Become a Home Based Travel Agent

Carnival Spirit Review
 (A Travel Agent’s Perspective)
By Nancy Norris

While Carnival Cruise Lines has not been my preferred choice, it is a favorite with the bulk of my middle class client base. It has been a while since I cruised on Carnival and had yet to experience any of the Spirit Class ships first-hand. Traveling with a group of friends to celebrate the New Year on an 8 night Mexican Riviera cruise aboard the Carnival Spirit gave me an opportunity, not only to familiarize myself more thoroughly with that class, but to reevaluate the total product – and reevaluate I did! After spending just a couple days onboard, I realized the Carnival product I remember is much different than its present version. Built in 2001, she is first in the series of Spirit Class ships and can carry 2,680 passengers. Join me as I take an “agent’s eye view” of the ship, and decide for yourself if it doesn’t deserve consideration as a perfect fit for some of your clients.

The Carnival Spirit Atrium Lobby

Entering the ship on Deck 2, into the nine deck high atrium known as the Artist’s Lobby, I was immediately struck by the elaborate decor. It was quite obvious that this was another Joe Farcus original.  Decorated in Art Deco style, it was a combination of dark wood, antique copper accents and giant murals. A bit too garish for my tastes, but in fairness, some of our group liked it. This was the main hub of the ship and connected the unique two-level promenade that is a feature of this class ship. In the center, a lobby bar with a small dance floor fronted two grand staircases that led to the Photo Shop and Guest Relations and the Tour Desk were tucked on one side and a small sitting area on the other.

Show Lounge Entrance

Most of the public rooms are located within the confines of this two-level promenade on decks two and three that stretches from one end of the ship to the other. The three tiered main show lounge sits at the forward end of the promenade and the bi-level main dining room occupies the aft portion. Between these two venues, the library and internet cafe, wedding chapel, piano bar, shops, photo gallery and conference room line the upper promenade and the lower promenade houses multiple lounges, the disco, the casino and main atrium. Although this made for excellent passenger flow from one entertainment venue to another, it was often difficult to navigate through the sea of people moving in two different directions between the evening dinner times. While certainly not the longest ship I have been on, this design makes it seem so. Consequently, a word of caution would be wise if booking clients with mobility issues.

Ornate Design of the Spirit

As I toured the ship taking in my surroundings, I was amazed by the variety of creative design styles that were used. The show lounge is Egyptian themed, the piano bar has an Oriental décor, the disco is pure Gothic, the library is reminiscent of an English manor, the spa and fitness center take on the appearance of Ancient Greece and giant doses of Las Vegas glitz and whimsy are displayed throughout the ship. Although I found the sum of the parts to be a bit overdone for my taste, upon further inspection, the attention to detail was impressive. Individual pieces of art, furniture, wall coverings, sculptures and light fixtures were amazing artistic creations.

As this is an older ship with multiple online reviews available, rather than detailing the design of the ship any further, I have chosen to concentrate the remainder of this review on the specific areas that impacted my evaluation of the product for future clients.

Dining:

The Main Dining Room

--The food quality, variety and service in the main dining room was far superior to what I had experienced in the past. Exceeding my expectations, this is one area that Carnival has improved upon immensely.  The menu was extensive and I particularly liked the alternative menu options. They even had baby back ribs as an alternative that were excellent! They had a chocolate melting cake that was available every night and I promise you it was worth the calories. We were seated in the small dining room annex rather than the main dining area and it proved to be quite pleasant. The servers in this section were both attentive and efficient. The ambiance was quiet, relaxed and provided a much more personal dining experience. While I found the food to be of much higher quality than on my previous Carnival cruises, there was some inconsistency in its preparation. As an example, most of us received lobster cooked to perfection, while that was not the case for two of the members of our party. On another occasion, the melting chocolate cake that had become a staple for all of us every evening lacked the texture we had come to appreciate. But, overall the dining room experience was quite positive.

One of the Dining Room Annex Rooms

Tip: If possible, request that your clients are seated in this more private annex.

The Lido Buffet

-- The Lido restaurant, La Playa Grill, featured a variety of specialty food stations in addition the usual buffet line. These stations were scattered throughout the buffet area with seating at both tables and booths. An international station offered different ethnic choices daily. In addition there was an Asian corner, a deli-station, salad station, pizza and pasta station and a grill that served hamburgers and hot dogs. A different meat was featured daily at the carving station. While the selections were extensive, the physical layout of the restaurant created its own set of problems. The restaurant could be accessed from either side of the pool deck. The beverage stations near the center of the restaurant often appeared congested, but I believe it was due to the traffic pattern. There appeared to be no designated entrance or exit, consequently passengers entered the area from all four directions and got bottlenecked in the middle. To add to the congestion and confusion in this area, both the aft and mid-ship bank of elevators opened into this space. Tip: Again, here is an area of the ship that needs to be cautiously considered if you have clients that have limited mobility or utilize a wheelchair.

The Nouveau Supper Club

--Dining at the Nouveau Supper Club was a highlight of the cruise. The food was comparable to the best steakhouses in the country. Although there was a hefty $30 per person service charge, this fine dining alternative restaurant was worth every penny. Unfortunately, the trio that had been playing at the Supper Club was no longer with the ship so there was no entertainment when we were there. But, even without that aspect of the venue, the ambiance was quite pleasant and the food more than made up for the lack of music.  

The Supper Club Menu

If your clients are celebrating a special occasion this is a “must do” and if they are one of your preferred clients, paying the surcharge for them makes a very memorable gift.

--The room service menu, on the other hand, is totally lacking of any substance. Although it is available 24/7, it is very limited. If you have guests that enjoy dining on their balcony, this may not make for a good fit.

Cabins:

Stateroom Balcony

Over 80% of the outside staterooms have balconies. While standard and deluxe ocean view staterooms are not overly spacious, they are quite comfortable. We were assigned cabin 8156, a category 8I with extended balcony. I did not get a chance to see a regular balcony, but was not overly impressed with the size of our extended balcony that was purported to be 50% larger. However, one nice feature of the balcony was that the balcony divider between cabins could be opened upon request. There was sufficient closet space and a small sitting area with sofa complimented the quarters. Decorated in soft peach and beige hues, the cabin was attractive and very functional. Our room was equipped with a fully stocked mini bar (items can be removed if guests wish it for their own use), a hair dryer, safe, a basket of toiletries in the bathroom and terry cloth robes. The television was interactive allowing us to check our portfolio (Groan!), sign-up for excursions and check out the daily menu for the main dining room (Yeah!). Tip: Forewarn your clients that are elderly or in frail health, the entrance doors to the staterooms are very heavy and very difficult to open. One of the members of our group had a medical problem that was exacerbated by this situation.

Entertainment:

--Entertainment was varied and each venue offered guests a totally different atmosphere. There are 16 bars and lounges to suit every taste. From country-western to a disco open until the wee hours, from sing-alongs in the piano bar to dancing to good old fashioned rock and roll and from steel-drum melodies to cool jazz there is no shortage of music to keep you entertained. However, that is not to say that Carnival maintains that old image of party till you drop. Entertainment was geared to maintain a much more family friendly, “fun” ship. This is another of those areas in which I had to re-evaluate my assessment of the Carnival product.

--I must admit to being disappointed with the major production shows on this cruise. I had always known Carnival to deliver an exciting and entertaining production. Unfortunately, that was not the case. The costumes were exceptional, but the shows lacked that “Wow factor” and dancers and singers were mediocre.

--Since this cruise took place during the NCAA Football final Bowl Games, Champions Bar was the place to be if you were a football fan (as I am). Carnival Spirit gets high marks for showing all the games (both in the Sports Bar and on the TV’s in our room). This has definitely NOT been the case on other cruise lines I have been on. They certainly made a wise choice in their satellite provider. However, the negative side to this venue was that the entire bar permitted smoking. So, for those who are offended by smoke, it was nice that the games were also televised in the staterooms.

Miscellaneous Observations:

One of the Main Pools

--Perhaps one of the most impressive positives of this cruise was the Children’s Program. As this was a holiday sailing, there were over 680 children onboard. However, that number was only noticeable as we stood in line to check in at the pier. Once onboard, they were seldom seen. The Camp Carnival program has activities planned for children ages 2 to 15. They have their own themed play area. A craft area, computer area and game area are connected by tunnels. There is also an outdoor play area, children’s pool and video arcade. Kudos go to the extraordinary youth staff onboard the Spirit. They did an excellent job of keeping the children entertained and for the most part “out of sight”.

Adult Pool and Jacuzzi Area

--Another plus regarding children, Carnival does its best to carve out “adult only” sections of the ship. As an example, the fantail pool and Jacuzzi were designated as “Adults Only”. There was also a more private sun lounging area that was earmarked for adults.

--Another aspect of Carnival’s improved image (in my opinion) was service on the ship. From complimentary champagne greetings while enjoying lunch at the Lido restaurant to attentive stateroom attendants, I experienced nothing but friendly, quality service. By the way, this was a New Year’s Eve sailing and Carnival did not skimp on providing us with sufficient quantities of complimentary champagne that evening.

--There is no Midnight Buffet, but on one of the Sea Days, the famous “Chocoholic Buffet” was offered as a luncheon treat. As a confirmed “chocolate lover”, this was much to my liking. It wasn’t past my bedtime, and I had the whole day to work off the extra calories from sampling many of the delectable bites.

--I found the wine package that Carnival offers to be very reasonable and will recommend it to my clients. Also, wine prices were much more reasonable than I have experienced on many other mainstream cruise lines.

--Carnival has done a good job of attracting a much broader base of clientele than the Carnival of old. On this particularly sailing there was a wide spectrum of passengers. Ages ranged from 30 – 80 with the majority falling somewhere in between. Middle America was well represented on this cruise.

Would I recommend this cruise to all my clients? Certainly not! But, I must admit that this cruise is perfect for many of my budget conscious clients (particularly those with children).