Spirit to Mexico(10/7/11)-Review with pics :)

[jobell]

SO... what was your tactic for getting them on board? Would love to hear!

 

I took a few airplane size bottles on with me and stuck them in our toiletries bag. Figured they looked like hotel size mouthwash, shampoo. ;)

[shonandsuzie]

Our roll call had an informal meet and greet at sail away and then a cocktail party meet and greet as well. The cocktail party was prearranged by one person who had to call Carnival and schedule it for her "group". There was an option to pay for 1 hr. open bar or 2 hr. open bar. We decided to do 1 hr. It ened up costing $11.00 pp. We all sent her the money before the cut-off day so that she would know how many people to set it up for. This way, she didnt get stuck paying for people who would not show up. I've done this on previous cruises and it is a great deal. While arranging this one, there was an issue with Carnival not wanting to do the party for cruisecritic groups. They were offering a non-cocktail party meet and greet like they do on other cruiselines. Not sure how that non- cocktail Carnival arranged party gets set up but our cruise didn't have one.

Our Meet and Greet was huge! It was held in the piano bar with about 3 bartenders and dry snacks (like goldfish and chex mix). They also has cookies (to Shon's delight!). Of course it was fun to meet everyone that we had been talking to over the months leading up to the cruise. I did not think the drinks were as plentiful as they were on previous ones- but that could be b/c of our large group. With that said, we all had MANY drinks. I think I had 6 in that one hours time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[shonandsuzie]

 

 

 

 

 

 

and of course.......

[shonandsuzie]

Let me just say that the lack of sequence of these photos is driving me crazy. I am so sorry that this is so unorganized!:(:o I am going to try to get back on track by showing the rest of the port of calls in order. When I am done with the ports, I will show the random pictures from around the ship on sea days and evenings and such.

[gelo7]

Great start, I am looking forward to the rest.

[shonandsuzie]

Cabo

For our first stop in Cabo, we walked way too far! We walked around the marina to scope out a good spot to stop for Shon's birthday on day 2 in Cabo. We spotted the spot and then continued walking to Medano beach. I know there must have been a short cut but we tried walking through a mall that was on the west side of the marina but we coulnt get through the back. Eventually, we reached the beach and sat at a beachfront bar and enjoyed the warm water.

In retrospect, we wished we had just taken the $3 water taxi to the beach and avoided the fatigue! I do weight watchers and kept trying to figure out how many "activity points" I would get for that! LOL.

We had planned to go to "the Office". It is a beach bar on Medano beach recommended here on CC and I figured it would be the best spot. But since we were already exhausted, we just dropped down in the first set of empty chairs we saw. I honestly cant even remember the name of the place but they had green chairs, hammocks and umbrellas. I wouldn't recommend it anyway b/c their drinks were weak! We didn't mind the weak drinks b/c we didnt really want to "drink-drink" this day. We just bought the drink to get the free seats. It was worth it! When we were done at the beach, we took a water taxi boat back to the marina. It was $4 pp from the beach for us. Not sure if it should have been $3 pp. like they offered from the marina but who cares. At that point, it was the best $8 we ever spent! LOL.

 

**We didnt get pictures of our first day in Cabo so good thing we had two!

 

 

 

 

LaPaz

We woke up from the knocking/dripping sound this morning and looked out of the window and this is what we saw:

 

 

 

Shortly after, we heard the band playing music. How fun! We figured we'd love LaPaz. We had learned the night before that there would be free transportation to a beach and another to shopping disctrict. We had decided we'd try the beach. Since LaPaz was not on our agenda before getting on the ship, we hadn't had time to research what it was we'd liek to do. We usually do beach days everywhere so we figured we'd do teh same here. It was a really hot day so we got ready and headed out for some sun and water! We got a little worried on the way to the beach because the scenery was anything but beachy. In the end...we found the beach.

 

 

 

 

 

I have to say that I did not like this beach. It had great potential but it was not clean enough. There was litter here and there including at the entry to the water. There were a couple of dead "puffer fish" on the beach near our spot, too. There were quite a few dogs roaming the beach freely. Also, I went into the restroom and it was gross. The water was not running so I wondered how the restaurant employees washed their hands too. I just had a bad feeling about the place. Although Shon could look past everything and enjoy the beach, I was turned off and just wanted back on the ship ASAP. So, we jumped on the bus and headed back. We probably spent 15 minutes at the beach.

At dinner, others said there was actually a nice beach area in the "shopping district". I wish we would have went that route. Oh well, we did got some more time at the pool on the ship listening to the calypso band so the day was saved!

[shonandsuzie]

Cabo #2

Shon's birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

We had a lazy morning and then tendered off to find some birthday fun! Like I said previously, we found "the perfect birthday spot" on our adventure around the marina on Cabo #1. So once we hit land, we set out to find "the spot". We had to weave in and out of the water taxi vendors and people selling this and that but eventually, we made it to "the spot"!

 

This is "the spot":

 

 

 

 

and this is what we went there for:

(notice how the glass and drink even match us?)

 

 

 

 

Dont worry, we shared it. They put 1 and 1/2 bottle of tequila in this mega margarita! It was strong and good and teh perfect birthday treat for a 40-year-old! (snicker snicker) It was $35 and we tried to haggle them down to $25 but really would have paid $40. We also ordered shrimp quesadillas which were outstanding. We tried our best to finish the birthday drink but could not! It knocked me out, twice!

 

 

 

 

 

Afterwards, we went back to the ship and passed out for 3 hours. I woke up feeling fine but Shon was a bit "headachy" (because he was stubborn and didnt take my advise to take motrin and a bunch of water before falling asleep!) He did bounce back quickly for a 40-year-old (snicker snicker) and we made it to our reservations at the steakhouse for his birthday dinner. The steakhouse service was excellent. The food was delicious!

[jobell]

and this is what we went there for:

(notice how the glass and drink even match us?)

 

 

 

Holy margarita Batman!!!! Yes, please. Oh man...I am really there now. lol. I also love that you are perfectly coordinated with the drink. :p

 

I think the ladies behind you are jealous and wish they had ordered the megarita. lol

[shonandsuzie]

 

 

There was a band outdoors and I had them come in and sing to Shon. All they wanted was a tip. I think I gave them $5.

 

 

 

 

 

[vanislandcruisers]

Cabo #2

Shon's birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

We had a lazy morning and then tendered off to find some birthday fun! Like I said previously, we found "the perfect birthday spot" on our adventure around the marina on Cabo #1. So once we hit land, we set out to find "the spot". We had to weave in and out of the water taxi vendors and people selling this and that but eventually, we made it to "the spot"!

 

This is "the spot":

 

 

 

 

and this is what we went there for:

(notice how the glass and drink even match us?)

 

 

Love the look and size of that drink!!!!:D...Great Review so far!!!...Thanks for sharing

[shonandsuzie]

 

 

 

 

 

[shonandsuzie]

The steakhouse:

 

 

 

 

 

^Shon's Porterhouse

 

 

^ My surf and turf (yummy)

 

 

 

^They put a candle on his cheesecake!

[Buckett]

Great review! You and your hubby look like you're having a blast. Thanks for taking the time to post your review. :)

[shonandsuzie]

Puerto Vallarta

On again off again. On. We are really heading to PV. I really like PV. I like the diversity of things it has to offer. I like the beauty. I like the people. I like the fact that you an walk off of teh ship and not tender. I just like it. In the past, we did a tour with a local cab driver and saw so much of this area. We saw resorts, tequila factories, ate at a local restautant overlooking the city and much more-for about $30. Once we went to Paradise all inclusive resort as an excursion through the ship which was beautiful, too.

 

We planned on going to a resort here today, as well. I had researched a few and decided that, although I want to go see "dreams" for their all inclusive, we would go to Krystal resort which was closer. In the end.... we went to Walmart and the mall (with a quick stop in the mall's casino). :DI have always thought it was a bit insane to go to Walmart on a cruise but this time for some reason it sounded so fun!It was right across the street from where we docked so we walked. We were in a particularly goofy mood in PV. Not sure why, but it was a fun day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isn't this cute. The cross walk signal had a dude running. The figure actually ran. I took a ton of pictures trying to capture it. And it worked!

 

 

 

[shonandsuzie]

 

 

 

 

As the sun set and we sailed away, the view was incredible. The sky was many different colors, the resorts lined teh coast, tehre were sailboats in the water. Just breathtaking. You have no idea how much we wished we had our camera!!! A phone is a great back-up but it is not a "real" camera and we could not capture the photos at all. We tried though:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh and for those wondering....

Walmart was cool! Prices were similar to home. We bought some medicine for our aches and pains (old age-lol) and some shot glasses that they were selling at the port shopping center for $5. They were 80 cent at Walmart! hahahahaha!

We did shop for cameras there too but the prices were a tad higher than we found at home.

[tweetylori]

Enjoying your report and the cool pics! I almost passed out myself just looking at that giant tequila drink!

[shonandsuzie]

Enjoying your report and the cool pics! I almost passed out myself just looking at that giant tequila drink!

LOL!!!

 

We got through about 2/3 of it. Somewhere around that point we said to eachother "what are we trying to prove?" I am sad that I got too drunk to take a picture with the baby lion. There was a both taking collections for animals and they had a baby lion that you could hold for a donation. I talked about it the entire time but in the end, Shon thought I'd drop it! LOL. I thought I might not know my strength and squeeze it too tight. Dang tequila! Next time....

[Wags67]

What an Awesome review, Shonandsuzie!

Your pictures show just how much fun you and Hubby had!

I had to share the megamargarita pictures with my DH cause I was literally belly laughing out loud...they should have named it the ONE Big A$$ Margarita!

I am enjoying your writing style =)

[shonandsuzie]

What an Awesome review, Shonandsuzie!

Your pictures show just how much fun you and Hubby had!

I had to share the megamargarita pictures with my DH cause I was literally belly laughing out loud...they should have named it the ONE Big A$$ Margarita!

I am enjoying your writing style =)

So true!!!! :) That thing was huge!

[shonandsuzie]

I already said how much we loved the layout and design of the Spirit. This ship was really cute.

I liked the staircase that went from the 3rd floor near the shops, computer room and piano bar to the second floor near the coffee shop, sports bar and casino area. There was a lighted designed glass in the middle with a waterfall:

 

 

I also liked the murals all around. I am not "artsy", but they looked pretty and peaceful. You could them on the main atrium walls through the glass elevator too:

 

 

 

 

I liked the colors in the buffet area. Bright and fun. I particularly loved that the seats in the lido buffet were vinyl. I hate when the fabric seats get gooey and steam cleaned and you sit on them and get your pants all wet.

 

We didnt take pictures in the main dining room but we liked the design of that too. It was sooooooooooooooooooooooooo much better than the psycho-wild-grape-with-naked babies on the Miracle!

 

Speaking of dining rooms, we did anytime dining and loved it more than ever. We sat with different people every night and met some super cool folks! I love meeting people this way. You learn so much (and it gives us funs tuff to talk about later!). The spirit conducted their anytime dining like Norwegian did when we sailed on the Star. You go to the dining room whenever you are ready. They ask if you want to eat alone or with others and then seat you. It's a crap shoot b/c you could be sat with meanies. But generally, those who ask to be sat with others are pretty conversational and nice. There were those few who you wondered why on Earth they would share a table if they hate people...but that was only a couple of people overall.

 

We only had 2 outstanding waitstaff throughout the 9 days. One was "Oleg" who called himself "the Candy man". He was an assistant but super personable. The actual waiter on his team was rude so Oleg made dinner much more enjoyable. We saw him at other times working extra shifts in teh buffet and he stopped and chatted with us. Cool dude, that Oleg. At breakfast we met the other outstanding waitstaff person. His name was Minor. He was so cheery and I wish we had gotten him at dinner but we didnt request him b/c he said he had only 2 and 4 seaters and we prefer larger tables.

 

We went to the Comedy club almost every time that they had an adult show. We were so proud of ourselves for staying awake for them! Remember, Michigan is 3 hours ahead of Cali so those midnight shows were at 3 a.m.:eek: The comedians were great.

 

We did spend more time than usual (if thats possiible) in the casino. I even gambled enough to get the "free drink" card!!!! I dont know if I am proud or ashamed of that fact. All in all it brought fun, we met some cool people in there and lost a bunch of money. Not too different from other casinos.

[shonandsuzie]

The weather was great in the LA area and on the cruise. I know there were tropical storms and hurricanes around but you would never had known it if you judged by the weather we were having. I did notice that the water at Puerto Vallarta was sludgy with sticks floating from the storms. Other than that, you would have never known.

Living in Michigan, we have a long cold wonetr coming soon. Because of that, I wanted a killer tan. I messed up on that bad when I skipped sunning on the Friday's sea day. I went out on Saturday and it was chilly. They had the fun kind of Lido activities on this day too. Some silly chiken olympics was our favorite. They were throwing rubber chikens, putting them between there knees and stuffing their clothes with them. Shon and I should have played but believe it or not, we dont aim to be the center of attention. I think that on our next cruise, we will do more hands on and less spectating.

Here is us on that last (chilly) sea day:

 

 

 

 

Usually, I like to grab a spot on the higher level of teh Main lido pool. I dont like laying out right next to a buffet line. Call me crazy but I prefer to see the sea. I also dont like the smell of food frying and ketchup that overwhelms the main lido pool deck. Shon doesn't mind it at all so it may just be another of my quirks. I thought they had too many table and chair sets on this ship's pool decks. At the aft pool they even had added plastic ones, which was odd to me considering how cute their "real" pool area table and chairs were. Maybe they figured more people would want to sit at a table than would want lounge chairs (???) Kind of counterintuitive if you ask me, but they didn't. LOL.

 

You can see the cute table/chair sets:

 

And the cheap plastic ones:

[shonandsuzie]

Debarkation and LAX

 

 

^ So sad.....

 

We were staying in LA one extra day after the cruise. After our last experience rushing directly to teh airport from the ship, we determined that is NOT the way to end a great vacation. Good thing to b/c the debarkation process was slow. We sat and had coffee and breakfast in the lido buffet until our number was called. It was painless for us but we saw a lot of frustrated people impatiently waiting to get off. I can understand since some had flights and some has rides coming to get them but I am so glad we didnt have that rushed feeling.

Once our number was called we walked straight off of the ship. No long line. We got our luggage and breezed through customs. I like this debarlation system. Much rather wait in a booth with coffee than in a long line.

 

We took a super shuttle to our hotel at LAX which was $17 pp. The super shuttle dropped us off at our hotel the Aiport Marriott which was right next to LAX.

The hotel was really nice. Our room was huge (especially after that regular balcony cabin) and clean and modern. There were a few restaurants and a starbucks. I tried to get one on priceline but had this one reserved just in case. I picked this one based on the pool area and it did not disappoint. Many of the airline crew stayed here, btw.

 

I got a banging tan at the hotel pool Sunday afternoon! Yippee!

 

 

 

 

 

Pure sun!!!

 

We took the hotel shuttle to Encounter's for dinner. It pretty cool because it's glass and a spaceship! Hehe. My food was great. I had a caesar salad with shrimp. It was huge and pretty fancy looking. Shon had a salad too but a bad thing occured with his. He bit into a large strip of plastic wrap. Ewww! Not sure how clean it could be back int heir kitchen if a large piece of plastic ends up in your finished dish. I am still glad we tried the place. We had planned going there on our last visit to LAX but it was being renovated at that time.

 

As fate would have it, the rest of our Encounters photos are still on my phone--- I am starting to think someone is trying to prevent me from finishing this review! I have pictures of the plastic, too so I will have to get them copied to the SD card and post them here later.

 

Anyway, after our dinner we grabbed the next free hotel shuttle back to the hotel and repacked our stuff. This hotel has a scale right in the lobby by computers and airline flight info. Good thing because we were trying to even out of checked baggage balancing our 4 bottles of liquor that we purchased on the ship ;-)

[Michele Noel]

Great review. We were also on this cruise. You are so right about the beach in La Paz, it is a disgrace - very dirty. I don't know why they don't spruce it up - maybe they don't have water there. You were lucky not to go to the Krystal in P.V. - the hotel is under major construction and the usual pool is closed. Hilton has bought the hotel and is upgrading it. We did find a small pool to swim at but it was a cool day in Puerto Vallarta. I heard that the P.V. downtown was torn up with construction. We also loved this cruise. Really wonderful weather for two hurricanes and not too rocky a ship. We had Minor for our waiter for three nights and he was so happy and fun. The Spirit is always a great sail, the captain is friendly and so are all the crew members.

[rtfnl]

Dang. I will give almost anything for that margarita. It would have tried knocking me out but I would have kept fighting until it was finished. I know that I would have needed help. I loved this review as well as the one a couple of months ago.

[Rosefloater]

 

Oh and for those wondering....

Walmart was cool! Prices were similar to home. We bought some medicine for our aches and pains (old age-lol) and some shot glasses that they were selling at the port shopping center for $5. They were 80 cent at Walmart! hahahahaha!

We did shop for cameras there too but the prices were a tad higher than we found at home.

 

I love shopping at that WalMart. This is where we go for PV souvenirs and vanilla.

 

Great review.