Spirit photo review - July 26th - August 2nd

[emmysmommy]

Hey there! I have been back for a couple weeks from our recent Spirit Alaska cruise but I wanted to take the time to share our experience – which overall was very good. Carnival still offers enough value to be our cruise line of choice. Not sure how fair of a statement that is since we haven't cruised on another line! :rolleyes:

 

Background: This was the 5th Carnival cruise for DH, DD and me. We also took my parents for their 50th anniversary – it was their first cruise.

I’m more of a Caribbean type of cruiser but I had promised my husband that we would go on an Alaskan cruise before I booked another trip. To seal the deal, my parents had wanted to go to Alaska and it was a milestone anniversary for them so we thought we would surprise them by booking this cruise as a special celebration/family vacation. Good thing they were thrilled when we announced our plan to go to Alaska!

 

Note that this will be more of a photo diary of our trip since I haven’t taken the time to write up a trip review and I have some business travel that interferes with my cruise critic activities! However, I would be more than glad to answer any questions about the itinerary, excursions, food, and anything else that I can answer.

Here’s a quick preview with a few photos

 

 

My family:

 

Spirit in Tracy Arm

 

 

 

Tracy Arm

 

 

 

 

Looks like I have some photo resizing to do.....

 

Hang in there for more to follow.

 

Thanks!

[Inklight]

Cool! Thank you for posting. I will be cruising the Carnival Spirit through Alaska next May and would love to see all your images!:)

[Jimmy Geegitz]

nice photos!

[rambler57]

Can't wait for more!

[emmysmommy]

The photos last night was just a tease for the actual review. I'm ready to jump in and share all the exciting and thrilling details of our cruise. Perhaps I exaggerate.... but you are reading this so you must be expecting something entertaining! (Or you really have nothing better to do right now! So sad for you!)

 

So.....It is early on a Monday morning, we are getting ready to leave and I have to ask everyone the questions that beg to be asked....Did everyone pack their toothbrush? Yes x 3 - good! Did DH pack dark socks for his suit - check! And why does DH always not pack enough underpants??? Well, I don't ask that but heads up - he DID have to do some laundry near the end of the cruise!

 

Yes, we did have 5 bags for an 8 day trip. I had a lot of shoes and other girly stuff!

 

 

A couple days before we left I realized that our "ride" to the airport was not available. Said "ride" is my parents. Uh.... second choice, middle son - doh! He just got married and moved to Texas (Stationed in Ft. Bliss, Tx - Go ARMY!) Third choice, middle son or his wife - they both work. At this point we just decided to take a taxi.

 

In February I scored a really good deal on airfare through Alaska Airlines. $160 pp r/t with taxes. I couldn't buy those 5 tickets fast enough!

 

Me and my daughter at the airport - don't we look pretty excited to be going on a cruise?

 

 

In Seattle, I had booked two rooms at the Hampton Inn, downtown. It was only a few blocks from the Space Needle.

 

This was our room - a King Suite. It was only $260 a night with taxes and included a free breakfast.

 

 

 

More room...

 

We arrived in Seattle at 2pm and had a delay in getting out of the airport since my mom's borrowed wheelchair (she has bad knees and ankles and can't walk far) was delivered to us with a broken arm. They gave us a loaner wheelchair and fixed hers while we were gone. (Despite the oops, they provided good customer service.)

 

We ate at a coffee house across from the hotel called Citizen. It had great grilled sandwiches and breakfast dishes. (I love the whole Seattle coffee house vibe!)

 

The only other interesting thing we did pre-cruise in Seatte was walk around the parks/museaums at the Space Needle. I wish we had time to explore a little more.

 

Tuesday 7/26th - Embarkation:

 

The hotel was undergoing renovations - we never heard anything - so the breakfast room was in temporary quarters and they were serving a continental breakfast of cold items. (Cereal, danishes/bagels/muffins, boiled eggs, and fruit.) It was fine for being free.

 

One last pose on our room's balcony before heading to the port.

 

 

 

The hotel is less than 3 miles from the cruise port so a taxi to the pier that morning was a short ride and only $15. The hotel had a shuttle offered for $7 pp but smarty pants me, I thought it would be cheaper to hop in a cab and get there on our own. Uh... they didn't have any taxi vans so we had to take 2 cabs. Oh well... at least we made it there relatively hassle free.

 

We arrived at the port around 10:45am. Plenty early to avoid any big rushes.

 

 

Our pose upon arrival with the ship:

 

 

 

More to follow....

[emmysmommy]

Cool! Thank you for posting. I will be cruising the Carnival Spirit through Alaska next May and would love to see all your images!:)

 

I'm still sorting and uploading photos but if you want a sneak peek you can review the photos in my signature link. :)

 

nice photos!

 

Thanks! Actually, the camera does all the work but thank you for the compliment. :D

 

Can't wait for more!

 

Lucky you! Your waiting is over... I just posted a short update.

[Tejas57]

great review. me and my wife are on one of the first sailings once she hits down under and i can't wait