Sun vs. Spirit

[teacher_md]

Hey everyone!

 

I was on the Pearl a couple years ago and we loved the relaxed vibe. NCL isn't my favorite cruise line, but it is affordable and quite FUN! So I'm looking for a cruise for my next Spring Break and wanted to get some advice.

 

I am trying to decide between the NCL Sun out of Port Canaveral (Cozumel, Santo Tomas, Belize, Key West) and the NCL Spirit out of New Orleans (Costa Maya, Belize, Roatan, Cozumel).

 

I've been to all of the ports besides Costa Maya and Santo Tomas. So there is one new port for me on each itinerary. I guess I would rather sail out of New Orleans. As far as ship goes, the decor of the Sun seems a little more to my taste, but I'm not saying the Spirit is ugly. Her Asian decor is not a deal-breaker.

 

The one concern I have is the fellow passengers. I want to be on a cruise where people are relaxed, ready to have a good time, but not overly rowdy (don't want to be in a brawl like there was on Carnival in the disco - did you guys see that?????). The NCL Pearl out of Miami had great passengers! Also, I prefer not to have oodles and oodles of kids running the ship at all hours. I am a teacher, so cruising during Spring Break is just how it's gotta be :) Are New Orleans passengers super-partiers? How about Port Canaveral? My partner and I are going so I want to be on a ship that's tolerant/accepting of gay people - luckily, NEVER had a problem with that on a cruise though!

 

Just want to get some of your thoughts... and after 2 rough weeks of school I'm ready to talk ship. Have a great day.

 

- aj

 

[IluvZ]

Hi AJ,

I can't speak to the Daen but I have been on both the Pearl and the Spirit. In fact, we are doing the Spirit agin in Feb because we love her. I think the crowd question is the hardest to answer because it is so cruise by cruise dependent. We had a fairly mild group when we went in Jan, nothing like Carnival. The Spirit doesn't do some of the Carnival activities that make for a rowdy croud, either, like pillow fight contests.

 

The Spirit is much smaller than the Pearl and smaller than the Dawn, too I think. Thatbis what we actually like about it because the staff doesn't seemed over-worked. We had a really bad crew once on the Millenium that always complained to use about their workload. Makes you not want to ask for anything.

 

As for kids, the nice thing on the Spirit, too, is that the kids club was better than then Pearl. We used it more because of that fact and did see less kids. They also have a great separate pool for kids.

 

Good luck with your decision.

[luddite]

The Spirit is a smaller ship. Lovely decor. The NOLA departure means that you'll be travelling with a lot of pax who live in the town that invented having a good time.

We're doing it in February for the third time. Last time was Mardis Gras week. NOLA schools are out that week and that meant a lot of kids that we were not anticipating. The ship takes care of the kids pretty well.

All bets are off if you're going in Spring Break. :) We'd never do that!

[HLP]

I can only give you the ship comparisons since I have been on both many times.

Both the sun and spirit are similar in size and feel that way too.

As you seem to have looked over their decor you know the interiors look quite different.

I think the Spirit has the best decor of all the NCL ships, just my opinion. The sun decor

is much more understated by nice.

 

The spirit will have a more similar layout feel to the Pearl you were on. The sun will fill different. The sun will have larger staterooms in almost all catagories then the spirit.

Both have nice open rear areas to sit sit and dine. If you have kids with you,the spirit has a far nicer kids area with great rear water slide and pool.

 

Both ships are about the same age, dont know how they are holding up. Have not been on either for a couple of years now.

 

Good luck

HLP

[Don Haynes]

The Spirit had a very nice uplifting with her drydock last year, whereas the Sun will have her drydock before spring break. Both the Sun and the Spirit are of similar size and age although the Pearl is a larger ship. Probably the most difference outside of the Spirit's decor is that the Sun has those mini refrigerators in every cabin and her cabins are a tiny bit larger. On the other hand the Spirit's bath rooms and showers are larger...

 

I book according to value of price and itinerary. In my opinion a ship is a ship. I would enjoy any ship... I suggest you do so too, value of price and itinerary...

[newmexicoNita]

Hey everyone!

 

I was on the Pearl a couple years ago and we loved the relaxed vibe. NCL isn't my favorite cruise line, but it is affordable and quite FUN! So I'm looking for a cruise for my next Spring Break and wanted to get some advice.

 

I am trying to decide between the NCL Sun out of Port Canaveral (Cozumel, Santo Tomas, Belize, Key West) and the NCL Spirit out of New Orleans (Costa Maya, Belize, Roatan, Cozumel).

 

I've been to all of the ports besides Costa Maya and Santo Tomas. So there is one new port for me on each itinerary. I guess I would rather sail out of New Orleans. As far as ship goes, the decor of the Sun seems a little more to my taste, but I'm not saying the Spirit is ugly. Her Asian decor is not a deal-breaker.

 

The one concern I have is the fellow passengers. I want to be on a cruise where people are relaxed, ready to have a good time, but not overly rowdy (don't want to be in a brawl like there was on Carnival in the disco - did you guys see that?????). The NCL Pearl out of Miami had great passengers! Also, I prefer not to have oodles and oodles of kids running the ship at all hours. I am a teacher, so cruising during Spring Break is just how it's gotta be :) Are New Orleans passengers super-partiers? How about Port Canaveral? My partner and I are going so I want to be on a ship that's tolerant/accepting of gay people - luckily, NEVER had a problem with that on a cruise though!

 

Just want to get some of your thoughts... and after 2 rough weeks of school I'm ready to talk ship. Have a great day.

 

- aj

 

 

Both are nice ships and there isn't a clear cut answer, but I would sail the Sun if I had the choice. We are doing the Spirit in Feb because it seemed to be a little more convenient for our family. We have people cruising with us from Texas, OK, AR, OR and Fl. I wanted the Sun instead. I love the ship and the cabins are larger. This doesn't mean the Spirit isn't fun, but the Sun is just a little nicer I think.

 

Nita

[PlayTheAces]

It's been a while since I've been on the Sun. I recall it as being a nice ship with a good staff, but with a really weird traffic flow. Seems like if we were trying to get from one end of the ship to the other, we were always hitting dead ends or having to zig here and zag there. I don't have any desire to cruise on the Sun again.

 

We were on the Spirit earlier this year and really liked her. She was built to a higher standard as far as decor than the other ships in the NCL fleet. A little smaller in some respects, but a great crew and beautifully maintained. I'd go back on the Spirit in a heartbeat.

 

If you're going to cruise on spring break, you're going to hit more kids than normal. There's just no way around that. As far as fellow passengers, while you always run into a few rude and crude ones, we really enjoyed the people on our cruise out of N.O. For the most part, I don't think NCL attracts the rowdies.

[Sauer-kraut]

As Don said, the SUN will have a dry dock date before spring break so things might be a bit different than she is now. They might be re-doing the buffet area as that seems to get a lot of complaints, perhaps they are turning the sports bar into a blue lagoon, who knows.

 

As to the type of passenger on board, hmmm....its like your family, you can't pick and choose 'em.

 

I haven't been on either yet, I'm going on the SUN in Oct and I am truly looking forward to her. I don't care for ueberglitz and neon, and people have said that the decor is bronze toned woods and granite. I am pretty low key and go with the flow, so the ship isn't a deal breaker, its just about where I want to go for a good price. ;)

[Melissa at Mohair Meadows]

We have cruised on neither. But one thing to consider is the rockyness of the ship crossing the gulf. Crossing the gulf can be rougher (and colder) than sailing the coast of Florida. We are sailing the Spirit next winter because of the convenience of the NOLA port vs a FLA port so it isn't a big issue with us.

 

I'm sure whatever you choose will work out fine. Have a terrific cruise.

 

Melissa

[newmexicoNita]

It's been a while since I've been on the Sun. I recall it as being a nice ship with a good staff, but with a really weird traffic flow. Seems like if we were trying to get from one end of the ship to the other, we were always hitting dead ends or having to zig here and zag there. I don't have any desire to cruise on the Sun again.

 

We were on the Spirit earlier this year and really liked her. She was built to a higher standard as far as decor than the other ships in the NCL fleet. A little smaller in some respects, but a great crew and beautifully maintained. I'd go back on the Spirit in a heartbeat.

 

If you're going to cruise on spring break, you're going to hit more kids than normal. There's just no way around that. As far as fellow passengers, while you always run into a few rude and crude ones, we really enjoyed the people on our cruise out of N.O. For the most part, I don't think NCL attracts the rowdies.

 

This is true on only a couple of situations, the traffic flow could be better, but we found the same thing on HAL. We had to go up to go down. Why they do this, I don't know.

 

As for rowdies, again I agree, it depends more where you sail out of. We did have some less than classy people when we sailed the Spirit. I won't do into detail, but I think it had a lot to do with the weekend we sailed. I have heard others say similar things and it is too bad. Being from the south ourselves, I hate to think people judge us because of where we live.

 

Nita

[newmexicoNita]

We have cruised on neither. But one thing to consider is the rockyness of the ship crossing the gulf. Crossing the gulf can be rougher (and colder) than sailing the coast of Florida. We are sailing the Spirit next winter because of the convenience of the NOLA port vs a FLA port so it isn't a big issue with us.

 

I'm sure whatever you choose will work out fine. Have a terrific cruise.

 

Melissa

 

the time of the year the OP will be cruising rocking should not be an issue.

[teacher_md]

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

 

Doesn't really seem like there will be much of a difference in the passengers/environment between Port Canaveral and New Orleans from what you guys are saying. I was on a Carnival Imagination cruise years ago and it wasn't my cup of tea. I'm not a snob, but it kind of felt like the Jersey Shore meets Homer Simpson. Doh! NCL Pearl was NOT like that at all :)

 

Seems like both ships are fine, just different. Being on Spring Break, we're going to be dealing with kids. We have cruised over the last three Spring Breaks and luckily the kid-situation hasn't been too bad! Cabin size doesn't matter TOO much to me. I've never felt cramped in a cruise stateroom. I do prefer anything BUT an inside :) I would be fine with an oceanview obstructed, but my honey just won't go for it! Also don't mind the strange passenger flow, because I need to walk as much as possible to burn a few of the billion calories I indulge in. Thanks for the info about the Sun dry dock - I will take that into consideration :)

 

For the ports of call, I am kind of leaning towards the NCL Spirit. I want to go to Costa Maya. On the Sun, they go to Key West for a short time and from what I remember it was kind of lame. Nice architecture, cute town, ride the train, have a drink and get back on. Belize, Cozumel and Roatan are all fine... we did those on the Pearl and enjoyed them all. Santo Tomas is interesting, but not sure if I want to do that humanitarian tour everyone talks about. I like a mix of some snorkeling, some beach days and some culture (city tours/tasting food).

 

So next question has to do with getting to the cruise port from the airport. I hear it's a good distance and quite expensive to get to Port Canaveral. How much time/money does it take to get to the New Orleans port from the airport?

 

Have a great rest of your Sunday. I'm off on Tuesday for primary elections, so Monday doesn't seem so daunting :)

-aj

[luddite]

 

As for rowdies, again I agree, it depends more where you sail out of. We did have some less than classy people when we sailed the Spirit. I won't do into detail, but I think it had a lot to do with the weekend we sailed. I have heard others say similar things and it is too bad. Being from the south ourselves, I hate to think people judge us because of where we live.

 

Nita

 

Where was that out of?

[newmexicoNita]

Where was that out of?

 

I don't like to inply negatives, everyone knows, but it was out of New Orleans... Sorry guys, this doesn't mean all cruises out of LA will be filled with classless people. We also noticed this on our last cruise out of Houston just before the Sea was retired.

 

Nita

[singinglizzie]

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

 

So next question has to do with getting to the cruise port from the airport. I hear it's a good distance and quite expensive to get to Port Canaveral. How much time/money does it take to get to the New Orleans port from the airport?

 

-aj

 

Since we are sailing the Sun (over spring break as well - but not your week) I wanted to read this thread! Regarding your question about how much money from Pt. Canaveral - I did some online searching, and it looks like you can hire a car or shuttle for approx. $50 per person rt - based on 4 in our group. I'll check to see what the price is for 2 and will post back.

 

OK, I checked around and there is a shuttle service for $60 each way based on 2 persons MCO to Pt. Canaveral. I can't vouch for this service since we haven't actually done our cruise yet, but it will give you a sense of how much you might spend ($120 rt). Hope this was helpful.

 

http://www.floridasunshineshuttle.com/port_canaveral_shuttle_special.htm

[electricron]

I've sailed on both ships before, and here's a simplified comparison chart:

Best cabins > Sun

Best bathrooms > Spirit

Best restaurant > Sun (Il Adagio)

Best buffet > Spirit

Best spa > Sun

Best observation lounge > Spirit

Best swiming pools > Sun

Best kid's area > Spirit

Best showroom > Sun

Best decor in public spaces > Spirit

 

If you're not getting my drift, one ship is better at some things, the other ship is better at others ---overall it's a toss up --- both ships can host a great vacation.

[Pebbs48]

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

 

 

So next question has to do with getting to the cruise port from the airport. I hear it's a good distance and quite expensive to get to Port Canaveral. How much time/money does it take to get to the New Orleans port from the airport?

 

-aj

 

http://www.portno.com/pno_pages/cruises_faqs.htm

 

What transportation is offered from Louis Armstrong International Airport?

Taxis and airport shuttle are available from Armstrong International Airport to the cruise terminals. Call 1 (866) 596-2699 for Airport Shuttle information and reservations. Typically, shuttles cost $15 per person one-way and $30 per person for round trips.

Taxis are available and cost $28 for up to two passengers and $12 for any additional passengers and a $1.00 fuel surcharge per trip. There may be an additional charge for extra baggage. The airport is approximately 17 miles form the cruise terminal. Allow about 45 minutes travel time.

[CruisinMaterial]

AJ,

 

Just on the comparison of the ships... both I've sailed on... I'd go with the Norwegian Spirit. The decor is better and the bathroom is designed like the Pearl whereas the Sun is older and has that flippin' shower curtain (I hate those!!). :) The decor on the Spirit is very nice too and I'll miss her doing the Boston to BDA run. She's smaller than the Pearl but was a proto-type of sorts for the Jewel class which the Pearl is a family member of.

 

As for the ports of embarkation... can't help you there as I've only boarded out of Miami or Port Everglades (with Princess). Port Canaveral doesn't really seem close to anything but Disney World so NOLA might be better anyway!

 

Can't wait to get my Spring Break plans on too! :D

[cod]

We've been on both...twice each. We enjoyed them all but if I were weighing one against the other with all pros and cons being equal I would have to go with the Spirit.

[allesonwonderland]

Hey everyone!

So I'm looking for a cruise for my next Spring Break and wanted to get some advice.

 

 

 

When is your Spring Break?

[teacher_md]

My Spring Break is the week of April 16, 2011.

 

Thanks for the port transfer costs singlelizzie and pebbs! Think I am leaning towards the Spirit but I'm not excited about tiny cramped pools filled with children. Nita, thank you for your honesty when talking about fellow cruise passengers. It's a touchy subject to touch, but sometimes you just want to know! Kind of important.

 

We could spend a night in NOLA pre-cruise and roam around town. We went there for our anniversary years ago and loved it!

 

Going to Orlando and doing Disney for a wedding this January, so I don't feel the need to go back to that area so soon.

 

So am I missing something in Key West? Seems like it would be a fun place if we had more time in port. Thoughts on Santo Tomas in Guatemala?

 

Have a great night!

-aj

[Sauer-kraut]

I know people from our roll call are using a shuttle service from Port Canaveral to Orlando Airport and for 6 in the shuttle the cost was $20 a head. So when you do decide what ship you will be taking join the roll call and you can probably get a deal if you can find people to share the ride. It might be easier on the homeward journey, but some people might be at the airport around the time you arrive there as well.

[newmexicoNita]

When is your Spring Break?

 

I beleive he said April 16 or something like that.

[Sauer-kraut]

well....

I think I'd stay on the ship the next time we visit that port. Its a quaint town, and you can pick up pop and mixers at the CVS store downtown, but I've been twice already so its not an attraction for me anymore.

[susanrfc]

We were on the Spirit last year during Spring Break (March). Last year the spirit stoped in Santo Tomas in Guatemala I was not impressed so glad that they changed that port. We loved Costa Maya we did a beach break that I booked not with the ship. At the time that you are going you will not have Spring Break kids from Texas on the ship (March is Texas time for spring break) have fun.