First let me say that I have been on many cruises with my family; and sailed on almost every line. I chose Carnival because it fit our needs. We were booking 9 cabins, with 17 family members. We needed to cruise off the west coast, and wanted warm weather...so Spirit was our choice.

Embarkation was fine, a little slow as is Carnivals way. I don't care to be put into groups and sit around to wait for your group to be called.But it was fine, about an hour wait. Our room was cat 11, cabin 4237, at the rear of the ship. The balcony was incredible and wrapped around the whole cabin. We had 2 lounge chairs,3 deck chairs, 3 tables , and still could have fit 4 more.This was the highlight of our trip. The cabin is very different from the other cat 11 suites, as it is divided into 3 separate rooms....very nice.the bedroom and living room were separate, each with their own TV and VCR. These rooms are are best on the ship, much better even than the Penthouse suites.

Our cabin steward was the worst, and we even had to lodge complains because he was not making up the room. The food overall on this cruise was terrible! Just all around terrible. We ate at the supper club twice just to have a good meal.The coffee was undrinkable, again if you wanted a decent cup of coffee, you had to go to the cafe and buy it. Read more