Carnival Spirit Review
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I booked this cruise for the itinerary. I had read and heard varying reports about Carnival and, as our only other cruise had been on Holland America, I wasn't sure how much I would like it. However I was pleasantly surprised. The ship's dEcor wasn't really to my taste and much of it certainly looked like 'Las Vegas on steroids'. The glass elevators in the atrium were fun but I didn't much like the dark interiors of the public rooms on the lower decks and wished the seating looked more out to sea. But the public areas were kept clean and in good order.
But I was very pleased with my cabin. I had a port side 7A balcony with an obstructed view over the top of the lifeboats but it was between two lifeboats and was very good value. And I enjoyed sitting out watching the boats being launched to serve as tenders at Kona. However, a tip for this itinerary - a starboard cabin would have been better as twice the port side was docked right up against the tall warehouses at the commercial ports so sitting out on the balcony wasn't that great. I did see inside an obstructed view 5A cabin with full-length windows but no balcony, again between two lifeboats, and was impressed by how light and airy it was. Next time, I'd be happy to settle for one of those.
The cabin was spacious with plenty of storage and well laid out. The bathroom was good with, again, plenty of storage and I preferred having just a shower rather than climbing in and out of a small bathtub to have a shower. The bed was rather too firm for me so (having read up on the Carnivals boards) I immediately asked the steward for a foam topper pad which made all the difference. My steward, Lawrence, was excellent. He was always very pleasant, kept the cabin very clean and while I can live without towel animals, some of them were very cute. I really appreciated having a laundry available but putting a proper cover on the ironing board would have been a help and it was somewhat disappointing to find that both machines in the laundry on my deck had broken before the end of cruise.