Over all the trip away from home was good--since I was able to escape reality for at least a week. I was quite disappointed with the food/quality/temperature/options on the cruise. The room and it's cleanliness wasn't over the top. Cozumel was good, Belize was not good, and Honduras was great!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
1 out of 5
The buffets were definitely not great
The food in the dining room(s) was cold or room temperature a majority of the time (around 85% of time); it was rare (about 15% of time) that food was hot. The cold items, such as milk, or yogurt, for example, was not very cold either, mostly just close to room temperature. There was a lot of discrepancies from one time to the next with foods. For example, one day I ordered cheesecake and how it looked and was plated from one day to the next was different. Also there was inconsistencies in the staff and their knowledge of the dishes they served. I asked once about a sandwich what was on it and when I received the dish it was not just what the menu said, but there was more stuff on it that I wouldn't eat. As a whole it just seemed like the food staff was not very knowledgeable or consistent with the food dishes.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
I really enjoyed being a part of the Solo's Group being a single person it helped me connect more with the other single/solo travelers onboard. I loved how this group was organized and even the perks that came with it (like reserved seats for some of the shows at the theatre, for example).
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Most of the crew were great. Something that struck me as odd was that there was a crew member on the tender with me who never said a word to me and I didn't speak to him either because I totally didn't recognize him out of uniform (he was also in a hat and sunglasses); but once in the hall near my room he was very friendly to me and talked to me and told me he was sitting next to me on the tender and almost made it seem like I was rude for not speaking to him or recognizing him. It was like there is an expectation that as soon as the uniform goes on there has to be above and beyond discussion with them?? I don't know, I just thought it shouldn't matter whether he was in uniform or not to speak to me or even acknowledge me.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
The design of the ship was fine with me. As for the cleanliness, this was not so good as far as my room was concerned. The common areas were kept as well as could be considering the volume of people at some times on some days.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
The cabin itself was ok, but there were some cleanliness issues. The glass shelves in the bathroom were dusty to begin with and didn't appear to be cleaned during our entire stay. I found foreign hairs on a few occasions in the bathroom and on my bed sheet(s). I was surprised to notice all the stains that were on the bed sheets and all towels (hand towels, wash cloths, bath towels, beach towels). The bottom of the shower/shower floor had mini tiles in it and I noticed black on a lot of the grout (in between the tiles). I presume that was mold or other dirt that had not been cleaned well for a while and this grossed me out. I don't know if it was just our specific room keeper or what because he didn't seem as friendly or caring as the rest. I was truly disappointed in how 'unkept' these things were in the room in addition to his seemingly non caring demeanor.
Driving through the large cities of Dallas and Houston on the way to the port was disastrous. This may partly be because I come from a way smaller town/city and am not used to that kind of chaos. The speed limits were faster than I was used to and there were more lanes then I'm used to also. The drivers seemed rude and really in a huge hurry.
Cozumel was good - I did an excursion with a local company (wish I could remember their name) and that was confusing. I signed up for a glass bottom boat ride and got that (sort of) and a snorkel (which was great!)--it's just that I didn't know that I was getting the 2 for the price of one which in turn made me not prepared to snorkel. I ended up going snorkeling in my clothes since the communication was very poor and I didn't know I should be in my swim suit since I did initially and only sign up for the glass bottom boat.
Belize City, Belize was not so great. I was not impressed by that place at all. I recommend staying on the main drag where lots of people are only because going other places was scary...very poor place. This was sad to me. The locals were very pushy and confusing and scary at times. I did yet another excursion with a local group. I do not know the name but it was very confusing...I paid to go to a beach called Cucumber Beach and this was super disappointing. The local group told me a few different prices and in talking with others on the excursion the prices differed. I kept asking (the excursion company) and trying to make sure that out of the group in the excursion van that I was going to get dropped off at the "beach" before the others (since I was essentially traveling on the land solo). It made me nervous to not get straight answers or answers at all or just lies. I felt very uneasy about it but in the end it worked out. The "beach" however was VERY disappointing. It was a manmade "beach". I call it a "beach hole". It was a large circular area with sand and a slide and water tubes and that was about it. There was a small bar there next to the beach hole and a stage for music and a sand volleyball area. Utter disappointment.
Roatan, Honduras was the most amazing. I did an excursion with the ship this time and even though I would have preferred not to pay that much for it, it was the best excursion of the trip. I am not sure if it was just because the land there was just so beautiful or that I could depend on the reliability of the locals or what. I went to a beach where we snorkeled and had a BBQ meal and beach swimming. Only one thing, I wish that there was more time to spend there. Because of the number of people who attended there was instruction in groups and that took longer but overall it was amazing there. The BBQ was also very awesome and the locals there were great. Very friendly and not pushy. This was the Tabyana Beach Party & Snorkel. I would recommend this to anyone who loves the beach and snorkeling and good food.
We cruised on the Spirit in 2007 three times. A week, a back to back, a one night cruise to no where in 2008 from New Orleans to New York City and had a good time.
You don't have to eat in the venues that cost money and people complain about that. People need to realize it's their cruise,.do what they're going to like and have a good time. We ate in Cagneys twice on our Norwegian Spirit Cruise because we celebrated our Anniversary and Birthdays. No one tells people to eat there or any other one. People kvetch all the time.
We cruised with Royal and Holland and had a good time. The food was good. You know the Executive Chef and the other ones work together to make the menu good. They all work hard 7 day's a week. High five to all the crew on board.
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