Spirit Suite Life Was So Sweet (review 2/20-2/27)

[russianmom]

geeze you could have shared them with us you know? On the other hand we did enough for all of us, so guess it is better you didn't share. I might add, a few of our family enjoyed their booze a little too much a couple of nights.

 

Nita: Smiles

 

Haha! You were welcome to come by anytime!!!

Connor's teacher called me yesterday to tell me that Connor told her he got married to a girl named Abby while he was on the cruise!!!!;)

[newmexicoNita]

I had to chuckle about the complainers, we heard several of them as well while we were waiting to get off the ship in Roatan. Because we didn't decide to use Annabelle and didn't have a cruise booked via the ship we waited our turn. I finally said to a couple of young men, the crew was doing the best they could, when you get maybe 500 people with ship tours all trying to get off at the same time, with one or two gang planks it will take awhile, not to mention they did not expect to be tendering. this attitude is often what we see when people choose to post the negative reviews I think. Yes, things do happen and some things upset all of us, but just because we couldn't get off the ship at exactly the time and place we had planned wasn't a reason to come totally unglued.

 

Nita

[newmexicoNita]

Haha! You were welcome to come by anytime!!!

Connor's teacher called me yesterday to tell me that Connor told her he got married to a girl named Abby while he was on the cruise!!!!;)

 

thats too funny. Why aren't you at work?

 

Nita

[russianmom]

thats too funny. Why aren't you at work?

 

Nita

 

 

I am- I actually even came to my office today! I snuck on here to get my fix:p

[newmexicoNita]

I am- I actually even came to my office today! I snuck on here to get my fix:p

 

ok, you are excused!!!

[luv2c00k]

You guys are too funny! I must agree about getting your "fix". We don't even have another cruise booked yet I can't stay away from here.

 

We had many of the complainers on our excursion at Roatan. We did the Jolly Roger Catamaran and Gumbalima Park. We were about an hour late starting and did the Park first before the catamaran & snorkeling. From the way some were complaining you would have thought their entire life was ruined.

 

So cute - I didn't realize that Tim & I missed a wedding! We would have been there.

[newmexicoNita]

You guys are too funny! I must agree about getting your "fix". We don't even have another cruise booked yet I can't stay away from here.

 

We had many of the complainers on our excursion at Roatan. We did the Jolly Roger Catamaran and Gumbalima Park. We were about an hour late starting and did the Park first before the catamaran & snorkeling. From the way some were complaining you would have thought their entire life was ruined.

 

So cute - I didn't realize that Tim & I missed a wedding! We would have been there.

 

I just emailed Erica to let her know her daughter was married. I thought, along with her birthday party this Sat they may want to have a wedding shower.

 

Nita

[russianmom]

Hope this works...:confused:

 

https://picasaweb.google.com/109298756336431395839/Spirit2001?authkey=Gv1sRgCIT0oLDolbKKbw#

[HULA77]

Thank you for giving such a fun and detailed review, and for your beautiful pictures!!! I will be referring to these pages frequently up until and even after our 4/3 Spirit cruise!

[roger001]

Hope this works...:confused:

 

https://picasaweb.google.com/109298756336431395839/Spirit2001?authkey=Gv1sRgCIT0oLDolbKKbw#

 

Just looked at your pics. The mayan ruins guy...that's Valentino. He was our guide last year and great. I see his scar is healing. When we met him, he had I believe 25 stiches from about his eye down his face, trying to keep a big bandage over it, which kept falling off. In conversation with him we kinda determined it was a love interest gone wrong.

[klingoncruiser]

Thanks for the wonderful review. We leave next Sunday.:D

[russianmom]

Just looked at your pics. The mayan ruins guy...that's Valentino. He was our guide last year and great. I see his scar is healing. When we met him, he had I believe 25 stiches from about his eye down his face, trying to keep a big bandage over it, which kept falling off. In conversation with him we kinda determined it was a love interest gone wrong.

 

 

Yes that is Valentino! he was great and even played some traditional Mayan music for us.

 

We enjoyed this cruise very much and as soon as I get done with work, unpacking and laundry I will finsih the last 2 days of the review.

[luv2c00k]

Damara - love your pictures. Especially the ones of Connor. Wish we were back on the ship. :(

[russianmom]

Just looked at your pics. The mayan ruins guy...that's Valentino. He was our guide last year and great. I see his scar is healing. When we met him, he had I believe 25 stiches from about his eye down his face, trying to keep a big bandage over it, which kept falling off. In conversation with him we kinda determined it was a love interest gone wrong.

 

 

Yes that is Valentino! He was great and even played some traditional Mayan music for us.

 

We enjoyed this cruise very much and as soon as I get done with work, unpacking and laundry I will finish the last 2 days of the review.

[russianmom]

DAY 6- SEA DAY

Tried to sleep a little late today. Breakfast at Cagney’s- delicious as usual.

Back to the room to try to get a little organized while Connor went to kid’s club for a pirate parade/treasure hunt. There was another Texas Hold’Em Tournament at 11 that my husband was in. I went to get Connor for a swim but the kid’s pool was closed ( 2nd time of the trip- due to an accident) so I sat outside at Raffles terrace for an hour and read- very peaceful.

Met my husband for lunch at Cagney’s- he had the Ahi tuna burger again. I had the kosher roast chicken (it was delicious) and the fatoush salad. Connor had crab cakes.

Back to kid’s club and we headed off to the French wine and cheese tasting at Champagne Charlie’s ($15/each). This was WELL WORTH EVERY PENNY! We had 2 whites a rose and 2 reds. They were VERY generous with the pours and if you liked any particular one they kept refilling your glass. The host was Nestor (head sommelier) and his asst Peter and Francisco. We also had 4 or 5 cheeses and a few other things to make taste comparisons (salt, lemon, cherry). We had a great time. They also had Beer and Martini ones for $15 later in the day.

Blackjack tournament final qualifying rounds started at 3pm. I also noticed that there was a second murder mystery lunch (I missed this as well) and another pub crawl.

I headed into the Stardust to watch the International Crew Talent Show. There were some good performers especially a singer from (?- I’ve forgotten already) they ended with “Fountains” which was pretty clever!!

We had an early dinner scheduled at Cagney’s along with Connor’s third birthday cake. The lovely staff that had been waiting on us all week at breakfast and lunch had decorated our table for Connor!!! They were so warm and friendly all week we made sure to give each of them an extra tip at the end of dinner for all of their hard work all week. I had the wedge salad and filet mignon and my husband had ceasar salad and a porterhouse. My son had ?salmon?

Everyone came by to sing including all of the chefs!!! My son then rushed off to kid’s club for the pj party.

We really wanted to go to “The Perfect Couple” at 8:30 in Galaxy but had no packed a single thing. So we went back to the cabin shoved everything every which way we could into our bags- We were staying over in NOLA so knew we could organize it better Sunday night.

I had asked for a meeting with Prem the hotel director as I wanted him to know how happy we were and also let him know about some staff members that we felt had really gone above and beyond. I had also written about 7 or 8 style cards but just wanted to thank him in person. Him and Mark, the F&B director, spent about 20 minutes talking to us.

We sat out on our balcony with our wine and soft serve ice cream and DELICIOUS crepes (from the buffet) and enjoyed our final night of bliss. We could see all of the oil rigs as we were getting closer to the Mississippi.

When we went to get our son we found our Butler and Steward for tips and thank yous. We also tipped the Kid’s Crew as they were spectacular all week.

Put our luggage out ( we had gold VIP tags) and off to bed. We could tell when we entered the river as the engine vibrations started!!

DAY 7 DISEMBARKATION

SAD, SAD, SAD.:(:(:( We slept late and were grateful to not feel rushed. Belle had told us at dinner that we could get off as early or late as we wanted and to just call her when we were ready.

We headed down to Cagney’s for our last breakfast. Sad goodbyes to everyone. We walked past the line for self- disembarkation and it looked like a zoo!! The line was from the atrium all the way back to Stardust.

About 9:30 we called Belle and let her know we were ready to leave. She told us to meet her in Henry’s Pub again. We also gave her a generous tip for all her assistance the entire week

She walked us right to the front of the line our the door and down the gangplank. She then walked us all the way out to where the VIP luggage was and ( as I had read on CC) we got a porter and the 2 of them took us right to the front of the Custom’s line. This to me was worth the price of the suite!!

The porter took us outside and to the front of the cab line. We tipped him $20

Headed back to Drury Inn for our last night. I feel like this makes the transition to home slightly less traumatic. Dropped off our luggage and ran into Luv2cook- who my son has adopted as his best friends.

We walked into the French Quarter and went to Café Du Monde. Did a lot of walking/sightseeing.

Had lunch at Magnolia Grill- a muffaletta ( it was huge and the 3 of us sat in Jackson Park and ate it).

Walking back to the hotel we saw Canal St was closed off for a parade so we decided to stay and watch. This was the Krewe of Carrollton. We stood there about an hour watch marching bands and floats and collected literally 30 lbs of beads plastic cups and stuffed animals!!!!!

Back to the hotel for a swim and dinner at Mulate’s. Delicious Cajun food and live music- my son danced the entire time. We got take out to bring home.

I won’t bore you with any further details but we flew home the following morning- no issues except that in our haste to get to the airport and park the previous week we had mistakenly(unbeknownst to us until Monday upon our return) parked in a short term parking lot……

THE BILL WAS $330….. we could have gone r/t in a limo for that price!!!!!!!:mad:

As soon as we got home we used 1 of our cruise rewards and booked this same trip for next year.

I have all of the dailies and some other things such as spa pricing etc but it will probably take me the rest of my life to figure out how to scan it!!!!

[Sauer-kraut]

OP

I am amazed that you have a great, adventerous food eater in your son. Kudos to you and your husband for creating a well balanced diner. I see what my neice and nephew eat and think their parents need to broaden their horizons in the meal department. We were never catered to as to the meal my mother prepared and hence, I think we were better off for it.

 

I have travelled with a friend's neice and all she ever ordered for meals were chicken tender type things in every restaurant, this girl just turned 20. I just shake my head in wonder that people are so unwilling to branch out and try other things.

[russianmom]

OP

I am amazed that you have a great, adventerous food eater in your son. Kudos to you and your husband for creating a well balanced diner. I see what my neice and nephew eat and think their parents need to broaden their horizons in the meal department. We were never catered to as to the meal my mother prepared and hence, I think we were better off for it.

 

I have travelled with a friend's neice and all she ever ordered for meals were chicken tender type things in every restaurant, this girl just turned 20. I just shake my head in wonder that people are so unwilling to branch out and try other things.

 

 

My husband and I are both "foodies" and have always encouraged him to try everything even if it's just a bite or two. He is actually kind of insulted if he is offered a children's menu!!! Although he really did like the "children's size buffet" on the Jewel and Dawn.

 

He now is a great eater and I really can't think of too many things he does not like.I feel the same way about some of the children of my friends who only eat junk food or McDonald's and refuse to even taste anything not coated in breading:eek:

[newmexicoNita]

DAY 6- SEA DAY

Tried to sleep a little late today. Breakfast at Cagney’s- delicious as usual.

Back to the room to try to get a little organized while Connor went to kid’s club for a pirate parade/treasure hunt. There was another Texas Hold’Em Tournament at 11 that my husband was in. I went to get Connor for a swim but the kid’s pool was closed ( 2nd time of the trip- due to an accident) so I sat outside at Raffles terrace for an hour and read- very peaceful.

Met my husband for lunch at Cagney’s- he had the Ahi tuna burger again. I had the kosher roast chicken (it was delicious) and the fatoush salad. Connor had crab cakes.

Back to kid’s club and we headed off to the French wine and cheese tasting at Champagne Charlie’s ($15/each). This was WELL WORTH EVERY PENNY! We had 2 whites a rose and 2 reds. They were VERY generous with the pours and if you liked any particular one they kept refilling your glass. The host was Nestor (head sommelier) and his asst Peter and Francisco. We also had 4 or 5 cheeses and a few other things to make taste comparisons (salt, lemon, cherry). We had a great time. They also had Beer and Martini ones for $15 later in the day.

Blackjack tournament final qualifying rounds started at 3pm. I also noticed that there was a second murder mystery lunch (I missed this as well) and another pub crawl.

I headed into the Stardust to watch the International Crew Talent Show. There were some good performers especially a singer from (?- I’ve forgotten already) they ended with “Fountains” which was pretty clever!!

We had an early dinner scheduled at Cagney’s along with Connor’s third birthday cake. The lovely staff that had been waiting on us all week at breakfast and lunch had decorated our table for Connor!!! They were so warm and friendly all week we made sure to give each of them an extra tip at the end of dinner for all of their hard work all week. I had the wedge salad and filet mignon and my husband had ceasar salad and a porterhouse. My son had ?salmon?

Everyone came by to sing including all of the chefs!!! My son then rushed off to kid’s club for the pj party.

We really wanted to go to “The Perfect Couple” at 8:30 in Galaxy but had no packed a single thing. So we went back to the cabin shoved everything every which way we could into our bags- We were staying over in NOLA so knew we could organize it better Sunday night.

I had asked for a meeting with Prem the hotel director as I wanted him to know how happy we were and also let him know about some staff members that we felt had really gone above and beyond. I had also written about 7 or 8 style cards but just wanted to thank him in person. Him and Mark, the F&B director, spent about 20 minutes talking to us.

We sat out on our balcony with our wine and soft serve ice cream and DELICIOUS crepes (from the buffet) and enjoyed our final night of bliss. We could see all of the oil rigs as we were getting closer to the Mississippi.

When we went to get our son we found our Butler and Steward for tips and thank yous. We also tipped the Kid’s Crew as they were spectacular all week.

Put our luggage out ( we had gold VIP tags) and off to bed. We could tell when we entered the river as the engine vibrations started!!

DAY 7 DISEMBARKATION

SAD, SAD, SAD.:(:(:( We slept late and were grateful to not feel rushed. Belle had told us at dinner that we could get off as early or late as we wanted and to just call her when we were ready.

We headed down to Cagney’s for our last breakfast. Sad goodbyes to everyone. We walked past the line for self- disembarkation and it looked like a zoo!! The line was from the atrium all the way back to Stardust.

About 9:30 we called Belle and let her know we were ready to leave. She told us to meet her in Henry’s Pub again. We also gave her a generous tip for all her assistance the entire week

She walked us right to the front of the line our the door and down the gangplank. She then walked us all the way out to where the VIP luggage was and ( as I had read on CC) we got a porter and the 2 of them took us right to the front of the Custom’s line. This to me was worth the price of the suite!!

The porter took us outside and to the front of the cab line. We tipped him $20

Headed back to Drury Inn for our last night. I feel like this makes the transition to home slightly less traumatic. Dropped off our luggage and ran into Luv2cook- who my son has adopted as his best friends.

We walked into the French Quarter and went to Café Du Monde. Did a lot of walking/sightseeing.

Had lunch at Magnolia Grill- a muffaletta ( it was huge and the 3 of us sat in Jackson Park and ate it).

Walking back to the hotel we saw Canal St was closed off for a parade so we decided to stay and watch. This was the Krewe of Carrollton. We stood there about an hour watch marching bands and floats and collected literally 30 lbs of beads plastic cups and stuffed animals!!!!!

Back to the hotel for a swim and dinner at Mulate’s. Delicious Cajun food and live music- my son danced the entire time. We got take out to bring home.

I won’t bore you with any further details but we flew home the following morning- no issues except that in our haste to get to the airport and park the previous week we had mistakenly(unbeknownst to us until Monday upon our return) parked in a short term parking lot……

THE BILL WAS $330….. we could have gone r/t in a limo for that price!!!!!!!:mad:

As soon as we got home we used 1 of our cruise rewards and booked this same trip for next year.

I have all of the dailies and some other things such as spa pricing etc but it will probably take me the rest of my life to figure out how to scan it!!!!

 

great reveiw, but that parking bill: WOW!! I thought you were going to say your bill on the ship was $330 and I was about to ask you how you pulled that one off?

 

Nita

[russianmom]

great reveiw, but that parking bill: WOW!! I thought you were going to say your bill on the ship was $330 and I was about to ask you how you pulled that one off?

 

Nita

 

 

OMG Nita I almost flipped my lid!!!!

What a sucky way to end a great 10 days.....

 

I wish our cruise bill was anywhere near $300:eek:

[maximusprime22]

Sorry for the bump, but thanks for this review. We'll be on the Star but also going to those ports in the Western Caribbean, so I found the review very helpful.

[Lena B]

Great review! We look forward to sailing with you next year!

[russianmom]

Sorry for the bump, but thanks for this review. We'll be on the Star but also going to those ports in the Western Caribbean, so I found the review very helpful.

 

 

Glad I could help! I'd be glad to answer any questions you might have.

[russianmom]

Great review! We look forward to sailing with you next year!

 

 

Thanks Lena! Can't wait to meet you and Dan- not sure how I am going to make it 321 more days though!!!!

[terrymtex01]

OP.. Fantastic review. We will be going on the Spirit in the same stateroom you had.. Not until this Nov though.. UGH.. Seems like SO LONG away. We are SO excited to be going aboard the Spirit as we have always read so much about her crew and the ship itself.

 

The entire time we were reading your review I kept thinking how lucky your DS is to have parents who focused on his excitement during the cruise. What wonderful memories you are building for him. Memories that will last his lifetime. He seems like a really neat kid.

 

I did have one question for you. Is there reserved seating for the theater for Penthouse guests or only for the OS?

[russianmom]

Belle, our concierge, asked if we wanted to go to any shows to let her know and she would take us- I took that to mean reserved seats...:confused:

 

The few times we went we just walked in and found seats. I'm not too fussy about where I sit and prefer to be close to an exit in case I need to leave for whatever reason (if it's hot I can get a little claustraphobic, kid's crew looking for me etc). Our cruise did not seem as crowded as previous ones I have been on.

 

I'm SOOOOOO jealous you are going in Nov- be sure to let us know how about any dry dock changes. We really wanted this room again next year and even changed our week already but the best we could do was the middle suite. We likes the "hallway" before entering the living room as oppossed to the door opening right into the room.

 

Our son is very special to us- we adopted him from Russia 2 years ago and he has had tremendous medical challenges since coming home (including 3 open heart surgeries and a pacemaker). We cherish every minute with him and we love traveling (esp cruising) and are so glad he does as well!!!

At school and the YMCA he is known as "the mayor" because he is so outgoing and engages everyone he meets.:D