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Craig Fowler
Age: 33
Occupation: Aerospace Engineer
Number of Cruises: 1
Cruise Line: Carnival
Name of Ship: Spirit
Sailing Date: December 2nd,
2002
Itinerary: Southern Caribbean
My wife and I are in our early 30’s with
no kids and we cruised for the first time on the Carnival Spirit from 2 – 10 Dec
02. I have read many cruise reviews from people (mostly cruise experts) which
helped me prepare for our cruise experience – but none of those reviews truly
reflected the “first timer”.
Embarkation – the process was relatively quick and organized. Have all of
your paperwork filled out (as specified) in the package that they send you, and
have a credit card ready (to obtain your sail and sign card). There are lineups
– just be patient…. Being a non-US citizen, I had to surrender my passport,
which gave me an uneasy feeling, and the fact that I had to show up at 6 30 am
on the final morning to pick it up again was a pain in the butt. With all of
that said, I suggest arriving around 11 am and you will be one of the first on
the ship!!
Carnival Spirit – the ship in my opinion was absolutely beautiful. I have
read how gaudy the décor is, and perhaps to people who have sailed on other more
“expensive” ships, it probably is – but for me, I thought it was amazing. The
ship looks brand new and was extremely clean.
Stateroom – we stayed in room 8118, an inside cabin. The stateroom was
quite roomy as I was expecting a lot smaller. It was located in the forward part
of the ship and turned out to be a really really quiet location. I read a lot
about the balcony debate and I am quite happy that I did not spend the extra
bucks for a balcony. Plus, it’s great to have absolute darkness to sleep in. My
wife and I did not spend much time in the cabin as we were always out enjoying
the various activities on the ship or on shore. It definitely would not have
been worth the money. For those of you that expect to spend more time in your
cabin, perhaps a balcony is for you.
Entertainment – I would rate this as average. There were some good shows
(magic act, Spirit dancers and a few others), but the rest of the shows (most of
the comedians, tribute to film) were sub par. But remember, this is only my
opinion. The shows were good to go to if you wanted to fill an hour of your
time! The games during the day were a lot of fun to participate in as well as to
spectate. The more involved that you are in the activities the more fun you will
have.
Food – Simply outstanding. Lobster, crab legs, scallops, jumbo shrimp,
prawns, salmon, fish, filet mignon, chateaubriand etc etc etc. The food was
excellent and plentiful in the main dining room (the Empire). The 24 hour pizza
bar was fantastic, as well as the other food stations on the Lido deck, which
offered an alternative to dining in the main dining room. I was however
disappointed in the midnight buffets. Although the food was plentiful, somehow I
expected a better presentation. There was only one night in which there was a
gala buffet, which was truly beautiful – but that was the one that everyone went
to, and the lineup was huge, and the food was quickly gone.
Shore Excursions – After doing a few of these, and hearing what other
people had to say about their excursions this is purely a hit and miss part of
the trip. I enjoyed our excursions but they are probably not fully worth the
money that you put out for them. In any case, if you are going to participate in
an excursion (which I recommend that you do so) fill out the form (which will be
waiting for you in your stateroom upon your boarding of the ship) and submit it
immediately!! Do not wait for the excursion talk on the first day at sea – it is
a waste of time. The faster you submit your form, the greater the chance that
you will get what you want!
St – Maarten: We did the bus tour of the island ($25 pp) and loved it.
The tour lasted a few hours and we covered the entire island. We were dropped
off in Phillipsburg and shopped as well until we returned to the ship. The
biggest tip for this island would be: do all of your shopping here (liquor,
t-shirts, jewelry etc). This is the best shopping stop on the cruise (selection
and price) - do not wait for Barbados and Martinique.
Barbados: We did the snorkel adventure, which
is half scuba diving and half snorkeling combined into one activity. It was a
lot of fun but at $50 pp, a little expensive. The downtown area was good to
walk, but the shopping was better at St-Maarten.
Martinique: We did not do any organized activity, and just walked into
and explored the town. It was a quaint town, but the shopping was better in St-Maarten.
Tipping – A lot has been said about the tips being automatically added to
your bill ($9.75 per day per person – for a total of $78 per person). The
service that you receive definitely warrants the tipping fee. It is totally up
to you whether or not you want to leave it on your bill (convenience) or have it
removed in order that you can personally tip at the end of the cruise. I left it
on my bill, but looking back, I should have had it removed in order that I could
have left “cash” for the servers, and that would have given me the flexibility
to tip those deserving (our dining staff) more.
Neauveau Supper Club – For $25 pp, you can make reservations at this
“private” dining room. Although we did not spend the money because we thought
that the food was awesome at the regular dining room, our friends who went said
that they really enjoyed the experience. If you want to plunk down an extra $50
– have at it, the food and service is exquisite.
Activities – The volleyball court, waterslide, pools and whirlpool were a
lot of fun. The whirlpools closed at 10 pm every night (that I consider way too
early). My wife and I went up to the “Topless deck” and it was great for the
privacy.
Kids and the Crowds – We were pleasantly surprised with the lack of kids
on the cruise. I saw perhaps a total of 10 kids the entire cruise – they were
probably still in school. The ship was completely booked (2000 people) but the
ship seemed empty (except at dinner time)! There was no wait for the elevators,
and I never felt cramped.
Debarkation – This is a rather smooth process. You wait until your
colored tag is called. They start at the bottom of the ship and move up. We were
on the 8th deck and were basically the last called at 1030 am.
Recommendations:
1. Do not buy your alcohol on the ship – it is much cheaper in St-Maarten.
2. Ask for the late dinner time (815 pm vice 545 pm). We booked the early time
because we thought that we would miss the shows – wrong. With the late sitting
you are done dinner around 1015 pm, the late show starts at 1030 pm, and then
you can either go dancing or wait for the midnight comedian. We found that with
the early sitting, we were done eating at 8 pm, and had a little too much time
on our hands until the next activity.
3. Book your return flight (if you can) around 11 am. You will be given “special
consideration” and be allowed to leave the ship first. You will have plenty of
time to catch your flight. Our flight was not until 4 pm and we waited in the
airport for a considerably long time.
4. You can “smuggle” alcohol on board – put it in your luggage (not carry-on).
During your shore excursions they ask that you hand over your alcohol that you
purchased on shore, but I just kept mine and went up to my cabin with it. The
price of a drink (ranging up to $6.95) can be a little steep. There is nothing
wrong with getting “warmed up” in your cabin on your “cheap” booze before you
spend money on theirs!
5. Don’t wait until the last day to buy photos (the ones that they take of you)
– wait until the second last day. That way you can order a 5X7 from the 8X10.
The 8X10 is $20, while the 5X7 is $7.
6. Book your shore excursions immediately upon boarding the ship!!
7. If you want to save a few bucks and enjoy walking – don’t take taxi’s
into/out of town. The towns and shopping are not that far away from the ports
(10 min walks). Enjoy a picturesque stroll into town and save $$$$.
8. Don’t be shy - meet people as much as you can. It will make the cruise much
more enjoyable!
I think that the key to cruising is to understand your expectations. As this was
our first cruise and all we had to compare this to were “land” vacations, our
expectations probably could be considered “low”. The “extras” and how much fun
we had pleasantly surprised us!
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