How I Spent 4/23 Week on the Spirit

[wallygator]

Aw c'mon you guys, I was feeling the pressure to finish! Okay, let me get another glass of wine (since I decided to stay home tonight to finish this instead of going out dancing...) and I will write more. I did think of a few more things...

 

Coka

 

Have a great one all. The sun is going down and these old eyes are tired. The best to all. Life is good.

 

Peace:)

 

[coka]

I watched the bartenders close up Maharini's bar early Sunday morning. I had a great conversation with Ulises, the jewelry shop guy, the only Mexican on board the ship. There was a joke in there somewhere as CNN had reported all week long about the Great American Boycott. Ulises told me that the ship was going to arrive late in NYC and it was great going to bed knowing that I did not have to wake up in a few hours to get off the ship. The beauty of freestyle cruising is that you are allowed to remain in your cabin until you debark. My SIL and I were staying overnight again in NYC so we did not take advantage of early debarkation.

 

I awoke as we arrived in NYC. I went back down the little stairwell in Galaxy of the Stars to view the bridge. The Captain and his staff were still at the helm and I watched what they were watching. I wondered if he got any sleep? They were pointing out things to each other, looking through their binoculuars and touching buttons. I took some pictures of them pointing with the NYC skyline through their windows. I am going to win the next NCL photo contest for a free cruise ...

 

Breakfast on debarkation day is always a tell-tale sign as to how the crew enjoyed the week. Breakfast was just as good as the first day. The crew was still very attentive and things were still immaculate. So it had to have been a good week for them too.

 

I usually ask what the most memorable part of the week was according to the people I traveled with. My cousins and SIL replied that there were so many things that were great and they could not decide on just one. I told them that if everything was great, then what was most memorable? SIL replied overall that she enjoyed the food. She has been on Royal Caribbean and Carnival before and she found the food better. CH replied that he enjoyed the casino the best. He has traveled Carnival and Celebrity and found the Spirit's casino to be the best. My cousin's most memorable experience was watching a guy puke into a bag while he continued to play the slots. Hey, I told you earlier the slots were loose!

 

Debarkation was a breeze. We left our cabin at about noon and we were in line for a cab at 12:20pm. If you are taking a cab, then you get a ticket right as you leave the terminal. They call your number as the cabs line up. We were in a cab within ten minutes. We stayed overnight at the Sheraton which is very near the Holiday Inn. I got it for 150 dollars on Hotwire.com

 

Overall, the Sheraton was nicer than the Holiday Inn and their beds were so awesome that we basically slept all day. My SIL and I tried to get tickets to the new broadway show "Wicked" but we did not want to wait in line. We woke up about 8pm and went back to Rosie O'Grady's just across the street. Afterwards, we walked around Times Square until the bewitching hour of midnight when the heebie-jeebie people came out. We got a great night's sleep and were on JetBlue flight Monday afternoon with no problems at all.

 

Coka

[coka]

I forgot to mention that DJ Michael was a great DJ. I never had to bring down my CD's and ask him to play them. DJ Micheal had a great variety of music and played my requests. You need to understand that ship DJ's are required to play a variety of sets at various times. Sometimes they are not able to play a certain type of music for long periods of time due to the various passenger tastes.

 

As I crawled upstairs to my cabin on the tenth deck every early morning, I always heard a loud noise on deck nine. The sound was a screeching one every 4 seconds as if two boards were rubbing together every time the ship swayed. I finally investigated one morning and saw that the doors to the starboard foreward hallway opening near the elevators were screeching together. I wrote the cabin numbers down in a book of matches that would probably be most affected by the noise (because it was happening even on calm nights). They were numbers 9032-9038. So you may want to ensure you do not end up in those.

 

If you have a starboard balcony, then you will have the Statue of Liberty sailing out of NYC. If you have a port balcony, then the lady will be in your view on the return trip.

 

WallyGator, if you want to send me an email then you can do so at

quest4coka@aol.com

I am interested in the cd and it would be great to stay in contact with you! I only use the quest4coka for cruisecritic questions so from there I will give you my real email address.

 

If anyone else has questions, then you can ask here or you can email me up until 5/14/06 at quest4coka. As mentioned, I only use it for cruisecritic stuff after sailing a ship so dont be asking me out on any dates...hahaha

 

Coka

[tigerlilycruiser12]

Coka

 

What a wonderful review. Thank you so much for sharing your cruise with us. Your discriptions were so real, I almost feel like I just was returning to.

 

Marie

[angeljt]

Coka,

You're doing a great job on your very informative and funny review. Sounds like you had a fantastic cruise.

[TBear416]

Thanks, that was one of the best reviews I've read on these boards. I'm glad you had a great cruise, looking forward to your next review.

[zimmerjulie]

The next best thing to a real cruise is a Coka review!

Thank you so much for the escape, the laughs, and the remiders of one of my favorite ships of all.

 

I hope you WIN the photo contest!!!!

[Nic'sMama]

That was such a great, entertaining review, I looked forward to reading your posts everyday!!! Thanks for getting me even more excited about my own trip. I think this next week is going to go soooo slow!!!

[SueSun]

Coka,

 

I still am wearing proudly my bruise from that tumble!!!:D I do have to ask.....was my fall REALLLLY as loud as the ship's banging?????:eek: Back home, back to reality and back to CURVES:mad:

 

What a great review!!! I miss being at sea...and just like you....enjoyed every large wave that came our way, kinda like mogals on the ski slopes, an adventure to be continued some day soon.

[Hatsoff389]

Coka, After reading your awesome review I just need to ask you one thing. WILL YOU MARRY ME?:) ;) :D

[wallygator]

Coka, After reading your awesome review I just need to ask you one thing. WILL YOU MARRY ME?:) ;) :D

 

 

If coka won't how bout me???

[granny24]

Oh My Gosh, it was GREAT! Well, it was great for me, but not for 3/4 of the passengers and crew. Saturday's experience made me conclude that I would be one of the few survivor's of armageddon. You know the ones...similar to a nuclear holocaust, most passengers were never to be seen again. Some walked around in a daze trying to escape their pain. Some layed down and groaned in any area that brought them comfort other than their inside cabins...a window, lounge chairs pulled together, the maharini nightclub beds...The rest of us just walked around all day and totally enjoyed the experience!

 

I have been on over 25 cruises and I had the ride of my life! I found it BETTER than Hurricane Wilma. You want to know how wavy it was that last day at sea? It was so wavy that:

 

1. your wake-up call was the sound of your body hitting the floor as you fell out of bed...

2. you never needed to climb the stairs...you just stood at the bottom and the motion took you up one flight at a time...

3. the wet-vac guys should have been tipped...

4. you finally went down that little stairwell to the bridge area to ensure the Captain and staff were there...

5. you needed to get drunk in order to walk straight...

6. the window washers on the 12th deck had the day off...

7. they should have made a shipwide announcement about the dangers of shaving...

8. you kind of wished your husband was with you on the trip when another passenger announced he was going to go have sex with his wife during this...

9. you actually regret not going to bingo as as the odds of winning the free cruise that day were excellent...

10. It was hard to distinguish the "kaboom" sounds...was it the waves hitting the ship or was it cruisecritic SueSun falling off her barstool?

 

I totally enjoyed the motion of the ocean and thanked my lucky stars that I did not feel ill ever. Neither did my SIL or cousin. We sat in Galaxy of the Stars way up front (in the section that juts out from ship) and applauded the really good waves! My CH was doing the best he could. He had 50 million questions for me that day and assumed I knew the answers to all of them. My favorite was "You think the Captain can do something about these waves?"

 

The four of us played cards to practice for No-Limit Texas Hold Em tournament. Cousins and SIL had a blast participating and I got a head start on packing. I went to the Norwegian Spirit Crew Show which was great. Kudos to NCL for letting the crew show their talent. This is great for morale. Both theirs and ours! I especially enjoyed the Bosnian Dishwasher's singing. The Canadian Tattoo artist was also fabulous. It makes you re-evaluate your life and your world when the person cleaning your cabin comes out and gives you a kick-@$$ performance. No matter how sick you are, you must attend this show.

 

My cousins reported later that they had five orders of fish and chips in Henry's Pub after their tournament. They said it was EXCELLENT. I told CH that I hoped they were just as good coming up as they were going down...Later that evening I supposed I could have had free reign of any restaurant including the specialty ones. My cousins got into Teppanyaki no problem. My SIL and I ate in the Garden dining room.

 

When we returned to cabin after dinner I found MORE TREATS from NCL! Laying on my bed was a really nice travel journel and two gold NCL lapel pins. The journal is really cool. It has a nice leather jacket, itineraries, accommodations, restaurants, purchases, travel journal section, notes section, address section, and mementos. An index includes maps, toll free numbers, conversions, etc. I was so impressed! I did not get this stuff when I had a penthouse suite! Dear NCL: If you really do read these boards, thank you so much for all the treats! I loved them all! Do you think I can also get a butler next time?

 

Also on the bed was an excellent pamphlet instructing passengers on how to debark the ship. In all my years sailing, this pamphlet was the best version seen yet. I hope for first time cruisers sake, that NCL continues with this informative and easy to read direction.

 

We were still rocking and rolling into the evening. For safety reasons, the promenade deck was closed, the evening dance performance canceled, and the late-night disco did not open. Instead, Julie put together some acts from the groups who performed throughout the week. Very good I thought. It was great to see that not only do they think of passenger safety but they think of crew safety. Kudos also to all the performers who smiled and entertained throughout the evening while trying to maintain their balance.

 

Captain Gunnar Hammerin runs an excellent operation on the Norwegian Spirit. An excellent Captain has happy officers who have happy crew and happy staff. Throughout the week I never heard one complaint from the passengers regarding the cruise and overall everyone had a great time. It took me a few years cruising to figure out that the senior staff makes the difference on any ship. So I thank Capt. Hammerin for running a safe and immaculate ship with a high morale crew and staff. I would definitely sail the Spirit again and I would definitely sail out of NYC again.

 

Coka

We were just looking for a cruise that leaves around November 19th-grandkids can't miss too much school, and this one is over Thanksgiving. I was just looking into a cruise on this ship-11 nights from New York. You have made my day-the reviews were really super. How would it be for a teen and eleven year old? Was there enoughto keep them busy? Sounds like we may want to book this cruise. We are a bit leery about cruising from New York. Is the traffic a problem. Can you be dropped off near the ship? Any input would be appreciated. Thanks so much. Your post was so much fun to read. By the way, we just got back from a cruise on Empress- a repo to Philadelphia, and we hit a gale and 18 foot waves. What a ride!

Carol

[catskills]

Come on tell the truth, I bet you are a professional writer. Your review was as good as reading a thriller. I am due to cruise on the spirit for the second time in September and wish is were tomorrow. Have you ever thought of working for NCL?

Thanks again for your insights and wonderful tales.

[coka]

Thank you everyone for the compliments. Writing the review was just as fun as taking the cruise! I felt like a did a back2back cruise!

 

SueSun, Noooo, the sound was from the barstool hitting the wood floor. I suspect the chairs are nailed to the floor by now...

 

Hatsoff389: Send ring and I will give you my answer!

 

Granny: I think the teen and 11 year old will have a blast. The 11 year old will love the children's pool area...lots of cool stuff to play with. The video arcade was big enough to entertain anyone who likes them. They also had movies everynight around 11:00pm. Additionally, the teens have their own disco at night. I saw people using the game room too. I went through their cabinets and found many board games. The only thing I noticed not there were playing cards...but we bought some in the ship store. I asked some of the kids on board if they were having fun and they all replied absolutely yes. NCL has a kidscrew program where they design activities for particular age groups. The ship also has a golf driving net and a basketball court. When I was powerwalking the promenade, about five teenagers were having fun playing shuffleboard.

 

Since you are traveling during Thanksgiving week, there will be plenty of other families with children/teens cruising during that time. I am sure the kids will make lots of new friends. Yes, you can get dropped right off at the terminal entrance. Cones were set up for cabs and cars dropping off and picking up passengers. New York City's finest were present in full force to help direct the traffic. I thought it was very organized. SueSun also told me that it was very easy to park the car...right next to terminal in case you drive on your own. I think she mentioned it was about 160 dollars for the week? Remember the ports of call are very kid-friendly...how could they not have fun at Disney and Kennedy Space Center?

 

Lastly, NCL is very good to the kids. I noticed the crew and staff interacting very well with them. Many miss their own kids back home so they treat them well.

 

Oh, remind the teenager that he/she will get booted out of the adult disco after 11p if they try to sneak in. Security was excellent in this area. They "sweeped" Maharini's Lounge every evening to ensure the rules were upheld.

 

Have a great trip!

 

Coka

[coka]

Granny, they also had Karaoke for the kids/teens at special times. Another cool thing was "dancing heads"...early in the evening you can go to Maharini's and they set up a program...they put your head on a digital dancing body and you lip-sync a song. Afterwards, you watch it on video screen. Kind of cute.

 

Coka