A lovely way to see Japan & Korea

Item: Norwegian Spirit
Rating: 4.1
Author: gracejones11

Norwegian Spirit Cruise Review

gracejones11

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 3

Overall rating:

4.1 out of 5

11 Night Asia: Osaka Kochi Jeju & Nagoya (Yokohama To Seoul)

Sail date: October 01, 2024

Ship: Norwegian Spirit

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 11110

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 1 month ago

Review summary

The cruise was a great way to explore Japan. It was a clean ship and well maintained. Food was perfectly fine, but salty. Non-alcoholic drinks were severely lacking. Most guests were pleasant and respectful, although some loud people were a bit annoying.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Embarkation was very well organised and straightforward. The port of Yokohama was gorgeous and I’d actually have loved to explore it for a day!

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

TLDR: food quality was good and there is a lot of choice, but everything was so salty - you would wake up the next day parched from the sodium. The biggest downside was how few non-alcoholic adult drink options there were. I am pregnant and would have loved to have a nice non-alcoholic cocktail or wine in places like The Local, Henry’s, etc. There was one or two non-alcoholic cocktail options in certain bars or restaurants which were, to be honest, horrible. The non-alcoholic wines were good, however, in the premium restaurants and in the spinnaker lounge. The Garden Cafe buffet had everything you could want for a breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It was busy during peak times and very easy for others to knock into you, but during off peak times it was pleasant. Most guests were courteous enough to queue and i really appreciated the hand sanitising stations! The staff were very quick to clean and clear tables once guests left. Windows dining had a basic menu and the quality of food was ok, but the setting was very pleasant. We tried all of the premium restaurants aside from the Teppanyaki and Sushi, and they were each nice.

Le Bistro

4 out of 5

Very nice place, food was very good and service very good.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

The pool was never busy, but the poolside is busy only during sea days. Hot tubs were popular with guests but on non sea days it is easy to have quiet time there as it was never busy. Fitness centre was good, apart from the noisy grunting men. Didn’t get involved in any organised activities.

Entertainment

4 out of 5

Blazing boots was very entertaining, quite risqué. The Ukrainian Acrobats were fabulous.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

All staff were courteous, accommodating, and all worked very hard to keep the ship and facilities clean and running smoothly.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

The ship was always clean and well maintained. They really tried to get the guests to sanitise their hands and wash them often, which I really appreciated as a pregnant woman who really didn’t want to get ill on the trip!

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Cabin was good and the stateroom staff were very polite and cleaned the room well. The balcony is good, but small. The only plug sockets by the bed are USB so keep this in mind if you like to charge your phone by your bed.

Ship tip

If cruising around Japan, don’t bother with the sushi restaurant as you can get amazing sushi during port explorations for a fraction of the price.

Thumbs up

Disembarkation

3 out of 5

Disembarkation was ok, but the queue for taxis at Seoul port was absolutely horrific. I’m not sure if this is a Seoul problem or if NCL didn’t do enough to communicate with local taxi companies to accommodate the guests. We waited for nearly two hours in direct sunlight in a queue of NCL guests for a taxi to take us to our hotel. Definitely pre-order a taxi or some transportation arrangements in advance if you wish to avoid the horror.