I should start saying that I am a Platinum Latitude member and I cruised with Other lines and this very ship before.
I think I found my match: the Spirit is small enough where one doesn't have to secure tickets for shows, and there is always a table available at the buffet. However, is big enough for the transoceanic crossing to be smooth and plenty of quiet places if one needs it.
There is ...
We chose to cruise because my wife and I have never been to this part of the world (French Polynesia, American Samoa, New Caledonia) and we wanted to see Tahiti & Bora Bora, especially (Tahiti because of its history of the Bounty mutiny).
About NCL: We picked Norwegian Cruise Lines because of our past cruising wonderful experiences with NCL (Alaska & Hawai'i).
Because of the priority ...
We booked this cruise for the itinerary - and the fact we could do back to back all the way to Sydney.
We had a balcony cabin - number 9644 in this case
It was perfectly fine but since the ship was in dry dock, the cabin has changed slightly in that only one side of the bed has a cabinet. This was a little awkward and I don't really understand why they did this. The storage was adequate with ...
We chose this cruise for the interesting ports and had a terrific time. The newly refurbished Jewel is beautiful and we much prefer the smaller ships.
We had quite a few Sea days and Ncl had many activities scheduled. Trivia multiple times a day, dance classes, cake and cooking demonstrations, etc.
One thing I found difficult to get information on before the cruise was how Ncl would ...
This was the first time on Norwegian Cruise line and was very impressed with the service, food and the entertainment.
There was never any waiting for a table in any dining rooms, the staff were very attentive.
I have cruised with a lot of other cruise lines and you always feel you are being push into a paying speciality restaurant in some form or another like serving crap food in main ...
I have always wanted to go to Alaska and my husband wanted to go to Japan, so on this cruise we got to do a bit of both! Boarded in Yokohama Japan. We stayed at Sotetsu Fresca Inn Sakuragi-cho in Yokohama. This was fine and we were able to walk to the port from here - although was a good 25 minute walk. Embarkation was a little unorganised and long, but we were also quite early! Once on board, ...
The ship was on its way to dry dock, so a few things needed updating, but all in all it was beautiful. We were in a balcony cabin, not as big as I would like, but we made do. The staff was outstanding. I ate in most of the specialty restaurants, and they were all wonderful. When we ate in the main dinning room, we were able to have the same table with the same wait staff each night who treated us ...
This is a cold water cruise - VANCOUVER TO TOKYO - but the pools were well heated and it was great swimming in warm salty mineral laden sea water when the air temp was cold outside! The hot tubs are great too - 4 of them - 2 at a warmer temp than the other 2. Pool/jacuzzi temps posted on the ship's channel and could be referenced everyday along with the captain's update on particulars.
The ...
Cruised from Japan to Seattle, USA. The cruise ship was great, the staff very friendly, the food was good. We had an outside cabin with a large window. Included was the drinks package, special coffees (which could only be used in the restaurants or the Irish bar), and water, and gratuities. The itinerary was very good with stops in Japan, Russia and Alaska.
Getting off the ship at our final ...
The itinerary of this cruise was not to be believed. We saw the 49 day from Seattle to Sydney and then found they had an opportunity to extend the trip by combining a 5 day to Tasmania with a 13 day to New Zealand after reaching Sydney.
Embarkation in Seattle was a little confusing to us, as well as the NCL personnel. There were circumstances we later learned that were overblown that kept ...