Luminosa or Spirit

[cruisinmems]

Thinking about Alaska next year.  For those that have sailed on both, will you please give me your thoughts?  Pros/cons etc.  Thanks!

[CruizinSusan70]

Have sailed on the Spirit.  It initially was built to cruise Alaska.  The Luminosa though came over from Costa, and is based on the Vista Class ships of Carnival.  There are many that like the Spirit Class because of the passenger/space ratio, but the Luminosa is slightly larger and is also newer.

If case you didn't know, Princess and Holland America are known as better choices for Alaska since they visit some ports and glaciers that Carnival doesn't.

[jam19872016]

5 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

 The Luminosa though came over from Costa, and is based on the Vista Class ships of Carnival.  

Just to clarify, it's based on HAL's Vista class not the Vista class we know that includes Horizon and Panorama. 

 

I don't think you can go wrong with either choice but if cost and itinerary were equal I would pick Spirit over Luminosa. 

 

Enjoy Alaska whatever ship you choose. It's one of my favorites I've ever done.

[Riles34]

From reviews I have read and people I spoke with directly that sailed the Luminosa out of Seattle said it was the worst cruise they have done. Boring ship was a big thumbs down and the outdoor space is blah. I have heard nothing bad about the Spirit class, in fact, lots of people think its the best style ship and a "hidden gem". I would go with the Spirit. Just my opinion.

[havanadaydreaming]

i dug the Spirit.   

 

a tad surprising since it is smaller and older than most other CCL ships.  

[momsdumplin]

I have not sailed on the Spirit, but I did sail on Luminosa this past June. We LOVED that ship. It was meant to be a relaxing trip and it stacked up as the best trip. If you are looking to be busy, busy on the ship, I don't know if that is the one for you. We don't like the party atmosphere on most ships, so this worked great for us. We've already booked another trip on the Luminosa for this reason. 

[csm5986142]

We were on Luminosa in August and Spirit in September (both departing from Seattle) but different itineraries.  We really enjoyed both ships and I think it comes down to personal preferences. Both are a nice size and layout, never really felt crowded.  No long lines for anything.  They are older ships but both were clean and well maintained.

On Luminosa we enjoyed the on-demand movies in our room, but that was not an option on Spirit.

Spirit seems to have a lot more for kids (water slides/water park, etc.).  Luminosa doesn't have the slides/water park or even a mini golf course (well I guess they have a putting green or something but much smaller than Carnival's typical mini golf).  Aside from the kids club and the pools, it didn't seem like there was much for kids to do on Luminosa.

We liked the food a little better on Spirit, but that might have just been due to timing and that specific cruise.  

I've heard the spas are different on each, but I'm not a spa person, so I don't know for sure.  According to the website Luminosa has Cloud 9 and Spirit has Spa Carnival (from what I've read Luminosa has Thermal Suite and Hydrotherapy pool but I did not see those listed on Spirit (but again, not personal experience, so I could be wrong).

I liked the walking/running track better on Luminosa.  I thought it was bigger/better located.

Luminosa offered a Steakhouse Brunch for $25 per person, so we expected the same on Spirit but never saw it on the schedule (though I've heard others have experienced it so maybe just not on our itenerary).

When booking our trips, I was a bit concerned about Luminosa because the reviews I had read were not good.  Several mentioned plumbing issues, but we had none (aside form a slow draining shower).

 

 

[silvercrikhix]

We were on the Luminosa in August. Beautiful ship. From what I read, this ship is nearly identical to Carnivals Spirit class ships. We had the usual 4th deck giant aft wrap suite found on that class. To us, Alaska is about the destination way more than the ship. That said, Luminosa had very little lining up. It was well maintained. 
if your a smoker, they have the best smoking area, a large “indoor” and even larger outdoor space with lots of comfy seating. However, there is no water park or slides, no Guys or Blue Iguana.  The regular grill burgers were good tho. Our GD enjoyed Camp Ocean as usual but, For kids, we’d say pick Spirit, otherwise for that itinerary, either will do. 

[mitsugirly]

On 10/22/2023 at 6:14 PM, silvercrikhix said:

 
if your a smoker, they have the best smoking area, a large “indoor” and even larger outdoor space with lots of comfy seating. 

 

Thanks for the information. I vape, so wondering if anyone knows about the smoking areas on the Spirit?

[MistyRo76]

On 1/8/2024 at 7:14 AM, mitsugirly said:

 

Thanks for the information. I vape, so wondering if anyone knows about the smoking areas on the Spirit?

SaintGreg posted this on my thread about Spirit just yesterday. My hubby smokes tobacco pipes (not a quick process). He really enjoyed the Deck 3 smoking area on our Sunshine cruise last fall. It was quieter than the open deck up top, not as many people and close to the water - which on an Alaskan cruise is a great spot to be. So this is helping to tip me toward Spirit over Luminosa. 

 

Carnival Spirit  

Cigarette smoking (including electronic cigarettes and personal vaporizers) are permitted in the following areas:

• Louis XIV Casino: There is no smoking in the casino unless seated and playing; it is not allowed at the casino bar or in the entire area when closed. 
• Outdoors: Smoking is permitted in designated areas on Deck 3 (starboard side, forward), Deck 9 (starboard side, forward) and Deck 10 (starboard side, forward).
• Note: Cigar and tobacco pipes are only permitted at the above outdoor smoking areas.    
• Note: On embarkation and debarkation day, smoking is not allowed outdoors while the ship is refueling. Please consider selecting a later Arrival Appointment to minimize any inconvenience on embarkation day.