Like others, I rely on reviews so I hope this helps (I apologize for it's length). I chose this line and ship solely because of the itinerary - 10 cities, 5 countries, 12 nights. This was only our third cruise (second with NCL) so we don’t have much to compare with but our experience so far is that basically all ships are similar and it's what you make of it that matters. Anyone who rates this cruise, including the ship, less than ideal is probably someone who finds the glass half empty.

Ship: The Spirit is older but has everything you need. It was a little worn in places, especially in the cabin, but because of the itinerary you are never on ship much. It shows the wear and tear of daily usage but so does every ship (or hotel). I read reviews of the Spirit and was a little worried that it would be old and dingy but was pleasantly surprised to find everything in good order.

Itinerary: This itinerary cannot be beat. I researched a lot of cruises and the Spirit was the only ship that stopped in 10 ports in 12 days (at least the ports we wanted to visit). This was our first trip to Europe and we wanted to get a feel for as much as possible. If you like to be busy then this is the cruise for you. I liked the fact that we started in Venice because you fly in from the U.S., tour Venice (we arrived on Saturday giving us two full days in Venice), then were at sea for two days before stopping at the next port. This gave us a chance to relax and adjust to the time change before the next port. Read more