Spirit 12/18-12/25 review

[christiecruise]

Hello CCers,

 

Happy Holidays to all! We had a great time on the Spirit this past week. I'm planning to write a lengthy review - but could use some advice - how much can I say about our port experiences without being censored? Do I need to omit the names of our private tour guides at first, but if asked by CCers, then may I give the details?

 

We flew in to NOLA late on Sat. night, Dec. 17th. Took our kids 17 and 20 down Bourbon St. from 11:00 PM - 11:45 PM, not a big deal. DD said was similar to her college at that time of night, nothing bad was seen by the kids. We walked them back to within a block of the JW Marriott where we had a free room from Marriott points, then DH and I went back to Bourbon Street and found a jazz club where we enjoyed a great set until 1:15 AM. As we walked back to the hotel, it was evident that the crowd has tripled - we had to push through masses of people - but most were college age and not very drunk at that point.

 

Our family woke up rather early and went out on Sunday morning for a walk throughout the French quarter, got a table at the Acme Oyster House by 11:15 AM (fabulous - chargrilled oysters, Peacemaker Po-Boys, jambalaya, étouffée, red beans and rice, etc.). Walked the Moonwalk and watched a fun street show.

 

Next, based on my CC info. we headed to the Walgreens which was a block from our hotel to pick up bottled water, soda and juice to bring on board the Spirit. I had read on CC about being allowed to bring aboard pop and non-alcoholic beverages. The recommendations that I had seen said to put luggage tags on the sides of the packs and they would be taken with luggage to the stateroom.

 

HUGE NOTICE - WE WERE NOT ALLOWED TO SEND OUR SODA OR BOTTLED WATER WITH CURBSIDE LUGGAGE CHECK-IN. We had 6 people in 3 rooms and brought several 12 packs of soda/tea/water (which we had taped in two groups and placed luggage tags on each) in our taxi. These two pieces were unloaded with our luggage and were refused to be taken by the staff at the port. My husband and 17 yr. old ended up lugging them through security, check-in, embarkation, and up to our 11th floor room - embarrassing and unwieldily, but ultimately cost efficient ;)

 

After stopping at guest services to change our key cards to put the kids in the inside 4th floor together, while DH and I were rekeyed for our intended balcony, we met up with my parents in our adjoining rooms on the 11th floor. Enjoyed a bon voyage on the 13th deck, then picked up a plate of appetizers from Raffles to enjoy on my parents balcony along with some cocktails.

 

Two days before our cruise I remembered reading on CC about pre-ordering "bar set ups", called my PCC and ordered 1 liter of vodka and 1 liter of rum - they were waiting in our room when we arrived and we used our caffeine-free diet coke and Mr. T's Bloody Mary Mix which had been so dearly carried onboard to mix and enjoy at our cocktail hour which lasted until about 7:45 PM.

 

Next, we arrived at Windows, just before 8 PM and were given a great table in the high ceilinged space at the far aft side of the restaurant. After pursuing the wine menu for 10 min. or so, dad ordered a bottle of red wine while mom ordered a white, we told our server that we would order dinner after the wine was served. The white was brought about 10 min. later and placed in an ice bucket - as dad was told that his red wine choice was not available. He ordered another bottle of red....10 min. later, he was told that that bottle was not available either. Finally 40 min. after we had been seated, a red was found, poured and then the white was finally poured as well. We all ordered dinner, and had a great meal - albeit a 2 1/2 hour meal.

 

Most of us went right to bed, but my mom and hubby did go out and catch 20 min. or so of entertainment afterwards. I lingered in Windows and spoke to the gentleman at the desk at the front of Windows about our experience. I told him how much we enjoyed our meal and our servers, but clearly explained the problem with the wine. It turned out that the gentleman at the desk was the Maitre de - Deepak. He explained to me that there was a new wine menu and unfortunately their supplier had not been able to deliver the wine on time for this cruise. Deepak gave me his card and said to call him anytime. I left feeling better, now that I understood their problem.

 

All in all, we were off to a great vacation!

 

OK, that's all for today....will continue tomorrow!

[rvsullivan]

Glad you got off to a pretty good start. We were on the week before you.

There have been quite a few posts in the past few months about New Orleans being the one port that will not let you check soda/water with your luggage. Something with the union dock workers! Sorry you didn't read some of those when doing your research.

Spirit is a great ship and we are going to miss her.

[PreciousCruiser]

I can't answer your questions about what you can/can't post, but I'm sure someone else will. Glad you enjoyed N.O. I will be going to the WWII Musuem there sometime in January and then again in March to cruise on The Spirit. Thanks for the info. on the water and drinks. I'm so looking forward to reading your review.

 

Hope you had a Merry Christmas.

[LadyShiva]

Feel free to post your experiences with your excursions. You just can't start threads to advertise the specific companies; you're not doing that, you're sharing your review. :)

[christiecruise]

Glad you got off to a pretty good start. We were on the week before you.

There have been quite a few posts in the past few months about New Orleans being the one port that will not let you check soda/water with your luggage. Something with the union dock workers! Sorry you didn't read some of those when doing your research.

Spirit is a great ship and we are going to miss her.

 

Can't believe I missed the soda/water info. for NOLA! Must have not paid attention as I thought I knew how to do it :o

[christiecruise]

When I wrote my first post last night, I was thinking of writing it like a daily journal - but have reconsidered (don't want to bore you all). So will do the review as many others do by subject.

 

Embarkation - Taxi fare from Canal St. and the Bourbon St. area, was about $35 for 4 people. We arrived at the port at approx. 2:20 PM, and the lines were minimal. Other than the soda/water fiasco (my fault), embarkation was easy and quick despite the fact that I had left all of our printed e-docs in my suitcase which was gone from the unloading area before I realized the mistake. The woman at the initial security point simply checked our passports against a printed manifesto and at the check-in desk we simply gave our room numbers and our reservations were promptly found. This may have taken a few minutes longer if we hadn't been carrying our soda/water with the luggage tags attached ;) By 2:45 PM we were in our balcony room on the 11th floor!

 

Spirit Crew and Officers - The officers and crew of the Spirit are hands down the best thing about the onboard experience. I cannot say enough about how wonderful they were without exception. Here are some thoughts:

 

Captain Lars - What a fantastic dry sense of humor. We always turned up our TV or stopped in the public rooms to listen to his announcements - we found them entertaining whether he was talking about the weather (partly cloudy or partly sunny, you decide...keep sanitizing and we will keep the little bug at bay...the weatherman in NOLA is calling for rain but I don't really trust them, so we will see tomorrow). We spoke with him only once, but saw him quite often and his wife was with him on our sailing.

 

Prem Kainikkara, Hotel Director - We spoke with him several times and he ran our CC Meet and Greet of the officers. He was a very professional man and had a good sense of humor as well. We asked for one special request from him which was granted and was so nice for our family. I inquired of a crew member at the end of our cruise about tipping him and was told that he would refuse it. After some discussion, I understood that it would be similar to tipping a restaurant owner - a faux pas. However, we appreciated all that he did for us.

 

Kyle Dodson, Cruise Director - Had read negative things on CC about Kyle's style of announcements, etc.. We found him to be to upbeat but to the point, not long-winded. During the few evening activities that we attended Kyle was energetic and did a good job of involving the guests. The assistant Cruise Director Johnny was fine, but his announcements always started with "Heeeeeer's Johnny" and that became old quickly.

 

Claudia Conduarchi, Guest Services Manager - We saw Claudia often and spoke with her several times. She was always smiling, pleasant and very welcoming.

 

Mihaela Mocan, Restaurant Manager - Such a lovely person. We talked with her quite a few times - at our CC Meet and Greet, Prem announced that Mihaela and another crew member, Petrus had just become engaged! She was beaming every time we saw her! On our last night we ate at Windows. Mom and Dad had ordered 4 bottles of wine for the room at the beginning of the week, and Mom realized on Christmas Eve that we had not yet opened the last bottle of white - so she carried it to Windows to have with dinner. Mihaela saw mom enter the restaurant and offered to take the bottle and bring to our table a chilled bottle of the same - we were all impressed with that small attention to detail which Mihaela provided for us!

 

Petrus Emilaire, Beverage Manager - Mihaela's fiancé! At first, Petrus seemed a bit more shy than some of the other crew members, but he did a great job. I mentioned in my first post that we had a 40 min. delay in finding a red wine in stock in Windows on our first evening. I went to bed immediately after mentioning my concern to Deepak the Maitre'D, and didn't have a chance to tell my parents about my conversation until late afternoon on Monday. By that point, Mom had already put a note in Prem's feedback box in the Grand Centrum. She told us that she had written a "non-complaining" note - but wanted him to know what had happened and asked if there was a way to avoid a repeat. On Monday evening we dined in Cagney's and Petrus sought out my mom and told her that he had received her note from Prem. Petrus apologized, explained the situation with the new wine list and the distributor, and told her that they now had a list of the wines which were out of stock located at the server's stations so that an out of stock bottle would be caught immediately and would not require a delay while the wine room was checked. He also mentioned that the distributor was shipping the missing wines to a port later in the week at the distributor's expense. We never had another issue with the wine list.

 

Jose Piedra, Group Service Coordinator/Access Officer - Jose was the officer who was responsible for organizing our CC Meet and Greet along with his many other duties. He was my favorite crew member on the ship! From the very first time that I spoke with Jose, it was obvious that he was a wonderful young man who sincerely loved his job and cared about the passengers. After that, every time that I saw him, he gave me a hug and talked with not only me, but my husband and kids as well. Jose is a fantastic and incredibly sincere guy! :) I did tip Jose at the end of the week, but in retrospect wish that I had given him more.

 

Deepak Gonsalves, Maitre'D - Wow, this man was perhaps the most impressive crew member that we encountered. Deepak spoke with me after our first evening in Windows (about the wine list situation) and offered his card and told me to call him for a reservation or anything else that we needed. Our second night, we decided to dine at Cagney's, and Deepak sought us out to make sure that we were having an enjoyable dinner. Later in the week, Deepak found us again in the Garden Room and at Le Bistro...WOW is all I can say. When we dined at Windows we always had a lovely table and twice I spoke to him about our fantastic servers, he told me that he had chosen them especially for us. You may not believe me, but Mom and I truly did not pitch a fit and act like we should receive special treatment - we were astounded by his attention to providing the best possible service to his guests - he was absolutely outstanding!

 

John D'Souza, Concierge - A truly outgoing and professional man. We met John for the first time on Monday, when he explained his services and gave us his card and asked us to call him when we required any of the many services that he could provide for us. After that, John made a point of speaking with us each day. We called him two or three times for various requests and he always came through promptly and pleasantly. He may have one of the most difficult jobs on board - dealing with demanding people - which we witnessed on more than one occasion. I don't want to be too specific, but we watched an encounter with a passenger who wanted a picture with the Captain - after John explained that they had been offered on the first day at sea, the passenger told John where she would be at a specific time and asked if he could send the Captain there for a quick picture!? Wow, kudos to John for taking it in stride without a blink of incredulity but promising nothing ;)

 

Mercedes, server in Cagney's - Our favorite server!! Had the pleasure of seeing Mercedes often and even once in Windows when Cagney's was slow. What a wonderful young woman with so much energy and personality! We tipped her at the end of the cruise...I think that she will go far with NCL. She was outstanding.

 

Francis, our cabin steward - really nice and friendly man. He was a master at towel animals, elephant and gorilla were the best. Loved how he always cheerfully greeted us by name. Only wish he had refilled our ice bucket more often. We tipped Francis generously throughout the week, he deserved it for his service, but we also hoped to make his holiday a bit nicer - it must be hard to for so long each day at such a difficult job, so far from home.

 

 

That is all for tonight! More tomorrow :)

[DMH15]

Very nice! Looking forward to more...

[cruzinaway]

Thanks for your posts about the Spirit! Glad to hear Prem is on board - we met him on the Gem a couple years ago - very professional and attentive.

 

Sounds like a great cruise!

 

Thanks!! :)

[gelo7]

Very nice..

[jennbill]

On our October Spirit cruise, Jenn met Michaela the first night when we were trying to find a couple of our bags well into the evening (long story). Anyway, every time we encountered Michaela throughout the cruise, she greeted us and checked on our satisfaction. During our dinner at Le Bistro, the maitre'd came to our table with the wine list and told us to choose a wine "because it's a gift from his boss". That would be Michaela. Pretty awesome.

 

We also had the pleasure to be served by Mercedes a couple of times late in the cruise. She was great. Even ran into her at the martini bar late one night. Didn't recognize her. She was absolutely gorgeous She was off duty and in evening clothes, celebrating the evening with her fiance and friends. She saw Jenn and came over to say "hi".

[PreciousCruiser]

So glad to hear about how wonderful the staff is on The Spirit. That is mentioned constantly. I can't wait to find out for myself.

 

Looking forward to more of the review... :)

[christiecruise]

My hubby is # 7 of 8 kids, and 3 of them have moved in the last 4 months! You can't believe how quickly a house can be cleaned, painted and moved-in when 25-30 family members show up over several days...including 5 hours of movers we had beds made and 75% of boxes unloaded by 4 PM today :)

 

On to the review.

 

FREESTYLYE CRUISING -

 

We all agreed that Freestyle dining is a fantastic choice for our family.

 

Breakfast - Mom and Dad took turns going up to Raffles to bring breakfast back to eat on their balcony. DH and I woke much earlier and went to Windows the first day, Cagney's thereafter around 8:15 AM, with the exception of our early Belize day when DH brought back Raffles to our balcony. DD and DS ordered room service one day, ate in Raffles a few mornings, and brought Raffles to our room to eat with us a couple of times - as they were in an inside cabin on deck 4.

 

Lunch - Mom and Dad ate in Windows on embarkation day around 2 PM, they reported the food to be very good. My family of 4 had lunch on Sunday at the Acme Oyster house in NOLA, so we only had Mon. and Sat. lunches on the ship - and actually really only Sat. since we had our CC Meet and Greet on Mon. from 10-11 AM (with pastries, juice, coffee and water provided), then attended the Latitudes party from 1-2 PM (passed savory and sweet treats and unlimited drinks - both alcoholic and non), so no official lunch that day. Hubby and DD had a tasty BBQ on the last sea day by the pool while DS, Dad and I went to Cagney's for a delicious lunch.

 

What I'd like to convey here is how flexible the dining style is to accommodate everyone traveling together. You can dine when and where you want at just about any time!

 

Dinner - The 6 of us ate together every night (with the exception of Fri. when my mom had caught "the little bug" and DD was not feeling well). In order beginning on Sun. the 18th - Windows, Cagney's, Windows, Garden Room, Le Bistro, Windows, Windows. We had great tables at Windows, Cagney's and Le Bistro - were by the kitchen door in Garden which was noisy from the kitchen but also young kids. Our family likes to dine later, so 8 PM was the average except for Christmas Eve, when we were seated at 7. Our dinners lasted 2 + hours as Dad likes to order wine and have it poured before ordering dinner. We enjoyed our time to catch up about the day, but can imagine that others might not like the very leisurely pace.

 

Next Post - food and ship thoughts...

[christiecruise]

BTW - I am loving margaretevanescence's review of the same trip! I enjoyed meeting Margaret aka Valerie at the CC Meet and Greet - and as she is much younger or at least more tech savvy - am loving her pictures, which I have yet to figure out how to post so that they show up large and not just as thumbnails (any help from you all would be very appreciated).

 

More review coming...

[www3traveler]

My hubby is # 7 of 8 kids, and 3 of them have moved in the last 4 months! You can't believe how quickly a house can be cleaned, painted and moved-in when 25-30 family members show up over several days...including 5 hours of movers we had beds made and 75% of boxes unloaded by 4 PM today :)

 

On to the review.

 

FREESTYLYE CRUISING -

 

We all agreed that Freestyle dining is a fantastic choice for our family.

 

Breakfast - Mom and Dad took turns going up to Raffles to bring breakfast back to eat on their balcony. DH and I woke much earlier and went to Windows the first day, Cagney's thereafter around 8:15 AM, with the exception of our early Belize day when DH brought back Raffles to our balcony. DD and DS ordered room service one day, ate in Raffles a few mornings, and brought Raffles to our room to eat with us a couple of times - as they were in an inside cabin on deck 4.

 

Lunch - Mom and Dad ate in Windows on embarkation day around 2 PM, they reported the food to be very good. My family of 4 had lunch on Sunday at the Acme Oyster house in NOLA, so we only had Mon. and Sat. lunches on the ship - and actually really only Sat. since we had our CC Meet and Greet on Mon. from 10-11 AM (with pastries, juice, coffee and water provided), then attended the Latitudes party from 1-2 PM (passed savory and sweet treats and unlimited drinks - both alcoholic and non), so no official lunch that day. Hubby and DD had a tasty BBQ on the last sea day by the pool while DS, Dad and I went to Cagney's for a delicious lunch.

 

What I'd like to convey here is how flexible the dining style is to accommodate everyone traveling together. You can dine when and where you want at just about any time!

 

Dinner - The 6 of us ate together every night (with the exception of Fri. when my mom had caught "the little bug" and DD was not feeling well). In order beginning on Sun. the 18th - Windows, Cagney's, Windows, Garden Room, Le Bistro, Windows, Windows. We had great tables at Windows, Cagney's and Le Bistro - were by the kitchen door in Garden which was noisy from the kitchen but also young kids. Our family likes to dine later, so 8 PM was the average except for Christmas Eve, when we were seated at 7. Our dinners lasted 2 + hours as Dad likes to order wine and have it poured before ordering dinner. We enjoyed our time to catch up about the day, but can imagine that others might not like the very leisurely pace.

 

Next Post - food and ship thoughts...

Thank you for your comments. I am very much looking forward to being on The Spirit on the 15th. I have sailed with Captain Lars a number of times on The Pearl. Yes, he is a very funny man and one of the kindest sweetest gentleman you will ever what to meet. did he attend your M&G?

[christiecruise]

Our group of 6 previous cruising experience:

 

Mom and Dad - 1988, Norwegian Norway (very large OV cabin); 1995 Disney with Dad's mom (OV cabin).

 

Me - 1988, Norwegian Norway (inside cabin shared with my sister, with metal bunk beds!); 2010, NCL Jade Mediterranean (mini-suite).

 

DH - 2010, NCL Jade Mediterranean (mini-suite).

 

DD and DS - never cruised before

 

So as you can see, we don't have much with which to compare. Unfortunately, what we did previously experience was at the time much newer and more impressive.

 

The 4 of us with adjoining balcony cabins really appreciated the balconies - albeit very small. The kids were fine in their cabin, and understood that they were low on the totem pole and that with what we saved we could do more on shore, but the lack of light was a bit depressing while cruising the Caribbean so we encouraged them to come to our cabin as often as they'd like.

 

The public areas of the ship were nice, although if you looked closely there were older furnishings in need of replacement in a few areas. The Asian decor was interesting and I liked the smaller size of the ship. Unfortunately, from the first 5 min. after we boarded, and intermittently thereafter, the smell of cigarette smoke and well...sewage or flatulence...was quite strong in many public areas. Our 17 year old asked within the first 5 min. on board if it would smell so bad on the entire trip. It did not, but was not a good first impression.

 

I had spent probably 100 hours reading on CC during the year before our trip and was aware that the bathrooms in the cabins were older and in need of repairs. That was the case, they were not terrible and we got used to them quickly. However, we enjoy the newer facilities in hotels where we mainly stay and after the NCL Jade, it was a mental adjustment.

 

The balcony cabins were actually nicely updated for the age of the ship and we enjoyed the space. Several posts have commented on the new flat screen TV's and how the remote is difficult to work due to the positioning of the sensor. My DH figured out that rather than standing up - he could work the remote easily by bouncing the signal off the glass of the picture behind the bed. He didn't even need to raise his hand up high to do it - a nifty trick!

 

We met many interesting people on board, and many of them had different impressions of the Spirit. One couple with whom we really enjoyed talking thought that the Spirit was "skanky" and planned to get a free trip on a different cruise line after writing a scathing letter to someone. We certainly had a different opinion, but did feel that the best parts of our trip were not due to the physical condition of the ship.

 

Food next!

[christiecruise]

Thank you for your comments. I am very much looking forward to being on The Spirit on the 15th. I have sailed with Captain Lars a number of times on The Pearl. Yes, he is a very funny man and one of the kindest sweetest gentleman you will ever what to meet. did he attend your M&G?

 

Captain Lars was not at the Meet and Greet, but I never expected him to be - in particular as he had just joined the Spirit as Capt. the previous week. He was so funny and we enjoyed his announcements and seeing him around the ship often. I hope you have a great time on your Spirit cruise and send back some of his funny sayings, I wish I could remember more! :)

[www3traveler]

Two of my favorites are: (when doing announcements), "This is a voice from above". The other is: "It takes a Swede to run a Norwegian ship."

[christiecruise]

Two of my favorites are: (when doing announcements), "This is a voice from above". The other is: "It takes a Swede to run a Norwegian ship."

 

Thanks!

[christiecruise]

On our October Spirit cruise, Jenn met Michaela the first night when we were trying to find a couple of our bags well into the evening (long story). Anyway, every time we encountered Michaela throughout the cruise, she greeted us and checked on our satisfaction. During our dinner at Le Bistro, the maitre'd came to our table with the wine list and told us to choose a wine "because it's a gift from his boss". That would be Michaela. Pretty awesome.

 

We also had the pleasure to be served by Mercedes a couple of times late in the cruise. She was great. Even ran into her at the martini bar late one night. Didn't recognize her. She was absolutely gorgeous She was off duty and in evening clothes, celebrating the evening with her fiance and friends. She saw Jenn and came over to say "hi".

 

Jennbill - great crew really stand out don't they? Not hard to understand how Miheala is where she is, and I'm sure that Mercedes will go far. As you mentioned, she is absolutely beautiful, but I bet you'd agree that her personality and service is what really made her stand out!

 

Thanks for your thoughts :)

[jennbill]

That's two big "yeps".

[christiecruise]

Food...subjective, subjective, subjective.

 

Our meals on the Jade in the Med. in 2010 were good to very good. After reading on CC for the last year, I really couldn't understand how the food was compared to a hotel banquet meal. So sorry to report that now I do - not always, but often.

 

Before our trip, DH and I suggested to the kids that they try the ethnic offerings or more unusual dishes (ox tail soup, etc.) as they seemed to shine on the Jade. I don't know if those menu items are still different on sailings from non-USA ports, but we missed those items on our Spirit menus. Many of our dishes were good, and a few were very good, but also we had some duds. It sounds to me after reading on CC, that NCL has a consistent menu throughout the fleet. If that is the case, then what we encountered on the Spirit was a step down from the May 2010 menu on the Jade.

 

The entire group had a great dinner in Cagney's - Mercedes, our server, asked us to cut into our steaks as soon as she had served them. My DH's was med. instead of medium rare, he would probably have kept it, but Mercedes walked over and declared it to be overdone. She whisked it away and had another perfectly med. rare bordering on rare (just as hubby likes it) out to him within 3 minutes.

 

Le Bistro, we had a great meal and although 4 of 6 of us ordered the duck, I personally thought that the coq au vin was the best dish. We enjoyed the escargot and salads...and heard that the escargot is no longer served in the MDR's as too many people were ordering multiples and even going to a show and coming back for more. Had enjoyed it in the MDR on the Jade and were disappointed that it was no longer on the menu, but hey - we understand the issue for NCL.

 

I would estimate that each of our group had about 2-3 entrees over the course of a week which were on a par with our kids band and football banquet dinners for which we pay an average of $22 per person. The rest were better and some were much better - OK - for those we paid extra.

 

In Cleveland, OH we have great ethnic restaurants, so paying a premium on a cruise ship for Hibachi, Sushi or Italian does not make sense for us as we can do that at home for less. We have a few very good steak houses (not counting the chains like Hyde Park or Flemings) but they are so pricey that Cagney's was a good value and we have only 2 top notch French restaurants within an hour drive, so again, the cover charge for Le Bistro was worth it to us.

 

The food at Windows and Cagney's for breakfast and lunch was good, skip the AM Fruits de Mer at Cagney's though, it was marginal.

 

Raffles was consistent for our group who brought a plate back for breakfast or lunch, just fine and no complaints, but on par with a Denny's except for the variety which was enjoyed by the kids of bagels and lox and a few other specialties.

 

For the price that we paid for our rooms, the food was just fine. A few dishes were not as good as moderately priced chain restaurants in the US, but some were better. Overall, we enjoyed not having to cook or clean up, and having dinner in casual clothes but yet with tablecloths, 4-5 courses, a crumb scraper, and coffee was very delightful!

 

More tomorrow...

[christiecruise]

One last comment about food.

 

We had heard so much about the Blue Lagoon's chicken wings and fish and chips, sadly all who tried were disappointed. Kids are huge chicken wing fans and said that their order of 24 was very sub-par. Mom and Dad tried a burger and a fish and chips order - and reported that the burger was passable but the fish and chips were terrible. Maybe just the timing, but not a good experience for anyone.

 

I enjoyed my bacon cheeseburger in Cagney's (but not as good as our local burger joint, Swenson's) and had delicious fries, however!

[christiecruise]

This will be short, as we had a full week of sunny days and swimming and after late and leisurely dinners we were too beat to stay up late.

 

Mom and DH went out for a half an hour the first night, but reported that not much was happening that evening. Mom and DD caught the Russian acrobats which Mom really enjoyed. Many of us listened to the Gennardi Orchestra and enjoyed them. DH plays with a 17 piece professional Big Band (for fun, not his job) in our area which is on a different level, but he thought that Gennardi was "a fun, scaled down version of a real Big Band" ;)

 

Mom, Dad, DH and I caught the 50's - 60's sock hop, my parent's era - Mom and I went out on the dance floor for the "twist" - she gave me a huge hug afterwards and said it was so much fun. The peppermint twist contest was a hoot, and our favorite couple (in their 60's at least) won. The Elvis contest was funny as well.

 

Our dinners went so late that we did not make it to any of the major productions (aside from acrobats) in the Stardust Theater. The entertainment was not a focus for us, but we enjoyed what we saw.

 

Next up...shore excursions!

[christiecruise]

Forgot to mention - Mom and Dad caught Arvin and Emily several times and liked what they heard.

 

My favorite experience was on Christmas Eve when 50 + crew members and officers stood on the stair steps in the Grand Centrum to lead a packed group of passengers in Christmas carols. It was a touching and lovely end to Christmas Eve for Mom and me (everyone else was in their jammies and packing). A really special ending to a great vacation!

[christiecruise]

Tuesday - Costa Maya.

 

We booked Maya Chan way in advance and found that all of the great CC reviews were spot on. The weather was forecasted to include rain, so we were thrilled that it was sunny all day. The surf prevented snorkeling which we missed, but everything else was sooo enjoyable. Hubby won "a major award" - beer coozy - as the low scorer of the sand golf tournament (although my Mom says it was because he was the only one to attend the awards ceremony - the rest of us were back on the beach). My favorite hole required a bank shot off a broken down bus, but alas, I blew up on the last 3 holes. Thankfully, Zack, the self-proclaimed beach clown, did not sacrifice me to the gods as the loser.

 

Zack was hilarious, long-winded, and made our day! The bartenders poured generous drinks, the $25 beach massages were enjoyed by 4 of us and well worth it! Warning - the Mexican group of 2 women and 1 man did not understand very much English - so when I asked for my shoulders, neck and feet for my 30 min. - it was a huge surprise to have a lower back and butt massage, but hey, what can you do face down on a rickety table in Mexico!

 

We stayed until the last taxi left at 4:35 PM, enjoying a couple of Coco Loco's fresh off the palm trees and chopped by machete before our eyes.

 

Almost forgot - the food was awesome! So fresh, so delicious. Guacamole, salsa and chips to start. Fabulous fresh tortillas with chicken, beef and fish along with super hot salsa verde and other toppings. Cowboy beans were fabulous.

 

Several groups from the Spirit had reservations at Maya Chan, and we all agreed that the directions to the taxi area were difficult - and then getting a taxi was an issue as well.

 

For anyone who is going in the future, follow the main route through the port area past the swimming pools walking left if there is a choice. Just after the swimming pool look for an arch on your right and walk through to the first stand on your left. A man in a booth will have a clipboard with your name and will tell you 15-20 min. The most savvy Spirit travelers gave up after 15 min. and hailed a cab (you must walk past the building on the right outside the port gate) and arrived a good 1/2 hour before the bulk of us from the Spirit. Ccer Pilskin took charge and rangled about 20 of us an open sided truck after he was tired of waiting - nice job! The Mexican government controls the taxis ...sigh, just a Mexican minute. I love the USA!

 

Next up Belize