Great First Cruise!
Norwegian Spirit Cruise Review to Europe - Mediterranean
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 1 cruise (first)
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 52
10 Night Eastern Mediterranean & Greek Isles (Rome Roundtrip)
Sail date: June 29, 2017
Ship: Norwegian Spirit
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 9126
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 7 years ago
Review summary
Great first cruise with beautiful ports, plus we enjoyed Rome before and after the cruise. We learned a lot of little things that will make any future cruise experiences even more enjoyable.Embarkation
Everything was smooth and quick. Facility is a bit temporary but it looks like improvements are underway. Biggest challenge is travel between Rome and Civitavecchia port.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Buffet had intresting options. We appreciated the dessert options, made to order eggs, constant availabitiy of good fresh fruit. Could have used more skim/reduced fat milk availability.
Teppanyaki was nice.
Sushi was odd, not very traditional at all and didn't have most choices one would expect at a sushi bar.
Bistro (French) was good.
Samurai restaurant was good but not very Japanese (despite name). Somewhat limited choices.
Onboard Activities
They really tried hard, but this ship is a bit limited compared to newer / larger ones.
Would prefer hot tub with option to turn off jets occasionally.
Entertainment
They really tried hard, but this ship is a bit limited compared to newer / larger ones.
The Broadway cabaret was well-done and World Beat was fairly impressive. Cast could stand to be more diverse. Acrobats were very good.
We were disappointed that this ship did not turn out to have a Second City improv troupe as we had heard many Norwegian ships had. Improv, with or without audience participation, would be an excellent addition to the entertainment options.
Children's Programs
no kids with us
Service and Staff
Friendly staff from a variety of nations and languages. Prompt and friendly attention to any need.
Ship Quality
Everything was kept clean and they work super-hard at keeping everyone healthy with fastidious attention to sanitizing.
This was a good starter ship for our first cruise. Manageable size with many options. It could really use some upgrades though. New carpet in rooms and theatre would be a good start. I underestand the ship's history, but the persistent Asian theme is somewhat amusing at times and does get old. Taking the time to update some of this to other styles and themes would help.
Passengr laundry facilities would be appreciated.
Improving the wifi would make things much better. We bought one of the packages (too pricy!) but it often didn't work very well. When you're paying that much for internet you do not want to spend your minutes waiting.
Cabin / Stateroom
Other than the need for new carpet, everything about the room was good. The balcony was wonderful, and we appreciated that we could enjoy the full view from inside the cabin via the sliding glass doors and transparent balcony wall.
When we had a small issue with a ceiling light it was fixed immediately. The only other frustration was that the TV remote didn't work well, but we never remembered to ask about fixing this.
Closet and drawers held much more than we expected, and we were glad to be able to fit all the empty luggage under the bed. We appreciated the clothesline in the shower for drip-drying swimsuits and other items.
Ship tip
Balcony room is well worth it!
Thumbs up
0
Ports of call
Would appreciate it if Norwegian offered some sort of shuttle (without an attached excursion) for those not going immediately to/from airport.
Beautiful! We tried this one on our own and found it a bit too easy to get lost, but the food was great, endless and varied shops were fascinating, and view was amazing. Please be aware that the local buses are not well-coordinated with the cruise ships' port and schedules.
Since it was 109 degrees F the day we were to go to Athens, we were very happy to have the option of a shore excursion that let us see the city by bus and visit the new Acropolis museum. The museum contains many of the treasures found at the Acropolis and gives an excellent view of the Parthenon. Guide was exptremely knowledgeable and helpful.
What a wonderful and fascinating town! So many layers of history from its many centuries of different eras and rulers. Be sure to look into Rhodes's history before visiting. The shop owners are persistent but also extremely helpful and friendly. Neat to be so close to Turkey as well.
The challenges of having to take the tender to the island and the cable car to get back down are well worth it. Some of the most amazing views ever, perched on the edges of a former volcano with a couple newer volcaninc islands nearby. BTW, the shore excursion preview should include the proper pronunciation of the first town you see, Oiya, which sounds like "Ee-ya."
Shore excursion was helpful in understanding this area, and monastery was interesting too. Again, a very helpful, clear, & Well-informed guide. The marketplace we got to visit at the end was helpful for last chance shopping in Greece. Shore excursion preview should use the proper pronunciation of Chania, which is "Hahn-YA"
We did this on our own as well and would have appreciated some more detailed information on how to approach the town, as getting from the ship through the port entrance and to the lift that takes you to the actual city involves a good bit of backtracking. It was great to get to see this island country and hear its most unusual language, influenced by Latin / Italian, Greek, Arabic, and probably more.
We took the highlights of Taormina excursion that starts with a bus trip through hills and over a dozen tunnels. We were very glad to not have to try to figure out how to get up there on our own. Whatever you do, don't miss Taormina!! It's amazing. Greek / Roman theatre in one direction, active volcano in another, a fascinating town with all sorts of uniquely Sicilian touches, great food, and breathtaking Mediterranean views in all directions! The one thing that would really be appreciated would be a chance to stay longer in Taormina. By the time we got there and saw the panoramas and theatre there was hardly any time to get to enjoy the town. It would be easy to spend a whole day up there, but if that's not possible then could the excursion at least add an hour or 2? The town of Messina was kind of quiet, as it was the midday time when things were closed, but we did enjoy the clock tower aned church in the town square.
Pompeii is fascinating and we suspect Herculaneum is too, but the city of Naples and the complications of the Pompeii site detracted from our enjoyment of this day. We took the "Pompeii On Your Own" excursion and wished we had taken the guided one instead. Pompeii does not have a well-organized entry system, so the growing crowd had to wait for almost an hour just to buy tickets. Meanwhile all sorts of unknown guides were trying to get us to buy their services. The guides got to cut in the front of the line, which was nice for their customers, but it further slowed the other visitors' waiting time. If we'd been warned we'd have bought tickets online, as that allowed you to go to a shorter line. Once back in Naples we tried to get to the archaeological musem where most of the mosaics from Pompeii are housed. It was challenging to figure out how to find a Metro stop, the way to the museum, a place to eat, etc., as Naples is a big busy city, and not too scenic in the areas near the port.
Disembarkation
Disembarkation went smoothly enough, but once out of the port building we were stuck for a long time in the hot sun with a big crowd of others waiting for their hired rides back to Rome and hired drivers looking for their passengers. Partly due to the limited internet onboard the ship, we ended up having a miscommunication that led to our ride never coming, so I had to talk with the waiting drivers to arrange a backup plan (which cost twice as much). We really do not see why Norwegian does not offer a simple bus shuttle back to Rome for passengers who are not going immediately to the airport or who do not need/want to do a shore excusrion in Rome.