Entertainment

 

The entertainment on the Carnival Spirit is the one thing I usually rave on about to friends and family when I talk about my holiday. Two words, Music Manila. The Music Manila band from the Philippines is one of the reasons why I would love to go back on the Spirit. Firstly what I loved about them is that they personally connected with every single guest that they met, they would come around during their breaks and have a good old chat with everyone. Secondly they know every single song (literally) You ask them to play it and they will if they don’t know it they will Google it and play it for you the next night. The Music Manila band played a lot of Cold Chisel, Queen, Deep Purple, Guns N’ Roses and lots of 70’s, 80’s and 90’s rock music. I would suggest going to watch them perform at least once if you are on the Spirit, they play in Club Cool every night from 7pm to 12am. I went and watched them with my family every night on our 12 day cruise, If you’re wondering yes I cried on the last night whilst singing along to their legendary Queen medley.

 

The live shows were okay; I only really enjoyed one act. If you’re into watching guys jazz dancing in fedoras and singlet’s than carnival shows are the ones for you. The live comedy, which I'm going to give a straightforward explanation, I did not enjoy it at all. I saw one act in the punchliner comedy club and ill admit he was pretty funny on the other hand another older gentleman performed in the Pharaoh’s Lounge and even the kids watching were having a crack at him. It was so bad, it was the only aspect of the Carnival Spirit I did not enjoy, after that I didn’t watch anymore-live shows or comedy acts.

 

What I found is that Carnival offers more activities than what I remember from P&O, Every day there were loads of things to do for all ages such as trivia, art auctions, hairiest belly contest, turkey toss and lots more. Bingo on The Spirit was really entertaining; the host did a wonderful job every time bingo was on.

 

Staterooms

The cabin my family and I had the privilege to accommodate in was on deck 5. We were very lucky to be treated to our first balcony cabin; the room is bigger compared to the Pacific Dawn (P&O) interior and window cabins. Our room had a double bed and a set of bunk beds, the room also had a vanity table, small drink fridge that was stocked each day by our lovely room steward Budi. The bathroom was quite big and was equipped with general amenities such as shampoo, soap and tissues. There was plenty of storage in the room to fit four peoples worth of luggage. The stateroom was always well cleaned and serviced twice a day, usually when we came back from breakfast our room would already be cleaned, and our beds turned down with a towel animal and chocolates on our pillows at night after dinner.

 

 

Dining

 

Some people might say that I'm easy to please but I loved every single meal I had on the Spirit, This was the first cruise where I actually went out of my way to try new foods and dishes, which I am pleased I did because I loved everything I tried.  The Carnival Spirit has 3 dining rooms, La Playa Grille Lido Restaurant, Empire and specialty dining Nouveau.

 

The Empire restaurant is a two-deck elegant dining room, which features painted murals and exquisite chandeliers to add to your fine dining experience. You can choose anytime dining or at a selected time for this restaurant. Firstly in the Empire dining room you are offered bread, butter and iced water then you can choose from two menus which are every day dining and a specialty menu for that particular day or themed night. The menu consists of delicious entrees, huge mains and desserts. Usually I wouldn’t order a desert because I just couldn’t fit it all in, a funny thing about not ordering dessert is that our waiter or waitresses would always try to convince us to order dessert! Drinks are available to order also, which include wine, beer, cocktails and soft drink for a cost. The waiters and waitress manage to carry dozens of meals on just a single tray above their head, which I was quite shocked that they are able to do this. What I thought was nice about he Empire dining room was that the staff were lovely and were always entertaining. Every night there was ‘show time’ the lights go dim and there’s always something new and spectacular going on like a live performance, dancing on the tables or even the chicken dance!

 

Nouveau Steak House
 

Nouveau specialty dining comes at an extra cost of $40 per person; you enter by climbing up a glass staircase into the stunning two-deck dining room. This restaurant gives you a taste of fine dining, excellent for those who like to enjoy a gourmet cruise meal. The meals are served over four courses, some of the options available are 9 oz. Filet Mignon, Grilled Lamb chops or 18 oz. Spiced Rubbed Prime Ribeye Steak and many more delicious options. I would highly recommend that you treat yourself to this restaurant once on your voyage.

 

La Playa Grille Lido Restaurant

 

La Playa Grille Lido Restaurant is a buffet styled dining option that serves a delicious range of food at breakfast, lunch, dinner and some snacks. Breakfast  consisted of usual options such as pancakes, bacon and eggs, sausages and loads more Personally I think the best part about the breakfast was the man  (I call Mr. Egg) who made fresh omelets where you get your choice of filling, I had an omelette every single day of my cruise.  I found the meals at lunch and were mainly Asian inspired meals, whilst at dinner there was a carvery served of different meat every night, vegetables, rice, soup, and curries. I was very happy and impressed with the large range of food offered to suit everyone’s taste and style.  At the La Playa Grille Lido Restaurant there is also a salad bar, dessert bar, nibbles section with cheese and crackers and free drink options such as iced tea, lemonade and lemon squash. Tea, coffee and hot chocolate is also available.

 

Pizza Pirate

 

All that I can say is that this man needs a pay rise or paid holidays he needs SOMETHING!? ‘Mr Pizza’ as I would call him, works around the clock making fresh pizza everyday. The pizza is delicious and as a bonus comes with your fare, so basically you get 24-hour free pizza all day every day. The dough gets made in front of you and there’s a list of about 5 different pizza toppings you can choose from, the chef was a bit grumpy but I don’t blame him.

 

 

Kids and Family

 

Carnival ships I believe are family ships; there are lots of ‘fun’ things on everyday for children to participate in. I will always recommend people with families to cruise with Carnival, as I believe they accommodate families with kids a lot a better than another cruise lines I’ve been on.  One of the best attractions on the Spirit is the water slides, I'm going to admit I was too scared to go down ‘The Green Thunder’ my dad put me to shame by having a go at it, there’s a water playground on the same deck which added more to the fun. Some other attractions kids and families can enjoy include use of the basketball court, mini golf, pools and spas.

 

 

Facilities and Services

 

One of the best parts of my experience on the Carnival Spirit was the Serenity Lounge on Deck 9. I could hardly get into the pools or the spa in the main area of the deck, and then I discovered the Serenity Lounge and fell in love with the Spirit all over again. It was so peaceful and quiet not a child in sight, I quite enjoyed sipping on a cocktail in the pool whilst sailing out of Suva Fiji. There is also a spa on board where you can pay for services such as a facial or beauty treatments, also there is a fully equipped gym which unfortunately I did not get to try out.

 

Cocktails and drinks were fairly cheap onboard the many bars the Spirit has to offer, I quite often cringe when people suggest that the drinks especially when referring to cocktails are over priced, They are around $10 and are VERY cheap compared to what you pay on land especially in clubs. My favorite cocktail that I suggest everyone to try, is the ‘cruiser’ and I quite liked the Carnival version of ‘Long Island Iced Tea’. Onboard you can also purchase what I like to call a ‘bucket O’ beer’ Basically it’s a little white bucket topped up with ice and four of your favorite beers, Works out cheaper to buy four than just one, you are also allowed to carry your bucket around the ship.