Background: My family likes cruising for the destinations as much or more than the ships and on board amenities. This was our second ever cruise, and we chose it because we all wanted to go to Guatemala and Belize, and also wanted to see New Orleans. I love cruising with my kids because we can go somewhere amazing during the day and then at night it is consistent and comfortable for the kids. We booked in January of 2009 because the prices were so low at that time. Overall we had a great cruise, though we had overcast and cold weather almost every day of the trip. I apologize for being so long, I don't know how to edit myself...

Embarkation: We arrived in New Orleans on New Year's day literally as the Sugar Bowl was being played. Note to future travelers- hotels are REALLY expensive during the Sugar bowl! We stayed at the JW Marriott on Canal Street which was very convenient to the French Quarter and the Port, but not nice enough to warrant how expensive it was to stay there. We spent a day and a half in N.O. and really enjoyed our visit- even though it was very, very cold and I had neglected to bring enough warm clothing. After buying the kids some NO sweatshirts we had fun riding the streetcar to Audubon Park, exploring the French Quarter, and visiting the St. Louis Cemetery. Parents beware, the French Quarter shops have tons of racy stuff, like t-shirts bragging about sexual exploits, etc. My kids were old enough to read, but not really old enough to get it. The fun we had far outweighed this minor grossness. We went to the port at 11:15 and were onboard within 15 minutes. The process was fast, and everyone was very nice. The only complaint I have is that they hand you your child-sized life vests as you get onto the ship, then won't let you into your cabin for two more hours, so we had to drag these bulky jackets around with us all over the ship. On our other cruise, RCL left them for us in our stateroom which was a much more thoughtful way to do it.

The Ship: I had read reviews that made me worried that the Spirit was a dumpy, tiny boat, but it was lovely. The ship is not huge, but it is nicely appointed and easy to move around on. My kids loved the Galaxy of the Stars the best, and we all were fascinated with being able to watch the captain through the Captain's Bridge which you can access through the Galaxy. There was also a monitor where you could see the ship's radar, which was very cool as we went down the Mississippi, the radar would show a boat, and you could look out the window and see it there. Everything else was good, in the Buffet there were a few double paned windows that had failed and were too foggy to see out of. One even had at least 2 inches of water in it, and was leaking into the window sill, this made me feel a little worried, like if NCL is not fixing this what else are they letting slide? I do understand how tight the turn around is however, and I think Spirit is getting a mini dry dock very soon. Read more