Norwegian Spirit Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Worse cruise ever. Captain Teo Radun made decisions way in advance to cancel ports of Iceland which was the whole featured destination of this cruise. In addition weather reports did not support his reason for cancelling these ports. Everyone we talked to on ship was very disappointed and agreed that Iceland destination was the only reason they were on this cruise. Iceland cruises are also higher cost than other cruises because of this destination and passengers were given a 'discount' of a whole $60 for missing these two ports. Also they gave us a promise of 25% off a future cruise which is ridiculous. We should not have to cruise with them again to get this discount. It should be refunded on the amount we paid for this cruise. Actually a rating of 3.9 is higher than I would ever give to this cruise. This is Captains fault not the crew though.

I cannot emphasize how much I appreciated Captain Teo's decision to cancel certain stops and made every effort to add different ports to our itinerary due to nature's challenges--high winds--that we encountered for several days. He is to be commended for his caring thoughts/actions and concern for our safety. I thoroughly enjoyed the cruise because every Norwegian city was absolutely stunning, and the fjords are spectacular. What a lovely way to view nature's beauty! I look forward to more Norwegian cruises in the future.

The ship that we sailed on obviously wasn’t equipped to handle the seas that they were navigating on they had skipped three different ports due to weather and seem completely content to keep us on board spending money with the cruise line overall experience was very poor. Look up NCL spirit riot .

The Captain put us into harms way. When we arrived at the dock we were informed about a change of port and were going to France instead. We set sail out into very rough water and when we got close to France we were told it was also cancelled. We spent 2 days at sea going to Bergen. After our 3 ports in Norway the ship went around in circles and we went to other port towns , which are suburbs of the other ports. Unfortunately at these ports they were shut down for the Season. Most of trip when we were in very extremely rough water because of the Atlantic Gale Storms. After Flam we were informed we were not going to Iceland because of Hurricane Lorenzo. Hurricane Lorenzo was going to Ireland and nothing to do with Iceland. It arrived as a Tropical storm and only cause some rain in Ireland with no damage. This was a Lie!!!! After Norway the Captain informed us we were going to Greenock. Everyone was dressed and waiting to arrive at the port . The Captain informed us they had to cancel Greenock because of a broken down navy ship . We were informed by out outside tour company that the Navy ship was not broken down but it didn't want to out in the rough water. We were also told that we were not coming, however the ship did not inform us for over an hour. I called guest services after the tour company gave me this information and again we were lied to and told we were still going. Then we spent more time at Sea in Gale winds again. The ship is going into dry dock in January for much needed repairs. One of biggest problems on our tour was the lack of communication and honesty .

CRUISE WAS TOTAL WASTE OF MONEY & A NIGHTMARE! WE WILL NEVER SAIL ON NCL AGAIN.

Overall cruise was a good value though the ship was older and less to do on other larger and newer ships. Definitely recommend looking at private or alternative tour options as the cruise ship clientele on this itinerary was a bit older and slower and bussing just takes up a long time with short port times. Felt like time in ports was more limiting then it needed to be, particularly since the ports themselves were all very close together. Would have liked to have more time (as in 12 hours versus the 4-5 or 6-8 we had in some ports), the Dublin overnight was convenient.

This was our second Norwegian cruise and will be our last on this line. 1) The ship was clean and well-appointed, but the food on the buffet was terrible and served in an unsanitary manner. As a result, the two main dining rooms were always packed and hard to get into. The second night, a staff member tried to shoo everyone away to the larger dining room (which was also packed). We were not dressed in the required code for the larger restaurant. Beepers were available, but not used. Complaining to Guest Services assured us of a reservation every night at 6:30, but other guests continued to experience the inconvenience. Guess they didn't know how to complain effectively? 2) There were not enough tenders to get everyone on shore in time for their excursions in Orkney. This resulted in angry passengers, especially since we were not informed ahead of time of the (2 hour) delay. Coming back from Orkney, I saw the reason for not enough tenders in the morning - NCL Spirit was using its own tenders by then, all of which were belching black smoke and making horrendous engine noises. They obviously were long overdue for maintenance. I prayed for safety as we were ferried back to the ship. Fortunately, this was the only port requiring tenders. 3) Policies and procedures were either not clearly stated, not followed, or both. I found out at some point that the dress code in the larger main dining room was not enforced, undoubtedly due to the fact that the smaller dining room couldn't service the demand. We also did not have our liquor confiscated after our distillery tour, even though the couple ahead of us did have their merchandise confiscated. I have no idea why, since we had as much liquor as they did. 4) "Anything to make a buck" seems to be the overwhelming business model of NCL. Drinks were way overpriced; Laundry cost was much more than it would cost to have the same items dry cleaned in the States; I couldn't get a refund for post cruise transfers to LHR I purchased prior to the cruise and didn't (because we changed our travel plans); excursions were pushed and little to no information was given about the port itself. However, the itinerary was great, as was the service. Great staff, hard-working and polite. My spouse purchased spa treatments and used the nail salon several times, and enjoyed those experiences thoroughly.

Gave a nice overview of Scotland and Ireland but the ports with Tenders were a problem that should be addressed.

Rare combination of multiple ports and few sea days allowed us to enjoy a larger variety of experiences. Only downside was three tender ports

This was our 50th anniversary celebration and it didn't disappoint! We really like the freedom of Norwegian cruises to dress and eat as you choose! We enjoyed each port, as you have seen, some more than the others, but all in all, a most wonderful trip. Had fun playing the trivia and other games on sea days. The only thing I can say to the negative, is the dining room needs to change up their menus a bit more. That's it. All was good.

Will never take this trip again. Was not worth the money we spent.

Would have like a newer/better ship but ports were awesome! Hit every country on the Baltic Sea and more. Great bucket list checking :)

Most of the tours spent a lot of time on a bus. I needed to be older and less mobile for this cruise. I'm glad I did it and do not need to do it again. I like a more active cruise that has more exertion in the ports. As always NCL personnel is terrific. The Spirit is a small ship and has less to do than most other ships. That matters on a 12 day cruise.

We had many issues on this cruise, listed below: 1) The ship itself is in need of serious repair. The decor is seriously outdated, many times dirty around tile (such as in restrooms) and needs to be cleaned up. We also experienced issues where the fountains were vibrating so loudly in the lobby that we had to leave the Champagne bar as it was so annoying. The boards on the 7th deck as we walked were bowing upwards and caused water pooling on the right side forward. It was serious, no one looked at it...they simply repainted the railing. There were numerous restrooms closed throughout the trip in public areas and we were told the piping was having issues. We also encountered major water on floor next to broken toilets in restrooms. The pool area is nice, but there was never a time to have BBQ outside (some due to weather) when there were days it would have worked. As far as destinations, we are seriously disappointed in NCL for not preparing us for the Amsterdam stop. This was the first time they made port in this area which was a long way from Amsterdam. This isn't an issue as long as you can get there. We went out and bought bus tickets at terminal to head to Amsterdam. From time we left boat until we got there...it was almost THREE hours. This cost us major time and we had no clue of the serious issue that was going to occur. Once back on board, I asked what happened and told the gentleman that I was thinking the cruise port said Amsterdam on our cruise documents which I printed way back in May. The gentleman was extremely rude to me and my wife (and we took down 3 emails to corroborate the scene that ensued). We said we "thought" it said Amsterdam and we've been to that port before. He told us "No, it didn't". I told him, I don't have it in front of me...he said "Well, I'm telling you, it didn't". I asked him if I understood him correctly that he was telling me what I had on my documents which were not in front of me...and he said "Yes, it does not say that". I wasn't saying it did, I was saying I thought it did. The number of people watching this were AMAZED at this customer service interaction. We were mildly upset when we walked up, and when we walked away, we were DISGUSTED. This stop was a nightmare, and it should have been better organized and discussed by NCL on the front end. With regards to the staff, wonderful as always. Gracia the waitstaff in Galaxy really stood out...so did Manu and Maya in Champagne Charlie's. The staff (gentleman we encountered was manager) at Customer Service and the ship made us really not like this cruise much at all. Has us considering other options for next year for sure.

All in all I was disappointed in the ship because it is so "worn down" with holes in the upholstery in the night club and the most uncomfortable seats in the theater. I chose the cruise because of the ports, but was very dissatisfied with the ship.

Overall this is a good cruise itinerary however we only experienced half because of lack of Visa for Southern Ireland. Several other passengers experienced this ordeal, hence there is need for better communication about visa requirements for international passengers since visa to UK is not sufficient for this excursion.

This was a dream itinerary and the Spirit did not disappoint. The port of calls were interesting and the northern ports were outstanding and the people seemed to appreciate our visiting their beautiful countries. One shop in Portland mentioned that they only have been open for cruise ships for three years and the Spirit was the largest ship to date. The NCL is the oldest ship in Norwegian fleet but they have managed to keep it fresh mostly up to date. The decor is a little strange as it has an oriental bent but since it originally sailed in Asia it makes more sense. This ship is scheduled to have a 5 week refit in the spring and I would guess this issue would be addressed as well as the limited power outlets in the cabins.

We love ncl for its freedom, informality and most of all for the diversity of its staff. The Norwegian staff were fantastic and this itinerary was absolutely terrific. We have cruised for years, but this is the first cruise we have taken since both of us have had mobility issues and we were disappointed that the excursions had no offerings that were really doable for us - we took four level 1 excursions and they were quite challenging. We bailed (even after paying) on three - just too hard. I hope that the market for aging boomers will force the availability of better choices over time - mostly a port problem, I realize, but we have seen wheelchair symbols by some excursions on other cruise lines. But overall it was marvelous and we remain loyal Norwegian fans.

Extremely disappointing. Food was below par. Never got our latitudes welcome letter, no cocktail party, ship is in major need of upgrades and new chefs! Was an expensive disappointment.

Despite of some of the issues that were previously mentioned, we really enjoyed our trip. The time allotted for Crete was insanely short ( it takes approximately 15 or 20 minutes to get from the port into town) ; too short for any excursion.