Norwegian Spirit Review

4.5 / 5.0
2,123 reviews

The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

Review for the Western Caribbean Cruise on Norwegian Spirit
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roarman
2-5 Cruises • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Apr 2011
Cabin: Mid-Ship Inside

Just got off the Norwegian Spirit 7 day cruise of the Western Caribbean. I'm writing this review to give you help in determining what to do and maybe what to stay away from. I'll give you the good the bad and the ugly, but first a few things you may want to do before leaving. I'm a 52 year old male and I traveled with my 47 year old girlfriend.Things that will come in handy that you may not have thought of. Earplugs. We were on level six and the karaoke bar was right above us. The music was pounding until 12:30 each night. Toilet paper. The rolls provided on board are like sandpaper. Bottled water. I had a carry on type suitcase and a case of water and a 12 pack of cokes fit just right. The ship pours Pepsi products at $4.95 a pop. I just checked the baggage in and it got to my room with no problem. Ship crew, condition of ship, navigating your way around. Good.Overall friendly crew with a couple of irritating members, namely Mikie and Bobbie, two crew directors. THe ship was refurbished and I didn't find many issues. Clearly marked maps on each floor. First port, Costa Maya.BadNothing but a deserted island with a tourist trap, man made beach. Swimming with the dolphins on Costa Maya.BadFor a price of, I think $129, you get to go into a 40 yard by 10 yard enclosure. You are grouped together with 7 or 8 other people. There are 4 dolphins. When it's your turn, you swim away from the group, the dolphin swims to you, turns sideways and a picture is taken. You then raise you hand up, the dolphin touches your hand with it's beak and a picture is taken. Next, the dolphin swims on its back, you grab its flippers and he gives you about a 15 foot ride, picture taken. $129 please. Jungle adventure on Costa MayaBadMy coworker took the jungle adventure in a jeep and said it wasn't a jungle. If I had to do it over again, I'd stay on the ship.BelizeGood.Know that Belize is a very poor, crime ridden city. We took a city tour for $15. The same tours was $39 if you booked on the ship. Very interesting and eye opening. Would not want to spend a lot of time there.RoatanGood.Really enjoyed Roatan. Pretty island with elevation. Rented a scooter for $49 for all day. Drove out to West Bay Beach. Not West End, which I was told was extremely crowded. Boarded a boat to go snorkeling. Cost was $25 per person. On ship it was $99. It took us to watch the dolphin encounter. Here it's much larger than the Costa Maya enclosure. There are 26 dolphins. Went to an area with lots of starfish, then to some reefs with plenty of fish. Well worth the $58. Ate at a restaurant at the beach. CozumelGood.Biggest and most touristy of the 4 stops. Took a taxi to Money Bar Beach Resort. Ride was $9. Nice beach, restaurant and reef. A snorkel set up was $16. Twenty yards into the water and you were at the reef. If you want to snorkel, no need to get in a boat. Just go to Money Bar.Ship ExcursionsBadYou can book most of the excursions once on land as the ship offers at a much reduced rate. I've given some examples. One I didn't mention was zip lining in Roatan. There were 13 lines and it cost $40. On the ship, zip lining in like, $100. EntertainmentPool Band, FlexBadReally loud reggae band turning any song into reggae. Let me mention, I hate reggae music and after 7 days of it, I really hate it. Ship Band, PrismUglyMaybe the worst band I've ever heard. REally bad Asian musicians, especially the male lead singer. The band does disco night, 80 night, 50's night and country night were the only song I heard was Islands in the Stream turned into Islands in the Steam. That's all I could stomach. Magician, YousouUglyReally creepy looking Indian Magician with really bad tricks. Avoid at all costs.On BroadwayGoodCast did a good job singing selections for a handful of musicals including Moving out, The Heights, Mama Mia and a couple of others I can't remember.Duo AcrobatiqueGoodBut good only if you've never been to a Cirque de Soliel show. I have and what you get to see a couple do, you see 30 people in a Cirque show do. I guess it was worth seeing.Soul Rocking NightsBadSome singers and dancers as in Broadway show. But they were out of there element. A gay guy dressed in a cowboy outfit singing "Sweet Home Alabama" is not my type of entertainment.Second City ComedyGoodThe best show in the Stardust Theater. Well worth going to. They do three other smaller shows and I enjoyed all of them. ElementsGoodAnother Cirque type show. Pretty good until they sang this really corny song titled "The Norwegian Way" then segued into "We Are the World" with 50 crew members on stage. Show on the last nightUglyThe magician again, a singing couple and the comedian. Skip it.BingoUglyDo not play bingo. Biggest rip off ever. Here's why. There were, I'd say 200 people playing. The buy in was $39 for 3 cards, $49 for 6 and $69 for 9. So, say, on average the buy in was $50. That's $50 x $200 = $10,000. Four games were played and the only paid out a total of $1500. The house took $8500. Ridiculous!!!Texas Hold Poker TournamentUglyDo not play. The buy in is $100 with rebuys and one add on. You get $2000 in chips, but the blinds start out at $100-$200. So, you really can't play. You just have to push all in with any descent hand.Live $1-$2 No Limit PokerBadOk, I played and won about $300, but the rake is 10%. That's right, 10%!!! In most casinos it's 1% or 2%.FoodWindows and the Garden Room. Good.Same menu different restaurants. Windows is bigger and brighter than The Garden Room. Over all the food was good. Best I had was the shrimp cocktail and the rare prime rib.Raffles BreakfastGoodLoved the french toast!!!Raffles any other timeBadEverything is really salty. Same selection every day.Blue LagoonGoodWings are great and the tomato soup maybe the best thing I had all week.ShogunGoodSushi. Loved it. Asia beef dish, not so much.CagneysGoodTender filet. Highly recommend.I could go on and on, but I'm tired. The one thing you can do to save a lot of money, is not to book your excursions on the ship or pre-cruise. You will get over charged. It's easy to do once you get on the islands.Thanks and have a great trip.Raffle

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Mid-Ship Inside

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