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Thousands waiting with bated breath for 9 night Spirit Cruise comments

gallivanter

By gallivanter,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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gallivanter

gallivanter

Posted
Posted

There are thousands waiting with bated breath for news from the inaugural 9 night Southern Caribbean Cruise that returned today, 10/31/04. We would love to hear your comments, experiences and port suggestions. Thank you sooooo much! We are heading out on the cruise this Friday (11/5) and can’t wait! Also can’t wait to get away from all these negative political ads that we are being bombarded with in Florida! Can’t think of a better way to celebrate our democracy than by heading out on a 9 night cruise!

:cool:

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kimmariecarr

kimmariecarr

Posted
Posted

I too am waiting with bated breath for the first 9 day Spirit review. I wonder what time the first person will get home and post a review? It can't be soon enough for me!

 

I am booked for the January 7th sailing.........can't wait for the details!

 

KimMCarr

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Mary Ellen1

Mary Ellen1

Posted
Posted

You're right -- that web cam is amazing! I was showing it to my husband and he said, "That's not the Spirit -- the Spirit is the bigger one docked behind it." And I was able to zoom up close on the name of the ship, painted right on the side. It said "Norwegian Spirit!" Very cool!

 

And I'm waiting patiently with everyone else, for that first Spirit 9-day review! Come on guys! Don't let us down! Was it wonderful?

 

Mary Ellen

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Lib0007

Lib0007

Posted
Posted

I'm looking forward to any new reviews also . . . it seems to me that the negative reviews seem to be posted alot faster than the good ones, so hopefully all of the Spirit cruisers are resting peacefully after having such a blast for the past nine days!

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Lib0007

Lib0007

Posted
Posted

Amicruzer, make sure you check out our 11/19 roll call thread

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=28693

 

We are in the process of organizing a get-together so we can all meet each other in person.

 

How old are the children that will be with you? My husband and I will have our son with us - he is five.

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cruisin-Trish

cruisin-Trish

Posted
Posted

Hi Folks!

Just got home this evening from the Spirit 10/22 cruise- Stayed overnight in Ft. Lauderdale! We did go to St. Vincent instead of Grenada! It was the first port from 11am -7pm and our second port was Barbados from 7am-7pm! Formal nights were Saturday and Friday nights. Ship was beautiful in the public areas! Cabin was more spartan than other cruises we've been on. Balcony cabins had small settee. Inside cabins had a chair and ottoman. Closet space was fair plus an area with shelves. 5 drawer chest. Nightstand with one drawer plus open space above the drawer. Desk with chair. Absolute worst ice bucket ever! Held ice for only a few hours!

There were times on the ship when you could only get food from room service.(roast beef sandwich was great!). The Blue Lagoon said open 24 hours but wasn't! Also someone takes your order and delivers food to your table. Only about 10 tables in the area!

Afternoon barbecue on Raffles Terrace was good too! Also afternoon snacks in the Raffles Buffet.

Many people complained about the freestyle dining but I think it all depends on timing! We ate in Windows dining room. We had 4 people and went at 7pm every night and never waited more than 15 minutes and had good service all but one time! Yes, they have lobster(we all got beef wellington & lobster!) Escargot was the best I've ever had!

Sorry guys, I'm hitting TILT now,so ask away and I'll try to answer all questions!

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platterb

platterb

Posted
Posted

Trish,

 

Just a couple of questions. While onboard, did you hear how long St. Vincent will be substituted for Grenada? What shore excursions were available on St. Vincent and did you hear any pro/con? Did you try any of the speciality dining?

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lazygal

lazygal

Posted
Posted

I posted this rambling review under our roll-call, but if you don't mind a cut and paste, here are some crumbs - lol.

 

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

The ship is in excellent condition and the Asian influences are beautiful. The cabins are small with very poor lighting, the lighting being my only main complaint. I ended up mostly showering and doing my makeup in the spa. Request the foam egg-crates as soon as you get on board. It's true, the beds are rock hard.

 

If you dine in an alternate restaurant, the Bistro is the best one. There also seem to be long lines at times because of the freestyle dining. This was not good, especially on formal night. to see people sitting in the stairwells waiting to be seated. If you are willing to share a table, it is much more accomodating.

 

The itineray change allowed for more time in Barbados, a favorite island.

 

Mon. St Vincent 11-7

Tues. Barbados 7-7

All others on schedule

 

In hindsight I would have booked the a ship's excursion in St. Vincent. people raved about the Falls of Baleine Tour, though pricey at $85.

We went to Villa Beach, a $5 pp cab ride and the resort area was rather run-down. There is a tourist information booth at the pier. Be sure to stop for info if going independent and get taxi rates. Drivers were reluctant to take us for the published prices, many were overcharged, best to carpool.

 

I also would have booked the catamarin cruise to the pitons in St. Lucia. Jungle tours stood us up at the pier after waiting an hour and calling. We hired a cab to take us to the volcano and falls and view of Pitons. A long drive on winding roads and back. All cabs and tours stop everywhere and you are constantly asked to buy necklaces. Very aggressive.

 

The highlight for us was the Boatyard beach in Barbados (you can use the beach for free if your driver drops you off further down the beach) public park and access to beach. Also, the Baths at Virgin Gorda. We booked the ships tour but Speedy's ferry leaves right from the dock also. It was well worth it, but too short.

 

It was a good cruise with everything running very smoothly on the ship. No tendering made ship to shore very easy.

 

Now for the nitty gritty. A very amicable Asian staff, excellent cruise director and support staff. Dining room service was all over the place. We had two excellent waiters, both in the Garden Dining room. In Windows, a lovely room but very noisy with the vibrations we had some horrid service. The food was very good. Not a lot of variety for breakfast and lunch at Raffles, but good. Tea at 3:30 was good. Try the scones!

 

Entertainment was a bit dissappointing. Dancers were fantastic, singers not. There were four production numbers and they gave it their best, but it was very forgettable. We really enjoyed the 3 comedians they had on board and dancing bands in The Galaxy were outstanding.

 

Many people complained about the bingo prices ($59) and the payouts.

 

Embarkation and debarkation went very smoothly. There is a Lattitudes check-in area.

 

There is no Captains cocktail party on formal night (90% dressed formally the first night, 30% second night) There is however a very generous rum punch party on pool deck for an hour on the first sea day. The Lattitudes party was held at 11:00 am on Sunday and no one wanted to leave the pool to attend. Liquor purchased is not delivered to your stateroom, you have to collect it at the ship's store or the Brig room day of departure. The thought of lines wrapped around the ship kept me from buying any.

 

Hope this helps somewhat. Overall, yes, it is a good cruise with an excellent new itinerary. Very nice clientele also with the average age of 50. There were about twenty children on board.

 

I'll happily answer any specific questions.

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cruisin-Trish

cruisin-Trish

Posted
Posted

Thanks lazygal for posting your review!

Barbara,There was no mention of any other cruise going to St. Vincent but ours! We did a 3 hour excursion in a van with a driver named Vincent John(how appropriate ;) ) Cost was $25 per hour for 4. Vincent’s van had air conditioning and many didn’t. He was very informative about his island and he is an older man(70)and was very agreeable to stop wherever we wanted to.

 

My husband had the all you can eat sushi for $10 and loved it! Otherwise we didn’t go to the specialty restaurants but other cc people did. Curious Jan did go to all 3 restaurants and has written about them so look for her posts.

 

Hi Chuggie! I knew you would be waiting for me! :D In Barbados we did a tour with Barry. He is a local driver and can be found in front of the Chefette Restaurant(right side of the street middle of shopping district) We had a 2 hour island tour plus he took us to Folkstone Park for snorkeling and arranged a time for him to pick us up and take us back to the ship for $80 for 4. We chose Barry after hearing about him from some other cruisers in Barbados. You can also choose a 1 hour tour for $10 per person. The air conditioning in his van will freeze you out!

 

We had a tour with Frank in St. Lucia and it was the highlight of our trip! There is no one like Frank! His tour is $50 per person(includes admission to the parks) and he provides beer, rum punch,water and soft drinks! We were very thankful to have the drinks as places to get drinks are few and far between plus expensive! A can of coke was $2! We snorkeled at Anste Chastenet and I know a lot of the drivers won’t go there! Frank had me time him and it took 7 minutes to get there from the main road! Also I have talked to Frank twice since the tour! He called while we were on tour with Lawrence in Antigua plus he called while I was at the airport to see if we’d arrived home safely!

 

Lawrence’s tour in Antigua is $25 plus $5 admission to the parks and he is very good. We chose to go to Long’s Bay Beach for snorkeling instead of Turners Beach as we had read on CC that snorkeling was better at Long’s Bay. As you face the ocean go to your right where the rocks are for the best snorkeling!Lazygal was with us on this excursion- Hi lazygal! :p Lawrence will take you to either beach. We saw Turners Beach and Lawrence wanted us to compare the two. Turners would be great for a beach day but we wanted to snorkel. Some of us were disappointed a little in Antigua after the lushness of St. Lucia.

 

We just went to shop in Tortola but they were offering a 2 hour island tour in an open safari type bus for $20 for 2 hours. We went to town to shop but don't believe it when you are told the walk is 10 minutes to town! We took their shuttle for $3 per person and were in the van less than 1 minute! A giant rip-off!

Hope this helps! If not I'll answer more questions! :)

 

Trish

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Lib0007

Lib0007

Posted
Posted

WOW - great info!! Thanks so much.

 

You mentioned practically all of the excursions we had planned - we want to go to Boatyard Beach also - what did you do there - just hang out, snorkel, etc? We are also booked on the Baths of Virgin Gorda ships excursion. In Antigua, we have looked into a resort at Longs Bay called Grand Pineapple - Trish, were you near this? We have no plans for St. Vincent as NCL hasn't said for sure whether this was on or Grenada.

 

Thanks again!

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lazygal

lazygal

Posted
Posted

Hi Trish! Getting rested? I was wiped out.

 

Lib, it takes a combination of things to have a perfect beach day, weather being an important factor. On a previous trip to Barbados, it was cloudy and I was unimpressed. With full sun, the water is fantastic. Wear plenty of suncreen. There is no reef at The Boatyard, so no snorkling. We tried. There are water toys for the admission price ($12 - with 5 redeemable chips) We kayaked, used the water trampoline and my son climbed the "iceburg" and spent way too much money on waverunners ($40 per half hour)

 

The rum punch is lethal and I suggest you go to the bar. My drinks were $1.50, my husband's $8.00. After two rums, the bartender wondered how I was still standing. (Maybe this had something to do with the great day)

 

We walked onto the grounds at the Pineapple resort in Antigua, but were turned away. They won't even allow you in for food or drinks. The snorkling is at the furthest end of the beach from the resort, so unless you really need the facilities I would not pay for a day pass. There is no shower on the beach however. Snorkling was only fair. People who had the best snorkling (which is subjective) did it from boats or catamarans, not from any shores. This holds true for all of the islands. I've done them all now, and nothing compares to the Yucatan IMO.

 

I didn't get much shopping in, but the town in Barbados looked like the best bet. St. Vincent and St. Lucia reminded me of Jamaica.

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chuggie

chuggie

Posted
Posted

Hi Trish!

 

You are correct!! I've been trying to hold back my crazed excitement...but I was counting down the days until you guys returned. (hee! hee!) I am sooo excited to hear about your excursions as I, too, will be taking some of the same ones. I'm booked with Frank in St. Lucia too! I have heard such wonderful reviews and I can't believe he called you in Antigua. Wow! Anyway...if you feel like showing photos...I won't stop ya! (ha!)

 

:) chuggie

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cruisin-Trish

cruisin-Trish

Posted
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Hi lazygal! we were wiped out as well! We stayed a day in Ft. Lauderdale before flying home but were too tired to do anything! It will take a while to rest up from this one!

 

libby, we were by the grand pineapple resort in antigua. lazygal & I were on the same excursion! The beach itself is beautiful! The sand is hardpacked like at Orient Beach in St. Maarten (if you've ever been there.) I thoroughly enjoyed just being in the water! As lazygal said the snorkeling is not to be compared to the yucatan but I'm happy just to see some fish and coral! :D

 

chuggie, the pictures are Herb's department! ;) Seriously, when he puts them on a disc I'll upload them to webshots and let you know. Look for pollyanna12 just like my email.

You will love Frank! You can imagine how shocked I was when Lawrence handed me the phone and said the call was for me! I was really blown away when he called yesterday to see if we'd made it home safely!

 

Trish

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