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Norwegian Spirit Review

4.5 / 5.0
2,124 reviews

Superstar Leo

Review for the Western Caribbean Cruise on Norwegian Spirit
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gruntbomb
First Time Cruiser • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Nov 2009
Cabin: Mid-Ship Balcony

My wife and I were cruising for the second time, having sailed on the Carnival Conquest out of Galveston last spring. NCL was chosen because the cruise was comped by Harrah's. We arrived in NOLA Friday night and I would definitely recommend that you take some time to savor this old city. Avoid the Ruth's Chris steakhouse brunch as it is costly and overrated. The Acme Oyster House is a classic joint in the French Quarter; if you leave hungry its your fault. Get there before 11:30 a.m. if you want to avoid the line. We ate at Morton's one night and were disappointed. Anyway, on to the cruise. We piddled around and delayed the embarkation process until 3p.m. It was a good call as there were no lines and we walked right onboard. For the duration of the trip it was easy to discern a friendly attitude pervading the ship's staff. Instead of a chronological diary I will proceed to comment on the following: GENERAL CONDITION OF NCL SPIRIT (formerly named Superstar Leo) Who amongst us is not showing their age? The same is true of the Spirit. But they manage to keep the old girl primped and looking well. The ship is kept spic and span despite the tremendous onslaught of humanity represented by the passengers. At no time did we notice anything that grossed us out. CABIN I had read a review warning about the 11th floor staterooms but shrugged it off. It turned out that the aforementioned reviewer was correct. With our balcony door open any partying on the pool deck above could be noticed easily, and with the sliding door shut the bass speaker from the pool sound system resonated a little bit. When the deck chairs are shuffled around about 6a.m. for the daily deck washing you might notice that as well, As we mostly made little use of the cabin it was a minor distraction, But if you want a good dose of peace and quiet perhaps you should ensure that your cabin has a stateroom both above and below it. We thought our stateroom was smaller than the Carnival one of a similar grade. The bathroom was, well, a bathroom. Hot water with good pressure was readily available. But if your posterior is as wide as a washtub we wondered how you would access the potty. Someone of your group should bring on of those hanging bags for toilet accessories so as to free up the limited shelf space around the sink. The balcony was smallish,as you can easily notice when parked at port opposite a competitor line's ship. It would be nice if they could give the plexiglass outside wall of the balcony a good going over with a bottle of Windex. I cannot recall complaints about the cabins from other guests we met. PASSENGERS This bunch was comprised of the usual suspects. I would venture that the average cruiser was about 50 and married. A few families with children sailed but as we were out and about in mid November I didn't expect to see many rugrats or kids. The geriatric crowd was well represented and it did my heart good to see them out and about. There was no abundance of fine forms, either male or female, around the pool area at any time. DINING Windows was the venue for supper on two nights. The food was good but not great, however the Caesar salad just didn't cut it. We dined at 7:30 or 8 as to avoid the crowds and I would recommend that strategy. Without exception the bread brought as an appetizer at any of the restaurants was disappointing. I had read reviews in which people carped about the food being served cold, and I was relieved to have found this not to be the case anywhere. Cagney's(an extra charge restaurant) was our destination the second night, we made reservations the previous day but most of the specialty restaurants just aren't that crowded. Plus the fact that if you cancel a reservation later than 5pm on the date of your reservation you will be assessed a fee. My t-bone was cooked properly but was plain tough. The wife's filet mignon, however, was superb. I was told by a member of the ship's staff later that I could have sent my steak back and have it replaced with whatever. I'm not that snooty. Yet. La Trattoria....ahh, this is where the good stuff is found. Service was impeccable and the osso buco was to die for. So inspiring that we ate there two nights. I remain bumfuzzled as to why they didn't have more business, but their loss is your gain as the waiters just swarm you. Another extra charge place. Raffles, the buffet, was where we had breakfast daily. The usual selection and plenty of it. The coffee machine seemed to be on the blink frequently but it wasn't difficult to find a carafe of java by asking one of the abundant staff in attendance. Blue Lagoon, as advertised, had good burgers and fish&chips. People seemed to figure out that you could order carryout and take the grub to a more soothing location to dine. I had read that you could order off the Blue Lagoon menu in Henry'sPub but that was not the case. So we just obtained the orders @ the restaurant and walked it over to the pub to eat as we enjoyed Monday night football. We had a poolside hotdog one day for lunch and it was ok. Never ate at The Garden Main Dining Room mostly because they were not open when we sauntered by. Most people did not go for the specialty restaurants, probably from a budgetary standpoint. Both the service and the chow at these places were worth the extra expense in my opinion, in addition to breaking up the monotony of the same old places. Finally, the last night we ate at Le Bistro (extra charge or specialty restaurant). The most elegant and crowded of the "nice places". Food was good but not out of this world. ALCOHOL I brought my own wine on board so there was a $15 per bottle corkage fee. Figured I saved money doing this. They will preserve the remnants of an opened bottle (at no charge) and give you a receipt so you can enjoy the rest at supper the follwing night, wherever you wish. I was surprised to find this system very efficient. I had a gambling card which permitted comped drinks. If you go this way do not be shy about ordering your drink at the bar in the casino as waiters in there are not exactly plentiful. The onboard duty free liquor deals can be easily beat onshore, especially in Belize. PECCADILLOS It will not take you long to figure out that hand sanitation ( of the Passengers) is a major concern on the boat. No problem with that. The only rude moment I encountered was in the Blue Lagoon. The server came over with a spray bottle of germicide and I politely refused. She was persistent and I informed her that I had just washed my hands. This riled her up and in a quite officious tone she informed me it was for my own good. Thus began my under the radar feud with the Hand Police. You can make it easy and play the trump card: "I'm allergic to that stuff". Or you can make it more of a challenge and suddenly remove your hand away from the jet when they squeeze the trigger. Or you can believe the sky is falling and get your hands cropdusted. Interestingly, mandatory spraying is not a feature at the specialty restaurants. Well, Ive rambled enough and hope that this has been helpful to the patient soul who reads it.

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Mid-Ship Balcony

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