Carnival Inspiration Reviews

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Emabarkation was smooth and fast as we booked a junior suite which gave us VIP access. We had immediate access to our 'suite' which was impressive. We booked V14, junior suite and got far less than we expected. The cabin was regular sized with a regular tiny balcony and mediocre service. (The mirror was dirty on arrival, and still dirty on departure). However, it was a comfortable and quiet area - right at the top forward, with very few cabins and therefore very light traffic. The atrium (or spectrum on this ship) reminded us of a 90's nightclub, all trashy neon and chrome, totally lacking in ambience. The Brasserie didn't impress much either with it's purple alien worm things clinging to the ceilings. The Lido pool is the only pool, this is also outdated. The Mardi Gras dining room was pleasant, the staff were very attentive even tho we had any time dining and far less likely to form a tip heavy friendship. The food was pretty good, we chose to eat here instead of the Brasserie, which resembled half price day at Walmart...at closing time. The passengers were a mixed bunch ...a 4 day cruise is budget friendly and appeals to those of us that want a short break or adding on to the end of a vacation. Unfortunately, it also appeals to a less desirable crowd (for me anyhow) ... lots of heavy drinking, rowdy crowds and cigarette smoking. I normally love to read my book by the pool but felt uncomfortable. There is a quiet serenity deck at the aft, with two hot tubs, no noise and padded loungers ...on the day I went to use it, I could not access it due to a private function ...that kinda pissed me off ..I paid for a whole ship to wander around, not to fund a wedding event. We visited two ports .. Santa Catalina Island and Ensenda Mexico. We LOVED Catalina Island, it is truly beautiful with a colorful history! This was our second visit to Ensenada and we took a bus tour to La Bufadora, well worth the $25 for a narrated bus drive, a natural phenomenom and a colorful market ...not to mention the best fish tacos EVER! The Casino was incredibly smoky and we only visited once due to this - Carnival needs to outlaw smoking inside the ship ...it is disgusting. There are very few quiet areas on the ship, so we spent most of our down time in the cabin or on the balcony ..which is why we choose a balcony. I think my mistake was booking a shorter cruise ..the last cruise was a 9 day wonderful experience. We are booked on the Triumph for Christmas this year...here's hoping the crowd is a little more palatable!

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Mother Daughter Birthday Celebration Cruise 4/30-5/4 I flew into warm and sunny Las Vegas from cold and cloudy Portland on Sat. 4/28. I spent the weekend at my parents along with my sister. We booked this cruise just 4 short weeks ago. My mom and I wanted to surprise my sister with a trip to celebrate her birthday. Option 1: Live it up in Vegas...No good, they don't gamble, not big drinkers and in the 8 years my parents have lived in Vegas they have only seen one show! Option 2: Girls trip to Disneyland...Not very relaxing and when you add up the cost of hotel, park fees and food it quickly becomes expensive. Option 3: A 4 day cruise on the Inspiration! It has it all...A relaxing get away, entertaining shows, new places to visit (at least for me and my sister, our mom actually sold cruises for 16 years and has been on a similar cruise), no cooking or cleaning, best of all the price was incredible! So we took off Monday morning, leaving behind the mid 80 degree weather, and made it to the cruise terminal at 11:10 by 11:50 we were on the ship and heading to the Lido deck for lunch. We all had a made to order sandwich from the deli, 2 Rueben's, 1 turkey wrap, 1 iced tea and 2 drinks of the day! We wandered the ship a bit and before we knew it our OV room M185 was ready! The room had plenty of space for 3. The shower was a nice size, no sliding door, but the shower curtain stayed in place and didn't attack you while you showered! The one place that could use more storage was the bathroom, we were glad that I had brought along an over the door plastic shoe holder. It's a great place to store things like hairbrushes, small makeup bags, accessories, sun-glasses, travel hair drier, etc. when not in use. You will also want to bring a power-strip, as there is only one outlet in the room. We roamed around the ship some more and then at 4:30 it was time for the muster drill. This was the longest strangest drill any of us had been to. I won't go into detail, just be sure if your muster station is outside and it's a cool windy day to have a jacket/sweater! No life-vest needed. We stood outside around the aft bar area of the pool deck for an hour. We watched as other groups were taken to lifeboats, but our group never was...good thing we didn't need to know which lifeboat was ours! : ) We had early dining; it was our only option as we booked late. We were at a table for 11, but only 8 of us remained at the table. A family of 3 was to join us, they had a special needs child, they were surprised when they showed up to dinner and found it wasn't a private table. Within minutes they had a new table, the staff was prompt and friendly in the transition. Our server was Elena from Bulgaria. Very personable and she had our names down in no time. They work very hard, we saw Elena the next morning working the breakfast shift in the buffet and she took time to chat with us and to make sure we were informed of up coming events and that we were aware the breakfast was also offered in the Mardi Gras MDR (we were assigned to the Carnival MDR for dinner). Back to dinner...the three of us ordered the beef barley soup and the beef dish. The soup was tasty, the beef a bit bland. We also ordered the chocolate melting cake that I had read so much about on CC. All through out the dinning room the wait staff was singing Happy Birthday or Happy Anniversary to guest, my sister had just said don't do that for me...just as Elena brought over my sister's dessert lit with a candle as she and a few others started to sing for her! A couple of years ago my mom and sister surprised me with a trip to Farrell's restaurant in Hawaii where I had to stand up, say my name and say how old I was turning while holding my candle lit sundae...I didn't feel too bad for her! We didn't make it to the Welcome Aboard show that night it was held at 10:15 or 10:30, we had a long travel day so we all went to bed early. We didn't plan any excursions for this trip, so we were in no hurry to get off the ship after our breakfast in the buffet. However they made so many announcements to be on a tender to Catalina before 10:00 that I think it made the tender line longer then need be. It also didn't help that the crew did little to no crowd control. In reality it only took 25 minutes to get on a tender and only 5 minutes to get to Catalina. We arrived a little after 10AM. My sister and I found Avalon to be charming and beautiful! The landscape is a cross between desert and tropical. If I were to go back I would absolutely rent a golf cart to explore more of the town! Unfortunately throughout our cruise we had very cool temperatures. All three of us bought sweatshirts that say Catalina on them! Lots of passengers did, we saw them all on display being worn by our fellow cruisers! So we spent the day walking and shopping and had lunch over looking the pier. Just a lovely day! Back on board I got in a little exercise walking the track. I had to borrow sweatpants from my mom and wear my new Catalina sweatshirt, but I was determined to work off last nights melting cake! Before we knew it we were heading to dinner. Today is elegant dress night. It is also lobster night! Order two if you go for the lobster, they are very small portions and no problem ordering more than one. The dining staff puts on a little show towards the end of dinner and couples are encouraged to get up and dance. It was a lovely evening! After dinner we went and had a couple of pictures taken before the show. I've never seen so many photo stations on a ship before! Tonight's show was a Latin inspired number, I'm sure to inspire us for our day in Mexico! It was a fun show with beautiful costumes, not over the top but nice. Make sure you choose your seats wisely! There are support beams that make viewing difficult. After the show mom heads to bed and my sister and I roam the ship. We stop into a couple of venues but don't stay long due to the smoking policies. We are not smokers. Most of the venues have a smoking and non-smoking section, but lets be honest the smoke doesn't know to stay only in one area! No it takes over the whole venue. We finally found the Rhapsody piano bar; too bad it's nearly midnight. We found a great smoke free area and the best talent on the ship! We listen for a while and then call it a night and head to bed. We awake to a partly sunny sky! Today we have breakfast in the MDR. My mom loves lox and bagels so she is happy, my sister has perfectly poached eggs and I have an omelet that is swimming in butter, but that's OK because it is only the size of my hand...very small! Getting off the ship isn't a problem. We opt to walk into town. We have to work off all of the extra calories from dessert every night, from the drink of the day and all that butter from my omelet! Expect to see the same things over and over and to have vendors really work you. Around lunch time we found ourselves being led to Mango Mango's where we had fresh guacamole made table side for $7, you pay the man then and there. We also had a margarita. My mom had been here before and remembered that the drinks were free-not any more! Make sure you find out up front what the price is. We had so many guys trying to get us into their restaurants offering ? 1/2 off or buy one get one deals, so by the time we sat down we didn't really know and based on my mom having been there before...well??? We ate our delicious guacamole and sipped our very weak drinks...they were free right? We sat and sat and sat until we each went to leave a tip for our "free" drinks. When finally a guy came over and said $21. At which point we were all like for those crappy drinks? He said that we should have complained once we received our drinks...maybe the mixture in the machine was off/wrong...I'm sure it was...intentionally! We gave him the $21 and no tip. I told him I was going to let people know about his weak drinks...I think I just did! More shopping, a stop at Starbucks for some caffeine, more shopping and back to the ship! I had read about Carnival's pizza and wanted to give it a try. I ordered the goat cheese and mushroom one, mom and sister were too hungry to wait and had chicken caesar salads. While waiting for my pizza I grabbed drinks from the bar for sis and me. Let me tell you these were the best drinks and they actually had alcohol in them! : ) The pizza was so worth the wait!!! We decided to lie by the pool and read for a while. No problem getting a lounge. We also had a special drink served in a coconut with the face of a monkey carved into it, the top had a slot for coins so that after the trip you could use it as a penny bank...you know to save for your next cruise! We only got one to share...again not big drinkers...light-weights really! The drink was $15 but you can refill it for $6.50. Well, it's time to get ready for dinner. Again dinner doesn't disappoint! I had a white fish that was perfectly prepared. Again, great fun entertainment by the dining staff. We filled the hours after dinner with a refill of our coconut/monkey and enjoying our fellow passengers sing in the Paris Lounge, Karaoke with a live band! We went back to our room to layer up in our Catalina sweatshirts so we could enjoy the deck party on the Lido deck; it was a lot of fun. This was also the night of the midnight buffet, it was a Mexican theme. We didn't take part; it was just another buffet line nothing special. Off to bed! We awake to overcast skies and wind. We head to the buffet for breakfast. One thing that is nice on this ship is that we always found a table. I found the eggs in the buffet to be well, gross. I never went looking for the made to order station. I'm not a big breakfast girl; at home it's just a protein shake. But I'm happy with the oatmeal and the silvered almonds, raisins and brown sugar! I've also found the danish station-I'm on vacation after all! There is also a nice variety of fruit. After breakfast its up to the track for more power walking! After our exercise session we are determined to at least get into a hot tub. So we change into our swimsuits grab our towels, sweatshirts and yes our bathrobes. By the way I've never been on a ship before where so many passengers roam the ship in these robes! I think a lot of us were caught off guard by the cold weather. Now the excuse for wearing the robes over PJ's in the buffet??? Hey we're all on vacation! We head to the adult only solarium and of course there are plenty of lounge chairs...90% are open. We decide to read our books first, we huddle down and try not to freeze, we notice the people who step out of the hot tubs and the look of pain as the cold wind hits their warm, pink flesh, we decide it's not work it! Instead we head inside for something warm to drink. Mom and sis are fine with coffee/tea from the buffet, but I want to try a latte. So we find seats around the cafe, I go to order my skinny vanilla latte; I'm surprised that a large is only $3.50. While waiting for my order I spy the most delicious looking Black Forest cake. I'll try to describe it...it is a layered cake contained in about a 3 or 4 inch cylinder that is make out of a thin layer of chocolate. Being that this is a birthday cruise I can't resist, it's only $2.25 for the dessert. I'm sure on land it would sell for $8.50 or more. Best dessert on the ship! As I set the treat before my family we all realize that today is the chocolate buffet...Oh well! After we share our treat, Mom's off to shower, sister and I decide to at least go look at the chocolate buffet-we see some desserts in the buffet where Elena said to look, but nothing special, maybe we missed it? I'm sure it wasn't anything as good as our Black Forest cake! Off to shower... Lunch already? We make it to the MDR just before it closes for lunch service. I don't recall what mom had but sis and I have another white fish dish. Best entree of the cruise for me! We watched some of the activities in the Paris lounge, looked at the photos we had done and before we know it its time for afternoon tea-can you believe more food??? We sit at a table for 3 and we are served tea of course, but also little finger sandwiches, lox on a toasted beget (for mom), strawberries and cream, cream puff type treats and a chocolate meringue sandwich cookie filled with dark chocolate cream-Sinful! Oh there was more to choose from, but really!?! We already had our treat earlier and by this time my sister is on a sugar rush and needs to walk it off! Not sure what she and mom did, but I went back to the room to pack my suitcase, they soon returned and we all finish packing. Dinnertime! Again the staff sings and entertains us. We have a lovely evening. I had the mushroom soup and it did not disappoint. My mahi-mahi wasn't good though, nor was my crab cake. Strange how the other two fish dishes were so good! After dinner it's show time. We arrive early and grab front row seats for Shout! Fun show. Afterwards we purchase our pictures and roam the different venues then hit the hay! Why Mom was up and showered by 6:30 on the last day I have no idea? But she was so sis and I followed suit and off to the dinning room we went with our carry-on bags in tow. We say good-bye to our room steward in the hall on our way out. He has done a great job and treated us to towel animals every night. For breakfast I encourage my sister to try the eggs Benedict, as she has never had it and the lox as well. Mom ordered the same thing, there was so much that they could have shared one order of each. I remember the poached eggs that my sister ordered the other morning and go for that and fruit. We finish and head back up to the Lido deck for another cup of tea/coffee and find a nice window seat where we sat and read until our number was called. They must have been running late because we weren't called until 10:10. It took a while to get through customs but finally at 11:00 we were in our car heading back to Vegas! Not mentioned but worth noting: -Our room was cold, so I called the # for our room steward and asked for additional blankets. Good call! -While the shower certain didn't attack you the smell of sewage might! I had read about this in previous post so I brought a can of Lysol with me. Not a problem in the restrooms throughout the ship only in our cabin. Thanks for the heads up CC! -I took the bed by the window and found it a bit loud there, mom and sister's "bunk bed" was tucked against the wall and they said it was quiet. I used earplugs and it helped. -The ship layout is a bit choppy; remember deck 8 is blocked mid-ship. Great cruise for the price we paid. This was my 1st Carnival cruise as it was for my sister. We didn't know what to expect. I'm sure all sailings are different, but I really liked the vibe of the ship, friendly staff, all ages of passengers-families with little ones, families with older kids, young couples, newly weds, 30-60 something couples and a few seniors. Missing was the college crowd, but that is due to the time of year. By the way, my mom is in her mid 60's and my sister and I are approaching our mid 40's...she's just beating me to it! The only other advice I can think of is always take the stairs (if you are able), it helps to keep the extra lbs away! This review is for those of you (like me) who want all the info you can get while planning, for the rest of you sorry it was so long! Happy cruising!!! Oh, and yes! I would take this cruise again for the right price...I noticed it really does vary depending on the time of year. : ) Enjoy!

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I talked my Daughter and Son-In-Law into taking their two children on a quick cruise with us. We have come to love cruising as a way to vacation. The kids are 5 and 8 and had stated they wanted to go on a boat like Grama and Popa. They all loved it. The wait staff in the dining room were wonderful with the kids. They included them in all the "showtime" experiences having them dance with them etc. They made sure they had good food just for them whether off of the kid's menu, regular menu, or a combination of both. Special requests were made and all were quickly answered in a positive manner. Unfortunately for us hurricane Aletta was off the Baja coast and our day at sea was cold and windy. But we made the best of it. The only downer was the debarkation process. Our zone time was 8:45am. Because of the number of people using self assist we didn't get off until 11AM when we took things into our own hands and just got in line. This was ridiculous. It was the same the last two times I've taken this trip. If it always take this amount of time own up and tell people. It was so bad there was nearly a brawl between two families in line....at least entertainment for us waiting. Security had a hard time keeping them apart. all in all a great trip.

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Nothing special here. The Inspiration is an older ship, which really was alright. Fun comes from within ourselves - not the decor of the ship. The food was nothing to write home about - especially the midnight buffet. It was a Mexican buffet and...to tell you the truth... Taco Bell is better. On past cruises, the buffets were photo worthy. Not this one at all! Not even close. The every day food was simple - I didn't gain any weight. Matter of fact, I probably lost weight. Drinks were good, and the prices weren't out of line either. A lot of the niceties weren't there, and some of staff weren't as friendly as on other cruise lines. We had a wonderful waitress in the formal dinning room and 2 favorite bartenders at the pool on the Lido Deck. The security was over the top. Great to know they are watching out for us. There were ample tours to choose from. Our room was nice - the shower was great! Folded animal towels on our beds every night. Can't say anything bad - but, it wasn't special either. I'd probably go on again, but will try Royal Caribbean next time.

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My wife and I booked this cruise as a celebration of our eighteenth wedding anniversary. All things considered, our cruise was wonderful, but with a couple of rather distressing problems. Embarkation Day: We boarded our ship about 11:30 am, and proceeded to the Lido deck for our midday meal. Upon learning we went to our cabin, and noticed a strong cigarette odor both in the cabin, and the surrounding passageways. We then had a enjoyable evening and late dinner in the dining room. Upon returning to our cabin and being rather exhuasted from our trvels that day we went to bed and fell quickly to sleep. Day 1: We awoke to the same cigarette odor in our cabin and surrounding passageways, and noticed a cigarette butt that had been crushed out on the carpet near our cabin. We then went to the guest servicees desk, and reported these things, at which time they notified housekeeping to look into it. Upon returning to our cabin we found to odor to be much dissapated, and our steward had placed an air purifier on the desk. This took care of the problem. However, later in the day we returned to our stateroom to retire for the evening, and not falling asleep right away were bothered but the sound of a slamming door for most of the night. Thinking this was just some very rude neighbors we kind of passed it off thinking that it would not be repeated. However, Day 2: A great day at sea and returning to our cabin, we noticed the steward was staying on top of the cigarette odors, so we continued to enjoy our evening, and returned to ou stateroom around 10:30 PM to be kept awake by the same slamming door. Deciding to investigate the source we stepped ouutt in th e passageway to discover the slamming was a fire door that was marked Emergency Exit Only. The door was being used by crew members for access to their decks down below. Off to guest services again. After reporting this, the representative notified security to post a guard there to restrict the use of this door. Helpful, I was able to sleep thru the night, but my wife was awakened at about 2:00 AM by the same slamming. She pu ton her bathrobe, and walked to guest services once more to report this, but she got no more sleep this night. I went to breakfast, and my wife went to guest services once more. The result of this visit gained us a new cabin (R 196) with a window no less. Also they rewarded us with a refund of 20% of one days cruise fare each which amounted to less than $25.00. We told the other people sitting at our table in the dining room about our adventures and one of the couples (who were in E48)were also disturbed by the slamming door. After enjoying the remainder of the evening we returned to our cabin for a night of undisturbed sleep. Debarkation Day: as we customarily do, we at our breakfast in the dining room, and after recounting our adventures in E5, the couple across the table (who were in E8) were also disturbed by the slamming door and told us that there cabin steward had placed an air purifier in there room without being asked. After breakfast we diembarked and were off the ship by 10:30AM. It was a really great cruise except for those item noted, and the common denominator for the three affected couple was they were all booked as a Guaranteed Inside Stateroom. Makes me wonder...... If you have any question about this cruise please contact me at Drive9140@aol.com

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