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Carnival Cruise Line

MS Carnival Sprit

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Reviewed by: Bernard De Roo
# previous cruises: 21 to 30
Date of Trip: February 3, 2004
Itinerary: Caribbean - Southern

After an absence of 19 years and 20 additional cruises, my wife and I decided to try Carnival Cruise Line once again. Carnival was pictured as a good cruise experience for beginners with not quite the standards of Royal Caribbean, Princess and the like. Over time Carnival continued to grow and absorb one cruise line after another. We decided on trying the Spirit for an eight day Southern Caribbean cruise because it allowed four and a half days at sea, which we like.

We browsed the internet and decided to try Cruises Only agency. Our agent, Yadira Usatorres, was very friendly and helpful. We booked a February 3, cruise. We eventually persuaded two other couples, friends in the East, to join us. Yardira, was again very helpful in securing good balcony locations at a very reasonable price. We had a slight problem when I tried to buy travel insurance from a company I had used before. A Ms. Eileen Cody at Cruises Only did a superb job getter cheaper and more comprehensive coverage for us. We booked our own flight arrangements, but booked a hotel and transfer package with them. We chose to arrive a day early to avoid flight delays, bad weather conditions, etc.

Everything went well with our departure from Dallas. Our luggage was thoroughly searched, but Security was courteous and efficient. Better to be safe than sorry. There was a clinch in our arrival in Miami. No one from Carnival was there to greet us. After sometime we were able to find a representative. They had our name, but not the arrival time. They took us to a bus at the pick up area and we were quickly brought to the nearby convenient Miami Airport Hilton Hotel. It was a beautiful hotel with lovely accommodations, good food and service. One couple decided to stay right in the airport Hilton, and they were satisfied with their accommodations.

After a restful evening and leisure breakfast, we were transferred to the Miami Ship Terminal. It was a short, pleasant drive.

The first sight of the Spirit was impressive! This is a big ship! It is 960 feet long, with a beam of 106 feet and 12 passenger decks high, with a gross tonnage of 88,500 and a 2100 guest capacity. Our luggage was swiftly taken away and not seen again until deposited by our cabin before sailing. One of our friends has some difficulty walking, so we requested a wheelchair. We had about an hour wait, but a ship representative took care of all our boarding papers. A young lady from the ship's staff brought the wheelchair and escorted all of us thru the crowd right onto the ship to our cabins. We have never seen such a large crowd waiting to board.. This was the one time when you could realize just how many passengers the ship carries and what a long walk it was to board.. We sailed about 2-1/2 hours late because we waited for a group of Canadians who were delayed due to extreme weather conditions in Canada. We had the compulsory lifeboat drill that was effectively conducted. It is always impressive sailing out of Miami and due to the late sailing night was quickly approaching. I would now like to discuss our accommodations.

This is a spacious ship. Deck 2 and 3 are completely given to public spaces. In the front is the three level, 1600 seat, Pharaoh's Palace showroom, done in a Egyptian motif. Sightlines are good and seating is comfortable couches, with excellent spacing between rows. Drinks are served during shows and small table are provided. Upper level seating has very high back theater chairs. There were two Vegas style production shows that were very well received. There is a smaller more intimate Versailles Lounge below on deck 1. Late night adult, musical and comedy shows were presented here with standing room only the one time we went. There are so many lounges (16) that one can always find a place to be alone or with friends if desired. One interesting place is The Jungle that permits one to make a full walk around the promenade. There is an internet/library room, card room and even a chapel where weddings can be performed. The main lobby/atrium begins on Deck 2 and soars all the way to Deck 11, where the 2 story supper club (extra cost) is located under a red glass dome that is part of Carnival's signature stack. The lower lobby has the front and shore tour desks, a bar with live music and small dance floor. Three glass elevators are located in this atrium. The photo gallery is located on the next deck up, surrounding the atrium, making this area alive day and night.

We have never seen so many spots with all different backgrounds for portrait picture taking. There is plenty of opportunity to have pictures taken, but the staff is not intrusive. In fact, I must comment on the entire ship's crew. It must be very difficult to maintain a friendly, helpful attitude all the time, but from the young ladies at the front desk, to Michael Mullane, the Cruise Director, right on thru to the Captain, the entire ship personnel went out of their way to give you a good time. Three main banks of high speed large elevators with broad foyers and staircases make getting around the ship very easy. Almost all areas were easily accessible using the wheelchair.

I would now like to comment on the Dining experience. The Empire restaurant seats 1300 people and extends two decks. We had a window table, number 150, for six, right at the stern, so we could watch the wake of the ship. It is done in the Napoleonic early 19th Century French style with very attractive painted mural ceiling, crystal chandeliers and gold finished trimming. There was a large variety of seating from tables for two, booths, long tables for six and round tables for six, eight or ten. Our waiter, Joel Batiz and assistant Suresh, were excellent. Service was swift and efficient with a friendly desire to please. They soon got to know our likes and even the wine steward got to know just when and how to bring a certain after dinner drink to one of our friends. The food was served hot and very nicely presented. One evening my duckling was not done to my liking and the Maitre de came over to apologize and offer to substitute another entre. We had 2nd seating and never felt rushed. I must say that the food was certainly on par with other cruise lines we have been on. Breakfast and lunch were open seating. We had a nice continental breakfast in our cabin several times, and all other breakfasts in the Dining Room. We always had lunch in the spacious La Playa Grill located on Deck 9. The design of this was very well planned. Instead of long serving counters, different type of foods, like oriental, pizza, deli, etc. stations were scattered about the huge room. There was plenty of indoor and outdoor seating space around the fantail pool. The variety and quality of food exceeded our expectations. We were also treated to a short tour of the Galley, which was spotless. The Galley is located below the Dining Room. High speed escalators come up to serving stations making the waiters to really keep moving. Near the end of the cruise was a gala late night buffet with a wonderful extravaganza of food and decorations on display before eating.

Our cabins were located midship and aft on Deck 5. They were a spacious 225 sq. ft, done in a pleasing soft color decor that included the balcony. Upon entering there were two hanging space closets, with a third that had shelving, but could be converted to a hanging closet. There was an abundance of storage units, even enough for longer cruises. There was a full size couch, with drawers below, twin size beds that convert to king size, color television, a wall safe, separate vanity/desk and phone. The bed had a rather firm, but comfortable mattress. Additional pillows were available, and the bed was also high enough to store suitcases beneath. A nice oval table was in front of the couch that could be adjusted in height. The bathroom was a good size with excellent planning. There was a spacious sink/vanity with well lighted mirror and plenty of shelving. They supplied a nice basket of promotional amenities, such as razors, aspirin and even stomach antacids. The shower was a nice size with an adjustable shower head with a built in soap and shampoo dispenser. Even the toilet had a more muffled swishing sound. Fluffy robes were supplied that could also be purchased for a reasonable cost. We were very pleased with the soundproofing. The entrance door is quite heavy, but certainly keeps out corridor sounds. Very little, if any, noise was heard from adjacent cabins. The balcony had a low lounge chair and a regular height chair with a small table. It was most pleasant to be able to sit there and look thru the clear glass railing with just a wood handrail top. My only constructive criticism was that would have been nice to have a separate lighting switch for the closet area without having the other perimeter ceiling trough lighting going on at the same time. One note of caution, do not attempt to leave the balcony door left open to get fresh air while sleeping, because the cabin controlled temperature shuts off when the door is left open.

For those who like to gamble there is a large casino that extends across the full width of the ship. It has a full array of table and slot machines and a bar. We didn't play much and didn't come home a big winner either. There were shops that sold the usual line logo clothing, as well as, more expensive jewelry and clothing. The liquor shop sold a limited selection at competitive prices. There is a huge 2 level 13,700 sq. ft. ocean view gymnasium/spa facility located on deck 9 & 10 in the forward part of the ship. This offers a sauna, steam, beauty saloon, a whirlpool, and 10 treatment rooms, offering all kinds of treatments, but they were not inexpensive. There is a special jogging track deck. There is even a separate secluded deck space for topless sunbathing, if you so desire. This is a restricted area with a gate. There is more than enough outdoor lounging areas and four swimming pools with one covered by a retractable dome. There is also an unusual spiral waterslide that does not empty into a pool, but has a water bumper to slow you down and stop at the bottom. It looked like fun. For people who say that cruise might be boring, all they have to do is look at the daily Caper newsletter. There is enough going on to occupy all you time. You have to make choices. If you want to be alone cabin television provides movies and a wide variety of features.

Because there were six of us, we opted to hire our own tours in St. Maarten and Barbados. The shore tour desk offered their assistance and did not try to push their tours. We could even take the wheelchair ashore and was assisted off. In Martinique we took one of the ship's tours because of the limited port time. We had a good bus and guide, and saw highlights of the island in comfort and arrived back in time. There were many tours offered for each port of call. After we left Martinique, the Captain announced that he was altering course to provide calmer seas and better weather. We did have some very strong winds, but for us the ship was very steady. It was like being at a resort instead of at sea. On the last day it was announced that we would be arriving back in Miami early because of a very ill passenger who needed hospitalization, but it would not effect our leaving the ship.

So you can see the ship personnel had the passenger comfort and safety in mind to give a pleasant cruise experience. In closing, I would like to comment on the ambiance of the ship design. All of Carnival's ships were designed by the renowned interior architect, Joe Farcus. Mr. Farcus has honed his design skills well, continuing to improve on each new ship. This is an easy ship to move about and there is enough art work to satisfy all tastes. For my taste the decor is still a little glitz, but the interiors have been toned down considerably from the earlier class ships that featured changing fluorescent atrium lighting. I would not hesitate to recommend and to sail on Carnival again. The entire cruise experience was first rate. This was one couple's first cruise and our 29th. I think we all are ready to go again sometime in the future.