Spirit

[KerCar]

Hi - I have never cruised before - and my extended family has decided to do a trip together next June on the Spirit... I am wondering how hard it will be for my husband and I given that we will have a 3 year old and a 9 month old traveling with us. Has anyone traveled with such small children on this ship before and how did you work sleeping arrangements and what kind of room did you have? Thanks for any advice you can spare!

 

Alanna~ I've been on the Spirit twice with my two small children. Here are the links to my two reviews. They are pretty comprehensive and will hopefully offer you some insight:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=572026

 

and

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=42458

 

Feel free to ask me any questions!

 

Also, be sure to check out the Family Cruising Board for lots of great tips on cruising with children:)

[live2dive45]

Thanks Toyz711 for the pics and the comments. We are going on our 1st cruise next month on the Spirit out of NYC to Canada/New England and are very excited. We LOVE the idea of a smaller, "calming" and classy ship. Not much into the Glitz which I hear is very much like Carnival. That is why we booked this one. I know we are going to love it. Thanks again for your assuring words:)

[Gingee]

It is good to hear some good reviews on Norweigen. My mom just e-mailed me last night and said that she talked to three separate group of people and they said that they will never cruise Norweigen again. Too long of lines and the food was horrible.

 

There aren't any adult slides are there?

[mactrio]

If we decide to go to a surcharge restuarant and eat there, can you order more than 1 entree'? Let's say my hubby orders a lobster tail, eats all of it and is still hungry and wants another; can he get another tail? Or does he need to pay another surcharge to eat again?

[boobooboyee]

Thanks Toyz711 for the pics and the comments. We are going on our 1st cruise next month on the Spirit out of NYC to Canada/New England and are very excited. We LOVE the idea of a smaller, "calming" and classy ship. Not much into the Glitz which I hear is very much like Carnival. That is why we booked this one. I know we are going to love it. Thanks again for your assuring words:)

 

Hi Live ! We're going on the Spirit the following week to NE/Canada ! Have a blast!

[Toyz711]

i talked to several people who said the same thing...

one lady was upset because NCL was colder then HAL..she would never sail anything but HAL again. she walked around the ship finding people to complain too, when they quit listening to her, she would walk over to another group. in one bingo sessions, she told 20 people how she was never cold on HAL and that she was mad that NCL did't turn on the heat just for her.

another group was upset because there was no place for them to party and get more drunk then they were...when they came back, they wrote bad reviews of the ships.

you hear all kinds of complaints, most are so silly you wonder if the person ever travel outside of their hometown, i quit listening years ago. to hear my MIL, no one should ever go to england, too many old buildings and piles of rocks (her opinion of stonehenge)

 

there are no adult slides on the spirit...90% of the time there are no long lines for any dining...some people think the food is great and some think it's awful (and that can be in the same restaurant and the same time:D )

personally, i never found anything awful, but i did think some things were outstanding and some were just OK. personally, i recommend the creme brulees....i thought the ginger bisque was a little strong...

it's hard to get the lobster served hot and fresh, this was one great, very tender and still hot when served. it's a carbbean lobster, not a maine lobster, but still very tasty.

the beef wellington was better the cruise before, this one cooked perfectly, but didn't have the flavor as before.

the dessest crepes are at a action station in the buffet area, we went up there just to get the crepes

 

this is the ginger/pumpkin bisque with crab, a little too much ginger for me..

took a scoop out of the creme brulee...just to show the fudge bottom..this was one of the best creme brulees i have ever had

but food is to subjective...what i would love, someone else would hate

[98Charlie]

Glad to hear some positive things about it. Is it a pretty stable ship? I am on the tenth floor. Would like to be lower but I only have a choice of one level lower (balcony).

 

So some of you are saying that you wait and some say you don't? (for food)

I don't want to pay for the specialty dinners. I don't go on cruises for the food - more for the destinations and the port it leaves from.

 

Gingee, you cruise as DH & I cruise -- not for the food but for the ports and the ships.

 

We have been on 20 cruises since Nov., 2002 and have only eaten at specialty (extra pay) restaurants twice in all of those cruises. (Both times we tried specialty restaurants was on NCL and we ate at those restaurants during the half-price dinner time frame.)

 

We will be on our 10th cruise with NCL next month and have an additional 10 cruises logged amonged Celebrity, RCI, Princess and Carnival. We enjoy each cruiseline for what it offers.

 

Spirit and Star are our two favorite ships in the NCL fleet so far. In fact, we've sailed Star 3 times and will be on the Spirit for the 2nd time on Nov. 30. Love the Spirit so much that we just might book the Spirit for another cruise in Nov., 09.

 

Regarding wait time for evening dinner: if you want to dine between 6:30 - 8 p.m., yes, you may have a short wait time to be seated. DH & I enjoy eating earlier -- never have to wait on a table and by dining early we still have time in the evening to enjoy a late night snack at the Blue Lagoon, etc.:D

 

The Spirit's decor is an Asian theme which DH & I enjoy as a contrast to the glitsy decor of other ships we've sailed. The casino of the Spirit is quite large since it was built for the Asian market. DH & I don't gamble that much on a ship but we enjoy the spacious area of the Spirit's casino area. We don't feel ``closed in'' at the casino.

 

Of the 6 ships DH & I have sailed so far in the NCL fleet, I'd have to say the Spirit is my favorite ship. In fact it is among my top favorites of all the ships we've sailed on.

 

Dianne

[Gingee]

Does anyone have pictures of the ship besides what the cruise lines show?

[Toyz711]

all kinds of them...google photos of NCL spirit and you can find a bunch.

for some reason, i forgot to take a photo of the "whole" ship...just got bits and pieces.

 

as we left the ship on the tender (belize)

 

the aft of the ship and the reason why that dining room is call "the windows"

 

 

webshots.com is where many people store their photos, doing a search there you can find more photos. plus the menus, photos of the other ships and much more.

[KerCar]

Does anyone have pictures of the ship besides what the cruise lines show?

 

Try this slide show:

http://164.109.173.140/spirit_slideshow/pages/P5220341_JPG.htm

[98Charlie]

Here's a couple of pics

 

Spirit docked in Guatamala

 



Spirit in Roatan.

 

 

 

We use Flickr.com There's a bunch more there. Just search "NCL Spirit".

 

Charlie

[lhall85917]

Can someone give me some comparisons between the Spirit and the Majesty? Although Majesty is highly recommended on these boards, we didn't care for it. Although we liked the ship itself, we weren't impressed with most of the crew and the service we received. I think we tend to lean toward newer, bigger ships as we also didn't care for Carnival Miracle. Most times we choose a cruise mainly for the ports although we do like to enjoy our room and feel a sense of warmth from the crew.

[Toyz711]

Can someone give me some comparisons between the Spirit and the Majesty? Although Majesty is highly recommended on these boards, we didn't care for it. Although we liked the ship itself, we weren't impressed with most of the crew and the service we received. I think we tend to lean toward newer, bigger ships as we also didn't care for Carnival Miracle. Most times we choose a cruise mainly for the ports although we do like to enjoy our room and feel a sense of warmth from the crew.

 

the crews are just going to vary, each cruise...i wouldn't compare the crew for one cruise to another. they change all the time, as i said before..we had over 100 crewmembers leave the ship the same day we did. if those were the more "friendly" or experienced crewmembers, the next passengers would have a totally different feeling of warmth from the crew. our cruise was the last cruise for the captain, he was moving on to the newer/bigger ship...that could change the mood of the ship! the whole crew has to learn to work with a new captain.

personally, i loved the NCL star...but the spirit is a little smaller and cozier.

every cruise you have crewmembers ending their contracts or going on vacation or transferring to a different ship....making every cruise a new experience.:D

the only thing i know about the difference between the 2 ships...the spirit has more dining venues?