just back from the spirit

[kathas2boys]

This was my first time ever cruising and yes I would go on the spirit again. I did keep all of my freestyle dailies and I also have copies of the menus. I can give you advise on the kids crew ages 10-12 and the teen program.

 

When we left Sunday at 11:20 we arrived at the piers at 12 noon. We were in line and waited about 30 minutes (the first line the lattitude members can not jump). We were in our cabin by 12:40 and having lunch by 1. I immediately signed my 10 year old son up for the kids crew and purchased a refillable soda card and got my 13 year old the passport program.

 

We ate lunch in Raffles and can not complain about a buffet. A buffet is a buffet and you already know what to expect. Dinner was in Windows and it was delicious (get the prime rib, it melts in your mouth). I really didn't pay much attention to the servers as we had a different server each night in Windows.

 

We had smooth sailing leaving New York nothing to complain about. If you want a good spot to stand in for a great view, then I suggest going to the top deck up front just as you are pulling out of the pier. It will get crowded a you approach the SOL. Stay there until you pass under the Ver. Bridge. It is really amazing.

 

We really didn't do much the 1st 2 days except play bingo once and explored the ship. We did find the D.R.A.G.O.N.:D :D

 

We decided to do Kennedy space center. Not crowded at all and we had a great time. When we boarded again we spoke with several people that said we made the better decision. We were told that Cocoa Beach is filthy and Disney was a bit crowded. Not knocking either one because we were not there to view the situations just letting you know what we were told.

 

The 4th day we decided to do the Beach and Bayside Hopper. Parents BEWARE: SouthBeach is 7 1/2 miles of optional topless :eek: (confirmed by an employee of Southbeach, a fact that I wish I knew before taking my 13 year old son there) . Though the single men onboard would love it and the other teens onboard thought it was the highlight of their lives.

 

Great Stirrup Cay is beautiful. Wonderful day great weather. There were no other ships there so there was plenty of room for everyone.

 

Nassau was great also. We decided to do the straw market and some other shopping.

 

Now the bad part: We have to come home and go back to reality:( :( . Disembarkation went very smooth if you follow directions. We waited up in the Galaxy of the Stars talking with other people waiting.

 

We met alot of great people onboard and hope to stay in touch with them.

 

I will not go into detail about the kid programs but if you have any questions I will be more than happy to answer them....I saw absolutely no problems onboard or off when it came to kids. We had a great group.! If you need to ask questions feel free... Like I said I have all of the freestyles and menus for Windows and the Garden room. I also have the programs for the kids crew ages 10-12 and the teen program

[Glamourgal]

I have been waiting for someone to post the freestyles and menus. Are you going to post them? I look forward to seeing them.

Thanks for your review!! I leave on June 3 and I can't wait!!

[intrepid_guy]

Glad you had such a nice time... I found the SPIRIT to be my favorite ship, so I think you picked a good one to start off with.

 

Looking forward to anything else you have to say about the trip...

 

 

~Intrepid

[Hikini]

I knew you would enjoy the Spirit. We certainly enjoyed our cruise aboard the Spirit last fall.

 

I'll be anxious to see your freestyle dailies and menus. Especially the menus since we are sailing on the Star in June. Yes, I know different itinerary and different ship, but the menus will likely be very similar to what you enjoyed.

 

I agree, the prime rib on the first night is always my favorite meal. Did you also have the chocolate torte for dessert?

 

Are you going to post the menus?

 

Hikini:D

[hods93]

Kathas2boys glad to hear you had such a great time!! We are on the Spirit 6/11. I have a boy 12 that will be 13 in early July. My question is, do you think he will be bored in the 10-12 kids program? He is heading in eighth grade and I am not sure if this program might be on the young side for him?

 

Thanks so much.

[spirit0603]

hi glad to see you had a good time. i would love if you could post the dailies and menus from your spirit cruise. i will be traveling the spirit on june 3. i also was wondering if there were a lot of people in their mid-20s. i am 22 and will be going with my boyfriend of 8 years and possibly another couple. thank you

[Glamourgal]

Hi Spirit0603, Have you checked out our roll call for the June 3rd cruise? Myself and husband are traveling with our 3 adult kids, 24, 22, and 19. There is also another couple in their 20's on our roll call. We are hoping to have an informal meet and mingle. Hope to see you on the board!!

[cuccicruisers]

Hi Cassandra....

 

Great to meet you and your family...wanted to say good-bye but saw you were busy applying first aid to a little girl on the way out.

 

Hope working did not make you too depressed. I sure was not thrilled to be there today.

 

Keep in touch, Kathy

[electricron]

Sounds like you had a great cruise aboard the Spirit.

 

The :eek: DRAGON :eek: is smiling again.

[Cruiser 1998]

Thanks for the report and we're glad you all had a good time. We're sailing on the Spirit on May 20th, and we'd like to see the menus, too.

[jeannep]

I am so glad you enjoyed your first cruise. May it be the first of many!!!!!!!

 

Jeanne

[kids1stcruise]

Please Let Me Know How Your Boys Were W/ The Kids Program--was It Worth It --? The Activities Thru-out The Day For Them.

Hope Not Too Childish

[kathas2boys]

To all who want the freestyles and menus...as soon as I figure out how to post them, I will be more than happy to do it...if anyone has any idea how to help me out that would be lovely.

 

As far as the kids programs 10-12, there is no charge to sign them up. Let your child decide for him/herself if he/she wants to do it. Have them go the first night and check it out. But most definitely get the refillable soda card and if you have a teen get the teen passport program. We found that only a couple of days our 10 year old was not in the mood for kids club and he really wanted to be clingy, which was fine for us also. We also found that our 13 yr old liked to play hide and seek with us...we would betrying to find him and he knew of so many hiding spots (got him into trouble when he didn't show up for pictures and dinner Friday night!!).

 

til later...Cassandra: Kathas2boys@aol.com

[kathas2boys]

I also brought home the programs for the kids programs if any of you are interested...(I saved everything:D :D )

[kathas2boys]

hey Kathy: now cAN you imagine a UPS driver with a first aid kit in her luggage...The little girl slammed her entire hand in the car door and Here I Come To Save The Day...Fresh ice pack and all the goodies that any mother would need if they have very active kids...kinda like the american express card: DON'T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT!!!:D :D the people that I helped out were the people who helped me dress the man in woman's clothing for the MS NCL Spirit (yes we came in 1st place):p

[jennylane]

so glad to hear you had a nice trip with your kids. i'm not bringing my daugter (she's 14) but i plan to on future cruises.

 

you asked about posting the dailies. if you have a scanner you can do it that way, scan into your computer and then upload to something like webshots, where they let you post pictures for free. or if you have good lighting and a good digital camera, you can take a picture of the daily and then upload that as well. those are the only two ways i'm aware of. good luck!!!

[spirit0603]

hi thank you glamourgal for informing me about the roll call. i just joined this website and im trying to figure out how to use it. im looking forward to the trip..7 weeks from saturday lol!!! a few questions about the website itself--is there way to email certain people? how do u find a certain post? like i am replying to a post now and how do i find it again without scrolling through each post on the board, is there an easier way to do that?

[intrepid_guy]

spirit0603 -

 

You can find every post you have made very easily. At the top of your screen, there is a blue bar with links including one that says "User CP" this is your "control panel", when you click on it, it will take you to a screen that will show all of your posts that have had replies since the last time you logged in. In addition you can change your signature and profile there. Check it out, it is pretty user friendly. Personally, every time I log on to CC, the first place I go is my User CP and see what has been posted on "my" threads... like this thread! Then I go to the main board. Just my style, but it may work for you too....

 

~Intrepid

[kathas2boys]

I will try to post one menu a day if possible so here goes:

 

Bon Voyage Dinner

 

To start with:

Baby shrimp coctail (tomato-horseradish sauce)

 

Texas Grapefruit Segments (splash of bloody mary mix and Epazote sprinkles)

 

Empanada de Picadillo (baked beef turnover with Chorizo-Peach Salsa)

 

Creamy Corn Soup (roasted red bell peppers)

 

French Onion Soup with Beef and Barley

 

Crisp Iceberg Lettuce (Avocado and Tomato; choice of Chipotle dressing, traditional or fat free dressings)

 

 

Always Available:

 

Ceasar Salad with Herbed Croutons and Parmesan Cheese Flakes

 

Grilled Supreme of Farm-raised Chicken

 

Grilled Salmon Steak with Lemon Butter

 

Steamed Seasonal Vegetables

 

Baked Potato with condiments

 

 

Main Selections:

 

Angel Hair Pasta (tossed with basil cream, sprinkles with toasted pine nuts , fried basil and grated parmesan cheese)

 

Roasted Prime Rib (provencal herb-rub, mashed potatoes with leeks, glazed asparagus, vichy carrots, and natural gravy)

 

Turkey Scaloppini alla Milanese (caramelized pearl onion-potato tart, haricot vert, and grilled tomato gratin

 

Lemon Broiled Orange Roughy on Roasted Vegetables (sun-dried tomato pesto)

 

Crisp Polenta with Eggplant and Olive Relish (braised with fennel and oven dried tomatoes)

 

 

Dessert Selections:

 

Grand Marnier Souffle with warm Chocolate Sauce

 

Chocolate Pecan Cream Cake with Whiskey-Caramel Fudge Sauce

 

Irish Bread Pudding

 

Raspberry-Chocolate Cake

 

Raspberry Sherbet- Orange Sherbet

 

Frozen Banana Yogurt

 

Vanilla Ice Cream- Chocolate Ice Cream- Butter Pecan Ice Cream and Sugar free Ice cream

 

Chocolate Fudge Sauce- Butterscotch Sauce- Strawberry Sauce

 

International Cheese Plate with Crackers

 

 

 

This was our menu for Sunday April 2 in Windows... The Garden Room showed the exact same menu...Hope everyone enjoys!!

[bangzoom6877]

Kathas2boys, great to see grilled salmon on the everyday menu! My mother loves that and she watches what she eats and will be trying to eat as healthy as possible on our cruise (7/22/06). One question...do they still do the "Ship 'n' males" show for the ladies? I had read about that on a different post, but it was a 9-night cruise from a year and a half ago on the Spirit. One more...how was service during breakfast in the dining room, and what is the latest time you can sit down to breakfast in the dining room? Thanks so much for the info, I am so psyched to go!!

 

Bonnie

[Glamourgal]

Thanks for posting them for us!! You will make many people very happy!!:D

[Lotteryfan]

One question...do they still do the "Ship 'n' males" show for the ladies? I had read about that on a different post, but it was a 9-night cruise from a year and a half ago on the Spirit.

 

Bonnie

 

No they didn't do that show on the April 2nd cruise. In fact, one of the cruise director's staff mentioned that they used to do this show but don't do it anymore. He mentioned this in between calling bingo numbers. Aaarrgghhh!

[CruisinKat]

Kathas2boys -

Thank you for posting the 1st menu. Your efforts are much appreciated!! It's very nice of you to take the time to do this. Looking forward to seeing the others.

CruisinKat

[CruisinKat]

Lotteryfan,

This has nothing to do with the Spirit, but, I have to know......How the "H-E-double toothpicks" were you able to create your glittery signature. I went to the website, created my name in glitter, and am completely confused from that point on. I'm usually pretty savvy with this sort of stuff and the fact that I CANNOT figure out how to get my name in glittery lights, is driving me crazy!!

Any help is appreciated.

Sincerely,

The Currently, Non-Glittery, CruisinKat

[spirit0603]

thank you lotteryfan for posting the first nights menu...please keep it coming!! i cant wait to go on the cruise...7 weeks from saturday!!