cruising on the Spirit

[sjbohanan]

We are cruising out of New Orleans on the 28th on NCL Spirit. Any story you want to share......:rolleyes:

[Ocean Spirit]

We sailed on 1/31/10. I will have to say, I was concerned about sailing NCL again. Our last experience wasn't great and I was worried.

On our last experienced, the staff had not been very happy and there were somethings that occurred that were out of control of NCL, but all in all we were disappointed.

 

With that said, I we were very pleased with our cruise on the Spirit! We were greeted with smiles and welcomes. The ship isn't huge and it is easy to find your way around, We've been on newer ships and yes you can tell from time to time that the Spirit isn't brand new. I found it to be clean and well organized.

 

There were a few things we did differently this time sailing NCL. First of all instead of tolerating the dining style of NCL (we still like the traditional dining) we embraced it. We never rushed to get to a meal, sometimes we ate early sometimes late. We only waited 10 minutes one time to get into a main dining room and that was the first night. Some waiters are better than others.

 

Second, we took this cruise to relax and the ports are interesting. We usually enjoy dressing up, getting pictures taken.. the whole bit. This time we didn't take our fancy clothes. We had some nice pants and tops but no tux etc. We really loved it. There were folks that went really dressy and other folks that didn't... felt very comfortable doing either. Many folks talk about how NCL nickle and dime you to death. I found it to be about the same as on any other ship except for NCL selling of the stuff prior to shows I didn't care for, but no big deal. . I found NCL to be far less aggressive in picture taking and saleing of pictures. The opportunity is there and you are asked but they weren't pushy. On our last Carnival cruises, you pretty much had to walk through the picture gallery most of the time and there were at least 6 to 8 stations up to take formal pictures nightly.

 

I enjoyed most shows however I suggest you don't miss the crew talent show.... it's different and very enjoyable. Do NOT miss the final show Elements.

 

All in all, we are still feeling the benefits of our trip on the Spirit and hopefully we will have another opportunity to sail her again.

 

Enjoy your trip

[sottovoce]

We spent three terrific weeks on Spirit this past fall. You'll have a great cruise. Be sure to try the wurst and German beers at the Bier Garten on deck 13.

[red lobster]

We are cruising out of New Orleans on the 28th on NCL Spirit. Any story you want to share......:rolleyes:

We went on the Spirit last April and ejoyed the relaxing atmosphere so much that we are going again this March. Please post a review when you come back I would love to hear about anything new before we go.

[cruisinmeme]

never having cruised ncl we are planning on doing so. merg55 , how do they nickle and dime you? i am only a pro with carnival. royal caribbean is great service,etc. just don't like the smaller cabins.

any advice for a newbie to ncl?

we saw one of the ships in freeport, bahamas and my little grandchild said the ship was so pretty it makes you want to go on it. i showed her all the pictures and she found it right away. it was the one with the flowers on the side.

we are scheduled for 2 more carnival cruises and after that i plan to try the spirit out of new orleans. we are barely over an hour from new orleans.

[STARFISH*4]

never having cruised ncl we are planning on doing so. merg55 , how do they nickle and dime you? i am only a pro with carnival. royal caribbean is great service,etc. just don't like the smaller cabins.

any advice for a newbie to ncl?

we saw one of the ships in freeport, bahamas and my little grandchild said the ship was so pretty it makes you want to go on it. i showed her all the pictures and she found it right away. it was the one with the flowers on the side.

we are scheduled for 2 more carnival cruises and after that i plan to try the spirit out of new orleans. we are barely over an hour from new orleans.

 

in my opinion..they dont nickle and dime ya anymore than other cruiselines that CHARGE for things

you saw the SKY in Nassau

our favorite thing about NCL is the FREE-STYLE way of cruising...NO PRESSURE or STRESS of having to be to dinner and dressed a certain way...just RELAX and ENJOY...dont miss the evening shows...they always have some WONDERFUL entertainment!!!

HOPE you ENJOY the SPIRIT...we did out of NY .....NICE ship and easy to find your way around!!

[garycarla]

We are cruising out of New Orleans on the 28th on NCL Spirit. Any story you want to share......:rolleyes:

 

You might want to share the month, but then again ,if just looking for general information, it would not matter.

 

Make sure you join your roll call. See some other hints in the link below. Also, if you scroll through a few pages, you will see some good info about the Spirit.

[Toyz711]

never having cruised ncl we are planning on doing so. merg55 , how do they nickle and dime you? i am only a pro with carnival. royal caribbean is great service,etc. just don't like the smaller cabins.

 

in another thread, you bring up that you don't like the smaller cabins of RC...you should be aware, the spirit has smaller cabins (unless you get a suite) the ship is great, love the decor. we don't get a lot of the photos, eat at many of the speciality restaurants or pay the pull tabs....that's the reason we don't feel nickeled and dimed. anyone that feels that way is usually expecting an all-inclusive ship.

since you have, already, cruised....you know what is extra and what is included. it's the same on NCL as the other cruise lines.

[cruisinmeme]

in another thread, you bring up that you don't like the smaller cabins of RC...you should be aware, the spirit has smaller cabins (unless you get a suite) the ship is great, love the decor. we don't get a lot of the photos, eat at many of the speciality restaurants or pay the pull tabs....that's the reason we don't feel nickeled and dimed. anyone that feels that way is usually expecting an all-inclusive ship.

since you have, already, cruised....you know what is extra and what is included. it's the same on NCL as the other cruise lines.

 

i thought i read that the balcony cabins on the spirit was 201sq.ft. i believe the ones on most carnival ships was 185 sq. ft. the cabin we had on royal (a larger cabin than some) was even smaller than the 185 by alot. i am fine with 185 sq ft. we have had cat. 12 suite on conquest (carnival) and it was really nice. also cat. 11 on triumph.

we usually eat in dining room and don't get caught up with the special places to get cake/ice cream, meals, coffee's that cost extra. always say we will try something like that and just don't do it, so if it is included we are good.

now we did spend alot the last cruise at the spa. i tipped what i wanted and i did read somewhere that ncl adds 18% on spa services. not saying we will spend all that money again anyway.