Who has recently sailed on Spirit (Mexican Riviera)?

[MaiTaiMary]

I have a few questions for those who have recently done the Spirit/Mexican Riviera cruise. :D

 

 

 

 

~What time did you board? We're planning on being at the port around 1:30p. Does this sound like a good time?

 

~Acapulco, Manzillo, and Zihuatanejo. What do you recommend doing? (or NOT doing)

 

~How was the food?

 

~What day/time was the past guest party? Can you tell me more about this? What goes on at this party?

 

~Any “must see” shows?

 

~Did anybody do the “anytime dining”? If so, how did that work out?

 

~Wine tasting. Anybody do it? If so, can you tell me more about it?

 

~What time did you disembark when you returned?

 

 

Where are all of the pictures???? :D

Thanks!

[Willie T]

Just back from our 3rd Spirit cruise. I don't understand picture posting, so someone else will have to do that.

We boarded early, no problems. On board about 11:30 I think. 1:30 sounds like a good time too, we just get excited.

As for the ports, well, that all depends on what you like to do. We're pretty much beach bums. LOL. find a beach with a pulapa in the sand, Margaritas and a few snacks, and we're good to go. I also like to shop for junky jewely at the vendors.

Food? So, so. Breakfast is always the same. Good, but boring after so many days. We ate at the buffet for dinner some nights, and in the dining room maybe 3 times. I like the dining room food..a lot.

I think the past guest party was the second to last day. In the Pharoh Lounge. Get there early, it was packed. We just sit in the theater, the servers come around with appitizers (sp) and drinks. We visited with the other people a little, but after about 45 min. we left.

We did the anytime dining. I kinda liked it because there was no time deadline to worry about. But....except for one night when we had a wonderful little server, Gary, the service was really hit and miss. We heard this from others in our group too. I think the servers main concern were assigned time diners, and the anytime people were more of an extra they had to work in. The jury is still out on this question for me.

We had an 11:30 flight home, so had to get off the ship early. Last 2 cruises we used the "Luggage Express" with no problem. New rules this year, you have to sign up for that very early in the cruise. Not knowing that, I was a little panicky, but at Guest Services they just gave us #2 disemark, and we were off the ship by about 8:30. The cruise terminal is so close to the airport, this worked fine.

Hope I helped a little. Did not go to the wine tasting. Went to a few shows, but don't know the names.

I know you'll love this cruise. I'll miss the ease of the Spirit, but after 3 in a row, I think it's time to move on to something new next time.

[cathyz]

I think Willie answered most of your questions, but to add, we were on the Spirit with a group in March and love the Spirit class ships. We don't do much planned stuff in ports, just walk around mostly so didn't like Acapulco, but REALLY liked Zihuatanejo and would highly recommend it, it's an authentic fishing village with not an overwhelming amount of 'tourist' stuff. We did Karmina Palace resort day thru the ship and really enjoyed that. We did do the wine tasting which was fun, but since many of our friends and DH work at wineries, it was very basic for us, but if you're not that experienced with wine, you'd enjoy it more. Our disembark time was delayed because of a group of Germans on board who spoke no english and didn't know they had to do customs early so the ship could be cleared, so many announcements were made, finally in German, to get them to show up. The ship wasn't cleared until close to 10:00 I think. If you're looking for pics, there are some in my signature.

[MaiTaiMary]

Just back from our 3rd Spirit cruise. I don't understand picture posting, so someone else will have to do that.

We boarded early, no problems. On board about 11:30 I think. 1:30 sounds like a good time too, we just get excited.

As for the ports, well, that all depends on what you like to do. We're pretty much beach bums. LOL. find a beach with a pulapa in the sand, Margaritas and a few snacks, and we're good to go. I also like to shop for junky jewely at the vendors.

Food? So, so. Breakfast is always the same. Good, but boring after so many days. We ate at the buffet for dinner some nights, and in the dining room maybe 3 times. I like the dining room food..a lot.

I think the past guest party was the second to last day. In the Pharoh Lounge. Get there early, it was packed. We just sit in the theater, the servers come around with appitizers (sp) and drinks. We visited with the other people a little, but after about 45 min. we left.

We did the anytime dining. I kinda liked it because there was no time deadline to worry about. But....except for one night when we had a wonderful little server, Gary, the service was really hit and miss. We heard this from others in our group too. I think the servers main concern were assigned time diners, and the anytime people were more of an extra they had to work in. The jury is still out on this question for me.

We had an 11:30 flight home, so had to get off the ship early. Last 2 cruises we used the "Luggage Express" with no problem. New rules this year, you have to sign up for that very early in the cruise. Not knowing that, I was a little panicky, but at Guest Services they just gave us #2 disemark, and we were off the ship by about 8:30. The cruise terminal is so close to the airport, this worked fine.

Hope I helped a little. Did not go to the wine tasting. Went to a few shows, but don't know the names.

I know you'll love this cruise. I'll miss the ease of the Spirit, but after 3 in a row, I think it's time to move on to something new next time.

 

Great! Thanks for the info! :)

 

I think Willie answered most of your questions, but to add, we were on the Spirit with a group in March and love the Spirit class ships. We don't do much planned stuff in ports, just walk around mostly so didn't like Acapulco, but REALLY liked Zihuatanejo and would highly recommend it, it's an authentic fishing village with not an overwhelming amount of 'tourist' stuff. We did Karmina Palace resort day thru the ship and really enjoyed that. We did do the wine tasting which was fun, but since many of our friends and DH work at wineries, it was very basic for us, but if you're not that experienced with wine, you'd enjoy it more. Our disembark time was delayed because of a group of Germans on board who spoke no english and didn't know they had to do customs early so the ship could be cleared, so many announcements were made, finally in German, to get them to show up. The ship wasn't cleared until close to 10:00 I think. If you're looking for pics, there are some in my signature.

 

Looking forward to Zihuatanejo the most! :D

 

 

There is a fee for the wine tasting, right? I guess I'd consider us "experienced" with wine (we go to a lot of wineries) but I still thought we'd give it a shot.

 

I'm going to go check out your pictures now. Thanks!

[momofzeke]

Willie T ~ Hello from a fellow southern Oregonian! Do you happen to remember what time the earliest flight that could use Luggage Express was? Was USAirways one of the participating airlines? Thanks! Oh, and:

 

GO DUCKS! (if you're a Beaver, then: go beavs) :D

[cathyz]

Great! Thanks for the info! :)

 

 

 

Looking forward to Zihuatanejo the most! :D

 

 

There is a fee for the wine tasting, right? I guess I'd consider us "experienced" with wine (we go to a lot of wineries) but I still thought we'd give it a shot.

 

I'm going to go check out your pictures now. Thanks!

Yep, there is a fee, $15 I think for the wine tasting, but it was fun and I'd do it again (we didn't do it on the Splendor last month, we had a conflict at that time). They serve you 5 wines I think and a bunch of bite-sized things that you eat along with the specified wines to change the taste of the wine (lemon, salt, salmon, cheese, etc, etc).

[FireMonkey]

We did the Spirit over New Years of 2008. If I were to do it again I'd stay on board for the Acapulco/Manzanillo stops. Zihuat was pretty cool. That's a tender port and once we tendered in we took a water taxi back past the ship to a semi-private beach that my aunt read about on these boards. Not as crowded as the public beaches on the main part. Good food, good drinks, snorkeling wasn't great though. The fish were biting and I'm not talking about little nibbles, I'm talking hard enough to draw blood! Definitely not my favorite itinerary, but it was ok.

[cathyz]

We did the Spirit over New Years of 2008. If I were to do it again I'd stay on board for the Acapulco/Manzanillo stops. Zihuat was pretty cool. That's a tender port and once we tendered in we took a water taxi back past the ship to a semi-private beach that my aunt read about on these boards. Not as crowded as the public beaches on the main part. Good food, good drinks, snorkeling wasn't great though. The fish were biting and I'm not talking about little nibbles, I'm talking hard enough to draw blood! Definitely not my favorite itinerary, but it was ok.

I agree with on Acapulco, but we had a great time in Manzanillo, did the resort excursion thru the ship and were bussed to Karmina Palace and had a very nice time, I'd do that again.

[Willie T]

Hi momofzeke. If I remember right from last year, your flight is supposed to be noon or after, but double check that. Just remember to sign up early! If USAir is not participating in this program, or your flight is too early, go to the pursers and ask for an early time to get off the ship. No problem for us. I don't know which airlines are involved except United and Alaska.

Not a sports fan, but if I have to choose one.....GO DUCKS!

Brrrrr, cold in your part of the state now.

[momofzeke]

Thanks, Willie! Yes, it's cold here now, but no snow so far..... Our flight is at 12:40, so we may be able to take advantage of Luggage Express. Glad to know that you have to sign up early....when we used it on the Valor last year, they sent info to your cabin about 2 days before debarkation day. I will be visiting the Purser early to see if I can sign up for it. Thanks again!

[MaiTaiMary]

Thanks everybody!

 

 

What about formal night? What were people wearing? (I know, I know. This question has been asked a bunch. We're still undecided, though. :D )

[cathyz]

Thanks everybody!

 

 

What about formal night? What were people wearing? (I know, I know. This question has been asked a bunch. We're still undecided, though. :D )

When we were on the Spirit in March, there were a few tuxes, many suits, many sport coats, and many many dress shirt and tie, and many just dress shirt. For the ladies, no really formal formals, many regular cocktail type dress and/or pants and nice tops. We were with a group of 28 friends and we had a couple of guys in suits, a couple in sport coats, and most in shirts and ties and slacks. The ladies were in not really formal dresses and/or pants and sparkly tops.

[gargoyle999]

What about formal night? What were people wearing? (I know, I know. This question has been asked a bunch. We're still undecided, though. :D

 

I'll be wearing a sport coat next week. No tie for me thanks! :)

[steelerjen]

Hi CathyZ!!! Question about the weather in March, what was it like??? I'm looking at going early 2011.

 

Thanks and hope all is well with you and Wolfie!

 

Jen

[cathyz]

Hi CathyZ!!! Question about the weather in March, what was it like??? I'm looking at going early 2011.

 

Thanks and hope all is well with you and Wolfie!

 

Jen

Hi Jen, we're doing good, hope you are too, wishing we were still on the Splendor! The weather was very nice, we happened to luck out in that San Diego was very nice (it can be cool and/or foggy there) and the ports were nice, pretty warm (80s-90s), but not very humid so walking around was tolerable. I had a jacket with me and never wore it on either end and of course not in Mexico. I thought it was better than October because of the lower humidity. And we had a few days of really flat ocean, not even a swell, you could almost see your reflection! There is a link to some pics in my signature too.

[louloubelle69]

I have a few questions for those who have recently done the Spirit/Mexican Riviera cruise. :D

 

 

 

 

 

~Acapulco, Manzillo, and Zihuatanejo. What do you recommend doing? (or NOT doing)

 

~How was the food?

 

~What day/time was the past guest party? Can you tell me more about this? What goes on at this party?

 

~

 

 

Thanks!

 

Hi Mary, We're on the Jan 22 cruise on the Spirit and are really looking forward to it. About the excursions, I haven't been off the ship in Manz. but plan to this time. Maybe the resort trip. You have to see the cliff divers in Acapulco but there's not a lot else to do there. But the best excursion I've ever done was in Z. I know a lot of people don't do anything there because it's a great beach town. We can't just sit around so we opted for the Dolphin Swim in 2007. It was so great. A real experience. I'll never forget it. It was a really special event for me. The pools were clean and the dolphins were well cared for and you could tell that the trainers really loved them. There was a new baby there when we went and that shows that the dolphins must be pretty happy if they were breeding. Just wanted to pass that on.

Only 64 more days!!!

[jayesouthworth]

I have a few questions for those who have recently done the Spirit/Mexican Riviera cruise. :D

 

 

 

 

~What time did you board? We're planning on being at the port around 1:30p. Does this sound like a good time?

 

We boarded around 12:00. Our cabin wasn't ready so we had to lug around a couple of bags, so you might want to take that into account. 1:30 sounds okay but there's no guarantee that your cabin will be ready.

 

~Acapulco, Manzillo, and Zihuatanejo. What do you recommend doing? (or NOT doing)

 

We took the bus tour in Acapulco, it took us up to where the cliff divers gave us a show. They also took us to the fancy hotels and showed us where Howard Hughes hid for the last days of his life. Then they took us to a small restaurant on top of a hill over looking Acapulco. We stopped at a couple of shopping malls and then back to the ship. I think we paid $50.00 each. The second time we cruised on the Spirit, we didn't go on any excursions. To be honest, we didn't care for Acapulco.

 

~How was the food?

 

The food was very good. We ate mainly in the buffet for breakfast and lunch, and DR for dinner. We didn't not eat at the specialty restuarantbut plan to do so on the Splendor in January.

 

~What day/time was the past guest party? Can you tell me more about this? What goes on at this party?

 

Drinks and some hor dourves were served at the past guest party. There was a band that played and people got on the stage and danced. Kinda like watching the Lawrence Welk show. It was fun and the FREE drinks were the best part. I think it was the cruise director that thanked us for coming back to Carnival.:D

 

~Any “must see” shows?

 

We saw mostly the comedian shows, and the talent show. Karaoke was fun as well. I'm not much of a show/dancing type person.

 

~Did anybody do the “anytime dining”? If so, how did that work out?

 

There was no "anytime"dining on the Spirit when we sailed.

 

~Wine tasting. Anybody do it? If so, can you tell me more about it?

 

We didn't do the wine tasting, we brought our own. :D

 

~What time did you disembark when you returned?

 

I believe we were off the ship by 11:00 a.m. But that depends on what category you are in as well.

 

 

Where are all of the pictures???? :D

 

:confused:

 

 

Thanks!

....

[MaiTaiMary]

Anybody else recently off a Mexican Riviera Spirit cruise? :D

[MaiTaiMary]

bump

[Luckysll]

I've done the Mexican Riviera cruise twice on the Spirit and have another one planned for November. Last one was November 08, so not recently, but I can tell you I love the cruise. If you're looking forward to Zihua here are a couple of photos:

 

 

[LATK]

We are leaving on the Spirit on the 22nd. Will try to answer you questions on the ports when we return. Starting off with rain in San Diego, but heck I'm on vacation! Adios!

[MaiTaiMary]

Thanks for the pictures, Lucky!! Looks fabulous!

 

 

We are leaving on the Spirit on the 22nd. Will try to answer you questions on the ports when we return. Starting off with rain in San Diego, but heck I'm on vacation! Adios!

 

Yeah, this is supposed to be the rainiest week in over a decade! :eek:

 

 

Oh, that reminds me of another question! :D Now that we're closer to my sail date... I'm curious about the weather. Can somebody who is sailing this month let me know about the weather? I really hope its warm! San Diego is gloomy these days!

[Litewait]

Great! Thanks for the info! :)

 

 

 

Looking forward to Zihuatanejo the most! :D

 

 

There is a fee for the wine tasting, right? I guess I'd consider us "experienced" with wine (we go to a lot of wineries) but I still thought we'd give it a shot.

 

I'm going to go check out your pictures now. Thanks!

 

Did this over New Years on the Spirit. It was $15 plus tip. I didnt think it was worth it. You taste 5 wines which equal maybe a glass. One was a Beringer I drink at home. The semolia talked way to much and was hard to understand.

I wouldnt do it again.. Just my 2 cents.

[MaiTaiMary]

Did this over New Years on the Spirit. It was $15 plus tip. I didnt think it was worth it. You taste 5 wines which equal maybe a glass. One was a Beringer I drink at home. The semolia talked way to much and was hard to understand.

I wouldnt do it again.. Just my 2 cents.

 

Thanks for the info!

[Buckeye Fan]

I have a few questions for those who have recently done the Spirit/Mexican Riviera cruise. :D

 

 

 

 

~What time did you board? We're planning on being at the port around 1:30p. Does this sound like a good time? No. Too late. Check in at 11-11:30 and board by 12 noon. The first thing they do is open the buffet in the lido. You don't need breakfast other than a coffee and a roll. Then really enjoy the buffet and roam the ship till 1:30 when you can go to your cabin and get it set up. Play mini golf before the ship disembarks. That way the golf ball rolls more true and you can start your outside fun. Meet some of the cruise critic folks on the lido deck right after muster drill and watch the ship as it sails out the San Diego harbor. Fantastic.

 

~Acapulco, Manzillo, and Zihuatanejo. What do you recommend doing? (or NOT doing) Acapulco and Manzanillo - get guides I recommended. Zihuatanejo- either shop or go to Ixtapa Island and swim and snorkel.

 

~How was the food? Very good. Much above average. Order 2 meals at once if you can't make up your mind and can eat both. Especially the lobsters on formal night.

 

~What day/time was the past guest party? Can you tell me more about this? What goes on at this party? Drinks and music. Band plus one of the show singers will sing 3 songs. Last about an hour before your dining time. 5pm for 6 dining, 7pm for late dining

 

~Any “must see” shows? all were good. Like the first one probably the best but personal preferance

 

~Did anybody do the “anytime dining”? If so, how did that work out? Did not do but did talk to those that did and they liked it

 

~Wine tasting. Anybody do it? If so, can you tell me more about it? N/A

 

~What time did you disembark when you returned? late , about 10am but we had no.24 tag. That was fine with us.

 

 

Where are all of the pictures???? :D

 

 

 

Thanks!

David