My return to NCL-NCL Spirit Boston to Bermuda 8-7-09 to 8/14/09

[Lisa63]

Thank you for your posts! As you know, we had thought seriously about coming along on this cruise... now, in a way, we feel like we did!

[dtiger]

Great review from a fellow Mass. resident. Can't wait for your next installment.

[tigerlilycruiser12]

Great review from a fellow Mass. resident. Can't wait for your next installment.

 

Nice to see all the Ma. people posting. I am almost your neighbor. lol

 

I really am enjoying your review Jim. I can not wait until the next chapter. :D We will be sailing the Spirit in sept. Is there any must do or must eat or must see? It will be nice boarding in Boston vs NY. I always dread the long way home. Also what time is good getting there to park in the garage? Is there enough parking?

 

Thanks Jim for posting this wonderful review. It is the best I have read.

 

Marie

[jimswims]

Here is the next chapter. I plan on finishing the rest today. Please excuse the typos. My editing is getting a bit sloppy as I get this done.

 

Tuesday, August 11, 2009 Bermuda. More Snorkeling, some shopping, Shogun and Jane L. Powell

 

I woke up and open the curtains to see what it was like in Bermuda today. I saw lots of sun and an ocean smooth as glass. This looked like a great day for a catamaran trip! The Freestyle Daily said sunny and 87 degrees. In addition to all the activities today, Jane L Powell, the chocolate goddess of love was performing and the NCL’s White Hot Party (with a posted rating of PG 18) was also in the Galaxy of the Stars beginning at 10:30 am.

 

We decided that this was a good day to eat breakfast at Raffles. We went up and got our breakfast food and sat down to eat. There were many options for our meal. Omelets, eggs, cereal, ham, sausage, bacon, oatmeal, Danish, yogurt that was already in the container or a special section where you could mix in fruit with plain, well you get the point. There was something for everyone. As we were sitting down, Nadia, a Waitress from many of our sit down meals, came over to speak to our son. She knew his name and wanted to know why he was eating at the buffet this morning. The typical teenager shrugged his shoulders. I told her that we got up late and just needed a quick bite to eat this morning. She smiled and said that she expected to see him later. The coffee was not too bad up in Raffles either.

 

This experience brought up an interesting observation. I was struck by how hard working the staff on the NCL Spirit was. The restaurant staff, wait staff, busboys, and Maitre D’s, all worked in multiple locations and for long hours. I always saw the Maitre D from Le Bistro working the buffet in the mornings. These are people that went above and beyond in my book. I felt a bit of anger bubble up inside me as I recalled reading some comments from cruisers justifying their rational for removing tips. I admit that I am a glass in half-full kind of guy. I never encountered poor service in any encounter at all throughout the week. I also am of the belief that if there was a problem, I would immediately work to correct it rather than letting it build up and put a damper on my vacation.

 

We finished breakfast and went out back to the Kids Pool area. It was again pretty quiet. There were a few families by the pool. We sat in the shade. We were going on the Restless Native catamaran tour with my brother and his family at 1:00 pm. It was hot and the breeze from yesterday was a distant memory. The kids were having a ball together. We are fortunate to live about an hour from them. The cousins like to be together and my sister-in-law invites our kids over for a sleep-over when the schedule allows. She is awesome!

 

As we were looking at the pool area, I noticed a little boy about 5 or 6 maybe, with a plastic pirate sword. He was having a ball! I became a bit unsettled when he decided that the pirate ship around the pool was a cool place to climb. He was climbing the ropes trying to get up to the Crow’s Nest. His parents were there and were taking pictures of him. He seemed OK and pretty sure of himself but I did not feel so comfortable. There are plenty of do not climb signs on the rock formation and other things on the Buccaneers Wet and wild structure. I did not happen to notice if there was one posted on this particular part. It did look inviting to a kid with the ropes and netting. He did get down safely and was un-harmed.

 

On sea days there is a NCL staff with a Whistle who stands in this area. When he is on duty he is monitoring the slide activity and maintaining law and order. I saw him give a child a time out for walking down the slide after he told the child not to do it. The pool decks do get very slippery when they are wet. He also was constantly reminding the kids to slow down. I saw many spills by this pool and the main pool by young and old. This staff person did keep the kids in line some but I honestly did wonder where some of the parents were. My kids are older and really strong swimmers. I would never let them go to a pool alone without parental supervision. Maybe my old life guard days were creeping in a bit. Life guards are NOT babysitters was my motto.

 

We relaxed by the almost empty area in the shade by the pool. We decided that another trip to the Blue Lagoon was in order before we went to catch the pink catamaran. The food and service was again excellent. We left for the pier to enjoy a sail and some snorkeling.

 

The Restless Native catamaran was docked and waiting for the 9 of us and about 15 to 20 more. We did not leave the pier under sail since there was no breeze. The sky was blue with very few clouds. We went out to an island heading towards St. George. The staff explained the reef area and the types of fish that we might see. I also learned about what each of the fish ate. Some ate lobster and crab and others the algae on the reefs. Our guide made a point in saying that the tastier fish to eat are the ones that eat the stuff like lobster or crab. I never thought of this that way! The guide finished going through the picture book explaining what we might see. None of the fish could or wanted to eat me so I knew I was safe to be adventurous and really get into this snorkeling trip. I love to snorkel and have been lucky enough to snorkel on most of the cruises that I have been on so I have covered most of the Caribbean.

 

There was no beach but it was shallow water when we set down anchor. I went off with my son, brother and his kids. We went along the reef, saw some cool fish, and saw a small cave. I did not enter but others did peek around close to it. I was noticing the sea grass move quite a bit. I thought that this was odd since the sea was pretty calm. There were no boats around to move it this much either. That is when I noticed it! A pretty large black ray with spots was swimming right below me. I quickly thought of the Crocodile Hunter, Steve Erwin, who died from the spike of the ray tale entering into his chest cavity. A muffled scream from the snorkel told me that my son had seen it too! It passed under us and out to sea. What a beautiful and graceful fish! We continued to explore and saw some more fish and after about an hour and a half, we were called back to the boat. We went back under sail through some coves as we dined on freshly baked cookies, water, juice, and rum punch for the grown-ups who were interested. We saw the Grandeur of the Seas sail away as we approached the NCL Spirit. This was a nice day and we arrived back to the pier at approximately 4:30pm.

 

The NCL Spirit was to set sail the next morning at 6:00 am to make way for the NCL Dawn. This was the time that my wife and kids realized that we had not gone shopping at all on the island. I am not someone who likes to shop at all. Shopping and vacations do not mix in my book! We agreed that we could go to the Glass blowing place at the Dockyard. First we went back to the ship to drop off the wet towels and snorkeling gear. I got to see my friend and got another coooool towel. I thought to myself that shopping would be OK because I will be able to get another towel on our return.

 

We made it to the Glass Blowing place and purchased some gifts for people. My daughter loves frogs so she found a glass Bermuda from to add to her collection. This was about the time that I thought that she may not be happy that my wife and I ate Frog’s legs last night. I was not going to bring it up now! We got back to the ship. The towel lady was not there much to my disappointment. I was going to have to cool down without her assistance. I was confident that I could make it work and be fine.

 

This day was also my wife’s official birthday. Although we celebrated last night, it was time for another family dinner at Shogun. We had a reservation for 7:00 pm. The restaurant was quite busy. The sushi bar had people enjoying the food there and the Teppanyaki grill was also busy.

 

We were blown away by the service and the meal that we had in Shogun in 2006. We liked it so much that we went twice that week. We were brought back to earth when we dined in Bamboo on the Dawn in 2007. Everything was OK but not great. Arvin and Emily, the singers were in the Centrum sat near us as did some of the ships officers.

 

We thought that the service was excellent at Shogun on this cruise. I had a lamb dish that was excellent. My wife liked her meal but it was not over the top for her. Our son enjoyed his vegetarian dishes and our daughter was too full to eat her main course after enjoying the ribs! She loved them and had the sauce all over her face to prove it. Our waitress was concerned that our daughter did not eat her meal. I reassured her that she was full from eating all of those ribs. She offered to bring her more. The waitress wanted to be sure that we were satisfied with our meals. I thanked her for her effort and we were pleased with the service and food, we were just full! It was an enjoyable birthday meal for all of us. We finished in time to relax a bit and then head to the Stardust Theater to see Jane L. Powell.

 

We have seen and met the Chocolate Goddess of Love on an NCL cruise in the past. She has an amazing voice with an incredible range in my opinion. She plays to the audience nicely and we looked forward to hearing her again. We were not disappointed. After all, “We Payed for Our Cruise”! I have a button from Jane with these exact words to prove it.

 

We went down to the cabins after the show. We were leaving Bermuda at 6:00 am. Our fifth trip to this beautiful paradise did not disappoint. We had perfect weather and lots of fun as a family. At that moment I really wished that the Special notice on today’s daily in the bottom left corner was for me. It read “We request that any passengers who are continuing with us until August 21st please register with the reception desk no later than Thursday at 6:00 pm.”

 

We could look forward to 2 full days at sea and I was about to enjoy every minute if it with my family. I fell to sleep thinking of fish and rays and giving thanks for our continued blessings.

[jimswims]

Wednesday, August 12, Heritage Wharf and at Sea

 

I woke up at about 6:00 am. We were leaving Bermuda. I stuck my hand through the curtain and waved good bye to the island. I also waved to friends who were sailing on the Dawn and heading into Bermuda. I was going to take a big guess and bet that they were still sleeping or just getting to bed!

 

I went back to bed for a bit. Two hours later, I woke up again and got ready for breakfast. We were ready to return to a sit down meal. We again had exceptional service and delicious food and coffee. We went up to the pool to meet my brother and his family. They were by the Kids pool. It was pretty quiet for a sea day. There were plenty of chairs available. The kids really wanted to be out of the sun. They wanted to go to the free bingo. I found this amusing because NO bingo is free! We did receive some free cards to play bingo but I knew there was a catch. My wife took them to the free bingo. I decided that it was time to walk the promenade deck. All the good food and desserts were getting to me. I needed to exercise a bit.

 

I walked the deck several times and then found a single wooden lounge chair off by itself with a blue cushion on it. These are the chairs that were on the balcony of the AB suite on the Dawn. I remember those chairs and that suite well. I spent a lot of time enjoying the sea on that balcony. This chair was calling me and what do you know, I happen to have my book with me. I sat down, read my book, and enjoyed the sea.

 

My wife and kids found me about an hour later. They proudly announced that they did not win bingo but did not fall into the trap of purchasing additional cards. They were going to play bingo with their mother on the last day. We had purchased a few rounds of those instant wins that come with raffle tickets to win a free cruise. You had to be present to win the cruise so it was only fair that this would be the day to play bingo. As my father once said “you have to participate to participate.” Those instant win cards started to be sold with bags, t-shirts, and extra chances. Wow, only 20.00 and it comes with a shirt! What a bargain. We actually now have 2 bags and a shirt. We probably won half of what we paid so it was not too bad in my book. I did not see any t-shirts coming out of the slot machines at the casino when you lose money, right!

We went up to Raffles and the outdoor barbeque for lunch. There was some seasoned peel and eat shrimp at the barbeque as well as chicken and burgers. There were the typical buffet and deli foods inside. The shrimp and chicken were very good. The burgers were also much better than I thought they would be too!

 

The kids wanted to take it easy today so we took them back to the cabins. My wife decided that it was time to take me to the art auction. We went up to the Gallery, registered and got our bid card, and Chris got things rolling. I was tempted to take the bid card from my wife’s lap before she got any ideas. This was survival of the fittest for the future cruises that I had planned. One bid and my goal to hit 100 cruises before I die was seriously in jeopardy. I was behind on that goal already. I took a breath and realized that my wife had already been to a few auctions on our cruises. We do not have any art for our walls from her adventures. She is the person with her eye on the prize more than I was! We relaxed and enjoyed the many paintings being offered. Besides, if you know my wife, she has an amazing ability to get free stuff. You name it. She gets theater tickets, concert tickets, discounts, and free dinners. I do not know how she does it. Maybe I better step aside and let her work her magic.

 

The one that I was really drawn to came up for bid. The bidding was in the 2,000 dollar range. I noticed that the person who bought it was our neighbor from the Enchanted Dinner. I was so pleased that “my painting” was going to a nice home with some others that she also purchased. The teacher with the love for life was my new hero! She was having a ball.

 

We learned about mystery bids on this cruise. This is when you get in on a picture or painting by putting your paddle up when the auctioneer says something about it and the price. He then turns the painting or picture around and you have until the end of the session to purchase it. There is no obligation. I thought that this was sort of fun and a good orientation to the world of art auctions.

 

There were paintings and pictures of all price ranges. Chris had a good sense of humor and took the time to explain the artist and each painting. He also did some give away raffles and we won some art! What do you know, she does it again! It will be shipped to our house. I am sure that we will find a nice place for it.

 

As my wife was watching some more of the art auction, I decided it was time to go and so some shopping. I mentioned earlier that I do not like to shop. However, there is one thing that I do like to shop for. I think that I am pretty good at it too! That would be cruises. I needed to get to the cruise consultant to get some cruise rewards. We had run out. My wife is an excellent cook and always has keeps things stocked well. I feel the same way about cruise rewards. You purchase one for 250.00 to use as a deposit for a future cruise. You get 100.00 to apply to your account as on-board credit and 4 years to use. This is a no-brainer for us. We picked up 2! We already have our summer 2010 booked, the NCL Pearl to Alaska, so we have some more planning to do. Maybe that 100 cruise mark is closer than I think.

 

We went down to the cabins to get ready for dinner. We had a big family dinner for 13 planned at Windows for 5:30 pm. We arrived and sat closer to the back this time. I talked with my parents about their cruise experience so far. They were enjoying themselves, the loved the ship, but found themselves missing the familiarity of the Majesty which they have sailed on over 15 times. They were home on that ship and knew everyone. My Dad was so pleased to see Amadeus on this ship. This was special for him. My mother beat me to the cruise rewards purchase so I think that they are looking forward to making the Spirit their new home away from home.

 

The waitress was apparently not aware that she had guests. She came out and apologized. She seemed a bit frazzled and her assistant was a bit as well. It was very crowded in Windows. The waitress made mention that it was very busy a few times. I had the surf, surf, and more surf which was delicious. It seemed as though everyone enjoyed their meal. The kids were taken care of first which made them feel special.

They did their best and we were able to get in and out in 1 hour and 45 minutes. The desserts came in shifts and we never were asked if we wanted coffee. All in all it was a good dining experience. The waiters that we had on Saturday night were on top of things and seemed to work better together. We had good family time and good food. We all headed out to the Stardust lounge for the NCL Production performance of “On the Radio”.

 

This was a good show and the singers and dancers really gave their heart and soul to the performance. It was fun and entertaining. The kids liked it. After the show it was time for another photo shoot, this one included the grandparents with their grandchildren. I watched from above hoping that this picture would be a keeper! Arvin and Emily were singing their tribute to Neil Diamond and Barbra Streisand. Wow, it was really good!

 

My parents really wanted to go see Amadeus in the Galaxy of the Stars. They left us and headed there. My brother’s family was going to turn in soon. We decided to go see Amadeus as well. We found some seats in the back and listen to them sing. They all have really nice voices and know how to get people up and moving. They began to sing Un-Chained Melody and my parents got up to dance.

 

Now for a little story about my Dad. My Dad had a stroke in late 2006 or early 2007. He was in for a knee replacement and there were complications and he had a stroke while in the hospital. His condition was the kind that did not impact his motor skills, his vision and memory was impacted. He gained most of this back but his memory can get bad at times. This confusion that comes with memory loss can be unsettling and very upsetting to him. He has done well and is healthy and this was a big reason why we wanted to take this trip together. My parents are beautiful dancers! Now that my Dad has 2 new hips and 2 new knees he can move around the floor with ease and grace. I love to watch my parents dance!

 

So, I am up in the back watching my parents dance all around the dance floor. I could see the joy on their faces. They were in heaven! I was happy to be able to see this. The funny part is that they still have no idea that we were there watching them. Satisfied with this wonderful and unexpected gift, we slipped out the back.

 

Tonight was The Quest and NCL’s Le Cabaret. Both received the Adults only rating. My wife and I are proud participants of the Quest. We would not be attending this cruise.

I again gave my prayer of thanks. I have received many gifts on this cruise. I turned out the light knowing that I got an extra hour of sleep and I was not going to waste it! Could my wife actually extend her winning streak to win the free cruise at the raffle tomorrow? I would soon find out.

[coka]

Jim, I am loving your review. Your parents dancing without them knowing you were watching brought a tear to my eyes. I remember my mom and dad dancing and it was always something special to see. I also know how you are spending your weekend back home. It is not an easy to task to write and to inform as much as you are doing now.

 

coka

[jimswims]

Jim, I am loving your review. Your parents dancing without them knowing you were watching brought a tear to my eyes. I remember my mom and dad dancing and it was always something special to see. I also know how you are spending your weekend back home. It is not an easy to task to write and to inform as much as you are doing now.

 

coka

 

It is funny, I teared up then but really found myself getting emotional all over again writing it. I know you know what I mean.

 

You better get back to work, I am almost done and I need to do some reading!:D

[jimswims]

Thursday, August 13th Day at sea

 

We got up and headed to Raffles buffet for breakfast. The kids wanted a quick breakfast so we found a table easily and got the day going. I wanted to spend our last day on-board by the pool and hopefully winning a free cruise!

 

My brother was already at the main pool with my parents. We joined them and the kids joined their cousins in the pool. I asked my brother about the chair hogs on this cruise. He gets up early and said that most of the time he saw people grabbing a few spots and staying. There were some who reserved chairs and went away but he said that it was not the norm. I was happy to hear this. We never really had problems finding a place to be all week either. This may have been because my parents were often getting ready to be out of the sun for awhile by the time we arrived. We just shared the chairs because it seemed that we were all taking turns going in and out of the pool.

 

This brings me to 2 stories about the main pool this week. I held off on these until now but they may be helpful to some. The first has to do with young kids that may not be completely toilet trained and the other with some older teens and your adults in the pool area.

 

When we were docked in Bermuda the main pool needed to be closed one afternoon. My mother asked that NCL staff person why. She was told that a young child went to the bathroom in the pool. Let’s just say it looked like some leaves came down from the tree and floated on the water. This is a big problem but apparently more of a problem when you are in port. The attendant told my mother that the pool could not be emptied into the ocean because the chemical levels were not balanced. This took some time but it was eventually fixed. It was a hot day in port. I know that some passengers really wished that they could take a swim. I would just like to remind parents that if your child is not potty trained or is not feeling well, do not bring them into the pool. It really is a big deal.

 

There were several late teens to early 20 year olds on the Spirit this week. On the last sea day a few decided that flipping into a small main pool and then putting others on their shoulder for fights was a good thing to do in a pool full of people. I do not believe that anyone was hurt but it did impact others trying to enjoy the pool on a hot day. I wished the man with the whistle was at the main pool on this day. I debated saying something but I will admit that I did not. The events did settle down pretty quickly after it began. The Spirit pool is small, even for cruise ship standards in my book. My public service announcement here is to be aware of your fellow passenger and save the games for the times when the cruise staff is organizing them.

 

I am done preaching now.

 

The partly cloudy 79 degree day started mostly sunny in my book. It was a nice smooth sea day and I was ready to have some serious pool time. I enjoyed the sun by the pool and swam a bit. I spent time in the hot tub which was pretty hot! The kids went down with my wife to play bingo and win. I liked their enthusiasm and I really, really wished them luck.

 

Before too long it was time to eat again. The barbeque was going with the burgers and stuff. However, there was a rice dish with fish, scallops, calamari, shrimp, and chicken to eat. I put some on my plate and brought this back to my chair. It was excellent.

I had just finished eating when the kids came back. They were not winners but my daughter was wearing a beautiful PINK t-shirt that said, Bingo-licious! Wow, a 129.00 shirt and no free cruise either! Well, they did have fun at least. There is one on-board credit gone.

 

My wife and kids went off to eat lunch. I continued to enjoy the sun, music, and breeze. It was approaching 2:00 pm and I was thinking that I have had almost enough sun. I relaxed and felt some drops. Was this a splash? Well, it was still happening. I looked up and it was a rain cloud. I had seen plenty of these this summer, just not on this cruise. We sailed into a pretty good rain shower. I got up and headed in to Raffles to find my family.

 

The rain came and it was a sign to go to the cabins and pack. We took care of this pretty quickly. The sun was coming out again. My wife and I decided to walk the promenade again. We went around 7 times and talked about the week. It had been excellent. We were very glad that everything was working out. We bumped into my sister and brother-in-law. They were also walking a bit.

 

We headed back to the cabins to get ready for dinner. Tonight was a special farewell dinner at Cagney’s. When we sailed on the Spirit in 2006 Cagney’s was my least favorite specialty restaurant experience. We were ready to give this another shot.

We arrived for our 6:00 pm reservation. The Maitre D sat us right away. My brother, his family, and my parents were in the next room enjoying their meal. We sat down and several of the staff recognized my kids. They came over to talk to them and wanted to make sure that they were having a good time. I thought that this was great. We proceeded to have delicious meals. My wife, Daughter, and I all had prime rib. My son has a vegetarian meal that he loved. Cagney’s offers French Press coffee. I am a fan and the servers made sure that I had plenty, even decaf!

 

Earlier in the review I said that I had the best dessert ever at the Enchanted Dinner. This was short lived. I loved the chocolate brownie with ice cream that was served at Cagney’s. This was a wonderful meal. Cagney’s comes back to the list of Specialty Restaurants for us. We will be back to Cagney’s for dinner when we sail on the Pearl. That is for sure.

 

We headed to the Centrum to hear Arvin and Emily sing. We picked up some great photos in the photo gallery and then headed to the International Crew Show. This was the first time that I went to this. I was impressed with the talent and the cultural influences that were presented in this show. The Captain and staff came out and the NCL song was sung. I really saw a lot of pride show when the Captain spoke of the Spirit. When I met him earlier at the enchanted dinner and at the meet and greet, he did mention that he enjoyed this ship. I of course took the opportunity to tell him that this was my wife’s favorite ship.

 

We had a great evening of excellent food and entertainment. I did not want the evening to end. This has been an excellent cruise for us. Lots of unexpected surprises happened on this cruise! We were blessed to share the beautiful NCL Spirit with my parents, brother and his family, and sister and brother-in-law. The weather was really perfect and the seas calm.

 

We went to finish packing and get ready for our last night on our home away from home. I was beginning to miss my NCL family already.

 

Before I fell asleep I heard a knock at the door. It was after midnight. I opened the door and my daughter was locked out of her cabin. My first thought was, you are 11 why are you out of your cabin and not in bed? My second thought was where is your mother? My wife went to get a snack for my daughter. That explained part of the mystery. My daughter said something about wanting to tell her to get something else. She apparently thought it was a good idea to try and catch up with her and thought better of it when she was no longer in sight.

 

My daughter’s key card would not work. I was about to have her come in to the cabin when an officer came to assist. He could not get it to work and radioed someone to assist. My wife came along and she could enter the cabin with her card. She brought the cards up to reception immediately at the officer’s suggestion. This was quickly resolved.

 

Back to bed as we moved closer and closer to Boston.

 

Coming up: How I was taken off the Spirit kicking and screaming!

[B4andAFT]

Just lovin' this Jim. Our turn is only a few weeks away. :D

[Susie51]

Your detailed review is fantastic. Thank you for posting it in installments. Belkys was our concierge on the Majesty. Jane L. Powel was singing on the Sun on one of our cruises. It is nice to hear familiar names. I'll be on the Spirit Sept. 2010. Your description of her is exciting. Thank you for sharing the lovely story of your parents dancing.

[sjnyc323]

Jim your review was fabulous. I so enjoyed reading it and I am so glad you and your family had a great time. I was on the Gem in March 2009 for my 50th birthday and we also so The chocolate Goddess of Love on our cruise. She was fabulous. We are sailing on the Gem again in November on the TA from Barcelona to NYC. Thanks for sharing your vacation with us.

[jimswims]

Thanks to all who are reading this. I appreciate the comments. Here is the final chapter.

 

Friday, August 14th, Boston

 

I woke up at 6:00 am. NOOOOOOOOOOO! I cannot be back to Boston. I got up to look outside the door to see how bad the bill was. Yikes! It was more than I thought but not by much. There was one charge that I could not explain. After careful examination and a quick trip to the Reception desk I came to the conclusion that the charge in question was indeed mine. It was not labeled properly but it was still mine.

 

I returned to the cabin. I got showered and ready for the day. We all got up and got ready. It was time for us to go to our final sit down breakfast.

 

The food was again excellent and the coffee hit the spot. We got to see and show appreciation to many of the NCL staff that made our week extra special. We also got a chance to talk about how long they were on board and when there next vacation was. Some were staying with the Spirit until January. Others would be heading home soon and then heading to other NCL ships. Most said that they hoped to be back on the Spirit for the Boston to Bermuda 2010 season.

 

We left the dining room and headed up to the pool. NCL offers you the option to select your color code indicating the time you would like to disembark. I looked for the NEVER time slot and wondered what color that was! This was not an option so I chose pink. Pink was the last color to be called. Real men do wear pink I thought. I wondered if the saying “real men do cry” was also going to be needed.

 

As we walked up to the pool deck I noticed all the people in a very long line trying to disembark the vessel. I know that people have lives to get back to and obligations to attend to. Many probably had flights or other connections to get to as well. I was a local boy and not in any hurry. I thought of a conversation that I overheard yesterday. The person was talking about how they were planning on removing all of the gratuities because they just do not like to tip this was. Back and forth this conversation went and how if you give 100.00 they will be happy. That the money goes to corporate anyway and these people do not see a dime of it were other comments that I heard as well. I shake my head at these things. Fortunately, I did not hear too many of these conversations.

 

Maybe I am easy to please. I never met my room steward or stewardess. I do not even know his or her name(s)! However, my room was kept clean and I always had clean towels and ice when I needed it. I did not need to meet them to know that they did a nice job for me. I really noticed team work all over the Spirit this week. The morning staff in Raffles worked hard and then they became the night dining staff in the 10 restaurants. The bar staff was always ready, willing, and able to get drinks. My daughter and son both had soda cards. The staff was always willing to get them a drink whenever they wanted one. This was regardless of whether we ordered anything! I was really impressed by this.

 

We headed to Buccaneer's Wet and Wild and what do you know, my brother, sister-in-law, and their kids were sitting there all by themselves! We joined them and talked about the week. The kids had a great cruise and the parents did too! I found out later that my nephew offered his college fund to stay on-board. He is now my favorite nephew! I love this kid!

 

Then it happened. Paul Baya announced that pink could disembark the vessel. It was only 10:00! My Final Daily said approximately 10:30. What was he thinking? He was ruining this cruise for me, I thought. After a deep breath, we all got up and headed for the promenade. We were in line and the last call announcement was made.

I waved good bye to the NCL Spirit. A tear did come to my eye but only briefly. What a week! I strayed from NCL last summer and now I was welcomed home by the NCL Spirit. What a welcome back it was at that! NCL, you know I will be back soon. Thank you for a superb week full of nice surprises and special touches. This was a family cruise to remember for sure.

 

We were at the car and driving home at approximately 10:30 am. We were all very quiet. I was sad to say goodbye to this beautiful ship. I said a prayer of thanks for my my wife, my children, and my family. I also gave thanks to my friends near and far for their friendship and support. And, As our waiter said when I asked him how he was today as I was sitting down to breakfast, I am still blessed, thanks for asking!

 

The End.

 

Up next, final thoughts and comments.

[mrhawk]

Thanks for the great review Jim!!!

[jimswims]

I am not kidding when I thought that this would be short review. It was actually 22 single spaced pages and 13,714 words. I counted them all.....by computer, LOL.

 

Some things that I left out of the review.

 

The NCL Spirit offers roses for sale to be delievered in the evening at dinner.

 

My kids did not participate in the Kids Crew. This was the first time that they did not do this. It looked like that Kid's Crew offered their own version of the White Hot Party for the younger kids and for the teens.

 

The Teen program looked really good. Kids were participating in the activities.

 

I did not spend a dime in the casino. the only time I was in there was on embarkation day. This is the baggage storage place so you do not have to carry your bags with you while waiting for oyur cabin to be ready.

 

The Ship docks with the port side facing King's Wharf.

 

Feel free to ask me any questions. I will do my best to answer them.

[Cubechick]

Wonderful review, Jim. You've got us seriously considering that Enchanted Dinner. Frog legs and all! :D

[flashdog_1]

I have thoroughly enjoyed your day by day review. I realized that I must have missed some of those on deck meals since I don't hang out around the pool. I'll look for them next time. Thanks for sharing.

[justcake]

Hey Jim...Even though I was on this cruise I still had to read your full review. Excellent. Maybe I'll get on to writing one too! I read with great interest your part about the pool. Jay and I never wanted to go to the pool until spending a whole day travelling the whole island of Bermuda. We eagerly changed into our swimsuits only to find the pool closed. We were completely disappointed but once again, not NCL's fault exactly. We just headed back to the cabin for a cold shower instead! Then the only other time we decided to go to the pool was on the 13th, our anniversary. We were trying to have a nice quiet afternoon and decided to head to the pool. We were on our balcony and thought it looked a little cloudy but no rain in sight. What do you know? As soon as we got to deck 12 people were pouring in the doors because......it was pouring outside! It was quite a cold rain too so, no pool for us! Oh well. Everything can't be 100% perfect....maybe only 99%!:D

[Windy56]

You review was wonderfully thorough and carried with it the added bous of a sense of the person behind the review. I love those kinds of reviews. I am especially touched by your sense of gratefulness for all that you have. Thank you very much for taking the time to post your observations.

 

My husband and I are thinking of giving NCL a try next summer and we are considering the Spirit out of Boston. I have a few questions. Is there a pool in the spa? Do they have a venue for social/ballroom dancing during the cruise? Is this the type of dancing that your parents did while on the cruise? We were disappointed in the music on Carnival's Pride this summer. A lot of one person performers with taped background music and not a lot of bands with singers.

[dtiger]

Great detailed review, thanks for taking the time to write it. So glad you and your family had a good time.

[Carey and Kerry]

Thanks for writing such a detailed review. I have never been on the Spirit, but have wanted to try it, so thanks for the confirmation. Also your comments about thanks every night. So many of us have a great deal to be appreciative of and don't acknowledge it, so thanks for that!

[lambs2]

Thoroughly enjoyed your review of your extended family's wonderful week on the Spirit! Have not been on her yet, but want to go now!!:) I also particularly appreciated your comments on giving thanks. We should all do much more of that. I am convinced it enhances our appreciation of all the good things in life, plus girds us with the necessary strength to face the tough times.

[jimswims]

You review was wonderfully thorough and carried with it the added bous of a sense of the person behind the review. I love those kinds of reviews. I am especially touched by your sense of gratefulness for all that you have. Thank you very much for taking the time to post your observations.

 

My husband and I are thinking of giving NCL a try next summer and we are considering the Spirit out of Boston. I have a few questions. Is there a pool in the spa? Do they have a venue for social/ballroom dancing during the cruise? Is this the type of dancing that your parents did while on the cruise? We were disappointed in the music on Carnival's Pride this summer. A lot of one person performers with taped background music and not a lot of bands with singers.

 

Thank you for the kind words.

 

The spa is really much smaller on the Spirit. The only pools in the spa area is the aqua swims. They are the "treadmills for swimmers". There is no fee to use the spa on the Spirit.

 

I will look at the Dailies again to give you a better answer about the music for ballroom dancing. The Amar orchestra did perform jazz music one night. Most of the music was more 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's.

[RACRLS]

Jimswims,

 

Enjoyed your posts and descriptions of your cruise. We have never tried the Spirit but have been discussing booking her for next May. We have cruised out of Boston and enjoyed the convenience of this port. Your description of the Enchanted Dinner sounds terrific (not sure I can get my wife to eat Frogs Legs though).

[jimswims]

Hey Jim...Even though I was on this cruise I still had to read your full review. Excellent. Maybe I'll get on to writing one too! I read with great interest your part about the pool. Jay and I never wanted to go to the pool until spending a whole day travelling the whole island of Bermuda. We eagerly changed into our swimsuits only to find the pool closed. We were completely disappointed but once again, not NCL's fault exactly. We just headed back to the cabin for a cold shower instead! Then the only other time we decided to go to the pool was on the 13th, our anniversary. We were trying to have a nice quiet afternoon and decided to head to the pool. We were on our balcony and thought it looked a little cloudy but no rain in sight. What do you know? As soon as we got to deck 12 people were pouring in the doors because......it was pouring outside! It was quite a cold rain too so, no pool for us! Oh well. Everything can't be 100% perfect....maybe only 99%!:D

 

Wow, that is amazing. The only 2 times that the pool was really not a good place to be all week. I like the 99% attitude:D!

[jimswims]

Jimswims,

 

Enjoyed your posts and descriptions of your cruise. We have never tried the Spirit but have been discussing booking her for next May. We have cruised out of Boston and enjoyed the convenience of this port. Your description of the Enchanted Dinner sounds terrific (not sure I can get my wife to eat Frogs Legs though).

 

Remember that they taste like chicken, They actually look like chicken!