Sailed Norwegian Spirit, Venice-Barcelona, June 24-July 6, 2015

[FrugalMother99]

Our family (2 adults/1 teen) sailed on Norwegian Spirit from Venice-Barcelona on June 24-July 6, 2015. We are basically cruise/Europe newbies since this was teen’s 1st cruise/trip to Europe, while husband/wife sailed Carnival Imagination in 1999 & visited Barcelona in 2000. We selected this ship/itinerary based on teen’s availability (mid-June thru July), wife’s desire to visit Venice-Naples-Rome-Florence, and husband’s desire to visit a Greek island & Istanbul.

 

We were very fortunate to have frequent flier miles earned on United to pay for all 3 round-trip tickets (economy class) & flew Lufthansa from Washington, DC-Frankfurt-Venice & from Barcelona-Munich-Washington, DC. We were pleasantly surprised by the free flowing beverages (non & alcoholic), meals, & in-flight movie options. The only travel annoyance was an unknown connecting flight gate change in Frankfurt & a 2 hour delay in Munich.

 

We didn’t purchase Euros in advance because we read ATMs were plentiful. Our 1st attempt to obtain Euros was during our layover @ the Frankfurt airport. We bypassed the 1st ATM thinking there would be others, the 2nd ATM was out of order, & the 3rd ATM wouldn’t accept our Bank of America ATM card, but fortunately accepted our E*Trade ATM card. All of our tours required cash payment, so we needed approximately 1500 Euros. We tried, unsuccessfully, to use the BOA ATM card a few more times throughout our trip. In Athens, the lines @ the ATM were too long to wait in to take out money. Turkey uses the Turkey Lira, even though we found souvenir vendors who took Euros & tour operators who took US dollars. We had no difficulty in any country using our VISA United MileagePlus Explorer Card for hotels/meals/souvenirs. My husband used a hidden pocket that we purchased at Eastern Mountain Sports (about $20), I used a cross-body purse with zippers that I secured with small hiking clips, & our teen wore shorts/pants with zippers or Velcro. We never felt unsafe, but unfortunately one of the women we met on the cruise had her wallet pickpocketed in Venice after purchasing vaporetta tickets:(

 

We arrived in Venice 24 hours prior to boarding & had no difficulty purchasing tickets for the airport shuttle bus (6 Euros pp) to Piazzale Roma. We selected the Best Western Hotel Olimpia for its proximity to the bus depot & the People Mover. Since it was raining upon arrival, we were glad to see our hotel in the distance & only climb/cross 1 set of steps/bridge. The hotel fit all our requirements for 1 night—2 beds, bathroom, A/C, in room safe, free Wi-Fi, & free buffet breakfast. The next morning we woke to sunshine, stored our luggage @ the front desk, & toured Venice. We rode the Vaporetta (7 Euros pp) along the Grand Canal to St. Mark’s Square. The Vaporetta was standing-room only the entire 45 minute ride. I’m glad we pre-booked (2 Euros pp) our entrance into St Mark’s Basilica since the line was long. It cost an additional 5 Euros pp for the Museum upstairs, which was well worth it. We had no difficulty finding our way thru the winding streets back to the hotel, where we gathered our luggage, and walked to the People Mover (1,30 Euros pp). The People Mover takes you to the entrance of the cruise terminal, which was followed a long walk to the ship.

 

Edited July 20, 2015 by FrugalMother99

[FrugalMother99]

There wasn’t a line @ NCL when we arrived between 4-5 pm. We boarded the ship during the Muster Drill & were directed to our Assembly Station. When it was over, we went in search of our stateroom—deck 9, mid-ship, port side, balcony. The stateroom is advertised as 200 square feet. As you entered, to the right there was a closet with 6 corner shelves, a dozen or so hangars, & a safe (large enough for an I-pad). On the left was the bathroom which was divided into 3 areas—on the left a frosted sliding glass door to the toilet, in the center there was a sink, hairdryer & 4 small shelves & on the left a sliding glass door into the shower. This worked well for our family of 3--if we all needed to be in there at once:eek: There were 2 beds that were pushed together, a love-seat sized couch that folded out into a bed, a chair @ the desk, a coffee maker, a TV mounted on the wall, a mini-bar fridge, 4 small drawers & 4 tiny corner shelves. The balcony had 2 chairs & a small table. The room was more than adequate for 2, but a little cramped for 3. If you wanted to keep the sofa bed open, it blocked access to the chair @ the desk & you had climb over the bed to get to the balcony.

 

We purchased chewable Bonine tablets (about $5 @ Target) in case we became seasick, but fortunately none of us did. We did feel the movement/vibration of the ship in our mid-ship stateroom. Also, I couldn’t stay very long in Galaxy of the Stars, the casino, or Windows main dining room when the boat was swaying. We were also happy to have the balcony to let in fresh air.

 

We were very fortunate when we booked our cruise to receive 2 promos--the Ultimate Dining Package for all 3 of us & 2 adult Ultimate Beverage Packages/1 soda beverage package. Our drink receipts totaled $408, so not worth it for us if we had to pay for the package. We ate dinner in specialty restaurants 6 of the 12 nights – Italian @ LaTrattoria, French @ LeBistro, Steak @ Cagney’s, & Japanese @ Teppanyaki (total value of $395)--once again not worth it if we had to pay for the package. The other nights we ate in the complimentary restaurants--Garden, Windows, Blue Lagoon, Shogun/sushi. On early port days we ordered free room service breakfast (beverages & pastries) & on sea days we preferred to eat breakfast in the quiet dining room vs the crowded buffet. We ate most of our lunches in port, but on sea days we ate at the buffet, 2 outdoor grills, or Blue Lagoon.

 

There were about 30 families/couples on our Roll Call & ½ of us were traveling with teens/kids. A Cruise Critic member set up a Meet & Mingle for our 1st day @ sea. We were assigned a conference room & NCL provided beverages & snacks. Unfortunately, we were told ahead of time that the staff/officers wouldn’t be able to attend. The main reason for our cruise was the port stops--the ship & what it offered was secondary to us. Our teen went to the Entourage club when there was something of interest, attended a few shows, stopped by the casino a couple times, listened to music at the atrium bar, browsed the shops, had a mani/pedi, went to the Italian language seminar & towel animal demonstration, & used the pool—even though finding a chair was next to impossible if you didn’t secure it early in the day:mad: Now for the ports …

[FrugalMother99]

Our 1st port stop was Piraeus. Three families (11 passengers) booked an 8 hour tour thru ShareATourInGreece.com (69 Euro cash pp + 12 Euro pp @ Acropolis + 4 Euro pp @ Poseidon). Our tour guide, Popi, was fantastic & took us south along the coast to Cape Sounio to the Temple of Poseidon. We then drove to Athens to visit the Acropolis, Olympic Stadium, Changing of the Guards ceremony, & Temple of Zeus. She pointed out places of interest along the way & took us to a fabulous restaurant (? Entelvais Attbege AE ?) for lunch.

 

Our 2nd port stop was Kusadai. We joined another family (7 passengers) on a 4 hour tour they booked thru EphesusShuttle.com (56 USD cash pp, including entrance fees). Our tour guide, Emre, was also fantastic, and took us to visit the House of Virgin Mary, Ephesus, & Artemission Temple. At the end of our tour we were asked if we wanted to visit a carpet co-op, which we did & it was interesting--the other family purchased 2 rugs! We ate lunch on the ship since back on board time was 1:30 pm

 

Our 3rd port stop was Istanbul. Two families (8 passengers) booked a 7 hour tour thru OkeanosTravel.com (50 USD cash pp, including entrance fees). Our tour guide, Alp, took us to the visit the Hippodrome, Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, Grand Bazaar and a stop for lunch @ Lale Restaurant

 

Our 4th port stop was Mykonos where our ship docked @ the new port. We ate breakfast & lunch on board. NCL provided free shuttle buses into town, where we walked thru the winding streets of Little Venice to the Windmills & back.

 

Our next day was a sea day, which allowed us to rest up for 3 long days of touring. Up to this point, we had great weather—temperatures in the 80’s. Once we reached Italy, we were in the mist of the European heatwave & temperatures were now in the 90’s.

 

Our 5th port stop was Naples. Two families (8 passengers) booked a 9 hour tour thru ShareAShoreExcursion.com (100 Euro cash pp). Our fabulous tour guide/driver, Mario, drove us along the Amalfi Coast to visit Positano & then to visit Sorrento, where we had a fabulous lunch @ LaTerrazza. We then headed to Pompeii (13 Euros pp) where we met our tour guide, Fredrika, before heading back to the ship.

 

Our 6th port stop was Civitavecchia. The same two families booked again thru ShareAShoreExcursion.com (141 Euros cash pp, w/skip the line tickets). Our tour guide/driver/owner, Marco, took us to visit the Colosseum, Arch of Costantine, Pantheon, & Piazza ??. We stopped for lunch @ Giulianiliana Paolini before heading to the Vatican Museum/Sistine Chapel, where we met our tour guide. The only downside to this tour was that during our cruise another passenger received an e-mail indicating that Pope Francis scheduled an event that prohibited us from seeing St. Peter’s Basilica/Square. Very unfortunate:(

 

Our 7th port stop was Livorno. Two families (6 passengers) booked a 9 hour tour thru ShareAShoreExcursio.com (120 Euros cash pp). First we drove to Florence where we were met by our wonderful guide, Stefano, for a walking tour before going to the Accademia (16,50 Euros pp). We stopped for lunch @ a food court in the marketplace before driving to Pisa. Our family had pre-booked tickets to climb the Leaning Tower (18 Euros pp), which I highly recommend--pre-purchasing & climbing!

 

Our 8th port stop was Toulon, France. You can easily walk to the town center, but we also wanted to go to the beaches of Mourillon. We boarded the Petits Trains (7 Euros pp) located just outside the cruise terminal. The 45 minute round-trip city tour is a get off-get-on loop with 2 stops—beaches & town center. The beaches were clean/nice with calm water with easily accessible restaurants/bars/bathrooms.

 

Our final destination was Barcelona. We booked with BarcelonaDayTours.com. Our driver picked us up at the cruise terminal, & our guide, Anna, took us on a 4 hour tour of the city with stops @ LaSagrada Familia, Park Guell (pre-paid 5 Euros pp), Casa Mila, Casa Batllo, Montjuic, & past other city highlights. At the end of our tour we were dropped off @ our hotel. The cost of the tour is dependent upon the amount of people (13 passengers – we paid 20 Euro cash pp). We stayed 1 nite @ Hotel Jazz, a very modern hotel with a roof top pool, located near Plaza Catalunya & Las Ramblas. The next morning we booked a shuttle to the airport thru the hotel—cost is dependent upon # of passengers (we paid 8 Euros cash pp).

Edited July 20, 2015 by FrugalMother99

[FrugalMother99]

This was a trip of a lifetime that we’re happy we could share with our teen. We took in excess of 1000 photos & have memories to share for years to come. It’s an itinerary-packed adventure that allowed us to see for ourselves the major highlights of each city that we’ve seen/read via TV/movies/books. We saw a lot on our tours and don’t feel that we missed much. Of course, the negative of tours or cruising is that we couldn’t linger longer at each site. I highly recommend checking out the websites listed for semi-private tours. We “met” each family we toured with thru our roll call. We paid a lot less than NCL shore excursions, but more than DIY. Do your research & do what you feel is best for you.

[Cruisermom2nick]

Thanks for your review! A few ship questions~

1. Did the German bar serve food or just beer?

2. What was the menu at Shogun like?

3. What were the main shows?

[rolloman]

Thanks for the review. I sail on her in November. What are your general thoughts about the ship itself?

[FrugalMother99]

Thanks for your review! A few ship questions~

1. Did the German bar serve food or just beer?

2. What was the menu at Shogun like?

3. What were the main shows?

 

Bier Garten was the name of the outdoor bar/grill. We only remember seeing hamburgers & hotdogs; maybe we arrived too early/late or not when they were serving German food. The bar was just a bar; maybe they had German specialty beers, but we don't remember them.

 

The Shogun menu was a typical Asian restaurant menu--you could also order from the sushi menu. See the menu here...

http://www.ncl.com/sites/default/files/18372_ASIAN%20Spirit%20WEB-1-12.pdf

 

We didn't go to a lot of shows -- the magician was very good & Elements was also very good (this was the last show when the entire staff comes out onto the stage at the end). See this link...

http://www.ncl.com/cruise-ship/spirit/whats-on-board/entertainment

[FrugalMother99]

Thanks for the review. I sail on her in November. What are your general thoughts about the ship itself?

 

This was our 1st cruise in 15 years, so we didn't make comparisons as a seasoned traveler may. We thought the ship was in great shape for her age & the crew was constantly cleaning & making repairs/improvements. The staff was extremely friendly & helpful. The food was typical restaurant quality food, but a lot of it & served warm/hot vs cold as others have mentioned in posts. The size was perfect for the ports we visited--can't imagine the larger ships docking in the smaller ports.

[cardbucfan]

Thanks got your review! We do the opposite itinerary next May and I'm heavily into the excursion research. Glad to get some more tour company names!

[tmackel]

I 100% agree, time of a lifetime! Thanks for the review!

[flapbreaker]

Thanks for taking the time to write this review. In retrospect, are there any ports that you felt you could of done yourself such as Istanbul or Athens?

[Cruisermom2nick]

Bier Garten was the name of the outdoor bar/grill. We only remember seeing hamburgers & hotdogs; maybe we arrived too early/late or not when they were serving German food. The bar was just a bar; maybe they had German specialty beers, but we don't remember them.

 

The Shogun menu was a typical Asian restaurant menu--you could also order from the sushi menu. See the menu here...

http://www.ncl.com/sites/default/files/18372_ASIAN%20Spirit%20WEB-1-12.pdf

 

We didn't go to a lot of shows -- the magician was very good & Elements was also very good (this was the last show when the entire staff comes out onto the stage at the end). See this link...

http://www.ncl.com/cruise-ship/spirit/whats-on-board/entertainment

 

 

Thanks so much for your input! A few more questions~

 

1. How was the teen disco?

2. Was the hairdryer super antiquated?

3. Were there daily BBQ's with different themes, as other folks have stated?:):):)

[FrugalMother99]

Thanks for taking the time to write this review. In retrospect, are there any ports that you felt you could of done yourself such as Istanbul or Athens?

 

It depends on what/where you want to see/visit & how comfortable you are touring/using public transportation in a foreign country. If you look @ Rick Steve's (or similar) book on Mediterranean cruising, you can do most cities on your own. We wanted the expertise of a guide & convenience of a driver/van, but in my opinion: Venice -- DIY city, Athens -- DIY if you want to stay in the city (we wanted to go to Cape Sounio/Temple of Poseidon, so we needed a tour), Ephesus -- probably best with a tour, Istanbul -- DIY city (we found a tour that included admission ticket prices, so it was worth the few extra $$), Mykonos -- DIY island, Naples -- it depends on your destination--Pompeii/Capri/Amalfi -- we wanted to see the Amalfi Coast, so a tour was best for this, Rome -- depends if you want to stay within Rome or include Vatican City -- the drive from the port was about an hour & the city is crowded, so we were happy to have a guide/driver, Livorno -- depends on your destination--Pisa/Florence/Cinque Terre -- the drive from port is about an hour & Florence is crowded, so we were happy to have a guide/driver, Toulon -- DIY, probably a tour if you want to visit a neighboring city, Barcelona -- DIY city. Hope that helps. If cost an issue, look into sharing tours with other couples/families thru your roll call. We met nice people who didn't have any annoying habits -- my husband was the worst offender in our group by holding us up in his relentless search for Italian shoes :-)

[FrugalMother99]

Thanks so much for your input! A few more questions~

 

1. How was the teen disco?

2. Was the hairdryer super antiquated?

3. Were there daily BBQ's with different themes, as other folks have stated?:):):)

 

The Entourage (teen disco) was hit or miss for my teen. I didn't keep our "dailies", but here is one that I found before our cruise.

NCL - Teen progamme spirit.pdf

 

I have long, thick hair & found that the hairdryer didn't go a good job. It's located in the bathroom, attached to the wall & the hose looks like a vacuum cleaner/gets hot -- I just let my hair air dry & used a curling iron to style.

 

Most of our lunches were eaten off ship since we were in port touring for 8ish hours most days. We had lunch on board 3-4 of the 12 days, but as I recall the BBQ's did have themes. I'm not sure if the themes are different depending on whether your cruise is in the Caribbean or the Mediterranean.

[dolita22]

Thanks for your review! Your insight on ports and tour guides was especially helpful. My DH and I, along with my parents, are also considering this itinerary for next summer or a Greek Isles cruise. The Greek Isles cruise seems more relaxing, but is only 7 days. This one has more ports and is longer, but not as relaxing. Decisions, decisions. :)

 

Glad you and your family had a good cruise!

[asrivas]

Thanks for the clear crisp review. we are 1st time cruisers, and every review like this one helps learn the ropes. Would you think that its Ok to travel into Athens on our own and then take a tour? We are doing same trip may 2016

[FrugalMother99]

Thanks for the clear crisp review. we are 1st time cruisers, and every review like this one helps learn the ropes. Would you think that its Ok to travel into Athens on our own and then take a tour? We are doing same trip may 2016

 

I don't remember the logistics of getting into Athens (subway?), but the city is only about 7 miles from port, so I'm sure it's easy to navigate. I vaguely remember reading about walking tours within Athens, but as I've mentioned, we wanted the expertise & convenience of full day tours w/guides & drivers.

[dallas16]

You can use the x80 bus which costs €4 from the Athens cruise terminal to Athens city/ Acropolis or alternatively if you walk around the shoreline from the cruise terminal towards where the ferries are docked in Piraeus, you will get to the subway station where you can then take the subway to Athens. I think the X80 bus may be easier as it leaves from the cruise terminal and departs every thirty minutes

[asrivas]

Thanks everyone l i think that we will get to syntagma and take the walking tour

[mugtech]

Thanks for the clear crisp review. we are 1st time cruisers, and every review like this one helps learn the ropes. Would you think that its Ok to travel into Athens on our own and then take a tour? We are doing same trip may 2016

 

In 2014 we hired a cab driver for the day for 80 Euros, so we spent as much time in each place as we pleased, and he knew the spots we would want to see.

[Harvsgirl]

Thanks for your review. It has a lot of helpful info in it.

One question...I was looking at the Shogun menu you posted the link to and it says there is a $15 charge per person on the menu. I thought that restaurant was free.

 

Or is that an old menu and NCL just hasn't replaced them since they made this a free restaurant?

 

Thank you

[clarkg]

We did this cruise too in Sept of last year. I was fun reading your review and comparing notes. I find my old review about it. If your interested. It would be nice to see some of your pictures also.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2107759

[FrugalMother99]

Thanks for your review. It has a lot of helpful info in it.

One question...I was looking at the Shogun menu you posted the link to and it says there is a $15 charge per person on the menu. I thought that restaurant was free.

 

Or is that an old menu and NCL just hasn't replaced them since they made this a free restaurant?

 

Thank you

 

Sorry, yes Shogun is now complimentary, but the menu looks the same. You can order from the Sushi bar, which is adjacent to Shogun, but you will have to pay for those items. Also, Teppanyaki is adjacent to Shogun & Sushi, and you still have to pay for it & make ressies since the table only seats 10.

[Jennyhays]

As we are doing this same cruise in October, I was wondering what time you are able to begin boarding the ship. We haven't got our final docs yet, but itinerary says embarkation is 11 pm.

We don't need to spend the day in Venice as we have a week there when we return after the cruise.

[flapbreaker]

We did this cruise too in Sept of last year. I was fun reading your review and comparing notes. I find my old review about it. If your interested. It would be nice to see some of your pictures also.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2107759

 

Loved your review. Thanks for sharing.