WHO CARES!!!! We weren't going anywhere. We were there to relax. We didn't dress up on formal nights and that's what we like about Freestyle. And I didn't see anyone wearing worn jeans or farmer overalls either. We didn't wait more than 10 minutes for a table and we always went around 7PM. Put your name in and come back in a half hour if you don't want to wait.

 

The idea of going to the So. Caribbean in 1 week is great. I have to say I was not impressed with the islands. Such extreme poverty! Especially I thought in Antigua. I wasn't even impressed with the beaches we went to. The water was wonderfully warm and calm but the only really nice beaches were at private hotels. But I've been spoiled by living at the beautiful Jersey shore.

 

I think the people that write reviews are the ones that want to make their complaints heard. The ones that enjoy their trips aren't as verbal.