Back from the 4/10 Spirit!

[DiaDeGuadalupe]

Well, this was our 1st cruise with Carnival and our 2nd cruise overall and it was a great time!

 

Embarkation: super easy :) We got to the terminal at 11:30 and were onboard at noon.

 

The ship is pretty but showing signs of wear and tear (stained carpets, etc.). Overall it was really clean and the staff really nice. We had Luis as our cabin steward and he was great! I was bummed to hear, though, that he never got a chance to go ashore on our long day in Mazatlan. He was supposed to, but there was too much work to be done. Hopefuly he at least got to get to the little beer garden where the shuttle drops everyone off, that guy was always working and never lacked for a smile.

 

Casino: fun of course, but for us, the unlucky days were the first and last. We did fairly well on all the days in between, winning anywhere from 100-200 bucks each day. We lost some too, but that's the name of the game when you gamble. ;)

 

Food was decent, some stuff good, some stuff not so good. I went to Nouveau twice, once for girl's night out and once for a romantic dinner with my hubby. Loved it! *burp* I think it should be customary for the staff to have wheelbarrows to take the patrons out of the restaurant when they're done eating, they give you sooooo much food!

 

Our cabin was an extended balcony on the Verandah deck. Nothing to complain about there! There was lots of storage space for all of our stuff and it was nice to just sit on the balcony and watch the world go by. *sigh*

 

We played bingo a few times and lost. lol! "Calvyn with a Y" was the bingo caller and what a hoot he was! That boy's got personality!

 

We also got addicted to the art auctions. Well over half of our sail and sign was art but we also won 6 prints in the raffles! Now if we had won the Lotto, we would have come home with some of Chagall's and Erte's works, but that's another story entirely...

 

Anyway, on to the ports.

 

Cabo San Lucas: lots of jewelry stores and bar/restaurants. We ended up at the Office. Had some grilled lobster and shrimp cocktail and a couple of drinks. It was very relaxing and we would definitely hang out there again if we go back to Cabo :) Oh yeah, there were 3 ships tendered that day, it was us, the Norwegian Star, and the Vision of the Seas. A few people told me that it was uncommon to have 3 ships out there so I'm sure that had something to do with the prices of things.

 

La Paz: Before we got there, I got to see dolphins frolicking in the wake of the ship! I had gotten out of bed just before 6am so I sat on the balcony and heard a splashing sound that was different from the usual. I look over and there they were! There was even a baby who kept jumping and splashing on its back. It was really neat!

 

Originally we were to go to La Paz last but this port got flip-flopped with Mazatlan because there were going to be too many ships in Mazatlan had they kept the original schedule. The day was cut short by about 5 hours so we decided to skip going to Todos Santos for the day and hung out in town. I have to say that La Paz was our favorite port. It was small, clean, and charming. Not touristy at all and the prices reflected that, too! Hubby and I had breakfast there for about 10 bucks, then we walked to the mission, then to the local marketplace. From there we headed back toward the Malecon and hung out for a little bit before going back to the ship.

 

Mazatlan: We got there and found out that the Pride was there with us! The ships were back to back on the dock and of course there were jokes about the drunks getting on the wrong one at the end of the day ;)

 

Anyway, we went to Old Town first to see the cathedral and marketplace. They're restoring the cathedral and hopefully they can finish it soon. It'll be so beautiful! The marketplace was buzzing with activity, and it was fun to walk through and see all the different stuff that people were selling.

 

From there we went to the Golden Zone. Lots of restaurants, bars, and souvenir shops. We had lunch at a place called Mango's and let me tell you, if you're really hungry, try the seafood platter for 2. I think it shoud say for 2 elephants because it was HUGE. A guy in the booth behind us took pictures of the behemoth when it got to our table because it really was BIG. lol! Anyway, for about $34, we got oysters rockefeller, shish kebabs with fish, shrimp, and shimp wrapped with bacon, coconut shrimp, marinated fish, squid, octopus, shrimp, and mushrooms, and rice. Good stuff! We didn't even finish half of it, there was so much!

 

After lunch we just walked around and then went back to the ship. Hubby went back into town with a friend and they basically had a couple of beers and some tacos before coming back.

 

All in all, a nice port.

 

Debarkation: a breeze again! They did the colored tags thing and we were off the ship and through customs by 9am. I had heard that San Diego had "increased security measures" and was worried that we'd be waiting in line for a while. When we did the Bahamas, they barely glanced at our passports! Here, the lady looked at our passports and chit-chatted but that was it. No hassles at all :D

 

So that's it in a nutshell. We had a wonderful time and won't hesitate to cruise with Carnival again!

[tam-tam]

Hello. Glad to hear you had fun. I'll be on the Spirit next month. Do you recall who the Cruise Director was or who was playing in the piano bar? Thanks.

[DiaDeGuadalupe]

Jennie Baxter was the cruise director and she was funny :)

 

I don't know who was playing in the piano bar, though.

 

Hope you have a great cruise!

[phabric]

Will be on the Spirit cruising to Alaska in Sept. Is there any food that you would recommend or not recommend.

 

Is there an enclosed swimming pool.

 

How were the shows in the evenings.

[K.T.B.]

Yes, please tell us more about the ship! :)

[sgriff17]

Any other ideas for what to do in Cabo and Mazatlan? Did you talk to other pax that did some excursions? Curious b/c were going on the Pride in 4 weeks. :D

[DiaDeGuadalupe]

Let's see... In the main dining room, we liked the soups a lot (especially the pumpkin!). A friend of ours ordered the chilled strawberry soup for her toddler one night, and that was nice, too. The lobster was better at Nouveau, and if you like good cuts of beef, Nouveau wins hands down :D . As for desserts, the main dining room had a nice chocolate cake the last night, and there was a Grand Marnier souffle that was yummy according to the husband. At Nouveau, the desserts were good but sooooo rich! Do make reservations for Nouveau, you won't be dissapointed. Just be sure to be really hungry because they will literally stuff you!

 

I heard that a couple of the fish dishes were good. We had lunch in the dining room a couple of times, and I liked the sweet and sour stir fry. Hubby had the tuna baguette and liked it, too.

 

The buffet had a lot of different things. The deli had good sandwiches, lots of people liked the pizzeria, and I liked the chicken caesar that I got there (at the pizzeria). There was one station whose theme changed every day, so it's worth checking out.

 

One of the pools is domed but I never saw it closed. One thing I liked about the pools in general was that they had showers adjacent to them so you could wash off the salt water before going on your way :)

 

The shows were always packed. There was a comedian, a big band tribute, one night for musical show-tune type stuff, a guest talent show, the Not-So-Newlywed game (funny!)... One night my friend and I walked in to check out what was going on. There was a gospel number happening at that point. There seemed to be something for everyone.

 

As for activities in Cabo and Mazatlan, there were lots of things (boat tours, horseback riding, parasailing, snorkeling, etc.). Hubby and I didn't go on any excursions, though. This trip was all about us just enjoying each other's company :D . If you go to the destinations boards, check out the Mexican Riviera one. There will be a ton of info on tours, etc.

 

The ship itself is pretty. It itsn't too "loud", and the themes of the different areas don't clash with each other. I just wish that the staterooms had less orange in them. lol!

 

That's all I can think of for now but if something else pops into my head, I'll post it!

[lappy22]

DiaDeGuadalupe, we must have been neighbors on the Spirit. We were on deck 7 balcony and had Luis as our room steward as well. He did a great job. I loved the spirit. That class of ship is now my favorite. I liked how all the public rooms were layed out on decks 2 and 3. Easy to get around. My wife and I also did well in the casino. The first night I hit a $1 machine for $720 and I just kept going from there. Won about $2000 for the week, but of course put alot of that right back into the machines. You know you have spent way too much time in the casino when the hosts start comping you drinks. We still came home with more money then we started with. The casino manager told me that he hadn't seen a week with so many jackpots in a very long time. He said he was hoping to break even with all the winners. yeah right!

 

We enjoyed all the entertainment. Loved the jazz music in the Deco Lounge near the dinning room. We also liked Mike who played a whole mix of music in the casino, and Pat who played country in the atrium. The piano bar was always dead, so we never went in. Went to one of the Vegas style shows. Not really our cup of tea, but a nice way to waste an hour or so. The first comedian, Stanley Ulman was excellent. We saw the R rated midnight show and laughed pretty good. I had seen him on my first cruise back in 2000. Played Bingo and my wife and I lost both times, but my mom won $140.

 

The food was great as always. I agree that the soups were to die for. Especialy the Pumpkin Soup and the Lobster Bisque. Tarpin was our waiter and what a cool dude. Loved the dances they did every night.

 

The ports were nice. Nothing too exciting but still nice. We did notice that La Paz is one of the cleanest cities that I have ever seen, anywhere. No litter on the streets or sidewalks. It was cleaner then my hometown. No vendors constantly trying to sell their junk either. That was a nice break from Cabo and Matazlan where I had to say "No thanks" a million and half times.

 

Embarkation and Debarkation was the easiest we have ever had. I would cruise out of San Diego again just for this, but also for the beautiful view of the city we had from the ship.

 

We had a blast on the spirit and hope to do the 8night mexican riviera soon!

[phabric]

Is there a small refrigerator in the cabins (booked 8A guaranteed) so we can put our water and pop that we bring with us.

[DiaDeGuadalupe]

lappy22, good for you for winning all of that money! What cabin were you in? We had 7181 and had no problems with noise or anything :)

 

The ship was definitely easy to get around and well, since it was our 1st Carnival cruise, the Spirit is our favorite so far. ;)

 

We were really pleasantly surprised by the cleanliness of La Paz and the absence of vendors, etc. I think we'd go back one day for a land vacation.

 

phabric, We did have a minibar in our cabin and it was locked the whole time. I've read a couple of posts here on CC that some stewards will let you put a few things in during your stay so it couldn't hurt to ask! As for us, we brought a couple of 6-packs of the 8 oz. pepsis, and though we didn't use the minibar for storage, our cabin steward kept our ice bucket full all the time. It was nice to just put a little can on top of the ice in the morning for about 10-15 minutes and voila' a cold drink without having to leave the room! lol! It worked out really well, too, because we literally drank the last one on the morning of debarkation :D

[gorbidog]

Hello. Glad to hear you had fun. I'll be on the Spirit next month. Do you recall who the Cruise Director was or who was playing in the piano bar? Thanks.

 

My wife and I were on the Spirit on the 10th as well (cabin 6121) and the guy playing/singing at the Shanghai Piano Bar was Peter. The CD on our cruise was (cough) Jennie Baxter but hopefully she will have been replaced by the time you go. She was nice, but didn't do much to enhance the experience. I think she might have been spending a bit too much time in the "La Playa Grill" buffet lines ... if you catch my drift. She was virtually nowhere to be found, except at the requisite events, and even at those, did the minimal amount of "emcee-ing". We were disappointed in her performance that's for sure - and I let it be known in our comment card.

 

For good musical entertainment, a couple of Filipino singers known as "Just Us Two" were superb in the "Nouveau Suppler Club", as were Stan & Cindy in the "Club Cool" for popular dance music.

 

We had a great time onboard the Spirit - the food was excellent, entertainment in the "Pharaoh's Palace" superb, except perhaps for the hypnotist who's technique seemed a bit flawed at times. Otherwise, my wife and I are ready to do it all over again ... cruise that is! :D

[tam-tam]

Hello. Thank you for the information. I've heard that night life on Spirit in Alaska may be somewhat slower than on the Mexican and Caribbean cruises, but we'll have to make our own fun then.