About Norwegian Spirit

Cruising with NCL

I was already familiar with the layout of Norwegian Spirit as I had cruised before in Asia on her sister ship, Superstar Virgo. The things I liked best on the ship were the extremely spacious public areas. The foyer on Deck 7 is a very large open space with a grand staircase leading up to a mezzanine floor of shops, restaurants and the Champagne Charlie's bar.

The foyer on Norwegian Spirit

The Grand Staircase with 3 elevators

Another favourite place of mine was the library with its comfortable chairs and large picture windows. There was a good selection of books in several languages.

Library on Norwegian Spirit

Some facts and figures about Norwegian Spirit:

• Passengers - 2,018
• Crew - 949
• Cruising speed - 24 knots
• Bars & lounges - 10
• Swimming pools - 2 & 4 hot tubs. On Deck 10 there is Buccaneer's Wet & Wild, a pirate themed swimming pool & play area for children.
• Dining options - 14. 

I'll write more about these in my next blog post. There were lots to choose from.

Cruising the Mediterranean with Norwegian Cruise line

On an NCL cruise

Last month we went on a wonderful cruise with Norwegian Cruise Line. We hadn't cruised with them before and the itinerary took us to some places we hadn't been. Our ship was Norwegian Spirit.
  It was called the '12-Day Grand Mediterranean Cruise', captained by Vanja Litovic, and over the course of the days we travelled  3,100 kilometres. We visited 5 countries ( Italy, Greece, Turkey, France, Spain) and 10 ports of call with 2 sea days.
  Here's where we went:

• Venice (embarkation)
• Piraeus (for Athens)
• Izmir (for Ephesus)
• Istanbul
• Mykonos
• Naples
• Civitavecchia (for Rome)
• Livorno ( for Pisa and Florence)
• Toulon
• Barcelona (disembark)

And what port did I like best? All of them! Each was special and interesting in its own way. We had a great time!

More Fruit Carving

Scary!

Just for fun - two more fruit carving photos, taken aboard MSC Sinfonia on our Mediterranean cruise last month.

Mmmmm- Cookies!

A Short Cruise on the Danube River from Passau

On board the Crystal Ship

In my last blog post I wrote about the Crystal Ship that does short cruises along the Danube leaving from the town of Passau.
We chose to go on a morning cruise, that departed from and arrived at dock 11 at Passau. The cruise took just over two hours and was a very pleasant way to see the local scenery.

The different coloured waters of the Inn and Danube Rivers

On leaving the dock, we cruised past the end of the Passau peninsular where three rivers ( Danube, Inn and Ilz), each a different colour, join up. It was very interesting to see how marked the definitions were of where the waters met. A little further on from where I took this photograph, the River Ilz with its very dark water, flowed in, adding to the mix.
  Onward we cruised, along the Bavarian/Austrian Danube River Valley until we arrived in Austria at the little village of Kasten.

Kasten, in Austria

This was the endpoint of the cruise and from there we headed back towards the Bavarian town of Obernzell.

Obernzell, Germany

After a short stop at this pretty town, (you stay on the boat) we returned to Passau.
  For us it was very enjoyable; a beautiful ship, great weather and a chance to relax and enjoy the pretty scenery. The only downside was that the commentary was not in English.
  The Crystal Ship does this cruise several times daily from March 30 to the end of October. There are two more crystal ships in this fleet, operating out of Regensburg - Crystal Queen and Crystal Princess.
  If you are in Passau or Regensburg with a couple of hours to spare, I would recommend a crystal cruise!

Cruising on the Danube with the Crystal Ship

The Kristallschiff (Crystal Ship) at Passau

I have been in Europe for two months so have been far away from 'Cruising the Pacific'. But I have been on some interesting cruises and some interesting ships so I will tell you about those in this blog over the next few weeks.
  We were in Passau, a river cruise port on the Danube, and saw this ship that intrigued us. The Kristallschiff ( Crystal Ship) is part of the river cruise fleet of ships of Wurm & Kock that do short scenic cruises out of Passau. But the ship was not your typical river cruise ship; this one was special.
  It was designed in partnership with Swarovski crystals.
  There are crystals on the staircase, on the walls, and hanging in great glittering ropes from the ceiling. There are even displays of crystals in the toilets! And there's a statue of Isa, the mermaid of the Danube, with large crystals embedded in her tail.

The two level dining room of the Crystal Ship

I had wondered before boarding if it might be rather tacky. But it is all decorated tastefully, with beautifully upholstered furniture in soft shades, and a spacious interior layout.

à la carte dining in the Gallery of the Crystal Ship

The Crystal Ship has 388 interior seats, 208 on the deck where you enter and another 180 on the mezzanine gallery. Upstairs on the roof-top deck there is seating for another 350 people.

  On the day we took the morning two hour cruise it was very hot and, after spending some time on the top deck in the full sun, I went indoors and sat at a dining table in the Gallery. Of course, I just had to look at the menu. The range of ice cream sundaes looked delectable, and yes, I had one. In fact it was so big I couldn't eat it all. I left it to my husband to scrape the bowl clean!

  Next time I'll tell you about where and when the Crystal Ship went. If you've always wanted to do a European river cruise, but haven't had the time or the money, this short scenic trip on the Danube River will give you a taste of what a full cruise would be like.

Some Quotes About Cruising

Swimming at Sea

I've been reading a book of quotations about travel and came across these on cruising. They made me smile.

• Travel by sea nearly approximates the bliss of babyhood. They feed you, rock you gently to sleep, and when you wake up, they take care of you and feed you again. (Geoffrey Bocca)
• Being on a ship is also really nicer than being in a luxury hotel in a foreign country. You have all the comfort and all the fattening food without being nagged by the feeling that somehow you ought to be out broadening your cultural horizons. (Jean Kerr)
• The boat is splendid. The food is fine. The air is bracing. The beds are comfortable ... There is just one drawback to ocean travel, and that is the extraordinary hideousness of one's fellow passengers. (P.G.Wodehouse)
• Nothing makes a man or woman look so saintly as sea sickness. (Samuel Butler)

Remember that last quote next time you're feeling a bit queasy as the ship goes up and down!

Cruising in the Mediterranean with MSC

Cruise for $1

Great excitement in our house. You see, we have got a wonderful deal - a 7 day cruise with MSC in the Western Mediterranean.
I nearly fell off my chair when I got an email from the travel agent. It said that if I paid the advertised price, my husband could cruise for $1, plus port charges.How good is that?
The other interesting thing about this cruise is that we haven't been to many of the ports of call - Mallorca, Menorca and Sardinia. So all in all, it should be a great week.