Norwegian Spirit Review
Rating by category
Additional details
We booked this cruise because the timing was right and the price was reasonable. Plus, Norwegian offered a choice of free stuff as incentives. We chose the free beverage package (which was actually not free) figuring that with sufficient alcohol we could overlook many of the negatives that we read about in the reviews here. This worked like a charm but we still seem to have hangovers nearly a week post-cruise.
We landed in Orlando and took one of the local shuttles to the cruise ship terminal. We found the drive to the terminal to be relatively long and boring compared to getting to other terminals such as Fort Lauderdale and New Orleans.
The people behind the counter at the terminal seemed to be scrambling a bit; however, the boarding process overall was smooth. Once aboard, we went to the cafeteria for a snack and were greeted by staff with spray bottles saying "washy washy" , a phrase which became increasingly annoying throughout the cruise.
Cabin Review
Inside
Nice enough overall. There was some damage to the picture wall caused by previous tenants but nothing too serious. The shower was a good size for a ship which we enjoyed. We did see a little black mold on the shower roof but it was not much considering the contained humidity. As mentioned in other reviews, there was a lack of 110V us style outlets and a couple of international-style outlets that were of no use. The hair dryer was interesting. The blow-dry attachment resembled the crevice cleaner of a vacuum.
Port Reviews
Port Canaveral (Orlando)
Did not do or see much here. Sleepy on the way in, foggy day on the way out.
Nassau
Looked a bit run-down but not third world. Could use a coat of paint in general.
Tortola
Nice island, with bigger houses on the hill instead of the shacks on many other islands. Not as high-end as Grand Cayman, the roads were a bit rough but overall the infrastructure seemed good. Once vendor got a bit irate when my wife felt the texture of a t-shirt which put us off a bit. Needless to say we did not buy from that vendor. Long Bay beach was fairly nice for relaxing. I did not see a lot of fish while out swimming but the look of one bright blue one shocked me a bit.
St. Thomas
Nice Caribbean island with lots of taxis nearby once you are off the tender boat. Narrow roads. The people seemed polite and friendly. Vendors were not aggressive or bothersome which was refreshing.