My Soggy Spirit Review 3/23

[Surfgirl]

SPIRIT REVIEW (sung to the tune of “Rain, Rain Go Away!”)

Had a great time, despite rain, rain, and more rain.... hence my song titles with rain in them. Hey, ya can’t control mother nature, so you have to make the best of it and have a sense of humor.

 

This was my 5th cruise.. my third with NCL. I was traveling with my mother who was celebrating a birthday on this trip. (More about that later)

 

EMBARKATION AND SETTLING IN (Sung to the tune of “Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head”)

The car service dropped us off at the NY Pier at 11:30am. Being the only ship in port, we were not expecting the chaos and lines that we found. The early birds had already gone through security, but since the ship wasn’t ready, nobody was allowed to board. There really didn’t seem to be any advantage in coming earlier because the early birds were waiting in chairs in the middle of the room.

 

The lines didn’t bother me... it’s certainly a lot less of a hassle than an airport! And, the time in line passed quickly because we promptly made friends with a mother and daughter traveling together.

Being a Latitudes member made no difference. Everyone was herded on the same line.

 

About a half hour later, security was opened again. We went through, had our pictures taken by the photographer, and waited on yet another line to have our documents and passport examined, and our credit card swiped (this is for on-board purchases).

 

We then boarded the ship, but had to take our carry on luggage to lunch with us because our rooms weren’t ready until 2:30. After a delicious meal at the Raffles Buffet, we headed to our cabin.

 

We were just starting to unpack our carry on bags, when we heard the announcement about the Mandatory Lifeboat Drill. We grabbed our lifejackets and headed to our stations.

 

Upon our return to our room, we were happy to see that the rest of our luggage had been delivered.

 

After unpacking, we set out to tour the ship. I really like the layout of the Spirit. Unlike the Dawn, it was much easier to get around.

 

We set sail at 4pm. It was chilly and the thunderclouds looked threatening (a prelude to what would be to come the entire week) so we enjoyed the Manhattan skyline from our balcony. And then the rain started... it rained for 40 days and 40 nights.

 

CABIN (Sung to the tune of “Rainy Days and Mondays”)

Our room was an 11th floor balcony cabin. It was smaller than the one we had on the Crown, but it was still large enough for us.

 

There isn’t much drawer space, just four drawers under the television. There are also some shelves in the closet you can use.

 

There also aren’t many hangers. I think our room had 16 for the two of us.

There is a safe in each room, as well as a coffee maker. Don’t drink the Evian or Perrier provided unless you’re prepared to mortgage your house to pay for it!

 

The bathroom was small, but cute. It was tiled with an angel fish pattern around the sink. In the sink area, there was a soap dispenser and a hair dryer. I have long hair, and found the hair dryer was actually more powerful than the one I had brought.

 

The shower area was on the left of the sink. It was roomy enough-- with sliding glass doors. There was a dispenser with shampoo and bath gel, but you’ll need to bring your own conditioner.

 

If you want fresh towels or washcloths, be sure to drop them on the floor. If you don’t, your room steward will assume you want to use them again.

 

The toilet area was on the right of the sink. It was so small, that I never shut the door-- I just shut the door to the entire bathroom. Be prepared for that first flush... because it might scare you. It's so powerful, it feels like it will suck you down.

 

There is one “American” outlet over the desk with a mirror. Ladies-- you can plug in your curling iron there.

 

The beds are hard as a rock, and the pillows aren’t very comfortable either. I woke up every morning with a backache from the beds. I know that you can request an eggcrate, but I hate to be fussy. And NO there were no bed bugs! Our room was critter free, and very, very clean.

 

Well.. almost critter free... we did get critters.. in the form of towel animals. We got a pig, a dog, and a snake. :)

 

RESTAURANTS (Sung to the tune of “Garden in the Rain”)

We did not eat at any of the specialty restaurants. What for? The food was fabulous in the main dining rooms.. “The Garden Room Restaurant” and “Windows”. “Windows” was our favorite restaurant because the decor was absolutely breathtaking. The aft portion of the wall was made up of two story windows. If you were lucky enough to get to sit by the window during daylight hours, the view was spectacular.

 

We ate at the Garden Room Restaurant one time. It was much smaller and a bit noisy, but very nice. However, we preferred Windows just for the ambiance. Unlike on the Dawn, where the menus were a bit different in each restaurant, the food at both Windows and the Garden room is the same.

 

Bring your room card to the restaurants, because they will need to swipe it. (No, you're not getting charged for meals). The service was excellent. We found the waiters and waitresses were constantly tripping over themselves trying to help everyone. Despite how hard they work, (They work 10 to 15 hour days 7 days a week) everyone on the wait staff always had a smile on their face, no matter how rushed they were.

 

They will go above and beyond the call of duty for you. Here's an example... One day, I found there was nothing on the lunch menu that I liked (I’m a bit of a fussy eater), so I mentioned to my mother that I would probably order a turkey sandwich later from room service and have a Caeser Salad for now.

 

Little did I know, but our waitress overheard me and came back with my turkey sandwich! She had to go all the way to another galley to get it. I made sure to fill out a comment card then and there to let NCL know what a super employee they had. Be sure use these comment cards to note your best waiters and waitresses because that’s how they get raises and promotions.

 

Take some time and talk to your wait staff (if they’re not too rushed) They all have fascinating stories about their home countries and life aboard the ship.

 

The food was nothing short of fabulous. I was pleasantly surprised, because on our former NCL cruises, the food was very good... but nowhere near how good it was this time around. Having eaten in some of the finest restaurants in NYC, I can honestly say that the food in Windows and the Garden Room was just as good.

 

Being a heavy-duty chocoholic (I mainline Hershey Syrup!), I was also extremely pleased to find that NCL is now offering chocolate for dessert at every dinner meal. You could have a chocolate sundae, a chocolate crepe, and many other yummy chocolate desserts.

 

If you have a food allergy, make sure to call NCL before your cruise. My mother has celiac-- which is an intolerance to wheat gluten. NCL e-mailed her a list of gluten-free foods (waffles, bread, biscuits, etc) and asked her to choose what she wanted so they would be available on our trip.

 

Every night, the maitre de would seek us out and help her choose her food for the next day. We were surprised, delighted, and quite impressed to discover that all the NCL ships have a special prep area in the galleys set aside for gluten free meals.

 

It was my mother’s birthday.. so I had pre-ordered a cake. But, don’t forget.. she’s gluten intolerant. I was delighted to find that I was able to pre-order a special “gluten free cake” for her. It was presented after dinner on the first formal night-- with everyone singing happy birthday to her.

 

(As an aside: I had purchased balloons and happy birthday banners, crepe paper, and other nonsense at a party store at home, and slipped them to our room stewart with a tip before dinner). When we came back from dinner, the whole room was decorated. It was quite funny-- as I had asked him to “go over the top and have fun with it” and he certainly did!)

 

With all of the debate on this forum about attire, I was convinced I would see people wearing ripped jeans, backwards baseball caps and “I’m with stupid” t-shirts. I was pleasantly surprised to find that, with few exceptions, people dressed really well.

 

At the first formal night, I didn’t see one pair of jeans in Windows. The women were dressed mainly in cocktail dresses, dressy pants and fancy tops, and even a few gowns. The vast majority of men wore suits and ties, and we even saw a few tuxedos. Even the children were all dressed up.

 

The other nights were mainly “resort casual.” Women wore nice pants, skirts, and pretty tops or sun dresses. The men wore button down shirts and nice slacks. I made it a point of looking, and I didn’t see crocs the entire trip on an adult.. just on two children who were at the pool. I’m not making a judgement here, just telling you what I saw.

 

At the buffet-- pretty much anything goes.. from shorts and t-shirts, bathing suits with coverups, and jeans, etc. We rarely ate at the buffet.

The Chocoholic’s Buffet is not to be missed! We arrive 45 minutes early to beat the crowds and take pictures. If you did not get their early, you faced a REALLY long line. It stretched all the way up the stairs, in front of the elevator banks, around the corner, and all the way past the Asian restaurant.

 

There was everything imaginable made of chocolate, from the yummy chocolate velvet cake to “chocolate sushi.” Bring our camera. There are ice sculptures and sculptures made of chocolate.

 

DAYS AT SEA (Sung to the tune of “Nothing Stops the Rain”)

We had two and a half days at sea going and coming. Because of the rain, we spent very little time outdoors.. but got involved with all of the things on the ship. There’s always something to do!

 

We love the art auctions, and did the arts and crafts. What you were making wasn’t the point-- it was being able to sit at a table with your fellow passengers and get to know them while figuring out which bead goes where and which wire is bent which way.

 

I wasn’t able to spend any time at the casino. Smoke really bothers me, and since there were no smoke-free areas, I didn’t do any gambling.

 

We attended a really interesting cooking demonstration, as well as talks on diamonds, amber, and other gem stones. They were all quite good.

 

SHOWS ( Sung to the tune of “We’re Singing in the Rain”)

One word sums them up.. fabulous. NCL is known for their good shows, and they didn’t disappoint. My favorite show was the crew talent show. It ranged from a liquor bottle juggling act (ala Tom Cruise), to singing, to an absolutely hysterical Greek Fountain number. At the crew show, there was a passenger (I think he NCL had him aboard to “try him out”) who stole the show with his dance number.

 

And ladies.. did you miss “Ship-n-dales?” I was there.. and I’m not saying anything else. I’ll just give you a hint by singing the Red Hot Chile Pepper’s “Naked in The Rain!” :)

 

SHOPPING, SHOPPING, SHOPPING! (Sung to the tune of “Why Does it Always Rain on Me?”)

On board was my favorite shop in the Caribbean.. “Columbian Emeralds International.” Don’t miss the duty-free liquor store. There were some very good bargains on Kahlua and Rum. The Galleria had everything from teddy bears to beachwear.

 

But the REAL shopping was at St. Thomas. More about that in a minute.

My opinion is skip the photos. They’re a rip off... an 8x10 is $25. If more people would “just say no” the prices would have to come down. Supply and demand!

 

OTHER

Don’t miss the Captain’s Bridge. You get there from the StarDust Lounge. Go down the spiral staircase to a little room which contains all sorts of artifacts from when the Spirit was first launched.

But the really cool thing about this room is the glass wall where you can watch the Captain and the bridge crew working. It’s open day and night.

 

ST. THOMAS (Sung to the tune of “Ain’t No Sunshine”)

Rain, rain, and more rain. Our plans to go shopping in the morning and then to Meagan’s Bay in the afternoon were thwarted due to the rain. We took a taxi to the shopping area and shopped till we dropped.

Be sure to ask for a discount. Most of the shops will give you a price, but will work with you. Stick to reputable shops to be sure of what you’re getting.

 

TORTOLA (Sung to the tune of “Who’ll Stop the Rain?”)

As soon as we got off the ship, it started to rain yet again! But we decided to go to the beach anyway. The ride to Cane Garden Beach was like a Disney World E-ride. You will wind up the steep mountain with hairpin turns. Certainly, not for the faint of heart.

 

The beach was quite crowded, but still very nice. We enjoyed a few hours of cloudy weather with some moments of sun, but then, it started to rain again. And rain it did.. it poured! That blew our plans of shopping in town. Instead, we went back to the ship.

 

SAMANA (Sung to the tune of “I Can’t Stand the Rain”)

Can you guess? Yes, it was raining yet again... just drizzling at this point. We were hopeful that the clouds would clear up as we had booked an excursion to La Semana. A boat took us over to the island. It was a very cute island... a beautiful resort on one side, and the other end is reserved for the cruise ships.

 

There were coconut trees and a thatched roof bar. They were running out of beach chairs when we got there, but we found two and carried them over to the water.

 

Snorkeling was a no-go. It was too cloudy, and we didn’t see a single fish. The water was very calm, so if you like waves, this isn’t the place for you.

We got some swimming in and had just gotten on our beach chairs when the heavens opened up yet again. It poured! There was no place for shelter, so everyone was lying on their beach chairs with their towels over them like a tent. Everyone got soaked and it got quite cold. We were getting cold, but were kind of held hostage until the first boat came back to get us.

 

We took that first boat, and were back on the ship to warm up and dry out. What a total wash out! If the weather had been better, it would have been a nice excursion.

 

SUMMARY (Sung to the tune of “Over the Rainbow”)

And yes.. there really was a beautiful rainbow.. in fact a double rainbow at one of our last days at sea. I had never seen a double rainbow before, and rushed to get my camera.

 

Despite the weather, we had a great time. The food was great, there was plenty to do on the ship, and the staff couldn’t have been more friendly.

 

And I will end this review with a song with a wish for you on your next cruise from Destiny’s Child, “No More Rain.”

[NCL_Cruiser]

Great review! I know you had mentioned about the birthday celebration in a previous post....I'm glad they were able to get the gluten-free cake. Was that pre-arranged with the Ship Coordinator, or did it happen thru the Matre D?

 

Also, did you get pics of the room decorated by the steward? I'd love to see how he went "over the top!"

 

Thanks!

[Surfgirl]

Thanks.. glad you enjoyed reading it. :) I went back and noticed some typos.. sorry about them! One biggie was "Stardust Lounge"-- I meant to say "Galaxy of the Stars" (which is where you will find the staircase going down to the Captain's Bridge.)

 

I had to special order the cake through the ship's coordinator ahead of time via e-mail. They were super helpful.

 

I did take pictures, but haven't gotten them developed yet. It's difficult to take a picture of the whole room, so I'm not sure what they'll look like. They taped up a whole bunch of balloons on the ceiling, and made sweeping crepe paper banners from wall to wall. There were Happy Birthday flags on one wall, and a Happy Birthday huge banner on the other.

 

The steward made his own Happy Birthday card and put it next to the Towel animal he made up for the ocassion. She also got a Happy Birthday card from the Captain.

[BeachBumMama]

Nice review. Glad you didn't let the weather stop you from having a great time. :)

[Cruisemom39]

Thanks for the great review! We are on deck 11 aft, near the entrance to the "mezzanine level" (for lack of another word) to the children's pool. Did you notice a lot of traffic/noise in that area?

[katmandoo]

We are sailing on the Spirit May 13th and celebrating my Dad 70th bday. I will preorder a cake and bring on some decorations...great idea!

Sorry you didnt have great weather..its been a crazy "spring"...I guess maybe global warming...hmmm...

Keep on cruisin!

[katmandoo]

Does the spirit have any karaoke nights?

[POOHISME2]

 

 

SAMANA (Sung to the tune of “I Can’t Stand the Rain”)

 

Can you guess? Yes, it was raining yet again... just drizzling at this point. We were hopeful that the clouds would clear up as we had booked an excursion to La Semana. A boat took us over to the island. It was a very cute island... a beautiful resort on one side, and the other end is reserved for the cruise ships.

 

There were coconut trees and a thatched roof bar. They were running out of beach chairs when we got there, but we found two and carried them over to the water.

 

Snorkeling was a no-go. It was too cloudy, and we didn’t see a single fish. The water was very calm, so if you like waves, this isn’t the place for you.

We got some swimming in and had just gotten on our beach chairs when the heavens opened up yet again. It poured! There was no place for shelter, so everyone was lying on their beach chairs with their towels over them like a tent. Everyone got soaked and it got quite cold. We were getting cold, but were kind of held hostage until the first boat came back to get us.

 

We took that first boat, and were back on the ship to warm up and dry out. What a total wash out! If the weather had been better, it would have been a nice excursion.

Thanks for a great review. I was on the Dawn with your ship in Samana and I too was rained out at Cayo Levantado. I have photos of it in my webshots link.

[LOWTYD]

Karaoke is at Henry's Pub from 7-9. Selection of songs lack varierty but you'll find something. We were there every night. Great time wheter you can carry a tune or not.

[Patpcozy]

Surfgirl thanks for the review, we are going on the spirit in Aug. and loved hearing good things about the ship.

[Michelle1234]

A few months ago I was diagnosed as gluten intolerant. I love to cruise and love NCL. I had no idea they had a gluten free area and now I do! This information is invaluable to me!

 

Thanks for posting this!

 

Michelle

[thepixie]

SPIRIT REVIEW (sung to the tune of “Rain, Rain Go Away!”)

 

Had a great time, despite rain, rain, and more rain.... hence my song titles with rain in them. Hey, ya can’t control mother nature, so you have to make the best of it and have a sense of humor.

 

Surfgirl. I just love you to death. The world needs more people like you !. I just wish you were coming on my cruise on 11/3 out of NYC. When someone can be so grateful and appreciative of all the good things and ignore the troublesome things, you'd think a cruise line would give them a free trip!

[Surfgirl]

Hi Cruisemom! We were in room 11606 aft. No noise at all. You should be fine. There's an advantage to being in the back of the ship-- that's where "Windows," "Raffles," and the "Stardust Theater" are located (on different decks of course)... so they're easy to get to.

 

Katmandoo, make sure to include a roll of scotch tape in your bag of decorations for the room steward.

 

Micdenver, glad to have helped! Gluten free is stress free on NCL. They make it so easy to find delicious food without worry. Be sure to let the ship coordinator know a few weeks ahead of time so that they can stock up on gluten free bread, english muffins, bagels, waffles, etc. for you. I was so impressed that they had a special prep area to avoid cross gluten cross contamination.

 

Seek out the Matre D on the first evening so you can start special ordering your meals the day before. That way, you can order almost anything on the menu, but prepared without gluten. If you don't order ahead of time, you'll be restricted to what dishes they happen to have that night without gluten.

 

We found it funny that they did such a great job preparing her gluten-free meals, but every single time she ordered icecream for dessert, it came with a wafer cookie (which had gluten!) Don't eat the cookie!

 

Poohisme... what great photos. You really captured how dark and dismal the weather was on the island. Thanks for sharing. Did it rain at all your ports too?

 

Patcozy.. when is your cruise? Where are you sailing to? If you have any questions, I'm happy to try to help.

 

Beachbummama... thanks for the kind words.

 

Aww...Pixie.. thanks for the kind words. You really made my day with your post. And, you never know.. I may be on your cruise in November.. I plan at least one cruise out of NY each winter to get out of the snow! :D :D :D

[whatawonderfulworld]

When presented with lemons, is the way to go. I'm sorry you had so much rain but it sounds like you and your Mom had a really wonderful cruise. We all have choices in life in how we look at things...is that glass half empty or half full? Obviously you would be the latter! A lesson for us all.

 

Loved reading your review...I find reading reviews satiates my cruise fix...I've got another 6 months before I cast away again.

 

What is your next itinerary?

 

Ciao,

 

W A W W

[POOHISME2]

Poohisme... what great photos. You really captured how dark and dismal the weather was on the island. Thanks for sharing. Did it rain at all your ports too?

We did not get hit as bad as you did. St. Marten was a wash out and Samana started off clear and as you know :( then Rain.

[Seago2]

WOW! I can't imagine a cruise with that much RAIN. Good thing you made the best of it. She is a great ship and I agree that the food is great. I have asked for the egg crate twice and will again.

 

Hopefully your next cruise will be calm seas and blue skies- you deserve it!

[francina]

Surgirl, thanks for the wonderful review. I leave on the spirit in 22 days and cannot wait. I will be going with my moms too. It isn't for a special occassion, she just wanted to go cruising so I told her I'll take her. She doesn't even plan on getting off the ship.

[silkhair1]

Bummer about the rain, but I loved your song titles.

[NYROADKING]

Surfgirl,

 

Great review and even better attitude. Sorry to hear about all the rain but your review and positive attitude should help others who cruise and face similar conditions. Great detail on the Spirit, I've sailed her and found your review right on the money. I actually felt like I was on her again. Thanks!

[Glamourgal]

Thanks for bringing back wonderful memories of our past Spirit cruise. We loved her too!! I agree with all of the others...You have a wonderfully contagious positive attitude!! I bet you see the glass as half full!! I would love to invite you on our POA, 11 day Hawaii cruise in Sept!! I love hanging out with people with positive outlooks!! When we cruised last June on the Spirit we had a couple days of rain and one was in Bermuda and we went swiming between the raindrops!! Thanks for the great review!!

[Patpcozy]

Hi Surfgirl, we are doing the bahmas/florida cruise Aug26th (last week before the kids go back to school) I really did love reading all the positive things you had to say in spite of the rain. We too do the swimming between the raindrops, what,s going to happen? We'll get wet LOL

Thanks again

[Surfgirl]

Whatawonderfulworld:

 

(Love your screen name.. btw!) I'm already booked on the Crown for this June to Bermuda. Hoping the rain stays away this time. :D

[grandmaof2]

What a great review! All about attitude! My family is sailing on the Spirit June 2nd....We have had this trip planned since last June. I was really excited, then, this morning I read your review and WOW....now I REALLY cant wait (though I would like to have a bit more sun)..

I really hope we have a ship filled with people whose attitudes about vacation are similar to yours....that way ANYTHING can be fun

Thanks again...would be nice to cruise with you sometime

:)

[greenie]

Jeez, what a bummer having all that rain! :( Well, I am glad you enjoyed your cruise anyway--you sound like a born cruiser with that attitude. I bet we read a few reviews of that cruise that are not nearly as positive as yours, just because of the weather! :rolleyes:

 

We loved the Spirit and I agree that it was easier to navigate. I never got lost once, and trust me--that's unusual!

 

Thanks for the detailed review.:)

[zman5]

I was on that same cruise and Surfgirl was right about all the rain but one nice thing about it was that the rain showers only lasted 5-10 minutes in most cases and if you could tough it out it cleared the beaches and pool area out in a hurry just in time for the sun to peek through for a few minutes