Enjoyed the ship by
A Traveler from Florida
Sailing date: Jun 2009 Pros:
Large cabin, variety of food offerings, room service, excellent entertainment
Cons:
Pizza mediocre, slot machines below average in payout, not enough penny slots
Alaska cruise was spectacular especially coming from Florida.
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Dining/Food
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several nites no ice and breakfast cards in stateroom. But called room service and they promptly delivered.
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Juneau, Alaska Helicopter tour and landing on Mendenhall glacier was most memorable and worth the money.
Ketchikan, Alaska
Skagway, Alaska
Sitka, Alaska
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Terrible, old very dull and boring by
Yolanda C from laveen arizona
Sailing date: Oct 2008 Pros:
Ports of call were excellent
Cons:
6hour wait in hot sun to boardship,no food, change of itinerery NO COMPENSATION FOR CHANGES
no organization. had to wait in line because of engine failure ship came in late. We had to wait in the hot sun for 6hours to board.I have diabetes and had not eaten in all this time. It took me 2 days to get back to normal, we missed the first night dinner because they loaded us on so late. No one was in charge to get you on. The entertainment wasmediocre not like on 6 other cruises I've taken. t.v. had such limited movies and the games that were played on the ship were lacking. Bingo you played a punch out card for 5 games, give me a break can't you get a packet of 5?
Ship Quality Clean ship, small
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Acapulco, Mexico cliff divers at night butthey made you leave early becuz ship was leaviing. It was Carnival's excursion but they changed the itinerary.
Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa, Mexico
Manzanillo, Mexico
4 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
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Super cruise on super ship by
Robert C from San Clemente, CA
Sailing date: Apr 2008 Pros:
Variety of activities
Cons:
Quality of some on-board attractions
A little larger (2500 passengers) than my ideal, but a well organized and beautiful, clean ship with enthusiastic crew. The ports of call were interesting, and the ratio of "at sea days" and "in port days" was about right. Debarking at the ports of calls was relatively easy, and there is so much to do that few people would ever be bored either place.
Ship Quality Ship layout was excellent and it was very easy to find your way around. The decor was outstanding, and there is a mix of various styles throughout...egyptian, greco-roman, mod, oriental, etc. All are done well.
Dining/Food This was every bit as fine as any cruise ship we have visited. Food quality and variety are great in all the dining venues. There were few lines and never any difficulty in finding a quiet place to dine. Dining staff very courteous.
Stateroom Quality Size is about what is expected, but the number of balcony staterooms available on this shop expands the room greatly. Beds are unusually comfortable. The only knock is that there is shower instead of bath, and skimpy showercurtain.
Ship Staff Quality Did not have a problem where extra effort might have been required. Staff was generally very helpful.
Entertainment & Activities There was certainly a great variety of activities but I found them very uneven. The golf seminart expert was the best I've ever heard, but the shopping director was very repetitive and offered little that couldn't have been expressed in 5 minutes. The trivia sessions were interesting but did not work nearly as well as others I've seen where "teams" were formed. The special attractions-- magician and comedian-- were first rate but I felt the "Las Vegas" type shows were vastly overdone. They substituted lots of dancers and loads of costumes and props instead of a simpler show with a quality singer and better focus.
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La Paz, Mexico La Paz is a beautiful place and great for walking, especially near the sea wall downtown. It is charming, cleaner than most, and is a good model for future development.
Don't Miss: Sea wall area downtown and walk to museum and cathedral.
Mazatlan, Mexico We skipped the Gold zone in favor of seeing downtown historic area on self-guided walking tour. Enjoyed the interaction with locals and seeing Machado Square, museums, the Cathedral, and Angela Peralta theater. The return was marred by too many people crowding into the tender area (4 or more ships in port.)
Don't Miss: Cathedral, Market, Peralta theater.
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico Los Arcos, the signature sight, is a must-see. On our tour, glass blowing was interesting-- and gratefully without any selling-- but the cactus garden was a waste. Seeing San Jose del Cabo was terrific and a favorite part of the tour.
Don't Miss: Los Arcos, San Jose del Cabo.
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exceeded expectations by
cliff E from surprise,az
Sailing date: Mar 2008 Pros:
variety of activities - something for every one
Cons:
lack of good information on ports of call
Ship cleanliness was excellent - crew friendly and accomodating. Great "spirit" on the ship , food very good. Staff and variety of activities exceptional
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Acapulco, Mexico Have visited before and did not get off shi;
Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa, Mexico nice village atmosphere - negative was tenering into the port.
Manzanillo, Mexico The real Mexico - really enjoyed walking through the central area and shopping.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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XMAS New years Mexican Riviera cruise by
A Traveler from Southern California
Sailing date: Dec 2007 Pros:
Good food, mostly friendly service
Cons:
administration, purser desk, port calls, embarkation, reservations
This was our 7th cruise, 4th with kids. Disclaimer: I am a shareholder, but am still willing to voice some disappointment.
Embarkation was lengthy and we were told different boarding times by travel agent and Carnival. After over 1.5 hours going through security (dedicated to only one ship) the rest of boarding admin was OK. We reserved two staterooms, and traveling with two teenagers they were supposed to be adjacent. Upon arriving, found that they were on opposite sides of ship, requiring a lengthy "U" turn to get to each other. Bad for trying to exercise good adult supervision.
Food was great, service overall pretty good. The port calls for this 8 day trip were poor. With only three ports, one was good (Ixtapa), one was OK (Acapulco) one bad (Manzinillo- a dirty industrial port). Not too bad for a 4 or 5 day trip, but for 8 days having only one good stop not good. Puerto Vallarta or Cabo would have been much better choices.
We had a $100 shipboard credit listed in our reservation, but upon reviewing final bill, Purser office refused to honor it despite bringing printed reservation with credit listed. I should add we also confirmed the credit with Carnival before boarding. Called purser office, was told just bring down paperwork; arrived at Purser office and told "the supervisor will fix it," and eventually after 45 minutes while waiting to debark they refuse to honor the credit until they get another confirmation (?) from corporate, which of course is closed on New Years debarkation day...I suppose from a shareholder POV I should be glad they are so tight-fisted, but I fear that antagonizing customers is more costly than saving the $100 (even if I finally get it back, still left bad taste).
We travelled with another family (who are like our extended family) and asked for a table for 7 (a perfect match for most tables). We get aboard, and are not only in different tables, but different levels! Finally, after 24 hours of complaining we get to sit together for rest of cruise.
The ship was nicely designed, although misses a lot of good extras (wall climbing, billiard table, game room, etc.) that others have, especially for so many at sea days and bad ports. Internet speed was very slow, and VERY expensive.
This was our 2nd Carnival cruise; it will be our last, and I'll sell my stock.
Ship Quality
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Stateroom Quality
Ship Staff Quality Friendly, but Purser desk consistently provides contradictory information.
Entertainment & Activities Lacked some items common on similar sized, newer ships (rock climbing wall, game room, decent library, etc...). Entertainment was mixed (some good, some bad).
Children's Programs
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North to Alaska! by
A Traveler from New York
Sailing date: Jul 2007 Pros:
The Cruise Experience, the ship's organization, friendly staff
Cons:
So much to see and do not enough time to do everything!
The ship's interior is beautiful, ornate and comfortable. My stateroom was comfortable too. The food good to outstanding. It was a great ship and a model for all other cruise ships.
Dining/Food The food good to outstanding
Stateroom Quality Balcony, size acceptable. amenities good. Location midship Panoramic deck.
Ship Staff Quality They really want to look after you and ready and willing to do it. Nice people
Entertainment & Activities Something going on every second on board.
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Juneau, Alaska Salmon hatchery, bike ride to Mendenhall Glacier then visit the Alaskan Brewing Company.
Don't Miss: Mendenhall Glacier
Ketchikan, Alaska Great kayacking excursion. Definately not a waste of timme. Wish I had time to do more there.
Don't Miss: For me, it's kayacking
Skagway, Alaska White Pass/Yukon trail train ride. Liarsville. Great scenery.
Don't Miss: Train ride
Sitka, Alaska Bike and hike. Only one excursion here but enjoyed walking around. visted the vistor centor. Interesting history.
Don't Miss: If I had the choice I wouldnt miss any.
5 out of 7 people found this review helpful.
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"The time of our lives!" by
Kimberly B from Price, UT
Sailing date: Jun 2007 Pros:
The view from our cabin and the naturalist on board
Cons:
The food
The ship was always clean and the crew was extremely helpful. Our stateroom was exceptional. Couldn't have asked for better service.
Ship Quality
Dining/Food We were on the Spirit in November 2006 and we were a little disappointed that the menu's for the Alaskian cruise were exactly the same as for the cruise to Mexico that we took. We were looking forward to more fresh seafood during our cruise to Alaska. The matre'd went out of his way to see to it that our whole group of six could be at the same table!!
Stateroom Quality Our stateroom was always clean and neat. Fresh towels were another item we never lacked. Location was perfect!!
Ship Staff Quality They did all they could to make sure we had everything we wanted. Including an ice bucket on an Alaskian cruise. It was great
Entertainment & Activities It was fun to be back on the Spirit again and having the same Cruise Director, Asst. Cruise director and other members of her staff still on board. These people go above and beyond the call of duty to make things enjoyable and entertaining.
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Juneau, Alaska The Upside Down trees were out of this world. I would recommend this tour to anyone.
Don't Miss: The incredible views.
Ketchikan, Alaska We took a canoe trip on a lake and had the best time. The luncheon that was provided was excellent.
Don't Miss: The shopping and Creek Street
Skagway, Alaska Our excersion took us into the Yukon by bus. Our guide was exceptional and very knowledgeable about our trip. I loved the little resort he took us to for lunch. The food was great
Don't Miss: Emerald Lake
Sitka, Alaska We took the Sea Otter tour at the port. What an experience not only did we see the Otters but we got a fantastic view of a whale. The guide was never in a hurry and always answered our questions.
Don't Miss: The view
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the best cruise by
colleen from missoula mt
Sailing date: Mar 2007 Pros:
the food the service and the people who took care of us
from the time we got on the ship until we got off they took wonderful care of us the food was wonderful!! we never went to the more pricey dining room as it was not at all needed the empire room was great. Our teenagers loved the Lido deck as all the ice cream and sun was free. we cant wait to go again
Ship Quality
Dining/Food Rene in the Empire room is the best!!
Stateroom Quality Alfred did a great job as so did his help
Ship Staff Quality
Entertainment & Activities the Hypnotist was great my son and husband went on stage and went under
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Acapulco, Mexico not a very clean city was very surprised at all the broken glass on the beach
Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa, Mexico unbelievable stop did not want to leave
Manzanillo, Mexico we had a great time riding the atvs on a private beach do not book on the ship it is way cheaper when you get off the shuttle bus then the zip line is great also at the same place over a black sand beach really nice people go for it
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Super cruise!! by
Don O from So. Cal
Sailing date: Mar 2007 Pros:
The ship, crew, entertainment, cabin, food.
Cons:
Slow embarkation, long lines.
The ship is beautiful. Very clean and spacious. The crew couldn't have been better. We had a balcony stateroom and it was designed very functionally. Plenty of storage space. They had a walking and jogging tracks. Nice gym with plenty equipment.
We did our own thing while in port. Took a long walk in Acapulco along the beach. Stopped at a little beach bar with food and entertainment. It was called Bocano Beach something. Cold inexpensive beers and great nachos. The people couldn't have been more friendly. In Zihuatenejo, my wife loved shopping in town. I hiked over to La Ropa beach. It was beautiful and I would certainly go back. Long hike and would advise getting a cab. Manzanillo is a port town and you dock right by containers. Get a cab ( $10) and go to Playa de Audiencia. It is where they filmed the beach scenes for the movie "10". When you get there, go to the right and sit under an umbrella. Cheap beers and good food. Charged us $8 for the umbrella and chairs and table. Not bad and it is right where you want to be. They also have boat and snorkeling trips from here. We had friends take the organized tours in each city and when we compared our days adventures with them, ours seemed to be more fun and a lot less money.
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Acapulco, Mexico As stated, excellent walking beach and many places to stop and have a beer and visit. Everyone was friendly. You might want to take the public bus along the beach and walk back.
Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa, Mexico Cute town for shopping. Get a cab to La Ropa Beach. Warm water!!
Manzanillo, Mexico Get a cab to Audiencia Beach. Beautiful! Beer and food was cheap. On the left side of the beach is Tesoro hotel. We heard they charged $70 just to hang out there. We stayed to the right side of the beach and there was no charge. We did rent a large umbrella for $8 which came with four chairs and a small table.
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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Relaxing cruise by
Hugo N. from Anaheim, CA
Sailing date: Feb 2007 Pros:
Efficiency and all around service
Cons:
Gluttony of the guests
The cruise was very enjoyable and relaxing. Other guests also seemed to enjoy the cruise. The mix of the guests was interesting; from young couples to super seniors.
Ship Quality It was very large but I did not get lost. The layout was very good. I liked the gym very much.
Dining/Food Early seating was too early. Could have been a bit later as there was not enough time between lunch( noon to 1 pm) and dinner hours (5:45).
The worst food was sushi. It was atrocious. Either hire someone who is a sushi chef or remove it from the food selection. I would be ashamed to call it sushi. This is a serious suggestion from a sushi chef.
Stateroom Quality I was pleasantly surprised with the size of the stateroom, especially since we were upgraded to an outside room with a private verandah. It was very clean and comfortable for three of us. No Pullman bed use...This was great!
Ship Staff Quality The staff was excellent. They were very efficient and cordial. Although they all knew how to speak English, they were at times talking native languages among themselves in public. I am not sure this was inappropriate or not.
Entertainment & Activities Some were good, the others were not that good. Other than individual comedians and entertainers, the Carnival staff entertainers were a notch below the professional level.
3 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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