Aussie spirit on Carnival cruise

TRAVEL editor Brian Crisp savours the Australian flavour and special thrills on board Carnival Spirit.

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TRAVEL editor Brian Crisp savours the Australian flavour and special thrills on board Carnival Spirit.

Pictures: Aboard the Carnival Spirit

The thumping beat of AC/DC's Thunderstruck fills the air. The sky is dark. The air moist. It feels as if danger is present all around and I'm in panic mode. I don't like rides. I don't like heights. Why am I doing this?

My knees are shaking, but not to the same beat as Angus's guitar. I climb into the green capsule, cross my feet, make a sign of the cross and cross my arms as I prepare to plunder Carnival Spirit's Green Thunder.

It is the fastest and steepest water slide at sea. I am standing as high as any passenger can go on the ship. To give you an indication of just how high that is, this part of the ship won't fit under the Harbour Bridge in September when the Carnival Spirit moves south to call Sydney its home.

The capsule is locked. The slide operator, in white dress uniform, gives me the thumbs up. As soon as I return the gesture the countdown begins... three, two, one.

The floor disappears. My scream hurtles with me down the green tube as I free fall. It is the same feeling you get when you jump out of a plane. I get control of myself as I make the first turn. It is here I realise that I am on the edge of the ship with nothing between me and the ocean except a centimetre's worth of green tubing and some flowing water.

According to the experts, I'm travelling at 65km/h.

My swimsuit has invaded parts of my body that it was never meant to go and it gets worse as I scream (yes I did yell like Cameron from TV sitcom Modern Family the whole 6.5 seconds of the ride) to a halt.

Passengers, young and old, who travel on Carnival Spirit will love Green Thunder, which was launched in Hawaii eight days ago. It was built exclusively for the Australian market and it is part of a water park that includes a colourful children's SplashZone filled with buckets of water and a giant Power Drencher tipping bucket guaranteed to soak anyone who comes near. There's also another slightly less scary yellow slide.

The Carnival Spirit has only just finished a spell in dry dock, where it was significantly modified for the Australian market. When it heads to Sydney this year, it will have a distinctly Australian feel Australian power points and outdoor barbecue area and it will also be the first Carnival Cruise Line ship not to be deployed in the US. Carnival Cruise Line is the largest cruise line in the world, with a fleet of 23 ships.

From its Sydney base, the Carnival Spirit will sail to the South Pacific year-round, visiting New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji and New Zealand.

Director Jennifer Vandekreeke says that once the decision was made to relocate Carnival Spirit to Australia, detailed research was done to find out what Australians wanted from an onboard experience.

It seems we are a nation with simple needs. Number one on the list is that we don't want to tip, so the decision was made to eliminate the tipping process from Carnival Spirit. Anyone who has cruised will know that this is a big deal. On other ships it is expected that each passenger would tip staff at least $10 a day. For a family of four on a 10-night cruise that can add $400 to the cost of your holiday.

Secondly, we want good coffee. Americans like to think they have a mortgage on coffee  and they do, but the US coffee mortgage is bad just like its economy. Carnival will install new coffee machines and staff will undergo barista courses to make sure that there's nothing flat about the morning flat white.

The third thing, and I thought Jennifer was joking when she told me, was bacon. Australians have been complaining for years about that crispy, over-cooked bacon that Americans love. Well, complain no more, the bacon will be served Australian-style from September.

As part of the refit, Carnival Spirit now has an adults-only "Serenity" section across the stern on deck nine.
I can image a plethora of Australian men walking on the deck and delivering Michael Caton's famous line from iconic Australian movie The Castle: "How's the Serenity?"

Serenity has a pool, hot tub and bar. It has a different feel from the rest of the ship. It is modern, elegant and relaxing. It is the perfect place to escape the children and enjoy an afternoon cocktail, or three, while you take in the 180-degree ocean views. There's myriad seating, everything from hammocks to deck lounges and tables and chairs.

There's no doubting Carnival Spirit's child-friendly credentials, though. The ship has three age levels of kids' club (for children two to 17) and Night Owls offers child minding that can be arranged until 3am.

As part of the ship's refit, interconnecting doors have been installed between a large number of cabins, making it easier for parents to stay in contact with their children.

At capacity, Carnival Spirit carries 2600 passengers. When I sailed on it last week there were just over 2200 guests, but it never felt busy.

This ship has an amazing amount of public space. It seems that you can always find a quiet nook to sit in and read a book or a deckchair around one of the three pools.

There are 16 bars and lounges, three restaurants (Nouveau Steakhouse is certainly worth the $30 extra it will cost you) and there's 24-hour dining. The other thing that Carnival Spirit does well is entertainment and cruise director Stu Dunn  a suburban boy from Sydney turned part-time farmer  has a great team of performers.

In one night I saw a big-band show in the theatre, sang karaoke with a live band, listened to Doug Trask perform great country music in the casino and finished the evening with the Hawaiian Guy  Guy Kahokulani Imoto  who taught me how to play the ukulele until 2.30 in the morning.

He came off stage at 1am but was happy to sit with our group and jam until the wee hours. And that seems to be life on Carnival Spirit. Everyone is happy to be along for the ride.

The author was a guest of Carnival Cruises.
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To see where Carnival Spirit is cruising from October 20, go to carnival.com.au

Carnival Cruise Line wants an Australian child to create a design to go on its giant SplashZone water bucket called the Power Drencher.

Children in Queensland, NSW and Victoria are being asked to go online to carnival.com.au to download an entry template.

One design from a child in each state will be selected as finalists. The finalists, and their families, will be flown to Sydney for a one-night cruise, where the winning entry will be unveiled.
Get drawing.

In pictures: The Carnival Spirit