This was my second cruise, my first being Alaska with Holland America back in 2000. Overall, I was thrilled with my experience on the Norwegian Spirit and I would definitely consider traveling with them again.

We embarked in New Orleans, and it was quick and painless. My only problem was that I discovered early in the morning on the day of our departure that the ticket packet mailed to me by Norwegian contained lots of supporting documents but no actual tickets. I had filed the packet away in my suitcase after I received it in the mail, assuming that it was complete. In retrospect, that was a dumb mistake on my part. On the morning of our cruise I was reviewing the information they sent me, noticed a curious lack of ticket-like documents, and called the 1-800 number. The Norwegian rep was rude and argued with me about the packet's cover letter. She insisted that the letter instructed me to download the tickets from the Norwegian website, but once I read the letter to her she had to concede that no web address was given. In fact, the packet's brochure began with the bold-faced words "This packet contains your tickets." Finally, I asked her to stop arguing with me and simply tell me how to solve the problem. She directed me to the appropriate web site, the receptionist at my hotel let me use her computer, and we proceeded to the ship with our tickets in hand! So, even if your letter doesn't tell you where to go online, check www.norwegian.com/edocs to download your ticket. Once we got to the port, the people were great and we were on the ship in no time.

We stayed in a level CC stateroom (one with a picture window), and we were very happy with our accommodations. Nothing fancy, but plenty nice enough. We didn't spend a ton of time in our cabin anyway! Our stewards were very polite and efficient. We always had fresh ice, but we only got one towel animal in the whole week! Maybe the crew make more of an effort with those when they know there are kids in a cabin (no kids with us). Read more