Norwegian Spirit 1/19 Cruise

[kenlin67]

Just disenbarked from rhe Norwegian Spirit and Am posting my impressions of the ship. Wrote this on Friday but nothing occured on Saturday to change any opinions although disembarcation went very smoothly. Was is my car by 9:30 AM.

 

Following is what I wrote Friday:

 

Still on the last leg of the 10 day cruise, it is Friday 1/27 12:15 PM. After reading many reviews from previous Spirit cruisers, many of them negative, I'll give my opinion of the cruise, trying to be as honest as . possible. This is not a cruise review, but just the positives and negatives of the ship.

 

First, as NCL has no control of the weather, any problems caused by weather will not be included as a negative. Just for information purposes though, seas have been very rough for all but 4 days and the pool was only usable during those 4 days, 1/23-1/26. There didn't appear to be major seasickness problems, only a pretty good roller coaster ride. Also, after being at sea for 2 hours, the ship had to return to NY due to a medical emergency. Through the fine efforts of the captain, this caused no change to the itinerary.

 

EMBARKATION

 

As I live close to NYC, I drove to the port. Arrived early for the scheduled 4PM departure around 11:15AM and it was extremely easy to drop off the luggage and park at the pier parking which is a short walk to the pier. I also believe that the $180 for up to a month parking was fair for NYC. I was not a Latitude member nor was I booked in a suite so I went through standard embarkation. Because I arrived early this was very easy as there was a minimal line for the pre-boarding process (checking in and setting up the onboard credit). Because the ship got in late that morning, boarding did not start until around 1 and within 15 minutes I had my keycard and was in my cabin. I was told by passengers who arrived later that embarkation was much more time consuming.

 

OPINION-EXCELLENT

 

CABIN

 

Balcony Cabin Deck 9 Aft. No complaints or raves. Standard cabin, small bacony. Bathroom set up nicely bys separating the toilet from the rest of the bathroom with a sliding door. Cabin service excellent. I must specifically mention my cabin attendant, gladys, who responded immediately to any of my requests and was very pleasant during the entire voyage.

 

OPINION-CABIN OK, CABIN SERVICE-EXCELLENT

 

FOOD

 

Sur-Charge Reataurants (Cagney,s, Shogun, LeBistro)-Food in these restaurants was above average and the service and presentation was excellent.

 

Non Sur-Charge Sowcialty Restaurant (LaTrattoria)-Very limited choices. Either spaghetti or penne pasta with a choice of 4 sauces or 1 specialty dish. Still, the service was excellent and the food OK. Worth going to once.

 

Main Restaurants (Windows and Garden Room)-Very limited choices. If you are like me and eat very little seafood, you will be very disappointed. If you like chicken, forget it, very little availableand when available prepared poorly. Service was OK.

 

Raffles Buffet-Food is OK, better choices then main restaurants. Service is terrible, dirty dishes are left too long on tables. Iced tea, water and coffee dispensers are left empty too long before being refilled. Also, there was no fruit juice or punch avilableat all during the cruise. Only iced tea or water.

 

Blue Lagoon-OK for quick limited snack menu (soup, hot dogs, hamburgers, fried rice, etc.)

 

OPINION-POOR except for Specialty Reastaurants, be prepared to pay if you want average food or better.

 

ENTERTAINMENT

 

Best part of the cruise. The NCL singers and dacers were good and the other entertainers were very enjoyable. I saw Ross Bennett, Bob Trunell, Rebecca Lowe, Peter Sasso and Eddie Holman. Had very good late shows but they should have been adult onlyas the kids at the shows limited the entertainers. That was said by many of the guests as well as commented on by the entertainers.

 

OPINION-EXCELLENT

 

CRUISE DIRECTOR AND STAFF

 

I thought Julie the Cruise Director did a fine job as far as nightly etertainment went. When it came to daytime activities, here is where my major problem with the cruise came and I don't know where to place the blame. As I said earlier, there were only 4 days that one could spend at the pool and this is one of my enjoyments of a cruise. I chose this ship because it had a separate children's pool and therefore believed the mainl would be less crowded. The pool was overrun with kids most of the day and the activity staff further encouraged this by running childrren's pool games at the main pool. Maybe NCL should see how Disney Cruise Line runs their ships, knowing the need for an adult only pool.

 

OPINION-DAYTIME-POOR, EVENING-EXCELLENT

 

SHIPBOARD

 

Again, rude and unsupervised kids running throughout the ship from 8AM to 1AM. Going up and down the elevators hitting all the buttons, running up and down the steps, hitting into anyone getting in there way. I know that some of what I wrote appears to make it seem that I hate kids. Not true, the kids are just trying to have fun but it is up to their parents to see that the kid's fun doesn't interfere with other passengers and with NCL for not providing any adult only entertainment (except for 1 late show)

[brooklynphil]

Hi,

 

Thanks for the honest review. My question is, Weren't all those kids suppose to be in school? There were no breaks from school during this time period. That's a long time to pull a kid out of school.

 

Phil:confused:

[kenlin67]

You would think so. Actually, I picked this date for that reason but there we a couple of hundred kids between the ages 0f 5 to 16.

[Nectarologist]

Hi,

 

Thanks for the honest review. My question is, Weren't all those kids suppose to be in school? There were no breaks from school during this time period. That's a long time to pull a kid out of school.

 

Phil:confused:

My thoughts too. But that would explain it (to me at least). If they don't mind that their kids miss a week of school (or more) then they don't care what the kids do on the ship when they're not supervised. The same parents probably drop the kids off @ school & use the school as a baby sitting service :D

 

Kenlin, it sounds like you had an great time overall. I did the Spirit for New Year's & we had a great time. One of my issues was also the drink fountains at the buffet. By the end of the trip I said to my wife that I think the guy who fills them up must have called out sick all week. Seems they haven't gotten up to par on that one. But we loved the ship & our vaca was nice.

[hella123@aol.com]

I was on the same cruise and Kenlin67 is being kind.

 

Kenlin67 was right about the food, if you want good food you have to pay for it. The food in the buffet and in the dining rooms was not good at all.

 

The children. Let's just say that they were NOT on their best behavior. Norwegian security really needed to step in and take charge not the other way around. It was not unusual to find bowls of cereal or oatmeal in the stairwell or squished jello thrown on the walls. Or find at 11:30 P.M.two eight year olds in the hot tub without adults around. Or have them running the hallways at 1 A.M.

 

The entertainment was first class. The ship and staff were wonderful. I met some really great people on the ship and the islands were beautiful.

 

I am not sure if I would go on Norwegian again. I'll have to let the memories of this pass cruise to fade. A really great price wouldn't hurt either.

 

PS. I heard on the cruise ship that a private school in

New York City had off the week of the 23rd that is why there were so many families on board.

[Nectarologist]

Private school having the week off would explain the number of kids.

 

The food review was on the mark. I like NCL overall but I feel that to be sure that you'll be getting excellent food you have to book a specialty restaurant. Cruising in general has always been known for the food but it seems that with these type of options, the regular dinners have to roll the dice & hope for great service/food while those who pay...well get what they pay for. The surcharge doesn't bother me as it's just my wife & I but if I had kids it would be a total turn off to think I have to pay to be sure I'm getting an excellent meal & service (when I already paid for the trip). Additionally it seems the same specialty restaurants are on each ship so if you've done one you've done them all. I was on the Dawn twice before my cruise on the Spirit & they were exactly the same so by the end of our 10 on the Spirit we had enough (loved every bite though:) ). I thought the food on the Dawn was better in the regular restaurants when compared to the Spirit. Our next cruise has us on Carnival & the dining played a factor in our decision.

Food on the stairs & on the wall is gross, shame on those who did that. I wonder if they leave food in their stairwell at home? I especially feel bad for the crew who must clean up after these slobs.

[PAGuys]

Hi Everyone,

 

I just wanted to add my two cents on the 1/19 sailing of the Spirit out of NYC. My companion and I arrived at the NYC pier last Thursday at around noon. The embarkation process from walking on the pier and walking up the plank to the ship was about 90 minutes. Not too bad trying to control 2000 passangers. Wait, did I say 2000 passengers? Maybe I should clarify....make that 1200 - 1400 passengers and 600 or so screaming, rude, obnoxious and most importantly UNSUPERVISED children ranging from, quite honestly, about 2 months to 15-16.

 

As the last poster stated, I do not hate children. I really don't. I don't mind being around children who are with responsible adults...after all, just because you are on vacation and you chose to take your children, it doesn't excuse you from being a parent. I was appalled by the display of behavior that I saw on that ship. As the saying goes, "the apple does not fall far from the tree", and these so called parents were proof positive of that. Who was worse? I really cannot say! The first night we went to the Garden Room for dinner (not bad food). There was a small boy about 4 running around the dining room. There was a potted plant next to a staff only door near the table we were seated. After (no exageration) about 20 minutes of the kid just running around and bothering waiters carring hot food, the kid goes over to the planter and started picking out the rocks that I suppose held the plant in place. He then starts THROWING the rocks and actually hit a dinner guest. I assumed the parents were both seeking emergent medical care and that was the reason they were not supervising their child (what other reason could there be??) On the way out of the restuarant I saw the kid with his parents laughling at a table about 100-150 feet AWAY from the planter!! This was not an isolated instance!! There was NO area in the ship where children were not allowed. The casino, the bars, the spa, the nightclubs.....NO WHERE could you be alone. I actually saw a child of about 10 plaing a slot machine for an extended period of time! There was a pretty good vocalist performing in the Starlite lounge the first night. We went in to hear her but the screams of a baby and a 8 or 9 year old running up on the stage bothering the performer sent us out in a hurry. As another poster said, you can't really go in an elevator without kids pushing every button and coughing and sneezing on EVERYTHING that moved! Whatever happened to manners? what ever happened to parental control? Like the other poster, I deliberately picked this cruise because there was no holiday time period in the cruise dates and I thought "Who would take their kids out of school for ten days?". Think again!

 

 

I can't really say anything about the weather, I know they can't control it, but I was so sick from Friday night till we docked in St. Thomas on Sunday, I barely left my room. My traveling companion who didn't start to feel the effects until Saturday night was told by many employees that this is pretty typical for the NYC runs. Also at the first BINGO game the assistant cruise director said twice how unbelievablely calm the seas were today, according to him, that is a rarity on the NYC trips. Oh and come on.......40$ for two people to play 4 games???? Oh man...NEVER again.....

 

Also, an honest word or two about "Freestyle Cruising". Yes you can eat anytime and anywhere you want, but if you don't want to wait in a 45 minute line (the first and second nights) you have to make a reservation or eat at a speciality ($$) restaurant or go to the buffet (think the kitchen at a pre school, as the quality is about the same). After the first night, the dinner reservations lines was constantly full.....only thing??? if you cancel your reservation, you are charged! Not too "free" is it? The screaming passengers waiting in line should certainly give NCL something to think about. There were many vacant tables in these resturants, however, the Hostess told us, that "there just is not enough staff to service them."

 

We were on the 7th floor deck when the ship pulled into St. Thomas, I am really not trying to be negative here, but I can't think of any other words but "animal stampede" to describe the disembarkation process there. Pushing and shoving, kids screaming, strollers flying, parents in total abandon of their children. Other than the carpeting and wooden handrail, you would swear we were on a 1930s passanger ship disembarking to the new world and we had just arrived.

 

What happened after the 3rd day? I can't really answer. We exited the ship in St. Thomas, found a hotel, made air arrangements to return, came back on board, checked out (to a clerk who told us this was "the worst she has ever seen it") and got the hell off that ship. We spent a great week in St. Thomas and St. John. Did we loose out on a great deal of money? Yes, we did, but we learned a valuable lesson. Obviously we are not "cruise" people. Of course, if I want to try it again without all of the children, I can always go with a Disney Cruise. After all NCL (listen up), even Disney knows that kids can get on everyone's nerves and is smart enough to have a program that gives the adults a little time alone.

[foilman2002]

PA Guys

 

Sorry to hear about your bad experience, nobody should be subjected to that. But if you have the money to book a second vacation in order to get away from a fully paid vacation, I would suggest that you not book the mass cruise lines. Instead of NCL, RCCL, Carnival, or Disney I would suggest you look to Seabourn, Silverseas or Radisson. The price is way higher, but the cruise experience is too.

 

Hella123 - ONE school in NYC got out for a week (it was an 11 day cruise), and 600 kids, ages 2 months to 16 years, ended up on the cruise? That would mean the whole school would have gone on the cruise. That's one heck of a field trip. I really tend to doubt that, sounds more like a full winter recess somewhere.

 

We were on the cruise just before this one, and even though the waters did not cooperate, and the drink dispensers were not filled, we didn't have to deal with 600, nor even 40 kids, so we did have a great time.

 

Larry

[Cosmopolitan]

Wow.....

We love kids, have 2 grown-up kids of our own but would NEVER let them (when they were young) out of our sight on vacation! Or...at any other time!

 

Though, in NCL's defense..we spent many vacations at Disney's Grand Floridian, Concierge Level, with MANY children alone and unsupervised! Making a real mess of the lounge! Completely ignored by staff and parents!

 

NCL really needs to get a "handle" on this kid (parent) situation!

Parents must be responsible. Or, NCL MUST get some control!

I would have also thought that kids would have been in class during your cruise?

 

The pool chair problem...ongoing problem with NCL! And Disney:(

 

As far as Freestyle...we cruised the Dawn twice, 2004 & 2005 - without the opportunity for all passengers to make their dining reservations for the whole week on the first day (boarding day). Passengers made their reservations only one day in advance...seemed to work much better!

 

When we cruised the Jewel the end of 2005, passengers could make their dining reservations for the whole week on the first day...lines were all over the place for seating each night in the restaurants...it, obviously, is NOT working!

 

We were in a suite and had no problem BUT it was the first time we observed lines at the restaurants...all of them!..and passengers complaining.

 

Not sure why NCL fixed something that wasn't broken???

Seemed to work fine the old way!

 

We have found cruising "wonderful" since we started in 2004. WE are headed for our 4th NCL cruise...hoping we will not be disappointed!

 

Don't let one cruise turn you off.

We have found NCL and cruising to be wonderful.

 

Glad you enjoyed St. Thomas and St. John;)

[lovetheocean21]

I don't understand this - i was on the 11 day cruise on 1/8/06 - I thought it was one of my best cruises (been on 48 cruises) - Seas were rough and we even made the news because of the rought waves the last day.

The food was good and of course the food was great in the speciality restaurants - you are paying for it and they are only cooking for 50 people - We enjoyed ALL 11 nights and that the crew and passengers were great. We booked it again for November 19, 2006 - I think sometimes you people look for negative things. First of all it's Jan in NYC what do you think the ATLANTIC WATERS are going to be like - a lake? Get real.

We like sailing out of NYC so we don't have to fly as we can walk the piers. On our cruise we were in the pool and laying out the last sea day coming back you just don't know the weather. It was suppose to be 31 and it was 73 degrees. We had many kids on our ship and the were ALL well behaved.

 

I think you need to stick to land.

 

Dave

[GOLDENBONNY]

Hi Everyone,

 

I just wanted to add my two cents on the 1/19 sailing of the Spirit out of NYC. My companion and I arrived at the NYC pier last Thursday at around noon. The embarkation process from walking on the pier and walking up the plank to the ship was about 90 minutes. Not too bad trying to control 2000 passangers. Wait, did I say 2000 passengers? Maybe I should clarify....make that 1200 - 1400 passengers and 600 or so screaming, rude, obnoxious and most importantly UNSUPERVISED children ranging from, quite honestly, about 2 months to 15-16.

 

As the last poster stated, I do not hate children. I really don't. I don't mind being around children who are with responsible adults...after all, just because you are on vacation and you chose to take your children, it doesn't excuse you from being a parent. I was appalled by the display of behavior that I saw on that ship. As the saying goes, "the apple does not fall far from the tree", and these so called parents were proof positive of that. Who was worse? I really cannot say! The first night we went to the Garden Room for dinner (not bad food). There was a small boy about 4 running around the dining room. There was a potted plant next to a staff only door near the table we were seated. After (no exageration) about 20 minutes of the kid just running around and bothering waiters carring hot food, the kid goes over to the planter and started picking out the rocks that I suppose held the plant in place. He then starts THROWING the rocks and actually hit a dinner guest. I assumed the parents were both seeking emergent medical care and that was the reason they were not supervising their child (what other reason could there be??) On the way out of the restuarant I saw the kid with his parents laughling at a table about 100-150 feet AWAY from the planter!! This was not an isolated instance!! There was NO area in the ship where children were not allowed. The casino, the bars, the spa, the nightclubs.....NO WHERE could you be alone. I actually saw a child of about 10 plaing a slot machine for an extended period of time! There was a pretty good vocalist performing in the Starlite lounge the first night. We went in to hear her but the screams of a baby and a 8 or 9 year old running up on the stage bothering the performer sent us out in a hurry. As another poster said, you can't really go in an elevator without kids pushing every button and coughing and sneezing on EVERYTHING that moved! Whatever happened to manners? what ever happened to parental control? Like the other poster, I deliberately picked this cruise because there was no holiday time period in the cruise dates and I thought "Who would take their kids out of school for ten days?". Think again!

 

 

I can't really say anything about the weather, I know they can't control it, but I was so sick from Friday night till we docked in St. Thomas on Sunday, I barely left my room. My traveling companion who didn't start to feel the effects until Saturday night was told by many employees that this is pretty typical for the NYC runs. Also at the first BINGO game the assistant cruise director said twice how unbelievablely calm the seas were today, according to him, that is a rarity on the NYC trips. Oh and come on.......40$ for two people to play 4 games???? Oh man...NEVER again.....

 

Also, an honest word or two about "Freestyle Cruising". Yes you can eat anytime and anywhere you want, but if you don't want to wait in a 45 minute line (the first and second nights) you have to make a reservation or eat at a speciality ($$) restaurant or go to the buffet (think the kitchen at a pre school, as the quality is about the same). After the first night, the dinner reservations lines was constantly full.....only thing??? if you cancel your reservation, you are charged! Not too "free" is it? The screaming passengers waiting in line should certainly give NCL something to think about. There were many vacant tables in these resturants, however, the Hostess told us, that "there just is not enough staff to service them."

 

We were on the 7th floor deck when the ship pulled into St. Thomas, I am really not trying to be negative here, but I can't think of any other words but "animal stampede" to describe the disembarkation process there. Pushing and shoving, kids screaming, strollers flying, parents in total abandon of their children. Other than the carpeting and wooden handrail, you would swear we were on a 1930s passanger ship disembarking to the new world and we had just arrived.

 

What happened after the 3rd day? I can't really answer. We exited the ship in St. Thomas, found a hotel, made air arrangements to return, came back on board, checked out (to a clerk who told us this was "the worst she has ever seen it") and got the hell off that ship. We spent a great week in St. Thomas and St. John. Did we loose out on a great deal of money? Yes, we did, but we learned a valuable lesson. Obviously we are not "cruise" people. Of course, if I want to try it again without all of the children, I can always go with a Disney Cruise. After all NCL (listen up), even Disney knows that kids can get on everyone's nerves and is smart enough to have a program that gives the adults a little time alone.

 

It' not obviouly you are not cruise people,you just choose the wrong Ship,with a wrong company.

If this was my first cruise I would say the ame thing.Try more expenive Cruise lines,try going out from Florida(different crowd going from there),but I dont think any cruise line can control unsupervised kids,just think what those parents will do,if someone from the crew will tell the kid

to back off:p

[ccastano]

I just wanted to add some comments on the kids on cruises posts. We are going on the 2/26 Spirit cruise to the bahamas. No, it's not a school vacation week for our two, six and eleven. I can tell you that missing a week of school is an issue for us, however, our schools, if given advance notice (our kids teachers have known since before Christmas) will help them work ahead, and my son is even planning an extra credit presentation of his trip for his social studies class when he gets back.

 

To be perfectly honest, the cruise lines jack the prices up to nearly double for cabins on spring vacation week, and I can't afford it. I did not think that trading missing a week of school when my kids will still complete the same work, and not really miss a beat, would negate the vacation of a lifetime to somewhere none of us have ever been and experiences we've never had. So no it's not that we do not care, and are the type of parents who will let their kids run wild because we have no sense of responsibility for our kids missing school.

 

As for kids running wild...reading all these posts is alarming to me as a parent. My kids are not allowed anywhere unsupervised, even my eleven year old middle school boy. I see parents all the time, everywhere, letting their kids pretty much do what they want. I've learned to just educate my kids and watch the unruly ones as an example usually adding something like..gee aren't you glad all those people aren't giving you those nasty looks like they are those kids? It actually makes them proud to be the responsible ones.

 

The cruise lines have really been hitting the advertising as a family vacation experience, which is why we are taking our first major family vacation on a cruise. What I'm wondering is..wouldn't it be possible for paying passengers, especially regular cruisers, to put together some sort of advisory panel to start educating the cruise lines that it's only a matter of time before something bad happens, and that it might end up being a child in the news as some sort of victim of a problem on a cruise? Not to mention the fact that it seems like a huge issue for cruisers in general, and hopefully won't be for myself included..to be overrun by bratty kids while you are trying to enjoy your vacation.

 

Just my two cents...

[firstcruise1970]

that it's only a matter of time before something bad happens, and that it might end up being a child in the news as some sort of victim of a problem on a cruise? ..

I think a 4 year or 6 year old girl fell off the dawn

[njkate]

entire voyage.

 

CRUISE

 

SHIPBOARD

 

Again, rude and unsupervised kids running throughout the ship from 8AM to 1AM. Going up and down the elevators hitting all the buttons, running up and down the steps, hitting into anyone getting in there way. I know that some of what I wrote appears to make it seem that I hate kids. Not true, the kids are just trying to have fun but it is up to their parents to see that the kid's fun doesn't interfere with other passengers and with NCL for not providing any adult only entertainment (except for 1 late show)

 

Good grief....why were these kids even on a cruise this time of year!!! School is back in session?? I guess parents don't even think twice about keeping their kids out of school

[mediterra]

Hi, I too was on the cruise from hell! The above folks donot exagerrate the goings on this sailing. I was told by my cabin steward that a staff meeting was called for a morale booster because of how the crew was treated and tortured by these ignorant obnoxious people. I donot blame the children its the parents attitude and entitlement to behave and treat people disrespectful that i found appalling. On the upside i met alot of great people and had alot of laughs swapping stories and commiserating on the antics of these folks. Unlike some people I still had a wonderful time on the islands and enjoyed myself despite it all. Always look for that silver lining! Bravo to the SPIRIT CREW FOR THEIR PERSERVERANCE AND SMILES WE APPLAUD YOU!!!!!

[chrisv348]

I was on the 1/8 Spirit sailing and I understand that there was approximately 132 children. The kids crew supervisory group did mention to me that they expected as very large percentage of children on the upcoming 1/19 sailing. Even relatively good children without the supervision of their parents tend to get into trouble, especially with the peer pressure of other children.

 

We brought our 10-year old daughter with us on this sailing. She enjoyed the kids crew activities and met some friends. During one of the final sailing days, she convinced me to allow her and a few other friends to go to the arcade without parental supervision. I agreed contingent upon the fact that they remain together as a group and that she should not wander alone.

 

Before I was even able to get back to my room I noticed two of the girls from the group running down the stairs. I questioned the whereabouts of my daughter. After A few um's and oh's, I determined that they were conducting a race. They were all starting from the top deck, some on stairs and some on elevators and racing to see who arrived at the bottom deck the quickest. I can honestly say that it took this group of kids less than minutes to get into trouble. As much as you want to trust your children and allow them to grow, they should not remain unsupervised at anytime during the cruise.

 

When I found my daughter she was given a stern lecture about improper use of the elevators and stairs. I indicated that there were elderly people on the ship that were dependent upon the use of the elevators, yet they were being blocked and delayed by foolish activities. Needless to say my daughter was not allowed to wander unsupervised for the remainder of the trip. Bottom line - If your going to bring your children, watch your children. Even well behaved children will tend to falter in a group under peer pressure. Kids will be kids, but parents need to be parents.

 

Chris

[njkate]

Hi, I too was on the cruise from hell! The above folks donot exagerrate the goings on this sailing. I was told by my cabin steward that a staff meeting was called for a morale booster because of how the crew was treated and tortured by these ignorant obnoxious people. I donot blame the children its the parents attitude and entitlement to behave and treat people disrespectful that i found appalling. On the upside i met alot of great people and had alot of laughs swapping stories and commiserating on the antics of these folks. Unlike some people I still had a wonderful time on the islands and enjoyed myself despite it all. Always look for that silver lining! Bravo to the SPIRIT CREW FOR THEIR PERSERVERANCE AND SMILES WE APPLAUD YOU!!!!!

 

MORALE booster for the crew???? This must of been the sailing from hell if they needed to do that..I was on the 12/29 sailing and was worried because schools were closed part of the time....thankfully we had none of that or my hubby would of been making air arrangements home in St Thomas as well!!!

Precisely the reason we try and book ADULTS only when staying at a resort

[Aimarg]

Couldn't have said it better ourselves, Chris. BTW - I can personally say Jessica is a great girl - congratulations to all three of you!

 

Cheers, Marg & Rick

[nonnie1]

My family and I were also on this cruise...apparently, one or two Hebrew schools in Brooklyn were on winter break and hence many of the children.

I traveled with my husband, 21 year old son and 16 year old daughter (she missed exam week and took them early) We also were joined by another couple who had cruised with us on the Celebrity Galaxy 2 years ago. This cruise offered 3rd and 4th person in the cabin for free (only port taxes) so we decided to let our kids experience cruising firsthand since we like it so much. this was our first try at Freestyle. Everything everyone else posted about the kids was true....I felt much sympathy for the crew members who had to grin and bear it. We tried to show our appreciation at their efforts as much as possible because it had to have been incredibly draining for them to have to deal with such rudeness. People were complaining about ridiculous things. Get real!!! What are you paying-a million dollars?? is what I have to say to those rude obnoxious people! I thought the food in the main dining rooms was very good. There were a couple of things I would not have ordered again but for the most part, the dishes were tasty and the presentation was very nice. We preferred the Garden Terrace because it was more intimate and midship (less rocking and no engine noise) We also found that going to dinner around 6-6:30 was a lot better than 7-7:30 (not much of a wait if at all) Le Bistro was worth the surcharge-surf and turf excellent and the chocolate fondue mouth watering! We did not do any of the other special restaurants. Raffles is confusing at first but after the first time, you figure out where stuff is. We would have liked more time on the islands but oh well...

Entertainment fantastic....would have liked more daytime activites like trivia or other games. To sum it up, make the most of your experiences, treat people with kindness and courtesy and count your blessings-after all, not everyone can afford this type of vacation. Also, think about getting the patch from your dr. we did and don't regret it!!!Seas were rocky.

[tweetytweet24]

We sailed on this cruise as well and I couldn't agree with you more "mediterra"! The Spirit Crew deserve a medal for dealing with some of these children and their parents.

 

Just to give you a few examples -

 

During one of the shows, a group of young male teenagers were shouting out insults at a comedian (I hope the comedian didn't hear them). I suggested to them that maybe they should leave if they didn't like the show and of course they gave me the attitude and left minutes later.

 

Scattered Cherios and popcorn on the elevator floors were not uncommon to see. I actually helped one of the crew members pick up small pebbles that were tossed almost the entire length of a hallway floor (you could see it was done purposely).

 

Well despite some of these issues, the cruise was nice (loved the itinerary). Thanks to the cruise director and her staff, our steward and to all other hard working crew members who made it all happen!

 

Aloha!:)

[foilman2002]

I guess I stand corrected on the amount of kids that were on the 1/8 cruise, but its a credit to the parents and the kids that both my wife and I really thought there were very few children around. Yes, we saw some, but I was never put out by any of them. All in all, rough seas not withstanding it was a great cruise.

 

Larry

[ccastano]

Even well behaved children will tend to falter in a group under peer pressure. Kids will be kids, but parents need to be parents.

 

Chris

 

That's the key, right there. I think the parents must think they are on 'vacation' and that the kids can't exactly go anywhere, since they are on a ship. As completely wrong as that is..and scary.

 

I can't believe that the parents would not step in though when things are going on like some of you have described. I would be completely embarrassed if my kids behaved like that..and now I'm even worried that while I'm on a cruise with my kids, I'm going to have to deal with being frustrated and annoyed by other people's kids while I'm sitting there making mine toe the line!

 

But..it's nothing new. When my daughter was three, we went to this community sponsored Easter Egg hunt. We live in a small town and it was in a park. There were several hundred kids, and plenty, plenty of plastic Easter Eggs. It was well organized, with kids grouped according to age. To be fair, the organizers, who had obviously put in alot of work, asked each parent to limit their child to five eggs, and bring them back to the line. Then, after everyone had five, they could have a free run and go back and collect as many as possible. Well..I saw parents out there, during the five egg pick up, literally stuffing their shirts with dozens of eggs. I was so mad I started saying things out loud to them! My husband had to tell me to be quiet before someone decided to get back at me for it. I had to explain to my kids why we took only five, when all these people out there are stuffing their kids baskets and pockets, it was amazing. Ever since my kids have been small I learned that the parents are the worst thing about dealing with other people's kids!

 

Caprice

[4merlurker]

. This cruise offered 3rd and 4th person in the cabin for free (only port taxes) [/quote]

 

That's why all those kids where on that cruise!!!! :cool:

 

BTW, We don't hesitate to take our kids out of school for vacation. I agree with the above posters who said school holiday sessions are WAY to expensive. Airfare at Easter is RIDICULOUS - sometimes more than the vacation itself. My girls are all "A" students and have no trouble catching up or doing make up work. Thank god they don't struggle in school. Otherwise our vacations would be few and far between! ;)

 

In defense of kids, I've seen adults act pretty badly in public also......I'm sure many have them have "ruined" cruises for others!

 

~Connie

[maurick]

Did any of you say anything to the staff or complain about this on going behavior?? The child taking a plant apart and throwing rocks in the dining room. Where was the dining room staff? They would not be out of line correcting this child. Safety would be a issue. I would and have told children playing on the elevators to stop. Sometimes they have gotten off, and sometimes continued.

 

If you did bring this issue up to the staff, did they correct the problem?

[cardholder]

I really loved evereything about the 1/19 NCL cruise except for the parents of those children. My understanding is that there was a trip organized by a Hebrew school and the kids did have a school break. One family consisted of at least 5 kids - one still breast feeding, as witnessed in the Galaxy. At the pool this mother said and I'll paraphrase "let her scream till she gets tired". This kid didn't get tired for quite some time. The parents didn't care how their family was infringing on other people, instead they had a conversation concerning the automatic tip with a gentleman traveling with their group. Seems that they didn't like that arrangement so the gentleman said, "oh at the end of the cruise I have the auto-tip removed and say I didn't like the service. Those people should have tipped even more since they were all such high maintenance. Is it any wonder that their children behave the way they did on the cruise. They are arrogant slobs who left food in elevators, pushed elderly people around and ran throughout the ship without any supervision night and day. And their kids behaved the same way!