Carnival Spirit Inside Passage Review (Sept 6-13) - Quite Long

[traveladdicted]

I just got back from our Inside Passage cruise on Carnival and wanted to submit a review since everyone else was so helpful to me.

Just a little info:

4 of us went on this cruise to Alaska - I’m 30 years old, my Mom (60), my Aunt (55) and her friend (50ish).

 

Day 1:

Embarkation was relatively painless. It only took approximately 30 minutes from start to our first steps on board the ship.

The Spirit is a lovely ship. Some of the décor is a little over the top but that’s what I expect on a cruise ship and I quite like it! We did the spa tour to check out all the services offered on board. They have some great treatments and good specials come up during the cruise, especially on port days.

The show was the “Welcome Aboard” show which included the Carnival Spirit dancers and the two main singers for the cruise. It was pretty good, not fantastic but still very enjoyable.

We did have to go to the Purser’s desk right away as we changed people from one cabin to another (due to a booking issue). It took quite a while and the girl at the desk kept changing everything back to the way it was originally! She was very friendly though and eventually we got everything straightened out.

The food was great for both the lunch buffet and dinner (if you like fish, their fish entrees are really good). We had originally requested late dinner but the ladies I was traveling with decided it would be too late so we went to the dining room as soon as it opened at 1300 to request a switch. We were advised that we would have to keep our arrangements as they were for that night but that they would make the changes for the next day. We did receive a notice the next day with our new table (for just the 4 of us) at our new time. There were no problems.

 

Day 2: At Sea

Spent some time getting our bearings on the ship, although we still went the wrong way much of the time : ) We went to the port Shopping Talk and learned about the good deals and must-haves in Alaska. It focused a lot on Diamonds International, Tanzanite International and other jewellers. We weren’t in the market for fine gems but it was still an interesting and informative presentation.

We didn’t participate in a lot of the scheduled activities on board but one thing we really enjoyed (mom and I) was arts and crafts. It sounds a little silly but we made sail and sign card holders, bookmarks and a bear pin over the course of the week.

The casino has a good variety of slot machines so my aunt was happy and entertained during down times.

It was also the first formal night so we took a while getting ready and had our formal portrait taken. Dinner was a little disappointing. The lobster was not as good as I had expected. We should have requested that they bring us new lobsters (they really tasted not great) but we didn’t so that’s our own fault.

My mom and I also checked out the sauna and steam room which was lovely and very relaxing. The shower in the spa is amazing. I thought the people who said they shower at the spa instead of in their cabin were a little crazy : ) but I’m a believer now. The water pressure out of the 5 shower heads is great. I had no idea I could be so impressed with a shower!

The evening show was Broadway show tunes and dancing. It was a little slow for the most part. I did enjoy it, they just happened to pick songs I didn’t really know or didn’t really like. The two dancers for the Miss Saigon number were absolutely amazing, I would love to have a copy of their performance. It was incredible. The main singers are also excellent. One thing I noticed though is that the dancers don’t seem to fully be in step together. It just doesn’t feel as polished as the other cruises I was on. Still very good but not completely in unison.

 

Day 3: Juneau

Walked around the track. It was really nice to get out early in the morning and there weren’t tons of people up and about. Great views from up there.

First we saw some really active whales while still on the cruise ship. The only times I was cold on the whole trip was when I was on deck for an extended period of time watching either the wildlife or the glaciers.

We were lucky enough to see a group of 10-12 whales “bubble feeding”, it was amazing to see 10 whales blow one after another and then see them dive. We also saw one really happy looking whale breaching over and over. He just kept propelling himself out of the water and splashing back down. There were several other whales in the area as well so we were out on deck for ages just watching them all. Make sure you bring binoculars, it really helps and we used ours all the time.

 

Later, we went whale watching with Orca (thanks to the great reviews on this site). I can certainly add my recommendation as well! We were lucky enough to not only have Captain Larry on our boat but also Captain Shawn and Captain Scott as well as their boats were not going out that afternoon. Although this time of year is not prime whale watching season, we were able to see quite a few whales and were always on the lookout for the perfect “tail”shot! The Orca Captains were all extremely knowledgeable and lots of fun. Captain Shawn in particular was very entertaining and came up to the observation deck with those of us out there. Great excursion!!

 

My aunt and her friend went on the Mendenhall Glacier and Wildlife Quest excursion which included whale watching. They really enjoyed the trip although they did not have much time to explore the Mendenhall visitor centre.

 

We missed dinner in the dining room (as we were scheduled for early dinner) so we went to the deli instead. The reuben is excellent.

The show was a hypnotist and he was really funny. He had everyone laughing, it was a great show.

 

Day 3: Glacier Bay

I cannot stress enough how important it is to be out on deck while going through Glacier Bay. We did have a balcony cabin which we used for some viewing but being out on deck gave us a better picture of just how vast the glaciers are. It was absolutely breathtaking cruising through the bay. The Rangers on board were great at giving information and letting us know what we were seeing. We were even fortunate enough to see a couple of spectacular calvings. Glacier Bay was probably my favourite part of the trip, it really has to be experienced, it’s just too hard to describe and pictures do not do it justice.

 

My mom and I went to the late night hypnotist show. He was excellent again. I’m really glad we decided to see his second show.

 

Day 4: Skagway

We all started out with the Bordello and Breakfast tour (booked through Carnival) at the Red Onion Saloon. It was much better than I had anticipated. Breakfast itself was great (Kondike quiche, reindeer sausage and blueberry compote), we also had options for breakfast drinks as well (Klondike coffee, Bloody Mary’s…). Be prepared, they are very generous with the drinks : ) The tour was fun and the folks working there do a really good job entertaining the crowd. Say hi to Hussy Gussy for me as a fellow Albertan (you can tell her it was the gal from Calgary)

We did some shopping after the breakfast tour. Skagway has some great shopping, especially the Alaska Shirt Company. Almost everything in the store was 50% off since it was so late in the season! Woo Hoo!!

My mom and I also had the Valley of the Glaciers helicopter tour with Temsco (booked through Carnival as Temsco said they didn’t have availability when I called direct). It was fantastic. We went to the Mead glacier, apparently they don’t usually get to go there so our Pilot was even excited about the trip. The flight was a lot of fun although we were packed like sardines into the helicopter. My poor mom got a little squished and had a hard time seeing out the windows but still enjoyed the trip. At one point we flew up to a huge wall of blue ice, it was fantastic. On the way back we spotted 3 bull moose! I highly recommend the helicopter glacier tours.

 

My aunt and friend went on the Whitepass Railroad excursion while we were on the helicopter. They really enjoyed the scenery although it was fairly cloudy for much of the time. They didn’t see any wildlife but had some great things to say about the trip. The staff on board the train was very knowledgeable about the area and they were able to get some great photos.

 

When we got back on board, they had a matinee show with “Mr. Skagway” who told stories and sang songs about the Klondike. We missed the first few minutes of the show but the rest was great. He was really funny and a great story teller. We ended up buying his cd so we could listen to the full routine.

 

We went to the past guest party in the auditorium. I know that folks on this board have said not to drink what the waiters have but to order anything you want from the bar. I couldn’t actually find the bar so I had a couple of raspberry sours which were very tasty. We also had some yummy appetizers and watched the video of all the Carnival ships. It was our first past guest party and was quite informative.

 

The evening show was “Singing with the Big Band” and starred a fly in entertainer Cal Rifkin (I think was his name). The main singers and the dancers also did a few numbers. It was a good show. Again, not really music that I’m into but he had an excellent voice and it was worth going to.

 

Day 5: Ketchikan

We started the day with a little shopping but the deals weren’t as good as the ones in Skagway so we didn’t buy too much.

My mom and I went on the Mountain Point Snorkelling Adventure (also booked through Carnival). It was great. Not only is it just fun to tell people that you snorkelled in Alaska, it was actually fun to do. The guides are terrific and made everyone feel very comfortable, even those with no snorkelling experience. The water was only cold for a minute or so, then we all warmed up. It was great getting to hold starfish, a sea urchin and a sea cucumber. There were no large jellyfish but I did see some tiny clear ones around me. The wetsuits are quite a chore to get into and are not the most attractive or flattering things I’ve ever worn! They are very effective though so I guess that’s the important part. We saw some small silver fish (baby salmon and/or perch I think), some little crabs and the creatures the guides brought up for us to experience. I was really impressed with the staff.

After the tour we wandered Ketchikan for a little while longer and did some shopping at the Great Alaskan Lumberjack show store. They have some really fun lumberjack themed items there. I was sad that the time of our tour did not allow me to see the lumberjack show but the snorkelling was worth it!

 

This was our second formal night so after snorkelling and shopping we were running a little late. We went from scraggly after snorkel attire to our formal wear in about 15 minutes! It felt like we were on the run all day. This formal dinner was a little better. Again, the fish entrees seem to be the best choices.

The show was the second Las Vegas style performance. It was called “High Spirits” and was a little strange. It showed different types of “spirits”, spirit of dance, spirit of earth/water/air, spirits (ghosts)… Some of it was excellent and again the singing was really good. The dancers were a little out of step again but it was a fun show with great costumes. Certainly worth seeing but definitely a little odd (to me anyways!)

 

The Grand Gala buffet was also held. It was fantastic. I was really impressed, it was just beautiful. To be honest, I found that the Carnival Glory surpassed the Spirit for the most part, but the gala buffet on the Spirit was much better than the one on the Glory. We also brought a couple of desserts back to the cabin to eat on the balcony and the food was good as well.

 

Day 6: At Sea

More amazing scenery. Alaska is absolutely gorgeous and it was great to have a balcony (or to be up on deck) and just watch the world go by!

We also went on the galley tour (very cool, I recommend it if your ship offers one).

We also had to get packed up again for the trip home : ( It went by much too fast!

We checked out the chocolate buffet at lunch. Mmmmmm. It was yummy. I recommend the cheesecake with chocolate sauce poured over or the rum ball on the skewer. Very tasty.

 

There was a matinee comedy show by Mrs. Hughes. It started a little slow but she was really funny once she got going. I was sad that I missed her midnight show the night before.

Galley tour – really neat. Amazing to learn that they had used 48,000 eggs so far on the cruise and that the food costs between $300,000 - $400,000 per cruise. We also saw people carving ice and decorating cakes.

We also went to the crew Q&A session. It was also very interesting and informative. I would recommend going to one if you have the chance. You learn lots about life on a cruise ship.

 

The evening show was the “Legends” show which had passengers doing karaoke. It was actually my favourite show of the cruise. The passengers were either really good, or just had great courage to be up there and I was impressed with all of them. Carnival also provided great costumes for them. Shawn Bussey was the cruise director on this ship (oddly she was also the cruise director on the Glory when I was on it) and did a great job with the entertainment.

 

I love traveling with Carnival, I think they give very good value for your money. Our balcony cabin was a good size and had ample storage for the two of us. I did ask our cabin steward for extra mints one night as it was my mother’s birthday and she loves the mints. He left a few extras in our room and in the room my aunt was in as well. The room was always very clean and we had no issues.

The only minor minor disappointments were:

- The food – not as good as I expected, especially the beef and pork dishes. Still very good but not outstanding.

- Hot Chocolate – the machines were not working several times at breakfast or after dinner

- Entertainment – the fact that the Vegas style shows weren’t as polished as I expected, there were always a couple of people out of sync with everyone else.

As I say, the disappointments were very minor and only there because Carnival has set the bar so high with their service. It did not detract from my enjoyment of the cruise.

 

Side Shopping Note:

I just wanted to give some brief info. on our souvenirs on the trip as many folks seem to be interested in the shopping.

As mentioned, we found several stores (including the gift shop on the ship) that had all Alaskan items at 50% off. Some of the things we purchased were:

- Chocolate bars with really cute wrappers (Babe in the Woods, Forest Grump) – the folks at work loved them!

- T-shirts, especially for kids, they were about $4.00 on sale and there were some great designs

- Hematite (Alaska Black Diamond) necklaces and earrings

- Christmas Ornaments (I’m a bit of a Christmas freak so I bought several – anything from a salmon with antlers and a Rudolph nose to a map of the inside passage)

- We also bought a couple of necklaces in Skagway made from old coins that had been pressed flat and then the design stamped out of the metal. They were not on sale but they were quite unique.

- I did not end up with an Ulu knife but my Aunt bought a couple and seems to be really impressed so far

 

Alaska is an amazing place to visit. I was pleasantly surprised by the good weather we had (almost no rain on our trip) and the variety of things to see and do there. It’s an incredible place.

 

The naturalist Michelle was excellent and I was so pleased that their PA system is very effective. We could actually hear the announcements or commentary clearly while on deck or by turning to channel 15 on the tv in our cabin. The fly in entertainers were great and I was glad they brought the Rangers on board in Glacier Bay.

The arts and crafts were well done and a nice choice for activities.

 

Sorry that this is so long! I love Carnival, I loved Alaska and I would certainly travel with Carnival again.

[dickinson]

Thanks for the review! Someday I will make it to Alaska. Sounds beautiful.

[luv2cruz44]

Great review, traveladdicted. We did this cruise in May of 2003 and absolutely loved it. Your review brought back some very good memories. In fact, loved it so much, we're doing it again next year. How was your service in the dining room? Some locals just got back from that cruise and were very disappointed in the service in the dining room. I don't know them very well, however so can't comment on how "right" their opinions were.

[mom23guys]

We did the Spirit to Alaska in July and the service in the dinig room was very good. Most nights one of the tables assigned to our waiter was empty so maybe that had something to do with it. The wait staff was friendly and very pleasant. The only thing negative I would say about the dining room service was the maitr'd. He seemed very aloof and only stopped at our table to check on thing on the next to last night. Kind of gave the impression he was looking for a tip.

[jrmende63]

thanks for the review. We went to Alaska on the Spirit in May of this year. We loved it and will definately do it again!

[HeidiHo]

The evening show was “Singing with the Big Band” and starred a fly in entertainer Cal Rifkin (I think was his name). The main singers and the dancers also did a few numbers. It was a good show. Again, not really music that I’m into but he had an excellent voice and it was worth going to.

 

 

His name is Ned Rifken and my sister dated him in high school (I think you're confusing him with a baseball player named Cal Ripkin). I've asked people before who have been on the Spirit if they saw him but you are the first person who has. I knew him back in the early '70's. I saw him in one of the school musicals and knew then that he'd probably sing or act professionally some day.

[texas greeneyes]

Thanks for a great virtual view of Alaska...thoroughly enjoyable!

[southbayer]

What's the best time to travel to alaska when the weathers not so cold, and the air not so dry ?

[CraftyDD]

We did the southbound on Spirit in August. The weather was perfect. I thought everything on the ship was excellent except for the entertainment. Also we had late dining and wanted to go to some of the clubs but everything shuts down at midnight so it didn't give us much time.

 

If you cruise Alaska you must have a balcony room. It's well worth the little extra $$ you pay. And your room steward will leave you an extra blanket if you ask for those chili mornings while you take in the scenery and enjoy your coffee.

[LHP]

Thanks for helping me relive one of the best cruises we have been on. It is hard to beat Alaska!!!

[BigDoug]

Thanks for the great review. We were debating about an Alaskan cruise. Your review of the Spirit was so positive and I love the Spirit-class ships. However, the new Alaska cruise tax has soured me on cruising to Alaska for the time being.:( I'll wait until the tax situation has been sorted out (court challenge, legislative repeal) before looking at Alaska again.

[hughvh]

What was the weather like for your trip? Folks on the Alaska forum say that is can be hit or miss.

 

Also, did you notice any kids on board? I'm sure that my seven year old DD would love Alaska, but I would like to think she had some other kids to play with.

[traveladdicted]

Hi Hughvh,

 

We were pretty lucky with the weather. We had hardly any rain (and apparently it had been a really cold, wet summer). The only times I was really cold was out on deck without any shelter from the wind, and only if I was out for an extended period of time - glacier or whale watching.

 

We did see quite a few kids although not very often as they were all involved in Camp Carnival activities. Actually, on debarkation day we were really surprised at all the kids there were on board as we hadn't really seen many most of the time.

 

Enjoy whatever cruise you end up taking!!

[PeggySand]

Thanks for a review of the Spirit. There doesn't seem to be too many, I can't figure out why.

 

One question..... to quote you: "We checked out the chocolate buffet at lunch. Mmmmmm. It was yummy. I recommend the cheesecake with chocolate sauce poured over or the rum ball on the skewer. Very tasty."

 

For some reason, I thought there was not a chocolate buffet on the Spirit Class ships. This is a great surprise that you had one on the Spirit. We will be on this ship on Dec. 9th, 2006 for the cruise to Acapulco, and I will be looking forward to checking it out.

 

Thanks again,

Peggy

[007Alaska]

We've lived in Anchorage for 20 years now and I would highly recommend cruising between late May and July 15th. Before that things can be cool and after that it becomes quite rainy. It is Alaska and there is no guarantee. But the time frame I mentioned is consistently the warmest, driest time of year. As was mentioned, we had a very wet summer this year. But we have been spoiled by the last few years of warm dry summers - so it all evens out.

[traveladdicted]

Hi PeggySand,

 

I certainly did say Chocolate Buffet! I was pleased they had it as well, it was unexpected but extremely tasty.

 

Enjoy!

[asoutherngal]

Traveladdicted--just ran across your review and boy oh boy, did it make me think about my wonderful week in late May 2003 on the Spirit. You bet! One of the best cruises I have ever taken. Reading your review made me long for my aft wrap balcony, a good book, a cup of coffee, and the beautiful glaciers. The food, the service and the employees on this ship were terrific. Glad to hear that Michelle is still on the ship--she sure keeps you informed!!! Thanks for the review.

[SouthernCaribbean]

Awesome review! I wasnt on the board for awhile and missed when this was posted.

[sea_u_onboard]

Can't wait - I'll be on her in 184 days (July 4th). I didn't let the tax scare me away and I had to spring for 4 of them ($200). Whether it gets repealed or not I'm going. Once in a lifetime trip.