Spirit 15 Days~Hawaii: A Review

[pe4all]

This review has started my bugging dh to go on a Hawaii cruise for our 30th anniversary, which is next year. We honeymooned in Hawaii in '83 - spending 4 nights in Oahu, 3 in Kaui, and 3 in Maui. For years I have told him I wanted to go back on our 30th! We also did a helicopter tour in Kaui - used Jack Harter. Yesterday I went online, googled him, and he is still around! What made his tour "unusual" is he was the only tour operator allowed to land during the tour - amazing views! I have really enjoyed this review, and thank you again for providing a push to celebrate (if it works into our schedules - may have to wait until I retire in 2014) our lives together in a big way!

[Valp41]

The cruise was wonderful. Looked forward to dinner every night. thanks for letting us take part in your celebration. My one regret is not doing that helicopter ride in Kauai.

Halo once again thanks for a great review. Have to agree with you on most everything.

Val.

[halos]

Originally Posted by GranysT

Angel,
I was on this very unusual cruise as well. I sailed over to Hawaii, flew back, on Spirit in April of 2007. After a very rough 1st night, and most of 1st sea day, we smoothed out beautifully. Hardly knew we were sailing the rest of the way to Hawaii. So, I was definately not expecting the kind of weather we had, for sure. Still, it was such a fun and terrific cruise. Met so many great and friendly people. We were at the table next to yours, with Val and her sister Carol, Mary, Dennis and Lynn, my dear friend Linda, and Don and I. We were the couple celebrating our 50th anniversary on board. The Captain renewed our vows, and I must say that Carnival did an outstanding job with the ceremony. Loved it.
I agree wholeheartedly with your review, and loved your pictures. Don and I, and Linda also did the helicopter tour with Safari on Kauai. Linda had never been in a copter before, and was more than a bit nervous. Once in the air, she loved it. Said it was the highlight of the whole trip. In 2007 Don and I did a small plane tour over Kauai. The helicopter beat that one, by a landslide. All the different colors of the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, and the beauty of the coastline, was unbelievable. I can't recommend Safari enough.
By the way, we saw a rainbow, in 2007, that formed a complete circle. I also had never seen such a thing. Guess what we were told they are called? Come on, guess. A Halo Rainbow. lol. Alas, we didn't get to experience one this time. The cruise did indeed, end much too soon. Like you, I'm afraid our next tiny 7 day one, just will not do it.

I can't imagine anyone on the ship had a bad time. Oh...we never thanked you for sharing your anniversary cake with us. It was fabulous!! Congratulations on 50 years!! My DH and I are going to celebrate our 30th this year (on a cruise, of course!!) Once this cruising thing gets in your blood, you're just toast LOL!!

Originally Posted by pe4all

This review has started my bugging dh to go on a Hawaii cruise for our 30th anniversary, which is next year. !

I hope you can convince him. It was so awesome. Again, 15 days FLEW by. My husband and I still keep talking about that. I really thought with all the sea days it would drag a bit. Considering we had less than stellar weather and less of what we enjoy while relaxing out on the lido (music-wise) and it STILL zoomed by, that is remarkable.
I would recommend this cruise to anyone (well anyone who loves sea days).
I really enjoy being on a ship...have I mentioned that before?? LOL

Originally Posted by Valp41

The cruise was wonderful. Looked forward to dinner every night. thanks for letting us take part in your celebration. My one regret is not doing that helicopter ride in Kauai.

Halo once again thanks for a great review. Have to agree with you on most everything.

Val.

Well, you'll just have to go again and get on that helicopter!!

[maryann2]

Originally Posted by GranysT

We were at the table next to yours, with Val and her sister Carol, Mary, Dennis and Lynn, my dear friend Linda, and Don and I. We were the couple celebrating our 50th anniversary on board. The Captain renewed our vows, and I must say that Carnival did an outstanding job with the ceremony. Loved it.

By the way, we saw a rainbow, in 2007, that formed a complete circle. I also had never seen such a thing. Guess what we were told they are called? Come on, guess. A Halo Rainbow. lol.

It was a treat having such a great table Cheryl and sharing in your celebration. Say Hi to Linda. I miss our chats.
Love the HALO Rainbow.

Angel, thank you for taking the time to do such an awesome review. I ran into your BIL several times at Trivia. He did well getting two ships on a stick

[GranysT]

Hi Val and Mary,
I miss seeing you both, each evening. I also miss all the great service from Robin, and Peeta. lol

Angel, glad you enjoyed the cake. It was very good, and I was more than happy to share.

[kyrisong1]

Halo thank you sooooooooooo much for the review, I've been eyeballing the 15 day Hawaii for a while, it's nice to get a fair, realistic perspective from someone you trust!!
I've been thinking of maybe doing Celebrity or Princess because of the amount of time on the ship, it's good to know Carnival delivered a pretty good product!!
Thanks for the pictures too, they were awesome.
Carole

[rybreadsmom]

Originally Posted by maryann2

It was a treat having such a great table Cheryl and sharing in your celebration. Say Hi to Linda. I miss our chats.
Love the HALO Rainbow.

Angel, thank you for taking the time to do such an awesome review. I ran into your BIL several times at Trivia. He did well getting two ships on a stick

Hello, Maryann.

Two? Two? I came home with five of the buggers.
I'm actually disappointed not to have snagged a few more. Must have been all that vodka I was drinking...

[rybreadsmom]

Originally Posted by bazarr2

How about this? We use it as a traveling trophy for nascar fantasy league

Classy. I like it.

Funny that you have the three wise monkeys in your signature. My wife won the Mixology comp on this cruise and her drink was called '3 monkeys'. When asked to explain the name, she said "Because if you drink too many you will hear no evil, see no evil or speak no evil."

[halos]

Originally Posted by rybreadsmom

. My wife won the Mixology comp on this cruise and her drink was called '3 monkeys'. When asked to explain the name, she said "Because if you drink too many you will hear no evil, see no evil or speak no evil."

It was brilliant!

Originally Posted by kyrisong1

Halo thank you sooooooooooo much for the review, I've been eyeballing the 15 day Hawaii for a while, it's nice to get a fair, realistic perspective from someone you trust!!

I've been thinking of maybe doing Celebrity or Princess because of the amount of time on the ship, it's good to know Carnival delivered a pretty good product!!

Thanks for the pictures too, they were awesome.

Carole

You're welcome

[disneykins]

thanks for the great review. We're going on Spirit from Vancouver to Hawaii in Oct. 2012, then spending 5 nights in Disneys new resort on Oahu.

[disneykins]

Sorry, pressed submit before I was finished. Did anyone wear tuxedos to dinner on formal night? Or is a Hawaii cruise too laid back for that? Bought a tux for QM2 last year and want to get some use out of it.

I'm really scared of heights but the helicopter tour seems a must do. Any motion sickness with it? Dont know if I'd enjoy it or be praying for it to end. lol.

We've been twice so we will probably skip the Volcanoes Park and Hana, did them in 04 and loved them but need other ideas for those islands.

Did I miss the story on the jumper you mentioned on page 1?

Does anyone know if the captain will retire before the Vancouver cruise to Hawaii, he sounds like fun.

Thanks again,
Tony

[halos]

Originally Posted by disneykins

Sorry, pressed submit before I was finished. Did anyone wear tuxedos to dinner on formal night? Or is a Hawaii cruise too laid back for that? Bought a tux for QM2 last year and want to get some use out of it.

I'm really scared of heights but the helicopter tour seems a must do. Any motion sickness with it? Dont know if I'd enjoy it or be praying for it to end. lol.

We've been twice so we will probably skip the Volcanoes Park and Hana, did them in 04 and loved them but need other ideas for those islands.

Did I miss the story on the jumper you mentioned on page 1?

Does anyone know if the captain will retire before the Vancouver cruise to Hawaii, he sounds like fun.

Thanks again,
Tony

Hi!!
As far as tuxes, I can tell you my husband wore his and did not feel out of place. Unlike the shorter cruises, this itinerary draws more suit/tux wearers!!

I am afraid of heights as well and have had no issues on helicopter rides or even the hot air balloon rides I have been on....I also suffer motion sickness (use Bonine for auto and ship both) but have no issues with that on a helicopter. Obviously I can't say if you will be afraid or not, I just wanted to let you know that if you decide to try this, you will be VERY happy you did. Don't let a phobia keep you from anything. As Nike says, 'Just DO it!'

Yes, we had a jumper. If you do a search I am sure the threads about it that were posted here will immediately pop up....not much to say. The man jumped from the Serenity deck in broad daylight in front of a LOT of people and was thankfully rescued.

The Captain (Volpi) is retiring in Sept.

[disneykins]

I guess I'll be wearing my tux then. And I thinki I'll have to suck it up and do the helicopter too. I'm not crazy about flying in airplanes so a helicopter is not something I thought I'd ever do.
Our cruise is Sept 18 from Vancouver, I wondeer if Capt. Volper will take the ship to Australia or leave before then.

Tony

[ernevete]

Originally Posted by halos

Hi!!
As far as tuxes, I can tell you my husband wore his and did not feel out of place. Unlike the shorter cruises, this itinerary draws more suit/tux wearers!!

I am afraid of heights as well and have had no issues on helicopter rides or even the hot air balloon rides I have been on....I also suffer motion sickness (use Bonine for auto and ship both) but have no issues with that on a helicopter. Obviously I can't say if you will be afraid or not, I just wanted to let you know that if you decide to try this, you will be VERY happy you did. Don't let a phobia keep you from anything. As Nike says, 'Just DO it!'

Yes, we had a jumper. If you do a search I am sure the threads about it that were posted here will immediately pop up....not much to say. The man jumped from the Serenity deck in broad daylight in front of a LOT of people and was thankfully rescued.

The Captain (Volpi) is retiring in Sept.

Hi--we were on this cruise with you and your review was wonderful and we AGREE with almost everything you said. It was CRUISE OF A LIFETIME AND WE ENJOYED EVERY MINUTE. Of course there were the negatives but there were so many more positives!! and every day was a new adventure. Thank you for taking the time to do this review--it sums up how alot of us feel about this cruise. We were with the MALIHINIS but our group included anyone who wanted to join us and that made it even more fun. Lenore and Ernie

[Sargent_Schultz]

are the Fun Times posted or available?

[halos]

Originally Posted by Sargent_Schultz

are the Fun Times posted or available?

I don't know if anyone else has posted them someplace, but unfortunately, I haven't.

[familycruzinnewbie]

Hi. I've made my way through the 1st 7 pages and will continue. Great review. We were in Hawaii last summer, a week each in Waikiki, Oahu and Maui. We were coming from Newfoundland, Canada. The flight over was broken up by a few nights in Alberta as DH had business. The way back we flew Maui-Honolulu, with a few hours layover (just in case as flights were on different airlines and not connected), then red eye to Vancouver, Vancouver to Toronto only to find our flight to St. John's delayed a few hours and then to St. John's. OMG, I was destroyed. It took forever to recover and then there was the 7.5 hr time difference.

Anyway I've toyed with taking a round trip cruise there from California. But I am concerned that there is a not a lot of time actually in Hawaii. I wish there was more time in Hawaii as it is so beautiful.

[halos]

Originally Posted by familycruzinnewbie

Hi. I've made my way through the 1st 7 pages and will continue. Great review. We were in Hawaii last summer, a week each in Waikiki, Oahu and Maui. We were coming from Newfoundland, Canada. The flight over was broken up by a few nights in Alberta as DH had business. The way back we flew Maui-Honolulu, with a few hours layover (just in case as flights were on different airlines and not connected), then red eye to Vancouver, Vancouver to Toronto only to find our flight to St. John's delayed a few hours and then to St. John's. OMG, I was destroyed. It took forever to recover and then there was the 7.5 hr time difference.

Anyway I've toyed with taking a round trip cruise there from California. But I am concerned that there is a not a lot of time actually in Hawaii. I wish there was more time in Hawaii as it is so beautiful.

It isn't a lot of time at all. If you truly love Hawaii, I think flying directly there would be best. For us, we were totally in it for the cruise/sea days.

[TBoling]

We cruise frequently and I am llooking at this trip for a special birthday next April. My favorite part of a cruise is a vibrant somewhat drunken pool deck. Is this cruise a mistake?

[LOVECRUISING100%]

Thanks for posting ... Looking forward to someday take this cruise.. : )