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Just off the Inspiration 3 day - reviews, musings, opinions and verdict!


katstoy
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It's been over six years since our last cruise, so we were long overdue for one! Just got off the Inspiration from a three day trip to Ensenada. Here's my thoughts, opinions and verdicts.

 

Embarkation Day:

 

Parking - Parking in Long Beach was a breeze, a tad expensive at $19.00 per day, but easy and convenient. Lots of space in the garage for three ships worth of cars. We had no issue finding a parking space. Verdict - thumb's up!

 

Check in - This was the first time we have used the appointment system. Wow, what a difference! In the past, on Carnival, Disney and Royal there was always a wait to get on board. We usually arrived at the terminal by around 11:00 - as did everyone else - and had to play the wait in line game. This time we had a 12:30 - 1:00 appointment time and it was perfect. We arrived in the garage at about 12:15. By the time we did the last minute arrangement of luggage and dropped our bags with the porter we were ready to enter the terminal at 12:29. We could have got in the line for the guests outside their appointment time or waited the minute. We waited the minute - and were the first in the non-existant line.

 

Once inside the terminal dome we were ushered to a table to check in. The check in area was a line of bar height tables with person with an iPad and passport scanner who checked you in. Showed our boarding passes and passports and were on our way on board.

 

It's a long walk to finally get on the ship. A long, multi level ramp up maybe a couple of stories, then on to the gang way to the ship. Next time we'll take the elevators up. The elevators are sort of tucked behind the ramp, you really don't see them until you are all the way up. We skipped all the photographers and just headed on board. Fastest and easiest check in ever. Verdict - thumb's up!

 

Lunch - There was not a large crowd on the ship just yet, or if there was they were spread out. We found a table and chairs next to the pool to settle in for a bit while we waited for the rooms to be ready. We had the Cheers program so started as soon as we got on board. Made friends with a waiter named Dewa who kept coming by our table to take our orders. Had a burger at Guys and tacos from Blue Iguana. Food verdict - meh.

 

Stateroom - had an ocean view on deck 7 and got to the room at about 2:00. Room was just like we remembered they were. Our luggage was delivered within the hour. Our steward, Rizal knocked and introduced himself. Noticed that this time around we had a choice of morning, evening or both for stateroom service. We chose both and had no push back (I noted in a prior thread of the cutbacks in stateroom service that some were not given the choice of twice a day service or got some push back when they requested twice a day.) Told him that whenever we are in the room will put the "snoozin" sign on the door, and we faithfully did. Never saw him again after that, which was fine as our room was tended to twice a day and we had no problems.

 

Was kind of disappointed in the cut back of no more ice bucket in the room. Since we had cheers we really didn't' need it so it was no big deal. Also only 1 bath towel per person instead of 2. Again not a big deal as our shower schedules worked out. We got fresh towels again in the evening. A couple of times he left 3 bath towels. On the last day, when we both took showers before disembarkation, there were 3 bath towels and we used our towel animal as the fourth towel. Again, no big deal as it all worked out. I've noticed that in the last several years this is also a thing with hotels. In the past they would leave four sets of towels for a party of two, now it's commonplace for them to only leave two sets.

 

Stateroom verdict - thumb's up.

 

Muster drill - I liked the fact that most of the muster stations were inside - with seating - and then they ushered you to your lifeboat station. Big improvement of having to stand in line on deck for the drill. Our muster station was B, just outside the casino. They lined up all the casino chairs so people could sit. Was not a big fan of the advertised time for the drill. The fun times said drill at 4:15, which is when we arrived. Finally, at 4:45 the announcement was made that the muster drill was starting. It was all done by about 5:30. Would not have been a happy camper if I were standing on deck for over an hour. Verdict - a necessary evil, but yeah for the initial indoor portion with seating.

 

Dining room - this was our first time doing My Time Dining. Early seating is too early and late seating is too late. However, by the time we got ready every night and were seated, it was close to or after 8:00. Liked the fact that we were always able to get a table for 2. Each time we checked in we were told it would be a 20 minute wait (first night) or 30 minutes (second and third night); however, our actual wait times were much less. First night maybe a 5 minute wait, second night 20 minutes and third maybe 15.

 

The food in the dining room was always good. The prime rib was very tender and tasty! Liked that there was a pitcher of water always on the table (except for the elegant night) and that the cocktail servers were attentive and fast. I think for MTD they need to jettison the singing/dancing waiters - save that for traditional dining. First, the shtick is getting old, second not everyone in the dining room is in the same spot of the meal (as they would be in traditional dining) so there is a lengthy interruption in the meal. I also don't like not having the same wait team each night; it was fun getting to know them and vice versa. The staff, was friendly and gave good service. Verdict - thumb's up.

 

 

More to come . . . .

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You now have to ask for an ice bucket or go up to the bar and get a plastic one. Not sure if this is just an inside/outside cabin thing or a 3/4 day cruise thing. I usually cruise one 4 day and one 7 day a year an bring a collapsible ice bag that they keep stocked with ice!

I love the Inspiration for a quick getaway. The service is always outstanding. In 3 weeks we are going on the 4 day Imagination cruise and I hope the service is as good!

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Day Two, Ensenada - Drizzled all day. Plan was to get off and shop in the stores right at the port, then head back on board to soak up the sun. Well, got to do only half of our plans. Got off the ship at about 11:00 ish. There is a building you need to pass through at the port that has several small shops, a liquor store and a pharmacy. It's pretty much all the souvenir stuff you'd see downtown in multiple shops in one location. All we wanted was an interesting bottle of tequila and some small trinkets for my daughter's college friends. No need to go into town for that. All the prices were in US dollars and were fairly reasonable. Bargained a little bit and saved a whopping $2.00. But on what we purchased the prices were reasonable. Back on the ship in less than 30 minutes.

 

Went through security and was told to check the tequila at the next table. Unfortunately for Carnival there was no one at the table to check the liquor. There was a person there selling rain ponchos and she looked for someone, but it was getting crowded and we were in the way so we just walked away with our bottle and headed to our room. We've had this happen before that when returning to the ship fairly early, and when lots of people were still trying to get off, no one was at the liquor table so we kept our on shore liquor purchases with us.

 

For the afternoon we found a spot under an overhang in the Serenity area to read and relax. We watched the two hot tubs become clown tubs (a la the clown car) with people trying to squeeze just one more body in.

 

Day Three, Sea Day - The captain did an excellent job of finding smooth seas, no wind and sun! Found some loungers up on the topmost deck. Interestingly the pool was closed for maintenance. Kind of took away from the typical sea day party atmosphere when there was caution tape around the pool and guys in hazmat suits in the pool cleaning it. Unless there was some sort of emergent reason to drain and clean the pool that day that was pretty poor planning on Carnival's part.

 

Food:

 

Main dining room - Al ready commented on dinner, not disappointed with the food at all. Had the sea day brunch as well, and again was not disappointed. Overall verdict on the main dining room - thumb's up.

 

Lido buffet - Very disappointed. The breakfast buffet on the port day was nothing special, almost kind of sad. Missed the omelet bar as they closed off the line earlier than the stated time.

 

Went to the buffet for lunch on the port day and it was Caribbean food. None of it looked appetizing so we settled for pizza.

 

On the last night partook of the late night snacks which were hot dogs, chili, grilled cheese sandwiches and buffalo chicken focaccia. Again, not impressed. Sandwiches looked dried out but the hot dog was ok.

 

Lido Buffet verdict - definite thumb's down.

 

24 Hour Pizza - The bad was the wait time. It only appeared that there was one person manning that station. You'd order, he'd go back into the kitchen then come out a minute or two later with a pizza to slice and serve. The good was that if you ordered the more popular pepperoni or cheese you always got a hot out of the oven serving. Verdict - thumb's down on wait time, thumb's up on taste.

 

Guy's Burgers - basic cheeseburger, nothing special, but the line moved quick and the burger is a good size with lots of topping choices. Verdict - better than the buffet.

 

Cheers/Drinks - Had the Cheers package for the two of us. Don't know whether to be ashamed or proud to have a four page bar bill for a three day cruise! Definitely got our money's worth out of Cheers. Two words: Alchemy Bar. Our favorite drink spot on board. Katie the bartender was awesome. My drink du jour was a filthy Grey Goose martini with blue cheese stuffed olives - Katie was a master at making them.

 

We typically tipped an extra $1.00 per drink in cash to the bar tender or waiter. This ensured that the waiter would stop by our locations very frequently. Katie would also start making our drinks once she saw us strolling up as well. All the bar staff and waiters were friendly. Verdict - thumb's up for Cheers and the bar staff.

 

Entertainment, etc. to come . . . .

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Was in the Inspiration in January and had a good time.

 

We always ask for extra towels at the beginning. Ask for an ice bucket and hair dryer. The Fantasy Class was built without hairdryers in every Cabin. You’re better off bringing your own as Carnivals is underpowered.

 

In ATD you can ask for the same waitstaff.

 

The pool being closed sounds like someone had an ‘accident’.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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Entertainment:

 

We hit the Punchliner on Friday night for two shows, one of the adult only shows from each performer. The woman was hysterical, she was funny, topical and kept you engaged. The man lost the crowd after about 10 minutes. He stopped being funny. He was talented in making impressions of Nascar, machine guns, power tools with his voice, but it wasn't' funny, or even mildly amusing. Folks started walking about. Felt bad for him. There was no problem with finding seats for either show even if you showed up right on time.

 

On Saturday night we did the Love and Marriage show and the Quest. No problem finding seats at all. Half of the room was empty for the love and marriage show and maybe 3/4 full for Quest. We mainly did the love and marriage show as it was next to the Alchemy Bar. It was the typical show, but the cruise director kept it lively.

 

Nice to see they "borrowed" the Quest from Royal. That is always fun. On all our RC cruises the Quest was usually packed and SRO. Not as well attended this trip. We joined a team and had fun playing.

 

The ships house band, the Dirty Squids played between shows. They were good, dance-able 80's and 90's cover tunes. They got lots of people up to dance. They also played Sunday night right outside the casino. Poor location choice as people were dancing and blocking the promenade.

 

On Sunday we did the Mardi Gras good bye party in the atrium. It was fun to watch. What was especially heartwarming was the amount of families there just having a good time. Especially recall one family from grandma, to maybe mid to late 30's mom and dad and two 10-12 year old kids all out there dancing with each other.

 

The cruise director was Melessa. First time we've ever had a female cruise director. She was great. Personable and with lots of energy.

 

We made our obligatory "donation" to the casino. The craps table just didn't have the right energy that night and couldn't beat the blackjack dealer to save our lives! But we had fun.

 

Entertainment verdict: Thumb's up.

 

Disembarkation: Easy peasy. We kept our suitcases with us, as apparently did most of the ship and got off the ship with little waiting. Our deck's estimated time was at 8:00 a.m. We left out stateroom at about 8:15 and since we were on the same deck as the gangway, just got in the line to leave and did not have to hassle with any elevators. Deck 7. The line moved fairly quick. Once back in the terminal we took the elevator down rather than the multi level ramp. The line at immigration was short and kept moving. The agent looked at our passports and sent us through. What surprised me was that we did not have to fill out any paperwork for either immigration or customs. In fact there was no customs stop at all. Heck we could have brought back all sorts of things if we wanted to! We were in our car exiting the parking garage within about 30 minutes of leaving our stateroom. Verdict - other than having to get up early and actually leave the ship, a thumb's up.

 

 

A few more observations and ramblings to come . . . .

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And some final thoughts . . .

 

We prepaid the gratuities and heard nothing further about them on the cruise. In the past we got little slips and the envelopes to hand out on the last day. Does that not happen anymore? What if you didn't pre pay and wanted to leave cash, do you still get the envelopes? We left extra cash in the stateroom for the steward as he did a good job and tipped our bartenders/cocktail waiters as we went along.

 

Overall the ship did not feel crowded at all. We were always able to find a table in the buffet and outside loungers were plentiful. But this may have had something to do with the weather not being ideal. We never had to wait long for elevators and they were usually empty when they arrived. Both atrium glass elevators were working (noted in prior threads that they were not working). Only real crowd situations were debarkation, which was orderly, and the promenade at night when the photographers would clog up the main thoroughfare and the one night when the band was playing outside the casino. Other than that the flow of people moved smoothly.

 

The coffee shop was not open on the port day, which kind of surprised me for those who may want a good coffee to go. It may, however, be considered a "shop" that was only open while at sea maybe?

 

The ship was in great condition and was clean. No real obvious signs of wear and tear. Lots of spaces to sit and relax and people watch. The library had some great games that let you pass the time while waiting for dinner - except on Saturday night when it was closed to the public for the chef's table dinner. Which by the way did not look full.

 

The staff was friendly and attentive. Also, not a lot of kids on this cruise. If there was a lot on board then they were well behaved and not noticeable. Again, in part maybe due to the poor weather on Saturday and pool being closed on Sunday. Good representation of all sorts of people, from bachelorette parties in their 20's, to senior citizens; lots of racial diversity as well. Not a lot of groups of unruly drunks either. There were some - and they were very entertaining to watch - but they were just that, entertainment, and they did not appear to impact every one else's cruise enjoyment.

 

[Any Carnival rep stop reading now!] What also amazed me was the price. We have not cruised since 2011 (the same 3 day Ensenada cruise on the Paradise) and the price had not noticeably increased a lot. When Royal had ships in California we took a lot of 3 dayers on the Monarch and it was still in the same price range. Other than the food quality in the Lido buffet, didn't really notice any significant cutbacks either. These little weekend cruises are still one of the best values out there. Now granted our Cheers price for two cost almost the same as one of the cruise fares, and I know I certainly drank a lot more than I would have if I had been paying per drink as I went along. My liver is still pissed off at me for this.

 

So, overall verdict is a thumb's up. Would we go again - absolutely! We will wait another six years? No way!!

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We love the Inspiration! Don't care of it's an old "Clunker" as one would say on this board. Its the staff and service that make this a great little getaway! We are going on the Imagination 4 day in 17 days and are so excited!

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  • 3 weeks later...
And some final thoughts . . .

 

We prepaid the gratuities and heard nothing further about them on the cruise. In the past we got little slips and the envelopes to hand out on the last day. Does that not happen anymore? What if you didn't pre pay and wanted to leave cash, do you still get the envelopes? We left extra cash in the stateroom for the steward as he did a good job and tipped our bartenders/cocktail waiters as we went along.

 

You can request envelopes at the guest services desk.

 

Thank you for taking the time to write your review!

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And some final thoughts . . .

 

We prepaid the gratuities and heard nothing further about them on the cruise. In the past we got little slips and the envelopes to hand out on the last day. Does that not happen anymore? What if you didn't pre pay and wanted to leave cash, do you still get the envelopes? We left extra cash in the stateroom for the steward as he did a good job and tipped our bartenders/cocktail waiters as we went along.

 

Overall the ship did not feel crowded at all. We were always able to find a table in the buffet and outside loungers were plentiful. But this may have had something to do with the weather not being ideal. We never had to wait long for elevators and they were usually empty when they arrived. Both atrium glass elevators were working (noted in prior threads that they were not working). Only real crowd situations were debarkation, which was orderly, and the promenade at night when the photographers would clog up the main thoroughfare and the one night when the band was playing outside the casino. Other than that the flow of people moved smoothly.

 

The coffee shop was not open on the port day, which kind of surprised me for those who may want a good coffee to go. It may, however, be considered a "shop" that was only open while at sea maybe?

 

The ship was in great condition and was clean. No real obvious signs of wear and tear. Lots of spaces to sit and relax and people watch. The library had some great games that let you pass the time while waiting for dinner - except on Saturday night when it was closed to the public for the chef's table dinner. Which by the way did not look full.

 

The staff was friendly and attentive. Also, not a lot of kids on this cruise. If there was a lot on board then they were well behaved and not noticeable. Again, in part maybe due to the poor weather on Saturday and pool being closed on Sunday. Good representation of all sorts of people, from bachelorette parties in their 20's, to senior citizens; lots of racial diversity as well. Not a lot of groups of unruly drunks either. There were some - and they were very entertaining to watch - but they were just that, entertainment, and they did not appear to impact every one else's cruise enjoyment.

 

[Any Carnival rep stop reading now!] What also amazed me was the price. We have not cruised since 2011 (the same 3 day Ensenada cruise on the Paradise) and the price had not noticeably increased a lot. When Royal had ships in California we took a lot of 3 dayers on the Monarch and it was still in the same price range. Other than the food quality in the Lido buffet, didn't really notice any significant cutbacks either. These little weekend cruises are still one of the best values out there. Now granted our Cheers price for two cost almost the same as one of the cruise fares, and I know I certainly drank a lot more than I would have if I had been paying per drink as I went along. My liver is still pissed off at me for this.

 

So, overall verdict is a thumb's up. Would we go again - absolutely! We will wait another six years? No way!!

 

Excellent review. We had Cheers for the first time last time and I think my "check liver" light came on the first night! ;););)

 

Thanks for this review. Sure enjoyed it!

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What a fantastic review and I think just helped to solidify my plans of giving this particular cruise a try. I'm in Long Beach and when RC had The Monarch of the Seas here I did the 4 night Monday-Friday cruise at least 5 times and we absolutely loved it. We were so sad when she left. I am now going to start my hunt!!!

 

Angela

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks for your review. We have not been on Carnival since 1993! We typically stay with RCCL but did try Princess in February. I was happy to read the ship is in good shape with good service. This is a surprise birthday trip for my husband so keeping it a secret is tough until we leave in May. You convinced me to add the drink package and tip as we go. My husband usually takes care of all of this, but with all of the planning/tipping on me this time, I need to be prepared. We have been to Mexico several times and probably won't get off.

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