THE SPIRIT...put my mind at ease!

[CruzFamleof6]

We are REALLY, REALLY considering the Spirit out of New Orleans in January 2008 due to the itenenary. Typically we sail out of Galveston and we have tired of those ports offered from there.

 

We typically stick w/ RCI for warm water cruising and take NCL for Alaska...however the past few reviews of the Spirit posted on CC member's reviews have been nothing short of AWFUL! :eek:

 

Our past 2 experiences with NCL have been fine, the food was a little lacking, but the service and ship were wonderful.

 

I need some honset input here....we are taking our four kiddos and it is a lot of money to spend and I would like some honest feedback from people who have recently taken the Spirit with kids...

 

THANKS SO MUCH!:)

[cliffd64]

We are REALLY, REALLY considering the Spirit out of New Orleans in January 2008 due to the itenenary. Typically we sail out of Galveston and we have tired of those ports offered from there.

 

We typically stick w/ RCI for warm water cruising and take NCL for Alaska...however the past few reviews of the Spirit posted on CC member's reviews have been nothing short of AWFUL! :eek:

 

Our past 2 experiences with NCL have been fine, the food was a little lacking, but the service and ship were wonderful.

 

I need some honset input here....we are taking our four kiddos and it is a lot of money to spend and I would like some honest feedback from people who have recently taken the Spirit with kids...

 

THANKS SO MUCH!:)

 

Cruised on the spirit for 9 days in December and had a wonderful time. Made lots of great new friends and enjoyed the ports very much. The Spirit will not disappoint you. :D

[JACruiser]

Just go into your cruise with a great attitude and an open mind and it would be nearly impossible to have a bad time. :D

 

Happy Crusin'

[electricron]

"Watch the pocket watch I'm holding in front of your eyes.

Watch it swing back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

You are getting sleepy, your eyelids are getting heavier and heavier.

You will have a great time aboard the Norwegian Spirit visiting Costa Maya, Santo Tomas De Castilla, Belize City, and Cozumel.

When I snap my fingers, you will immediately call your favorite travel agent and book this cruise."

SNAP!

:D

 

While aboard, see if you can find Leo, :eek: the dragon :eek:

 

[klct39lg]

We are REALLY, REALLY considering the Spirit out of New Orleans in January 2008 due to the itenenary. Typically we sail out of Galveston and we have tired of those ports offered from there.

 

We typically stick w/ RCI for warm water cruising and take NCL for Alaska...however the past few reviews of the Spirit posted on CC member's reviews have been nothing short of AWFUL! :eek:

 

Our past 2 experiences with NCL have been fine, the food was a little lacking, but the service and ship were wonderful.

 

I need some honset input here....we are taking our four kiddos and it is a lot of money to spend and I would like some honest feedback from people who have recently taken the Spirit with kids...

 

THANKS SO MUCH!:)

 

We are also considering the Spirit out of NOLA, but in March. As a result, I have been reading up on the Spirit reviews, and I am a little worried. Our concern is that the food reviews are not great.:eek: A big part of cruising for us is food, and a 7 day cruise with sub par food is not appealing. We are not gluttons or gourmands by any means, we just enjoy good food. Reading about tasteless dining room food, mediocre buffets and hard-to-get-into specialty restaurants is scaring me off.

Say it ain't so.:confused:

[Retired not Expired]

When it comes to food, I just don't pay any attention to what others say good or bad. I haven't taken a cruise where I haven't seen some pan the food. I've always found it good to excellent. I've gone to restaurants because someone tells me how great the food is and find it just so-so to I'll not eat here again.

 

Maybe those people have taste for crap. Maybe I have taste for crap. I don't believe I do. I do most of the cooking for my wife and I and have had a number of family and friends ask me to cook meals for anniversary parties and the like and I've always got good feedback from the guests. But then again, maybe they have taste for crap too.

[meded]

We are also considering the Spirit out of NOLA, but in March. As a result, I have been reading up on the Spirit reviews, and I am a little worried. Our concern is that the food reviews are not great.:eek: A big part of cruising for us is food, and a 7 day cruise with sub par food is not appealing. We are not gluttons or gourmands by any means, we just enjoy good food. Reading about tasteless dining room food, mediocre buffets and hard-to-get-into specialty restaurants is scaring me off.

Say it ain't so.:confused:

 

We sailed on the Spirit in June, and we found that the quality of food really varied. If you're a meat eater, you may be disappointed with the quality of the beef in the dining room. My husband was so desperate for a decent steak that we tried to get into Cagney's several times (to no avail), even though he is opposed to paying for specialty restaurants on cruises. On the other hand, I'm a seafood lover, and everything I had was very good. Appetizers were hit and miss, but the soups were pretty good. Raffles was very good for breakfast, although the food was not necessarily hot.

 

All of this is to say that I think you'll be okay with the food; we learned pretty quickly what to order and what to stay away from.

[boba81]

We took the Spirit in September from New York and had a terific time. The food was quite good in the main dining rooms and the garden cafe up on the lido deck. Staff was very friendly and helpful. The ship is clean as a whistle. We are booked on the Jewwl this fall.

[boba81]

We took the Spirit out of New York In September and had a great time. The food is quite good both in the main dining rooms and in the garden Cafe on the Lido deck. The staff is quite friendly and helpful, The ship is spotless.

[Don Haynes]

I found the sauces very good on the steaks. But since the steaks on NCL's ships are not charbroiled, sometimes the meat is not as tender as I wish. All of the fish and lamb dishes are excellent. I enjoyed the fruit appetizers and salads. Plus the vegetables are very good. And the desserts were great.

 

If you wish to find a quiet place aboard the Spirit, head to the aft area of the ship which has wonderful views of the wake of the ship. On most of today's newer ships this view is reserved for suites.

[Woodie]

Last year we travelled on the jewel and again reading the reviews we became very concerned about the quality of the food .

 

However we found NCL's food to be great - even the often maligned buffet!

 

Sometimes I do wonder about some of the reviewers - do they eat out at top restaurants every night and have their own personal chefs?

 

I'm sure you'll love the food on the Spirit - we're sailing on her on 2nd September and can't wait.

 

:) :)

[halos]

You're going to find some negative reviews on any ship, of any line that you may want to book. If the Spirit's itinerary is what you're looking for and you see a decent price on it, just book it. That's what we did. We'll be sailing in Nov on her for 15 days. I booked over a year ago, and in that year have read mostly great reviews. There have been only a scattering of poor ones. Unfortunately, the poor/negative reviews are the ones that will stick out in your mind. If the itinerary/timing and price of the cruise are what you're looking for, then don't let a few negative reviews make you worry. Book it and have a great time! It's a CRUISE! How bad can it be? :D

[silkhair1]

We too are going on the Spirit in Jan. Jan 6. What date are you looking into? We have 2 boys going also. Have you seen the kids area. I think if your kids did they would say book it now. LOL I have heard negative things about every line there is and the food. I just don't get it. I think people are not happy unless they are complaining. I am sure you will be happy with the Spirit. Freestyle is so great with kids!!!! Please let us know what you decide!

[cantwaitt]

I have been on the Spirit several times and especially love it in good weather.

 

It has so many gtreat places to sit outside, especially in the back behind the buffet area, where you can enjoy the outdoors and view in the shade if you don't like the sun.

 

It also has some great nooks and crannies to sit inside and get some privacy.

 

I know food quality is a personal thing, but when I recently sailed on the ship, I kept remarking to my wife that I thought the good got better (I NEVER eat in the rip off pay-extra-for-meals-already-paid-for-restaurants. What a great marketing scam).

 

Anyway, back on topic, I think the NO itinerary is awesome.

 

If you like free-style in general, go for it. That will be the swing factor, not the ship itself.

[E&B]

We're going on the Spirit 7/29 and it will be our first cruise.

 

I can't offer an opinion, but I did notice that 3 of the last few member reviews of the Spirit came from the same family, so don't think so much in terms of the number of bad reviews. Plus, one of the others was by a woman whose biggest complaint was that her husband was prohibited from wearing shorts in the dinning room and he hadn't packed long pants and was forced to buy a pair of long pants. What a tragedy!

 

I am completely discounting all 4 of these, and I know most people rave about the ship. I'm not worried in the least.

[halos]

Plus, one of the others was by a woman whose biggest complaint was that her husband was prohibited from wearing shorts in the dinning room and he hadn't packed long pants and was forced to buy a pair of long pants. What a tragedy!

 

:eek:

That complaint would in fact lead my to ignore her entire review.

[jimswims]

I went on the Spirit 8-19-06 and posted a positive review. I would be happy to answer any questions.

 

We really loved the ship, the ports of call, and are seriously considering another cruise on the Spirit in the summer of 2008.

 

My only problem with the ship was the lack of quad cabins. Since we are a family of 4, the rooms were small. However, we are really thinking of going back so I guess it was not all that problematic.

[avidreader]

we are also taking our first cruise on spirit on july 29 th. i agree all those reviews were same family. other reviews i read our great. see ya there

[klct39lg]

My DH and 2 DS are active people who like to nibble throughout the day and look forward to dinner. When I mentioned booking the Spirit out of NO for spring break the first thing they asked was, "How's the food?" I will admit that I read the lowest rated reviews thinking that if the worst reviews don't scare me off then we will have a great time. It's just that bad food would be a deal breaker.

 

We are looking forward to the itinerary and excursions (parasailing and cave tubing).:D

 

I noticed that quads are few and cramped, so I am looking into 2 insides next to each other. I don't really care where the cabins are as long as they are together.

 

Also we will be using some NCL/BOA certificates for the first time.

 

Lot's to think about.

[jimswims]

My DH and 2 DS are active people who like to nibble throughout the day and look forward to dinner. When I mentioned booking the Spirit out of NO for spring break the first thing they asked was, "How's the food?" I will admit that I read the lowest rated reviews thinking that if the worst reviews don't scare me off then we will have a great time. It's just that bad food would be a deal breaker.

 

We are looking forward to the itinerary and excursions (parasailing and cave tubing).:D

 

I noticed that quads are few and cramped, so I am looking into 2 insides next to each other. I don't really care where the cabins are as long as they are together.

 

Also we will be using some NCL/BOA certificates for the first time.

 

Lot's to think about.

 

We loved the ship but found the cabin a little tight for the 4 of us.

There are a few inside quads that are larger. Cabin 5035, 6035, 6535, 9203 and 9207 are listed as 190-200 sq. feet. This is much better than the 149 sq.feet on the standard inside if you all decide to stay together.

[Retired not Expired]

We loved the ship but found the cabin a little tight for the 4 of us.

There are a few inside quads that are larger. Cabin 5035, 6035, 6535, 9203 and 9207 are listed as 190-200 sq. feet. This is much better than the 149 sq.feet on the standard inside if you all decide to stay together.

 

Several years ago, I stayed in the smallest inside Sky (Now POAl)cabin there was. I believe it was 108 sq. ft. Last year I stayed in an OV on Empress of the Sea, which wasn't much bigger. All other cabins have seemed large after those two. I've been thinking about taking the design of one of them and making our broom closet into a guest bedroom.

 

NOTE: When you live in Branson, MO, you don't want your guest bedroom to be too comfortable.:D

[jimswims]

Several years ago, I stayed in the smallest inside Sky (Now POAl)cabin there was. I believe it was 108 sq. ft. Last year I stayed in an OV on Empress of the Sea, which wasn't much bigger. All other cabins have seemed large after those two. I've been thinking about taking the design of one of them and making our broom closet into a guest bedroom.

 

NOTE: When you live in Branson, MO, you don't want your guest bedroom to be too comfortable.:D

 

The Nordic Empress (now Empress of the Seas) was my second cruise back in 1991. We were in an inside cabin across from the Royal suite. I believe it was deck 8 or 9. It was a tiny room. It was also our honeymoon so we did not care how big the cabin was. We went on the Sovereign of the Seas the week after. The cabin was a bit larger. Now that I think of it the Song of America had extremely small cabins. :eek:

 

NCL cabins do not seem so bad now that my memory is refreshed. However, there are 4 of us now.:)

[CruzFamleof6]

We too are going on the Spirit in Jan. Jan 6. What date are you looking into? We have 2 boys going also. Have you seen the kids area. I think if your kids did they would say book it now. LOL I have heard negative things about every line there is and the food. I just don't get it. I think people are not happy unless they are complaining. I am sure you will be happy with the Spirit. Freestyle is so great with kids!!!! Please let us know what you decide!

 

We have Boys 16, 14 & 4 and a duaghter 9...... I think the ship looks great for kids!We are considering 1/6 or 1/20; our kids have out of school three days that week......:) If you do go before us, I would LOVE to hear how it went for you guys! How old are your boys?

[twofit]

We'll also be onboard 7/29 (come over to the roll call!) and have spoken with a few local families who have sailed the Spirit, and everyone had good things to say. Most negative reviews are not reasonable and concern things available as common knowledge if people would just take the time to do their research! As Latitudes members we were "upgraded" to cabin 6565, a supposedly larger-than-most inside cabin, for 4 of us. We spend very little time in the room, so it's not a big deal!

[CruzFamleof6]

THanks guys! you rock...have a blast on your future cruises!