Great Family Cruise-Review Spirit 6/14

[kat89447]

Just got back from the Spirit with my family and had a great time. We had 4 kids ages 2,4, 6, and 10 and my siblings ages 36-43 and my parents. Freestyle won us all over for our age groups. We have never tried freestyle before and found it to be a great way to keep all ages happy.

My parents had a penthouse on the 10th floor and the rest of us were on the 9th floor in balconies.

We arrived at the pier and were on board in about 20 minutes. We got there about 1pm so there were no lines. We had the option to be escorted to our rooms, but all except my parents chose to find our own way.

BALCONIES: They were small, but I thought they used the space well. It was just myself and my DD 10 in our cabin and we had plenty of space, but it was a little tight for my sister and her hubby and their 2 year old. Not a ton of drawers, and shelves, but they made due. My brother/wife and DS 4, and DS 6 had connecting balconies and it was absolutely worth the money for the extra bathroom and space.

I thought our stewards were wonderful and went out of their way to see to our every need. I had one problem with a slow drain in the shower and it was fixed before dinner (about 2 hours after I reported it). The towel animals my daughter loves seemed to be hit or miss. We received 4 in our room and then they showed my DD how to make the mouse so she actually got a 5th one. My sister only received 2, but in all fairness, they had the 2 yr old and were in their room for naps and early bed time. Same with my brother ( he had the 4 and 6 yr. olds). Our stewards were always saying hi to the kids and us and giving them trivia questions or cute jokes. They were very aware of our schedules after the first day and introduced themselves to us after dinner the first night. They inquired if we needed anything everyday. Our room was well kept and we felt we were taken very good care of.

We had a fruit basket filled every day with apples, pears, bananas, and oranges. Loved that we had something to snack on that wasn't chocolate or some other candy. Room service was great and prompt, we had this almost every night. Our stomachs are off 3 hours being from NV so we had a small snack about 10 pm. The fruit plate is great and the little pizzas are wonderful.

Suites had more fruits to choose from and other little snacks as well. My parents butler Umberto was amazing and took care of all of us, even though he really only needed to see to my parents.

RESTURANTS that we tried:

My DD and I LOVED the Garden for the two of us. The Maitr'd made us feel like we were VIPs every time we went. He showed us to a table by the window as if he had been keeping it open for just us. The staff was very good and VERY tolorant of my clan. They managed to keep the kids happy and occupied so us parents could enjoy our meal as well. One of the waiters made some frogs out of paper that could jump, the kids were amazed. We were always offered the option of the kids getting their food early so they didn't have to wait for everything together. I thought the kids menu was a little lacking in veggies, mostly pizza, grilled cheese and pasta. My daughter ate mostly from the regular menu, but it was nice having a stand by option if she didn't like the options on the regular one. The waiters even brought out a bowl of sprinkles so the kids could sprinkle their own ice cream, it was a big hit.

Windows was ok, I thought the service was slower and not as attentive. Probably had more to do with the size of the waiter/waitresses areas they had to cover. It is huge and has a nice piano player that plays during dinner, but I prefered Garden's smaller feel to it. The menu is the same at both. Food was great at them.

Le Bistro was very nice, small and cosy. Great place to have a more initmate meal. French food is not my favorite, but my parents love it and we had a nice dinner. The room is quiet and was a nice place for us to catch up with each other without having to raise our voices. We only took the 10 yr old as it was not the best place for the younger ones.

Cagney's was great for breakfast (snuck in under my parents suite status) nice option instead of Raffles.

We had dinner in a private room in the back with the whole family and was treated like royalty. It was nice to have the room with the younger ones so they didn't disturb the other guests.

Raffles was hit or miss depending on what time you went. I am not a buffet person, but it was very popular with the families. The omelet station was great and the food was what you expect with a buffet. The crepes in there were great.

Excursions

San Juan, PR: My DD and I went into old SJ and mostly shopped. At the town square she had a blast watching the pigeons. There are people up there that will give the kids some corn and seed mix to feed them. She is an animal lover and thought that was great.

Tortola, B.V.I. we did the Dolphin Discovery (Royal Swim) we booked outside of NCL and direct with them. Worth every dime. My brother and his family did the encounter and had a great time as well. Booking direct saved a couple of hundred bux and we all would do it again in a heartbeat.

Samana, DR: We did the day at Grand Paradise Resort. Typical beach resort. Kids loved it and it was a nice way to unwind.

Disembarkation: Once again we cheated and used my parent suite status to have VIP escort off the ship and thru customs. We were off and on our way to the airport in about 30 minutes.

Overall, I thought the service was amazing. The one problem I had with a charge was taken care of immediately and with a smile. I thought the staff was very helpful. The Captain went out of his way to meet and greet people as well as his staff.

Kids club was hit or miss with the kids. The 2 yr old loved it, the 4 yr old didn't. The 6 yr old thought it was ok, but didn't want to leave his brother behind to go. My 10 yr old went to activities she wanted and stayed with me the rest. Most counselors were very nice, one or two seemed cranky most of the time, didn't hold it against them. I think overall they were good, and only seemed cranky when they had a ton of kids that were overwhelmed. The first day at sea seemed to do everyone in, too much sun and activities, I would have been cranky too. lol Would definately do this ship again and loved the freestyle for the family dynamic.

[Chipster2]

Thanks for taking the time to post your review. Great to hear that your family enjoyed their cruise.

[electricron]

Thanks for the review.

 

I hope you had a chance to see "Leo" in his glass cage.

[pumpkin228]

Thanks for this great review. We will be going on the Spirit next may. We are just off the dream. How did you feel about the layout of the ship? I only ask because the layout of the dream is a little odd, you have to go up to go down or cut through dining rooms or theatres. It's just an odd layout.

 

Thanks!

[kat89447]

I loved the layout of the spirit. My DD and I did get lost in a circle of cabins once on the 6th deck lol but it was a fun adventure. We got turned around a couple of times because when you get off the elevator or on a stair landing some of the decks don't have clear signs about which way is port or starboard and it can be confusing when keeping up with the kids. They seemed to figure it out faster lol. By the second day we had it figured out. I am partial to the smaller ships and never felt crowded by kids or passengers. I couldn't imagine finding my way around freedom of the seas, we saw it in port and felt like the dingy next to it. Just my opinion though, my sister loves the bigger ships. I highly recommend this ship for families, especially of ones with the pre-teen and younger crowd. It is overwhelming enough for that group and we had a chance to see all of the ship without feeling rushed to get everything in. Constantly had staff greeting us by name (especially the kids) felt very personal and like we were all VIPs.

Forgot to mention that my sister and sister in law and I went to the Spa and had the hot stone massage. It was wonderful and worth every penny. Could have lived without the sales pitch at the end, but we could have noted we were not interested on our intake and didn't. Products were good but expensive so it wasn't too bad to listen to it. They had other Spa specials later during the week that I tried to find time for, but the kids kept us busy. Great girl time for us and a tradition for us for an afternoon when we visit every summer.

All in all, our family as a group decided we loved the freestyle concept and will sail with NCL again.