Cruise was fine but the Norwegian Policies are a Rip-off....

Norwegian Spirit Cruise Review to Europe - Mediterranean

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 3
Helpful Votes: 30

Overall rating:

2 out of 5
Norwegian Spirit

14 Night Mediterranean (Barcelona To Rome)

Sail date: July 06, 2015

Ship: Norwegian Spirit

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 11008

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 9 years ago

Review summary

The ship was clean. The service was fine. The logistics of the last three ports on this cruise are beyond logic. 1-Kotor to Dubrovnic are about an hour away by car, why does it take overnight to get there; 2-Dubrovnic to Venice are about a 3 hour drive by car why does it take 2 full nights and a day at sea to get there? I have to assume the Company would rather bleed as much money from the customers instead of giving them the splendor of the views by arriving in Venice in the afternoon. I originally booked this cruise because on it initially reflected a 2pm arrival in Venice the day before debarkation. Once flights and all travels were booked it was to late change without penalties.  

Bistro French Restaurant - You pay $20 per person to have dinner in the Bistro French Restaurant, the menu reflects the chef's special which will costs you an additional $10 to order....is this company serious? You already paid for a specialty experience and totally disappointed by this attempt to rip you off! 

Casino - The Casino Manager should be managing house keeping and not the Casino. Because of my play, the Casino Manager meets with me to comp/give me a drink card for free drinks while playing in the Casino and two vouchers for dinner in any one of the specialty restaurants. The next day the drinks are charged and reflected on my invoice. I confront the Manager the next day and explain my disappointment. Instead on taking care of it immediately, she starts confronting me as to what I was drinking to which I explained I was drinking scotch on the rocks, she then proceeds to tell me that premium liquor is not included. I explain, I did not order premium liquor all I asked for is scotch on the rocks to which she became confrontational. My status on Norwegian is Gold and as a Casino Club player on my last three cruises on the Norwegian Breakaway not only did they take care of my drinks but would also provide my wife drinks even though she wasn't playing and watching me do so. Additionally, when the Breakaway provided me comp vouchers to dinner wine was included with dinner whereas on the Spirit it was not! I can afford to pay for my own dinner and wine so this attempt to comp me is a joke to say the least!

And finally the newly implemented $8 charge for room service.....another rip-off. Norwegian will attempt to explain this as a increase of wages for the employees to which I state yea-right.... According to the employees there has been no increase to wages.

In regards to the rest of my experience it was fine. Nothing exceptional.  

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5

Onboard Activities

1 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
The cabin and sip are aged but clean. Bedding and bathroom were good, no issues noted.

Ship tip

Find a different cruise that arrives into Venice in the afternoon ....the experience is unforgettable !!!

Ports of call

Barcelona, Spain

5 out of 5

Toulon, France

5 out of 5

Livorno (Florence & Pisa), Italy

5 out of 5

Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy

5 out of 5

Naples, Italy

5 out of 5

Mykonos, Greece

5 out of 5

Istanbul, Turkey

5 out of 5

Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey

5 out of 5

Piraeus (Athens), Greece

5 out of 5

Kotor, Montenegro

1 out of 5

Dubrovnik, Croatia

1 out of 5

Venice, Italy

1 out of 5
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