Review Spirit 1/23 to 2/2

[tinkerbell1951]

Hi everyone. Before I start, I just wanted to let you know that I am a fairly easy person to please. Give me a pleasant staff member, clean surroundings with a lovely comfortable bed with smooth sheets and good food for my buck and I am very happy. We had a ball on this cruise.

That being said, let me proceed and remember this is all purely subjective and personal. I know good food, I have traveled the world. I have been on 4 different cruise lines and I love NCL's free-style dining. But, if I am going to be charged a cover charge for certain restaurants, then that food had better be good. The menus, as most of you know, have been changed fleetwide and specialty restaurant-wide since February of last winter. I want the old menus back and I want the quality in the specialty restaurants back. We did Le Bistro once, had it booked for three and cancelled the last 2. We went to Cagney's three times and I would have preferred the main dining rooms. Mealy shrimp cocktail, mushy pre-frozen Maine lobster (!!!), corn crumb coated rack of lamb in a French restuarant ... YUCK !! Were I to return today, I wouldn't bother with the Specialty's... I would eat in the main dining rooms - I can find a nice pair of slacks, blouse and shoes. The one problem we had with the main dining rooms was that the waiters had some difficulty with the English language and we often did not get what we ordered. Raffles is wonderful for breakfast and lunch with an abundant variety of choices ... just look and turn the corner first. The biggest problem here was dealing with the pushing, shoving and elbowing of the clientele. I was for personal reasons astounded that we had to pay for cranberry juice at lunch and dinner when it is in abundance and for free at breakfast. Coffee is still atrocious but there is the cafe which does its best to give you something "akin" to Starbucks. Trouble was the cruise before us drank all the vanilla and caramel syrup so we were left with only hazelnut. ;)

Room service was adequate but they appeared to have some difficulty ascertaining what (2) meant next to muffins and rolls or pastries or coffee. I presumed it to be 2 orders as there were 2 in our room. They took it to mean 1 roll per person. It was day 8 before 2 napkins arrived ... so I would suggest that you be very specific.

The staff as far as I was concerned was delightful. I had no trouble with them at all and I would recommend slipping a twenty to your cabin stewards and introducing yourself to them. I had 3 requests which I wrote down on paper. Not once, did I have to repeat it.

The hairdryers stink. I cannot speak for inside cabins or anything above a balcony but there is only 1 outlet in the room and they tell you not to use a hair dryer. There were a lot of wet heads running around. The walls are thin ... we could hear our neighbor's phone ring and my hubby has a hearing aid.

At the risk of being shot, I will joyfully say that the segment of our society known for their b****ing and moaning was noticeably absent from the cruise as were children. There couldn't have been more than 50 on board and all but 2 were beautifully behaved. There was therefore, a wonderful ambiance of general happiness sans the screaming child.

The entertainment was wonderful from the array of small group entertainers, to the solo acts, especially Tim Triplett, the comedian hypnotist and the acrobatic Cameo Rascale.

The casino did not pay out well and drinks were only comped to those who were hanging around and spending a lot of money.

Shore trips ... let's see ... I did Coki Beach snorkeling on my own ... it was good as long as you stayed close to the rocks on the far left and swam a fair distance. Pot was readily available not that I partook but a definite drawback. I heard that the snorkeling at Magen's Bay was better.

Antigua I took Catamaran Sail ... okay snorkeling ... staff very friendly, usual native food, lots of 150 I swear rum punch. After lunch, we went through a path on Bird Island to another beach. I saw a snake. They say they are harmless ... I watched him to see what he was going to do, got a stick, prodded him and he vanished into the bushes ... My hubby took the historical tour and enjoyed it very much.

Barbados - Tiami 5 star catamaran ... with turtles and snorkel ... better food, drinks not as potent but plenty of them and an even better staff.

St. Maarten, I stayed on the ship and had it almost to myself..a lovely relaxing day. I had done the America's Cup Regatta before and that is a wonderful wonderful time...but you know ... it's the people and the fun they can concoct that make a tour fun.

Tortola - Virgin Gorda Bath & Snorkel ... I cannot speak highly enough of this ... amazing snorkeling with a 15 minute hike through boulders, caves and brush thrown in. Do not do this tour if you are grossly overweight or are on crutches or otherwise handicapped. It would NOT be inconceivable for anyone to twist their ankle or otherwise hurt themselves on the hike. I'd opt to swim back if it is allowed. Rum punch that they advertised ... scanty at best and no food. After this excursion, you are hungry ... get a double steak from the night before, some bread from Raffles, salt & pepper from Blue Lagoon and make yourselves some sandwiches that morning before you leave. We had a boatload of jealous passengers eying our sandwiches ;) .

I generally don't like ship excursions but these three gave a lot for the buck and I'd do them all again.

PACK some baggies ...

OH ... NO fridges in regular cabins on Spirit ... we brought a cooler .... it kept soda, mayo, leftover steak, etc. cold over night :)))

Embarkation ... SMOOTH compared to the Blizzard cruise of the Dawn last year

Debarkation just as smooth though we opted for the express do-it-yourself. They said it would begin at 8:35 am and at 8:35 am it was duly begun and we were home and unpacked by 10:30 am. But don't you know there were people in line who were complaining at 8:10 because the line wasn't moving. :rolleyes:

Oh, one more thing, we had a medical emergency early in the morning on Departure Day and spent a few hours in the ER. While on the cruise, we had to get some blood work done. The Medical Center was FANTASTIC in terms of dealing with this, letting us know where, how and what time to do it and, in fact, as my husband's card was swiped as we were leaving, there was an alert from the medical center reminding him to get his blood work done. We received a phone call telling us that the lab results were in the next day and that we needed to adjust his medicine and that the report would be in our stateroom within a few minutes.

There also arose a situation where our credit card refused an NCL transaction. The front desk worked hard to get that straightened out and gave me a free call to my credit card company.

Ample Purell-like hand sanitizing stations through out the ship.

Great internet access if you follow directions.

Can't think of anything else ...let me know if you do ... booked for the Gem next January !

Tink :)

[Maryfrei]

Thanks for sharing:)!

[tinkerbell1951]

Thanks for sharing:)!

 

Welcome Mary :) , Cinci

[immargaret]

Great informative review Tink!:)

[canadarose]

hi, we really enjoyed your review- informative and balanced. Would you consider le Bistro worth a trip? If you make a reservation, can you cancel without penalty? Should we make reservations at main dining rooms? thanks

[lavigne101]

Thanks. Will be on the Spirit for March break. Lots of great info. Glad you had a good time. Erin.

[Welove2cruise2]

Thanks for the review, Tink! Sorry you were so disappointed in the specialty restaurants. When we sailed the Spirit we had a wonderful chateaubriand in LeBistro, and filets in Cagneys -- no complaints from us. Did you go to Teppanyaki or the japanese restaurant? They were both wonderful (rice not too garlicky like on the Dawn :eek: ). The main dining room was wonderful for us as well -- did you try the salmon? YUM!

 

I agree with you about the blow dryers! It FRIED my fine, thin hair!! I even bought converter plugs, but because the plug is recessed, it wouldn't work..:rolleyes: And no fridge -- we were lost!;)

 

We'd sail on the Spirit again in a heartbeat -- mostly because of the way we were treated by the senior staff -- partly because of our gold status and partly because we knew a lot of them (hotel director, bar manager, executive chef). And we loved the decor and layout of this ship!

 

Now we're back to the Dawn! And we can't wait!

 

Thanks again!

[212cruiser]

Unfortunately, we had a comparable reaction to Le Bistro and canceled our other 2 evenings there. The restaurant smelled from the open kitchen cooking, there was no chateaubriand on the menu and the food that was served was mediocre at best (in fact it was just poor).

[maja]

Great review, thanks.

Can you tell me if musterdrill is held indoors or out?

I've been to a few done inside & I'm hoping it will be that way when we sail on 2/10. I'm planning on leaving the heavy coat home.

[Dolphins]

Do they still have the show "Standing Room Only" in the theatre? Is Ariel Jacobe still performing in Henry's Pub and Champagne Charlie's Bar?

[cantwaitt]

Can you wear jeans inm the inclusive dining rooms these days?

[tinkerbell1951]

hi, we really enjoyed your review- informative and balanced. Would you consider le Bistro worth a trip? If you make a reservation, can you cancel without penalty? Should we make reservations at main dining rooms? thanks

 

Hi :) . As I said, food is highly personal and subjective. The appetizers and soups were great and their creme brulee is to die for. Also if you make any reservations at specialty restaurants between 5 and 6, it's 1/2 off the cover charge ... so go ahead ! You can cancel without penalty within 24 hours. You don't need to make any reservations for Windows or Garden but if you have a group of 4 or more who wishes to eat together every night then I would be inclined to do so.

 

I did try twice to get copies of main dining menus to no avail.

 

Cinci

[tinkerbell1951]

Thanks for the review, Tink! Sorry you were so disappointed in the specialty restaurants. When we sailed the Spirit we had a wonderful chateaubriand in LeBistro, and filets in Cagneys -- no complaints from us. Did you go to Teppanyaki or the japanese restaurant? They were both wonderful (rice not too garlicky like on the Dawn :eek: ). The main dining room was wonderful for us as well -- did you try the salmon? YUM!

 

I agree with you about the blow dryers! It FRIED my fine, thin hair!! I even bought converter plugs, but because the plug is recessed, it wouldn't work..:rolleyes: And no fridge -- we were lost!;)

 

We'd sail on the Spirit again in a heartbeat -- mostly because of the way we were treated by the senior staff -- partly because of our gold status and partly because we knew a lot of them (hotel director, bar manager, executive chef). And we loved the decor and layout of this ship!

 

Now we're back to the Dawn! And we can't wait!

 

Thanks again!

 

I did hear that the chateau was great and the filets were okay. We did Asian ... their Spring rolls were tasty but they were egg rolls, tempura batter underdone, inside veggies over done. I frequent Asian/Japanese fusion restaurants frequently so I can be critical. It's a very fine restaurant that will please me in the Teppanyaki department ... but it's just food. I'd do the Spirit again in a heartbeat too.

[tinkerbell1951]

Unfortunately, we had a comparable reaction to Le Bistro and canceled our other 2 evenings there. The restaurant smelled from the open kitchen cooking, there was no chateaubriand on the menu and the food that was served was mediocre at best (in fact it was just poor).

 

I totally forgot that !! You're right and it was my worst complaint (sheesh) because I was facing it...the open kitchen to the restaurant. Half of any dinner party gets a full view of the kitchen and its staff. A definite detriment to romantic, intimate dining.

[tinkerbell1951]

Great review, thanks.

Can you tell me if musterdrill is held indoors or out?

I've been to a few done inside & I'm hoping it will be that way when we sail on 2/10. I'm planning on leaving the heavy coat home.

 

We left and it was 40 or so degrees so it was outside and very formal straight lines. When we left during the blizzrad cruise last year, the weather was so awful, it was half in and half out ...

[tinkerbell1951]

Do they still have the show "Standing Room Only" in the theatre? Is Ariel Jacobe still performing in Henry's Pub and Champagne Charlie's Bar?

 

I don't recall SRO but Ariel Jacobe was definitely there performing everyday as was the Alhambre Trio who were great.

[TerryD]

Is the quartet Love Brothers and Lira still performing? We always enjoyed listening to them in the evening.

[SailAways]

Nice review Tink

 

We too would do the Spirit again - She is a lovely "older" ship. We did not feel that she was old at all - but that is how some were describing her at the time!;)

 

We cruised on her in 2005 - and the food was exceptional in all restaurants which we tried, as was the service.

 

Thanks.

[tinkerbell1951]

Can you wear jeans inm the inclusive dining rooms these days?

 

Jeans are a no-no for the main dining rooms at dinner only.

[tinkerbell1951]

Is the quartet Love Brothers and Lira still performing? We always enjoyed listening to them in the evening.

 

No, neither were performing.

[Studebaker59]

:):):)We also just returned from the Spirit's Jan.23-Feb. 2 sailing.

 

The life boat drill was outside so winter coats were necessary.

 

I never saw anyone with jeans denied entrance to the restaurants. The signs said "No torn jeans" allowed.

 

There is a $5 penalty for cancelling a specialty restaurant reservation within 24 hours of the reservation time.

 

Le Bistro was so disappointing. The waiter had zero personality. The stuffing in the salmon had a terrrible consistancy. I didn't know what I was eating. The chocolate fondue I remembered from the Dawn's Le Bistro is no longer available.

 

On the other hand, we ate in the Spirit's Shogun Asian restaurant. It was GREAT! We sampled many of the Chinese, Japanese, & Thai dishes. We had a feast! Ana, the waitress, was wonderful. She jokingly asked if we wanted wheelchairs to take us to the show because we had eaten so much. That was such a memorable meal, and so much fun.

 

We loved the Murder Mystery Dinner on the Dawn so we did it again on the Spirit. We also signed up for Dinner with an Officer. We were lucky enough to be assigned the Executive Chef. We cancelled our Cagney's reservation because of this conflict.

 

We found the food & presentation throughout the ship to be excellent. Unfortunately, my most disappointing meal was in Le Bistro. My husband did have the duck there, and he really enjoyed it.

 

Julie Valeriote is a wonderful cruise director. She's visible, talented, does her job with enthusiasm. Dave Heenan is very funny. Rebecca Lowe is a very talented singer. There were three production shows, including Standing Room Only, America's Beat, & Radio Waves.

 

We had a terrific cruise. Even sitting on the Promenade Deck the day before returning to N.Y., we had our windbreakers on, and it was 60 degrees. This was on Feb. 1st. It was delightful!

 

We sailed on the Dawn three times. We love the Dawn, but wanted to give the Spirit a try. The seats in the Stardust Theatre really need refurbishment. The crew couldn't have been nicer. We enjoyed having breakfast on the Spirit's Raffles open-air deck in the back of the ship. I found the hairdryer better than the one I use at home. The shower is large, compared to many I've had on other ships. We did miss daytime lecture series we've enjoyed on other cruiselines. I wish they would have more chaises on the Promenade Deck. Sometimes, it was hard to find two available ones.

[tinkerbell1951]

Nice review Tink

 

We too would do the Spirit again - She is a lovely "older" ship. We did not feel that she was old at all - but that is how some were describing her at the time!;)

 

We cruised on her in 2005 - and the food was exceptional in all restaurants which we tried, as was the service.

 

Thanks.

 

Hi Sail :) . I think the smaller size is wonderful. Good to hear from you.

[tinkerbell1951]

No, neither were performing.

I stand corrected. I didn't realize the Love Brothers were there.

[jimswims]

We were on the Spirit last August. We had a wonderful cruise.

 

We went to Le Bistro 3 times because the service and the food was wonderful. I am sorry to hear that some people did not have a meal or service that met their expectations.

 

We also loved Shogun. We went there 2 times it was so good and a really big surprise for us!

 

My daughter (8) loves to sing and dance. She got to meet Rebecca, who was so nice to her. We also thought that Julie (C.D) was exceptional. We met her on the Majesty in 2004 as well. She attended our CC meet and greet and was very personable.

 

Julie also took my daughter on a back stage tour of the Theater. She got to see the costumes, meet some of the performers, sit in the make up chair, etc... My daughter talked about this for weeks.

[4gomez]

Sorry Guys

I and wife, like tinkerbell 1951 are not picky BUT if you have read my reviews on other posts regarding our cruise of 10-29-06 you will know that we will NEVER sail on the Spirit again. I do not believe it is NCL in general because the DAWN of 11-04 was incredible. Spirit was tired. Worn carpets, public restrooms were generally VERY dirty, and some of the staff was more interested in their private conversations than attending to us.Food was below par in specialty restaurants but very good in main. We are thinking about GEM in JAN FEB MAR 08.