Spirit - Drydock??

[Heather1973]

I've been reading a lot of threads regarding the spirit dry-dock in October? I am taking a cruise on the Spirit in December. What upgrades are they are planning?

[electricron]

Read the cruisecritic news:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=1368 :cool:

Excerpts:

Twenty-two new passenger cabins will be built on Deck 13 with another 14 new cabins added to Deck 4.

Getting a complete overhaul will be Raffles Buffet, the ship's Lido restaurant, which has been particularly problematic, according to our Norwegian Spirit review: "The one dining venue on Spirit that is disappointing is the Lido deck buffet, Raffles Cafe. The ship's staff acknowledges that this spot presents a challenge, and explains that the kitchen setup in that location, prior to the change from SuperStar Leo to Norwegian Spirit, did not comply with either CDC regulations or safety regulations. As a result, there are no cooking facilities at all in that location, so food has to be brought up from the kitchen to be placed in the steam tables, by which time it has lost most of its appeal."

Other galleys will also be modified throughout the ship.

In public areas, look for a new "high energy" nightclub and lounge, and an expanded shopping area and photo gallery.

Equipment in the ship's fitness facility will be replaced with more contemporary machines.

A new pool bar will be added to Deck 12 (originally there was no bar in the midship pool area because Asian passengers do not tend to congregate much on sun decks).

:cool:

[zimmerjulie]

According to some crewmembers I spoke to last week:

 

The Taipan Bistro will become the location for the Steak house and will have it's own place for the cooking of your food, right adjacent to the dining area.

 

The current Celebrity disco will become the teen club and the new disco will be that new, high energy nightclub on deck 7 forward.

 

As mentioned, expanded photo gallery and gift shop facilities.

 

Picture house (movie theater) will be removed to accomplish the previous expansions.

 

The art gallery on deck 7a (find that on your deck maps ;) ) will be refined. It is a beautiful space to enter and they are going to fine tune the lighting and display areas, etc.

 

They will add an aerobics studio (currently there is just a small, nice workout room, but no dedicated place for the group exercise classes. They were held in the main show lounge, Moulin Rouge.)

 

One of the crewmembers mentioned the new cabins for deck 13, forward of the helipad, and that Garden Villa-type accommodations were planned.

 

One crewmember said that they were going to reduce the size of the Kid's Crew area, (maybe in conjunction with the aerobics studio plans?) but the head of KC denied that, mentioning that it had been in some earlier plans, but that they had fought it and since they had such good "numbers", they would not lose any real estate.

 

Raffles terrace, outside on deck 12, will be changed into a 24 hour pizzaria.

 

I hope they find a way to give the Samurai statuary their swords back. They look very upset about holding only air.:p

[zimmerjulie]

Can you tell I am excited about that pizzaria?

[Don Haynes]

If the Taipan restaurant is to be switched to the steak house, does that mean Maxims will be switched to the French bistro? At least that is what I assume. I cannot imagine a Norwegian ship without a bistro....

 

So it does appear that the Spirit will be getting more suites on deck 13 aft rather than more regular balcony cabins, courtyard/garden villas are definitely classified as suites.... I was thinking in terms of mini suites similar to the Sun's....

 

Turning the Celebrity disco into a teen club makes sense if there is another high energy lounge/disco built in front of the casino.

 

I hate to lose the movie theater, but the ship does need an expanded gift shop and photo gallery area. I would assume the little karaoke rooms are targeted for elimination too for this much needed expansion....

 

Oh, I can't wait any longer, however, I doubt whether NCL will post the new deck plans until the ship enters drydock.....

[Polish Falcon]

The new cabins are in the inventory for the 11/27/05 sailing.

They are Category BA.

They do not show on the deck plan - but they are on deck 13.

Here is the info -

Cabin 13500

 

* Port Side (1)

* Private Balcony (1)

* Shower (1)

* Crib (1)

* Convertible Lower Beds (2)

* Balcony Square Footage (40)

* Cabin Square Footage (161)

* Duvet (1)

* Hair Dryer (1)

* Telephone (1)

* Safety Deposit Box (1)

* Television (1)

* Aft Section (1)

* Oceanview Stateroom (1)

* Pier aft (1)

* Sitting Area (1)

* Connecting Room (13502)

* Floor to ceiling sliding glass doors (1)

[zimmerjulie]

Oh, now that you mention the Karoake rooms, one lady I spoke with said that the current rooms are largely unused for some reason that I don't remember that has to do with security...no locks or no cameras or something. She mentioned that they were going to have usable private Karoake rooms after the drydock. I am not very familiar with the concept. I thought that part of the draw of Karoake was to have an audience? Maybe not for some. You can sing like in the shower, but with backup?

 

Le Bistro is the signature NCL restaurant, so I am SURE it will be there somewhere:) . I did finally eat at a Le Bistro for the first time since its early incarnations on the Norway. This was last week on the Spirit--EXCELLENT! Seems to me that the current site of Maxim's would be a great choice for the relocation.

I was also thinking more in the way of mini-suites for deck 13. I don't know where they are going to put the desired number of additional balcony cabins like the ones Polish Falcon describes, AND Villa-type accommodations up there. They do need to keep the helipad, so everything must go forward of that, but around the stacks. They could also easily sell out a greater number of suites. The existing ones are sold out well in advance. I guess there may be more space up there than there appears to be. Looks like the deck 13 golf net and sports court have their days numbered.

 

I, too, am curious to see what will actually come to be. We had many invitations to return to the Spirit, so maybe we'll just have to check it out first-hand.:p

[electricron]

Do they really need to keep a helipad? None of the other new NCL ships have helipads? Besides, the roof of any new staterooms placed where the helipad is now could be used as a helipad too.

[zimmerjulie]

Too true. They can do their air rescues without landing the helicopters, I suppose. My info is from a crewmember who indicated that the new cabins/suites would be forward of the helipad...no mention of relocating or eliminating it. I did get one or two small variances about what would stay and what would go and where, each crewmember with a different focus depending on the department, and there were no written plans to be had. That helipad does seem to be in prime real estate.....

[BuddyGus]

http://www.nachohat.org/gallery/travel_superstar_leo_cruise_ship

[Don Haynes]

The new Deck 13 deck plans of the Spirit is now available at NCL's website. 22 more BA cabins. In my humble opinion there is still room for aft facing suites further aft. Use the helipad area NCL....

 

[bragstarr]

I have booked the Spirit for Nov/Dec 2006 (yes 2006!) out of NY. It sort of surprises me that they are totally eliminating the movie theater. With the cold weather itineraries (Alaska, and getting down the coastline from NY to the Caribbean and back) people do spend a bit more time inside the ship, rather than out on deck. I know on our Dawn cruise to and from Florida/Bahamas last year, especially going up and down the coast when it was cooler, the movies were pretty well attended. Yes, I know you can watch in your cabin, but it's not quite the same--besides, I always found it a great spot for a nap! Seriously, they also used the movie theatre on the Dawn as another meeting room (to teach towel folding, etc).

 

Aside from that, I am totally looking forward to this ship and all it has to offer. Alas, a long wait, but there are other vacation plans before I cruise again.

 

Robin

[lalapodip]

so anyone have any thoughts as to where the star track goes now? thanks so much for posting the new deck plans....i'd just checked it yesterday and it still showed the old plans! :)

[Cruisinbunnies]

Oh, now that you mention the Karoake rooms, one lady I spoke with said that the current rooms are largely unused for some reason that I don't remember that has to do with security...no locks or no cameras or something. She mentioned that they were going to have usable private Karoake rooms after the drydock. I am not very familiar with the concept. I thought that part of the draw of Karoake was to have an audience? Maybe not for some. You can sing like in the shower, but with backup?

 

 

I thought the same thing until I found out different from my brother who teaches ESL in Japan.

Karoake in Japan is generally done in small intimate rooms, according to my brother. They enjoy the singing but only around small groups of people that they know. The whole idea of karoake in a large room is generally an American tradition.

Since the Spirit was built for the Asian market, they included these rooms for their pax. Now that it is permanently engaged in North America, they need to make better use of the space.

[bragstarr]

Looking at this floorplan....are they supposed to FLY into the cabins???

 

I know it's only a schematic, but where are they walking into them from?:D

[Don Haynes]

I supposed you should run around on the promenade deck instead of the sports deck. The midship elevator is the only one servicing the sports deck, deck 13, on the Spirit. However, it wouldn't surprise me if in another drydock in a few years NCL gets the hint the Spirit could use more suites, there is still quite a bit of real estate in the helipad area for another 15-20 suites....

[lalapodip]

Yes, the promenade deck would be an option for our morning 2 mile walk, but we really enjoyed walking topside. It's interesting how they just added the new cabins but don't show where the star track goes now. It was a great walk....

[CWRN84]

Hi fellow travelers,

 

I am booked for a Cruise on the NCL Spirit for May 7, 2006 and this is my family and I's first CRUISE ever. I live in NJ so I am not flying and I have 2 children 9 and 11 and I was wondering does anyone have any tips.

 

I am staying in an inside cabin on Deck 10. How is the rocking?? Did anyone get sick their first time??

 

I could go on and on with questions but if anyone has any tips of CRUISING THE SPIRIT -- I would be so appreciative.

 

Thank you!

Christine

[bragstarr]

Christine--

 

My tip for you is--don't eat for an entire week before you go on the trip, so you'll have enough room to eat everything there is served to you!

 

Seriously, though.....the best advice I can give to you is what I did when I booked my first cruise. Through dumb luck and wandering on the web I found the Cruise Critic boards. My first cruise was on Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas and I did what you did--found the Royal Caribbean board, and started reading every post I could find on my ship. You will find tons and tons of information, and if you have a specific question and can't find the answer, just post the question as a new thread. This is the friendliest, most helpful community there is out there.

 

You shouldn't have much rocking if at all in May, and Spirit is a large, stable ship. Where are you sailing to--which itinerary? Where on deck 10 is the cabin--forward, aft or midship? The middle of the ship is naturally more stable, and that's where I always book (as a matter of fact, that's where I'm booked for 11/06 on Spirit--midship inside, deck 10).

 

More questions--fire away--someone will answer somewhere--and welcome to the boards!

 

Robin

[Don Haynes]

The Spirit is not the largest ship afloat in NCL's fleet, nor is it the smallest. It has twin stabilizers, so it doesn't rock badly. You should be okay unless there are heavy seas in a storm with the deep swells. If you do feel weasey, they have the sea sickness pills available at reception desk.

 

Many have mentioned the beds are too firm. If this is your case, ask the room attendant for the pads they have available to soften the beds. The Spirit has both 220 and 110 volt outlets, one in the bathroom and one by the desk in the cabin. Since the Spirit was orginally built for the Asian market, please don't bring your high wattage hair dryer, use the hair dryer furnished by NCL.

 

As for the ship, itself, I found the Bridge overview area and the computer screen navigation plots very interesting.The bridge overview access is via a circular stairway from the Galaxy of the Stars lounge and the computer screen navigation plots are in the front center area of the same lounge.

 

The Spirit with all of its Asian art and statuaries is almost similar to visiting a museum. Please notice and attempt to see all found on the promenade deck and the alcoves to the stairways, forward, midships, and aft.

 

A nice quiet spot to read, relax or sun is the Ampitheater overlooking the kids pool area aft. I also enjoyed the billard table in the Henry Pub.

[lalapodip]

It was nice to be able to walk entirely around deck 13, and I guess with the addition of the new cabins, we'll no longer be able to do that. There were also a number of lounge chairs set up in that area, so it seems that lounge chairs may now be at a bigger premium.

 

Christine - do keep reading previous posts. You'll find so much information. The Spirit is an awesome ship. We were on Deck 11 midship and experienced no seasickness at all. You'll have a great time, and your kids will, too! :)