Carnival Spirit to Hawaii from Ensenada Sail date 4-12-09
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Carnival Spirit to Hawaii from Ensenada Sail date 4-12-09
Overall had a great time, how can you not when your cruising to Hawaii. But won't sail on Carnival again, but for the money you get what you pay for.
Quick notes
Pros:
The Spirit Dancers were very good, we were the first audience to see the new show 'Jazz Hot' (or something like that) show and it was a well rehearsed and produced show. Very very good for a cruise ship show. The costumes were wonderful and the entertainers coming into the audience was lots of fun and were enjoyed by all it seemed. The Blues Brothers Show with the Cruise Director Chris was Fantastic, he really was very good! The water slide was fun, I'm 51 and went on it with a couple youngsters and showed them how to speed up in the turns! Lots of fun, though after about the 5th trip up those stairs that was it for me. A lift of some sort for the older/incapacitated-but willing, generation would be wonderful. Heard a few comments that some would love to do it but couldn't do the stairs.
My room steward, Abigail, was so very pleasant. We chatted about her son, shared photos, her husband worked on deck 7 above us. Nice they could be together but hard missing the little one at home with g'ma/g'pa. She was always there to get whatever was needed, never had to ask her twice. And once I bought sunglasses they were on my towel animals each night. I had a little contest going with her, I bought outfits for my 1 yr old g'son and dressed the towel animals in them, she of course would outdo me! Our cocktail waitress, Agnes, in the lounge area before entering dinner each night was super, never without a smile and never a mistake. Kudo's, especially the night there were about 8 of us. These two were tops. More about others later. The ship is nice but I understand it's headed for dry dock and refurbishing. It can use it and should be great when done.
Cons:
Starting out, not having been informed (neither had our travel agent-even when she inquired why we were busing from San Diego to Ensenda) that we would have an armed escort through Tijuana then arriving at the ship to see beat up Toyotas with AK47 totting Police with dogs going back and forth in front of the ship, was to say the least a little disconcerting. I didn't mind it but sure would have been nice to have been informed prior to being stuck on the bus wondering if you would be hijacked. No-one was happy about this soiree. Our Deluxe Suites were 'okay' but we sure expected more. If you are over 5' tall bring your own blow dryer. There's one provided but it's hard wired into the dressing table drawer and I am just under 5' and had to pull it as hard as I could and close the drawer to hold the cord to be able to reach my head. I had a suite to myself and my traveling companions, a married couple had one. There was 1, yes 1 electrical outlet, not too bad for a single traveler. But annoying to have to unplug something to plug something else in. There is an outlet near the ceiling, I could never reach it, for a shaver. When compared to a Deluxe Suite on HAL, or Balcony Suite on Celebrity, well there is no comparison. You would think with the extra money you would get a 'little something' extra but nope, not the case. Anyway, the food was so-so, usually Luke warm, the soups were always Luke warm. French Onion soup luke warm is not my cup of tea. I started ordering the cold soups, which were good. Our waiter Bertram, who was very nice but seemed to like complaining about how different it is on Carnival now that there's new ownership. They don't offer the midnight buffet, almost NO little entertainment shows during dinner. He said if we complained at all about Luke warm soup that it would come back on him, even though the kitchen sent it out this way, so basically you'll get me fired. Not a good feeling being told that if you had any dissatisfaction with anything, big or small, it would come back on him so basically don't say anything. Totally uncalled for. His assistant, Deana was just wonderful, always pleasant and never a complaint. I asked Bertram how long he had worked for Carnival and he said 16 yrs, I think 15 too many. The food was so-so. The deserts were pretty much tasteless. I think cruise lines are afraid to use any spices for some reason. Though Celebrity's food was fantastic. We did enjoy most of our dinners and ate all but 3 nights in the Dinning Room. The Lido was very so-so. We would just order a burger, more flavor. There was one incident that really angered me. A young man named Marky-Mark (sp?), who was on the daily morning show with the Great cruise director Chris was outright rude to my friend. My friend is the nicest person under the worst circumstances 'catch more bee's with honey' and we were following our disembarkation sheet information for our first port. Well it wasn't real clear or was incorrect, there were a number following us so we know it wasn't just us, and 2 separate crew members gave us erroneous information on where we should go, this was an ongoing feeling during the cruise-just say anything to get rid of them kind of attitude-never experienced that before. Then we ran into Marky-Mark and my friend very politely asked where we were supposed to go? He replied in a very, hmm, snotty tone "did you follow the directions on your sheet"? She said "yes we had but it was incorrect and two crew members had already sent us, and the 8+ others following us, the wrong way and we just need to know which way we need to go?" He put his hands on his hips and replied very rudely "Now just calm down", my friend is ALWAYS CALM and the rest of us were too. At this point I was ready to throttle the little brat. He did tell us where to go, probably very happily. His demeanor was totally uncalled for and extremely rude. I noted that on my disembarkation form as did the rest of our party, unbeknown to each other. Marky-Mark may need a booster on customer service and appreciation. All in all the cruise was what we paid for compared to Celebrity and HAL. I sure hope HAL doesn't go downhill like it sounds as though Carnival has. I won't sail Carnival again unless I have no other choice. I like to give them a second chance but cruising should be a completely enjoyable experience. We didn't let the bad one's spoil the cruise for us, but it stays with you none the less.
So sorry you did not enjoy your cruise on Carnival Spirit. I will say, I've cruised with them many times and always thought they were great. Spirit was my favorite ship of all, although we cruised to the Mexican Riviera.
Embarkation in Ensenada leaves much to be desired from what I've heard. I would not enjoy that experience. I wonder if Carnival is the only cruise line that leaves from there?
In my opinion our food on Carnival has always better than my other cruises on Royal Caribbean.
As to the Suite, well...they are much larger than other cabins at least. At 275 Sq. Feet and a balcony of 85 sq. feet...that would be a nice extra for me!
Rude employees are inexcusable, there is no call for that. Good that you wrote on the comment card, that is what it is for.
I am a fan of Carnival (obviously ), and I agree...you get what you pay for and I've always gotten a wonderful experience on Carnival...very sorry to hear yours was not up to par.
I did enjoy the cruise, as I said how can you not enjoy cruising to Hawaii. Or in my opinion, Cruising ANYWHERE. There were just a lot of little things that add up to an experience I'd rather not have to pay for again when I've had much better experiences. I would like to give Carnival another chance but would probably have to go with the Penthouse to get the service I'm used to in a Deluxe Suite on other ships.
), and I agree...you get what you pay for and I've always gotten a wonderful experience on Carnival...very sorry to hear yours was not up to par.
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