I have checked many cruise lines and selected NCL Spirit because for a 12 day cruise as it was the most port intensive cruise with less days at sea that covered both NZ and Australia. That may not appeal to some, but it was our goal. Our other consideration was Viking Ocean cruise which was considerably higher with very limited onboard options/entertainment. (But, highly recommend Viking for River cruises.)
We leave Feb 2024 and just checked pricing again to find it is over $2K cheaper now than when we initially booked. Since final payment was not due yet, they changed the pricing and kept our balcony room etc all the same. Do I appreciate the pricing game....NO! But as everything, money drives our world sadly. Just was glad we double checked. Would have been very upset otherwise. BTW, same with our airfare (so not just cruise lines).... $900.00 cheaper and now have air credit good for one year.
As far as the age and size of the Spirit, I understand the refurbish was done nicely and smaller ships can navigate better into more ports than the larger ships. Even though we tend to be mega ship cruisers, I am looking forward to this cruise equally a much.