Spirit Review 12/2-9 from the Pollyanna!!

[mom2jess/alex]

Cathi great review & pictures I showed my DH some of your pictures. He is a little nervous about going I plan on showing him more each night. We are going in January and after seeing your pictures I am looking forward to this cruise even more. No housework/no teenage children/ no responsibility. Yah. Haven't been away with just the two of us in 22 years (since our honeymoon). I still not sure if we should book excursion with ncl. Thank you for your input. Greatly appreciated. Have a great day

 

 

Diane

[Toyz711]

if it's your 1st time...either cruising or in these ports...i would book with NCL, justs to cut down the worrying. especially in belize, ncl excursions and suites are 1st off...we were on the bus and heading out of town before the people, who book independently, got to port. in santo tomas, they have many independents with great reps, not so much of a worry there.

be sure to check out the ports-of-calls, you can learn a lot and get good recommendations.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=5

[mbisson]

Loved the review & photos Cathi. We've done (basically) this itinerary a couple times & I think it's one of my favorites. Some are intimidated by Belize-I find it (and the Maya history) completely fascinating!

 

I'm thinking (after seeing your photos) we might have to try to fit another one of these cruises into our schedule in the next couple of years!

[Toyz711]

i want to go to every ruin i can, but next trip will have to split between mayan and fishing? oh, the choices we have to make:D

this area is so rich in culture...it really apealls to me and DH. the only thing i don't like are all the bars in cozumel..loved the music, just not getting bumped by the drunks coming out of them.

[mbisson]

i want to go to every ruin i can, but next trip will have to split between mayan and fishing? oh, the choices we have to make:D

this area is so rich in culture...it really apealls to me and DH. the only thing i don't like are all the bars in cozumel..loved the music, just not getting bumped by the drunks coming out of them.

 

You truly are a woman after my own heart! Plus I've got some friends asking when I'll be going back 'cause they've run out of the vanilla I brought home in the past for them. That's good stuff-(and ran only about $1 a bottle-BIG BOTTLE)

[awatt]

if it's your 1st time...either cruising or in these ports...i would book with NCL, justs to cut down the worrying. especially in belize, ncl excursions and suites are 1st off...we were on the bus and heading out of town before the people, who book independently, got to port. in santo tomas, they have many independents with great reps, not so much of a worry there.

be sure to check out the ports-of-calls, you can learn a lot and get good recommendations.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=5

 

Toyz,

 

Do you happen to recall what time the excursions/suites gett off approximately? And do they get of together? Thanks!

[Toyz711]

if you read the review, that start this thread i explained it...hopefully, if they post my full review (edited), it will explain it.

when we got to our cabin, on embarking, our tickets were there. on the tickets it said to meet in the stardust theater at 7:45. i don't know about any afternoon tours, i would ask about them when i got on the boat. but for morning tours and all day tours, we met there. they had some of the excrusion staff there to answer questions. some scuba tours and a couple of the snorkeling tours went 1st, then shark alley and a couple of other small tours. they were led down to the gangway. then they called ours, about 8am..we were told to go down the stairs to deck 3..follow the signs. as we went down, (the stairs have a right and a left side) we noticed that (going down) the left side was blocked and security or crew was at each landing directing thing. at the gangway, security was blocking the left side and we ( the right side) were cleared to go to the tender. the line on the left side went up 3 flights.

if you are in a suite and do not have a tour booked through NCL, talk to your concierge, they can make your arrangement to go off in a timely manner.

we had the easiest time with this tender, at the stardust at 7:30, on the tender just after 8am, at port and with our tour guide by 8:30, driving out of town by 8:45. at the end of the day i realized why, it's a long tour and we didn't get back until 30 mins before the last scheduled tender.

[mom2jess/alex]

Has anyone been on the underwater sightseeing tour on Roatan. My DH and I are thinking of doing this tour. Wonder if anyone else has done it and if it worth the money. Thanks a bunch. Just 36 days to go yea.

 

Diane

[Toyz711]

i would imagine that any water tours could be pretty good in the area. the water could be clear. as our ship approached the island, that side of the island had a big storm. not sure anyone from our ship got clear water for any snorkeling or scuba tours.

[amy16_]

You mentioned a shoe organizer...did you buy it or was it in your stateroom? Was thinking about buying one.

[zachnlucy]

You buy it. It's for storing all your stuff -- lotions, makeup, film, batteries, etc. They're wonderful for rooms without a lot of shelf space. Tidies things up a bit.

[Toyz711]

some of the dollar stores have them, i got mine for $3. has 9 pockets.

i can, usually, find a hook to hang it. keeps my make up, our pill boxes and stuff from getting in the way. if you are on a ship that gets rough seas, it keeps the little things from landing on the floor.

 

BTW: if anyone is interested...i am posting some silly videos to both my space and webshots (they are the same videos). i have sendaway from santo tomas...with the trumpet solo of yesterday. can't explain it, just have to see it.

finally got the rest of the photos from the laptop, had to buy new disk...i can't believe i took that many photos:D

[YonkersNYCruisers]

Hey Dianne..... my family and I will be on the Spirit 2/17-2/24/08. We have cabin 10081, family will be in the cabins on either side (10079 and 10087). How did you find the cabin to be? ie: good location on ship, any larger than the others, clean, etc... any advance info. that may help us is appreciated!

Thanks,

Chris

[shark&minnow]

Cathi

Thank you for all your info. I just got done looking at all of your pictures. In your Gutamala pictures there is a picture of a street vendor with what looks like beautiful colorful blankets/rugs. Was that near the dock and do you know how much they were selling them for? Do they haggle on prices? I hate bargaining, I just like to know the price!

Thank you

[Toyz711]

those vendor were at quirigua, the mayan site. they did bargain down the price, but they did it nicely. at the docks, there is a large white building...with food, entertainers, tours and vendors. i didn't go in, but others have said they had some good stuff there.

[lfdianne]

Yonkers,

The cabin was fine. It was small, but our 3 kids survived in it. There are 2 twin beds, and a bed that folds down from the wall. There was also a trundle bed under one of the twins. We didn't pull it out, but if you did, it would completely fill the space between the twins. The bathroom was decent sized. Lots of storage, too. There is a desk, shelves in the closet, 4 drawer dresser and a night stand with 2 shelves. I have a picture of my kids in the room but I can't figure out how to resize it to upload.

[YonkersNYCruisers]

Yonkers,

The cabin was fine. It was small, but our 3 kids survived in it. There are 2 twin beds, and a bed that folds down from the wall. There was also a trundle bed under one of the twins. We didn't pull it out, but if you did, it would completely fill the space between the twins. The bathroom was decent sized. Lots of storage, too. There is a desk, shelves in the closet, 4 drawer dresser and a night stand with 2 shelves. I have a picture of my kids in the room but I can't figure out how to resize it to upload.

Dianne,

Thanks very much for the info... I figured the 4th bed would be a rollaway or the like ~ (ie. trundle). I know it's going to be a tight fit; but expect we won't spend all that much time (outside of sleeping) in there anyway! Appreciate your quick response...