Spirit Hawaii (long Review)

[ccgl]

April 28, 2006 Spirit was a wonderful fun trip, since was our first trip with Carnival..did not have great expectations.. BUT...the price and the itinerary were right..

AND

We received 3 nights in Waikiki, Pacific Beach Hotel included with the Carnival deal..and it was ocean front room with balcony, looking directly at the beach. Pearl Harbour Tour with the circle entire island (8.5 hr) ..was very nice. Pearl harbour was the best and is a very busy destination, so we were happy that we went on an excursion, rather than by ourselves. Dole Plantation was the worst part of that trip, another tourist shopping trap! We did the late pm tour of Polynesian Cultural centre, interesting but the mosquitos were horrid, during their presentation. Luckily I got my hands on the ushers Off spray, and used the few drops she had left!! Beach in Waikiki, was still sort of off limits due to the sewage spill there in March. Our day on ship , in Honolulu, we did the Moana Loa shopping mall, bought the same shirt (tori Richards) Hawaiian shirt for DH at Sears for 59.00 on sale, he had seen it in Sheration Surfrider for 129.00..so make sure you check out the department stores, as well as the international market, if you are in lookin for Hawaiian take homes!

 

Highlights of the islands ..were Mauii we had to tender there and the lineup to return to ship took 2 hours. Kuaii, the scenery there was spectacular, and I must be jaded but was not blown away by Hawaii on a whole.. BUT THEN there was the SPIRIT..

 

We had balcony suite 6131 and loved the room, no complaints, little basket of samples(toothpaste, floss, chewing gum etc ) in bathroom, towel animals every nite. Tv was limited most channels were Carnival (evg shows from previous nites were replayed daily..ugh).Beds were sooo comfortable, no spread, duvets and great pillows! The hairdryer provided is in vanity drawer with special plug .

 

Waiter was Uan (Indonesia) , he was due for holidays May 17, which would have put him home , and hopefully not in harms way, after his countries latest earthquake.

 

I had no great expectations, bought the Spirit, because of the itinerary and the price...and so I am delighted to say ..things were not perfect but we did have a fun ship. For instance..Our waiter did not stand on ceremony, he greeted us with Hi Guys and a hug, rather than pulling out our chairs...certainly a change from Celebrity or Radisson style. In the Lido, trays were faded and cracked,napkins were faded and sometimes a little holey!! Fruits and Salads were not as plentiful, and it did get really congested at some hours. Lido was in need of a good turnout, vacuuming and washing of the window ledges and One of the biggest beefs were the plastic coloured mugs for hot beverages! Meals and service were a little more like being at home than in a luxury resort ..BUt that is just my thought!!

 

Nouveau Supper Club (30.00 each) was NOT busy at all..the first nite we were alone with a pianist and singer, the meal was just ok,to much fou fou and not enough taste!! had booked for 3 nights, but for me once was Enoughh!!

 

The decor on Spirit is a wee bit bizarre, no theme..evy area different , a wee bit dark compared to most ships we have been on ! Art work and murals a wee bit lurid, but not offensive except to observant children.

There are so many secret places to sit, and many of them never used!

 

We had a Tsunami warning, that we found out about on CNN, before there was any announcement made by the bridge..but there was a daily update from Captain everyday at noon regarding ship data!

 

The sea was calm for all 5 days on the crossing,, but it does turn cooler as you get closer to Canada. In fact the balcony was almost useless, other than for a quick peek out ..on the sea days.. 5 days at Sea, were to us one of the very best parts of the journey! I had chosen starboard foolishly thinkin would be on sunny side of ship on way back to vancouver, turned out the folks on the port side had afternoon sun, and it was quite warm for them.

 

Shows were just ok, quite a few comics ( Norm Crosby) a name from the past, with a face that was hard to place!

 

Casino is larger than many ships I have been on, and has 1,2,5 cent machines as well as evrything else! Dont let that fool you tho ,lost $160 on 2 center...just took a bit longer!

 

If anyone does this trip, and has choice of Vancouver or Victoria...I must put a plug in for April in Victoria which is spectacular...Flowers and scenery are magnificent!

 

ALL IN ALL....I had a Great Time and being extremely hard to please,very observant, and 62 ( Carnival is even a FUN ship to an oldie) lol .... I would repeat in a heart beat..Enjoy the journey!!

 

Any Questions would be pleased to answer!

[pcvtmom]

Thanks for a great review! Oh how I wish this itinerary was available in summer months. It is my DREAM trip, but as a teacher, I can't travel when it's available. I guess I'll just wait a few years until retirement.

[kathy32259]

My friends and I (all 55+) are considering taking this cruise in the next few years. I am glad you enjoyed Carnival - as you said - the price is right and a great itinerary.

 

We were on the Pride a few years ago and had a balcony close to yours. They are great rooms and I love to be outside in the evenings. Not sure I would like the cold....

 

I agree with you about Hawaii - it is beautiful but not fantastic. Very expensive!! We went on a family vacation for 2 weeks - but since I have been cruising, I would only consider going back if I was on a cruise.

 

Was the casino open when you were at sea at night from island to island?

 

Did you book everything with Carnival? Airfare, etc? I am thinking a one way ticket to two destinations could cost more than the cruise. It sounds like Carnival got you a great hotel room on Oahu!

 

My only wish is that Carnival would consider a round trip from California!!

[Lemarier]

Hi

 

We are looking at this cruise for next year - how did you get the 3 free hotel nights?

[ccgl]

how did you get the 3 free hotel nights?

 

Bought this cruise last September, and was a special through Cruise Ship Centres in Canada..so I imagine that Carnival offered the land & cruise group package deal to them, just make inquiries..it ended up there were 700 canadians on board this cruise...but made sense since we departed and arrived back to British Columbia, Canada

 

the pkg was the one way airfare from Vancouver or Victoria BC:

3 nights hotel in Waikiki and then the cruise

We choose Victoria departure because of the hotel being directly across from the beach! Vancouver departure hotel was behind the international market.

 

It was a great time, and those 5 days at sea were so welcome after the race of touring Hawaii for 7 days , other than the cool air, which was disappointing, mind you, many die hard people in the first few days spent alot of time,around pool and hot tubs! Myself, I ended up in casino every morning ..great fun!!!

 

Try it, you will have a great time, just close your eyes to the small things( chipped glasses etc)

 

B:) arbara

[jrmende63]

Barbara...thanks for the great Review on the beautiful Spirit! We just came off her May 24th, and We loved her! Hooked us on cruising! Julie

[Lurkyloo]

Thanks for a great review! Oh how I wish this itinerary was available in summer months. It is my DREAM trip, but as a teacher, I can't travel when it's available. I guess I'll just wait a few years until retirement.

 

I'm in the same boat as you (literally!) ;) This is my dream trip too, but I'm a school secretary and it's not offered when I can get away! So we are going to settle on taking the Spirit to Acapulco during the spring break!

[PACURN]

I will be taking this trip in Oct. and I'm so looking forward to it. We will be going to Ensenada on the trip home, just a hop skip and a jump from San Deigo. I sure wish they would review that dumb law that states cruise ships have to have a foreign port. The ship drops us off in Ensenada and take us to SD by bus, and then the ship sails to San Deigo to sail the Mexican Riviera. Dumb huh?

To the OP I sure like the deal you got on rooms in Waikiki. We are going three days early and it's costing a fortune for a room there.

thanks for your review.

[lnew1gd1]

April 28, 2006 Spirit was a wonderful fun trip, since was our first trip with Carnival..did not have great expectations.. BUT...the price and the itinerary were right............................................

The sea was calm for all 5 days on the crossing,, but it does turn cooler as you get closer to Canada. In fact the balcony was almost useless, other than for a quick peek out ..on the sea days.. 5 days at Sea, were to us one of the very best parts of the journey! I had chosen starboard foolishly thinking would be on sunny side of ship on way back to Vancouver, turned out the folks on the port side had afternoon sun, and it was quite warm for them.....................................................

 

Hello,

 

We are doing this same cruise/itinerary April 27, 2007 and we also chose a starboard suite thinking we would have the sun on the way back. Oh well!

 

How about the sailing around the islands. Was the starboard side facing the islands or away toward sea? We still have time to change our cabin choice so any answer you can provide will be more than welcome.

 

Glad to hear that you enjoyed the cruise, we are counting down the days (or should I say months) till we sail.

 

Thanks for your review.

 

Lynn

[MortgageChick]

we are on this trip sailing Ensenada to Hawaii April 2007, so are hoping for calm seas. Price is awesome for this trip and it will be our 5th Carnival Cruise and our

18th cruise overall. We chose a balcony as anytime we have so many sea days it is nice to have a place of your own outside. Hope it won't be too cool going over in April

[ccgl]

Hello,

 

How about the sailing around the islands. Was the starboard side facing the islands or away toward sea? We still have time to change our cabin choice so any answer you can provide will be more than welcome.

 

I think that if I was doing it again, I would choose the port side...in Honolulu, we spent an overnighter on the ship and we faced the terminal , several other islands, the same thing! THe MOST important part was the 5 days ...no kidding, it was so chilly as the ship was moving at 22 knots, and we had flat seas, but still without sun ...there was no sitting out, in fact was cold to keep door open.The one thing that I failed to notice when bookin, was that these are not patio doors, but one normal type door , that is difficult to keep open! There was also a very loud irritating noise, that was caused by folks moving their plastic lawn chairs, on the fibreglass deck on their balcony, and those balcony doors slammed constantly early in the am, some folks are not just as considerate as they could be!

 

But would still repeat this trip in a second, and the noice certainly lessened, as the weather grew cooler!