My Spirit Free Style Adventure

[dyslexic pirate]

I really tested the "Free Style" waters on the Spirit cruise that I just returned from yesterday.

 

I went harried and frazzled and returned rested and relaxed...so it must've worked.

 

This was a very different cruise for me as I did'nt go out and buy a single new thing beforehand and did most of my packing the day before and finished the morning we set off for Seattle.

 

This was going to be the first cruise where we stayed on a preset budget!

 

We always book a balcony cabin. It was a very wise investment on this trip. Instead of just having the never ending sea as a backdrop it's almost like your cruising down some awesome mountain highway with never ending scenery. Saw bears, whales, otter, seals, lighthouses, interesting little villages, glaciers, etc.

 

Got on board the ship with no problem. An NCL rep spotted our lattitudes card and whisked us to the front of a line and before we knew it we were on board, found our cabin, dumped our stuff and were back off the ship to discover Pike Street marketplace on foot for a couple of hours before the ship sailed. Got back on the ship in less that five minutes with plenty of time to spare before the muster drill.

 

Ship is awesome! She is big. Not huge. But big enough. In addition to daily workouts at the gym also did all the stairs several times for a workout. Believe me it is not a small ship.

 

Le Bistro: Had a negative experience on the Dream and wouldn't have recommended it but had to try it again. Went the first night. Loved it! I am now left with a longing for the homemade cream of mushroom soup they serve in a bread bowl and the incredible cheesecake served only in Le Bistro.

 

Ate the first formal night in Windows. The staff tried really hard. It wasn't spectacular. Was very glad I wore a nice cocktail dress and not one of my evening gowns. The few women I spotted who'd really gone all out and dressed to the nine's looked a little perturbed that others hadn't gone to more trouble for the "formal" night.

 

Not a breakfast person, but loved the morning chicken ceasar salads from room service! Grabbed alot of our meals from the Raffles buffett and ate out on the back deck area most evenings or just toted our trays to our rooms and sat out on our balcony and enjoyed the outdoors or people watched at ports.

Raffles has a decent salad bar, usually some fish, and always fresh cut fruit. So if your picky or trying to watch what your eating you can customize what your putting on your plate. We always got the heck out of the buffett area after we filled up our plates so we wouldn't be tempted for 2nds and 3rds. But we still stuffed our selves and sampled many of the desserts.

 

Our cabin was the coziest (i.e. tiniest) we've ever had. But the extra space used in the bathroom really was nice. Shower really is the best!! Great water pressure. Room stewards introduced themselves rightaway. I pre tipped them. Ordered up an egg crate (mattress was VERY hard) and extra towels for each day and our room was always neat and tidy.

 

We didn't do any of the ship or shore excursions and saved big bucks (thanks to everyone's tips and ideas.)

 

Juneau: Caught on of the local buses to Mendenhall Glacier ($10 each round trip) got a narrative on the local history both ways. It was raining but still managed to get in about a 2.5 mile hike in a area that's just across the road from where the busses drop everyone off. Didn't see any other hikers and thank goodness we didn't see any bears! But did see a couple of breathtaking waterfalls that weren't visible from the road.

 

Ketchikan: Walked all over town. Skipped the funicular ride up the hill and walked it in five minutes or so via Married Man's trail. Shopped. Paid to see Dolly's House ($5 each) and the town's little museum ($2 each) Bought each of our kids thier one and only souveniers $2.95 geodes - not sure if I spelled that right- they are the little round volcanic rocks with crystals inside - they have to be cracked open with a hammer and chisel. They were a big hit with the kids!!

 

Skagway: Rented nice Trek mountain bikes in town ($12 each) and rode to the cemetary, checked out Reid's Falls and then rode to an overlook and got some great shots of Skagway and all the ships in port.

 

Prince Rupert: Got off the ship and stumbled across a private office that was renting internet usage for about $3.00 for unlimited use. Got caught up on emails. Walked all over town. Checked out the little whale viewing park. Saw the sunken gardens. Talked to the locals. Had a beautiful view off the back deck outside Raffles as we lingered over yet another plate of food we didn't need to be eating....

 

Skipped the spa. That was hard. Usually I drop a least a grand at the spa each time!!

 

Got trashed each time we tried to get into the slot tournament. Made several donations at the casino until we decided we'd give our money to the flood victims instead.

 

Didn't set out bags out the night before disembarkation. Kept them with us packed 'em up in the morning and walked right off the ship and were on a shuttle in five minutes. Of course we then sat there for another half an hour waiting for the bus to fill but it sure beat having to stand forever in a long line or go hunting for our luggage.

 

This was a great trip! Very stress free, but then again it was the first time we haven't traveled with a big group and our kids. But on the flip side we sure did miss all of them. There really is a fun advantage to cruising with a group!

 

Let me know if you have any questions :)

[dyslexic pirate]

On board entertainment:

 

Dancers were the best I've seen at sea. The singing however left much to be desired. The Greased Lightening and Broadway shows were nice. The comedian who talked about married couples was a real kick! I think he even singled out one of our newly wed CC couples - Cheryl and Jeff - and referred to them several times in his act.

 

NCL had wine/fruit and choclate covered strawberries waiting in our room when we boarded. It was huge. We were doing our best to snack on the fruit and not eat junk and were feeling kinda proud of ourselves and then we got a knock on the door halfway through the cruise and were surprised by yet another huge fruit tray/wine that some friends had sent to us. It was a shame we weren't able to bring that fruit with us off the ship. At least that's how I interpreted the rules.

[susanv64]

dyslexic pirate...What a joy to log on to CC this morning and read 2 great reviews already posted from your sailing. We'll be boarding her next Saturday... her last Alaskan trip!

 

You mentioned the slot tournements. How many of these did they hold while you were on board? Also, regading the ship's temperature. I've been trying to find out how they keep it inside the ship. On the warmer or cooler side? Your opinion would be appreciated.

 

Thanks for your review!

[dyslexic pirate]

I wore a light wind breaker style jacket while inside most of the time. I did find that some areas of the ship could be a little cool at times. And it's always great to have something with you to toss on if you spot a whale or other wildlife and want to step out on deck to check it out.

 

On the one formal night that we went to in Windows I was so thankful that I wore a dress that had a matching shawl with it as I kept it over my shoulders for the whole meal as it did get chilly. (didn't go to 2nd formal night)

 

The temperature is just like what you'd expect in a hotel or an office building.

 

Enjoy your cruise! We found it to be much more relaxed than a Carribean cruise. Maybe because we didn't have that frantic mind set to "get out in the sun becuause it's winter at home" thing going on.

 

Watch out for the slots! We lost big time, at least for us. DH tried several times to qualify for the tournament. Never did make it. Can't remember the exact number of qualifying rounds they will have but there are several. I did witness one woman win $675 on a slot machine.

 

I still can't believe how fast the week flew by!!

 

Skagway had the best clearance/end of season sales. I didn't partake but I saw people getting back on board with huge bags of goodies.

 

By the way regardless of the yays/nays about the food, it must be good, we exercised our hinnies off everyday and I still managed to pack on 6 pounds!

 

Don't pass up the Blue Lagoon! Awesome fried rice/wonton soup/burgers etc. small menu but awesome stuff! Very clean too! I was up before dawn one morning and went to Blue Lagoon to read and enjoy a cup of tea and watched the young man behind the counter scrub and scour every square inch of the cooking area. Also, had a great chat with a young lady "Oleksandra" from the Ukraine. It was fascinating to hear about her culture and about life on board the ship.

[Glamourgal]

If you get a balcony on a cruise to Alaska which is the best side of the ship to be on??

[dyslexic pirate]

We were on the port (left side) of the ship. I was led to believe that we would really be missing out and starboard was the only way to go. Either side is great. We checked from time to time to see who had the best view and it really is a toss up.

[cntwait2cruz]

Alright who else was there and saw the comedian??? I think Jeff wanted to kill me for that!!! Nah really he was just slightly embarrassed and can now give me a hard time for it...LOL.... I'm just thankful they didn't broadcast it over ship's tv!!!!!!

 

I thought about you loads on the ship Dsylexic Pirate!!! Wondered which one was you!

[STLStrawberryBlonde]

We were on the Spirit last week ... it was our first cruise and we absolutely loved it. I could do a cruise every year (might take some smooth talking to hubby to pull that off! :D ).

 

We saw both of the shows the comedian (Rex Haven?) did ... he was a riot. And the ventriloquist was pretty funny too. (We only saw his second show, and that was so funny I wish we'd caught the first one.)

[dyslexic pirate]

Cheryl,

 

I almost jumped out of my seat and ran up and introduced myself to you! I was sitting several rows back more in the middle of the theater. I could see just the backs of your heads. I told my DH - "that's MY Cheryl! She's my Cruise Critic buddy from Iowa who just got married!! Then I thought what if it isn't you!! :eek: lol !! I tried to catch up with you after the show but it was so crowded that I lost sight of the two of you.

 

You and your hubby were so good natured about the comic's act, it was great!

[cntwait2cruz]

Oh yes it was us....I wish you could have caught up with us.. My hubby is very good natured, I'll never live down the fact that we got "picked" on but it's all in good fun. I remember watching on the ships tv, those poor contestants on the newlywed game. Some of those questions!!! Hubby kept saying to me, "And you wanted to go do that??" Well I changed my mind on that real quick! Sometimes I can be a little naieve! But now to hear hubby tell the comedian story to people around here, it starts with, "what's the first thing you don't do at a comedy show??"""" His answer is raise your hand and what did she do...LOL

 

Bless his heart he really took it all in stride.....one day after that I don't remember where we were but some gentleman said to him, I've got my eye on you.....his wife reached over and smacked him in the arm and said that's not nice!!!! When we got off by ourselves he laughed, poor guy got hit cause of us. Felt so bad for him!

 

Did I mention we were without luggage for awhile??? We finally met our bags at the first port, well 2 of them anyway and got our formal clothes back in Juneau...LOL....was an experience and we want to go do it all over again!

[etoile]

Hey, you were in Skagway the same time I was! Actually we docked in Haines and took the ferry over but I definitely remember seeing the Spirit when we got to Skagway. I was on the railway pretty much the whole time so I probably didn't see you though. If you saw people around town with olive-colored backpacks that said RSVP, that was our group from the Oosterdam. :)

 

It's great to read your review - I am planning to go back to Alaska next year but on the NCL Star this time. Thanks for posting such detailed information!

[cntwait2cruz]

well looks like you sailed a night or two with my luggage!!! One of our bags ended up on the Oosterdam and we didn't get it until our second port in Juneau!!! LOL

[etoile]

well looks like you sailed a night or two with my luggage!!! One of our bags ended up on the Oosterdam and we didn't get it until our second port in Juneau!!! LOL

Oh dear! That's odd - it was the Diamond Princess that was embarking in Seattle (port 30) at the same time we were. Where did you embark from? I'm glad you were able to get reunited with your bags!

[cntwait2cruz]

Not sure where in Seattle the boat left and returned from....But when we left our bags with the bus people it somehow didn't make it on our bus and one bag made it to the Oosterdam and two other bags stayed at the bus stop.

[etoile]

Oh my goodness! What a scary experience. What's worse is that you don't get your bags until later in the afternoon, so instead of knowing in advance and then spending your afternoon pre-sail working to get your bags back, you are comfortably checking in and expecting everything to be in your room later...while it's already on its way elsewhere! In any case, I am glad you were able to get it back. :)