Glad we had a suite...

[Tideone]

The best perk we had all week with our suite on the Spirit was the priority debarkation... We decided to meet the conceirge (Erica) in Henry's Pub at 9:30 a.m. There were two gentlemen already there waiting for her also...

She arrived shortly thereafter and proceeded to escort us off the ship.... I apologize to any of you that were in that long line waiting for customs. I know we got some dirty looks and several passengers made some not so nice comments...

However, if we had not had this perk, we would have missed our flight at the New Orleans airport.... as another poster has said they got in the line at 10 a.m. and did not get through customs until after noon...

Customs was extremely slow because of the fact there were only two people working.... With a ship the size of the Spirit, custom officials should know they need a lot more than just two people... it's not like the ship doesn't dock there every week...

[Vyhanek]

9:30 seems late to be the first off the ship though.

 

When did the Self Disembark ppl get to walk out?

[Arwenmark]

I guess it bugs me that people give dirty looks or make comments when passengers that have paid for certain things get them. They might keep in mind that they COULD have paid extra and gotten the perks themselves and chose not too, so if someone paid three times what you did or more and gets escorted off the ship, Too bad for you.

[BonnieVA]

I guess it bugs me that people give dirty looks or make comments when passengers that have paid for certain things get them. They might keep in mind that they COULD have paid extra and gotten the perks themselves and chose not too, so if someone paid three times what you did or more and gets escorted off the ship, Too bad for you.

 

I doubt most people in line realized that what those people were getting was a perk for having a suite.

 

We got in that line at 8:45 & didn't get through customs until a little after 10 AM. It was not a good way to end a great cruise. But, when we went through customs, all booths were open. I counted the # of agents working & can't remember how many there were but it was about 8. So I don't know why things were moving so slow. I'm just grateful my kids were pretty tolerant & well behaved while in that line.

[Pickels]

The best perk we had all week with our suite on the Spirit was the priority debarkation... We decided to meet the conceirge (Erica) in Henry's Pub at 9:30 a.m. There were two gentlemen already there waiting for her also...

She arrived shortly thereafter and proceeded to escort us off the ship.... I apologize to any of you that were in that long line waiting for customs. I know we got some dirty looks and several passengers made some not so nice comments...

However, if we had not had this perk, we would have missed our flight at the New Orleans airport.... as another poster has said they got in the line at 10 a.m. and did not get through customs until after noon...

Customs was extremely slow because of the fact there were only two people working.... With a ship the size of the Spirit, custom officials should know they need a lot more than just two people... it's not like the ship doesn't dock there every week...

 

There is no need to apologize; you paid extra for your cruise and are entitled to certain perks. We ran into the same situation last month getting on the Star. When we checked in, we were processed a VIP and walked ahead of everyone waiting. We paid extra for that priviledge, so no complaints please. We did feel "daggers" and dirty looks but hey, next time you pay three times more and you can do the same. Hope you had a great cruise!

[nyflush]

I doubt most people in line realized that what those people were getting was a perk for having a suite.

 

We got in that line at 8:45 & didn't get through customs until a little after 10 AM. It was not a good way to end a great cruise. But, when we went through customs, all booths were open. I counted the # of agents working & can't remember how many there were but it was about 8. So I don't know why things were moving so slow. I'm just grateful my kids were pretty tolerant & well behaved while in that line.

 

Our Gem cruise last year we were the last ones off the ship! We cruised with friends that were in an inside cabin we were in an A3, We called them to meet and go off the ship together. No answer in the cabin so we called their cell how about they were home in Bayside Queens from the city already!!!

 

I do have a question: If you are not staying in a suite and they call your color, Can you stay on a little longer or do you have to get off as soon as they call you? As you can see if I don't have a flight to catch I'm in no rush:)

 

Sorry to the OP that you got dirty looks I never had that happen but I never left first I do love boarding early. I hope you gave a little look back :P

I also thought if you have an early flight you can get off early as well.

[red lobster]

We were one of the one's that didn't make it off until after 12:00 p.m. and the lady directing people to the customs agents told me while we waited for our agent to come back from her break that they were running an hour and an half behind to start with because several of the NCL employees were going on their vacation and they get off before the passengers and they have more paperwork to process. I just didn't like the fact that we had waited our turn in line and the agent we were directed to took her break and they did not redirect us to another agent, I think at that point they were afraid that someone else in line would get mad if we were moved to their line. Oh well, the cruise was great and we didn't have to fly out that day so it was not as big a deal for us, but for those flying I'm sure they were very stressed.

[CanadaFour]

How I wish that Nexus would be implemented at cruise port customs. The worst and most stressful part of a cruise for me is the customs wait at the end. At the airport or land borders, we get to bypass all the lines.

[kruiserkatie]

How was your suite experience? Which cabin was home for the week? How were the perks? ( Sounds like the priority disembarkation worked to your advantage..we had a similiar experience in Boston last year...:eek: ) I am sailing on the Spirit in an AB in May and would love any helpful hints and tidbits. Thanks ! AM

[Tideone]

We were in suite 9210, which is located on the stern.... The suite was very nice, with the exception of the door being broken between the bedroom and the living room... even though they put cotton and duct tape over the lock - which was sticking out - we kept running into it. My wife still has bruises from it...

They came up to try and fix it but were unable to get the door to move one inch... somehow it had gotten stuck with about three to four inches plus the lock sticking out from the pocket...

Our steward, Ronald, was fantastic, as was our butler, Denny, who you need to ask for if he is not your butler... We had him on the Pearl and when we found out he was on the Spirit we asked the conceirge and he assigned him to our suite...

Unfortunately, we did not have the perks on this cruise that we had on the Dawn and the two times we sailed in a suite on the Pearl... other than breakfast and lunch at Cagney's, and a couple of afternoon tidbits the butler brought us that were compliments of different people on the ship...

While we found the crew to be outstanding, we found the upper echelon of officers lacking in a lot of social graces... On the other ships the hotel director always sent us at least one free dinner in a speciality restaurant... we understand some people got this, while others didn't... we were among the ones who didn't...

We were also sent complimentary bottles of wine at different times on the other ships, but not on the Spirit...

The executive sous chef is fantastic and be sure to meet him... he runs all the speciality restaurants... he arranged for my wife and I to get a special dish made for us in the shogun restaurant.

We love the Phillipine dish Adobo and the Shogun chef, Robert, prepared it for us... it was absolutely delicious. We even shared some with a newly wed couple sitting next to us and they are now wanting to order it on their next cruise...

The conceirge, Erica, was fantastic... she was everywhere... she was in Cagney's at breakfast, she was in Cagney's at lunch and she always came by our suite every afternoon to check and see how everything was....

Our only other complaint was the severe vibration we felt in our cabin the first two days... but I now understand this was due to the speed of the ship and how the propellor goes through the water...

After that we only felt the vibration as we came into a port or when we left...

We didn't have to worry about sleeping late in New Orleans because the vibration coming into the dock almost knocked me out of the bed...

While the Spirit is a beautiful ship... I think we will stick with the bigger ships....

[2Cruise4Ever]

I do have a question: If you are not staying in a suite and they call your color, Can you stay on a little longer or do you have to get off as soon as they call you? As you can see if I don't have a flight to catch I'm in no rush:)

 

No, you can stay on board until last call. That's one of the many things we love about NCL.

[Smellytoes]

How was your suite experience? Which cabin was home for the week? How were the perks? ( Sounds like the priority disembarkation worked to your advantage..we had a similiar experience in Boston last year...:eek: ) I am sailing on the Spirit in an AB in May and would love any helpful hints and tidbits. Thanks ! AM

 

Were you in a suite last year?? If so, did you recieve priority embarkation in Boston?? I've heard conflicting reports on how well it worked in Boston. I'll be curious to hear about your experience when you get back. I'll be in 10502 in July.