Norwegian Spirit Cruise Reviews - Reviews

This cruise is port intensive allowing us to visit 9 great ports (including Barcelona) in a short time. Also it is a bonus that, due to bad weather in Marseille, NCL Spirit chose to stop at Monte Carlo instead of Marseille. The weather was great every day and we had a great time in every city even though that we had been many of these cities before. For such a port intensive cruise, it did not bother us that the on board activities (not the parties) are lacking. The service on board of the ship is excellent and the crew bent over backward to accommodate passengers consisting mostly seasoned travelers. There were only a handful of kids and one hardly noticed their existence. We had no problem getting into any restaurant without reservation. The gym is small but adequate since most passengers did not use it. The complimentary steam and sauna are also a bonus. Overall, we and our friends had a wonderful time both on and off the ship. We are frequent cruisers and can only hope that every cruise is like this one.      

If you have traveled on other cruise ships, my suggestion is minimize your expectations.  Let me explain:  The itinerary itself was absolutely amazing and I could not have asked for a better itinerary, even when we had to re-route and miss Marseille, the alternative was event better - Monte Carlo. As far as the ship itself, there was much to be left desired since it was quite old.  My cabin stunk like sewage on most port days.  Even though I complained, they assured me  that it was not the cabin but me being sensitive to smells.  I have been on at least 10 cruises and I know when a room stinks! If you are used to traveling on other ships with great entertainment, you will be sorely disappointed.  There were nights were I just had to walk out because it was not worth sitting through it.  Surprisingly, the food was better than expected, although there was one or two nights when I had to send the food back.

Ship was beautiful with very friendly staff and lots of things to do. It was clean, small, and very easy to navigate.

We were surprised by changed of itinerary that happened at the last minute as we were about to depart Barcelona. The captain informed us we will be reversing the order of our destinations to avoid bad weather. This caused shocked and concern for many as shore excursions were dependent of the schedule. Luckily, booking through helped us as they were able to maintain the original excursions even though they were on Christmas when many others were cancelled. 

Overall, we will cruise again NCL and will use to book it! 

I was very disappointed with our cruise vacation. My wife and I have cruised several times with a variety of lines, and maybe because of that, I have come to expect certain things from a cruise that NCL did not live up to. I don't think I'm being a snob either because I am normally very pleased and have a lot of good things to say.  NCL might advertise "Freestyle Cruising", but it should be called "Nickel & Dime Cruising". Everything comes with an extra fee, a confusing answer from someone who can't communicate, and a non-stop barrage of overselling silly products, raffle tickets, trip excursions, etc. You can't even get away from it in your room because our steward told us we HAD to have our room serviced EVERY day so they could check our mini-bar. Even the dining room had items for a fee in the menu. The little tough steak was inclusive, but the rib-eye was $20. We were even charged to leave the ship at one of our ports! (A first EVER!) For our Rome stop, NCL provided a free shuttle to the opposite side of the port from the train station, in a place where there was nothing but taxis to take us back to the other side of town by the port again by the train. (A total shake-down!)  I have never actually been happy to get off a ship before this cruise but I was this time, and I hope that NCL chokes on every penny they extorted from me on the cruise... cause I'll never use them again!

overall experience : average and acceptable.

started with unplanned 2 N stay at Venice due to fog, but we were confined to ship due to uncertainty and lack of communication and guidance from officers and crews. One port had to be ditched. Needed better management capability. 

Had better experience with earlier NCL cruise. Deck Staff were friendly but not very informative or knowledgeable. 

Dining was good. Amenities were limited. Embarkation took long time and was confusing. Disembarkation was however smooth and timely.

Not really much to talk highly or brag about.

My wife and I had a wonderful time on our cruise, our first on NCL. The food and service was fantastic. There were plenty of excursions to choose from and we choose ones that suited our wants. 

The show on the Spirit was the best compared to that on the Jade or other Cruise Line like Holland America with which we cruised on April, 2016.

Improvement:

1- TV cable with multiple channels should be added.

2- The inside room size is too small. The bed size is very good. May be if the extra bed hanging on the wall is removed for cabin that have only two gusts will provide more room.

3- Round trip is necessary because of the flight cost. Many time we declined to take cruises with Norwegian because of open end itinerary. .   

Everything was ok until we had an emergency situation, the vessel couldn't go to the port due to weather conditions, the ship management didn't handle the situation to avoid more damage to the passenger's airline flies. They should take care of the passengers who had early flies, instead of giving numbers to make calls and restricted Intener access. We ended spending around $1100 to fly back to hour home in Florida

Very bad impression left. Arriving in Venice port 09,12,2016 brought us a lot of nerve and a loss of 884 euros. Because of you we were late for the plane flight and we had to buy new tickets.

The service people were very nice.  Entertainment was good.  BUT, You nickle and dime us to death.  Worse than any other cruise line.  (We have been on Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Carnival, Princess) As many other passengers that spoke with me I will not cruise with you again.  You grossly charge too much for a drink.   We  take 3 to 4 cruises a year.   You are going to start loosing your past current customers.  Three different couples told me they had cruised with you many times in the past but this was the last cruise they would take with you.  I am CEO of my company and if I heard that, I would be very concerned.  

We understand that this was a trial run for Norwegian Cruises.  The routing was good, except maybe Cyprus, which seemed to be a surprise to the islanders, as only a few of the shops and no banks were open.  The big flea market was not open.

The cruise line did offer buses to a central location in town at a couple of cruise stops for $15 each, which we appreciated.

The game that plays with the OBC borders on fraud.  I'm sure they are proud they are able to swindle so many of their customers out of the OBC by using fine print in the booking.  I can see people moving more to booking directly with these games!!

I had asked for a disabled cabin what I got was a cramped inside cabin

with a chair in the shower to sit on

I was on a merry- go -round between Cruise 118 and NCL staff

The crew on board where fantastic I am partly disable and a wheel chair was always available to get me on and of the ship when needed.The food in all the eateries was very good so was the service.

The balcony state room that we received was directly below the kids jamboree. The excessive pounding and vibration was absolutely unbearable. We would get back from tours @ 5:30 or 6 PM and would go to room to try to review the tour and prepare for the next port before we would go to dinner. The pounding and vibration was so annoying that we could not return to the room until after 9:30 PM. We had mentioned this to the hotel director and the first solution was a set of ear plugs. Really!! This is the example of 'Champion of Excellence'?  After repeated concerns we were offered a move from a balcony state room to an interior room 4 levels down. What a joke!! On top of the experience the ala carte charges for things was outrageous. Any other cruise thought will be toward Viking Cruise Line .

My first time to Europe, we did a land tour first in Spain, then this cruise, then a land tour in Italy. My favorite part of cruising is the convinience of unpacking the first night, and sleeping in the same bed for the duration. The ship is very nice, never seemed crowded, and guest services was always helpful. We were given 5 specially restaurants as part of the trip and my favorite was Cagney's. The food is the most delicious, we went there 3 of the 5. And I was very surprised by the ships singers and dancers. They are super talented and Broadwaylike. All their performances were fantastic and enthusiastic. The cruise director was informative, brief, and to the point, and very approachable. At a few ports, Ther city was far and we had to take a shuttle bus from the port to the city at a $15 round trip fee, added to your state room. This was never communicated  during booking time. And you, and even crew members working on the ship, have to pay for wifi. At the rates cruisers pay, I believe the shuttle buses and wifi should be included for all.  With all the gain made in beverages services and the casino, Norwegean and all other lines, will never have anything close to a loss. I believe wifi and all basic transportation should be included in the cruise fee. I would have preferred that over the 5 complimentary dinners. The food in the dining rooms and buffet was very good. The only issue I have with the food at both restaurants and buffet, is the temperature, sometimes, it's cool or even cold. Overall, great ship, staff, and cruise. The ports, and the European cities, speak fir themselves, Europe is amazing and marvalous. 

We went because of the itinerary and it did not disappoint. Our balcony room fine. Storage space was adequate but not as plentiful as celebrity ships. The room was smaller than others. The settee was a one person chair, not a 2 person. The bathrooms on this particular ship are very dated and certainly showing wear. The sink and toilet need to be replaced. 

The meals were a disappointment. The buffet was less than expected by quite a bit. Meals in the main dining room were adequate but subpar compared to other cruise lines. The emphasis of the line generally is toward speciality dining and additional spending, not to making all the customers happy. The free style idea is what we like but if you did not have reservations the waits were often long.

The "ultimate drinks package" is very odd. Drinks were never a problem although I was disappointed that there was no coolers. However, bottled water and cans of soda were not included. This makes no logical sense to me. I could get a drink up to $16 value but not a can of coke. Passengers were not permitted to buy water or drinks of any kind ashore. Staff took cases of water aboard but passengers could not. Water and soda were outlandishly priced. The whole thing was a money gouge and clearly ridiculous. In some instances this policy could be a health risk. The whole thing could well put us off doing another Norwegian cruise.

Overall the ship was clean and appeared to be well maintained. The public areas were pleasant in appearance although maybe a bit dated in decor. Some days it seemed there was not enough space so bars were used for presentations and there was often not enough space. The standards of cleanliness need to be improved. Never did I see anyone cleaning stair railings, a huge hazard for spreading germs. Tables in the buffet area and bars were not cleaned and sanitized well. 

We did several shore shore excursions through the ship. Would be unlikely to do so again. They were generally overpriced. Most days however they were well organized and getting off the ship went smoothly. Knowing can be a mess I felt it was mostly well handled. Charging for some of the shuttles was in poor taste. Another money grab. 

Generally we enjoyed the cruise but Tended to feel nickel and dimed and this was frustrating. 

We did not get our onboard credit due from . Customer service tried to get in touch with you but got no response. We are still in Europe and have not been able to contact you. We don't have a phone that works and there appears to be no email address that can be responded to. I will be in touch when we return next week as this needs to be made ri

On the whole the entertainment was excellent, however during  the daytime when at sea improvements could be made. The majority of guests were of a certain age and would enjoy the quizzes if they were not so short and rushed. Giving guests a more leisurely time to enjoy a drink and mix more with other people. 

Ship was old and dated, staff not as friendly as previous reviews have mentioned. Food was mediocre at best. Ordered drink package, was not informed there were limitations and additional charges would apply. Issue with internet, purchased 250 min package, spotty connection and overcharged, was advised fee would be reversed by Internet manager and front desk staff, my credit card was still charged.  

Ports were amazing and it was nice having a "home base", but not worth it. Hours at each stop didn't make sense, you get off the boat at 8am, but nothing is open, you basically waste the first couple of hours waiting for people to wake up!

My favorite part of the cruise was getting off the ship for the last time; it was disappointing from start to finish…the one positive thing was embarkation was

quick and smooth.

It was obvious from the very beginning of the cruise was that they wanted to screw us out of as much money as possible; this included the purchase of water, alcohol and soft drinks plus photo packages.  My husband made the mistake just once of purchasing a single glass of wine, which came to $16.00.  After that we made sure to grab drinks when we were visiting ports of call.

From the very first night there was a problem of smoking/profanity/banging/

screaming coming from our next door neighbors; we called and called and called until 1:30 am for two nights and even went to the desk downstairs in the daytime to make sure our complaints were heard.  Finally, after the third day of

sleepless nights, they finally and begrudgingly moved us to another room.

The insult to injury happened when a terrible storm hit us after departing Naples; during the storm there were rumors that we probably would not go to Mykonos, and even though the bad weather had passed a day before we were supposed to arrive there but  the rumors still persisted!  The staff was rude and discourteous and would not come clean and truthful in any way.  To add to the problem, a man had a heart attack and after they removed him he unfortunately passed away.  Then an hour later another man was taken off the ship since he broke a hip.  I am not being heartless, but these two evacuations took three hours and could have been expedited by an emergency helicopter.  Then we got stuck on the coast of Messina when Italian authorities came aboard to do an investigation…meanwhile, the ship's captain never told us what had really happened.  The ship had plenty of time after that to have made it to Mykonos, but the captain instead crawled so, so slowly and skipped that port and instead took the sloooooow boat to Athens so that we arrived there 'on time.'  (Life and death happens, and I am not being heartless, but 2,000 + passengers lost 1/10th of the ports we were supposed to visit, and not

one apology or financial incentive by NCL was offered to salve the wound.  Why would I ever want to return to one of their cruises?  It would have to be something incredibly lucrative for me to spend money again on their cruises.

The last item that was horrible was catching a porter going through a drawer in my room; when I came in the room, he quickly pretended to be dusting.  When we reported him, the representative covered for the porter and said he had simply been looking for a bible.

As you can see, except for the nine ports we visited, it was a disappointing experience for my husband and me.  Other cruise lines allow you to bring on board a bottle of wine each, and give free soda!

Diana and Eric Knowlton

ship was great, food was very good too. Entertainment just so so but the itinerary was wonderful. Weather and seas were a bit rough on a couple of days and there was a medical emergency on board that prevented us from going to Mykonos which was a shame but couldn't be helped