I have read and noted other comments, both before we sailed and since we arrived home; from other travellers on the Norwegian Spirit. I am not able to comment whether RCI is better, or bigger ships are more spectacular; this review is for ONE cruise on ONE ship.

Upon arrival at BCN seaport we offloaded our luggage from taxi and deposited it onto trolleys for transfer to ship (the port staff seemed to want to help the elderly more than ourselves, but even though I am 6'2" and well built I recently had a heart scare). we went through security and queued up at one of the check-in desks, then we were informed of our VIP status. After VIP boarding straight into Cagney's, From photographs I had seen pre-cruise, this was slightly different as much of the decor in the public areas had somewhat of an oriental theme (not a bad thing, just different) I later discovered the ships origins (which explained this). The carpets in all public areas seemed to have been recently replaced and after looking at photo's on Norwegian's web-site seating in "galaxy of the stars" has had a face-lift too.

My Wife & I had an inside cabin deck 4 which was spacious, well appointed had a small patch on the carpet, but was very clean!!. Prior to sailing I sought opinion of bathroom (space inside) and decided to take hanging storage with us for toiletries, not needed lots of shelving/storage space in bathroom. In the bedroom we had a total of 5 drawers, shelving in the wardrobe & plenty of hanging space. One slight downside when the two beds were pushed together to make one double the fold-down bunk partially obstructed that side of the bed. Freestyle cruising is a fantastic concept, no need for strict dress-code the passengers dress as smart or as casual as they desire. We dined in every restaurant except Sushi, Cagney's was by far our favourite with Teppanyaki a close second, the service levels exceeded our expectations. When we dined in Garden restaurant Joanne & I were glad to be sat near a window as the centre of the restaurant seemed a little dark (combination of window placement and artificial light levels) Read more