The Best Cruise Ever! Glacier Bay Alaska, 5/6/09, Pictorial Review.

[DarthGrady]

I'm still putting the finishing touches on the review. I've got some of the pictures uploaded, so I will start posting this up. It may take a couple of days to get it all done, but I'll get started now:

 

Introduction:

This cruise was planned approximately one and a half years in advance as our honeymoon. My wife and I were married in January, but had to wait until May for the first Alaskan cruise that Carnival offered. The cruise’s main attraction was the day in Glacier Bay, which is only offered a few times each year. We spent four days in Ohio before the cruise visiting my wife’s family, and then flew to Seattle. From Seattle we took the Quick Shuttle from Seattle/Tacoma Airport to the Vancouver area. It worked out to be cheaper than flying directly into Vancouver, or renting a car and driving there. The only real downside is that the shuttle ride takes about five hours since there are several stops to pick up and drop off others. We stayed the night at the Park Inn, which was very nice. The next day we spent some time down at the Vancouver waterfront, and then got a cab to the pier.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DarthGrady]

Embarkation:

We got to the pier around 11 AM, and the porters were quick to take our bags. The embarkation process at the Vancouver Cruise Terminal is probably one of the longest I have been through. The line for the security checkpoint was extremely long, and didn’t move for about 20 minutes. I wasn’t overly worried about this, since they weren’t even loading the ship yet. I asked one of the Carnival reps. if there was a VIP line, and he said he didn’t know, so we just stayed in the regular line. Once they opened up all the security lanes, it went quickly. We then had to enter the line to go through US Customs. This also went very slowly, almost a half-hour, since there were only four or five agents to check hundreds of people.

Once we were through Customs, we approached a kiosk where two Carnival reps were standing. There were two lines, and the one to the left had two signs. One sign said “in transit guests” (back to back cruisers) and right behind it was another that said VIP. Being in a suite, and Platinum, we got in the left line. Once we got to the lady, she said we needed to be in the line to the right, and that her line was for the back-to-back cruisers. I pointed to the VIP sign, and she said, “oh, ok” and handed us the health declaration papers. Dumbfounded Carnival employees seemed to be a developing trend. She then pointed us to the VIP check in desk, and off we went. After this, everything went fast and we were on the ship in only a few minutes.

The whole process took about an hour, and didn’t seem very organized. I attribute the lack of knowledge on the Carnival employees’ part to the fact that this was the first cruise of the season out of Vancouver, so there were bound to be problems. One security officer did help things by addressing the crowd when she escorted several back-to-back cruisers past everyone. She did a good job informing new guests about why the others were passing them. That little twenty-second oration probably eliminated 50 complaints from the angry folks waiting in the customs line.

Overall, the whole embarkation process at Vancouver needs a lot of work. It shouldn’t take an hour to board the ship when I can be onboard in 15 minutes anywhere else. Customs is mostly to blame, but the embarkation staff also needs to know what is going on. I also think that Carnival needs to extend its VIP embarkation to all steps of the process. The current system doesn’t really do much since the only benefit is skipping the line to get to the check in counter.

At Canada Place's Pier:

 

 

 

 

 

[lhuggi1]

Great Start Grady.....

 

Great Pictures...I am still having cruise blues ....

[kyrisong1]

Really nice pictures Grady, looking forward to the rest!!!

Carole

[tiggerman101]

Dueling reviews...yea! Keep it coming. I can't wait for this cruise (although I have over a year). I am looking forward to following your adventure. Thanks for taking the time to write this.

[jnv]

thank you so much for your post - and your pictures are great. are the first set of pictures all in Vancouver?

please keep it coming!!

[DarthGrady]

Our Cabin:

 

We had #4228 on Main Deck, which is a category 11 suite with a balcony that wraps around the port side (aft) corner of the ship. We were told by almost everyone that if we were taking an Alaskan cruise we should get a balcony room. We took that advice to heart as the balcony alone is over 200 square feet, and is gigantic! It was fantastic having a view off both the aft and the port sides of the ship. The two aft wraps on Main Deck are also special because their balconies are covered by the balcony above. This creates an overhang that shields them from the weather. This was particularly useful since the whole appeal of an Alaska cruise is the sightseeing and it frequently rains. We usually cruise interior cabins, sometimes Ocean View if we get a free or low priced upgrade. Because of this, being in a suite was a real treat. I couldn’t believe how nice the room was. It was divided into two main rooms, a sitting room with a couch and a bedroom. The bathroom and vanity area were located between them. The bathroom had double sinks and a large Jacuzzi tub. The tub had nice sliding glass doors, which is a huge improvement over the standard polyester curtain found in the regular cabins. Both rooms had a TV, and both had VCRs (which were on loan from the Smithsonian). There were multiple lighting controls in each room, one for the main lights, and one was a dimmer switch that operated the recessed halogen lights in the ceiling. Aside from the Owners Suites on the Fantasy Class ships, I think the Spirit Class suites 4228 and 4237 are the best rooms available on Carnival Cruise Lines.

This isn't part of my formal review, but I wanted to take a moment to thank Tom (Tom-n-Cheryl) for letting us know about this room. The back story is that they were scheduled to be on this cruise too, and had 4228. Unfortunately they weren't able to come, so he posted that he gave up the room on our roll call. My wife and I were able to get the room, and as you can see, enjoyed it very much! Had he not been nice enough to let us know, the room would have surely been taken very quickly. As those aft wraps are in high demand, especially for Alaska. So again, thanks very much Tom and Cheryl!

 

A fine sight

Entryway and living room

 

 

Vanity

Walk-in closet

[MzOhioLady]

Grady - Your review is Excellent! :) You are a very good writer. I'll hope that you'll do justice and write a review for our Liberty Cruise in September. I'll just throw you my ideas and you can write it! LOL

[DarthGrady]

Great Start Grady.....

 

Great Pictures...I am still having cruise blues ....

 

I know! Its terrible! After waiting so long for it, its really hard to believe that its over. :(

[DarthGrady]

More cabin pics:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DarthGrady]

Grady - Your review is Excellent! :) You are a very good writer. I'll hope that you'll do justice and write a review for our Liberty Cruise in September. I'll just throw you my ideas and you can write it! LOL

 

Its a deal! :D

[DarthGrady]

If the Almighty needed a balcony, this would be it:

 

 

 

I labeled a little diagram of 4228

 

 

My "old new" Sail and Sign

 

[DarthGrady]

The Ship:

I was immediately impressed with the Carnival Spirit. In my ten prior cruises with Carnival, none have been on a Spirit Class vessel. I had heard many good things about them, all of which are true. The ship has a wonderfully simple layout, and not having the galley in the middle of the ship makes traversing it much easier. I will never understand why Carnival only built four of them with no apparent plans to revisit the design. The layout just seems vastly superior to that of the other classes. My only complaint is that you have to walk through the casino to get back and forth on Deck 2 (Promenade). On the other ships, the Promenade is separated from the casino by a wall.

The Spirit was recently dry-docked which was blatantly apparent. Everything was immaculately clean, far and away the cleanest cruise ship I have ever been on. It was hard to believe that she is almost eight years old, looking as if she had just been launched. All the carpeting in the hallways had been replaced.

I really can’t say enough about how nice the Spirit looked inside. There was tasteful brass and wood paneling everywhere, and very little in the way of “Vegas” glitz that Carnival had become infamous for. The staircases looked as if they had been lifted from some grand old ocean liner, very similar to those I had seen on the Queen Mary. Each flight had glass cases in the corners displaying sculptures, and some landings had large paintings decorating the walls. The public areas were tastefully decorated with wood panels, stained glass lighting and ornate metal moldings lining the ceilings.

Even most of the lounges, normally the epicenters of gaudiness, were considerably tame compared to those found on the older Carnival ships. The only areas that seemed to have huge “Joe Farcus was here!” signs on them were the “Dancin” discotheque and the Pharaoh’s Palace show lounge. The former having the standard Farcus wild colors and weird shapes; and the latter looking like the inside of King Tut’s Tomb.

The Versailles Cabaret Lounge was certainly one of the most detailed rooms I have seen on a Carnival ship. Each archway along the walls had a 3-D scene of a French village, making it look as if they are outside the ship. It was a very cool effect, something you would almost expect to see at Disney rather than on a cruise ship. The little scenes even go from daytime to nighttime with little stars and lights when the lounge’s lighting is turned down for shows.

 

The Empire Dining Room

 

 

The "Dancin" disco

 

 

 

 

[PaddleAddict]

THANK YOU! I am loving the info about the Spirit... We'll be on her in less than five months! :D

[woodey]

so far a great review....keep it coming ...and your right the Spirit is a beautiful ship:)

[DarthGrady]

More ship pics:

Promenade

 

 

The Atrium

 

 

 

[Ms. Fun Bunch]

I am really enjoying your review!! I can't wait I sail on the Spirit in 67 days!!!

[RAVI360]

WOW!!!! Great review....loving your pictures...can't wait for the rest

[DarthGrady]

Fountain area

 

 

Shanghai Piano Bar

 

 

 

The Library

 

The wedding chapel

 

[DarthGrady]

One of the staircase landings

 

"Fashion Boulevard"

 

Supper Club and funnel dome

 

 

 

[DarthGrady]

Lido Buffet

 

Shots from around lido area

 

 

 

 

 

[patrice1]

Thanks so much for your review & pics!:D We have 4228 on her sister ship, Miracle, this coming November & I don't believe we've ever been more excited about a cruise than we are right now.:eek::D Keep it coming, please...:)

[DarthGrady]

The Spa

 

Mini Golf

 

 

The Bow

 

 

A gift from our wonderful TA

[DarthGrady]

Thanks so much for your review & pics!:D We have 4228 on her sister ship, Miracle, this coming November & I don't believe we've ever been more excited about a cruise than we are right now.:eek::D Keep it coming, please...:)

 

Congrats! You'll love it!

 

Ive got a lot more to go, haven't even gotten to us leaving port yet! :eek:

[anamanxs]

Thanks, I never thought another ship should be as beautiful as the PRIDE, but I am about to change my mind!