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Day One:
It was a dark and stormy night…oh, wait. That was our last cruise aboard the Norwegian Spirit. No 40-foot seas and 100-mile hour winds on this trip. We would be sailing from Boston with a beautiful and sunny 80-degree day heralding the start of our vacation. This would turn out to be a cruise filled with pleasant surprises, just showing how much the crew and officers on NCL ships wants you to have a great time.
A little background. This is our second time sailing the Spirit (the first being a NYC to Bahamas cruise) but our eighth Boston to Bermuda cruise. So we drove to the Black Falcon Terminal in Boston knowing exactly where to go and what to do. Or so we thought. They’ve switched things up a bit at the pier. You have to get in a line to have the porters take your bags, which I admit I don’t care for. I liked the old days better when the porters came to you. Struggling with 5 pieces of luggage by myself while DH parks the car is not easily done. From here everyone heads for security (in the old days you passed through security after checking in). This actually works pretty well and minimized the confusions outside (Latitudes vs. non-Latitudes lines).
Once through security we were quickly directed to the Latitudes line, which was about 25% as long as the other line. After waiting for a moment, a person came down the line asking for gold, platinum, and suite guests. We followed her and found ourselves in a line only 5 deep. Excellent! We were quickly checked in and directed to the concierge lounge to pick up our key cards. Our concierge, Erika Heim, greeted us right away, and explained her services to us. We made dinner reservations with her for that first night (Shogun, the Asian restaurant) and for the Enchanted Dinner. The Enchanted Dinner is currently only offered on the Spirit. We’d read about it on Cruise Critic and decided to try it ourselves after seeing the rave reviews. Seating is limited, however, so make those reservations early! (More detail about that to follow.)
Start to finish, I’d say it took us about 35 minutes to get through security, check in, and find ourselves sipping sparkling wine on the Promenade deck.
After a relaxing lunch at Cagney’s we re-acquainted ourselves with this beautiful ship. All of the Asian décor is understated and lovely. The central atrium area is airy with glass elevators whisking passengers to their destinations. I think the aft of this ship is a great use of space. A great pool area is available for the kids (similar to the Dawn) with slides and hot tubs and stadium style seating for perfect for watching your kids or the enjoying the wake of the ship. There is also a bar and tables reminiscent of the Great Outdoors on the Jewel class ships. A nice blend of the best of both worlds. The Spirit doesn’t boast a Tex-Mex restaurant, but otherwise offers you all of the dining options of NCL’s other ships.
We returned to our stateroom about a half an hour before the boat drill and found all of our luggage waiting. I don’t think we’ve ever received it that quickly before. So we unpacked while enjoying our pre-muster champagne (a little family tradition). Our muster drill was held on the Promenade deck. It was pretty hot but we were able to find some shade as our station was in the far aft of the ship. We’d arranged with some of our fellow Cruise Critics to meet at Raffles bar for sail away. As the Spirit backs away from the pier before turning around in the harbor, this was the perfect vantage point.
Despite the fact that we’d been on the Spirit before, we had never been to Shogun. That the Spirit was built in Asia is showcased in this beautiful restaurant. A kimono-garbed waitress gave us our menus and filled our water glasses adding to the ambiance. The food in Shogun was as good as we’ve had in the Asian Fusion restaurants in any ship. I opted for the Kung Pao chicken for the first time and could see why they label it a favorite. Yum! Erika stopped by to see how everything was going and we found out that she’d just arrived at the Spirit that morning. The way she hit the ground running I would never have guessed that she was shaking off the cobwebs of vacation.
We caught a bit of the first night’s show. I have to admit that we left in the middle of comedian David Naster’s act, as we just didn’t find him funny. Any time a comedian has to say “Thank you for getting that” each time someone laughs at his joke, you know he isn’t all that amusing... at least that’s how I felt!
Back in our cabin we’d found that the rooms stewards had taken care of our cabin and had added ice to our cooler (which we brought because the Spirit doesn’t have refrigerators) without our asking. Great service and a pleasant surprise!
Day two:
First mission of the day after a scrumptious breakfast at Cagney’s (I’d never had the banana-infused hotcakes before…delish!) was the Cruise Critic meet and greet. I’d ended up organizing it and was a little nervous as this was my first time as organizer. I needn’t have been worried at all. I called the ship’s Group Services Coordinator, Bruce van Der Boon and knew immediately that I was in good hands. Bruce is a bundle of energy, funny, and knows just how to put you at ease. Plus over 30 people from the roll call turned up, calming the fear that we’d have more ship’s crew than cruisers!
My second mission was to talk to Sean Wurmhoeringer, the Hotel Director about setting up a private martini clinic for our Cruise Critics. I remembered Sean from my first time sailing the Gem, during her inaugural season, when he’d been the Food and Beverage Director. He had been more than willing to set up a martini clinic for us on that sailing, and I was hoping he’d be willing to do so again since so many of us had expressed interest on our roll call.
Well, that led to another surprise. Sean actually remembered me from the Gem and gave me a big hug when he saw me. How on earth he could remember me is beyond me. Just demonstrates Sean’s amazing attention to detail. We chatted for a few minutes before he brought his staff in and said a few words to our group. Sean brought all of the senior people that reported to him from the Food and Beverage Director, the Restaurant Manager, the Concierge, to the Executive Housekeeper. He gave out everyone’s phone numbers (including his own) and meant every word when he told us to call any of them if we needed anything. They keep these phones on themselves day and night and are really there if you need them. All of the really good HD’s do this. They want to know of any problems you may have while you’re still on the ship and they have a chance to correct them. On the way out, Sean told me that he’d set up as many martini clinics as we’d like and that we’d talk later.
I wondered when “later” was going to be until I returned to my stateroom and found the invitation to the Captain’s cocktail party there. It was to be held in the Art Gallery, which was an area of the ship that I’d missed the first time I’d sailed the Spirit (it’s on deck “7 ½” forward above the casino on the port side). I don’t know why this always sneaks up on me. The party is always the evening of the first sea day and I always make dinner reservations that conflict. So I called Erika to change our reservation and she says, “Oh, I was just going to call you! I was going over the dinner reservations and saw that yours was the same time as the party. I moved your reservation to 7:45.” Wow. She is good.
The cocktail party was great. All of the senior staff were there including the Captain of course. The Spa Manager is a smart cookie. She set up a hot rock massage area for a free demonstration (on the arms only). We were traveling with friends and the husband had no interest in trying this. So the lady who was “selling the concept” set her sights on him. Next thing I know he’s in the chair with both the masseuse and the “sales woman” working on each arm. (He and his wife both booked massages before the evening ended!)
We confirmed the martini clinic with Sean for Wednesday at 3:00 (we would come to find that when Sean says “Done” he means it!). We also talked about the Enchanted dinner that would be held in the Art Gallery on Monday evening. He said that they got the idea when a customer wanted to have a private party for a group of 35. The Spirit doesn’t really have a bar or restaurant area to accommodate such a request. They came up with the idea to use the Art Gallery, which is a dedicated space of about 3,000 square feet, unique to the Spirit. The party went so well that they were inspired to invent the Enchanted Dinner.
Dinner that evening was at La Trattoria. I have to admit that on my previous cruise on the Spirit I hadn’t gone to this restaurant. I somehow thought that the food would be lacking since it’s really just a cordoned off area of the buffet. However, Cruise Critic reviews of this restaurant were fantastic so we gave it a go. First of all, they really do a great job of closing off this area. Once inside you feel as though you’re in a very nice, intimate restaurant. Secondly, fellow cruisers were right. The food was really, really good. (More impressive to me when I found out later in the cruise that the Spirit was built without any kitchen space in the buffet. All of the meals have to be cooked in the sixth floor kitchens and brought up by elevator or created on hot plates. It’s amazing what they can do with this logistical constraint!)
This was a pretty late dinner for us, so after a donation in the casino at the craps table we called it a night. Tomorrow Bermuda!
Day Three:
Bermuda was in our sights, so we decided to grab breakfast at the buffet where we could sit outside and watch our slow approach to our favorite island (we weren’t scheduled to dock until 10:30). The Eggs to Order station is great. I ordered a ham and cheese omelet while DH had eggs over easy. We grabbed other items from the wide range offered at the many stations of the buffet (anything from fruit to biscuits and sausage gravy).
Watching our approach we were a little wistful as we approached the Town Cut that would lead to St. George, Gates Fort, Fort St. Catherine, and the spot where the Club Med used to be. Turning the corner you have a glimpse of Tobacco Bay before continuing on toward Dockyard. Staying at Dockyard just doesn’t have the atmosphere of St. George. We’d considered taking the ferry to St. George, but being that we were in Bermuda over a holiday weekend, we’d only have regular bus/ferry service on Tuesday. Therefore we figured to head out to Warwick Long Bay (and the Swizzle Inn!) on that day. St. George would have to wait until next time.
Erika had invited us to meet her at Henry’s Pub for an early escort off of the ship. This was a pleasant surprise, as I know that not all concierges offer this service. Additionally, as we’re docked in Bermuda for a full three days I hadn’t thought it would be offered. As we wanted to head straight to Snorkel Park (before it got too crowded) we took her up on her offer. There was a bit of a delay in the ship being cleared. We’d expected to be cleared by 11:00 but it wasn’t until around 11:30 that we were allowed off of the ship.
Finally, we stepped onto Bermuda and boy was it HOT! Not a whisper of breeze, either. The water was definitely going to feel good! Well, here was our first bad surprise…Snorkel Park wasn’t open! We waited around in the sweltering sun until noon and it still didn’t open (we finally found out that it wouldn’t open until 1:00). I understand that it’s Sunday and understand that there are customs to be followed but especially in this economy, I’d think they’d take advantage of the cruise ship’s arrival. Especially as all other areas of Dockyard where open, and in fact a gentleman at the end of the pier was directing everyone to the Snorkel Park. Well, we’re flexible, so we walked around the Craft Market for a bit (mostly to cool off I have to admit) and then had lunch at the Frog and Onion (we realized that it would be very difficult to get back on the ship for lunch with everyone else trying to get off).
The Frog and Onion offers basic “pub grub” and good portions. Beware of the sticker shock if it’s your first time in Bermuda. Four sandwiches and 3 sodas cost a little over $80 (including tip). This isn’t news to us, but thought I should mention it as the price of things in Bermuda can be an unwelcome surprise.
Back to the Snorkel Park. Compared to the other beaches we’ve been to in Bermuda, I found this one to be disappointing (another poor surprise). I wasn’t expecting the famous pink sands or anything magnificent, but I was expecting clean! All of the beaches we’ve been to in Bermuda have been spotless, including this one as of last October. This year it was littered with bits of trash and cigarette butts. Extremely disappointing, but we weren’t going anywhere else at this point (especially with the limited transportation schedule).
Enough about that. We shook off the bad mojo and rented chairs ($10 per chair for the day) and set out to snorkel. The water was warm (a good 85 degrees)…almost too warm for people wanting to really cool off. But not for me as I’m a big sissy about cold water! There was an abundance of fish in the area, easily seen even without snorkel gear. DH thinks he found the reason for all of the fish…he swam outside the reef and saw a big ol’ barracuda parked out there. So with plenty of fish spotted and an ice-cold daiquiri in hand, we enjoyed the day.
Back at the ship, our friends decided that they wanted to go to LeBistro for dinner and asked us to join them. They were worried about getting last minute reservations, but I thought that being that we were in port it shouldn’t be a problem. Sure enough, we got our 7 o’clock reservation easily. (In fact the only specialty restaurant that we dined at that was full was La Trattoria, but there, seating is very limited.)
LeBistro remains our favorite restaurant on any of the NCL ships. The food and service are always excellent. We all ordered the escargot and I was relieved to see it was the “regular” recipe. (On the Pearl the escargot had some sort of a pastry topping that, although good, didn’t compare to the original.) I had the filet mignon, which was as perfect as always, DH went for the lamb chops, and we all saved a little room for dessert (crème brulee…YUM!).
The show this evening was the Second City, so we decided to check that out as it’s always a good time. There were some things repeated from other shows we’d seen, but plenty new to keep us entertained. Particularly like their version of the “Massachusetts driving test” which, of course, included being able to put on make-up while driving among other “necessary” skills. The end was hilarious when the audience gave three words that had to be acted out to two of the cast members for them to guess. They about killed themselves acting out (and guessing) the word avuncular. So our first steamy day in Bermuda drew to a close. Tomorrow, steamy day number two and the much-anticipated Enchanted Dinner!
Day Four:
After breakfast we got off of the ship and walked around. Yup it was another very hot, windless day, but this time the Snorkel Park was open (and it wasn’t even 10:00). We walked over to the mall really just to see what was there and what was open. Being that this was Bermuda’s Labour Day, we’d been told that all of St. George and Hamilton were pretty much closed. Well, all of the businesses at Dockyard were open, so for those traveling to Bermuda during a holiday, rest assured that you won’t be left completely high and dry.
Our friends expressed interest in taking a snorkel excursion. I enthusiastically encouraged DH to join them as he loves snorkeling and I had idiotically gotten sunburned the day before. Staying in the cool comfort of the ship sounded perfect to me. We went back to the ship, and found that the excursion booth was closed, but you could by tickets from a machine. You simply inserted your room key, picked the excursion you were interested in, it told you how many spots were left, and you chose how many tickets you wanted to purchase. I’d never seen the ticket machine before because if we’ve booked excursions through NCL, we’ve always done so online before the cruise. I thought it was pretty clever.
The excursion wasn’t until 2:00, so DH gathered what he wanted to bring and we went for a light lunch. After they left I went to the spa to see if there were any openings (reasoning that as we were in port there could be), but of the things I was interested in, they were booked. Oh, well, it was worth a shot. I walked around the ship for a bit, and then went back to our cabin to relax and read. Eventually I cleaned up for dinner and ordered a snack from room service for DH figuring he’d be hungry from snorkeling.
DH returned from the Barrier Reef Snorkel a little after 5:00. The excursion took place aboard the Consort with Captain Ronnie at the helm. DH said that the captain is a true “Onion” who comes from a line of lighthouse keepers. In fact his father was the keeper at St. David’s Lighthouse at one time. The Captain kept up a good commentary during their voyage, including mentioning that Bermudians truly love their holidays and “celebrate” to such an extent that it often takes the island a week to get back on schedule.
DH enjoyed snorkeling over the Barrier Reefs that speared from a depth of 50 feet up to just 18 inches below the waters surface. He thought the different varieties of coral that they got to see were cool, but found that he didn’t see any varieties of fish that he hadn’t seen snorkeling from the shore. On the return from the reef, they stopped over the wreck of the HMS Vixon to feed the fish. Apparently hundreds of fish live in the wreck and start following the boats when they show up knowing that they’re going to get fed. As it was Labour Day, the bakeries were closed, so instead of feeding the fish bread, which was usual, they used cat food. DH said it was amazing to see the surface of the sea boiling with fish as they fed. As soon as the boat left, the fish all darted back into the sanctuary of the wreck. Another thing he noted was the cash bar. Not a complaint, but we’ve never done an excursion on an island where they didn’t offer at least one complimentary rum punch. All in all, he thought the main reason to do this excursion was because it was a holiday. In 9 trips to Bermuda, this is the first time any of us has gone on an excursion because we find it generally unnecessary.
We were going to skip meeting for a drink before dinner because we knew that we’d be served plenty of wine at the Enchanted Dinner. However, in my perusal of the Freestyle Daily I found that premium martinis were 20% off at Maharini’s Nightclub. As the nightclub was below where we wanted to be for dinner, we thought this was perfect. After a martini each, up to dinner we went.
I want to pause here to mention a couple of things. I already mentioned how the Enchanted Dinner came about, but I didn’t mention Sean’s pride in what they were doing there. The response had been so tremendous, that they’d rolled out another culinary experience, “The Taste of India”. Sean was particularly enthusiastic about this new experiment. It had occurred to them that some of the finest chefs on board were from India and here was an opportunity to showcase their talents. Sean would ask us a few times over the length of the cruise to try this, but it never worked into our schedule.
On our last cruise, the HD, Denis Prguda had said that he thought that NCL was going to start letting the individual ships shake thing up a bit food-wise and I think what we’re seeing on the Spirit is evidence of that. I defy anyone traveling on any of the major cruise lines to find food on the level that we found on the Spirit. I love that NCL, always the innovator, constantly experiments and strives to improve their product.
On to the Enchanted Dinner. First I have to say we’re idiots because none of us thought to bring a camera. The candle-lit tables scattered about the Art Gallery created a beautiful setting. Before we got started, Executive Chef Barrington Burke stopped by each table, sharing his excitement about this menu. He’d been allowed free reign and had not only created the menu, but had actually cooked our meal. Here was a surprise. Although I was expecting a great meal (at $65 per person) I never thought that the Executive Chef for the ship would personally be cooking our meal. He also said he was constantly tweaking things so not to be surprised if something arrived that wasn’t on the menu. It was obviously great fun for the chef to get his creative juices flowing and his hands dirty.
The only “off-note” of the entire meal was the wine served with the first course. It was an asti that was simply too sweet for the shrimp it was paired up with. Art Manager Chris said they had just tried it for the first time with our meal and that they normally serve a Prosecco. Well, we’ll give them points for experimentation, and note that for the rest of the meal, the wines were paired beautifully.
There are three appetizers served and you are encouraged to try them all. Of course if there is something that you simply do not want to try, you only need to tell your waiter. The first course was a salad with jumbo shrimp and a grape seed oil dressing. Delicious. Next was a Finnish Salmon Cream, which turned out to be a flavorful cream broth with chunks of salmon floating in it. Next were boneless frog legs in a garlic Chablis sauce. I have to say this was wonderful. I won’t say that the frog tasted like chicken, because in fact it was even milder tasting, and seemed to absorb the flavors of whatever is was cooked in. A very delicate, succulent, appetizer.
Chef Burke then threw in a new spin and sent out a sorbet to cleanse the palate that he enhanced with a shot of Limoncello that he personally poured onto the sorbet at tableside. This was a nice way to move onto the main course. I’d ordered the filet mignon and DH had ordered the Lobster “Termidor Style”.
The filet mignon was probably the best cut of beef I’d ever had. Melt-in-your-mouth tender, but bursting with flavor uncharacteristic of most tenderloin and served on a bed of a to-die-for mushroom sauce. DH’s lobster was Maine lobster (although we think frozen) just swimming in cream. What’s not to like?
Dessert was a “Chocolate Avalanche” paired with Baileys served in a dark chocolate cup. Warm and delicious and not too sweet, this was the perfect ending to the meal. A nice surprise was that we each received a “free piece of art” for attending the dinner.
After nearly three hours of decadent dining was the Chocoholic Buffet. Ugh. Erika had invited us to go up early for a photo op before the buffet was opened to the general public. Waddling around in our food coma, the food looked lovely, but not remotely tempting. Sean was there and kept trying to get us to try something, but it simply wasn’t possible (and we did mention to him at another time that maybe the Enchanted Dinner shouldn’t be the same night as the Chocoholic Buffet). Chef Burke was there and we thanked him profusely for a fantastic meal. His answering grin was evidence of the pride he’s taking with this meal (and rightfully so).
Day Five:
Today was another hot day in Bermuda and a lazy day. After two days of snorkeling in the sun, DH didn’t feel like hitting the beach. Warwick Long Bay would wait until next time (my sunburn rejoiced!). The guys had brought along fishing gear, so after breakfast they headed out to fish off of the pier (DH said the girl at security asked him on the way back why he had a frog in his bag and he had to explain that is was a lure!). I walked out with them so that I could do a little shopping.
I checked out the pharmacy that had opened since our last visit in October. It is large and has a good selection of items to meet your needs. It also boasts a decent selection of souvenirs (naturally) and a small deli counter that sells sandwiches and coffee. (I’m sure it sells more than that, but that’s what I noticed at first glance.)
The mall has a number of shops ranging from t-shirt shops to an art gallery, jewelry store and a high-end purse shop has replaced the Swiss Connection, which was the Internet café (you can find Internet access at the Frog and Onion and at the new visitor’s center). The best thing about the mall is that it’s blessedly cool and offers a respite from the Bermuda sun!
Across from the mall, on the water, is a small convenience store and I went there with the mission of buying some Perrier. It’s the only place that I’ve found at Dockyard that sells sparkling water. We always bring some with us when we board the ship, but look for places to replenish the supply when we’re in port. Keeps the weight down in the luggage!
On the way back from my exciting water purchase, I stopped in the visitor’s center to see what it offered. You can of course buy transportation passes (which you can also buy at both Heritage and King’s Wharfs), they have the aforementioned Internet café and a small supply of souvenirs and water and soda.
For the first time in numerous cruises, security actually asked to see my bottles of water, thinking I’d bought wine. I showed the bottles and a girl at the end of the x-ray machine asked what was the difference between my water and theirs (she gestured to the ice-cold bottles of water they had available for sale). I just responded that my water had bubbles…I didn’t mention that it was also half the price!
After the guys were done fishing (and had caught a few “aquarium” fish) it was time to head to the Swizzle Inn. I’d read elsewhere that it was about $40 each way to the Swizzle via taxi. Since we normally spend $20 pp for a 2-day bus pass, the four of us opted for the non-stop service of a cab. Taxis are lined up at the end of the pier so it was simple enough to hire one. It was a slow day for the cabbies though. Ours told us that she’d been there for an hour and a half before we showed up, and she’d figured we were just stopping to ask a question.
It took about 30 minutes to arrive at the Swizzle Inn. We immediately (and stupidly) found a table outside. Without a breeze stirring the air, we were soon sweating despite being in the shade (for reasons I don’t understand, it never occurred to us to move inside…tradition, I guess). It didn’t stop us from have a jug per couple along with conch fritters and cheese fries! (Actually my friend’s DH and I split an additional half jug of rum swizzle…the Swizzle Inn makes the best!)
DH wanted a new t-shirt so I shopped the Swagger Out gift shop (air conditioned, thankfully!) while waiting for our taxi to arrive. The shop is much smaller than the shop at the original Swizzle Inn at Bailey’s Bay, but they met our needs.
We’d all agreed to take the night off from sumptuous dining and hit the buffet for dinner. Erika called while we were in our cabin to check on our dinner plans for the evening (she’d noticed that we didn’t have reservations). We told her we were going to lie low that evening, but would love to return to Shogun the next night. It’s so nice to have these details taken care of for you without having to think about it!
DH and I weren’t yet hungry for dinner, so we stopped in for the 7:30 magic show. Richard Burr and his wife Josette, were a talented and entertaining couple. We enjoyed about a half hour of their show before going to the buffet for a light dinner. Just enough dinner consumed and a small soft-serve ice cream cone in hand we walked around the pool deck looking for something to do. We must have hit things at an in between time, but finally found Mario Blanco playing in Henry’s Pub and the Yankees game on the tube. We enjoyed listening to Mario play Jimmy Buffet, the Beatles, etc while rooting against the Yankees.
Day Six:
This was going to be a busy day. We had breakfast at Cagney’s then went for a long walk on the Promenade deck.
At 1:00 was the Silver, Gold, and Platinum Latitudes Party. It was a cheese and wine party rather than the typical party with passed appetizers and cocktails. The party was at the Galaxy of the Stars and probably the least entertaining one we’ve attended. The cheese table was a help yourself affair tucked in a corner well away from the guests (and out of our line of sight). Also, I only saw two officers chatting with the guests. They were Bruce, the Group Services Coordinator, and our new favorite concierge, Erika. While there, our friends expressed an interest in dining at Shogun that night, and I told them Erika had already hooked us up.
At 2:30 we returned to the Galaxy of the Stars to watch the talk on the Epic. We figured (correctly) that we wouldn’t learn anything we hadn’t gleaned for ourselves online, but had some time to kill before our 3:00 martini clinic at Champagne Charlie’s. The talk did remind me to purchase a cruise rewards certificate though!
I thought the turnout for our clinic was pretty good. Only five of the people from our roll call did not show up (and one of those had been a “maybe” anyway). We were surprised to find that it was the bar manager giving our clinic (I apologize for not getting his name). He didn’t mix the drinks, but gave us a detailed history of the martini, spirits and cocktails in general. He also did a trick, pouring about ten martinis at once to show he still had his chops! (I noticed that the clinic following ours did not have nearly this much flare.) We had an excellent time trying the five martinis served (I actually enjoyed the vodka martini, a first for me) and had an even better time talking with our fellow cruise critics. Everyone seemed to be enjoying their time on the Spirit. We lingered until about 6:00 and realized that we really needed to get ready for dinner. We decided it was more a matter of changing shoes than clothes, which left us time to have a drink at Raffles Terrace. Probably not a good idea to have mojitos after the martini clinic, but they were cool and refreshing.
At dinner I ordered a bottle of Prosecco to try. We all like sparkling wine with Asian food and after the Art Manager had recommended it, we thought we’d give it a try. We had a winner. The Prosecco was a smooth, balanced wine that went well with all of our meals. I went back to my old fallback the sweet and sour pork. It’s so much better than the sweet and sour they serve in restaurants back home!
After dinner we hit the casino and I’m happy to report that DH took back his donation to the craps table and came away a little ahead. By now it was almost 11:00 and I’d hit the wall. DH was rarin’ to go however and went to the White Hot Party at Galaxy of the Stars while I went to bed.
DH said the White Hot Party was fun and everyone seemed to be having a great time. Cruise Director, Paul Baya was dressed in resplendent garb ala Elton John. HD Sean was also present, but stuck to wearing his uniform. ?
Day Seven:
Mother Nature gave me a wake-up call at 3:30 am. The ship was rockin’ and rollin’ and the door to our balcony had slid open a bit and was whistlin’ up a storm. Got up, shut balcony door, locked it this time, went back to bed and tried to sleep. Storm outside increased its force, and the ship added a shudder here and there to top off the rolling. The Captain later confirmed that we were going through a Force 9 storm with 12-16 foot seas and 50+ mph winds. Seems we can sail the Spirit without passing through a bit of a storm. By mid-afternoon, the waves had subsided, but the ship was still rolling as the winds were broadsiding us at 40+ mph.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. We went to the buffet for a quick breakfast and ran into Sean. We had a nice conversation about cruise ship life and his upcoming vacation (he leaves on September 25th). He brought up the Indian dinner again and we expressed regret that we couldn’t make it. He asked what our dinner plans were that night and we told him we’d just hit the buffet since we had packing to do. He paused and asked “Would you like to try some of the Indian food?”, a few more questions followed (what time we like to eat, etc) and next thing I know he’s telling us to show up at the Garden restaurant at 7:00. Surprise!
I called our friends’ stateroom and left a message letting them know about our new dinner plans and to confirm what time we were going to meet in Henry’s.
Packing begins (boo!), we walk around the ship, then go to Henry’s for our last listen to Mario.
We arrive at the Garden Restaurant not knowing what to expect. People are in line, being given pagers, and when I approach the podium I say, “I believe we have a reservation.” I provide our cabin number and, of course we did. We were quickly led to a table for four and there was a bit of confusion as we weren’t given menus. Then a keen eyed waiter noticed we didn’t have menus and brought them. When our waitress appeared to take our order we had to explain that the HD had set something up for us.
All I can say is if you have a chance to try the Taste of India on the Spirit, do not hesitate! My past experience with Indian cuisine has been okay. I can take it or leave it. The wife of the couple we were sailing with had only one experience with Indian food and she hated it (but was there to be a good sport). The “meal” began when the waitress brought out a drink composed of yogurt and a fresh mango puree. This was beautifully presented in a champagne flute with a mango garnish and a swirl of raspberry in the glass for a pop of color. A delicious and soothing drink (and I don’t even like mango). Then the food began to arrive. OMG. This was the best food ever. Appetizers that were some sort of dough filled with potato inside one type and a spicy filling in the other and fried to perfection. We sampled multiple types of curry chicken and lamb. Had a soup that was a vegetarian broth with a lentil base that was simply amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced such an explosion of flavors from something so seemingly simple. More curries came out (chicken and fish this time), a delicious vegetarian rice, a sauce with a leek base and a potato filled flat bread. Dessert was a warm rice pudding and almond toasts in a buttery saffron sauce (how the toast managed to retain a crunch in the center is beyond me).
The Executive Sous Chef, Baiju Ravindran, was kind enough to come out and explain to us what we’d enjoyed and the methods of preparation. His excitement at being able to create these dishes was contagious. I’m so grateful to him and to Sean that we were able to have this spectacular meal. All of us agreed that the meal was fantastic and there was not one element that we did not enjoy.
Back to reality. It was time to finish packing and begin our farewell to the Spirit. At least we had some football to watch since they were broadcasting the opening game of the NFL season.
Day Eight:
Two surprises…one pleasant, one not so much. The not so much one was that it was 61 degrees and overcast when we arrived in Boston. Yuck! Where was my Bermuda sunshine?
Good surprise, the Dawn was backing in right behind us.
We’ve now seen the Dawn more times in port than we’ve actually sailed her.
A final buffet breakfast…a final check of the cabin to make sure nothing had been left behind, then it was off to meet Erika one last time.
I can’t say enough about Erika. She really made our cruise a delight.
We were pleasantly surprised to find Sean standing on the Promenade deck wishing the departing passengers well. After another profuse thanks on our part for a great cruise and a final handshake, our cards were swiped the final time and we followed the ramp down to our luggage.
Each time I think that NCL can’t get any better is does. They have real jewels with Sean and Erika and the rest of the Spirit crew. We hope to sail with them both again soon!
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