Carnival Spirit Review

[patatie]

Hi all,

 

We recently travelled on Carnival Spirit for an 11 night south pacific cruise. Before we cruised I found the info available about Carnival Spirit rather scarce compared to other cruise lines, so I've put a (rather comprehensive) review up here http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=225021

 

I know I will probably be criticised for some of the things I've written, and that's fine - this is just my opinion about what I saw, and experienced onboard. Hope its useful to someone.

[bazzaw]

I always feel sorry for people who go on cruiseships and have a terrible time. I am just happy that this has never happened to me.

 

Barry

[Aussieflyer]

Thank you for your comprehensive review. I am sorry you had the problems you did.

I once contracted noro on Silversea and the experience was the total opposite to yours. The doctor came to our cabin, gave me an anti-nausea shot, panadol for the fever, hydralyte sachets and even wanted our butler to sponge my face as the ship did not have a nurse on board (it was their small expedition ship). I passed on the sponging offer :D He also rang the cabin several times and visited again on the next day. Cabin crew came in and wiped all exposed surfaces with disinfectant. It is a most unpleasant disease so I really feel for you.

As you say, you have been on a number of cruises before so have an idea of what is usual. It seems that you did not experience that on this cruise.

[Guest012]

Thanks for your review and sorry things didn't go smooth for you. besides the illness side of things i agree with a lot of what you have written about the Carnival Spirit. We cruised mid June on her and only did so because it was a cheap last minute deal, thankgoodness we didn't pay the going rate. P & O brand has nothing to fear from the Carnival brand. As for the ridiculous "showtime" interference each night in the dining room we stopped going 5 nights into our 10 night cruise, if they did it a couple of nights each cruise you could almost call it entertainment, do it every night and it's called a pain in the arse. Carnival Spirit gave you a go but definately never again even if it's a freebie Shiona

[gek]

I've been on Carnival ships overseas and found the experience to be brilliant. I wonder if Carnival are really treating there Australian arm seriously?

[The_Big_M]

You mention being disappointed with the size of the balcony cabin, compared to oceanviews and interiors previously, but that's standard for all lines. Balconies are similar sizes to interiors and oceanviews generally, although may vary in size like other cabins.

[Royalty X]

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise. I have to admit though, I'm kinda relieved to see someone else had a similar experience to us (even down to the beds being set up wrong). We did the 17 day repositioning cruise and had similar issues with the entertainment, entertainment staff, dark public areas, "showtime" in the MDR, etc. However, the majority of people on here seemed to love that cruise (if they were on it) or have loved other cruises on the Spirit. Unfortunately, it was enough to put us off Carnival. We'll be sticking to RCI, Celebrity or P&O from now on.

Edited August 4, 2013 by finetuneit

[bazzaw]

After re-reading this review, I feel more inclined to book a cruise on Spirit (just to see for myself). We enjoyed VOS very much but we are always looking for new experiences, and Carnival are the only other "new" ones operating out of Oz. I simply cannot believe that a cruise on ANY cruiseship could be as bad as has been described. I certainly don't deny that the poster had a terrible time -- however I don't believe that we ( wife and I) would. :)

 

MY attitude is to ignore very poor reviews and to even sceptically consider the positive ones. I will take seriously reviews that come from people that I know and respect (especially if thay have had comprehensive experiences) - so I did sit up when I read what Shiona had to say about Spirit. However, the more experience we have of anything in this life "can" also mean the more critical we become. Life is like a one way ratchet -- once you have experienced the very best, it is difficult to forget it -- but we can't always have the very best.

 

Barry

[cruise love]

I've been on Carnival ships overseas and found the experience to be brilliant. I wonder if Carnival are really treating there Australian arm seriously?

 

 

I was on the Spirit in July and I found none of the problems that Pattie had.

I agree the dining room entertainment was a little overdone. i am sure that I filled out a health questionere. I found our balcony cabin to be quite spacious compared to some other cruise ships - not tired or threadbare - a little bland and the bathroom could be updated. Our cabin steward came when we arrived and we made a request for feather pillows which he delivered before dinner and we also requested an ice bucket every night which arrived every night, although we did not see him again or his trolley our room was cleaned twice a day and we had a different towel animal and chocolates every night

 

The food was Ok The buffet was as all buffets good and bad depending on your choices. The same in the dining room

 

All i can say is that everyone's perceptions of the same experience is different. I enjoyed my cruise and have booked again for next year

 

Cruise Love

[The Fox]

After re-reading this review, I feel more inclined to book a cruise on Spirit (just to see for myself). We enjoyed VOS very much but we are always looking for new experiences, and Carnival are the only other "new" ones operating out of Oz. I simply cannot believe that a cruise on ANY cruiseship could be as bad as has been described. I certainly don't deny that the poster had a terrible time -- however I don't believe that we ( wife and I) would. :)

 

MY attitude is to ignore very poor reviews and to even sceptically consider the positive ones. I will take seriously reviews that come from people that I know and respect (especially if thay have had comprehensive experiences) - so I did sit up when I read what Shiona had to say about Spirit. However, the more experience we have of anything in this life "can" also mean the more critical we become. Life is like a one way ratchet -- once you have experienced the very best, it is difficult to forget it -- but we can't always have the very best.

 

Barry

 

Hi Barry,

 

We did just that...i was sick of all the negatives so we tried carnival in may and loved it.Sure its not your grand cruise like silverseas etc but its not what you call expensive.go with an open mind like we did....we loved it and would certainly go again anytime.

 

Col:)

[The Fox]

Hi all,

 

We recently travelled on Carnival Spirit for an 11 night south pacific cruise. Before we cruised I found the info available about Carnival Spirit rather scarce compared to other cruise lines, so I've put a (rather comprehensive) review up here http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=225021

 

I know I will probably be criticised for some of the things I've written, and that's fine - this is just my opinion about what I saw, and experienced onboard. Hope its useful to someone.

 

Hi ,

 

Good honest review...My question is what other lines have you cruised on?

 

Col:)

[Guest012]

when I read what Shiona had to say about Spirit. However, the more experience we have of anything in this life "can" also mean the more critical we become. Life is like a one way ratchet -- once you have experienced the very best, it is difficult to forget it -- but we can't always have the very best.

 

Barry

 

Maybe for some Barry as far as "the more experience we have the more critical one can become" but not here, we book with the mindset it's better to have low expectations that way one can't really be disappointed but in this case we were and i shouldn't feel that just because i have done a few i shouldn't have an opinion.. Maybe you should book yourself a cheapie, plenty going, and judge for yourself perhaps you will love her perhaps you won't..... I know one thing thats missing from her and thats the " heart and soul" a cruise ship should have......

Edited August 5, 2013 by badgerbill
alteration

[Wyuna1]

Hi Barry,

 

We did just that...i was sick of all the negatives so we tried carnival in may and loved it.Sure its not your grand cruise like silverseas etc but its not what you call expensive.go with an open mind like we did....we loved it and would certainly go again anytime.

 

Col:)

My wife and I were on the cruise previous to that reviewed and can only say that we experienced almost the exact opposite to the original poster. I am sorry that illness was involved and I know that it certainly is not a pleasant thing as my wife was badly affected on Sun Princess to South East Asia.

I found the cabin staff very good, the food very good, cabin sizes larger than P&O and Princess and were in quite good condition, entertainment very good,. I would not hesitate to recommend Carnival to any one and will be booking again on Legend next year.

[icat2000]

Thanks for taking time to write your review. Sorry, to hear about your terrible experience. Hope you are feeling better now.

[bazzaw]

Maybe for some Barry as far as "the more experience we have the more critical one can become" but not here, we book with the mindset it's better to have low expectations that way one can't really be disappointed but in this case we were and i shouldn't feel that just because i have done a few i shouldn't have an opinion.. Maybe you should book yourself a cheapie, plenty going, and judge for yourself perhaps you will love her perhaps you won't..... I know one thing thats missing from her and thats the " heart and soul" a cruise ship should have......

 

Thanks Shiona -- interesting indeed. And, as you say, there is only one real way to find out !! :)

 

Barry

[patatie]

I'm writing this from my phone so plz forgive me if I don't respond to each comment!!

 

We have cruised on p&o, twice on princess, twice on holland America and once on costa.

 

For the price you pay and itinerary offered I'd recommend anyone who was considering a similar cruise to go with p&o rather than carnival.

That being said, of course there were people on our cruise who seemed to love it - and each to their own. I agree that it is best to experience things yourself and make up your own mind...though it can be a costly method (ESP when picking longer cruises!)

 

Re the comment of missing the heart and soul of a cruise ship - I completely agree. The atmosphere was simply not the same on this cruise, though we thought that could be more to do with the time of year we cruised (all previous cruises had been done over the dec/jan holidays), or length of cruise (all others had been around 14 days) or a combination of the two. Glad to know others felt like we did though!

 

All the best to anyone who does decide to cruise on carnival (and I do mean that sincerely).

 

I probably won't be on these message boards for a long time as well probably give cruising a break (not because of this experience), but...if anyone has any questions in the next week or so I'm more than happy to try and answer them!

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[fishtaco]

" The first thing that surprised us was the lack of usual health questionnaires that are given to passengers before boarding (we have travelled on 6 other cruises with other cruise lines, and received one each time). I had had a severely bad cold/flu leading up to the cruise and was not over it at the time of boarding, in fact, I was still quite sick (visibly). When we went to the check in counters, instead of receiving a health questionnaire we were only asked if we had been sick recently. I told them about my situation (actually expecting to be sent to a doctor and possibly quarantined as my sickness was evident just by looking at me), but they just smiled and nodded and let us through"

 

LOL all that complaining and you actually went on a cruise ship "Very Sick" without any thought for all the other passengers but just expecting to be quarantined or seen by a doctor at carnivals expense lol. Travel insurance:confused:

 

Half eaten or used meals in no way would be re dished and put under the counter to be served to other guests lol

 

Looks to me like you craved special attention onboard that you may be used to on land but didnt get it! lol

[Aus Traveller]

" Half eaten or used meals in no way would be re dished and put under the counter to be served to other guests lol

 

Looks to me like you craved special attention onboard that you may be used to on land but didnt get it! lol

I feel that the OP is entitled to present a review of the cruise as she saw it, and in no way would I question the truthfulness of her comments. I don't believe she suggested that "half eaten or used meals" were redished to be served to other guests. Here is the section of her review regarding re-serving food. I am pretty sure she means a tray of food in the bain marie where the left-over is added to the new tray of food.

 

Quote -

I witnessed staff in the buffet taking half-finished serving plates of food away, and replacing them with full plates that came from somewhere under the buffet area. The staff would then take the remaining food from the original serving plate, and dish that back onto a second serving plate, and put that in the area under where the food was kept. I do not believe that the food was stored at an appropriate temperature for the duration of it being out - and who knows how long it had even been out, given all the dishing and re-dishing, standing times etc. These practices did not seem to be in line with what we, in Australia, have as food handling/safety guidelines. End of quote.

 

I have seen this happen often. Sometimes they pour the new hot food on top of the older food and mix it through. This could be a unsafe food handling practice because of the temperature of the left-over food and the length of time it has sat (unloved:)) waiting for someone to take it away with them to eat.

 

The original review did report that someone took their plate of dessert that they hadn't eaten back to the buffet and was helped to put that food back onto the serving dish. Yuck!

[Aussieflyer]

Thank you for picking up the inaccuracies in Fishtaco's post; perhaps he needed to read more carefully and not be so quick to condemn the OP.

The comment about craving special attention was uncalled and without basis IMO.

[Aus Traveller]

Thank you for picking up the inaccuracies in Fishtaco's post; perhaps he needed to read more carefully and not be so quick to condemn the OP.

The comment about craving special attention was uncalled and without basis IMO.

 

I don't blame Fishtaco. It is easy to read something quickly and not be totally accurate. It is likely his misunderstanding led him to make the other rather harsh comment. :)

[The_Big_M]

I feel that the OP is entitled to present a review of the cruise as she saw it, and in no way would I question the truthfulness of her comments. I don't believe she suggested that "half eaten or used meals" were redished to be served to other guests. Here is the section of her review regarding re-serving food. I am pretty sure she means a tray of food in the bain marie where the left-over is added to the new tray of food.

 

Quote -

I witnessed staff in the buffet taking half-finished serving plates of food away, and replacing them with full plates that came from somewhere under the buffet area. The staff would then take the remaining food from the original serving plate, and dish that back onto a second serving plate, and put that in the area under where the food was kept. I do not believe that the food was stored at an appropriate temperature for the duration of it being out - and who knows how long it had even been out, given all the dishing and re-dishing, standing times etc. These practices did not seem to be in line with what we, in Australia, have as food handling/safety guidelines. End of quote.

 

I've seen that happen on other lines as well.

 

Given they are audited under CDC requirements, I doubt that is an issue, and don't have any personal problem with it.

[bazzaw]

I have always wondered about the effectiveness of those health questionaires. People wouldn't tell lies -- would they?? :)

 

Barry

[Aus Traveller]

I have always wondered about the effectiveness of those health questionaires. People wouldn't tell lies -- would they?? :)

 

Barry

I agree with you totally. I asked a friend who worked for P&O what happens if someone marks on the form that they have had the symptoms mentioned. He said that they call a doctor from the ship to check the patient out to see if they are fit to cruise. If the medical opinion is that they are not, the 'sick' person is denied boarding and given a full refund. Presumably their cruising companion/s would also be given the option of a full refund.:) I do not know if this ever really happens.

[Fozwald]

Some people love to have a grizzle and the original poster has not enjoyed her holiday and reported accordingly.

 

Unfortunately it is not possible, but would like to hear from the crew on the ship on their thoughts about the complaints of the OP ........ maybe they would have a completely different view.

 

Anyway, I am booked on the Spirit next May and looking forward to comparing my holiday with OP.

[tassie cruiser]

We have cruised on Carnival and had an awesome time. DID NOT see anything that the OP said, from the moment we stepped on board and was greeted by friendly staff who offered assistance in directions etc....you will have a great time, sometimes I read some reviews and think... Wow, was that the same ship, you may read 1 bad review fom 1 person, but what about the other 2000 people on board ? They are probably too busy to think of bad things to winge about as they are booking their next cruise as they had such a great time. Unfortunately in this world there will always be unhappy people. . :) rant over. Fiona.