Alicia Ruiz Peña

Age: 32
Occupation: Teacher
Number of Cruises: 5
Cruise Line: Carnival
Ship: Spirit
Sailing Date: March 17th, 2005
Itinerary: Mexican Riviera

Embark: We arrived at 11:30, parked across from the pier ($12 a day, it’s only $9 a few streets East) and were on the ship within half an hour. Our cabin, 5218 balcony but we paid for an inside Guarantee.

The Ship: Most stable we have sailed. Been on 2 other Carnival ships, 1 Princess and 1 Royal Caribbean (RC still our favorite). The ship was visible of wear and stains, oh well.

Helpful Things to Bring: Ziplock bags, you’ll need them for food and snacks, liquor (pack only one bottle per bag), small alarm clock, 2 clothespins (to hold the shower curtain down), pepto bismol and Dramamine (should you need it), a HIGHLIGHTER (very helpful for marking your Carnival Capers!)

The Food: Fabulous in the dining room but not so hot in the buffet. The buffet is now set up in stations so go all the way around before you decide on what you’re having otherwise, you’ll miss something. The turkey sandwich at the grill is YUMMY! In addition to free soft serve, they have scheduled sundae days where you can get real ice cream with all the frills!

The Shows: Pretty bad except for the comedians.

The Dance Club: Seemed a little slow but they did offer a Salsa night and it was crowded!

Ixtapa: This requires a tender. Get your sticker first thing and then go for breakfast, if you miss your number called, you can always add yourself to the next group, it beats waiting!
There is a taxi boat that will take you across the beach to Las Gatas, round trip for $4. we didn’t go but it seemed like a lot of locals were headed that way. We walked around town.

Although they tell you not to take food off the ship, we made sandwiches and went about our way. No one checks but if anyone asks, play dumb… you didn’t here the announcement!

Acapulco: We walked around town and then grabbed a cab to see the “cliffdivers.” We forgot the difference in time and missed it!

Manzanillo: We heard a lot of complaining about this port so here is where we did a tour. We took the Colonial Tour to Colima and Comala and had a great time sight seeing.

The Gym: Multileveled and busy. Free weights and a variety of weight and cardio machines. Don’t miss the showers! They are quite nice with 5 shower heads above and on sides.

Debark: Although you’re to wait till your color is called, we played dumb and got off when they announced “rose” even though we had “purple.” No one noticed once we left with the crowd and ended up in huge room where all our bags sat. I think they call you by color only to avoid a stampede.

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