Saint Greg's Carnival Spirit 8-Day Bahamas - LIVE - February 17, 2024

[Saint Greg]

A week ago I was on Carnival Jubilee. For the next 8 days I'll be "roughing it" on the Carnival Spirit. This will be the smallest ship I've sailed on since my first three cruises which were on Carnival Elation 2014-2016.

 

This is my 26th cruise, my 24th on Carnival, 1st time on a Spirit class ship, 1st time out of Mobile, 1st time to Bimini and Princess Cays, 2nd time to Freeport, and my 4th time to Nassau.

 

Edited February 16 by Saint Greg

[Saint Greg]

[Saint Greg]

Route

 

 

 

During the day we'll be visiting beaches and at night we'll be doing donuts.

 

Edited February 16 by Saint Greg

[Saint Greg]

 My list of prior trip threads is too long. Now I just post my last couple, then the rest of them will be linked on this webpage.

 

https://www.saintgregtravel.com/cc/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Saint Greg]

Booking

I really didn’t have any plans to cruise out of Mobile, to cruise on the Spirit, or to go back to the Bahamas. But during Carnival’s Spring Sale of 2022, I was looking for good prices on cruises with ports I haven’t been to and/or ships I haven’t been on. This one caught my eye since I hadn’t been to Bimini or Princess Cays. I hadn’t been on a Spirit class ship before either. Mobile is a bit farther than what I normally drive to for a cruise, but I do consider it to be a drivable port for me.

 

My 2022 Alaska cruise was originally on Carnival Freedom but was moved to Splendor. There was a time period when I knew I was being moved but I didn’t know if I was being moved to Spirit or Splendor. Because of that I had already done my research on cabins for this ship. My plan had been to book one of the cabins with french windows on deck 4 because they are priced lower than a normal oceanview and I liked the location with the promenade and lanai just one deck down.

 

In this case I wasn’t able to get a french window room, but I was able to get an interior on that deck. I have no neighbors, I’m close to the stairs, and promenade and the lanai are one deck down. I was able to find a couple of reviews of the room including a youtube review of the same room on a sister ship. I think It’s going to work nice for me.

 

Hotel

Since it’s a long drive for me I was planning on stopping about two hours from the port in either Hattisburg or New Orleans depending on the route I took. My researched showed I can get to Mobile quicker than I thought. I ended up booking a Hilton property in West Mobile. I got it on Hotwire for $102 where it would’ve cost $227 booking through Hilton. I’ll be getting in around 10:30-11pm the night before the cruise and I’ll be 10 miles from the cruise port on embarkation morning.

 

Parking

There aren’t many options for Parking in Mobile. There are some Park N Cruise hotels. Since I wasn’t originally planning on staying in Mobile, I didn’t even look into those.

 

There are no offsite parking lots. Booking the official port parking is a little odd. It’s done through Premium Parking. You book the cruise port lot which is P2603 for the cruise dates. It cost $168 for my 8-day cruise.

Another strange thing is it shows up on your credit card as New Orleans Parking. I’m guessing a company out of New Orleans owns the parking lot. The lot opens at 10am. All I should have to do is pull in and park. They have my license plate in the system.

 

Onboard Purchases

I loaded this cruise up back in the spring of 2022. I believe that was when they had the 10% spa code that worked for everything. And that’s when I added Cheers and Wifi to this cruise. Just before the specialty dinner increase of 2022, I purchased two nights in the steakhouse. Those cost me $38 each–$34.20 when you figure in that I used a 10% off Carnival gift card. Carnival has had two price increases since then so today those would be $49 each.

 

Ports

 

Bimini

Bimini has a free beach at the end of the pier. I have read mixed reviews about this beach. Supposedly there’s a sewage treatment plant next door. I have seen some say the smell is horrible and others say they couldn’t smell it and the beach/water was great. Across the street from the pier is a port area with live music and a bar. That will likely be my first stop. There’s a free tram at the roundabout that takes you down to the Hilton resort. Packages at the Hilton resort start at $40 per person and go up over $100 per person. I watched a video that showed the second stop on the tram tour being a free public beach. That video was a year old so I’m not sure if it’s talking about the same beach next to the Hilton that I heard was recently changed from public to private. Either way I do plan on taking the tram ride to at least see that half of the island for free. If I decide to ride back to the port at that point I will either check out the free beach at the port or take a taxi to Radio Beach which is supposed to be about $5 per person.

 

Freeport

Freeport is at the top of my list of least favorite ports. I haven’t been there in over five years but options were extremely limited back then. I think the new port area Carnival is building will change the perception of Freeport. I was hoping it would be ready for this cruise, but it won’t be taking calls until July of next year.

 

Last time I visited the Bahamian Brewery on my own. This time I found an excursion that caught my eye.  I used $80 onboard credit to book the Glass Bottom Boat and Shark Experience. I try to be very careful where I spend my money when it comes to wildlife. I try to make sure it’s a situation where the animals are there on their own accord or if they are in captivity it’s for the purpose of conservation. This is an opportunity to see sharks in the wild in an area known as “shark junction” where they are hand fed by divers. 

 

Nassau

Nassau is a port that seems to be unpopular with many but not with me. I have been to all of the forts, toured downtown, climbed the Queen’s Staircase, and been to Atlantis. What I’ve settled in on now is walking to get a couple of my favorite pina coladas at John Watling’s Distillery, then walking down to Junkanoo Beach for a dip, then back to the ship. That’s the plan this time as well. 

 

Princess Cays

Princess Cays is s a private island. It’s a tender port. I watched a couple videos on it and have a pretty good idea of the layout. It’s going to be another beach day or partial beach day for me.

[MEUB1112]

Never sailed on the Spirit, but sailed on the Miracle and Legend several times. We really love the Spirit clas ships. You'll have a great time!! Following Along.

[WhiteOptima]

So should have quoted @Jamman54s post!  New that was a clue!

[ninjacat123]

All right!!  Let's go!!👍😺

[Saint Greg]

It's been a rough work week sandwiched between two cruises. I also had jury duty the week before Jubilee. That means everything that needed to be scheduled the past three weeks and next week that included me, all got scheduled for this week.

[Jamman54]

We will be following along with you. As you know the Spirit Class is our favorite, and we've been on every one. Less bells and whistles, but still a great class of ships. We will be cruising to Hawaii from Seattle on the Spirit next year. Looking forward to your take on them. 

[ninjacat123]

4 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

It's been a rough work week sandwiched between two cruises. I also had jury duty the week before Jubilee. That means everything that needed to be scheduled the past three weeks and next week that included me, all got scheduled for this week.

Was jury duty criminal or civil?

[Saint Greg]

4 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

Was jury duty criminal or civil?

Criminal. Murder trial. I was never called. I just sat there for a day and a half listening to other potential jurors getting questioned.

 

[ninjacat123]

Just now, Saint Greg said:

Criminal. Murder trial. I was never called. I just sat there for a day and a half listening to other potential jurors getting questioned.

 

Yikes, murder sounds bad.  Glad you didn't get called.

[Jamman54]

27 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

A week ago I was on Carnival Jubilee. For the next 8 days I'll be "roughing it" on the Carnival Spirit. This will be the smallest ship I've sailed on since my first three cruises which were on Carnival Elation 2014-2016.

 

This is my 26th cruise, my 24th on Carnival, 1st time on a Spirit class ship, 1st time out of Mobile, 1st time to Bimini and Princess Cays, 2nd time to Freeport, and my 4th time to Nassau.

 

Your cruises are starting to get closer together. Next thing you know you'll be doing a B2B or S2S! 

Edited February 16 by Jamman54

[Roscoe13]

Much like Gretchen Wilson, I'm here for the party!!

 

Whatever happened to Gretchen Wilson anyways...prolly too much partying?

 

Been on the Spirit once and loved it!  If you are a walker there's a deck that goes all the way around the ship, great for getting walks in, or at least there was back in 2010.

YMMV due to several dry docks and retrofits since then...

[ninjacat123]

At Princess Cay, if you're planning on snorkeling, the fish congregate in the cove in front of the Dilly Cabana (I think #8).  Lots of palm trees there for shade and lounge chairs.

[Saint Greg]

Just now, Jamman54 said:

Your cruises are starting to get closer together. Next thing you know you'll be doing a B2B or S2S! 

They weren't supposed to be this close. This one was booked two years out with that Carnival sale of 2022. Jubilee was supposed to be in December but was canceled due to shipyard delays...I still wanted to be in early Jubilee but not during the NFL playoffs. I squeezed it in before the super bowl.

[Jamman54]

Hopefully your boss isn't in today so you can get an early start! 

[Saint Greg]

4 minutes ago, Roscoe13 said:

Much like Gretchen Wilson, I'm here for the party!!

 

Whatever happened to Gretchen Wilson anyways...prolly too much partying?

 

Been on the Spirit once and loved it!  If you are a walker there's a deck that goes all the way around the ship, great for getting walks in, or at least there was back in 2010.

YMMV due to several dry docks and retrofits since then...

 

Should be the one right below my room I think. No secret decks on Spirit so I wanted to be where I could get outside as quickly as possible.

[ninjacat123]

Pics of Princess Cay cabana and cove entrance.  This location is great because it's close to a bar and a bathroom

Edited February 16 by ninjacat123

[Saint Greg]

Just now, Jamman54 said:

Hopefully your boss isn't in today so you can get an early start! 

 

Right now he's home with "the plumber."  I'm hoping it becomes an all day deal.

[Jamman54]

5 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

 

Should be the one right below my room I think. No secret decks on Spirit so I wanted to be where I could get outside as quickly as possible.

It's the Sun Deck 10.

[rwest898]

Looking forward to your review!  Enjoy!

[ninjacat123]

Also on PC there is a bar off the official grounds called "George's Bar" that has a funky vibe and cheaper drinks.  Bring your Sign and Sail and ID (I think) to enter and exit area. Entrance is near the excursion desk and main shop area, behind a chain link fence. Picture of road with shops and George’s Bar

Edited February 16 by ninjacat123

[Saint Greg]

5 minutes ago, Jamman54 said:

It's the Sun Deck 10.

 

I see the theater blocks the front on deck 3. That's going to be interesting. I can get to the theater from my deck.