Norwegian Spirit

There's something special about your first cruise. Especially when you go into that cruise with no, or even low, expectations, and you have absolutely no idea of what's in store for you over the course of the next week.

My husband and I took our first cruise in April of 2008 on the Norwegian Spirit, and it's one of our most memorable vacations. It was a complete spur of the moment decision, and we actually booked our cruise on the Thursday before we embarked on Sunday.

We arrived in New Orleans the night before the cruise and stayed with JW Marriott which is close to the port. Embarkation was smooth (we got there really early). We were actually the second couple on board. While it's not an excessively large ship, it was still very nice and well kept.

The first night we sailed down the Mississippi River towards the Gulf and it was such a great way to start the week. The weather was perfect and the band on the pool deck was playing reggae/summer music creating the perfect atmosphere to get you in the mood to cruise to the Western Caribbean.

Our luggage was delivered to our stateroom in a timely manner and Marcello, our room steward had everything ready for us. He kept our room clean, fresh ice and towels, and was almost "invisible" the entire trip.




We had a room with a porthole view. White it was definitely small, the space was used efficiently,

and we were comfortable the entire cruise.

The food was absolutely fantastic. We ate in Cagney's Steakhouse which is an upcharge, but found no difference in the food or service level from Window's or The Garden Room, which are the main dining restaurants. In our opinion, don't waste time or money going to an upcharge on the Spirit.

There are always people wanting to take your picture and serve you alcohol onboard. This is the only part that we felt displeased with NCL. We felt "nickled and dimed" a lot. Also, with alcohol there is an automatic gratuity, along with the $10/day per person auto-gratuity that is added to your room bill.

The casino was nice, but a little smoky for our taste. The dance clubs were fun and The Galaxy of the Stars, which is over the Bridge was a great place to unwind after a hard-day's play. The bands and entertainers onboard were all excellent at their jobs, except for the comedy troupe "Second City" We actually left during the show.

Our first excursion was the Tabyana Beach Party in Roatan, Hondurus, which was nice. It wasn't the most amazing beach we had been to, but hey it was a beach! This was probably our shortest excursion, so we just walked around the beach and enjoyed a light meal.

Our second stop was in Guatemala, which was also nice. The beach was just beautiful, and there was an employee at the resort we visited who constantly raked seaweed to keep the beach clean. You could sit at the beach or swim in the resort pool. If you felt the need to move around, there were a few areas that we could explore at our leisure.

Belize was by far our favorite port!  We tendered to shore first thing in the morning and went on the cave tubing and zip lining excursion. I spent the entire day scared to death! We floated on inner tubes down Cave Branch River, which was so much fun. I will admit that the cave portion was more than a bit unnerving for me.  We floated through the cave for quite awhile, and it was pitch black inside the cave. My imagination began to run wild, and I started visualizing what all might be swimming underneath me. I was more than happy to have our guide tell us to turn on our lights. Zip lining was crazy. I was so scared that I was literally shaking from the time I put on my gear until my feet were on solid ground again.

We went on the speed boats excursion in Cozumel, which was our favorite port but least favorite excursion. I was surprised at how rough the boats. I'm not sure if the water was particularly rough that day or if that was the norm.

By the end of the cruise, neither of us wanted to leave and go back to everyday life. We were already planning our next cruise on the way home. 

Where did you go for your first cruise or are you still waiting to try one out?