Spirit Review 3/1 - 3/9

Wow, where to begin we had an awesome cruise!

A little background info on us. This was my 8th cruise (5th with carnival), my husbands 7th cruise (4th with carnival) and my 12 year old daughters 6th cruise (4th with carnival)

We drove from northern California on 2/28 and stayed at the Holiday Inn on the Bay. It was a bit pricey but well worth the amount we paid. Corner room overlooking the pier. We woke up on 3/1 at 5:30 am and watched the Spirit arrive. What a sight to see!

Embarkation: We walked across the street at about 11 am with luggage in tow. Cleared security at the gate, porter took our luggage. That was a breeze. Went inside the building no waiting line, walked up to the desk and got boarding number 1. We waited 45 minutes and then they let us on.

Since it was only noon at this point we couldn't get to our room. We went to the Lido deck to have lunch and relax. They had quite a few choices for food. Italian, Chinese, and American buffet. All of it was good.

At 1pm we went and found our room. We booked a balcony gtee and were assigned to 8208. We were right below the buffet.

Acapulco: We rented a taxi for 5 hours at the cost of $60. We toured the whole city. Went to the flea market, beach and had our driver take us to a good mexican restuarant.

Ixtapa: We got a kick out of tendering on the Spirit's lifeboats. We got off the tender and wandered through the little shops that were there. Met a couple, sitting at one of the restuarants near the pier. They were staying for the week and said that the place was wonderful to eat at. Sorry I forgot the name. We through the restaurant area and over a little walking bridge. Followed the path around to a wonderful beach. We spent the entire day on the beach. Walked back towards the pier had a late lunch and caught the tender back to the boat. Beautiful little resort town.

Manzanillo: We got off the ship and hired a taxi. $12 to a beach just passed Los Hadas. Public beach with tables, chairs and umbrellas for $5. We played in the water most of the day. Locals were extremely nice. Food and water was extremely reasonable. Giant bottles of water $2. Caught taxi back to ship for $7.

Sea days. 4 in total. All spent relaxing reading, laying in the sun or just wandering around the ship.

Entertainment: We were worried about the stage not working and were relieved when we saw it working. The shows were good as always. We prefered "The Standing Room" over "High Spirit". Just a personal preferences but they were both good.

Dining room. Main dining table 363. Roberto was our waiter, Ruel his assistant. What a great pair they are! I can't say enough for the service they gave us. Went out of their way to make sure we were happy and content.

Room steward. Can't tell you his name, as we only saw him once during the trip. I can say that our room was always neat and clean. So he did a great job.

Camp carnival. Here is the only real downside to my trip. My daughter was in the 12 to 14 year olds. The counselors failed to show up twice for scheduled events. Also she particapted in the talent show. 6 kids signed up most were under the age of 5. She plays the flute and was disappointed in being told she couldn't perform in the big talent show as she wasn't old enough. We of course didn't let this ruin our trip!

Disembarkation: We were the third group to be called. Off the ship by 8:45 am and on the road by 9:10 am. We had parked across the street at Holiday Inn.

All in all we had a wonderful trip. We are of course planning another cruise already. It must stop in Ixtapa/Zihuantinu (sorry can't spell it).

Thank you for the review. I'm glad the stage is finally fixed. It sounds like you had a good cruise. How did the ship look? Was it clean and well maintained?

Thanks, we'll be on the Spirit 11/2005.

The ship seemed clean. With over 2000 new passengers each week, we only saw the normal wear and tear. The staff was wonderful about cleaning up any messes. The only thing the staff didn't clean, was some children had made small spit wads and shot them at the main atrium mural. There's about 10 of them around the man at the top. My husband and I have debated how they would get those down.

I have requested a large table so we can meet some other people. Do I have to go to the dining room to check this when I arrive or do I just wait until our dinner time?

Also, can boys (9 &12) wear nice "t-shirts" and pants to the dining room on non-formal nights?

Thanks for your review!

You can check your table assignment on deck 2 forward in the dining room at 1pm after you board the ship. You shouldn't wait until dinner time as it will be very busy and might not be able to change your table. Joseph is the head maitre d right now. He's wonderful!

Dress code. I have to say it was really really relaxed compared to the rest of the cruises I've been on. I saw people in jeans on formal night. I'd say as long as the "t-shirts" are offensive in nature, then yes they will be fine.

Batz, we sadly left that day as you boarded the ship, 21 - 01 Feb/Mar. we too had a blast, 3rd time with Micheal Mullane the cruise director, he is great, Yes ship was also spotless, awesome shows, the Stage was in great shape. Question: Did you go to the Vacation club seminar? Email me if you did, I became a Silver member and like to see what you think about it.

Camp carnival. Here is the only real downside to my trip. My daughter was in the 12 to 14 year olds. The counselors failed to show up twice for scheduled events. Also she particapted in the talent show. 6 kids signed up most were under the age of 5. She plays the flute and was disappointed in being told she couldn't perform in the big talent show as she wasn't old enough. We of course didn't let this ruin our trip!

 

Do you happen to know the conselors names? Also, did you notice who the teen director was, or if they had one. (Especially if it was Dan) I know the week I went, there was a lot of trouble concerning the teen director, so I'm just curious as to how that was handled.

Wennfred, We didn't go to the Vacation Club seminar. We felt from what we were hearing that it sounded to much like a time share. We avoid those like the plague. I would however like to hear what you thought. I'm always open to opinions.

Bethwte, The camp counselor for the 12-14 year olds was michelle. According to my daughter she's not the one that didn't show up. However Dan is the Club 02 15-17 year old counselor. We ran into him in the elevator carrying a dodgeball. Had a great laugh with him.

Thanks... my weeks kids were, well not very well behaved, and we all kind of feared for Dan's job, so I'm glad he was still there. Nothing was his fault, but sometimes you neevr know how companies see things. By the way, I forgot to say earlier, I'm glad you enjoyed your cruise :)

Same with you, I dont mess with them Time Shares, I always looked for something like it just for cruises with out the ugly annual Maintence fees which are high, then this came and It was what I wanted, no Maintence fee, only a 5 year deal and you get tons of stuff, I wrote a Thread about it called Carnival Vacation club, but no one seems to know about it, just that someone that didnt know about it said to look at a Thread in Googles which I couldnt find, anyways for the benefits you get, VIP and more, I took it, so far I love it, My Friend got to use my membership first for Jun, Im gona book mine in Nov of this year using my Silver membership points. With the amount of times you travelled with Carnival thats why I was wondering if you check it out. see ya later

 

Bethwte, The camp counselor for the 12-14 year olds was michelle. According to my daughter she's not the one that didn't show up. However Dan is the Club 02 15-17 year old counselor. We ran into him in the elevator carrying a dodgeball. Had a great laugh with him.

Haha, nothing like getting conflicting information. I asked the same question of another on your sailing, and they said that Shannon (a male) was the teen director. What did the man in the elevator look like?

BatzMuru, thanks for the review. While I'm not taking Spirit for any the warmer cruises, I am very interested to know more about the ship and staff. Granted, a lot can change in a year, but it's still nice to know what to expect in some things. :)

BatzMuru, thanks for the review. While I'm not taking Spirit for any the warmer cruises, I am very interested to know more about the ship and staff. Granted, a lot can change in a year, but it's still nice to know what to expect in some things. :)

We just got of the same cruise as the OR and the feeling I got from the crew and CD was they are all psyched up for the trip to Alaska.We did it in 2001 on the Visions of the seas and had a blast.Don't forget to see the Alaskan malamute( mother duck) in Skagway.Enjoy!!!:)

We were on the Spirit 3/1 to Mexico and had a great time. Ship was in great shape, food was very good to just O.K. the dining room where you pay is out of this world and would just say if you are thinking of going DO IT. Only draw back from the whole cruise. Was our server, she did a great job BUT had a cold the first night out and 3 days later I came down with it and a couple of days after that 2 more people from our table got sick. A really bad cold that I still have. Talked to some other people who sat at her table for early sitting and some of them also go sick. It would be nice if they did not seve people when they had colds. I carried on o.k., but it still made my trip a lot less enjoyable. Did anyone else get sick on this cruise? WallyBird

Wally, you more than likely had the cold before boarding the ship as it takes more than 3 days for the symptoms to show. ;) The other 2 though, probably either caught it from you and/or your server.

 

Dining room. Main dining table 363. Roberto was our waiter, Ruel his assistant.

On the Glory, we had a bar waiter named Ruel. He was waitering for the bar right near the information desk on the Glory. He was probably the best server we ever had on any cruise. He was the reason we went there before dinner every night. I wonder if it's the same person.

what color were you? On your Spirit cruise .we were on her with you...we were Blue.:D

Dan was about 5'8 clean cut. Dark hair, no accent. Shoot we were only in the elevator 20 seconds with him, but the impression he made was great.

We were black tags getting off. cabin 8208.

Ruel was from the phillipines. Seems like we saw him breakfast lunch and dinner. Breakfast and lunch in the buffet. Dinner at our table. Boy I think he was overworked. I'd say he was about late 20's, great smile.

We didn't get sick on the cruise. The people at the next table were really sick with the same type of cold we had the month before cruising. Oh and hubby got montezumas revenge the day we got back in port. Thankfully he's feeling better now. Poor guy.

I'm working on planning our next cruise already. Anyone else?

Im planning a Carribbean cruise around March - April 2006, still waiting to see what my friends want to do...

I have booked the Spirit for 1 April 06. It is a celebration of my daughters 18th.

John

i'm booked for paradise sept 05. Just myself and my bonus daughter (stepdaughter) she turns 18 in aug.

we're considering Nor. Star for March 05. Only because it stops in both Cabo San Lucas and Ixtapa. Two stops we just love.

Yes Cabo is great. Lovers beach and the golf is also excellent. I have not been to Ixtapa--looking forward to going next spring.

John

6 kids signed up most were under the age of 5. She plays the flute and was disappointed in being told she couldn't perform in the big talent show as she wasn't old enough. We of course didn't let this ruin our trip!

My 6-year old daughter loved your daughter's playing of "Under the Sea" (if memory serves). I couldn't convince her to sign up but then once everyone left she wanted to get out there, so she did one of her cheerleader cheers for me and then we could leave. lol

Your memory is correct. My daughter will be thrilled to learn that someone enjoyed her playing. Awww that would have been so cute to see her up there. Maybe next time she will be brave enough to join in. Kids are soooo adorable at that age.