Spirit of Norfolk

333 Waterside Dr, Norfolk, VA 23510, USA

Address:	333 Waterside Dr, Norfolk, VA 23510, USA
Phone:	+1 866-304-2469
Site:	spiritcruises.com
Rating:	4.1
Working:	8AM–10:30PM 8AM–10:30PM 8AM–10:30PM 8AM–10:30PM 8AM–10:30PM 8AM–10:30PM 8AM–10:30PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 4

Connie McMillan

Accompanied a group of military veterans (including my father) on an afternoon lunch tour of the shipyard. A group of school students had also been booked for the same cruise. Normally not an issue except for the fact that the music was too loud, the vets could not talk over it or hear and the choice of music was a little too "2015" and the kids cleared out the buffet before all of the vets and their spouses had even been able to get one plate of food. The staff apologized, stating they would cook more food.... the ship should have had plenty of food for everyone. I went without lunch in the hopes that another person might be able to eat. The food selection was HORRIBLE! For the price we paid there should have been edible food. Salmon meatballs and chicken tomato balls - whatever it was there was not a person I spoke with who wanted seconds (not that there were any anyway). Cous cous - why? Nasty. Their "salad bar" was laughable and barely enough to keep a super model from starving. The staff was slow, we had to constantly raise our hands to ask for anything we needed (water, salt, pepper, tea, etc) and it may be 5-10 minutes before you would get that. Two levels to dine on and they only opened one level - this meant that if you tried to leave your chair you had to make 4 other people move so that you could move your chair backwards. It was a HUGE fire hazard! It was just not what I would have expected for such a hyped activity. I would not recommend this for anyone over the age of 40! But it was great seeing the navy ships! The best part? My Daddy enjoyed seeing the ships and Paul, the upper deck bartender, made me a beverage that was AWESOME! Since there was no food to eat atleast I could drink my lunch. Hire more Pauls, keep the school students separated from older patrons on different dining levels and provide enough food so that EVERYONE can eat and make sure it is American fare like red meat, veggies, potatos, rice, bread.......Bill Ellis BBQ from Wilson, NC could have catered and increased your business drastically today! Take the ferry and then go eat at Hooters..........

chop Chop

Upon arrival, I go to the ticket booth to retrieve my purchased tickets so I can board the boat. It was very unorganized having people in the same line who need to purchase tickets and those in line whom already have tickets purchased. Standing in the heat sweating for 35 mins wasnt ideal. So after this elasped time, the lady in front of us, decided to take initiative to find someone who could assist in this process (given there were multiple workers there standing around chit chatting watching the line get longer and longer DURING boarding time). A gentleman finally comes over and assists in expediting the process by handing out tickets to those who already have tickets purchased thanks to the lady for speaking up. Rough start. After we get our boarding tickets, we take our picture, and board the boat. The waitress was very nice and accommodating. No complaints. The company was able to get us the seats we wanted, which I was pleased about. Food was subpar, but the drinks were great. There was barely any real options for the buffet. There is no real dance floor, there is just a very small space for no more than 15 people to dance on. The DJ was great on both floors. As far as entertainment with games, that was not available. No Jenga, Shuffleboard, or etc as advertised. One of the camera guys asked if my girl and I would like to take pictures, I politely declined and he caught an attitude, turned his nose up, huffed, and walked off. Unprofessional much. The views are ok. There are alot of broken looking ships along the way. I was hoping for better views considering the price. Its not really an upscale place as expected. Towards the end of the ride, I seen our boarding pictures. The deal was 1 picture for $30 or 4 pictures for $40. I literally only liked one picture. Its as if they purposely bs the other 3 to make a profit. I do want to give the place another chance because it has so much potential. For now, overall rating, its a 3.

Joe

If I could give this zero stars I would. My husband purchased Valentines Day tickets, more specifically he purchased the platinum package. The description of such a package was the following: reservation for a table by window for TWO, champagne for COUPLE, dozen of roses per COUPLE. So he purchased this thinking that it was for a couple. Its titled as a package, and the description, as described, clearly states that the package is including multiple people. Why wouldnt it, its for Valentines Day. NOBODY GOES ON A ROMANTIC CRUISE ALONE ON VALENTINES DAY!!! So about $500 later our ticket was purchased. My husband by chance had a question and called the 1866 number. To which they told us that he had only purchased one ticket. That the package for COUPLES and the table for TWO was for only one person, and if he wanted me to join in on the cruise then they would need ANOTHER $500 from him (oh and did I mention this is non-refundable). Why would you label your VALENTINES DAY package as a package for COUPLES but sell these VALENTINES DAY tickets as singles? Who goes to a romantic Valentines Day cruise alone!?! Its extremely deceitful. Needless, to say they will be reported to the BBB for false advertisement. Please stay away. These are deceitful, scheming, money hungry people. And lets be honest, $500 should be more then enough for two people. The fact that they want $1000 for a few hours to float on a small polluted river is mind boggling. Especially since it consistently states throughout the package description that it includes a table for TWO, and its for a couple!! Yet we need to give them another $500 if he wants to bring a date!!! DO NOT WASTE MONEY OR TIME ON THIS ITS A SCAM!!!!!

LaChelle Evans

This particular experience was my worse experience on the Spirit of Norfolk. It starts by me having made my reservations 3 months in advance and one week before my event it was cancelled. Given things happen, but my cruise was cancelled because a group rented out a large portion. I have a problem with this. Instead of the group having to select a different date, you cancel my tickets, and others, which had reservations 3 months in advance. Bad business if you ask me, but I was given comp drink tickets which were put to good use to make up for this. The food this cruise was not good at all, very dry and lacked taste. There were multiple complaints about the food that night. Ive been on the Spirit of Norfolk many of times and will say that usually the food is at least decent. Lastly the pictures. I dont like how there is only one picture package which you have to spend $30 for two envelopes of the same picture. Doesnt make sense especially if the picture will go in one household. I spoke to the manager about possibly "creating" a package" and she offered me one photo for $25, really. So I in-turn opted to not purchase at all. Spirit Cruises loss, not mine; especially because the pictures are already printed. Sad that the company would rather a customer not purchase anything at all rather than adequately accommodate the situation. On the other hand, our waitress was great which made it a decent experience. Overall though, the Spirit of Norfolk is not the same as it was years ago. Will not be returning unless its free. Definitely not worth the money.