Spirit NB from Vancouver: does it always go up the west side of Vancouver Island?

[YVRteacher]

@littlelulu01 what did you enjoy/appreciate about the Spirit?  I’m really looking forward to sailing on her.

[littlelulu01]

6 minutes ago, YVRteacher said:

@littlelulu01 what did you enjoy/appreciate about the Spirit?  I’m really looking forward to sailing on her.

We had a balcony stateroom booked last minute. We like to sail in the Haven and in my opinion this entire ship pretty much felt like we were in the Haven. I’ve sailed on the Jade and Pearl post dry dock and also spent a month on the Prima in the Haven.  Imo the Spirit is every bit as beautiful as the Prima and the refit she received is in a league far above what the Jewel class ships received.

 

Some obvious food quality differences between the garden cafe and cagneys or haven restaurant for breakfast and lunch 😂 but that aside there wasn’t the crowds, lines, to get on/off.  We were able to eat, relax, enjoy any public area without that crowding feel I get on the Bliss, or jewel class ship non haven areas. The crew was excellent. Very experienced- most of our servers and our room steward had many years of service with NCL. I asked a few and they said they can make more $ on the bigger ships but they prefer the smaller more intimate feel of the Spirit.  Our service was the best we’ve ever had on any ncl ship. 

 

No lines at Starbucks! On the Bliss or other ships with Starbucks the lines are kinda crazy.  Also if I ordered a Starbucks coffee from the mdr or a specialty venue with my dessert they had ability to run and get me one and serve it hot and along with the dessert whereas outside the Haven I’ve not had great drink service with meals.
 

Getting anywhere on this ship is a breeze! And so many excellent places to hang out.  Loved spice h2o.  As the cruise progressed more passengers discovered the area.  Our stateroom was on deck 10 and the hot tubs were just feet away from our room.  I could pop my head out and check to see if they were open before we bothered putting a suit on. 
 

I usually buy a spa pass for a place of peace if not in a suite but the spa, while beautiful, is small so we passed on spa passes this time. Might have gotten pass if weather was crummy.  They had plenty of peaceful areas around the ship. We had great weather so were able to enjoy the outdoor areas and while the atrium had events often going on, there was also plenty of times when i could just sit and chill out like i would normally do at a coffee shop in my neighborhood.  The internet was actually usable and fast.  On top of that the internet manager was actually a really nice person. I’m an early riser and husband sleeps in. I’d go to Starbucks in the am and sit and chill and surf the internet over a couple coffees in the atrium or any number of areas around the ship. Loads of whale activity this trip.  We missed the inside passage but had some crazy close whale breaching activity on the last sea day that made up for no inside passage. 
 

only visited the casino once.  I blinked my eyes and $$$ were gone but it was very pretty and I appreciated that it was non smoking (they might have an enclosed smoking area that I didn’t notice like on newer ships). 
 

I will say food was hit and miss.  Some meals were truly outstanding and the best we’ve ever had at sea - especially from Cagneys but we also had a really bad meal there.  We had a really great lunch at the local our first day and then the same burger later in the week and it was a totally different meal- not so great. We had specialty meals every night.  I’d vote cagneys as our favorite which surprised me because they’re usually our least favorite. 
 

there’s a little card room/library by the forward observation lounge. They had sudoku and crossword puzzles and games available. We’re pretty lame about nightlife and shows so we skipped them but I heard positive things. 
 

Have a wonderful vacation and i hope you post a review. I enjoyed reading your last one. 

[quack2]

On 6/9/2023 at 9:14 PM, littlelulu01 said:

We recently did this itinerary and did not sail inside passage.  Still a fantastic trip. 

 

I do not trust the NCL route maps.  They are frequently wrong and never corrected.

[amygutman]

On 6/10/2023 at 12:40 AM, YVRteacher said:

@littlelulu01 what did you enjoy/appreciate about the Spirit?  I’m really looking forward to sailing on her.

I don't think it violates CC guidelines to say the name of a vlog - youtubers Ben and David just started releasing episodes of their NCL Spirit trip from Hawaii to Alaska. They have 2 episodes up now which focus mainly on the geography, but will be showing more of the ship as the episodes go on. 

 

Granted, I am biased because we have become friendly, but they are lots of fun and are showing some great features of the ship + the itinerary. Looks really lovely and very "posh" as these British boys say!

 

Warmest, Amy