Had a great value package with flights, hotel and cruise pricing. Also like the repositioning cruises with many sea days. Carnival only does this cruise every 4 years when the Spirit goes to Singapore for maintenance. Good points...food was excellent standard..no evening dining room menus repeated over 19 days which I was impressed with. Staff were great, especially in the dining room. Entertainment was great..singers and the ship's company of a high standard. Many ports were tenders and the ship's crew handled these well with very efficient and prompt tendering operations occurring. We had anytime (your time) dining...it was very efficient this cruise..last time we were on the Spirit it was a long wait always. This time no waiting at all. Bad points...although the ship had been in dry dock for maintenance for 3 weeks, the balconies on the ship hadn't been cleaned. It took 5 days for them to clean and repaint them during which we weren't allowed on the balcony..so much for paying extra for a balcony! Embarkation was terribly slow with long lines and our bags didn't turn up till 10pm and then we found them at the end of a corridor..crew had gone to bed by this time! Very poor process. Given 80% of passengers on this cruise were between 60-80, the music was not to their taste and very loud in the theatre and dining room. This would have been suited to the usual younger cruisers on the South Pacific cruises, but not on this longer repositioning cruise. The Tv movie channel is hopeless..there is no summary of movies, so you never know what a movie is about. To see what's on, the guide only comes on inbetween movies, so you have to tune in at the right time between movies to see what's on when! Then when there is a time change due to ship movements, the TV channel does not catch up with that so the timing is completely out of when the movies are on. There were only 2 movies shown inside the ship in the lounge. Given much of the cruise was hot, many older people on sea days were longing for some movies to watch inside, but there were only movies on the outside top deck and these were all children'movies..again totally wrong audience with only a handful of kids on the cruise. Our inroom safe had to be locked with a credit card..how stupid is this! Once locked you then have to either carry the c.c. on you or hide it in the room! What is the point of a safe if you can't lock your c.c. in it??? There were not nearly enough activities on sea days for older people. During the maintenance time, the library was removed which many older people keen to read were disappointed in....and kids' entertainment areas broadened, so the ship really isn't catering for older folk much at all now. There are now only 2 small bookcases in the card room and of course you can't read there with the noise of the games. On the evening menus, the mains rarely said what vegetables were accompanying the meat, so you had to ask the waiters every night to decide if you needed to order side veges or not...and more than not the waiters didn't know or got it wrong! Very little clothing apparel for men to buy in the shops and all apparel was very overpriced..very few people were in the shops for this reason. Read Less

It was a good time of the year to be out of Australia. So Singapore to Sydney sounded good Cruise was just average in terms of dining and entertainment. The formal dining - service was very good from Ilham and staff. The food was so/so. A number of dishes were not up to scratch - cold/cool, tough, undercooked etc. One entree, braised rabbit, tasted very much like minced beef and was served as a party pie - one swallow, and gone. Some meals however were very good. However the range of food was not great, and repetitive. On the plus side, serving sizes were generally good, not too big. Formal dining suffered from very intrusive 'entertainment' provided by waiting staff. These people are amateurs with an inflated opinion of themselves. This entertainment occurred too often, was too long and too loud. The announcer went on too long and far too often about how good her staff were. Buffet dining was also average - fruit (apples, pineapple) was of mediocre quality. Variety at lunch time was limited. Also, can't they afford a range of teas besides just Liptons? Coffee was undrinkable, but Carnival are not on their own there. Entertainment featured 2 magicians and 2 hypnotists - surely one of each is enough.we stopped going to the shows, though some were reportedly quite good. The resident singers/dancers were quite good. Guest relations were very helpful, and the sales outlets were far less pushy than on Celebrity or Holland America. Misinformation abounded, whether from the line itself, guest speakers ("Darwin does not have a hop on hop off bus)" and other passengers. Read Less

Loved a Trans-Pacific I done in 2015 on legend, so after 12 cruises on Spirit & timing was right, so went ahead.. The ship had just been refurnished, I found some upgrades good, but not enough, still had rust around my Balcony.. Food was good.. Loved having entertainment starting at 3:00 with 2 bands in Main Bar & having a afternoon comedian in "The Punchliner" on Sea - Days. Wish they change up the stage shows a bit... The customer service was great Bar staff; Waiters & room Stewards.. Carnival is renowen for this... The price of there cruises are very low, The drinks low also. unless you want a drinks package with other lines. The daily activities where great & Bad. They had a professor talking about the ports themselves (Culture, Food&Drink, History) eg Komodo Is & Phuket. The miss was the trivia (had too many people cheating) they policed it if they where giving away Alchoal etc. The Biggest issue was the age demo of this cruise 2000 above the age of 60 & only under 140 below under18.. Carnival is normally a family cruise line, this cruise looked more like a Princess. As one other cruiser just under 50 said 'looks like a boat going to heaven or a retirement village. Read Less

We had previously cruised on Carnival Spirit in March 2013. We selected this cruise, and the previous one from Sydney, as a way of getting to SE Asia. We are in our late 60's and have previously cruised with Princess and P&O. The embarkation was staggered. We selected a 1130 - 1200 slot but on arrival there was about a 60 minute delay. We went straight to lunch and by the time we had finished, our cabin was ready. The safety brief was held on deck 3 under the lifeboats in the 30+ c Singapore tropical heat. We were on the eastern side and I was glad we were not on the Western side. The brief was the quickest have ever experienced. The ship had just undergone a 2 week dry-dock. We had the same inside cabin on the way up and noticed that we had new carpets and shower curtains. In one of the drawers was the working clothes left by a Filipino contract worker who used the cabin during the dry-dock. The inside cabin, 6159, was a bigger size that the inside ones we get on Sun or Sea Princess. The shower was also bigger. The location was quite with little noise disturbing us. We had a fixed time late sitting and were placed on a 12 seat table. Most nights there was only a max of 6. Our waiters were great as was the course selections. Unfortunately, it was a rare to get a hot meal. There was plenty of entertainment offered and the highlight for us was the "Miss Houdini" show with the production cast members. Eli, the cruise director was always friendly and entertaining. The prizes handed out were much more than I have seen on our previous cruises with Princess and P&O. We even got a bottle of red wine and a bathrobe. The Monarch card room was very crowded with the library now incorporated. Many people coming and going and very few of them closing the door when leaving. We enjoyed all the ports visited and had a mix of private and ships tours. The procedure for tendering in Phuket was a shambles. Our group was called, but before we got to the tenders, another group from the other side was given priority, splitting up our group. When we finally got to shore, 45 minutes late for the stated starting time, the other 7 coaches had already left. We then waited another 30 minutes until the last of our group arrived to fill the last 2 coaches. Needless to say, we never made up the lost time. Rather than missing the jewellery factory, we missed the temple. Speaking to others on the other coaches, they all said the Temple was one of the highlights. The ships tour in Bali was excellent. We went to the twin lakes, Monkey forest had a great lunch and a stop at a Batik factory. I also purchased one of my favorite tropical fruits, mangosteens, at a local market. They were delicious. The service offered by all staff was excellent. We would defiantly cruise with Carnival again. Read Less

We chose this cruise because we wanted to go somewhere warm and different. Also it ended in sydney being only a short flight home. Not only this but having experience of carnival we liked the fun on board and laid back atmosphere and this time lots of sea days because we needed rest. It began well enough with an unsolicited upgrade to a better cabin due to painting smells. We noticed straight away that, unlike every other ship we had sailed on, there was a lackadaisical attitude to hygiene with no visible hand sanitisers on the busiest deck nine buffet which also led out to the pools. After a search we found some of these at various decks hidden away round corners or empty. The inevitable began to happen with at least two thirds of the the passengers including myself and my partner catching a head cold or in my partners case, I suspect, influenza. by 10 days out.. After a complaint to guest services suggesting a public health issue may be arising, sanitizers appeared at the main restaurant but nothing at deck 9 where the trouble was. Excellent stage shows and a great comedy club. Very good meals at the main restaurant but dinner at the buffet on deck 9 was so-so in comparison with the lunch which was inexplicably very comprehensive. Service was excellent in parts and lazy in others Ports shore excursions were ok but the ports themselves were a bit boring. Exception was Komodo island which was great,and we would have gone with the ship tour if it had been available. We were obliged to find an alternative and did so quite readily along with many others. Cannot understand why the ship couldn't have done this better. Would go again but with wet wipes Read Less

This was our third cruise on Spirit and second relocation from Singapore. After the shamozzle of the last embarkation at Singapore, I think Carnival learnt some lessons and all went pretty smoothly. We departed a few hours late but that was to be expected considering the need to completely replenish the ship and remove rubbish after dry dock.The visible enhancements after dry dock included some new carpet in some public areas, the new craft room "Soul Play", the new duty free shops, the new games and, apparently, new gym equipment...but I don't frequent such places. This is a cruise ! She also had a brand spanking new exterior paint job which, according to the captain, added 1 knot to the cruise speed. All the usual suspects are still there. Desi in the Empire Restaurant, great shows in the theatre, dirty jokes in the late Comedy Show and the Manila Band in the Red Frog. The crew were as friendly and helpful as ever and the buffet served the usual "delicacies". When you get on Spirit, you know what you're going to get....and you usually get it. It's pretty laid back, the Captain is very visible and approachable...as are a lot of the other Officers, including Duncan, the Hotel Director. The cabins are clean and well looked after, the meals in the Empire Restaurant are "nice", with the meat such as lamb shanks being standouts...as they are slow cooked. The entertainment in the Restaurant is now even more impressive...as new crew talent is continually found and groomed. Fantastic atmosphere. It's probably not worth going into Port reviews as they are rarely visited by this ship, but needless to say, if you get a chance to visit Komodo Island, do it. Airlie Beach and Gladstone were also surprisingly good. Darwin is Darwin and Bali is worth a visit for first timers. My only gripe with the cruise was the dirty external windows...especially in the buffet. They were grubbby from the dry dock and they didnt appear to be ever cleaned. What a waste of a great vantage point. All in all, a relaxing, value for money cruise. Read Less

Reason for this trip - Komodo and my wife has been raving about her last trip. Staff the best of any cruise. Kitchen quality control woeful. - Mad hatter tea party, no coffee, sandwiches curling up - stale. Trout served as Barramundi. Dinner roles the stalest I have had anywhere. I don't think the Komodo Dragons would eat them!!!! Noted no bananas or peaches, pears, apricots. Pizza was pretty good. Snags & Pies excellent. Guys BBQ good for a change. Buffet, when tables cleared, were seldom washed. Maitre de excellent. Some entertainment - Brilliant, but 2 Hypnotists? Comedians rated from poor to excellent. Miss Houdini one of the best acts I have seen at sea. Needed indoor movies in afternoon. Kiwi cruise director: a breath of fresh air. Captains interaction with guests very good. No Orchestra???????? The pier farce at Kimodo Island was very disconcerting. Using ferrys to tender at Airlie Beach a great idea. Read Less

To see 2 destinations we had not visited before. We had been to Singapore several times so there was not much for us to do. Embarkation was lengthy. The food on the ship was only average and if you wanted better food you had to pay a lot for it. Beer and wine was very expensive and you could not take even 1 bottle on board initially. The main parts of the ship were kept very cold ( for whatever unexplainable reason). The balcony cabin was ok, but i doubt we will use Carnival again, they came a poor second to Royal Carribean. Hygiene could be improved, there did not seem to be enough hand dispensors.The boat is old and it shows in many places , perhaps if we had been on a newer ship the experience may have been better. Disembarkation wss quick as we carried our own bags. Read Less

We chose Carnival as we have cruised with them three times before. We chose this particular cruise as we were visiting friends in Singapore. We stayed there for six days before boarding. It actually seemed very disorganised boarding in Singapore. Usually we don't have a problem. Also a lot of problems with missed luggage and missing luggage tags (that were well attached to bags in a lot of cases we were told about). Don't know what the problem was but I suspect it was the handling in the port. As we didn't leave port until after 9:00pm that night (very late), and that was down to everything not being loaded on the ship in time, I would say the luggage problem was caused by the baggage handlers in port. Once we got on the ship we had to line up again. Cabin was good as usual. Plenty of room with our suitcases under the bed. I don't think the two weeks in dry dock weren't enough for what needed to be done. Our balcony had paint everywhere - on the floor and on the chairs. No care taken by the painters at all. No problems with the food. Dining room was great as per usual. Thee was a problem in the buffet with people taking up tables to play games, read books, use their computer etc. It was hard enough to find a table without these selfish people. Obviously lunchtime is busy. Why they can't use these tables out of the busy times? That is one of the biggest problems on board a ship I think. So many others complained about it too and said it happened on all ships. Must be fixed. This cruise, the entertainment was very hit and miss. There were a few wonderful entertainers in the theatre, and some rather pitiful. A lot of very disappointed people and a lot of complaints. All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed our cruise even with the above problems. Our next cruise is a Princess one so will be very interesting to compare. Read Less

This cruise chose us, as we received an email with a great price and $700 cabin credit, it was a great itinerary and not Australian school holidays, although we always vowed we would never go on this ship! but it was a good deal so why not, we had to book through a travel agent as this was the terms, we picked our cabin where we like to be and then waited and waited for June to come. We weren't that excited as we were worried about the ship but we were excited for the fact we were going to Singapore for four days prior and staying at Marina Bay Sands. Embarkation day arrived and we never board early usually in the final group, all good, first step onto ship and the darkness hit, decor very dark and gloomy, but I did love the lift lobbies lots of room and back from the stairs and the lifts do travel fast. Our room, perfect location as we chose it,never want an upgrade as it could be a downgrade from what we like. Head straight for the bathroom and nearly hit the walll as I slid along, not to worry must have stepped on some water somewhere, now what is that huge plastic bag on the floor near the bed with a curtain in it? turn on the lamps one doesn't work, hit the balcony, gosh be careful where you step, rusted paint scrapings everywhere, chairs look painted and wet, oh they are!!! Wet paint and paint scrapings all over them, separation wall between balconies flapping, not even secured, back into cabin slip my shoes off, oops!!! Feet splashing into water, ahhh that's why I nearly took a tumble into bathroom. By now husband quite angry contacts guests services and we have the assistant housekeeping manager in our room quickly.And this is where 19 days of dry dock apologies start and this was only our room. We found the decor on this ship strange, there is French, Egyptian,Roman and whatever else with a darkness to it. Food by no means great, the entertainers were quite good although the stage shows were not to our liking at all, final night arrives our duty free not in our cabin, maybe we have to pick it up ourselves so we head to guest services to make the enquiry only to be told it has been delivered to our room, we say we didn't see it anywhere, more checks, yes it has been delivered therefore we offer to have another look, no where to be found, phone guest services insisting it has been delivered we offer for them to look, no they discover it has not been delivered, crew are exceptional liars on this ship. Our eleventh cruise and first and last on carnival, never again, first impressions last. We were given an extra $170 cabin credit. Read Less

I choose this cruise because I love The Carnival Spirit and I loved the ports and duration of the cruise. 19 Nights From the moment we boarded it felt like coming home. We had cabin 5197 which I must say I'd never choose again unless I wanted an adjoining cabin.The cabin itself and balcony were fantastic, but I did find extra noise (mainly blaring TV or constant blowing of noses from adjoining room) and light from the adjoining cabin was a nuisance. Aside from that the position was the best. so close to the elevators. a quick jump down to atrium bar for a drink or upto lido for a snack. central to everything onboard. Deck 5 is also great for accessing the O2 15 to 17 yo club as it's on the same level at the front of the ship. We did both Chefs Table and Nouveau under the stars. I've done Chefs table in the past and although visiting the galley is great it was loudish and made it hard to hear Chef Vincent talk about each dish. I was underwhelmed by Nouveau under the stars. our waitress didn't seem to understand us very well. and when paying extra for the experience you expect a little more for the experience. We were told no we couldn't have more than 1 vegetable side and you pay extra to have wine with dinner but didn't serve anything I liked. which was very sad. Ports..... Airlie Beach we just did some shopping as we've been here before. Darwin we did the Hop on and Off Bus and looked around the main centre. I wish we had of known we could of had longer in port than after we had returned to the ship as we left over 3 hours later than expected. And also known about the free bus to Casuarina as this wasn't very well advertised and there isn't many shops in downtown Darwin. Bali we arrived at the Port of Benoa and after helping a friend who's husband was medically evacuated off the ship here we caught a Taxi into Kuta for the day. After a bit of bartering a stop off into Kuta McDonald's where my son got a behind the scene tour and we walk along the beach road we stopped off for a beverage at a local pub a foot massage hair braiding and a bit more bartering it was time to head back to port for our return tender. Ho Chi Minh. Phu My port. we opted for a 2 day tour here with Stephen from MY WAY TRAVEL. having already organized transfers and accommodation we met out tour guide at our hotel in Ho Chi Minh. Our transfer driver didnt speak any English into Ho Chi Minh but was a safe and reliable driver. We were dropped off at Prague Hotel. Here we met our guide for the next 2 days. Our guide spoke very good English and was extremely knowledgeable. We did a 2 day tour visiting the Vinh Trang My Tho Temple and buddhas The Mekong Delta river and estuary via boat and Hand rowed Sampan. We visited an island where they made coconut lollies and went on a horse and carriage ride through the village. We had lunch at the Nhà Hàng Mekong rest stop in Tiên Giang. Lunch was a traditional Vietnamese lunch. on day 2 we met our tour guide at our hotel at 8am from here we visited the War Remnants Museum the Reunification Palace, The French inspired Architectural post office, Cathedral and a final stop off at the Ben Tranh Markets. Prague hotel is in a great spot very central to everything in District 1. tables and chairs lined the street with eateries and drinks available everywhere. At night it all really comes to life with plenty of places within 50 meters of the hotel to visit. Well worth a visit but next time will stay longer. Koh Samui. We pre organized a tour with Stephen from My way Travels again. The tour guide wasn't easy to spot and I ended up sending everyone to the end of the pier to wait while I tracked him down. I must say we wasted a good hour and a half just at the port. We visited temples elephants monkeys and the grandfather and Grandmother Rocks before lunch. We unfortunately missed the end of our tour which was the shopping and looking around in Nathon. This was disappointing for me. Singapore. OMG how clean green and beautiful is this city. We stayed at Destination Singapore Hotel Beach Road. The pool on the top of the hotel is amazing. and too much time was wasted here on day one. We walked to Suntec City and Marina Square and visited little india for dinner arriving by Taxi and having a walk around. The Moustafa Centre is a sight to be seen. Although I'd never visit again it was worth seeing once. They have everything here one big multi level building. Day 2 saw us head to Sentosa via MRT and the Monorail to Universal studios. After a jammed packed day here we left and went to Gardens by the bay to watch the light show. It is amazing and a must not miss show when in Singapore. Then it was of too Bugis Street in a Taxi. We walked around the markets caught up with some friends from the ship and had a bite to eat. Day 3 and our last day in Singapore. We got up early and took the Hop on and Off bus from Suntec around Singapore (Blue line) then went back to the hotel to check out (late check out 2pm) jumping back on the hop on and off bus (red line) upto bugis street and revisiting the Markets and a last look around before heading back to the hotel for our luggage and heading to the airport. After it is all said and done I love Carnival I love Carnival Spirit and the team onboard and cant wait till I'm able to board again one day. I'm hoping carnival do more long cruises in the future as it was 19 nights of bliss. Read Less

Overall, we had a fabulous time aboard the Carnival Spirit. We enjoyed the wide variety of eateries that were included in the cruise and had no complaints. Facilities were wonderful and the staff even more so. The ship's resident entertainment group was wonderful but found some of the guest entertainment average but not everyone has the same taste. We loved all the ports and tender service was very good, much more organized than some of the previous cruises we have experienced. Only complaints were the prices of alcohol and the fact there were no packages other than bottles of wine. Even a coffee shop package would be great for all those who like to indulge. We often like to just relax in our cabin and watch a movie but found this very poor unless you wanted to pay. Shore tours were overpriced. Saying so, we would not hesitate to go Carnival again as overall it was better than we expected. Read Less

Last cruise before dry dock and refurbishment. Room service and waiters were very attentive which was expected. We are known by name on the Spirit. Craft activities were good with entertainment staff joining in. We had a knit and chat class immediately after which was well attended too. This was the last cruise for the orchestra too which is a real shame. Watched the lovely outfits being taken off the ship for destruction. Of course we had seen the shows many times so it was time for a change. Will be interesting to see the new shows on our return. Really time to change the menu in the dining room. We ended up going for casual dining towards the end of the cruise when the menu was repeated. That said, going home we will have hamburgers and Mexican fare to choose from too. We only booked one full day tour but because of rough weather we were unable to get ashore before 11am so we cancelled. I know the tour went ahead because instead of the stated 5.30 pm departure we did not leave Bali until much later waiting for buses to return. Read Less

This was our fourth cruise flying from the Gold Coast to board the ship in Sydney so as to experience the departure from Sydney Harbor which was worth it. Previously we have done the 7 nights South Pacific on the Pacific Dawn an excellent cruise and would recommend, 10 nights around the Eastern Mediterranean on the Crown Princess, another lovely cruise that we would highly recommend with beautiful food, 12 nights around the Western Mediterranean on the Norwegian Jade a bright fun ship again with excellent services and food and we were looking forward to, This next 15 nights around the East Coast of Australia and on to Singapore, as my wife was recovering from a Breast Cancer operation on the Carnival Spirit. Leaving from Sydney and going to Singapore (we were notified after departing, that it was for some minor upgrades and resteraunt renovations) via Brisbane, Airlie Beach, Darwin, Lombok, and Bali (wherein all the passengers, including children, whether going ashore or not, were automatically charged $50 each for being in Indonesian Waters). On boarding our first comment was she is old and in need a major renovation but thought it was still to be the fun ship. The meals at best were only very average, and not all the restaurants were operating. It is the only time I consistantly received burnt, or at least over cooked Eggs Benedict for breakfast and the free coffee from the Buffet area had a tannin taste to it, so we bought espresso which was ok. After waking and showering on the first morning of the cruise, I noticed little flea like bite marks on my chest but thinking it must have just been bed louse did nothing about it. Other people on board were complaining of sore throats and so again, just thought it was a bug going around, then on hearing of others who had gone to the doctor who had prescibed antibiotics with little if no benificial effect, further believed it was a virus that would run its course in a few days. Around ten days later I came down with a severe fever and was to ill to leave the cabin but still believing it to be a virus battled on. We eventually disembarked at Singapore and was then admitted to the Raffles Hospital on an emergency basis, gravely ill, with Typhus fever (this bug I am told, for people over 60, has a fatality rate world wide of around 60% and is transmitted by bites from rat fleas and is not air borne and has an incubation period of 7 to 10 days). On our return home I wrote to Carnival Guest Relations to advise of my experience and further advise that I had also been advised that a friend had overheard whilst in an Emergency department of her local hospital, of another patient in the cubicle next to her, who was being tested for Tyfus Fever, she evidently had also just come off the Carnival Spirit after a cruise to Singapore that departed Sydney on the 1st of August. There reply was to say, sorry we wern't happy with the cruise, but regrettably they cannot be held responsible for illnesses incured whilst on board. I should also add, that another guest broke their ankle while going on the water slide $3,200 in onboard medical fees was the figure that did the rounds. The ship did have all the basic offerings: Kids Club, Casino, Theatre, Shops, Shore excursions etc. and the staff were really nice trying their best to make the trip enjoyable. Don't get us wrong we love cruising and will again but we will NOT cruise with Carnival again. We had already booked another trip on the Carnival Ledgend to Hawaii but this has since been cancelled as a result of our first and only experience with Carnival, which was a shame, as a first timer could wrongfully prejudge other cruise lines by this ship and the attitude of Carnival, which would be grossly unfair!! Read Less