Carnival Spirit in March- hotels in SD? and other questions

[toughtooth]

We're going on the Spirit in March -our second cruise on Carnival. Has anyone stayed at the Hampton in SD- do they have shuttles to the ship dock and the airport? Is there an outdoor movie screen on the Spirit at night? What's the policy on saving chairs? We were told the last trip we couldn't just put stuff on the chairs to hold them (or they would remove it after an hour) so we took turns getting up early to get a good spot for the kids and someone next to us put books and towels on the chairs at 8 and didn't show up until noon!:mad: Has anyone had any trouble smuggling booze in their checked luggage? Are we considered past cruisers for the past cruiser party on the ship or is that for the major cruisers?

I know I will have more questions but this is a start!

THANKS

[cathyz]

We're going on the Spirit in March -our second cruise on Carnival. Has anyone stayed at the Hampton in SD- do they have shuttles to the ship dock and the airport? Is there an outdoor movie screen on the Spirit at night? What's the policy on saving chairs? We were told the last trip we couldn't just put stuff on the chairs to hold them (or they would remove it after an hour) so we took turns getting up early to get a good spot for the kids and someone next to us put books and towels on the chairs at 8 and didn't show up until noon!:mad: Has anyone had any trouble smuggling booze in their checked luggage? Are we considered past cruisers for the past cruiser party on the ship or is that for the major cruisers?

I know I will have more questions but this is a start!

THANKS

We're on the Spirit in March also, with a group of 26 friends. No, there is no outdoor movie screen on any Spirit class ships. Technically you aren't supposed to 'save chairs' and it's a very hot topic on this board, do a search for much more information. We've never smuggled alcohol, but lots of people do and get away with it, it's too much work for us, so we buy our drinks on board and / or order ahead via the Bon Voyage department and the bottles are waiting in the cabin for us, easy. If you've been on one Carnival cruise, then you can go to the Past Guest party, but make sure your past guest numbers are in your profiles on the Carnival website.

[bright eyes]

In response to your thread, we are going on the 1/31/09 cruise on the Spirit and we are staying at the Holiday Inn on the Bay. It's right across the street from the cruise terminal and we love staying there. We get a bayview room with a balcony and you can watch the ships come in early in the morning, plus you just walk across the street to get aboard.

Hope you enjoy your trip. Also on the Holiday Inn website they are offering 50% off for room upgrades to ocean view.

Good luck.

[toughtooth]

Thank you for your info- I appreciate it all!:)

[Wolfie48]

We're going on the Spirit in March -our second cruise on Carnival. Has anyone stayed at the Hampton in SD- do they have shuttles to the ship dock and the airport? Is there an outdoor movie screen on the Spirit at night? What's the policy on saving chairs? We were told the last trip we couldn't just put stuff on the chairs to hold them (or they would remove it after an hour) so we took turns getting up early to get a good spot for the kids and someone next to us put books and towels on the chairs at 8 and didn't show up until noon!:mad: Has anyone had any trouble smuggling booze in their checked luggage? Are we considered past cruisers for the past cruiser party on the ship or is that for the major cruisers?

I know I will have more questions but this is a start!

THANKS

 

Which sailing in March? You might want to go to the Roll Call section and check in there. DW and I are on the March 28th Spirit....getting closer ;)

[toughtooth]

We're also on the March 28th cruise- our final payment just went through. We have Hilton honors points to use so that is why we are wondering about the Hampton Inn. Know anyone that has stayed there? I know I read about someone before but can't find that thread now...

[yst347]

Several cc'ers on our role call stayed at the Hampton Inn before our Spirit cruise last April They said it was very nice. It is a block farther from the pier than the Holiday Inn so you won't need a shuttle. We booked our hotel through Priceline. We stayed at the Hyatt for $96. It is located about a mile from the pier so we took a cab with our over with our luggage.

 

Chair hogs should be made to walk the plank. :mad:

 

We had no problem bringing hooch in our checked luggage.

 

Past Guest parties are held on all cruises five days or longer.

 

[Wolfie48]

We're also on the March 28th cruise- our final payment just went through. We have Hilton honors points to use so that is why we are wondering about the Hampton Inn. Know anyone that has stayed there? I know I read about someone before but can't find that thread now...

 

Our last cruise out of SD we stayed over on Shelter Island a little farther away, but we had our own car. The only thing about the Hampton Inn is it backs up to the RR tracks. So it just depends where your room is. Hope to see you on the Lido deck for a DOD :D

[queenofdnile]

We were on the 11/20/08 cruise. The 1/2 hour "no-show" even though you have a towel, sunglasses or book holdig your chair was enforced.

This was a holiday cruise and the ship was full. Still, there were plenty of chairs in the more remote locations.

Have fun. My whole family enjoyed this trip.