Cruise on the Carnival Spirit

Carnival Spirit

Day 1
We left Wellton, AZ at approximately 8am in a rented Ford vehicle on the morning of the 10th of February. There were four of us for this vacation. Bob, Cathy, Marge & myself. We had met Bob and Cathy years earlier when we first started our retirement and we have remained friends. Bob & Cathy had both retired from GM and so he wasn't terribly thrilled that we were not in a GM produced car. We kidded him that he would have to duck down so no one could see him & he be ashamed. We arrived in San Diego around noon and we weren't going to be boarding till after 1:30pm. We parked near the pier where our ship was docked and when we inquired as to the boarding procedure we were told we would be allowed to board just shortly after 12 noon. Great, we thought. So we unloaded our baggage from the car and procedeeded to register for our trip. This we found to be an easy procedure. Total time for check in was about 5 minutes. As every piece of info they require is on the computer that you has given when you registered for the trip. They issued you a Sail & Sign card that had your name on it, the dinner seating and table number along with your room number. This card unlocked your room door and any purchases you made while on board were charged to it, including all beverages. So once you were settled in your room you only needed the Sail & Sign card in your pocket and could leave the rest of your valuables in the safe, locked in your room. Prior to boarding Bob & I returned the car to the rental agency, AVIS. After the fuel filling and return of the car they had a driver return us to the pier where our ship was docked. We had just returned & our wives informed us that boarding had started & our number had been called so we could now board. We board (front of the ship on deck 1), but they scan you just like they do at the airport. I of course set off the bells & whistles as I have bionic parts in my hips. Once thru this procedure you find your way to an elevator that takes you up to your floor. Our room was on the 8th deck or the Panorama Deck as it was called. We find our rooms, with Bob & Cathy just 4 door down from us. We are near the rear of the ship and we have a balcony as do Bob & Cathy. We deposit our carry on luggage and we will get the rest of our luggage delivered to our rooms in the next few hours. They tell us that we can proceed to the 9th deck as there is a restuarant and bar up there. We study the room locations and what is on each deck via a card that is located in eack of the rooms. The dining room located at the rear of the ship, along with bars, casino(mid ship) and theatre(front of the ship), etc are located on the 2nd deck. The 3rd deck has more of the dining room, shops(mid ship), and theatre mezzanine/balcony. After all persons are on board, the ship is now ready to sail we are all called to the "muster" station that they have shown you where it is from the card located on the back of your room door. You report to this muster station with your life preserver that was stored in the closet. Once there they show you how to put it on, secure it and then tell you that in case of a disaster at sea we are to report to this area & will load on one of the lifeboats that are stored in that area. Of course, women & children first & in the case of families dad gets to tag along. Each one of the life rafts holds 140 people and 10 crew with sufficient rations on board for I believe two days.
We have set sail from the Port of San Diego at 4pm. After this we return to our rooms and clean up ready for supper. We are allowed to attend to the dining room in the clothes we presently have on, as not all the baggage has been delivered to the room. This could take several hours before your baggage arrives. So tonight the dining room is informal. Tomorrow evening you are required to wear dress slacks and a sport type shirt with shoes. No shorts or tank tops allowed here. When you are first seated your waiter arrives and puts the serviette on your lap. The second waiter arrives and lets you select from a basket he holds, of bread, be it rye slice, wheat bun, white bun, sourdough slice and a couple of other types. Then along comes the bar waiter who takes your drink order. I order a glass of red house wine, Marge doesn't drink and Bob & Cathy also order a glass each of the red house wine. We have our first meal onboard and if this is any indication of what's in our future it is wonderful. You select your starter (salad, soup, fruit), then select your appetizer (could be soup, salad, fruit or mussels, mushroom caps etc.) and your main entrée, this could be New York Steak, Oysters Rockefeller, Shrimp Scampi, Filly Migon or other choices. After dinner they bring you another menu that is all deserts. Another hard decision to make as all look delicious. After you finish here you retire to your stateroom or wander about the ship to familiarize yourself with the layout & where all the amenities are.
I should at this point tell you that Bob nicknamed all our waiters and stateroom personnell as there given names were tongue twisters. So our dining room staff were Slick and Leroy,(Slick from Romania had his head shaved & Leroy was from Jamaica and black) Our bar waiter was named Spike (he had his hair spiked & was from Indonesia..name was Wayan). Our stateroom people were from Indonesia also & were nicknamed Cisco & Poncho Via. The personell on board were just fantastic and had a good sense of humor. Click on Webshots - our photos and click on Cruise on the Carnival Spirit link

Leroy and Slick

Spike with Slick in the background