Cruise Review - 11 Day Mediterranean Cruise - Norwegian Spirit - Day 4
Day 4 - Sea Day for MeI loved the pace of this cruise, and one sea day was enough. The NCL Spirit is great. She is an older ship, but she's a great ship. The staff are beyond friendly and by day four, many of the staff knew my name.I woke up today at 7:30am, again sleeping so well. After a few relaxing coffees on my balcony I headed up for a quick breakfast at Raffles. I honestly didn't eat much. I eat more at dinner funny enough, but rarely anything in the morning or during the day. I was the organizer of the Cruise Critic Meet Up, which was held at Shogun at 11:00am. As it was already Day Four, not many actually showed up, maybe 20 of the 45 that had RSVP'd. It was nice to see all the Officers onboard make an appearance and meet the other travellers.Afterwards, I did get a bit of an appetite and made a stop in Cagney's for lunch. I had another french press of Lavazza with a starter of Grilled Asparagus wrapped with Prosciutto followed by a Scallop, Shrimp and Artichoke Risotto.
After lunch, I did a walkabout of the ship, snapping a few photos here and there. Also did some more shopping, picked up my ship magnet (I collect them) and a captain's hat (ok, it's a birthday cruise for me, and it was fun hat... ). I went back to my cabin, changed, then ventured up onto the pool deck to get some sun!
Main Atrium / Champagne Charlie's
Dining board... Showing where the waits were less/more/completely booked
Asian influence on the ship as she wasn't always an NCL ship...
Teppanyaki table (only one on the ship, it does book up quick)
Blue Lagoon, pub style food, quick bites...
Henry's Pub...
Tivoli Pool...
Bier Garten...
For being a cruise in August, I was pleasantly surprised how easy it was to find a lounger. That's the beauty of sailing on a smaller ship I think, less people to deal with and quite a bit of sun deck space. I did breakdown and buy a couple drinks, usually whatever was the "Drink of the Day" special.I do have to mention "Galaxy of the Stars". This forward facing lounge is my absolute favourite place to hang out on the ship. Certain times of the day it seems to always be empty and peaceful. They also do have some entertainment here at night and through the day (check the dailies), but so many times I was able to sit here with a gin and tonic and just enjoy (even do a bit of journalling in the morning here and there).
Tonight was "Norwegian's Night Out", aka Gala Night. I headed up to my room, got refreshed, dressed up and met friends down in Shogun (an Asian Fusion complementary dining option) for dinner. I was not too hungry so I just ordered gyoza (potstickers) and spring rolls. Earlier in the afternoon I received an invitation to attend the Captain's Cocktail Party. So I excused myself from my friends who went to take in the production show of "World Beat" and I headed to the cocktail party. After a photo with the Captain, I was ushered into the Art Gallery where I chatted with some of the officers and crew. I actually enjoy hearing their experiences and stories about life onboard the ship and their opinions/tips for some of the ports to come. The couple hours flew by with great conversations (as did a few more glasses of prosecco) and it was off to bed for me yet again.
Here are the "Dailies" for Day 4:
Next, to the Greek Island of Crete...