Thread: Spirit Review 12/9-17/06

Spirit Review 12/9-17/06
I haven't posted much here, but I have to give credit where credit is due. After sailing last year on the Spirit (12/05) and saying I wouldn't try Carnival again unless some changes were made, I'm glad to say that they were and that I did.

I didn't have such a hot time last year with the bedding and the food. Some of the crew were quite rude, too, which is a real shocker on any cruiseline.

This year: new bedding, new food, new crew (heard from a ton of people it was their first sailing on their new contract).

Although I still liked the HAL bedding more than the Carnival bedding, the food definitely rivaled HAL and I gave huge compliments to everyone regarding their Georges Blanc menu. Since some of the officers in the dining room were the same as last year and remembered me (I was traveling with a giant back then and now [besides my husband], so he is kind of hard to miss), they knew my compliments were sincere.



The crew was fresh and kind everywhere. I am not usually too hard on crew, and am easily satisfied, but even I was amazed last December after hearing things like, "You don't like it? Too bad, then, eat in the Lido!"

This year the Spirit was like a whole different ship. We had a great time.

Also, this year the slide was operating again.

FYI, they put in Poker Pro tables on our cruise, replacing live dealt games. The games go much faster with an electronic dealer, but something is missing, socially, in the game. I'm sure some will like it better, some not at all. I have added a Poker Pro review below for those interested.

I was/am so impressed with Carnival this time, that we decided to take a last-minute cruise on the Spirit again on January 18th. We got an outside cabin for only $400! I'll take that deal anyday!

Please feel free to respond if there are any questions.
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Poker Pro
Imagine my surprise when we boarded Carnival's Spirit on December 9th and found two Poker Pro tables being set up.

For those of you who have read me long term, yes, I said I wouldn't cruise Carnival again. Fortunately, however, they have realized the error of their ways and hired a new celeb chef to revamp their entire menu, as well as replaced the wooden beds in every cabin. So those two improvements, along with a rock-bottom price for the cruise right after our CardPlayer cruise, enticed me to give them another shot. I'm so glad we did.

First off, their food is so vastly improved that they can now compete with HAL. Their beds aren't quite up to HAL's eurotops, but they are still a billion times better than last year. Okay, so with that out of the way, on to the poker discovery.

Gary, our giant friend, was laughing hysterically when we approached him lounging on a couch after we'd gone our separate ways to explore the ship (cabins weren't ready yet). He asked if I'd seen the Poker Pro machines being set up. I told him I had, and that I was excited to try them. His laughter died and the great coup he thought he was pulling on me was ruined. Yes, my journal had gotten so bad that Gary had stopped reading months ago and had no idea that I'd changed my stance on the Poker Pro machines. I don't blame him, I have always said that my poker journal was one of the worst on the web.

So the machines were set up, tested, and finally put into play after we'd gotten into international waters (we should be able to play them 24/7, but since Carnival neither knows nor cares nothing about poker, and can't be bothered to learn, we are still treated under the same rules as house gambling games).

I can say that the tables are not for me. Too much of the time, players are reduced to sticking their heads into their monitors like any other video poker game, and conversation comes to a halt. The social aspect of poker is greatly diminished.

Although Glenn and I bought chips to play with, no one else did. They complained incessantly about not having chips in their hands, but were too lazy to go buy some for themselves. The hosts sucked and did a horrible job of keeping the games going. They refused to spread NL (which is probably smart, because the money disappears too fast from the tables and they lose a dollar here and there from their greedy palms). They refused to spread SNG's for the same reason (I heard that after midnight they were willing to spread these two, but on a cruise ship, after midnight is pretty dead).

They raked way too much (at times the rake reached as high as 25% ($1/3 blinds, if even one player called or raised, $1 was automatically taken from the pot). The max rake was $6, which is one dollar higher than the max rake previously on Carnival. Of course, there is no dealer to tip, and the hands fly out much faster, so we made lots of money over the course of eight days.

The main plus for these machines, imo, was lack of dealer error. Players still whined about how the pots were pushed ("but I had two pair, why did he win the pot?" "Because your two pair were counterfeited by the board pairing, you idiot!"), but the machine kept dealing anyway, instead of stopping to explain why joe-clueless didn't win (that ended up being my job, sigh).

If I had to make a judgment call now, I'd say that unless poker stays reasonably popular these machines aren't going to make it. They are extremely helpful in keeping the game moving and the lack of human error, but they just aren't "fun." They would be great in SNG situations, mixed games, and games that are pretty much extinct live, like PLO8, due to the swiftness of the hands. I doubt, however, casinos will care about what the players want and what will or will NOT be spread. So that kind of nixes that idea.

Overall, we had a great, profitable time, but Poker Pro really needs to keep a host aboard the ship the entire first cruise ater they install the machines. Carnival is clueless and is very, very rude to their player base. They also need to have some kind of deal with cardrooms that they will provide a host or hostess to keep the games afloat (pun intended, lol). They need a listing system, interest lists, etc. The whole experience was very disjointed and unorganized. It was left to the individual players actually IN the game at the time to keep things going (lists for another game, interest in starting a SNG, seats available, etc). Although Carnivval would like everyone to think the machine does everything FOR them, the reality is that the players ended up doing Carnival's job, and at the same time, we were PAYING them for the honor, har har.

So there ya have it. Something with huge potential during the poker boom, but unfortunately, the boom is over, and they missed their greatest opportunity by a sneaky bill underhandedly passed right under their noses.

C'est la vie!

Thanks for the review it is very timely has I will be sailing 2/27/07.

Thank you for posting your review!
We do SO love first hand information here on CLF!
(Review frus to you!)

I hope I see you at a table someday. With your personality, I'll have you read in 5 hands or less.

Thanks for taking the time to write your review.

I very much enjoyed reading it.