mattson

on the last cruise I took on the spirit, I saw they used a milk brand known as "caterers choice" it's trademarked by Bidvest corp... and that's pretty much all you'll find on google about that...

I have friends in the dairy industry, and as soon as I mentioned "caterers choice" they scoffed and referred to it as "outsourced milk" - milk powder from 3rd parties (mostly o/s) reconstituted with water and bottled for bulk sales...

it's probably used everywhere and you'd not know it... but just the idea of it seems gross...

it's disappointing really, back in the days when the Spirit first came 'down-under' they spruiked Australian brand support, and I remember them using "Dairy Farmers" brand which I liked, cause it's the brand we use at home all the time.

anyways, my 2c

pardon the pun, but it seemed appropriate.

whether you're fore or against the development of a Cruise ship terminal on the Gold Coast, it seems the leading proposal by the ASF consortium has been sunk by QLD Labor premier.

Breaking News: Cruise Ship Terminal Dead

Even though it was only going to be a "stop-over" port, would have still enjoyed seeing the big ships near the Gold Coast.

Here's hoping the Brisbane proposal gets its finger out.

we stayed here:

http://www.bbsydneyharbour.com.au/

very rustic little place, we had a room with 2 beds, a little patio, fridge, tv, free wifi and a hot breakfast/cereals/toast etc in the morning.

I'm pretty sure it came in at $240 a night, it has a view to the OPT and was <10 minutes walk (all down hill)

Next cruise out of Sydney, we're definitely staying there again.

my 2c on the Carnival Spirit since my first cruise on her in 2013... in a nutshell, the old white, blue & red mare ain't what she used to be.

First noticeable change I saw upon boarding was the twin "good eats" bar in the buffet, where both offered the same food at both stations... in 2013 one of those two stations was a different station, changing daily with themed food of the day. This time around the food in the buffet was bland and repetitive, Asian and Indian was the predominant selection at "good eats" and "snags and pies" offered slightly overgrown party pies full of mostly air and a smattering of filling. The only saving grace for lunchtime meals was Jimmy's C-Side BBQ, the food here was 100 times better and tasted fresher by far. Pulled Pork & BBQ Yard bird easily rated better than anything served in the Lido buffet.

I remember the buffet in 2013 offering infinitely more variety, and I never once walked around the buffet stations thinking, there is literally nothing here I want to eat, as I did at least every second day on the 2015 sailing.

Walking around the lido "La Playa Grille" is equally as disappointing, the place has almost gone into disrepair... tables with peeling or missing lacquer, frayed and peeling vinyl on the chairs, lights out all over the place and the finish on the walls, railings, doors, windows etc. all showing signs of hundreds of thousands of people trampling around in the last 3 years. The worst of all in the buffet area was one section completely closed off due to what appeared to be a leak in the ceiling (bubbled paint and water stained panels above) causing wet carpet and chairs which was not addressed throughout the cruise...

The Gym area was equally as bad, all the fitness machines, stationary bikes, treadmills and the like were in terrible shape in 2015, the handles completely worn down to the metal from overuse, the running board on the treadmills also worn away to a slick finish with little grip even with running shoes, and the touchscreen controllers virtually non-responsive to anything except a sledgehammer "touch"

Several hand sanitation stations were empty and never refilled, even after I alerted the crew, more than once... this to me is the ultimate cruise faux pas.

The whirlpools on the lido deck were also in bad shape, the fibreglass around the rim of the pools exposed and fraying... with kids pulling it and playing with it delaminating it further, I had to remind the kids in our group not to touch it, having worked with fibreglass in the past I know how nasty it is when it gets in your skin.

lastly, in terms of general look and feel of the ship, she certainly creaked a lot more than I remember, even in calm seas... the water was "turned off" for repairs twice, and even workman removed several ceiling panels in the aft elevator lobby on day 2 of our cruise, and were working on them throughout that day... however after the stopped working, the panels never got refitted and a whole section of about 30 tiles were just open the remainder of the cruise.

It might be nit-picking to some, but it's all the things I noticed instantly that I wasn't expecting to see and was confused how they could be left to go so wrong...

As a family man, travelling with a group consisting of 2 other families, we had 4 children in our collective, and I was still surprised to overhear people whinging about carnival letting on so many families, with one snide remark "they must have had a special on family rooms, so all these "breeders" could get tickets"

-----

Overall I don't feel this made my cruise experience on the Carnival Spirit a bad one, as I certainly made the most of it at every chance, even with 58 knot winds and high seas on our first sea day that kept a lot of people in their cabins and a change in itinerary, we still had a great holiday.

Would I go on the Carnival Spirit again? Maybe, if the refurbishment in Singapore later in the year addresses the "aging" factor of the ship, as opposed to just adding more stuff to mask the obvious.

I haven't been on an RCI cruise, nor a P&O one... so my only other basis for comparison is the NCL Pride of America, and as far as an overall cruise it was definitely different strokes for different folks.

I would consider the RCI Ovation of the Seas, like many others probably are... but for me it would be purely on the itinerary factors, as I don't mind paying good money if the experience is good.

After just returning back on the Carnival Spirit from the 18/03/2015 12 Night itinerary, I can say I hope they address more than just the new items.

The spirit has dated very poorly since my last cruise in 2013, her deck chairs are faded and frayed, the lido buffet's chairs and tables are in the same deteriorated condition, the spa bath's have fibreglass hanging out everywhere from overuse, the hand rails lacquer is peeling in all the stair wells we used, the gym equipment is practically ready to be thrown out, the touch screens don't work and the handle buttons are torn off...

I could go on and on, but alls I can say is I'd want to see proof of refurbishment, rather than simple upgrades, before I took another cruise on the Spirit.

my 2c

Matt

...I have access to an "endless" supply of departure cards if you would like some sent to you...

Thanks mate, I think we've since got some sorted, but I'm waiting to hear back from a member of our group who was supposedly picking some up from the T/A.

We're in a big group (20) so at a "minute" a pop for adults, then the several kids and the other health forms we'll need to fill out, that still eats into our boarding time, and we want to be as efficient as possible.

I'll keep y'all posted :)

Thanks Everyone, I've got a lead on a travel agent that has some nearby.

I'll report back how I go :)

Hi All,

As I'm getting close to my sail-away date on my next cruise, I was wondering if anyone knows of where one could get an Outgoing Passenger Card: (THIS)

Before arrival at the OPT?

I want to ensure our boarding goes as smooth as possible, I remember my last departure from the OPT we spent about 10 minutes in line waiting for the line for pens to fill out the cards.

It would be great to have them completed so we can just walk right in ;)

Any help appreciated.

Cheers,

Matt

not helpful, but we got ours on the day, and we got there around 11am.

If you can time it between shows (I can't recall how often they show the movie), we got our tickets just as another one had gone in, so there wasn't anyone standing around waiting, we had some time to kill after that, so we just checked out pearl harbour, then came back 10 minutes before show time.

Good luck.

Matt

Hi All,

This is my second cruise to the south pacific, but first time visiting Vanuatu & Fiji. My itinerary takes us to:

Noumea, New Caledonia; 21/03

Mystery Island, Vanuatu; 22/03

Port Denarau, Fiji; 24/03

Suva, Fiji; 25/03

Isle of Pines, New Caledonia; 27/03

We were thinking about taking the bus tour around the town of Noumea and out to its external reaches, we've done it before, but now our daughter is a bit older... she might enjoy the sight-seeing and get more out of it, following lunch, we were planning a visit to the aquarium, and if time a look around the shops.

If there is something better to do - I'm all ears.

Open to all suggestions for Mystery Island, Port Denarau and Suva, never been to any of them... would very much like to do something relatively cost effective, to get the most out of the experience.

As we return to the Isle of Pines, I don't remember there being much to do there other than a snorkel around mushroom island...? but if there is something else of significance, again, love to hear it.

Cheers,

Matt

most players have shuttle buses that pick you up at the docks, and later drop you off again.

we used enterprise in Maui, hired a 5 seater SUV (GMC Terrain LTX) for $199.

we used enterprise again in Hilo, hired another 5 seater SUV (Chevy Captiva) for $139

we didn't hire a car in Kona as we were told there wasn't much value in it.

we used Alamo in Kauai, hired a minivan (Chrysler Town & Country) for $129

hope this helps?

Cheers,

Matt

It's not exactly near the airport or the cruise terminal (comparatively to other hotels)

but we stayed at the Aston Sunset hotel in Waikiki: http://www.astonwaikikisunset.com/

If you get a ocean view room on a higher floor, you get a spectacular view:

Diamond head/Honolulu zoon to the left (yes you can even see the elephants from your balcony)

Waikiki beach swimming pool is just in front of you (5 minute walk) as well as some top end food outlets/restaurants

I think it took us 25 minutes to get from the airport to the hotel with multiple drop offs on a shared bus in peak hour morning traffic and it's about 10-12 minutes to the cruise pier at lunch time in a taxi.

Good luck!

is that the *something* pig? (google tells me it's the Feral Pig Tavern)

Yes, I didn't drink there myself - but we did stop in for a look, the local free trolley driver also raved heavily about it, if I recall... even our GPS guided tour referred to it.

Cheers,

Matt

great review - making me very nostalgic and sad at the same time.

makes me want to pull my finger out and finish my pictorial review too!

keep up the good work! can't wait to see what you got up to on day 2+ of the cruise :)

The fitness centre does have free-weights (from small to large weight) as well as the assisted machines. It was definitely up to par of my expectations.

As others have said, this is a "busy" cruise, a lot to see and limited time to see it.

We found the shopping mall just down the road of Maui wasn't too bad for killing time - and the food outlets weren't to shabby.

there is also a beach within walking distance (though it's a longer walk) visible from the top decks of the boat - out towards the airport.

the same in Kauai - the beach is like "just there" a 5 minute trip on the free trolleys... was quiet calm for swimming for the kids too.

Kona as others have said was swim accessible from the tender.

Hilo will beat you though, there isn't anything nearby to the port

are pre-booked shore excursions out for y'all?

you can do them through the NCL portal... I think you need your booking number and the full name attached to the booking as well as the date and you can log on - it's quiet user friendly.

Cheers,

Matt

You have about the same age spread as us - give or take a few years.

We flew to Waikiki, stayed 4 nights, did sight seeing around Waikiki day one and a bit of sleep catch up.

Did pearl harbor day 2 and Waikiki beach in the afternoon.

Then did the "north shore turtle tour" on day 3 - KC in his "fun bus" picked us up at about 7am, stopped at the blow hole, macadamia nut farm, the park outside kualoa ranch (china mans hat) lunch at a shrimp shack, swimming with the Turtles, and dole whip/pineapple farm in the afternoon, back about 4-4:30pm (other stuff in between, just listing the highlights).

Day 4 we did some shopping and then hung out by the pool in our hotel and then onto the beach again in the afternoon

Day 5 We went to the Waikiki aquarium and checked out of the hotel before boardin the Pride of America and then you can read about that in my review on my sig block.

Post Cruise - we did the Honolulu Zoo on the second last day (day 12 I think)

Day 13 we hired a car and drove back around to Kualoa Ranch, we did the movie site tour, and had lunch on-site... did a little bit of driving around that side of Oahu, then returned the car in Waikiki.

Day 14 was an early rise and over to the airport.

I think it was a good balance of site-seeing and relaxing... time runs faster in Hawaii, I'm sure of it... the days seemed to fly by - maybe because we were having too much fun.

Sure we would have liked to do a few more, but that's what return visits are for right??

Enjoy!

Matt

we went on the bus from Waikiki to Pearl - 5 people, cost <$10 - took a good hour or there about...

check your bags at the gate and as others said, buy your bus shuttle to the mighty mo when you arrive... I think the buses to and from pearl --> Mis run every 30 minutes (correct me if I'm wrong)

Good luck - it's definitely a worth while trip!

we found this place - it's right near the Marriot at 2446 Koa Ave... easy to find!

Blazin' Steaks Waikiki

Shrimp and steak was mind blowing!!

Absolutely!! agreed, +1, etc!

it's not much further up the road either... but the view from the top is mind blowing!!!

The Waimea canyons are spectacular on their own:

Waimea Canyon

and then you get the Na Pali cliffs, simply awesome!:

Na Pali Cliffs from Above

like something out of the movies!

Cheers,

Matt!

so much to see in one day!

I don't know if you can whirlwind places like Pearl or Waikiki...

we spent a few hours at pearl taking it all in, but I guess it's whether you just want to look and move on, or check everything out...?

Waikiki beach is nice to see and admire and has a particularly beautiful sunset:

We did the hire car thing, but as others said - traffic can be nasty!

we did the north shore turtle tour... though it left at like 7am... so it's probably out for you guys..

try the Roberts Hawaii tours - they specialize in the cruise based tour schedule!

Enjoy - Hawaii is a beautiful place... can't wait to go back!

Cheers,

Matt

Thanks for the great advice guys :)

I'll look into those options!

Cheers,

Matt

Hi All,

Just wondering if any ones (local or experienced) has any suggestions for long term secure parking suggestions for cruises departing from Sydney.

our first thought was to drive in and park at the airport, but it's still a ways away from the harbor, and taxi fare will be pretty ouch!

when I google long term parking near the harbor I end up at the wilson type garages who seem to only charge by the day, and I found a few threads elsewhere about people claiming some of those types of garages are regularly scouted by theives looking for the cars that don't leave and get targetted accordingly.

Any help appreciated.

Cheers,

Matt

Like the others, my PoA cruise review is in my sig below.

TL;DR version - Really good cruise, plan tours/shore leave ahead of time (we winged it (bloody aussies) and missed several hours of each day), would do it again!

Un-TL;DR abridged version

Boarding was slow, and could have been a lot worse, had we not had expedited boarding via suite access.

Cabins were good, we had adjoining rooms on deck 7 aft, corner suite and extended balcony room, so it felt like one big 3 bedroom apartment with a huge balcony.

Food was exceptional in the dining rooms and steak house, buffet was pretty good, though some meals weren't to my liking (I blame my aussie tastes).

Staff were mostly pleasant, a few that went all out (Spencer on the aloha cafe top deck) though some pretty much just ignored us, and would look away if passing in the halls.

Locations - spectacular, but we still missed stuff that we should have gotten too (again, it's much bigger then it seems)

Enjoy it - I'd jump at the opportunity to do it again... I loved Hawaii, I can't wait to go back!

Cheers,

Matt

Thanks guys,

We've been told it's possible due to 4 of our number being kiddies that we'll try and squeeze the 11 of us on a large round table.

As for not being heard, we've got a few loud ones in our group, I don't think that'll be a problem :)

Thanks for all the feedback none the less.

Thanks again, I'm having the heads of the individual groups taking care of this now.

I'm guessing once that's done, it's up to the Carnival Spirit people to arrange tables etc for the group?

Anyone have any ideas for the biggest group table in the Spirit dining room, I've read the Spirit class can accommodate groups up to 12 people at a single table in the dining room... though I wouldn't imagine they'd have the need for a lot of these types of tables?

Can anyone on here speak up if they've had a big group on a spirit class ship and got everyone on the same table??

I'd like to know the possibilities so I can manage everyone's expectations...

thanks again :)