Just Back from 12/29 sailing

[njkate]

Of course I've much to do...laundry..mail...

Will post a report later BUT this was my first cruise and except for the Very Rough seas on the way down, I did not get sick but many were, it was fantastic!!!

Great time, great ship and fabulous hardworking crew!!

[judyf]

12/29 sailing on what ship?

[Nectarologist]

12/29 sailing on what ship?

The Spirit.

ps Kate, I agree, a great time, great ship.:)

[GOLDENBONNY]

The Spirit.

ps Kate, I agree, a great time, great ship.:)

 

you liked this ship?:eek: well .....I will post my review tomorrow,and its gonna be far away from good ship and good rip

[johnql]

you liked this ship?:eek: well .....I will post my review tomorrow,and its gonna be far away from good ship and good rip

Different opinions from different people on the same ship, same sailing? I'm shocked!

[hotspur]

you liked this ship?:eek: well .....I will post my review tomorrow,and its gonna be far away from good ship and good rip

I dunno. Somehow I think this review's gonna be a good "rip."

[WaldosPepper]

I dunno. Somehow I think this review's gonna be a good "rip."

 

Nice catch! :D I agree, too!

[logcabin]

Already, from the tone of their comments I can tell this is going to be one of "those" reviews. Here we go again.

[abbyndrewmom]

do you remember what time you were off the ship in NYC on the 29th. We are going to be sailing on the Spirit in March and have a 9 hour drive home once we get off the boat so i hope disembarkation will be quick and smooth!!!

 

Allison

[Nectarologist]

do you remember what time you were off the ship in NYC on the 29th. We are going to be sailing on the Spirit in March and have a 9 hour drive home once we get off the boat so i hope disembarkation will be quick and smooth!!!

 

Allison

I was off by 9:30 am. I was among the third group to leave and I too drove myself. FYI the have what they call express disembarkation. You need to be a US citizen & must carry all of your luggage off the boat yourself (ie not leave it outside your cabin the night before) & not need any assistance from the NCL staff. This is the first group to go & I believe they left around 9am.

[lhugheshome]

I was off the ship by 9:00am and at the Airport by 9:30am.

We were non-US citizens so we had to go the a special room and wait to be called. There is no express disemarkation for non-US citizens. However, once immigration gave the OK we moved quickly. We had a wheelchair passenger with us so they let us off the ship first.

[lhugheshome]

Let me chime in with my mini assesment of the 12/29 Spirit Cruise.

 

Overall I rated this Cruise as very good:

 

Here are some of the good features:

 

The ship itself is beautiful. It is kept clean at all times.

 

The rooms..we had a handicapped inside on deck 11. It was very spacious even with the wheelchair . We had no problem sleeping 4. It had ample storage with 4 closets two with shelves and two for hanging as well as a four drawer dresser and a small night table with a drawer and shelf. The bathroom was great. The showe seat really came in handy even the us able boddied when the ship was rocky.I had a chance to peak in on the regular inside rooms and must admit compared to the space in our room they looked small but manageable. This was my first ever inside cabin and I found it to be better than I expected. I had great sleeps as the room is very dark. My only complaint was that you could not take a peak out the window to check the weather. We solved the problem by turning on Channel 2 on the TV. It always showed an outside view from the front of the ship.

 

Kids club was large with lots for the kids to do. My 9 year old chose to fully participate in the programs and my more mature 11 year old girl was happy to hang our with me most of the cruise. The pool/play area at the back of the kids area is wonderful for the younger kids. There are also plenty of deck chairs and tables and chairs in the area for parents. It was much quieter than the main pool area. Ping Pong, direct access to the Raffles Buffet and a Bar were also features of this unique area of the ship.

 

Cagneys the $20 surcharge Steakhouse was excellent. The food was very good with service better than the main restauraunts. Did not go to other surcharge restaurants but heard positive comments about Le Bistro and the Italian. We went to Cagneys twice...try their made at the table to your taste Ceasar Salad. I can still smell the garlic!!!

 

NCL Production company was a pleasant surprise. The shows were all entertaining and the quality of singers was on par or even beter than on other cruise lines. A couple of the female dancers were standouts!

 

The special talent was also very good. The comedian was very funny. His adult only show was standing room only in a smaller venue. They probably should have moved to the the main theatre. The two singers were also very good and although I am not usually a fan of magician shows I found him to be quite entertaining as well.

 

The Cruise Director was A+. Julie from Canada worked as hard as any Cruise Director I have ever seen. She was highly visable day and night and always had a smile and kind word for everyone. Her multinational staff was also very good. Fun loving , people loving staff who truely went out of their way to make the cruise enjoyable. I was surprised by the number of staff who after only one meeting were able to remember my name.

 

Staff in general were kind and friendly.

 

Ports were all excellent. The weather was good at all ports so this increased the enjoyment. We just did beaches and shopping so I am unable to comment on any excursions. For those with kids the Boatyard in Brabadoes is fun. My kids really enjoyed the waterplay available to them. Water trampolines, a floating climbing wall, swinging from ropes from the pier and free banana boat rides. The price is reasonable and a short taxi ride from the ship. You get free drink coupons with the admission.

 

Here are some of the features that are not bad but I would rate as satisafctory.

 

Food in the main dinning rooms was OK. I found the selection to be a little on the light side but still we all managed to find something we could enjoy. Sometimes it meant resorting to some of the always available items...but that was fine by us. We enjoyed the food that was served. I just cannot rave about it.

 

Some bright spots...the Deck Barbque when available was very polular. I enjoyed the chicken and ribs and steak as well as the standard Hambugers and Hot Dogs. Did not go to the Blue Lagoon much but enjoyed what was served. My only real complaint was that they made this a service restaurant rather than some form of fast food venue. I did not try the Fish and Chips but heard they were good. Food at the Bier Garden on deck 13 was pretty good too!

 

Main Restaurant Service -

Here is where I think the freestyle concept suffers...especially in the Windows Restaurant. I noticed that the service was rather slow at the beginning of the cruise. It seemed like the Maitre D was not adjusting the staff appropraitely to the numbers of passengers seated in the section. We waited over a 1/2 hour on the first night before we were even approached by a waiter. Waiters do not ask you about drinks. You must tell them what you want when you order. I do not think I was ever asked in any dining room about drinks. This is something that always impressed on other cruise lines who do not do freestyle. The regular waiter gets to know your likes and dislikes and drink preferences and usually has them waiting for you. This type of service rarely happens in freestyle dining because you rarely see the same waiter. I still like the freestyle concept...just know what you want and be prepared to ask for it instead of being asked.

 

The Garden Room is much smaller and service was much better no matter where we were seated. After the first night we were regulars at the Garden Room.

 

Cruising out of NY. Although no fault of the ship..weather this time of year is always a question. We had one bad day on the way south. Seas were classified as rough to very rough and at times waves were as high as 20 feet. We all took our meds and relaxed in our room that day. By the next day seas were much calmer and activities were as normal on the ship. I think I heard that about 90 % of the passengers stayed very low key for the one day and that even the staff suffered a bit. The trip home was pretty good a little rough at times but not enough to cause the problems experienced on the way down.

 

Wheelchair access. It was pretty good getting around the ship. The only spot I am aware of that was not accessible was the Maharini's Nightclub at the back of the Casino. No problem a powerlifter from New Jersey simply lifted my nephew up the few steps and into the club. The terminal was easy to get around in. So easy we made the mistake of assuming we could manage the gangway without assistance. That was a mistake. The gangway is very steep, goes up two levels with a turn half way. Once in the tunnel there was no turning back...I pushed and my nepjew pulled hard from his chair and we made it to the top..exhausted. My advise is to ask for assistance getting on the ship. I also think that NCL should have given us advance warning but they did not. I do not usually travel with my nephew so the experience of wheelchair issues was very enlightening.

Once on board the crew was great and helped us whenever appropriate.

 

Things I would rate as not acceptable:

 

Off hand I cannot think of anything that would stop me from going on NCL again...yes things happened and yes everything was not to my liking...but that is true of every cruise I have ever been on.

 

Cruising is what you make of it. Do not sweat the small stuff and enjoy the many postive things that you will experieince throughout your cruise.

[Zeno]

lhugheshome:

Nice balanced report! I am sure that those who use wheelchairs will find your info on that very useful!

[House_Atreides]

This was a great review. Not everyone balances things so well in their reviews of thier cruise experience. Yep things go wrong...sometimes you just have to roll with the punches. And those who don't roll well end up having a lousy time because they obsess over the ONE or TWO things that went wrong on their cruise.

 

Thanks again!

Mary :D

[Jewelrymom]

lhugheshome

 

I was wondering what sea sickness meds you were referring to. I don't usually have a problem, but I'm concerned about my 6 year old and 4 year old as well as my hubby. Just looking for suggestions. We are leaving NYC on the Spirit on Feb 26.

 

Thanks!!

Jewelrymom

[lhugheshome]

I am Canadian so our meds ...at least the names are a little different.

 

For the adults I purchased the slow release gravol. It was good for 12 hours. There is childrens gravol at a lower dose available OTC. It works fine but must be given every 4-6 hours. My son likes ginger ale so he pretty much stuck to drinking it a little more frequently and he had no problems at all. My adult nephew also switched to ginger ale and he had no problems for the remainder of the cruise.

 

On the ship many of the staff used wrist bands. You need to wear one on each wrist and they all claim they work pretty well.

[Cosmopolitan]

lhugheshome

 

I was wondering what sea sickness meds you were referring to. I don't usually have a problem, but I'm concerned about my 6 year old and 4 year old as well as my hubby. Just looking for suggestions. We are leaving NYC on the Spirit on Feb 26.

 

Thanks!!

Jewelrymom

 

On our first cruise...I purchased everything that I could find. Save your receipts...you can return them when you get home.

 

We also found that ginger ale (diluted w/water to make it flat) worked well on our last cruise. Sip it slowly:)

The crew suggests green apples.

 

Have a wonderful cruise.

[Jewelrymom]

lhugheshome and cosmopolitan,

 

Thanks for the info on the meds. I'm going to check into some things before we leave and definately take ginger ale and apples with us.

 

Jewelrymom

[Cosmopolitan]

lhugheshome and cosmopolitan,

 

Thanks for the info on the meds. I'm going to check into some things before we leave and definately take ginger ale and apples with us.

 

Jewelrymom

 

Sorry...I should have clarified...you can get ginger ale and the apples on the ship - always available.

Also, if rough seas are during the day, head mid-ship and as low as you can go and sit in a lounge. (don't know where your cabin is). If you are mid-ship you won't feel much unless it is really rough.

 

If rough seas are during the night, you all should be ok as we find that laying down makes you feel better. You will sleep through it;)

[Jewelrymom]

Cosmopolitan,

 

I knew you could get apples, I just wasn't sure about green and I didn't even think about the ginger ale being available on the ship. I guess my "mom" brains is always in be prepared mode. :o As for the cabin. We just switched because I was worried. We were on deck 5 all the way forward in the very last inside cabin. I had read that the anchor dropping (very loud) and rough seas could be really hard all the way forward so I changed us to a new cabin. Although we are on deck 10, we are between mid and back. Actually we are just a couple of doors down from Charlie's Child Care. I know that moving to deck 10 may not have helped, but I'm hoping that the more central location will compensate. Either way, I know if we all just take it easy on the way down (if it is rough), we should be ok.

[njkate]

do you remember what time you were off the ship in NYC on the 29th. We are going to be sailing on the Spirit in March and have a 9 hour drive home once we get off the boat so i hope disembarkation will be quick and smooth!!!

 

Allison

 

We were off and in our bus by 10AM.

We changed luggage tags from deck 6 to deck 10 so as not to hold up the rest of our party.

It went very smooth

[njkate]

lhugheshome:

Nice balanced report! I am sure that those who use wheelchairs will find your info on that very useful!

 

Yes, it is....I am not a writer so glad he posted the report :) :)

 

The only negative I have and this is no fault of the cruise line...was some of the passengers....good grief such rudeness...and the buffet..you would have thought they were going to feed a third world country with what was piled and I do mean piled on the plates...ugh!! Needless to say I was there only twice, once when we first boarded and once for breakfast when we overslept.

 

The one thing I found odd was that Windows & The Garden room both had the same menu...thought there would be more of a choice.

 

I agree Cagney's was great food, service and atmosphere.

 

Crew..........no complaints what so ever...simply fantastic!!

[lhugheshome]

I agree with the some passengers comment! However, passengers were far worse on my first Cruise with Disney. I have never seen pushing and shoving and butting into lines like I saw on that Cruise.....and all to see some Character they would see 20 more times on a 7 day Cruise.

 

 

On the more positive side...which I am always prone to return to...I met some really nice people on this Cruise from all over North America and the World. I will never forget the South African couple who followed us down the gangway at disembarkation just to make sure we made it OK. They certainly could have been long gone as we knew they were anxiuos about making their flight.

 

 

I too was surprised to see how much food people took. One day a group left their table with a full...really full plate of food...piled high with chicken ribs and beef from the barbque. It looked like they never even touched the food. The waiters left it there for the longest time figuring someone must be coming back for it. That did not happen. My 9 year old even commented on how terrible it was to take food like that and just abandon it.

 

My kids, discovered afternoon tea on this cruise and would often go for cookies and finger sandwiches and mugs of milk. To a stranger it might look like alot of food...but it was always shared by the four of us. We usually ate it all....unless we really did not like it. In our house we have a waste not want not rule so we are all pretty good about not wasting food. We try to follow that rule on vacation.

 

When you think about it you cannot blame the Cruise Lines for trying to save on their food budgets. There sure is alot of waste. I would be interested to know how much perfectly good food gets thrown away each day. If we all just ate to be full and were a little more selective on how we choose food I bet the Cruise Lines could afford more high quality cuts of meat etc.

[njkate]

Yes, met many very nice people from all over. There were many Europeans on this cruise.

 

Forgot to mention DH did very well on the Roulette Wheel & Black Jack.

WE had no bill to be charged to the credit card..it was paid in full with casino winnings.....boy do those receipts add up.

Also the cash for shore excursions went back in the bank...again casino winnings...nice for our first cruise:)

[Ladycrusoe]

hi lhugheshome, thank's your for your good review.

 

I am also Canadian, can you tell me a little more about embarkation and disembarkation process for non US ?

 

For embarkation, do we have to wait outside ?

 

Thank you very much !