NCL SPIRIT Used AMTRAK form Plattsburgh NY to NYC. First time doing this and would do so again. We stayed at the Marriott Residence Inn on 6th Ave & 39th. Very nice stay, but expect to spend a good deal more on lodging in New York. Embarkation was smooth for the most part as we got there after 1pm. Be cautious of getting to the Port too early in NYC as you can run into the Disembarkation passengers and it gets very busy. I suggest 12pm or after. First, I must say thanks you to the Captain and his staff on the Spirit for recognizing our group as CruiseCritic members, extending to us a warm welcome, and making it very clear that he and his staff were there for anything we might need. This is the second cruise on NCL where the Ship's Staff have warmly welcome our groups when identified as a CruiseCritic group. This has finally made me realize just how well recognized CruiseCritic.com members can be. With that said, it should also be a very evident that we, as members, are often representing this web site and we owe it to other members and the cruise lines to be respectful, and review fairly. Also, for anyone taking on the role as a group leader - expect to be a sort of a coordinator for others in the group from time to time and even work with the ships's coordinator. The member of our group who scheduled a meeting place for use ended up in this situation and was even treated as a VIP to some degree. All CC members were in fact. One example was the Captain and Hotel Director giving us 30 seats at his Officer's Dinner and Cocktails. This alone speaks volumes for us as a Cruise Critic group.

The SPIRIT was built for the Asian market and it is evident throughout. It is designed just enough different to make one scratch their head from time to time. It is a pretty ship and has some very nice public rooms. Some with good points and some with down sides. Pool Area: Very attractive and well used by the guests. It have a Roman flavor in its decor and even has statues around the pool. Some have taken damage but are kept repaired. The pool is nice and four hot tubs surround the pool. There is a level above the pool with more lounge chairs and a bier garten overlooks the pools area as well. I found two drawbacks in this area. Access from upper level to pool area is limited when compared to other ships. Stairs are located at the Bier Garten end only. Most naturally go either way to go down to the pool on most ships. If you head the wrong wrong way you will have a long trek back the other way. The rest rooms tend to be off the pool deck and down the inside halls when add to the travel on this ship. The back pool area is for children and is very nice. Got for them but it really soaks up a good deal of rear ship space that could be better utilized in my opinion.

FOOD: I find NCL to have some of the better Buffet food at sea. I have been on 3 NCL cruises now and it just seems that way to me. The dining rooms were very nice but here again the access is limited. Neither of the main dining rooms have access from the floors they are on. Both must be accessed by coming up from a lower floor our down from an upper floor. Elevators do access each. The Main dining room food was presented well and flavorful. You could always ask for more if desired. We went to only one optional restaurant. It was the Steak House and very nice indeed. We didn't find it so much better from the main dining rooms that we felt the extra fee made a great difference. Larger cut of meat was the main thing. On this cruise we cancelled all optional dining we had scheduled and enjoyed our meals in the main dining rooms. All optional restaurants looked very nice and we heard a number of good comments. Read more