My wife, our two sons (19 and 16) and I cruised on the Carnival Spirit leaving from Whittier on June 21, 2006 and headed south to Vancouver. We did a 1 week land tour that I planned myself before the cruise but that is a subject of a different review. Weve been on several other cruises, all in the Caribbean.

Boarding was easy. We boarded around 1:00pm on Wednesday and spent the day resting from the previous week. Our stateroom (5192) was plenty big enough for the two of us. Plenty of storage. We had a second cabin (5188) that was considered an obstructed view balcony. Our boys couldnt see down the side of the ship, but they were able to see everything else from the cabin. This was a very good compromise for us on cost. I would recommend the obstructed view balcony cabin to anyone wanting to save a few dollars.

Carnival is actually bragging about their new beds. I must say that I wasn't impressed. I wasn't expecting a plush, luxurious bed, but it definitely could have been softer. I just can't believe anyone would actually want to buy that bed. Read more