Disappointing Cruise Experience due to Ship/Port

Norwegian Spirit Cruise Review to Europe - Northern Europe

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 62

Overall rating:

3.6 out of 5
Verified Review
Norwegian Spirit

14 Night Mystical Fjords (London Roundtrip)

Sail date: July 07, 2019

Ship: Norwegian Spirit

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 9527

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

We had many issues on this cruise, listed below: 1) The ship itself is in need of serious repair. The decor is seriously outdated, many times dirty around tile (such as in restrooms) and needs to be cleaned up. We also experienced issues where the fountains were vibrating so loudly in the lobby that we had to leave the Champagne bar as it was so annoying. The boards on the 7th deck as we walked were bowing upwards and caused water pooling on the right side forward. It was serious, no one looked at it...they simply repainted the railing. There were numerous restrooms closed throughout the trip in public areas and we were told the piping was having issues. We also encountered major water on floor next to broken toilets in restrooms. The pool area is nice, but there was never a time to have BBQ outside (some due to weather) when there were days it would have worked. As far as destinations, we are seriously disappointed in NCL for not preparing us for the Amsterdam stop. This was the first time they made port in this area which was a long way from Amsterdam. This isn't an issue as long as you can get there. We went out and bought bus tickets at terminal to head to Amsterdam. From time we left boat until we got there...it was almost THREE hours. This cost us major time and we had no clue of the serious issue that was going to occur. Once back on board, I asked what happened and told the gentleman that I was thinking the cruise port said Amsterdam on our cruise documents which I printed way back in May. The gentleman was extremely rude to me and my wife (and we took down 3 emails to corroborate the scene that ensued). We said we "thought" it said Amsterdam and we've been to that port before. He told us "No, it didn't". I told him, I don't have it in front of me...he said "Well, I'm telling you, it didn't". I asked him if I understood him correctly that he was telling me what I had on my documents which were not in front of me...and he said "Yes, it does not say that". I wasn't saying it did, I was saying I thought it did. The number of people watching this were AMAZED at this customer service interaction. We were mildly upset when we walked up, and when we walked away, we were DISGUSTED. This stop was a nightmare, and it should have been better organized and discussed by NCL on the front end. With regards to the staff, wonderful as always. Gracia the waitstaff in Galaxy really stood out...so did Manu and Maya in Champagne Charlie's. The staff (gentleman we encountered was manager) at Customer Service and the ship made us really not like this cruise much at all. Has us considering other options for next year for sure.

Embarkation

5 out of 5
Embarkation was quick and smooth, Europeans are very good at getting you on and off

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5
Staff was amazing, Cagney's is not a good steakhouse in our opinion, buffet is great for breakfast. Need guacamole and chips for snack.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5
Trivia was main activity we enjoyed. The pool area is fine, too much chlorine in spas, dries your skin out terribly.

Entertainment

1 out of 5
This boat is seriously lacking on entertainment. Danielle Williams, C-Notes, and Sonata were good. Other than that, the shows and evening entertainment were pretty awful.

Service and Staff

3 out of 5
Gracia in Galaxy, Manu and Maya in Champagne Charlie's were amazing. Room stewards amazing. Customer Staff at front desk (manager) was condescending and rude to everyone having issues with port at Amsterdam. I was belittled and demeaned to the point it ruined our experience overall.

Ship Quality

1 out of 5
I like the layout overall. The issue is maintenance. There were board bowing up on decks which provided pooling water, there were restrooms broken and had water pooling in bathroom, and also small casual dining areas which were quite congested. Need a O'Sheehan's style pub with open seating area.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
This is standard cabin for us, it's perfect.

Ship tip

WAIT until it's COMPLETELY refurbished in dry dock

Ports of call

Southampton (London), England

3 out of 5
simple spot to take off from

Cobh (Cork), Ireland

5 out of 5
enjoyed the Cobh main street...went to Cork for Blarney Castle, really cool area and town

Dublin, Ireland

4 out of 5
Liked Guinness & Jameson factories a lot. GO TO TEMPLE BAR...very cool spot. Town is basically big port city.

Belfast, Northern Ireland

3 out of 5
Went to TItanic Museum, really cool.

Reykjavik, Iceland

4 out of 5
Rented car and drove Golden Circle. Easy country to drive. Blue Lagoon was a lot of fun also.

Akureyri, Iceland

4 out of 5
Small town, whale watching on small rib boat was amazing.

Geiranger, Norway

5 out of 5
One of my favorite places on earth. Most beautiful fjord we've ever visited.

NORDFJORDEID, NORWAY

4 out of 5
Briksdal Glacier hike was awesome...best part might have been drive up there, it's beautiful

Ijmuiden (Amsterdam), Netherlands

1 out of 5
Terrible. No communication of how to get to Amsterdam. From time we stepped off boat to setting foot in Amsterdam, 3 hours which included HOT bus and absolutely packed well over capacity. Same as ride home and way too early as we were scared to miss boat. This was first time NCL has made port there, and it was complete disaster. The sentiments after this port were unanimous, awful.

Zeebrugge (Bruges), Belgium

5 out of 5
love canal tour and brewery on water.

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
quick and easy
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2 Comments

rydi8    5 years ago

It's unfortunate that it was overlooked that the cruise ported in Ijmuiden and not actually in Amsterdam. The disappointment is understandable if the expectation was to port in Amsterdam, but realistically the cruise line can't be faulted unless it was a last minute change. Proper research and preparation is key to an enjoyable cruise.

Dietmom5    5 years ago

Thanks for the information on Amsterdam, did the cruise line offer a free shuttle to the city? Do you think there are better transportation options close by? We have tickets for a specific time at Anne Frank house

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