Spirit -- 9/2/07 New England Review (very long)

[wintim]

We were on the Norwegian Spirit for its first New England Cruise beginning September 2, 2007. I have received so much helpful information from this board that I wanted to make sure I reviewed the ship thoroughly – from the very good, to good, to bad, to ugly.

 

I am not a “complainer” in general, but want to make sure I give you honest opinions on all aspects of the cruise (as you guys did for me before I went). This will be a long review, so I will divide it into categories so that you can read just what you want to hear more about and avoid the rest.

My husband and I sailed with our 11 month old son. This was my third cruise (previous cruises were Celebrity Century and Disney Wonder) and my husband and son’s first cruise. To have extra space to handle the baby, we booked a suite, category AB, Suite 10500.

Embarkation: Embarkation was as easy as could be. We got to the port around 11:00 a.m. Since we had a suite (and thanks to the info I got from this board), we were able to skip the small lines and get checked in immediately. Within 20 minutes, we were onboard the ship. The people in the cruise terminal were very nice for the most part. We did witness one negative experience with an NCL representative at the front of the line. An elderly couple came up to her to ask if they could be seated at the front where the suite occupants were seated because they were Latitudes Members. They were very polite. She rudely told them no and then looked over at another NCL employee and said “Just more Latitudes with attitudes.” They had not had an attitude AT ALL and I thought it was very rude for her to speak about them in that manner, especially in front of other passengers. In retrospect, I should have gotten her name and said something to a supervisor. Other than that, embarkation was easy.

We met the concierge, Julie, who gave us our tickets and information for the week. She was very polite, vibrant and all over helpful and friendly.

The Ship: The ship was really beautiful and, I thought, maintained very well. I am amazed that they are able to keep these ships in such good condition considering the wear and tear they suffer on a daily basis from both the sea and us passengers! There were a few signs of wear on the ship, but I think she looks remarkably good for a ship her age. The carpets were clean, the windows were clean, the decks were in excellent shape. The ship all together is much more attractive than it looks in the pictures I have seen on the web. The Asian décor is very tastefully done. The common areas (especially the Stardust Lounge) are all very nice. I didn’t feel crowded on this ship at any point and I understand that she was close to capacity.

Dining: When we got on the ship, they tried to direct us to Raffles, but having read this board, I knew Windows was open for lunch so we went there instead. We had to wait a few minutes until 12:00 for it to open, but it did and we had a great lunch. They had an avocado salsa that was great and we each had cheeseburgers and fries. Both were really good. Dessert was a blueberry/peach cobbler and it was also good.

Our other dining experiences were mixed, and at times, both great and horrible. Sunday night we ate at Cagney’s. Overall, the food was good. The shrimp cocktail was very good, the steaks were cooked well, but the cuts of meat were slightly lacking (I am a huge steak fan and probably too picky in this regard). The sides, mashed potatoes and truffle fries with garlic and parmesan cheese, were great. The desserts were so-so. I had the bananas foster (something a Southern girl shouldn’t have in NYC) and it was just wrong. It had an orange flavor as opposed to a cinnamon sugar flavor and I couldn’t eat it. I am sure that they would have replaced it if asked, but at that point I really didn’t need dessert anyway. We also got room service (a nice suite perk) from Cagney’s another night and our experience was very similar. Desserts were better this time around, but everything else was pretty much the same.

For breakfast, we ate in our suite every morning and it was consistently good. We got scrambled eggs, toast, omelets, oatmeal, bacon and sausage almost every day. It was always good and delivered on time.

We ate lunch in port every day except Monday. On Monday, we had burgers at Bier Garten and they were good.

On Monday night (formal night), we ate in Windows and had a horrible experience. The service was HORRIBLE. The waiters and waitresses were rude, it took us an hour and fifteen minutes to get a Diet Coke and the food was horrible. I ordered the Beef Wellington and could not eat it. The only thing that was edible for this meal was dessert. It was crème brulee with a chocolate ganache and it was really, really good. Based upon our experience in Windows this night, we vowed never to return and didn’t.

Tuesday night we tried the Asian restaurant (not the Teppanyaki room) and it was horrible as well. We had it delivered to our room and most of it tasted like I imagine cat food to taste. I am really not trying to be difficult here, just honest.

In stark contrast, we ate in the Teppanyaki room on Wednesday night and had a wonderful meal. I love having this venue available on the ship. The service was outstanding. Our chef was very friendly and entertaining, the food was really, really good and served in bountiful portions. My 11 month old loved the whole experience as well. I could have eaten there every night and it was well worth the surcharge.

We also ate at LaTrattoria once. Service there was great and the food was pretty good. Since there is no service charge, if you like pasta you should definitely try this place at least once.

We only at in Raffles once. It was okay, but it is traditional buffet food which I don’t like very much. Ever since a friend of mine described buffet food as “trough food” I haven’t been able to get past that thought in my mind.

Room: We were in Suite 10500. It was a large room with a living dining area and a separate bathroom bedroom area. Overall, it was clean but showed signs of wear and tear. The bedspread was ripped, the carpet was worn and the furniture was stained. In contrast, the bathroom was absolutely beautiful – granite countertops, gorgeous fixtures, lovely mosaic tiles and a huge, round Jacuzzi tub (my son loved that). The bathroom was very clean.

There was plenty of storage, with a wall full of closets and drawers and a TV in the living room and bedroom. The balcony was nice, but not very deep. You could sit comfortably on the balcony in a regular chair, but a reclining chair would not fit.

The bed was very comfortable and they brought in a pack and play for my son (although they had promised a crib when we booked). He didn’t seem to mind and slept great the whole cruise. We also slept well.

The voltage issue was a pain, but (again with the suggestion of folks on this board) I took a power strip for all of my small electronics and that helped. The hair dryers were terrible and I looked like a poodle the whole cruise because I could not get my hair to cooperate.

I agree with an earlier post that the rooms need to be refurbished, which makes sense on a ship of this age. Again, I think they do a good job maintaining the rooms given the age of the ship. In addition, the cruise ship had just come in from a one night cruise. NCL makes it so hard on its employees by making them turn over the ship twice in such a short time period, but the employees do the best they can with the transition.

Service: Overall I found the service on the ship to be very good. Our room steward and stewardess were very good and very helpful with any special requests we had due to bringing the baby on board. Our butlers were also very polite and good although we only used them for room service. Also, as mentioned briefly above, Lisa, the concierge, was very sweet and accommodating. She made sure that our dinner reservations were taken care of and that we were able to get priority boarding on the tenders leaving the ship.

In addition, with only a few exceptions, the rest of the Spirit Staff were very accommodating and friendly. Many learned our son’s name before the end of the week. Most of the waiters and waitresses were great (with the exception of that one night in Windows).

One negative I have is about the cruise director Julie. Growing up in the 70s watching the Love Boat, I do believe that Julie is the perfect name for a cruise director, but this Julie is not the perfect cruise director. Frankly, she was invisible for most of the cruise and when she was visible she was just dull and lacked charisma and personality. Her assistant, Ray Ray, or the concierge, Lisa, would make much better cruise directors.

Entertainment: I don’t have a lot of input on this subject since we missed all of the shows due to the baby’s bedtime. The only thing that I would have to say is that there was not a lot to do during the day on the ship. Bingo was a bust. It is expensive and I hate the new mechanical bingo machine thingies. There weren’t many movies shown on the ship and there were no art auctions – I love the art auctions.

Shopping: The duty free shops were not very good, but were typical of what I have seen on other ships. I hated the little tables they have selling gold by the inch – does anybody really buy that stuff?? The NCL gift shop was okay and the prices were fairly reasonable.

Itenerary: I loved the itinerary and it was our primary reason for taking this cruise. I also didn’t witness any hiccups (with one exception) with the new route. I will briefly go through the different ports below.

Halifax was neat. I didn’t know anything about it going in, so it was all new to me. We took the hop on hop off bus around the city and it was really worth it. We bought it outside of the port that morning and it was $45 per person. We also ate at a neat place, Rusty’s I think, on the water. Very good.

Bar Harbor was also great. I love Maine. We went to Acadia on the city bus (which is free). It took you through the park and you could get off at a number of locations throughout the area. We ate at the Main Street Café which was recommended by the ship. It was great. Really good chowder, lobster rolls and blueberry pie – a great New England meal. There is also a really pretty park overlooking the harbor right by where the tenders bring you in. It was nice to sit and chill out there a while. The only glitch we had in Bar Harbor was waiting on the tender to take us back to the ship. There were long lines and it took forever. I just considered this the one hiccup of the new route and didn’t let it bother me too much.

Boston was probably my least favorite stop. You have to take a bus or taxi to the city (unless you are up for a half hour walk) and the city is crowded. The Freedom Trail was neat, but bumpy and my stroller didn’t work so well on the cobblestones. We also visited Boston Commons and the Public Gardens. Both were beautiful.

Martha’s Vineyard was okay. When you got off the tender, there was a big cluster of people and you could not get around really well. We took a taxi to Edgartown. It was pretty, but really crowded with all of the cruisers around. We ate ice cream at Mad Martha’s (really good) and ate at a little seafood place in the main street area (can’t remember the name). It was just okay. The tenders that day were very rocky and I was glad to get back on the big ship!

Disembarkation: This was a total nightmare. Although NCL got us off the ship very efficiently, the port was a mad house. We hired a car service to pick us up and take us to the airport and he couldn’t even get to us so we had to walk a block with six suitcases, a car seat, a stroller and a baby. What a nightmare! I never had these problems on other cruises.

Overall Impressions: We had a really good time. I don’t think I would sail the Spirit again (too many ships out there, too little time), but I would recommend it to others and I think I would try NCL again. Freestyle cruising worked well for us (especially with the little one). The perks of the suite were really nice and definitely worth the extra money. I also would not sail out of NYC again due to the horrible confusion on disembarkation day – give me Port Canaveral or Ft. Lauderdale any day over that!

Hope this helps! Please don’t beat up on me too much, just trying to be as objective and even handed as possible. Let me know if you have any questions!

[cliffd64]

Nice balanced review :)

 

Can't imagine why anyone would "beat you up" over it :)

[Joan G]

So thank you so much for the review. It gives me a lot to think about, especially the info on the ports. I was planning on taking a cab port to airport after the cruise, from your experience is that going to be a pain?

Thanks again!

[wintim]

Actually, I think a cab may be the way to go. Since we had the little one and a ton of luggage, we paid a bit extra for the car service. It was a disaster and definitely not worth the extra money. I saw a ton of cabs lined up and they have a stand right outside the pier. It was very organized and the line seemed to move very quickly. They also had a lot of suv and minivan cabs in case you have a lot of luggage like us.

[hargis]

I tried to post a reply and it didn't seem to go through......so if you see two from me...............that's why

 

Thanks so much for taking the time to write your review. I have written a few posts asking about suite 10500. I am booked in that room for a cruise out of New Orleans. Did you take any pictures of the room? If you did, I'd love to see them!

 

Thanks!

[Joan G]

Thanks a million for the cab info!

[wintim]

Hargis,

 

I did take some pics. I am a bit computer challenged, but I will try to upload them and send them to you. It may take me a day or so. The room is really nice, the bathroom is great. I think you will like it!!

[janabelle61]

So thank you so much for the review. It gives me a lot to think about, especially the info on the ports. I was planning on taking a cab port to airport after the cruise, from your experience is that going to be a pain?

Thanks again!

 

Joan,

 

We were also on the 9/2 Spirit sailing and discovered that if you cross the road directly in front of the pier and then cross the street at the light, there is another taxi stand. There was no one waiting there and our party of 4 was in a van type taxi within 5 minutes of exiting the building.:) :)

 

Janabelle

[bethany24]

Wintim:

 

We're booked on The Dawn w/ our 18 month old on the mid-October cruise to New England/Canada.

 

What is the benefit of the power strip?? I've not heard of that tip.

 

Any other suggestions you can pass on that you learned when traveling with a toddler??

 

I know what you mean about the port in Boston. Kind of in the middle of no where. It would be nice if they could dock closer to the downtown area.

 

We're from New Orleans and I've never had orange in my banana's foster either!! That is just plain wrong!!

 

Thanks for the review. Very well done.

 

Bethany24

[Sparkylok6]

A Power strip is needed if you plan on plugging in any "american" plugs. The voltage that is used on the ship is different. There is only 1 outlet that is useable unless you bring a converter. So if you want to charge batteries, cell phones or anything else it is recommended that you bring a power strip.

 

Have a great cruise.

[SweetpeaOne]

Thanks for sharing your review..

[okfarmerswife]

Will a regular power strip work even though the ship's voltage is different? Thanks for your review...we'll be on the same itenerary/ship in Oct.

[Opinions]

In Boston do they have a shuttle bus from the pier to downtown Boston?

[garycarla]

Will a regular power strip work even though the ship's voltage is different? Thanks for your review...we'll be on the same itenerary/ship in Oct.

 

They were saying since there is only one plug with "America" power, you need to power strip to plug in multiple items, if you have them. Cell phone, radio, walkman, dvd player, computer... whatever you might have. If you travel without all that stuff, you do not need the power strip.

 

Back to the original poster - THANKS FOR A GREAT REVIEW. WE GO IN A FEW WEEKS. We often do not have problems skipping a port, and it sounds like skipping Marthas Vineyard might be one, it seems hard to do.

[NowVoyager908]

Thanks for the review. Glad you had a good time. Sorry you had a problem at the pier. I've sailed out of NYC several times (living here helps LOL) and although it can be chaotic, thankfully I've never experienced what you went through. Usually they have guys "agggressively" moving the traffic along and not allowing cars or cabs to stand for too long. Somebody must have been sleeping on the job that morning. :eek:

[dadof2]

Back to the original poster - THANKS FOR A GREAT REVIEW. WE GO IN A FEW WEEKS. We often do not have problems skipping a port, and it sounds like skipping Marthas Vineyard might be one, it seems hard to do.

 

We had a great time at Marthas Vineyard. You can do this port on your own. You do not have to take a bus there is plenty to see just walking.

 

We were there last September and it was not crowded at all. A beautiful day.

 

You can always return to the ship if it is too crowded.

[bethany24]

They were saying since there is only one plug with "America" power, you need to power strip to plug in multiple items, if you have them. Cell phone, radio, walkman, dvd player, computer... whatever you might have. If you travel without all that stuff, you do not need the power strip.

 

Back to the original poster - THANKS FOR A GREAT REVIEW. WE GO IN A FEW WEEKS. We often do not have problems skipping a port, and it sounds like skipping Marthas Vineyard might be one, it seems hard to do.

 

I hate to keep asking questions, but how do you know which plug has the "America" power?? This makes perfect sense to me. We've cruised twice before and we'd charge the battery to our camcorder. We'd leave the battery charger plugged in all night and then we'd have only a few minutes of juice to film. We couldn't figure out why.

 

I appreciate all tips and I can't tell you how much I've learned from these boards.

 

With much gratitude.

 

Bethany24

[garycarla]

I hate to keep asking questions, but how do you know which plug has the "America" power?? ...

 

The plug/outlet is totally different. You will not have problems figuring it out. On the other hand, there is often a plug in the bathroom, but it is very low voltage and is for razers only.

 

Regarding your camera that did not charge. Possibly it was not plugged in all the way, or there was just no power there. Dormant batteries sometimes have a little juice left in them. I have seen the plugs set into the wall such that large adapters would not fit right. Again, an extension cord or power strip would help out.

[wintim]

Thanks for all your questions, glad to help if I can.

 

On the power issue, you will know which ones are American plugs and which are not. The non-American ones (I forget the voltage, sorry) are huge, literally about two inches round. We only had one American plug in our stateroom and I am an electronics addict so I had cell phones, I-pods, palms, etc. etc. If you are not an addict like me, you could do without it. BTW, you can't plug a regular American hair dryer into the plug because it would blow the power for the whole floor.

 

On the toddler issue, we are so glad we took our son on the cruise. He did so well!!! Freestyle was very nice for such a young child. We ate early (usually 5:30) every day which allowed us to get him to bed near his regular time. He also slept very well. I don't know if it is the motion of the ocean or what, but lots of folks have told me that their kids slept well.

 

We took a midsize umbrella stroller, some extra food we knew he would like and several toys. This was all he needed to be perfectly content. He did great in the ports (though the tenders scared me to death). Basically, he is at the age if he is moving he is happy. The people on the ship (crew and passengers) were also very nice. We didn't have any trouble in the dining areas because they are pretty loud for the most part. We were happy about this because it meant that our son wouldn't bother anyone.

 

NCL is a great choice for crusing with a little one! Also, on the Spirit, they opened up the play area at least an hour a day for the "under 2s." My son loved that!

[tshupp]

Wintim Thanks for the review I was wondering did you have to set your clocks ahead the night before arriving in halifax? Thanks

[Joan G]

It is too far to walk into town. The ship offers RT shuttle for $13.00 a person. It was very convenient and the pick up bus comes around often so you can go back when you want.