First time on Norwegian but a frequent cruiser. I've done 32 cruises across other brands, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Princess, Virgin, and Avalon for river cruising. The Spirit is an old ship, but completely gutted and refurbished in 2020 or 2022, depending on who you talk to. The public spaces and my room appeared fresh and the furnishings are in good condition.

I paid for the ship transfer to and from the ship. The motor coach was supposed to be at the curb at the airport at 10 a.m. but didn't show up till 11 a.m. The transfer back to Anchorage was 4 hours and supposed to include one hour at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, but due to poor scheduling, we only got 30 minutes there. It was more of a bathroom break and stretch your legs stop.

The one excursion I booked directly with the ship was cancelled the day before due to lack of participants. However, when I booked it before the cruise, I specifically asked and the NCL agent told me that the excursions don't get cancelled because of minimum numbers not being met. I was left with nothing to do on that day. Read more