Cruise Obeservations Carnival Spirit

The first day of our nine day Mexican Cruise on board the Carnival Spirit went by in a blur. On our second day we awake from a great night's sleep. I find sleeping on a cruise ship to be a wonderful experience. The gentle rocking of the ship, as we cruise through the night to our next destination , seems to act as a natural sedative. We are early risers and head up to Lido Deck in search of coffee.
Lido Deck Carnival Spirit early morning

Not only coffee, but a very complete continental breakfast is available early. No need to worry about being hungry here, food is everywhere and is almost always included free. We chose to have some fresh fruit in addition to coffee. If you feel hungry a little later there is a huge breakfast buffet on Lido Deck and sit down restaurant service in the main dining room. You could have three breakfasts and no one would mind!




Fresh fruit available on continental breakfast Carnival Spirit Lido Deck


This day is a "sea day" with no port stops but don't think there is nothing to do but eat. We did yoga, hit the hot tub, walked the ship, checked out a book in the library and marveled at the decor: All this before lunch.
Opulent Decor on The Carnival Spirit                                                                                                   

What's for lunch today? In a fit of cross cultural confusion I had the California Roll sushi on a trip to Mexico in the main dining room.


California Roll


It was time for a nap! After which we dressed up for elegant night and had martinis before dinner. I had a shrimp cocktail starter and the prime rib entree. The wife had Greek style salad and the lobster and shrimp..


Shrimp cocktail Carnival Spirit


Greek Salad Carnival Spirit

Prime Rib Carnival Spirit

Lobster and shrimp Carnival Spirit


 After a wonderful dinner we stayed out to see the late night show and found a fun seal towel animal waiting in our cabin


Seal towel animal Carnival Spirit

Carnival Spirit Time To Cruise

It has been about a month since we returned from our nine day cruise to Mexico on board the Carnival Spirit. I admit I suffered withdrawal from the cruising experience. It is so pleasant to have no cares in the world and have all your needs fulfilled. I have returned to the normal everyday world and frankly would rather be back on The Spirit. I am writing this series of blogs to relive the trip and to give others a glimpse of the cruising  experience.

 We rode the Amtrak Coast Starlight from our home near Emeryville Ca. to Los Angeles amd then transferred to the  Pacific Surfliner into San Diego. The train ride was wonderful with no problems and we arrived spot on time in San Diego just after one a.m on Friday. We crashed at the hotel and awoke to a overcast morning but our enthusiasm was not diminished. We could not board the ship until afternoon so we enjoyed breakfast and walked the San Diego Harbor/Marina area and shot some photos.

San Diego Harbor views

We arrived at the cruise terminal just after noon. Praise to Carnival for a great embarkation. In about forty five minutes we were on board taking pictures of the view from Lido deck.


Views from Lido deck Carnival Spirit San Diego March 15,2012 Above- Carnival Spirit water slide Below- Carnival Spirit pool.

We had lunch and proceeded to explore The Spirit. I highly recommend you take a walk around the ship. It allows you to get your bearings and scope out the facilities and check for deals. We headed up to the Nouveau Steakhouse to check out the menus. There is a extra fee for the steakhouse but the menus rocks. In the following photos of the steakhouse I must explain that the room is filled with red from the overhead fantail and glass.


Carnival Spirit Nouveau Steakhouse


We had a tropical drink and continued to explore. In the lobby they had a wine deal. You purchase the wine in advance and save a substantial amount of money. There are a number of bottles to choose from in a given price point. If I did the math correctly we saved seven dollars a bottle.



Tropical drink and wine package deal





Overhead views Carnival Spirit Lobby


We participated in the mandatory safety drill. At dinner we met the other two couples we would share dinner with the next nine days. I always am amazed at how Carnival picks dinner mates. Somehow they manage to put together tables with compatible people. After a great dinner we headed back to our cabin to find our first towel animal. The wife loves them!




 Our first towel animal! A Walrus.

More fun to come.

The Comeback Cruise-Carnival Spirit

I wish I could say Cruise Ninja has been standing by silently, plotting his next cruise. The truth be told, we like large numbers of people, have been pummeled by the down economy. When we started this blog we thought we could knock out a couple of cruises a year, at least. It didn't happen that way.

The good news is we have booked and paid for a cruise to Mexico on the Carnival Spirit this month. After a year of window shopping and conservative spending we are going to cruise! We created spread sheets, compared cruises and costs and we think we have winner.

We look forward to the fun and will report our experiences on the blog. Happy Cruising!

High on Cruising

Doing the Sea Days

The cruise continues. We have made the last port of this cruise but we have two days at sea before we return to Los Angeles. Some of the cruise lines change the itinerary a bit and head to the farthest port first so the days at sea are in the beginning of the cruise. I like it at the end so you can unwind before getting back to the grind of work. Mind you, there is plenty to do and you will not be bored. As usual we awake early and the first thing on our mind is food. We head to the Versailles Main Dining room for a relaxing breakfast.

Norwegian Star Breakfast fare
While we eat we check out the Freestyle Daily for possible adventures for the day. We decide on a competitive game of Wii Bowling. Then we stroll the ship checking out the photos the ship's photographers have taken of us. We could do wine tasting or mojito muddling but instead check out the artwork on board and have quiet time the library. Should we hit the exercise room our take a hot tub? These are fun choices. After a nap, early dinner and the Elements Magic show we save our energy for the White Hot Dance Party tonight. It starts off a bit slow but lots of people dressed in white arrive and the party begins! Check out these videos.






White Hot and rocking!

Norwegian Star Cruise - Puerto Vallarta

On arrival in Puerto Vallarta we find the port a busy place. In addition to our ship, NCL Star, there are the Disney Wonder,  Carnival Splendor and what appears to be a pirate ship. In reality the pirate ship is a sightseeing excursion.

On past cruises we have enjoyed many of Puerto Vallarta's beautiful sights.Taxi cabs are readily available at the dock. At the gangway there are newer cabs and vans. As you get to the street area there are many older yellow colored taxis. Establish a price before you commit to a cab ride! It has been our experience that most of the drivers speak English. Do a little research before you arrive and have a planned itinerary. On the last visit we visited the Malecon and photographed some of the many public sculptures. A few blocks away there is the beautiful Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Malecon Statues Puerto Vallarta

Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe
On this visit, at the advice of our limo drive, we decided to visit the "Old Town" area. At first when we arrived there was a bit of disappointment because the street where we were dropped off did not seem attractive. A trip down a sidewalk revealed the beach area with lots of restaurants and fun activities. Some of the hotels offer day passes that allow you to use their pools and beach front. In any case there is an abundance of restaurants ranging from street carts to fancy sit down. Jet skis, parasailing and killer beach watching await you!


Old Town Puerto Vallarta
Have a great time but allow time to return to the ship or you might get left behind!

Mazatlan

After a brilliant time in Cabo San Lucas we sailed off into the evening on the Norwegian Star. The nice part about of being on a cruise ship is that you unpack once and your cabin moves from town to town. You are fed and entertained almost every minute of the day.

During past cruises to Mazatlan we have taken tours, attended a shrimp fest and checked out the Centro Mercado. On this cruise we did it a little differently, we hung out on the ship.It really is a brilliant good time to be on board. Most everyone leaves the ship and that means you have all the ships amenities to yourself! We started with eggs Benedict in the Versailles Dining Room.

We wandered the ship and hung out at the pool and sunned ourselves. It was quiet and restful.

Norwegian Star Pool

From the deck we could see the Pacifico Brewery.I have heard it is great place to tour but I am not much of beer drinker.

Pacifico Brewery in Mazatlan
The port in Mazatlan is an industrial area so you are required to take a shuttle to the entrance.  Inside, there is a market place with shops and a little restaurant. We decided it was margarita time so we shuttled over and had drinks, salsa and chips for under ten dollars.Back to the ship to get ready for dinner of prime rib! Tomorrow we arrive in Puerto Vallarta.

Cabo San Lucas

Our first port of call is Cabo San Lucas, our number one favorite of all the Mexican Riviera. In Cabo the port is too shallow for the ship to enter so they use smaller boats, called tenders, to shuttle you in to port. Norwegian had us queue up at 8:45 a.m. to get  tickets to the tender boats. They called out groups in an orderly fashion to avoid chaos with everyone wanting to go ashore at once. After reaching  shore and clearing security you are greeted by hordes of  vendors who try to sell you tours and boat rides. The ship offered a number of excursions, but we choose to wander on our own and explore the possibilities. There were tons of great shopping and restaurants right at the port. We decided to take a tour of the area on one of the many glass bottom boats ($20 plus $6 in tips.) We motored past Lover's Beach, Divorce Beach and the Arch. Our boat captain got us up close to sea lions and pelicans. I was surprised when I heard our captain say Scooby Do. Sure enough there was a rock formation that resembled Scooby!



Cabo San Lucas Glass Bottom Boat Tour

After our tour We elected to be dropped off at Medano Beach where there are many resorts and hotels with umbrellas and restaurants. We had heard good things  about The Office on the Beach. This is a great spot with tables and umbrellas and some seriously good people watching.We had calamari that came with two tasty salsas. The waiter offered us what he jokingly  called American Salsa; it was ketchup. We also had pico de gallo and guacamole; large portions and absolutely fresh. I almost forgot, they make some large, strong and wonderful margaritas. Musicians stroll by the tables and sing. What a wonderful time on the beach and in all honesty you could say, "I was at the office!"


The Office on the Beach Cabo San Lucas

Cabo Rocks!!