Spirit - Ncl Newbie!

[englandsrose]

Hi All

 

I am flying into NY from the UK on 27th December for a couple of days before joining the Spirit on 29th December. I have never cruised with NCL before, but have done about 8 cruises with P&O out of the UK.

 

I have a couple of questions

 

P&O operate a cashless society where you use your cruise card to sign for everything and settle your bill at the end of the cruise - is it the same on NCL or do we need to carry cash/credit cards?

 

If you want to have "egg crates" on your matress do I need to contact NCL direct before I get on board, or will the cabin steward arrange it if I ask when I am on there?

 

I have a 10 year old - can anybody give me any information about the kids camp - i.e. opening times, how it operates, is there a sign in/out policy, what types of activities do they do?

 

I know this is freestyle, but I have heard mention of there being some formal nights - are these really formal i.e. tux and long dresses, or just semi formal - i.e. suits and cocktail dresses - and is the dress code strictly adhered to i.e. on P&O they do not allow you in the main restaurants or bars if you are not dressed according to the suggested dress code?

 

Anyway I know this is a really silly question, but what is the weather like in New York in December, are we likely to get snow - my boy will be soooo excited to see it, as it is such a rare occurence here in England - we will probably end up spending most of our time in Central Park building snowmen - after we have visited all of Spidermans haunts including the ironing board building (can anbody tell me where this is!! Apparently it houses the Daily Bugle.....is it real??) and Empire State Building. When I booked it he went up and got his Spiderman PS2 game on to show me all the sights!!!

 

Me - I just can't wait for the sail out of New York - its always been a dream of mine and I am so excited.

 

Thanks in anticipation of your replies

[Don Haynes]

I would carry some cash and one credit card to purchase gifts at the ports. I believe a Visa card would be enough, there is no need to carry several credit cards. Yes, the cruise card, which is also the key card to unlock the cabin, is used to charge your room account all the purchases aboard the ship. Whether you settle your room account with a credit card or with travelers checks or with cash is optional.

 

If you need an egg crate to soften the mattress, ask the cabin steward on the first day.

 

Formal nights are optional. Very few wear tuxes or long dresses, most who do choose to do formal wear a suit or a cocktail dress. About half choose to do formal. Resort casual wear is always welcomed in the restaurants, although there are some who attempt to lower this standard. Sometimes they succeed, sometimes they don't. On the first night the standards are relaxed somewhat, but on the second night it seems most stick to resort casual or are doing formal for the optional formal night.

 

The weather will be cold in New York City, but will it snow is another question. There is probably an equal chance of having snow on the ground and not having snow.

 

The observation deck of the Empire State Building is always a treat. Recently the observation deck of the GE Building at Rockefeller Center has been reopened.

 

And the Lady. Nothing like sailing past her with her torch held high in the harbor of New York, going or coming.

 

I'm not familar with the kids programs, but I'm sure someone else will inform you.

[Harleycat]

The building you are talking about is the Flatiron Building located on 5th Ave and 23rd Street.

[englandsrose]

Thanks for your replies - so the building does exist!! We are going to have such fun.

[de13]

Glad to have someone else on this cruise with children! We also have a 10 year old boy (& 6 year old girl) and I am sure he wil be glad there is at least one other boy his age.

As far as the kids club, we were on NCL once before, a 14 day cruise and there were only about 10 children onboard. My children did enjoy the kids club since. It helped that we were traveling with other families. On sea days the clubs have more hours, in morning and afternoon. On port days it is only available in the evening, starting at 7. They also have extended hours for a fee. They usually all do some scavenger hunts, sports, and movies for the kids.

 

Please check out our roll call for this sailing. I am sure you will love visiting NYC and sailing out of it. We plan to enjoy sailing out poast the Statue of Liberty regardless of the cold!

Diana

[de13]

I have had some problems posting and being seen as posted....

 

Here is the link if it works to the roll call.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=5088216#post5088216

[SailAways]

We had our TA request the egg crate mattress pad be put on our queen size configuration bed prior to our cruise.

When we arrived, it was all taken care of. Thus, the steward did not have to un-make and re-make the bed when he was surely very busy.

 

Hope you love the Spirit - we sure did. Have a great cruise.

[lhugheshome]

Welcome to the 12/29 Spirit Sailing.

 

Nice to hear there will be at least on more kid on board. My son is 9 but a big 9 so he will really be glad to hear that there will be at least 2 other boys around his age on board.

 

My daughter is 11...a mature 11...whould rather spend the whole 10 days without even bumping into her brother. Both my kids are active. They are both competitive swimmers...love the beach, running, jumping, basketball etc. Any spots activities...they will be there.

 

I am hoping to sneek my daughter into the fitness area to take advantage of the fitness pools they have. She plans to swim every day to keep up her level of fitness. She has some important meets when she gets home. Not as necessary for my son as he is just starting to swim competitively and the regular routine is not quite as important.

 

There are some good sites..can't remember where.... that post the Kids Camp activities on the Spirit. I took a look at them and they seem to be similar to all the other Cruise lines. I have heard excellent things about the program on the Spirit.

 

I am assuming other kids will be on the ship as it is still Christmas Vacation for many.

 

I'll take a look to see what I can find and post on our Roll Call.