Ports we wanted to visit Service from most was acceptable but not from tours desk where we had a female total ignore us and then was not much help after that. Then to be ripped off for 111min on internet when it was clearly documented no use.... and to be told tuff luck. And to rub salt in you have to PAY for bottled water US$24.00 for 6x 1lt bottles where manufacturing costs are US$0.60per bottle. To make someone pay for a life supporting product is disgraceful. This ship is old . We were told it had had a refit in Jan. WHERE I ask. Cabins very small very outdated TV useless. Can't check your account. The shops are way way over priced you can buy cheaper retail on land then they add a 20% tax. The cost of this cruise was higher then any other we have done on much better & newer ships. Read Less

The cruise was supposed to go to Amsterdam, Norway, Iceland and Ireland. When we first boarded the ship they informed us the first port was canceled. We had no time or internet to cancel our excursion so we were out that money. The port they substituted was canceled as well we did stop in Norway than we were informed Iceland was canceled and two more Norway ports were substituted. The next day we found out the port we docked in was closed for the season, you couldn’t even get coffee. One more Norway port than the next substituted port was Greenock Scotland we were ready to dock and than turned around and was told we were not docking. Riots broke out. 3 days at sea missed ports and toilets stopped working. Food was cafeteria class, entertainment not as expected, a juggler, magician We did stop at the two scheduled ports. Norwegian offered a 25% discount on a future cruise. No compensation for this cruise. I don’t plan on booking with them again. Read Less

I have just disembarked from this Norwegian Spirit cruise that started in Southampton on 27th September and was supposed to call at Ijmuiden for Amsterdam then on to Bergen, Flam and Geiranger in Norway before heading off to Iceland to visit Akureyri and Reykjavik then on to Belfast and Dublin before returning to Southampton. Prior to departure from Southampton passengers were informed that due to very strong winds we would not be visiting Ijmuiden but would go instead to Le Havre. This port of call was cancelled the following day due to bad weather and the ship proceeded to Bergen then on to Flam and Gerainger. Whilst in Gerainger the passengers were told that due to very high winds and rough seas the ship would be unable to visit Iceland and instead would spend another two days in Norway visiting the ports of Hellesynt and Allesund before heading off to an additional port of Greenock for Glasgow.. Many passengers were upset that the Icelandic part of the itinerary had been cancelled and a minority felt so upset that they held a protest meeting in the atrium. Videos of this protest were posted on line. The number of passengers involved was quite small and the vast majority of passengers, including myself, were completely unaware that a protest had taken place. Once the videos were placed on social media the newspapers got hold of the story. Despite the published views of a minority of passengers that the whole cruise was terrible the actuality was almost the reverse. Despite the disappointment of not being able to visit Iceland the majority of passengers fully understood the reasons for the changes to the itinerary in that Norwegian Cruise Line places passenger safety ahead of other considerations. The passengers who demonstrated on board and demanded refunds of their cruise fares would more that likely have sued the cruise line for putting them in harms way if the itinerary had not been changed. As it turned out the visit to Greenock did not eventuate even though the pilot was on board, as winds in excess of 40 knots prevented the ship from mooring up. The two final ports of Belfast and Dublin did not pose a problem weatherwise. It is unfortunate that the ships Captain is not a good communicator and his accent is sometimes difficult to understand but his announcements to passengers were, if important, relayed by the Cruise Director so everyone was adequately informed of the reasons for the changes to the itinerary. Life on board the ship was very pleasant with the crew being extremely friendly and helpful.Despite the bad weather there was a full programme of entertainment that passengers could avail themselves of if they felt so inclined. I believe that only one show had to be cancelled due to the weather. The food in the main dining rooms was of an acceptable standard and that in the speciality restaurants was very good indeed. These views of mine are shared by many of the passengers that I spoke to and many were astounded at the negative remarks made to the press and on social media by a vociferous minority. The reported problems associated with the sewage system and the reports of stale food being served in the restaurants was not experienced by any of the many passengers that I met on this pleasant if rather rough weather cruise. I would certainly cruise on this ship again although I will probably take a greater interest in the time of year to book a cruise that includes Iceland in the itinerary. Read Less

Chosen cruise as a good way to see Scandinavia. Disappointed as extra days at sea and missed 3 ports and 2 alternative ports given in 14 days.Missed one of the highlights and draw cards, Iceland ! Extra sea day trapped with expensive internet and business to do! Poor, crowded, noisy inside lounge accomodation as weather was bad. Food was ok, shows were ok. Staff lovely and bad working conditions( no full days off) in 2 weeks and long 12 hours+ days. No compensation no plan B nor C. Poor communication with passengers about what was happening and why and where to next. Staff seemed to be as poorly informed as we were. Understand weather was poor . Perhaps this cruise was too late in the season altogether! This was our first sea cruise.. we won’t be doing another with NCL despite the 25% reduction for next cruise offered. They saved money on the port fees and fuel costs and should compensate us with at least s 25% refund for this cruise. Disappointed. Read Less

With the exception of 3 people, it was as if this was a training cruise. Most stood around, and several times we had to go searching for people to help. The tendering process was painful! We stood in the wind and rain for 1.5 hours waiting to get back to the ship. Get this! The tenders broke down! Good thing the ship wasn't in trouble. The excursions were disappointing. We paid good money to see/touch things. We sat on a bus for hours, drove by a standing stone circle that predated Stone Henge. Why wasn't enough time allotted for us to stop? There was no indication of what we would see on our excursions except the end stops. The food was passable, but nowhere near as amazing as it has been on other cruises. Ever heard of spice? I get that you have to cook for the masses, but you could note which dishes have spice and which ones don't. But the topper was travel. We booked air through NCL Travel and were scheduled to fly on British Air. When I found out that the BA employees were planning a work action (WA), I called NCL Travel. After sitting on hold for 45 minutes, I was told I needed to call BA. So I did and was told that our travel dates would not be impacted by the WA. Getting to Heathrow went off without a hitch. Getting on the ship was smooth and painless. BUT GETTING BACK! At 6:15 in the morning, we stood in line to leave the ship - oh by the way, told were we in the wrong line. NO SIGNAGE telling us that. We get off the ship, claim our luggage, and head for the buses. We sat for half an hour waiting for the rest of the people to get on the bus, and one couple had flights that were approaching a point where they might miss their flight. They had to track down someone to get us moving. We get to the airport and are told by BA that our reservations were not valid. Come to find out, after half an hour on the phone, that NCL Travel had moved our reservations to a United flight leaving roughly at the same time. So WHY didn't NCL tell us. We were on board the ship for 12 days and a note could easily have been left for us, a phone message - SOMETHING! While we are Gold status, in the future, we will seriously reconsider our choice of vacation travel with NCL and do more comparison with other cruise lines going forward. If you are interested in suggestions of how to improve the above concerns, contact us. I look forward to helping you provide far better services than we experienced on this trip. Read Less

Saw an add, took a chance. Did not regret it! Yes, there is probably more luxurious etc., but this was absolutely wonderful for my husband and I. The Freestyle model is great. The staff detail on cleanliness was very appreciated. They watched, just like they should, over patrons and ensured that everything met expectations. I would probably ask for a Wi-Fi package next time but it is really expensive. I would recommend that soft drinks be available at the Raffles buffet. Having to visit the bar for a Pepsi or Ginger Ale is not necessary. We were disappointed by the lack of recycling facilities for plastic, paper. Nowadays, it should be standard. It probably is hard onboard a ship, but still, a little effort would go a long ways. Perhaps public places where people could drop the recycling. The ship is not new but has a warm, inviting atmosphere. Again, the cleanliness is worth mentioning. It is not one of the larger cruise ships but I liked it that way, not too intimidating for a first time cruiser. We went to a couple of entertainment shows, quite enjoyable, very professional looking. We went to the Japanese restaurant, and the Windows restaurant. Very good food, no complaint there. The service was very good in these restaurants, and exceptional throughout the rest of the ship. We had three excursions with Norwegian: Belfast, Liverpool, Dublin. Extremely knowledgeable guides and nice buses. In Kirkwall, we disembarked through the use of tenders (small covered boats housing about 100 persons). This is an interesting experience even though one of the tenders (ours) experienced a technical problem. We were brought to the boat safely, though. We had a great time, we fully intend to use Norwegian Cruises again! Read Less

We spent a day in London with a guide and visited Stonehenge on the way to the ship. We were delayed and embarkation was easy as most were already aboard. Our tour guide arranged all of our excursions and disembarkation. The ship is ok but needs updates. We were told that it was going to dry dock the first of the year for refurbishing and updating. Do not purchase a balcony toward the aft of the ship or on the 11th floor. We had the last aft balcony on the 11th floor and the room was tiny. I was traveling with a friend and the twin beds were about 2" apart. That was not acceptable and we had the steward move the sofa sideways so we could be at least 10" apart. We could barely move around the room. There was very adequate closets and drawers for all of our vacation necessities. The noise from the Galaxy Room, where all entertainment and dancing occurred, was right above the room and kept me up until the place closed or the music stopped. We have a specialty dining package and used all of them at Cagney's Steak house. The steaks were excellent. The sides were ordinary but the desserts were excellent. Service at all eating venues and drinking venues was very good. Out last port of call was cancelled because of bad weather and high seas and it was a tender port. I probably would not go on this trip again because I want to see new places. I Read Less

I chose this Cruise because of the port destinations. I had never been on a cruise and this exceeded all of my expectations. All of the staff and crew that I encountered were very friendly and helpful my cabin Steward was excellent. The food was great the entertainment was out of this world. There were a few things I thought could have been better explained... Like it showed we were going to be in Reykjavik Iceland for 3 days in reality we got there one night were there a whole day and left at 1 a.m. so we were really only there for one day. There we're 2 sea days coming & going to Iceland. Then it was usually pretty difficult getting from the port into the town and you're not told of that. But overall this was one of the best experiences of my life and at the end of the cruise I bought 4 gift cards to cruise again. So Bravo to the crew of the spirit. As you see I said great value for my money even though I went as a single person I had to pay double the cabin price but I still thought it was worth it. Read Less

Chosen for ports of call. Great destinations. However the ship is worn down. The food is substandard compared to competitors. Many of the workers did not now how to charge versus packages. We were overcharged many times and had to go to guest services to get charges fixed. This was do to employed not knowing benefit package allowances. Smoking is still allowed in many areas mainly casino just behind the times. We would have spent a lot of money in the casino as we usually do but do to your out dated policies we did not spend a dime unfortunately for both of us. Activities and programs are ok but could easily be improved. We last did Celebrity and they have evolved compared to Norwegian. This cruise could have been much better with little effort. Evolution is part of buisness if you do not evolve you will be left behind. We are well employed and fairly young 40-50 years of age. People like us will either use your brand or go to your competitors. Look at your future Customers or not? Read Less

We chose this cruise primarily for visa free Russia and the lovely city of St Petersburg - the other 13 ports were a bonus, but although we had been to all the countries before, we did get off at every one. First thing to note is that Stockholm hotels are expensive as are drinks in Swedish bars - save money at the 7/11 :) Plenty to see in this capital, but get to the Vasa museum very early or leave it late to avoid all the cruise parties. Easy to get to port on public transport, although we used an u ber for about a tenner from city center. Embarkation was a breeze and we were on board very quickly - note, do not queue outside if you already have your luggage labelled - just drop it off. We went straight to our room to drop our hand luggage and use safe and headed to the bar as room was still being made up. I think we were on board for 1pm. We asked to get our bed split too to make our inside cabin more functional - have no idea how 4 people will survive in it, but was fine for 2. Two cases fitted easily under one bed, plenty of hangers available, with adequate shelving and drawers. Small TV which we only used to watch the bow camera, lighting slightly dark, fixtures slightly rattly and walls thin. Noise was not really an issue and ear plugs blocked most noise. Bathroom was fine if a bit old and only complaint was shower drained slow, very slow. No windows made it easy to sleep as was pitch black, but hard to know what was going on in the morning. Also no phone signal in cabin :( Ship is old and small, but we were pleasantly surprised. Nightclub was mainly empty with a hardcore of about 10 of us there every night (Not that sort of cruise), very few kids which was great, Henry's bar was the most authentic bar and Stevan (Serbia) was a great barman, Champagne bar was ok, but most of our time was spent in the Galaxy on deck 12 - biggest room, best views and Klay was best barman on the boat. Entertainment team were good and ran 4 quizzes a day, fitness classes, sports, dance classes and participation shows - quite good fun. I am not really int the big shows so only went to one which was good enough. Didn't particularly like the auto-tuned pianist's singing (he was a great piano player), Melvin was good in the bar and Hotwire (Main Latino band) were great. We were off the ship everyday so didn't really use the pool/hot-tubs, etc. Pool was small and 4 tubs were smallish, but often available. Basketball court was available a lot as were the driving range. Food was good and we ate in the Garden most due to relaxed dress code. Rarely ate buffet other than breakfast and specialty restaurants were ok as we got a package, but would have been disappointed if we had paid for them. By saying this, I mean they were not that much better than the main dining rooms. In general I was really happy with food choice and drink choice. The only issue I had with the drink package was that bottled water was not included and this is purely a money making exercise by NCL. You could get 'tap' water in all restaurants and bars though. Staff were generally happy and helpful and good at their jobs. I would cruise on this boat again after its' refurb in January. I avoided all NCL's excursions due to them being twice the price of what you could get for yourselves. StP 2 day excursion being the case in point. Another big negative was the berths we docked at - we always seemed to have the worst berth compared to other cruise lines. This meant longer walks, paid for coaches, etc. Self disembarkation was really easy and we u bered to the railway station for a tenner So NCL - add water to the affordable drinks package, reduce price of excursions and dock at the better berths (I assume they cost more) and you may even get full marks from me. Read Less

First, our impression of the ship. The ship is not the newest or largest so usually it did not have priority to tie up a the closest piers and we almost always had to take a shuttle.The entire ship is decorated in a Chinese style. Even Cagney's steakhouse looks more like a Chinese restaurant than the Sushi Bar. La Trattoria is a section of the Raffles Buffet that is closed off in the evening and not very cozy. It appears as though Norwegian tried to adopt the ship to their style and include their restaurants. The Bier Garten consists of some picnic tables by the pool. The Blue Lagoon and Shanghai Bar are only some wide spaces on a main fore and aft passage. The Pub is nice, but small and crowded. Le Bistro is pleasant and Raffles works well. Rooms were up to par and very clean. The staff was very professional, helpful and friendly The fitness room was well equipped, clean, and quite empty. Dining at le Bistro, Cagney's Steakhouse and Teppanyaki was outstanding. The food was always delicious, properly prepared and served. I can't say enough good things about them. The Main Dining Rooms, not so much. They were very spotty. A good meal was a pleasant surprise. Examples were waiting over half an hour for an cold appetizer, fish being served lukewarm or dried out, a salad with cheese that had no cheese in it, a picatta dish with mystery white sauce on it with no capers or lemon seasoning, bananas foster with raw bananas. You get the idea. Although we were in port every day, the ship was out of things that were on the menu (fresh eggs, sorbet, baked potatoes) and not always for only one day. Salt and pepper shakers were missing from sections of Raffles Court. Small things, but that what you pay for and not up to Norwegian standards. Would I take this cruise again? Yes. Our reason for making this cruise was for the ports of call and they were terrific, but as expected, not long enough. Hope this helps you. Read Less

Chose this cruise for the 13 country itinerary in 15 days, knowing it would not be the relaxing cruise that we usually take. Very smooth embarking and debarkation. We liked the sized of the ship. We never felt there were 2000 people on board with the exception of a couple times at Raffles buffet. We were really expecting the worst of the SPirit as it is due to go for drydock in January. That being said, the ship far exceeded our low expectations. We kept commenting that it was so much nicer than we ever imaged. The ship appeared to be kept clean and rooms were decent. Certainly the staterooms will be nice after updates as bathrooms are outdated but clean is most important to us. The stateroom was decent for size just as photos show. It is always nice to have a small sofa to sit onwhich these rooms have. We have had smaller and larger but room was very adequate. Closet held ample clothing. Our room steward did a great job. His cart was normally parked next to our door which wasn't a problem. We had surprise animals every night! The dining room was extremely inconsistent from both time and quality standards. One day everything would come out quickly and hot and the next day food would be very cold and come in waves for the table.. The staff were always pleasant and tried to please but there must have been a problem somewhere in between. Raffles was a choice sometimes but at busy times tables in the buffet area would be hard to find but we would sit outside. The traffic flow seemed pretty non existent . La Bistro was the favorite of all 10 of us and was the Best food we had on board. Tempanyaki was 2nd. Very tender beef and nice dinner. Cagneys was big disappointment both in service and food. We had table of 6 and table of 4. No steak and lobster as on menu and shrimp was offered instead. No one LOVED their dinner that evening. Blue Lagoon was a quick and easy place to have a burger, salad etc after shore excursions or when you just want a quick easy meal. Quick service - same manager as La Bistro. He does a great job! We enjoyed the entertainment - both onboard group and guest entertainment. The violinist was entertaining as were most of them. Loved Henry's pub and the staff and also spent time in the outdoor beer garden. All the bars had a different specialty menu which was fun. Casino was way to smoky to ever visit. No nonsmoking day. I can't comment on entertainment other than evening shows as this was such a port intensive cruise we didn't take time to participate. One of the true disappointments were shore excursions. Most people we saw felt the same way but I am not seeing the negative reviews yet. It was a mess all leaving from the theater most days. The mad rush when 360 people are called for an excursion. We had a group of 10 and overall, the biggest disappointment was lack of sound enhancement for most tours. Most tours had 36 to 45 people and without sound enhancement the tour guide was pretty useless. Helsinki, Amsterdam, Gdansk and st Peterburg were the only cities we understand had the earbuds or amplifier. We had some tour guides in the other cities that could not be in control of such a large tour group in busy historical cities as well as not being able to project their voice. The tours were awfull! We put up with tours in some cities because of transportation and or boat tour which were excellent but the rest of the tour terrible. I had minimal need for shopping with the exception of an ornament. in some cities, there was no time alloted to even buy an ornament. The worst of all was 3 1/2 hour Rostock for $109. Most things in the city was closed. We rode the bus to the historic center hearing of some history and how everyone drinks too much beer and the guide Kai pretty much just walked, talking to one of the guests and would give a few facts every once in a while. The restaurants were opening but nothing else. We had over an hour free that day with nowhere to go. I would suggest finding alternatives to NCL such as small groups that guarantee getting back to ship. A small group would be of great value. I will be very selective of NCL tours in the future after this experience. Just hard to have 40 plus people trying to hear follow 1 guide. I would look forward to another cruise on the spirit especially after she goes through drydock Read Less

"15-day cruise with one day at sea and 14 days at ports in 14 different countries bordering the Baltic Sea" was the reason we selected this cruise during mid August through early September of 2019. NCL chooses to not pay the port fees for a convenient berth or mooring. Instead, at each of these 14 ports, the Norwegian Spirit pays the least amount of fee and in turn the Norwegian Spirit moors at a distant berth at each port. Under these circumstances, passengers who do not pay an exhoribant fee for a NCL shore excursion are stuck at the port berth. Like other passengers, we had to hire a local taxi or pay for a shuttle bus in order to get to a train station to then be transported to a nearby destination. At several ports, to get to the advertised destination we had to be very resourceful in figuring out combinations of transportation to take us to the advertised destination for that day. We used combinations of local shuttle bus, taxis, trains, trams and walking. The featured entertaining each evening in the theatre varied considering in quality. Four of the evening shows were excellent (e.g,, the four "Elements" was the best!). Unfortunately, most of the shows were of very poor quality. NCL found cheap "entertainers" for most shows and so we just skipped most evenings in the theatre. The inside cabin was extremely small and uncomfortable (think "prison cell"). Read Less

What i understand is that this cruise was the first complete Baltic sea cruise in two years and that Oslo was included. The area is new to me and I was very interested in seeing the cities. I travel alone and was a little disappointed that NCL didn't have single cabins. The cruise was rather expensive, but I thought it might be worth it because of the excursions. I used the NCL internet site to determine my excursions When I got aboard, I was disappointed to find that the list of excursion was much larger with a lot more detail. The ship (which is common) had an older passenger clientel and the excursions were geared toward us. The German excursion was the most exhausting because of the six hour traveling to spend six hours to visit such a city. The food was average for ships. The buffet could have had a taster menu. The restaurants were nothing to write home about. The Italian restaurant was a rather disappointing place. No ambiance. The ship services were very good especially 'Guest Services' (Carol Macapagal) and my two favorite employees, the bartenders at Charlies (Boyana and Christine). Thank you. Read Less

The itinerary was the main reason we choose this cruise. Never have been on a NCL ship before but have cruised many times Dining options were good, food was tasty and portions sizes were appropriate. Did not try the speciality options. The room service was very good, our room was always clean and neat. The entertainment was pretty good, magicians and acrobats were very good. This is the first time I have had such poor communication from the cruise director. This was a two week cruise and she never once had any discussions about the ports, no written information, no video to watch on the in-room TV. ZERO information. We never knew if the city would be close by so we could walk or if we would need to take a bus or taxi. Most of the ports we docked a significant distance from the city, a 20-30 minute drive. Twice we had to pay to take a shuttle to the city - I have never had to do that on any previous cruise. Many of the passengers we spoke to on our cruise we surprised by the lack of communication. The only time I saw her was when the entertainment finished in the theater, she came out and thanked the performers. Read Less

We did the 15 day Baltic cruise from Stockholm to Southampton. The itinerary was great and the shore excursions excellent. We choose not to take the long bus/train rides into Berlin, Paris or Brussels but instead enjoyed exploring the smaller cities near the ports. The Norwegian Spirit is in need of refurbishing but we didn't spend much time on it. The food was mediocre but adequate. Unfortunately the dining availability did not match the excursions and sail away times. We came back late from excursions twice to find only a very small cafe open to get any food at all. Another issue was that the ship docked in many industrial port areas away from the nearest cities. There were cruise ships docked much closer to the ports but it seemed that we always were docked much farther away requiring shuttles and such. It also seemed that some of the entertainment was repeated or at least the blurbs about the shows were identical. We enjoyed one group and were looking forward to seeing them again but it was the same show. Read Less

Research will tell you that Spirit was built in 1996 and updated in 2017. Don't be fooled...this is an old ship. Public spaces are very dated and balcony staterooms are painfully small. There were random odors around the ship, including (as reported by fellow cruisers) in some of the cabins. Our cabin had bedbugs. There are almost no places to enjoy a cocktail with a view of a window other than in one large lounge...and this same spot got quite old after a couple of days. Seating in the buffet is woefully undersized to support the pre-excursion breakfast rush. Food may have been the closest thing to a highlight. While the buffet was unimaginative and very average, the main dining room meals were perfectly passable and specialty dining options were quite good. A reasonably creditable wine list was tempered by a cranky beverage package. On board entertainment - again with some exceptions - could best be described as average, and in some cases was pretty weak. As a minor complaint, it helps if Trivia contests are hosted by people with a better command of the English language... There were more problems with NCL. The crew on Spirit - while there were many great exceptions - was, on average, uninformed, unfriendly and uncooperative. On board communications were less than clear, which mirrored a problem with confusion and inaccuracies on NCL's website. So my net....a 15 day cruise on Spirit was not necessarily a "bad" experience, it just was not nearly so "good" and exprience as we are familiar with on the two other lines that we know well. Read Less

When I saw the itinerary for this cruise I had to book immediately: Stockholm, St. Petersburg (2 nights), Tallinn, Klaipeda, Gdynia, Riga, Oslo, Copenhagen, Brussels, Le Havre, Amsterdam, Helsinki, Southampton. The itinerary did not disappoint although a couple of NCL's excursions did, particularly the one in Tallinn. I had been on the Spirit before so I knew that the ship is older and some things need updating (It's going into dry dock for a major refurbishment in Feb. 2020.) However, I like this ship because it's small and easy to get around. I especially like the observation deck on 12. My balcony cabin was very nice and comfortable. This was my first cruise as a solo traveller and I must say I was initially apprehensive about what the experience would be like. There was no need to worry though. NCL hosts regular solo get- togethers and dinners. The other solo cruisers were delightful and I'm grateful to NCL for providing the opportunity to meet them. NCL's solos representative did a terrific job in making everyone feel welcome. (The complementary champagne and wine was very much appreciated also.) Now to discuss some of the things that could have been improved. First of all, the main dining room, Windows, has very slow service and the food quality uneven. Some of the entertainment (a female singer, a juggler, magician and acrobats) was not to my liking but that is mostly personal preference, of course. In the 15 days, I went to only 4 or 5 shows because many of the acts just didn't appeal to me. The negatives were not so great as to seriously impact my overall enjoyment of this cruise. I definitely plan on cruising with NCL again. Read Less

The Norwegian Spirit was our first Norwegian cruise. My husband and I usually cruise with Princess or Celebrity. When I saw this wonderful itinerary for the Baltic with so many ports, we decided to book it. When we arrived on the ship we were taken aback how dated it was. The decor, colors and public restrooms were all very very dated. The spa was decorated with Egyptian style decor. Having sailed on some of the newer ships, this is the worst ship we have ever been on. In speaking with the staff and other passengers, it is supposed to go into dry dock in January 2020. CABIN: We had a balcony room on the 10th floor and the main problem was the toilet not flushing, The bathroom was extremely dated and very tight. Having sliding doors on the shower and toilet area gives you less space. Our main problem with this room was the toilet not flushing. I had to call guest services no less than 6 times. The plumbing was a major issue. On a cruise that was a total of 16 days, the first 12 days we had to guess whether the toilet would flush or not! Finally they sent a plumber over to change a part. Then the toilet would not stop flushing for 3 or 4 times until it finally stopped. Very frustrating. The "balcony" was small and the floor was dirty. Staterooms are small on ships and other than the bathroom toilet fiasco, the room was average. BTW: trying to get a wake up call was impossible. They said it was not working. Trying to call someone about the toilet was also very frustrating because no one answers the phone. TELEVISION: Absolutely terrible. Norwegian Cruise advertisements constant on numerous stations. Cruise Directors usually have a show that updates everyone on upcoming and past activities. This cruise had the worst tv show by far. Plus the stations were limited or would scramble. Sometimes they had BBC, always had MSNBC and a few movies that were rotated in French, English and Spanish. On past cruises they have movies in the theater and on tv. Lots of choices for entertainment on board....not this cruise. I had to get on my phone at shore to see what was going on in the world. ENTERTAINMENT: We were not impressed with the entertainment on this cruise EXCEPT the Illusionist was excellent. The show Elements was really good though.It incorporated dancers and the Illusionist and acrobats who had previously performed. All the other entertainment was not up to par with other cruises we have been on. The singer at Henry's Pub was excellent. The live band in Galaxy and the Jazz band were all very good. The Theater shows at night were just ok other than the Illusionist. FOOD: The buffet was less than average based on other cruises. Very limited variety. The rice was always very dry. Meats over cooked and dry. Other cruises we would see a variety of cheeses and crackers, specialty items; designated area for pizza and burgers. The pizza looked like it was dry and just came out of a microwave. Breakfast was the same every single day. Poor variety and quality. We ate at all of the Specialty Restaurants and they were decent. Definitely Cagney's Steakhouse and Le Bistro were better choices than the dining rooms or the buffet. The Teppanyaki place was average. The prices for specialty dining are higher than on other cruises we have been on. If you are a foodie, you will be greatly disappointed. BARS: The bartender staff on this cruise was very attentive and it was always easy to order drinks. ACTIVITIES: This cruise had only one sea day and we were at a port nearly every day. Thus most people were too tired to get really involved in cruise activities. We went to the karaoke hour early on the cruise and there were 2 people. Bingo had to be cancelled several times because there were not enough people playing. The variety of "activities" was limited due to the port itinerary. SPA: I had a manicure/pedicure and was quoted $110. Once I got the bill I was told they made a mistake and it was actually $118. PLUS THEY CHARGE AN 18% AUTOMATIC GRATUITY on services. So I had to pay $138 for a mani/pedi. They also want to sell you products. The spa was really unattractive as well. I was not impressed with the prices, the service or the ambience of the spa. EXCURSIONS I wish they gave us more info in advance. Like you can pay for a shuttle to town at some ports. We bought excursions for every port. Some of the tour guides were excellent...some absolutely horrible. In Copenhagen we had a Guide whose native language was Spanish. No one could understand her. She really did not tell us anything about the area. That was a total waste of money. On several of the excursions we never were given time to shop or be on our own. Other cruisers told us they were frustrated with their excursions as well. LAUNDRY: There are no laundry facilities for the passengers on this ship. It is very expensive to have them do your laundry and it is charged by a per item fee. OVERALL: The Norwegian Spirit is an older ship in need of updating. Other cruisers told us they have been on many Norwegian cruises and the ships were great. Everyone basically agreed that we were not on this cruise for the ship. We were on it for the 15 day experience with one sea day to interesting ports. Overall experience for us was slightly below average. I would not cruise on the Norwegian Spirit again. Read Less

We chose this cruise for the many wonderful ports, cities, and towns. Every port was unique and we enjoyed them all. This was our first cruise on a Norwegian ship. The Spirit is a bit tired and dated. We liked that it’s a smaller ship, less crowded than the massive ships. Fitness center and spa are very small and outdated. Food was ok. Plenty to do onboard and the staff was wonderful, very fun & friendly. Our cabin was ok... the bathroom was a good size which I appreciated. The balcony was very nice. Robes would have been wonderful. We've always had robes on other ships. Windows Dining was really nice, good food and meal choices. Loved the piano playing in the background We chose a few shore excursions and they were very organized with wonderful guides. We are not much for entertainment. We did not attend any shows. Sat in the Galaxy Lounge a lot, we enjoyed the views especially as we left port. The few singers we heard there were good. All public rooms were clean, again very tired but kept clean. Smoking allowed in the casino kept us out. This is the first cruise ship we have been on that allowed smoking inside or out. Holland America does not allow smoking inside at all. I appreciate that! The spa and fitness area is way too outdated and small. Very disappointing that our cabin had no cold water on 3 separate occasions making showering not only dangerous but impossible. We reported the problem, and they fixed it within an hour, a bit too late for early morning excursions, no showers ...ugh! We have cruised with 4 other cruise lines, Norwegian was our least favorite. It was ok. Again, I chose this cruise because of the wonderful ports of call, and that did not disappoint. The whole broken shower thing was a bit hard to swallow... Read Less

We chose this cruise because we wanted to experience Europe and we were planning on spending extra time in Sweden which was its final destination. We started in London and spent an extra day there enjoying the sites. Once the cruise started we had many wonderful shore excursions and a couple of trips that could have been better(Copenhagen and Helsinki) and that was because of the guides. It was fairly easy getting on and off of the ship, could have done better with the elevators for those with physical issues. Our cabin was very comfortable, we were treated like royalty by our waiter, Chris, at Windows. Our biggest complaint at the Windows and Garden restaurants was the length of time it took to receive your meals. We did not enjoy the buffet. Half of the time when you got back to the ship from a shore excursion the food line was shut down to “snacks”. Entertainment was first class ,we really loved the Juggler and the acrobats. Our complaints were all of the extra charges for WiFi, passenger to passenger phone, not all restaurants were complimentary so there was an extra fee to eat there, tacked on tips, etc. we started to say they were going to upchage us for the air we were breathing. The NCL app did not work very well at all. We were charged an extra $9.95 per person for the onboard communication package to be able to call and message each other on the ship and half of the time it didn’t work, so don’t waste your money. This should have been a free service along with free WiFi while on the ship. Read Less

We chose this cruise because of the itinerary. The opportunity to go to the Baltic Sea and visit 13 countries in 15 days was extraordinary. Aside from the rather whirlwind aspect of this type of schedule, we still view the chance to see these amazing historical countries as incredibly unique. For this, the captain's finesse with driving the ship, Ella, our patient steward, and Willie, the Raffles Terrace bartender, we would do it all again. The ship is tired and in need of refurbishment. I know it is difficult to take new trendy practices from recently-built ships and try to make them work on an older one. For example, the ship's toilet areas are in need of more stalls - and sometimes bigger ones, the theater seats are small and difficult to get up from (and the main entrances to the theater are from the floor directly in front of the stage making early exits uncomfortable), people flow in the buffet restaurant is challenging (and why is there only one place to get a spoon? you have to get your yogurt at one spot then brave the crowd traffic to get to the oatmeal area for the spoon), there is no direct entrance to the fitness room so you have to walk through the spa front desk area and get asked every time if you can be helped, the hair dryer in our cabin was straight out of the 60's with its long tubular hose, and the popular specialty restaurants had to be placed wherever room could be found (resulting in part of the buffet area being turned into La Trattoria in the evening and an open noisy kitchen in Le Bistro). Our cabin was fine and what we expected for a mid-ship interior stateroom. We brought our own magnet hooks to maximize wall use and that worked well for us. The steward obliged us by removing 2 of the 4 life preservers, as well as the bedding for the additional bed (how in the world 4 could fit in there, we have no idea), to provide us extra space. The bathroom had been caulked multiple times, clearly visible along the wall. One of four little glass shelves had a worn-out clasp so everything slid off into the sink - not unmanageable but annoying. Plenty of closet space for the 2 of us, ample drawer space, a safe. Our steward brought in, at our request, a second side table so we could each have one. Overall, it served its purpose. Our dining experience had a few good moments but more often than not the food was just ok. Even the specialty restaurants were not up to the standard we expected. When we visited Iceland last year on the Norwegian Jade, we were thrilled with Le Bistro and couldn't wait to eat there again. We liked the lamb but, after eating there twice this trip, can't recall anything else that stood out. Our experiences in the dining areas, Windows and Garden, were less than satisfactory to pretty good. The lunchtime burgers in Windows were really good and we had those twice, but the Alaskan fish in Garden was tasteless and the pecan-encrusted turkey medallions too hard to eat. Frankly, I was rather relieved the food on this cruise was not very good because I ate less as a result. Actually, I think my favorite thing on this whole cruise was the tomato soup served in Blue Lagoon's 24-hour cafe. The entertainment was ok. I have to admit we only went to about four things. I really liked the man/woman/child acrobatic evening - they were personable and talented. The comedy juggler performed twice - the first time he was very good but the second time he seemed unprepared, as if he hadn't known he was going to do a second night. The four women sopranos were obviously quite talented but the sound was so loud on their microphones, and their voices operatic and solid, I had to hold my ears. The hypnotist was interesting but we only saw him in his first performance. We did attend a few game shows in the Galaxy bar but only to watch, a pleasant thing to do following a meal. The observation ring around the Galaxy bar on the front of the ship made for wonderful viewing as we sailed, a very nice feature indeed. We went on a river cruise earlier this year and were so impressed with the ship's staff. They knew each other, worked as a team and their willingness to assist their other staff in need was apparent and created a well-oiled working machine. On the Spirit, we got the feeling it was every man for himself. It may have been just our interactions with various members but only two stood out to us this cruise and I mentioned them in the first paragraph. We did have very satisfactory interactions with Guest Services, Shore Excursions and the host/hostess and waiters/waitresses who interacted with us at each of the specialty restaurants. [This is just me talking but I really didn't care for the "Washy Washy" greetings every time I entered the buffet area. The staff were nice and doing their jobs of attempting to spread hand sanitizer (I'll write more about this later) but "Good Morning" or "Good Evening" would have felt less childish.] Ports and shore excursions is where this cruise excelled. What a journey this was - the countries were fascinating and we were so fortunate to have good weather throughout. The shore excursions were well organized and our guides knowledgeable and personable. I'm very impressed with the excursions offered and we have wonderful memories of the places we visited. [On the subject of shore excursions, I want to add a staff comment: the theater was the place to meet for the excursions so a staff member was on hand with a microphone to let people know when it was time to go and to apprise them of things like the weather, time changes, etc. We knew, if the woman was there, we would get all the information we needed and it would be delivered in a way we could understand. However, if the man was there, his inability to speak clearly and make sense was difficult. We were always relieved when it was the woman.] We did not travel with children - it was just the two of us, ages 62 and 67. We thought embarkation and disembarkation went very smoothly. We did not explore the departure city much before the cruise (arrived the day before) but we did stay in the disembarkation city for an additional five days on our own. Now back to the hand sanitizer... As a retired health director, I am acutely aware of the need for hand sanitizer to prevent the fast spread of viruses in a heavily populated and relatively small ship area. I was relieved to see all the Germstar units close to the entrances of all of the dining areas. When these have proper batteries and a full bladder (the plastic unit that sits on top), they are programmed to deliver the right amount of hand sanitizer into your palm. However, during the cruise many of these ran out of solution, or needed batteries replaced, rendering them unusable. That meant you had to depend on getting your hand sanitizer from the Washy Washy staff but no one had trained them that you need to squirt at least 2-3 times what they were giving to provide the right amount to fight infection. They would point the nozzle into one palm, give it a half thrust and you'd have barely enough to cover one hand - as a result, you had people going into a public food area believing they had cleaned their hands when it was far from it. So I commend NCL for going with Germstar but they require regular maintenance and the staff needs appropriate training. So would we go with NCL again? It would only be if the itinerary was as stellar as this one and NCL is the only cruise line going there. AND it would have to be a very new ship. Re-reading this, I want to add that I don't mean to sound negative. There was a lot to like about this cruise. We really enjoyed our encounters with the staff overall - people were very.nice. Everything was clean and we appreciated their attempts to keep it that way. There were a lot of buffet choices and it was fun to see what kind of "night" they were offering ... "Norwegian Night," "Mexican Night," etc. We are happy to take responsibility for our own disappointments - I think perhaps we set our expectations too high. Read Less

Being a first generation Latvian, I was intrigued with this cruise as it was stopping in Riga, Latvia along with so many other Baltic countries. It was a perfect agenda in terms of the countries on the itinerary and a great way to explore the various cultures in 15 days. We had taken a previous sailing to the Baltic region on the Getaway in October 2017 which was terrible based on the cold, windy and wet weather on a cruise ship that is really not suitable for cold and inclement weather based on its "Miami Boardwalk" exterior design. First and foremost, this was our 5th or 6th voyage on the Spirit in the last 3 years. We truly enjoy the size of the ship, the crew that tends to be quite customer centric and the "Galaxy of the Stars" for viewing of daily arrivals and departures is awesome. As we reside in Italy and enjoy the convenience and destinations that the Spirit has frequented, we are highly disturbed that the vessel will be repositioned after the upgrade in February 2020 to the Asia coast. One would have hoped that following the upgrade previous loyal customers could have enjoyed the much needed refreshing. Now, I'll just cut to the chase with our opinions: *Embarkation in Southampton and disembarkation in Stockholm were excellent. Job well done as has been our experience with all NCL cruises. *The ship in itself is certainly a bit dated and tired and I am sure the February 2020 retrofit will serve it well. Regardless, we enjoy the Spirit based on the passenger capacity, the client age group and general design. *Our Cabin 9118 with balcony was located just outside of the midship elevators. No problems with noise or anything else. Despite needing an upgrade and a few minor repairs, the room was perfect. *Our Cabin steward was great. *THE BAD- TV reception was horrible. They stated that they were working with the satellite provider; however, it remained an ongoing issue. *EVEN WORSE- I am not a fan of propaganda and appreciate some level of honesty. We continue to find it INSULTING that NCL airs the propaganda channel MSNBC. Frankly it was refreshing to view the Russian channel RT. At least it was somewhat objective as was the French channel. DINING Opinions: 1) Le Bistro was excellent both in service and food quality!!! Great management and staff. Highly recommend. 2) Cagney's was just fair. Customer service was excellent as always; however, the food quality fell quite short. The steaks were simply poor in quality. 3) Shogun- I would pass on the restaurant. Seems to consistently deteriorate. 4) Garden Room- For a non upgrade restaurant, it was excellent in both customer service and food quality. Frankly, the food quality was far superior here compared to Cagney's. We certainly give the Garden Room 2 thumbs up. 5) Raffles- Great for breakfast, Okay for lunch but definitely a pass for dinner. 6) Blue Lagoon- A place that has improved over time and a good choice for "fast food". Now, back to rest of our thoughts: *Entertainment is O.K. for this sized ship and price point. Do not expect Vegas level talent. However, the drink service is awesome. *PORTS and EXCURSIONS- As noted, this itinerary was outstanding. Navigating the various ports were no issue at all. We took far more excursions than we normally do and despite being overpriced as we all know, ALL of them were excellent. They clearly exceeded our expectations. A disturbing disappointment: ***** We truly enjoy cruising and were eager to obtain some price quotes for some future cruises in 2020. Being young and recently retired, we live to travel the world. Provided to the CRUISE NEXT Manager ( a gentleman that I regret not securing his name) a list of cruises for pricing to only be told that he could ONLY provide me with a verbal quote. He said that written/documented quotes could ONLY BE PROVIDED AFTER BOOKING the cruise. What an absolute load of..... To say the least, I did not pursue future business with NCL as a result. Overall, we did very much enjoy ourselves and look forward to future cruises with whatever cruise company supports our expectations. We find that with the extensive sailing in the Mediterranean/European/Middle East areas, 13-15 days are perfect on the smaller ships such as the Spirit. Our experience has been that with the larger vessels that accommodate 3500+ passengers tend to really dampen the experience with disembarkation, dining and customer service. Bon voyage! Read Less

I chose this cruise because of my quite good experience with the Norwegian cruise line and because of iternerary (20th of July-3rd of August, Great Britain and Ireland). What was good? I give a high mark for the food and cabin service. What was really bad? 1. Safety drill was provide at the deck where the passengers could not hear or see anything. It was just a formally done, but it would cost lives in a case of a disaster. It was especially important for this very old ship. 2. No supervision from the top crew members. That is why the deck service, sanitary service (toilets, spraying sanitizer at the entrance to the dinning facilities, etc.), were disgusting. 90 % of stuff members (deck workers, waiters, bartenders,etc) spent their time speaking to each other or being busy with their cell phones. They did not pay attention to the passengers' needs. They looked at us with clear expression: "How did you dare to ask for this?", or "What else? We are busy!". They allowed to speak rude with passengers or neglect them. They were always looked sleepy and lazy. The public toilets and sauna were really filthy almost all the time. There were exceptions, of course (about 10 % of waiters, deck workers, etc did their work very good). The top managers and officers did not supervise and did not care of all that was going on. To get back our passports we had to wait in lane 40 minutes! We did not even know who was our cruise director, because almost no intertainment was there. Disastrous cruise in spite of very interesting ports we could visit. Read Less

Family of 6 chose this cruise because of the ports and the time of sailing (vacation days) and because we wanted to spend pre cruise in London. Check in at ship was fast and boarding, luggage to stateroom, excellent. We are experienced cruisers but first time on NCL. As stated in other reviews of this cruise there were problems on the old ship Spirit. Left port well after intended time but the only sea day was day 1 so it really didnt matter. We had balcony rooms on 9 th floor... our rooms were small, balcony tiny, but we were prepared for this. The problems on this ship were about staff management. Clearing of tables in Raffles was so slow we often sat at dirty tables with other's dishes pushed to the side. getting off to our private tours at most ports was ridiculous...tickets given for that procedure were a joke as there was only one gangway available when docked and ship excursion folks got off first. On tender days the lines backed up and time was limited in port. The worst mess was when passports were handed back. One ship staff member was assigned this task and too many rooms/decks were called at one time. I waited in line for over an hour only to find our passports in different boxes. Other staff were called to help out eventually when the one person got overwhelmed but the boxes of passports were jumbled. A Mess. Our room steward was great and we found a waitress in Windows that was terrific...food was mediocre at best altho at The Bistro...it was very good...and the steakhouse. We'll pass on NCL in future. Read Less