Christmas vacation on a Caribbean cruise, sounds like fun? Well my wife and I thought that too and booked a cruise on the Norwegian Spirit out of New Orleans.

Were we wrong! From the time you got on the boat till you are finally released they have their hands out. Remember my title of this review," Freestyle cruising isn't free" First to start with there is nothing planned that is free. Here are some examples...Bingo $40, Murder Mystery Dinner $20, sounded like fun, well the only Mystery was where was the staff to help guide you, participate and get the game moving. Nowhere I could see, they handed you a booklet told us not to read it till we got in the dining room and when we arrived in the dining room we were told to order dinner first and the staff disappeared leaving us to fend for ourselves. The waiters gave us a ½ glass of wine and the bolder of passenger's proceeded to get the game going, and where were the prizes for those guest whose guess was correct. Nowhere, I could see. they handed you a receipt asked us to sign it asking for an additional tip and they disappeared.

Now for the specialty restaurants, there are 5 of them at a cost of $15 to $25 per person, are complete wastes of time. We went to Cagneys Steak House, $25 per person, what you get are cold side dishes and forget about the steak. If you want a steak go to IHOP it will taste better and be of better quality. Read more