Spirit 18 March 9 Day

[jctraveller]

Hi

just wanted to add my comments to Elaine's and LoveCruises regarding this cruise - they both did such great reviews, so I'll try not to cover all the same topics.

We are a family with 3 teens and 1 preteen and we all had a fantastic time. We had 2 cabins, 5505 and 5507, at the very front of the ship, with 4 people sharing the one cabin. We used the 2 beds, with the chair flip out bed inbetween them, and the pullman. The chair bed was not huge, but accomodated our 5'5" 11 year old very comfortably, and we found enough storage space for everyone. We used the recommended shoe hangers in the bathroom and that worked very well. We also brought along extra hangers - although we found some in the closet when we arrived- and found that all the cases (stacked into each other) fitted nicely under the bed. Our room steward was excellent, very efficient, always smiling. He provided the requested "eggshell" padding for our room immediately, and we slept very soundly. The kids did not use the padding and also found the beds very comfortable. We all really enjoyed the duvets, as we use them at home and really miss them when we have to use sheets and blankets when travelling. The air conditioning in the rooms was very efficient, and, having an inside cabin, we made great use of the bow cam on the TV, turning it on as we went to bed, so we knew when it was morning. We also brought along a night light for the kids room, although found there was enough light from the airconditioning display to find your way to the washroom in the dark!

 

We loved the freestyle concept and found that being a larger party actually got you a table faster at supper time! We usually got down to dinner between 6.15 and 6.45 pm, we ate at both Windows and Garden Room, and only once did we have to wait, and that was Formal Night, when we arrived at 6.50 pm. We had a 50 minute wait, but were given a pager, and went to Champagne Charlie's for our 2 for 1 cocktails (as an apology for waiting, just show the pager to the barman) and played Music Trivia until supper time. It actually made for a very relaxing evening.

 

The food was excellent and there was no problem with adding an extra appetizer or even extra entrees (we all had lobster on the side of our main meals on formal night), and the desserts were wonderful. Do order a plate of Petits Fours as an extra dessert with your coffee. My daughter especially liked getting her pot of hot chocolate after dinner, not just a cup.

 

Raffles was also a pleasant surprise - we never ate dinner there but breakfast and lunch were very good. We were usually at breakfast early (before 8am) and everything at that time was hot and fresh. We especially loved the fresh fruit station at lunchtime, the BBQ (a really nice idea, it smells so good), and the chocolate pecan cake!! The chocoholic buffet emptied very quickly, but I think that was partly because of the number of people (and children) aboard March Break week. It was nice to be able to get fruit punch and lemonade most of the day, and the selection of teas was quite varied. The only thing I would change would be adding some selection of drinks to the Blue Lagoon restaurant, as there is only tea, coffee, hot chocolate and water available there. But it was a very handy and popular spot, and I know the teenagers loved the fried rice there in the wee hours of the morning!

 

It was also very nice to be able to use the restaurants right up to disembarkation. You felt like you were still on holiday, instead of just sitting around waiting for the ship to dock.

 

The shows were entertaining - not great but good, very colourful and dynamic. I agree with another poster that the sound system could be improved, as it was difficult at times to hear the main singers when they were doing solos, but as a group they were delightful. We also enjoyed the Magic Show and the comedians, and the various musical groups in the different bars were all excellent.

 

There was lots to do for all age groups - the main disappointment to the teenage boys was that there was no volleyball court/tennis court as advertised. There was a basketball court, but most of the time it was a free for all (we sailed Carnival a couple years ago and they were a little better at organizing casual games). The pool area was lovely, it was great to have a pool large enough to swim laps in, and we found it very quiet in the mornings, with fantastic live music in the afternoons. We also enjoyed the lap pools, which were never busy.

 

Our favourite area of the ship was the Galaxy of the Stars - it is a beautiful room, overlooking the bow of the ship, and if you sit in one of the raised tables at the side of the bow at night you get an amazing view down the side of the ship, with the lights on the water, illuminating the wake. Magical!!!

 

The itinerary was amazing, our only regret was the short time in Tortola. We went to Malibu Beach in Barbados, where we swam with the turtles (negotiate the price strongly!!!).

In Grenada we took a wonderful tour with A&E Tours (see Caribbean Other Board).

St Lucia we had a sick child (too much sun and icecream) so 4 of us took the local bus to Choc Bay Beach (bus 1 A, 1$EC per person each way, what a deal - it's a beautiful beach). - Do get up at 5.30am to watch the ship sail by the Pitons! It is worth it, honestly!!

Antigua we toured with Lawrence of Antigua and had a great day.(see his other reviews)

Tortola we took a cab ($12 per person return) to Brewer's Bay which was a beautiful beach with very good snorkling. Definitely somewhere to return to!!! We would love to try The Baths - will just have to go back soon.

 

We also got to enjoy the services of the Medical Centre due to our son twisting his ankle, and we got very prompt and friendly service, complete with the use of crutches - no charge as the accident happened on board! That was a pleasant surprise.

 

We really enjoyed meeting all our fellow cruise critics at the Meet and Greet - hope to see you on a future cruise one day! Thanks Elaine for all the organising.

 

Now I must get back to researching next year's holiday!!!

 

I would recommend the NCL Spirit to anyone - Enjoy!!:)

[crazy4cruzin]

jctraveller- great cruise review!! Can you tell me how your teens spent their days and evenings? I have two teens (son/13 & daughter/16). Is there anything your teens would suggest doing that's fun or not to be missed?

[jctraveller]

Hi

 

They didn't do too much of the teen club stuff (although some of the activities sounded interesting) as it was quite busy that week, with a lot of younger teens - mine are 18,almost 16, 13 and 11. The 18 year old was the one with no real place to go (they wouldn't allow her in the teen club - they have a list of everyones birthdates), but luckily met up with a couple of 17 and 18 year olds through our cruise critic meet and greet, so my 2 eldest tended to hang around with these 2 friends, and subsequently met a few other older teens - they did the karaoke, comedy shows etc in the evening, and then would snack later at the Blue Lagoon. During the day was similar - but with the 5 island days together in the middle they were busy!

The 13 year old loved the table tennis - although we found some of the children who were less supervised on our march break cruise damaging the paddles, so hopefully those have been replaced - so the 16 and 13 year old played table tennis during the days, plus basketball and used the golf cages (the ping pong is in a nice shaded and wind free area, so is always usable, 4 tables available). He did go to the free arcade morning and enjoyed that, although again very busy.

 

All 4 of them loved the games room, and we were very impressed with the variety and availability of board games, cards etc.(clue, monopoly, cribbage) You would always find quite a number of groups of kids of all ages (and adults/families) in the games room, which frequently spilled over into the majhong room. I think a couple of them made it to the movies once, which they enjoyed, but they were too busy meeting new friends for more than that. They also enjoyed doing the Music, Sport and Pub Trivias with Mom and Dad, and the family team actually won the Sport Trivia one night, so that was fun.

 

As your teens will both be of an age for the same teen club it should work out well for you. should also be quieter child wise than March Break. When do you sail? There is a copy of the teen club itinerary on the boards - let me know if you can't find it and I'll dig out the thread.

:)

[crazy4cruzin]

Jctraveller- Thanks again for the info. I actually have printed out the teens activities. I think my younger one might be more of a joiner, while my older teen might be more into just hanging out and making new friends. I just hope there are others in their age group, as our roll call had only 2 other families with a total of 4 kids, besides mine. Mind you 100 people joined the roll call. Hopefully there will be some other teens on board for them to make friends with.

[morningglory69]

Can anyone tell me where they found the teen activities listed. I would love to print it.

[72stang]

jctraveller, can you tell me if the pool was fresh water or filtered salt water?

[crazy4cruzin]

morningglory- If you go to cruiseclues.com and then click on Norwegian Spirit you will find the 9 night dailies, as well as all the children's activities and the teens. I hope you plan on coming to the 2 get togethers, only 8 days until our cruise.

[jctraveller]

hi

 

both pools were salt water, but there is a fresh water shower by the pool. Hot tubs were filtered water, and the hot tub by the kids pool is cooler (but still quite warm) than the 4 in the Tivoli area.

hope this answers yr questions

:)