10 Nights Asia: Kochi, Kobe, Jeju, & Nagoya Cruise

May 2024 Vancouver to Tokyo.

We had a very good time on this Alaska to Japan cruise. Good things: Taste Restaurant was the absolute best for food and service. The broadway style shows are just fantastic. The atrium area had lots of comfortable seating. Nice place to while away the time. Staff are the BEST. Nice steady ship (for me). If the motion bothers you, the shop sells Bonine; or get a a lower deck cabin. Alaska is beautiful; so nice on the eyes. Minor things: The buffet can't seat everyone at peak hours if it's a full ship. We had breakfast at 9am, lunch at 130pm, dinner at 8pm; you get the idea. The 'Multifunction Room' is a nice place to go hide and get peace and quiet. It's also supposed to be the 'Library' but there were 20 books there; none to my taste. Hakodate Japan is a great port. Google maps shows the cruise ship pier across the street from the Fish Market [great place] but the Spirit dropped anchor a couple miles away in an industrial area and they bussed us in. When we got to our final port in Japan we thought it was going to be YOKOHAMA! We wanted Yokohama. But it was Tokyo. No matter; a couple of $10CDN bus rides and we got to Yokohama.

The ship that ruins it for all others

Norwegian Spirit changed the way I want to cruise. It got refurbished during the Pandemic and I had the good fortune to sail in it on one of its firsts voyages: Papeete to Hawai'i in 2022. In 2023 I sailed again from Hawai'i to Alaska, and in 2024 From Sydney to Papeete. I can definitely say that this class of ships is the best. Not too big one gets overwhelmed with noise or excessive crowds, delayed seatings...but big enough to have anything one needs. It was perfect for Alaska and the French Polynesia where I got a balcony. Departing from Sydney was majestic and being able to harbor in Bora Bora or Vanuatu because of it's size is priceless. I will continue to sail on these smaller ships as long as I travel! There is kid's club but the itineraries are often such that kids are not on board. The food in the main dining rooms was on point, service as usual fun and not too pompous. I really cannot find, for as much as I try, one single bad thing. Maybe the fact that there are only a few elevators and during disembarkation it gets a bit crazy.

Norwegian Spirit March 2024

I was nervous that the Norwegian Spirit wouldn’t be as nice an experience as Celebrity’s Equinox but it actually exceeded my expectations. Wonderful staff and service. Excellent food. Lots of fun entertainment and activities offered. Great basic drink package that included everything from martinis to Irish coffee, pina coladas and Coronas. The ship was smaller than the Equinox but nicely updated and very clean. Big bathroom comparatively. Great casino and staff. With their “freestyle cruising” we didn’t have to make dinner reservations so we had the freedom to eat when we felt like it and never had more than a 5 minute wait. Had the option of the big ballroom type dining room (Windows) or the more intimate restaurant (Taste) and we were fortunate to get great window seats without specially requesting them on 3 nights. We also loved the garden cafe for casual breakfast, lunch and mid-afternoon desserts. My only critique would be that some of the add-on charges for activities like bingo and casino events are too expensive and promise big prizes that nobody actually wins. But overall I’d give the cruise an A for the price and the staff an A+.