Awesome Grand Med on Spirit - Review & Photos

[wilson2579]

Thanks for the photos and review. Off on the Spirit in 6 days time. Have never sailed with NCL before. Looking forward to it.:cool:

[Cruiser Bruiser]

Thanks for the photos and review. Off on the Spirit in 6 days time. Have never sailed with NCL before. Looking forward to it.:cool:

 

I hope you'll come back and post some pictures, too. I'm anxious to do the Canary Islands itinerary. That's your trip, right?

 

And thanks to everyone who posted a kind word about my review! It was a labor of love. :p

[dalgirl]

Thanks for the compliments, and I appreciate your question about tour selection. Dave, with whom I was travelling, is an "anxious" traveler. So it was important to have the assurance that the ship wouldn't leave without us. When we were in Athens, two girls only made it back on the ship because someone was being put off with a medical emergency. If it hadn't been for that 25 minute delay, the girls would have been stuck in Greece without passports and probably without many other resources. :eek:

 

As we went along, I did ask myself if we would have been better off having done things more on our own. In places like Rome and Ephesus, definitely not; we made the right choice in taking an NCL tour. But in the case of Florence, for example, I asked myself this: Could we have had a more efficient experience if we had done it on our own? Rather than just getting on a bus, getting a map and advice from someone who knew the area, and sharing the experience with a group, instead we would have taken a shuttle or a taxi (and waited for it) to the train station, then taken a train (and waited for it) to the center of town, and then found our way. And then we'd have to make sure we arrived back at the train station to do it all over again.

 

In the example above, I worry that we would have spent too much time just dealing with and focusing on the logistics of getting from Point A to Point B. Consequently, my fear would have been that we would have had much less time to focus on simply being in Florence. So, I think I would have done the NCL tour again in most cases. But that's just me. I can see where some folks want the challenge and excitement of finding their own way.

 

Thanks for expressing your reasoning - I think it is very helpful for others reading reviews to get some insight into tour choices.

[jimbri]

Wonderful review - thank you.

[Big Chippy]

Thank you for your enyjoyable, informative, and well written review, not forgetting your wonderful photographs. Enjoyed every bit of it.

Stuart

[brandy4598]

I worry that we would have spent too much time just dealing with and focusing on the logistics of getting from Point A to Point B. Consequently, my fear would have been that we would have had much less time to focus on simply being in Florence. So, I think I would have done the NCL tour again in most cases. But that's just me. I can see where some folks want the challenge and excitement of finding their own way.

 

Hello! I have enjoyed your review tremendously. My DH and I are doing this cruise next year; but from Barcelona to Venice. Do you remember how much time you had in Florence on your own? I am looking at this excursion also and was wondering how long they give you in Florence (since the drive is so long). Thanks!

[Cruiser Bruiser]

Hello! I have enjoyed your review tremendously. My DH and I are doing this cruise next year; but from Barcelona to Venice. Do you remember how much time you had in Florence on your own? I am looking at this excursion also and was wondering how long they give you in Florence (since the drive is so long). Thanks!

 

Thanks for the question! :) I feel like we had a very relaxed day in Florence. First, the drive in the motor coach didn't seem that long. Google says 1 hour 11 minutes but it felt shorter. We stopped about 15 minutes in for a quick bathroom break and our bus driver got pulled over by the police (:eek:)! [Thanks for triggering that memory; I had completely forgotten.] The police told the driver he was speeding, but everyone got the sense that it might have been a good, old fashioned shake down. :cool: The rest of the drive went very quickly because the scenery was absolutely beautiful, and also because our escort was busy describing the region and going over the maps she gave us that had been marked by her with all the important places. That was very helpful, and we took two of her suggestions (restaurant, and department store rooftop terrace for a view of the Duomo).

 

I'd say we had 5-6 hours actually in town. But the beauty of Florence, it turns out, is that it is very compact. Everything you want to see is in a very small area. We had an hour in the Palazzo Vecchio; a good hour of wandering around at the Ponte Vecchio, the market and at the Piazza Signoria (with the fake David); 30 minutes for capuccini at the department store; over an hour for lunch; the line for and the inside of the Duomo; finally an hour or so at Santa Croce. We did a lot and we didn't feel rushed at all. Then we got the bonus drive up to the hill across the Arno for the scenic vista of Florence. I thought Florence was a particularly superb day, even with the rain. :)

 

I hope you have a lovely time on your cruise. Thanks for the kind words!

Edited October 23, 2013 by Cruiser Bruiser

[bearette]

Did you notice if they offered any photo packages? I can't seem to find this answer anywhere. We will be on her next month too!

[Cruiser Bruiser]

Did you notice if they offered any photo packages? I can't seem to find this answer anywhere. We will be on her next month too!

 

So, I flipped through all the Freestyle Dailies, and there were two specials. For the first three days, you could buy a 2GB flash drive and the photo shop would then give you a digital copy of every paper photo you buy. For the whole cruise you get the fifth photo free when you buy four. Get a punch card. Then there were other random "buy this kind of thing" specials on individual days.

 

I hope this helps. Have a wonderful time on the beautiful Norwegian Spirit!

 

Sent from my ADR6350 using Forums mobile app

[Tonyrefail1]

Hi John.Thanks for the great review.We are booked on Sept 15th 2014 out of Barcelona and by sheer chance have booked cabin 5512-do you have any photos of cabin.Thanks

[rocklinmom]

Hi again Cruiser Bruiser, do you by any chance have a way of posting your Freestyle Dailies from the cruise? I would love to look them over. And also, my daughter wants to know if they had the Chocoholic Buffet, and if so, which night it was? Thank you :o

[brandy4598]

Thanks for the question! :) I feel like we had a very relaxed day in Florence. First, the drive in the motor coach didn't seem that long. Google says 1 hour 11 minutes but it felt shorter. We stopped about 15 minutes in for a quick bathroom break and our bus driver got pulled over by the police (:eek:)! [Thanks for triggering that memory; I had completely forgotten.] The police told the driver he was speeding, but everyone got the sense that it might have been a good, old fashioned shake down. :cool: The rest of the drive went very quickly because the scenery was absolutely beautiful, and also because our escort was busy describing the region and going over the maps she gave us that had been marked by her with all the important places. That was very helpful, and we took two of her suggestions (restaurant, and department store rooftop terrace for a view of the Duomo).

 

I'd say we had 5-6 hours actually in town. But the beauty of Florence, it turns out, is that it is very compact. Everything you want to see is in a very small area. We had an hour in the Palazzo Vecchio; a good hour of wandering around at the Ponte Vecchio, the market and at the Piazza Signoria (with the fake David); 30 minutes for capuccini at the department store; over an hour for lunch; the line for and the inside of the Duomo; finally an hour or so at Santa Croce. We did a lot and we didn't feel rushed at all. Then we got the bonus drive up to the hill across the Arno for the scenic vista of Florence. I thought Florence was a particularly superb day, even with the rain. :)

 

I hope you have a lovely time on your cruise. Thanks for the kind words!

 

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it. And, I hope to have as good of a time as you did. :D

[GLYNAGP]

John

Thank you for the great review, we are going on the Spirit on 29th November departing from Malaga 9 nights to Barcelona, Casablanca and the Canary Islands. The port in Malaga is only 25 minutes’ drive from our home. We are Diamond on RCI and this will be our first time on NCL. In fact these cruises are such bargain prices we have booked virtually the same cruise again departing on 13th January .

Thanks again for the pictures and information about the Spirit

Glyn

[bearette]

So, I flipped through all the Freestyle Dailies, and there were two specials. For the first three days, you could buy a 2GB flash drive and the photo shop would then give you a digital copy of every paper photo you buy. For the whole cruise you get the fifth photo free when you buy four. Get a punch card. Then there were other random "buy this kind of thing" specials on individual days.

 

I hope this helps. Have a wonderful time on the beautiful Norwegian Spirit!

 

Sent from my ADR6350 using Forums mobile app

 

Thanks! I was hoping for some type of all photos package but I will have to keep an eye out for the specials to see if any will work for us. We love getting pictures of the kids and family shots on the cruises since we can see the results before we buy! Getting toddlers to pose is not that easy!

[bearette]

John

Thank you for the great review, we are going on the Spirit on 29th November departing from Malaga 9 nights to Barcelona, Casablanca and the Canary Islands. The port in Malaga is only 25 minutes’ drive from our home. We are Diamond on RCI and this will be our first time on NCL. In fact these cruises are such bargain prices we have booked virtually the same cruise again departing on 13th January .

Thanks again for the pictures and information about the Spirit

Glyn

 

We are overlapping with you! We are embarking in Barcelona so we will share the ship for a few days. We just got diamond on RCI, but I have sailed NCL twice before. The biggest difference I think is the more casual atmosphere. Especially at dinner.

[Cruiser Bruiser]

Hi John.Thanks for the great review.We are booked on Sept 15th 2014 out of Barcelona and by sheer chance have booked cabin 5512-do you have any photos of cabin.Thanks

 

Wow, what a coincidence! I know Dave took a picture, but it must have gotten deleted because I had his image files stored on my laptop as a backup until we got home. However, I can tell you that the cabin is identical to the layout on the Norwegian website. Third bed drops from the ceiling above the right bed. Head is on the left, closets are on the right. Flat screen television. Port hole. No complaints and plenty of room. Enjoy!

 

Sent from my ADR6350 using Forums mobile app

[wnycruisefam66]

Hi again! Thanks for taking the time for the review. Can't wait to go next year & see everything!

 

Can you remember when the laundry bag special was? With 5 of us going, I'm trying to avoid over-packing & we may have to use this to lighten the load.

[Cruiser Bruiser]

Hi again Cruiser Bruiser, do you by any chance have a way of posting your Freestyle Dailies from the cruise? I would love to look them over. And also, my daughter wants to know if they had the Chocoholic Buffet, and if so, which night it was? Thank you :o

 

I'm glad you asked! There was a Chocoholic Buffet, and I attended for the first time on my sixth Norwegian cruise.

 

 

On our sailing, the orgy of chocolate was offered on Day 11, which was Florence. For the opposite itinerary, Day 11 is a sea day, I think, so maybe the do it the same day.

 

 

The displays were interesting and impressive. I never noticed until now that there is a miniature chocolate Thinker in the photo above!

 

 

I suppose I avoided the buffet in the past because I'm not a huge chocolate fan and I got the impression that the event was over the top.

 

 

But in fact, the menu was fairly restrained. I had a chocolate covered half-banana, a few chocolate covered strawberries, and some sort of cake bar. I didn't see anyone going too crazy.

 

 

The Dailies probably total 70 pages, so I likely won't scan them. However, I'm a librarian, so I'm happy to dig in and answer as many questions as you can ask. Cheers!

[AquamarineBreeze]

Thanks again for your review!

I was wondering what you know about the spa. I understand that there aren't any spa passes, but exactly what is there in the thermal area, if you know? Also, is there a charge each time you want to use the area?

 

:)

[Cruiser Bruiser]

John

Thank you for the great review, we are going on the Spirit on 29th November departing from Malaga 9 nights to Barcelona, Casablanca and the Canary Islands. The port in Malaga is only 25 minutes’ drive from our home. We are Diamond on RCI and this will be our first time on NCL. In fact these cruises are such bargain prices we have booked virtually the same cruise again departing on 13th January .

Thanks again for the pictures and information about the Spirit

Glyn

 

Hi Glyn, I haven't sailed RCI, yet, but everything I read says that NCL and RCI are more similar than different. Obviously you will have more dining options on Norwegian Spirit, no set dining times (which is hugely advantageous with long port days) and no formal nights.

 

I envy you living on the Costa del Sol! I hope you enjoy both of your cruises!! :p

[Cruiser Bruiser]

Hi again! Thanks for taking the time for the review. Can't wait to go next year & see everything!

 

Can you remember when the laundry bag special was? With 5 of us going, I'm trying to avoid over-packing & we may have to use this to lighten the load.

 

Thanks for the question! :) I don't remember, exactly, as I pulled the flyer out of the Freestyle Daily and gave it to Dave each time. I packed so many clothes that I only wore about two-thirds of them. Dave brought enough for about one week.

 

The first offer was day four or five, I think. I want to say that the second was day eight or nine. The one thing to keep in mind is that anything you send off in the bag won't come back for two days. So, make sure that you have enough clothes to get through the gap. Have fun! :p

[Cruiser Bruiser]

Thanks again for your review!

I was wondering what you know about the spa. I understand that there aren't any spa passes, but exactly what is there in the thermal area, if you know? Also, is there a charge each time you want to use the area?

 

:)

 

So, I did enter the spa to get to the gym. The gym (free) is in one direction. In the other direction is the steam room and sauna (also free). Additionally, there are treatment rooms for massages and other traditional spa services (not free ;)). But I didn't see a thermal suite, and there isn't one on the deck plans, so I think we can safely say there isn't one. I think you won't miss it, as the itineraries the Spirit sails are very busy! Happy sailing!

[wnycruisefam66]

Thanks for the question! :) I don't remember, exactly, as I pulled the flyer out of the Freestyle Daily and gave it to Dave each time. I packed so many clothes that I only wore about two-thirds of them. Dave brought enough for about one week.

 

The first offer was day four or five, I think. I want to say that the second was day eight or nine. The one thing to keep in mind is that anything you send off in the bag won't come back for two days. So, make sure that you have enough clothes to get through the gap. Have fun! :p

 

Thanks for checking & thanks for the 2-day return time reminder! I didn't think of that!

[deladypilot]

Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful cruise with us. Great review and wonderful photos. Really makes me want to book this cruise

[AquamarineBreeze]

So, I did enter the spa to get to the gym. The gym (free) is in one direction. In the other direction is the steam room and sauna (also free). Additionally, there are treatment rooms for massages and other traditional spa services (not free ;)). But I didn't see a thermal suite, and there isn't one on the deck plans, so I think we can safely say there isn't one. I think you won't miss it, as the itineraries the Spirit sails are very busy! Happy sailing!

 

Thank you for the answer & of course for the super review and photos!!!!!