Carnival Spirit to Hawaii Review (Very Long)

Just returned from a 12 day cruise to Hawaii on the Carnival Spirit. I
am a retired law enforcement officer, my wife is in the insurance
industry. We traveled with our two friends from previous cruises, Allen
& Karen. We ranged in age from 48 to early 60's. This was our 8th
cruise, and the 5th on Carnival. We have been on the Norwegian Majesty,
RCCL Sovereign of the Sea, Carnival Imagination, Legend (2x) Destiny and
Triumph. To set the matter as to whether I am a staunch Carnival
supporter, I remain neutral. To validate that point - I disliked both
Destiny and Triumph, loved the Norwegian Majesty, and hated the
Sovereign, thoroughly enjoyed the Legend and the Spirit equally.

We left from upstate NY via limo and flew out of Newark Liberty
Airport. Although we had arrived at the airport about an hour and half
early, we were greeted with lines extending outside the terminal. When I
finally made it to a sidewalk luggage counter, I was told that my bags
exceeded the 50lb weight limit set by Continental and that I had to wait
on the special handling line. He than told me that due to the long lines
there too, I was not going to make my flight. He also said that they
were not holding flights for passengers. He also told me that if I
finished with special handling on time, that I would still have to
proceed through security. Once again, he told me that I was going to
miss my flight. Of interesting note here - my traveling partner had
overweight luggage too. A different handler accepted a 5 dollar tip and
my friend was on his way (we had become separated, so I missed using the
same handler!). To make this part of the story short, there was a very
long line, but it moved swiftly. A customer service person told me not
to be concerned, I would not miss our flight - She was correct. We
arrived at the gate about 15 minutes early. We flew on from there to San
Diego where we were greeted by Carnival staff. We lined up our luggage
outside the terminal building where a U-Haul truck loaded it on. We were
placed on motor coaches and we proceeded to the port of San Diego for
further processing. This was very fast and effortless. We were then
encouraged to spend several hours exploring San Diego before we were to
reassemble. We took a free shuttle to Sea Port Village, had a meal and
took in the sights. The only truly bad part of the story comes next:

After re-boarding the buses to proceed to Ensenada, we journeyed thru
Mexico until we arrived at the pier. For reasons still unknown to us,
the buses were stopped at the pier entrance. There we sat for almost two
hours. The driver was as confused as we were. Any passenger that
attempted to walk the short distance from the buses to the ship were
turned away by plain clothes security agents. After awhile, a group of
us approached a security man in a suit (with a radio) and demanded to
know what was happening (at this point, buses were lined up behind ours
as far as you could see). He told us that the pier was overloaded with
passengers and vehicles and that we would have to wait. We could plainly
see the pier directly in front of us and it would empty of vehicles and
passengers. We insisted that a spokesman from Carnival come down and
speak to us. He promised someone would. Over the course of the two
hours, and after repeated demands to speak to someone from Carnival, we
were still kept in quarantine outside the entrance. No one showed. Then,
early evening, without explanation, all the buses were suddenly allowed
in. At that point, the lines moved quickly and we boarded the ship. We
had expected to have heard from a Carnival representative about the
issue on the pier, but they all seemed to not want to discuss it. When
we went to the purser's desk to speak about it, they acted as if they
weren't aware that there was a problem with embarkation!

The first 24 to 36 hours at sea were less than tranquil. This was NOT
the fault of Carnival, but was due entirely to 37+ knot winds and as the
Captain characterized as "confused sea". At least half if not more of
the passengers were sick or uncomfortable from the ships rocking and
heaving. Even our room steward was sea sick. The first full day at sea,
during the lifeboat exercise, people were taken away ill in wheelchairs.
Other passengers were allowed to remain in their staterooms (our
traveling companion was one of them; she stayed in bed for the first 24
hours). The crew did do everything that they could to make the
passengers comfortable. The Captain did keep us abreast of all the
weather conditions and forecasts. The following day, the wind calmed,
the clouds disappeared, the weather warmed and must of the passengers
recovered. The cruise director, Michael Mullane made a brief
announcement that he promised to keep all of his announcements brief and
infrequent. He kept his promise and unlike my previous sailings on
Carnival where the PA system was always blaring - announcing or trying
to sell something, he was brief and rarely heard from (at least over the
PA). He kept most of his messengers to the onboard TV channel. This was
a much less invasive and practical solution.



The following night, we made reservations for the private dining. As in
the past, it was an extraordinary experience. The food was wonderful,
the service was more than anyone could expect, the décor was tasteful
and the music was a delight. All this for $25.00 per person! Certainly,
the best buy on the ship.


The remaining days at sea were relaxing. The staff and crew were all
smiles, attentive and the activities just seemed non-stop. Although the
passengers were slightly older, they acted as if they were full of
energy and youthful. Whenever you had an opportunity to be with a new
passenger (such as in the elevator or sitting at casual seating meals),
everyone was talkative, friendly and cordial. There wasn't a passenger
that acted loud or obnoxious, no drunks, no rowdy groups, just friendly,
happy people on a 12 day cruise together.

The Ship: Carnival Spirit is the first in the "Spirit" class of
ships. Although she is the oldest in the class, she was in excellent
condition with few exceptions. The exceptions we

Warm air hand dryers in the bathrooms seemed, for the most part, to be
out of operation;

Sometimes, there was a "septic" odor in the bathroom;

The main cabin corridor rugs really need to be replaced from high
traffic and spills;

The cabin bathroom sink would gurgle out of the clear blue.


Apart from the above minor issues, the ship was immaculate. There was
staff everywhere to be seen cleaning and servicing. Tables on the lido
desk were quickly cleared, cleaned and replenished with eating utensils.
We had cabin 8147 with an extended balcony. This cabin was super
comfortable, roomy with plenty of draw and closet space. The extended
balcony was just the right size for relaxation. Everything within the
cabin worked. We had a down comforter that was just wonderful and the
room steward was ever present and so personable and attentive to our
needs, we wanted to bring him home with us.

The dining room was two levels with two main sittings. We choose the
early 5:45 as we always do. The team waitress and busboy made a point on
the first night to know our names and our likes and dislikes and catered
to them for the remainder of the cruise.

The gambling casino was always busy. There was less smoke then on
previous sailings (perhaps due to the age of the crowd?). My wife always
seemed to have a degree of luck on the slots (albeit she would return
and give it all back) and my friend Allen came away ahead after many
nights of blackjack.

The Pool was always the center of activity and the cruise director's
wife Jenny, also on the social staff kept everyone busy. Between the two
of them, they were smiling and filled with energy and always stopped to
talk to you. The music at the pool was Hawaiian and pleasant to listen
to (a needed change from the steel drum bands of previous cruises). We
always found lounges whenever we needed them and there was always a
poolside table to sit at. There were a total of 24 "kids" on the ship of
all ages, so the pools and the hot tubs were not crowed or loud. The
nightclub was glittery and beautiful. The shows were at beast, fair.
This, a surprising change from the other Carnival cruises. The singers
were just acceptable and the dancers worked hard but the numbers were
awkward and uninspiring. The comedian's were good as was the guest
singers and the hypnotist. A standout was singer Marcus Anthony who had
the group wanting more. Also entertaining was the Director himself,
Michael Mullane and his energetic pixy of a wife, Jenny who was an
accomplished dancer.

The Lido deck NEVER had lines.....very surprising. The food there was
plentiful and tasty.

The shops were the usual fare of duty free items, gifts, clothing and
souvenirs. I never attended the art auction so I cannot comment. My
wife and her friend Karen utilized the spa several times and were
treated very well.

The Food: I still believe that Carnival has about the best food
(from my experience) at sea. I already commented on the private supper
club, but the main dining food was also superb - as was the service. The
main courses were tasty and exotic and when I couldn't find anything
that I liked on the menu, the waitress always found something for me off
the menu.

The Staff: Simply, the best! (Excluding that first night at the purser's
desk). No matter how hard they all worked, they always said hello to
you, made eye contact and were very friendly. Cannot complement Carnival
enough for that.

Room Service: Our cabin was close to the room service outlet. It never
took more than five minutes for it to arrive. The menu for room service
was more than sufficient. They were courteous and almost embarrassed to
accept tips.

Ports of call: - Hawaii, well, just what can I - It's HAWAII! Deb and I
were there in 1982 for our Honeymoon. It has certainly got a lot busier,
particularly Honolulu and certain areas of Maui, but folks - it's
HAWAII! The people on the islands are all wonderful. They smile at you
and don't treat you with that "just another tourist" mentality. While at
Lahaina, a young motorist got upset with Allen for driving too slow (we
were looking for a place to park and were probably driving the speed
limit as it was a highly populated street). He shot in front of us,
raised his fist and finally just stopped his car in front of us, got out
and became threatening. He returned to his car and just a moment later,
a police officer pulled alongside of us, asked us what took place and
she said that she was going to stop that car "...and have a few words
with him".

I will not comment on each of the islands except that before we sailed,
I purchased the latest edition of "Hawaii for Dummies" on Amazon.com. We
used it as a bible everywhere we went and it was right on the money all
of the time. It told us how and where to rent cars, where to dine and
where to go. They recommended the Feast at Pele for the Luau and it was
just wonderful! Tip - if you go to Hawaii, don't travel without it.

Disembarkation: - They choose who gets off first by your flight times
and or final shore excursion. It went quickly and smoothly.

So, finally, here is the good, the bad, the fair and the ugly:

The Good: The ship, the staff, Michael Mullane and Jenny, the food,
the room, the supper club and of course Hawaii!

The Bad: Embarkation, hand dryers throughout the ship need repair,
carpet replacement in cabin hallways.

The Fair: On board professional entertainment,

The Ugly: Nothing worth mentioning - short of two hours on the bus,
yards from the ship and not getting any response from anyone as to why
we were waiting.


My personnel recommendation - find yourself two weeks and call your
travel agent and have the time of your life! Just remember - Pacific
waters can be very unpredicatable.

PS - I took an amazing 1052 digital pictures. If any one is interested
in any aspect in particular, send me an e-mail along with whatever
questions you may have and I will forward them to you.

Ken

"Ken & Deb" wrote in message ...
Just returned from a 12 day cruise to Hawaii on the Carnival Spirit. I am a retired law enforcement officer, my wife is in the insurance industry. We traveled with our two friends from previous cruises, Allen & Karen. We ranged in age from 48 to early 60's. This was our 8th cruise, and the 5th on Carnival. We have been on the Norwegian Majesty, RCCL Sovereign of the Sea, Carnival Imagination, Legend (2x) Destiny and Triumph. To set the matter as to whether I am a staunch Carnival supporter, I remain neutral. To validate that point - I disliked both Destiny and Triumph, loved the Norwegian Majesty, and hated the Sovereign, thoroughly enjoyed the Legend and the Spirit equally.



Ken, Thanks for your detailed review..I am glad that you enjoyed the CCL Spirit as much as you did...We took her sister ship, the Pride in 2002 and also enjoyed her.

Glad to hear that the good food reports and service continue..

I don't believe that I would ever travel to Ensenada to embark a ship, as I have heard too many horror stories about the bus ride there and it seems that you had one of your own..It's so much easier to fly to LA or San Diego and board there while having enjoyed those places the day before.

Glad that you enjoyed your cruise!

--Jean