Live from NCL Spirit 06/21/23-07/05/23 - Alaska B2B Vancouver to Seward to Vancouver

[Seas2mountains]

Sunset photos from last night. 

[Seas2mountains]

The new-to-me drink/shot from yesterday was the Duck Fart in Henry’s pub. 
 

The bottom layer is Kahlua, the middle layer is Bailey’s and the top layer is whiskey. It was pretty good. 

[Seas2mountains]

The new-to-me drink for today is an unknown drink called the “‘my name” special made by Kenny at  Spice H2O. It had a nice hint of peach to it and wasn’t too sweet. I have no idea what is in it but was assured there was no pineapple involved.  I did like it. 

[Happycrafter123]

16 hours ago, Seas2mountains said:

The new-to-me drink/shot from yesterday was the Duck Fart in Henry’s pub. 
 

The bottom layer is Kahlua, the middle layer is Bailey’s and the top layer is whiskey. It was pretty good. 

Was this on the ship or in town?  I want to try this!

[bluesea777]

5 minutes ago, Happycrafter123 said:

Was this on the ship or in town?  I want to try this!

 

On ship, the Spirit, see post # 268 (page 11).

 

 

[Seas2mountains]

Sunny and warm at sea day warm enough for people to be in the pool and using most lounge chairs + slow Wifi  🐢 + last day + having lots of fun = delayed update until we disembark tomorrow 😎

[YVRteacher]

I hope you had a fun last night on board and I’m sending you good wishes for a smooth disembarkation tomorrow.  I don’t know what you look like but perhaps our paths will cross at the Port of Vancouver tomorrow.

[cruiseny4life]

Welp, you must be about ready to head off the ship. I just caught up on the last few days of your adventure. Looks like the weather smiled upon you as you made your way down the coast. I'm wishing you pleasant travel home! As always, thank you for sharing your wonderful journey, drinks, and experiences.

[Seas2mountains]

We disembarked this morning at 8:30am and carried all luggage with us as was recommended with the strike but we almost always carry all of our bags off the ship. This process was so easy and we were through Canadian customs in a few minutes and in a cab on the way to the airport.  Disembarkation started at 7:30am which was earlier than expected.

 

While we know the train to the airport is easy to take and we have done this on past trips, we wanted to be pampered and not hassle with carrying all bags too far. With the current exchange rate, it really wasn’t too bad for the cost. 
 

We kept our flight as scheduled before 1pm and did not change the time as NCL recommended due to possible disembarkation delays due to the strike.  It took an hour to check bags, get through Global Entry and US customs. After waiting in the Global Entry line for security, we realized the line and wait was much longer than if we had gone in the regular line. 
 

I’ll update on our last day and the Dinner with the Officers on Monday night. 

[Seas2mountains]

12 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

I hope you had a fun last night on board and I’m sending you good wishes for a smooth disembarkation tomorrow.  I don’t know what you look like but perhaps our paths will cross at the Port of Vancouver tomorrow.

Thank you! We did. I’m so excited for you and your Dad. I’m also looking forward to reading your review these next two weeks. 
 

I hope you and your Dad have a wonderful cruise! We really liked eating outside at the Great Outdoors the last three mornings for breakfast. It looks like you will have gorgeous weather on most days. 
 

I know you and Dad will get to eat in Cagney’s for breakfast and lunch. There is a wonderful waitress we had at Cagney’s who I believe also works there for the earlier meals for the suite guests.  Her name on her name tag says Katherine but she introduces herself as Kat. 

[Seas2mountains]

3 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

Welp, you must be about ready to head off the ship. I just caught up on the last few days of your adventure. Looks like the weather smiled upon you as you made your way down the coast. I'm wishing you pleasant travel home! As always, thank you for sharing your wonderful journey, drinks, and experiences.

Thank you for your kind comments and for following along. Do you have a future cruise planned? I love your live reviews. 

[Seas2mountains]

On the first half of the B2B, we let the Cruise Next representative know we were interested in the Dinner with the Officers when we scheduled the Behind the Scenes tour and wine tasting.  They told us we would be contacted in a few days. We never got contacted for the dinner. 
 

We let them know at the beginning of the second half that we were interested in the dinner and also let them know we were never contacted for it on the first half. Both CN reps apologized and assured us we would be scheduled this time. I believe we got the letter for the dinner on Friday night and were asked to RSVP by Saturday morning for a dinner scheduled on Monday evening. When we were at Onda for dinner on Monday evening, the person who organizes the dinners is named Lovely and she came into Onda to let us know there was a change to our time and the officers. Her personality matches her name. It was kind of creepy that she knew how to find us until we realized they can see where we are by our card scans for food, drinks and when we are in the room. 
 

When we arrived at Guest Services at the time for the dinner, we were directed to seats to wait and offered champagne. We joined four other guests with two of the officers/managers for dinner in Windows. It was really nice to hear the experiences of the managers and the other guests who were all frequent cruisers. The only downside to the dinner was the wine wasn’t very good so myself and others didn’t drink it.  We would do this again based on the nice conversations.  
 

We did ask what the funniest things the managers had heard guests ask and both said they have guests who ask which elevator will get them to the aft or forward area of the ship. 🤣
 

Last night when we returned to our room before dinner, there were cheese treats and a bottle of wine. Unfortunately, with it being the last night, all the cheese went to waste as we were not hungry after dinner. We did have plastic bags to put it in the refrigerator but forgot about it this morning but would not have been able to take it through customs. Since we didn’t care for the wine, we left the bottle in the room. 

[Seas2mountains]

After the dinner on Monday night, we enjoyed all three sets played by Jonathan and Jellica with Over the Moon. After they go on vacation at the end of July, they think their next ship may be the Epic.   
 

We did find their group page on social media to follow them. 

[Seas2mountains]

On Tuesday morning, we enjoyed a nice breakfast at Great Outdoors as the weather was gorgeous. This was later for us than normal as we turned clocks ahead an hour that night. After breakfast, we went to the talk given by the cruise director, Jerry, about the Spirit. Jerry used slides and gave handouts on the technical specifications.  Jerry spoke for about 20 minutes until the Captain, Chief Engineer and General Manager for Q&A.  That lasted about another 20 minutes of questions. 
 

One guest did ask why the tug was used in Skagway as the guest asked if something on the ship was broken to require the use of the tug. The captain explained it was needed due to the strong cross winds which we blowing at about 25-27 knots. He said the Spirit needs the extra power as a safety precaution to ensure the ship didn’t get pushed into the dock by the wind. We definitely saw the tug pushing and pulling. 
 

Another guest asked about missing Hubbard Glacier due to weather.  The captain explained that it can be a difficult decision to make as they also have to anticipate changing weather conditions on the return from the glacier and the tight timelines they have as other ships are scheduled along with the pilot. 
 

After the talk, we watched another really funny Battle of the Cake Masters (can’t remember the name) and then walked on the promenade level and it was a little busy with other walkers and shuffleboard players as the weather was so nice. 
 

We enjoyed a very challenging Fourth of July trivia where most of the crowd struggled to get more than 5 questions correct. 
 

After trivia, they had a very nice and well attended a Fourth of July veteran event in Spinnaker. They honored the veteran with the most years of service and the one with the least on active duty. They served a cake for all and had singers to sing the National anthem. 

[cruiseny4life]

1 hour ago, Seas2mountains said:

Thank you for your kind comments and for following along. Do you have a future cruise planned? I love your live reviews. 

We are watching two! Haven't booked yet, but we have some FCC to use up before fall, 2024 so we'll definitely be on a ship within the next year. It'll probably not be this fall as we're doing a three night backpacking trip in the Grand Canyon in Sept/Oct. I will say a cruise would be most excellent after that, but alas, I don't have that kind of time off! 

 

And thank you, as well. I enjoy letting people know what I think about my cruise. I don't know if that's good or bad, but hey! I enjoy it, so here goes. 

 

Thanks for the follow up and I'm looking forward to your next cruise. Fourth of July celebration sounds interesting! I hadn't even thought NCL would do something special for it. 

[Seas2mountains]

We enjoyed lunch outside at the Great Outdoors followed by most of the afternoon in the hot tub and soaking up the sun in H2O. They did serve grilled salmon on the pool deck and in Garden Cafe. It tasted really good so maybe it was somewhat fresh? They also had Fourth of July BBQ items.  
 

Throughout the cruise, we really enjoyed meeting new people and having fun conversations about their excursions and their travels. When at the pool, people were commenting that they didn’t plan on having a nice tan after an Alaskan cruise.  
 

Since we wanted to see a before dinner set by Over the Moon, we didn’t leave time for a nap but could have used one. We had a delicious final dinner at Cagney’s but ordered one appetizer and skipped the salad or soup option even through we tried eating light for lunch. We had no room for dessert so we were able to catch the final songs played by Over the Moon in a busy Henry’s Pub as they have created many fans of their music. 
 

Now that we said our goodbyes to the servers in Magnums and Henry’s Pub, we needed to get to Spinnaker to say goodbye there after hearing B12 and a combined performance by B12, Over the Moon and Nature’s Rhythm. 
 

As we tend to focus on live music and don’t go to too many theater events, I dragged my husband to Elements earlier in the evening but we sat on deck 8 in the back row where we were able to quietly slip out when we decided it wasn’t something we cared to stay for the entire time. We loved World Beat and Blazing Boots but this was just not our favorite. 

On our flight now so will update with final comments later. We hope to be home tonight when the Spirit is beginning. sail away. 

 

 

[The Traveling Man]

2 hours ago, Seas2mountains said:

It took an hour to check bags, get through Global Entry and US customs. After waiting in the Global Entry line for security, we realized the line and wait was much longer than if we had gone in the regular line.

When everybody is special, nobody is special!

[quack2]

7 hours ago, Seas2mountains said:

 

Another guest asked about missing Hubbard Glacier due to weather.  The captain explained that it can be a difficult decision to make as they also have to anticipate changing weather conditions on the return from the glacier and the tight timelines they have as other ships are scheduled along with the pilot. 
 

 

This captain is 0-2 on Hubbard as far as I'm concerned.  If other ships are going in and NCL is not, well captain, we have a problem.

[www3traveler]

37 minutes ago, quack2 said:

This captain is 0-2 on Hubbard as far as I'm concerned.  If other ships are going in and NCL is not, well captain, we have a problem.

Most of the ships sailing Alaska are much newer than The Spirit.  Meaning they may have newer navigational aids that allows them to sail in much lower marginal weather.  I would rather have a Captain knowing the limits of his ship, err on the side of safety than risk his ship, crew or passengers.  WAY TO GO CAPTAIN

Last Summer, The Norwegian Sun was taken out of service for several weeks because She hit a grawler (small ice berg) and had to wait to be repaired in Seattle--not worth the risk.

Edited July 6, 2023 by www3traveler
Add a comment

[quack2]

1 hour ago, www3traveler said:

Most of the ships sailing Alaska are much newer than The Spirit.  Meaning they may have newer navigational aids that allows them to sail in much lower marginal weather.  I would rather have a Captain knowing the limits of his ship, err on the side of safety than risk his ship, crew or passengers.  WAY TO GO CAPTAIN

Last Summer, The Norwegian Sun was taken out of service for several weeks because She hit a grawler (small ice berg) and had to wait to be repaired in Seattle--not worth the risk.

Please tell me before I book a trip on a ship with inferior navigational aids.  I don't remember that being part of the sales pitch.

[Seas2mountains]

On 7/5/2023 at 1:36 PM, cruiseny4life said:

We are watching two! Haven't booked yet, but we have some FCC to use up before fall, 2024 so we'll definitely be on a ship within the next year. It'll probably not be this fall as we're doing a three night backpacking trip in the Grand Canyon in Sept/Oct. I will say a cruise would be most excellent after that, but alas, I don't have that kind of time off! 

 

And thank you, as well. I enjoy letting people know what I think about my cruise. I don't know if that's good or bad, but hey! I enjoy it, so here goes. 

 

Thanks for the follow up and I'm looking forward to your next cruise. Fourth of July celebration sounds interesting! I hadn't even thought NCL would do something special for it. 

Your backpacking trip sounds fun and that time of year is nice in that area.  That is great that you have FCC to use, too!

We were surprised by the Fourth of July celebration, too, and how many people attended.  Now the one thing that really surprised me was the fact that they had the Boston Pops concert and fireworks broadcast on the big screen in the atrium beginning at 5pm Pacific time. I did not realize how many people were interested in it as the atrium was filled during the before dinner crowd.

[Seas2mountains]

My final update may be a bit delayed as my summer break ended yesterday and I was back at school where I work at an alternative school that follows a year-round calendar. My husband is also back at work.  We keep trying to decide if the extended vacation like a 14 day cruise plus travel time is worth the craziness of diving back into work before getting all laundry and other tasks done. I think it may be worth it. 😃

My next extended school break is in September so we would love to go on the 12-day Spirit cruise from Hawaii to French Polynesia and Tahiti. We loved the crew and the design of the Spirit. We did miss some comforts from other ships but also love the itinerary of that cruise.

I also need to post the final daily. Thank you for following along.

 

 

Edited July 6, 2023 by Seas2mountains

[Seas2mountains]

Day 7/14 daily.  I was not able to get the PDF version to download as the wifi was too slow. 

[Seas2mountains]

While the first time listed for disembarkation on this says 8:30am, they actually started it at 7:30am. 
 

With it being a smaller ship, we had no lines when we got off at 8:30am. 

[Seas2mountains]

@TfromBC I didn't want to hijack @YVRteacher's live review on the Star or on her Spirit review but know you are looking for excursions on your B2B on the Spirit. I know it can get really expensive and some budgets don't allow for all excursions at all ports.

Like @YVRteacher recommended, I will second many of hers:

 

Sitka - we did the NCL Best of Sitka tour which takes you to the Raptor Center, Fortress of the Bears, and Sitka National Historical Park where you will see the totem poles. I would do this tour again. You can read some of my comments earlier in this review. 

 

Juneau - I do recommend going to Mendenhall Glacier and a whale watching tour as Yvonne suggested. You can also ride the tram up to Mt. Roberts and the views are excellent if the clouds aren't too low. I know you have two stops here. I also did a review on the Alaska museum which we did on one stop as we have been to this port a few times. It was very interesting if you want to learn more about the native Alaskan tribes and their history. 

 

Skagway - I definitely recommend the White Pass railway excursion and the Ghost and Good Times Girls Walking tours as Yvonne did.  I do cover the Ghost and Good Time tour in this review. You should also go to the creek in the park near the port as the salmon may be running and they can be fun to watch. 

Icy Strait Point - we did like our whale watching tour but I think the one we did in Seward was better for seeing a variety of whales. You may be lucky and will see one or more from the ship as we have at times. The free tram with a chance to walk around the beach area and towards Hoonah are great choices, too.  

 

Seward - I second Yvonne's recommendation for Major Marine or Kenai Fjords tour and found that the one we took on Major Marine was probably the best excursion out of all the excursions we took in Alaska besides the White Pass railway but if those aren't in the budget, you can walk or take a free shuttle to the Sealife Center or you may also find a way to get to Exit Glacier to walk on it as we have done in the past. If you can do the Major Marine or Kenai Fjords boat tour, you will likely get close to a glacier and they will even make margaritas out of glacier ice. For some crazy reason, they let everyone touch the glacier ice and after everyone touched it - then they made the margaritas. We didn't care to drink ice that had been touched by 50+ people. LOL.

 

Ketchikan- we did not do any excursions here but enjoyed walking around town and Creek Street. We only saw 4 salmon swimming and a seal that was trailing behind them. We have stopped here on other cruises and saw many more salmon than on this visit. Our bus driver mentioned that the commercial fishing of the salmon had been impacting their salmon population. 

 

Hubbard Glacier - we struck out on both scheduled visits due to fog or too much and no one even got to go on the Hubbard Glacier boat trip that Yvonne and her Dad got to do. It looked lovely and if you can't do an excursion in Seward to see a glacier up close from a boat, it sound like this would be a great choice. On previous cruises with Hubbard Glacier on the itinerary, we got up much closer and were thrilled to see the calving. 

When on the Spirit, do not miss a chance to eat dinner in Taste as the service was a bit better than in Windows for dinner and the food temperature was hot. Onda was also a favorite of ours and I know Yvonne also mentioned this as one she also enjoyed.

 

I also wanted to thank @bluesea777 for the many suggestions given to me during this review including the recommendation to go to Taste for dinner. If you search, you may find a previous review @bluesea777 did on the Spirit or maybe they can tag it for you that covers many details about the ship that were really helpful to me when I was considering the Spirit. 

 

Have a wonderful cruise and I hope my additional comments confirming many the great suggestions @YVRteacher made are helpful to you. Maybe you can do a live review so we can all follow along? 😀