Review of Carnival Spirit

[mared1]

I submitted a review under the Review tab, but haven't seen it yet, so...

We were on the Spirit on 1/28. The following was our experience.

Embarkation: The worse part for us was finding a porter to take our luggage. A Celebrity ship was in port also and all the porters seemed to be taking luggage to that ship. After about 15 minutes, we found a porter and entered the cruise terminal. In less than 10 minutes, we had been processed and had our Sign and Sail card in hand. They board by Zones, we were in Zone 2. (Had arrived at the pier about 10:50 a.m.) At noon, Zone 1 was called, our Zone was next.

It is true there are stairs to climb to get into the ship, but there is also one elevator. By 12:15 we were in our cabin.

Our cabin was 7303 on the Veranda deck. This was a handicapped accessible cabin with an extended balcony. Neither of us are physically handicapped but we booked it because of the large balcony. It was at least twice the length of a normal balcony and about 1 1/2 times as wide. The cabin was different than other balcony cabins, also. Instead of entering and having the bathroom on one side and the closets on the other, the entry was wide and opened into the room. The bathroom was huge! You could easily fit several people in it. The shower had a shower chair in it which folded up into the wall. I found it useful for shaving my legs. The downside of this cabin was the closet space. Instead of 3 closets, it had only 2, but there was other storage space and we were able to find a place for all our belongings.

Because it was cool and rainy, instead of having the life boat drill outside at the muster stations, it was announced that people should either go to the dining room or Pharohs Place. This worked out well.

The first full day at sea was cool but as the day went on and the further south we sailed the warmer it got. Cabins on the same side as ours did not get much sun either on the way down or back. I would book one on the other side if I was to do it again.

The food was good - especially in the dining room! We had good wait staff and the food arrived hot. The food on the Lido deck was also good, but because a lot of it is buffet style it may be sitting awhile before you eat it. I really enjoyed the Deli sandwiches.

The entertainment on the cruise was okay - the singers and dancers were the usual. The comedians were very funny! -Especially Mrs. Hughes! I laughed so hard, I cryed.

There is not a lot to say about the ports - I enjoyed the ports in the Caribbean more. We mainly went to beaches and relaxed in all the ports. We did go to the Cliff divers in the evening. I would recommend going to a day show. At night it is very difficult to see and I would suggest going early as the "good" seats fill up fast - actually the best viewing is a standing area.

Getting off the ship was simple enough. Luggage was placed in clearly marked areas according to the deck you were on. The bad part was figuring out where to go outside the terminal to catch a shuttle. The only marked area was for taxis and several of the people working did not know where to direct us.

All in all a good experience. Let me know if you have questions, I will try to answer them.

[savandbarb]

We are in the same room that you were in.We go March 1.What was your cabin attendant like? Did you get lots of towel animals? Did he look after you well?What were the " las Vegas style show like? do you think that the CD did a good job? was there lots to do on the ship?

[daveandjules]

Hi mared1,

 

Your review helps, thank you. We are on the Spirit on 3/25 with our 3 boys, ages 11,17 & 20. What beaches did you go to in the ports? I know we would like to be able to snorkel, swim and possibly boogie-board. Which port would you recommend for some shopping? We are not big shoppers but have a few items we want to pick up, like blankets and some pottery. At this time I don't think we are going to book any excursions. We were thinking of the cliff divers early, then lunch and maybe hang out at the Hyatt in Acapulco. Any restaurant recommendations?

 

I checked our rooms and we are on the Verandah deck too but the opposite side of the ship than you were, so thank you for that information!:D

[BluexMoon]

Hi mared1,

 

Your review helps, thank you. We are on the Spirit on 3/25 with our 3 boys, ages 11,17 & 20. What beaches did you go to in the ports? I know we would like to be able to snorkel, swim and possibly boogie-board. Which port would you recommend for some shopping? We are not big shoppers but have a few items we want to pick up, like blankets and some pottery. At this time I don't think we are going to book any excursions. We were thinking of the cliff divers early, then lunch and maybe hang out at the Hyatt in Acapulco. Any restaurant recommendations?

 

I checked our rooms and we are on the Verandah deck too but the opposite side of the ship than you were, so thank you for that information!:D

 

If you want to go snorkeling, you must go to the Ixtapa Island Getaway. it was wonderful. It is exactly what you expect of tropical Mexico. Clear warm water, palm trees and huts on the beach. Food and drinks are served to you right on the beach. They serve a huge Pina Colada in a pineapple. I have losts of phots from my Nov. trip on webshots, member name bluexmoon.

[bbiggar]

Stay clear of the beach at the Hyatt, the day we were there we were constantly getting bothered by peddlers selling things. We didn't go into the water in Acapulco either since when the ship got near the port we went through bands of garbage out there, never seen anything so disgusting.

 

Mared sorry we never did get to meet on our sailing. We had a great time and hope you did as well. I did see Roberto (Acapulco port authority) down on the dock as we were docking and yelled hello to him. Wish I could have had the chance to go say hi to him in person.

[mared1]

We are in the same room that you were in.We go March 1.What was your cabin attendant like? Did you get lots of towel animals? Did he look after you well?What were the " las Vegas style show like? do you think that the CD did a good job? was there lots to do on the ship?

Our cabin stewart was wonderful. I called him right away when we got to our room to unlock the minibar and he can immediately - so we got to know him right from the start. He made towel animals every night. He also responded to a message I left about getting another robe as one was frayed. He did an excellent job and was always smiling.

The dancers and singers were okay - nothing too great but like I said we liked the comedians - the midnight shows are X rated but if you aren't easily offended they are funny. As for the CD - he was fine - we don't really get involved in all the activities but there is plenty to do - from the casino to bingo, to games, etc. Our favorite thing is to just lay back and soak up some sun.

[mared1]

Hi mared1,

 

Your review helps, thank you. We are on the Spirit on 3/25 with our 3 boys, ages 11,17 & 20. What beaches did you go to in the ports? I know we would like to be able to snorkel, swim and possibly boogie-board. Which port would you recommend for some shopping? We are not big shoppers but have a few items we want to pick up, like blankets and some pottery. At this time I don't think we are going to book any excursions. We were thinking of the cliff divers early, then lunch and maybe hang out at the Hyatt in Acapulco. Any restaurant recommendations?

 

I checked our rooms and we are on the Verandah deck too but the opposite side of the ship than you were, so thank you for that information!:D

 

We walked to a beach near the ship in Acapulco - it wasn't clean - lots of litter all over. I would recommend Ixtpa Island for the beach as well as snorkeling. As for shopping, they will tell you on the ship the only place to shop is in Acapulco - it does offer a wide variety of shops and street vendors. However there are some nice places to shop in Zihuantanejo - they are within walking distance from where the tenders drop you off.

The downtown of Manzanillo is one T-Shirt and Shell shop after another. A good place for kids to buy inexpensive things.

We always ate on the ship - so I don't know about restaurants.

[cmptrwiz]

Thanks for the review. It is very much appreciated. It is funny how 10 different people will have 10 different views or opinions on the same thing. Great review. Wiz:)

[mared1]

Thanks for the review. It is very much appreciated. It is funny how 10 different people will have 10 different views or opinions on the same thing. Great review. Wiz:)

 

You are very welcome. I think if someone looks for things wrong that's what they will focus on. I try to remember I am not the only one on the cruise - there were 2,000 + guests. All in all, it was a good time.