Had never been to the Mediterranean, so when I saw the prices for these two cruises, I knew we had to do them. The itineraries were fantastic, the cabins typical NCL Inside Guarantee, the housekeeping and food service staff were great.

I should mention that we've cruised with NCL before, on the Jade, Jewel, and Sun. The Spirit is apparently the oldest ship in NCL's fleet - and it shows in the unique layout. There's nothing tired about the Spirit's layout; it's just different. Most striking (to me): the Stardust lounge is located aft, above Windows (one of the main dining rooms), rather than forward.

And then there was the food and food service. I wonder where and when people ate. The main dining rooms never had the long lines we've sometimes seen on the other ships. The buffet, which is noticeably smaller on the Spirit than on the other ships, was never so crowded that we couldn't find a seat. And, there were always two flavors of hard ice cream available at lunch and dinner in the buffet. One of my favorites was was lacking on the breakfast buffet - smoked salmon (however, it was available in the main dining room). And, whatever happened to the one lobster dinner in the main dining room? Read more