Carnival Spirit April 2 Cruise Report in Full

Carnival Spirit
April 3, 2005
Our second cruise on this same ship in six months. We are some thirty miles
off the coast of Baja, approaching Cabo San Lucas by tomorrow morning, and
one day almost to the hour since leaving San Diego on the Carnival Spirit
with over 3,000 souls on board. Two paying passengers per crew member.
Advice to new and repeat cruise aficionados: A single factor worth
repeating; it's a matter of attitude. Go with the right attitude and any
problem fades into insignificance. So I did what I preach in my management
classes and pasted a smile on my face. I smiled at the Mexican family
shouldering their way into the embarkation line, and they back off. I smiled
at the security people and they were courteous. I smiled a broad greeting at
the ticket counter clerk and got prompt, smiling attention in return.
Attitude = response. Show a smile, get a smile. Show patience, get service
beyond the call of duty. So far. Hope I don't have to edit this observation
at a later date; after all, we are only into the eight-day trip by one
eighth!
This attitude thing was made quite easy a week before sailing when we opened
a letter from Carnival Vacation Cub giving us our new cabin number. 5173, an
upgrade from a window cabin to a balcony! And when we entered our cabin, a
fine bottle of Merlot from Dickinson, the CEO himself, thanking me for my
long letter of complaints from our experience with the Vacation Club fiasco.
Being further resolved as I write.
We had asked for early seating and when boarding we discovered it was late
sitting. No problem, we went straight to the dining room and the maitre de
asked if wanted to sit with a group or alone and the change was made in less
than a minute.
Comfort, we are finding, is in the detail and not in the size. The
'staterooms' are as small as on the sales literature, to repeat a bit of
humor by Todd, our first trip Tour Director. But then you discover your
oversize suitcase really does fit under the bed, and there are enough
drawers and closet space to accommodate all that junk we brought on board.
The detail. Can't turn on the shower hot water without having first turned
on the cold. This is a wonderful feature especially since boiling-hot water
is instantly available. I don't know if by a nearby instant hot water
heater, but most likely from continuously running water through the pipes in
an effort to exchange engine cooling water to save on fuel costs which makes
a lot of sense. Rather than spill engine coolant into the ocean, they chill
it first by running it through our showers and sinks! Also, the tap water is
distilled water so don't buy expensive bottled water! (Note, if you open the
bottle of water on the counter you will get a surprisingly large bill on
your minibar account. Drink tap water!)
And speaking of energy: I tried to trace the hydraulic fluid pumped by
exercising machines in the Fitness Center into the engine room and failed.
There are over 50 machines, most occupied by sweating, grunting, huffing and
puffing people pouring their energy into these machines. The machines should
be connected to generators and thus feed into the ship's propulsion system!
Tried to get onto the bridge but that feature is no longer available on
cruise ships since 9/11, same with the engine room. No visitors allowed.
Also, no shore visitors are allowed either.
On our first trip on the Carnival Spirit I was outraged at the high prices
one had to pay for a drink or a beer. So on this trip I drained a five quart
box/bladder of wine over a few weeks before sailing. I then took the bladder
out of the box, cleaned it, tested it, and poured a bottle of Scotch into
the bladder which then went into my suitcase. Even if they use an Xray to
detect bottles, the bladder is invisible. So I smuggled a bottle of Scotch
to enjoy a nightcap without paying a king's ransom. My wife took her Mexican
leather covered flask of Brandy and it went through the receiving machines
with no problem. Many people we talked with during the cruise say that they
never have had any problem bringing a bottle of hooch on board in their
luggage.
There seem to be enough free activities to keep everybody who needs that
kind of stimulation happy. During our first cruise we were quite content to
simply explore, linger here and there, meet people, dance and occasionally
do one of the activities. On this cruise my wife is going for broke in
participating in as many activities as possible while I sit by a window in a
comfortable chair and read Michener's "Alaska".
Back to the details. The bathroom: A roll of toilet paper at the ready and
three more in plain sight waiting to be of service without hesitation. The
shower drain is backed up by a series of channels allowing excess water to
bleed into another outlet thus preventing flooding on the deck. Where you
could easily slip, fall and break your skull. Enough cantilevered glass
bottomed trays hanging from both sides of the sink for all the goodies you
ever thought of bringing. Mirrors everywhere, from above sink, to on
dresser, to full length on the door. Enough to scare any Dracula into
permanent hiding. The air conditioning control actually works! Turn it up
hair and instant reaction. No noise, no heavy duty relay kicking in and out
every few minutes. Apparently controlled from outside monitoring incoming
and outgoing air from each stateroom. Since the doors are watertight, the
air inside must be pumped in and out. So the room is always fresh and at
exactly the right temperature. Bedside lamps just enough light for your side
to read by and move about at night, not enough to bother your mate while
asleep. Of course there are no television programs worth watching, but
enough ship videos of activities and engineering tours to satisfy my
curiosity. But I'd still like to see the bridge!
Because we have a balcony, and because the main reason for our passion for
the Mexican Riviera is to enjoy the tropical air, we left the door open all
the time we were in the cabin. When the door is open, the air conditioning
automatically shuts off. Again, quality is in this kind of detail.
An ode to the toilet. It must be remembered that eating is the primary
activity on a cruise ship. Continental breakfast at six overlooking the
foaming wake of the ship in the twilight. Breakfast at around eight
including fruits, ham, hash browns and a three-egg omelet, not counting the
toast and whatever else you can load onto a tray. not plate, but tray. Then
at ten, then at noon, then at mid afternoon, then dinner and lastly the
midnight feast amidships. Where does all that food go?
Consider - the human body can only digest and convert so many calories and
nutrients into food for the body. The rest must be discharged. You have
3,000 some odd souls on board.
The toilet on a cruise ship must be the most efficient and trouble-free
piece of engineering on the whole ship. If toilets were allowed to clog,
there would be another 500 plumbers on board to feed and entertain and the
cost would be prohibitive. End of the cruise industry.
The name on the toilet is simply "EVAC" surrounded by a simple logo. I have
no idea where they are made, but if you have your legs pinched together and
you push the Evac button you will be sucked into the bowl with no way to get
out except to shove a tube between your legs to let the air into the vacuum.
It takes one point seven seconds from push to full evacuation of anything in
that toilet bowl. Anything!
I can imagine all that excrement going into a tank and further mechanical
processes feeding oxygen into it as it is being stirred and stirred and
stirred. The resulting methane gas must be in the tons and surely fed into
the diesel engines or burners somewhere on the ship. There is no way for the
amount of sewage to be dumped into the ocean without having the Green Peace
people up in arms and the dolphins far, far away from the ships. No
dolphins, fewer guests. Bad for business. I imagine the remaining sludge to
be sold as cleaned, bagged manure at each port.
Closing in on Zihuatanejo we watched a school of dolphins surf on the bow
waves of the ship. They had as much fun as we did in watching them.
Yesterday was half a day in Acapulco and Melen was able to get into her
magical Acapulco bay water and become a young girl again, without arthritic
pain, free to move as she felt.
In Acapulco we got off the ship and walked a half mile south along the
boulevard, returned to El Perico which we had discovered on our first trip,
had our ceviche cocktails, shot of tequila, couple of beers, some lunch and
ambled off a few yards to sit under the shade of an umbrella, paid your $2
rental fee, and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon. The rest of the
vacationers were on guided tours or chose to remain on board. Since we both
speak Spanish we entertained ourselves by showing an interest in the few
vendors walking the beach on this weekday. One lady in her mid forties
approached and offered a massage. We quickly discovered she is a shaman,
witch-doctor if you will, and dickered with her for two massages and spirit
cleansing. She gave us her phone number Lucia, 74 41 33 31 97 and asked us
to call ahead the next time and she and her apprentice daughter would be
waiting for us for a repeat session. It was one of the most relaxing and
enjoyable massages I have ever had and my wife says the same for her. Cost?
$25 total for two, plus a $5 gratuity I was eager to pay.
My advice: Learn what you can about the places you will be stopping. Make
contact with as many tour companies via Internet as you can. Ask friends.
Play the newsgroups. Do things on you own! The tours are OK for the novice
and the person who just wants to get a feel for things. And of course the
Cruise Ship company will be promoting tours where they get a fair
commission. I am learning that every trick in the book is being used to part
me with my money.
The people
The Armenians on our first cruise were big, boisterous, loud and oblivious
of the rest of us on the ship. They crashed lines, held heated arguments in
the middle of the passageway without a care. On this cruise about half the
passengers are Hispanic, mostly Mexicans who have done well in the US and
now enjoying family reunions. They kept to themselves, were very polite,
easily leaving space for others, easy smiles, gracious in their manner, the
kind of people you'd like being round!
Sit long enough in one place and somebody will sit nearby. A minute later
you will make a comment or the other and a conversation will start.
"Nice day"
"Yep"
"Where are you from?"
And so it goes for as long as you can both stand the nothingness of the chat
or until something really strikes you both and animation begins. Often the
silence becomes oppressive and you find an excuse to move on. As chance
often has it, you move to the stern only to find your 'new-found' friend
already there.
Melen noted this is the perfect venue for a family reunion. Everybody can do
as they see fit without getting lost in the shuffle. There are many family
groups on this cruise. Grandparents reluctantly rolling strollers with babes
down the isles as their 'kids' enjoy the Jacuzzi or??? But only infrequently
as most family groups could be seen eating together, lounging by the pool,
or just hanging out.
I think a cruise would be the perfect setting for a seminar. One took place
on this cruise for a group studying mediation. Their fee was about $1,000
per person for the course, plus discounted group fees for the cruise.
Like it or not you will be seated with the same bunch of people every night.
If I were to make a suggestion to the cruise companies it would be to rotate
tables thus giving us all a chance to meet other people. But then, I imagine
most people like the security of having at least one predictable element to
their daily life of adventures at sea and on land. (Since writing this in
the middle of the cruise, I am now thankful for no rotation as we are
getting to know some wonderful people and it's good to have something sure,
something known to look forward to other than your stateroom.) It was, in
fact, a sad parting of the ways with our two LA area, fun-loving couple
sharing the table with us.
Our shore tours were simply getting to shore, walking, taking a short boat
ride to a quiet cove and dipping into the ocean blue as we did in
Zihuatanejo. In Manzanillo we debated calling our cab driver from the past
trip. the president of the local taxi cab association who had said he would
make a special deal for anybody mentioning my name. Joel Andres Virgen
Lopez, Cell. 044 (314) 10 305 28. - but instead found a shuttle service to
downtown for $3 round trip and we took it. Our objective was to find
something interesting in Manzanillo other than tourist traps. We found a
typical Mexican restaurant in an old hotel, just a block from where the
shuttle dropped us off. We spent the rest of the day there sipping
Micheladas (Lime juice, beer, salt-rimmed glass, ice), munching Mexican
appetizers, meeting other travelers from the Carnival Spirit with like
minded love for authentic Mexico, and had a wonderful time. Our bar and
food bill for the hours spent there was $18 US. The Director, Mr. Emilio
Fernandez Lopez helped the waitresses and bus-boys with a smile on his face,
answered questions and told us the story of the hotel. Hotel Colonial,
corner of Fco. Bocanegra and Avenida Mexico, just a block south of the
Western side of the Plaza. He promised to send me an email when his phone
gets connected sometime 'manana' which means sometime in the future. We will
be inviting our friends from Colima to join us there next October and will
most likely call the Los Candiles (the hotel's restaurant) to set up a
special buffet for the occasion. I'll be calling 01 314 332 10 80 or
332-06-68.
On the subject of FUN!
What may be fun for some, cold be hell for others. What hell may be to some,
could be fun for others. So our cruise ship offers a seemingly endless menu
of activities, shows, and the like. But I have learned that I need to learn
how to have fun. And I'm betting that I am not alone. After a lifetime of
challenges it is difficult to wake up in the morning knowing there is
nothing at all that must be done to bring bread and fish to the table. But
the sense of having to do something, to be active in the quest for money and
goods is buried within most of us. And retirement, or long vacations, brings
this to the surface.
There must be half a dozen eager beaver professional cheer leaders of the
crew who spend most of their time cajoling, encouraging, demanding and
teaching us how to perform for one activity or other. The "Marriage Game",
dance contests, slot machine contests, are but a few examples. Then there is
the full sized chess set, arts and crafts room, the library, casino, bars
and lounges. Not to mention privacy in your own room with your personal
playmate. There's the Jacuzzis, four of them! The sauna, steam room, massage
tables, 50 torture exercise machines and the endless sea. The shore tours
either guided or on your own or with friends. The endless opportunity to
shop and spend money. Evening shows and being waited on by professionals in
the most elegant settings since the Titanic at prices within the reach of
those of us who are not among the rich and famous.
On this trip my wife was lucky enough to get selected to participate in the
hypnotist act and after the show, and during the next few days, I learned
what it is like to be the husband of a celebrity! Years ago she had both our
children under hypnosis so she knows something abut it. On stage she showed
herself to be the perfect subject and the hypnotist made the most of it.
Toward the end, the last act was for the participants to believe they were
belly dancers. Well, my wife, having been a professional belly dancer for 17
years, really let go, forgetting arthritis, and danced away making the
audience go wild with applause and shouts, whistles and gypsy cries. She
brought the house down!
After that, almost everywhere we went she was met with smiles and questions
"did you really go under?", "what was it like?", "do you remember
anything?" - great fun!
Ship geography.
There was no way in heaven or earth for us to have known how to decide the
location of our stateroom. As chance would have it, we made out like bandits
with no cops in town. Level 5 and three quarters aft, just four levels from
the munchies and fantail which became Melen's querencia. (Querencia is that
place a bull finds when entering the bull ring and chasing away the men in
capes. Then returns after each attack.
One point 6 minutes from room to lemonade, tea, munchies, coffee, chocolate,
munchies, water, ice. Five minutes round trip to the Pharaoh's Palace, the
main theatre and meeting place for some shore excursions up near the bow of
the ship. Never more than a thirty second wait for any elevator, ever!
On the subject of FOOD
Twenty four hour Pizza was advertised, and fulfilled. Gourmet dinners were
advertised and have lived up to their promise. Service is always with a
smile and on a scale of one to ten, a ten. We always have two options for
breakfast - on the Lido Deck or in the main dining room. Same for lunch and
same for dinner. The main dining room menu has always had at least five
selections for appetizers, two for salads, five for the main course and
several desert choices. Lobster, Filet Mignon, Veal, Prime Rib, Tiger
Shrimp, Pacific Salmon, Quail, Duck, and various very elegant pastas were
enjoyed by the four of us at our small table. Our next table neighbors were
seen refusing an occasional dish that did not suit them for whatever reason
and I noticed it was exchanged with an apology and a winning smile by our
waiter. I brought the bottle of Merlot to our table on the last night and
Luka, our waiter promptly brought the four wine glasses and pulled the cork
with grace and great smile, poured the sample for my wife, and then for the
rest of us. On the formal night we received a bottle of chilled champagne
compliments of the Vacation Club. A nice touch.
During my lifetime I have had the good fortune to dine at four and five star
restaurants such as Anton's in New Orleans, The Brown Palace in Denver,
Tijuana's Country Club, The Ritz Carlton, and the like. I am rating our
dining on the Carnival Spirit at that level. Perhaps there is a more limited
variety of things one could ask our waiters, but whatever is within their
reach was made available to us with a simple request. Most often, they would
make the offer and we would either accept or reject. To me, this is a sign
of true quality.
On the Lido deck 9 there are 9 distinct mini-buffets, the fruit bar, pizza
bar, four breakfast/lunch bars one specialty bar, one oriental bar and the
hamburger/steak/hot dog bar. The quality is good, but the appeal seems to be
for those who measure good food and eating by the "all you can eat" mindset.
The specialty bar offered Mexican fare one day and other national favorites
on other days. The oriental bar was never short of sushi, sauces, wont-ton
soups, sweet & sour and the like. There is always an ample supply of iced
tea, lemonade, orange juice, coffee, decaf, chocolate and ice.
Some statistics.
2,400 passengers, among them are some 300 kids. A crew of 924 made up of
people from over 70 countries speaking some 60 languages, all getting along
just fine. Over half the crew are in food and beverage services from
receiving product to cleaning up and everything in between. Crew members are
recruited in Carnival Cruise offices all over the world, are sent to a four
week Carnival University, then assigned to one ship or other for
apprenticeship and then full crew status. They work six to seven months,
then take a six-week vacation and if qualified, are assigned to another
ship.
An observation: The inside cabins are dark and you never know when it's
daylight or night by looking. So on our first cruise we kept the TV on to
the forward looking camera which provided enough light to keep from
stumbling. On this cruise we had the drapes pulled open all the time and
enjoyed the view! Jose and his helper, our cabin boys clean up and make the
bed twice a day, once in the morning breakfast, and once during the evening
meal. Mints and sculpted towel designs greeted us every night and were
superb mood-lifters and smile-makers to end the day with. They also made it
impossible for us to tell the purser to lower the $80 per person tip as
'suggested' on our bill. What with Luka and his assistant, the other servers
and crew, we got our money's worth, and more.
? Wayne Lundberg, 2005
www.pueblaprotocol.com
Chula Vista, CA

Hey Wayne:

Do you smile when people call you a cheap son of a *itch ?

B.

"ß" wrote in message ...
Hey Wayne:

Do you smile when people call you a cheap son of a *itch ?

B.

Depends on how it's said. If with envy, as it usually is, I smile. If with
arrogance, which sometimes is, I laugh and ask why they are in a bilge
cabin.

Then, sometimes, like between you and I, the question comes up as to what's
wrong with spending less than suckers are willing to pay? Seems to me the
intelligent way to do things.

So... you have a problem with being careful with your money?

Wayne

"ß" wrote in message ...
Hey Wayne:

Do you smile when people call you a cheap son of a *itch ?

B.

Depends on how it's said. If with envy, as it usually is, I smile. If with
arrogance, which sometimes is, I laugh and ask why they are in a bilge
cabin.

Then, sometimes, like between you and I, the question comes up as to what's
wrong with spending less than suckers are willing to pay? Seems to me the
intelligent way to do things.

So... you have a problem with being careful with your money?

Wayne

"Wayne Lundberg" wrote in message
...

Tried to get onto the bridge but that feature is no longer available on
cruise ships since 9/11, same with the engine room.

Not true. While it may be true of Carnival, it's not the case on all cruise
ships.

Celebrity still allows bridge tours. We were on the Bridge of Constellation
this past October. Though it is discretionary, based on approval of the
officers (in our case it was an invite from the Captain who I knew from a
previous sailing). Not only were we able to tour the bridge, but were able
to arrange for friends that we made on the cruise to attend a bridge tour
later in the week.

And I believe that there are other lines that have open bridge policies.

--Tom

"Tom K" wrote in message
...

"Wayne Lundberg" wrote in message
...

Tried to get onto the bridge but that feature is no longer available on
cruise ships since 9/11, same with the engine room.

Not true. While it may be true of Carnival, it's not the case on all
cruise
ships.

Celebrity still allows bridge tours. We were on the Bridge of
Constellation
this past October. Though it is discretionary, based on approval of the
officers (in our case it was an invite from the Captain who I knew from a
previous sailing). Not only were we able to tour the bridge, but were
able
to arrange for friends that we made on the cruise to attend a bridge tour
later in the week.

And I believe that there are other lines that have open bridge policies.

--Tom

What you say makes sense since Carnival caters a lot to young people. Which
means that if they allowed me to visit the bridge, they would have to let a
hundred brats on the bridge who would be pulling and pushing levers and
switches if they were allowed on the bridge.

Wayne

In article , Tom K
wrote:

And I believe that there are other lines that have open bridge policies.

Before 9/11 on Princess on you could sign up at the pursers desk for a
bridge tour. After 9/11 it has been by invitation on Princess. I think
all suite passengers on Princess can get a bridge tour.

--
Charles

On Mon, 11 Apr 2005 18:38:51 -0400, "Tom K"
wrote:

And I believe that there are other lines that have open bridge policies.

Hi Tom,

You are correct. Cruise lines do vary their engine room and bridge
tour policies.

Best regards,
Ray
LIGHTHOUSE TRAVEL
800-719-9917 or 805-566-3905
http://www.lighthousetravel.com

"Wayne Lundberg" wrote in message
...

Celebrity still allows bridge tours. We were on the Bridge of
Constellation
this past October. Though it is discretionary, based on approval of the
officers (in our case it was an invite from the Captain who I knew from a
previous sailing). Not only were we able to tour the bridge, but were
able
to arrange for friends that we made on the cruise to attend a bridge tour
later in the week.

And I believe that there are other lines that have open bridge policies.

--Tom

What you say makes sense since Carnival caters a lot to young people.
Which
means that if they allowed me to visit the bridge, they would have to let
a
hundred brats on the bridge who would be pulling and pushing levers and
switches if they were allowed on the bridge.

Wayne



My kids were on the bridge of several Celebrity ships (Zenith, Galaxy) and
my son and I went down to seen the Engine Control Room and the actual
Engines on the Celebrity Century, and never touched any levers or switches.

Celebrity caters to kids as well, particularly during the summer and spring
breaks. I believe that we had over 700 kids on the Infinity one Easter week
sailing. And the Celebrity ships sailing to Bermuda always have tons of
kids in the summer.

I don't think it's a young people thing.

--Tom

"Wayne Lundberg" wrote in message
...

Celebrity still allows bridge tours. We were on the Bridge of
Constellation
this past October. Though it is discretionary, based on approval of the
officers (in our case it was an invite from the Captain who I knew from a
previous sailing). Not only were we able to tour the bridge, but were
able
to arrange for friends that we made on the cruise to attend a bridge tour
later in the week.

And I believe that there are other lines that have open bridge policies.

--Tom

What you say makes sense since Carnival caters a lot to young people.
Which
means that if they allowed me to visit the bridge, they would have to let
a
hundred brats on the bridge who would be pulling and pushing levers and
switches if they were allowed on the bridge.

Wayne



My kids were on the bridge of several Celebrity ships (Zenith, Galaxy) and
my son and I went down to seen the Engine Control Room and the actual
Engines on the Celebrity Century, and never touched any levers or switches.

Celebrity caters to kids as well, particularly during the summer and spring
breaks. I believe that we had over 700 kids on the Infinity one Easter week
sailing. And the Celebrity ships sailing to Bermuda always have tons of
kids in the summer.

I don't think it's a young people thing.

--Tom