The ports were amazing, the cruise ship, not so much.

Norwegian Spirit Cruise Review to South Pacific - Australia

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 26

Overall rating:

4.2 out of 5
Verified Review
Norwegian Spirit

12 Night Australia & New Zealand (Sydney To Auckland)

Sail date: December 23, 2023

Ship: Norwegian Spirit

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 5007

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 10 months ago

Review summary

The ports were amazing! The best I've ever been too. Was upset that Tasmania Australia was cancelled prior to boarding and that Wellington, NZ was cancelled while we were on the ship. We basically had 4 sea days in a row, which is crazy. The ship is well designed and has great staff but the entertainment is up and down. The speciality restaurants were very good but the main buffet can be hit or miss. And the ship can be very boring for kids and teens, as they don't have a dedicated kid or teen club. Overall we enjoyed our trip and again, the ports were INCREDIBLE.

Embarkation

5 out of 5
Embarkation was easy and simple. We has some issues with our New Zealand visa's and the staff was very helpful and solved the issue quickly.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5
The food on the ship was up and down. The main buffet always had good breakfast but the lunch and dinner were hit and miss. At times the food was great, like when they served Jamaican food. At other times, the meat tasted tough and flavorless, the fries felt like they were reheated from the night before, and the options seemed limited. This is probably the smallest buffet on a cruise ship we've ever experienced.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5
The onboard activiteis were just Ok. Nothing special.

Entertainment

2 out of 5
This was extremely hit or miss. The main singing group and dancers, amazing! Electric eclectic was amazing. The power of 5 was amazing. The acrobat were amazing. The guitarist, comedian, and magician were horrible. The lady that did the Queen tribute was terrible. But the finale that included the majority of the entertainers was really cool.

Children's Programs

1 out of 5
There basically was none. We had a 7 year old, a 15 and 17 year old, and during sea days, they were very board. The teenagers would have "meet ups" and they would have a few activities for our 7 year old, but there was not dedicated "kids club" or "teenager hangout". Definitely an issue for our group with this ship.

Service and Staff

4 out of 5
The staff was great. Our room attendant, wesley, was awesome. Leyanna in the main buffet was always friendly and smiling. Adrianne who worked in the social club and the spinnaker was great. We also go to talk to the lead singer of the power of 5 who has an INCREDIBLE voice and is a nice person. Some of the staff did seem very tired but they always tried to put on a smile and were pleasant.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
The ship has some very well designed areas. They were some of the best looking I've seen on a cruise ship. I was very impressed by the design, decore, and colors of the different restaurants and lounges.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
Very nice size cabin and very nice size bathroom. Well designed.

Ship tip

If you have young kids or teenagers, they will get bored on the ship. Especially on the sea days.

Ports of call

Sydney, Australia

5 out of 5

Melbourne, Australia

5 out of 5

Cruise Doubtful, Dusky & Milford Sounds

5 out of 5

Port Chalmers (Dunedin), New Zealand

5 out of 5

Picton, New Zealand

5 out of 5

Napier, New Zealand

5 out of 5

Tauranga, New Zealand

5 out of 5

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
Very simple and straight forward.
Was this review helpful? 26

7 Comments

DAKAYDA     10 months ago

The Spirit did away with the Kids club etc which is another aspect we love but in saying that we have been on her twice and this was before the refurb whilst the kids club etc was there and the kids pool have to say we like it without they do have heaps of their other ships that cater for kids though. Really glad you loved all the ports you went to.

Gwbigdog     10 months ago

Thanks for sharing

bubbles60     10 months ago

Sounds like a wonderful trip. Sorry you missed a few ports.

javawoody     10 months ago

Thanks for sharing your experience

cruising2004     10 months ago

Thank you for sharing about the kids area. We travel a lot with our granddaughter so this is good to know.

Niavlys     10 months ago

Wow, amazing ports of calls

WorldCrusinJW     10 months ago

Thank you for a very detailed review

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