sun-set

I found the garish decor in the main lounge on the Pacific Sun bad enough. It was there from her previous incarnation as the Carnival Jubilee.

I liked the Pacific Sun, the show lounge was bright and cheerful.

I can't say the same for the Spirit to enter the balcony area of the show lounge you pass gilt sarcophagi, great if you like the weird but not at all cheerful.

Although the Sun was previously a Carnival ship it was much better designed. Although older.

I really don't want to put anyone off cruising on the Spirit it is really worth the experience, we enjoyed it despite my criticism.:)

I don't think it would matter which cruise/cruiseline the OP was on, have a feeling there still would have been a negative review. :eek:

I think that is a little harsh, I enjoyed the Spirit but I didn't have the flu or

norovirus.:confused:

I believe the original poster has been on other lines without posting any negative reviews.:)

There is a big difference between the Spirit and the other ships sailing from Australia in both decor and overall management, some love the novelty of the strange decor and being constantly told you are having fun!!! Some think it was more fun on P&O and Princess but they forgot to tell you all the time.:)

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.

We cruised on the Spirit (May - June) and agree with many of your complaints regarding the Spirit. I feel however your experience was clouded by health issues, and it would be a shame to put other people off trying a short cruise and enjoying a different experience, especially those already booked.

Boarding in poor health was very unfortunate it would have caused your immune system to be low, making you much more vulnerable to any bugs other people had brought onboard such as Norovirus, I wonder if some poor cruisers caught colds or flu !!!

We thought the cabins were quite spacious compared to Princess and about the same size as P&O. Our cabin was 8108 it was very quiet except for our first morning, very early we were awakened by a thumping sound above, some heavy footed person keeping fit, bless them, fortunately it was the only occasion. The only other problem was a loud whistling noise, it was the air conditioning pressure escaping through a poor seal on the balcony door,tooth pics helped!! One reason for our cruise on the Spirit was too experience a balcony at a reasonable cost and we didn't regret doing so.

The ships decor was gaudy but interesting for the first couple of days, then it became claustrophobic, especially the Atrium which is just a giant shaft, I guess the design is supposed to impress but not the heart of the ship as on P&O and Princess ships.

The Jungle area is a nice place to relax, I wasn't keen on the serenity area with the black domes blocking views and taking up so much space for so few people, especially as most of them just contained cruisers towels etc.

There wasn't a show put on by the crew, always fun on P&O and

Princess, or balloon drop, champagne waterfall, etc.

If Stu would stop saying what a fun ship it is and arranged events to make it as much fun as other lines I think the Spirit would be much better.

The food was not as good as we have had on other cruises, but the main complaint would be the buffet which is poorly designed causing confusion, however they did provide pizza at any time and put on a bit of a show preparing them, also cappuccino, hot chocolate and ice cream was available at any time from machines, free of charge.

The dining room was very nice, with a choice of any time dining, or traditional first and second sitting, a showtime every evening, I think the children especially loved it.

The problem of allowing too many children for the staff to cope with is a big problem for both for the children and other passengers. On P&O and Princess the children have a great time as the staff have time for them, on the Spirit the majority of them just have to wander around looking after themselves, not good for anyone onboard. Despite this the children were very well behaved and were no worry unless you wanted to use the pools, or the spas which became known as kids soup.

Anyway I still think most people will have a great time especially if it is their first cruise, It might be worth taking ear plugs with you, The shows were very over amplified.

The Green Thunder is great I had five exciting trips down, well D.W. kept missing the shots that would prove I had braved it.

Despite all I've said we were glad of the experience and did enjoy the cruise, We will probably not cruise with Carnival again but that is a personal thing. I'm sure many other cruisers will be looking forward to their next cruise on the Spirit, and everyone should try it at least once.

I would like to see the daily tips become non-removable!! Then those who are cheap will either have to pay the tips or not cruise with Royal Caribbean.

If tips are non removable they are no longer tips but an extra charge!!!!!