8/12-8/18 spirit review

[cruise116antwon]

this was my first time sailing with norwegian, and my whole family enjoyed it a lot. we usually sail on royal caribbean. one of the only problems i had on norwegian was that you had to get pay extra for the restaurants to get good food, and in royal caribbean the good food comes for free in the main dining room. another problem was that the elevators went very slow, but i wouldnt let little things like that ruin my vacation.

 

on sunday, we arrived at the pier by 11 and we were on the ship in about an hour. we went straight to raffles and ate until 2 which was when we could go to our room. we had a balcony room and there was enough room for the 3 of us, and we loved the balcony. we went to eat at cagneys, and let me tell you, it was the greatest filet mignon i have ever had. it was worth the extra $19 a person. then we went to the hypnotist show with brenda kaye and it was pretty good. then we went to the casino for the rest of the night and won some money.

 

monday- at sea- went to raffles for breakfast, then spent most of the day at the pool. went to the ncl singers and dancers show, and they were very good. we went to le bistro at 9:30, and it was also very good. i was pretty upset though that they got rid of the chocolate fondue.

 

tuesday- cape canaveral- we went to the kennedy space center. it was HOT out that day so it was hard to walk around to see evrything. we did not have enough time to see all of the tours, but it was very nice there. we went to windows for dinner, and it was pretty good too.

 

wednesday- nassau- my family loved nassau. its too bad we didnt have more time there. we went to paradise island beach (or whatever its called) my husband and daughter rented jet skis and had a blast. we went back to the ship and headed to GSC. it was nice there but SOO buggy. i came back with 53467856 bug bites. then the next morning we went there for about an hour and bought some souveneirs there, and went back to the ship. went to windows again. the show was sharkbait and they were very good, everyone seemed to love it.

 

friday- at sea- we woke up pretty late, so by the time we got up we went to raffles for lunch, then headed to the talent show in the stardust theater. after that we went to play bingo and won$550 =). then we went to the sharkbait show, and then the crew show, which was really great. then we went to the casino for the rest of the night.

 

saturday- disembarkation- we did express and we were off the ship in about 20 minutes.

 

overall, it was a really great vacation. any questions?

[Toyz711]

hope to be going on her in dec...but it will be a different route. hope for less bugs!!!

just for others reading this...you don't buy for the main dining rooms...just the few surcharge speciality restaurants.

congrats on winning at bingo, that's hard to do!!

[CruiseNurseBabe82]

We were at GSC last month and there was not one bug that I saw. I came prepared with off and left with a whole bottle. Maybe bc you were there at night??

[NowVoyager908]

We were at GSC last month and there was not one bug that I saw. I came prepared with off and left with a whole bottle. Maybe bc you were there at night??

 

I think that is it. I was at GSC last month also during the day and had no problems (unless you count the dive bombing sea gulls who attacked a poor, unattended hamburger :eek:) . But I've read plenty of posts from people who were there at night and the bugs do seem to be a problem.

[CHIPMUNKSMOM]

CRUISE116--- How was the pull out sofa ?? MY 15 YO SON WILL BE ON IT :) Thanks

[neverthought]

CRUISE116--- How was the pull out sofa ?? MY 15 YO SON WILL BE ON IT :) Thanks

 

I slept on it in June, comfortable with egg crate foam. Just request it when you get onboard or email accessdesk@ncl.com and they will have it there for you.

[Grits53]

Please clarify your statement about having to pay extra for the good food. Is the food in the main dining room not good....or not "free"? I'm a Carnival cruiser (where all meals are included, with the exception of the reservation supper club), planning to book the NCL Spirit out of New Orleans, so I need to know these things. Thanks.

[Seago2]

I can't believe you managed to post already! Maybe because I had to drive to BUFFALO today:eek: .

 

I was on that same cruise and will write my own review tomorrow. Took lots of notes.

 

Let me just leave you all with this to consider:

 

Double capacity is 1900+. We had 2500+, 880 kids under 18. Median age was 31. I can't begin to describe how crowded certain areas were at certain times- it was unbelievable. Chocoholics Buffet was a nightmare.

 

Forget about the dress code- just forget it. If you have tattoos, you're in. However, if you're an elderly gent with no tattoos, you'll be turned away from Windows if you're wearing nice Bermuda shorts and an Izod shirt. Have to keep the tables in the center open just in case someone from the circus with even MORE tattoos than the last guy drops in!

 

I have never been with so many people in an area designed for so many LESS people in my life. I love kids and brought two of my own- don't get me wrong. And I saw ZERO instances of bad behavior by any kids or teens. Plus, this was my third cruise on the Spirit so I had fourteen other cruising days aboard to compare this last one to. All I can say is it's a good thing I love cruising, know the ship and how to get from place to place the quickest ways, and didn't have any other adults with me who could blame the cruise on me:) . If my mother had gone..... I don't want to think about it.

 

We had a great time overall, the food in Windows was, once again, excellent 90% of the time, Raffles is still a logistical nightmare- but the food is now a nightmare, too... the beds did not seem hard to me, and we got no bites on GSC. Bug spray. The itinerary is still not great but that may be the last time she sails that route. She's going to New England in September and then the big repo to NOLA.

 

I'll bang out a review tomorrow. Laundry.

[bananerz3008]

i may be cruising the spirit this february...are there any resturants you would recomend going to? Thanks!:)

[Seago2]

i may be cruising the spirit this february...are there any resturants you would recomend going to? Thanks!:)

 

 

Cagney's

[NowVoyager908]

i may be cruising the spirit this february...are there any resturants you would recomend going to? Thanks!:)

 

Cagney's was very good. The Teppanyaki was fun, but standard Benihana stuff (without the flaming onion volcano and the flying knives). The meal I really loved was in the main part of Shogun, the Japanese restaurant. We walked in there one night after one of the shows. It was really late, but they were still open and the food was absolutely the best I had on the cruise.

[cruise116antwon]

grits53- when i say that you have to pay extra for the good food, i mean that the better food was in the specialty restaurants, and the food in the main dining rooms were just ok. but on royal caribbean (atleast when i was there) the amazing food was in the restaurant where you dont have to pay.

[Don Haynes]

I have always found the food good to okay in the main dining rooms, especially breakfast and lunch. During the evening better cuts of meat are available in the speciality restaurants, both free and pay extra, much like Carnival but more of them. Having said that, the food in the main dining rooms for dinner is also good, just not the best cuts. I found the food similar to other cruise lines banquet food. Everyone enjoys the tenderloin side of a porterhouse better than the sirloin side.