Norwegian Spirit Cruise Reviews - Reviews

What made this cruise great was the number of shore excursions available in all countries.  Very organized and informative.  Ship was acceptable.  Rooms with balcony good.  I would go again.

caution--make sure hotel is on same side as main canal and bus terminal.  Amount of walking is more than listed.  You have to get from ship to bus and sometimes quite a walk.

Compare with my previous experience on the Norwegian Star last year, this cruise is more inferior. This is especially on the fine dining in either the Windows nor the Gardens. At the Baltic Cruise last year, we get to eat lobster but not the Mediterranean Cruise. The foods in Shogun are prepared by non Chinese or Japanese we learnt that the chef was a Filipino. My group of 18 complained right from the first dish that the food is salty and despite our request for the chef to cut back on salt, the foods remained Salty. Most food were rejected.

We felt warmth and kindness from the crew. They were very polite and we were happy to be cruising with them. Thank you to all of them.

The sights we visited were wonderful - it was a great collection of ports (and places nearby) to visit.  

We were promised to have  $250.oo to expend on board, when wanted to use it was denied. The day we arrived 2 of the pillows in our room were with blood, maybe was not enough time to change them but the person who took care of our room changed them when we called. Got dinner at the Italian Restaurant and the attention is no the best, the waiters do not care about people who does not order wine or other beverage we did not have dessert, never was offered. At the buffet restaurant all the personel was very nice, friendly.

Great ship and wonderful staff. Thhe ports we visited were excellent. The tours we booked were wonderful but some of them were a little strenuous for us. Would definitely recommend this cruise.

Had an enjoyable time on board the Spirtit .  Staff were very good and ports were exciting.

Each Port had different attrractions that we enjoyed.  The cabin staff were excellent and had adorable towel art each night to surprise us.

May was a great month to cruise, not to hot, not to cold.....the Spirit was a nice size ship.   It is an older ship and not as many passengers as the newest ships out there.    Second time for this itinerary.    It is a misprint about two days in Venice.....you only have the day you board.   You leave at 1 am.....food was ok, nothing special.   Better meals at the finer restaurants on board,but not worth the extra money per person......ship excursions very expensive.    Better to go with outside agencies, much cheaper and basically the same tours.   

On the first day of our much anticipated cruse I had the pleasure to meet the Ship's Food and Beverage Director. It was a short encounter but I did get to state my expectations and that I was a retired Hotel F & B Director of 30+ yeaars. As he walked away I thought to myself that I hope the food is better on this cruse than his personality and lack social skills. This much awaited retirement cruse turned out to be a big disappointment regarding the quality of food served. I had breakfast/lunch twice in the cafeteria style restaurant and vowed never to return since the food selection never changed and was usually not served hot nor did it look appitizing. Coffee cups were small and you were not allowed to fill up on drinking water to bring to your cabin or take with you on a tour. Water and sodas were not included and only availabe to be purchased. My sister was repremanded by the staff on two occasiond while filling her water bottle in the cafeteria. As a Food and Beverage Director I did confirm my observations with many of the passangers we met over the 12 day cruse.   Many shared the same concerns.

Now lets discuse the other restaurants. Our traveling party of four dined almost every morning for breakfast in the Windows Restaurant; a very large and extremely lovely yet vacant of guests during the breakfast period.  Of course the limited printed menu never changed nor did the absence of efficient service. The staff was always friendly & cordial but always forgot one or two items when serving our table.  Other issues: slow service due to the distance servers had to walk to the kitchen, no matter how many times you requested crisp bacon it was delivered limp and fatty, juice refills and additional wanted items were difficult to get since the servers moved on to other arriving guests' for breakfast. While dining in the Garden Room Restaurant for dinner I sent my overcooked  pork tenderloin back; the maitre'd was on top of it and had another choice promptly delivered. No problem untill it happened to me again in the same restaurant a few nights later. This time our table of six completed their entrees before my substitute meal arrived. I did not enjoy eating my main couurse while everyone was waiting to be served dessert. I said I would not return to dine in the Garden Room in the future but jumped to the chance of having lobster which was a special on one evening.  Needless to say the restaurant ran out and when I asked the Maitre'd to get me one from the Japanise restaurant he said he could not. Speaking of lobster, on the first night of the cruse I ordered the lobster & filet combo offered on the menu at the upcharged cost Japanse restaurant...disappointment number one when told they did not have any lobster available at their port of embarcation. We paid more to dine on two different occasions at the Steak Restaurant which was excellent for both food  and service. Likewise we paid additional to dine at the French Restaurant on two occassions.  The first go around was great however on the second visit I left after waiting for my entree to be delivered.  My significant other han finished her rack of lamb before my main entree was delivered. It dissapeared somewhere and an attenpt was made to get a substitute quickly. Another ruined experience, we got up and left after waiting an additional 15 minutes. Yes, the management was kind enough to refund my share of the $20 surcharge to grace one of your upscale establishments. By the way, when you purchase the ultimate drink package it is difficult for staff/management to compinsate you with a complimentary drink. 

I don't think I will ever book a Norwegian Cruse Line again.  Time is so precious that every experience shoud be memerable in a positive light. As a seasoned Food and Beverage Executive employed at three major brand hotel chains over the past 30 years I can honistly state that the quality of the food on our 12 day cruse was substandard and I cannot honestly recommend your ship line to anyone.

I do however appreciate the cleanliness of the common areas of the ship which I understand just completed a major renovation. To bad it stopped there and did not include the cabin I occupied. If you wish I can forward pictues of the mold surrounding most of the shower stall floor. Unfortunately I deleated the picture of the ring around the toilet in error.

The following day after our wedding in Key West, FL, my wife and I flew out of Miami to beautiful and amazing Venice, Italy!  We stayed in Venice for two days before boarding the Norwegian Spirit for the start of our 12 day cruise around the Mediterranean.  Our first impressions of the interior were that it was nice, clean and recently upgraded.  We've been on 5 other cruises to compare and the Spirit fell in the middle; it was not amazing, but it was nice.  It was to be expected for an older boat.  This cruise is all about the amazing ports of call.  You will need to take lots of tours which can get expensive and can be exhausting at times.  Mykonos, Greece is beautiful!  Kusadasi, Turkey has the ancient town of Ephesus which is a must see!  Rome, you have to tour the historic downtown!  The Amalfi Coast in Greece is miraculous!  The list goes on and on, but Cinque Terre in Italy, the 5 small villages was my favorite!  There are 10 ports of call and only 2 sea days so there's not alot of time spent on the boat.  When on the boat, we found the dining room food rather disappointing.  The speciality dining was much better, but with an upcharge.  There's a teppanyaki japanese hibachi table that we ate at twice because we love japanese food.  The steak house and italian restaurant where o.k. and the french bistro was the best.  The entertainment onboard was above average.  The violinist was one of the best in the world, the magician was as good as David Copperfield, the acrobats where fun to watch, and the cruise staff performance at the end of the cruise was very well done.  We had an interior room which was the cheapest so it wasn't great.  The room could have used some upgrades to the furnishings.  The staff on board was very friendly and accomodating. The spa was nice.  The cruise director, Geo was a nice guy.  To offer criticism, when the staff spoke in English to everyone (English is the spoken language on board), they would then follow with what they just said but this time in Spanish.  Very annoying and I'm sure that there were only a few Spanish speaking people on board that didn't already understand what was said in English the first time it was said.   The casino was small and full of smoke, but that's to be expected I suppose.  The club behind the casino was under-utilized; there wasn't a DJ in the club many nights and when there was, he was playing Latin music.  I really have nothing else bad to report. I recommend this cruise to anyone that wan't to see some beautiful places throughout the Mediterranean!  4 out of 5 stars.

Having done two other cruises before on different cruise lines, this cruise stands out due to the ports visited. Although it was nice to try out the "Freestyle Dining", I found that I missed the consistency of having our own table every night (with a party of 8, this actually may have helped to have had the servers know what to expect from us every night instead of constantly moving from table to table with such a large group). Additionally, although the ship was nice, compared to the two others I had cruised on, this one showed some age and wear. The rooms were nice and large though, so that was a nice perk. 

Embarkation was somewhat of a "cluster" as signs were not adequate and no queue lines were set up.

We walked into Venice and enjoyed this but do NOT attempt to use the map of Venice as supplied by NCL as you cannot find your way back to the ship using this map.

The room and service was great.

The food was about what I expected and much less than my wife expected.  The buffet is decent but can get very crowded.  The food items are not marked where you can read what they are until you are all the way in front and then the crowds make browsing difficult.  We did enjoy the Windows dining room and most of our meals were there.  The speciality dining is a rip-off as a cruise is supposed to have nice dining as part of the experience.  The speciality restaurants are just a way to jack up the initial prices.

Excursions were very good but to NOT get the NCL excursions - go to and get the equivalent package for 1/2 the NCL price.

Shows were good and most were worth seeing.

The main reason we chose the Spirit was because of its itinerary.  The ship had major challenges with organization and communication.  Embarkation was a nightmare.  We had to haul all of our luggage throughout long, random lines in the parking lot until we got to drop off our checked bags.  The service in both dining rooms was extremely slow and even though we had made reservations, still had to wait in a line with folks without reservations before getting seated.  We were a group of eight and we could only get reservations very early or late - not at the times we wanted.  Food was basic and several nights had to send entrees back due to toughness.  Specialty dining was pushed big time and wondered if the lack of emphasis on "free" dining was missing in order to attract more specialty dining.  Entertainment was also a miss.  Most entertainment was a solo act and several entertainers were featured more than once.  The ship itself looked good in the main areas.  Our stateroom's balcony had been painted at some point and there was paint splattered all over the railing, chairs, door, and a big glob on the floor.  Water for the shower ran from extremely hot to extremely cold without adjusting it.  We had to jump out of the way to keep from getting burned or frozen.  This could have been dangerous to a child or an elderly person.  When we first boarded the ship, most of the crew was distant and stand offish.  However, by the end of the cruise, they were friendlier.  There was definitely room for improvement.  On a positive note, the ports were wonderful and the disembarkation process was great.

I loved the ship!  Our cabin was very comfortable.  I loved having a balcony.  The crew was very friendly and went out of their way to make everyone feel important and welcome!

The only negative was the constant extra charges for every little thing.  I feel that charging $89.00 for soda for 12 days was extreme!  I understand the charge for alcohol but not soda.  Also, the internet charge was rather excessive.  

The crew did a great job with activites!  You could be as busy or as lazy as you wanted.

The food was absolutly fantastic!  I love all of the dining options!  Windows was my favorite.  They made every night special!

Enjoyed the cruise on Norwegian Spirit mainly because of ports, but service not as good as Carnival. Also did not like Turkey ports because of being forced to attend high pressure "rug" sale, also too many steet vendors with their wares stuck in your face. Enjoyed other ports greatly! Also good service from room stewarts, Le Bistro and Windows Dining,  but poor service at Garden dining, even gave them thee chances, did not improve. Would I take it again? only if I could not get the destination I needed on another cruise line.

Embarkation in Venice was a breeze. Itinerary was fantastic. Ship was the perfect size. Main dining room service was uneven which, I believe is a function of anytime dining. Entertainment wa fair but it did not matter too much because we were usually tired after an excursion. Bebarkation was a breeze. We had no problem making a10:30 AM flight in Barcelona. Would do this cruise again in a heartbeat. Specialty dining was excellent. LaTrattoria and Cagney's were both excellent. The ship was clean. Drinks were overpriced as they are on all cruise ships.

The staff was great:  the food was not.  I could not drink the coffee, there was no seafood, and the food

varied a great deal, with desserts being the best.  I did not like being subjected to buying "opportunities" both on board and in Turkey.  I would have liked more time in the ports and less on the ship.  The tours we took were mostly too long for one day and should have been broken up with some free time to shop or explore.  I did not get much interaction with locals other than the guides.  The internet was expensive, phone service not there much of the time, and very little TV, including news or stock reports, so I felt very cut off.  This was my first cruise, and I can not compare, but I have heard other cuise lines have seafood. I even paid one night for the specialty restaurant, and did not like the entree.

We took this cruise to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary.  We were not disappointed.  We had the Gemini Suite.  The cruise staff was attentive and responsive to our every request.  The "freestyle" dining took some getting used to, but all in all we enjoyed the experience.  The ship was in better condition than some reviews suggest, but if you are looking for a sparkling brand new mega cruise ship, this is not the cruise for you.  We enjoyed the relaxed no stress atmosphere which was exactly what we were looking for.  The specialty resturants - Cagneys and Le Bistro - were great.  We have told trhe cruise line that Cassablanca was not worth the stop and another port should be used.  We were not impressed with this port.  The other ports were enjoyable.  If you are looking for a quiet, relaxing and stress free cruise, this is a good one.  If you are looking for a go go style carribean cruise, by all means go to the carribean.

We enjoyed the cruise but there were enough things wrong (poor service, noise etc) to only rate it a 3/5. The people we met on board and in port made a big difference to the success of our cruise. 

Overall a lovely experience. This is my third experience with a cruise line. What's so great about this cruise? Well let's just say the delicious food, excellent service , reasonable deals over shopping and a relaxing time made the entire trip so worth it. Just minute details like the toiletries; the body lotions weren't available and so on. The best part about this cruise is that there more time on land touring all places and night time over seas

Our trip was wonderful! Going from Barcelona to Venice with stops in France, 4 in Italy, 2 in Turkey and 2 in Greece, we got to see so much and experience so much more. The staff was wonderful, friendly, and helpful. Norwegian Cruise Line works hard to keep their guests all healthy and happy and we appreciated this. Of course, every little thing involved an additional charge, but we expected this. Our shore excursions were excellent, our cabin was comfortable, and the food was wonderful. I'm ready to go again.