Back from the Spirit 3/12/16-3/19/16

[opshannon]

We returned yesterday from the Spirit. I posted the following under reviews. I will be happy to answer any questions anyone might have that I didn't cover in the review.

 

My family of four just returned from our week on the Spirit. We had inside cabin 5035, one of the extra big cabins featured on the Spirit. We booked this cruise more than a year before the sail date because of the great rate at the time. This is cruise 20+ for my wife and me, the kids have slightly fewer cruises under their belts. We have previously sailed with NCL on the Jewel.

 

While the Spirit is a smaller ship without the bells and whistles of NCL's newer ships, we really liked her. There is a charm about a smaller ship that is refreshing. The ship handled the crowds very well most of the time. Occasionally Raffles buffet would get a little crowded. Mostly the problems with crowds there were from those who we call "wanderers" - people who don't know where they want to go and stop and spin around and then wander slowly toward something that catches his or her eye.

 

Service was generally good. We ate in the main dining rooms on most nights (4 of the 7). The first night's dinner was not good, but the service was fine. The rest of the meals in the main dining rooms were generally pretty good. The service was only bad one night, the last night, when dinner took nearly twice as long as normal (we spent more time sitting waiting for the next course than we did eating the course when it finally arrived). On two nights we went to Shogun. We enjoyed the menu there very much. One night we "ate" at Raffles. We returned around 5:30ish from our St. Thomas excursion, got cleaned up, and decided to go to Raffles to eat rather than try anywhere else. That night every dish, it seemed, was a seafood dish. Most of the family are not seafood eaters, so that night's dinner was a bust.

 

The biggest complaint about the entire trip was the unbelievable plumbing problems and sewage smells we faced on our floor. 5035 is on the starboard side forward. Exiting the elevators there on days 2-7 one was hit with the most outrageous smell of sewage, urine, ammonia, and an attempt to cover the smell with deodorizer. On top of that days 3-6 were marked by periods of a nonfunctional toilet. The kicker was the night that my wife woke too find waste from other toilets had backed up into ours. The smell in the bathroom was unbelievable. Guest services sent a "repairman" and a cabin steward at 3:15 am to "fix" and clean. The toilet never got fixed. We adopted a "flush before you lift the lid" policy to avoid the terror of the toilet contents. We received chocolate covered strawberries and a bottle of wine for our trouble. I'd have rather had them fix what were clearly problems along the lines of plumbing in that section of the ship. Perhaps they cannot do anything about it. I don't know. But I would advise people to stay away from deck 5 forward just as a precaution.

 

Despite those problems, we had a good time on this cruise. We enjoyed NCL more on this trip than we had previously on the Jewel. We would sail NCL again.

[Clarea]

Thanks for the report, and sorry about the plumbing issues.

[Keith1010]

Welcome back and thank you for the report.

 

Keith

[KirkNC]

Thanks for your report.

[Vacationlover2]

Uh oh. We are in that same cabin 3/26. I hope the bathroom is fixed. Other than that, how was the room? Any noise? Was the extra room nice and usable?

[sanmarcosman]

Thanks for your report.

[opshannon]

Uh oh. We are in that same cabin 3/26. I hope the bathroom is fixed. Other than that, how was the room? Any noise? Was the extra room nice and usable?

 

First a correction. 5035 is port side. To your question, the extra space was nice. The pullout bed we placed by the door. We still had bathroom access with the bed there. There is a fairly comfy chair that pulls out into a bed, but we did not use it for that. The room can be quit noisy. Early mornings were very loud some days. Lots of banging and loud talking coming from the deck below (positioning of gangway as we arrived early at ports. The collection and storage of luggage on the last night).

Edited March 21, 2016 by opshannon

[Vacationlover2]

I thought that cabin was star board?

 

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[vinotinto]

We're booked on 5035 too for June. For us with the kids, it was the best cabin we could find. There were no balconies left for 4 (are there any on the Spirit?) and the OV rooms were smaller. But, now I'm nervous. Backed up toilets, sewage smells, and loud early morning noises does not sound good! :eek:

 

My mom decided to join us, so I guess I could try to move one kid to her cabin and see if I can find a double and triple. But, we are within 90 days, and booked through a TA, so it may be a pain to try to switch.

[opshannon]

We're booked on 5035 too for June. For us with the kids, it was the best cabin we could find. There were no balconies left for 4 (are there any on the Spirit?) and the OV rooms were smaller. But, now I'm nervous. Backed up toilets, sewage smells, and loud early morning noises does not sound good! :eek:

 

My mom decided to join us, so I guess I could try to move one kid to her cabin and see if I can find a double and triple. But, we are within 90 days, and booked through a TA, so it may be a pain to try to switch.

 

I'm hopefully not creating any anxiety for you. I just wanted to report the facts of the cabin. I have to think that at some point they are going to find a fix. The sink didn't drain well. The shower was slow draining. You could here the water in the pipes gurgling and sloshing when you were in the bathroom. There absolutely is some kind of blockage somewhere. If they clear it, the problem will go away. I know we weren't the only ones in the area with the problem. We saw maintenance working on at least three cabins at separate points during the cruise.

 

The noise wasn't constant. We wore earplugs (it's a thing we do when we travel), and it helped to some extent.

 

I think you'll enjoy the cruise. We did. These were problems that we encountered, but they really were the only problems. If I were to sail the Spirit again, I'd choose one of the oversized inner cabins, just not the one on 5.

[pmmr]

We (family of 4) were on the Spirit these same dates and had a similar experience - minus the plumbing issues. We are not new to cruising and have sailed on HAL, Princess and RCCL - this was our first on NCL. We were in cabin 6035 - similar cabin just a floor above. We loved the extra space and the showers!! We were worried about the casino washrooms being on deck above us but there was no noise from there that we noticed. We experienced periodic 'noise' from the hallway (just loud chatter some nights as people passed and some banging but nothing that lasted more than a minute) but you could get that kind of noise most anywhere on the ship. Service was great -ate at garden dining room most nights and most meals were pretty good for us too. No real complaints. :) Would sail on the Spirit again, too.