Lengthy 3/6 Spirit Review (Not Positive)

[BigMattT]

I've submitted this as a member review as well--but since there has already been quite a bit of conversation in a thread here about this particular Spirit sailing (3/6 - missed Costa Maya, late Cozumel arrival, medical evac, slow/very late disembarkation), I would post it here. Having followed Cruise Critic for years and being an avid reader of reviews, I have attempted to limit my criticism and praise for elements I believe are within NCL's total control only.

 

We're age 30 and 32, we've cruised during spring break for the past 3 years since it is the only time our schedules allow. We love a party-filled environment as much as we like a good book and a spa treatment.

 

I've read all of recent reviews of the Spirit and NCL--and its like we were on completely different ship and line on the 3/6 sailing.

 

We took this NCL Spirit cruise as part of the Mardi Gras BearCruiseUSA 2011 voyage.

 

I will start with the positives for each topic:

 

1) The Bear Cruise USA portion was fantastic. The organizers and fellow travelers were a pleasure. The ports and impromptu gatherings provided for many many lasting memories to be made. Getting ON the ship was a breeze.

 

2) The "front line" staff of NCL seem to be the most friendly, hardest working, and eager to please staff on the seas.

 

3) The NCL Spirit is a beautiful ship. The size of it was just about perfect for a group of our size--you could get away when you wanted, and easily find each other when you wanted as well.

 

4) Cagney's was the perfect "last evening of the cruise" restaurant--great service, amazing steaks, and the Oysters Rockefeller is not to be missed. We left smiling.

 

5) Liquor prices were reasonable. We greatly enjoyed 2-for-1 martinis in Champagne Charlie's nightly. The professional entertainers there were extremely talented as well.

 

 

Now for the negatives. As a rule, my husband and I have a good sense of humor about all of this. That said, I've worked most of my professional life in service industry jobs; all of these complaints are absolutely inexcusable. Not only does NCL know about the issues, but their senior management on the ship were downright apathetic and defensive about complaints raised.

 

1) If it were not for the memories our group made in the preceding 6 days, disembarkation would have ruined the cruise. An emergency medical evacuation delayed our arrival back into New Orleans significantly. NCL handled the resulting delay abysmally. NCL did not openly communicate what resources were available to find alternate travel plans nor did they provide accurate estimates when we would disembark.

 

At disembarkation, we watched as guests pushed and shoved for 2 hours following the call for guests to (voluntarily) "carry your own luggage off the ship". We experienced similar serious delays on Princess last year disembarking in Puerto Rico, but the entire time Princess apologized profusely. At the end, we were thanking the Princess staff for their professionalism and hoping to return soon. NCL did not once use the words "I'm sorry" or "we apologize" in their announcements. Continually, we heard "We understand there have been delays and we thank you for your patience." That irks me most of all. A sincere apology is free.

 

Note: there were several public areas where passengers were instructed to wait for disembarkation. The restroom facilities near these areas were in deplorable condition. No toilet paper or paper towels, evidence of previous guests, puddles on the floors, etc.

 

2) Although the front line staff is friendly and eager--they are either woefully understaffed or provided inadequate resources to complete their jobs.

 

A perfect example: when we returned from shore in Roatan around 3:30pm, we wanted food. The buffet was offering only finger sandwiches(??), so we went to the Blue Lagoon. It appeared many others had this idea too. It was a madhouse. A server, Gemma, was incredible--she was balancing her duties at the adjacent bar with assisting servers deliver food in the Blue Lagoon. Still, even the best intentions and enthusiasm couldn't make up for only one restaurant being open, and running out of menu items. Each time we returned from port, it was as if NCL was downright surprised that people might be hungry after a long day of activities. The servers were helpless, and managers we talked to were unapologetic.

 

 

3) Such a beautiful ship should not have mildew/mold in the cabin showers and toilets that don't flush until 10 minutes after you press the button. We should have brought this to our cabin steward's attention. However, wasn't he the one cleaning the shower and the toilets? I'm sure he also noticed the stains on the fresh sheets he was putting on our bed. We didn't see him in the hallway to tell him, and we weren't going to go out of our way to complain about little issues that were merely another sign of what we knew: staff can only be enthusiastic and friendly for so long before frustration makes them stop trying.

 

We understand the ship is the oldest in NCL's fleet. It is not showing the signs of age, it is showing the signs of neglect.

 

4) We strongly suggest you order 2 or even 3 entrees at the Windows dining room if you choose to dine there for dinner. At least 1 of them might be edible. Entire plates of food were terrible: often cold or just badly-prepared. We had gnocchi that were hard as ping pong balls. Pasta was always overcooked; sauces were bland. A tortilla soup had ONE strip of tortilla in the whole bowl, the rest was broth. I'm not making this up! Seafood tasted fishy (old). A table-mate described a vegetarian dish one night as "curry abuse". Breakfast was the only meal we would recommend eating in Windows, and even then it appeared just to be plated food from the buffet.

 

We tried Shogun (for a charge), which we had loved on the NCL Gem last year, but it was a disappointment on the Spirit. Our group reservation for 12 was treated as an imposition. Although some food was tasty (spring rolls, shrimp, bbq spare-ribs), most was cold or flavorless (street noodles, mongolian braised beef). It was not worth the up-charge. The "floor show" was entertaining like a train-wreck. More on that in #5 below.

 

5) While liquor prices were reasonable, there was a huge problem with college-aged adults on spring break being over-served.

 

NCL reportedly sold unlimited alcohol packages for $250 to several groups of college students. NCL then proceeded to continuously over-serve those guests to the detriment of other's enjoyment of their vacations. At Shogun, we watched as a college student slammed his fists against his table and yelled loudly. The young man then proceeded to drink until he was unable to keep his eyes open. Around the time he placed a linen napkin over his face and swayed back and forth in his chair, he was served a glass of white wine. Later, the individual was served a glass of sake before being unable to find the door to exit the restaurant. He was allowed to wander unescorted through the cruise-ship yelling at other passengers.

 

In what way is NCL being a responsible vendor of alcohol? More than once, these college-aged students were seen sleeping in the hallways because they couldn't find their rooms.

 

The ship ran out of Pina Colada mix on the second day of the cruise. They went on to run out of rail rum, rail vodka, Bud Light, Fosters, and Dos Equis to name a few. The NCL front-line staff profusely apologized; the managers shrugged and offered a more expensive beverage.

 

Any time we brought up a concern about a clearly intoxicated guest being served additional alcohol, the front-line staff said they already knew about the problem and suggested we speak with a manager. When we spoke with a manager, they were quick with an excuse and continued serving the drunk guests. Eventually we stopped complaining to staff, and started sharing our poor experience with fellow guests--our experience was shared by many of them as well.

 

Near the last day of the cruise, the ships executive staff were made available in an open meeting with guests. The management team's response to the overwhelming chorus of dissatisfied passengers was, "Well, it IS spring break."

 

Well, it IS our money, and we will always choose your competitor in the future. NCL… you're now free to "Whatever."

[Babysonata]

I am so glad I wasn't the only one. It is a shame that an otherwise decent trip had to end so badly. I think I would have overlooked many things had Sunday's dembarkation gone smoothly.

I have alot of the same complaints as well and some of my own:

- I agree that embarkation was great. I also felt like the ship was a perfect size. We found friends when we wanted to, and got lost when we wanted to. We were lucky in that we stuck to the kiddy pool on the back deck, therefore I've heard we avoided the worst of the spring break drunken fest...except in the casino at night.

- We were also really aggravated that they ran out of every drink we tried to order on the 2nd day at sea. I tried to understand since we were supposed to be in Costa Maya and maybe they restock there, but really....

- I truely don't know where to start with the dembarkation. We were in the frist color group that was called. We went down and waited in the push for 2 hours as well. Then there was one person scanning the cards to get people off the boat. Standing behind him were three men with chef hats; I keep thinking that they should have been bringing us some of those little sandwiches you mentioned from the buffet instead of standing there waving goodbye to people. When we finally got off the boat at 8pm, 1 hour and 50 minutes after we got in line, my kids (2 and 5) had not eaten since noon. They were perfectly miserable. I can't explain how hard it is to stand in a line like that with everyone looking at your 2 year old and making rude faces at you because your kids are misbehaving. Believe me, I would have preferred to not be there with them.

- My husband and I (33 and 34) love to cruise. This was our first experience with NCL, and quite possibly our last... We were on a Celebrity ship that had to miss a port a few years ago. They opened the bar that evening for a few hours and profusely apologized to the passengers. NCL really didn't do anything for us at that time(other than to run out of alcohol). So, did anyone else feel it was inappropriate to offer an open bar on the last day of the cruise? Yeah! Please give me a few free drinks so that I can get off the ship and drive home. How smart! What can we expect from a cruise line that offers unlimited drinks to a group of college students. Honestly, I am suprised our emergency wasn't one of them falling overboard, hurting themselves, or getting alcohol poisoning.

-Back to our last day, I was really upset that we were kicked out of our rooms at 3, only to have every shop closed well before that and all food shut down at 4. What were people supposed to do for 4+ hours when everything was shut down???

-Free Style Dining: our group of 12 was constantly regarded as a pain. We would walk into Windows (which at 6pm was typically 3/4 empty) only to be asked to split to two tables because they didn't feel like opening up sections to let us sit together. I'd rather have assigned seating if it means we don't have to fight to sit together everytime we walk into a restaurant.

*Shogun: I thought every roll we ordered pretty much tasted the same. The fish really was mediocre.

*Cagneys: My lobster was dry and barely edible. But the crab cakes were delicious.

*Le Bistro: loved everything I had!

 

We never tried to talk to management, and now that I hear your attempts and the lack of response, I am glad I didn't waste my time.

We do intend to write a letter to NCL (maybe to the CEO that we watched on "undercover boss" 15 different times from our cabin). I hope everyone else does the same. I know one voice doesn't necessarily make a difference, but everyone together may...

[RedFlavoredJellybeans]

Did you guys receive any credit for your inconveniences? Like 10% off your next cruise or something like that.

[luvcruzing]

Thank you for taking the time to write a very well-written review. I've read all the previous comments about this cruise and knew that once passengers arrived home, the comments would be pouring in. I am really amazed that no spring breaker fell overboard. I'm sure that NCL follows this website. Hopefully, they'll take notice of all the negative comments and implement corrections on future cruises. There's really no excuse for the chaos on debarkation day.

[rvsullivan]

No mention of on board credit or discount on another cruise??? Not offered???:rolleyes:

[mjkacmom]

We had a very similar disembarkment in NYC last November. It took us 2 hours to get off the ship and through customs, with 1/2 hour spent lined up on an outside deck, freezing. The worst part was the absolute lack of communication from the staff. We had a great cruise, but those last 2 hours left a lasting impression.

[halos]

I am so sorry that your cruise was not a good one :(

I hope you write to NCL. Believe me when I tell you that they DO read all letters (I sned snail-mail...email is lame imo) and they do listen and respond. What you experienced is SO unlike any NCL cruise I have ever taken and if I had experienced what you did, I'd be appalled as well. So, I urge you to write to NCL exactly they way you wrote your review here (very coherent and not overly emotional)...they will respond.

[jenpan]

I was on the same cruise and the info presented is very accurate. The spring breakers were a bit much and how can a ship run out of certain drinks on the second day. I too tried to get a pina colada and was told "all gone" no more mix on Tuesday. My daughter liked the strawberry smoothies and they ran out of that mix on Wed. as well as chocolate milk in the buffet on Tues. morning. Seems food service needs to kick it up a notch and get their ordering act together. We are very low maintenance when we travel so we didn't ask for much but I will never cruise again in March or April if I have to endure the spring break crowd. There should have been a point where the alcohol quit flowing. We witnessed a similar event in Teppenyaki on our last night. We had an 8:00pm ressie, were on time, the rest of the crowd had to be called in their cabins to see if they were coming. We're coming, some of party is seasick. Showed up at 8:30 not seasick, drunk kids. Then they wanted wine and couldn't fine the drink cards, 2 had to leave the table to go get drink cards, meantime waiter served the wine. We lost 30 minutes of out dining time becasue of their irresponsibility. Then after the chef cooked all of the food the 2 girls barely ate anything, probably because they felt like s**t but they kept being served wine and they kept drinking it. Any way, probably no more NCL for us.

[slotaddict]

You know I will not address any other issue but the spring breakers...

 

I don;t care what cruiseline you book, they are on them all...maybe HAL is the exception, I really don;t know..

 

People come back every year complaining about them...I wonder why you book cruises at that time of year...I certainly would not..

[RaMar]

Wow! Sorry to hear about this. I hope NCL reads your reviews as they often do and correct these issues on future cruises.

[Hemib]

My wife and I are sailing on the Spirit on April 10.This will be

our first cruise and we didn't even think about Spring Break.

We are both usually very tolerent of others...BUT...we have both

been really looking forward to our cruise.Do you think there will

still be alot of Spring Breakers sailing April 10th??I know many

young adults ARE very responsible...BUT.. I will not be a happy

cruiser if our vacation is ruined by a bunch of drunk,rude and

obnoxious CHILDREN !!!!

[Cubechick]

I have to agree with Slotaddict. Reviews of this nature are all too common (on all lines) when it comes to Spring Break cruises. I'm not saying that NCL shouldn't have done better, but buyer beware when sailing during this time of year...

[RaMar]

My wife and I are sailing on the Spirit on April 10.This will be

our first cruise and we didn't even think about Spring Break.

We are both usually very tolerent of others...BUT...we have both

been really looking forward to our cruise.Do you think there will

still be alot of Spring Breakers sailing April 10th??I know many

young adults ARE very responsible...BUT.. I will not be a happy

cruiser if our vacation is ruined by a bunch of drunk,rude and

obnoxious CHILDREN !!!!

 

You'll probably be fine. Spring Break for most colleges here in the east coast is this week. Spring Recess for regular schools begins Apr.16. I think you should be ok. Enjoy the Spirit, it is a nice ship!

[webzila]

Most kids are back in school in April.

2 years ago we went on a cruise in April out of Galveston. It was the Easter weekend. There were not a lot of kids on spring break from US but apparently April is when Mexico has their springbreak so there were a lot of guests and kids from there but it was not bad at all...they behaved well.

 

My wife and I are sailing on the Spirit on April 10.This will be

our first cruise and we didn't even think about Spring Break.

We are both usually very tolerent of others...BUT...we have both

been really looking forward to our cruise.Do you think there will

still be alot of Spring Breakers sailing April 10th??I know many

young adults ARE very responsible...BUT.. I will not be a happy

cruiser if our vacation is ruined by a bunch of drunk,rude and

obnoxious CHILDREN !!!!

[stanmoto98]

3) Such a beautiful ship should not have mildew/mold in the cabin showers and toilets that don't flush until 10 minutes after you press the button. We should have brought this to our cabin steward's attention. However, wasn't he the one cleaning the shower and the toilets? I'm sure he also noticed the stains on the fresh sheets he was putting on our bed. We didn't see him in the hallway to tell him, and we weren't going to go out of our way to complain about little issues that were merely another sign of what we knew: staff can only be enthusiastic and friendly for so long before frustration makes them stop trying.

You made no effort to bring these matters to the attention of your steward or anyone else, giving them no opportunity to correct the issues. Yet you come on here and complain about it!?!?

 

You as a service industry worker for as long as you've stated should be the first to recognize the fact that workloads often create situations where issues are missed or overlooked. Wouldn't you as a service industry worker like to have the opportunity to correct a situation rather than have someone bad-mouth you?

 

Now, had you brought these issue up to your steward or other staff and the problem still persisted... well then, I wouldn't be typing these comments.

[probuilder2007]

I was on the Spirit dec 2010 and we had a late arrival due to a med emergency diverting us closer to Miami so a helio could reach us.

 

The disembarkation could have gone a little better but one of the biggest problems was the passengers rude and insensitive attitudes.

I am not sure about announcements for travel info as I was driving but if I was flying I certainly would have gone to the internet cafe and rebooked a flight instead of mashing and pushing against a crowd to race to a flight you are going to miss. Fall back on the travel insurance.

 

I have been on board the Spirit twice, loved her both times, booked again for Jan 2012.

 

I have sailed Carnival, Royal Carib and NCL. I am much happier on NCL and the food onboard the Spirit was very good in the dining room.

I have only tried Cagneys but that was excellent, and I don’t like to pay extra.

 

As far as the drunken masses, you must be aware of spring break. Don't do it unless you are into it.

 

Another couple of notes to remember: Don’t go on a gay friendly promotion if you are a closeted gay republican, like to quote "God's Law", or are squeamish around gay couples.

 

Don't go on a cougar cruise if you are not into older aggressive gals eyeing you like a steak dinner.

 

Don’t even think about cruising if you get motion sick on you couch watching TV.

 

Don't ever believe everything is going to be perfect, and yes there is smoke in the casino.

 

I’m sorry your cruise was spoiled by drunkards but did the negatives completely obliterate the seven days cruise?:cool:

[luddite]

Toilets that have a delayed flush aren't uncommon. The problem isn't with that particular toilet, but rather the system being loaded down. Really a non-issue.

 

A bit of mildew stain on some grout isn't uncommon. It ain't mold, it's a mildew stain. We noticed it to a MINOR degree. It's a non-issue for us, mostly because we know it isn't mold and bleaching it out won't really make the mildew stain go away for long.

 

All of your other problems are directly related to two things:

First-----

It was a spring-break cruise FULL of liquored-up fools with a booze card. That'd be why they ran out of well-hootch and various other drinks. Food and guest services were overwhelmed by that same crowd. Go to other boards and see the same results from other spring break cruises.

It's a safe bet that college kids will tell you that it was a great trip.

Never cruise during spring break is the only way to avoid this.

 

Second---

Late arrival after the emergency. Short of a fire on board, this is the crew's worst nightmare. The staff on shore weren't interested in hearing that the workday was gonna start at 5:00. Neither was Customs. Nor the truck drivers delivering ship's stores for the next cruise. Nor the cabin stewards who knew their next 36 hours were REALLY GONNA SUCK big time.

It's difficult for me to expect NCL to have been better prepared for a nine hour arrival delay. It doesn't happen enough to warrant having any sort of contingency plan in place.

 

This cruise was the exception, not the rule.

[halos]

Another couple of notes to remember: Don’t go on a gay friendly promotion if you are a closeted gay republican, like to quote "God's Law", or are squeamish around gay couples.

 

Don't go on a cougar cruise if you are not into older aggressive gals eyeing you like a steak dinner.

 

Don’t even think about cruising if you get motion sick on you couch watching TV.

 

Don't ever believe everything is going to be perfect, and yes there is smoke in the casino.

 

I’m sorry your cruise was spoiled by drunkards but did the negatives completely obliterate the seven days cruise?:cool:

 

The mods should make that a Sticky :) The cougar comment was hysterical. :D

[webzila]

Toilets that have a delayed flush aren't uncommon. The problem isn't with that particular toilet, but rather the system being loaded down. Really a non-issue.

 

Just wanted to say we experienced the same on Carnival Conquest on our last cruise.

 

So I also vote to take this off the issues list :D

[K&M2009]

People come back every year complaining about them...I wonder why you book cruises at that time of year...I certainly would not..

 

We're age 30 and 32, we've cruised during spring break for the past 3 years since it is the only time our schedules allow.

Reading comprehension.

[FuninWB]

Spring break antics are not limited to NCL. MY BIL's family came back from a Royal Cariibbean cruise this past weekend and said they ran into too many drunken college-age kids. They have vowed to cruise only in May, October and November from now on when this kind of thing will be at a minimum. Apparently this is a common issue on cruise lines.

[luvcruzing]

Second---

It's difficult for me to expect NCL to have been better prepared for a nine hour arrival delay. It doesn't happen enough to warrant having any sort of contingency plan in place.

 

This cruise was the exception, not the rule.

 

I disagree. A company as large as NCL that is responsible for thousands of passengers should always have a contingency plan. From the posts I've read, it happened in December and it happened last year in Boston, so it does happen more often than you believe.

[iowa52402]

We've cruised spring break 3 of the past 4 years because that is when our own (under 18) children have off. We've always encountered hoards of children but NEVER have run into college spring breakers - I guess we were lucky. We cruised out of FL and San Juan in the past years - maybe NOLA is worse because its such an accessible drive-to port..... Going on the Spirit next week (March 20 departure) and hoping for the best.....

[OneLuckyMom]

The disembarkation could have gone a little better but one of the biggest problems was the passengers rude and insensitive attitudes.

I am not sure about announcements for travel info as I was driving but if I was flying I certainly would have gone to the internet cafe and rebooked a flight instead of mashing and pushing against a crowd to race to a flight you are going to miss. Fall back on the travel insurance.

 

Beware of trusting travel insurance to cover you on this one. I read through my policy with this exact situation in mind, and the most it would cover me for a common carrier travel delay (which is what this is) is $250pp a day. People have reported having to pay $600+ pp for a last minute rebooking on a new flight because of missing their original flight due to this delay. :cool:

 

Travel delay coverage is generally geared towards people missing a connecting airline flight because of weather, etc. where the airline will eat the cost of rebooking you onto another flight so the coverage is meant to pay for a hotel room overnight, etc.

 

And if you are thinking that that $250 would more than cover your airline ticket change fee, remember that the airline is generally going to charge you your change fee PLUS any difference between the last minute ticket fare and the fare you paid for your original ticket in this situation. If you play your cards right sometimes you can find an agent that will take pity on you and not charge the increased fare, but I wouldn't count on it.

[slotaddict]

[/font][/color]

Reading comprehension.

 

 

Ok so I missed it..big deal the reason I chose not to comment on anything else was because of snarky comments that people on this forum seem hell bent on making...

 

I missed it my reading comprehension is just fine...

 

Then I will amend my answer to read, perhaps if this is the only time you can vacation, that perhaps you should try a land vacation, as this is not the optimum time to be on a cruise ship.