Live from the Spirit - Grand Med 1st Aug

[KeithJenner]

Keith, I know you said you have free laundry but I am wondering if you can let us know what days they have the laundry bag special? Trying to figure out how much clothes to pack and when we will need to do laundry.

 

 

 

Thank you for all your info so far!

 

 

I tend not really to notice, but it was a few days ago. At a guess I'd say probably the first sea day.

[blan2]

You might do some research on the pre-paid Euro cards. I have not used one but it looks like it might work to buy your Euro's now vs later. https://www.travelex.com/cash-passport

 

Edit: after posting this I looked at their exchange rate does not look favorable. They are quoting .82 Euro per $1USD when the actual rate right now is .91 Euro per $1 USD.

 

Flapbreaker: thank you for the info. We will have to look into it a bit before our trip. If the Canadian dollar keeps going down.....our trip is going to get very expensive.

[KeithJenner]

Time for an update.

 

Cagneys was OK. It wasn't really any fault of theirs, but both of us didn't have much of an appetite. The food was very good though.

 

Yesterday was Istanbul. The evening before, I went up to the pool deck at about midnight to watch as we started through the Dardanelles, which is something I've long wanted to do.

 

In the morning, we took the tram to Sultanahmet Square. It was fairly easy. As you leave the port area, I'd recommend turning right, as the closest tram stop is that way. We turned left, and had to walk a little further. still not far though.

 

A tram token, which takes you as far as you want on that line, was 4lira and I think they only take cash. You get a token which you use to get through the barrier.

 

It's a short journey to Sultanahmet. You can walk it (more people walk back), but the tram was so cheap and easy that it is worth taking.

 

We took some pictures in the square, and went into the Basilica Cistern, which was interesting. Cost was 20lira each (cash in lira only). Worth doing, and a short queue. The queues for the mosques etc were long in comparison.

 

Afterwards, we headed to the Grand Bazaar. It is huge, and I doubt there is much you can't buy if you want. We could have spent longer there, but after a while our son asked to leave because of the cigarette smoke. I hadn't particularly noticed it, but he isn't used to people smoking indoors, and it seemed to bother him a little.

 

We walked on down towards the bridge over the Golden Horn, with more shops all the way, before we caught the tram back to the ship.

 

We obviously had many invitations to visit shops, buy all manner of things (mainly rugs), and whilst we had no intention of buying anything other than a few souvenirs, I found it all quite enjoyable and good natured. Far more enjoyable than a lot of other places I've visited.

 

We really enjoyed Istanbul, as did some friends who had very low expectations (they hadn't even planned to get off the ship). Other who had booked private tours didn't seem to enjoy it quite as much, as they seemed to cram too much in. Apparently, some barely had chance to even get lunch).

 

A great port. We enjoyed it so much that we are now keen to try one of the recently announced Spirit cruises which start or end there so we can have a couple of days.

 

Another great thing is that, as the ship docks right so close to the centre of the city, the view from the ship is great. It was one of my favourite sail always.

[KeithJenner]

Thanks for the review! We are so looking forward to our trip next year;)

 

I am just wondering if you happen to know what the exchange rate is on the ship at this time for buying Euros? With the Canadian dollar taking a dive at the moment, I am trying to figure out a few different options for us buying Euros, and would like to know roughly what the US$ to Euro exchange rate is on board.

 

Thank you for any info you can provide.

 

Enjoy the rest of your trip!

 

 

I just checked at guest services. The desk which does currency was closed, but they did check the rate charged for the last transaction and it was 0.8357 euros per US$. There is also a per transaction fee (I think he said $10 but may have misheard).

 

I'm not sure of the current rates (I had some currency already so haven't checked rates lately), but that sounds quite low to me, as you'd expect.

[hdowney]

I just checked at guest services. The desk which does currency was closed, but they did check the rate charged for the last transaction and it was 0.8357 euros per US$. There is also a per transaction fee (I think he said $10 but may have misheard).

 

I'm not sure of the current rates (I had some currency already so haven't checked rates lately), but that sounds quite low to me, as you'd expect.

 

Ouch. You'd want to be getting a fair amount exchanged if that is the correct price, for it to be worth it. Always better to get money exchanged at home at a bank I think for a better rate (well it generally is here in Ireland, not sure about the US).

 

Question, where did you get your Turkish Lira? Did you get the money exchanged before your trip (or even on the ship) or just take it out of an ATM on shore in Turkey? Do you happen to know the likelihood of finding an ATM in Turkey?

[KeithJenner]

 

Question, where did you get your Turkish Lira? Did you get the money exchanged before your trip (or even on the ship) or just take it out of an ATM on shore in Turkey? Do you happen to know the likelihood of finding an ATM in Turkey?

 

 

I get all my currency from Amex as I get air miles and credit card points on it at a reasonable exchange rate. I picked up some lira before our cruise last year but never managed to spend it in Kusidasi, so didn't need any more this year.

 

There was a cashpoint in the terminal in Istanbul. It was popular as lots of people didn't have any Lira. You don't need Lira in Kusidasi, but there are a few things like the team in Istanbul where they are essential.

[rochelle_s]

Ouch. You'd want to be getting a fair amount exchanged if that is the correct price, for it to be worth it. Always better to get money exchanged at home at a bank I think for a better rate (well it generally is here in Ireland, not sure about the US).

 

Question, where did you get your Turkish Lira? Did you get the money exchanged before your trip (or even on the ship) or just take it out of an ATM on shore in Turkey? Do you happen to know the likelihood of finding an ATM in Turkey?

 

I can answer your last question. When you exit the port gate, across the street and slightly to the right, is a bank with an outside ATM on the wall. A little further to the right is where you can catch the tram that Keith mentioned.

 

 

Rochelle

[nolatravelgirl]

What toiletry items are in the standard balcony rooms?

[arkansasnana3]

We are on the September 18 sailing and our meet and greet isn't until 4 days after we sail. A group of us are wanting to meet before we sail. What bars are open or can you suggest a place we could meet? We are doing excursions together so want to plan a few meeting places. Enjoying so much your live posts. Thanks Linda

[rochelle_s]

Keith I read the following on another thread posted Aug 5/15;

 

"Just last week they added 'premium selections' to the Cagney's and La Cucina menus. Even though the information sheet they hand you when you purchase the UDP clearly states everything on the menu is included, the premium selections are not. The staff cannot explain the discrepancy."

 

If possible could you check with those venues and see if this is currently the situation on the Spirit?

 

Thank you.

 

 

Rochelle

[KeithJenner]

What toiletry items are in the standard balcony rooms?

 

 

Just soap, showed gel and shampoo.

[KeithJenner]

We are on the September 18 sailing and our meet and greet isn't until 4 days after we sail. A group of us are wanting to meet before we sail. What bars are open or can you suggest a place we could meet? We are doing excursions together so want to plan a few meeting places. Enjoying so much your live posts. Thanks Linda

 

 

Pretty well all the bars will be open before sail away. If you want an outdoors venue then I'd recommend Raffles Bar, which I far prefer to the main pool area.

 

We love Henry's pub as an indoor venue, and it's probably not too busy then so could be a good place to meet up. That is where they usually hold the meet and greet.

[KeithJenner]

Keith I read the following on another thread posted Aug 5/15;

 

 

 

"Just last week they added 'premium selections' to the Cagney's and La Cucina menus. Even though the information sheet they hand you when you purchase the UDP clearly states everything on the menu is included, the premium selections are not. The staff cannot explain the discrepancy."

 

 

 

If possible could you check with those venues and see if this is currently the situation on the Spirit?

 

 

 

Thank you.

 

 

 

 

 

Rochelle

 

 

Not sure what ship that was from, but the Cagneys menu here is exactly the same as usual. Perhaps there was some confusion over the entrees which cost an additional $10. I understand they usually aren't charged if you have the UDP, but perhaps something went wrong on that particular cruise.

 

I'd be surprised if they have changed the menus now, with the big changes coming in a few months.

 

They certainly don't seem to be charging the additional for these items in Le Bistro. I had the Fruits de Mer yesterday, when we had one of our Latitudes freebies, and wasn't charged anything extra. One of our friends who has the UDP had it previously and he didn't mention being charged (I'm pretty sure he would have mentioned it if he had been)

Edited August 11, 2015 by KeithJenner

[KeithJenner]

I'm really starting to fall behind a bit now, but I'll update a little whilst sipping this Mudslide on Raffles Terrace.

 

We did the behind the scenes tour before we arrived at Kusadasi. As I mentioned earlier, there are apparently only 3 cabins with platinum benefits. I was told that there we 95 invites sent to the latitudes party, which shows how few past cruisers are onboard. That does demonstrate to an extent how important new cruisers are to NCL.

 

We've never done the behind the scenes tour before, as it's always clashed with other things. I really enjoyed it. There were only 7 of us, and we went to the bridge, the recycling areas, laundry and kitchen. Our son was also invited (he would be platinum if he could earn points) and he thought it was interesting as well. I'd certainly do it again, probably on a bigger ship.

 

Anyway, Kusadasi will have to wait until later, as my son has just turned up with a pack of cards. :)

[rochelle_s]

Not sure what ship that was from, but the Cagneys menu here is exactly the same as usual. Perhaps there was some confusion over the entrees which cost an additional $10. I understand they usually aren't charged if you have the UDP, but perhaps something went wrong on that particular cruise.

 

I'd be surprised if they have changed the menus now, with the big changes coming in a few months.

 

They certainly don't seem to be charging the additional for these items in Le Bistro. I had the Fruits de Mer yesterday, when we had one of our Latitudes freebies, and wasn't charged anything extra. One of our friends who has the UDP had it previously and he didn't mention being charged (I'm pretty sure he would have mentioned it if he had been)

 

Thank you for the update on your experience. Really enjoying your "live from" thread. You do a wonderful job and appreciate the time it takes from your holiday.

 

 

Rochelle

[blan2]

I just checked at guest services. The desk which does currency was closed, but they did check the rate charged for the last transaction and it was 0.8357 euros per US$. There is also a per transaction fee (I think he said $10 but may have misheard).

 

I'm not sure of the current rates (I had some currency already so haven't checked rates lately), but that sounds quite low to me, as you'd expect.

 

Thank you very much for getting this information for me. Enjoy the rest of your trip.......I look forward to reading about it!

[hdowney]

I'm really starting to fall behind a bit now, but I'll update a little whilst sipping this Mudslide on Raffles Terrace.

 

We did the behind the scenes tour before we arrived at Kusadasi. As I mentioned earlier, there are apparently only 3 cabins with platinum benefits. I was told that there we 95 invites sent to the latitudes party, which shows how few past cruisers are onboard. That does demonstrate to an extent how important new cruisers are to NCL.

 

We've never done the behind the scenes tour before, as it's always clashed with other things. I really enjoyed it. There were only 7 of us, and we went to the bridge, the recycling areas, laundry and kitchen. Our son was also invited (he would be platinum if he could earn points) and he thought it was interesting as well. I'd certainly do it again, probably on a bigger ship.

 

Anyway, Kusadasi will have to wait until later, as my son has just turned up with a pack of cards. :)

 

I take it then that the Behind the Scenes tour is only for Platinum members? It's something I'd love to do but Plat is a LOOONG way off

[dallas16]

Hi hdowney, a more in depth behind the scenes tour is available which lasts around three hours and costs $79.99 I believe. This is available for everyone and not just platinum cruisers

[KeithJenner]

Right, on to Kusadasi.

 

As anyone who has got this far will have realised, we aren't really into taking tours, preferring to do our own thing. However, we do join the occasional tour when diy isn't that easy.

 

If there are a few such ports (such as Alaska) then we would go for privately organised ones, but if it's just one on a cruise then we tend to go for the NCL one, as long as the price is OK. We decided to do that this time to get to Ephesus, as the total cost for the three of us was about £120 for the overview plus the Terrace Houses.

 

The coaches are obviously larger than on independent tours, but that's ok as a one off. Our guide was excellent (as usual in my limited NCL tour experience). The site itself was really interesting and we all enjoyed it.

 

The obligatory shopping stop was at a carpet shop near the port. It was close enough that you just walk back to the shop, so missing the shop was easy if you wanted to. We actually decided to go in, and all thought it was quite interesting to see how the carpets are made. It took about 15 minutes and there was no hard sell. We just left afterwards with no problem.

 

As with last year, we thought Kusadasi itself was very nice, and a great place to buy souvenirs and gifts. There is a large waterpark nearby (apparently one of the largest in Europe even though it's in Asia). Next time we're in Kusadasi we may well go there.

 

We like Kusadasi a lot and are considering visiting there for a few days outside our cruising.

[KeithJenner]

Next day was Athens. We went into the city, by train, last year so this time we decided to stay onboard the ship. Last year, we found the train journey itself was easy, although it's a reasonably long walk to the station from the port, especially if it's hot. The city itself has plenty to see. I particularly liked the old Olympic Stadium, which is wanted to see since I was quite young.

 

In the evening, we went back to Le Bistro, which we enjoyed a lot more than usual. I tried the Fruits de Mer, which would have been worth the $10 up charge if they had actually charged us for it.

[KeithJenner]

I'm on a bit of a roll now. Yesterday was the final sea day. To be honest, I'm not really sure what we did during the day. Lots of relaxing, eating and drinking. I take some liberties with the amount of holidays I take, but make up for it a bit by doing some work on quiet days. I spent a couple of hours checking emails in the morning whilst our son enjoyed the kids pool again.

 

In the evening, we went with some new friends back to Shogun, which is very popular amongst the people we've been talking to. It was excellent again. I may have already said this, but the Chinese/Noodle Bar was my favourite speciality restaurant when they charged for it, and the quality hasn't dropped in my opinion.

[KeithJenner]

And on to the last day. We were a little late docking, due to a technical issue (we weren't given any further details), which caused us to stop for about an hour just before the pilot boarded.

 

The sail in to Venice is always spectacular, and I spent the time walking round the promenade deck enjoying the ever changing view.

 

Our main plan in Venice was to take a Gondola ride, as we had promised our son one after last year when we walked round the city seeing the sights, but didn't take a Gondola.

 

It's very expensive, as everyone knows (€80 for 30 minutes), but we really enjoyed it. I expected it to be one of those things you do, but know you will never do again. In fact, I would be quite keen to have another go.

 

We had walked from Piazza Roma (after using the people mover). And were a little way from the main sights when we got the Gondola. I'm pleased we weren't in the main tourist areas. We went down some really quiet canals, which was a great contrast from the busy city. We made a brief visit to the Grand Canal, but mainly we were in quieter areas.

 

We all agreed that we enjoyed Venice more this year for having not gone to St Marks Square and the surrounding area. I'm looking forward to going back.

[KeithJenner]

I'm now sitting on the balcony, writing this whilst watching a video on my iPad and seeing the ferries and waterbuses going about their business.

 

Back home tomorrow. I will post again over the weekend with some overall thoughts of the cruise (we seem to agree it's one of the best we've taken). Hopefully this has been of some help to people.

[aussie cruzer]

Thanks for your live review...it has been interesting following your travels.

 

Safe trip home.

[KeithJenner]

Thanks for your live review...it has been interesting following your travels.

 

Safe trip home.

 

 

Thanks.

 

Once again, I'm posting after having a few drinks, and will probably regret this in the morning, so I'll apologise now for posting it. It goes without saying that none of this is directed at the post I quoted.

 

This thread is about two weeks old now. This forum is, in my opinion, about helping people to enjoy their cruises and for people to share what they have learned. It should be an enjoyable place to be, to post, to help people get more from their cruises and for people to get advice on how to make the most of their holidays. That is what I have found it to be over the dozen or so years I have posted here.

 

I believe this is post 100 on this thread, many of which are from me. If I had just started a thread saying "OMG, NCL are charging for lots of things these days", we would have passed the 100 post mark in a couple of hours.

 

Cruise Critic really need to look at these forums and think about whether this is what they are after. I will continue to post threads like this, as I hope people do take something away from it (and this really isn't just me asking for people to acknowledge that they are reading, I know you are and I really hope it helps), but the garbage that is posted here must put people off. Please let's try to make this a place to help each other.

 

Sorry for lowering the tone, but I want to like cruise critic, but I really can't at the moment.