Kate feeling cruisey
TRAVEL: Before March, my knowledge of cruises had been gleaned entirely from the ‘70s TV series The Love Boat.
Captain Stubing, Julie McCoy and the rest of the crew taught me everything I needed to know: cruises are for couples whose relationships were on the rocks, people with terminal illnesses and families with small sons called Bobby (or possibly Timmy) with bowl haircuts wearing polo shirts and chinos.
More recently I’ve gathered that cruises are also popular among time-rich, cashed-up baby boomers, and schoolies drinking flaming jelly shots from each others’ navels.
Because of this, I could happily have lived my life without ever setting foot on a cruise ship.
But then, I was invited by Carnival Cruises to test-sail the Carnival ‘Spirit’ on a 5 day cruise from San Diego to Mexico – down the Baja Penninusla to Cabo San Luca and back again. Tough gig I know, but someone had to do it. This would be one of the ship’s last cruises in American waters. Carnival Spirit is being brought to Australia to sail the South Pacific out of Sydney from October.
This is one big ship. NOTE – Never, ever refer to a cruise liner as a ‘boat’. Especially when dining at the captain’s table; it’s nautical faux pas number one.
Spirit accommodates some 2,500 guests and about 900 staff. She boasts ten decks, three swimming pools, two waterslides, 16 bars and I reckon if you laid the corridors end to end you could walk from Sydney to Vanuatu with a side trip to Fiji.
Carnival Spirit anchored off Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
A cruise ship is a giant, floating resort hotel. This one looks like Vegas-At-Sea. Not a bad thing once your eyesight returns after the visual assault of the chandeliers, ornate carpets, and Sistine Chapel style painted ceilings. It’s all a bit over the top (and I’ve been to actual Vegas three times) but it does make you feel like you’re on holiday. Which is, after all, the point.
It might seem odd to be surrounded by Tiffany lamps and flock wallpaper when you’re cruising tropical islands, but with a perfectly made Pina Colada in your hand, it makes weirdly perfect sense.
Here’s my rundown of what you need to know about cruising aboard Carnival Spirit:
Staterooms. ‘Cabin,’ like ‘boat,’ is an unutterable word aboard a cruise ship. No matter how modest, it’s a stateroom. Mine was way up on Deck 7, close to the bow. It was elegant, quiet and the bathroom was roomier as roomy as a good hotel’s. A veranda is well worth paying for. For families, there are interconnecting staterooms with shared lounges and wraparound verandas. All staterooms are made up twice a day and every evening there’s an animal fashioned from a towel on your bed. These are something of a company signature and it’s sweet. Except for the night my towel monkey was hanging from a curtain rod, like a ninja. It scared the bejesus out of me.
No, you can't take the towel animals home
Fun & Games. If all you want is to lie on a quiet beach, you need a quiet beach, not a cruise ship. But – if you want to dress up and dance, dress down and lie in the sun, have your margaritas delivered, see a show, meet people, play roulette, enjoy a lime ginger salt scrub in a spa, then go on a waterslide – and only unpack once, then a cruise might be for you. The cruise director is Sydneysider Stu. He’s like Julie McCoy from The Love Boat but with popeye-like forearms and no curls. He’s brilliant at his job, pulling together an amazing program of activities and entertainment. Despite my early resistance (I’m not normally a group activity kind of girl) I got right into ‘Stu’s Dance Party,’ along with college students on Spring Break, retirees from Nevada and 7 year olds from the kids’ club. It was hilarious. I wished my kids were there.
All systems go in 'Green Thunder' - the bigest waterslide afloat.
Importantly, Carnival Spirit boasts the biggest water-slide aboard any ship anywhere in the world. You stand in a capsule at the top and the floor disappears from under you. Excellent fun in a terrifying kind of way.
Kids. For families that like to be busy, Spirit is heaven on earth, sorry … sea. The ship has three kids’ clubs. That means 12 year olds won’t be finger-painting with the toddlers. There’s a great mix of outdoor activities and indoor fun and at night there are kids’ discos and movie nights – so parents can enjoy a meal without chips and with unbroken conversation.
Serenity. The best part of this ship, (for me anyway), was the ‘Serenity Deck’ No kids. Private bar. Roomy lounges. I sipped wine, finished a novel (reading it, not writing it) and spotted whales.
Food. This is a biggie when it comes to cruises. There were lots of options some better than others. Most people tended to go for the all-you-can-eat buffet. And they would go and go and go. There was pizza and ice cream available 24 hours a day. It’s perfect when you want to refuel and get back to the dancefloor / sundeck/ bar/ casino …
The Chefs table on the disco floor. Get down and eat.
A more refined place to eat is the ‘Empire’ restaurant where you can order from a menu. The tables were beautifully set, and the food is elegant and delicious if not overly innovative. It’s a calmer place to eat. There are fancier options too – for an extra charge you can eat at the chef’s table which offers a degustation menu which, while not quite Tetsuya’s, it’s certainly in the same neighbourhood.
Wherever I ate, the service was friendly and fast. Service American style. Customer is king. I’m assured this won’t change when the ship relocates to Sydney. Most of the crew are staying with the ship.
Drinks. Alcohol and soft drinks aren’t included in your cruise (filtered water, juice, tea and filter coffee are part of the deal). But drinks prices weren’t outrageous – about the same as you’d pay in a pub or RSL. When you’re on a cruise, at some point you must have a cocktail served in a pineapple.
I had a great time aboard Carnival Spirit. And not just because I was a guest of the cruise line. It was relaxing and fun in equal measure. Many of the people I spoke to were on their third, fourth, fifth cruise. Many were family groups comprising three generations.
A cruise really does offer something for everyone – plus a waterslide and a serenity deck.
I travelled as a guest of Carnival Cruise Lines. You can find out more about Carnival Spirit, itineraries and prices here. Cruises out of Sydney begin in October.
How do you feel about cruising? I’ve only been on this one but happy to answer what I can …
Comments
41 Comments so far
We are booked in to go on the Spirit over Christmas so I was happy to read your review as I was not convinced about a cruise yet my husband & 6yr old are very excited.
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We are going on the same cruise….see you there!
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Have you got kids too?
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My husband and I took our ten year old twins on a 12 day European cruise last year on the Carnival Magic and loved it! We saw a different place everyday, Monaco, Rome, Venice, Dubrovnik and also spent a couple of ‘at sea’ days to relax. This was our second cruise after the Sapphire on the Seas around New Zealand a few years ago. My brother used to be an Officer for Royal Carribbean Line and always told me how great cruises were. I am now convinced. He now works as a harbor pilot and gets to go on a lot of cruise ships. He basically says the cheaper the cruise the wilder the passengers.
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We travelled on Royal Carribean’s Radiance of the Seas last year in Alaska. It was my husband’s idea and I was extremely dubious, having visions of the horror stories we see on telly. I could not recommend it highly enough, especially for a family holiday.
We travelled for eight days and didn’t have to pack and unpack. We saw new places, met new people but had the security of coming back to our own rooms and somewhere familiar. The kids room was AMAZING!!!
The food in all the facilities was fantastic, staff were friendly and always helpful, and came from all around the world.
We have booked another one for Scandinavia next year. Can’t wait.
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Can I ask if you pre-paid your tips? Can you give me advise on the tipping please?
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I personally have never been on a cruise ship, but my parents have. And boy oh boy do they love them. They have been up the yangtze in china, to Antartica, Alaska, up through the Netherlands, the Greek Islands, a european River cruise, Fiji, South America, Australia itself and the last one was 3 back to back cruises from Florida to the Carribean (I think there are more they have done, I’ve lost track). They love the saftey, ability to travel. They do lots of shore expeditions (extra cost but they feel worth it). And on ship days they indulge in food, relax etc.
But my Mum is incredibly well researched in all of the ships so I encourage anyone to do that too. Know what you are paying for, where you are going, what you can do. From Australia, 3 days won’t get you very far so if all you want to do is drink, then fine, but you may get rough weather so you have to live with that too. My parents have never mentioned seeing any violence, or overly drunken behaviour. And tipping has never been much of a problem for them.
After so many cruises they get invited onto the captains tables, and get little trinkets for how many nights they cruise. I think she is addicted. There goes my inheritance
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I’ve been thinking about taking mr 4 and mr 13 on a cruise I figure its the cheapest way for them to see another culture during the island days on a p&o but now Ive just watched the 60 minutes thing and am having second thoughts??
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Hi Hmmm. I replied to a similar question earlier. All I can say is I never saw anything like what was shown on 60 Minutes (and there were a lot of ‘Spring Break’ college students on the cruise I was on). There was partying, but nothing threatening or offensive. I’d happily have had my kids with me. That said, I think you need to choose your cruise carefully – ask lots of questions and maybe book through a travel agent you trust. With kids, especially, you want to be able to relaaaax.
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I agree. I tend to think that the people who get into this sort of trouble on ships have usually met dodgy people or trusted people they didnt really know.
We travelled with our 4 kids, and travelling as a family tends to have that ‘stay away from us’ vibe about it! Our cruise was met by an ambulance when it docked in Turkey but that was for an elderly person who became unwell. The only person we met, apart from the crew who make a point of being friendly and knowing you by name, was an American tourist who wanted to borrow our camera charger because she left hers at home and we had the same camera. We arranged to meet her in the business lounge so it was in a public place and she used the powerpoint there. Our cruise was also desgined for families, it had a kidsclub, an ice skating rink with ice dancing shows for days when we were at sea all day (my girls loved that) and an entire level of timezone with air hockey and games we could all play together when it was too windy on deck to swim on days we were at sea all day. Our kids were issued with a panic button that they could use if they felt uncomfortable.
I know someone else commented about the staff having terrible conditions, but they were all lovely, friendly, happy and we spoke about their home with them each day when we saw them. Remember they all get tips as well, which contributes to their income.As someone who had a job I hated I can assure you, if they were having a terrible time they wouldnt be so happy.
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Thanks for replying Kate and Lu and advice
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We celebrated a friends 50th on board P&O Pacific Jewel last year. There see 24 of us in total ranging from 3 to 63.
Our daughters were just 3 and 4 1/2 at the time. They had a ball and ditched us happily for most of the days and evenings! The chants for “kid’s climb” started around 7am!
As for experiencing another culture, don’t expect too much! For kids it would be great…kind of like a sanitised Disney version of another culture. But with cruising, it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey (Urgh! How corny!). You really don’t get enough time to see and experience very much. That said, we didn’t do any of the “Melanesian Experience” tours…living in PNG , that’s a daily occurrence!
But we had a wonderful, relaxing holiday. The kids had fun and so did we! And this was despite hubby having served in the Navy, currently working in shipping and consequently being “anti-cruise”.
As for safety and security, we had an incident where a bag of snorkeling gear was left in our room. I went to reception and the whole issue was handled very seriously. Only a few people have access to any given cabin and a few phone calls was all it took to find out that our cabin steward had found the snorkeling gear left outside our cabin (mistakenly) so had out it inside for safety.
As for the 60 Minutes report, I just read the transcript. Really? ONE ex-employee does not make for conclusive evidence. I don’t doubt that bad things happen on board cruise ships, they happen everywhere.
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Hi – just wanted to add my 10 cents! I’m not sure where you are planning to cruise but I’d recommend Blue Lagoon cruises in Fiji. Blue Lagoon cruises are smaller than P&O, approximately 60 people on board. I went with my parents and brother in my late teens and it was probably the best family holiday we have ever had. The crew absolutely made the experience, they were amazing and so friendly – for example, every morning I teased the chef at breakfast that I wanted heart shaped pancakes – and on the last morning he made heart shaped pancakes for me! As for culture, the cruises have visits to islands/schools so you can see traditional Fijian culture – plus there is singing/dancing every afternoon with the Fijian meke (dance), and island nights where traditional food is served. Along with the usual suspects of beautiful beaches, cocktails and sunshine…
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It’s a pity you didn’t see the other side from the staff point of view. Very low wages for those from Indonesia and the Phillipines, 10 month contracts, very small shared cabins below water level, sexual harrassment from Officers and no Unions to oversee long working hours and safety conditions.
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No offense, but who cares?! Besides, that’s probably better conditions than they’d get else where
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Actually, Lou, I do care, and often chatted with the staff (they had no idea I was writing this piece). One of the most interesting times on board Spirit was a Q&A session I went to (all passengers were welcome) and you could ask whatever you wanted… How long are staff contracts? When do they eat? Do with their time off? Do they pay tax? Can crew members’ partners stay on board with them? Are the staff parties way better than anything the passengers go to? That last question was mine. The cruise director was somewhat vague in his answer
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Bit harsh!
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Lou, your comment makes me so sad.
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No offense, but Lou, you’re offensive.
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It’s always hard, wherever I travel (Fiji, Thailand, even the US), to not to feel bad for resort, hotel or cruise ship staff. I’m aware of how hard they work and that they’d be paid less than we’d expect in Australia. I hope they’re well treated. On my cruise, from what I saw, the staff are well looked after. Of course, as a passenger, I’ll never know what happens below decks, but there are hotel and catering staff who’ve been with Carnival 15+ years. That must say something? As a guest, I try to be as appreciative, undemanding and as friendly as possible. I always make a point of telling a supervisor when a member of staff has been terrific.
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I went on a Carnival cruise out of Miami to the Caribbean in February & it was AMAZING!!! Can’t recommend them enough =)
I went on a P&O cruise last year (on the Jewel) and i would never go on a cruise with them again after having been on Carinval cruise.
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My 3 day “booze cruise” out of Sydney 2 years ago has turned me off cruising for life. Fair enough it wasn’t a Carnival or Royal Caribbean rather the very dated Pacific Sun which looked like a floating RSL that was renovated in the early 90′s. I was really sceptical but thought ” why not? It’s $300 for 2 nights..how bad can it be?” So I packed my bag (lucky it was an overnight bag as you couldn’t swing a cat in our 4 berth cabin) and bit the bullet with my girlfriends.. The fact that we sailed out of the heads with Cheap Wine and a 3 day growth blasting should of told me how bad things could get…..couple that with gale force winds, 8 foot swell and 3 football teams and you get the picture! The fact I couldn’t get off was a huge turn off for me and I kept on having Titanic visions – not the King of the World kind, the sinking kind! Maybe I’m more of a land loving gal!
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We went on the Royal Carribean Navigator of the Seas last year and cruised the Mediterranean with our kids for 7 days. It was fabulous. I was expecting it to be like a floating RSL full of bogans but the iterary was perfect so we bit the bullet and booked. We all had a great time and it wasnt what we expected at all, much better. Best part was when the day trips were too long and hot for our kids, we left them onboard in the kids club and went on our own. To me its a great way to see places that would normally have risky accommodation. You can see these little out of the way places and then retreat to the luxury of your 5 star resort.
Tip for the first time cruisers. Being a US owned cruise, the staff expect tips, which you add on to your account at the end. But that means your room attendant, kids club worker, waitress, assistant waiter, head waiter etc…And the suggested amount is per worker, per member of your family, so it can add a bit to your bill at the end but if you are aware of that beforehand its not such a shock upon checking out!
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Hi Lu, Thanks for your comment. When Spirit sails out of Sydney, there won’t be tipping. I’m also told the ship is being ‘Australianified’ – Australian powerpoints are being installed and proper coffee machines will have trained baristas operating them. I love travelling in America, but generally their coffee is bleugh.
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Isn’t it! I went to New York last year (first OS trip) and went on a major – and unexpected – caffeine detox. Next time I’ll either be detoxing before I go, or learning to drink black percolated coffee first…
*shudder*
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Just a question. I have just booked a cruise on the navigator of the seas. We can pre pay our tips which is $12.95 per person per day. Do you think I will be charged tips again on top. I’m thinking of cancelling the pre-paid tips if it is also going to be added at the end. As a first time cruiser this is a bit confusing.
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Sorry I meant Voyager of the seas.
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We used to do a cruise every year until about 2002. Because the ships were “Australian,” there wasn’t a big thing made of tipping. We gave our cabin steward $50 right at the beginning, and at the end, the ship distributes envelopes in which you can put as much as you wish to tip – or nothing at all.
I found with the “Americanisation” of cruise ships, the standard 15% is added to your bill at the end AND you are expected to pay
the $12.50 per day, per member of your family/group, per each of the hospitality staff. It works out to be a whopping amount.
I expect you may not be compelled to pay the extra, but the 15% is non-negotiable.
We were told, many times, that the staff, who are pretty much all Filipino or were, get paid NOTHING, and are paid at the end of each cruise when the tips are collected and divvied up, and that’s it for them. That’s their pay, according to how generous (or not) the passengers were on that particular voyage.
It’s a minefield.
Read the fine print – it’s important!
Apart from tipping, you will have a ball – enjoy!
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We did a week’s cruise in 2010 around the Greek Islands on Splendour of the Seas. If my memory serves me correctly we prepaid our tips and just put vouchers in the little tip envelopes at the end of our week saying what we had paid.
We (family of 4) travelled with my parents and found it was a perfect holiday for all three generations. My kids loved the kids’ club which was probably the best run one I have ever come across. We had interconnecting state rooms which worked really well too.
I think the towel animals are a cruise thing as we had them each night too – the kids loved them!
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I don’t know anything about Voyager Of The Seas (believe though, it’s Royal Caribbean line). On my Carnival Cruise, because it was out of a US port, there was tipping – 15% was added to every drink (I paid for my own). As I mentioned in my article, the prices were reasonable so this was no biggie. Passengers are asked not to tip staff in addition to the 15% gratuity. When the ship’s sailing out of Australia there will be no tips or gratuity charged or expected.
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I was looking at bookings today for a 2013 Sydney to Pacific Islands and back, 8 day cruise and in the fine print said 15% will be added to mini bar restocking. I wonder how many more 15% charges will be snuck in whilst on board?
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I would do the prepaid tips. They will be aware of it and it wont be added to your account. Its a great way to save the ‘shock’ upon checking out!
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My fiancé did a very similar cruise to this last year – the 7 days Mexican Riviera on Cernival Splendor and had an absolutely fabulous time! We paid USD$649 each which was <$100/day including accommodation, food and entertainment – I don't know how many other holidays you can be this well fed, rested and entertained for this amount! LOVE the idea of cruising and I can't wait to go on another!!!
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Hi there. Loved reading your review of the cruise ship. We have up until now been wanting to take a cruise, but the recent story on ’60 Minutes’, titled “Ships of Shame” has really spooked us. They stated that 1 person every 2 weeks goes missing overboard…as well as saying that any problems are investigated in the 3rd world country the ship is registered in. Now I have many reservations as we would have been travelling with 2 kids, and I am not so keen being separated from them now…
Would love to know your thoughts…
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Hi Simone, this is the only cruise ship I’ve been on, so I can only say what I saw and experienced. Although there was a lot of partying on the Spirit (those Spring Breakers) it was never out of control, aggressive or ugly. I never felt uneasy even walking around alone at night. There were crew members everywhere – not policing as such, but present. The drinks weren’t ridiculously cheap so it’s not like binge drinking was encouraged. No one went missing from my cruise (as far as I know). I spoke to the cruise director about what happens when someone doesn’t come back from a shore excursion. He says this happens a bit – especially on a short-duration cruise to Mexico – normally because someone’s having too much fun in a bar ashore. He told me they send a crew member to scour the most popular bars to round up the stragglers, but when the ship’s gotta sail, they’ve gotta sail
I saw the 60 minutes story too (after my cruise) but I never saw anything like the scenes that were shown. I’d just say if you’re considering a cruise, ask lots of questions – if you can, ask people who have sailed with the line you’re thinking of booking with.
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Hi Simone
As we have done a few cruises, thought I would comment here re 60 minutes story. We find the more money you pay, the fewer bogans are on board. In fact the last 2 there were none at all. On our cruise around NZ earlier this year we had a P&O following us and they had a jumper! We were astounded as we had never heard of this before. On the other hand we had 9 deaths on ours but they were all old . What a way to go. So to sum it up, pay that bit extra and you will love it and so will the kids. Ours can’t wait for the next one
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I agree! Our cruise left from Rome, so we didnt have any of the ugly Aussies that you would expect on a P&O pacific cruise. Our cruise was full of American and European families and elderly people. We would retreat back to our cabin and you could set the tv channel to the nightclub and watch what was going on. It was full of European families with babies and toddlers, because their kids stay up late!
We felt same the whole time, and I think with the cruises you saw on 60 minutes, they were the bargain basement cruises that attract an unsavoury crowd. As for the jumpers, its really sad but having someone suicide isnt something that has anything to do with the cruise.
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I only just booked myself, husband and toddler on this cruise when it comes to Sydney… Can not wait!! Thanks for the article.
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Really keen to take the children on a crusie . It ticks all my boxes , number one being KIDS CLUB.My only concerns are what are the chances of my maverick ADHD child going overboard, and bogans .I have been told given the great prices, crusing in Australia attracts loads of loud Jimmy Barnes loving middle age bogans.
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Love your comment about Jimmy Barnes loving middle aged bogans!
I went on the Pacific Sun a few years ago and my children, then aged 11 and 7 years old, had an absolute ball and have begged to go on a cruise again.
As for the bogans, well…yep they were there but not as numerous as I expected. The security on board the ships is pretty heavy duty – more guards than a Kings Cross nightclub – so the bogan behaviour was kept under control.
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Anonymous we took our maverick 7yo ADHD child on Carnival Inspiration from Florida to the Carribean last year (plus our 10yo and 6yo), we all had a ball! The kids begged us to go to kids club most days anyway, and we made sure we registered him as ADHD when we signed him in so that they knew everything about him, and they were great with him.
Most of the fun activities take place away from the edge of the ship anyway, and of course you have to keep eyes on your kids at all times when they are on the ship, just as you would if you were on a beach in Fiji. I say do it, you’ll love it!
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