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Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Spirit

by Arie Boris, CruiseGourmet.com Editor-in-Chief

From the moment one steps aboard Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Spirit, it becomes obvious that this is no ordinary mass-market cruise ship. From her sweeping seven-story foyer, with its black marble flooring and elegant golden tile work, to her posh alternative dining venues and their lantern-style lighting, this 76,800 ton vessel is decked out in a flashy, yet sophisticated Asian décor most Western cruisers have likely never seen aboard another ship. As it turns out, Norwegian Spirit wasn’t originally built for this side of the planet.

In January 2004, Norwegian Cruise Line’s Pride of America was under construction at the Lloyd-Werft shipyards in Germany, nearing completion, when a massive storm rolled through the dockyards. Pride of America partially sank, resulting in millions of dollars in damage and a major pushback of her launching. The ship, originally slated to cover the Hawaiian market, was quickly replaced with a rechristened Norwegian Sky, now dubbed Pride of Aloha.

That shifting of the line’s fleet left a gaping hole in fleet coverage that needed immediate filling. That is when Malaysian-based parent company Star Cruises came to the rescue by transferring the 76,800 ton SuperStar Leo into the NCL fleet. Renamed Norwegian Spirit, the 880-foot ship now sails fulltime for the American subsidiary of Star Cruises.

The Norwegian Difference

The Florida-based NCL might be a mass-market line providing itineraries to more budget-conscious travelers, but that certainly doesn’t mean the line still cannot compete with premium or even luxury-level companies in the cuisine category. If there is one thing NCL does better than the rest of the industry, it is offering passengers aboard its newer vessels a plethora of dining options.

On a typical seven-night itinerary, most vacationers will find it difficult to enjoy all of Norwegian Spirit’s more than half dozen eateries. With a steakhouse, Chinese and Japanese restaurants, a French bistro, an Italian dining room, a 24-hour fast-food joint, two main dining rooms and the requisite cruise buffet, cruisers onboard Norwegian Spirit won’t easily tire from seeing the same dining room table night after night.

Even better for cruise line passengers who have grown tired with assigned seating and set dinner times, Norwegian Cruise Line offers guests its innovative Freestyle Cruising. Rather than following a nightly schedule, the customer decides when, where and with whom they would like to enjoy meals. And, with dinner service in the main dining room and alternative restaurants running through 10:00PM, cruisers need not worry should they return from an off-ship shore excursion later than expected.

NCLs revolutionary approach to cruise ship dining creates its own set of challenges, though. Just as with land-based restaurants, there are more popular times than others for dinner. Guests choosing to eat in the main dining rooms between 7:00PM and 8:00PM should expect a potentially lengthy wait of up to 20 minutes before being seated.

Fortunately, Norwegian Spirit is equipped with handheld, vibrating wands that page guests when their party is ready for seating, alleviating the boredom of simply standing outside the main dining rooms. Better yet, the ship is equipped in almost all public spaces with flat screen monitors that constantly are updated with capacity remaining and wait time for all restaurants onboard – even the buffet line.

Inside her multiple galleys, nearly 200 crewmembers from some 40 nations work up to ten hours per day and serve 2,000 passengers under the direction of Executive Chef Hassan Mohammed. The numbers represent a 25 percent increase in staffing over traditional cruise ship galleys, due in part to the sheer number of restaurants onboard and the Freestyle Cruising concept itself.

All in all, Mohammed tells CruiseGourmet.com that Freestyle Dining works best for his guests and crewmembers. And, as a ten year industry veteran, he should know. Mohammed hasn’t always worked aboard cruise ships, though. He formerly spent more than a decade cooking up gourmet meals in five-star hotels such as the Mandarin Oriental in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Yes, But What About The Food?

Norwegian Spirit’s main dining rooms, the Garden Dining Room and Windows, offer guests three-course meals with gourmet-style presentation. Food quality is in-line with what guests expect from other mass-market lines. It is within her alternative venues, however, that Mohammed and his staff truly shines.

Inside of Cagney’s Steakhouse, passengers are first visually serenaded in this beautiful dining room. Ornate lantern lighting, patterned rose-colored carpets and flawless table settings on crisp linens set the mood for a special evening. Many American steakhouses pride themselves on serving up certified Black Angus beef. Cagney’s takes it a step further by being perhaps the only ocean-based venue to cook certified Premium Gold Angus beef. Simply put, the beef served in Cagney’s is among the best in the world. Whether guests order delicate filet mignon or the infamous porterhouse with a side of mashed potatoes, they will almost certainly agree that the $20 per person cover charge was well worth the cost. Cuisine and atmosphere such as that found in Cagney’s on land would almost certainly cost guests three times as much.

Norwegian Spirit’s most romantic alternative restaurant is Le Bistro, the standard French venue now found aboard NCLs entire fleet. Levying a $15 per person charge, the intimate restaurant surrounds guests with luxurious fine china, rich tapestries and crystal chandeliers. Service is equally impressive with attentive and personable waiters. Presentation in Le Bistro is second to none and the quality of cuisine is easily equal to what one would expect onboard higher end lines such as Oceania. Herb-roasted chicken was perfectly cooked, and an appetizer of steamed asparagus served with a buttery dressing still makes mouths water.

Perhaps the most fascinating, and fun, dinner destination onboard Norwegian Spirit is her Asian restaurant, Shogun. For a mere $12.50, diners are treated to an Asian meal unlike anything they’ve likely experienced on land. Truly impressive presentation one would never find at their local Chinese restaurant is coupled with delectable tastes such as barbequed, teriyaki-style chicken served on skewers as an appetizer, accompanied with a rich, sweet sesame-based sauce. Next door, passengers experience dinner and a show at Teppanyaki, where professional chefs juggle knives and your dinner as they cook in a private setting that has become so popular, the Japanese steakhouse is fully booked by the first day of the cruise.

As the sun sets, crewmembers cordon off a section of Norwegian Spirit’s buffet and transform it into La Trattoria, a free Italian eatery specializing in pasta dishes and other classic favorites. With fresh table linens and full service, guests would never know that they are sitting in what was a buffet line no more than two hours earlier.

With a truly enormous selection of free and alternative dining options, guests sailing aboard Norwegian’s new ships on an even longer ten-night itinerary may find it difficult to enjoy the large selection of dining options more than once. The array of alternative venues has become a hallmark of Norwegian Cruise Line, and the quality of food and service inside of these cover-charge restaurants is to truly be commended. It is something not often seen in mass-market cruising. For more information visit www.ncl.com.

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