Just got back from the Spirit!

[marvlgirl]

We just got back today from the Spirit. I will do a review but I wanted to just give you a quick review of the ship.

 

The ship, staff and food were awesome. We had a wonderful time. The ship never felt too crowded or cramped.

 

We had a Cat7 Balcony cabin and it was just great. Very roomy and plenty of storage. Our room steward was just great. The dining staff though was so freaking awesome I cannot even begin to describe them. Sanja and Malenko Rock!

 

We took my parents who had only been on a 3day to Ensenada on RCL and my DH who had never cruised before. We all had a great time. Plenty of things to do and never a dull moment.

 

The ports:

 

Acapulco, probably would choose to stay on the boat if we went back. I seriously felt like I was in TJ, as sad as that sounds.

 

Ixtapa and Manzanillo, now those were some great ports. In Ixtapa I went snorkeling and I bought a new digital underwater camera that was the best investment I have ever made. I got close up pics of a puffer fish and stingrays. In Manzanillo we went to Las Hadas on our own and had a great day.

 

We did eat at the Supper Club and the food was pretty fabulous. Some stuff was better than others. My DH started with the Escargots and need I say any more, lol. In a word, nasty! I had the Sushi and it was very very good. I had the filet and he had the porterhouse, and yes it is as large as the say, lol. My mom had the NY Strip and Dad had the Prime Rib Chop that was fab.

 

Some stand outs in the dining room, last night my DH had the most tender piece of Prime Rib ever. Cut that sucker with a fork. The chocolate melting cake was too die for as was the Grand Marnier Souffle last night! The NY Strip on the alternative menu was really good too. Too many good things.

 

Side notes, yes people wore jeans to the DR and some tried to come in shorts but they were turned away. The Ship was beautiful! Seriously the staff was cleaning every time I saw them. Everyone was so nice it was insane.

 

Just to give you an idea of the service. We gave our Room Steward an extra $40 and our Dining Staff and extra $60. They really were great!

 

Embarkation was great. We got there at 10:30 and were onboard by Noon. Debarkation was smooth also. We were home by 9:15.

 

Hope this helps anyone thinking of going on the Spirit! If anyone has any questions let me know!

[phroggie]

DF, DM, DS and DBIL were also on the cruise. I picked them up at the train station and brought them to our place for Thanksgiving.

 

They were obviously disappointed in the food and the service at our house.:D DF actually expected me to spread out his napkin for him.

 

They raved about the cruise.

 

They struck out on their own in the ports, taking local busses and such and loved the ports.

 

They also did not perceive the ship as being crowded at all.

[hogwildcruzers]

Really like that kind of review....I know our cruise on the Spirit is still a ways off but that review makes us that much more excited to be on that ship...thanks.

[PINEVIEW01]

Glad to you had a good cruise. (Your relatives too phroggie.) I love this class of ship.

[Iggipolka]

I was on the Spirit the week before the OP. I watched you guys sail away from San Diego with a lot of jealously! ;)

 

I completely agree with your statements. I had a fabulous time on the Spirit and she's a beautiful ship. Service and quality were excellent and I also tipped my waiter and cabin steward extra. They certainly deserved it for how hard they work.

 

btw: I agree with you about Acapulco. If I cruise there again, that will be one day I'll enjoy the empty ship. I only walked across the street to see San Diego Fort and then came back to the ship. That was enough of the traffic and vendor/taxi driver hassle for me!

 

Glad that you had so much fun on your cruise!

[MilliesMom]

We were on the Spirit too (same week as Iggipolka). I agree ... great service, great ship, and so much fun. This was our 3rd time on the Spirit. It never felt crowded. We really enjoyed the supper club too. Went the night we were in Acapulco with 3 others. It was fun to see what each person ordered ... all I can say is WOW.

 

When we sailed away from Manzanillo, many of the town people were out on the jetty waving and yelling goodbye. It was so nice. We had walked from the ship about a mile down the beach ... no one bothered us trying to sell things etc. So quiet, peaceful and beautiful. We didn't go into town at all.

 

Ixtapa, we took a tender in and walked and walked thru all of the shops. Didn't feel anyone was "in our face" to buy from them. We walked over to the flea market area ... lots more shops there than I imagined.

 

Acapulco ... last time we walked to Fort San Diego. This time we just went to the shops at the terminal (secured area). Got a few items and headed back to the ship. Relaxed, quiet day.

 

Our favorite performer on the Spirit is Ned Rifken "Singin with the Big Band". He is Carnival's ambassador of Swing. His show is not to be missed!!!! He performed 2 shows the night we left Ixtapa.

[mkitchy]

Marvlgirl,

Did you happen to notice if a mini golf course was installed on the sports deck forward near the basketball court? Sure looked like it from the San Diego web cam yesterday. We love the Spirit class, having sailed on the Pride 3 times and our second cruise on the Spirit coming up in March. Welcome back.

[NickAndysMom]

Hi Marvlgirl,

 

So glad to hear what a fantastic experience you had! We leave on Spirit on January 1 and are really looking forward to it.

 

We have never dined at a ship's supper club before & would like to try it this time, since we've heard so many great things about the one on Spirit. To help us figure out which night to make the reservation, I'm trying to decide which night in the dining room will be the least to our liking. I have the nightly menus, but I'm not sure in which order they're presented. From what others have said about their choices for dinner on certain nights, I think I've figured out which menus are served on nights 1 - 4, but not nights 5 - 8.

 

If you happen to remember, would you be able to let me know which entree(s) you had for dinner each night you ate in the dining room. Then I'll be able to figure out which menu is for which night.

 

Thanks so much for your help!

 

Beverly

[trubrit4]

Thank you Marvlgl nice to have a positive review.

Did you have the Fun Pass to board so easily?

 

We sail 12/24/07 and wondered which nights would be Formal?

 

Has anyone taken the shore excursions at Acapulco?

 

We are really looking forward to a super Holiday celebration on board the Spirit.

 

There is a Roll call on the Carnival Connection Board

 

Joyce

[Cherlynn]

Hi Marvlgl - thanks for the great review. We'll be on Spirit in Jan for our 3rd time and can't wait. Could I ask a couple of questions about Las Hadas? How much was the cab fare? Was it easy getting a cab back to the ship? How long was the cab ride? Did you get your money back in terms of food and drink? Did you know about Audencia Beach next door and choose Las Hadas over it? Well- I hope I've got all that out of my system:p ! Thanks for the help!

 

Cheryl

[michelle2]

Thanks for your great review. I wanted to know a little more about your snorkeling in Ixtapa. Did you book through the ship or go independent? How much was is? Was the water warm? How deep? I guess I just want all the details. We are trying to decide what to do in Ixtapa on the Spirit in March. Thanks. :)

[MilliesMom]

Formal nights on the cruise:

 

1st Formal night is the first sea day, same day as the Captain's party.

 

2nd Formal night is the 3rd sea day (night after Manzanillo).

 

We did the supper club the night we were in Acapulco. It was fabulous. You won't regret it.

[marvlgirl]

Hi Marvlgirl,

 

So glad to hear what a fantastic experience you had! We leave on Spirit on January 1 and are really looking forward to it.

 

We have never dined at a ship's supper club before & would like to try it this time, since we've heard so many great things about the one on Spirit. To help us figure out which night to make the reservation, I'm trying to decide which night in the dining room will be the least to our liking. I have the nightly menus, but I'm not sure in which order they're presented. From what others have said about their choices for dinner on certain nights, I think I've figured out which menus are served on nights 1 - 4, but not nights 5 - 8.

 

If you happen to remember, would you be able to let me know which entree(s) you had for dinner each night you ate in the dining room. Then I'll be able to figure out which menu is for which night.

 

Thanks so much for your help!

 

Beverly

 

Beverly - Honestly I do not remember what I had each night. We went to the Supper Club on Friday which was the night after the first formal night so that was the third day of the cruise. We werent really concerned with what we were missing or not. Sorry I couldn't help you more.

 

Jeannine

[marvlgirl]

Thank you Marvlgl nice to have a positive review.

Did you have the Fun Pass to board so easily?

 

We sail 12/24/07 and wondered which nights would be Formal?

 

Has anyone taken the shore excursions at Acapulco?

 

We are really looking forward to a super Holiday celebration on board the Spirit.

 

There is a Roll call on the Carnival Connection Board

 

Joyce

 

Joyce - The First full day at Sea is the formal night and then the third day at seas is the second formal night.

 

Seriously I wish we would have stayed on the boat at Acapulco and then maybe just done the Cliff Divers. That was the only thing out of my 8hr day in Acapulco that I would have done again.

 

We did have the fun pass but I am not sure if it was that or just the ease of the port of San Diego, they seriously had their stuff together!

[marvlgirl]

Hi Marvlgl - thanks for the great review. We'll be on Spirit in Jan for our 3rd time and can't wait. Could I ask a couple of questions about Las Hadas? How much was the cab fare? Was it easy getting a cab back to the ship? How long was the cab ride? Did you get your money back in terms of food and drink? Did you know about Audencia Beach next door and choose Las Hadas over it? Well- I hope I've got all that out of my system:p ! Thanks for the help!

 

Cheryl

 

Cheryl - Yes we new about the other resort and we chose Las Hadas over it. It was absolutely wonderful and we used all the coupons. Totally worth it. We ate and drank to our hearts content.

 

The cab fare going was $15 and coming back was $12. The cabs were easy to get coming and going.

[marvlgirl]

Thanks for your great review. I wanted to know a little more about your snorkeling in Ixtapa. Did you book through the ship or go independent? How much was is? Was the water warm? How deep? I guess I just want all the details. We are trying to decide what to do in Ixtapa on the Spirit in March. Thanks. :)

 

I booked the Catamaran Snorkeling package on the ship. It was $91 which was pricey but worth it IMO. Free food and drinks on the way back. The water was warm and the fish were plentiful. I saw a puffer fish and a stingray! The water was between 10-15 feet deep just depending on where you were. There was a reef that we were snorkeling by so it was so interesting. The crew was very nice and helpful.

[Cherlynn]

I think we'll be headed to Las Hadas in Jan. Thanks again!

 

Cheryl

[laura1960]

Thanks for the review! We leave for Mexico on the Spirit on Jan. 1, and can't wait.

Beverly, why don't you join us on the roll call for 1-1-08?

[pacerzfan]

Thanks for the review, marvlgirl

[LovinToCruise]

I booked the Catamaran Snorkeling package on the ship. It was $91 which was pricey but worth it IMO. Free food and drinks on the way back. The water was warm and the fish were plentiful. I saw a puffer fish and a stingray! The water was between 10-15 feet deep just depending on where you were. There was a reef that we were snorkeling by so it was so interesting. The crew was very nice and helpful.

Sounds like a winner excursion!!

- - - - - what did the ('food' and 'drink') consist of? - - - -

We had a good experience in Cabo San Lucas.

The excursion was called the "Snorkel Fiesta" -

also booked on the ship(Pride).

Janis

[LovinToCruise]

oops! duplicate

[Molly BPOE]

Great review! We are on her in January also. Taking the kids and my sister and nephew. DH, DD and myself are the only ones that have cruised before. I think my sister is going to flip when she sees everything. I can't wait as I am really excited about trying this class of ship. I do want to know if a mini golf course has been added, as the kids would really enjoy that.