Rick&Jeannie

Here is a sampling of a day's activities,  focusing primarily on musical entertainment. 

1 hour ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

I would like to hear about your experiences with on-board musicians in the bars and lounges.  Thanks.

So far...We've been so tired after the excursions We've done we have not done much of anything in the way of evening entertainment. I'm sure that will change with the upcoming sea days!  I'll make a point to make a note!

Internet on board has not really been that great. These pictures I'm posting take about a minute to a minute and a half each. I would like to be able to post more...

Today was Bora Bora. So far, this has been our favorite stop on this cruise. We had a really good third party excursion for the first half of the day...the second half not so much (in my opinion.) The first part was just a drive around the island in a small open air 4WD truck. We were taken up to the top of a fairly good sized hill where a lot of telecom type towers lived...but the view was fantastic!

Then, we visited a WWII gun emplacement on another *crazy* steep hill. We really didn't think that little truck was going to make it because halfway up it started slipping on some large rocks.  Obviously, we made it and were rewarded with similar scenery.

One thing that we have both discovered that we *really* like...the shower! Most ships we've been on have only had shower curtains. The Spirit has actual glass doors. Now, the shower itself is *still* the "economy" size...but it's really nice to not have to worry about water going everywhere.  The shower sides are the typical fiberglass material, but the floor material *seems* like it is real tile. I'm sure it's not really tile but it has the look and feel of a better quality shower. 

(I guess it doesn't take much to impress us!!) 😄

We usually book a balcony or a mini-suite when we cruise on Princess.  We booked late and the best we could scrape up (within budget) was an ocean view with "window". Nice room, a tad small. It is capable of sleeping 3...I can't imagine how anybody could cope with 3 in one of these! With just the 2 of us we have to "coordinate" our movements in the cabin! Still, a day at sea is better than a day *not* at sea!

One thing I forgot to mention about the Fare Suisse guest house...as with many places in Tahiti, there are LOTS of chickens and especially roosters. The local roosters start crowing at about 3:00am....

Returning from our pearl farm and vanilla field excursion. 

Did I mention that it's hot? It's really hot! It's crazy hot even for this southern boy! It reminds me of that scene in Good Morning, Vietnam where Robin Williams is giving the weather report...

We have yet to try the MDR or any specialty dining...soon. Looking forward to Cagney's and Teppenyaki.

I really can't say much of anything good about embarkation yesterday. I have never had such a bad experience just trying to get on a ship. 

We had a 12:30 arrival time. We waited until almost 1:30 before showing up at the pier. I don't know whether there was an actual delay for everyone but it seemed like an inordinate amount of people that showed up at the same time. The driver (who shuttled us from Fare Suisse) explained that the terminal building was undergoing construction/remodeling. As such...everyone had to stand out on the actual pier in the hot sun. It was pretty rough! Finally,  NCL personnel began handing out cups of cold water. But to be honest, I don't think that they started that until after one woman actually passed out while in line. The whole process just seemed very inefficient. Actual "check in" was done on board the ship in one of the dining rooms. They could very easily have made much more room for people to wait *on* the ship instead of outside in the heat. Perhaps things will be better when the terminal is finished. 

One other example of seemingly inefficiency was the gangway usage today. There was only one gangway total in use...not even a separate one for crew as you usually see. This was a very narrow width...single file only. As people were trying to get back on the ship after excursions they would have to wait while people were still getting off the ship. About 20-25 people would get off and then they would let the next 20-25 people board. Of course, it was very hot again (it's the South Pacific after all!) and people were having flashbacks from yesterday trying to embark.

I don't really mean to sound so negative in a live thread...but it's just so different from what we've been used to seeing. 

The ship is really nice; we tend to lean towards smaller ships. We've done our one stint on a Royal Caribbean mega ship...once was enough!

We have cruised a lot with Princess, so we inevitably do some comparing between the 2 cruise lines. I understand that the Spirit has undergone a major retrofit not too long ago...it really shows. Of course, I can't give a real first-hand evaluation since this is our first time on the Spirit,  but you can just tell that there has been money spent. Everything looks "new".

That being said...it may take me the whole cruise to figure out where everything is and especially how to get where I want to go! I'm used to ships where you generally have passageways that run almost the full length of the ship. Several times already we have had to go up a deck and then fore or aft just to get somewhere on the same deck. It just seems so "chopped up" as far as the main design. I'm hoping we'll figure it out soon!

We learned the hard way to always go into the starting port a day early (long story there...) but this time we went 2 days earlier. We are traveling with 2 other couples and we all agreed that we should spend a little time before the cruise. 

We stayed at a "guest house" called Fare Suisse for 2 nights. We had seen some good comments on this place here on CC so we thought that we would give it a shot. Very good pricing, a little different from most places we have stayed.  It is run by a German gentleman named Beni and his wife Theresa. It reminds me a lot of some European hotels we have stayed at. No TV, no telephone, no refrigerator.  They *do* have wifi, though it's not very robust throughout the complex. It is obviously very popular...we got the very last room available for the 2 nights we needed. 

They have a very small kitchen with a very limited menu, along with your typical European style breakfast of cheeses, bread and cold cut meats & juices.

More to come....

Today is Raiatea. We have an independent tour because we were not able to find anything from NCL

I did not see any other posts for a "Live" thread...so I will try!

This is only our 3rd NCL cruise, the other 2 both being Greel Isles itineraries on the Gem and Jade (I think.)

I'm posting this first entry on our first full day...I'll share some thoughts on embarkation as soon as I can. (It was *not* good!)

5 hours ago, dexddd said:

Have a great time.  What is the route?

 

While the oldest in the fleet, one of our faves.

Tahiti to Hawaii. Embarkation was an absolute fiasco. Standing in lines on the pier for about 2 1/2 hours in the crazy heat/humidity.  Near the end NCL started passing out cold water cups...but I *think* that was only after one older woman passed out in the line.

The explanation given for the long lines was that the terminal was being remodeled (or some kind of construction) and check in was actually done on board the ship...but that really doesn't explain the long line. There was plenty of room on the ship to accommodate *many* people while waiting to be checked in. Very poor planning/organization. 

Anyway...we're on board now and hoping for a great cruise!

On 4/9/2024 at 5:16 AM, Mark_K said:

Or you could arrange to eat with them in the MDR. Probably wouldn’t even be a charge.

Now that's a real deal!

5 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

WiFi calling and texting seems to work fine on my IPhone even with the basic package included with AI. Not that I use it much. 

This is what I was going to suggest as well. Just get it set up on your phone before you leave home. 

Just note...there are a couple of threads here that claim you will lose your money should you use rhe AARP cards for cruise fare payments and then *you* decide to cancel. I have used *many* of the AARP cards for Princess and have had no issues at all. Since reading those threads I have been very reluctant to purchase for Celebrity. Just read all of the terms and conditions!

5 hours ago, BeasleysMom66 said:

Will they refund the difference or do you have to cancel and rebook?

On 2 occasions now we have just canceled and rebooted at the new price. Credit card refunded within 2 or 3 days 

On 4/8/2024 at 3:03 PM, ihopfar said:

There is one excursion we want to do that is only available via NCL.

That seems a bit strange. Which excursion? NCL just contracts with local tour companies. I've never heard of an "exclusive" excursion contract.

I've heard different stories about what to do. We were able to make a couple of SD reservations for our group of 6 a couple of months back.  What's the scoop?