Looking at first Carnival Cruise

[ecormier]

Hi everyone.

 

My husband and I have many Holland America cruises and one Princess cruise under our belts. We are looking at a Carnival Spirit cruise for June 2008 from Seward, Alaska to Vancouver, BC. What can you tell us about this ship, cruise line and itinerary, that would help us make an informed decisions. We are in our mid-fifties, empty nesters and love to cruise. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Regards, Elizabeth

[LHP]

We did this cruise in July 2005 which actually ran from Whittier ( not Seward) to Vancouver.

 

We flew in one week ahead of time, rented a car and did a big loop from Anchorage to Denali to Fairbanks to GlenAllen and back to Anchorage. We had a great time.

 

We stayed at the Hilton in Anchorage and used Carnival's bus transfer for the 1 1/2 hour drive to Whittier. It was very pleasant. Some folks take the train, which is nice as well.

 

We loved the ship, loved the cruise, loved the ports!!! I was 50 at the time and hubby was 44 and we had our 2 teenage boys. There were about 150 children on the ship on this cruise. It does tend to be an older group but still fun.

 

At the end of our cruise, we spent the night in Vancouver before flying out EARLY the next morning. Taxi fare from the hotel to the airport was $45.00.

 

The Sprit is our favorite class of ship. It has a great floorplan that flows well. The food at times was not as good as I have had on other Carnival ships, but it was still ok. I only eat beef ... so I eat the same thing from ship to ship and notice these things. Hubby said seafood was fine.

 

The Spirit class ships are the Carnival ships that are the closest to the more subdued HAL or Princess cruise ships. We did spring for a balcony..which I would highly recommend. However, make sure you are port side.

[ecormier]

Thanks for the info LHP. We were also thinking about renting a car in Anchorage and touring the area. We did not want to do a land tour with the cruise line, as we did not want to be too regimented. We stayed at the Captain Cook Hotel last year for the one night in Anchorage-really nice. It was definitely not long enough! Had a wonderful meal at Simon & Seafort's Saloon & Grill - highly recommend it. We had cruised from Vancouver to Seward on the HAL Ryndam and took the train to Anchorage. The next day we bussed to Whittier and sailed on the Coral Princess back to Vancouver. We love the Alaska sailing sooooooo much. This year, in June, we sailed out of Seattle - roundtrip - on the HAL Noordam. The ship was great but the itinerary was not the best for our taste - too much time in the ocean, away from land and scenery! The itinerary for the Spirit looks perfect for next year.

 

Regards, Elizabeth

[Eldon Charles]

I can't tell you much about th ship but I can tell you, I for one will never sail ona Carnival Ship again. The shameful way my wife and I were treated by Carnival's medical staff was appalling. My wife and I took a 8 day from San Diego to Acapulco. One a scale of 1 to 10 [ with 1 being or and 10 being excellant ] I would ratethat cruise as -5 [ minus 5]. We definately feel we were cheated by them.

Eldon Charles

[SheriNtexas]

I can't tell you much about th ship but I can tell you, I for one will never sail ona Carnival Ship again. The shameful way my wife and I were treated by Carnival's medical staff was appalling. My wife and I took a 8 day from San Diego to Acapulco. One a scale of 1 to 10 [ with 1 being or and 10 being excellant ] I would ratethat cruise as -5 [ minus 5]. We definately feel we were cheated by them.

 

Eldon Charles

 

I notice you only have 3 posts-have you posted about the problem you had? You really bashed Carnival without ANY details at all. I just looked at your 3 posts, and they don't say anything at all!! Would you care to post some details?? Sorry to OP, didn't mean to hijack your thread, just curious why someone would just bash Carnival and give no details...

[cruzmax]

We are early 50's and love to cruise. Have had 4 Royal Caribbean cruises and 3 Celebrity and decided to try Carnival. We would choose Carnival again tomorrow, as well as RCI and Celebrity.

A few differences - Carnival decor is more colorful, but we loved the change in decor. Dining room food was as good as RCI, and more choices on the dinner menu. Pizza was best we have had on a cruise, and we loved the Reuben sandwiches at the deli. Buffet area seemed a little crowded, but the ship was full; no big wait. Celebrity is great, usually a quieter cruise.

We always get a balcony room, and balconies were about same size as other standard balconies we have had.

We were hesitant to try Carnival, but are so glad we did. That said, everyone has a different opinion, that's what makes the world go round.

Pam in KY

[mprucha]

You'll find many, many people on here that love everything about Carnival and feel that they are treated very well. It's rare that someone comes out of the gate blasting that's actually legit so keep reading and asking and searching and you'll find everything you need to know about all aspects of Carnival!

[ce2000]

I like Carnival, it is not as good as Celebrity, but it is better than NCL.

[mom23guys]

We did the NB Spirit cruise last year and it was fantastic. It was our first cruise so I can't compare to other lines. I loved the ports and times in port on this itinerary, that's the initial reason we chose Carnival. We also spent most of our time sailing "inside" with land on both sides of us(some other lines sail more "outside". I was afraid of motion sickness but had no issues at all. The ship's staff was great and although full it never seemed crowded. We spent a long time up close to the glacier in College Fjord. We spent an extra week in Alaska after our cruise. We planned our own itinerary and booked the train to Denali through Alaska Tour and Travel. We also booked McKinley Chalet on our own over the internet. This is where the HAL tours stay.

Husband and sons went fishing in Ketchikan doing a private charter. It was a glorious beautiful day but no fish(even the cruise booked fishing came up empty.Oh well. I took the ships excursion to the totem village by myself. Had an interesting time. In Juneau we booked with Capt Larry's whale watch-Fantastic!!!! After that we took a shuttle to Mendenhall, while my older son went on the Glacier Trek which we booked through Orca Enterprises along with the whale watch. Skagway we booked the dog sled camp visit through the ship. It was fun but if I had to do it again I'd do the White Pass RR. In Sitka we booked the sea otter tour through the ship, again a great trip. We walked to the Bird of Prey sancyuary after being dropped off. It was a long walk on a very warm day.

 

I know this is long but we travel a great deal and this was just one fantastic trip. I couldn't endorse it more.

[Lisa NJ]

Hi everyone.

 

My husband and I have many Holland America cruises and one Princess cruise under our belts. We are looking at a Carnival Spirit cruise for June 2008 from Seward, Alaska to Vancouver, BC. What can you tell us about this ship, cruise line and itinerary, that would help us make an informed decisions. We are in our mid-fifties, empty nesters and love to cruise. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Regards, Elizabeth

 

After my recent experience with Carnival, I would cruise with them again in a heart beat. We were on the Glory...everything met my expectations...and that is not always easy to do! Great food, clean, well maintained/kept ship, lots to do!

[SandyW]

I, too, like the Spirit Class ships the best where Carnival is concerned. Even the buffet area on Lido deck has an open airy feeling compared to some of the other class of ships. We've been on the Spirit and enjoyed our 8 days, but it wasn't the Alaska route.