just back from Spirit 2/9-2/19

[obosix]

Had a wonderful time on the Spirit. Embarkation was a breeze. Arrived via car about 12:20 and was on board eating in Windows by 1:00. No lines at all. Room was ready so we dropped off luggage prior to eating. Room (8023) was a little small ( for the 4 of us, DH, DS and DD, oh yeah and me too) but we managed with no problem. Lunch was delish, and so was the food the entire trip. Was a little worried after all the posts on quality of food. Never had a meal where we weren't satisified( and the kids are picky eaters)Only one night didn't care for selections( Carribean Night) but got reservations no problem at all at Trattoria. Hint, try and figure out the nights you might want to eat at specialities restaurant and book as soon as you are on board. Although we did book 2 nights during voyage with an initial reservation of 9:30 but both times were called and times were moved to 8:30 which is perfect for us. The waters were extremely calm, with only a little motion noted around Cape Hattaras, nothing major though. The ports were great though too little time to enjoy Tortola.HINT: Must remember to try the fish and chips on sea days at Henrys Pub, but be ware to get there early as they only serve from 12 to 2.Entertainment was ok especially Second City Comedy show, which we really enjoyed. Disembarkation was also a breeze, docked at 7 am, ate breakfast in Windows at 8:15 and was off the ship by 9:30. Would def cruise this ship and iten again, one thing I was wondering though, on our first night heard a "Code Alpha" come across the tv system, wonder what that meant? any one have any ideas?? If any one has any questions about the ship let me know and I'd be glad to answer

[Don Haynes]

I don't care much for the Caribbean night menu either. Yes, the Spirit is a wonderful ship. I am so happy you had a great cruise.

[greenie]

Me too just off the Spirit. I am suffering from some serious post-cruise depression. It's bad. :(

 

We had such a nice time on that gorgeous ship, oh my. (How lucky we cruisers are, aren't we?!)

 

I will post my own review as soon as I can. This week sometime.

:)

[BILLP1]

Code Alpha - Medical emergencey

[obosix]

Bill: we thought it was a medi al emergency but when we asked the crew they said they couldn't say but it had nothing to do with the passengers, we thought it might have been a fire or something like that

[Len3]

We were on the 2/9 - 2/29 sailing of the Spirit and just got in the door to our house in Maryland. Everything was just wonderful. Our cabin (9128) w/balcony was larger than those on RCCL and Princess. We ate at Windows several times and the food was really great. Cagney's was wonderful, La Bistro can't be beat (fondue, etc.) and Shogun's was a real treat. We would book the Spirit again anytime, anywhere.

[SGNY]

Back from the Spirit cruise-it was fantastic! On our way to Margaretville, NY we stopped at the Hess station in Kingston-and ran into someone else returning home from the cruise!

 

I will also post a full review at some point this week-all the things I liked-the few things I didn't and the things I learned.

 

I would definitely sail on this ship again-especially since the crew (who would hopefully still be on this ship) now feel like an extended family.

 

I think we had ideal circumstances which made this cruise especially great-good people and good weather -makes for a great vacation!

[jimmac1115]

Glad You Had A Great Trip,i'll Be Going With My Wife And Kids On3/19. Do You Know How Much It Is To Park There? And How Are The Kid Progams? I'll Be Taking A 5 Yr Old And A 14 Yr Old. Thanks

[1sttimecruiserlady]

Hi all I was wondering if anyone can tell me how it is for teens on the Spirit? Are there enough activities for them on board? It will be our first cruise and I am cruising with my two sons 14 and 18 years of age.

Thanks. Also can you please tell me if they have a formal night if they do Do they wear gowns and tuxes on the Spirit?

Thanks.

 

 

Our First Cruise Will Be

NCL Spirit

July 16, 2006

[obosix]

my 13 yo dd and 17 yo ds had no problem finding things to do. On our 10 night trip there were 2 formal (if you wanted to) nights the 2nd night and 2nd to last night. have a great trip

[abbyndrewmom]

Thanks for the reviews it is nice to see some postive posts especially about the food. We leave in 3 weeks!!

 

obosix- How was your cabin? we are going to be 4 (2 adults, 6 & 8 year old) in an inside on our cruise. This will be our first time in an inside cabin plus it is smaller thern what we are use too on carnival. Any advise on how to keep things organized? I would love to hear any suggestions you have.

 

Allison

[Shine]

My husband and I were also on this cruise and agree with Obosix....it was a great cruise, excellent weather, ...seas were very calm...ship was beautiful. We were also worried about the food having read some not so positive reviews, but with the exception of Caribbean nite there was always something we liked on the menu. Desserts were excellent....lot's of souffle's and bread pudding. Although we knew the port times prior to booking it was still disappointing to have such a brief amount of time in some of the ports, (especially Tortola). We brought 3 bottles of wine onboard in our checked luggage and received a note from the luggage police that they were holding our luggage and we had to go to deck 3 to retrieve it. Upon opening the luggage in from of them to confirm liquor contents, we then paid the $15 per bottle corkage fee and brought them to the dining room with us.

 

We also heard the "Code Alpha" announcement the first nite on board....we were in the Gift Shop and when we asked the Sales Clerk what it meant she told us it had nothing to do with passengers and not to worry about it. The next day we asked one of the bar waiters and he became very flustered about it, stating that it's not for passengers and if he told us he could lose his job(?).

 

Would definitely recommend this ship...we were outside on deck the first sea day, (in long pants and a sweat shirt) and it wasn't too bad. Our friends were in the pool and hot tubs on the first day also. One complaint I had was that the pool band only played for very brief amounts of time...would have like to have them play more often. The 2 best shows were the Second City Comedy Show and on the last day the NCL staff put on a talent show....some of that crew is absolutely excellent! One of the dishwashers from Bosnia played and sang Layla and he was terrific.

 

Also as Obosix stated, the fish and chips in Henry's Pub were very very good....only on sea days and get there early!! We waited till the last day and were sorry we didn't try them earlier. All in all, this was a great cruise!

[obosix]

abbyndrewmom, we also had an inside(first time and probably the last) but it wasn't as bad as we thought it'd be, it was 4 of us my dh, ds(age 17) dd( age13) and myself. There isn't alot of drawer space(only 4 small drawers) but inside the closet were 4 corner shelves) bring lots of hangers as this was our saving grace, we hung up alot of things) did purchase an over the door shoe organizer where we stored socks and undies and other small things. my best advice would to be pack practically( as we def packed too much)we did utalize the upper left side of the closet, opposite where the lifejackets are stored.we stored all the luggage under the bed and kept some things like clothing we would wear home the last day, and jackets etc. so as not to waste precious closet space. we stored alot of things like medicines, phone charger and the like in the space provided under the tv. don't forget to pack a night light, we plugged it into the power strip we brought as it is pitch black wbhen the lights go out. have a great trip. Let me know if there is any other info you might need,

[krystall]

I totally agree with all that was stated above. Can't say enough about how great the crew was. Food was great. Never had a problem finding something we enjoyed. There's something for everyone. I saw all ages enjoying the food. Check you Freestyle for the barbeque's. Not to be missed. Entertainment was great. It was nice to see that the entertainment had something for all ages. Big Band, 60's, 70's, etc., Nat King Cole, Disco. Enjoyed Millennium & 62280 (I think). The crew show especially, some of them are really great singers. The MC doing Bingo had me cracking up: (joke) "What do you call a Jamaican proctologist<sp>. Answer: A pokey mon. :--)) He was very funny. Had a great time in the casino. And I can't say enough about how beautiful the ship is and clean, clean, clean. They were always cleaning. Dined in all of the specialty restaurants. Very good. Le Bestro our favorite. Don't miss La Trattoria<sp> Very good.

Our cabin steward: Pauline - Thank you again.

 

Definitely would sail the Spirit again.

[intrepid_guy]

I am so glad to see all the positive things that everyone is saying about the SPIRIT! I am glad that I am not crazy with my positive review of my sailing. I agree the staff is one of the best I have ever experienced and I too noted that they were always cleaning that ship (and painting it in ports). It really is refreshing to read these comments.

 

I enjoyed the SPIRIT so much that I am going back on June 17 for a one nighter! ( couldnt do another week of vacation this year after the SPIRIT and EXPLORER OTS)

 

Keep those good reviews coming!

 

~Intrepid

[Hikini]

Glad to hear the great things about the Spirit. We sailed on her in Sept 2005 and loved her. So I can't help but take exception when I hear negative reviews about things that were so great when we sailed.

 

I'll be waiting to read your more in depth reviews.

 

Hikini:D

[B4andAFT]

I am so glad to hear these great reviews about the Spirit. I've been holding off booking her for September to see if the opinions of those here on the board improved over time. Looks like they have ~ time to pick a date! :D

[obosix]

one other thing I forgot to mention: the coffee on this ship is really good. Been on lots of cruises and usually the coffee is horrible. I had even brought my own coffee packs, but after tasting Spirits coffee found it wasn't needed, an excellent cuppa

[edjag4]

Glad to read all the good comments on the Spirit. We took our first cruise on the Dawn at Christmas last year (12/22/05-1/2/06) and it was one of our best family vacations. We really didn't have any complaints but being we had never cruised before we didn't have anything to compare it to. A few people we talk with had complaints about everything but I believe these people must complain about everything in life. The Spirit is cruising this Christmas (12/21/06-1/2/07) and we are planning on booking this cruise so it was nice to read all the positive comments. One question I have is we are a family of 4 DH DS (14) DD (11) and me, we had and OV room on the Dawn but it doesn't look like the Spirit has OV or Balcony rooms for 4 people, is this correct and the only rooms for 4 people are inside? Thanks everyone.

[Maryfrei]

I also am thrilled to hear these great reviews. We did the one night when the Spirit arrived in New York and just loved it, crew, food and decor. It is my DH's favorite so far, and we hope to sail her again some day.

[Taryn and Sarah]

Just to respond about the question about Code Alpha, we were actually in the stardust theater when it happened, it was just outside where we were sitting. A woman had a bad reaction to the dramomine patch she was wearing, which can happen sometimes apparently. But she was fine once they removed it.

 

Had a great trip, will hope to write a review once I finally get unpacked and settled in.

[CruisinKat]

Dear Edjag4,

 

There are no quad occupancy balcony rooms on the Spirit. We just booked a group cruise on the Spirit for our wedding in July and my brother needed a balcony room for 4, but, the TA informed us that there were none to be had!! Inside staterooms will, however, fit 4 passengers!

 

To all who have posted......I'm so glad there is so much positive feedback for this ship. As I mentioned earlier, we are getting married in July (in St. Thomas) and switched our group cruise over to this ship because of the better itinerary being offered. We were booked on a Carnival ship, which had an almost identical itinerary and same dates in each port, but we liked the fact the Spirit has an overnight stay while in St. Thomas (more time to party the night away with family/friends on the cruise and also some who are flying in) and a stop in Bermuda, as opposed to Puerto Rico.

 

So, needless to say, I was worried that the ship wouldn't be as nice/fun as a Carnival ship, but, I'm not concerned anymore. We've cruised many times, but our group has not, so I wanted them to have fun, fun, fun!!!!!

 

AHOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

CruisinKat

[joeandmaria]

We were booked on a Carnival ship, which had an almost identical itinerary and same dates in each port, but we liked the fact the Spirit has an overnight stay while in St. Thomas (more time to party the night away with family/friends on the cruise and also some who are flying in) and a stop in Bermuda, as opposed to Puerto Rico.

 

Just so you realize, the way I read the itinerary is you are in St. Thomas until 10am - 1am. You do not actually stay overnight as in 2 days. Maybe you understood this, but once I made a mistake reading an itinerary like that and thought we would be spending the night and have 2 days.

[jeannep]

Thank you all so much for the terrific reviews of the Spirit. We are going in August and are really looking forward to it.

 

Thanks

Jeanne

[MsLisa]

Code Alpha means medical emergency. According to another post on this site, I found this:

 

Around 8pm, DH started to complain of some tingling in his throat and some discomfort and swelling. By 845pm, he was wheezing so badly, I thought he was having an asthma attack. Since hot coffee did not help this time, I headed downstairs for Benadryl. On my arrival back in the room, I noticed he had a blue tinge to his lips and his face was becoming very swollen. Plus, he was barely able to breathe. I decided to contact the Front Desk. Unfortunately I got no answer when I called. I decided to hit the button for 911. After one misdial, I reached a nurse in the infirmary that asked if my husband could come downstairs. When I answered no, she immediately headed to the room. After assessing him, she called someone and an ALPHA CODE was issued. I later learned that meant it was life or death. An announcement was made across the loud speaker and our room was immediately filled with a large crowd. There were 2 doctors, 4 nurses, and assorted support personnel filling the halls. My husband was transported to the infirmary where he was administered emergency care/meds and kept for 3 hours.