great cruise on the Spirit

[bonniboo1]

We had to switch our Mediterranean cruise from the Jade to the Spirit. I was a little concerned about her age and size. I was in for a surprise. Out of my 7 cruises, this was the best ever. We are a group of 6 from upstate NY. Our ages range from 58 thru 71. We had 3 balcony cabins on the ninth deck. We booked our pre and post cruise hotels thru nCL. This also included some transportation. We spent 2 nights pre cruise in Barcelona. We were met @ the airport by Barcelona Day tours. They took us on a great 4 hour tour and brought us to the Husa Oriente which was located in a perfect spot on Las Ramblas. The hotel was very clean and the staff was very helpful. The breakfast room was very large and pretty. Breakfast was ample with plenty of fresh fruit. Post cruise we stayed @ the Crowne Plaza in Venice. The train station is next door. Tickets can be purchased from the friendly hotel stsff. Dinner buffet is ok, but the breakfast was over the top wonderful. Check in at the ship was super quick. Our cabins were ready when we boarded. Pretty room, nicely decorated. Good size closet. I brought extra hangers from home. Beds were very comfortable. We asked to have our coffee maker removed so that we had more room on the desk. Bring a travel adapter to plug in hair appliances. Make sure u plug it in on the right side over the desk, not the left side. Public rooms were very pretty. Very few kids on board but there was a giant pirate ship water park for them. Didn't use pool but there were always chairs available. Food: from good to excellent. Buffet was large with good food. Not gourmet, but decent with a large selection. Always seats available. Blue Lagoon is a smallish diner open 24/7. Comfort food at its best. Windows and the Gardenroom are the main diningrooms. Windows is open for three meals, the other for dinner only. There is an extensive "always available" menu and a fair number of daily selections that never disappointed. We ate at Le Bistro. The food was wonderful as was the service. The maitre 'd Isaac and our waiter kept us laughing all night. Cagneys was great. We also ate at the Italian restaurant. Some of the food there was very good, some not so much. I think that we hit it on an off night. I heard that the Asian restaurants were very good. I had read that Jill Tassker wasn't a good CD and was unfriendly. She and her crazy staff were very friendly and approachable. I don't think that they ever sleep. We were treated to excellent shows and a bunch of fun activities. Do not miss the Perfect Couple game, it is a scream. It was won by fellow Cruise Critic members Caroline and Mike. I entered what I THOUGHT WAS A Trivia contest for folks 55 years and older. I guess that I didn't read it correctly. It was a take off on the tv show Minute to Win It. I came in second place. I won't spoil it by telling you what we had to do but I saw the very funny video that my friends took. I'll probably will end up on You Tube. I even went to the napkin folding class-Jill made that alot of fun. Now some serious stuff. I have read that NCL nickles and dimes you. I have been on 3 different lines and it't the same on all 3 of them. The food is good so if you go to a a speciality restaurant, it's your choice. If you want a drink, again it's your choice. You do not have to gamble or play bingo if you don't want to. One woman recently complained about the service charge. She said that other lines include it in their price. Sure, if you go on Regent or Crystal more things are included, but look at the prices. I think that $12/day is low for tips and I generally tip more throughout the cruise. I love that NCL give choices. ur Meet and GREET was held on our first day @ sea. Great turnout by Officers and Cruise Critic members. Kudos to Ncl for providing this service. They made my job as meet and greet coordinator very easy. The shore excursions were very informative. The shining star of the cruise was the crew. We decided that this was due to the very funny but hard working Captain Lars and HD Armando D'Silva. They lead a large group of very friendly folks who genuinely car about their guests. I want to thank all of the officers. Some of the crew members who made our cruise memorable were: alaine our awesome cabin attendent, Tyler the dancing photographer, Oriel the assistant cd, Mercedes...you get the point, they are all great. I have left about 1000 + people out, but they were great also. If you have any questions at all I will be happy to try and help. Bonni

[Keith1010]

Glad to hear how much you enjoyed the cruise.

 

Keith

[bonniboo1]

Thank you Keith.

[bonniboo1]

I totally forgot to mention the wonderful concierge Sylvia S.

[jolgro]

I am glad to read your story. Nice to hear you had a good time. We just booked the Spirit and I was a little bit concerned about her age too, read story's of her being worn-out. What is your opinion about that?

[bonniboo1]

You will love her! Worn out in an elegant way. Maybe a few cracked tiles in the bathroom and a little wear in a few places on the rug. The shampoo/soap dispensers in the bathrooms look a little worn. The phones are a little old...hmmm, sounds like home! What I really noticed were the rich polished woods and the cleanliness. When you are on the 7th deck by guest services look up and you will see what appears to be balconies. Go in some of the smaller eateries and see the beautiful asian style wall paper and decorations. Not to worry, she really is beautiful. I heard that cabins will be getting refrigerators. Have a wonderful time. If you think of any more questions, please ask. Bonni. P.s. this is the cleanest ship that I have ever seen.

[jolgro]

Thanks Bonni, looking forward to sail with her. We always go to the smaller eateries. I shall pay attention to the wall paper as you said. Wich MDR do you prefer? And how is Henry,s pub. Don,t remember seeing a pub in Jade/Jewel. Do they serve food or snacks as wel? Thougt I read something about that.

 

Johanna

[bonniboo1]

Favorite main dining room is Windows. More spacious, felt less rushed. The windows and view are spectacular. I think that Henrys might serve popcorn on occasion.

[www3traveler]

Thanks Bonni, looking forward to sail with her. We always go to the smaller eateries. I shall pay attention to the wall paper as you said. Wich MDR do you prefer? And how is Henry,s pub. Don,t remember seeing a pub in Jade/Jewel. Do they serve food or snacks as wel? Thougt I read something about that.

 

Johanna

The Spirit is a wonderful ship. O'Henry's is a very small pub space tucked into one corner of the lobby. Windows is one of the MDR- very nice. Originally The Spirit was the Star Leo in the Asian market that is why She has such an oriental element to Her. All way forward on Deck 12 is Galaxy of the Stars Lounge. Toward the front of Galaxy on the left hand side is a staircase leading down on deck to the Bridge Viewing Room Window, it is also a small history museum of the ship. Very much worth the climb, unfortunately it is the only access to that area. I have been fortunate enough to sail on the Spirit three times, twice this past winter. The Spirit is blessed by a wonderful staff. Depending on when you sail, Team Spirit will either be headed by Captain Lars from Sweden or Captain Vanja from Croatia. Both are very good Captains and wonderful gentlemen. I hope you have a wonderful time.

[katiepe]

I have a question about Toulon I hope you can answer.

Did you actually dock in Toulon or Seyne Sur La Mer?

Thanks

[bonniboo1]

as far as I know we were in Toulon. Our ships tour to Casselot was in the afternoon so we got off of the ship ans walked into town-it was a short walk. We went to a shopping mall-they had a Kmart type store there. If you need to use a public toilet you have to pay with a coin which I believe was a 20 cent coin. After the mall we found an open air market.

[monygrl]

Hi Bonnie,

So glad you had a wonderful time. I am booked for next May and reading all the wonderful remarks about the ship makes me so happy. I have a large inside cabin for this trip. I figured it was very port intensive, so why spend the extra $$ and use it instead for tours etc. In case I break down and decide to upgrade , did you find you spent alot of time on your balcony? Thanks.

[Tralynn]

We had cruised on the Spirit out of New Orleans and thought the ship was beautiful and laid out quite well. The Asian design was unique and elegant. The crew was also fantastic.

[mw_1970]

This is great to hear.

 

Cannot wait to get on our Spirit Cruise this Christmas !

 

First cruise in over 2 years for us.

[luddite]

I must admit that I gave up on reading the paragraph.

It seems that you enjoyed the ship. It is our favorite. It's ashame that the trend is toward behemoth ships and away from the wonderfullness that is the Spirit.

[mypleasure]

The shining star of the cruise was the crew. We decided that this was due to the very funny but hard working Captain Lars and HD Armando D'Silva. They lead a large group of very friendly folks who genuinely car about their guests.

 

 

What you say about these two men is so true and also Captain Vanja has the same personality and way of doing things so the crew are getting consistent leadership.

Armando and I talked about the crew and I could see very clearly how much emphasis he puts on actually being an appreciative manager and looking after them whilst running things so well for us guests. Prem was his predecessor and he was similar in style and another who is very funny.

 

Team Spirit is all about Team Spirit.