natefish95

5 hours ago, icft said:

It was worth waiting for. Thanks for the warning! I won't be sailing on Spirit. We have over 30 cruises on Carnival and have never seen a roach on a ship - at least not the living creature kind.

Don't let me one (very isolated) experience sour your on the Spirit. I still had a great time and loved the ship!

Willdra, I am not even through your first post, but I am giggling to myself like a crackhead on a street corner. "hungry as a hostage with nothing but my thoughts and prayers" is KILLING ME. I'll have to read this when I'm not in public at an airport. Thanks for doing a great review as always! 

59 minutes ago, willcan said:

Thanks for the detailed update. Good information.  Do they have a good gym as well?  

I thought it was pretty good. Plenty of strength equipment, free weights, and treadmills, which are what I use. Everything was in good condition and clean. They also had sweat towels and a water fountain. 

14 minutes ago, icft said:

I'm salivating for the ugly 😁

just posted about my roach roomies haha

And now for...

The Ugly

So this was not great. I stayed in cabin 8118, which is forward on Deck 8. It was directly below the spa and I thought it was a great location. Would stay in this location again. My issue was with houskeeping. I touched on it above with finding a dirty nail file, towels, cups, etc. That wasn't the main issue.

(side bar-the bed was really comfy and I had nice firm pillows that supported by head well. I hate the flat pancake pillows)

On night two at about midnight, I was in that weird half-asleep/half-awake phase. I felt something fall onto my head and thought a hair was just tickling my forehead. I have very short hair (and a receding hairlines), so there isn't a long hair to get out of place, but that's how I rationalized it when I was half asleep. THEN I FELT SOMETHING SCURRY ACROSS MY FACE. Let me say that again. Something quickly crawled across my face in my bed. I flipped the light on so fast and found a COCKROACH crawling around in my bed. I ran and grabbed some toilet paper and killed it and flushed it. 

I went down to guest services because I feel like a cockroach running across my face in my cabin is something to be reported and not just me being a Karen. The guest services guy really didn't seem interested at all and just said he'd call housekeeping. Went back to my room and the housekeeping deck manager and another guy came by. I didn't have a picture and they couldn't find anything, so they just kinda left and said to call them if I need anything. Fine. Whatever. I just want to go bed.

On the St. Maarten night, it was about 2am and I woke up and felt something crawling on my chest. IT WAS ANOTHER COCKROACH. I flipped out again, but this one escaped my wrath, BUT I got a picture of it to prove that I'm not crazy and there was indeed cockroaches in my cabin. I called housekeeping and the deck supervisor and the pest control guy came by. They couldn't find anything, but left some traps and said they'd do a thorough search when I'm in St. Thomas and check every nook and cranny. Ok cool.

Got back from St. Thomas and it looked like they had indeed searched my cabin but didn't leave a note or anything. Waited until my steward turned down my cabin. Still no note or mention of anything. I walked down to guest services that night and showed a lovely guy named Angel the pictures and asked if there was any news. He pulled up my account and read me the report from housekeeping. They did search my cabin and found a cockroach (and killed it). He actually took the time to listen and empathized that two cockroaches have crawled across my body while trying to sleep. He refunded some onboard charges and tried to offer more, but I politely declined because refunding charges was more than enough. I was just glad someone listened and cared. 

He offered me to move cabins, but I did not want to pack everything up, move it, and unpack for the last 4 days. 

On night 6,  lightning struck a third time in the same spot and I found a third cockroach on my bed and a fourth on my wall. I killed them both with a fury and went to bed angry. I didn't bother going to guest services because there isn't much else they can do. They refunded charges and it's too late in the cruise to move cabins. Thankfully I had no issues the last two nights. 

In summary, I found FOUR COCKROACHES in my cabin. The first guest services guy couldn't care less. Housekeeping was not communicative and my steward was not the best. 

This was a frustrating issue to deal with, but has to be (hopefully) a rare occurrence onboard a ship. 

TL;DR-don't stay in cabin 8118 on the Carnival Spirit unless you're an entomologist. 

Now to what y'all really want to hear...this won't be too long, but a few things i want to mention

The Bad

• The music in Serenity. Oh my god it was awful. They were playing the hits of the 1930's it felt like, which was appropriate because the music made me depressed. I heard someone else complain and the staff member said they can't change it. 
• Love music in general- Reallyyyyyyy weak offerings this week. There was a quartet that played that I didn't care for. There was a duo that played that wasn't very good in my opinion. There was always a latin band, but I didn't hear them much. The guitar player was also just...meh. I only saw the piano bar on the schedule once or twice. I never saw him, but heard he was good. The music this weak was just bad in general (i miss the country duo from the Valor)
• Housekeeping- I'll get into this in The Ugly section, but my room steward was not great. I found a dirty nail file in the closet, didn't get fresh towels sometimes, cups weren't taken away, and he tried to force me into AM service. Really disappointing. 
• Service in the steakhosue- the food was great, but service was not great. It wasn't crowded and they didn't seem understaffed. We kept having to ask for drink refills. Items were forgotten. And it took FOREVER
• The Deli-They apparently got a new menu (which I probably would have never noticed honestly). The sandwiches this were just not good in my opinion. I got a buffalo chicken sandwich and she put something on it that looked and tasted like a carrot, but still not 100% sure what it was... Most of them were so bread-heavy with not enough inside. They also didn't have fries but once and had regular lays chips instead. Personal preference, but I'd rather have fries.
• Bonsai-So it wasn't thaaaat bad, but if I'm going to an upcharge restaurant, I'd expect something a bit better. The salmon tiradito was really, really tiny (good flavor though). I also got two rolls and they were fine, but nothing outstanding. I've had much better sushi on NCL honestly. For dessert I got the yuzu custard and it was not great. This might have been a texture issue, which is on me admittedly, but it was just weirdly gelatinous and chunky at the same time
• Guys Burgers- Y'all, this is the most overrated thing in the entire Carnival universe. The burgers are overcooked and flavorless. The fires are bland and not like the good, seasoned ones they used to have. The burger I just had in the Miami airport was far better than Guys

None of these were all that major, but I feel like it was worth mentioning. Mostly a personal opinion, so feel free to disagree and judge for yourself!

Let's be positive for once on her and start with...

The Good

• The ship-This was my first time on the Spirit class and first time on the Carnival Spirit. I loved the layout of the ship and it never felt too crowded or jam packed (unless you get stuck behind a Berlin Wall-like blockade of scooters and walkers. Let's have some spatial self-awareness puz-lease!)
• Embarkation-I used Verifly, but they didn't bother to look at it. It was still super quick and painless. 
• Debarkation-Again, super quick and painless. I walked off with my bag around 8:45 and it was not crowded or chaotic like it normally is
• Alchemy Bar-Seriously, this was a genius part on Carnival's end. Amazing drinks and amazing bartenders as always. I love craft cocktails, so this is my favorite place on board. Viktor, who just ended his contract today actually, has been on Spirit for almost NINE MONTHS, since before the initial startup in Jacksonville. He's coming to Miracle in a month, so make sure you seek him out. Katiya and Giovanni were the other alchemists and were also amazing. (Gio kept making me a strawberry vodka drink with raspberries that was incredible)
• The Cruise Director Erin-She might be one of my low key favorites. She's not cheesy and doesn't rely on gimmicks or lame jokes to be a CD. She's personable and engaging. Specifically I really enjoyed her during the Military Appreciate gathering and the Love and Marriage show
• The Military Appreciation Gathering-Carnival is the only one who does something like this and it's one of my favorite things every cruise. I love that they have a dedicated event for us to support our military
• Most Food-I'll get into a few notable misses in The Bad section, but by and large, the food was really good. This is super subjective, so I won't drag this out
• Blue Iguana Cantina-these burritos and tacos are always delicious. I had so many this week. The exact number I had is between me and God only
• Chopsticks in the buffet-I love Asian food and eat it frequently at home. Every time I went this food was delicious. I really appreciated all the sauces (including hot oil!!!) at the end of the buffet.
• Steakhouse-A friend graciously invited me to join him in the steakhouse. The food was excellent and the company was even better. The wasabi mashed potatoes are an unusual pairing, but absolutely delicious
• Fitness Center/Spa-I love that this class as a free sauna and steam room in the locker room. I hate the trend of tiny co-ed thermal suites that are an upcharge. I actually used the gym and there was a lot of equipment, free weights, etc. Everything you need for a ship workout. The rower may have been broken or I'm just idiot.

I'm sure there is plenty more, but that what I have for now. I'll add more when I think of it. Goldfish-like attention span, remember? 

What's up Cruise Critic family. I have a long wait at the Miami airport, so I figured I'd share some thoughts on my recent 8 day cruise on the Carnival Spirit from Miami to Puerto Plata, San Juan, St. Maarten, and St. Thomas. I'm not going to be super detailed because I have the attention span of a goldfish and with the exception of a few great posters, no one cares about that kind of detail. 

If you have any specific questions about things I didn't touch on, feel free to ask! I'm going to break down the onboard part into The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (and there will be an ugly bit, so stay tuned), and the four ports of call. 

For some background, I'm Nate and live in Arlington, Virginia and I've been traveling solo since the NCL Escape back in 2017. As you can see from my signature, I mostly do Carnival and NCL, with some Royal sprinkled in recently. My preferred line is NCL because they treat the solos well, but I still love Carnival and keep coming back. 

Back from the Carnival Spirit this morning and had a great time! There is a free sauna and steam room in the men's locker room and 4 individual shower cubicles, each with its own full door. The sauna is pretty small and can hold about 4 comfortably. The steam room is bigger with two benches and can seat about 8 comfortably. The steam room was ungodly hot it was hard to be in there for longer than 5 minutes. 

There are lockers (with mirrors on them). You can get a key from the spa desk or just put your stuff in an open locker. The combination locks didn't seem to work. The biggest downside is that there is no water fountain in the locker room, so bring a bottle of water beforehand. 

It was a VERY active locker room all week 

Morning Jam! I enjoyed reading your posts throughout the week. I'm going to do a rollup post of my own highlighting the good, the bad, the ugly. Overall, it was an excellent cruise. It was my first time on the Spirit and really love this class of ship now. 

I will disagree with you on the Deli! I got the buffalo chicken sandwich, the turkey sandwich and the chicken salad sandwich and they were all so bread heavy with no real flavor. Also, I swear the deli used to have fries. I'd rather have fries with my sandwich than chips. 

I did make sure to check our the Chopsticks section and it was consistently delicious! 

Thanks again for all your posts!

It's not going to be anywhere near you. You're not supposed to be in Honduras until Tuesday and it will be just rain showers by then over Central America. You may have some rainy days but that's it. 

Oh geez, sounds like a party cruise. I'm doing laundry now to finally start packing. Flying down to Miami tomorrow afternoon and then I will join you on Friday! Hopefully people leave the weed at home. I hate the smell.

1 hour ago, twodjs said:

The NCL jewel class of ship, like the Pearl, did have a decent sized hot tub which I have enjoyed with others in the past in the extra charge men's only area that is totally clothing optional. But I remember recent posts where the hot tub may have been replaced with a one person? hot tub or removed completely. Hope others with recent experience will comment.

The Jewel and the Jade both have a hot tub where the other two ships in that class (Gem and Pearl) have a single person tub. I'm fairly confident the Jewel and Jade both have the large multi-person hot tub. 

Great pictures of the Carnival Miracle. I'm leaving on the Spirit on Saturday. I'm sure it's the exact same setup, but I'll report back. 

5 minutes ago, jam19872016 said:

I'll be on both freedom transatlantics I think it would be a great choice. I did like cartagena too though.  Maybe do both. Yes that's it, both 😁

I wish I could get away from work for that long! I was on the first restart cruise of Freedom last year and had such a great time. 

1 hour ago, A&L_Ont said:

Onion ring tower. 

 

 

Those are some THICC onion rings

Great pictures! I have my eye on a 9 day on the Conquest next year that goes to Cartagena. Or maybe the Freedom transatlantic back form Barcelona. So many choices. 

Can't wait to board on Saturday!

So glad to see you back to doing a live review! I'll definitely be following along!

It's definitely open embarkation day. When I'm wandering around, I'll see a couple people in there. Depending on the layout of the gym, you may get some traffic passing through exploring.

For me, I try to schedule in runs while the ship is in port so there isn't as much movement. Either before I leave for the day or later in the day right before the ship leaves. 

I would 100% not book that (I'm surprised they even offer them to be booked that early in the day). Usually boarding starts about 11am-ish. They do spa tours on embarkation so it will not be quiet outside the massage room probably with people constantly walking by. If you want to do it on embarkation day, wait until after sailaway. 

I've scrolled through a bunch of posts, but has anyone seen pictures of the spa or gym locker rooms? I know it's doubtful, but just curious if there is a sauna and/or steam room in them or if the thermal suite is the only area with a sauna/steam room.

The best way to save calories at breakfast is to just sleep until lunchtime haha. I'm not sure if they can do egg-white omelets but that is usually a good choice in the morning. 

I have never sailed Princess, and as a solo traveling mid-20's millennial I am far from their target demographic, but this ship seems really unique and I'd love to try it some day. Hopefully the spa isn't in the windowless depths of the ship like on the Royal class of ships. 

Only 2 pictures from Hooters? lol

Looking forward to your review! I've been having withdrawals of good, lengthy CC reviews since Greg wrapped his up. 

Thanks for finding out the Alchemists! I don't know them, but looking forward to their drinks already?

Since you mentioned the gym, how is it? Do they have sweat towels available?