Newbie Cruiser -NCL Spirit

[Devil Queen]

Hi! I am so glad I found this Message Board!

 

I have some questions about the Spirit ship:

 

Is room service available regularly, like morning coffee and tea?

 

I read about tipping and that it is not required, but I do not want to look like a cheap-o. What do you do?

 

We will be traveling with two 11 year old boys; how do they access events, games, etc.? DO they have an ID bracelet or ID card?

 

Thanks in advance, I am sure that I will have a million more questions...

[johnql]

Room service is available 24/7. A continental breakfast can be ordered over the phone or by filling out a form that you can hang outside your cabin's door the night before. I usually tip the delivery person $1-2 for a simple order, $4-5 for a full meal. This is not required or even expected, but it's what I do.

 

You will be automatically charged $10 pp/pd for gratuities. If you receive exemplary service from someone, it is up to you to tip accordingly if you feel it's warranted. If you receive just the expected level of service, you certainly do not have to tip extra.

 

In addition, all bar tabs will have a 15% gratuity automatically added. Again, there is no need to tip extra unless you feel the service warrants it.

 

Sorry, can't help you with the kid questions.

[Devil Queen]

Thanks, John, that was a big help for one of my concerns.:)

[patch19]

We were on the Spirit last year with our 11 year old. They gave everyone a color coded bracelet based on age when you checked in. He absolutely loved the Kids Club Program. First in line when it opened and last out the door when it closed! We tipped the Kids Club Staff around $10 a day. We just put it into an envelope with a thank you note and gave it to them the last night on board. If I remember correctly the Kid's Club Staff did not share in the standard NCL $10 a day tipping program.

 

We had a really nice room steward and I think we gave him an extra $20 at the end of the cruise. They were short handed in house keeping but he really went out of his way for us. The only other tips we gave were for bar service, just a buck or two.

 

Have a great time!

[Devil Queen]

Thanks, Patch!

 

Do they have the Kids Club segregated by age? I don't want them to be with either too much older kids (obvious reasons) or too much younger (boredom factor)?

[johnql]

Thanks, Patch!

 

Do they have the Kids Club segregated by age? I don't want them to be with either too much older kids (obvious reasons) or too much younger (boredom factor)?

Kids Club is broken up into the following age groups:

 

Junior Sailors (2-5)

First Mates (6-9)

Navigators (10-12)

Teens (13-17)

[patch19]

They do have age brackets which they strictly enforce. He was in the 10-12 year age group. Activities are set up accordingly. Some of my sons favorites were dodge ball on the upper deck, a kids only pool party, and water balloon toss. They had a daily which showed the hours of operation and the activities planned. They also offered group "baby sitting" during certain times like while in port and after hours with a small fee.

[KerCar]

Devil Queen,

 

Welcome to CC!!!! Check out the Family board for lots of great info on cruising with kids:)

[Devil Queen]

I love this board, everyone is helpful and polite. Thank you.

 

Now, another question, I like to drink martinis, but I understand that you are not permitted to carry on alcohol. What are the average cost of a good quality martini?

 

Also, did anyone use the week-long soda refill thingy for the kids? My son doesn't drink much soda, only because I don't buy it. But, are things like juices and milk free?

 

TY!:)

[Devil Queen]

I tried to edit my grammatical error in the previous post, but time had expired... I just didn't want all of you to think that I was a yahoo... :D

[JerseyGem]

I thought the martinis were a little pricey- depending on what kind you order, it'll be somewhere around $8 for the basic types and a little more for the fancier ones. DD thought the price was good- she lives in a big city and goes to fancier bars than I do. IF you like martinis- don't miss the Martini Clinic (ours was on the last sea day- I think it was $15 for 6 different martinis- of course after all those martinis, I can't remember the details.)

 

Soda card- if your son likes iced tea, I wouldn't bother with the soda card; it's usually available all day in the buffet. Also, milk is usually available in the buffet (different dispensers have different kinds of milk, so you may have to walk around the buffet area to find the one for skim or 1%, etc). Also, juice is available in the mornings- it's not real juice, but juice cocktail- even the OJ isn't really OJ, but orange cocktail. All these drinks (tea, milk, juice) are free in the buffet area.

 

You can bring sodas, water bottles and juice boxes, etc on board, so you may be able to satisfy your son with your own "stash" and an occasional soda. Since the Spirit does't have refrigs, we brought a cooler for our drinks- your cabin steward will supply ice.

 

Your two boys will probably spend all their time in the kids' pool area- it looked like a lot of fun! (Pirate themed, etc)

[Devil Queen]

Is there a limit on how much bottled water and juice you can bring on board?

:)

[johnql]

Is there a limit on how much bottled water and juice you can bring on board?

:)

No limit. But I wouldn't bring on a truckload either. If everyone starts doing that, NCL will take notice and sooner or later will decide to clamp down.

[Don Haynes]

As far as bottled water, the tap water on a cruise ship tastes as well as most bottled waters and are as clean. Why not bring aboard a large mug or two and fill them with the water in the buffet instead? Free is always better than paying.

 

You can also buy and refill sodas and waters at every port, so bring as much as you need for the first few days and refill at the ports of call as needed.

 

Juice is always availabe through room service. Why not fill the mug with juice either at the buffet during breakfast or through room service?

 

Options. Of course if you are very fond of only one spring water, its okay to bring some of it aboard too.

[KerCar]

As far as bottled water, the tap water on a cruise ship tastes as well as most bottled water.

 

I agree. I'm a big water drinker and have always found the ship's water to be quite good. We usually bring a few bottled waters to bring off the ship to the beaches, etc. But other than that, I stick to the ship's water.

 

I don't think there is a limit to how much water you can bring on the ship, but several recent cruisers have said that you are no longer able to check cases of water with your checked luggage. Seems they were getting "lost".

[Devil Queen]

Thanks again. You folks are great. I like the idea about refilling at ports, I really don't want to have to lug tons of stuff aboard if I don't have to.

 

As far as water, I would probably drink ship water mostly, but have to have a water bottle to take ashore.

 

:)

 

I can not wait! I am so excited.

 

Oh, another question, if I may, I am getting the seasickness patch, although I don't think I will need it, is the NYC-Bahamas cruise relatively calm?