just off the Spirit 8/31 to Bermuda

[annie m]

We just got back from a six day cruise to Bermuda aboard the Norwegian Spirit. My DH and I were joined on this sailing by my Nephew and his girlfriend. We were in an AC suite and my Nephew was in a balcony a few cabins down.

 

 

As all of you had read the itinerary for this sailing was changed at the last minute to Bermuda due to the impending storms. This was fine with us as the ship is just as much of a destination. We had just been to Bermuda in May on the Dawn so I find myself making comparisons to that trip as well as the other 3 times we have been on the Spirit.

 

 

The ship was due to sail at 4:00 pm but at that time there were still people boarding the ship and we waved good-bye to the Dawn as she pulled out of port. We were then told that there was a customs issue followed by a medical emergency. At about 6:00 pm we were then told that there was a problem with the ships engine – actually a fuse that powers it and we would be underway shortly. We pulled out of port at 8:15. Alls well that ends well.

 

 

The suite – We have stayed in this exact suite before and there are a few additions. We now had an espresso maker and the mattress was changed to a new one on Wednesday. The furniture was somewhat stained and starting to look like it could use an overhaul but the room was kept immaculately clean. The bedspreads are replaced by white covered comforters which is a big improvement. All toiletries are Elemis.

 

 

The Ship itself is clean and well maintained but could use a sprucing up which I think it will get when it goes into drydock. The staff was 99 % wonderful so you really can't ask for more.

 

 

Food and pricing - We ate at all the specialty restaurants. La Trattoria now has a 10.00 cover and in my opinion on this ship- is not worth it. The menu is limited and there were things that the Dawn had on the menu that this venue did not. Two of our crew had pasta that was not really good. There was nothing outstanding about this restaurant. The Main Dining Room food was good. Also different menu. On lobster night the Dawn had a nice size lobster tail and then veggies ect. On this ship it was a very small tail and Grouper with rice and veggie. It was good. Cagneys – was very good as was le Bistro. We also ate at Shogun and Teppanyki. Shogun was really very good. Teppanyaki we had issues with. My Nephew has food allergies to sesame – so bad that he carries an epipen. I informed the waitress, and then he told them. When salad came out – you guessed it – sesame in the salad. We saw it but never made a big deal about it. About 5 minutes later they must have realized what they did and brought him a new one and grabbed the other away. So please be careful if you have these problems. On the other hand in Shogun they could have not been more accommodating. The thing that gets me is that all the specialty restaurants have cover charges – which is fine – they have all gone up in price from last year but everything goes up - now they have premium items that cost above and beyond the cover. I just felt that was pushing it.

 

 

Entertainment – There were two shows – On the Radio and Broadway show tunes – both of which we had seen before. There was Second City, a Magician and a Comic. All were ok.

They had Monte Carlo night and the White Hot Party. There were NO deck parties which I found odd – they had them on the Dawn just a few months ago as well as all the above. As you have read there are no longer any pool games or that kind of stuff. There was a band at the pool twice as well as the NCL show band was at the Bier Garden once. They did have karaoke every night at the Bier Garden – family from 8-11 and adult at 11 till whenever. They are looking to make it a more sedate atmosphere. Our cruise Director was Darin who was leaving the ship after our sailing. We have had him before but because of the changes we didn't see him around as much.

 

 

Bermuda – was beautiful but we really didn't go too far as we had done this all a few months ago. We did some shopping and then spent the morning at Snorkel Park to be able to get in the water for a while. We did go into Hamilton.

 

 

We just got back from a six day cruise to Bermuda aboard the Norwegian Spirit. My DH and I were joined on this sailing by my Nephew and his girlfriend. We were in an AC suite and my Nephew was in a balcony a few cabins down.

 

 

As all of you had read the itinerary for this sailing was changed at the last minute to Bermuda due to the impending storms. This was fine with us as the ship is just as much of a destination. We had just been to Bermuda in May on the Dawn so I find myself making comparisons to that trip as well as the other 3 times we have been on the Spirit.

 

 

The ship was due to sail at 4:00 pm but at that time there were still people boarding the ship and we waved good-bye to the Dawn as she pulled out of port. We were then told that there was a customs issue followed by a medical emergency. At about 6:00 pm we were then told that there was a problem with the ships engine – actually a fuse that powers it and we would be underway shortly. We pulled out of port at 8:15. Alls well that ends well.

 

 

The suite – We have stayed in this exact suite before and there are a few additions. We now had an espresso maker and the mattress was changed to a new one on Wednesday. The furniture was somewhat stained and starting to look like it could use an overhaul but the room was kept immaculately clean. The bedspreads are replaced by white covered comforters which is a big improvement. All toiletries are Elemis.

 

 

The Ship itself is clean and well maintained but could use a sprucing up which I think it will get when it goes into drydock. The staff was 99 % wonderful so you really can't ask for more.

 

 

Food and pricing - We ate at all the specialty restaurants. La Trattoria now has a 10.00 cover and in my opinion on this ship- is not worth it. The menu is limited and there were things that the Dawn had on the menu that this venue did not. Two of our crew had pasta that was not really good. There was nothing outstanding about this restaurant. The Main Dining Room food was good. Also different menu. On lobster night the Dawn had a nice size lobster tail and then veggies ect. On this ship it was a very small tail and Grouper with rice and veggie. It was good. Cagneys – was very good as was le Bistro. We also ate at Shogun and Teppanyki. Shogun was really very good. Teppanyaki we had issues with. My Nephew has food allergies to sesame – so bad that he carries an epipen. I informed the waitress, and then he told them. When salad came out – you guessed it – sesame in the salad. We saw it but never made a big deal about it. About 5 minutes later they must have realized what they did and brought him a new one and grabbed the other away. So please be careful if you have these problems. On the other hand in Shogun they could have not been more accommodating. The thing that gets me is that all the specialty restaurants have cover charges – which is fine – they have all gone up in price from last year but everything goes up - now they have premium items that cost above and beyond the cover. I just felt that was pushing it.

 

 

Entertainment – There were two shows – On the Radio and Broadway show tunes – both of which we had seen before. There was Second City, a Magician and a Comic. All were ok.

They had Monte Carlo night and the White Hot Party. There were NO deck parties which I found odd – they had them on the Dawn just a few months ago as well as all the above. As you have read there are no longer any pool games or that kind of stuff. There was a band at the pool twice as well as the NCL show band was at the Bier Garden once. They did have karaoke every night at the Bier Garden – family from 8-11 and adult at 11 till whenever. They are looking to make it a more sedate atmosphere. Our cruise Director was Darin who was leaving the ship after our sailing. We have had him before but because of the changes we didn't see him around as much.

 

 

Bermuda – was beautiful but we really didn't go too far as we had done this all a few months ago. We did some shopping and then spent the morning at Snorkel Park to be able to get in the water for a while. We did go into Hamilton.

 

 

All in all it was a nice cruise and we got out of it what we wanted.

[tamarara65]

Do you know if the engine problems were resolved-any trouble while you were sailing? We're sailing in 2 weeeks to Canada/NE and Each week I hear some other problem w/ itinerary or the power.

[tamarara65]

Do you know if the engine problems were resolved-any trouble while you were sailing? We're sailing in 2 weeeks to Canada/NE and Each week I hear some other problem w/ itinerary or the power.

[tamarara65]

Do you know if the engine problems were resolved-any trouble while you were sailing? We're sailing in 2 weeeks to Canada/NE and Each week I hear some other problem w/ itinerary or the power.

[NCLPastNorwayCruiser]

We sailed on the Spirit 8/23 to East Carribean. On the return leg, early Friday morning, around 2 am, the ship actually had a black out...yes, a black out. The only lights that were on were the emergency back up lights along the hallways,and the engine stopped!!! We were just "drifting" in the middle of Atlantic Ocean, no power, no light, not moving. Everything came back on, slowly, 1/2 hour later. The captain came on the PA later and told us we had a power failure (DUH!!!). We were never told what happened. I would not recommend this boat to anyone. The boat is too small, food was ok and the service was ok too. We did not eat at any of the for-fee restaurants so I don't know how the food or service was there. As for entertainment....it was just ok. We had 18 in our party and our teens were bored and so were the kids. The kiddie pool was always packed, Tivoli pool is always crowded and the jaccuzzi tub was always packed like sardines. If it wasn't for all the extended family on this ship to keep me company, I would have asked for a refund!!!:mad:

[annie m]

Do you know if the engine problems were resolved-any trouble while you were sailing? We're sailing in 2 weeeks to Canada/NE and Each week I hear some other problem w/ itinerary or the power.

 

 

Two men boarded the ship in Bermuda to fix the engine. Is it fixed? I have no idea - we did make it back on time with no trouble. The only problem we saw was waiting to disembark - customs boarded the ship and was looking for someone that didn't want to be found. After about 45 minutes they did locate her and take her off in handcuffs.

[theshireshihtzu]

;)

We sailed on the Spirit 8/23 to East Carribean. On the return leg, early Friday morning, around 2 am, the ship actually had a black out...yes, a black out. The only lights that were on were the emergency back up lights along the hallways,and the engine stopped!!! We were just "drifting" in the middle of Atlantic Ocean, no power, no light, not moving. Everything came back on, slowly, 1/2 hour later. The captain came on the PA later and told us we had a power failure (DUH!!!). We were never told what happened. I would not recommend this boat to anyone. The boat is too small, food was ok and the service was ok too. We did not eat at any of the for-fee restaurants so I don't know how the food or service was there. As for entertainment....it was just ok. We had 18 in our party and our teens were bored and so were the kids. The kiddie pool was always packed, Tivoli pool is always crowded and the jaccuzzi tub was always packed like sardines. If it wasn't for all the extended family on this ship to keep me company, I would have asked for a refund!!!:mad:

 

Were were on that sailing also. Boy its seems we have a totally different opinion. We were sailing with our two teenage boys and we rarely saw them! They had so much fun in the teen club and meeting other teens. They had 17 email addys and phone numbers at the end of the cruise! The entertainment was good, not great. Food was good in both the free dining rooms and pay.

For the most part all staff was pleasent except for 2.

The power failure this was not a big deal for us....yes the Spirit is small but she is beautiful and we had a great time!

To the OP , sorry your intenery got changed but it seems you made the best of it;)

[Chipster2]

Thanks for posting your review. We will be on the Spirit in just about 6 weeks and can hardly wait.

 

I wonder who is going to replace the CD? Somebody must have the inside scoop!:D

 

Thanks again

[newmexicoNita]

We sailed on the Spirit 8/23 to East Carribean. On the return leg, early Friday morning, around 2 am, the ship actually had a black out...yes, a black out. The only lights that were on were the emergency back up lights along the hallways,and the engine stopped!!! We were just "drifting" in the middle of Atlantic Ocean, no power, no light, not moving. Everything came back on, slowly, 1/2 hour later. The captain came on the PA later and told us we had a power failure (DUH!!!). We were never told what happened. I would not recommend this boat to anyone. The boat is too small, food was ok and the service was ok too. We did not eat at any of the for-fee restaurants so I don't know how the food or service was there. As for entertainment....it was just ok. We had 18 in our party and our teens were bored and so were the kids. The kiddie pool was always packed, Tivoli pool is always crowded and the jaccuzzi tub was always packed like sardines. If it wasn't for all the extended family on this ship to keep me company, I would have asked for a refund!!!:mad:

I guess if it was small enough you could call it a boat, but most of us think of what the cruise lines sail as ships. you say it was too small, did you check the size prior to sailing? The kids were bored, what is it I don't understand about this and what happened to the days before ships even had programs for teens? Between tours, time at the pools, visiting with friends, things like ping pong, nightly shows etc i would think they could stay busy.

 

there was a power failure, what would you expect them to tell you?

 

Now, you want a refund? Can you give 1 reason why you think you deserve one, other than your poor teens didn't have enough to do....??? oh, I forgot, the captain didn't tell you what went wrong....or maybe you deserve a refund because the pool was crowded? legit complaints are one thing, you didn't think the cruise was as good as you had hoped, that is also acceptable, not everyone enjoys every vacation, but a refund????

 

again, comments from a first time poster....

 

Nita

[arby70]

I guess every body is entitled to their own opinion. With the number of passengers on each ship, it is not that surprising that one can have a great cruise and the next have the most horrible vacation of their lifetime. It is just human nature I think. On the last cruise I was on I didn't like the dining room food at all, but many loved it. Eventhough I didn't care for the dining room most nights, there were plenty of other places to choose from to eat, and alot of good food.

 

I enjoyed my cruise thoroughly as my cabin was kept up very well, pretty much all the staff were very nice and I enjoyed the shows on board. I don't expect the caliber of Vegas, but I enjoyed them just the same.

 

I for one don't mind a smaller ship. At 880' it still seems to be quite large but with all the mega ships coming out, I guess one could call it small. Looking at the Spirit's layout online, it seems like a well planned ship. I am really looking forward to sailing on her next year.

[newmexicoNita]

I guess every body is entitled to their own opinion. With the number of passengers on each ship, it is not that surprising that one can have a great cruise and the next have the most horrible vacation of their lifetime. It is just human nature I think. On the last cruise I was on I didn't like the dining room food at all, but many loved it. Eventhough I didn't care for the dining room most nights, there were plenty of other places to choose from to eat, and alot of good food.

 

I enjoyed my cruise thoroughly as my cabin was kept up very well, pretty much all the staff were very nice and I enjoyed the shows on board. I don't expect the caliber of Vegas, but I enjoyed them just the same.

 

I for one don't mind a smaller ship. At 880' it still seems to be quite large but with all the mega ships coming out, I guess one could call it small. Looking at the Spirit's layout online, it seems like a well planned ship. I am really looking forward to sailing on her next year.

[i totally agree, we each experience a cruise in a different way. I have mentioned many times about our Princess cruise earlier this year. I was hoping to come back sold on Princess; It didn't happen but most of those we met thru CC meet and greet had a difference experience than we had, thus I would never judge Princess by our one experience. If you notice, the complainer has not returned to let us know why she thinks she should get a refund. She is a first time cruiser, it will be interesting to see if she returns. If she does, she may be able to give us reasons why she deserves a refund, if she doesn't return, I hope she knows her opinion will not hurt or influence anyone.

 

Nita

[danceman]

I guess if it was small enough you could call it a boat, but most of us think of what the cruise lines sail as ships. you say it was too small, did you check the size prior to sailing? The kids were bored, what is it I don't understand about this and what happened to the days before ships even had programs for teens? Between tours, time at the pools, visiting with friends, things like ping pong, nightly shows etc i would think they could stay busy.

 

there was a power failure, what would you expect them to tell you?

 

Now, you want a refund? Can you give 1 reason why you think you deserve one, other than your poor teens didn't have enough to do....??? oh, I forgot, the captain didn't tell you what went wrong....or maybe you deserve a refund because the pool was crowded? legit complaints are one thing, you didn't think the cruise was as good as you had hoped, that is also acceptable, not everyone enjoys every vacation, but a refund????

 

again, comments from a first time poster....

 

Nita

 

i think you are too hard.....everyone is entitled to their opionion ....just because you think ncl are great doesnt mean everyone else will or have as good a time as you have obviously done. What is the point of this forum if people are taken to task everytime they say something negative......didnt we vote for freedom of speech? I personally like reading diverse opionions even if i dont always agree with them but its what makes this forum interesting.....so dont try and gag them....let them have their say.

[F858MM]

Hi

We are going on the Spirit 9/20. We have sailed on her before. Thinking about going to Shogun or Teppanyaki can you tell me what kind of food do they have.

 

Fran

[newmexicoNita]

i think you are too hard.....everyone is entitled to their opionion ....just because you think ncl are great doesnt mean everyone else will or have as good a time as you have obviously done. What is the point of this forum if people are taken to task everytime they say something negative......didnt we vote for freedom of speech? I personally like reading diverse opionions even if i dont always agree with them but its what makes this forum interesting.....so dont try and gag them....let them have their say.

you misunderstood what I said, yes, freedom of speak is one of our great freedoms, but 1-I have the same right as you or the poster to give my opinion, wouldn't you agree or are you the only one with this right: 2-I have a real problem when I keep hearing about kids being bored as I think too many of those kids are spoiled and too used to be entertained 24/7. I traveled with my own kids and my grandkids, never did I hear "I am bored" and 3, I asked her why she thought she had a right to a refund?

 

 

As for those who were paniced or certainly not comfortable with the power going out, I too have said, I understand. My personality is a little different, it would not have bothered me if it was only for 15 or so minutes, but I can understand some being uneasy. This still is no reason to ask for a refund. Again, that poster has not returned.

Nita

[need2bespoiled]

We just got back from a six day cruise to Bermuda aboard the Norwegian Spirit. My DH and I were joined on this sailing by my Nephew and his girlfriend. We were in an AC suite and my Nephew was in a balcony a few cabins down.

 

Was Cagney's and/or Le Bistro open for suite guests for breakfast and/or lunch?

Thanks,

Spoiled

[cruisingcoppertop]

I also just returned from the Spirits 8/31 cruise to Bermuda and actually had dinner at the Teppenyaki grill with the previous poster(I recollect the sesame allergy!!). I agree that the Teppenyaki was just "so-so". I enjoyed the asian fusion restaurant, although my husband was not a great fan of it. I would give rave reviews to Cagneys- we actually ate there 3 nights. We also tried Le Bistro and enjoyed the cuisine there as well. I agree with my co-cruiser, and I also was a bit annoyed that there was an additional charge ON TOP of the cover charge at the specialty restaurants for certain items on the menu. I am willing to pay extra to enjoy fine, quiet dining but thought this was a little extreme. That to be said, however, we had a wonderful cruise. The service was friendly and efficient, the ship was, in my opinion, in beautiful shape for its age and had a "user friendly" layout. I never had to fight for a deck chair or search for a quiet spot to read. The buffet was crazy and unenjoyable but mostly due to the crowds and rude, pushy people. The entertainment was not the caliber I have seen in the past, but it was still fun. We certainly had an excellent vacation although I heard many passengers complaining about their trip. I was actually starting to think I had been on a different ship then they had because I couldn't find that much to complain about. I look forward to my vacations. I delight in the idea that I can cruise 2x's a year and leave my busy life behind to sail the seas having not to work, cook or clean for a whole week. That is just about enough for me. The suites, massages, entertainment and excursions shore side are just icing on the cake. :) For those of you about to sail on the Spirit, it is a beautiful, well kept, smaller, more intimate ship with a great staff. Have a great time !;)