Maybe I'm being too harsh, but this cruise- the ship at least, was a huge disappointment. I started cruising in the 1980s, specifically on the grandest of the grand, the SS Norway. The NCL of then versus the NCL of now is truly night and day. First, the good. The room was great. We had a balcony on deck 10, and it was spacious, comfortable, and had a nice unobstructed view. The cruise director was delightful. Better than many. The service staff (cabin stewards, excursion folks, service desk) were great. Friendly and helpful. The shows were pretty good as well. The ports were great. So, what's to complain about, right? Well, the ship. The food. The lack of personal service. The way it used to be, when you went to dinner, it was an event- the highlight of your day. You sat at the same table, with the same people, every night. Same waiter, same assistant waiter, and your waiter only had 2-3 tables, so he knew you. After a few days, he understood what you liked, what you didn't like, and he helped you through the menu. The menu. When you went on a cruise, you used to get 5-8 courses of unbelievably delicious food. You really would gain weight on a cruse because you ate and ate wonderful, glorious food. Now- it's 3 courses of crap. Boring appetizers, bland main course, and mass produced frozen deserts. Terrible. And with no more assigned seating, you get different wait staff- who have 5-10 tables to take care of. Translation- you wait an wait and wait. I think NCL should be ashamed of themselves. Yes, I've cruised other "modern" cruises with their "premium" dining options. I know just about everyone has eliminated 5 course meal and the personal assigned wait staff. But this example was beyond unacceptable. It is especially sad because of my experience with the SS Norway. NCL knows how to do it right, they just won't. Terribly disappointing. Read Less

My parents are retired and have been on a couple of Norwegian Cruises . They had been suggesting to my husband and I to take a cruise . My husband and I had never been. Well we finally listened to my parents and we are happy we did . The only minor thing was that our stateroom instead of one bed it had two which thankfully that same day it was fixed . Out butler was the BEST “Agus” is so kind and friendly and he made our room beautiful every si clean day and was always asking us if we needed anything . The food was great from the buffet to Garden and Windows Restaurants as was the Blue Lagoon . I would suggest that the cruise this one in particular give more time to the Hispanic guests when it comes to Music meaning the Disco and having the Latin duo sing more than just at the pool or 30 mins . We wanted to dance and it was very limited . Please consider having a Salsa/Bachata/Merengue night or have a Dj something please . The tender service was good despite the 1st time taking extra time to be honest . I would again do a Norwegian Cruise . I loved the “Washy Washy” “Happy Happy “ Thank you all at Norwegian for a great 1st Cruise . Read Less

We chose this cruise for its itinerary. We explored Barcelona for the day before embarking. We arrived at the terminal around 1230pm and found the embarkation process to be smooth. There was a lot of staff there to help and guide passengers. Although our room wasn't completely available, we were allowed to drop off our bags. We appreciated that! This differed from my experience on the Carnival Sensation. On that ship they had the hall doors closed and we could not drop off anything for a few hours after the ship sailed. I should mention that this Norwegian cruise is only my second cruise and my husband's first. We got off at all but one port (Palma de Mallorca). Only because we had just been there and wanted to rest. If you haven't been there, be sure to get off and explore, it's a great place. All of the disembarkation processes went smoothly with the exception of Cannes, France. We had to tender from the ship and unfortunately the local company that was contracted didn't have as many tender boats as we needed. It took us close to two hours to get off of the ship. Dave, our cruise director, I apologized for the inconvenience and assured us that our next tendering experience in Kotor would run smoother. And it did. On top of that the captain was able to move the ship inland during the middle of the day so that we did not have to tender upon our return in the evening. We found the ship to be clean and nice looking. The staff were friendly and helpful. I enjoyed using the library.We also enjoyed eating at the buffet. There was a different theme every night and the food was hot and fresh. We also ate at both the Windows and Garden's dining room. There was steak available every night which was the wonderful treat. We also enjoyed a few meals at Shoguns. The food was good but I really liked the hot and sour soup. We went to most of the nightly shows. The theater production was talented but we mainly enjoyed the dance couple that performed with hula hoops and acrobatics. The magic show was cool too. we did for excursions during the cruise. The one in cans took us to Monaco and Monte Carlo. It was really cool to see where the Grand Prix race takes place and we really enjoyed the views. We also did an explosion in couture. This was one of our favorites because it took us up into the mountains and on a windy road with spectacular views. We really liked our tour guide as she was full of information. at the end of the evening we enjoyed walking through downtown. Being inside the walls and looking through all of the local shops was relaxing.there are a lot of stray cats, which Kotor is known for, which we found enchanting.Our next excursion was in Dubrovnik. This was a really nice themed excursion about the TV show The Game of Thrones. Our guide was wonderful and funny. there was a lot of walking but it was definitely worth it especially if you're a fan of the show. The city is beautiful and offers nice views. Lastly, we stopped in Sicily and took an excursion to Taormina. Unfortunately, we experience cloudy weather which didn't allow for the views that we know the city has to offer. I would still recommend the excursion and hopefully you get better views than we did. It's a nice little city to walk through. Included in the excursion was a visit to the old theater ruins. That was a sight to see! we didn't do an excursion in Palma de Mallorca because we had recently been to that beautiful place and simply wanted a day of rest. If you haven't been, be sure to get off the ship! We also did not do an excursion in Livorno (Florence/Pisa) as the reviews were not promising. We plan on visiting on our own another time. Instead, we got off the ship and walked through the town of Livorno which we found simple and cute. We got some gelato and enjoyed what the town had to offer. In Greece we did the same thing. We enjoyed our walk through some parks and to the old fortress. it was a small fee to climb to the top and get a breathtaking view of the island. When stopping in Naples we decided to get on the train and do a self excursion to Pompeii. It's much less expensive and we felt adventurous! The train station is a short bus ride or 30-minute walk away. The train ride was about an hour. Then another half hour walk to the archaeological Park aka the Pompeii ruins. We walked around there for about 4 hours and took in all that it had to offer before walking back to the train station with plenty of time to get back to the cruise ship. It was a long day with a lot of walking but definitely worth it! Bring a hat. It was just my husband and I, ages 35 and 40. We are new to cruising and really enjoyed this ship and would have had to offer. As I mentioned before, the staff were great and I felt like I knew some of them by the time we left. Dave was great. I felt like we were given ample information and we're bothered with too many announcements. we will definitely cruise with Norwegian again. Although, we would like to try out a slightly larger ship just for a different experience. Read Less

We chose this cruise because of the itinerary. The ship was a bit different then other NCL ships I have been on. This one has both the main dinning room and the Theater in the aft of the ship. When you entered the theater, you entered in the front, different, but not bad at all. We attended most of the shows and they were very well done. The NCL band is outstanding, as well as the singers and dancers. We did not take part in any of the ship board activities because we were too busy with excursions. The cabin was great, the food in all dinning rooms was great as well. We were lucky enough to have nice weather through out the cruise We did an excursion thru NCL in every port. Most of them were very good, we did have one that got changed because of a washed out road and it turned out to be our least favorite, but we were compensated some for it. All in all a great experience. Read Less

Great ports, well priced, small ship enabled getting to know more people sharing the same experience. The staff were very friendly and accommodating; the rooms (even inside) were very comfortable. Some reviews indicated the small ship would not provide the best experience, however, this was my 7th cruise, and I found it to be very comfortable. The food was a little lacking in quality sometimes; the chicken often dry (however, I prefer it that way, others did not) , there was little variety from night to night in the main dining rooms; we found the Raffles buffet to be the best, and the variety there, outranked the dining rooms. Coordination of shore excursions, especially during times when the ship was tendered, could have used some better organization, especially at the stop in Cannes. Many cruisers were frustrated with long wait times and lack of tender boats to provide transportation to shore. Overall, I think most enjoyed the cruise, and the attention to detail from most service personnel, room stewards and dining room attendants, especially, did well in this area. I also appreciated their attention to hygienic conditions, with spritzing of hand sanitizers, and cleanliness, that I believe would be viewed as high quality from safety inspectors. Read Less

I chose it for the ports. The food was mediocre at best and the ship sort of rundown. Many signs in the elevators and on each deck were hard to read due to aging. The entertainment was ok some nights and pretty blah other nights. Our cabin stupid appeared at times to have dementia as he introduced himself to us three times in two days not realizing we had already met! The staff were nice and ai lived the ports of call and the ease of boarding and disembarking. The cabin cost a small fortune but the drawer space was so minimal we had to keep sweaters in our suitcase under the bed! The bed was also really uncomfrotable with a zipper connecting two twins so rolling over to snuggle with husband was unpleasant as I would be lying on hard pieces of metal! As far as food goes, vegetarian is not a special diet and is the norm in several countries. The menus did not seem to think about this and by the end of the ten days I was desperate for protein. Read Less

we were interested in seeing these ports, most of which we had never seen before, and it was a great experience travelling with dear friends once again. we had some issues on the flight to Barcelona, a gentleman passenger had a heart attack and we had to turn back to Heathrow in London which then kept us from making the rest of our connecting flights. Due to this delay, we were not able to make our scheduled tour of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, but fortunately our full ticket price was refunded. We were still able to board ship as planned and things went a lot more smoothly from then! we had a cabin with a balcony, which we appreciated very much, as we love to watch the coming and going of our ship as well as others in the ocean and seas. We had an excellent cabin steward, who took care of us extremely well. We enjoyed meals at the Main dining rooms, and breakfasts mostly eaten at Raffles, the buffet. Meals were very good, lots of variety, and excellent wait staff in each. We got to know them a bit, and enjoyed seeing them again when we visited again. Everyone was very friendly, welcoming, and attentive, which made for a very enjoyable cruise. We also attended and enjoyed the shows each evening in the theatre, this was often the highlight of the day! we are independent people and did our own tours at each port, hiring a taxi driver to show us the highlights at each port. we enjoyed this as it made it much more personal travelling with 5 people. we would certainly use Norwegian Cruise Line again if the opportunity arises. Read Less

As this ship is going to be dry docked for renovations the excursion were top notch. This the second time we took this ship for a cruise within a year. Most of the shows were the same as last time which were OK. They could have had more late night game shows like they had last year , I am not sure if the cruise director had something to do with it but he was a new person and did not seem as entertaining as the last one. The room service personal is always top notch and ready to help you any way they can .Most of the meals were good in the buffet especially the roasted pig on one of the nights. We enjoyed hearing the captain discuss the next day weather and sea conditions he had such a flare on personality to him. We can not wait to see what the ship will be like once it is renovated. Read Less

This is our first time to go on the cruise and wasn’t disappointed. Other people commented the ship is too old but as for me, I think it is the upkeep is excellent. We stayed in Deck 4, room 4316, outside cabin. Cabin: good size for 2 people, cleaning services everyday Food: at the buffet, the food was a typical normal buffet but a lot of varieties. Ice cream was too soft because it wasn’t cold. Not sure why the ship serve that way. So I stick with soft ice cream Fine dinning: Le Bistro and Cagney’s were good. Italian was disappointed. It looks like Italian restaurant was new to the ship. The food is cold when it served. Not good. NCL needs to improve on this, still a lot of work to do on this restaurant. But the wine was really good and I am not a drinker. This is my first time to taste it and it was really good Entertaining: Elements show was very nice. It was the last show on the trip. This is a must to see. The trip had varieties of entertainment for everyone. I like the dance competition, and couple dance classes. Library: love this place, so comfy and quiet for reading when we are at sea Excursion: we had 5 but Morocco trip was disappointed. I think we bought Imperial Rabat something, we just saw outside the mosque. Not fun and not recommended Staff: no complaints..they all were excellent. Very attentive, friendly and always have smile on their face. It sure made my day awesome and first experience in cruising is outstanding. I think this ship was gear toward senior which I didn’t know. They were very nice to us and very funny. And they all were such a happy couple. I will try different NCL on our next trip. I gave 4 Stars , I cannot give 4.5 Stars, because disappointed on the Italian restaurant. Embarkment and disembarkment processes were exceptional. It was so organized and smooth. I was so impressed. Read Less

We chose our cruise to Canary Islands through Wingbuddy Travel, on line, with free air fare,beverage package & gratuities. Everything went as promised, we didn’t have to pay anything extra! The NCL Spirit is a well run ship, our cabin with balcony was clean & Henry, our room Stewart, was friendly & pleasant. He kept our cabin neat & clean and looked after every detail. Complimentary dining at Windows & The Garden was excellent, fine dining, and we never had any problem in getting a table for our group of six people. We did make reservation for the evening dinner, & found we didn’t need one for breakfast/lunch. We only dined at the buffet once or twice, which was also good, but we found the Windows/Garden less crowded & food was served . The buffet is open most anytime. We never ate at any of the specialty restaurants. There was a floor show every evening, no charge, which consisted of professional dancers, singing groups, classical violinist & even a magician. Great entertainment!!. The crew were all very polite, cheerful and always provided prompt friendly service. I would sail with NCL again!! Read Less