Spirit Review - 2/19/07

[dansize]

Following is a rather long review of the 2/19/07 sailing of the Carnival Spirit from San Diego to Acapulco, Ixtapa/Zihautanejo and Manzanillo. This was our 3rd cruise following a 4-day trip on the Carnival Paradise in October of 2006 (Catalina and Ensenada) and a 7 day cruise on the Carnival Pride in March of 2004 (PV, Mazatlan and Cabo). We were fortunate enough to be cruising on our own as our kids got to spend almost 10 days with their grandparents so the trip was just for mom and dad.

 

Choosing the trip

We had taken Carnival twice before for their other two Mexican schedules and felt this was a logical progression as we had not been to the port cities before. Throw in the fact that we could still drive to embarkation and that the price/calendar met our needs, and it was a no-brainer. We booked a Balcony Guarantee through Carnival in December and were eventually assigned an 8F on the Verandah Deck (#7140). The cabin was port side, forward which gave us a view of the sunset only once we made the turn north after Acapulco.

 

Embarkation Day (February 19th)

We used to live in southern California but are now in Reno. Therefore we had to plan a bit. We still chose to drive in but actually came in to town on the 18th and stayed at the Best Western Bayside Inn which offers a “stay and cruise” package that includes parking and a limited breakfast. The total bill was around $180 but did include parking in the motel’s structure and a shuttle to the pier. San Diego is almost always beautiful with great weather, but the 19th saw pouring rain all day. We had a reservation on the hotel’s shuttle to the pier for 10:40 which we knew to be early, but I like to get onboard as soon as allowed, so it didn’t bother us.

 

However, once we got to the pier, the shuttle was not allowed to drop off in the complex as the ship(s) were still offloading passengers. So we had to haul luggage a little distance, but (again) we were on vacation and it didn’t bother us. The Zandaam was also in port for the embarkation on a San Diego to Hawaii cruise. We were able to check in quickly. Carnival had all stations opened and was serving customers as they walked in. We never saw a line form in the 45-60 minutes we had to sit and wait for boarding. We finally got moving toward the windy/rainy gangway just after noon.

 

Lunch on the Lido. Now we’re on vacation. We found our room and watched the masses descend on the terminal. We discovered later that all of the inbound luggage was in a line to be x-rayed. But Carnival had the more exposed side of the terminal so all the luggage was actually outdoors and exposed to the rain while in line to be screened. I suspect many folks found damp items in their luggage. They tried to cover things with tarps, but it wasn’t easy. As it was, our luggage never made it to our cabin (found at the purser’s desk with about 50 other bags) as our Carnival-issued tags did not survive the transfer.

 

Boat drill occurred quickly at 4:00. We think the Zandaam passengers were jealous as we could see them form up for their drill a good 15 minutes before ours (in the weather) and the Carnival drill was called, formed and dismissed before the Zandaam finished theirs. It felt like a race as we managed to complete the luggage screen and start to pull out in advance of the boat across the way. As soon as we cleared Coronado, the water got choppy, but not too bad.

 

We went to the “Welcome Aboard” show which was the same as one we saw on the Paradise in October, but with new players. First exposure to the Cruise Director who was a guy by the name of Ryan Fitzgerald. If I were to guess, I would suspect the position to be relatively new to him (just based on apparent age), but he was pleasant and energetic throughout the week (along with Jamie, Sara and David).

 

2.5 Days at Sea (February 20-22 at noon)

These were the days of orientation and napping. The Spirit was the first in the “Spirit class” of ships built by Carnival and we had a good feel for the layout due to sailing on the Pride a few years back. We participated in a contest or two looking to earn the elusive 24K-gold-plastic-ship-on-a-stick. No luck in this stretch. Formal night was Tuesday and we took advantage of the photographers and took in the first “big” show. Weather cleared nicely on the 2nd sea day where it had been a little cool on the first. The seas also got much less choppy after we cleared Cabo We went to the excursion and shopping talks that were offered.

 

Something new on this trip is the onboard “Morning Show” hosted by the Cruise Director and whichever host lost a bet that morning. We really enjoyed the show as it was an entertaining rundown of what was happening that day (OK, they read from the Caper) and better insights in to the personalities managing the experience. They only did the show on sea days and, in most cases did it live. These people are not professional broadcasters, but that makes it that much more entertaining. They also used the closed circuit, live-TV at other times during the week for call-in trivia contests.

 

Acapulco (February 22)

There is a nice long approach to Acapulco where the ship has slowed a bit. We recommend getting out on a rail and looking for sea life as we were able to see dozens of sea turtles swimming by the ship as we approached the bay. Our captain was all about being timely as our docking and clearance from the authorities allowed for debarkation right at noon, ship-time (as advertised).

 

We had booked an excursion through Carnival for the Shotover Boat. In this case, we met on the pier and were led to a 12-passenger van for the trip to the excursion. The weather in Acapulco was in the high 80’s or low 90’s with better-than-average humidity. The van was barely air conditioned, but bearable. Regardless of what you choose to do in ports, bring water and stay hydrated as the humidity will knock you on your butt otherwise. After a stop for gas (no kidding) and a stop at a vista overlooking the bay (for pictures) we drove south to the next bay down the coast. The company operating the shotover boats works on a stream coming off of this bay in to an area of mangroves..

 

The excursion itself was everything advertised. It is exhilarating, you are likely to get wet, and you will see stuff you probably haven’t seen before. The stunts done on the boat in the process are a great time and I would categorize it as a low to medium grade roller coaster ride.

 

We went back to the ship to eat with the plan of taking a cab to see the cliff divers in the evening. We found a driver (or he found us) and negotiated a fare to the divers. Along the way he figured out we liked to shop and offered to detour to a flea market before the show. He pointed out we had almost an hour before the next show. We went for his suggestion, though won’t do this in the future since it was clear he had an arrangement with the operator of this market. We got a few things, but felt above-average pressure from all the merchants.

 

We proceeded to the cliff diver show and paid $3.50/head to walk to the bottom of the stairs and see the show. As everyone says, this is something to see to believe. The added pressure of doing it after nightfall adds a bit of risk too. After the show, back to the ship and lights-out before the ship pulls out at 1AM.

 

Ixtapa/Zihautanejo (February 23)

Tender Port. But we get to use the lifeboats! From our balcony we watched them lower3 of the 4 lifeboats used for tender duty. I always wondered if those things could hold 100+ people as advertised. Obviously they can. We did not have an excursion so we waited for tender numbers to be called and were on the beach before noon. This is a beautiful tropical port, truly postcard material to make workers at home jealous. We chose to walk the open markets and the recommended stores (for raffles). I told my wife that I turned in to a heat wimp as the shopping experience was again hot/humid and I was showing it as we went from booth to booth. We came away with some great items and deals and were content to go back to the ship after a few hours and no need to visit Ixtapa.

 

Manzanillo (February 24)

Docked in the “industrial” area of the port. Containers and container ships are all around and walking from the ship to anything is not really an option. We booked a ship tour to the Cuyutlan Turtle Preserve. This is listed as a 6-hour tour and it is. We were picked up by the most modern tour bus I have seen on the road (US or Mexico). Well air-conditioned and plush. This was also the first port in Mexico where we saw anything resembling a US freeway. We drove south out of town for about 30 minutes through miles of coconut groves. Eventually we reached El Tortugario which is a preserve for the sea turtles, iguanas and crocodiles. After watching a video, we were taken on a half hour boat tour of the interior lagoon of the local nature preserve where you see a great variety of birds and mangrove habitat. After that you are free to roam the enclosures where you see different varieties of sea turtles in various stages of development. The finale is a walk to the beach where some of the tour (the kids in our case) were allowed to release baby turtles in to the surf.

 

10 more minutes on the bus took us to a local open-air restaurant for lunch and drinks. Some shopping or time on the beach was possible as this stop was for 90 minutes. After that we returned to port, hopped a cab and did our last bit of shopping in Mexico in downtown Manzanillo, just opposite the giant swordfish sculpture. For the general lack of sales pressure and the ability to do multiple things rather easily, we found this to be one of our favorite ports.

 

2 Days at Sea (February 25-26)

This is always sort of a downer for me as I realize at this stage that the next time we get off the ship, they won’t let us back on. The sea was rather choppy on the way back. The last night was really noticeable and I even managed to whack my head in one of the doorframes going toward an elevator on one of the better dips the ship took. It became our goal to earn a ship-on-a-stick, and by the end of our sea days, we actually earned a fleet of 3 by winning a general trivia contest and a movie-theme contest (as a team). The 2nd formal night was in this stretch as well as a hypnotist that was amazing. We even went for his late night “adult” show which was also great.

 

The last show on the ship is the “Carnival Legends” show where they take passengers and insert them in to a tribute show. The screening takes place in the karaoke lounge. I’m not sure this is the best show for the cruise to close the week with, but everyone had fun.

 

Luggage packed and waiting in the hallway, we started to consider our drive home.

 

Disembarkation – February 27th

We were docked by 7:00 and it was overcast (and soon raining again). Our group was the 3rd color called (Rose) and we were off the ship and on the road by 10:00AM. No problems to speak of. I was a bit surprised that the immigration officers didn’t have a permanent station set up in the terminal like they do in Long Beach, but I was pleased because it seemed to go faster this way.

 

OVERALL:

Food – Very good in the buffet – no experience in the main dining room (not our style). The desserts from the coffee counter were good when we were looking for something really sweet. Of course the 24-hr soft-serve and breakfast danish always were appreciated.

 

Service – We spoke to our room steward a few times and she was always quick to make up the room as needed. As noted, the cruise director (Ryan Fitzgerald) and his staff were very enthusiastic and had great fun with the passengers.

 

Room – more than ample for our needs. Always go for the balcony. You won’t be disappointed

 

Ship – OK, it’s big, but it never felt like we were contained with 3000 other people.

 

All-in-all, we will return to Carnival the next time.

[jetgerhard5]

Thank you for a great review. Last year we were on the Pride in November and this year will go on the Spirit leaving on October 29, 2007. Really looking forward to the Spirit as we thought that the Pride was a beautiful ship. Hopefully we will have a little better weather than what you had in Febraury but it is always "iffy". Sorry you bumped your head but glad to hear you didn't get seasick. As always a vacation is what you make it and your's sounded great. Happy sailing again!!!

[StuartLittle]

Did they have the pub crawl?

 

Does the Spirit have a sushi bar?

[Iggipolka]

Thank you so much for your review! It sounds like you had a wonderful time. :D

[gumballz]

Thanks for the review dansize!

 

Can you tell me if the dance club is one level or two? If it's two levels, can you see down onto the first level from the second?

 

Thanks!

[dansize]

To answer previous questions:

 

1) No pub crawl that I saw advertised.

 

2) Yes, there is a sushi bar between the coffe bar and the casino on deck 2

 

3) Dance club - Yes it's 2 levels, but I don't know about visibility top to bottom.

[gumballz]

To answer previous questions:

 

 

 

3) Dance club - Yes it's 2 levels, but I don't know about visibility top to bottom.

 

 

Thanks!

[gojo]

Did you tender into Ixtapa or zihauntano?

[mek]

dansize - I was on the same cruise as you. I've been planning to do a review, but you beat me to it. We flew in the day before and stayed at the Holiday Inn across from the terminal. We used this hotel for it's location and because it also has an airport shuttle and shuttle to the ship that we hadn't intended on using but ended up with it because of the rain. You're right - we did have a few damp clothes. DH and I have been on 30+ cruises, (our 7th on Carnival), and we both agreed that this particular cruise was one of our best. We found the food to be quite good in the dining room and enjoyed the buffets. A very nice afternoon tea was served on sea days. This was the first time we had ever done late dinner and on this cruise it worked out well. We were able to sleep in and have a relaxing afternoon without rushing to the 5:45 dinner. The ship is large, but not too large and I thought it was designed well and easy to navigate. It was our first time to these three ports and we enjoyed them all. I thought the ship was in great condition. The atrium was beautiful, but I found other areas of the ship to be typical Carnival "over the top decor" - something I personally don't care for, but I tend to get used to it after the first day. Cabins are great and very spacious and the bathroom has a large vanity area,(buy ship standards). I had one problem with room service - it never arrived. Other than that we had no complaints.