Carnival SPIRIT to Mexican Riviera

[Texas Moomba]

My wife and I are planning to take the Spirit on the 9 day Mexican Riviera cruise in November. We took the 7 day on the Splendor back in January 2010. Rained most of the time and was cold. Would like information and even some photos on the ship would be appreciated.

Would also like to know any info on the two days in Cabo. Can you stay ashore on the first night? How come there is 12 hours between Cabo and La Paz?

Know the Spirit is smaller than the Conquest and the Splendor, the only two ships we've been on. Is the smaller ship nicer than the bigger ships? advantages, disadvantages.

[thankful2]

We did this cruise last month and loved it. The two days in Cabo were even better than I expected. It is not recommended to stay in port overnight since it is a tender port and if something should happen and the ship can't make it in the next day - you are on your own. We had a whale watching tour scheduled for the first day but left the second day open so we could just decide what we wanted to do once we saw the port. After the boat trip we shopped and went to Cabo Wabo. That was my husband's "must do" - a blast back to his old rocker days. The second day we ended up using Blue Baja to take us on a tour to the arches, lover's beach, and the sea lions.

As far as the Spirit, we loved the size of the ship. In fact we are booked on the Legend in September which is also a Spirit class ship. The public areas never seemed overcrowded and it was easy to find your way around. But then our only other ship was even smaller so....

We also loved Mazatlan. We went to the Mercado and then to Stone Island on our own. We felt completely safe the whole time even though there has been a lot of talk questioning the safety of Mazatlan.

You all will love it - have a great trip. Sorry no pictures but I lost my camera on the last day.

[GrandBistro]

January 2010 was very rainy; hopefully you'll encounter better weather in November.

 

I like the Spirit very much. I think she's a great size. I like the layout of the ship, with some public on lower decks and some on higher decks. I don't care for the outdoor movies on Lido deck and the Spirit class ships don't have that feature, so if you enjoy that, just be aware. Spirit has a large jacuzzi in the spa, which I also like. A nice treat for muscles after a workout in the gym. She doesn't have (unless it's been added) the upgraded, fee-based, spa features.

 

You can't spend the night in Cabo because they may not be able return the next day, if the sea conditions aren't favorable for tendering. The ship heads back out to international water for the night so that the casino can be open.

 

It doesn't take 12 hours to get from Cabo to La Paz, but they plan an itinerary based on a zillion things- hours they are allowed to dock or anchor in ports, how long it takes to get to the next port, how many hours they need the casino to be open, how many hours they want people on board spending money v. in port. Etc., etc.