If you’ve got to move an idle ship between ports, you might
as well sell it as a cruise. Norwegian Cruise Line needs to get Norwegian
Spirit from Malaga, Spain to Barcelona, Spain. Instead of sending an empty ship
up the Mediterranean coast, they’re selling it as a two night Mediterranean cruise.
It might be a short trip, but the price is right at as low as $22 per person
per night, before taxes.
Why would you want to board this ship? This is a nice break
for people already touring Western Europe by land. For two nights, a couple can
have an outside or inside stateroom for a taxes included grand total of just
$169.06 in Canadian dollars. That’s $84.50 per night. Nowhere in Western Europe
are you going to get a hotel room for that price. And, this one has an
all-you-can-eat buffet and an ever-changing view included.
The Cruise
Norwegian Spirit embarks from Malaga, Spain on Wednesday,
January 22, 2014 at 7pm. After a full day at sea on Thursday, Spirit arrives at
Barcelona on Friday, January 24 at 5am. The backpacking hostel-hopping culture,
or vagabonders, are warming to the idea of cruise ships as a form of transportation.
This is a fine example of why. It’s an inexpensive way to get out of the
hostels and have a luxury break, even if just for a few days.
Unfortunately, this two night cruise doesn’t act very well
as a primer to a larger, longer cruise out of Barcelona. Norwegian Spirit has
no availability until a nine night Western Europe cruise on February 11. If you
can handle a few days in Barcelona, both the MSC Splendida and Costa Pacifica
embark on seven night Mediterranean cruises on January 27.
The Price
Just $44 per person per night for either an outside or
inside stateroom, of course equates to just $22 per night. Government fees and
taxes are even quite reasonable at $40.53 per person. The total price for two
can be had for as low as $169.06, taxes and fees included. Once again, that’s
in Canadian dollars, not Euros!
The Ship
Norwegian Spirit was built by Meyer Werft in Papenburg,
Germany and was originally put in service in 1998 as the SuperStar Leo of the
defunct Star Cruises. In 2004, Norwegian Cruise Line obtained the ship and
renamed her Spirit. She is one of one Leo Class ship in the Norwegian fleet.
Spirit is a smaller ship with a gross tonnage of 75,388. She
is 268 metres or 879 feet in length and has a capacity for 2,018 passengers,
along with 962 crew members. There are ten decks accessible to guests.
The Small Print
·Because of the nature of last minute deals, the pricing printed here is fleeting and could change at any time.
·Prices are in Canadian dollars.
·Most meals are included in a typical cruise price but DRINKS ARE NOT!
·Also not included are gratuities.
·Cruise pricing does not include air fare, ground transfers and hotel accommodations before and after the cruise.
