Spirit to Mexico Questions answered!

[Majik45]

I just got back from the Carnival Spirit sailing on 1/2/07 down the Mexican Riveria to Acapulco, Zihauntenejo/Ixtapa, and Manzanillo. I thought I'd start another thread to see if anyone had questions about their upcoming cruise on the ship. I'll try to answer them if you post.

[Doheny]

My wife and I are sailing on the Carnival Spirit 2-11-07. Looking for any tips or tricks for our cruise. Thank you

[Grampy]

Wow, you live right next to us. We are sailing Feb.3. Have fun, I will wave to you when we get on. Save some fun drinks for us.:)

 

Crummy day here today. I hope that it's better weather when we all sail.

[Doheny]

I'm going to be camping out with my sons cub scout pack at San Clemente State Park this weekend. I'm sure our cruise weather

will be nicer then this weekend. Burrr

[Grampy]

I'm going to be camping out with my sons cub scout pack at San Clemente State Park this weekend. I'm sure our cruise weather

will be nicer then this weekend. Burrr

 

 

Maybe you can take them on a field trip to the movies.;) I'm sure you guys will have fun.

[alden]

We Leave in two weeks for the Spirit. We have a balcony room 7th floor near the bridge. This is our 3rd Carnival Cruise, but 1st time on the Spirit and 1st time on the Mexican Riveria. We hope do do the Dolphin Swim - haven't booked yet though.

 

Any words of wisdom for the ship or excursions?

[Majik45]

Just to give you all a little information. This was my first cruise, and it was myself and my new wife on the cruise, our honeymoon. We are both in our late 20's, not big drinkers, and were just looking for a laid back relaxing vacation. We had a 7th floor balcony near mid-ship which was great.

 

Embarkation was pretty quick and we had no problems. Probably took about half an hour to get through it all when we arrived around 1:00pm (ish). It was very orderly and easy, especially for a first timer. The ship is big and beautiful. It's a very impressive atrium when you board the ship.

 

Most of the non-dinner dinning was up on deck 9, the lido deck. They had a grill out by the pool, and then about 6 other stations where you could get food including the 24 hour pizza place. 24 hour soft serve ice cream is in the back of the ship by the kids pool. The adults only hot tub was in the back of the ship as well.

 

We had the late seating for dinner, and our table always seemed slow. The food was great all week. My wife and I both gained about 5-10 pounds between the holidays and the cruise because it was so good.

 

Weather was absolutely spectacular. It was 75-80 and sunny when we left San Diego, and just got better from there. It was almost too hot in port in Acapulco and Zhijuantenejo as it probably pushed 90 with lots of humidity.

 

We didn't do any of the excursions through the ship, as I think they are overpriced, and we just wanted to lay on the beach. In Acapulco, you can walk to the beach just right down the road a little ways, and the water wasn't extremely warm, but it was a nice break from the humidity. There are plenty of taxi's there to take you anywhere you want to go. We also had dinner at a restaurant on the beach and got tacos, enchaladas, chips and salsa, and a couple of beers for just over $15 with tip. The cliff divers are a short 5-10 minute ($5) taxi ride if you want to see them. They only have 1 afternoon show at like 12:45 then have shows like every hour or so starting about 7 or 7:30 or something.

 

Zhijauntenejo is a tender port. They get you off the ship pretty quickly. There are a ton of shops and restaurants right off the pier if you want to do that. We didn't go to Ixtapa because we heard it was like half an hour away by taxi. There is a beach right off the boat again here, but I suggest taking a water taxi across the harbor to the beaches on the other side of the cove as they had a lot more activity and restaurants on that side. We didn't do take the water taxi (didn't know about it), but did take a regular taxi. I parasailed for $20 for like 10-12 minutes all around the cove and I didn't even have to bargain that price.

 

Manzanillo is an industrial port, and you dock in a ship loading yard. There is nothing right off the boat, so we decided to stay on the boat this day. We heard it was a half hour taxi ride to the closest beach.

 

The sea days are packed with activities to do. We played some Bingo, and went to some trivias. My favorite was the live trivia where they broadcast it on the TV so people in their rooms could call in and answer too. We watched that one day from our room, then went down there the second day so we could win a prize.

 

If you want to find out about the ship excursions, go to the port talk because they go over all of them that aren't sold out. They don't give much else information in the talk besides about the excursions. Plus they replay the show the whole trip on your tv. The shopping talk is also only for Carnival recommended stores, and focussed heavily on jewelry. We left after 5 minutes of this talk.

 

The shows at night were pretty good. We loved the Mexican Dance/Folk Team they brought on the ship in Acapulco to perform. They had a couple of comdedians, a hypnotist (I know I just butchered the spelling of that), and some dance shows.

 

Overall, I thought the cruise was great and loved it. Only bad weather day was the first sea day coming back toward San Diego. It was overcast but still probably got to 75 at least. Every other day was gorgeous.

 

If you have other specific questions let me know.

[mich2]

Thanks, Majik45. What a wonderful review. I love it when it's just right to the point. Sounds like you had a great time too! We got hooked on cruising on our first trip.....start saving the money hahahah

 

We're leaving on February 11th too, maybe we'll bump into Doheny;)

[Grampy]

Majik45, very nice review. You should copy and paste it over on the Carnival board so a lot of others can read it too. I am ready to go.:)

[hult1972]

We would like to know if you or anyone you know went snorkeling?

We are going on this cruise the end of January and looking for beaches to snorkel at.

Thank's

[Majik45]

Our tablemates were big snorklers, and tried to do that everyday. They tried to go somewhere on the far side of Acapulco while there. The taxi driver kept telling them no, no, they didn't want to, but they didn't know why. When they got there, I guess the beach was too packed to snorkle because all of the locals were out because it was a Friday and a lot of the locals were at the beach. Anyway, it wasn't good there.

 

I believe there were able to snorkle at Zhijauntenejo and at Manzanillo.

I know they took the water taxi across the cove at Zhijuantenejo, and I believe they were able to snorkle a little there, but the water was pretty shallow. I guess it was pretty good for snorkling.. They also took the half hour taxi ride to the beach and Manzanillo too, and tried there I guess. I think it was pretty good there too.

 

I wish I had more specifics for you, but that is all I can remember from what they said.

[skymama]

Just booked today for feb 27th cruise. Thank you for all the info you posted, been reading these boards all day but this was another great insight from someone who was just there!

[skymama]

Well, that didn't take me long to think up a few questions for you. What can you tell me about the rooms. We did get a room with a balcony, but I would like to know what is in the room. Is there a small refrigerator? coffee pot? hair dryer? what are the chairs like on the balcony? Hows the hot water pressure, bathroom storage and electical plugs? I have only been on a small carnival ship, the Holiday. Thank you.:)

[Majik45]

Is there a small refrigerator? coffee pot? hair dryer? what are the chairs like on the balcony? Hows the hot water pressure, bathroom storage and electical plugs? I have only been on a small carnival ship, the Holiday. Thank you.:)

 

There is a small refrigerator. I had our cabin steward unlock it at the beginning of the trip, and she allowed me to take out the soda's/beer etc. out of the refrig and store it in a cabinet next to the frig so I could put my own stuff in there. I don't remember a coffee pot in the room, but there was coffee machines upstairs on the lido decks. There was a hair dryer in one of the drawyers next to a bible. There were two chairs on the balcony. One was a normal plastic stand up chair and one was more of a beach chair that could recline a little. It was plastic as well. There also was a little plastic table out there as well. They weren't anything special, but it was something to sit on. Hotwater pressure was fine, we had no problems. They have multiple little storage shelves in the bathroom and there was plenty of room for my wife and me. Electrical plugs were a little bit of a problem. There was only one in the bathroom and that was for the hair dryer. There was only one other in the room which was on the counter and it was not in the greatest place. Next time I go I'll probably bring a power strip or extenstion cord just because we couldn't charge our DVD player in that plug.

[CWcruisers]

They are generally the larger ones in the cruise industry and you will like the Spirit cabins vs the Holiday.

 

The plug in the bathroom is for a shaver, not a hair dryer. The only other plug is at the vanity in the center of the cabin. That is also where the hair dryer is located. Definitely bring a power strip if you have numerous items to plug in. That is true for most cruise ships. There is no coffee pot, but you can order coffee from room service or go to the lido deck.

 

There is always plenty of hot water and the shower curtains do not stick to you.

[bchbum641]

Hult1972- are you going on the Spirit on 1/26? Just asking cause that's when we'll be sailing on her. We too like to snorkel and have heard that in Ixtapa there is a beach-- Las Gates or something like that that you take a water taxi to and there is good snorkeling there. That's where we plan to snorkel.

 

Does anyone know of any zipline places in Manzanillo or Ixtapa? We would love to do that.

[JLDMED]

I am particular about my bedding (bad back), and am hoping the beds are not too firm. What was your experience? Could you tell the beds were pushed together, or do they cover the "crack" up with some kind of mattress pad? Also, are there blankets, or comforter/duvets on the bed?

[gullgirl]

We have a roll call going for the sailing on the Spirit for Feb 11. Come on down! Get on board! Come join our roll call. It's getting closer....

[Majik45]

I am particular about my bedding (bad back), and am hoping the beds are not too firm. What was your experience? Could you tell the beds were pushed together, or do they cover the "crack" up with some kind of mattress pad? Also, are there blankets, or comforter/duvets on the bed?

 

I didn't have any problems with the bed. They were really comfortable. My bed was pushed together, but I didn't notice it at first. I didn't look to see if they cover up the crack with anything. They had a bigger comforter on the bed that was very warm.

[Doheny]

Thank you! Can we pack yet?

[mich2]

Oh yeah, for sure......We've got a list going and started "staging" already! It's only 15 days away. WhoooHooo!!!

[kandiegurlie23]

What type of events/activities will there be onboard for an almost 20-year old female college student? Anyone have experience w/daughters my age going on this cruise? Will drinking be legal onboard for 18+?