NCL (and specifically the Spirit) newbies

Hi all,

We're off in a couple of weeks on the Spirit. Our first cruise with NCL, having previously been with Princess, Carnival, P&O and Costa. Loved them all - they all have the plus and minus points.

So guys, what do we have in store for us? Any NCL peculiarities that you wish to share, or Spirit-specific highlights and lowlights?

Thanks in advance.

Martin.

The Spirit is the oldest in the NCL fleet. That being said it is one of our favorite ships. It has an Asian decor which is nice. The suites are great if you have one of those.

The buffet is kind of action station which helps flow. Their is tiered, shaded seating aft by the kids pool with bar and buffet close by. There is a small 24 hour option next to a bar. Casino is very elegant if that is your thing.

My favorite ship !!!! The asian place is free for dinner .....the upper decks in the aft are great for sailaways ..The ship just seems to have a good feel to it ....

Galaxy of the Stars is a great place to relax and enjoy the views, lots of great entertainment onboard and food options are good. As she is a smaller ship I find that she never seems overly crowded, I also didn't find too many children onboard either. Staff is friendly, most public places onboard have ocean views. Love sailing on the Spirit!

...

I have sailed with NCL around 12 times so far, and I'm booked for Breakaway next July. Suffice to say I am a fan of NCL and the concept. I decided against sailing on Spirit due to her being the oldest ship in the fleet, along with the odd review mentioning sewage system issues which was enough to dissuade me from booking her.

I went with MSC Orchestra instead, which does a reasonably similar itinerary (with fewer Canary stops it must be said), due to it being a newer ship and the slightly lower overall price. I am also a 'cosmetically' driven person, in that I like a cabin to look fresh and modern. I know the public areas of Spirit have been refurbished somewhat, but they haven't touched the cabins, and that was the deal breaker for me.

I hope you have a wonderful time on Spirit, I do know it has many, many fans, and I would love to hear your thoughts when you return - I may well live to regret not booking her! I believe some people have mentioned that a planned dry dock was reduced from several weeks to several days, and thus her time in the NCL fleet might be limited so I may never get the chance to sail her if I can be persuaded to give her a try. I am already in the minority in this thread so far so I don't want you to be dissuaded from your cruise at all, my priorities are almost certainly different to that of others.

As mentioned I am a big fan of the NCL product in general, and if you are new to the line I am sure you will be impressed with the sheer variety of dining venues and quality of the offering - NCL definitely have the edge in this regard. I've sailed several other lines as well and NCL remains my first choice in most cases.

Thanks for the replies!

Yes, Shogun looked interesting as a complimentary dining venue, and we'll certainly give it a try.

We're aware that she is an older and hence smaller vessel, and I'm hoping that the refit has given her a new lease of life. I must admit to being slightly worried about cabinspace. We're in an inside, and prefer a 'double bed' configuration, and looking at some pictures there appears to be only room for one bedside cabinet. In addition, I am concerned that the drop-down beds will make getting around the bed a little difficult. Oh well, beggars can't be choosers as the say.

I'll do my best to remember to reply on our return Cap'n, to give our impressions. On another note, do MSC still honour the status of other lines? I know when we were considering an MSC cruise they bumped us straight to Gold, as we are Platinum on Princess (I don't think we were even that at the time).

M.

Thanks for the replies!

 

Yes, Shogun looked interesting as a complimentary dining venue, and we'll certainly give it a try.

 

We're aware that she is an older and hence smaller vessel, and I'm hoping that the refit has given her a new lease of life. I must admit to being slightly worried about cabinspace. We're in an inside, and prefer a 'double bed' configuration, and looking at some pictures there appears to be only room for one bedside cabinet. In addition, I am concerned that the drop-down beds will make getting around the bed a little difficult. Oh well, beggars can't be choosers as the say.

 

I'll do my best to remember to reply on our return Cap'n, to give our impressions. On another note, do MSC still honour the status of other lines? I know when we were considering an MSC cruise they bumped us straight to Gold, as we are Platinum on Princess (I don't think we were even that at the time).

 

M.

Yes, MSC still status matching.

Not aware of any sewage smell ever on Spirit - that was the Sun.

Insides might have a pop-up bed so you could possibly have a double that way or just move the two on the floor together. Bunks off wall aren't too bad unless you are really tall and pop-up in bed if one of them is down otherwise when stowed they are only like 4" wide.

Yes MSC still status match, I recently matched from NCL Platinum to MSC Black Card with little fuss. Thanks, I truly would be keen to read your thoughts on the Spirit on your return. I will subscribe to the thread in the hopes you remember. :)

Yes, MSC still status matching.

Insides might have a pop-up bed so you could possibly have a double that way or just move the two on the floor together. Bunks off wall aren't too bad unless you are really tall and pop-up in bed if one of them is down otherwise when stowed they are only like 4" wide.

Actually, it's with the 'wall beds' in their upright position I was thinking of. We've experienced them a couple of times before and it wasn't great. With there only appearing to be room for one bedside cabinet, I was concerned about the width of the stateroom. Obviously not a deal breaker, and we'll live with it if it's a pain (unlike some in the 'OMG I can't live without Coke products' thread. ;p).

Good that MSC still status-match. Happy days! :D

M.

Just off the Spirit Dec 23rd. The ship's public areas were clean. The ship is dated. The is a order in certain areas of the ship. On our deck (9) there was a leak in the hall from the ceiling (bucket placed to catch what we thought was water). The over all crew was nice and polite. The cruise next manager (gentleman) was very rude. I was instructed to see him about a mix up with our platinum rewards. He appeared irritated that I would take up his time for sure small matters and was not there to purchase any cruise next vouchers (which they pushed like crazy). $1000.00 worth of vouchers and receive $500 on board credit.

The food in the buffet was horrible. Windows was OK depending on what you ordered. We dined in all the speciality restaurants and the food great to poor. To get reservation is a joke. They fill up fast because seating is limited. Example: Tappenyaki only seats 10 per time slot (as it only has one table) and has only 4 time slots per night for a total of 40 reservations per night. If you look at the reservation board it implies there are more seating per night. Not so. I had to ask to get a straight answer.

We are not real drinkers. My husband does not drink at all and lean towards sweet wines and frozen drinks. I order a strawberry daiquiri in Galaxy one night and it was pink and absolutely no strawberry flavoring. Needless to say that was it for me.

The workers (cabin stewards, bar workers, workers bussing the tables, buffet worker, those cleaning the ship) you know the real workers were great. Those given the orders were the one we found to be rude. The hostess at Shogun and the cruise next manager we found to be the rudest.

Side note: They were no consistent with allowing passengers to bring water on board. It just depends on who is screening.

This was our 9th NCL cruise and probably our worst. Not sure if we will book with them next year.

Just off the Spirit Dec 23rd. The ship's public areas were clean. The ship is dated. The is a order in certain areas of the ship. On our deck (9) there was a leak in the hall from the ceiling (bucket placed to catch what we thought was water). The over all crew was nice and polite. The cruise next manager (gentleman) was very rude. I was instructed to see him about a mix up with our platinum rewards. He appeared irritated that I would take up his time for sure small matters and was not there to purchase any cruise next vouchers (which they pushed like crazy). $1000.00 worth of vouchers and receive $500 on board credit.

 

The food in the buffet was horrible. Windows was OK depending on what you ordered. We dined in all the speciality restaurants and the food great to poor. To get reservation is a joke. They fill up fast because seating is limited. Example: Tappenyaki only seats 10 per time slot (as it only has one table) and has only 4 time slots per night for a total of 40 reservations per night. If you look at the reservation board it implies there are more seating per night. Not so. I had to ask to get a straight answer.

 

We are not real drinkers. My husband does not drink at all and lean towards sweet wines and frozen drinks. I order a strawberry daiquiri in Galaxy one night and it was pink and absolutely no strawberry flavoring. Needless to say that was it for me.

 

The workers (cabin stewards, bar workers, workers bussing the tables, buffet worker, those cleaning the ship) you know the real workers were great. Those given the orders were the one we found to be rude. The hostess at Shogun and the cruise next manager we found to be the rudest.

 

Side note: They were no consistent with allowing passengers to bring water on board. It just depends on who is screening.

 

This was our 9th NCL cruise and probably our worst. Not sure if we will book with them next year.

This confirms some of my thoughts regarding the condition of Spirit. What an awful attitude shown by the Cruise Next rep. Sorry you were let down in some areas of your cruise.

Well we're back, and at Captain-John's request, here are my musings on the state of the Spirit. Bear in mind it was the first time we'd sailed with NCL, so I can't make any pre/post refit comments. Furthermore, I'll refrain from commenting in detail on food (generally excellent) and service (generally good, but let down on occasion) and the ship's facilities (adequate for a ship this size).

1. Public areas

We were happy with the state and cleanliness of the ship, and there was definitely a far eastern vibe going on in parts of the ship, complete with 'terracotta' warriors with which I saw some people having their photo taken. The carpets seemed to be in good repair, with the exception near one elevator, where the edge of the carpet had come away from the fixing. The decor in the dining rooms was fine, although the ceilings were a bit low we thought - obviously not something refit-related. Some tablecloths in Shogun wouldn't have gone amiss, as we had to save our water and wine glasses a couple of times from sliding off the table in rough conditions - I was too slow to save the chopsticks once. As an aside, I disliked the atrium elevator workings being visible from the atrium, and the whole black wall thing that was going on.

2. Stateroom

My fears were realised. We had an inside, and it was pokey and badly designed. In the 'double bed' configuration, there was little space either side of the bed, with the beside cabinet having to be turned on its side (making it a table) on one side of the bed. I had to keep my water and phone on the floor by the bed. The decor was dated and the space poorly used. A good sized wardrobe and some drawers, but no useful ledges or shelves. The bathroom was good, with a strong shower and a large (actually larger than necessary) shower cubicle. The room had a mini fridge and a flat screen tv. The fridge was serviceable, but seemed positioned as an afterthought, so I don't know whether this was a recent addition, and the tv was too big for its shelf, so was at an awkward angle. Almost as awkward as my arm position trying to use the remote while in bed. There was no channel guide, nor a channel that gave any useful daily information. We usually had it on the standard 'map/webcam/heading' type channel. At least if there was an announcement we could hear it on this channel. Also, no weather forecast info, which would have been so helpful. It looked as though there had been some damage to the room as a large section of one wall by the bed had a panel screwed to it. There was also damage to the wall behind the bed (which clearly hadn't been updated since NCL acquired the ship in 2004, as it referred to the SuperStar Leo, its previous name.

Overall.

We did speak to someone who had been told that she (the ship) was going for a further refit where the staterooms were to be updated. This might resolve some of issues, but having the door in the centre of the cabin wall (with the bathroom one side and the wardrobe the other) gives little room (pun intended) for changing the layout.

Conclusion.

Would I sail NCL again? Yes. Would I sail on the Spirit? Possibly, post alleged secondary refit (though I prefer larger ships).

I hope this gives a balanced view of how we saw the ship. As I said, I could go into a lot more detail on other aspects of the ship, but given my preference for larger ships with more facilities, it may have come across as a little harsh.

Hope this helps.

Cheers, and Happy Sailings!

Martin.

Thanks for the update! We sail this summer, but do have a balcony room. I figure any cruise is better than staying home!

I sailed the NCL Spirit in Feb 2017. My only previous NCL cruise was the Epic in 2016, which I loved - both the ship and the itinerary (Canary Islands from Barcelona).

When I booked the Spirit, it was from Barcelona again, but to the Western Med. The ship itself was fine, much smaller than Epic, but interesting decor, seemed well maintained. The cabin was also standard and satisfactory. My main complaint issue was with the food and dining options. The two main included restaurants had exactly the same very limited menus day after day, and included a number of 'pay extra' a la carte items. Menu options were repeated during the course of the trip. Got boring after a few days, especially for vegetarian options. Quality was barely average, similar to a decent diner on land. If I wanted to pay extra I would have chosen the upgrade restaurants. The Asian option was fine, but not for every night. The buffet was the worst. I am guessing because it is a smaller ship, but the options were minimal, as opposed to the Epic a year before. Again, could have been a school cafeteria for the quality and creative options. Epic had offered specialty nights, i.e. pasta night, seafood night, Indian night, etc. Nothing like that on Spirit.

The other negative was that it seemed that every where you turn, someone was trying to sell you something - t-shirt, jewelry, scarves, other junk, etc. Enough already!!

Entertainment was fine, just mediocre, again not up to the quality on Epic. Again, guessing smaller ship has something to do with that.

Overall I manly picked this ship for the port of departure and the itinerary, so that was perfect and just what I wanted. Otherwise, the cruise part on the ship itself was less than impressive.

Also cruised on Spirit from Barcelona 13 - 23rd December 2017. Our third time on this vessel.

We had a fantastic holiday and loved all aspects of the experience, from the facilities on board, the attitude and service culture of the staff and crew, the itinerary and the overall ambiance of the ship. Yes there was the odd gremlin in terms of the ship's appearance and repair state and the occasional issue with our stateroom but not enough to detract from a really enjoyable cruise. We found the food served in all the outlets to be well presented and tasty and particularly liked Windows, Cagney's and Le Bistro. We are not great buffet fans but it was great to be able to take our food out through the doors at the back and sit outside in the sun on the open decks.

I have never felt pressured to purchase anything and a polite no thanks was the end of the matter.

Spirit is a small vessel compared to the new builds and as such can never compete with the offering these larger ships have. Nevertheless the 'small ship feel' lends itself to a different type of cruise, it feels more relaxing, the space more manageable and with the opportunity to get to know some of the crew serving in the bars and restaurants. Of course it isn't for everyone and we all have our favourites but we have already booked our next cruise out of Rome on her .

Fascinating, isn't it - how different everyone's perceptions of essentially the same experience is.

Owlhelm/Martin - thanks very much for remembering - useful feedback for myself and others. Does confirm my fears about Spirit - I don't think I'd enjoy it, based on the cabin alone (I know, I know, you don't cruise to stay in the cabin, but still - it's important to me). Glad you had a generally good time. I love the itinerary she does, but I've chosen to do a similar itinerary on MSC Orchestra at the end of February, for better or worse. Hopefully she does get a refurb in dry dock or get replaced with something else on this route - do that and I'll be back in a flash.

I generally love the Jewel class ships, so it's not a size issue I have with Spirit. I'm also generally pleased with NCL's dining options, and I'm sorry to hear of your experience in this regard sailawaygirlfriend. Agree about the overselling though - but it must work or else they'd stop doing it - people must buy that stuff!

just a note about the room fridges mentioned and being in an awkward position

we have sailed on Spirit twice before and after refit

first time we had to request a fridge for my husbands medication as were not standard

second time there were fridges in as standard but were positioned where could find space

I di like the Spirit and waiting for the summer 2019 offerings on her

Just back from Spirit, had a balcony room and we thought it was excellent with very comfortable large bed and large bathroom. The food, entertainment and vast majority of staff were very good, we did not eat in any speciality restaurants and always found plenty if choice on main menus. We ate in buffet for breakfast and lunch and ate outside on a number of occasions as wether was very good.