We booked this cruise because of it's port-intensive itinerary, being able to see so many European destinations in one cruise. There were three generations, 5 of us total, in 3 balcony rooms. Our 10 yo son loved the kid's club, as he has on past NCL cruises. We are used to the newer, larger NCL ships with lots of kids-based entertainment with water slides, mini-golf, ropes courses, etc. so weren't sure how a smaller ship with less amenities would suit us, though we knew we would be off the ship more than other cruises too. I actually loved the smaller size of this ship. It felt more personal and I would probably pick a smaller ship next time if it was also newer. I'd read lots of reviews about the condition of the Spirit before the cruise and it is definitely an older ship. There were repair men working everywhere all the time, in most cabin hallways. There is always someone busy painting or cleaning common areas. Our cabin 11522 restroom stunk so badly of vomit & cleaning solution when we first got to the room that we asked the steward to please look into it. He cleaned it for about 20 min and it was much better but later in the cruise on a stormy night near Malta and everyone was getting sick, I realized that cabin restrooms probably see a good amount of sea-sick people, with storms like that. We had the dining package and Cagneys was good food as always, though a very small restaurant. Same with Teppanyaki, the food and chef were very good, but there was only one 12-person cooking table, whereas on the Getaway it was a room full of cooking tables & chefs. Our favorite restaurant was Le Bistro, so good we ate there twice. We did not see any shows but watched lounge and pool singers which were average. The ports were amazing, we did all of our own private tours (Viator, Cruiseexcursions, Europe4Kids, Katakolon Taxi) with no major problems. Son wished he had a lazier cruise because we were off the boat right after breakfast most days, but we had no choice but to fit as much of Europe in while we were there from the States. Cabin was slightly smaller than the bigger ship's balcony cabins, and only 1 outlet in cabin. It had a refrigerator, coffee maker, decent hair dryer, and separate toiler with door from the sink and shower. Easy embarkation, though they took our passports for the cruise duration, and made me show my notarized Parental Consent for Minor to Travel as my husband stayed home. I ended up being asked twice abroad to produce this document, once at embarkation, and the other in Canada landing from Rome, a first ever in all of our years of adventures.
Smaller cabin than the larger NCL ships, only 1 outlet in the room. Dorm-sized fridge, small balcony, good hair dryer, coffee pot, much less space for clothes than newer NCL ships. Could not see anymore than two people fitting in the room, where storage space would be the issue.
Viator & Europe4Kids
Viator Pisa & Florence Smalll group driving tour
Walked off ship, self-guided tour, easy to walk around
Grabbed a local taxi just outside the port for a city tour, inexpensive
Europe4Kids Acropolis & Museum tour
Tender stop, self-guided waking tour. So many tourists and gift shops, only stayed to shop for about 2 hrs then back to the boat.
Katakolon Taxi, excellent pre-arranged private tour of Olympia, Olympic Games, Olympia museum, winery/olive farm visit to Magna Grecia, lovely day.
Self-guided walking tour, interesting historic city, spent 2 hrs on foot here
Beautiful Sicily. Pre-arranged private tour with Europe4Kids, so much to see, so many stops, up to Mt Etna, to Taormina, Savorva, local product tastings, back in plenty of time for the ship and fantastic guide Nina with a headset to hear in the van.
Viator private pre-arranged tour of the Isle of Capri in the AM, then Pompeii in the afternoon. Gorgeous Capri, do not miss! Pompeii was also incredible, not to be missed.