Carnival Spirit

[DavidCarole]

Hello everyone, This will be our second cruise. The first being with Princess around New zealand in Jan/Feb 2016, we had a ball. The rung was set high by them. We have since had a grandson cruise on Spirits sister, the Legend. He did a similar cruise to us around the South Pacific, visiting the normal ports of call. He recommended it it highly. Our friend is on it now, waiting for thier return so we can hear their response.

Has anyone from here done the 12 day cruise from Sydney ? We are leaving on the 11th May.

The ports we are visiting are Isle of Pines, Mystery Island, Suva, Nadi, Noumea, has anyone been to these ports and have time to share their experience, good or bad. Did you book things privately or thru the ship, even on the island(port).

Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

 

Regards David.

[lagoon380]

Just got off the Legend which went to Suva and Port Denarau.

 

In Suva there are lots of people selling tours on the dock cheaply.

We paid a total of $60AU for 2 adults & 1 child to go to The Pearl resort for a couple of hours which was nice. 45min drive away from the dock, 2 hours at resort then 45 min back.

 

Port Denarau, we did a ship based tour to South Sea Island, we did this due to Carnival buying out the good island tours so only option was a ship based tour if you wanted to go to the islands but was a good day on the island.

 

Noumea was a very wet day, we had planned to get the ferry or water taxi over to Escapade Island for the day but the rain stopped that, it rained all day only stopped when the ship was leaving.

 

Mystery Island & Isle of Pines are beach day ports.

 

We had a great time as always, this was our 4th Carnival cruise.:D

[DavidCarole]

Thanks lagoon380 for your reply, if I may ask what sort of price for the tours thru the cruise company ?

[lagoon380]

The trip to South Sea Island was $115 per adult.

On Carnivals AU website you can see the list of shore excursions available for each port with prices, although the prices quoted maybe slightly less than what it actually costs on the ship.

[Big_Jim_61]

Has anyone from here done the 12 day cruise from Sydney ? We are leaving on the 11th May.

The ports we are visiting are Isle of Pines, Mystery Island, Suva, Nadi, Noumea, has anyone been to these ports and have time to share their experience, good or bad. Did you book things privately or thru the ship, even on the island(port).

 

 

Regards David.

 

Just got back from an 11 night cruise on carnival Spirit. The same ship you will be travelling on. The only matching stops though are Suva and Noumea

 

Do not do the Noumea in a Nutshell tour. That was a complete waste of time. It was billed as a 3 hour tour with a snack on a beach. This is what we did in 3 hours.

- Drove us to the top of a hill so we could take pictures of the city but the view was blocked by bushes

- Took us to an uninteresting church

- Took us to a lookout with a cannon

- They then took us to a hotel where the snack was a cake and self serve coffee and tea. i don't drink coffee and tea and could not eat the cake as I am lactose intolerant so my snack was a glass of water

- The tour guide then said, go out the front turn right and there are shops, turn left there are more shops and across the road is the beach. Be back at the bus in an hour.

 

We paid about $80 for that. On the morning we arrived in Noumea, they announced that for the people who had not yet booked a tour, there was an 8 stop bus tour for $20. That would have been a much better idea. When we were at the beach, I did notice that for less than the price I paid, a travel agent was offering an 8.5 hour tour with lunch.

 

In Suva I was very happy with the Jewel of Fiji tour. It is tour 3 on this page

http://www.discoverfijitours.com/jewel_fiji.html

I paid $130 on board. I believe It could have been done for about aud$50 less if booked online in advance.

 

The issue with do it your self though is if you are late, you wave goodbye to the ship. If you book through the ship, they hold the ship for you.

 

I checked shore excursions available on the carnival website before I left. It showed practically none. On board, they gave a me a 17 page booklet of shore excursions with up to 7 excursions per page. The shore excursion details were also on the TV.

 

There is a menu button for the TV when pressed which brings up a menu for

- Ordering ON DEMAND movies

- Ordering shore excursions

- Checking the balance of your sail and sign card account

- Checking the dining room menu

 

Under the shore excursions menu, they listed every excursion that was in the 17 page book. You could then order it through the TV using the folio number printed on your sail and sign card

 

I had difficulty finding onboard pricing before I left. If you would like to know onboard pricing, it is at reply 8 in this thread on Trip Advisor

https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ShowTopic-g1-i10703-k9322763-Carnival_Spirit_pricing_on_board-Cruises.html

 

I am happy to answer any other questions you have about the ship

[2016USAHoliday]

Hello everyone, This will be our second cruise. The first being with Princess around New zealand in Jan/Feb 2016, we had a ball. The rung was set high by them. We have since had a grandson cruise on Spirits sister, the Legend. He did a similar cruise to us around the South Pacific, visiting the normal ports of call. He recommended it it highly. Our friend is on it now, waiting for thier return so we can hear their response.

Has anyone from here done the 12 day cruise from Sydney ? We are leaving on the 11th May.

The ports we are visiting are Isle of Pines, Mystery Island, Suva, Nadi, Noumea, has anyone been to these ports and have time to share their experience, good or bad. Did you book things privately or thru the ship, even on the island(port).

Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

 

Regards David.

 

Isle of Pines: Walk off the ship and head to the left. There is a beach on one side where you can still see the ship and on the other side is a beautiful beach with great snorkelling. Around the rock in the middle is schools and schools of fish. After a few hours, husband found a bus that would take him to the Natural Aquarium for a few hours. He loved this. For memory, there was small sign and $20 fee for the bus ride and entrance to the Natural Aquarium. Tender port.

 

Mystery Island: Beach day, can walk around the island easily. We hired kayaks for $5 for 30min I think.....it was cheap. Little market in the centre with the school children singing. It is a tender, but very quick one so come and go as you please.

 

Suva and Nadi have no info, but that Jewel of Fiji tour looked great so I booked that for our stop there in October.

 

Noumea: you will dock at the industrial port and be taken into the "normal" port by coaches. Here you will find the port office, tourist office and lots of tours to book. 1st visit: we bought the hour tour that included a hop on/hop off bus ticket for use after the tour. Bought this once we got off the coaches. After the tour, we went to Lemon Bay for a snorkel then a park for the kids to play, great use of the buses.

2nd visit: google gateway tours. Alfred has some great tours. We did the Escapade Island Tour. Great day and price was well worth it. Sorry to the last poster who was unable to get there due to weather.

3rd: visit: Hop on/Off bus ticket again. Caught the us to the Morning markets....yes only in the morning! Then back on the bus to the Aquarium. Nice little one, took about 2 hours at a stroll as we weren't rushed and I think about $20 for a family of 4. Then crossed the road to Ante V... (argh cant remember the beach name!!!) for a swim and back on the bus back to port

Not sure if you care, but the port office has an official passport port stamp.

 

We have only booked one ship tour and that was because on our first ever cruise, we had an change in route due to a Cyclone. I tend to see what the ship has to offer and see what else is around.

 

Love the Spirit, have been on 3 times now! Haven't been on since the referb though.

[DavidCarole]

Hi Big_Jim_61,

 

Your detailed account is fantastic, it has got my wife's head spinning trying to work it all out, she likes details,

 

I have a question for you and maybe other readers.

 

Do you know or did you see cash being used onboard ship ? I am hearing bits that it is or was used at the bars.

 

Regards David.

[DavidCarole]

Isle of Pines: Walk off the ship and head to the left. There is a beach on one side where you can still see the ship and on the other side is a beautiful beach with great snorkelling. Around the rock in the middle is schools and schools of fish. After a few hours, husband found a bus that would take him to the Natural Aquarium for a few hours. He loved this. For memory, there was small sign and $20 fee for the bus ride and entrance to the Natural Aquarium. Tender port.

 

Mystery Island: Beach day, can walk around the island easily. We hired kayaks for $5 for 30min I think.....it was cheap. Little market in the centre with the school children singing. It is a tender, but very quick one so come and go as you please.

 

Suva and Nadi have no info, but that Jewel of Fiji tour looked great so I booked that for our stop there in October.

 

Noumea: you will dock at the industrial port and be taken into the "normal" port by coaches. Here you will find the port office, tourist office and lots of tours to book. 1st visit: we bought the hour tour that included a hop on/hop off bus ticket for use after the tour. Bought this once we got off the coaches. After the tour, we went to Lemon Bay for a snorkel then a park for the kids to play, great use of the buses.

2nd visit: google gateway tours. Alfred has some great tours. We did the Escapade Island Tour. Great day and price was well worth it. Sorry to the last poster who was unable to get there due to weather.

3rd: visit: Hop on/Off bus ticket again. Caught the us to the Morning markets....yes only in the morning! Then back on the bus to the Aquarium. Nice little one, took about 2 hours at a stroll as we weren't rushed and I think about $20 for a family of 4. Then crossed the road to Ante V... (argh cant remember the beach name!!!) for a swim and back on the bus back to port

Not sure if you care, but the port office has an official passport port stamp.

 

We have only booked one ship tour and that was because on our first ever cruise, we had an change in route due to a Cyclone. I tend to see what the ship has to offer and see what else is around.

 

Love the Spirit, have been on 3 times now! Haven't been on since the referb though.

 

Thanks for information 2016USAHoliday I will show my wife,

[2016USAHoliday]

Hi Big_Jim_61,

 

Your detailed account is fantastic, it has got my wife's head spinning trying to work it all out, she likes details,

 

I have a question for you and maybe other readers.

 

Do you know or did you see cash being used onboard ship ? I am hearing bits that it is or was used at the bars.

 

Regards David.

 

No Cash. Your Sail and Sign card is all you use for onboard purchases. You hand over cash at guest services or you may have set up your account with credit card.

Could be that what was happening was tips being handed over???

[Tigerlily75]

Hi Big_Jim_61,

 

Your detailed account is fantastic, it has got my wife's head spinning trying to work it all out, she likes details,

 

I have a question for you and maybe other readers.

 

Do you know or did you see cash being used onboard ship ? I am hearing bits that it is or was used at the bars.

 

Regards David.

 

No, no cash, any purchase is made with your Sail&Sign card. The only time you will see cash is people topping up their accounts at Guest Services, or people giving tips to their waiters and stewards on the last night (purely optional as gratuities are incorporated into the fare for Carnival Australia).

[DavidCarole]

Thanks USA2016Holiday and Tigerlily75. my information must have been wrong.

I would rather pay my way with cash and give gratuities and tips to those which I have contact with. 15% on top of my drinks to all the staff within that sector is, I believe wrong. I prefer to give to those that I come in contact with. We sailed with Princess in Jan/Feb and we tipped ALL those we came in contact with. Some more than others.

 

The other thing that my wife has just asked is. Is the Casino, totally "cashless" ?.

 

Regards David.

[Big_Jim_61]

Hi Big_Jim_61,

 

Your detailed account is fantastic, it has got my wife's head spinning trying to work it all out, she likes details,

 

I have a question for you and maybe other readers.

 

Do you know or did you see cash being used onboard ship ? I am hearing bits that it is or was used at the bars.

 

Regards David.

Totally cashless on board.

 

I didn't see any money anywhere. I didn't see cash being used in the casino. I didn't see any money handed over at the bar. Not even given as a tip.

 

I didn't use the casino but I understand you need to have a separate account for the casino because they made it very clear on the last days of the cruise that if you had money in your casino account, you had to claim it before the casino closed and you would not be able to claim it on the final morning. One lady told me that she missed getting the money from the casino on one cruise and they gave it back to her on her next cruise. She was a regular cruiser and casino user though. So regular the casino gave her presents during the cruise

 

You use your sail and sign card for everything. Most people had it attached to a lanyard and hung around their neck.

 

 

You use your sail and sign card to access you room, you use it to get off the ship. You use it to get back on the ship. You use it to pay for everything on board that requires payment. If you pay for bottomless bubbles, they put a bottomless bubbles sticker on your sail and sign card. It has your dining time and table number on it. It also has you muster station details on it. As already mentioned, it has a folio number on it that you use on the television to order movies, shore excursions and check your account.

 

Where you can use cash is to top up the balance of your sail and sign card if you have chosen to use cash. I personally arranged to have the sail and sign card attached to my mastercard debit card. I did this during the check in process straight after paying for the cruise. If you have not yet checked in, you can do it right now using this link

http://www.carnival.com.au/already-booked#4hMSEQ3VrO543oHW.97

 

Checking in online certainly made it easy when boarding. All these other people ahead of me seemed to be taking ages at check in and I was thinking why is that, aren't they already checked in. Obviously not. I walked up to the counter before boarding, they said you are already checked in, printed my sail and sign card and I was on my way.

 

My total on board bill was charged to my savings account about 5 days after I got off the ship. Before I sailed, I read a review where a lady complained that she was charged for items that were not hers. Because of that, the last thing I did before going to bed each night was check the transactions on my account. On the 11 day cruise. i had 2 transactions that were not mine. When i complained to guest services, they refunded them instantly.

 

The cruise information said no tipping required and being Australian, I don't tip. However, I did tip the room steward because I thought he did a really good job. I tipped him $20. Afterwards, i spoke to some people who had tipped a lot more than that. Every time you bought a drink, you had to sign a voucher. There was a place on the voucher for a tip.

 

Let me know what other questions you have

[DavidCarole]

Thanks again Jim. Very good info. The info i received was wrong. We have already linked our account to our bank account and also have did as you have "checked in online".

 

Jim, did you use the internet at all whilst in port ? If so was it any good and where did you find it.

 

The above question goes out to all that have cruised to the ports we are going, which are,

Isle of Pines, Mystery Is, Suva, Port Denarau, Noumea.

 

On our return I shall post here to tell of our experience.

 

Regards David.

[Big_Jim_61]

 

Jim, did you use the internet at all whilst in port ? If so was it any good and where did you find it.

 

.

No. I made a decision before I left home. No internet for the whole trip!

 

I was on holiday and that meant a holiday from answering messages too!

 

I set away messages on my email accounts and on things such as Tripadvisor message system.

 

I still had Global roaming on my phone and it was switched on the whole trip, so I could keep in touch with back home. I know from past experience that is costs me aud $6 per minute to receive a call so I didn't answer any phone calls. But I did communicate by text for aud $0.55 per text.

 

Several hours out of port, I received an update for my phone telling me that I was now on global roaming. The global roaming was provided by the ship. Close to port, the global roaming switched to the local provider on shore. Which I was surprised to find in Fiji was Vodaphone. Vodaphone can't provide a service in most of Australia but they can in Fiji!!!

 

And, this has just reminded me. When the change happened on my phone telling me I was now accessing phone through Vodaphone, a lady who has vodaphone in Australia said she was allowed to use her data allowance in Fiji and would now be accessing the internet on her phone. I can't say if she was correct or not. Maybe she had a huge bill when she arrived back in Australia. But if you are a vodaphone user, it is something for you to check.

[DavidCarole]

Thanks Jim, I am with Telstra, but will check with at our local store.