NCl Spirit March 25 - April 2

[pieshops]

This was our 9th cruise on NCL and also the cruise we used our credit from our "Dawn adrift" Thanksgiving cruise.

 

We stayed in cabin 6035 inside, one of the larger ones that was recomended here.

 

I am not going to do a very detailed review, but I will give the highlights.

 

By far the Spirit is our favorite NCL Ship, from the decorations, to the activities, staff, etc. All the other ships we have been on are great also, but the Spirit stands out.

 

The cabin was great, it was huge. We have always booked outside or balconies and we booked the inside on on this ship to use the credit and do this as cheap as possible, but I think if any of the future NCL ships we book on have these types of cabins we are hooked, better to save the money for other things.

 

We loved Guatamala - did a tour with Gus and went to the banana plantation and waterfall, the water was a bit low, but still beautiful.

 

Belize - we did cave tubing and ziplining with cavetubing.bz, this was by far one of the best excursions all around we have ever done. Our guide was great, there was just our family of 5. We loved the cavetubing, very unique. The ziplining was ok, myself and my 5 year old did not do it, but my wife, daughter and mother did it. We had ziplined in Roatan with Victor Bodden and we were a bit dissapointed that there were not a lot of ziplines here, I think they did 5 or 6. The one in Roatan was huge. The homemade meal cooked by the owners wife was unreal, i think we had 3rds and 4ths.

 

Cozumel - been here many times and was just planning on doing a bit of shopping and lunch but found a cab driver to give us an Island tour for $100 for the 5 of us. We have never left the shopping area on our past visits and it was great. We went to the beach where we had lunch and made some other stops along the way, the other side of the island is so beautiful.

 

Costa Maya - we booked Maya Chan resort, wow, it was great. The home made food was awesome, loved the guacomole, the scenery was great and we had a lot of fun with the kayaks and bikes and the staff was also great. It was a perfect day.

 

New Orleans - what can I say, we love this city and have been there many times before. We stayed 2 days before and one day after. On the pre cruise we stayed at The Gentry House, Bill and Charlotte were great, we had the largest unit and it was perfect, the croissants were the highlight. Post cruise we stayed at Iberville Suites and loved that also, we booked 2 rooms and they gave us this corner unit that had a main door from the hallway that could be opened with both rooms keys and also interior rooms with doors that opened with individual rooms keys. We paid 71 for one room and 80 for the other and they had free continental breakfast. We loved this place, also got the use of the spa and pool at the Ritz next door.

 

Food on ship - First of all let me say that my wife and i own a catering business, I am a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. The food was great, we ate in Tepanaki, Italian and LE Bistro and the other nights we ate in the main dining room. We never had a bad meal. I am baffled by the people who come on and say they ate nothing all week and the food was horrible and could not find one thing to eat the whole week. We never eat the buffet for anything other then breakfast, but the food looked great and we ate lunch there a few days and the food was also very good.

 

Overall all was great, looking forward to Thanksgiving on the Epic and becoming Gold.

[scottamemnon]

Thanks for the great review, I am looking forward to being on the Spirit in 5 days!!!

 

Also great comments on the food, its good to see the perspective of someone who is used to cooking for groups!

[alwalaska]

Thanks for the great review. If you post pictures, please post a link here.

[dtiger]

Great review, glad you enjoyed your cruise and staying in New Orleans.

[Got Tequila?]

Thanks for posting your mini-review. I'm glad to here the food was actually edible...:D ...we've always found plenty to eat on NCL cruises.

 

We'll be in #6035 on the 23rd, and are looking forward to the extra space. :)

 

Margaret

[navigator71]

Thanks for the review! We're headed out on the Spirit on May 7th! Can't wait to eat!!!!! Do you know how many tastings they had and what days? Martini, whiskey, margarita, pub crawl? etc. Have read about other ships having them so just wondering if you had any updated info. You just made me even more excited to go, thanks again!!!!

[pieshops]

we did not do any of the tastings but i think there was one of something every day.

[chickadee66]

Thanks for the review! We're headed out on the Spirit on May 7th! Can't wait to eat!!!!! Do you know how many tastings they had and what days? Martini, whiskey, margarita, pub crawl? etc. Have read about other ships having them so just wondering if you had any updated info. You just made me even more excited to go, thanks again!!!!

 

We were on this same cruise but the dates are actually March 28-April 4. On the first day at sea (Monday) they had the pub crawl and the first of two martini tastings. The second martini tasting was the last day at sea (Saturday). They had other tastings such as beer, wine pairings, margarita, sake, etc. We participated in the pub crawl and both of the martini tastings and they were a lot of fun. If you like martinis, you will appreciate that Champagne Charlie's where they have the martini tastings has 2 for 1 from 5-7 each day.

[sottovoce]

Food on ship - First of all let me say that my wife and i own a catering business, I am a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. The food was great, we ate in Tepanaki, Italian and LE Bistro and the other nights we ate in the main dining room. We never had a bad meal. I am baffled by the people who come on and say they ate nothing all week and the food was horrible and could not find one thing to eat the whole week. We never eat the buffet for anything other then breakfast, but the food looked great and we ate lunch there a few days and the food was also very good.

Thank you so much for writing this, pieshops. I, too, simply cannot understand the "worst food I've ever had" threads, so it's nice to see someone who knows fine food write this way about NCL's dinner offerings.

[debbiecape]

I've been on NCL 9 times, Celebrity 2X, Princess 1 X- While I loved the Ocean Liners specialty restaurant on Celebrity Constellation I have to say that 99% of the time I enjoyed NCL- specialty as well as main dining room- almost as much as Ocean Liners! I am definitely a 'foodie' and have enjoyed some of the best restaurants in the US, Europe, Mexico, Caribbean- and do not understand negative reviews of NCL food. Le Bistro is outstanding, Cagneys is very good- Teppanyaki is teppanyaki no matter where you are- the Italian restaurant has some very good dishes (not all but some) and the main dining room had very good lunch and dinners. I eat the buffet for breakfast (omelletes, waffles) and occassionally will grab a pasta dish at the pasta station (love the smell of fresh garlic)-....I am totally looking forward to my Spirit cruise on the 3oth of April....and its' food