Norwegian Spirit Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Loved our experience on the Norwegian Spirit!  Everything was great from the staff, the ship, the food, entertainment, just everything.  Can't wait to go again!

everything was pretty good except the food. luke warm in the buffet most times and sit down dinners in the two restaurants available at no cost were marginal at best. no seafood choices available except salmon, we were disappointed.

I loved my 12 night stay on the Norwegian Spirit. Our room was small, but reasonably appointed with a nice size shower for a cruise ship. The staff and crew were universally helpful and friendly and it was nice to see the same familiar faces over the course of the nearly two week trip. The ship sails to most of the major highlights in the Mediterranean with four stops in Italy alone. The only thing that i would change is to make fewer stops so that we could have more overnights. The opportunity to eat dinner and enjoy the nightlife was one of my favorite parts about Barcelona and Venice. Also, the stop in Toulon is a bit boring. I think they add that in so that they can say that we stopped in France. Overall I highly recommend the Grand Mediterranean to anyone who is a first timer to Europe (like me) or who just wants to see all the most famous stops in one trip. When the 12 days were up I wasnt ready to leave!

My husband and I where very unhappy with our experience on this cruise.

The only thing we where happy with was the food, and the person that cleaned our room.

We went to sleep, and woke up to cigarette smoke smell the entire cruise. Which was very uncomfortable for my husband because he suffers with asthma.

We where also subjected to sleep with noise that came from a blower that was located outside of our room door.  We where told that there was some sort of water coming from the walls located directing outside off our room, and the blower was placed in the hallway to dry it up. No one knew where the water was coming from. Therefore, this blower blew almost all day and night. It made it hard to sleep. 

We cruised 7 times with NCL and several others (Incl. Carnival, Holland America, Costa, Celebrity X) ,but this has been the worst cruise we have ever experienced.

This ship was far to full, +- 500 kids more than the standard capacity.

Entertainment and Food was not according to our previous experience when we have cruised with NCL

This cruise is was a great vacation. The countries visited were beautiful and the service on board was excellent.  The ship was good, but lacked some of the comfort of more modern cruises. What I liked the most was the general friendly atmosphere and the free cruising approach.  Food was good, not great,  and it took too long in the dinning rooms. Overall, I will recommend it to others without any hesitation.

Excellent itinerary.....Rooms space ****.......Employees with extraordinary sense of humor and always ready to assist you......superior life music in every corner of the ship *****......Variety of food and restaurants*****.....Theater shows excellent. (more than expected)......My only concern is that ship departures are so early, and we can not enjoy night life in few of the stops that "night life" is recommended as Mikonos, Istanbul and Tulone. ( St. Tropez-Monaco-Niza)....Definetely the cruise was more than expected.....a big improve in NCL service comparing cruises before and with other carriers......Ready to plan a new trip with NCL...Possible Alaska......

Ship, smallest ever stateroom on tenth floor next to elevators, great staff, washy, washy to keep healthy always used and available, fantastic food, great organized shore excursions. I'd rather been taken to Santorini Island so close than to Mykonos though. Just pictures show nicer looking houses. All great places to be seen, very active to go on all possible shore excursions. We had great weather, warmer every day as we went on. To see Venice from the ship was our second experience there. Leaving from Barcelona in the evening gave us the opportunity to still see the city in the morning. We flew from Tampa to London, non stop with British Airways, spend a few days there which was fantastic and assured me luggage would have less chance to be lost. Unforgetfull experience.

The itinerary sells this cruise! We saw such amazing places. The price is very reasonable as well. Probably because the ship is older. We had a balcony room and room was very small for a 12 day cruise. Food was OK but not great. if you wanted better food you had to pay extra and make reservations to the specialty restaurants. We also got a package 7 port tour through "Shore Excursions Group".We saved so much money compared to Norwegians tours. Other guests did the same so you were with some of the same people for all the tours. Made some great friends! Highly recommend doing this. 

For the most part this cruise was great. Felt the tours were over priced and I was told one this and the tour was totally not. At the Vatican we were guided to a shop not the vatican shop and they asked for your tour bus number. I know this was for a kick back. We were told we would see trivoli fountain and Spanish steps and didn't even go near them. As a small private tour you would think they would deliver what they said for $349 PP. Went with the dinig plan and that served us well. I have taken the exact cruise with them before and enjoyed having the dining plan never had to wait once. I have also cruised on Princess and Carnivale in the Mediteranean and enjoyed them all with Princess being my favorite.

everithing was so grate that I will like to live there, the food in the privet restaurants excelent the food in the complementary restaurants, very good, the breakfast so good, the service on the room, the shows so good, is people the have the big  Spirit to give us the best that have inside and make us live a excelent best happy time, the true I didin't want to live , but everithing have one star and one end, my Inglish is no good but I try to raight what I feel.....If I can put all the persons that work in that cruise infront of me,  I let them now that make my vacations the best of the best... thank you with all my Spirit.

This is a fantastic cruise.  Not only do you see the greatest cities of the ancient world, walk where Aristotle and Caesar walked...you can see, taste, touch, and smell the places they lived.  The ship is awesome in its own right.  Not so big and so many people that every day off the gangway seems like a cattle call, yet big enough to offer something special and to the liking of everyone aboard this small town afloat.  The crew is courteous and spirited and they aim to please...to make your journey relaxed and compfortable.  You will work harder on this vacation than you are accustomed to at home unless you are a gym rat.  There is so much to see you will not want to miss anything, so get out the walking shoes and do a couple of miles a day in preparation for this journey through time. The food on the ship is outstanding and the variety incredible...you will gain weight even with all the walking.

I have done 6 Med cruises, and for itenerary, amenities,ships cleanliness, ship size, time in port, and staff friendliness...this trip is the best by a significant margin! You get to see St Mark's Square and the canals of Venice and even take a water taxi or a Gondola ride.  You get to stand atop the Acropolis and see the Parthenon and the Temple of Nike. Walk where Paul the apostle preached and Aristotle taught philosophy to Plato. See the last reputed residence and home of the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus Christ.  Walk the Marble streets of Ephesus and touch the facade of the ancient library of Ephesus. Stroll the exact same street on which Cleopatra and Marc Antony walked in procession into the great port of Ephesus and stand in the Ampitheatre where Paul was arrested for preaching the gospel. It is reputed that he penned his first letter to the Corinthians while imprisoned in Ephesus.

Your boat will take you on a passage through the Dardenell straits and the Gallipoli battlefield where the allies fought Turkish forces at the end of World War I, a struggle bourne out in a movie of the 80's bearing the name of that strategic penninsula of land.  See the city of Istanbul and the Blue Mosque and Haggia Sophia.  Take a boat ride up the Golden Horn or up the Bosphorus to the gateway to the Black Sea.  See the Grande Bazzar and the Egyptian Spice Market.  The tastes and smells are amazing alone.  Istanbul is an experience in and of itself and yet just another of the incredible and vibrant cities you will see on the cruise.

You will see Naples and if you want the Isle of Capri, or Pompeii and Herculaneum.  If that is not enough adventure, take an afternoon ride along the Amalfi coast, lunch in Sorento and take a quick swim in the sea to cool off after your trek through the ancient city in the wee hours of the morning. Oh, did I forget to tell you how beautiful it was to cruise through the Greek Isles and the straits of Messina on the way to Naples?  My heavens, the view of Mount Aetna and the trip past the island of Sicily and the tip of the boot of the Italian mainland...beauty on both sides. And by the way, just out of the Straits you cruise just pass the Island of Stromboli and its active volcano.  It will sometimes provide a fireworks experience rivaled only by a 4th of July spectacular.The rear deck of the ship behind Raffles provides excellent viewing.

Your day in Rome will be what you make it.  The Vatican and the Sistene Chapel, and the Pantheon, it simply is not to be missed.   I wept when I saw it the first time.  Not an overly dramatic person, but to see such beauty and brillance over 2000 years old and still an active catholic church...the open roof, the frescos, the tomb of Raphael....Did I mention the Colliseum, the house of Ceasar, the old ruins of Rome, the Circus Maximus, The Cathedral of St. John and the Escalara de los Santos( the steps Christ allegedly ascended on his climb up Calvary to the cross on the day of his crucifiction).  Rome is truely " The Eternal City ".

Florence, the home of the Rennasiance.  See Tuscany and Pisa's leaning tower.... that is much more amazing in person than could ever be revealed in a photograph. See Florence and the Duomo and its dome that architects can only speculate still as to how it was made and created.  See the Palaca Vecchia the home of the Medicci family and frequented by Machivelli, Davinci and Michaelangelo. Go see the jewelry on the Punta Vecchia Bridge.

See the sites and taste the wine of Provence in Toulon, or do a day at the beach. Then there is Barcelona. The Sagrada Familia Cathedral by Gaudi, the Picasso Museum, Salvadore Dali, La Rambla.  The nite life begins at midnight and concludes with breakfast.  The Art and vibrance of the city are palpable.

This is the cruise of a lifetimes worth of travel adventure in one cruise sailing.  You will not replicate this itenerary, this luxury travel, this level of entertainment, and this much exposure to the culture of the Med anywhere for three times the price.  This is a travel value!  I am going back and see it all again next summer.  Hope that I see you there, I will be the crazy American with a camera in one hand, a map in the other and a check list of places to see and things to do today. 

Really great cruise, great ports of call... I would recommend coming to Europe a few days early for your cruise and staying a few days after. We started in Rome (4 nights), train to Venice (3 nights), then boarded the ship... ended up in Barcelona, disembarced, stayed in Barcelona for 4 days, then home. A cruise gives you a great overview of the places that you want to see... you really have to be portside for a few days if you want to experience your destinations. That being said, the cruise was GREAT and I would recommend it - and this ship - to everyone.

By far our joy on this cruise was the crew... Irish, Jha Jha, Nathan, our steward Sandy... these people were a great joy for us, made our day every time we spent any time with them. These people are soooo upbeat, so pleased to make you happy... really, truly, these crew members made our journey! EVERYONE on the crew, to the person, was fantastic, accommodating, cheerful... we couldn't ask for more! For that reason alone - that, and the great ports of call - we look forward to returning to Norwegian Cruise Lines for future voyages.

Our family of 11 (with 4 children 8=14) really enjoyed this cruise.  For a first trip to Europe for many of us, we saw a lot.  We did go early and spent 2 nights in Rome and 2 in Venice before the cruise.  I highly recommend doing this, especially with children.  There is no way we could have seen what we did in Rome (comfortably) in one day.  The younger ones loved the kids club and the 14 yr old LOVED the teen area and activities.  We seldom saw her when we were on the ship.  Several of my family have serious dietary challenges and NCL was extremely accomodating for them.  They didn't have to worry if there were unacceptable items in their food.  This was WONDERFUL!  I wasn't too impressed with the rest of the food, but it was OK.  A few items were really enjoyable both in the dining room and buffet.  I can't say enough about the staff.  Everyone I came in contact with was smiling, happy and HELPFUL.  I did have a small complaint about the balcony cabins with 3 people.  The fold out couch took up all the space from the wall to the desk.  It was impossible to get to the balcony or use the desk without climbing over the bed if it was open-and it was usually open when we were in the room (it was closed when they made up the room after we went out for the day and opened up again when we were at dinner).  Another foot or two to allow passage at all times would have been very nice.  For children and first time travelers to Europe, the ports were a nice selection.  Do your homework and you can find just as nice and less expensive ways to see the ports than on an NCL shore excursion.  An example is in Istanbul there is a 1.4TL tram from near the ship directly to the Blue Mosque, Sophia Haggia, and the Topkapi Museum.  It is only a short 10 minute walk from the Blue Mosque to THE BAZAAR.  There is also easy public transportation to Piza where you can spend as long as you want holding up the leaning tower.  I can't imagine using a tour on Mykonos.  The charming downtown area with its narrow winding streets, tiny churches at every turn, small restaurants and the windmills is just a short walk from the shuttle busses.  I enjoyed being on a smaller ship.  Getting on and off the ship in port was never crowded and seldom had any line.  There was usually room wherever I went, and the buffet, while often full of people, was easy to manage.  Best of all, this senior citizen didn't have to walk too far for anything on the ship.  While the entertainment wasn't top notch, it was still entertaining and the dancers had so much energy.  We enjoyed our cruise!    

Very nice service, the service team is friendly, approachable and very professional. Entertainment is OK, the entertainment team is small but very professional, hope to have more varieties of programs available. Children entertainment is not enough, barely any activities specific for pre-teen and teenagers, only kids playing facility is the water park, which is too small and "babish".

Norwegian refused to assist us in obtaining a taxi to the airport when we were in Venice. They stated that we must call a taxi company ourselves from our room for $5.00 per minute, even though we did not speak italian or know any numbers for taxi companies. Norwegian did not even provide any numbers for taxi companies. My husband and I were on our own at 3:30am in a port in a foreign country. Our flight was at 6:30am and Norwegian did not want to let us off of the boat until 4:30am. It takes 40 minutes to get from the boat to the airport and we had an international flight. The excursions consisted of large groups with a lot of mandatory sales pitches from vendors. In Istanbul, we were placed in a room and forced to watch a carpet presentation. They did not even give us a choice to decline it. We only received 25 minutes in Pisa and it took us 30 minutes to walk from the bus to the location. By the way, it takes at least 30 minutes to climb up and come down the Leaning Tower of Pisa if you are in shape. I would never cruise with Norwegian again. Beware. In my opinion, they only want your money and once they have that, they are done with you. 

The ship was smaller and average. Our balcony cabin had a host of problems. Safe didn't work, ac was inefficient, there was a constant sewage smell in our bathroom and the shower stall was mildewed and a real eyesore. Our room attendant was very caring and helped us get thru the list of issues as did guest services. I ended up with a room credit as they agreed our room problems were above average. We eneded up agreeing to allow them to do some maintenance on the shower which meant we were unable to use our shower for 24 hours but they gave us access to one in a different cabin. The foo was aerage, buffets crowded at times. Specialty restaurants were terrific. Lots of great ports to see! It is misleading that you are in Venice for 2 days, simply untrue..if you really want to see Venice its best to fly in the extra day early to be able to have enough time. All in all it was a great price and super intinerary

We were very please with the service, overall facilities and food during this cruise, we had a memorable time.

The only thing that should be better control is the show seating there were too many people going in early and reserving many seats for people that were coming in as the show was ready to start, besides that we had the perfect cruise. 

Being able to visit five countries and ten ports in 12 days was remarkable.  The food was good but menus were very similar.  Staff was polite and service was good.  Our stateroom was disappointingly small for a balcony room.  Our cabin location was fine but part of the reason I picked the cruise was because of the water feature in the back of the ship which I found out was only for children 12 and under.  Most of the entertainment were things that did not interest us and did not seem suitable for family participation.  Embarking and disembarking were the ships weakest points.  The itinerary said Venice in the first two days but we realized the second was actually at sea.  We had to miss one of our excursions and barely made it to the other one.  Directions to get the water taxi were very unclear.  We almost missed it and our excursion.  At Mykonos we waited in line following what the signs said which were unclear they didn't specify where to go and when we got to the end of the line the guy said we were in the wrong line.  We had too go to the front desk because we had a limited time to get to our excursion and they were calling out only number 3 and we were assigned #6.  She changed our number to 3 and told us to go to the front of the line.  The people waiting seemed upset that we were getting in front of them but if we hadn't we would have missed our excursion.  It seemed if you didn't do your excursions with NCL you got ignored.  It was very hectic and unorganized.  The final disembarkation was just as confusing.  They did not let us know that the taxis were on strike.  We did not even know where to go and that we needed to take a bus outside the port.  It was nice that they came around with water and orange juice while we waited for the bus.  Everyone we spoke to seemed confused as to how too get from the port to the hotel.  No bus schedule was provided we got dropped off with our luggage and had no clue where to go.  We did enjoy the cruise but NCL could have made it alot easier.   

Excelente crucero la atención de toda la tripulación durante todo el viaje fue muy buena siempre con una sonrisa, la comida la limpieza , los espectáculos los lugares que visitamos y el servicio durante todo el viaje también excelentes!!! 100% recomendable