Will we like Spirit?

[NickAndysMom]

Just looking for some opinions & insight. My family & I are contemplating cruising next January 1 on the Spirit out of San Diego. Part of the reason we're considering this cruise is that the timing works well for all parties involved, plus we would be visiting ports we've never been to before.

 

My main concern is that last time we cruised Carnival (Carnival Glory during its innaugural season), we decided that we'd prefer to travel on other cruiselines in the future. These are the reasons:

 

1) We had extremely poor service in the dining room. (Our fault for not requesting a table change on day one when we first suspected a problem.) It was so bad that we tended to dread dinner rather than looking forward to it, as we usually do on cruises. We did not enjoy the atmosphere at the main pool.

 

2) Generally, service was very inconsistent. Also, we were made to feel that we were a bother to those who were meant to provide service. Nearly everyone we encountered delivered service with downcast eyes and a sullen expression. We're used to "service with a smile" on the other cruiselines we've taken.

 

3) The music that was played at the main pool was so loud that you literally could not carry on a conversation with someone sitting right next to you. I know this sounds petty, but it was like a pebble in your shoe that got more annoying over time. (Note: We are not what I would consider "old". We are in our early 40s & enjoy music, but the volume at the pool would have been better suited to a rock concert.)

 

4) We encountered more than our fair share of pushy, rude people, more so than on other cruises we've taken.

 

5) Both my father & I spent the majority of our cruise sick (food poisoning or Norovirus? No outbreaks were reported on our cruise.) I recognize that this likely has absolutely nothing to do with the Carnival, but contributed to our generally bad feeling about this cruise.

 

On the plus side, we LOVED the accommodations. You can't beat the size & comfort of Carnival's rooms. We also thought the food was better than on some of the other lines. My kids were also big fans of Camp Carnival.

 

I'm hoping that some of you who've recently been on the Spirit will have words of encouragement for me. Or, if you think this would not be a great cruise for us to take, please provide any feedback you have.

 

Thanks so much for your input!!!

[skittl1321]

I'll be cruising on Spirit January 1st!

 

I have never been on a cruise, but my mother and father gave it a glowing recommendation. They were on Spirit to Alaska this summer. They said they were pleased with the food (but called it "low 3 star"- not gourmet, like they expected), thought the service was excellent, were suprised by the size of the room, and found that there was always plenty to do. My parents are in their mid-50s and did not complain of "too loud" although if it was, I'm sure they would have. They are the kind of people who enjoy the finer things. It's likely that there was not too much pool time, as they were in Alaska. The only complaint I heard was the casino was too smokey.

 

I picked Carnival because of this review, the ports offered, and the price was just fantastic. I had no idea cruising could be so inexpensive. My husband and I are mid-20s and we were easily able to afford a balcony. Since we don't usually go to gourmet resteraunts (sorry, I always spell that wrong) as long as the service is at or above applebees, we should be pleased!

[Wennfred]

We will be on the Spirit for the 3rd time this April, one of our favorite ships.

 

Fred

[gazingm42]

We have been on the Spirt 2 times. Once which was in Alaska the other was not.

 

We have been and 7 different Carnival trips, mostly with our kids. Our favorite ship is the Spirit. We did not have any problems at all on the Spirt. Unfortunally we did have issues other Carnival ships. But I would go on the Sprit again.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

We've sailed on the Spirit twice, and will be on her again this August. We love the Spirit-class ships (though we have only the Carnival Holiday and Caribbean Princess to compare them to!).

 

 

1) We had extremely poor service in the dining room. (Our fault for not requesting a table change on day one when we first suspected a problem.) It was so bad that we tended to dread dinner rather than looking forward to it, as we usually do on cruises.

 

You answered it yourself on this one. We've been fortunate to have had excellent service on all of our cruises. Spending time on Cruise Critic I've learned though, that if there is a problem to go to the Maitre D'.

 

 

2) Generally, service was very inconsistent. Also, we were made to feel that we were a bother to those who were meant to provide service. Nearly everyone we encountered delivered service with downcast eyes and a sullen expression. We're used to "service with a smile" on the other cruiselines we've taken.

 

We've had nothing but great service on the Spirit (with the exception of one photographer who was very rude:mad: ). Our cabin stewards and wait staff both times were excellent--absolutely no complaints. And, the other staff was very good as well--smiles from them wherever we went.

 

 

3) The music that was played at the main pool was so loud that you literally could not carry on a conversation with someone sitting right next to you. I know this sounds petty, but it was like a pebble in your shoe that got more annoying over time. (Note: We are not what I would consider "old". We are in our early 40s & enjoy music, but the volume at the pool would have been better suited to a rock concert.)

 

 

I totally agree with you! We don't spend much time at the main pool for this very reason. DD loves to swim, so we sometimes end up there, but I don't last long--it just isn't enjoyable to me.

 

4) We encountered more than our fair share of pushy, rude people, more so than on other cruises we've taken.

 

Carnival doesn't control the attitudes of their passengers. Unfortunately, there are pushy, rude people everywhere--and they take vacations too! We saw them on Princess, too. We've also run into many wonderful and courteous people enjoying their vacations on Carnival. The passengers change week to week and so the balance of the "good" and "bad" passengers change from week to week as well. :p

 

5) Both my father & I spent the majority of our cruise sick (food poisoning or Norovirus? No outbreaks were reported on our cruise.) I recognize that this likely has absolutely nothing to do with the Carnival, but contributed to our generally bad feeling about this cruise.

 

As you said, it likely had nothing to do with Carnival, but I can certainly understand how that would color the whole experience. What a terrible way to spend a vacation you had so looked forward to!

 

 

On the plus side, we LOVED the accommodations. You can't beat the size & comfort of Carnival's rooms. We also thought the food was better than on some of the other lines. My kids were also big fans of Camp Carnival.

 

We also love the size of the room and can't wait to try the new bedding! My DD is also a big fan of Camp Carnival--the reason she loves to cruise!

 

Kudos to you for seeing the good side even though there were plenty of things to complain about!

 

I'm hoping that some of you who've recently been on the Spirit will have words of encouragement for me. Or, if you think this would not be a great cruise for us to take, please provide any feedback you have.

 

Though our Spirit cruises haven't been that recent (2001 and 2002), we can't wait to be on board her again in August! Hopefully, you'll get some feedback from some people who've been on the Spirit more recently than we have. You might also read some of the member reviews from recent cruises and see what is said about the ship and crew.

 

Thanks so much for your input!!!

 

My pleasure. :D

 

Jayne

[NickAndysMom]

Thanks so much to all of you for your thoughtful responses. It sounds like we should give Spirit a try. Time has definitely helped us to see the good in the Carnival Glory cruise we took and not just the bad.

 

Jayne, I agree with you that the crowd on the ship changes weekly with each new group of people. It's really just the luck of the draw. We were on Costa Magica last year. We'd heard TERRIBLE things, especially involving other passengers on the ship. There was also much criticism of the food. Honestly, it was one of the best cruises we've ever taken. The food was out of this world!

 

I guess bad things can happen on any cruise. I'm determined to go into our Spirit cruise with an open mind & look forward to reporting back next January with positive news!

[islahopper]

We were on the Spirit (1-26-07/2-3) and the dining room service was the worst of our 9 cruises. They were slow ,confused, stand offish, and inattentive. All other service was outstanding, everyone spoke and made eye contact. Pursers desk was friendy and helpful, the cabin steward also spoke and called us by our names every time we saw him. Music at the pool was every good and not loud. Being that most people on the cruise were from the west coast they were not rude or pushy, but they were very sensitive to cigarette smoke. The ports of call were not good compared with the crib. I loved the Spirit but would not cruise the west coast again.

[lstrong]

In 2006 on the Spirit we had the best dining room service ever, better than X, better than RC - I think it's the luck of the draw - who your team happens to be. I also believe we can influence that service with our own attitude, i.e., happy, gracious, appreciative versus surly, demanding, complaining.

 

I thought the pool music was too loud also, but there are two pools midship - one with and one without music, so I just avoided the pool with the music. Food was excellent; great cruise! I love the layout of the Spirit class ships - so easy to get around and I never felt it was crowded. Laurie

[kellywhitehills]

All these great things being said about the Spirit!..I cant wait to sail on her!

[kubmom123]

My husband and I loved the Spirit. We were upgraded from an inside cabin, to a balcony suite. Food and ports were fab..you need to try the Supper Club it was the best meal..We are still looking forward to sailing on her again..:p