Carnival & Carnival Spirit

[iancal]

We have been on many cruise lines and have always wanted to try Carnival...the opinions vary so much but our read is that a lot of the complaints are attributable to very old tapes. And we plan to drive to San Diego vs. the usual air to FLL. So here are some questions that some of you may be able to comment on. Our cruise is 03/04/09 and we can still change without charges.

 

1. Is the Spirit a good representation of Carnival ships, service, and food? We have never had a bad cruise. How would it compare to Princess, HAL, RCI etc.

 

2. Our understanding is that the Spirit will be headed for drydock after this cruise. Will this fact impact our cruise? Have also read that the ship is in poor interior physical condition...anyone been on lately who could comment. I realize that this is subjective.

 

3. We booked an 8 day, mid week departure hoping to avoid any spring break groups. Do you think this strategy will be successful?

 

4. We booked an 8A balcony guarantee. Given a 8 day midweek cruise, do you think our chances of a decent upgrade are reasonable or does Carnival call and try to sell discounted upgrades.

 

5. When we booked few months ago, fuel charge was on the bill. Wondering if this charge will be lifted for final payment in Dec. given Carnival`s direction to eliminate fuel surcharges now that oil prices are down.

 

thanks very much

[SunnyinMA]

I can't answer your spirit questions as I have never been but I don't think Carnival eliminated the fuel surcharge yet. They said they WILL eliminate it if the price for a barrel of oil stays at 70 dollars or less per barrel for 25 days.

 

http://www.carnival.com/cms/fun/fuelsupplement.aspx?WT.mc_id=Bhmgpnewnotablefuel

[tootsiescurly]

The Spirit and her sister ships are outstanding! Princess and HAL are a little more upscale than Carnival. RCI IMO is comparable.

 

We have always booked the aft wraps on Spirit class ships. They are outstanding!

 

The food on Carnival is vastly better than RCI. Our last RCI cruise the only edible food were the vegetables.

 

We found the service on the Spirit outstanding. You will not regret sailing on her.

 

As for Spring break - hard to avoid the kids during March and the first couple of weeks in April. Carnival does seem to get more than their fair share of kids. We have never really found them to be a problem. The kids we encountered on RCI were worse.

[sassyredhat]

Can't help you too much, but we were on Spirit in 2005.

 

At that time, we boarded in the atrium. I remember crossing that threshold, stopped dead---right in the doorway---and said "Wow".

 

It's alot of eyecandy. :D All our other cruises have been HAL.

 

There were 4 of us, and 3 really liked the ship. I think my attitude was warped, as I was recovering from an illness, and was sick the first 3 days on the ship.

 

My opinion was that the food was OK (remember, I am used to HAL), but the pizza was outstanding.

 

We all liked the itinerary too.

 

Pat

[NMCRUISERS]

We were on the Spirit in September and we haven't been on another line....

 

1. The Service and Food were great. Crew was very hospitable and friendly. Food in dining room was wonderful. On the Lido, there were items I didn't always like, but just my taste.

 

2. I didn't see any physical problems with her. With our experience, a ship has seemed a little off after drydock.

 

3. We also booked this week hoping to miss Spring Break. This week seems a little early and also, I believe there are less children on an 8 day.

 

4. We did the same thing.....

 

5. Must wait and see.

 

Anyway...just my opinion....

[tylerdad]

We have been on many cruise lines and have always wanted to try Carnival...the opinions vary so much but our read is that a lot of the complaints are attributable to very old tapes. And we plan to drive to San Diego vs. the usual air to FLL. So here are some questions that some of you may be able to comment on. Our cruise is 03/04/09 and we can still change without charges.

 

1. Is the Spirit a good representation of Carnival ships, service, and food? We have never had a bad cruise. How would it compare to Princess, HAL, RCI etc.

 

2. Our understanding is that the Spirit will be headed for drydock after this cruise. Will this fact impact our cruise? Have also read that the ship is in poor interior physical condition...anyone been on lately who could comment. I realize that this is subjective.

 

3. We booked an 8 day, mid week departure hoping to avoid any spring break groups. Do you think this strategy will be successful?

 

4. We booked an 8A balcony guarantee. Given a 8 day midweek cruise, do you think our chances of a decent upgrade are reasonable or does Carnival call and try to sell discounted upgrades.

 

5. When we booked few months ago, fuel charge was on the bill. Wondering if this charge will be lifted for final payment in Dec. given Carnival`s direction to eliminate fuel surcharges now that oil prices are down.

 

thanks very much

 

We were on the Spirit 3 weeks ago and we saw no " poor interior condition"

 

It was nice and clean and yes there were some signs of very minor wear

If you read Carrivals policy on fuel surcharges it is unlikely that they will come off for your cruise.

I would cruise the Spirit again without question

[Bucky3]

We have cruised most of the competitive cruiselines, and our favorite is definitely Princess. Having said that we have cruised on Carnival Spirit for 24 days - back to back - from Vancouver to Ensenada. Several years ago we took the 8-day Carnival Spirit Christmas cruise to Mexico, and we are booked again for this Christmas with our family. We much prefer the decor of the Princess ships. However, this cruise itinerary will allow us an extra day and more southern Mexican ports plus no flying as we all live in CA, so we are looking forward to a fun family time. The cabins on Carnival Spirit are, or at least seem, quite a bit larger than Princess, but the balcony will be considerably smaller than we have experienced on the Caribe Deck of most of the Princess ships. You may be interested to know that by choice we have booked our chosen cabins in the 8A category. We like the Main Deck location near the aft elevators - easy access to the Lido Deck, aft pool, buffet, and promenade deck. We also prefer to be on a low deck close to the water! Hope the ship is in good shape 'cause we're going!!

[scperk]

I just got off the Miracle(sister ship) and am sailing the Spirit next saturday the 18th, I'll post here when I get back on the 27th.....I loved the Miracle and they are identicle ships, we enjoyed the Lido deck aft(it's adults pool and hot-tub)....Dennis

[Bucky3]

It will be great to get a current report. I do have one more question about the Spirit. Last time we cruised on her the slide was not open for use at all. We'll be glad to know what you observe. Thanks, and we'll look forward to your report.

[CarnivalPride]

The Spirit Class ships will always have a special place in my heart, especially the Pride. Much better layout than the Destiny/Triumph/Conquest/Splendor Class ships.

[tylerdad]

It will be great to get a current report. I do have one more question about the Spirit. Last time we cruised on her the slide was not open for use at all. We'll be glad to know what you observe. Thanks, and we'll look forward to your report.

 

We were on her for the last Alaska run of the season. The water slide was actually open 2 different days for a short time .It was cold but it was a lot of fun

[billsrobb]

The Spirit Class ships will always have a special place in my heart, especially the Pride. Much better layout than the Destiny/Triumph/Conquest/Splendor Class ships.

I have been on the Conquest twice and will be on the Spirit in January 09. Looking forward to seeing the difference.

Robb

Poster-In-Chief

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

1. Is the Spirit a good representation of Carnival ships, service, and food? We have never had a bad cruise. How would it compare to Princess, HAL, RCI etc.

I can't compare to other cruiselines cuz I've only sailed on NCL and the Spirit. Spirit is a great ship and I loved it so much, I booked my next cruise on the Pride which is sister ship. Service was great. Dining room food was fabulous. Buffet was okay but I much more prefered the dining room for dinner.

 

2. Our understanding is that the Spirit will be headed for drydock after this cruise. Will this fact impact our cruise? Have also read that the ship is in poor interior physical condition...anyone been on lately who could comment. I realize that this is subjective.

No problems with ship that I could see as of April 08. I would be more worried about following drydock issues with things not being finished or rework issues. The ship was in pretty good condition in my opinion.

3. We booked an 8 day, mid week departure hoping to avoid any spring break groups. Do you think this strategy will be successful?

I think thats a good strategy. There will be kids anytime but most of the spring breakers are later mid-to-late March and as the other poster said, they usually take shorter cruises that incorporate weekend departures.

4. We booked an 8A balcony guarantee. Given a 8 day midweek cruise, do you think our chances of a decent upgrade are reasonable or does Carnival call and try to sell discounted upgrades.

Not sure about this. I've heard it go both ways.

 

5. When we booked few months ago, fuel charge was on the bill. Wondering if this charge will be lifted for final payment in Dec. given Carnival`s direction to eliminate fuel surcharges now that oil prices are down.

 

I doubt the fuel charge will be dropped by then. Has to be below $70/barrel for 25 days latest I heard and it hasn't dropped below $70 yet that I'm aware of.

thanks very much

 

Good luck.

[iancal]

Thanks for the input, I feel better now.

 

I should have done my research re the fuel surcharge policy. Looks like it will be with us for a long time to come. Fortunately, we we booked it was only $5. per day.

[Wendell Pendell]

Just one more comment to make you feel even better: I cruised on the Spirit last April (my 7th cruise, 3rd on Carnival) and liked this ship so much that I'll be cruising the Spirit again 11/20/08 and 4/5/09! In the meantime, I cruised Alaska on the HAL Westerdam-- somewhat more expensive, very slightly nicer amenities, and an older demographic. I'm a "young" 57 year old, active and healthy, and enjoy younger people at the moment (for example, I ski with a group of mostly 40-somethings). So I'm planning to cruise mostly Carnival for the next 10 years or so, then maybe start moving to HAL.

 

I live in San Diego so that helps. But even if you're visiting, isn't San Diego a great city to spend an extra day before or after? By the way, our airport is only a mile from the pier and the embark/debark are usually smooth here.

 

Have a great cruise, I'm betting you'll love this ship!

 

Thanks for the input, I feel better now.

 

I should have done my research re the fuel surcharge policy. Looks like it will be with us for a long time to come. Fortunately, we we booked it was only $5. per day.

[jandjfun]

We have been on many cruise lines and have always wanted to try Carnival...the opinions vary so much but our read is that a lot of the complaints are attributable to very old tapes. And we plan to drive to San Diego vs. the usual air to FLL. So here are some questions that some of you may be able to comment on. Our cruise is 03/04/09 and we can still change without charges.

 

1. Is the Spirit a good representation of Carnival ships, service, and food? We have never had a bad cruise. How would it compare to Princess, HAL, RCI etc.

 

2. Our understanding is that the Spirit will be headed for drydock after this cruise. Will this fact impact our cruise? Have also read that the ship is in poor interior physical condition...anyone been on lately who could comment. I realize that this is subjective.

 

3. We booked an 8 day, mid week departure hoping to avoid any spring break groups. Do you think this strategy will be successful?

 

4. We booked an 8A balcony guarantee. Given a 8 day midweek cruise, do you think our chances of a decent upgrade are reasonable or does Carnival call and try to sell discounted upgrades.

 

5. When we booked few months ago, fuel charge was on the bill. Wondering if this charge will be lifted for final payment in Dec. given Carnival`s direction to eliminate fuel surcharges now that oil prices are down.

 

thanks very much

I suggest you go with a good attitude. Everything will be fine! Carnival compared to RCCL can't really be done unless you were going on the same size, type and age ship. We found both lines to be really nice. We enjoyed both lines for different reasons. We found the people on our first RCCL ship to be rude, snobby people. Carnival people are open and friendly. 2ND RCCL cruise. Great people! So it matters ship to ship, date to date, length to length. Like I said, just go, have a good time and don't compare. Pretend this is your first cruise ever.

[Wendell Pendell]

Here's a link to some very recent photos of the Spirit, posted here on CC by CheepWrent, who cruised the Spirit to Alaska on 9/17: http://carnivalspiritpics.shutterfly.com/

 

Click on the link above, then click on the small photo of the ship in the upper left, then click on the arrows to move back and forth.

 

When I saw these photos the other day, it made me really antsy to get right back on-- but I hafta wait FIVE more weeks! :(