Spirit 4/30 - 5-7 review

[brizon]

We are just back from a seven day Boston to Bermuda cruise 4/30 – 5/7. We were beyond sad to leave the boat. Washy Washy, Happy Happy. If you have any questions please ask, and yes, I do have copies of all the dailies which I will post.

 

 

Embarkation: What can I say? We live about 20 minutes outside of Boston and it was a wonderful experience to leave from the Black Falcon Pier. We had driven down to the port of Baltimore last year, this blew that away in every sense. We were at the Pier around 11:30a and having lunch in Windows by 12:15 after some exploring. It took about 25 minutes from when we got out of the car to get onto the boat. We were shocked at this because we waited about two hours at the Port of Baltimore last year to get onto the boat. Huge difference!

 

Room: Interior cabin 11535, deck 11, right under the Spa. It is very quiet because of this. We will however, not book an interior cabin again. A little light from the outside world would have been much appreciated. Our fault, no one else’s. The shower was quite large and you could fit two people into it easily. There was a small burrow with 4 drawers and the closet had five shelves in it to store clothing. There was also ample hangers to hang our clothes. Our stewards names were Brian Reyes and Reymundo Lozado. These guys were awesome, always greated you in the hall and asked you how your day was going. Reymundo was especially personable. Congratulations to whoever gets these guys!

 

Food: What can I say? It was excellent. We ate at one specialty restaurant, Cagneys. We both had the filet mignon which was cooked exactly to order and was really tasty. We definetly had what I would call a 70-80 dollar meal. So if you look at it like this, it was worth the 25$ charge. We ate in Windows and the Garden room the other nights of the cruise. It was nice to be able to change up scenery once and a while. Windows is a beautiful room and Garden is much smaller but I do believe had slightly better service because of this. There were a couple times in Windows that I felt we waited a bit too long but we were on vacation and it just didn’t get to us. We stopped at the Blue Lagoon a couple times during the cruise. The Spinach and Artichoke dip was amazing, but remember this is comfort food and not exactly good for you! We ate lunch at the Bier Garten once, hot dogs, hamburgers etc, and at the pool side BBQ once. Both had standard BBQ food. The room service menu had pizza, sandwiches, burgers and some desserts on it. We ordered it one night and it took about 30 minutes for delivery. The chocolate buffet was fun but very very busy. Raffles: had breakfast there once, loud and packed, typical buffet.

 

Entertainment: Elements, excellent!!! This is coming from someone who absolutely hates Broadway shows. It was just absolutely excellent and encompassed magic, music, dance, and acrobatics. Paul Scally was the cruise director(and the original Geico geiko). He was hilarious and put on a comedy show the last day of the cruise. We enjoyed it. The Second City comedy group was just ok. They had some good skits and some really not so good skits. Bingo, like all cruises bingo is encouraged. We went the first day. It cost me 70 dollars! The basic package was 30, building up to 70 which was 96 cards on an electronic handheld device, a few regular ones, 20 instant win tickets, and some free cruise raffle tickets. I was shocked at the price but we went for it and bought one between the 2 of us. The prize money was really mediocre(200-300) a game for something that must have been pulling in thousands. They did however raffle off a 500 dollar ring(White gold, laced with yellow gold, amethyst in the middle). Wouldn’t you know, the guy who never wins anything wins it! My fiancé was very happy with me J. The white hot party was packed and located in the galaxy of the stars. It was fun for a bit but just was not our cup of tea.

 

Spa/Gym: I actually did utilize the gym! The gym consists of about 10 treadmills, 4 elipticals, and 3 cross trainers along with some weight training. The window overlooks the water so it was very peaceful. The Aquaswim(exercise pool), sauna, and steam room are all included at no extra charge. My fiancé did a Spa treatment on the third port day for 99$ and it consisted of a back massage, foot and ankle massage, facial, scalp shoulder and neck massage. They advertised this as about 80 minutes. She was in there for around 95.

 

Casino: The casino was rather large compared to the one other we have seen before(Carnival Pride). We played a bit on the slots but not too much. They gave 20 dollars credit for 10 dollars when signing up for a cruise players rewards card. There were always machines available.

 

Public areas: The Galaxy of the Stars was amazing. We loved it. A large observation deck with plenty of seating looking out on the ocean. We found ourselves relaxing there when it was too cold on deck. There were also plenty of public areas so no one area ever felt to packed. Maharahi’s lounge was usually empty and had some nice bed sofas to vedge out in. We never had trouble getting a lounge chair on deck.

 

Drinking: Buckets of beer are by 5 get 1 free for just under 29 dollars after tip. They also had a promotion starting on the second port day where it was get 2 free! I went through a good few of these and they had a good selection of bottled beer. Henrys pub had Heineken, Amstel Light, and Bass Ale on tap. The drinks of the day were 7.95. Frozen drinks were about 9 dollars. We felt the buy 5 get 2 free promotion was very reasonable.

 

Pool and hot tub: The Tivoli pool is the only adult pool on the ship. It was never too packed and was large enough for our needs. It’s about 6’3” at it’s deepest. Don’t be fooled by the signs that day 7’9”. Im 6’ 1” and was always able to tippy toe and touch the bottom. There are 4 hot tubs surrounding it that were either packed or empty. But whenever we actually went to use one, we were able to.

 

Bermuda: Ah, Bermuda. Loved it. All three days were around 75 and sunny. And in case you didn’t know, 75 in Bermuda is hot. First day, got off the boat and headed to get the buss and ferry pass. You can get it right on the warf at the information center or walk to the end of the warf and get it in the second information center/shop. We then took the ferry – right outside the second shop over to Hamilton then headed to the Hamilton bus stop- pay attention here!!! The visitor information center is closed on Sunday in Hamilton and the bus station isn’t exactly easy to find. Head from the pier where the ferry docked over to the Irish Linen shop(Yellow building, green shutters), head up the hilly street next to it. Take a right at the end of said street. Walk past the city hall and the bus stop will be on the left and you cant miss it. We headed from here to the Crystal and Fantasy caves. Cost: 20 dollars for one cave, 27 for 2. We enjoyed them and our tour guide Ron was excellent. After this, walked around Hamilton for a bit, most everything is closed then headed back to the dockyard and went to the Frog and Onion pub for my 50 ounce beer. Yum! Cost: 21 dollars and you keep the glass(they give you a boxed one).

Day 2: Headed over the St George’s via Ferry(we were originally going to going here day 1 but the ferry doesn’t go to St Georges on Sunday). Beautiful village. We walked to Fort St Catherine which was about a mile away. On our way there we saw the unfinished church, St George’s golf course, and tobacco bay. It’s a nice walk and if your capable of it, I recommend it. It’s a bit hilly though. Fort St Catherine(7 dollars pp) was our favorite part of the island. The views from it were amazing and the history in it was rich and it is well preserved. If you like history, I would call this a must while in Bermuda. We then headed to St Catherine’s beach which is right next to the fort for a bit and over to Tobacco bay for a bit.

Day 3: Stayed around the dockyard, did some shopping, went to snorkel park. It was nice to not have a day jam packed. We loved being in Bermuda for the three days.

 

Conclusion: Loved it, loved it, loved it. On the way down the fiancé and I were saying how we would never do the same place twice, well while I am writing this, she is looking up information on the Dawn next year, May 6th for our honeymoon, Boston to Bermuda. We loved Norwegian and will sale plenty of times more. We think we are addicted!

[biker@sea]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

Thanks for the review.

[dznymom]

Loved your review but you made me homesick for both the Spirit and Bermuda ;) Enjoy planning your next one!

[RYMOMA]

i was on your cruise as well

 

 

everything was great.....ready to book for next may as well

 

trying to get my friends and family to go too

 

happy cruising

[dtiger]

Excellent review, glad you enjoyed yourself.

[mag]

May I also say Welcome to Cruise Critic! Thank you for the very nice review! I also love love love Bermuda. I just keep going back and still have many many things yet to see. Yes I am counting down the days.

[anne60]

thanks so much for this - I would love to see the dailies. How were the seas? I am a little worried about rough seas and motion sickness, although I do not generally suffer from it.

[Ms belp]

brizon, thank you for the review of the Spirit. I loved it last year. It was my favorite ship. Just be aware that the Dawn and the Spirit are two totally different styles of ships. If it wasn't the ship but Bermuda that you loved so much it should be no problem. Thanks again.

[pumpkin228]

Wow, great review. Can't wait to get back on the spirit myself in 27 days! Also would love to see the dailies, someone sent me the first two days from last weeks cruise which was fantastic, can't wait to see what the other days bring us as I am a planner!!! :) Although right now my plan consists of finding a lounge chair and parking it there with my book!

[pumpkin228]

Also meant to ask, did you have to wear your life jackets to the muster drill?

[brizon]

One night of rough seas, but it wasn't too bad. Nothing a little dramamine couldn't fix. Also, life jackets were not needed. They did check your name off a list once you got to your assigned area. I'll get the dailies and drink prices posted tomorrow!

[Got Tequila?]

Also meant to ask, did you have to wear your life jackets to the muster drill?

 

No life jackets were required on the 4/23 cruise on the Spirit. :)

[bluefintuna]

The Dawn will transition to the Boston-Bermuda run next spring. We sailed the Dawn from Miami to the Caribbean two years ago and if you like freestyle and the Spirit, you should like Dawn.

[Donny007]

I'll get the dailies and drink prices posted tomorrow!

 

 

Would love to see some pics if u have any posted yet. We are sailing on 5/21

[julescruisin]

thanks for the great review, you got us so excited for our Aug. 20th sailing on the spirit, can you tell us how much parking was in Boston. We sailed out of NYC the last 4 times and wow it's expensive, do they take only cash or cc. Is the city of Hamilton closed on sunday and what time did you port on sunday. I am so happy you enjoyed Bermuda it is our fave. island and we have visited many. Next time you and your lucky fiance have to go to horseshoe bay, by far the most georgous beach we have ever been to. I can't wait for your pictures, It sounds like the crew were great and so was the food. :p Sorry for al the ?'s we have cruised to Bermuda 5 times and we have never been there on a sunday, just not sure what is open, busses running or not. Thank you for your reply and glad you had a super cruise, there is nothing like it.:D

[brizon]

Parking in Boston is 16 dollars a day, I do not know what they take as we were driven in my family. Most shops in Hamilton and the visitor center are closed on Sunday but they still had music playing near the city hall. And we ported at 11 am on Sunday. We took our time getting off the boat, let the people who were in a rush go. We walked down to the gangway at 11:25, no lines, no waiting.

[alwalaska]

One night of rough seas, but it wasn't too bad. Nothing a little dramamine couldn't fix. Also, life jackets were not needed. They did check your name off a list once you got to your assigned area. I'll get the dailies and drink prices posted tomorrow!

 

Thank you for the great review. I hope to do Bermuda some day. It will be fun to see the Dailies even though things will change a lot between now and March.

 

Did you happen to get any pictures or information about the main dining room menus?

[OceanDreaming2]

Loved, loved, loved the Spirit! Not so sure about Bermuda - but that could've been due to the tour we took. Maybe next time will be better for us.

[Sunni9998]

Would LOVE any information you have on this cruise. We have booked this cruise for August 13th and I'm having a hard time finding any information. Specifically, I know its Freestyle, but do they still have certain nights that are "Formal" if you want? Do they have any nights that are themed? Is there somewhere I could find a list of the resturants and which ones have the added charges and what the charges are? Would love to see all the dailies you were talking about as I'm guessing they give information about activities, etc. Let me know every detail!! LOL I'm such a planner and I haven't really located much information about the cruise. Thanks in advance!!

[fletcher57]

Hi, I'll be heading to Bermuda for the third time on the 21st. Loved your review. The first two times we were docked at St. George's and we walked up to Tobacco Bay and the fort. The last time we went to Tobacco Bay there was *loud* music playing from the snack bar. Completely ruined the atmosphere. We complained. I'm curious if they are still playing loud music. Joyce

[LadyBerard]

Last year, when we went to the Snorkel Park, there was live music throughout the day. Is there still live music there this year?

 

Sue

[cruisinsforme]

Can't wait to see the Dailies and Drink Prices. We're sailing to Bermuda on July 9th and I'm counting the days!!!

[RYMOMA]

Can't wait to see the Dailies and Drink Prices. We're sailing to Bermuda on July 9th and I'm counting the days!!!

 

 

this is what i paid

 

 

2.24 for a 12 oz can of soda

about 9.00 for the drink of the day...got ot keep the fishbowl glass

6.00 for a corona

29.00 for a helmut of beer on tuesday...buy 5 get 2 free

8.00 or 9.00 i think i paid for a miller light in windows

about 9.00 for the 2 for 1 martini time in Charlies

 

and i brought home my dailies