Verified answer

We went on an 8 day cruise to the Southern Caribbean on the Spirit a few years ago and enjoyed the cruise OK in spite of some things that we did not like. I have been on about 8 Norwegian cruises and at one time I loved them. But that was before I cruised with any other line and experienced something different. Then when NCL began its "freestyle" cruising I did a couple more NCL cruises (including one this past Nov) but decided that I just do not care for NCL and its freestyle cruising. I prefer the traditional cruising with "my" table, "my" waiter and my preference for a dinner time assigned. I have had no problems with going at a set time. I prefer getting to know "my" wait staff on a personal level rather than having a different table and waiter each evening. At the end of the cruise you wonder why and who you are tipping. I prefer the formal nights rather than the NCL's "dress up if you want to" nights.

And then there are the times with freestyle when you have to stand in line at the main dining room door to wait for a table. On our last NCL cruise this past November on the NCL's Gem, the lines were so bad that they passed out buzzers at the door for people to know when they had a table for them. And in addition to that if you want to eat at specialty restaurants you have to go reserve early or they fill up and we found that you could only reserve two days in advance. I just don't like all of that hassle.

The Spirit was OK but definitely not the nicest ship I have been on. I did like the open terrace on the back of the ship where you could sit and enjoy the ocean and the sun, and they had a BarBque lunch on the terrace one day. The ship was actually initially launched as the Star and cruised in Asia. That explains why it has a lot of oriental decorations in the public areas. I would not say that you will not enjoy the ship and a cruise on it. My decision is now that I will not cruise any more NCL cruises regardless of the ship.

Like anything in life some people like one thing while others like something else. With that in mind I have cruised with Norwegian many times mainly on the Spirit. I enjoyed every minute on the ship.

Friendly Staff.

Cabins good size & always clean.

Great Food - Buffet, cook outs on deck 11, pizza, hamburgers

General Layout of Ship - open, great views.

Deck 12 forward past spa you will see a dance floor on your left you will see a brass railing follow stairs down and you will be right behind the bridge and room contains complete history of the Spirit.

The aft decks are open with plenty of places to sit and enjoy the view.

As you go to enjoy the casino there is a great place to get a hamburg, salad or bowl of chilli etc.

You can dress the way you are most comfortable and be served anywhere on the ship. Also has a nice sports bar.

Go Enjoy Your Cruise.

hi; I fairly have sailed on the Spirit many situations & each little thing became into super. As for the different visitors that ought to happen on any deliver. FreeStyle Cruising is the perfect and different could call it something else yet, each and each of a similar. you're making an investment you funds, time & saftey to them in this holiday & Norwegian became into the 1st to realalize this. you could placed on denims 24/7.as long as there are actually not any ones in them you could go everywhere on the deliver you like. in case you like to get all dressed up you could. As for the Spirit the Buffet is on deck eleven- threw the sliding doorways is an open deck the place you could take a seat & savor your meal & view on a similar time, Deck 10 is a pool & warm tubs on open decks the place you additionally can savor the ecosystem. Deck 7 is the activities bar & casino & purely in the previous the casino agreat place to get A Hamburger etc. Deck 12 forward the Spa's, gymnasium, dance floor & purely handed the band stand outsized chairs with homestead windows everywhere so which you will take a seat & loosen up or examine or in spite of. A cruise has many factors on whether that's a sturdy cruise or not. you're abig area of that. go savor the deliver,human beings,ecosystem,ports of call or purely getting away.

Most people, especially first-time cruisers, enjoy their cruise regardless of the line or the ship.

That said, I'm not really a fan of NCL. Relative to the rest of the industry, they under-invested for years. Fortunately, they know it and recently announced they're spending $1Bn to upgrade their food and ships over the next few years. So I think they'll be great in a couple of years ... but for now I wouldn't go. (But I'm spoiled.)

If this is your first cruise, you might want to check out the information here, which includes a packing checklist, tips on how to avoid getting sea sick, etc.:

http://www.cruisesavvy.com/savvyguide/know_before_...

Hope this helps!

p.s. if you're going, and would like to share your perspective, please feel free to do so with an online Cruise Journal (it's free):

http://www.cruisesavvy.com/journals

I have made it my personal mission to tell EVERYONE to avoid Norwegian Cruise line like the plague! Especially the NCL Spirit! My husband took our first cruise ever on this crap heap and sadly, we will never cruise again. Keep in mind that NCL includes tips in their fares so not one person on that ship feels compelled to provide any type of service other than what is deemed necessary and even that is pushing it. If you are not an alcoholic, you aren't getting served.

Here's the shortlist:

The food is horrible. The only thing I ate pretty much the entire trip was hot dogs from the cafe on one of the lower decks. It was the safest thing to eat. My husband as well as a rather large number of passengers all got food poisoning. NCL tried to blame it on the passengers eating on St. Thomas but that wasn't the case. Most of them (including my husband) only ate on the boat. We ended up quarantined and missed seeing Tortola. While in the room, I was bitten by bed bugs. We had to have our room fumigated but since we were quarantined, we were confined to our balcony. We later found the bedspread stuffed under the bed. The head of hospitality, Tony, was his name, was a royal jackass and he had an excuse for everything. He even had the audacity to say that we must have brought bugs back from the Domenican Republic for me to have gotten bitten in the room, even though that port of call hadn't even happened at the time I got bit. Many complained and he condescendingly chalked it up to all of us (well over 100 people) being unsanitary.

Here's my full review on Cruise Critic, if you care to read it.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberre...

I beg you...if you have to go on a cruise, take any other line but this one!

try reading some reviews, there is an excellent site at www.cruisereport.com

There are many reviews written by normal cruisers like you and I.

oh goodness, i hope not.

im going on the Spirit for spring break...