Beautifully done! I'm hosting a group from the US onboard shortly after you, and was thrilled to come upon this thorough and thoughtful review! I've just subscribed to your channel and look forward to following along on your future adventures as well! Cheers!
oh wow the main dining room is stunning. this ship looks lovely and everything about it. im so glad that u had such a great time. joining your group cruise would be all of my dreams come true it sounds amazing.
Great video. We have our first NCL cruises booked for October. Back to back Alaska on the Bliss followed by Panama Canal on Encore. Really looking forward to trying NCL.
You’ll love Bliss in Alaska. Been on her twice to AK. Get a thermal suite pass for the week before you leave if that’s something you’re interested in. It will sell out. Spice H2O deck 17 aft is adult only w 2 large hot tubs and bar. The views of Alaska from the hot tubs are fantastic. We spent a lot of time there. Observation lounge is lovely early in the morning. The light buffet opens at 5:30 am as does the observation lounge bar. Don’t miss the Beatles show. They have 3 different sets. Get to the venue an hour before the show if you want seats. They are extremely popular. If the band Siglo is on ship they are fabulous too. 70’s, 80’s and 90’a rock. District Brew house is a quiet spot w views. Saw lots of whales while having a craft beer. Best specialty restaurant is Le Bistro imo. Service is over the top. Get a bottle of Veuve Cliquot w dinner. Unlimited internet price will drop starting your first sea day. $79. If you wait until day 3 at midnight it drops to $49. I usually buy on first sea day. The go carts are definitely worth the $15 fee. Really fun! The touchscreens by the elevators do lots of stuff. Can book specialty dining, shows, go carts. You can also pull up all the restaurants and see which ones don’t have a wait. Pick early check in at the port and get in boarding group 1. ( check in reservation starts at midnight 21 days out. I stay up til midnight to get 9:30 check in). You’ll be on ship around 11 am. Get muster done (5 min) then enjoy a sit down lunch at the local or taste/savor MDR. Cabins are not usually ready until about 2-3 pm so pack a suit in your day bag if you want to sit at the pool or hot tub after lunch. Hope you have a great cruise and love Bliss as much as I do. She’s a beautiful ship.
Thanks! She’ll back at the end of 2025 and I’m hosting a group cruise onboard in January 2026: www.thecruiseandtravelguy.com.au/ncl-spirit-group-cruise
I love the concept of free at sea but for those of us who don’t drink are still left with paying far more than we need to or pay as we go. I’ve just love to see cruise lines offer a similar package with specialty dining etc but only offer soft drinks or other nonalcoholic options.😊
Great video thanks Adrian. We are booked on Norwegian Pearl from Istanbul to Trieste next year and although quite a different ship this has given us a feel for the "vibe" that we might expect.
Great review. The renovation is just fantastic. It’s like Bliss and Encore had a baby. I love that they got the kids zone out and put in Spice H2O w a pool!! I love spice on the NCL ships. I’m looking to book her for Japan in 2025.
I’ve cruised Norwegian Dawn, Star and Joy and have found them all wonderful experiences. Unfortunately Covid cancelled my 2020 Japan cruise that had a similar itinerary to yours. Maybe time to try again.😂 I personally would rate NCL a very close third, after Royal and Celebrity.
Thanks Adrian. Have been on three Norwegian ships, the Spirit (prior to refreshment), the Jade and Jewel (twice). I particularly like the informality of this cruise line. Interesting to note that Norwegian have adopted the policy of not adding gratuities for Australian and NZ passengers. It seems to be a more recent innovation amongst cruise lines, as I've previously had it added to the bill as a fixed daily amount pre-covid. It wasn't imposed for recent cruises I've done this year on Princess either. Nor for the forthcoming one I've booked later this year on Celebrity. I'm sure Australians generally aren't in favour of the practice which retains a certain mystique of exactly how it rewards crew members who receive a very modest wage compared with what we are used to. Also I'm quite interested in the way ships are navigated and operated, and enjoyed visiting the observation area behind the bridge when you can see the officers on duty, and displays of navigation channels, directions, sea states and depths, distances and speeds and which engines are in use.
We've been on 25 cruises on several lines, more on NCL than any other. Three were on Spirit and it is one of my favorites and they were all before the last dry dock. The pool in the back was a children's pool back then, looks like a great addition. Good to see how great it looks. We are platinum having taken advantage of several "extra points" cruises early on. Two extra specialty dinners and a free bag of laundry are nice touches. How was Naha? I was born there but was on the way to Guam way before I was one and would love to actually see my birthplace. Military kid. Your videos get better all the time. Will look at your group cruise for sure. We had an epic vacation to New Zealand and Australia just prior to Covid!
Thanks for watching and sharing your NCL experiences too! Naha was great! We went off and explored on foot both days we were there (overnight stay) and even in the rain, we got to see quite a lot. It felt very different to other parts of Japan, to me anyway, it reminded me of Hawaii in some ways. Will share more in my upcoming port/Japan review.
Hi Adrian. I watch an insane amount of cruise blogs and videos. What I hear about NCL is their product is excellent, however their prices and price rises have become a problem. The other thing I hear about NCL is there’s a bit too much nickel and diming on board. Would you agree with this Adrian? How do you think NCL compares to my beloved Princess cruises?
Hi Lisa. NCL reminded me of Royal Caribbean in terms of the onboard inclusions. I can't say that I felt like there was much nickel and diming. The drinks package certainly helped, in that it at least took care of the onboard spend component from a beverage perspective. There were ample included dining options so that spending extra on food wasn't really an issue if you didn't want to do that. Overall though, I would say that Princess, particularly with Princess Plus/Premier, provides more inclusions overall.
Hi, Adrian NCL forced pre pay $200usd for gratuities for called free at sea drink which the drink cost less than $200 for 10 nights. What you think about that? Anyone has some comments on that! Plus $20usd/pp tips on each cruiser!
Hey Mason. There’s a 20% gratuity on these products… but for Aussie and NZ cruisers it’s included in the fare 😅 It’s advertised and known ahead of time, so I’m not sure what else to think about it?
Hi there! We had a day at each port, some stops were overnight so we got to enjoy two days and a night in town if we chose. It would really depend on the child, as there are no kids clubs onboard. There are child friendly areas with gaming consoles and other things to keep their attention, but nothing like you’d find on newer NCL ships.
My wife and I I sailed on the spirit this spring Vancouver BC, Alaska, to Japan. A trip like that with a lot of sea days, I’m thinking your 10 year old would be bored (lots of sea days). We have an upcoming trip this November also on the spirit with an exotic port almost every day. This trip my (now grown kids) would have liked this trip. There really isn’t much to keep a kid occupied and I only saw a couple kids on the ship. This was in April so I’m sure that most families were kids were attending school. Personally, if my kids were young I would go for one of the bigger ships. When my kids were 6, 8, 10 we did a Disney cruise with them. Expensive but at the time, well worth it
@@jerkypat8296 Thank you for sharing your experience. The itinerary I’m thinking of sails from Taipei to Hong Kong and end in Japan. There are 2 sea days only, but I’m still concerned about what the kids can do on the ship other than the pool that is open for all.
@@kidslearningcantoneseengli9625 the shows were good, the magician was fantastic, there was trivia and game shows in the atrium. There are things to do but none kid centric (that I saw). On deck 13 forward just above the elevators there is a lounge that has board games it’s a quiet room. I’m thinking mostly it would be going to shows and hanging in the atrium when they are hosting game shows. They did do origami once, that was kinda fun. IMHO, It would be the port of calls that would be the most exciting for him. So fun to experience Asia first hand. If you do go, I highly recommend finding a MOS burger restaurant in Japan, kind of a local burger chain with a Japanese twist. It was my favorite when I was stationed in Japan back in the late 80’s and when we went this spring, it was the first must do for me 😄
@@jerkypat8296 Appreciate your insights and recommendations! It helps me decide whether to go with this or the Royal Caribbean Spectrum of the Sea that sails from Shanghai to Japan and back to Shanghai.
Beautifully done! I'm hosting a group from the US onboard shortly after you, and was thrilled to come upon this thorough and thoughtful review! I've just subscribed to your channel and look forward to following along on your future adventures as well! Cheers!
Thanks so much for watching and for subscribing. NCL Spirit is a beautiful ship, I hope you enjoy your time onboard with your group.
I love cruise reviews that change my mind, I never thought of NCL as a cruise line I'd like. This ship seems fantastic to me! Thanks Adrian
Thanks so much, Mark. So glad to read your comment! Happy cruising.
oh wow the main dining room is stunning. this ship looks lovely and everything about it. im so glad that u had such a great time. joining your group cruise would be all of my dreams come true it sounds amazing.
Great video. We have our first NCL cruises booked for October. Back to back Alaska on the Bliss followed by Panama Canal on Encore. Really looking forward to trying NCL.
Thanks for watching! Enjoy your upcoming cruises.
You’ll love Bliss in Alaska. Been on her twice to AK. Get a thermal suite pass for the week before you leave if that’s something you’re interested in. It will sell out. Spice H2O deck 17 aft is adult only w 2 large hot tubs and bar. The views of Alaska from the hot tubs are fantastic. We spent a lot of time there. Observation lounge is lovely early in the morning. The light buffet opens at 5:30 am as does the observation lounge bar.
Don’t miss the Beatles show. They have 3 different sets. Get to the venue an hour before the show if you want seats. They are extremely popular. If the band Siglo is on ship they are fabulous too. 70’s, 80’s and 90’a rock.
District Brew house is a quiet spot w views. Saw lots of whales while having a craft beer. Best specialty restaurant is Le Bistro imo. Service is over the top. Get a bottle of Veuve Cliquot w dinner. Unlimited internet price will drop starting your first sea day. $79. If you wait until day 3 at midnight it drops to $49. I usually buy on first sea day. The go carts are definitely worth the $15 fee. Really fun! The touchscreens by the elevators do lots of stuff. Can book specialty dining, shows, go carts. You can also pull up all the restaurants and see which ones don’t have a wait.
Pick early check in at the port and get in boarding group 1. ( check in reservation starts at midnight 21 days out. I stay up til midnight to get 9:30 check in). You’ll be on ship around 11 am. Get muster done (5 min) then enjoy a sit down lunch at the local or taste/savor MDR. Cabins are not usually ready until about 2-3 pm so pack a suit in your day bag if you want to sit at the pool or hot tub after lunch. Hope you have a great cruise and love Bliss as much as I do. She’s a beautiful ship.
Nice review Adrian. Looks a nice ship, something to consider for the future if it comes back to Australia.
Thanks! She’ll back at the end of 2025 and I’m hosting a group cruise onboard in January 2026: www.thecruiseandtravelguy.com.au/ncl-spirit-group-cruise
I love the concept of free at sea but for those of us who don’t drink are still left with paying far more than we need to or pay as we go. I’ve just love to see cruise lines offer a similar package with specialty dining etc but only offer soft drinks or other nonalcoholic options.😊
Definitely would be great to allow people to opt out (so to speak) of the premium drinks package and downgrade to a soda package or similar.
I've traveled with Norwegian and you can take it off. It reduces the tax charge
Great review, Adrian!
Thanks Sarah!
Great video
Great production
Thanks Mate
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great video! Boarding this ship Oct. 23, 2024.
Hope you enjoy it! Thanks for watching.
Great video thanks Adrian. We are booked on Norwegian Pearl from Istanbul to Trieste next year and although quite a different ship this has given us a feel for the "vibe" that we might expect.
Thanks Mark! I hope you enjoy your cruise on Pearl.
Timely review. We just booked our first NCL cruise. It will be on Spirit in 2026; 16 nights Honolulu, to Alaska, to Vancouver.
Enjoy! Spirit is lovely.
I'm doing the same cruise in July 2026! I hear it's a great itinerary. Some great RUclips videos out there for it!
@@jessiwalters7589 it looks like a great itinerary to us too. Glad to know we aren't the only early-bookers.
Great review. The renovation is just fantastic. It’s like Bliss and Encore had a baby. I love that they got the kids zone out and put in Spice H2O w a pool!! I love spice on the NCL ships. I’m looking to book her for Japan in 2025.
I totally agree! It's an awesome spot.
NCL Is always my favorite cruise line. I will be gg on NCL Spirit next year. I have heard many gd things about NCL Spirit. Really looking forward.
Sounds great! Enjoy.
I’ve cruised Norwegian Dawn, Star and Joy and have found them all wonderful experiences. Unfortunately Covid cancelled my 2020 Japan cruise that had a similar itinerary to yours. Maybe time to try again.😂
I personally would rate NCL a very close third, after Royal and Celebrity.
Definitely time to try again! Maybe choose spring time though and avoid the worst of the rain🌧️ lol
Thanks Adrian. Have been on three Norwegian ships, the Spirit (prior to refreshment), the Jade and Jewel (twice). I particularly like the informality of this cruise line. Interesting to note that Norwegian have adopted the policy of not adding gratuities for Australian and NZ passengers. It seems to be a more recent innovation amongst cruise lines, as I've previously had it added to the bill as a fixed daily amount pre-covid. It wasn't imposed for recent cruises I've done this year on Princess either. Nor for the forthcoming one I've booked later this year on Celebrity. I'm sure Australians generally aren't in favour of the practice which retains a certain mystique of exactly how it rewards crew members who receive a very modest wage compared with what we are used to. Also I'm quite interested in the way ships are navigated and operated, and enjoyed visiting the observation area behind the bridge when you can see the officers on duty, and displays of navigation channels, directions, sea states and depths, distances and speeds and which engines are in use.
Thanks for watching and sharing some of your thoughts and experiences! Appreciate it.
We've been on 25 cruises on several lines, more on NCL than any other. Three were on Spirit and it is one of my favorites and they were all before the last dry dock. The pool in the back was a children's pool back then, looks like a great addition. Good to see how great it looks. We are platinum having taken advantage of several "extra points" cruises early on. Two extra specialty dinners and a free bag of laundry are nice touches.
How was Naha? I was born there but was on the way to Guam way before I was one and would love to actually see my birthplace. Military kid. Your videos get better all the time. Will look at your group cruise for sure. We had an epic vacation to New Zealand and Australia just prior to Covid!
Thanks for watching and sharing your NCL experiences too!
Naha was great! We went off and explored on foot both days we were there (overnight stay) and even in the rain, we got to see quite a lot. It felt very different to other parts of Japan, to me anyway, it reminded me of Hawaii in some ways. Will share more in my upcoming port/Japan review.
She has changed alot since her days as Superstar Leo. You would hardly recognise Spirit as the same ship following her refit. Very impressive.
They did an incredible job - she doesn’t look like she’s nearing 30 years in service 😅
Do bathrooms have shower cubicle? Haven't been able to find any pictures.
Yep. Watch this video: Norwegian Spirit Balcony Cabin Tour & Quick Review
ruclips.net/video/8hXY4Atm5K8/видео.html
Hi Adrian. I watch an insane amount of cruise blogs and videos. What I hear about NCL is their product is excellent, however their prices and price rises have become a problem. The other thing I hear about NCL is there’s a bit too much nickel and diming on board. Would you agree with this Adrian? How do you think NCL compares to my beloved Princess cruises?
Hi Lisa. NCL reminded me of Royal Caribbean in terms of the onboard inclusions. I can't say that I felt like there was much nickel and diming. The drinks package certainly helped, in that it at least took care of the onboard spend component from a beverage perspective.
There were ample included dining options so that spending extra on food wasn't really an issue if you didn't want to do that. Overall though, I would say that Princess, particularly with Princess Plus/Premier, provides more inclusions overall.
Is there going to be a new NCL ship based in Japan in 2026?
Hi, Adrian
NCL forced pre pay $200usd for gratuities for called free at sea drink which the drink cost less than $200 for 10 nights.
What you think about that?
Anyone has some comments on that!
Plus $20usd/pp tips on each cruiser!
Hey Mason. There’s a 20% gratuity on these products… but for Aussie and NZ cruisers it’s included in the fare 😅 It’s advertised and known ahead of time, so I’m not sure what else to think about it?
Hi, Would you recommend a 10 year old kid? Or will be bored out of his mind? 😅 How long did you have on land at the destinations? Thank you!
Hi there! We had a day at each port, some stops were overnight so we got to enjoy two days and a night in town if we chose. It would really depend on the child, as there are no kids clubs onboard. There are child friendly areas with gaming consoles and other things to keep their attention, but nothing like you’d find on newer NCL ships.
My wife and I I sailed on the spirit this spring Vancouver BC, Alaska, to Japan. A trip like that with a lot of sea days, I’m thinking your 10 year old would be bored (lots of sea days). We have an upcoming trip this November also on the spirit with an exotic port almost every day. This trip my (now grown kids) would have liked this trip. There really isn’t much to keep a kid occupied and I only saw a couple kids on the ship. This was in April so I’m sure that most families were kids were attending school.
Personally, if my kids were young I would go for one of the bigger ships. When my kids were 6, 8, 10 we did a Disney cruise with them. Expensive but at the time, well worth it
@@jerkypat8296 Thank you for sharing your experience. The itinerary I’m thinking of sails from Taipei to Hong Kong and end in Japan. There are 2 sea days only, but I’m still concerned about what the kids can do on the ship other than the pool that is open for all.
@@kidslearningcantoneseengli9625 the shows were good, the magician was fantastic, there was trivia and game shows in the atrium. There are things to do but none kid centric (that I saw). On deck 13 forward just above the elevators there is a lounge that has board games it’s a quiet room. I’m thinking mostly it would be going to shows and hanging in the atrium when they are hosting game shows. They did do origami once, that was kinda fun.
IMHO, It would be the port of calls that would be the most exciting for him. So fun to experience Asia first hand. If you do go, I highly recommend finding a MOS burger restaurant in Japan, kind of a local burger chain with a Japanese twist. It was my favorite when I was stationed in Japan back in the late 80’s and when we went this spring, it was the first must do for me 😄
@@jerkypat8296 Appreciate your insights and recommendations! It helps me decide whether to go with this or the Royal Caribbean Spectrum of the Sea that sails from Shanghai to Japan and back to Shanghai.