Back from Spirit 11/27 cruise

[Leona1]

Hi

We just returned yesterday from our cruise.

I have read so many reviews about the ship some negative and some positive. I was not sure I what I would find when I got on the ship. I will give you my feelings about it.

 

From the moment we embarked we were treated so well. Having booked a Penthouse suite our concierge met us at the pier and escorted us to check in and then onto the ship. We arrived at the pier at 11 and we were on the ship by 11:45 or earlier.

 

We dropped our things off at our cabin and went to lunch. We ate at Windows and the staff was very attentive, of course we were the only ones in the restaurant at the time. Our meal was brought out promptly and we were very pleased. Shoreguy- I remember you had some problems with lunch the first day on the Dawn. We had none.

 

We went back to our cabin to look it over and I must say it was beautiful, we have sailed in many suites on many lines and this one was one of our favorites, It was not the largest but it was so tasteful.

Alex, our conceirge came to the cabin and we set up our dining arraingements. He told us he will always be able to get us a reservation when we wanted and it turned out he did.

We did try all the specialty restaurants some twice. We ate in the dining room a few times and thought the food was good, not gourmet, but we did not find anything so bad that it had to be sent back.

We met some wonde ful people on the cruise. Loved meeting all our Cruise Critic friends and did get to spend time with them throughout the cruise.

At the crusie critic get togther we were honored to have some of the crew come and talk to us. Hi Alexandra. They were so nice and did answer all of the questions we had and gave us some insights on the goings on on the ship.

We were lucky to have beautiful weather the entire trip. The water was a little choppy on the way down, but once we reached St. Thomas it was smooth sailing.

 

If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask.

Leona

[ScottieNY]

Hi Leona,

 

I'm glad you had a wonderful time. How many formal/captions dinners where there? How was it? Which specialty restaurants would you recommend? In terms of dinner reservation is it true it should all be done at the beginning of the cruise? How are the happy hours on the cruise? One last question.. How where the excursions? Any you really recommend? We'll be on the Spirit on the 18th, really excited...

 

Oh yeah my wife would like to know about laundry/irons?

[GOLDENBONNY]

Hi Leona,

 

I'm glad you had a wonderful time. How many formal/captions dinners where there? How was it? Which specialty restaurants would you recommend? In terms of dinner reservation is it true it should all be done at the beginning of the cruise? How are the happy hours on the cruise? One last question.. How where the excursions? Any you really recommend? We'll be on the Spirit on the 18th, really excited...

 

I wanted to ask somthing,but you cover all my quastions)))):)

just hope for 2 days in sea they had planty of activities,because as I anderstand there is no pool open in 2 days:confused:

[Leona1]

To answer your questions, I enjoyed all the specialty restaurants. I think Le Bistro and Shogun were my favorites, but Cagney's came almost at the top also. We ate at both the regular restaurant in Shogun and the Tepenaki and enjoyed both.

We had the conceirge to make our reservations so there was no pressure, I did speak to some others and they had no problem getting reservations at the restaurants during the cruise but sometimes it had to be a different time then they wishedl If you know what you want go ahead and make them at the beginning, you can always cancel by 5 PM the day of your reservation.

As far as excuresions go we only did one with the ship in Domenica. It was okay, the people who took the excursion in Tortola to Virgin Gorda had a lot of problems so I would question if it has been changed before I book it. You can find out about it if you read Polish Falcons message on the board

The pools were not open the 2 days down because the seas were rough. If they would have been calmer they would have been open. The ship seemed to have had many activities planned. I found enough to do each day.

There is no self service laundry onboard.l You would have to send your things out.No irons are allowed on the ship.

 

We had a great time.

 

Leona

[ScottieNY]

Hi Leona,

 

I'll make this one quick... So there are no irons allowed, is there a floor iron? How do people iron there stuff?

[LegalCruiser10]

ScottieNY,

 

We are on the 18th Sailing too and are bringing a travel steamer for our clothes. As we understand it as long as the wattage is under 500 (which most are) they are allowed. We got a very small one that we have tried out at home and it works well.

 

Elissa

[Glamourgal]

Thanks for sharing your cruise with us. It is so nice to hear the feedback from past cruisers when you are scheduled to sail the same ship. I just do not know how I am going to wait until June!! !! :)

[cruzfvr]

Leona~ Which Penthouse Suite were you in? Sounds like you had a nice vacation! We are looking forward to our Christmas cruise! ~Debbi

[Capebreck]

Hi Leona,

 

I'm glad I found you.

 

Can you recommend the Bistro for a "birthday" dinner for my sixteen year old over any of the other restaurants? (Family of four)

 

Also, forgive me if this has been asked/answered elsewhere: can you get room service 24/7?

 

What is the menu at your two favorite, if I may ask.

 

We sail next week over X-mas,

 

thank you,

 

Dave

[Leona1]

Hi Leona,

 

I'm glad I found you.

 

Can you recommend the Bistro for a "birthday" dinner for my sixteen year old over any of the other restaurants? (Family of four)

 

Also, forgive me if this has been asked/answered elsewhere: can you get room service 24/7?

 

What is the menu at your two favorite, if I may ask.

 

We sail next week over X-mas,

 

thank you,

 

Dave

 

 

Dave.

I think Le Bistro would be perfect for your daughters birthday. I would even mention that it is her birthday when you make the reservation. I am sure they will do something special for her. If you go there don't forget to order the Chocolate fondue for dessert.

Le Bistro has very good selection of Steak, chicken, seafood etc. A wonderful mushroom soup or onion soup, seafood appetizers, escargot and shrimp. Cagney's has very good filet and lamb. Shogun, which I enjoyed had very good peking duck. You can order as many appetizers, soups desserts as you want at these restaurants.

 

I am sure you will enjoy any of the specialty restaurants. I hope you have as good a time as we did.

 

Leona

[Leona1]

Leona~ Which Penthouse Suite were you in? Sounds like you had a nice vacation! We are looking forward to our Christmas cruise! ~Debbi

 

Debbie,

 

We were in an AC Penhouce 10022 and we loved it.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

Leona

[Leona1]

Hi Leona,

 

I'll make this one quick... So there are no irons allowed, is there a floor iron? How do people iron there stuff?

 

Scottie,

There are no floor irons, if you need something pressed you can send it out.

We hung our clothes up as soon as we got our luggage and they seemed to fair very well. Pack your clothes in plastic from the cleaners and they stay pretty wrinkle free.

Leona

[Capebreck]

Thank you, Leona, I appreciate it. We'll go there.

 

Another question - probably answered elsewhere - do they have hair dryers in the bathrooms?

 

Thanks for your excellent feedback!

 

Dave

 

BTW: I see you were on the Oceanic; I cruised on it as well as worked it many times. Those types of ships are long gone.......

[Don Haynes]

Yes, every cabin on the Spirit has a hair dryer installed. Whether it is as good as the one at your home is questionable. Some have posted the hair dryer did the job in twice the time, others claimed otherwise. If your hair is very thick and long, I suggest using some straightner lotion(?) too.

[Capebreck]

Thanks, Don, may be a problem for the wife and kids but not moi!!!

 

regards,

 

Dave

[greenie]

Debbie,

 

We were in an AC Penhouce 10022 and we loved it.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

Leona

 

Leona1, we are booked in 10022 for the 2/9 cruise! Did you take any pictures of your/our :) suite? I am so excited reading that someone was in there, I can't wait to be in there myself! Did you find it's location to be a good one and convenient to the places you most liked to go to?

 

It sounds like Alex was a good concierge, that's great. Who was your butler? Was he/she really good too?

[greenie]

I have no shame--I'm bumping this up! Leona ... oh, LeONa!

 

:)

[Leona1]

Leona1, we are booked in 10022 for the 2/9 cruise! Did you take any pictures of your/our :) suite? I am so excited reading that someone was in there, I can't wait to be in there myself! Did you find it's location to be a good one and convenient to the places you most liked to go to?

 

It sounds like Alex was a good concierge, that's great. Who was your butler? Was he/she really good too?

 

Hi Greenie,

First of all. you will love the suite, we did. I found the location to be good considering I don't really like forward cabins. When we needed to go places that were not located forward we would just go down to Deck 7 or 8 and walk across. A lot to see on these decks.The pool is in the center of Deck 12 so we just went up our elevator and it was close by.

Pictues-my camera broke while in Antigua so I only got some shots. They are posted on Webshots. If I can figure out how to post them on this site I will.

We had such a great time on the Spirit and had no complaints, hope you experience the same. If you have any more questions just ask, meanwhile I will work on the pics.

 

Leona

[logcabin]

We are staying in an aft penthouse on our July 22nds cruise on the Spirit. We prefer the aft suites as the balconies are larger. However, I believe everything else is pretty much the same. I am looking forward to seeing the photos. If you can't put them on here, what is your link to webshots?

[SailAways]

Hi Greenie,

We had such a great time on the Spirit and had no complaints, hope you experience the same. If you have any more questions just ask, meanwhile I will work on the pics.Leona

 

How very nice to see that someone who has cruised previously, gave the Spirit such a nice review.

The Spirit was our first cruise in September. Having nothing to compare it with, we had absolutely no complaints. We were treated royally, and did not have a single bad encounter.

Nice to know that the "after-dry-dock transition" is smoothing out, and that the old feeling is reappearing.

She truly is a glorious ship - No comparison needed - Beauty speaks for itself, as does great service, good food, and a wonderful crew.

Glad that you enjoyed the Spirit as much as we did.

[greenie]

Hi Greenie,

First of all. you will love the suite, we did. I found the location to be good considering I don't really like forward cabins. When we needed to go places that were not located forward we would just go down to Deck 7 or 8 and walk across. A lot to see on these decks.The pool is in the center of Deck 12 so we just went up our elevator and it was close by.

Pictues-my camera broke while in Antigua so I only got some shots. They are posted on Webshots. If I can figure out how to post them on this site I will.

We had such a great time on the Spirit and had no complaints, hope you experience the same. If you have any more questions just ask, meanwhile I will work on the pics.

 

Leona

 

Thanks for answering, Leona. I needed that anticipation fix! When we booked the cabin, we were told there is a bit of an overhang on the balcony so it's shady. I liked that idea, seeing as we would be in the southern caribbean and could get pletnty of sun elsewhere on the ship, when desired. Can you tell me--is the whole balcony in shade? How private is it?

 

Thanks so much!

[dongordon]

Thank you for the review and answering all the questions for future Spirit cruisers.

 

We will be cruising in July and wondering if the Spirit also has the Martini Clinic as did the Dawn..we enjoyed it twice onboard the Dawn.

 

How was the Bier Garden? What did they serve and when was food available during the day?

 

Don

[Leona1]

Greenie-The balcony does have an overhang, but we did have some sun when the sun was shining on the Starboard side and Shade when it was on the Port side. It is a small balcony but enough to go out and check the beautiful caribbean out..

 

Don- I am not sure there was a Martini Clinic but I could be wrong we were doing so many things that I might have missed it.

As far as the Bier Garten , they had bratwurst and saurkraut somedays,they were carving a pig other days and had some other dishes also. My husbnd checked it out a few times. I always had him bring me back a soft pretzel.

 

You both will love the ship. I know I did.

 

Leona

[dongordon]

Leona,

 

Thanks for your quick reply.

 

I noticed that you were on the Voyager of the Seas:

My daughter and her husband went on Adventure of the Seas and loved it. They were trying to get us to go on that ship this summer, but we love leaving from NYC and the Freestyle Dining provided by NCL. So we are going on the Spirit this July and wondering how she will compare the two ships and whether or not the Spirit be a disappointment after cruising on the AOS?

 

Don

[Leona1]

Leona,

 

Thanks for your quick reply.

 

I noticed that you were on the Voyager of the Seas:

My daughter and her husband went on Adventure of the Seas and loved it. They were trying to get us to go on that ship this summer, but we love leaving from NYC and the Freestyle Dining provided by NCL. So we are going on the Spirit this July and wondering how she will compare the two ships and whether or not the Spirit be a disappointment after cruising on the AOS?

 

Don

Don,

While I am a big fan of Royal Caribbean and did go on the Voyager in 'Sept. I can honestly say I enjoyed the Spirit more. This is coming from someone who was leary to go on NCL and do the Freestyle thing.Don't get me wrong we had a wonderful time on the Voyager, and leaving from Bayonne was so easy. Howeverk, I felt the food on Royal Caribbean was not as good as it used to be and I think NCL had more things going on.

But, I would not hesitate going on either one of the ships again.

I found Freestyle to be a good thing, my husband did not think he would like it as he enjoys traditional seating, but ended up enjoying it also.

 

Leona