Spirit Review - 3/13/05 (Part 4)

[Delizk]

Since my husband is here with me now I thought we could try and finish up our review of the 5-night cruise.

 

We are on to Wednesday, our day in Grand Cayman. Let's just say that due to some difficulties in leaving Cozumel the night before (as some of you have read already, some people were late returning to the ship...really late), we arrived about 2 hours late in Grand Cayman. Everyone who had shore excursions scheduled were told to meet in the Moulin Rouge at the preassigned time for information about what was going on. When we got there, we were told by the shore excursion staff that they were still waiting to hear back from most of the tour companies to find out if and when the excursions could be rescheduled for. We were told to meet back there about an hour later for updates. At that time, we were told that most of the tours had been rescheduled and that once the ship received clearance, we would begin the tendering process. Soon after that, the announcements started coming in that some of the excursions, or parts of excursions were being cancelled.

 

We eventually were called for our excursion, and headed off to the tender. We were told to look for a sign on shore that announced our particular tour. Once on shore, it appeared as if all hell had broken loose. I think 2 other ships were tendering at the same time as us, and all of them were trying to get organized in about 50 square feet (or so it felt in the heat). We looked around everywhere trying to find our tour, but didn't have any luck. We soon spotted a shore excursion staff member and went to ask him where we were supposed to be. We asked our question, and he walked away without answering us. A few minutes later we found another staff member on shore and asked him what was up. We were told that our tour would be leaving in one hour from the very spot we were currently standing at. We set our watches (by this time, it was 2 pm) and headed out to shop for a while.

 

On that note, the shopping, in my opinion, was horrible. The salespeople were rude, or pushy. There was obvious damage everywhere from the hurricane (which is to be expected). We went to the Harley store and got the requisite t-shirt for my husband. We then went in search of jewelry for me (still didn't find anything). Then walked around a bit exploring some of the areas further off from the pier.

 

We checked our watch and headed back to the pier to make sure we made our tour on time. We arrived back around 2:45 (15 minutes before we were scheduled to depart), and walked around for about 1/2 an hour looking for the tour guide, or anyone who could help us. There was no one from NCL anywhere. After waiting the 1/2 hour, we decided the tour had obviously left already (some people we had met earlier on the tender who were on the same tour were not to be found either) and we went to catch a tender back to the ship. As we were pulling away from the dock, down the street came two NCL shore excursion staffers (noticable because of their ocean-blue shirts they were wearing), laughing and looking like they were having a great time.

 

We went back to the ship and hung out for a while. We did stop by the desk to find out who we would talk to about getting a refund for the botched shore excursion and were told who to talk to and when.

 

That evening, we hit the trivia in the pub, again (we really got hooked on the trivia, but it was really fun and a good way to meet people), hit the shore excursion desk (where the staff was more concerned with who had told us what time to meet on the pier instead of apologizing to us about being inconvenienced), then headed to the Galaxy for the "Not so newlywed game". This was a hilarious time (and, I think, the only time during the entire cruise that we saw Ricky the CD). It was just too bad there weren't any "old married couples" on the cruise that wanted to participate.

 

In the back of my mind, all I could think about is how I was going to stay awake until the Chocoholic buffet at 11 pm! But I did! I just wish I could say that it was worth the wait. While there were quite a few items to choose from (I think there were more choices on the sugar-free bar than the regular one), I didn't really enjoy it. Most of what I tried was bland and tasted stale. But, you have to keep in mind that this stuff is made up in advance and that they are trying to feed so many people in a small space in 1 hours time.

 

We headed back to our room for a good night's sleep.

 

Thursday - final day at sea, final day of the cruise (Friday doesn't count since all we do is get up and get off the ship).

 

We ended up making reservations for dinner at Le Bistro since I finally figured out what some of the stuff on the menu was (I don't eat seafood, and the only other thing I recognized was foie gras, which scares me) and I didn't want to miss the chocolate fondue after the buffet disappointment.

 

We spent most of the day hanging out in the Galaxy, checking out more trivia, avoiding the St. Patrick's Day drunks, and trying to make sure we had seen everything we had wanted to see on the ship (and trying not to obsess about the fact that this was our last full day on the ship).

 

Dinner at LeBistro - one word - FABULOUS! This was, hands down, my favorite meal on the entire cruise (the Blue Lagoon fried rice was downgraded to a snack so that there was no comparison!). The service was great. When I said I would simply share something my husband was ordering, they insisted that I get my own. I loved the atmosphere too. It was cozy and quiet even given that the restaurant was booked. And the chocolate fondue...well worth it! The fruit was refreshing, and the chocolate made me super happy!

 

Back to Henry's for our evening ritual - music with Dave Morgan. As it was our last night and we knew it would be an early morning (and the bar was closing early that night), we headed up to our room to get some rest.

 

Debarkation went rather well...while we were standing in line to go through customs, one of the NCL reps pulled us out and let us go through the non-US citizen line (much, much shorter...). We grabbed a cab, and headed back to the airport.

 

To summarize...service, with the exception of the shore excursion staff, was great. Absolutely no complaints. The CD staff (especially Naomi) was fantastic. They had some great stuff planned, and did a great job of filling in with stuff to do when we were late getting into Grand Cayman. Our room stewards were the best!!! After they found out how much I liked the towel animal they left for us (it looked like my dog that was left back home), they tried to one-up themselves each night. The service in each and every restaurant we ate in was above expectations. The only complaint was that I found if I ordered plain water (not Evian or Pellegrino), it was quite difficult to get anyone to give me a refill. The bar staff - also great. I do have a problem with their drink menu, which I am planning on notifying NCL about....we have now been on 2 NCL cruises, 2 1/2 years apart, yet both times they have not had mango anywhere on the ship with which to make the mango smoothies that are on their drink menu and which was the drink of the day one day. I don't understand how they can not have the ingredients necessary to make a drink that is on their menu. But I will get over it. In the big picture, if that is one of the few things I have to complain about, it had to have been a successful trip! Right?

 

Well, my husband, despite sitting right next to me this entire time, has not contributed a single thing other than wanting me to write things that I don't think anyone on here wants or needs to know about. If you really want to know, post a message on here and I am sure he will be glad to respond!

[Vol Fan Mom]

One question. Did you ever get a refund for your missed shore excursion?

[Delizk]

Yes, we got a refund...no questions asked. I think with all the trouble there was that day they weren't going to question anyone wanting a refund.

[MichaelW1]

I was on he March 13th cusie and I would say you are right. But we thought the beds made the cruise below average. We did not get one good night sleep.:mad: :mad: :mad:

[greenie]

Since my husband is here with me now I thought we could try and finish up our review of the 5-night cruise.

 

We are on to Wednesday, our day in Grand Cayman. Let's just say that due to some difficulties in leaving Cozumel the night before (as some of you have read already, some people were late returning to the ship...really late), we arrived about 2 hours late in Grand Cayman. Everyone who had shore excursions scheduled were told to meet in the Moulin Rouge at the preassigned time for information about what was going on. When we got there, we were told by the shore excursion staff that they were still waiting to hear back from most of the tour companies to find out if and when the excursions could be rescheduled for. We were told to meet back there about an hour later for updates. At that time, we were told that most of the tours had been rescheduled and that once the ship received clearance, we would begin the tendering process. Soon after that, the announcements started coming in that some of the excursions, or parts of excursions were being cancelled.

 

We eventually were called for our excursion, and headed off to the tender. We were told to look for a sign on shore that announced our particular tour. Once on shore, it appeared as if all hell had broken loose. I think 2 other ships were tendering at the same time as us, and all of them were trying to get organized in about 50 square feet (or so it felt in the heat). We looked around everywhere trying to find our tour, but didn't have any luck. We soon spotted a shore excursion staff member and went to ask him where we were supposed to be. We asked our question, and he walked away without answering us. A few minutes later we found another staff member on shore and asked him what was up. We were told that our tour would be leaving in one hour from the very spot we were currently standing at. We set our watches (by this time, it was 2 pm) and headed out to shop for a while.

 

On that note, the shopping, in my opinion, was horrible. The salespeople were rude, or pushy. There was obvious damage everywhere from the hurricane (which is to be expected). We went to the Harley store and got the requisite t-shirt for my husband. We then went in search of jewelry for me (still didn't find anything). Then walked around a bit exploring some of the areas further off from the pier.

 

We checked our watch and headed back to the pier to make sure we made our tour on time. We arrived back around 2:45 (15 minutes before we were scheduled to depart), and walked around for about 1/2 an hour looking for the tour guide, or anyone who could help us. There was no one from NCL anywhere. After waiting the 1/2 hour, we decided the tour had obviously left already (some people we had met earlier on the tender who were on the same tour were not to be found either) and we went to catch a tender back to the ship. As we were pulling away from the dock, down the street came two NCL shore excursion staffers (noticable because of their ocean-blue shirts they were wearing), laughing and looking like they were having a great time.

 

We went back to the ship and hung out for a while. We did stop by the desk to find out who we would talk to about getting a refund for the botched shore excursion and were told who to talk to and when.

 

That evening, we hit the trivia in the pub, again (we really got hooked on the trivia, but it was really fun and a good way to meet people), hit the shore excursion desk (where the staff was more concerned with who had told us what time to meet on the pier instead of apologizing to us about being inconvenienced), then headed to the Galaxy for the "Not so newlywed game". This was a hilarious time (and, I think, the only time during the entire cruise that we saw Ricky the CD). It was just too bad there weren't any "old married couples" on the cruise that wanted to participate.

 

In the back of my mind, all I could think about is how I was going to stay awake until the Chocoholic buffet at 11 pm! But I did! I just wish I could say that it was worth the wait. While there were quite a few items to choose from (I think there were more choices on the sugar-free bar than the regular one), I didn't really enjoy it. Most of what I tried was bland and tasted stale. But, you have to keep in mind that this stuff is made up in advance and that they are trying to feed so many people in a small space in 1 hours time.

 

We headed back to our room for a good night's sleep.

 

Thursday - final day at sea, final day of the cruise (Friday doesn't count since all we do is get up and get off the ship).

 

We ended up making reservations for dinner at Le Bistro since I finally figured out what some of the stuff on the menu was (I don't eat seafood, and the only other thing I recognized was foie gras, which scares me) and I didn't want to miss the chocolate fondue after the buffet disappointment.

 

We spent most of the day hanging out in the Galaxy, checking out more trivia, avoiding the St. Patrick's Day drunks, and trying to make sure we had seen everything we had wanted to see on the ship (and trying not to obsess about the fact that this was our last full day on the ship).

 

Dinner at LeBistro - one word - FABULOUS! This was, hands down, my favorite meal on the entire cruise (the Blue Lagoon fried rice was downgraded to a snack so that there was no comparison!). The service was great. When I said I would simply share something my husband was ordering, they insisted that I get my own. I loved the atmosphere too. It was cozy and quiet even given that the restaurant was booked. And the chocolate fondue...well worth it! The fruit was refreshing, and the chocolate made me super happy!

 

Back to Henry's for our evening ritual - music with Dave Morgan. As it was our last night and we knew it would be an early morning (and the bar was closing early that night), we headed up to our room to get some rest.

 

Debarkation went rather well...while we were standing in line to go through customs, one of the NCL reps pulled us out and let us go through the non-US citizen line (much, much shorter...). We grabbed a cab, and headed back to the airport.

 

To summarize...service, with the exception of the shore excursion staff, was great. Absolutely no complaints. The CD staff (especially Naomi) was fantastic. They had some great stuff planned, and did a great job of filling in with stuff to do when we were late getting into Grand Cayman. Our room stewards were the best!!! After they found out how much I liked the towel animal they left for us (it looked like my dog that was left back home), they tried to one-up themselves each night. The service in each and every restaurant we ate in was above expectations. The only complaint was that I found if I ordered plain water (not Evian or Pellegrino), it was quite difficult to get anyone to give me a refill. The bar staff - also great. I do have a problem with their drink menu, which I am planning on notifying NCL about....we have now been on 2 NCL cruises, 2 1/2 years apart, yet both times they have not had mango anywhere on the ship with which to make the mango smoothies that are on their drink menu and which was the drink of the day one day. I don't understand how they can not have the ingredients necessary to make a drink that is on their menu. But I will get over it. In the big picture, if that is one of the few things I have to complain about, it had to have been a successful trip! Right?

 

Well, my husband, despite sitting right next to me this entire time, has not contributed a single thing other than wanting me to write things that I don't think anyone on here wants or needs to know about. If you really want to know, post a message on here and I am sure he will be glad to respond!

 

Delizk, thanks so much for the review. I enjoyed reading each day's installment--I hope this becomes a regular format for reviews, it's great.

 

It sounds like it was a terrific cruise--a few could-be-betters, but overall, a grand time. I am happy to hear it and glad you had fun. BTW, I think you are a good writer.:)