Carnival Spirit - Hawaii to Vancouver - Enjoyable?

[Atomica]

We're seriously considering the Carnival Spirit's Hawaii to Vancouver cruise in April 2011. The itinerary is fantastic, and the pricing is very reasonable.

 

There's just one hitch - we've never been on Carnival! HAL, Cunard, Princess, Royal Caribbean, NCL - but not Carnival.

 

I've seen the Spirit here in Vancouver many times, and it looks like a really nice ship. I'd be interested though in hearing from any people who have sailed this itinerary or the Spirit class - did you like it? Would you do it again?

 

Any thoughts or suggestions are greatly appreciated!

[MrPete]

We did the Ensenada to Hawaii, and not on the Spirit. So why am I answering?

 

BECAUSE WE LOVED IT!

 

And hope to do it again one day.

 

The transpacific leg was heaven. And then the island overview, although exhausting, was well worth it, as we had never been to Hawaii.

[woodey]

DB did Hawaii last year on the Spirit and Said it was Perfect....I have been on the Spirit ...just not to Hawaii....She is a great Ship we have had alot of fun on her....If you like the price and the Itinerary book it.:)

[CRUZBUDS]

We've cruised on many lines and love the Carnival Spirit. You'll find no difference in the fellow passengers from any of the lines you've sailed. (maybe not Cunard). The longer cruises attract a more mature demographic.

 

Carnival food is right up there with Holland and Celebrity.

 

We did the the 12 day Hi to Ensenada and it is still one of our favorite cruises. We love Hawaii.

 

We wish there were more one way trips available. We are only interested in the Hi to Ensenada leg and it only happens once a year. We can usually do a 15 day r/t from San Diego for much less because of the airfare. We did the one way once on the Spirit and once on Princess. We've done the r/t 5 times. Hawaii is a fantastic cruise destination

 

Aloha!

[Atomica]

Thanks everyone for the excellent advice. Sounds like both the Carnival Spirit and Hawaii are real winners!

[Happy Feet 333]

Hi,

I'm going on the Spirit this coming Sunday, Ensenada to Hawaii and around the islands. I was on the Spirit to Mexican Riviera 2 years ago and I loved it. I'll write a review when I return.

[gargoyle999]

It's only about 10% as enjoyable as Ensenada to Hawaii! But that's still A LOT of "enjoyable"! :)

 

Full disclosure: I'm sailing on the Spirit this Sunday to Hawaii. :p

[Sargent_Schultz]

You can follow along the Ensenada - Hawaii leg here:

http://www.zydecocruiser.com/CarnivalSpirit/Hawaii/index.htm

 

Sometimes I wonder if it would be better to have the 5 sea days at the beginning or the end of the cruise.

 

I think the obvious solution is to do Ensenada to Vancouver via Hawaii and not to worry about it. :)

[ohhbother]

I'll let you know in a few weeks. We're sailing on the Spirit from Hawaii to Vancouver April 23!! Can't wait!

[traveller123]

Aaron, I think you'd enjoy the cruise and the ship. The Spirit is my favourite of the Carnival ships. It's not too big and very well laid out (easy to get around). I'm doing the Hawaii to Vancouver cruise on April 23rd - I'll try to publish a review when I get back. One of many things that convinced me to book this itinerary was the fact that it ends in YVR and I can just take the #16 bus home after the cruise - no airport, planes, etc. to spoil the great memories at the end of the cruise.

 

I believe you are a HAL regular - I've sailed on the Rotterdam twice and loved it - Carnival is different, but I really prefer it to HAL. The crowd will be older because of the itinerary and time of year - but not as old as HAL. I always find lots of fun things to do on Carnival - the entertainment is sooooo much better than HAL. The food isn't as great as HAL, but still very, very good and actually there is more variety on Carnival. The one thing I missed on Carnival was the lack of good speakers hosting sessions on the history, geography, etc. of the area being visited. HAL certainly excelled at that on both my cruises.

 

I'll wave to you as we come into English Bay on May 5th - and try to post a review not too long after.

[RCS2cruise]

We did the Carnival Spirit Hawaii to Vancouver in May 2008. That was our first Carnival cruise, and probably one of the best cruises we've ever done. It was a great ship and a great itinerary. We live near Vancouver, so it was great to sail in under the Lions Gate bridge, dock, walk off the ship and not have to go to an airport to fly for hours to get home! We flew to Hawaii a few days early to extend the vacation a few more days.

 

Book it -- you won't be sorry.

[Atomica]

You've all sold me! I haven't even booked the thing and I'm already excited!

 

Sargent_Schultz: Thanks for the link to your upcoming Hawaii cruise blog! I had a peek at your Spirit Alaska 2009 page - great photographs - they were exactly what I was looking for. Love all the shots of the signage, menus, etc (oh, and the Jonh Heald bobblehead) I will be following along for your Hawaii trip.

 

Traveller123 - thanks for the comparison to HAL. There's a lot of things I really enjoy about HAL, but I also like the more 'active' atmosphere on Princess and Royal Caribbean. Heck, even Cunard had more variety on the QM2! But I'm glad to hear you've sailed both and actually prefer Carnival to HAL. Chances are you'll see me at the pier at Canada Place on the 5th - I work nearby so I'm always there bright and early when the first ships of the season come in.

 

RCS2cruise - that's exactly why we like this voyage - the ability to just get off the ship and drive home at the end. One way airfare works better too.

 

I really appreciate all the fantastic responses from everyone! You're all selling me on Carnival ;)

[MrPete]

 

Sometimes I wonder if it would be better to have the 5 sea days at the beginning or the end of the cruise.

 

 

We found it was probably better to do at the end. We were SO relaxed when we got to Hawaii, and SO exhausted by the time we debarked in Honolulu.

 

If it weren't that it was so overrun with 80, 90, and 100 year old people, the extra partying during the crossing would have certainly killed us.

 

We would have loved to have another 5 days to take us back to the mainland. AND RECOVER.

[luv2cruz44]

Howdy,

 

We did the Hawaii to Vancouver cruise on the Spirit in April of 2007 and the Vancouver to Hawaii cruise on the Spirit in September of 2009. We much preferred the Hawaii to Vancouver one. The weather was nicer, we saw a lot more sea life (whales, dolphins, etc) and preferred the sea days at the end of the cruise rather than the beginning. In fact, we so much preferred it that we recommended it to friends who are already booked for April of 2011. Hopefully you'll run into them on the roll call. Enjoy, it was our favorite cruise until we did the Panama Canal.