March 2nd Spirit 9 Day Review

[NotWthOutablcony]

:d:d

[karatemom2]

She just negotiated the van that morning in port. We were not charged for coupons, we checked at the desk and just went on back. It was obvious that they aren't used to the pay-as-you-go option, but it worked out splendidly for us.

 

Thank you!

[JaniceB]

Enjoying your review.

[chadsjewel]

DH and I were also on this cruise and haven't yet done a review, we just downloaded the pics from the camera today! The Serenity area was very nice, lots of comfy lounes, clamshells, other chairs and sofas, but on a sea day it is very crowded. There are also a few tables closer to the bar for eating, we could usually find one or more of those available even on busy days. The ship was in very good shape, we didn't see any furniture, carpet, etc., issues (we were also on the Spirit last October). All the cabins now have flat screen TVs, but the remotes were really bad (we traveled with friends who said the same). We had a great time and will miss the Spirit when she moves to Australia. I'll try to do a review soon and put our pics out there too.

 

 

Ill throw my 2 cents in here as well ;)

 

Serenity deck is great, although its crowded all the time. We did get 2 lounge chairs on the first sea day near the hot tub, but never got a clam shell. Not once in 9 days LOL. I think you have to get there by 7 or earlier to snag one of those. We spent hours in the only hot tub on Serenity. There is plexiglass surrounding it which was actually nice on that first day since it can be so windy. Hot tub there was hotter than the ones on Lido of course. There are lots of big easy chairs in the shade there as well which are nice if youre sunburned like we were or whatever. Also dining tables by the bar.

 

Lido hot tubs were never REALLY crowded when we were up there. Most nights, between 7-9, they were empty or nearly empty. They were cooler on our sunburns and Lido was empty on those nights. Like a ghost town. We were usually out of the tubs by 930ish-10.

 

And the remotes are AWFUL! Its like theyre a hundred years old. Ours would not channel down, although at least it did channel up. Mild annoyance but after a day or two, you get used to it and you just dont use that button lol!

 

Oh, and please go to the gym and check out that hot tub. Its quiet in there and gets you out of the wind if you need it. And use the gym lol, its amazing in there! We did one workout in 9 days which was one more than I have ever done on any other cruise. Also, after the 1st day, the elevators were pretty fast and we didnt do the stairs anywhere near as much as we normally do. Im still up 2 pounds haha.

 

Have a great cruise.

[tncap]

Cabo Day #2

 

We went parasailing through Cabo San Lucas Tours in the morning and it was convenient and painless. We spent the rest of the day beach bumming at Tobasco's on the "quite end" of Medano Beach.

 

 

The fishing was good for some folks it appears.

 

 

Ensenada

 

We went with the winery tours through the ship in Ensenada. The weather here was absolutely brilliant! I enjoyed this port much more than I thought I would. It appears most of the naysayers have been here many times before, but it was our first visit.

 

Two wineries are visited on this tour: LA Cetto and La Casa de Dona Lupe. The former is a rather large one, while the latter is small and quite quaint. LA Cetto provides one bottle of complimentary wine per person, and as it was the last day of the cruise, we were allowed to return it to our stateroom.

 

La Cetto:

 

 

La Casa de Dona Lupe tasting area:

[tncap]

I didn't take many pictures of the actual ship, but that is what most people are pretty curious about given its recent drydock.

 

I was a bit let-down by the condition of the ship, especially in light of the recent drydock. There was also, as I have shown, an unnatural vibration that I hadn't experienced on the other ships I've been on. It was very evident in our aft balcony, in the dining room, and obviously in the steakhouse. We won't book an aft balcony again. I miss the breeze, and there was quite a bit of soot out there (enough so that the steward gave us a makeshift floormat so as not to track it in on the carpet). There was a lot of chipped paint on the balcony as well.

 

One of the chandelier fixtures in the Empire Dining Room constantly shakes/jingles. Kind of hypnotic in a way.:p The steakhouse vibration was over the top as I illustrated. Some of the fixtures in the main show lounge along the wall are smashed in. These are just some small issues that I would have expected to be repaired in a drydock. And as others have stated, the remote controls leave a lot to be desired. But who bases a cruise on that?!

 

We had a blast and loved the mix of three sea days with five port days. While I would rank the actual ship third out of three Carnival ships I've been on, I would rank the overall staff first.

[cathyz]

I didn't take many pictures of the actual ship, but that is what most people are pretty curious about given its recent drydock.

 

I was a bit let-down by the condition of the ship, especially in light of the recent drydock. There was also, as I have shown, an unnatural vibration that I hadn't experienced on the other ships I've been on. It was very evident in our aft balcony, in the dining room, and obviously in the steakhouse. We won't book an aft balcony again. I miss the breeze, and there was quite a bit of soot out there (enough so that the steward gave us a makeshift floormat so as not to track it in on the carpet). There was a lot of chipped paint on the balcony as well.

 

One of the chandelier fixtures in the Empire Dining Room constantly shakes/jingles. Kind of hypnotic in a way.:p The steakhouse vibration was over the top as I illustrated. Some of the fixtures in the main show lounge along the wall are smashed in. These are just some small issues that I would have expected to be repaired in a drydock. And as others have stated, the remote controls leave a lot to be desired. But who bases a cruise on that?!

 

We had a blast and loved the mix of three sea days with five port days. While I would rank the actual ship third out of three Carnival ships I've been on, I would rank the overall staff first.

We noticed that jiggling chandelier too and one of our friends said she was glad our table wasn't under that. We pointed it out to our waiter, Joseph, and he just laughed. And the vibration up in the steakhouse too. By about day 5, our remote would no longer work at all, so we got a new one with was only slightly better, and then by the 2nd to last day it started failing, maybe they put in really old batteries? Anyway, certainly not a problem to worry about, we had a great cruise as usual! We actually like the Spirit class ships the best and probably the Spirit the best (but can only compare to the Pride), and we're sad she's leaving us.

[JaniceB]

We had the same vibration issue on the Pride. In fact we asked for our table to be moved from the rear of the dining room to the front area. I was a big improvement. We have booked an aft wrap and I am sorry to hear about the vibration. I hope I can get use to it.

 

Chadsjewel thanks for the info about the hot tubs, they were very cold on the Pride and I was hoping to enjoy them on the Spirit.