Carnival Spirit Review
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I am a home based travel agent (Cruise Specialist) I have cruised on all of the popular cruise lines but this was my first Cruise with Carnival. My 16 year old daughter was invited on this cruise by a friend. I decided it would be an excellent chance for me to check out Carnival so I invited myself along.
We arrived in San Diego the morning prior to our cruise. I had made reservations at the Holiday Inn on the Bay. I had sailed out of San Diego once before on a Holland America ship so I knew that this hotel was just across the street from the pier. Our room wasn't quite ready when we arrived at 10 AM so we dropped off our bags and headed to Sea World. The hotel shuttle took us for $12. After a great time at Sea World we returned to the hotel to check in. I was thrilled when I discovered our room was in the South Tower, on the 5th floor facing the bay. We watched the HAL Zaandam sail away on a 15 night round trip Hawaii sailing. I had sat next to a couple on the plane that morning who I knew were now on board. As I woke the next morning the Spirit was directly across the street from us. What a wonderful site.
EMBARKATION This went pretty smooth; we had our fun pass, checked in and were given #5. Boarding started at 12:00 and I thought the numbers went fast. We were on board by 12:30. They were taking the customary boarding photo as we went through the terminal. Ok, I'm going to admit right off the bat. I think the photos are fun. I am not a model (not even close) but I have a couple of "fun" pictures from all 14 cruises I have been on. I actually enjoyed the photographers and thought they enjoyed what they did. We entered on deck two near the atrium. I will admit the decor on Carnival is a little different than other ships. I had toured the Triumph so I was prepared. We set out to discover with carry on in hand since the staterooms were not scheduled to be ready until 1pm. We had a pretty busy roll call board and several of us met after the muster drill. We saw each other off and on through the week. D&T became my pals as the girls deserted me frequently. I was very thankful for their company!!