danjessica

I just saw this post. Sorry for the late response.

 

Tips - if you prepay you should be good for most of your tips. If you buy a drink at one of the bars, the drink receipt will have a line for extra gratuity. It's up to you but a tip is already included. If you order room service I generally tip. Other than that, nothing else is expected. Some tip their room steward extra or their main waiter if they have the same person throughout the cruise. Totally up to you.

 

No reservations required for the comedy shows. It's best to show up 15 minutes prior to showtime to grab a seat. On a longer cruise you may see this sign, but for this cruise I've never seen it. You'll be fine. Enjoy!

 

Sweet... Great advice... Thanks... This helps!

In Catalina I've never done a snorkel tour but I bet it would be fun. One year when I went with my 15-year-old daughter and her friend (can you tell I've done this cruise a lot?) we just rented snorkels and fins and went on our own and there were tons of fish, the really pretty ones are the bright orange garibaldi and there are so many of them. After we snorkeled we took the $$ that we saved and blew it on parasailing - we were able to go up all 3 at once and it was a blast! Another year I did an intro to scuba diving thing that I booked at one of the scuba shops right at the port. In this a guy takes you one-on-one for a dive if you have no scuba experience. He doesn't really teach you how to dive, because he controls all the mechanics, but it gives you a taste of it. Again, it was really great to see all the sealife.

 

Avalon in Catalina is also a VERY charming town and it's fun to just walk around. One year we walked up into the hills and did a good hike, and another time we just went to the Wrigley mansion and checked out the botanical gardens. A lot of people rent golf carts and see the island that way.

 

Any other questions - feel free to PM me or just add to this thread!

Thanks for the update...

2nd night is formal night... How do we dress the other nights for dinner? Business casual? Just regular clothes? etc...

Yep, the Las Canadas Canopy Tour. Really really fun - a little scary but they make sure you're roped in and safe! My whole family loved it! There are other things you can do there, to - the 2nd time I went I was with 3 women friends and we rented ATV's and scooted all over their grounds - also really fun!

ATV's sound fun too... Maybe we'll do that as well...

Any ideas for Catalina Islands? We're looking at the Dolphin excursion or a snorkel excursion... My girls really want to snorkel since they've never been able to in the ocean... My wife and I haven't taken our kids the last 10xs we've been to Hawaii so they haven't had the opportunity... :p

@danjessica - there are ziplines in Ensenada that are FANTASTIC! I think they are the best things to do there, but it's not a ship excursion, you have to take a taxi. I've done them twice, it's ziplining plus an adventure ropes course and it costs around $20 per person - an amazing deal. Google Las Canadas to check it out.

OK... I saw that... The Las Canadas Canopy Tour? I was eyeing that for the kids... Great to hear positive feedback for that because that's one thing I was going to look into...

You can read my complete review of the Imagination sailing from last month here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2186027

 

This is essentially the same cruise as the Inspiration. A copy of the Fun Ashore is posted. La Boufadora and the Wine Tour are the most popular. I'm not sure where to go for massages, the sub forum for Mexico may be a place to start to ask for others input. The cruise will offer specials while docked in Ensenada but I think it's still too expensive compared to what you can get at home. There are zip lines in Catalina that are pretty popular.

Thanks... Great info... 2 more questions come to mind after reading your review...

1. I prepaid for the gratuities... Am I expected to still tip on the ship? How does that work?
   
2. My family wants to attend the comedy shows... How to I make my reservations? Do they book up quickly? Are there multiple shows?
   

Thanks,

As you exit the ship and walk through the gates into Mexico you'll see the buses. $2 to take you into town. $1 to return you to the ship.

 

What would you recommend a family of 5 does in Ensanada being it their first time there... I have 3 daughters, 12, 14, 16... They want to find somewhere to give them a facial/massage but I want to do ziplines or rent some ATV's... LOL...

Should you decide not to take the ship's excursion there is a white bus outside the cruise terminal. The bus will take you into town but they also offer a variety of excursions. Everyone is very nice and the prices are good. After all of these years I still never remember the name of the company!

Thanks Linda for the heads up... I'll definitely look for the Bus if we don't get anything booked by then...

Hello everyone-

Myself, husband and two children (6&14) are taking a four day cruise on the inspiration on April 6th. This is our second time cruising- our first was the 7 day mexican riviera on the splendor back in 2012.

 

I have a couple of questions: I made a reservation for myself and husband for the chefs table dinner. First I was wondering if anybody could direct me to a current menu for this meal? Secondly a guest service representative told me that the chefs table dinner is usually on the last night. We don't want to miss the elegant night in the MDR, because my understanding is that that's the night lobster is served. I can't find any information to confirm any of this so I was hoping somebody here could let me know- thanks!

 

Inspiration April 2015 Catalina and Ensenada

Splendor Seot 2012 Mexican Riviera

Thanks for asking the question... My family and I will be traveling on a cruise for our first time... Felt like Spring Break would be a perfect opportunity for us to do so... I have 3 girls (12, 14, 16) and they are very excited... I was curious about which night the formal was so that question was answered here - so thanks for asking...

The only thing i've been trying to figure out is what my family will do on Ensanada... Seems like excursions is the way to go...