Picked up this cruise as a fantastic late bargain and were thoroughly pleased with our choice. Our first cruise was taken on the Spirit 10 years ago, so it had a little significance for us. That said the experience of those ten years did show how our expectations of cruise ships has changed as the ship is long overdue some TLC from Norwegian. Apparently that is scheduled for this winter so good for that. Anyway the decor and upkeep deficiencies didnt detract from our experience as we cruise for the itinerary, which was superb.

Embarkation and disembarkation at Barcelona and Venice respectively was excellent, and the transfer to staterooms and arrival of luggage was very good too. We felt that the storage opportunities for a 14 day cruise were a little limited. The cabin was comfortable enough although I did find the nighttime air con noise too loud and had a lot of disturbed sleep. Our cabin steward was very efficient although he wasn't the most communicative fellow.

Because we picked up the cruise at a considerable discount we didn't have access to beverage or dining packages. Prior to the cruise I was very unhappy about the new liquid rules as this included drinking water - the essential of life, but I was pleased to find that NCL had a water package on board. Even so, at just over $2.50 per 750mil bottle that still came as a steep price. Added to that you needed to make sure that that which you took off got drank or you had to tip away any unused water. Read more