Great Ports of Call with Excellent Service

Norwegian Spirit Cruise Review to Europe - Mediterranean

grandinmk

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 20

Overall rating:

3 out of 5

Verified Review

12 Night Grand Mediterranean (Venice To Barcelona)

Sail date: September 06, 2015

Ship: Norwegian Spirit

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 5053

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

We chose this cruise mainly for the ports-of-call, and were not disappointed. The ship is definitely dated, but was very clean. Probably the smallest cabin we have ever had. We literally had to get off the bed at the end when getting up to use the bathroom - there was not enough room to walk around the sides without running into either a chair or the desk. The service was excellent, but we felt that the ship nickled and dimed for everything. First ship I have ever seen that charged for room service. (They advertise free room service with a $7.95 convenience fee + service charge.) Not a big deal, as we never use this, but thought it worth noting. The drink prices were higher than any other ship we have sailed on as well. The food was fine. Some nights were great, others were just ok. We didn't have any bad meals. Food at the buffet was fine, but nothing special. The salad bar was lacking for sure and the selection of fruit wasn't great. We enjoyed most of the entertainment and really liked many of the areas to sit and have a drink, read, etc... There are never enough chaises near the pool, but at least we could find one on another deck.

Did feel that there might be a plumbing issue on the ship. Our totally did not always flush on cue, and there was sometimes a 'sewage smell' when walking around.

Again, great ports, service was very good, food was good. I would say our experience was slightly better than what we were expecting, so that is a win!

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

1 out of 5

VERY small. There is a large chair in there, which is nice to have, but you can't even walk around the bed. How in the world could you put 4 people in that room? Location was good - not to far from the stairwell/elevator and one floor down from the main restaurants. Toilet didn't flush well. Cabin steward - Gede - was excellent - one of our best yet!

Ports of call

Piraeus (Athens), Greece

3 out of 5

Tour of Athens. Really nothing in the port town.

Thumbs Up 1

Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey

5 out of 5

Tour ancient city of Ephesus. Very interesting

Thumbs Up 3

Istanbul, Turkey

5 out of 5

Did a full day tour which was amazing.

Thumbs Up 3

Mykonos, Greece

5 out of 5

Great little island! Waited awhile for a taxi or bus to the beach and they never showed. Rent a scooter and drive yourself. I think it was $25 for the day. So worth it!

Thumbs Up 2

Naples, Italy

5 out of 5

Didn't really see Naples - did a tour to Pompeii, Sorrento

Thumbs Up 4

Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy

3 out of 5

Not much to see in the port. Pretty far from Rome, so the tours are quick and give just a brief Rome overview, but worth it if you have never been before.

Thumbs Up 1

Livorno (Florence & Pisa), Italy

5 out of 5

Again, pretty far from Florence, which gives you little time to see things. Port is far from anything so you have to pay tp take a shuttle into town or to the train station. We went to Pisa and really enjoyed it.

Thumbs Up 0

Toulon, France

5 out of 5

Cute little port town. Had a nice street market the day we were there.

Thumbs Up 2

Barcelona, Spain

5 out of 5