Review: Carnival Spirit Glacier Bay 5/11/05-5/18/05

[CruiseIsGood]

Denise, 40, traveling solo for the first time. I ran out of people to drag to Alaska.

 

 

Embarkation

I arrived the day of the cruise at Vancouver airport. I met two ladies on the plane who were going on the same cruise. We waited in line about 45 minutes to go through Canadian customs. We were quickly loaded on a bus to Canada Place, and that's where the nightmare started. The line for customs was huge. Both Spirit and the HAL Vollendam passengers were in the same line, so figure over 4,000 people and from two to eight slow, surly customs agents. While we were waiting in line for three hours, one of the ships' officers was watching and looked really, really mad. But there was nothing Carnival could do. They promised it will not happen again.

 

I boarded the ship minutes before 4, which was when I was supposed to meet up with my CruiseCritic.com buddies in the Atrium. I dropped off my luggage and made it there just a couple of minutes late, and we had a great time finally meeting each other!

 

The next night at the Captain's cocktail party, he informed us that to make up for the long lines (which weren't even their fault), they were granting us an extra two hours in Juneau and Skagway. I thought that more than made up for the delay, since I got to do more stuff! But before we got to Ketchikan, he announced he'd try to make it two hours early there too. We made it an hour early, which still allowed me to see the lumberjack show, which I would have missed. Kudos to Carnival for that very kind gesture.

 

 

Room

I booked the starboard aft wrap-around balcony cabin on Empress deck. The room was lovely and I miss it! See my pictures. The only thing I didn't photograph was the bathroom, which had two sinks (I could brush in one and spit in the other) and a whirlpool tub. Since this was my 40th birthday trip, I had two dozen roses, two bottles of wine and a bottle of champagne waiting in the room from family and friends. Awww! Almost made me cry.

 

The balcony is large enough for lots of people, and I had plenty of parties with the CC folks and some other people I met onboard. Unfortunately, it's not covered, so when it rained in Glacier Bay, I was up on deck instead. It's worse than not covered--the small overhang pours water. But, when it was nice outside, it was luxurious. Deck 4 is covered, and if I ever get one again, it will be on deck 4. And people, quit throwing stuff off the lido deck. It just lands on the balconies.

 

I had two room stewards for some reason. Maybe one was training. One was very nice--he was always smiling. The other looked like she was on her last nerve. She always tried to smile but looked more like she was going to cry. On the last evening, when people had put out there luggage, she swore as she was trying to move her cart. I just felt sorry for her. If I had to do that job 7 days straight for 6-8 months I'd be swearing and crying too. Anyways, my room was always clean and stocked with ice. I had tipped in cash the first night the amount of another passenger, since it wasn't their fault I was traveling solo.

 

Ship

There are lots of pictures online. This was my third time sailing the Carnival Spirit to Alaska, so obviously I like the ship. The carpet is a little more worn and things are not quite as bright and sparkly as the first time I was there, but it's still lovely. I took the Ecstacy Ensenada run once and Spirit blows that ship away in every area. There are so many window areas all over the ship that it really makes cruising Alaska a joy.

 

There were 300 Australians who did the back-to-back Hawaii-Alaska cruise. They were such fun people. I really enjoyed meeting quite a few of them. I thought our time at Customs was bad, but not only did they have to wait 3 hours in Hawaii IN THE SUN, they were also told they wouldn't have to come back through US customs in Canada but Customs didn't agree and they did. They're not happy at all with travel in the states anymore, and I met a few couples who won't be coming back. Very sad. A few said they enjoyed Alaska more than Hawaii, because Australia has better beaches.

 

I didn't see any shows, unfortunately. I spent time in the casino playing blackjack and time with my new Aussie friends.

 

The CD, Michael Mullane, was pretty bland and mostly unseen except for his talks. I heard he apologized for that and said he had a lot of paperwork to do. Dunno why. I adored Dana Hodson my first time, and I think he's on the Victory now. He's extremely entertaining. This was my third time with Captain Pier Paolo Scala, and I adore him. Sweet man.

 

Food

This is my fourth Carnival cruise, and I've always enjoyed the food. I had room service coffee every morning and it always arrived in 5-10 minutes. Pretty impressive. I also had a BLT from them twice. I dined in the dining room for breakfast twice, lunch twice and all but one dinner, and enjoyed each one. I really like the open seating breakfast and lunches, but I skipped both meals a few times--too much food! I met people that I then saw throughout the cruise, including another single lady. They did seat singles together for dinner. One lunch was very funny--a lady (and I say that loosely) ordered calamari, but didn't know what it was. When it arrived she pronounced it disgusting (Squid? Disgusting!) and sent it back. She had ordered the salmon with some kind of sauce for an entree, and it turned out the sauce was green. Dill maybe? I don't know. She pronounced it disgusting without trying it and went up to the Lido deck to eat. The rest of us at the table had a nice laugh when she was gone. Remember--if you don't know what something is, ask the waiter. I'd hate to see the person who ordered escargot and didn't know what it was. I only went to the Lido twice, once for pizza at 3am (don't ask) and once for Indian, since I love their Indian food. The head waiter on the ship is from India, so go figure.

 

My waiter was a much better entertainer than waiter. He never told us the specials, forgot my soup once, many times had one person served and not the rest for 10 minutes or vice-versa, and just didn't impress me. The assistant waiter was great. Some Aussie friends had the same waiter for 19 nights and he was so wonderful he brought cheese trays up to our balcony party! They just adored him and exchanged addresses. Luck of the draw I guess.

 

The Grand Gala Buffet is beautiful but not all that great to eat. Take pictures, then go get pizza. I didn't get to any of the other midnight buffets.

 

Excursions

I enjoyed each one. The review is here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=180368 I did it early because I knew that's what most people are interested in.

 

Good Things

Champagne art auction--grab champagne, walk through and out the other door. heeee!

 

The Captain's Cocktail Party and Past Guest Party both had a lot of servers. I don't remember being that well served on previous cruises. Maybe they were trying to get us drunk enough to forget embarkation. They actually had two past guest parties, due to the 300 B2B'ers and large number of past guests.

 

Ships are not allowed to make announcements in ports. We always have very few announcements (except the Naturalist on open water) when in Alaska.

 

Getting off in ports was very easy, and even when there was a long line to get back on, it went fairly quickly, but in one port they had everyone trying to get back on at the same time it seemed--dinner time.

 

Please try to attend the naturalist talks with Michelle. They really give an insight and understanding of the area. You'll have a much better cruise experience with that knowledge.

 

It still amazes me how friendly people are on a cruise. When we got back to the airport, I noticed everyone clammed up and went back to reality. On the cruise, everyone says hi in the halls, talks in the elevator, and I really enjoyed all of the company of strangers throughout.

 

Bad Things

The Carnival Vacation Club. They tried to shove that thing down our throats all day every day. Notices in our mailboxes, all over the Capers, signs on members' doors, just disgusting. One of my dinner companions was 80 and had notices something along the lines of, "You have not responded!" in her mailbox three days in a row. She went to the presentation and said they were very pushy--until they found out she doesn't have $4,000.

 

The ship's videograher was on two of my excursions, and on the first one took all profiles of me. I have a bad profile. Hrmph.

 

It was over WAY too fast. I don't remember either of the others flying by so fast. I think it's because I was doing so much! Many shore excursions, many parties, much fun. On my previous two, I think that waiting for everyone else to either get ready or decide what to do took up a lot of my time.

 

Conclusion

Would I sail Carnival Spirit again? Yes, and fill out 100 comment cards about the Vacation club. But I think I'll try a different line next time, just for some variety and comparison.

 

Pictures

http://community.webshots.com/user/cruisindenise

[INCHARGE]

Thank you for the review. I also enjoyed the pictures. I loved the Spirit, and it was fun hearing about it.

[CruiseIsGood]

Thanks. I'm having PCD already! ;)

[voyagerfl]

Oh Man...Love the Pictures......what a trip.

 

Got me ready to plan another Alaska Cruise......

 

x

[SunFunCruiser]

Thanks for the review. We are in the process of trying to decide on a ship for our summer 2007 Alaskan cruise.

I wish they would send a newer ship out there.

I appreciate your insight.

[SunFunCruiser]

What category was that cabin? Did it sleep four? I looks nice!

[CruiseIsGood]

It's a category 11, but it only sleeps 2 officially.

 

Carnival Spirit isn't an old ship, it's only 4 years old. I wouldn't want to be on a Conquest class in Alaska--too big and not as much open deck space. But it would be nice if they sent another Spirit class ship there. Third time on Carnival Spirit and I need to try something else!

[SunFunCruiser]

It's a category 11, but it only sleeps 2 officially.

 

Carnival Spirit isn't an old ship, it's only 4 years old. I wouldn't want to be on a Conquest class in Alaska--too big and not as much open deck space. But it would be nice if they sent another Spirit class ship there. Third time on Carnival Spirit and I need to try something else!

 

 

Yes, but in 2007 it will be almost 7 years old :( I know it always gets good reviews, so I'm not worried.

I guess I'll have to book a balcony for us & inside across from us for the kids, instead of the Cat. 11. Any suggestions about which cabins to book?

Thanks for any info.

[CruiseIsGood]

Some of the 11's mid-ship fit four. They are bigger than standard rooms, but not split like the aft rooms. I liked Empress deck mid-ship, too. I wouldn't recommend the afts above deck 4 in Alaska because they're not covered, and it can and usually does rain in Alaska.

[TamaLee]

Denise -

 

Thanks for taking the time to write a review. My Alaska cruise on the Spirit is over a year away and I'm already very excited. We have the starboard aft wrap balcony suit on deck 8. This is our favorite room on our favorite ship!

[SunFunCruiser]

Some of the 11's mid-ship fit four. They are bigger than standard rooms, but not split like the aft rooms. I liked Empress deck mid-ship, too. I wouldn't recommend the afts above deck 4 in Alaska because they're not covered, and it can and usually does rain in Alaska.

 

Thanks for the suggestion.

[voyagerfl]

Thanks for the review. We are in the process of trying to decide on a ship for our summer 2007 Alaskan cruise.

I wish they would send a newer ship out there.

I appreciate your insight.

 

WoW.....we were just on the Spirit in Feb. it's a great ship in great condition.

LoL.....remember it's a Multi-Million dollar Resort.....not a used car...:)

[SunFunCruiser]

WoW.....we were just on the Spirit in Feb. it's a great ship in great condition.

LoL.....remember it's a Multi-Million dollar Resort.....not a used car...:)

 

That's great to hear. I'm just thinking by summer 2007, it won't be so new. 7 years in the cruise industry is older.

[CruiseIsGood]

It's kinda different with ships lately. When you hear about 'old' carnival ships, it's gaudy neon and plastic. That's why they've become sort of a stigma. But the Spirit is pretty.

[AllenF]

Thanks for the Review :) . We just got off the Spirit in April and enjoyed it very much also.

[K.T.B.]

It's kinda different with ships lately. When you hear about 'old' carnival ships, it's gaudy neon and plastic. That's why they've become sort of a stigma. But the Spirit is pretty.

 

And the only ones who call them that are the ones who are woefully misinformed or have some sort of "bashing agenda". ;)

 

Once again, great review!

[Bsan1221]

Denise,

 

I hadnt seen your review until now... Great review...

 

We need to get together on another ship .. ;)

[CruiseIsGood]

You're more than welcome to smuggle me onto your Tahiti cruise, Betty!