Spirit - April 19th - Review

[plcruiser]

Let me start by saying that we enjoyed our cruise on the Spirit. About a year ago we sailed on the Dawn and really enjoyed that cruise so we decided to try the Spirit. I would cruise on the Dawn again but would not cruise on the Spirit. We met quite a few people on the cruise (around 30)and they all had the same feeling about the Spirit. They were enjoying their cruise; however, they would not cruise on the Spirit again.

 

LAYOUT OF SHIP:

 

We did not like the layout of the ship. For one thing the pool area is quite small and did not have many activities going on throughout the day as other ships do.

 

Another thing that was odd was that the main dining rooms were on the 6th floor along with cabins and not on a main level. Most ships have lounges with entertainment mid ship that lead to the dining room or the theater; the Spirit does not. It just seemed like the design of the ship lacked coordination of dining with lounge areas and the theater. If you wanted to have a drink before dinner you had to go up to deck 12 or deck 8. We did not like the flow of the ship at all!

 

Another very odd feature was the disco which was at the back of the casino. It was a nightclub at night and part of the daycare/camp/club during the day for 10 to 12 year olds. It just seemed bizare to have children walk through a smokey casino with people gambling to go to the camp. Or to have these children watch people gamble as they are in the disco as part of the camp.

 

We also did not like how the Spirit showcased gambling. There was gambling poolside and in Galaxy of the Stars. I don't think it is appropriate to have gambling in supposedly kid-friendly areas. In fact one night I saw a 15 year old in the casino along with other teenagers gambling. It was not until he was up $400 that someone asked him what age he was. I am sure if he just kept losing money no one would have said anything

 

Another odd feature was the running track ran through the Bier Garten grill. So runners were constantly getting upset because the had to slow down or come to a full stop because people were either standing in the track, pulling a lounge chair into the track or carrying food across the track

 

My daughter hated the basketball court. For teenagers the basketball court on cruiseships is a great place to hang out. Spirit's basketball court was a joke and a big disappointment to my daughter

 

The spa as well as the gym was so small and congested it wasn't worth going too. Everytime my daughter went to the gym, the limited amount of machines were taken. The Dawn had a fabulous spa; the Sprit spa is a joke.

 

Deck Seven is a great place to go to and relax outside; the problem is they only have about 8 teak lounge chairs. I just don't understand why they do not have more lounge chairs on this deck. A lot of people love the quietness of deck 7; unfortunately you cannot lay back and enjoy it.

 

 

FOOD:

 

We were quite surprised how much we enjoyed the food.

 

 

Windows: We usually had breakfast there each morning because the two times we ate at the buffet the food was cold. We really enjoyed the eggs bennedict and the waffles with the banana compote. We also ate there one night for dinner when the lobster was served. The service and the food was excellent

 

Garden Room: We had dinner there twice and both times our meals were excellent as well as the service. The prime rib, veal piccata and rack of lamb were excellent. In fact the rack of lamb was better here than at Le Bistro. It was probably the best rack of lamb I have ever had; very tender, not gamey, and well seasoned.

 

Teppanki: We had the filet mignon and I thought the food was good but not great

 

Asain: Excellent. We tried all of the appetizers and they were great especially the squid, shrimp and vegetable tempura and the pot stickers.

 

Sushi: Excellent. The had a nice variety of rolls. We tuna, yellowtail and eel were excellent along with the shrimp tempura roll

 

Le Bistro: Good. As stated above we had the rack of lamb but it was not as good as the Garden room

 

Cagneys: BIG DISAAPOINTMENT!! We loved Cagneys on the Dawn; We were very disappointed on the Spirit. We truly felt we did not get our money's worth with the meal. The shrimp are not the jumbo shrimp you would expect to get at a steak restaurant. They were more the size of the cheap peel and eat shrimp. The crab cakes had barely any crab in them. The lobster bisque was horrible! AND THE WORST PART WAS THE LOBSTER. The lobster was suppose to be at least 1.5 lbs. The lobsters we received were puny and could not have been more than 1 lb. The only item we enjoyed was the bananas foster.

 

Italian: The only item we enjoyed was the fresh mozzeralla and tomato. The pasta was precooked and reheated.

 

Buffet: The two items I thought were very good was the Ceasar salad and the Stir Fry.

 

Beir Garden: Good hamburgers and french fries

 

Outdoor Grill: On certain days they have a charcoal grill where they serve hamburgers, chicken and pork which were quite good.

 

 

CABIN STEWARD AND CLEANLINESS

 

We were blessed with a wonderful cabin steward. He kept our room spotless and always welcomed us with a smile. Every night we would come back to the cabin and be surprised with his towel art.

Overall, I thought the ship was very clean. They were always cleaning up all of the public areas. Very rarely did you see glasses or plates laying around for a long time. I was very impressed with the cleanliness of the ship.

 

ENTERTAINMENT

 

The only show we watched was the Broadway show which we did not enjoy. We did however, enjoy the main band which usually played at Galaxy of the Stars. The woman singer had a fantastic voice. The comedian was also pretty good.

 

ONBOARD CREDIT

 

We were suppose to receive an onboard credit and never received it. I will have to deal with NCL and my travel agent about this issue. I would highly recommend that you check to make sure your onboard credit is posted at the begining of your cruise so it can be investigated if it is not listed.

 

PORTS

 

San Juan: Would have loved to have gone to St Thomas as originally planned. Since we did not get in until the middle of the day it limits your choices on what to do.

 

Tortola: We went to Cane Garden Beach. It was a lovely beach with beautiful scenery of the mountains. The ride to the beach was very exciting going up and down the steep mountain. We really felt the ride was as exciting as a roller coaster ride.

 

Samana: Cayo Leyveto is BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This has to be one of the most beautiful, peaceful beaches in the world. We have been all over the Caribbean and this beach is one of the best. DO NOT MISS THIS BEACH IF YOU ARE A BEACH PERSON.

 

TIPS:

 

1. Don't wait on that long line to make dinner reservations. Every day I would see people waiting on line to make dinner reservations. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS CALL ON THE TELEPHONE AND AVOID THE LINE
   
2. There are certain hot spots on the ship especially on deck 13 above the pool area on the balcony up the stairs near the Beir Garden. I highly recommend on chilly sea days to try and find these spots. We were very lucky; three of the days were a little chilly on the ship but we found the hot spots and were able to lay out in the sun all day while other people walked around in sweat shirts.
   
3. For embarkation if you get to the port early and you are Latitudes member DO NOT go to the Latitudes lounge. We were told by someone in port authority as well as the NCL booking person that if you arrive early your are better off sitting down in the general seating area. We got on the ship hours before any of the Lattitudes members got on. Thank God we were told this because we are Latittudes members and we were going to go the the Lattitudes lounge area.
   
4. For Dembarkation if you choose to go with Express whereby you carry your own bags off DO NOT go up to deck 7 until you see that they are letting people off and the lines have shortened. Just stay in your room or on deck 12
   
5. Make sure you book your excursions early. In Samana a lot of people wanted to go on the beach excursion and it was fully booked.

[nlt46]

You certainly gave a balanced review. You explained what you liked and what you didn't. I appreciate that. Thanks, Nancy

[csaeroach]

Great review.... we will be on the Spirit May 11th.

[plcruiser]

I just remembered I left out the Blue Lagoon restaurant from my review. The chicken fingers at this restaurant are great!!!!!!!!!! This is a great restaurant to stop by after coming back on the ship from port. Its also a great spot to get coffee or tea.

[packercruising]

A lot of posters, when they get a bee in their bonnet, don't have good things to this about their cruise. As Nancy said, yours is very well balanced. :)

[plcruiser]

I have to say that we did like most things about the Spirit on an individual basis. I loved each of the dining restaurants (with the exception of the Italian restaurant). The service was excellent and the food was quite good and believe me I am very picky about food. The decor was also quite nice in most of the restaurants.

 

Galaxy of the Stars was one of the nicest lounges we have seen on any cruise ship. It was also very relaxing after being in the sun all day to just relax while looking out at the water. If they didn't have Bingo going on it was a great quiet place to go to.

 

Also, I liked the pub lounge. It was very quaint and cozy.

 

The problem I had was just the feel of the ship itself. It was almost like a puzzle that was not put together correctly and all the pieces did not fit in to make a whole picture. Another way to view it is if you were buying a house and you loved each of the individual rooms in the house but not the way they were all combined together.

 

I believe the configuration of the ship affected the overall feel of the ship. I never felt fully connected because everything was so distinct from each other and not really a part of each other.

 

What I found interesting was that most people we spoke to (about 30 others), also felt the same way and would not cruise on the Spirit again even though they were enjoying their cruise. I did not come across one other person who loved the ship so much that they couldn't wait to go back on it.

[Toyz711]

you should meet me...i can't wait to go on her again. we loved the layout...for us, it was so easy to get around. we used the stairs for everywhere. since our cabin was on the 9th deck, we would go down to 8, across to the forward stairs and down to the casino.

 

the only thing i did like, was that it was a lot of stairs from deck 4 (getting back from shore) and going up to deck 12. i needed a rest by deck 9.

just IMO...both main dining rooms on deck 6..if one busy, so easy to go over to the other one. deck 8 was great, you could hear the entertainment from deck 7. loved the asian artwork and hall decor on deck 8...entering the theater from there, you were on the top level and didn't have the crowds.

it's all a personal thing, one person's deam is another's nightmare.

[plcruiser]

You are so right it is a personal thing. Yes the ship is beautiful; but it just wasn't right for my family. We have sailed on about 15 cruises so we know what we like and what we don't like on a ship. Like I said on an individual basis we liked the ship but not as a whole.

[plcruiser]

You are so right it is a personal thing. Yes the ship is beautiful; but it just wasn't right for my family. We have sailed on about 15 cruises so we know what we like and what we don't like on a ship. Like I said on an individual basis we liked the ship but not as a whole.

[plcruiser]

You are so right it is a personal thing. Yes the ship is beautiful; but it just wasn't right for my family. We have sailed on about 15 cruises so we know what we like and what we don't like on a ship. Like I said on an individual basis we liked the ship but not as a whole.

[Chipster2]

Thanks for posting your review. As others have said a fair and balanced one and I must agree. Looking forward to having our chance to cruise on the Spirit.

[debjo]

THANKS FOR SHARING YOUR REVIEW WITH US SO SOON AFTER YOU RETURNED FROM YOUR CRUISE!

 

We will be sailing on the SPIRIT on 5/17 and I'm so thankful to everyone on your sailing that posted a review of their cruise & Eastern Caribbean experiences.

 

A couple of questions: Do you remember how many dress-up/formal nights there were...and what nights they were?

Do you recall a CAPTAIN'S NIGHT and if there was an opportunity to have you picture taken with the Captain?

 

Thanks in advance for your answers!

 

Debjo

[patncl]

Thanks for posting your review! As others say it was very well balanced;)

We will be sailing on the spirit in Aug. We are very excitied.

SJ seemed to have lots of options for shore excursions. I'm suprised your family did not find something they would enjoy.

We are thinking of going with something non NCL and booking on our own

http://www.***********.com/nighttales.htm

[patncl]

Thanks for posting your review! As others say it was very well balanced;)

We will be sailing on the spirit in Aug. We are very excitied.

SJ seemed to have lots of options for shore excursions. I'm suprised your family did not find something they would enjoy.

We are thinking of going with something non NCL and booking on our own

http://www.***********.com/nighttales.htm

That link did not work...here is the correct onehttp://www.***********.com/nighttales.htm

[familyof4cruising]

you should meet me...i can't wait to go on her again. we loved the layout...for us, it was so easy to get around. we used the stairs for everywhere. since our cabin was on the 9th deck, we would go down to 8, across to the forward stairs and down to the casino.

 

the only thing i did like, was that it was a lot of stairs from deck 4 (getting back from shore) and going up to deck 12. i needed a rest by deck 9.

just IMO...both main dining rooms on deck 6..if one busy, so easy to go over to the other one. deck 8 was great, you could hear the entertainment from deck 7. loved the asian artwork and hall decor on deck 8...entering the theater from there, you were on the top level and didn't have the crowds.

it's all a personal thing, one person's deam is another's nightmare.

 

I agree there is alot of appeal on the Spirit , but it needs to be tweeked to make it beautiful ( in my eyes). The carpeting, the bedding, new plastic glass on the balcony, new TV's, refrig in the room, lounge chairs, and all around fixing. I can show you so much rusting, that you would not believe. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed my trip, but it is time for drydock. I hope my comments do not insult or scare people away from the Spirit , because everyone has different levels of likes and dislikes- we are all different.

 

I would have never felt that way if I hadn't been on a 16 year old ship that I recently sailed on that looked brand new.

 

I look forward to seeing what the Spirit looks like after November.

[plcruiser]

THANKS FOR SHARING YOUR REVIEW WITH US SO SOON AFTER YOU RETURNED FROM YOUR CRUISE!

 

We will be sailing on the SPIRIT on 5/17 and I'm so thankful to everyone on your sailing that posted a review of their cruise & Eastern Caribbean experiences.

 

A couple of questions: Do you remember how many dress-up/formal nights there were...and what nights they were?

Do you recall a CAPTAIN'S NIGHT and if there was an opportunity to have you picture taken with the Captain?

 

Thanks in advance for your answers!

 

Debjo

 

I believe there may have been two formal nights but since NCL is freestyle some people get dressed up and others walk around in shorts and flip flops. We did not get dressed up but many people did and took formal pictures. If you would like to get a family portrait taken its a great opportunity to do it.

 

I am not sure which day it was but you do have an opportunity to take pictures with the captain. I beleive it was listed in the daily.

 

I am sure you will enjoy your cruise on the Spirit.

[plcruiser]

Thanks for posting your review! As others say it was very well balanced;)

We will be sailing on the spirit in Aug. We are very excitied.

SJ seemed to have lots of options for shore excursions. I'm suprised your family did not find something they would enjoy.

We are thinking of going with something non NCL and booking on our own

http://www.***********.com/nighttales.htm

 

We did book the beach excursion in Samana which was a wonderful excursion. My daughter also did the sea lion excursion which was on the beach. She really enjoyed but I personally thought it was way overpriced.

 

We have been to San Juan about 10 times so we have already done a lot of the excursions that were provided by NCL

 

In Tortola we just took a taxi over to Cane Garden Beach. The taxi ride over was a lot of fun and the beach is very picturesque but not as nice as the beach in Samana

 

Enjoy your trip

[plcruiser]

Thanks for posting your review. As others have said a fair and balanced one and I must agree. Looking forward to having our chance to cruise on the Spirit.

 

I am sure you will enjoy your cruise just like we did. I was very happy with two very important elements of the cruise: CLEANLINESS AND GOOD FOOD. Believe me we were more than satisified in these two areas.

[npb1894]

We were on the 4/19 sailing of the Spirit and we loved it. Was it perfect, no, nothing is ever perfect. But we felt the crew was awesome, the ship beautiful and well maintained. Food was great, kids crew was great and kids pool was the best!!!! We would go on again, along with the six other families that were with us! As a matter of fact, we are looking into booking the Spirit out of Boston next summer!!!

[plcruiser]

We were on the 4/19 sailing of the Spirit and we loved it. Was it perfect, no, nothing is ever perfect. But we felt the crew was awesome, the ship beautiful and well maintained. Food was great, kids crew was great and kids pool was the best!!!! We would go on again, along with the six other families that were with us! As a matter of fact, we are looking into booking the Spirit out of Boston next summer!!!

 

I do think the Spirit is a great ship for families with small children that utilize the kid's pool. Since I don't have small children, I really didn't use that area of the ship. I don't know if you had kids in the 10 to 12 age group but I thought it was bizzare to have a kids club in the nightclub which was in the casino. It was very disturbing to watch children sitting Indian style as they gazed out into a smoke filled casino with people gambling. I personally felt this was very inappropriate.

[debjo]

For plcruiser...

Did you take note of any "Freestyle 2.0" upgrades on your cruise? I know I saw mention somewhere of table cloths in the buffet area, but I'm wondering about the rest of those items on the "Freestyle 2.0" list? (Namely if any of the "alternative-pay" restaurants are open for lunch on sea days...the added "action" stations in the buffet...colored key cards...escorts to staterooms...welcome champagne...concierge lounge for latitudes & suite guests...drink flags on deck chairs...quiet zones & times.)

 

Thanks for putting your thinking cap on to respond...hopefully your memories of the cruise will trigger some thoughts in these areas.

 

Debjo

[electricron]

I agree there is alot of appeal on the Spirit , but it needs to be tweeked to make it beautiful ( in my eyes). The carpeting, the bedding, new plastic glass on the balcony, new TV's, refrig in the room, lounge chairs, and all around fixing. I can show you so much rusting, that you would not believe. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed my trip, but it is time for drydock. I hope my comments do not insult or scare people away from the Spirit , because everyone has different levels of likes and dislikes- we are all different.

 

I would have never felt that way if I hadn't been on a 16 year old ship that I recently sailed on that looked brand new.

 

I look forward to seeing what the Spirit looks like after November.

 

How long was the 16 year old ship been away from a dry dock?

The Spirit's last dry dock was in fall 2005, more than two and a half years ago.

 

Just about everything can be upgraded on the Spirit fairly cheaply, except running more power lines to every cabin. Running new electric cables isn't cheap.

 

Chairs, bedding, carpeting, and other soft goods can be replaced. Much of that is going to be done during the Freestyle 2.0 upgrades anyways.

 

While flat screen TVs are relatively cheap, although NCL could get a great price since they will buy in bulk, almost 1000 TVs for just the Spirit alone. See http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_i_2?ie=UTF8&rs=&keywords=flat%20screen%20tv&rh=i%3Aaps-no-results%2Ck%3Aflat%20screen%20tv%2Ci%3Aelectronics

At $200 each for 15" flat screen TV, we're talking about $200,000 in TVs.

 

Adding fridges to every cabin will be a major problem. Where would you put them in most of the Spirit's cabins. The hard goods in the cabins don't really allow space for them, and remodeling every cabin's woodwork will not only be expensive, but will take much more time to accomplish. See http://www.amazon.com/Thermocoolers-Compact-Refrigerators-Small-Appliances/b?ie=UTF8&node=509144

They will run around $200 each, so that's another $200,000 to upgrade the Spirit, not including new woodwork.

 

So, we've spent $400,000 on TVs and fridges alone, not including the other Freestyle 2.0 upgrades.

 

I wish I could afford to refurbish my home every 10 years. But I get the jitters thinking about how much it costs. I consider myself lucky to do a room or two every 10 years.

[plcruiser]

For plcruiser...

Did you take note of any "Freestyle 2.0" upgrades on your cruise? I know I saw mention somewhere of table cloths in the buffet area, but I'm wondering about the rest of those items on the "Freestyle 2.0" list? (Namely if any of the "alternative-pay" restaurants are open for lunch on sea days...the added "action" stations in the buffet...colored key cards...escorts to staterooms...welcome champagne...concierge lounge for latitudes & suite guests...drink flags on deck chairs...quiet zones & times.)

 

Thanks for putting your thinking cap on to respond...hopefully your memories of the cruise will trigger some thoughts in these areas.

 

Debjo

 

I did not see any of the "Freestyle 2.0" upgrades on our Spirit cruise. The only two alternative pay restaurants that were open during sea days were the Sushi resturant - all you can eat Sushi for $15 per person and the Teppanaki restuartant which was $20 per person. You did not to make reservations for the Sushi restaurant but you did for the Teppanaki. The $15 price for the Sushi was a real bargain since the Sushi was quite good.

[jimswims]

I thought that you gave a really balanced review. I am glad that it was a good cruise and if I had good food and a clean ship I would also be a happy cruiser as well!

I have been on the Spirit and the Dawn. I have said in previous posts and in my reviews that I prefer the Spirit. I am shocked that I say this because we were in an AB Penthouse on the Dawn and stayed in an inside cabin (with 4 people) on the Spirit.

We liked the Centrum/Atrium area on the Spirit much better than the Dawn. The Kids Crew program was not in the Disco area when we sailed in 2006. I would not have liked this since we do have a child in that 10-12 age group. We did not like Cagney's either, but loved the Asian restaurant, Le Bistro, and the main dining rooms on the Spirit. We had mostly excellent service on both ships. We spent a lot of time in the Kids pool area on the Spirit and found this to be such a great place. The Dawn did not have this space but we did have a balcony and that was great.

We will be returning to the Spirit for a Boston to Bermuda cruise in 2009 and I am looking forward to seeing how the drydock and Freestyle 2.0 improves the ship.

We have had excellent cruises on both ships so I would have no problem cruising on either ship.

[Heat Wave]

Thanks for your review. I sailed the Spirit 2 years ago in Alaska and am sailing again in 6 weeks. I agree about Cagney's. I didn't care for it either. Your review made me even more excited than before about our upcomming cruise.