We are retired and have done 9 cruise's in the last 4 1/2 years with 5 different lines. Went on a 7 day on the NCL Gem. Had a great time food was wonderful and people were grand. We bought NCL dollars for the next cruise. Book a Spain trip and brought family. Started with the life boat drill. Staff did not even have a life jacket to show people. The Engineer that was head of our station was more into talk with other workers and laugh that you could not hear and was not taken with any responsibiliey. We have all done them before but very unnerving. The Spirit is In my opinion is one of the best ship's in lay out and size we have been on. It dose show its age. The ship is so dated and worn out. The bath room always smelled of sewage and a lot of other had the same problem. Not very many Ice or water points and they never had the pool side station open.

First port came we had paid for a tour. Getting off the boat you had to pay again to take a bus out of port. This turns out on all ports. You could not walk and was more the attitude of the cruise. They never had any maps you had to buy at the local tour office. They did not know anything about the ports and could give NO help. They just took your money again for the bus and you were on your own. Yes we had some very wonderful people on the cruise. But I have never seen so many workers than were unhappy. No smiles and just putting in there time. It was from the heads of departments.

Morning breakfast with all early tours. In the main buffet trying to eat had the women that did the fresh juice yell at 5 of us as the was no yogurt and the women asked her about it. She began YELLING " not my Job" loud enough that the manager came around the corner took her away for a second then she returned to just stand there and give the hate looks. The mornings we had early tours and were trying to eat and get out they would have the poor girl clean the bathrooms during the middle of us all trying to do what we needed and get off the ship. Just SO much poor or no planning and for site. Getting on the tours in the stage was a total joke. The manager was no where to be seen. In Window dinning three nights we could get no water. Could never get a second glass of wine. And took close to 2 hours to eat. Manager was told all for not. Others bought the drink package and could not get refills more times than they could. Managers were what I saw the problem. So many servier just doing what they had to. NO Smiles nothing extra Very depressing. The food was so plain. No taste or spice. Nothing like the Gem. More like some of the other cheep lines.