Carnival Spirit to Alaska June 1-9, 2022

[ArchieCruise]

We boarded the Carnival Spirit today and there were a few things that I observed during the check in process.

 

While masks are optional on Carnival, indoors in the port of Seattle they are still required.  In case you didn’t have one with you there were individuals passing them out before entering the cruise terminal.

 

Check in went relatively quick once they started letting people in.  We were in group B3 and we’re on the ship by 11:20.  The Muster drill is on the same floor that we entered the ship and this was done within just a few minutes of boarding the ship and allowed us to enjoy lunch knowing we were through with the boarding process and ready for the next 8 days of fun.

 

To sail to Alaska you must complete the ArriveCAN app that requires you to enter the days you will be stopped in Canada and upload your vaccine cards.  This app must be filled out even if you have no intention of getting off the ship in Canada.  You must also complete the VeriFLY app by uploading your vaccine cards and negative COVID tests.  

[tallnthensome]

51 minutes ago, ArchieCruise said:

 You must also complete the VeriFLY app by uploading your vaccine cards and negative COVID tests.  

Since when is this an absolute requirement? First I have read of that since many others are bringing their vaccination cards and print outs of negative tests. 

[ArchieCruise]

3 minutes ago, tallnthensome said:

Since when is this an absolute requirement? First I have read of that since many others are bringing their vaccination cards and print outs of negative tests. 

I don’t know that the VeriFLY is absolutely required.  When checking in they asked to see your VeriFLY app and didn’t phrase it as “or your vaccination/COVID test.  If you are completing the ArriveCAN app it was quick and easy to do both at the same time.  

[tidecruiser]

Thank you, for your post.  Looking forward to your updates.  I sail in August.

[mrak]

We sail On Spirit in a few weeks, so interested in any other observations you can offer. Thanks for posting! 

[dbrucern]

14 hours ago, tallnthensome said:

Since when is this an absolute requirement? First I have read of that since many others are bringing their vaccination cards and print outs of negative tests. 

I received the email yesterday for our Alaska cruise and the Arrive Canada app is mandatory not the Verifly app. It said if we did not have the QR code we would be denied boarding with no refund.  ArchieCruse misread the email

Edited June 2, 2022 by dbrucern

[ArchieCruise]

34 minutes ago, dbrucern said:

I received the email yesterday for our Alaska cruise and the Arrive Canada app is mandatory not the Verifly app. It said if we did not have the QR code we would be denied boarding with no refund.  ArchieCruse misread the email

I didn’t misread the email and you are correct the ArriveCAN app must be completed without exception.  The VeriFLY app may be optional but since you are using the exact same documents for the ArriveCAN app you may as well use it.  Comparing the boarding process in January on the Panorama without VeriFLY TO THE spirt using VeriFLY this seemed much smoother as they just had you open the app and look that it showed cleared for travel.  No showing vaccine cards or test results at the port.  As we were checking in I did not see anybody that did not preset my the VeriFLY app.

[ArchieCruise]

Last night my DW got a massage in the spa.  Yes they are overpriced, but we were able to purchase during the Mother’s Day sale so it wasn’t too badly priced.  She seemed to enjoy it and left feeling refreshed.  
 

After the massage we went to dinner in the MDR with our your time dining.  It was about a 10-20 minute wait for a table.  When we finally got our table assignment someone was sitting at the table halfway through their meal so they found us another table.  Dinner was typical Carnival food.  It was decent but nothing to write home about.  
 

After dinner we went to the casino.  Due to where the port of Seattle is located at the casino cannot open for a long time after departure.  The casino did not end up opening until 8:40.

 

Leaving Seattle we sailed on the west side of Vancouver island.  We are in a balcony cabin towards the aft of deck 7 and the ship was moving pretty good last night.  I have been on about a dozen cruises and this seems to have more rocking than most.  Hopefully the rocking reduces once up in Alaska waters.

[Pyxie]

19 hours ago, tallnthensome said:

Since when is this an absolute requirement? First I have read of that since many others are bringing their vaccination cards and print outs of negative tests. 

 

Verifly is not required. ArriveCAN *is* so maybe that's what the OP meant.

[AQW]

5 hours ago, mrak said:

We sail On Spirit in a few weeks, so interested in any other observations you can offer. Thanks for posting! 

 

Same here! Following along.

[jamie717]

Sailing in 6 weeks, excited for a Spirit review! If able to answer, I have a couple questions. Does Spirit have self service laundry?  I don't need laundry but was curious about iron and ironing board.  Also, I saw the Splendor has a "game" in the arcade that is full of ducks, I love the ducks, does the Spirit arcade have this as well?  I feel so silly even asking about ducks but sometimes it's the little things that excite us the most! 😂

 

[ArchieCruise]

20 minutes ago, jamie717 said:

Sailing in 6 weeks, excited for a Spirit review! If able to answer, I have a couple questions. Does Spirit have self service laundry?  I don't need laundry but was curious about iron and ironing board.  Also, I saw the Splendor has a "game" in the arcade that is full of ducks, I love the ducks, does the Spirit arcade have this as well?  I feel so silly even asking about ducks but sometimes it's the little things that excite us the most! 😂

 

I haven’t been by the laundry or the arcade but they do have launderettes on the map.  

[knagl]

On 6/2/2022 at 10:41 AM, ArchieCruise said:

After dinner we went to the casino.  

 

Thank you for your ongoing report.

 

Would you be kind enough to look for me the next time you're in the casino if there's a $1 denomination Wheel of Fortune slot machine in there, and if so can you give a description of where in the casino it's located?

 

I'm organizing a group slot pull for my cruise on the Spirit later this year and so far I haven't seen too many pictures or video that show the entire casino. Thank you!

[P-Elmo]

Thanks for posting - we’re on the July 13th sailing so appreciate the embarkation info and look forward to updates.

[ArchieCruise]

On 6/3/2022 at 10:31 PM, knagl said:

 

Thank you for your ongoing report.

 

Would you be kind enough to look for me the next time you're in the casino if there's a $1 denomination Wheel of Fortune slot machine in there, and if so can you give a description of where in the casino it's located?

 

I'm organizing a group slot pull for my cruise on the Spirit later this year and so far I haven't seen too many pictures or video that show the entire casino. Thank you!

I don’t normally play slots but there are a set of wheel of fortune machines against the wall away from the blackjack tables.  They were $1 machines.  I didn’t participate but I know that is where our slot pull was.  

[ArchieCruise]

Internet has been spotty at best.  A few other things to note.  Food in the MDR has been sub-par.  It seems to be worse than the food on the Panorama that we sailed on in January.  We have reservations at the steakhouse tonight and tomorrow so hopefully the food there will be better.

 

I know this varies by each sailing but the casino doesn’t seem too crowded on this cruise.  It has been easy to find a blackjack table and at times I have been the only player at my table. 

 

As far as excursions are concerned in Icy Strait Point we rented a private van with a group of people and toured the area.  It was alright and a decent day but ISP is a small town and not my favorite Alaska port.  Yesterday we spent the day in Juneau and booked a day trip to Tracy Arm through Adventure Bound Alaska.  It was a great excursion and definitely the highlight of the trip so far.  The excursion is roughly 10 hours so an all day event but we’ll worth

 

 

 

Edited June 5, 2022 by ArchieCruise

[land64shark]

On 6/2/2022 at 7:30 AM, mrak said:

We sail On Spirit in a few weeks, so interested in any other observations you can offer. Thanks for posting! 

Same! We sail July 13. Can't wait, but getting really concerned about these spiking Covid numbers onboard the ships...

 

[scrotser]

2 hours ago, land64shark said:

Same! We sail July 13. Can't wait, but getting really concerned about these spiking Covid numbers onboard the ships...

 

We’ll be on her with you.  Bit concerned as well!

[DQGal]

On 6/1/2022 at 10:51 PM, tidecruiser said:

Thank you, for your post.  Looking forward to your updates.  I sail in August.

We sail August 10 th.   When do you sail?  Our 1 st Alaskan cruise. 

[kona_wahine]

We sailed NCL May 8th and were both sick with covid a week later. We are vaccinated, and got our 2nd booster 2 weeks before we cruised. Have heard a lot of people cruising and then coming home and getting sick. Luckily, it was very minor, and lasted just a few days. I’m heading back on Carnival at the end of June and I guess I now have super immunity! Lol 

[MrMarc]

13 minutes ago, DQGal said:

We sail August 10 th.   When do you sail?  Our 1 st Alaskan cruise. 

I'm on that one also.

[DQGal]

2 minutes ago, MrMarc said:

I'm on that one also.

Cool

[ArchieCruise]

Just got an announcement that we will not be doing Tracy Arm but going up Endicott Arm instead.  With the warmer weather this week I think that there is more calving than normal and causing more ice to be in the fjord.  I am glad we went on the Tracy Arm excursion from Juneau so now we can see both arms. 

[CruiseMGM]

On 6/1/2022 at 3:10 PM, ArchieCruise said:

We boarded the Carnival Spirit today and there were a few things that I observed during the check in process.

 

<snip>

 

Thank you for this thread! We're sailing Spirit in August and have seen very few reviews on CC for her. Looking forward to reading more!

Best wishes.

[AQW]

On 6/5/2022 at 3:18 PM, land64shark said:

Same! We sail July 13. Can't wait, but getting really concerned about these spiking Covid numbers onboard the ships...

 

This damn pandemic, I swear! I have two cruises booked this summer -- 12-night Europe solo in June, then 6-night Alaska with my best friend a week later. I'm on the verge of canceling my Europe cruise because I don't want to risk catching Covid and having to miss the Alaska sailing, which is more important to me since I haven't seen my best friend in three years. Even though I'm very dedicated to Covid safety protocols (masking up everywhere, etc.), there's only so much I can control. 

 

Just ugh. 😔