Norwegian Cruise Lines
Norwegian Spirit Cruise Review
Bahamas

Jennifer

TRAVEL TO DEPARTURE PORT. This was my second cruise with NCL. I like this line for it's free style dining as well as departure ports. I have a fear of flying so I like to depart from a port that is easily accessible by car , bus or train. We live in Massachusetts, about 30 miles from Providence, Rhode Island and Boston. Last cruise we left from Boston. This time NYC. We took the Amtrak train from Providence into Penn station (3.5 hours) Left Providence at 7:20 arrived in NYC at 10:50. I found a great deal on the Amtrak website. $48.00 for adults and $12 for the kids. This was our first time on the train so we weren't sure how the kids would like it. We decided to get one way tickets and decide on the mode of transportation for the return trip later.

Since the departure port was New York we thought we might try to grab a hotel room in the city for a day or two after the cruise (we did not end up doing that and opted to grab the next train home after the trip just because we were tired and I didn't want to spend any more money) The train was great! We ended up taking it back as well and just bought our tickets at Penn Station. Easy. Relaxing. Kids loved it. No stress. Once you get to Penn Station it is very easy to find a cab to the port as the cabs are waiting right outside and are ready to help with your luggage( I recommend Amtrak redcap service if you have a lot of bags, they are friendly and professional and helpful. We gave a $10.00 tip and believe me it was well worth it. It was a quick $7.00 cab ride to departure port.

Getting on the ship was a breeze. Our bags were already in our room when we arrived there at two o'clock. We had an ocean view triple 6026. Beds were very comfortable. Bathroom was small but the shower was great, nice and big. Next time I will absolutely get a balcony room. They looked great.

ON BOARD
The ship is beautiful. So much for adults and kids to do together. We were with our 9 year old daughter. In addition to swimming in the pools, basking in the sun and drinking Pina Coladas while listening to the live band, we also :played bingo, went to the casino, the video arcade, made a dance heads video in Champagne Charlie's, lounged in the observatory and drank champagne, danced to live music in the star dust theater, saw the hilarious comedy of Alfred and Seymore, shopped, had our pictures taken in the beautiful atrium and shopped some more. FUN, FUN, FUN on board the ship.

FOOD
I love to eat but am also very weight conscious and did not want to gain the 10 pounds everyone says you gain on these cruises. I did not want to focus on food but rather on fun. My husband, on the other hand, loves to focus on food. It was the best of both worlds. The buffet was great and had a wide variety of items to choose from, ranging from bran cereal with skim milk and fresh fruit to bacon, sausage and made to order omelet's. Lunch and Dinner was the same from salads to pasta, meats and fish... something for everyone.

ITINERARY
Port Canaveral - we went to Seaworld, saw Shamu and got pearls from oysters and had them made into a necklace and ring.

Nassau - shopping - if we had more time would have like to explore the island more.

Castaway Cay - we opted to stay on board the first night and hang by the pool. I was leery about taking a nine year old on a tandem at night but lots of people did and everyone came back. The next day we went over to the island. Beautiful. We went snorkeling. Again would have liked more time.

OVERALL- GREAT cruise, awesome ship, ok food in the buffet, nice itinerary but not enough time in the ports, felt somewhat rushed. Also many of the shore excursions we wanted were sold out, like the Dolphin Encounter... make sure you sign up early....also reservations for the specialty restaurants fill up early as well... we were not able to get into any of the specialty restaurants as they were all booked by Wednesday for the entire cruise. All in all a great trip and a very good value. Can't wait to go on the next cruise next time we want to try the NCL's Dawn.