Spirit

[matt690]

I have been on 5 cruises - Carnival, Costa, Princess, RCCL, and NCL. I might take a family cruise aboard the Spirit. I am hesitant on doing this, because some family members have never cruised before. Will this ship make a good impression on them? I have read mixed reviews about the food, rooms, and entertainment.

 

Thanks for the help.

 

-Matt

[aliciajayn]

I've been on the Spirit once (again in a little more than a month!), but have also done RCCL and CCL. I think they are all a little different but in general, very comparable in the important aspects. In my opinion, first time cruisers ALWAYS love their first cruise, its general more experienced cruisers who are more picky about various lines and ships. I highly recommending booking if you've found a good deal....your family members will have no basis on which to compare, and will ultimately thank you!

[aliciajayn]

I've been on the Spirit once (again in a little more than a month!), but have also done RCCL and CCL. I think they are all a little different but in general, very comparable in the important aspects. In my opinion, first time cruisers ALWAYS love their first cruise, its general more experienced cruisers who are more picky about various lines and ships. I highly recommending booking if you've found a good deal....your family members will have no basis on which to compare, and will ultimately thank you!

[Don Haynes]

The Spirit is my favorite NCL ship as she has lots of public spaces aft newer ships don't have. She also has a wonderful Asian decor, unique only to her sister ship the SuperStar Virgo.

 

She has plenty of restaurants and lounges, and my favorite aboard her is the Galaxy of the Stars forward observatory/ lounge.

 

You might find her cabins a bit smaller than others, but I have sailed on ships with smaller cabins. Two to three is fine for a cabin, only the inside cabins have four beds.

 

Tell your friends not to bring their hairdryers, as the Spirit was orginally built for the smaller gauge Asian market, her electrical wiring won't support American hair dryers. Hair dryers are mounted on the wall in each bathroom.

 

Otherwise she is as good as any other cruise ship in American waters.

[electricron]

The Spirit will wow first time cruisers.

 

While the Spirit was built before cruise lines started placing more modern electrical appliances into every cabin, like refrigerators, DVD and CD players, and computer networking plugs, it offers all the basics with high style.

 

It has the largest bathrooms for standard cabins afloat. It has many cabins with balconies. It has a huge Kids Crew area. It has a huge casino. It has two huge swimming pools for ships of its size.

 

The Spirit decor is very different and beautiful. I could go on and on telling great things about the Spirit.

To value how much people like a ship, look for repeat passengers. The more repeat passengers a ship has, it's a good bet it's a great ship.

[discjoker]

It has the largest bathrooms for standard cabins afloat.

 

Oh, those bathrooms...heaven. Amazing for a cruise ship. The showers are downright huge. So nice!

[trex-de]

I always intend to write a review but seem to get distracted after the cruise (probably post cruise depression). DW, DS (6), DD (4) and I sailed on the Spirit for the 6 day Florida and Bahamas cruise last June. Here is a mini review.

 

The Spirit is a very nice ship. The decor is very well done and the layout of the ship is nice. We were on deck 9 (deck 11 this time) which is perfect for the kids crew on deck 10 and the restaurants.

 

Food was great. I too have read a lot of reviews about the food: below par, disappointing, small portions, long waits, etc. We had no issues. The free main restaurants always had something that was very pleasing to me and my wife. Regarding portions, if we liked something, we ordered it twice. Raffles was fine as well. We could alway find something to eat for breakfast or lunch that was good enough (it is a buffet; it is what it is). Tater tots were not very good. Le Bistro was great ($10 pp I think). We ate a Shogun as well and the quality and presentation was excellent. Believe me, we did not go hungry!

 

Service was so-so. No issues with the room stewards. Because of the kids, we ordered room service a couple of times and once they brought a pepperoni pizza when we ordered a cheeze. My daughter thought the world was coming to an end, but things happen. We were a bit suprised with the table service, even Le Bristo. They seem to be understaffed in the restaurants. Stay with me on this. In past cruises (such as the Dawn), we were playfully critized by the waiters because we poured our own wine. OK, so that is the protocol... When we were in Le Bistro last year on the Spirit, we finished our glass of wine and then did not know what we should do (risk being critized again :o by pouring our own wine?). After a while, it became clear. They were understaffed. On another ocasion in the Main dining room, we had to leave before desert. Probaby, saved us a pound.

 

Kids club. What can I say but fantastic. Indoor activities (no parents allowed), pool, arcade were all a great time for our kids. The counselors were geat.

 

Entertainment. A little disappointing. Previoulsy on the Dawn, everywhere you turned, someone would be playing a panio or singing or some kind of entertainment. There is just not as much on the Spirit. I am sure the night life was fine, but with two young kids, we did not get a chance to go to an evening show.

 

We just booked the 8 day Eastern Caribbean last week. I think you can tell I love the ship.

[Welove2cruise2]

The Spirit is a very beautiful, elegant, subdued ship -- very different from the other ships in NCL's fleet. The crew is TOP NOTCH!! We enjoyed all our meals, but we're not picky eaters, and we dined at all the "reservation required" restaurants -- all were fabulous!

 

We've only sailed on NCL, but thought the cabin was about on par with balcony cabins on the Dawn. At first we thought it "felt" smaller, but after spending 10 days in there, we decided it was the same size, just a little different as far as storage and layout. About our only complaint about the cabin was that it didn't have a fridge!

 

The Spirit was very easy to navigate; I got more turned around on the Dawn than I did on this ship. The entertainment was great -- we went to a couple of shows, and the lounge acts (especially Ariel Jacobbe) were a standout!

 

Our only other complaint was the ventilation in the cigar bar (DH is a cigar smoker). THERE WASN'T ANY! It just wasn't working -- mentions to crew did little to resolve the problem throughout the cruise.

 

We loved the pool deck -- especially the murals at one end. We never had a problem finding a place to sit either on the pool deck itself, or on the sun deck above. We preferred the "torch" light fixtures on the pool deck to the "pineapple" lights on the Dawn --much more elegant, we thought.

 

Any more questions, just ask -- she's a beautiful ship, and will surely make a great first impression to first time cruisers!

[JerseyGem]

I loved the Spirit! As others have mentioned, I wouldn't worry about what your first time cruisers will think about this cruise- they'll love it. First because she's a great little ship; second because they have no past-cruising experience to constantly make comparisons.

 

Ths Spirit is beautifully decorated and has a nice assortment of dining venues and lounges. Although food and entertainment are so subjective, I thought both were great on our cruise (1/2/07).

 

You mention several other cruise lines; what size (and age) were the ships that you sailed previously? If you've only sailed huge, brand new ships (with all the bells and whistles), you might be disappointed. But your family members might appreciate a ship that's easier to navigate around, and they might not need a rock climbing wall to make or break their cruise.

 

Will you bring kids who like to swim or just play in the water? If so, this is the ship for you! What a great kids' pool area. If you don't like being around kids- then this is the ship for you! All the kids are aft on the kids' pool area!

 

DH & I have also sailed many cruise lines (Cunard, Disney, RCCL, Carnival, Princess, HAL, NCL)- sometimes on small ships and sometimes huge ones. They're all different, but all wonderful. We always advise people to plan their cruises by itinerary and price (and embarkation port), rather than just by cruise line. If you've found a Spirit cruise that meets your family's needs, go for it! You'll have a blast!

[SailAways]

Yes, I agree, first timers will be wowed by the Spirit - We were.

 

I can't imagine being more impressed - even with the huge new mega-ships.

From the moment we glimpsed her in port - then into the grand entrance, with the soaring glassed elevators, beautiful decor, and a perfect greeting by the captain - it was an awesome experience for us.

 

This ship has ambiance, space galore, wonderful small hideaways which can be very intimate, plus absolutely too much personality to describe.

 

We shall try to cruise on the Spirit again someday just to see if she was as wonderful as we believe.

 

I'm sure we will not be disappointed. If you can personally refrain from making comparisons to other cruises and ships, I am sure your first time family cruisers will be equally impressed.

[Princess246]

I have been on 5 cruises - Carnival, Costa, Princess, RCCL, and NCL. I might take a family cruise aboard the Spirit. I am hesitant on doing this, because some family members have never cruised before. Will this ship make a good impression on them? I have read mixed reviews about the food, rooms, and entertainment.

 

Thanks for the help.

 

-Matt

 

 

My DH and DD 5 at the time, went on the Spirit last May from New York. This was the first cruise for all of us and we had a wonderful time. The ship was beautiful. My daughter loved the Kids Camp and wanted to go everyday. This was nice b/c it gave mom and dad time to reconnect. However, we still had a lot family time together. The Freestyle concept was really good also, we came and went as we pleased. The staff was excellent.

 

All in all, I we had a great time! So much so we can't wait to cruise again this May :D

 

I also agree with others who say the first timers will have nothing to compare it to. Which was the case for us. You should have a great time.

 

Good Luck :)

[Preds]

The asian influences all over the Spirit are beautiful. We really enjoyed the ship for the most part, and will be sailing her again in 2008.

 

The Spirit has a nice layout/design. We really liked the aft Stardust theatre (which doesn't have a bad seat). We found the entertainment to be decent and fun, and the specialty restaurants very good (though the main dining rooms and buffet were blow average in our opinion).

 

The only negatives in our opinion were the medical staff (which I prefer not to get into), limited 110v electral outlets due to the 220v wiring on the ship (bring power strips), and somewhat dated rooms that lack refrigerators.

[matt690]

Thanks everyone for your replies. While reading what you all wrote, I have been looking at pictures. I have been on the Dawn, the Carnival Triumph, the Grand Princess, The Voyager of the Seas, and the Costa Atlanitca. If we sail on the Spirit, it would be the smallest ship we have sailed on. The beds in the cabins appear very low down. Some family members are cocnered that there would not be a lot to do onboard. For all cruises that I have been on, this has not been the case. Is it the same for the Spirit? The smaller ships that I have been on have been perfect, but is this ship too small, so there aren't too many places to go to or to explore? Are the new menus good? Would there be any activities for a single family member? Thanks for all the advice. It is greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks!

 

-Matt

[electricron]

Thanks everyone for your replies. While reading what you all wrote, I have been looking at pictures. I have been on the Dawn, the Carnival Triumph, the Grand Princess, The Voyager of the Seas, and the Costa Atlanitca. If we sail on the Spirit, it would be the smallest ship we have sailed on. The beds in the cabins appear very low down. Some family members are cocnered that there would not be a lot to do onboard. For all cruises that I have been on, this has not been the case. Is it the same for the Spirit? The smaller ships that I have been on have been perfect, but is this ship too small, so there aren't too many places to go to or to explore? Are the new menus good? Would there be any activities for a single family member? Thanks for all the advice. It is greatly appreciated. Thanks! -Matt

 

I would dare to say the Spirit has more places to explore than most of NCL's fleet. Let me count the ways: Gym, Spa with Aquaswim, Tivoli Pool, Card Room, Cigar Smoking Room, Library, Galaxy of the Stars' Observatory, Bridge Viewing Area, Table Tennis, Basketball, Volleyball & Tennis Court, Golf Driving Range, Celebrity Disco, Kids Crew Area, Video Arcade, Buccaneer's Wet & Wild Pool, Stardust Lounge, Casino, Atrium, Photo Shop, Gift & Jewelry Shops, and I haven't yet mentioned any of the restaurants and bars.

Not only is the decor Asian, most of the art aboard is too. Another item you might find interesting which is difficult to find on other NCL ships is the Navigation Computer Display in the Galaxy of the Stars. The Spirit's exact position, heading, and speed is on the display in real time.

The Spirit in a few years may be NCL's smallest ship, but it is packed with interesting places to entertain you and your family. At 76,800 gross tons, it's ever so slightly larger than the SS Norway, which was the largest cruise ship sailing just a decade ago. So, it's not small. I call it cozy. The Crown, Majesty, Dream and Wind are significantly smaller than the Spirit.

[anchorsaweigh]

All I can say is I CAN'T CONTAIN MY ENTHUSIASM ANY LONGER!!! :D I have been keeping updated of the Spirit and all of the reviews since I booked my upcoming cruise in June!! Now that it's nearly here and the good reviews still keep pouring in, all I can say is Thank you so much for sharing all of your experiences.

[Dolphins]

All I can say is I CAN'T CONTAIN MY ENTHUSIASM ANY LONGER!!! :D I have been keeping updated of the Spirit and all of the reviews since I booked my upcoming cruise in June!! Now that it's nearly here and the good reviews still keep pouring in, all I can say is Thank you so much for sharing all of your experiences.

 

We are also looking forward to returning to the Spirit next month. By the way, your post name is the theme song of my old fraternity (U.S. Navy) which the ship's band often plays as we cast off from the dock. Happy sailing.