A little worried about the NCL Spirit

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flbratt

Guest
I have read reviews and am a little skeptical about keeping this booking. My son,godson and I have this booked for 5/28/05 to Alaska. I am wondering if this ship was the wrong choice?
We are flying in to Seattle from Tampa Florida and the last thing I want is a crappy cruise. Any suggestions? I am still within my time limit to cancel with no penalty.
I can always cruise the Caribbean right out of my own port on the Miracle?????? I am confused!!
 
M

mhrxman

Guest
My wife and I LOVED NCL Spirit. You can check out my review from our 11/14 sailing. Do you have any specific concerns? We'd go again - we think she's a wonderfil ship.
 
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flbratt

Guest
I guess with the whole free style dinning and the activities aboard the ship. I do believe a cruise is what you make of it.
I have just seen some posts of rooms smelling like smoke(I am allergic to smoke), long lines on waiting to eat, not great shows. And I realize not every show is for everyone....I guess since this is a going to be a more expensive cruise then the past ones I just want to make sure it will be nice.
We are booked on a Guarantee Balcony.
So any extra info you can tell me on this ship would be appreciated. :)
 
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shadowledge

Guest
We are going on the Spirit for the 1st time on 1/21 (9 days-Caribbean). We love the Free-Style as we hate dressing up and being told when, where, and with whom we should eat as we are not children. Early on, some of the Free-Style service was iffy but of late it has been improved. If you have a waiter not doing his job, call the Matre'd. You paid the price and are entitled to the best. Too many folks put up with problems and then bitch after the fact...SPEAK UP! We have done five Free-Style NCL cruises five times including the month it wasa launched, January 2001.
 
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flbratt

Guest
Well thank you both for the info.....and you know what I will have a great time...because that's just the kind of person I am. And I will take your advise.....about speaking up.....sometimes you can't shut me up ;)
 
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jtutak

Guest
My 12/3/04 9 day trip on the Spirit was wonderful and one of the best cruises I have taken. One of the few I would repeat in a heartbeat.
 
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Don Clark

Guest
The Spirit is a wonderful ship with a lot of Asian decor and a hint of the British empire.... It has a wonderful Galaxy of the Stars lounge up top and in front of the ship where you can enjoy the wonders of the Inside Passage to Alaska....

Yes, an Alaskan cruise is more expensive, but the views are glorious.....one should do at least one Alaskan cruise during one's lifetime..... Its not the same as a Caribbean cruise, people don't take this cruise to swim or snorkle.... You go on this cruise to see the Pacific northwest rainforest, glaciers, whales, seals, and hopefully a bear....

There is the train to ride at Skagway or a whale excursion, a glacier to see at Juneau and a tram to ride, and at Prince Rupert I enjoyed a wonderful canoe initiary.... working off at the last port some of the weight I gained eating the great food on board....

NCL has some good productions in its shows, and the Spirit has a nice theater to see them .... The Spirit has a lot of video games to keep the kids happy, and a large casino for a ship its size. If the winds are calm and the skies are sunnny you might even enjoy a dip in the pool or hot tub....

While I enjoyed the hard beds, others have posted that they will provide a foam egg mattress to soften the beds....
 
C

ChadN

Guest
Shadowledge -

I'm sailing on the Spirit on 2/18 on the 9-day Southern cruise. Let us know how the cruise was. Any excursion advice?
 
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shadowledge

Guest
Cruise was the best NCL Freestyle cruise we'd been on and we'd been on five previously. Service in the dining rooms was excellent, probably due to the Filipino, Indonesian, Asian, Romanian staff. I hate to sound prejudiced but they were much better than the West Indians on other cruises. Cabin stewarts were very responsive. We had a smoke odor problem in our cabin. They immediately wiped down entire room and when that didn't do the trick they took down and washed the drapes as well as the dust ruffles and cover off the bed and sprayed the carpet and all upholstered furniture. Yes, there sometimes 15-20 minute waits for dinner tables but it seems that everybody wants to eat between 7 & 7:30. Either eat outside those times or be prepared to wait, although not every night. The production shows and the tenor were wonderful. Magician, not bad, comics not to my taste but a lot of folks laughed. There are a lot of variety of shore excursions so I make no recommendations. Some folks want to snorkel, swim, and catamarran, we simply prefer historical sights. You might do slightly better booking on your own with a local taxi or van driver but I do feel more comfortable with the ship's tours. Internet cafes in most ports so don't pay the ship's outrageous prices (.75/minute) unless you must. I hope this helps.
 
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ChadN

Guest
Thanks Shadowledge. Give the Star a try. Sailed on her in Hawaii and had a fabulous time.
 
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