Review of 9/29/2007 CTN on Spirit

[cliffd64]

Arrival

It was a beautiful day in Manhattan, so after arriving at Grand Central, we walked straight down 50th Street from Madison Avenue to the pier (12th Ave) and we were in the terminal by 10:45 AM. Within minutes, we had been through security, and received our cardkeys and had a seat in the first staging area. There was coffee and juice and various breads and cakes available and they even had people serving you in the staging area. We met some nice people in the staging area and that helped pass the time while we waited to board (about 45 minutes). Friends of ours who arrived a little bit after we did ended up in a second staging area prior to security and check-in. At almost exactly 11:30 AM, we were ushered to begin boarding.

 

Lunch

As we were not new to the process, we ignored the encouragement of the various greeters to have lunch in the buffet, and proceeded to Windows on deck 6 aft for a sit-down lunch. The lunch menu had several great offerings, and some of the better highlights were the cold bananna soup, the taro chips with avaocado salsa, the tilapia with lemon sauce with capers, the BBQ ribs, and even the 1/2 lb bacon cheeseburger. Everyone at our table of 4 enjoyed their meals, and the service was prompt and efficient. We filled out a very positive comment card for Mr. Miller, our waiter, as he was very very good and quite entertaining.

 

Pre-Sail-away

Since the cabins were not available until about 2 PM, we decided to give our first-timer friends a 50 cent tour of the public areas of the ship, starting with deck 7. The ship seemed to be in fine condition, and everything seemed spotless. As we finally made our way out on the the Tivoli pool deck area, I was recognized by a few of the staff that I had become friendly with on my last trip on the Spirit this past December. After a brief reunion we enjoyed a couple of beers on the pool deck, the cabins were finally available, and we made our way one deck down to deck 11 to our rooms. Our friends had the cabin next to ours in the very forward section of deck 11, port side. Effectively, this placed us directly behind the bridge area, and under the Galaxy of the Stars. For those considering these cabins, there were no noise issues at all. We could not hear anything from the Galaxy of the Stars at all. We introduced ourselves to our cabin steward, and asked him if he would arrange the twin beds for us as a queen bed, and expressed our appreciation in advance with a small gratuity. Needless to say, this gesture went a long way, and with a very short time, both rooms were perfectly arranged for us. Our friends decided to rest up for a couple of hours in their cabin, and we changed into bathing suits and headed out to enjoy the pool and hot tubs. It was a very warm gorgeous day, and the pool deck was hopping. Still, we had no issue finding a table to enjoy some more beverages. The bier garten was a little crowded and slow... and here's why: Some people REALLY wanted a burger, and actually stood in line waiting sometimes as long as 10 or 15 minutes for one to be cooked when they were gone. Unfortunately, the people behind them who would have settled for a hot dog or other item, were very polite and didn't think to go around those who were waiting, so the line became long and slow moving. Once people realized they could move around those waiting for items that had to be cooked, the line picked up. There was no muster drill on this cruise, only a safety announcement.

 

Sail Away

Being such a gorgeous day, sail away past the Statue of Liberty and under the Verrazano was fantastic. There was a nice caribbean band playing on the pool deck, and everyone seemed to be in a great mood :) After passing the Verrazano, we all decided to go change for dinner and head to Windows for our meal.

 

Dinner

Ok.. . food is very subjective, but all of us in our immediate group of 4 absolutely enjoyed our meals. The menu for the evening included Argentinian Skirt Steak, a Mahi Mahi dish, a pasta with short rib dish and a Leg of Lamb entree. The appetizers were great, soups and salads were fairly typical, and the desserts were awesome. Above all, the service by Edith our waitress was fantastic and quick. We arrived at a little after 5:30, we were seated immediately, and dinner lasted until about 6:50, which was plenty of time before the comedy show started at 7:15 PM. Once again we asked Edith for a comment card to we could give her some positive remarks about her excellent service. Edith was very pleased :)

 

Evening Entertainment

We went to the 7:15 PM comedy show with John Martin. He was really good, and everyone seemed to be laughing quite a bit. Being held in the Galaxy of Stars, the only drawback was the sound of the blenders sometimes got a bit much during the show. They could use some silent blenders :) After his show, we headed to Henry's pub and enjoyed karaoke for the next few hours. We skipped the main show, Retro-Active, because we had seen it previously. The casino was hopping quite a bit, mainly due to the lottery drawings they would have periodically. When the drawings were scheduled, you could not move in the casino. The shops were actually not as crowded.

 

Breakfast and disembarkation

Left our cabin after 8 AM and enjoyed a nice sit-down breakfast at Windows. Only drawback here was it seemed like it took a long time to get our order, but, we were seated, and we had nowhere to go, so we enjoyed our coffee and conversation. After breakfast, we returned to our cabin, retireved our belongings, and left the ship at about 9:30 AM, and had no lines ot waiting anywhere. Smooth process for disembarkation. Once again, all you need to get off the ship is your card key, as there are no customs or immigration processes AT ALL. It was a nice day, so we headed back up to Grand Central and made it well in advance of the 11:07 train to New Haven.

 

Any questions, I will try to answer them. :)

[mykidsrock76]

How was the dinner dress? Was it casual or were people decked out? We're doing the CTN 10/13 and want to make sure we ahve what we need. Also, was the soap & shampoo provided? Trying to cut down on packing.

[cliffd64]

How was the dinner dress? Was it casual or were people decked out? We're doing the CTN 10/13 and want to make sure we ahve what we need. Also, was the soap & shampoo provided? Trying to cut down on packing.

 

Dress was as formal or casual as you can make it... just like any week long cruise. We chose to bring some nice resort casual clothes, but there were lots of people in jeans, and a few dressed up as well.

 

Yes, soap and shampoo are available in your shower dispensers.

 

See you on 10/13... we will be there again!!!

[mykidsrock76]

Dress was as formal or casual as you can make it... just like any week long cruise. We chose to bring some nice resort casual clothes, but there were lots of people in jeans, and a few dressed up as well.

 

Yes, soap and shampoo are available in your shower dispensers.

 

See you on 10/13... we will be there again!!!

 

We can do resort casual. I am thinking one night.. a backpack should work and not wrinkle anything. How far is the port from Grand Central? We are taking the train into Penn. My DH has never really been to NYC, so I thought we could enjoy a nice walk and he can see Times Square and maybe even do some shopping along the way.

[cliffd64]

We can do resort casual. I am thinking one night.. a backpack should work and not wrinkle anything. How far is the port from Grand Central? We are taking the train into Penn. My DH has never really been to NYC, so I thought we could enjoy a nice walk and he can see Times Square and maybe even do some shopping along the way.

 

Grand Central is on 42nd and Lexington, so you're 8 small blocks south and about 8 or 9 large blocks east ... so it takes about 45 minutes to walk at a leisurely pace. Typically we head up to Madison Ave, and go from 42nd to 50th and straight down to the pier.

[MommyJamiex4]

Thanks for the review! We will be onboard this coming Saturday. We are planning on arriving at 11:30. Also glad to know that if we do dinner early like you guys did there shouldn't be a wait. I do have one question though: where is the pier to get on. Dh swears he knows where it is, but...well you...know, LOL!

[davy jones]

The pier is in the Manhattan Passenger Ship Terminal at 55th Street and 12th Avenue. All vehicle entry to the terminal is at that corner. The actual pier may vary, but it clearly marked and the ships are pretty hard to miss. :)

 

The monitors on the ship indicated no waits in Windows or the Garden Room all evening. We walked right into the Garden Room around 6:30 and there was still no wait when we left.

 

It looked like the pay restaurants were pretty well booked. I heard that many chose to eat dinner at the buffet.

[cliffd64]

Thanks for the review! We will be onboard this coming Saturday. We are planning on arriving at 11:30. Also glad to know that if we do dinner early like you guys did there shouldn't be a wait. I do have one question though: where is the pier to get on. Dh swears he knows where it is, but...well you...know, LOL!

Pedestrian entrance closest to the ship was at 50th and 12th Ave. You have to drive up to 55th or so to get on the ramp if you are in a car...

[Janchris]

Arrival

It was a beautiful day in Manhattan, so after arriving at Grand Central, we walked straight down 50th Street from Madison Avenue to the pier (12th Ave) and we were in the terminal by 10:45 AM. Within minutes, we had been through security, and received our cardkeys and had a seat in the first staging area. There was coffee and juice and various breads and cakes available and they even had people serving you in the staging area. We met some nice people in the staging area and that helped pass the time while we waited to board (about 45 minutes). Friends of ours who arrived a little bit after we did ended up in a second staging area prior to security and check-in. At almost exactly 11:30 AM, we were ushered to begin boarding.

 

Lunch

As we were not new to the process, we ignored the encouragement of the various greeters to have lunch in the buffet, and proceeded to Windows on deck 6 aft for a sit-down lunch. The lunch menu had several great offerings, and some of the better highlights were the cold bananna soup, the taro chips with avaocado salsa, the tilapia with lemon sauce with capers, the BBQ ribs, and even the 1/2 lb bacon cheeseburger. Everyone at our table of 4 enjoyed their meals, and the service was prompt and efficient. We filled out a very positive comment card for Mr. Miller, our waiter, as he was very very good and quite entertaining.

 

Pre-Sail-away

Since the cabins were not available until about 2 PM, we decided to give our first-timer friends a 50 cent tour of the public areas of the ship, starting with deck 7. The ship seemed to be in fine condition, and everything seemed spotless. As we finally made our way out on the the Tivoli pool deck area, I was recognized by a few of the staff that I had become friendly with on my last trip on the Spirit this past December. After a brief reunion we enjoyed a couple of beers on the pool deck, the cabins were finally available, and we made our way one deck down to deck 11 to our rooms. Our friends had the cabin next to ours in the very forward section of deck 11, port side. Effectively, this placed us directly behind the bridge area, and under the Galaxy of the Stars. For those considering these cabins, there were no noise issues at all. We could not hear anything from the Galaxy of the Stars at all. We introduced ourselves to our cabin steward, and asked him if he would arrange the twin beds for us as a queen bed, and expressed our appreciation in advance with a small gratuity. Needless to say, this gesture went a long way, and with a very short time, both rooms were perfectly arranged for us. Our friends decided to rest up for a couple of hours in their cabin, and we changed into bathing suits and headed out to enjoy the pool and hot tubs. It was a very warm gorgeous day, and the pool deck was hopping. Still, we had no issue finding a table to enjoy some more beverages. The bier garten was a little crowded and slow... and here's why: Some people REALLY wanted a burger, and actually stood in line waiting sometimes as long as 10 or 15 minutes for one to be cooked when they were gone. Unfortunately, the people behind them who would have settled for a hot dog or other item, were very polite and didn't think to go around those who were waiting, so the line became long and slow moving. Once people realized they could move around those waiting for items that had to be cooked, the line picked up. There was no muster drill on this cruise, only a safety announcement.

 

Sail Away

Being such a gorgeous day, sail away past the Statue of Liberty and under the Verrazano was fantastic. There was a nice caribbean band playing on the pool deck, and everyone seemed to be in a great mood :) After passing the Verrazano, we all decided to go change for dinner and head to Windows for our meal.

 

Dinner

Ok.. . food is very subjective, but all of us in our immediate group of 4 absolutely enjoyed our meals. The menu for the evening included Argentinian Skirt Steak, a Mahi Mahi dish, a pasta with short rib dish and a Leg of Lamb entree. The appetizers were great, soups and salads were fairly typical, and the desserts were awesome. Above all, the service by Edith our waitress was fantastic and quick. We arrived at a little after 5:30, we were seated immediately, and dinner lasted until about 6:50, which was plenty of time before the comedy show started at 7:15 PM. Once again we asked Edith for a comment card to we could give her some positive remarks about her excellent service. Edith was very pleased :)

 

Evening Entertainment

We went to the 7:15 PM comedy show with John Martin. He was really good, and everyone seemed to be laughing quite a bit. Being held in the Galaxy of Stars, the only drawback was the sound of the blenders sometimes got a bit much during the show. They could use some silent blenders :) After his show, we headed to Henry's pub and enjoyed karaoke for the next few hours. We skipped the main show, Retro-Active, because we had seen it previously. The casino was hopping quite a bit, mainly due to the lottery drawings they would have periodically. When the drawings were scheduled, you could not move in the casino. The shops were actually not as crowded.

 

Breakfast and disembarkation

Left our cabin after 8 AM and enjoyed a nice sit-down breakfast at Windows. Only drawback here was it seemed like it took a long time to get our order, but, we were seated, and we had nowhere to go, so we enjoyed our coffee and conversation. After breakfast, we returned to our cabin, retireved our belongings, and left the ship at about 9:30 AM, and had no lines ot waiting anywhere. Smooth process for disembarkation. Once again, all you need to get off the ship is your card key, as there are no customs or immigration processes AT ALL. It was a nice day, so we headed back up to Grand Central and made it well in advance of the 11:07 train to New Haven.

 

Any questions, I will try to answer them. :)

 

Hi Cliff. Just wanted to let you know that we must have been seated next to each other at dinner as we had Edith also(knew her from previous Dawn cruise)and my son was the young man that got engaged at dinner. :) Do you remember us?

Janet

[cliffd64]

Hi Cliff. Just wanted to let you know that we must have been seated next to each other at dinner as we had Edith also(knew her from previous Dawn cruise)and my son was the young man that got engaged at dinner. :) Do you remember us?

Janet

 

YES!!!! We loved the proposal!!!! We were the table of 4 next to the window... :)

 

Please say congrats to your son and his bride to be ;) :)

[Janchris]

YES!!!! We loved the proposal!!!! We were the table of 4 next to the window... :)

 

Please say congrats to your son and his bride to be ;) :)

 

Thanks so much and I will pass your good wishes on to them. Are you the people that stopped on the way out and congratulated them?

Nelson the Matre'D was so nice as my son made up phony menu's and on the 2nd page it read; "Attention, Chris would like to ask Lyn a very important question" and went along with our plan. Edith we had as a waitress in the Italian rest. on the Dawn 2 years ago and I think my son was smitten with her. LOL She is a lovely girl, great waitress and just got married last year and they both work on the Spirit.

By the way, we did not order the cake and Nelson gave it to us as a surprise. I will write a letter to NCL just to compliment the two of them as they deserve the recognition.

Nice talking with you.

Janet:D

[cliffd64]

Thanks so much and I will pass your good wishes on to them. Are you the people that stopped on the way out and congratulated them?

Nelson the Matre'D was so nice as my son made up phony menu's and on the 2nd page it read; "Attention, Chris would like to ask Lyn a very important question" and went along with our plan. Edith we had as a waitress in the Italian rest. on the Dawn 2 years ago and I think my son was smitten with her. LOL She is a lovely girl, great waitress and just got married last year and they both work on the Spirit.

By the way, we did not order the cake and Nelson gave it to us as a surprise. I will write a letter to NCL just to compliment the two of them as they deserve the recognition.

Nice talking with you.

Janet:D

 

Yes, we stopped on the way out and congratulated them... They were sitting practically right next to us :) That will be a memorable proposal :)

[makunc1]

No offense, but you can't post this kind of story without PICTURES!!!!

[cliffd64]

Oh well, I didn't bring a camera to dinner, so I can't help you with that... perhaps the family of the groom-to-be and the bride-to-be can help you out :)

[MommyJamiex4]

LOL YES I want to see pictures too! Was it as romantic as it sounds?

[Janchris]

No offense, but you can't post this kind of story without PICTURES!!!!

 

 

LOL....my son can download a picture to me and then I promise I will send it along. Thanks for the interest.

Janet:)

[Janchris]

LOL YES I want to see pictures too! Was it as romantic as it sounds?

 

Yes it was very romantic. My son made up a fake menu on the computer and on 2nd page it said "Attention, Chris has a very important message for Lyn." The poor girl was in shock for a couple of minutes. That is when he proposed and she said yes. The Maitre'd was excellent and went along with us on the fake menu's and Edith our waitress (whom we knew from a past cruise on the Dawn) was totally wonderful and sang 2 songs to the couple and Nelson the Maitre'd was nice enough to supply us with a cake.

Wonderful , memorable evening and great cruise.

Janet

[Frick_&_Frack]

Janet -

 

Edith has such a lovely voice. When we were on the Dawn in 2006, on boarding, my now DH proposed. We had Edith as an Assistant Waiter at the time (we were at her table every night). She sang to us on the last night and the restaurant was in tears. We watch the DVD of it from time-to-time and cry each time.

 

Congrats to your son & his fiancee!!!