Torn about Spirit for Feb 08

[LilRhody]

I've been doing some reading and searching on here and, to be honest, what I've seen so far is discouraging. I've cruised on Princess and Royal and had good experiences on both, but this time we are considering taking the Spirit out of New Orleans in Feb 08 to do a 7 night western caribbean cruise (largely because the New Orleans departure fits out travel needs better). I haven't seen any reviews of that particular route, but it seems that the majority of reviews of the ship are pretty poor.

 

Has anyone done this itinerary on this ship?

 

Does anyone have anything good to say about this ship?

[garycarla]

We did the Dawn out of New Orleans earlier this year. They are both smaller ships and not the same as the big ones - we did the Jewel the year before

 

We loved going out of New Orleans as we could drive there and it was very easy on and off. Short runs to get to the ports of call in the Gulf Of Mexico. Great trip, even though I was sick in bed for a few days. Thought it was noro-virus thing. Later learned I had other problems brought on by way too much orange juice messing up my system. Long story.

[Don Haynes]

When the Spirit was built she was the tenth largest cruise ship in the world. She won awards by a cruise ship magazine. Fast forward eight years and she will soon be the smallest ship in NCL's fleet in a few years.

 

The Spirit is approaching middle age, and doesn'tt shine like when she was brand new. Many of the negative reviews may have something to do with her sailing during the summer months with other newer ships in town. You will also read she is the best ship other cruisers have sailed on. And another truth, is one family wrote many negative reviews instead of one, adding five bad reviews in a row. Take five of them off and you will see her as a positive good ship.

 

I have sailed on her and she is a great ship, clean and with a great crew. You will not regret picking the

Spirit for any cruise. I compare the Spirit as equal to the Sun. One of the reasons you haven't read any reviews on this route is because she hasn't done this route before.

 

The itinerary is great. She may be approaching middle age, but she is not old yet.

[Grandpaul]

I can't tell you about the itinerary but I can tell you the Spirit is a fine ship. We've been on her several times and we're going again. Nice relaxing ship with a terrific crew. I know there are bigger newer ships but I don't need an ice rink or a bowling alley to have a good cruise.

[avidreader]

I was on the spirit last month and she is a lovely ship. I showed photos and people cannot believe it was a cruise ship and not some fancy hotel.

And everyone was smiling and helpful. look up the reviews in this section, just search reviews.;)

[Snowrose]

The Spirit is repositioning to New Orleans after a stint in New York, so I don't think anyone has done a New Orleans route on the Spirit.

 

As to the "negative" reviews, obviously you haven't read very many of them on this board. DH and I were on the Spirit in Jan/Feb of this year and had such a wonderful time that we're constantly looking for our next cruise! :D

 

Teri

[halos]

...as for the reviews, they seem cyclical.

I booked a cruise for this Nov on the Spirit 13 months ago and have read EVERY review on here since then. I'd say that over 90% of the reviews were favorable and the ones that were not as complimentary weren't totally awful. There are nearly 100 of us Cruise Critics on this November sailing. If you want to wait until we get back and read all our reviews before you book, you can get some more facts before making up your mind ;) ;)

 

To be honest, many of the reviews on all of the cruise boards here have stated that passengers have seen an overall decline in service as well as food and entertainment on all the ships, on all the lines. I think cost cutting measures have to do with this.

[almtyrob]

I did Spirit out of NYC in May and may sadden that she will reposition to New Orleans as I live in NJ and it was easy to get to her. I wouldn't hesitate to cruise her again (in a heart beat). I've been on RCCL,Princess, Carnival, Regent, Celebrity and have booked Gem for January (out of NYC). NCL and Spirit are fine and you will not be disappointed.:)

[teacha50]

We'd definitely sail her again as well...I love to cruise, yet my husband was never fond of cruising...I usually cruise with friends because he just didn't enjoy cruise vacations..however, we sailed the Spirit in July celebrating an anniversary (30 years) and he is still talking about how great a time he had...so that should say something about the Spirit!!! :D

[LilRhody]

Thanks all. I should know from being here in the past that the bad reviews are the ones that seem to crop up and stick in the mind. I did a search and did find some good reviews, although most of the more negative ones were more recent. I'm glad to see that some of you have been on this ship recently and found it to be just fine.

 

Any tips on preferred cabin locations? We're getting a balcony for sure.

[KTEJ]

We took the Spirit out of NYC in July, before going I read some bad reviews also. I can tell you that I would not hesitate to go on the Spirit again. Although it is getting older, it is still a beautiful ship, the staff was wonderful, the food was wonderful, the beds did not seem to hard, to me it did not seem any more crowded than any of the other 3 cruises I have been on (RCCL and Carnival) I did not notice kids running around unsupervised, Freestyle is great, my children loved Kids Crew. As I have read other people post a cruise (as with any vacation) is what you make it to be. If you look hard enough for something to complain about you are sure to find it.

 

Have fun on your cruise

[laryco]

My small group is looking to book on the Spirit in March so I am reading this thread with great interest....we did the Magesty 2 years ago ..had a great time but it wasn't the cleanest ship (some real funky stuff found when we moved the beds together)...we've done many cruises on another line with no problems but we want to combine a visit to NOLA with a cruise to some ports we haven't been to....

[electricron]

The Spirit is approaching middle age, and doesn't shine like when she was brand new.

 

When should a ship be considered old? When do we consider a car old, or approaching middle age? How many of us are still driving cars younger than 5 years, 10 years, or 15 years?

 

The Spirit entered service in 1998. I bought my last new car in 1999. I now own the title to that car, the bank loan has been paid off. At that point, I guess many of us would consider trading a car in and purchasing a new car. Therefore, I believe most will consider a car new as long as they are paying the bank monthly bills, although I still consider my car "new".

 

Cruise lines usually borrow money to buy ships just like we borrow money to purchase cars. Our car loans usually are 4, 5, and recently 6 year loans. Cruise lines loans for new ships, at least for NCL, last for 10 years. Therefore, I suggest a ship should be considered new for 10 years.

 

Carnival will be spending $250 million refurbishing their Fantasy class ships in the next two years, modernizing all 8 ships with modern features. The first Fantasy class ship entered service in 1990, the last entered service in 1998, bulding them an average one a year. Their average of entering service would be 1994. It's been 13 years, on average, for Carnival to significantly upgrade and modernize these ships. Carnival didn't consider them as too old until now.

 

Therefore, I don't consider the Spirit old at all, it entered service after the last Fantasy class was built.

[golferdog]

we did the Spirit out of New York last year and loved the ship--It was originally built for the Asian market for another line but in the re-do NCL left a huge amount of the artwork and Asian decor in place and it is not only unique but visualy stunning as well. The ship is a little smaller by todays standards but we found that to be refreshing---the only drawback we found was the lack of refrigerators in our balcony room, but the stewards were great about keeping the ice constantly filled so no big deal really--I think you'll LOVE the ship

[BettyBoopaDoop]

We loved the Spirit. It's a little smaller than the Dawn, I believe, and just beautiful. A good size. Windows restaurant is raelly lovely. I'd go back on the Spirit anytime!:)

[Dante79]

My family and I just got off the Sprit and probably wont be sailing on her again. We found the service, entertainment, and food to be lacking compared to our past cruises. The ship seemed to be more crowded than on past ships we have taken (both smaller and bigger ships). We also had a medical mishap that was not handled to our satisfaction. The ship also shook and moved to much

That said, the ship itself is beautiful, the Cabins are clean (but smaller – bigger bath room though). The specialty restraints are worth the extra cover charge. The rates for this ship are well with in acceptable for the level of service we did receive.

In my estimations this ship would be a lot better off if it where given a better Cruse Director and Hotel Director.

[ctdahlquist]

I've been on a number of cruises, including a sailing on Holland America, and I must say this is my favorite ship. I'll be sailing in January on the Spirit, and I can't wait. The ship is just the right size, elegant, and with great options for dining. It is light years ahead of the ships just a few years younger (the Majesty, for instance), and will be going strong for some time to come.

 

The Majesty isn't a mega ship experience. If that is what you exptect, then you may be disappointed. Otherwise, you WILL be impressed with the comfort and luxury of the Spirit.

[nealstuber]

The Spirit is repositioning to New Orleans after a stint in New York, so I don't think anyone has done a New Orleans route on the Spirit.

 

We're doing Spirit's first run out of NOLA and have been reading Sun reviews from last winter as she ran the same ports then. Everyone raves about the ports (mixed impressions on the Sun though).

We're sure to post a review with a week of our sailing. Hope we have more luck with freestyle this time..... felt nickled and dimed on the Star.

[stegosaurus1]

We took the Eastern Carib cruise in 2005 (our first) and, to me, the best by far. We'll be on the November repo and can't wait to be back on board the Spirit.

 

BTW, if you plan to arrive in NYC the day before, see our post on the Ports of Call board:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=611154

 

Also, the following intruiging comment from a previous poster:

 

"The specialty restraints are worth the extra cover charge."

 

How much for Fur-Lined Handcuffs? LOL!

[Dante79]

Also, the following intruiging comment from a previous poster:

 

"The specialty restraints are worth the extra cover charge."

 

How much for Fur-Lined Handcuffs? LOL!

 

Not many people know this about the Sprit, but they have an exhalent S&M bar on deck 3. They don’t advertise it for obvious reasons, but if you ask the front desk about it they’ll give you a card, then all you do is walk down to deck three using the forward stair case present your card to a guy standing in the hallway and he points you to the bar. We spent a lot of time there and a great time was had by all.

[blueinspades]

We cruised the Spirit for Thanksgiving 2005. For us, we would not repeat the experience. The cruise price was good, which is why we tried it, but we will not try it again.

We sailed multiple times on Princess, Celebrity, NCL and previewed the HAL Noordam. All of these lines were wonderful experiences and we enjoyed ourselves.

 

I would not recommend the Spirit for many reasons: the beds are too hard even with the extra bedding, food experience is below all other ships we sailed, chairs in public areas are very small especially for large or tall people, lack of refrigerator in cabin, ice melted before it could be used, cabins cleaned once in AM and once at PM. The desserts are mediocre and for a chocolate lover, bring your own, as chocolate anything rarely was served. DH is a diabetic and there was little choice on the menu or special services from the matre'd. There were many unruly children and rude family groups on this holiday cruise. Groups of teens would roam the ship at night ruining any late night snacks by touching and throwing food around and there was no staff in sight. It is a beautiful ship just not a classy cruising experience.

 

I am not a family group and have not written on the boards about this ship in a long time. You have a right to sift thru the reviews and make your own opinion. I try to read many reviews and when I see a trend in the opinions, it is usually something to weigh against other factors. People who pick on any one reviewer should post their own opinions and not nit pick someone else's opinion.

[nealstuber]

Not many people know this about the Sprit, but they have an exhalent S&M bar on deck 3. They don’t advertise it for obvious reasons, but if you ask the front desk about it they’ll give you a card, then all you do is walk down to deck three using the forward stair case present your card to a guy standing in the hallway and he points you to the bar. We spent a lot of time there and a great time was had by all.

Has us going there for a second.

[Surfgirl]

.... and I disagree with the negative reviews of the Spirit. I've been on Crown (two times) Dawn, and Spirit... and I love Spirit the best! (I used to love Crown, but felt it has gone downhill a bit)... anyway...

 

I found the food on Spirit to be the best over any of the others. The Head Chef is amazing. I spoke in length with him about his training an his background. I believe he said he studied in Bavaria and Austria... among other places.

 

Even the chocoholics buffet on Spirit was better than the others. He even had "chocolate sushi!".

 

I loved "Windows"-- the big dining room. It was just stunning... Floor to ceiling windows (hence the name) and a grand piano in front of the restaurant. One of the passengers was very talented and played during dinner one night. It was fantastic.

 

Yes, the beds were hard, but you can get an eggcrate. And, they're small, but so am I. If you're tall, I'm not sure if they would be a problem or not.

 

The ship is so unusual and interesting. I love the spiral staircase down from the Galaxy of the Stars. There's a tiny museum down there, and you can watch the helm behind glass window.

 

It rained every day on our cruise, but I still had a blast because there was so much to do on board the ship.

[98Charlie]

All I can add is that I've been wanting to book the Spirit for a few years but didn't like the itineraries or the ports of sailing until now.

 

NO embarkation and the ports sold us for this cruise now and we will be on the Spirit the week after Thanksgiving. Can't wait to be there.

 

This will be our 9th sailing on a NCL ship and only our second trip to NO. First trip to NO was in 1980, a land trip to visit DH's brother when I was pregnant with our second child.

 

DH & I are both very excited about this cruise even though we've visited all the ports on the itinerary (except for Guatemala) many times.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Dianne

[grandmaof2]

My family was on the Spirit in June. 5 of us...daughter (TOTAL PRINCESS AND GERMAPHOPIC) son-in-law (Hamburger and beer kind of guy) 11 year old grandaughter (IN TRAINING TO BE HER MOTHER) 3 yr old grandson (EATS ONLY FRENCH FRIES AND SCRAMBLED EGGS); me (as long as its dead I will eat it) HOWEVER, I am somewhat experienced with fine dining and prefer that to ..lets say Red Lobster or Ourback

OK so thats the background...

The vacation on the Spirit was OUTSTANDING. was everything perfect? no (have absolutely NO clue who our room steward was; never saw him/her once during the entire week. However, everything that we could expect was taken care of. The room was immaculate!! About that, I, too, am very fussy. The beds were really comfortable

The ship was very crowded but anyone who makes reservations on a ship w/o knowing the capacity gets no sympahty from me.

I only spent an hour at the pool and couldnt stand it but the area around the kids pool was GREAT for reading and relaxing..and SHADE

The staff is really overworked but thats not their fault and cooperation from passengers really helps alot. So one night we missed a show, disappointed?? a little...did it spoil the experience NOT EVEN A LITTLE.

We ate primarily in Windows and The Garden room with late-night snacks in the Blue Lagoon (I really wanted to take the pound cake home) Very early morning fruit and coffee from Room Service (a REAL treat

The food was good to excellent ( a few things I wasnt crazy about but the staff was tremendous about fixing things ...

I did FRET some about the towels...I became paranoid about keeping track of them but I got over it.

Ths ship itself is so beautiful, that just walking around looking at different areas or sitting with a cup of coffee was really enjoyable.

The Kids Crew was great and my grandchildren LOVED it...the staff there is amazing.

I still marvel at the fact that a family of 5 (2 rooms...1 outside and 1 balcony) could have such a terrific vacation for such a reasonable amount of money.

My only complaint about the entire week: RUDE passengers; some loud and obnoxious; I still cant get over how pushy some people can be and ignorant?? whew!! Cant help but wonder if these people write som of the REALLY negative comments.

Again, nothing is perfect..I did hear some valid complaints from other passengers but we really lucked out.

I would go again today if possible!!!!!