Spirit review 6/23-7/1 ~ brief

[Sunsail77]

We (DH, DS and I) had a wonderful time on the Spirit! We spent some time with our new friends from CC! Hi Laura, Noah, Patty, Kathy! Can't wait to go back! I'll try to break this up by category:

 

Itinerary: 8 night Caribbean- loved all 3 ports!

Bermuda-we went to the aquarium in Hamilton (did Horseshoe Bay last year so we wanted to try something different)

Tortola-Cane Garden Bay Beach- tropical paradise!

St.Thomas- taxi tour to Mountain top (our Taxi broke down but a local gentleman offered to take us to the top) It was awesome! great view of Megan's Bay Beach and best Banana Daquaris!! Also did the Atlantis Sub tour. Fun.

 

Room: 9212- Aft AD suite. Nice size suite for the 3 of us. Plenty of room for us and our luggage. Glad I brought my own Hair Dryer and power adapter (thanks CC board)

Room Stewards- magnificent! Leo and Jane were very friendly and made us feel at home. Room was kept very clean and stocked with plenty of towels...Each night was a new towel animal with the Grand Finale being the monkey hanging from the balcony curtains! Adorable!

Concierge- Lisa was outstanding. She was always available when we had a request. Not too many requests, just dinner res. for the more difficult places and times. Being able to disembark first at every port was definitley a good AD perk.

 

Food: We were very happy with the food. We pretty much tried every specialty res. in the 8 days and ate at Windows too. Did not get to the Italian res. though. Loved Cagney's- Philip was a great waiter! He made for a memorable and entertaining meal!

 

Kid's Crew & Pool- Kid's Crew is awesome! Endless activities and games. My son (9) is still playing some of the games he learned there. They are so organized and take really good care of the kids. I never had to worry. My son begged us to stay for the "Late Night" too. "Trouble" and "Moose" were his favorite Kid Crew memebers. Thanks again "Trouble" for making yet another crusie extra special for our son!:)

 

Well, that's all I have time for now. Any questions? I'd be glad to answer!

[Sam The Cat]

Thank you for your quick review My GF and I are going on the Spirit in three weeks (08/04) and we can not wait, we need a cruise based upon your review we will have a great time

[Woodie]

you do not mention your butler in the review - is that good or bad?

 

we are in an AC on the Spirit sailing on 2nd Sept

[Dolphins]

Was entertainer extraordinaire Ariel Jacobe performing in Champagne Charlie's again?

[Sunsail77]

Woodie- Lucky was our Butler. Very pleasant. Didn't utilize him very much. An occassional breakfast in room and a lunch or 2 when we got in from a port and were too tired (yet hungry) to make it to Raffles. I believe he is mostly used for dining in room. You will find Lisa the Concierge very helpful as far as getting you reservations (even Tappanyaki) and adding on friends to existing reservations if you so desire. Lisa also is more visible (in my opinion) around the ship and she loves to stop and chat to see if you need anything.:)

Have a wonderful time! I know you will!

 

Dolphins- We didn't spend too much time at Charlies. It seems my otherwise quiet & shy DH found a new hobby at Henry's Pub ...Karoke. But, yes Ariel was there. A Trio also played there some nights.

[Chipster2]

Thanks for your review. We have a while before we get to cruise on the Spirit. October 2008 for a repo cruise to be exact. We also have 9212 booked for the cruise might you have any pictures of the cabin? Any noise problems?

 

Thanks

[bananerz3080]

We (DH, DS and I) had a wonderful time on the Spirit! We spent some time with our new friends from CC! Hi Laura, Noah, Patty, Kathy! Can't wait to go back! I'll try to break this up by category:

 

Itinerary: 8 night Caribbean- loved all 3 ports!

Bermuda-we went to the aquarium in Hamilton (did Horseshoe Bay last year so we wanted to try something different)

Tortola-Cane Garden Bay Beach- tropical paradise!

St.Thomas- taxi tour to Mountain top (our Taxi broke down but a local gentleman offered to take us to the top) It was awesome! great view of Megan's Bay Beach and best Banana Daquaris!! Also did the Atlantis Sub tour. Fun.

 

Room: 9212- Aft AD suite. Nice size suite for the 3 of us. Plenty of room for us and our luggage. Glad I brought my own Hair Dryer and power adapter (thanks CC board)

Room Stewards- magnificent! Leo and Jane were very friendly and made us feel at home. Room was kept very clean and stocked with plenty of towels...Each night was a new towel animal with the Grand Finale being the monkey hanging from the balcony curtains! Adorable!

Concierge- Lisa was outstanding. She was always available when we had a request. Not too many requests, just dinner res. for the more difficult places and times. Being able to disembark first at every port was definitley a good AD perk.

 

Food: We were very happy with the food. We pretty much tried every specialty res. in the 8 days and ate at Windows too. Did not get to the Italian res. though. Loved Cagney's- Philip was a great waiter! He made for a memorable and entertaining meal!

 

Kid's Crew & Pool- Kid's Crew is awesome! Endless activities and games. My son (9) is still playing some of the games he learned there. They are so organized and take really good care of the kids. I never had to worry. My son begged us to stay for the "Late Night" too. "Trouble" and "Moose" were his favorite Kid Crew memebers. Thanks again "Trouble" for making yet another crusie extra special for our son!:)

 

Well, that's all I have time for now. Any questions? I'd be glad to answer!

 

 

 

Im going on the spirit the coming april 19-27. How was tortola ans st thomas? Did you do any excurshions? What are you able to do? (for excurshions) Just wondering. On my cruise onsead of bermuda im going to semana. Glad you had fun!:)

[Jon65retired]

Thanks for your review. We have a while before we get to cruise on the Spirit. October 2008 for a repo cruise to be exact. We also have 9212 booked for the cruise might you have any pictures of the cabin? Any noise problems?

 

Thanks

 

Hi Chipster, we too are in 9212 booked for Nov. 3 repo cruise from New York to New Orleans. Here's a link to lots of pictures of the Spirit including some of 9212. Enjoy!

 

http://164.109.173.140/spirit_slideshow/pages/P5220420_JPG.htm

[Chipster2]

Thanks for the link. Only wish we didn't have to wait until next year!

[Sunsail77]

Hi Chipster2,

As far as noise, I'd say a slight engine sound that we barely noticed. You will find that you are having such a great time and enjoying your awesome cabin that you will not notice. The slight motion made for a restful sleep in my opinion.

For the excurions- we only did 1 through NCL and went on our own for the reat of the time. It was so easy to get off the ship and right into a waiting taxi to take you wherever at both ports. It runs like clockwork. They have it all down to a science. It all depends on what you and you group like to do. Beach? Site seeing? If you are the "just let me relax on this gorgeous beach for a while " peron then definitely take a taxi to Cane Garden Bay Beach in Tortola. Paradise! Bars, snack and some water sports avaiable. The scenery is really the main attraction there. The water is the gorgeous turquoise/blue crystal clear color.

In St. Thomas we did the Atlantis Submarine tour. We went 80 feet under the sea. We some some interesting fish, eel, someone saw a shark(?).

 

Hope this helps and have a wonderful time!

[Chipster2]

Sunsail77,

 

Thanks so much for the information. We are really looking foward to cruising on the Spirit next fall. Looks like they are making a few changes in the itinerary for next year so it will be interesting to see some feedback in the coming months.

 

Thanks again

[bermuda triangle]

We (DH, DS and I) had a wonderful time on the Spirit! We spent some time with our new friends from CC! Hi Laura, Noah, Patty, Kathy! Can't wait to go back! I'll try to break this up by category:

 

Itinerary: 8 night Caribbean- loved all 3 ports!

Bermuda-we went to the aquarium in Hamilton (did Horseshoe Bay last year so we wanted to try something different)

Tortola-Cane Garden Bay Beach- tropical paradise!

St.Thomas- taxi tour to Mountain top (our Taxi broke down but a local gentleman offered to take us to the top) It was awesome! great view of Megan's Bay Beach and best Banana Daquaris!! Also did the Atlantis Sub tour. Fun.

 

Room: 9212- Aft AD suite. Nice size suite for the 3 of us. Plenty of room for us and our luggage. Glad I brought my own Hair Dryer and power adapter (thanks CC board)

Room Stewards- magnificent! Leo and Jane were very friendly and made us feel at home. Room was kept very clean and stocked with plenty of towels...Each night was a new towel animal with the Grand Finale being the monkey hanging from the balcony curtains! Adorable!

Concierge- Lisa was outstanding. She was always available when we had a request. Not too many requests, just dinner res. for the more difficult places and times. Being able to disembark first at every port was definitley a good AD perk.

 

Food: We were very happy with the food. We pretty much tried every specialty res. in the 8 days and ate at Windows too. Did not get to the Italian res. though. Loved Cagney's- Philip was a great waiter! He made for a memorable and entertaining meal!

 

Kid's Crew & Pool- Kid's Crew is awesome! Endless activities and games. My son (9) is still playing some of the games he learned there. They are so organized and take really good care of the kids. I never had to worry. My son begged us to stay for the "Late Night" too. "Trouble" and "Moose" were his favorite Kid Crew memebers. Thanks again "Trouble" for making yet another crusie extra special for our son!:)

 

Well, that's all I have time for now. Any questions? I'd be glad to answer!

 

Hey Dawn,

I didn't see this post before. It was very nice meeting you and your family. I wanted to thank you again for including us in your reservations. The teppanyaki was great.

I am glad you enjoyed your trip and I wish you many more in the future. Noah enjoyed Bermuda so much he surprised me with a few days there in Sept. I can't wait!

Laura

[bermuda triangle]

Was entertainer extraordinaire Ariel Jacobe performing in Champagne Charlie's again?

 

Yes. We saw him multiple times while walking to/from our cabin.

 

Laura

[jimmm]

Boy I love all these posts. We have always had an aft cabin balcony for our 6 NCL cruises and did 9212 on the Spirit for Dec since they don't have any "regular" categories in the aft. With all the buzz about these cabins, now I can't wait. Thanks to all of you that have contributed info -

[Sunsail77]

Hi Laura,

Wow! Back to Bermuda so soon. You are lucky! :)

Hope all is well. Meeting you & Noah was a great part of our trip. Glad to have been able to spend some time with both of you.

 

 

jimmm - I know you will love 9212. It is a great cabin with nice perks. Have a wonderful cruise.

[RobertQM2]

As we are thinking about sailing with NCL-Spirit during the easter week 08, we are a bit worried about the dining options (free style.....) because we heard (read) of some troubles and a mess getting a nice table to dine.

 

Would you all NCL fans be so nice to describe it a bit closer to us newbys?

 

Thanks for your replys in advance

[Surfgirl]

Sounds like you had a great time on the Spirit. I love that ship! We took a 7 day trip, and enjoyed every moment. There was lots to do on board, the crew was fabulous, and the food was better on this ship than any of the other NCL ships I've been on.

[jimswims]

Thanks for the review.

 

We just got off the Dawn last week and had a great time. We stayed in an AB.

We are returning to the Spirit in August 2008 for our second 8-day. We are staying in an AC with adjoining BB. We loved our cruise on the Dawn but we are really looking forward to returning to the Spirit.

[tcrny]

Hi Chipster, we too are in 9212 booked for Nov. 3 repo cruise from New York to New Orleans. Here's a link to lots of pictures of the Spirit including some of 9212. Enjoy!

 

http://164.109.173.140/spirit_slideshow/pages/P5220420_JPG.htm

Thanks so much for sharing your pics! We will be sailing the Spirit for our 2nd cruise ever in April 2008 (seems like a really long wait) but definitely looking forward to the Spirit. Looks like a beautiful ship.

 

Just wondering about Windows ... I know they say with freestyle you don't need reservations for non specialty restaurants, but if we want to have a table by the window for dinner, should we need to make a reservation? Thanks again for the great pics. Cathy

[Sunsail77]

Hi RobertQM2,

I can only speak for us and tell you that we did not have any problems with dining. Perhaps it was because we tend to eat early (around 5:30) and just have a light snack later on, or maybe because we were only a party of 2. Also, depending on your cabin, you may have the conceige. They can get you a res. for pretty much any time/day you would like, just give them a day or so for your request.

 

Does that help? Or did you need specifics of how the freestyle works?

 

I hope you have a great time and the dining issue works out for you. :)

[bermuda triangle]

Thanks so much for sharing your pics! We will be sailing the Spirit for our 2nd cruise ever in April 2008 (seems like a really long wait) but definitely looking forward to the Spirit. Looks like a beautiful ship.

 

Just wondering about Windows ... I know they say with freestyle you don't need reservations for non specialty restaurants, but if we want to have a table by the window for dinner, should we need to make a reservation? Thanks again for the great pics. Cathy

 

 

The tables closest to the windows are tables for two. If you arrive early (5-6) it is my experience that you should not have difficulty sitting near a window.

If you have a larger party those tables are adjacent to the tables for 2 so you will have a water view.

Laura

[Sunsail77]

Hi Laura,

 

So are you cruisin to Bermuda or flying?

 

I'll think of you while I'm back to work and you are basking at Horshoe Bay. :( No crowds! You are sooo lucky!

[bermuda triangle]

Hi Laura,

 

So are you cruisin to Bermuda or flying?

 

I'll think of you while I'm back to work and you are basking at Horseshoe Bay. :( No crowds! You are sooo lucky!

 

We are flying from JFK, we got a super rate through american airlines for a flight/hotel package (fairmont southampton princess). It was less expensive than a cruise and Noah is working a strange schedule lately:rolleyes:, so it worked out perfectly.

 

One of his partners is adopting a baby from South America and somewhere in the encyclopedia:eek: of paperwork the babie's new last name is misspelled, so it involved a delay and an upcoming trip to the Embassy. So while her plans are in the air Noah was able to squeeze this in before she goes on family leave. She thought she would have had the baby in June at 6 mos., now the baby is rapidly approaching 9 mos.

 

As for the crowds there are 3 ships docked while we are there, but the hotel has its own beach basically next to Horseshoe Bay. I am most excited about going to the caves. It is nice to have time to do more than just go to the beach or to one excursion.

 

When we get back I have a busy month ahead of me work wise, so this unexpected break is much appreciated. Don't work too hard!!! The schools in my town have been back in session for 3 days.

Say hello to Rockin' Ralph and your DS for us! Every time I see anything to do with Ratatouille I think of him!

 

Regards,

Laura