Norwegian Spirit Review
Rating by category
Additional details
We chose this cruise because we love NCL and because we wanted to see Iceland and Norway up close. The Spirit is an older ship, but it is maintained beautifully and the passenger count made it easy to find seating in restaurants, get off and on the ship, etc. The entertainment options were plentiful for all ages in our family. We loved the buffet breakfast and and we went to a sit down or a specialty restaurant for each dinner. There was no shortage of exceptionally helpful staffers on this ship and everyone from the restaurant hosts to the lifeguards were personable. It has 2 little slides for kids on the back pool along with a hot tub there. 4 hot tubs and a big pool in the center and there were rarely more than a few people outside due to the cold temperatures, but we enjoyed our nightly dip. The ports were all nice, but I would suggest researching ahead of time how to get to the city or to a rental car if your idea is to rent something instead of taking an excursion. Amsterdam in particular was a port near very little in the way of transportation options. It all worked out great and we had an incredible family vacation.
Cabin Review
Mid-Ship Balcony
We had two adjoining rooms and it was a nice luxury to have two bathrooms and two balconies. We opened our door for fresh air many days and found the room to be spacious enough for the two of us in each room. Our room was clean, neat and well maintained the entire trip.
Port Reviews
Southampton
Plan ahead to get here from London. You can spend the night here to make it easier on departure day.
Cobh (Cork)
Fun city to explore right off the ship. Train takes off right below the ship to Cork, but only goes every 30 minutes, so be aware. Easy to walk around and find a pub for a drink or a bite to eat.
Dublin
We walked all day from the ship into town and back. It was about 10 minutes into the city from the Port. Dublin has some beautiful historic spaces and no shortage of pubs to grab a guiness.
Belfast
We booked a car with Enterprise and it worked great. You have to be ready to drive on the left, but we went to the north shore of Northern Ireland and saw some amazing places.
Reykjavik
Booked a simple car for a tour here. We had 24 hours in the city and the night never went dark all night. We saw 10 different waterfalls and sites and drove 300 miles until 2 in the morning. The city is nice, but it is the most beautiful place once you leave town!
Akureyri
Europcar rental right at the port. Very easy rental and we went to see waterfalls and came back early to go to the public hot tub swimming facility. That place is awesome. Warm water slides and 4 hot tubs for all temperature ranges.
Geiranger
Loved this city and walked from the ship up past the waterfall in town all the way up to the farm and the viewpoint down into the fjord. Epic city if you are ready to hike!
Amsterdam
The city was fun. We did a bike tour and really enjoyed ourselves. Yellow Bikes were reasonably priced and the guide was good. It is a very busy city after you leave the relative quiet of Norway.
Brugge (Bruges)
You can take a 5 minute walk to a light rail system and get to Blankenberge in 10 minutes. That city has a cute downtown, but it has an amazing beachfront area with cabanas, restaurants, etc. We should have just stayed there. We took the once an hour train from Blankenberge to Bruges and ended up with only 2 hours to explore that beautiful city. Leave the ship early to catch that train and spend 4 or 5 hours in Bruges. Amazing chocolate stores and tons of restaurants.