Review: Carnival Cruise Lines - Spirit - [October 23 , 2005]

[Net Reviews]

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Review: Carnival Spirit - Mexican Riviera - October 23, 2005

Over the past year I have learned so many great ideas from the reviews of
others that I thought I would write my own review. I hope that others will
find this information useful.

My wife and I (both in our 40's) were part of a large group (1200 people)
from Santa Rosa, CA that signed up through a radio station promotion with
several friends, and in total we knew about 50 people on the ship. It sailed
out of San Diego, CA with calls to Acapulco, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, and
Manzanillo. It was our second cruise; A Western Caribbean itinerary on the
Carnival Victory in 2002 was our first cruise. This is long, so I will first
rank our experience based on the usual categories; food, cabin, etc. Then I
will ramble on. Please feel free to ask any follow-up questions about the
ship, ports of call, etc.

Embarkation: B+

Is it ever easy? Crowded, long lines, and chaos. The ship was 2 hours late
arriving to port. We were able to register early, but had to wait with
everyone else with our luggage. Carnival finally told us to just leave our
luggage in the terminal (where we were waiting) and go find something to do
for a couple of hours. We registered at about 10am, arrived to the terminal
with our luggage at about 12:15pm, and were on the ship by 2pm. There was a
bar in the waiting area, where we were able to sit and visit with friends,
so considering that there were 4 ships in port on the same day (for the
first time ever here) it could have been a lot worse.

Cabin: C

Verandah (deck 7) forward on the starboard side - category 8G. Our cabin was
always clean and everything worked as expected with the exception of
unstable shower temperature. There was also a slight sewage smell in the
bathroom that seemed to be coming from the vent in the ceiling. I would have
liked the ice bucket to be refreshed on a more frequent basis. I set aside
all of the contents from the minibar so that we could cool our own drinks,
but it was hardly able to cool anything. Our cabin steward was always trying
to get things done on the early side; before we left in the morning, before
our dinner time, etc. But he was pleasant, and always said that he would
return later. The liquid shampoo/soap dispensers in the shower were a nice
touch and I used them throughout the trip. I guess that overall the cabin
and cabin service was nothing more and nothing less than I would expect.

Food: B+

The quality of the food was always very good. Dining room, room service,
pizza, deli, hamburgers, etc - all very good. There were no long lines. My
only disappointment was the time frames that various items are offered. If I
want to skip the dining room and have a cheeseburger instead - forget it -
it's closed. "Taste of the Nations" was never open when I wanted to try it.
I wish that Carnival would extend the hours of some of their restaurants. At
least the pizza and deli booths seemed to always be open and both were
excellent. We never did try the breakfast in the dining room or on the Lido
deck. We are late risers and very much enjoyed our continental breakfast on
the balcony. There is definitely a seafood theme... it was always available
in the dining room, and sometimes I thought that I sensed a seafood flavor
even in non-seafood dishes. The beef steaks were always a little tough, but
usually very flavorful. I told myself before we left that I would be
skipping some of the dinners in the dining room not only because I don't
like to change my clothes for dinner but also because I don't like how much
time it takes out of the evening. I ended up going to only 4 out of the 8
dining room dinner opportunities.

Shows:

Sorry, I only went to see one of the comedians. I slept through most of it,
but I heard that it was pretty good. The second comedian (on a different
night) my wife said was much funnier and had her in stitches throughout the
entire show. She also said that the hypnotist show was ok.

Casino: B+

I played blackjack in the casino every night. Actually I mostly played
"Fun21". Eight decks, queens removed, several player-friendly rule
adjustments. I wish that Carnival would offer more than one Fun21 table as
many of the blackjack tables sat empty, there was often 10 or so people
waiting to play Fun21. Several people came away big winners at the slot
machines. One person hit several jackpots... $13.5K being the largest. It
was announced that he had won $46K+ by the end of the cruise. I was ahead
$250 at the end of the week.

Drink servers: A

How can these folks remember the preferences of so many passengers? From Day
1, drink 1, they remember your name, folio number, and drink. Two of them in
particular were very good about checking with us every 15 minutes or so. How
do they do it?

Ports/Itinerary: B

San Diego: Nice, lots to do around the port and around town. It can be
chilly and it was for us for the first and last day of the trip. We walked
along Harbor Blvd and enjoyed many picture opportunities, restaurants, etc.
Took the USS Midway self-guided tour. We were pushed for time so the 3hrs
went by quickly. Probably could have spent another 3 hrs on board.

Acapulco: Very populated. It just doesn't seem like a tourist friendly
place. As we walked along the main beach frontage road, many of the public
bus riders whistled and shouted comments at us. It was dirty and smelly
along much of the walk. I would recommend taking a cab to your destinations.
The cliff divers were worth seeing if you haven't seen them before. We took
the city tour excursion - while it was interesting and gave us a general
introduction to the city, there were plenty of beach areas within walking
distance from the pier for those wanting to just relax on the beach.

Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo: Nice place. Great stop. We took a 35 minute boat trip
from Zihuatanejo to Ixtapa Island for $35/each (5 people). While that seemed
expensive, it included our guide's 4hr wait and our return trip. The return
trip seemed valuable as all of the island visitors were scrambling for a
boat back to the mainland at about 4pm. Also 5 of us ate and drank for 4 hrs
on Ixtapa Island for $30 total! Zihuatanejo seemed like a friendly place to
shop and we wish we had another day to spend here to shop/relax/whatever.
Our friends went scuba diving and had a great day.

Manzanillo: Our favorite stop - probably because we had the most fun here.
Wish we had another day here to shop and sightsee. We found the people here
to be very friendly. We had some friends that went diving and some that went
fishing - all were disappointed. I recommend this stop for either shopping
downtown or relaxing at a beach or resort. We went to Las Hadas
Hotel/Resort. A 30 min cab ride was $10. This is a nice place - a swim-up
bar at the pool and a great beach. It costs $25 to get in, but they give you
250 Pesos in coupons. A pitcher of Margaritas costs 450 Pesos! so it doesn't
last long. US Dollars will get you a lot more than the Peso equivalents. A
beer costs about $3.50 if you pay in US dollars. Also know that cruise ship
customers don't get served very quickly - if you want a drink and don't want
to wait 60 minutes, walk to the bar yourself. If you go, order a Coco-Loco
and have the video camera ready! It's as much fun to watch them make it as
it is to drink it! Some people we know went to the public beach near the
flea market and said that the beach was very nice and the restaurant and
drink prices there were very good. There also appeared to be some nice
beaches near where the ship docked, but the pier area was noisy and smelled
of diesel smoke, so I don't know if those beaches were relaxation-oriented
or not.

Ship: B

The overall ship layout was very nice - very easy to navigate. It is however
showing some wear as much of the carpeting was stained - not just a little,
but a lot of it was extensively stained. The public area restrooms were
probably the most in need of attention: sewage smell, empty or
non-functioning soap dispensers, and hand dryers that didn't work. The
Spirit is scheduled for maintenance/repairs for 2 weeks in January and it
appears to be overdue. The violent shaking at the rear of the ship (mostly
noticeable and almost unbearable in the back of the dining room) is
hopefully something that gets remedied in January. The ship rolled
left/right and front/back constantly even in somewhat calm seas. I don't
know if it's normal for this class of ship since this is only our second
cruise, but the movement was much worse than we experience on the (much
larger) Victory 3 years ago. In fact some nights it felt like I was going to
roll right off the bed! Speaking of the bed, I found it to be very
uncomfortable - thin and hard. I understand that a bedding upgrade is in
store during the January maintenance. Also, the water slide was out of
order. This probably seems like a lot of complaining, but we still did enjoy
the ship very much. Especially the layout and decor. We never had difficulty
finding lounge chairs and there were plenty of less populated areas around
the ship. Again, the ship's layout was awesome!

Debarkation: A

General ship service remained excellent and debarkation priority
coordination was smooth. No crowds. Luggage was easy to find. I can't
imagine it going any better than it did.

Misc:

The tips that I learned from RTC and cruise critic proved to be priceless...

Bungee cords:

I brought several. It took 2 to stretch far enough to hold the balcony door
open. It turned out that I couldn't sleep without the balcony door open. The
AC dried out our sinuses so much that we would wake up with bloody noses.
Leaving the door open helped us sleep through the night (sounded like waves
on a beach) and we woke feeling relaxed and healthy. The stewards used a 12"
length of 1/2" by 1/2" square stock which they shoved into the overhead door
tracks (which also make great bottle openers) to hold the doors open. Our
cheapo over-the-door shoe holder was not able to stay on the door with all
of the items we put on it, so a bungee cord was in order. I will always
bring 3 or 4 bungees with me on future cruises.

Over-the-door shoe holder:

Wow, never did I think this would come in as handy as it did. I will never
travel without one again. If you haven't cruised with one, try it, and
you'll see.

Extension Cord/Power Strip:

One outlet in the room. It was installed upside down just barely above the
counter so our nightlight wouldn't fit. With the power strip we were able to
use the nightlight, charge the camcorder, and wife was able to plug in 120V
hair accessories as needed. I will also never cruise without a power strip
again.

Pack clothes with hangers:

Boy was unpacking and packing sped up by always leaving clothes on the
hangers from home!

Bring Ziploc bags:

Not only did we pack many things in Ziplocs before we left home, but we
found that having extra Ziplocs came in handy for packing on the ship.

Coffee mugs and creamers:

We brought large plastic coffee mugs and coffee-mate powdered coffee
creamers. We had 2 pots of coffee delivered to our room each morning. The
coffee isn't the best, and the little cups that come with it are too small
(especially if the ship is rolling like ours was). The large mugs and extra
flavor made for enjoyable coffee in the mornings.

Trip Journal:

Sat 10/22

Limo ride to OAK airport. Split the cost with 6 people the price is very
reasonable compared to the cost and hassle of the airport bus. San Diego was
totally fogged in. We stayed at the Holiday Inn By The Bay which offered
shuttle rides from the airport every 30 minutes. The shuttle was waiting
when we arrived and it was a short 5 min ride to the hotel. We had to wait
until about 3pm to get our rooms. This hotel is directly across the street
from the cruise ship terminal! The rooms were average (considering the cost)
but the service and room amenities were great: 2 phones, a coffee maker,
hair dryer, clothes iron, prompt room service, etc. The bar and restaurant
were nice. We walked south along Harbor Blvd to Seaport Village and walked
through several shops before having dinner at a restaurant that sat on
pillars out onto the bay. Sorry, don't remember the name, but it wasn't
worth remembering. There is a lot to do locally either just walking on your
own or taking a trolley to Old Town, Little Italy, or one of several other
destinations. It was overcast, chilly, and started to drizzle, so bring a
sweatshirt, especially if out at night.

Sun 10/23:

Woke up at 7am to find two cruise ships in port: RCCL (sorry didn't get the
ship name) and Celebrity Infinity. Shortly thereafter I watched the Crystal
Harmony sail in. After 8:30 when I still didn't see the Carnival Spirit, I
started to worry - it was supposed to dock at 7am. It finally arrived at 9am
(2 hrs late), so we knew any thoughts of boarding early were lost. At about
10 am we walked across the street to the pier to find out that we could
register early and get our sign and sail cards - no line whatsoever! We went
back to the hotel, watched some NFL in the bar and checked out at noon. By
the time we got back to the pier - OH MY GOD - the line to check in seemed
to be 1/2 mile long. We entered the terminal bldg - nobody was moving - it
was hot and smelled of sweat. After 30 minutes of sweating we were told to
leave our bags and either go find something to do or wait in the large
waiting room (inside the terminal). There was a bar, we visited with a lot
of friends, and boarded in the second group so I would have to say
embarkation was not bad.

The rooms were still being made and the stewards were working hard (yet very
friendly and pleasant). We were able to drop off our carry-ons in the room
and go wander around the ship. The ship sailed out 3-1/2 hours late during
our radio station's welcome aboard party. We had a wonderful dinner in the
Empire dining room. The food and service was excellent, although the stories
about the horrible vibration in the back of the Carnival Spirit are true. It
is so strong that the china rattles something awful and don't mistake that
you not only can feel it, it will shake you up in a major way if you are
seated near the rear of the room as we were.

Played Fun21 in the casino until late then went to the disco for a while.
The disco is tiny compared to the disco on the Victory, but it never seemed
too crowded. The ship rolled so much that I didn't really sleep all night. I
thought that I might need to use my bungee cords to attach myself to the bed
just to avoid rolling out.

Mon 10/24:

My wife won a full ($300) treatment in the spa and went to her appt in the
morning. I woke at 9:30 when the food arrived and as I sipped coffee on the
balcony I watch dozens of dolphins jumping along side the ship - sometimes 3
side-by-side-by-side. Some followed just under the ship, but most were
jumping. They seemed to be really enjoying themselves and as the days went
on, watching the dolphins in the morning was my favorite time of the entire
cruise. Wandered down to play bingo in the pharaohs palace - didn't win but
had a good time. Enjoyed relaxing and having drinks with friends at the aft
pool bar. By midday the weather had started to change and it was time for
sunscreen. The balcony divider between us and our next-door friends was
unlocked, so we were able to open up our balconies and enjoy a lot of space
outside. Later we went to the Captain's party. The only large meeting area
on board seemed to be in the Pharaohs Palace which was terraced seating and
didn't seem to make a good area for mingling. We had to walk in and out of
long seating isles to visit with others.

Tues 10/25:

Woke to very warm and humid climate. It was starting to feel tropical. Today
we went to the dining room for lunch. Even though I just had a cheeseburger
and fixing, the service and extras (salad, desert) were great! Afterwards we
baked on the aft deck for an hour then watched the flying fish scatter
around the ship. Sometimes dozens of them would fly together before diving
back into the water. Our friends were married onboard today and we attended
a nice ceremony with them and many of their friends and relatives that
attended. During dinner the dining room staff performed a song and dance
routine. They tried to drag me out of my chair and into their routine, but I
refused as I don't enjoy that kind of stuff. I think that I offended them by
not dancing with them, and I felt that our service really dropped off after
that. Somewhat irritated, I'm not sure at this point whether or not I will
return to the dining room. After dinner I spent a little time playing
blackjack again.

Wed 10/26: Acapulco

Woke to mid-80's and much higher humidity. From the upper decks I could see
the beautiful beaches and mountains as we approached Acapulco. As we
approached Acapulco Bay most of the ship was up on deck watching as swarms
of fish were jumping out of the water as flocks of birds were trying to
catch them. It was quite entertaining. It seemed to take forever to get off
the ship. We took the city bus tour. It wasn't very exciting, but it did
take us to see the cliff divers as well as travel the entire bay and sister
bay just to the south. And it was only $39! The cliff divers are amazing. If
I could write the itinerary, I would skip Acapulco, but I'm glad that I went
to see the divers. After the tour I was outvoted against my idea of taking a
cab to Senior Frogs and instead we walked over 2 miles in the dark looking
for a suitable restaurant while enduring all of the shouting and whistling
coming from the city busses. As we got really tired of walking it started to
rain, and then pour! We were able to duck inside of a beach hut
(thatched-roof) restaurant that appeared to be in the process of closing,
but willing to serve us drinks while we waited out the rain. When the rain
subsided, we headed back toward the ship and along the way found a really
nice, yet expensive, restaurant that mostly served seafood dishes. Wet and
hungry it hit the spot! I wish I could remember the name because I wouldn't
hesitate to recommend it. We walked back to the ship and one memory that
sticks out is all of the families begging for money that have trained their
very young (< 2 year old) children to beg from the tourists. NOTE: Don't
play "slug-bug" in this town unless you want severe bruising as at least
every other car was a VW bug. Watched the last inning of the world series in
the cruise terminal and then back onto the ship to watch Karaoke on the Lido
deck. A word of thanks to Roberto at the Acapulco Port Authority for all of
the information shared on cruise critic. The information proved to be
accurate and worthwhile.

Thurs 10/27: Zihuatanejo

Five or Six tenders were operating so getting off the ship was fast and
painless. We were immediately approached by a tour guide named Bernardo and
we agreed to have him take us to Ixtapa Island. It was a 35 min ride in the
ocean, but we were fortunate to have some great photo opportunities. The
dolphins jumping around our boat were an awesome surprise. On the Island we
ate and drank for 4 hours while Bernardo waited for us. The setting was just
like in the Corona commercial. It was a very nice, relaxing time. We didn't
leave the island until after 4pm which left us very little time to shop in
Zihuatanejo. I would like to return to this town someday to spend more time
shopping here. Enjoyed drinks on the Lido deck as we pulled away. Played
blackjack all evening.

Fri 10/28: Manzanillo

Woke to the smell of diesel fumes and the sound of train whistles, cargo
ships, tug boats, cranes, and loud, constant, heavy machinery. This is an
industrial shipping port. I can't tell if the poor visibility is caused by
haze or pollution - I bet it's pollution. Since we docked at 7am and didn't
leave the ship until almost 11am, we had no trouble debarking and
immediately catching a cab. For $10 we took a 30 minute cab ride to Las
Hadas - a beautiful luxury resort that looks out over the bay. For $25
(entrance fee) they give you 10 25-Peso coupons. Don't expect these coupons
to go very far as a pitcher of margaritas will set you back 450 Pesos! They
gave us a much more favorable rate when we ran out of coupons and used USD
instead. Eg: 3 beers for $10 USD vs. 2 beers for 100 Pesos (in coupons). That
sucks. But we had a great time getting drunk here. Drink service here (for
cruise ship passengers) ranges from slow to non-existent. If you want
service you must go to the bar yourself! The service is also slow at the bar
so I recommend ordering a lot of drinks and having them pack them in ice in
buckets. Take these back to your lounge chairs and you are set for a while.
The facilities here are clean and modern. The people are pleasant and
friendly. Some of our friends went to the public beach (by the flea market)
and said that the beach was nice and the food and drinks were much more
reasonably priced. We briefly stopped in the old downtown area on our way
back to the ship and, like Zihuatanejo, wish we had more time to explore and
shop here. From our cabin we watched the Crystal Harmony sail out and we
soon followed. Dozens of locals lined the rocky harbor and waved as we
sailed off. We very much enjoyed this stop.

Sat 10/29:

This was the radio station's 20th anniversary listeners cruise and we were
treated to wonderful slide show in the pharaohs palace that highlighted the
events of these cruises over the last 20 years. Afterwards from our balcony
we witnessed a shark traveling with the ship just under the water surface. I
don't know what kind of shark it was, but it was at least twice as big as
the dolphins we were seeing. Wow. Another formal night. This time we made
sure to take lots of pictures. The ship was very crowded with people trying
to have their pictures taken. Returned to the dining room this evening and
the service very good once again. I didn't care for the prime rib, but
others in our group thought that it was very good.

Sun 10/30:

Woke to a windy, chilly morning. Whitecaps everywhere. Again dozens of
dolphins were swimming and jumping all around the ship. Debarkation
presentation. Watched the ship building competition finals at the dome
pool - what a hoot! The winning vessel was able to carry 8 buckets of beer
without sinking! The losing ship was much smaller, but the detail such as
the bikini mast was much more entertaining. Luggage out tonight. Closed down
the casino, and witnessed a woman walk up to play the last hand of blackjack
de***** She put down $100 and got a blackjack! Wow.

Mon 10/31:

Debarkation was a piece of cake. The ship seemed much more friendly on
debarkation morning than what we experienced on the Victory 3 years ago.
Unlike on the Victory the great service continued on our last morning. The
dining room staff and room stewards didn't suddenly forget who we were.
Everything was very organized and it was not crowded around the lower decks.
We had several hours to kill, so we were able to drop our luggage off at a
local hotel while we explored San Diego. Some of use toured the USS Midway
while others ventured off to Little Italy. A nice day. Final note: The
takeoff from the San Diego airport is the steepest ascent I've ever
experienced.