Spirit Review 11/19- 11/27

[annie m]

We booked this cruise instead of a 50th birthday party for my husband. Having been on the Dawn three times in the past three years we knew pretty much what to expect.

We started off with a balcony room but after staying an AB on the Dawn As soon as we got home in April I called and changed our room to an AC suite. In September I received an upsell to an AB room 10002 which I couldn’t pass up. We were joined on this sailing by my brother and his wife who stayed in a balcony on deck 11.

We drove to the pier and parked in long term parking. It was a breeze also much more cost effective than taking car service to the ship and home. Embarkment was easy as the ship was docked early from a one night dinner dance.

I know this ship is smaller than the Dawn but inside you would never know it. It is beautiful!!

Our room was beautiful. Our concierge Alex and our Butler Rey were excellent!!! Our room attendants Rommel Ramos and Shiela Escalona were outstanding.

This was an extremely rocky ride. I have to blame the ship because when you looked outside there were calm seas and the ship vibrated all over. There was a very bad sewer odor on the ship when we embarked but it cleared up in the first day. The weather was perfect from the time we left NY and on the second sea day (Monday) it was beautiful but there was no water in the pool. They did try to fill it on Sunday but due to the rocking of the ship they could not as it was splashing on top of the band stand.

The buffet was lacking – After the second day we stayed away except for coffee. The main dinning rooms – service was fair but the food just wasn’t that good. We ate there on Captains night and were so disappointed that we never went back. We ate in Cagneys twice and le Bistro twice. We went to Le trattoria but unlike the other ships because there is no galley on the 12th deck all they had was pasta. It was still tasty. We also had dinner in our room from Le Bistro as well as Le Trattoria.

Service was very good on the ship with the exception of the pool area on port days. Usually you can’t get them to leave you alone this time you could not find them. The chocoholic buffet was a bust also – they had it in the Stardust Theater and there were only two stations. The lines were very long. When you got your treats you had to exit the theather and people being what they are took more than they could eat and they left their half eaten plates all over the ship. Also anyone looking for buckets of beer – not on this ship.

Entertainment was good. They have NCL productions instead of Jean Anne Ryan.

Our biggest complaint was the pool. It is not big enough (the area surrounding it) to hold the number of passenger aboard. Also it was only filled three out of eight days. I would chalk this up to weather but………. We only went ashore in Bermuda for an hour as we had been there a few times before. When we got back at noon the pool was empty and they had no plans of filling it until there was a near riot. They filled it then and it took until 1:30 to have it filled and it was ice cold.

There was a lot of unhappy passengers on this ship but a vacation is what you make of it We still had a great time and will sail NCL again – just not this ship – it wasn’t for us. I think the NY market is looking for another Dawn (which we love and will go back to) this ship just isn’t.

[Don Haynes]

When the Spirit sailed out of Seattle the past two summers and Miami last winter, no one I can recall complained about the ship being too rocky or the area around the pool was too small. You know people can sun on deck 13 above the pool and there is a wonderful area to catch some rays on the stern of the ship overlooking the kiddie pool area.

 

Yes, the Spirit is a different ship, she is not a sister of the Dawn. Why the ship rocked so much and why the ship's pool was not filled everyday I don't know. It could have been from rough seas, but you claimed the seas were calm.

 

From the reviews of last week of the Panama Canal cruise, your review is 180 degrees different. Therefore, I am wondering whether the seas were calm?

[annie m]

Don you could could be completly right. Looked clam to me but who knows. In any event it was the Bermuda port that had everyone all upset. We were docked and it still was not filled until many passangers complained.

[Don Haynes]

Or possibly the stabilizers weren't working properly on this cruise. All I know is that the Spirit has the same stabilizers as the Dawn, both ships built by the same shipyard, Meyer Werft. I went through some heavy seas a couple of years ago on the Spirit when the Spirit didn't rock so much.... I think this bears further investigation.....

[annie m]

Don,

 

If there was a problem they should have said something. There were bags all over the ship for a few days - thats how bad it was. I have never had sea sickness but this was tough!!

[Lotteryfan]

I hope they get this motion sickness feel thing straightened out before my wife and I get on the ship in April. The last ocean cruise we took was 17 years ago. First my wife got seasick and then I got seasick a few days later. We swore never to go on an ocean cruise again. It has taken us all this time to get back on the ocean and I would hate to think that we'll have more of the same from our last cruise.

[Len3]

Get the bugs out before winter sailings. We leave on Feb. 9th with another couple who have never cruised - I sure hope this isn't a mistake.

[Ginamarie]

I'll be doing a review of this same cruise (probably tomorrow) and agree with most of what you said.

 

As for the rocking, I personally don't get sea-sick, but I had a couple of people in my group very ill! I know that the ship has stabilizers, but either they were not working, or they were not configured properly for the Atlantic Ocean in early winter. Everyone in my party agreed that if the ship continues to rock that much, it's not going to last sailing full time out of NY through 2007.

 

According to the Captain, the television sea monitors and by glancing out the window, the seas were CALM, but nevertheless, we were rolling all over the ship.

[annie m]

Thanks Gina,

 

I was starting to think I was crazy. We have another cruise booked on the Spirit for September - I'm waiting to see what happens in the next few weeks. If It does not right itself I'll cancel and go back to the Dawn.

[Leafpeeper]

We sailed the Dawn in December 2004 and loved it. We had calm seas from NY until we hit the Carolinas. Somehow I've noticed the seas between Florida and St. Thomas were the roughest on the way down and back. I noticed the same thing this year in early October when we sailed RCCL's Jewel of the Seas from Boston to Bermuda and Caribbean. As with the Dawn, the roughest seas were east of Florida and the Carolinas. Although the night before we docked back in Boston, things were rocking from Nantucket to the Boston Harbor. However, even with rough seas, the pools were filled outdoors and in the solarium. I really enjoyed swimming in the pool during the rough seas. It was like being in a wave pool.

 

What amazes me is that the Spirit sailed on the west coast with very rough seas off Alaska. I can't understand how it would have problems in the Atlantic. If these problems continue, perhaps NCL will need to consider using the Dawn for its 10 and 11 day Caribbean itineraries and using the Spirit for one week cruises to Florida, Bermuda, and the Bahamas where it can cruise closer to shore. I would think there would be a larger market for one week cruises vs. ten days. Anyone else thinking the same thing? Now that Holland America and Cunard are offering winter cruises out of NY I wonder if RCCL will be far behind. Competition is good for the cruiser--anything to keep the price down.

[dongordon]

I am booked on the Spirit in July and I will waiting to see if NCL can explain the negative comments.

 

Future reviews need watching...if things do not improve, I might be switching my ship.

 

Anxious to hear Shoreguy's views on this.

 

Don

[WaldosPepper]

Well now, that letter's sure to receive a swift and positive response from NCL. :rolleyes:

 

With regard to some of your complaints:

 

1.) ALL cruiseships are subject to the occassional sewer-system backup. Most such backups are the result of a passenger foolishly flushing an object of some sort down the toilet. Blame the passengers for this issue, not the ship or the crew.

 

2.) Price of soda cards has been much published and discussed on these boards, and should have been absolutely no surprise to you.

 

3.) Juice availablity and cost has also been much discussed here, and should be no surprise to you.

 

4.) Buffet food quality has been discussed here extensively as well. This situation should be no surprise to you. In fact, I don't think I've ever been to a mass-service buffet on land or at sea that had great food!

 

5.) The fact that you got sick while wearing the patch is more likely an oversensitivity to the patch, as opposed to being a result of the motion of the ship. MANY people have great difficulty wearing the patch, and instead use less-potent remedies such as Bonine, Meclizine, or Dramamine. This has been discussed at great length here, and should be no surprise to you.

 

So sorry you had such a bad time. Perhaps a land-based vacation where you can buy your soda in a grocery store, and eat where you want is more suited to you.

[monsignor]

To All. Since this is my first time posting I thoroughly expect to get flamed, however, I have to defend Annie M's position.

 

I am the brother she spoke about in her post. I was in balcony room 11652 with my wife for this cruise. Everything Annie said was 100% true. Now, I am far from a negative person and I know how you like to thrash negativity. Annie will tell you I am one of the most fun loving guys you would meet.

 

But, when a ship is travelling on CALM seas, wavelets to be exact, 1-1.5 meters (3 to 5 feet) and I have to hold on as though I was on Rolling Thunder then there is something wrong. Not only the pitch was bad but the front to back motion was way much also including the slamming down occassionally.

 

I won't bother with the buffet issues here either as I have been to enough of them and know what to expect. Also, since this was only my second cruise I can only compare with the Dawn cruise I took in April (the week before the rogue wave).

 

This trip felt like when we had the 18 foot waves during the Dawn cruise and these were 6 times as small....

 

Pool has already been discussed - it just amazed me that we had 3 days of water on an 8 day cruise, one of which was a struggle to get.

 

I am personnally a fan of NCL and enjoy the freestyle experience.

 

It's just that with the sewer smell for 2 days all over the ship, rockin and rollin - doing the twist like Chuck Berry, and no pool to jump in this was just a bad experience.

 

Will I sail NCL again - definitely. On Spirit - probably not if they don't work out the Atlantic Coast kinks. Definitely on Dawn..

[cruisercathy]

Geesh.......I just made my reservations last week for the Spirit in August and after reading this I am not sure I made the right decision............I haven;t sailed out of NY in 18 years and I really don;t want to be rock n rolling...I might have to wait for some more reviews to come in and just might have to find something else.....

 

I am a die hard Carnival cruiser who has never experienced anything like what was described. I want good food that I don;t have to pay extra for......We shall see....

[WaldosPepper]

Welcome, Monsignor.

 

No flaming here, and no flaming for your sister either. Her comments were thorough and insightful. She offered a complete review, commenting about both the good and the bad. Overall a very complete review, and well done.

 

The posters you will see getting flamed are those who simply blast the entire cruise, claiming that everything was horrible, and not one good thing happened the entire cruise.

 

Personally I thought anniem did a beautiful job with her review, and her thoughts are far more likely to be taken seriously (as are yours) than some others. ;)

 

Welcome to the boards. Hope you hang around! You and your sister probably have a lot to contribute to these boards! :)

[singitalto]

Ok, now I'm getting nervous. The last cruise we took was the Dawn "rogue wave" cruise. We are going on the Spirt in April 2006 with a bunch of friends. Most have never sailed NCL before. The last thing my kids need(who are nervous about the cruise to start with) is a rough ride. Can someone email NCL and see what happen. This does not sound normal, to be rocking on 3 feet seas.

[lunaseaII]

Last Saturday morning I had no grand expectations for this cruise. As far as I was concerned...I would not have to cook meals, clean my house, car pool, grocery shop, work or endure chilly temperatures for a whole week.

This idea worked quite well!

My children got to choose whatever they wanted to eat...no arguments, no meal planning. I also was able to choose what I wanted without the groans of the gallery.

We all got to play all day...relaxing in the sun (and showers), making new friends, discovering new places and making memories.

Sure, the boat was rocking...but...I've had worse. We made the best of it and held on!

I heard more than my share of negative comments... the freestyle dining was terrible, latitudes isn't what it used to be, the workers are rude, the service is slow, we're being rushed, there are too many kids, there's not enough to do, this is so disorganized, this whole thing is a rip off...they're just out to drain your wallets...blah...blah...blah...

My solution...see for myself.

to be continued...

[caren]

MaryAnne,

Let's be hopefull that there's just some kinks to be worked out. There's 4 months until we go, and most previous reviews were glowing. Don't jump the gun on worrying, lets read some reviews on the next couple of cruises before we get worked up.

[WaldosPepper]

LunaseaII, I'm eagerly awaiting more from you. I'm sure others are interested in hearing more too! :D

[dongordon]

BuddyGus and Emcemt are uncle and nephew and have a "unique" way of providing a review.

Annie and Monsignor's reviews were very objective and in light of all that is posted, there are now concerns for future Spirit cruisers.

Don Haynes and others have provided us with great reviews on the Spirit and that is why I booked for July.

However, something went wrong on this cruise in the Atlantic and we need to watch the future reviews carefully and hope that NCl will explain and correct the problems to restore confidence in the Spirit and NCL Cruises.

 

Don

[Len3]

:mad: We're sailing in February out of NYC on the Spirit - 10 days. Does NCL get the information from these boards so that problems can be addressed?

[SailAways]

:mad: We're sailing in February out of NYC on the Spirit - 10 days. Does NCL get the information from these boards so that problems can be addressed?

 

It is not likely that NCL is taking the info from these boards very seriously if they see it at all.

 

If you have a particular problem, it should be addressed directly to NCL.

[logcabin]

I have sailed NCL many times and have had nothing but wonderful experiences with them. We, too, are booked on the Spirit for July 2006. One of the things I have learned being a member of these boards (as well as others) over the past several years is this: I avoid re-positioning cruises because at times the crew is leaving and may have a lack of interest in their jobs other then getting off the ship at the end and going home. I avoid the first several cruises once a ship has repositioned. This is due to the fact that the crew is often new, kinks not worked out, etc. I have done a tremendous amount of research on the Spirit prior to booking. As with ALL cruises and ships, there were a few bad reviews. However, the vast majority of the reviews for the Spirit have been very good. That's how I based my plans on booking. It sounds as if this is a prime example of the fact I mentioned above. This ship is new to the NYC market, probably a large number of new crew members, perhaps a new captain, new itinarary, etc. the kinks need to be worked out. This is why I will never sail on any ship/line that is new to an area after a repositioning. I was interested in booking a new Crown Princess out of NY this summer, but didn't. New ship, new crew, new itinaray, etc. I'll give that one a year to work out the kinks before I book that ship.

 

My feeling for those such as myself, dongordon and the others booked on the Spirit.... Don't worry. I'm sure the kinks will get worked out and everything will be fine. NCL will right things with this ship. The NYC market is becoming too compeditive (especially during the summer months) not to.

 

Lastly, I'm not defending NCL and I'm not saying that the people on this cruise didn't have problems. However, I strongly feel that constructive, well written reviews are a lot more helpful to these boards then those like what has been written in this thread. buddygus and emcemt need to learn how to write in a more constructive manner. Frankly, the "childish" manner on which their comments were written is far more affending to me then reading bad reviews of a ship or line that I trust. I think "that" is the complaint here.

[SailAways]

 

My feeling for those such as myself, dongordon and the others booked on the Spirit.... Don't worry. I'm sure the kinks will get worked out and everything will be fine. NCL will right things with this ship. The NYC market is becoming too compeditive (especially during the summer months) not to.

 

Lastly, I'm not defending NCL and I'm not saying that the people on this cruise didn't have problems. However, I strongly feel that constructive, well written reviews are a lot more helpful to these boards then those like what has been written in this thread. buddygus and emcemt need to learn how to write in a more constructive manner. Frankly, the "childish" manner on which their comments were written is far more affending to me then reading bad reviews of a ship or line that I trust. I think "that" is the complaint here.

 

Well said - Thank You!

[tommy]

Thanks to all the replys by people who were actually on the cruise.I do agree that different people give different views on the same sailings.But so many negatives on the same sailing does say that something was wrong.I hope the bashing from people who were not on that sailing doesnt stop others from giving thier opinions positive,or negative. TOM