Highly Disappointed.

[dbeers2618]

My family and I (brother 21, me 24, dad and mom) just got off the Norwegian Spirit yesterday. Needless to say we were not very pleased. We had taken two previous cruises with Royal Caribbean and we thought that Norewegian didn't even come close. We left on Sunday Sept 2 for the Canada/New England Cruise. This was the first cruise to new england for the spirit so we thought that maybe the crew was new and just hadn't gotten their act together. We were very pleased at how quickly embarktion and debarktion went. We were on and off the ship within an hours time with no long lines.

The first day we went to Raffles buffet which we thought was fine for a buffet. Nothing fancy, but nothing terrible either. We ate at Windows at night and the food was not great and the service was terrible. We waited at least 20 - 30 min between each course. We were not even there when it was busy. We got there right at 5:30. Also today people were trying to book their shore excursions and the computers were down for close to two days so you didn't find out what excursions were available until the next night. The show tonight was an off broadway magician named Eric Walton. He was very good. That is one thing that Norwegian was on the ball with was their shows.

Our staterooms were dirty, My parents room had blood on the carpet and the public bathrooms once were totally disgusting that we didn't even use them. There was feces on the toilet seat. I will write more later but needless to say we were not the only ones disappointed.

[maurick]

My family and I (brother 21, me 24, dad and mom) just got off the Norwegian Spirit yesterday. Needless to say we were not very pleased. We had taken two previous cruises with Royal Caribbean and we thought that Norewegian didn't even come close. We left on Sunday Sept 2 for the Canada/New England Cruise. This was the first cruise to new england for the spirit so we thought that maybe the crew was new and just hadn't gotten their act together. We were very pleased at how quickly embarktion and debarktion went. We were on and off the ship within an hours time with no long lines.

The first day we went to Raffles buffet which we thought was fine for a buffet. Nothing fancy, but nothing terrible either. We ate at Windows at night and the food was not great and the service was terrible. We waited at least 20 - 30 min between each course. We were not even there when it was busy. We got there right at 5:30. Also today people were trying to book their shore excursions and the computers were down for close to two days so you didn't find out what excursions were available until the next night. The show tonight was an off broadway magician named Eric Walton. He was very good. That is one thing that Norwegian was on the ball with was their shows.

Our staterooms were dirty, My parents room had blood on the carpet and the public bathrooms once were totally disgusting that we didn't even use them. There was feces on the toilet seat. I will write more later but needless to say we were not the only ones disappointed.

 

 

I am sorry you had so many things going wrong on your cruise. We have sailed The Spirit and it was a wonderful week and the ship was super clean.

 

All of our NCL sailings, in all areas was wonderful. Thats why we keep going back,

 

Thanks for sharing.

[beachbrat]

I am looking forward to the rest of your review. My family and I are trying to decide between NCL Pearl and RCCL Jewel of the Seas.

 

I am new to NCL and weary of freestyle as I have heard about long waits.

[newmexicoNita]

I too am surprised as the Spirit gets high marks for cleanliness.The last time she was inspected, less than 2 months ago she recieved a rating of 96%, you can't do too much better. BTW, how could your parents tell the stains on the carpet were blood?

 

I will be anxious to hear what others have to say. I have clients that just got off the ship. I haven't heard from them yet, but did get an email on Friday, they claim they were having a wonderful cruise.

 

Nita

[maurick]

I too am surprised as the Spirit gets high marks for cleanliness. BTW, how could your parents tell the stains on the carpet were blood?

 

I will be anxious to hear what others have to say. I have clients that just got off the ship. I haven't heard from them yet, but did get an email on Friday, they claim they were having a wonderful cruise.

 

Nita

 

 

I also had a fmaily member go on this ship in April and a honeymoon couple on the May 19th sailing. Both groups talked about how clean the ship was and OVER CLEAN their cabin was.

 

I was wondering how they could till a stain was blood too.

[logcabin]

Wow, sorry to hear this. I was on the Spirit last summer and it was wonderful.. Clean, great service, food was very good, our cabin was spotless, and dinner in the main dining room were well paced. Remember, in fine dining establishments dinner takes up to 3 hours. We have a very "high end" expensive place we go to in our town. Food is incredible and we are always there for at least 3 hours. They leave 20 or so minutes between courses to digest. Unfortuantly, many people are use to TGI Fridays, Chillies, etc. where they bring all your courses on top of each other. However, that is NOT the proper way to serve a good meal.

 

We have sailed NCL 3 times in the last 4 years and have more than enjoyed each cruise. This year we sailed RCCL Explorer of the Seas and found it less then exciting. Enjoyable, but nothing to write home about. We are booked on our next cruise already, we're going back to NCL... And can't wait.

[janabelle61]

My family and I (brother 21, me 24, dad and mom) just got off the Norwegian Spirit yesterday. Needless to say we were not very pleased. We had taken two previous cruises with Royal Caribbean and we thought that Norewegian didn't even come close. We left on Sunday Sept 2 for the Canada/New England Cruise. This was the first cruise to new england for the spirit so we thought that maybe the crew was new and just hadn't gotten their act together. We were very pleased at how quickly embarktion and debarktion went. We were on and off the ship within an hours time with no long lines.

The first day we went to Raffles buffet which we thought was fine for a buffet. Nothing fancy, but nothing terrible either. We ate at Windows at night and the food was not great and the service was terrible. We waited at least 20 - 30 min between each course. We were not even there when it was busy. We got there right at 5:30. Also today people were trying to book their shore excursions and the computers were down for close to two days so you didn't find out what excursions were available until the next night. The show tonight was an off broadway magician named Eric Walton. He was very good. That is one thing that Norwegian was on the ball with was their shows.

Our staterooms were dirty, My parents room had blood on the carpet and the public bathrooms once were totally disgusting that we didn't even use them. There was feces on the toilet seat. I will write more later but needless to say we were not the only ones disappointed.

 

We were on the same cruise and I have to agree with you with in many ways. The dining room experience - particularly at Windows - was terrible. The worst service on sea or land I have experienced in a long time. :( We gave up on them after the 3rd day. Our cabins were clean, but our room steward was not good at all. He actually complained when we requested additional towels, extra ice, etc. The public restrooms we used were ok, but it appeared there were problems throughout the ship with having the toilets flush properly.

 

As you mentioned, embarkation and debarkation went very smoothly. We were off the ship (using our bag tag colors - not express debarkation) and at the airport early enough to catch an 11:30 flight without rushing. The entertainment on board was a highlight of the cruise.

[dbeers2618]

I dont know for sure whether they knew it was blood or not. I just took what they said. For the most part my brothers and my room was very nice. The showers are pretty dirty though. There was no towel animals though. The little things count to us. We did have fun. Nothing would stop us from having fun. It was just disappointing.

 

Monday: Today was a day at sea. We played trivia, went to play wii and went to Bingo. We did not play Bingo, however because it was soo darn expensive. I do not know if all the ships are doing this now, but I think the electronic boards take all the fun out of the game. Tonight we figured we would try Gardens restaurant. Today the service was much better. The pumpkin soup was amazing. Everyone had lobster. It was good, but not great. Tonight the show was Standing room only. A production show put on the NCL. It was very good. The captain also came on to speak which I thought was nice.

 

Tuesday: Halifax. Today we took a tour of the Citadel, Maritime Museum, and Public Gardens. It was 98$ for that which we thought by the end of the day was a rip off. They did include lunch which was very good. Our guide was not very knowledgeable. It was his first tour and he was only about 21. He was very sweet though and we enjoyed ourselves. Others on the excursion were going to ask for some money back. The mounted police of Halifax came on the boat to do a bag pipe show which was also very nice. Tonight we figured we would try something different so we went to Cagneys at a 20$ per person surcharge. The food was definitley better then the dining room, but I don't think we would pay 20$ extra for that food. It should have been more like a 30 $ meal after including what you already paid and it was more like an outback steakhouse meal. I had salmon, My brother had ribeye, my dad and mom had a Tbone. What was weird was that they would make the food in the back and then they were piling them up on trays in the dining room until you were ready for them. Also they brought out our potatoes before they brought out our meals. So we had our appetizer, then our salads, then our french fries or baked potatoes then our meat. It was just a little strange. Also because our food was sitting out before we were ready for it my mom's baked potato and soup were cold. The lady at the table next to us soup was so hot she couldn't eat it for 5 minutes. So it was very inconsistent. They also brought the coffee after desert was already finished. After dinner we went to see "The Second City" They are the group of comedians from Chicago that Saturday Night Live pulls from. They were awesome. They did both Sketch Comedy and Improv.

[dbeers2618]

It is weird because a passenger on the ship said they were just on the spirit in May and it was amazing. This time it is horrible. They keep questioning themselves because they can't believe it is the same ship.

[calmac]

They also brought the coffee after desert was already finished.

 

I'm sure if you asked to have your coffee served with your dessert it would be but I would normally expect to have my coffee served after dessert and do not like it any earlier!

[Coli]

I'm sure if you asked to have your coffee served with your dessert it would be but I would normally expect to have my coffee served after dessert and do not like it any earlier!

 

Agreed, normal food service training - coffee is served AFTER dessert course - especially in Europe and Asia. See my parents would have been a little 'nose put out of joint' if the coffee had appeared with dessert - different strokes for different folks I guess.

 

I'm sorry to hear you had a few issues with service/cleanliness. We always hope for clean areas when we travel - surely it can't be that hard to maintain the standard.

[golferdog]

we have been on 4 NCL ships and consider the spirit to be the most unique and cleanest of all we've sailed--sorry your experience was not as wonderful as ours

[sueinphilly]

We leave on this cruise next sunday. No ship tours planned. We know better than that (been to Halifax 3x before). First NCL/freestyle experience. Hope the food situation isn't too bad, sure we won't starve and since we paid only$500/pp for the cruise (inside cabin) we won't mind paying xtra for the 'good stuff' if necessary

[nycruiser80]

Hi I just got off the spirit and posted a little review on another topic. Overall ship was clean but I too got a cabin that was pretty dirty. Been on 23 cruises and this was the dirtiest room. I had gum stains on the carpet, stained bedspread, the bathroom was a bit dirty, and dust was caked on the picture and shudders that the inside room has. I am not a complainer I just observed this. I am sure there are staterooms that are cleaner than others. I think NCL needs to do a refurb of the rooms as they date back to her days of the SuperStar Leo which is now10 years old.

Otherwise food was great no wait for dinner. Service in Windows for us was great. Overall a nice ship I just think the rooms need to be refreshed.

[cod]

I don't think you can 'pan' a cruise line or ship when problems such as the op writes about occur. The dirtiest cabin we've encountered out of 12 cruises (and the only one by the way!) was on the RCCL's Grandeur of the Seas a few years ago. As far as the public restrooms, I guess if something just happened, it may not have been taken care of yet.

 

For the most part, service on ships has always met or exceeded my expectations. Sure, it may be slow on occasion - as in the dining room - but those times are the exception and not the rule.

 

Happy cruising to all!!

[coffeebean]

Are you saying that having coffee served AFTER desert is common where you are from??? I have never heard of that. I have traveled extensively, here in the US and overseas and on 18 cruises so far. I have always had coffee served WITH desert.

[coffeebean]

I'm sure if you asked to have your coffee served with your dessert it would be but I would normally expect to have my coffee served after dessert and do not like it any earlier!

This may be a duplicate post but here goes...

 

I have never seen it a common practice to have coffee served AFTER desert. I have traveled extensively, here in the US, overseas and 18 cruises so far. I have always seen coffee served WITH desert.

[BruceMuzz]

Coffebean,

 

Most service staff on cruise ships are either European (fewer and fewer these days) - or trained by Europeans.

 

If you attend a good Hotel School in Europe (as I did) - or one of the few that exist in America (Cornell for example) you are trained that coffee is ALWAYS served after the dessert. This is common practice in Europe and in Asia. The idea being that the strong flavor and high acid content of coffee competes with the delicate balance of a fine dessert - and the coffee cup placed properly at one's right hand makes it clumsy to try to eat from the dessert plate directly next to the coffee cup. A dessert wine or champagne is a better match at that point of the meal.

 

However, Americans in particular seem to desire coffee along with their desserts. European service trainers often advise their staff that it is a good idea to ask Americans when they would like to have their coffee to avoid misunderstandings and complaints.

And of course, good advice of American diners who have European-trained servers: Tell them exactly when you would like to have your coffee and you will get it at that time.

[NowVoyager908]

This may be a duplicate post but here goes...

 

I have never seen it a common practice to have coffee served AFTER desert. I have traveled extensively, here in the US, overseas and 18 cruises so far. I have always seen coffee served WITH desert.

 

From what I understand, formal dining etiquette calls for coffee to be served last, after dessert. It's been my experience on most cruises to have dessert ordered and served first and then offered coffee, although there was never an appreciable gap between the two courses (probably an accommodation to what American diners are used to).

[LaJollaCruiser]

Are you saying that having coffee served AFTER desert is common where you are from??? I have never heard of that. I have traveled extensively, here in the US and overseas and on 18 cruises so far. I have always had coffee served WITH desert.

In very formal, traditional service, dessert is followed by cheese which is then followed by coffee in the drawing room.

[donaldsc]

Tuesday: Halifax. Today we took a tour of the Citadel, Maritime Museum, and Public Gardens. It was 98$ for that which we thought by the end of the day was a rip off.

 

You could have walked or taken a bus to all of those sites. The public garden is free. The Citadel is about $8 and they have free tours once you get into the grounds. The Maritime Museum costs about $10 and the display labels are good so you really did not need the guide.

 

Bottom line is that you paid $98 for lunch. Hope that was a good one.

 

DON

[newmexicoNita]

It is weird because a passenger on the ship said they were just on the spirit in May and it was amazing. This time it is horrible. They keep questioning themselves because they can't believe it is the same ship.

Now read your original statement and read what you have just said: quite different. You now say your cabin was fine but you didn't like you cabin steward: you don't know about the blood< you didn't get towel animals. With the exception of the bad service and there is no excuse for bad dining room service your complaints end up seeming pretty mild compared to your first posting today. Objective reviews which is more like you just gave on one thing, blasting like your first posting will get you nothing but defensive responses. BTW, normally coffee is served during dessert or after dinner unless requested with dinner.

 

I have no doubt you didn't enjoy your cruise as much as others you have taken, I think your overall reaction might be a little bit exagerated.

 

Nita

[mikemo]

If I ever got a cabin in that condition, I would be in the CO's face in a microsecond.

M

[newmexicoNita]

You could have walked or taken a bus to all of those sites. The public garden is free. The Citadel is about $8 and they have free tours once you get into the grounds. The Maritime Museum costs about $10 and the display labels are good so you really did not need the guide.

 

Bottom line is that you paid $98 for lunch. Hope that was a good one.

 

DON

Normally ship excursions are a rip off, that is why most of us who are seasoned cruisers have learned to book our tours privately. I am surprised for this type of a tour you didn't think of that. We are going to do a tour in Ixtapa on our own: cost will be $4.00 per person plus the cost of snacks if we choose and snorkeling gear. About the same thing using the ship would be $69.00

 

Nita

 

Don, I didn't mean to direct this to you, but to the OP. Sorry about that

[dbeers2618]

I am just giving my review that is all. We had two separate rooms and therefore two different experiences with our cabins. My cabin the room was nice, but the bathroom was dirty. My parents cabin the entire cabin was dirty. We just expected more. If this was the only thing wrong of course we would have gone back, but there was a few major things that happened that we feel like Norwegian had control over. First thing was on Wednesday our trip to Bar Harbor, we went through immigration easily then went to wait for our tender. They had four tenders down and only two were working. Eventually a third was fixed. Everyone waited on the steps for a good 1.5 to 2 hours to get ashore. Many of the tours were delayed and they came onboard saying we would be staying an extra 30 minutes because of the problems. People took that as a slap in the face. we were suppose to be able to be ashore as early as 7 am and did not get ashore until 10. Norwegian kept trying to blame immigration saying that they were late and caused the tenders to be late however my deck was the first to go through immigration and we were pretty much right on schedule. The tour at Bar Harbor was amazing. Well worth the 100$ per person. It was the Acadia National Park and Lobster Bake. We were one of the late tours getting back on the ship because we didn't get started until 45 minutes after we were suppose to. The show that night was Adam Ace. He was amazing. He was even saying that next time ill be going on royal caribbean because they had a boat holding 300 plus and we had the little tenders. He was saying the Royal Caribbean people were walking past us laughing. I'm surprised he didn't get in trouble for that, but I am pretty sure he didn't because his later show he did the same jokes.

 

Boston was pretty much an average day. We took a tour of Harvard and some the historic parts of town. A lot of older people were complaining that it did not say in the brochure that there would be a lot of steep hills that we would have to walk and therefore they stayed on the bus. Another problem this tour caused is that the tour director told us they drop you off at Quincy Market which is a tourist center and you need to take a shuttle by Norwegian that is 10$ per person. Everyone was soo annoyed by that that the driver decided to take people back if they wish even though I don't think he was suppose to. Tonight the show was Retroactive. Again a very good show.

 

Martha's vineyard. Today was the last day of the vacation. The only tour available is one that takes you around town. It is a beautiful area. The tour is three hours, but really is only one. There is a one hour tour and then they drop you off for 2 hours to shop, then pick you up to take you back to the ship. The tender that my brother and dad were on crashed on the way back to ship. My dad hit his head and was bleeding along with a lot of other people. This ship mind you had mostly people over 65. There was at least 3 people taken off the ship to the hospital for medical purposes. They hit the cruise ship very hard. This might not have been their fault, however I think it is ridiculous that they continued using the little tenders after this accident that hurt so many. They did have a large boat today to use to take people back and forth. I guess they learned their lesson after Bar Harbor. They should have only used that after the tender crashed. Who knows if more tenders crashed throughout the day. Tonight the show was the crew talent show which was really nice that they do that and the finale fountains was hysterical. Adam Ace was in it as well and he was great. At the end of the show Julie the Cruise Director came on and said that we all make mistakes and no one is perfect and she would appreciate all perfects on the comment cards. With that people started laughing. I don't think that was a good sign. At the 930 show was a 30 min show of Eric Walton and a 30 min show of Adam Ace. It was also very good. The entertainment like I said was the best part of the ship. I think that it would have to be a pretty good deal on the ship to go on Norwegian again. I guess everyone has their favorites. We did have no problem getting reservations for Cagneys. I know that was brought up a little bit ago. We got the time we wanted and we did not have to get up early for it either. We actually made it at night for the next night. We did not have a suite either. We did express debarkation and were off by 8:30