Carnival spirit review with wheelchair Oct 2013

[rabbit1971]

Hi all,

My family of 6 ( hubby, myself, 15 yo daughter, 10 yo son in wheelchair and two grandmas) all travelled for 12 days on the spirit.

We had two normal interconnecting extended balcony cabins, with 4 in one room and 2 in the othere ( the two bathrooms worked well:D)

Rooms were larger than I expected with ample space to unpack all our clothing, we took a bathroom organiser to hang on the back of the bathroom door (which was fabulous idea picked up from this forum)

Food We really could not fault the food, we ate in the lido buffett for brekkie and lunch and the empire dining room of an evening, and the staff were amazing, if my son didn't like his meal they quickly and happily swapped it, or if he really liked it they were happy for him to have a second go at it.

if I did have to pick a fault , some of the food at breakfast in the bain marie was not overly hot ( particularly the scrambled eggs), but it was not enough to spoil our holiday, and if you were happy to que for a few minutes at the omelate station you could get hot eggs done however you wanted.

Service we found the staff to be amazing. They went out of their way to be helpful, to the extent of carring my son down a flight of stairs in his wheelchair ( a combined weight of around 50kg) so he could get onto the tender boats, no mean feat i can assure you. Our fears of him not being able to participate in the islands stops were unfounded as he was able to get off at all our ports, regardless of whether they were docked or tendered.

Embarkation/Disembarkation Again, found this to be stress free and very quick, even with the wheelchair, with many helpful staff around to give assistance iof needed.

 

I will add that this was our first cruise so i have no comparison to be made with other lines, but we were all really impressed with our experience and would definuitely do another cruise with carnival.

We also ate at the chefs table and the noveau steakhouse and found the meals to be outstanding, and we have eaten at some top rate restuarants including Quay and Aria, and found the quality to be as good.

So all up a very positive experience and one I can recommend to those less mobile.

Any questions fire away and i will do my best to answer them

Cheers maree

PS the only downside is I now cannot wait to book our next one:D

[Aussieflyer]

Thanks for your review, Maree. Yes, you have discovered, like all of us on here, the addictive nature of cruising. Once is never enough! You'll be on the look out from now on for good deals and interesting itineraries.

Happy sailing g to you and your family.

[joejoe 59]

Thanks for your review Maree, so glad you enjoyed it. Now the fun begins all over again planning your next cruise :D

[Ned Flanders]

Hi Maree

 

It was so enjoyable to read your review & that Carnival looked after you so well & your family had such a great holiday.

 

The staff on cruise ships are just the most amazing people, invariably happy to do whatever they can & always smiling. It must at times be difficult for them to see all the passengers & their families having such a wonderful time & they're away from their own families for months on end.

 

Q1: Did you book the Chef's Table & Nouveax when you got on board, or were you able to book pre-sailing?

Q2: Great tip on the bathroom organiser - will the door shut with it hanging?

Q.3 Did you have early/late dining, or Your Time dining in the Empire? I'm curious as to queues & wait time for Your Time dining.

 

My wife & I couldn't wait 'til August next year for our cruise on the Spirit, so we booked a 5 night "taster' for February.

 

Maybe our paths will cross one day on the Spirit!

 

Cheers

 

Phil:)

[rabbit1971]

Hi Maree

 

It was so enjoyable to read your review & that Carnival looked after you so well & your family had such a great holiday.

 

The staff on cruise ships are just the most amazing people, invariably happy to do whatever they can & always smiling. It must at times be difficult for them to see all the passengers & their families having such a wonderful time & they're away from their own families for months on end.

 

Q1: Did you book the Chef's Table & Nouveax when you got on board, or were you able to book pre-sailing?

Q2: Great tip on the bathroom organiser - will the door shut with it hanging?

Q.3 Did you have early/late dining, or Your Time dining in the Empire? I'm curious as to queues & wait time for Your Time dining.

 

My wife & I couldn't wait 'til August next year for our cruise on the Spirit, so we booked a 5 night "taster' for February.

 

Maybe our paths will cross one day on the Spirit!

 

Cheers

 

Phil:)

Hi Phil,

we booked the chefs table before we left as it fills up fairly quickly, the steakhouse we booked at the service desk when we got on board, if you book to eat at the noveau on the first night you get a free bottle of wine we, had a fairly decent red.

The bathroom door does shut with the organiser on it, no worries.

we went with early fixed dining at 5.30, as we didn't think our ten year old would cope with the late sitting, and it worked well for us, gave us time to eat and make it to the early show time of 7.30

My son is eager for us to book again, and is asking " when we can go on the spirit again mum".

cheers maree