Norwegian Spirit Review
Pleased with our first experience with NCL and loved the NCL Spirit
Rating by category
Additional details
We chose this cruise due to the ports of call. We knew it would be a busy cruise and it definitely was, but we enjoyed every port. We were newbies to NCL, having cruised with Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Princess in the past. We were not sure what to expect from NCL, the size of the ship, the venues, etc but we were pleasantly surprised and loved our NCL experience. We found it a very relaxing time on the ship, and only visited the diningroom 3 times over the 12 days. Normally we would have supper reservations but due to the long days, some nights we ate at the Blue Lagoon when we came back on ship and other nights we went to the Buffet. The selections in the buffet were always excellent. Of the 3 nights we went to the Diningroom, (one in The Gardens and two in Windows), two of the 3 nights were excellent choices, one night, we were not that pleased with the selections on the main menu. You can always choose something from the recurring menu though. We found the wait staff good, but it seemed you were not asked at the end of your meal if you wanted coffee. They were quick to get it if you asked. Wine Stewart was attentive.
We were in Room 9168 and our friends had a connecting stateroom 9170. Mid ship, excellent location for getting to the buffet, and any of the other venues. Our favourite spot on the ship was the Raffles Terrace. Nice bar there, lovely seating, and a quiet place to relax - even though the childrens pool was one deck below it was never noisy. There were not a lot of children on this cruise. We also enjoyed Henry's Pub, great margaritas here, and the Blue Lagoon for chicken wings, paninis, salads, soups, etc. Made a nice spot to stop and eat after being off the ship for so many hours. We really enjoyed the buffet on the sip, there were always lots of selections and even when the buffet was supposed to be closed one side seemed to be open. Lots of choices for vegetarians as well, nice pasta bar, stir fry bar, many fruit choices, ice cream bar, etc. We thought the food choices, quality and selections were great and the buffet was well laid out. There were many places to sit both inside and out with your meals. This ship has many places to hang out during your time on the ship and we never had a problem getting seating anywhere. In my opinion even though its a bit smaller of a ship with less guests on it than we are used to, the space allotted for the venues is much larger.
We spent evenings at Champagne Charlies where Jimmy and his crew did a fantastic job of waiting on everyone and making great drinks. The Cafe for hot coffee and special coffees was great. We didn't use the pool but our friend did and he said the water temperature was good. We went to the Bier Garden a few times. We would sail NCL again in a heartbeat. Loved the drink package. I didn't find the sales people pushy nor were the photography staff. It was a welcome change as other cruise lines are always pushing you to get your pictures taken or purchase them. We did find that the Daily didn't have a lot of information or maps of the ports which we were used to but we had our research and tours booked before we went so this wasn't a big problem.
Cabin Review
Balcony
We loved the location of our cabin, very close to the elevators mid ship, a great location for getting up to Deck12 to the buffet. We had a large King bed in the room and lots of storage. More hangers and closet space than on other cruise lines. Bathroom was 3 sections, large shower with sliding glass door, sink with enough storage, and separate toilet area which was very funny and small. If you are a larger person you may have some troubles here. There are little ashtrays on the wall in the toilet area. Strange but true since you cannot smoke in your rooms. These are left over from when the ship was built. The hair dryer is like an old fashioned vacuum cleaner style, very odd - worked for me but others might have problems with it. Room has coffee maker and lots of supplies for making coffee. Each area of the ship as different colour carpets - Green, for mid ship, blue or red for af or forward areas. Makes it easy to figure out where you are. The shower contained body wash and shampoo with conditioner in it. It has a little clothesline for drying anything. There is liquid soap in the bathroom. The room has a small coach in it which makes into a bed if necessary. I wouldn't put more that 2 people in these rooms as there is only room for one person at a time to walk around the bed. Balconies do not open between rooms. Balconies are quite small and only hold 2 chairs and small table. We had adjoining room with 9170 which worked out great for the 4 of us.
Port Reviews
Barcelona
We stayed in Barcelona for 5 days prior to the cruise booking everything ourselves. We did the Hop on Hop off bus here, and explored on our own. Large city but easy to get around.
Toulon
We used the little train for the tour of Toulon and then explored on our own. Loved the morning market and checked out pizza and local beer on the waterfront.
Florence (Livorno)
We did our own excursion here, booked with Rome In Limo with tour of Florence, Tuscany and Pisa. It was great.
Naples
Booked a private tour of Amalfi Coast, Sorrento and Positano and ruins. Used Sorrento Coast Drivers and it was a fantastic day.
Mykonos
Explored on our own.
Athens (Piraeus)
Hired George's Taxi and had excellent driver and got a great personalized tour of Athens.
Kotor
Unfortunately it rained very hard here today so we only got off the ship for a few hours to check out Old Town. It was wonderful even though we got soaked - the sail in is worth getting up in the morning for.
Venice
Took the water taxi to the city. Explored on our own and took a gondola ride. Explored St. Mark's Square and stopped for a great Italian pizza and wine. Easy city to explore on your own.
Dubrovnik
Loved this port of call. We did hire a small excursion company in town and had an excellent tour of the area.