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Carnival Spirit New Years Eve Cruise Review

barnsey1802

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barnsey1802

barnsey1802

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Just returned from our Carnival Spirit NYE cruise. Here are my thoughts.

 

Embarkation was the quickest I have ever experienced. We dropped our luggage off and had a quick drink at the circular quay bar. At about 1pm we went to the boarding area and went straight upstairs and was onboard within 15 minutes. We had a bottle of wine in our carry on luggage that was confiscated, but a few days later I went down to customer services and asked for it back. The lady at the desk asked me if bringing a bottle of wine onboard was in my contract and I said yes. The bottle was delivered to my cabin later that day.:)

 

She did however state that all the contracts now forbid wine on embarkation.

 

First impressions of the ship is kinda "out there". It's very Las Vegas style, but it grows on after a while. We set sail at 7.30 and our great holiday had begun.:cool:

 

We had our first balcony cabin 5277. Towards the back portside. The cabin was quite spacious, plenty of wardrobe space. The bathroom had lots of storage space and one of the best showers I have ever experienced. The temp is preset to 38 degrees. Just perfect.

 

The buffet was the best designed I have seen. Instead of snaking around in one long line, there were smaller sections. So if you just wanted salad you could just go to the salad bar etc. the sections were:

Salad

Deserts

Mini pies, sausages,mash, chips, peas.

Pizza

Chopsticks

Asian

Toasted sandwiches.

Speciality coffee.

 

On the pool deck there was a "late risers" breakfast bar that went until almost midday. Also a great hamburger bar, soft serve ice cream section and one deck above there was fat Jimmy's BBQ.

 

The only thing that bothered me during this cruise was the lack of people using the hand sanitisers. :mad: I hardly saw anyone using the hand sanitisers. The machines were next to the plates, but hardly anyone bothered to use them. It's a wonder they haven't had a Noro outbreak yet.

 

The restaurant was just gorgeous. We had anytime dining and most nights we didn't have too much of a wait for a table. The waiters are great and every night they sing a song at each sitting. Great fun. The food was lovely. The only thing I didn't like was the bread rolls. They were great big hunks of white bread. I like the ones Princess have better.

 

Entertainment was ok. I loved the punchliner club. We had four different comedians and they were awesome. We went to one production show. It was ok, but I still think P&O have the best shows. Went to bingo once, but it was really boring. Again P&O have the best fun at bingo. Also there was no progressive jackpot. :eek: They had fun things during the day like hairy chest competition, synchronized swimming, digital treasure hunts. Etc.

 

New Years Eve was a great night as usual. There was a great band on the deck and the weather was kind to us. The showed the Sydney fireworks Which was great.

 

Our ports of call were Mystery Island, Port Denaru, Suva, Noumea and Isle Of Pines. However, due to a cyclone in the area we missed Noumea and Isle Of Pines and went to Santo instead. This suited us fine as we had been to Noumea and Isle Of Pines before. We had never been to Santo. The blue hole in Santo was awesome.

 

The laundrys are on each floor and instead of coins you use your card instead $3.75 per wash.

You can check your folio on your tv in your cabin which is a great idea. Also the breakfast, lunch and dinner menu is displayed.

 

Overall we had a great cruise. I would cruise with Carnival again.

 

Deidre.:)

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icat2000

icat2000

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Posted

Thanks for taking time to write and post your review. I will try Carnival if the price is right. At the moment, they seem to be expensive compared to the other lines sailing out of Australia. Maybe they will drop their prices when they can't fill the cabins.

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Kiwi Kruzer

Kiwi Kruzer

Posted
Posted

Thanks for the review..

 

The buffet was the best designed I have seen. Instead of snaking around in one long line, there were smaller sections. So if you just wanted salad you could just go to the salad bar etc. the sections were:

 

Thats good news . Thats how it sould be. Why should we have to wait while some one up ahead is dilly dallying trying to decide , while your own meal is going cold.:rolleyes:

 

You can check your folio on your tv in your cabin which is a great idea. Also the breakfast, lunch and dinner menu is displayed.

 

I like that . So simple yet helps everything to run along smoothly

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paulvdb1

paulvdb1

Posted
Posted

Thanks Deirdre - great to see a fairly balanced and sensible review. I do wonder whether people go in with unusual expectations.

 

It sounds like I'll probably enjoy my April trip then. The only outstanding question is whether to spend the money on the soda package and/or alcohol package.

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The Fox

The Fox

Posted
Posted
Just returned from our Carnival Spirit NYE cruise. Here are my thoughts.

 

Embarkation was the quickest I have ever experienced. We dropped our luggage off and had a quick drink at the circular quay bar. At about 1pm we went to the boarding area and went straight upstairs and was onboard within 15 minutes. We had a bottle of wine in our carry on luggage that was confiscated, but a few days later I went down to customer services and asked for it back. The lady at the desk asked me if bringing a bottle of wine onboard was in my contract and I said yes. The bottle was delivered to my cabin later that day.:)

 

She did however state that all the contracts now forbid wine on embarkation.

 

First impressions of the ship is kinda "out there". It's very Las Vegas style, but it grows on after a while. We set sail at 7.30 and our great holiday had begun.:cool:

 

We had our first balcony cabin 5277. Towards the back portside. The cabin was quite spacious, plenty of wardrobe space. The bathroom had lots of storage space and one of the best showers I have ever experienced. The temp is preset to 38 degrees. Just perfect.

 

The buffet was the best designed I have seen. Instead of snaking around in one long line, there were smaller sections. So if you just wanted salad you could just go to the salad bar etc. the sections were:

Salad

Deserts

Mini pies, sausages,mash, chips, peas.

Pizza

Chopsticks

Asian

Toasted sandwiches.

Speciality coffee.

 

On the pool deck there was a "late risers" breakfast bar that went until almost midday. Also a great hamburger bar, soft serve ice cream section and one deck above there was fat Jimmy's BBQ.

 

The only thing that bothered me during this cruise was the lack of people using the hand sanitisers. :mad: I hardly saw anyone using the hand sanitisers. The machines were next to the plates, but hardly anyone bothered to use them. It's a wonder they haven't had a Noro outbreak yet.

 

The restaurant was just gorgeous. We had anytime dining and most nights we didn't have too much of a wait for a table. The waiters are great and every night they sing a song at each sitting. Great fun. The food was lovely. The only thing I didn't like was the bread rolls. They were great big hunks of white bread. I like the ones Princess have better.

 

Entertainment was ok. I loved the punchliner club. We had four different comedians and they were awesome. We went to one production show. It was ok, but I still think P&O have the best shows. Went to bingo once, but it was really boring. Again P&O have the best fun at bingo. Also there was no progressive jackpot. :eek: They had fun things during the day like hairy chest competition, synchronized swimming, digital treasure hunts. Etc.

 

New Years Eve was a great night as usual. There was a great band on the deck and the weather was kind to us. The showed the Sydney fireworks Which was great.

 

Our ports of call were Mystery Island, Port Denaru, Suva, Noumea and Isle Of Pines. However, due to a cyclone in the area we missed Noumea and Isle Of Pines and went to Santo instead. This suited us fine as we had been to Noumea and Isle Of Pines before. We had never been to Santo. The blue hole in Santo was awesome.

 

The laundrys are on each floor and instead of coins you use your card instead $3.75 per wash.

You can check your folio on your tv in your cabin which is a great idea. Also the breakfast, lunch and dinner menu is displayed.

 

Overall we had a great cruise. I would cruise with Carnival again.

 

Deidre.:)

 

Hi Deidre,

 

great review ,based on tours and others reviews we booked a cruise on Spirit this morning for April.Can you tell me the drink prices please.

 

Col:)

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Neil R.

Neil R.

Posted
Posted

Deidre – great review. I was also on the same cruise, and have to say I was pleasantly surprised how good the ship was. I agree with you re the lack of use with the hand sanitizers. The cabins were great – we had 3 in the room. We did Radiance last year (same 3) and found the Spirit Cabins felt bigger, and were of better designed (the bathrooms were GREAT!).

The Quality of the food also surprised me, and I loved the design of the Buffet – it feels more like a food court!

 

Cheers

 

Neil

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cruise love

cruise love

Posted
Posted
Just returned from our Carnival Spirit NYE cruise. Here are my thoughts.

 

Embarkation was the quickest I have ever experienced. We dropped our luggage off and had a quick drink at the circular quay bar. At about 1pm we went to the boarding area and went straight upstairs and was onboard within 15 minutes. We had a bottle of wine in our carry on luggage that was confiscated, but a few days later I went down to customer services and asked for it back. The lady at the desk asked me if bringing a bottle of wine onboard was in my contract and I said yes. The bottle was delivered to my cabin later that day.:)

 

She did however state that all the contracts now forbid wine on embarkation.

 

First impressions of the ship is kinda "out there". It's very Las Vegas style, but it grows on after a while. We set sail at 7.30 and our great holiday had begun.:cool:

 

We had our first balcony cabin 5277. Towards the back portside. The cabin was quite spacious, plenty of wardrobe space. The bathroom had lots of storage space and one of the best showers I have ever experienced. The temp is preset to 38 degrees. Just perfect.

 

The buffet was the best designed I have seen. Instead of snaking around in one long line, there were smaller sections. So if you just wanted salad you could just go to the salad bar etc. the sections were:

Salad

Deserts

Mini pies, sausages,mash, chips, peas.

Pizza

Chopsticks

Asian

Toasted sandwiches.

Speciality coffee.

 

On the pool deck there was a "late risers" breakfast bar that went until almost midday. Also a great hamburger bar, soft serve ice cream section and one deck above there was fat Jimmy's BBQ.

 

The only thing that bothered me during this cruise was the lack of people using the hand sanitisers. :mad: I hardly saw anyone using the hand sanitisers. The machines were next to the plates, but hardly anyone bothered to use them. It's a wonder they haven't had a Noro outbreak yet.

 

The restaurant was just gorgeous. We had anytime dining and most nights we didn't have too much of a wait for a table. The waiters are great and every night they sing a song at each sitting. Great fun. The food was lovely. The only thing I didn't like was the bread rolls. They were great big hunks of white bread. I like the ones Princess have better.

 

Entertainment was ok. I loved the punchliner club. We had four different comedians and they were awesome. We went to one production show. It was ok, but I still think P&O have the best shows. Went to bingo once, but it was really boring. Again P&O have the best fun at bingo. Also there was no progressive jackpot. :eek: They had fun things during the day like hairy chest competition, synchronized swimming, digital treasure hunts. Etc.

 

New Years Eve was a great night as usual. There was a great band on the deck and the weather was kind to us. The showed the Sydney fireworks Which was great.

 

Our ports of call were Mystery Island, Port Denaru, Suva, Noumea and Isle Of Pines. However, due to a cyclone in the area we missed Noumea and Isle Of Pines and went to Santo instead. This suited us fine as we had been to Noumea and Isle Of Pines before. We had never been to Santo. The blue hole in Santo was awesome.

 

The laundrys are on each floor and instead of coins you use your card instead $3.75 per wash.

You can check your folio on your tv in your cabin which is a great idea. Also the breakfast, lunch and dinner menu is displayed.

 

Overall we had a great cruise. I would cruise with Carnival again.

 

Deidre.:)

 

thanks for the review I was aboard the voyager for New Years and had a great time. Looking to book either Carnival or Rhapsody for this year. Your review has helped me. I am on Carnival in June so i hope to book on board

 

Cruise Love

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SpiritofCharles

SpiritofCharles

Posted
Posted

We were also on this cruise and found it very enjoyable. It was the first cruise we've ever done and we were particularly impressed with the quality, quantity and variety of the evening entertainment. And not just the shows. The bloke in the piano bar was amazing, he seemed to know every song ever written! And the "showtime" in the dining room each evening was terrific (as was the service!). Everywhere you went at night there was something happening!

 

Entertainment during the day was a surprisingly disappointing contrast though. The activities that were available didn't interest us as they were mostly focussed on gambling or buying things, and so the sea days became a little tedious. Perhaps they expect everyone to sleep most of the day after a late night? The pools were also too small to actually swim in and were thus easily crowded.

 

The children's activities in Circle C, on the other hand, were excellent. Both during the day and at night. My son could not wait till they started each day and he would attend them until late at night. It was surprising though, when I collected him late of an evening, to see the number of children about. There were often more children walking around the decks after midnight than adults! They weren't causing any trouble, but it was concerning.

 

Another great aspect of cruising was the fact that we were able to simply go somewhere else when the cyclone developed! Serendipitously it turned out that Santo (the alternative port) was the most interesting and enjoyable place we visited. It had a less developed and commercialised feel than the other ports and thus we found it to be a more genuine South Pacific island experience (or at least our conception of one!). It was the only place we'd like to go back to and spend more time.

 

The food was also very good, both in the dining room and the Lido deck buffet (which was very well laid out). They did a good job of varying the food over the twelve days, although it did inevitably became a variation on a theme and we were tired of it by the end.

 

One unexpected delight though was the provision of a basket of fruit, cheese and wine to our cabin early on in the cruise, and the plates of chocolates every few nights or so. Although this reminds me to mention that the chocolate onboard is American and so not appealing to our Australian tastebuds.

 

Another point to note, for anyone who drinks tea, is that there is no tea onboard, only tea bags. I was aware of this beforehand and so took some tea and a teapot along, and it was no problem having it filled with hot water in the dining room and on the Lido deck. However I was constantly asked by other passengers where they could get it themselves. They were so disappointed when I told them it was my own. Even the waiters (and their managers!) were always asking me about it. Everyone agreed, including the crew, that it was an oversight by Carnival not to provide this, particularly when they had made such a fuss about Australianising things. Imagine the uproar if there were only coffee bags onboard!

 

I also tried the coffee. It was predictably awful from the buffet machines. The coffee from the dedicated beverage cafes was better, but not up to Sydney coffee shop standards. I was very glad I had my tea!

 

In conclusion, whilst we enjoyed ourselves overall, we're unlikely to go on a cruise again. We found the sea days too tedious and the necessity to accommodate the ships timing around what we did on shore too limiting. Whilst it was an undoubted bonus to be able to visit different places, and particularly to be able to avoid the cyclone, a cruise seems poor value for money overall. We would only consider it again if there was a range of things to do during the sea days that suited us better.

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DT1304

DT1304

Posted
Posted

Thanks for this review.

 

I was on Radiance over new years and loved it, and am considering booking Carnival for a July cruise. I read many reviews and they were all so negative that I have been wondering, and reading this thread makes me think you were on a different cruise to the other reviews I have read (About the same cruise) :rolleyes:

 

Most other reviews complained about the kids running wild all over the ship, that the comedy shows were poor, that the food was tedious etc.

 

Its great to see some positivity on this thread.

 

My family and I loved the sea days even more than the ports so the fact that we were also delayed and then skipped some ports did not bother us.

 

I am still undecided however and may just stock to a land based holiday in July.

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