Norwegian Spirit Review
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My husband and I chose this cruise because of the itinerary and timing. We were not disappointed and would cruise with NCL again. NCL staff was well organized and check in, boarding, disembarkation, and getting on and off at the ports went smoothly. Service was very good from most staff on board. We did not feel pressured to buy stuff like we have on other cruises. The décor of the ship in general (including the cabins) is getting a little tired, and dated, but the ship was clean and we were not bothered by the décor as we were cruising for the ports, primarily. We dined twice at Cagneys (awesome) and once at La Trattoria (very good). We found the food in the other dining rooms and Raffles to be good and plentiful. We are not foodies, however. Most evenings we skipped the entertainment, but we did enjoy the Beatles Tribute Band (Moon Dogs?) and the Cirque du Soleil-type show. DH enjoyed the magic show, I thought it was ok, but magic shows aren't my thing. We attended the white hot party for a while. It seemed like a good party. We booked small group tours through roll call connections in most ports.
Ports:
TOULON - We toured 2 wineries and the seaside villages of Cassis and Bandol, and took a boat tour of the Colanques(sp?) via a tour through Provence Wine Tours. Awesome day!
Cabin Review
Balcony
Port Reviews
Toulon
Awesome wine tour with Provence Wine Tours! Tastings at two wineries near Bandol and Cassis areas of Provence. Beautiful country. Stopped in seaside village of Cassis for lunch and boat tour of the Colanques. Learned about the tour on Roll Call.
Florence (Livorno)
We did a small group tour of Pisa and Florence found through Roll Call. Great tour.
Rome (Civitavecchia)
We took a Best of Rome with Vatican tour arranged through Roll Call. Great tour, although the city was hot and crowded that day.
Naples
Loved this port! We took a small group tour arranged via roll call of Pompeii, Sorrento and Positano with lunch at a quaint restaurant overlooking the coast. Pompeii was very interesting and coast was beautiful! Better shopping in Sorrento,
Mykonos
No tour this day. Pretty shore, and interesting to look at, but very touristic and expensive. We didn't stay ashore long, preferring to relax on the ship that afternoon.
Athens (Piraeus)
Took an Athens and Sounion tour arranged through roll call. Glad we did the tour, but Athens was a rather sad, dirty city. We saw three people fall on the way up or down from the Acropolis. Shockingly treacherous, slippery, uneven paths. Wear good shoes and take care. Sounion and the temple of Poseidon had pretty views and lots of prairie chickens.
Dubrovnik
Pretty, interesting medieval town. We took a walking tour we arranged on our own which included walking the walls. Several ships in the port that day made for crowds and traffic. Tender ride to shore was long and was followed by a ride on the ship's bus through much traffic to the old town.
Kotor
We toured the town on our own, including hiking up to St. Johns Fortress. Hike up was somewhat strenuous and on uneven terrain. Pretty town, lots of cats.
Barcelona
Arrived a day early and toured Casa Battlo and La Sagrada Familia on our own with skip the line timed tickets purchased online in advance. Wandered the gothic quarter including the Cathedral. Attended a super fun dinner and flamenco performance at Tablao Flamenco Cordoba. City was very hot and crowded when we were there.
Venice
Beautiful, romantic city. Stayed two extra days. Took a pre-reserved water taxi to our hotel. Took a "free" walking tour and tour of St. Marks and Doge's palace based on info learned on tripadvisor. Attended an awesome Vivaldi/Corelli/Monteverde concert at Chiesa San Vidal. Its very easy to get lost in Venice, leave extra time to get everywhere. We transferred from our hotel to the airport to fly home via a public water bus which stopped next door to our hotel (16 euros each). It was a good thing our stop was near the beginning of the route, because our driver left many travelers with their luggage on the piers at later stops telling them his boat was full and the next boat would come in an hour!