With Reuben Goossens
Cruise’n’Travel Journalist / Cruise Reviewer
& Maritime
Historian
MV Carnival Spirit
Permanently based in Sydney
from October 2012
MV
Carnival Spirit part of the largest Cruise Company in the world! She will add a
new kind of cruise experience to our waters and she will be
suitable for families and the
younger set - expect her to be very like the days of Fairstar “Fun
Ship” days of cruising – never ending fun and frivolity!
But as this Carnival ship was very
much designed for the young ones and young at heart and may not be suitable for
the older passenger!
All
images on this page have been sourced and provided by & © Carnival Cruises Australia
– unless stated otherwise
The 88,500-ton MV Carnival Spirit will arrive
in Sydney
in October 2012 after she will have received her refit where she will have been
“Australianised.” This will include a massive new multi level Water Park installed with a huge thrill slide and a
plash-park known as “WaterWorks.” Carnival states that it has a
massive vertical drop and that this will be a brand new feature and a first for
any ship. This will be the very first time that a Carnival Cruises has based
one of their ships permanently outside of North America, proving that the cruise
industry in Australia
is becoming one of the largest and fastest growing in the world!
The amidships
“Fantail Pool” and Lido
deck
The “Fantail
Pool” seen at night whilst the ship was in port
As the Carnival Spirit will be the largest
cruise ship sailing from Australia
year round, she will offer a huge range of onboard facilities and features, in
addition some two-thirds of its cabins have a private balcony, being the most
of any Australian-based cruise ship.
There
is no doubt that Carnival Spirit will be aimed at fun-loving Australians who are seeking
an active, vibrant cruise vacation that
has a broad diversity of on-board choices of entertainment, sports, pools and
of course bars. The Carnival Spirit certainly offers huge outdoor areas for
fun, including the 22 metre corkscrew water slide, as well as not just one or
two - no there are four swimming pools on the Carnival Spirit. Then there is a
miniature golf course, a jogging track and a sport court. Passengers have their
choice of 16 lounges and bars, including the massive 1,170-seat three deck high
Pharaoh’s Palace Theatre.
The multi-level Pharaoh’s Palace Theatre for
spectacular shows
In addition to
the huge two-level main Empire Dining Room, Carnival Spirit also features a
reservations-only optional Nouveau Steakhouse and the ever popular casual Lido
Buffet Restaurant. The ship also operates the “Carnival Spa”, which
is a two-level health spa that has wrap-around ocean views. Below there is the
delightful Chippendale Library and Internet café. The heart of the ship is the
towering ten deck high Spirit Atrium and its lobby at the bottom there is a bar
and lounge, as well as three glass lifts shooting high up the ship. In all, she has twelve passenger decks and the atrium stretches over
ten of them
The two-level French
inspired Empire Restaurant has a rather busy feel about it, but is
a pleasant venue
The Lido
Buffet Restaurant, where you can eat in or around the pool decks
The optional Nouveau
Steakhouse with its huge glass dome ceiling and mural – this
room is very ornate
The Spirit Atrium
Lobby has a bar and lounge area
The Atrium
and its glass lifts
A Panamax-Max ship:
The MV Carnival Spirit was built by Kvaerner
Masa Ship Yards in Helsinki,
Finland and she
was the first of a series of ships that is
known as the “Panamax-Max” size cruise ships. The reason for this
name is that she was especially designed to fit through the Panamanian locks
and thus able her to sail through the Panama Canal.
When she was completed and officially named she departed on her maiden voyage
on April 21, 2001, Thus by the time she arrives in Australia she will be a good eleven
and a half years old. Not that this matters though!
Externally she is a
reasonably good looking ship for a modern ship
Entertainment, Recreation & Passenger
Decks:
Deck 1 (Riviera
Deck) there is the Versailles
(show) Lounge and it seats 320 guests. This is the venue for guest artists,
comedians and concerts, etc.
Deck 2
(Promenade Deck) and Deck 3 (Atlantic Deck) contain most of the ships main
public rooms. The lobby houses two grand staircases, as well as a Bar and dance
floor. There is also an information and Tour Deck. For the gambler there is
always the Louis XIV Casino that has its own Casino Bar complete with a
bandstand. The room also features big-screen televisions and tabletop gaming
machines. In front of this venue is the spacious and very popular Club Cool
Jazz Bar. There is the ever popular Monarch Card for those who love their game
of Bridge, of their game of choice, and then up front there is the massive
Pharaoh’s Palace Theatre for the grand production shows. This is the main
show lounge and it stretches over three decks, seating some 1,170 passengers.
In the atrium area you will also find the reception and excursion desks, the
spirit lobby bar (seating 123). Further aft is the lower floor of the Empire
Restaurant, which is constructed in a French 19th-century style, which
stretches over two decks and seats some 1,300 guests, as well as 86 guests in a
separate annex restaurant called the Napoleon Room.
Deck 3
(Atlantic Deck) in front of the main dining room's upper level, is the
conference room, seating some 60 guests as well as the Foyer Lounge. Beyond the
Atrium is the Fashion Boulevard
and shopping gallery.
Deck 4 (Main Deck)
is a passenger cabin deck. It also contains the uppermost level of the theatre
is situated far forward, beyond which there is a large video gaming room for
the youth called Techno Arcade.
Deck 5 (Upper
Deck) is a passenger cabin deck, which leads on to the children's playroom -
the Fun House.
Decks 6
(Empress Deck), 7 (Veranda Deck) and 8 (Panorama Deck) are passenger cabin
decks. However, at the head of deck 8 is the ship's Bridge, with the senior
officers’ staterooms adjacent.
Deck 9
(Lido/Pool Deck) incorporates two large swimming pools and two Jacuzzis in the
central pool area There is a sliding glass dome over one pool and the other
open air. The popular Canopy Bar is located between the pools.
Deck 10 (Sun
Deck) Here you will find a large multi-function/aerobic area as well as a Lido area.
Deck 11 (Sports
deck) is an open deck with a jogging track.
Deck 12 (Sky
Deck) Surrounding the atrium is the ship’s observation balcony.
The Louis XIV Casino
This is the Club
Cool Jazz Bar
Fashion Boutiques
and Shopping Centre
This is the Teen-Club
Accommodations:
Staterooms vary from value for money inside
rooms to ocean view, to balcony or even suites and penthouses. It all depend on
what you feel like spending on your vacation, and whatever you spend will also
mean the size and facility in your chosen accommodation as can be seen in the
images below. Of the 1,062 staterooms, some 849 (80%) are outside and thus have
an ocean view, whilst 750 (70%) have balconies, which is more than any other
cruise ship based in Australia.
Suites and Penthouses are located on decks 1, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. These include
six Penthouse suites which are 36m². On deck 7 there are 44 suites of 27m², and
8e demi Suites of 22m² and others between 15m² to 18m² in size. Just as a note:
her passenger accommodation, even for her good size of 88,000-tons, is
reasonably sizable considering she will accommodate around 2,680 passengers,
when you consider that the very much larger 122,000-ton
MV Celebrity Solstice only accommodates an
additional 170 passengers to the Carnival Spirit, but then she is a good
33,500-tons larger and that difference is even bigger than the average British
P&O passenger liners of yesteryear, such as the SS Oronsay, which was 27,632-tons, and was built back in 1951 with some 1,400
passengers. How days have changed! The cabins certainly have, now you have a
settee and bright and airy cabins with indirect lighting, private facilities in
every room and every possible mod-con that you could wish for to have a perfect
ocean-going vacation!
A typical inside stateroom
showing a twin bedded layout, however it can also be made up with a queen size
bed if requested
Outside queen size
bed stateroom, that can also be made up as a twin bedded configuration if
requested
Balcony stateroom
with a queen size bed, that can also be made up as a twin bedded configuration
if requested
This is one of the special balcony “Spa staterooms” that have
additional facilities
Again can be made up with a queen or twin beds
A Suite with a King
size bed, that can also be made up as a twin bedded configuration if requested
The Penthouse
with a King size bed, that can also be made up as a twin bedded configuration
if requested
For the mechanical minded – Propulsion:
MV Carnival Spirit has diesel-electric
machinery, consisting of six Wärtsilä 9L46D diesel engines with a total power
of 62,370kW, each connected to an ABB alternator that provides electricity to
the ship's main electric network at 11KV 60HZ,three phase. Power from the main
switchboard is supplied to the ships 440V switchboards via three transformers
to serve auxiliary machinery and all the ships services. A separate
MG-stabilised power system supplies lighting and small consumer needs.
The ships Engines
Her propulsion consists of two azimuthing
electric “Azipod” propulsion units, with a power of 17.6 MW each.
Carnival Spirit has three 1.91 MW tunnel thrusters in the bow. here service
speed is 22 knots and has a maximum of 24 knots. Tonnage: 85,900 GRT (Gross
Registered Tons) - Length: 292.5m - Width: 32.2m - Draught: 7.8m – Sister
ships - Spirit Class = Carnival Spirit 2001, Carnival Pride 2001, Carnival
Legend 2002 & Carnival Miracle 2004.
The MV
Carnival Spirit looking superb and we look forward to her arrival!
From the
author’s collection
Visit our
many features on the following P&O & Carnival PLC Cruise Companies
P&O
Cruises Australia: Pacific Sun / Pacific Dawn
/ Pacific Jewel
/ Pacific
Pearl
Carnival
Cruises Australia: Carnival
Spirit
P&O
Cruises UK: Aurora / Oriana / Artemis
Princess
Cruises: Sun Princess / Dawn
Princess
Cunard: Queen Mary 2 / Queen Victoria / Queen
Elizabeth
Seabourn: Seabourn Yachts
***************************************************
For
Information and Reservations
Contact
Australia’s longest Registered Cruise Agency
The
Cruise Specialists -
Established in 1982
The
Cruise Specialists won the
Cruise-Australia - “2009 Cruise Agent
of the Year” Award!
“The Cruise
Specialists”
is Australia very first fully dedicated Cruise Specialist and they have been
serving the Australian cruise passengers for 27 years. The agencies Director Corie Lisignoli looks
forward to hearing from you and providing you with the kind of cruise service
and experience you deserve! You will not only receive quality service, but also
the latest and the best information and fares available.
Are
you a lover of Classical Music and or Drama and Theatre? Then enquire about the
annual or bi-annual Classical Concert Cruise or the Drama & Theatre cruises
sailing with Princess Cruises
Dawn Princess
or Sun princess.
For
Information and Reservations
Email Corie: info@cruisespecialists.com.au
Or
Phone Toll Free at:
(Please NAME the SHIP you are enquiring about)
Brisbane &
International – Phone:
Fax:
+ 61 7 5546 6849
www.cruisespecialists.com.au
For
other agencies around Australia & NZ or for International readers
There
is a listing of recommended Australian, New Zealand & International Cruise’n’Travel Agents
ENTER HERE
Visit
our many features on the following Carnival Group Cruise Companies
P&O
Cruises Australia: Pacific Sun / Pacific Dawn / Pacific Jewel / Pacific Pearl
Carnival
Cruises Australia:
Carnival Spirit
P&O
Cruises UK: Aurora / Oriana / Artemis
Princess
Cruises: Sun Princess / Dawn
Princess
Cunard: Queen Mary 2 / Queen
Victoria / Queen
Elizabeth
Seabourn: Seabourn Yachts
***************************************************
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Who
is the Author of Cruise-Australia & ssMaritime?
Commenced
in the Passenger Shipping Industry in May 1960
Contact
the Author …
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Please Note:
Cruise-Australia is a non-commercial and privately owned cruise site. The
author has been in the passenger shipping industry since 1960 and is currently
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order to better to inform cruise and ship enthusiasts and provide information
for those intending a cruise in the future.
However, if you
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site’s involvement, as I provide the enquirer with the requested
information of the agents (in their region) including their contact details. Reuben Goossens.
Cruise-Australia.com
&
Cruise-Australia.net
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Where
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Visit the NEW
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