Live from the Spirit - Grand Med 1st Aug

[KeithJenner]

Just curious how much time do you think you spent posting during the cruise? How slow is the internet onboard? I hope you still had lots of time to spend with your family and to relax. I have learned so much from this thread and others like it on cruise critic. It is very much appreciated!

 

 

I didn't spend that long at all. I always tend to find an amount of downtime on holiday, waiting for people to get ready, or before something starts, so sitting on my balcony or in a bar and updating this thread or such like is very easy and relaxing in itself.

 

The onboard internet varies in speed. On sea days it is incredibly slow. Other times it can be quite quick. I had the unlimited package (I need the Internet for work) and also we have Internet included in our mobile plan for Spain, France and Italy, so it was no problem to be able to access it.

[KeithJenner]

We will be on the Spirit for 4 weeks in the Caribbean during Dec and Jan and having been to all the ports before, we will probably just stay on board many days. Did you find anything going on during those days you did not get off the ship while in port? We enjoy the quiet ship, enjoy sitting on the balcony, enjoy going to the buffet with no crowds, etc. so we really don't care if there is nothing happening on board, but if you found something interesting, we would check it out too.

 

 

We found the ship to be very quiet on the days when we stayed onboard. Much more so than usual when we don't go ashore. I assume that is a combination of the attraction of the ports and the attractions on the ship. For example, we've always found that the watermarks etc on the Epic or Getaway cause some people to stay onboard when otherwise they may not, that doesn't happen on the Spirit.

 

On many days there were only a few bars open whilst we were in port. We weren't looking for anything to do particularly, but didn't see much. To be honest, I can't think of a better way to spend a lazy afternoon than sitting on Raffles Terrace with a beer or cocktail whilst enjoying the view and using the buffet to grab a snack when you get hungry.

 

You may find it a bit different in the Caribbean though,

[KeithJenner]

I really would like to know what times the shows were so I can schedule meals ahead of time. I heard from several sites 7/9 and 7:30/9:30. Do you remember our did they change from night to night?

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

 

 

I hope to scan the dailies when I get chance (and after I find them), but whenever I noticed a show it seemed to be at 7.30 and 9.30.

[KeithJenner]

Thanks guys for your replies. Good point about the private tours, I can set the agenda and the cost might not be to bad since 3 families will be splitting the cost.

 

Hopefully everyone will want to do their own thing while on the ship, (I'm assuming the ship is pretty easy to get around). Of course I'll plan dinners/ shows together, but man I would sure like to enjoy the casino and my drink package without my mother in law judging me! Ha!

 

 

 

It looks like the ship departs at 11 pm, does anyone know when the muster drill will be? Normally I would board the ship and drop off luggage and go back out to explore Venice but I think this would not work with my group. I wonder if a lot of people miss muster because of the late departure.

 

 

 

I guess my next step is booking flights for everyone. I've read that the best time to buy airfare for this trip would be at the end of this month(9 months in advance). Does this sound right? Can anyone tell me how far in advance they buy their airline tickets?

 

When you look at this incredible itinerary as a whole it can be intimidating to try and plan and see everything. But I will break it down by each port, and thankfully I have ten months to get everything in order.:)

 

 

I thought it left Venice later than that (1am rings a bell). My understanding is that lots of people check in and then go back into Venice so I assume that people miss the drill. In that case you would need to go to the make up drill the next day.

 

I always book my flights early, mainly because I try to use miles wherever possible. I've always found that I get the best prices that way anyway.

[dallas16]

The cruises this year leave at 1am I believe next year they leave at 11pm, i have seen some reviews where muster drill has been at around 4.30pm

[KeithJenner]

I was going to do a few more posts here now giving my overall views on the cruise, now I've been home for a few days. However, to be honest, I've had it with all the negativity on Cruise Critic for now and I really can't be bothered.

 

I'll just make a couple of quick points and then I think I'll be off. Thanks to everyone who has posted on this thread, you've been great, and if you haven't tried NCL before, please believe me that they provide a fantastic service. There are some issues now, and many of the changes do deserve criticism. but they haven't adversely affected our cruises at all. A negative attitude is what does that.

 

Anyway, those last couple of points. Firstly, be careful on an itinerary like this not to do too much. One couple we spent time with did tours in all the ports, and were eating in speciality restaurants every night. During the second half of the cruise they looked and sounded exhausted. I know they had a great time, but couldn't help wondering whether they would have appreciated a bit more downtime.

 

Secondly, the ship. I don't have a preference of the big ship/small ship debate. I love the Spirit and also the Epic/ Breakaway class. They offer a different experience, but I don't think one is better than the other. We try to make sure we sail on a large ship and a small one each year. There are a couple of things I love about the Spirit though. Raffles Terrace and Henrys Pub are two of my favourite places at Sea.

 

Finally, the staff and passengers. Once again, the staff were exceptional. I have heard all sorts of speculation about not being able to get a drink, but I never had any trouble (never have done previously either). The staff were all as friendly as usual. I honestly haven't noticed any change in the standard of service over the past few years.

 

I don't know whether it was because there were so many first timers onboard, but we also found the passengers to be nicer to be around than usual. Many had previously cruised, but not with NCL, but we spent a lot of time with some couples for whom it was their first cruise, and they loved the experience. I don't know whether this was representative of this itinerary, but it was very pleasant.

 

Thats it then. I apologise for the rather rushed ending, and also for the grumbling about this forum on a couple of posts. It's been fun writing this, and I really hope that it has been of use to some people.

[titangas]

Thank Keith!

 

I really enjoyed your review and appreciate the time you put in.

 

It helped us to reminisce and think about out Grand Med on the Spirit almost exactly a year ago - some great memories.

[hdowney]

Many thanks for your review. I cannot wait to sail this itinerary next year on the Spirit :)

 

Don't let the haters get you down. There are negative nellies everywhere. Their negativity is what keeps them going, they live for it, it's their life's blood. You have to just try and tune them out and spend time chatting with the positive people :)

[arkansasnana3]

Thanks Keith for all the positive information. I agree on the negative people. We have been on many cruises, some better than others, but all were good. Food sometimes really good and sometimes ok. Still a good cruise. I am amazed at what people grumble about and not just cruises. They would probably be better served to go on land and leave us cruisers to enjoy ourselves. One more question about the Raffles Bar. I am assuming it is on the terrace outside the buffet. I don't see a listing for Raffles bar. Just wanted to clear it up so our group can all find each other on the first day when we sail. Thanks again Linda

[mypleasure]

I was sent a picture today of my NCL PCC and Armando Da Silva. It turns out that the PCC sailed with you on this cruise. He said it was amazing.

[Hottubmomma]

Our family was on this cruise and it was amazing. We went ashore every port but only used the boat excursion for Ephasis. We tend to like to explore on our own. The first 3 ports in Italy took some planning but I think we covered all the big tourist spots and saved a lot of money doing it on our own. We chose to spend the money on a suite instead of boat excursions. We loved Raffles bar and a big shout out to Roy who was amazing. We spent a great deal of time at Henry's as well, loved the service and the fresh popcorn. Interestingly enough to we never met Keith but I think saw him there a few times.

 

We enjoyed Cagney's but our favorite was probably Shogun. It was our second cruise with Norweign and we are already planning our third.

 

We stayed extra nights outside of Venice and that too was wonderful.

 

If you have a suite you get to have breakfast and lunch in Cagney's as part of your package. The coffee there is amazing!!! The menu doesn't change but we felt the food was very good, great flavor, presentation and tempature. Cagney's is only open for people who have a suite for breakfast and lunch. It was never crowded for those meals.

[KeithJenner]

Just checking back in again. Thanks for the comments.

 

To answer a couple of points. Yes, arkansasnana, Raffles Bar is the one on the terrace outside the buffet.

 

It's a shame we didn't meet hottubmomma. I'm sure you did see us in Henrys. We were part of the group (mainly English) that were sat at the bar for at least some of every night.

 

I am pleased to say that I will be back on the Spirit again. A couple of month ago I tentatively booked the Epic for Easter 2017, as the price was crazy (less than £2k for the three of us including beverage package and service charge for a 10 night cruise). That has been cancelled, but my reservation has been transferred to the Spirit Venice to Istanbul 11 night cruise that leaves a day earlier. Quite a result for us I think.

 

In case anyone is interested, I have decided that I can't keep away from CruiseCritic totally, as I do enjoy trying to help others out, so I will continue to do threads like this and to answer questions where I can. I've just got to learn to ignore the negatives and not even attempt to state an alternative opinion, as it just isn't worth the effort.

 

I'm sure I won't be the only one, but I hope to do a similar thread for the Escape from Hamburg to Miami in October/November.