My husband and I, and my brother and his girlfriend enjoyed ourselves immensely on the January 10th sailing of the Carnival Spirit. We departed Miami, and went to Belize, Costa Rica and Panama.

Embarkation - We were at the dock shortly before noon, and we were boarding by 12:10. Lines were short and moved quick. We had done online paperwork, but we didn't even get into the Funpass line, as it wasn't necessary. This was great!

The Ship - The Spirit is a beautiful ship! The atrium is awe-inspiring and gorgeous with all the rich-looking wood and antique copper. The Pharoah's Palace is amazingly detailed, as are most of the other public areas. The only area that screams Carnival is the lido deck, otherwise it is muted and classy. Don't forget to check out the Jungle hallway forward - it's very different compared to the decor on the rest of the ship. Also - the Spirit was very clean, all the time. We had relatively smooth sailing - yes, there were a few bumpy times, but only one that was significant, and it was around 2-3am one night. Read more