Spirit Review - NOLA to West Caribbean

[saileyellie]

We were on the Valentine's Day cruise on the Spirit out of New Orleans to the West Caribbean. Here's my thoughts:

 

New Orleans is a WONDERFUL city. I really recommend spending a weekend there before you head out on Sunday. We rented a car one day and drove to several plantations, which was wonderful to see (Laura's and Oak). We also ate at 2 of Emeril's restaurants - what can I say, "Bam!!" amazing food.

 

Sail Away:

Boarded the ship. Too bad they aren't giving out champagne anymore :(

Ate lunch in the main dining room - Fabulous. It's never crowded on Sunday lunch.

Sail Away Party - always a blast!

 

Spirit:

We LOVED this ship. The only other boat I've been on is the Pearl (which we also loved). The great thing about the Spirit was it's size - not as big, fewer passengers, easier to get places, etc. It's definitely seen more wear and tear than the Pearl, but it's listed as being redone "2011". They re-carpeted the card room on our cruise and looked to be doing some repairs in the buffet. So it seems there's some on-going sprucing up.

This boat definitely rocked alot - don't know if it doesn't have the same stabilizers as the Pearl, or if the route was alot more windy, but I LOVED it. Rocked me to sleep!

 

We didn't eat at any of the specialty restaurants. The main dining rooms, pool buffets, main buffet, the beer garden and the 24-hour diner suited us fine.

 

(If you're a cheesecake lover, I have to recommend the room-service cheesecake with mango sauce - the best on the ship).

 

Spa:

On Sunday, my mom and I took a tour of the spa and saw that they were offering a sail-away special. We signed up and at 8 pm were treated to the most fabulous massage EVER!! As my mom would say, it was the second best feeling of her life ;) It was a facial, hot stone massage (AMAZING), foot rub and body exfoliation for about $180 I think. It was definitely the best deal they offered all week.

 

On the Pearl you had to buy a spa pass to use the facilities, but on the Spirit they are open for all to use (the facilities are much smaller, so it didn't seem to attract a lot of people, but I went every day). Ladies, turn in your card and you can get a locker with a fresh robe and enjoy the steam and sauna rooms, plus sample some hot tea in the lounge. I used the steam room almost every day and then sat for a bit in a waiting area that was pretty much deserted, looking out over the great wide ocean and listening to soothing music - HEAVEN.

 

Throughout the week, I also got a mani/pedi and a haircut. I have to say, it's the best haircut I've had in 10 years. If Larry is still on board - go make an appointment! I told him to do "whatever" and he gave me a whole new look. My husband also got a haircut (this was a huge treat for both of us b/c we usually cut each other's hair - haha). He also got a shave, which was really relaxing and the closest shave he's ever had. The mani/pedi was wonderful - I got it on the first day and my nail finally started shipping just as we were getting off the boat (a sign to stay aboard?).

 

So anyhow - I recommend the spa services.

 

Costa Maya - We took a shuttle to "downtown" for $3/pp. It's not far, but you can't walk the whole way. At the beach we were pretty much accosted by about 40 vendors wanting us to sit at their beach. Apparently, each strip of beach is managed by a different team of guys, who will bring you food, drinks, etc. in conjunction with a bar or restaurant. Some require you to pay for beach chairs, some don't. All offer plastic tables and chairs to sit at (most with umbrellas).

We plopped ourselves right where the shuttle let us off, had a few drinks and the BEST ceviche!! Costa Maya is VERY windy, so it was almost too cold to get in the water, but we enjoyed a long day at the beach.

We took a taxi back to port for $2/pp.

 

Roatan -

There is now a Taxi Union that sets all the rates for Roatan. We went to West Bay Beach which was $80 cab fare for 4 people, 20 min drive. There are lots of "private" segments of this beach that will charge you about $30/pp to access their beach/beach chairs. We paid this not realizing that there is a public beach portion on the western side. So, ask for West Bay - the PUBLIC beach. We ended up walking down to the public beach anyway, rented snorkels and fins for $15 and snorkeled one of the best corral reefs - right off the beach! The water gets to be about 25-30 feet deep, but the reef itself gets pretty shallow. There was SO much to see and beats paying for a snorkeling excursion.

I should add that if you are at the public beach, it's a little trickier to get food and drink since most of the "private" beaches only sell to their clients. However, you can always grab one of the vendors/hawkers and they will be happy to get it for you, but you can't go up to the bar yourself unless you have the wristband for that particular bar/beach.

 

Belize -

We were skeptical about Belize since we'd heard alot about safety concerns. We didn't feel unsafe at all. I didn't find Belize to be any different from the other ports in terms of safety. We went on the Mayan Ruin excursion. You only get about 1 hour at the site because of the long bus ride. I wish I'd done some more research, because our guide wasn't that informative, but it was an amazing site.

 

Cozumel -

We went to Chankanaab National Park, which has raised it's prices significantly since my parents were last there. It's $30/pp. It is a protected beach that has turned into quite an industry. There is a dolphin show, snorkeling equipment, beach chairs, umbrellas, all included in your entrance fee. We walked down to the far left where we found a row of hammocks - perfect! The beaches in Cozumel are very rocky, but we did hear someone else say that there was actually a public beach nearby that had sand.

 

Overall the cruise was wonderful. The staff was amazing, as always. The bands were all terrific - danced every night. Second City had a troupe on our cruise who were WONDERFUL, probably the highlight of the entertainment. The theater shows were disappointing, and I hope Norwegian will aim a little higher (sing on key, fix mic feedback, not show 8 minute videos of what a great career you've had). With that said, it was a wonderful time and I'm depressed to be home!!

 

Hope anyone going in the future has a terrific time!!

 

I'll be happy to answer any questions you might have.

[susanrfc]

So Glad that you had a wonderful time on your vacation. We will be on the Spirit during our Spring Break March 13. We love the ship we also took the same vacation last year during Spring Break. Thank you for the information on the taxi prices in Roatan I was debating on just catching a cab or doing a tour we have five in our group. Myself , husband, and three teenage children.

[terrymtex01]

Thank you for posting your review. We will be on the Spirit for the first time this coming Nov and we can't wait. The only thing I have to say is for some reason it surprised me how expensive the taxi was in Roatan. Was that round trip?

 

Thanks again for sharing your vacation with us.

[christiecruise]

Thanks so much for posting your helpful review. We are doing the same itinerary in July, I can't wait!

[Journey11]

Thanks for a great review with good information. Good tip about the free use of the spa!

[luddite]

In Roatan, we hired a van at 25$/head for the day. We met him outside the Mahogany Bay nonsense.

You could search 'Cinthia' and likely find the right hookup. We've toured with her before. To her credit, she admitted that she didn't recognize us. :)

[saileyellie]

The Roatan taxi WAS roundtrip. He took us to the West Bay, waited and drove us back.

 

While at the end of the day we decided it was totally worth the price to get to that amazing corral reef, it was an unexpected expense.

 

There is also a bus you can take for cheaper, but of course be prepared to make LOTS of stops.

 

 

Also - I should add that we aren't big "cruise excursion" people, mostly because of the large numbers of people all plopped in the same spot and b/c most of your time ends up being on a bus. As a result, we only did 1 NCL excursion ourselves. I did all of our research online and it didn't occur to me until we got to the Caribbean that I would have done far better to use travel guidebooks. These places aren't likely to have websites, being pretty out of the technological loop. So, I'll be using books next time.

[Susie51]

Thank you for your review. The beach info was especially helpful.

 

Did you attend the White Hot Party? Was it held on deck or inside? We were on Spirit in Oct. and the party was inside which made the blacklight white clothes amazing and fun to watch as people danced. If the WHP is on deck, do they still use the black light?

[vjblk]

Thanks for the review. My sister and I are going to be on the Spirit in April.

 

I have a question about the tender ride in Belize. How was that? I've read that it's a long ride and maybe a bumpy ride. How was it for you?

[tkportersat]

Thanks for the review :) I go on the Spirit March 13th and I am getting very excited!! Glad ya'll had a nice trip.

[Friend100]

Thanks for the review. We'll be going to the same 4 ports on the Star next year. We've never been to any of them. Your information is helpful. Thanks.

 

If you go to Belize again, what other activity/excursion will you consider?

[melkteach]

Thanks for your review! We will be crusing on the Spirit May 29th, getting excited already! Appreciated your spa tip, I hadn't read about that and it is VERY good to know!

[terrymtex01]

Thanks for coming back with the taxi info. That isn't a bad price for the whole day and/or for round trip.

[klingoncruiser]

Thanks for the review. We will be back on board in two weeks for spring break. :D

[josieallen]

Thanks so much for taking the time to give the great review. My husband and I are going on the Spirit in July. Can't wait. Great info on the ports. I needed some help in that department:confused:

[Lena B]

Great review, Ellie! I'm glad that you had such a good time.