Although I had fun while on the Spirit, it was not up to par with my last cruise on the Princess Sapphire. My fun was not due to the ship activities, which by the way was very few, but due to the people I cruised with. My cabin was nicer, but that may be due to the fact that I had a balcony, I was in cabin 4225. I had no problem with my steward, he was very nice, did his job very well and even kept my ice chest full of ice even though I did not ask. My room was always made up nice whenever I returned to it. Our room was on the fourth floor towards the aft of the ship and to get there sometimes I walked outside on deck three. At the rear of the ship there is a stairway going up to deck four which we used since it was near our room. I had seen the crew sitting at the bottom of these stairs smoking, I'm fine with that, but what they did with the cigarette butts is wrong. The butts were stuffed between the stairs and the wall of the ship, this was during the whole week. They were never cleaned up. At the top of the stairs next to the door was a wine glass on the floor, it was there all week. Probably still there now. Somebody from an upper deck either threw or dropped a banana onto deck three. That banana sat there for two days getting rotten before it was cleaned up. My waiter in the dining room was another story. He barely cracked a smile and didn't interact with anyone at our table. Every meal he would get at least one person's order wrong (we only had five or sometimes six at our table). He seemed to be new at waiting tables, always running around like something was wrong. I may be wrong but I think that the waiters in a cruise ship dining room should be of a very high caliber. We always got our food last, even thought sometimes we were first to order. (I know this may not always be the waiter's fault, but it just added to our frustration). When we ordered steak we had also asked for A1 sauce, the waiter never brought it to us. But our waiter's assistant was very nice, doing everything she should. She even took our dessert order once when our waiter was busy with who knows what. She gave the extras for the prime rib but we were never asked if we wanted au jus sauce. She was the only good thing about service at our table (we were table 229). Once we complained to the Maitre'D, (second to last night, since that was the only time he came over) things got a little better, but we should not have had to complain.

Since we are on the subject of food, let me say that the food in the dining was not as good as I was expecting. My last cruise, every meal was like a five star restaurant dining experience. Not on the Spirit. Although the presentation was okay, the taste was not there. The chicken was tough, the lobster overcooked, the filet mignon was not even filet. It had gristle through the middle. Sometimes the food came to the table cold. The food was nothing special, if the buffet had decent food I may have eaten there more. The buffet had the same food day after day, no variety. Late night buffet consisted of nasty hotdogs and hamburgers. They did not look appetizing at all; one teenager in our party ate a hamburger and got sick the next day. Towards the end of the cruise they were putting out fruit that should not have been put out, it was soft and just almost rotten (and in the dining room also). The only good thing on the buffet was the deserts, when you could get it. I was not impressed with the buffet at all. Yes, you can eat in the dining room for breakfast and lunch. Breakfast in the dining room was about the same as the buffet, just slightly better. And there was an egg special every day which was not available in the buffet. The dining room lunch was good however; I think that was the best food throughout the cruise. The crew on this ship did not cater to the passengers. I'm used to them willing to do anything for us. Some of them were rude to us and not giving us answers. There was one time I went to the purser's desk asking for a continental breakfast card. Although she called room service to get one for me, she also snapped at me when I proceeded to explain to her I needed it soon since I wanted to go to bed. The crew of this ship needs to be trained on how to cater to people.

We did set sail late; I'm not complaining about that, it happens. But there was nothing happening on deck to keep us amused. During the whole cruise I did not see a band on deck once. My last cruise, from the minute we sat sail there was a band on deck, things happening, people having fun, a party from day one till the end. Not on Carnival. It's called the Fun Ship, I think not. Yes, there were events and games on board, but not enough. And some of the shows and games were so late after a full day in port most people were too tired to go or had to get up early the next day. And the shows in the Palace could have been much better. The slide at the rear of the ship was not working. It was a big disappointment to me and the rest of my party. Thank goodness that I did not bring my niece and nephew with us because they would have been very upset. Things like that not working should be told to us before setting sail, that is one of the big attractions for the little ones on board. We were kicked out of the hot tub at 10:00 PM. I was told that was the time all hot tubs and pools close. WAY TOO EARLY! The tubs should be open all night long or at least till 1:00AM.