Inspiration review (5-day western caribbean) 11-21-2009

[valancy1]

Hi everyone!

 

We just returned from a FABULOUS 5-day cruise aboard Carnival Inspiration. I want to do a review and tell you all about it. I will do it over the course of the next couple days. I hope you enjoy it!

 

Dinner calls, but I'll be back in a jiffy to start the review. Stay tuned!

[putermomy]

Thanks I can't wait, i'll be going on 1-16-10....

[bfkkbc]

Thanks I can't wait, i'll be going on 1-16-10....

 

Ha Ha!! I will be on 1-11-10 i will be the one crying in the corner when you are bording!!:D

 

Hey Debra!! Have missed you on the Magicians thread!! Now I know why. I bet you had a ball. I can't wait!

 

Frances

[valancy1]

DAY ONE (Arrival in Tampa)

 

My husband Barry, his daughter Morgan and I flew from Maryland to Tampa. I had flown in the night before from California and arrived at 5 p.m. the night before we had to leave. That left me roughly 5 or 6 hours to pack for the trip and finish my work-related stuff. The time flew by.

 

Anyway, the day of departure arrived with sunshine and clear skies. Great for flying, so I knew all would be well. Our flight was effortless and neither connection was delayed. We arrived in Tampa on time.

 

His other daughter, Chelsea beat us to Tampa from OKC but she was waiting by the luggage terminal and there was a very happy reunion with 2 sisters and Barry with his daughters.

 

I didn't find any information (other than a couple of people kindly saying it was least expensive to get a cab here on CC) on transportation to the hotel. We stayed at a Hampton Inn in Ybor City... 8 miles away from the airport (according to the hotel's website).

 

We found a minivan cab and it was $25 for the 4 of us along with our luggage to our hotel. Our cab driver was great, though. We asked if there was a Walmart around that he would be willing to stop at for us so we could get some pop and water to take with us. He was happy to do so and it was absolutely worth every extra penny (I think our total bill was $31.00 from airport to Walmart to the Hampton Inn) to just get it done that night. This is the first time we have taken drinks with us onto the ship, but felt it would save us money. IT DID.

 

After we arrived in Ybor City, we checked in to our hotel. The hotel has a shuttle that it will gladly take people anywhere within a 3-mile radius from the hotel. There is a trolley in Ybor City that is $2.50/ride that depots right at the Hampton Inn. You can also ride for $5/day. We decided the shuttle was the right way to go. (FREE)

 

Dinner was at the Acropolis. The food and atmosphere was terrific, but nightlife in Ybor City is, to say the least, "interesting". :) I wouldn't say that the Acropolis would be the appropriate place for a family with little kids, but hey, you never know. We were only there once, we ate outside, but there was a lot of wild stuff going on--inside and out on the street.

 

There are several other hotels there of course, and the Marriott Channelside as well as an Embassy Suites can be seen at the port. I couldn't trade in points to get a room at these places for the night we were going to be in town, so we did the Hampton Inn about 1 mile from the port.

 

We made an earlier night of it so we could be up in the morning and take the 10:30 shuttle. NOTE: They said there was a 10:00 a.m. shuttle, but I got different stories from the front desk. They basically told me they would NOT take us to the port prior to 10:30 a.m. because "the port doesn't open until then anyway."

 

DAY TWO (DAY OF DEPARTURE):

 

To break up the monotony of the text, here's a picture of the family at breakfast at the hotel:

 

 

 

Now it is time to wait outside when we saw the shuttle drive up...

 

The guy took his sweet time, but it was free, so we just kept waiting. In Miami, we are used to taking a cab whenever we want, which is very different from the Tampa experience this time.

 

The port was CRAWLING with people--so much for the port "not opening" until 10:30. We had to fill out a questionnaire from Carnival stating that we were not exhibiting any flu-like symptoms before we could get in line to be checked in.

 

Once we did, though, our Carnival person waved her number and we were off. We checked through all the things we needed to show--FunPass, Passports, credit cards. We got our keys and strict instructions to make sure we did our due diligence in making sure Morgan (a 1st-time cruiser) had an excellent time so she would want to cruise again :) Our boarding number was 6, which wasn't terrible. We had our sodas and water with us along with our cameras and such.

 

There were probably four weddings going on--we saw many brides--as well as groups (based on the number of matching t-shirts).

 

I will say comparing Miami's port v. Tampa's port that Miami's is so much more comfortable for waiting than Tampa's. Tampa's had hard plastic chairs for the most part. You also couldn't see the ship clearly either, as the gangway, which looked like an airline jetway, was in the way. It's just different between the two ports.

 

Soon they started calling numbers--YES! We were about to board the Carnival Inspiration!!!

[valancy1]

DAY TWO (cont'd)

 

They eventually called our number 6, and I remember the time was somewhere just before noon. Which didn't seem bad to me--we've had to wait until nearly 1 pm on another cruise.

 

 

Oh, I wanted to say for those who do not know... if you buy soda or water to take with you, you must carry it on with you. You cannot check it. If you do that, you have to keep it with you while you lunch and so on until you can get in your cabin at 1:30.

 

We got on the ship and let me tell you, Carnival Inspiration's main atrium is stunning. Here are some pictures:

 

 

 

 

We headed for the Lido Deck for lunch. It makes it so much fun to be able to go for the food right away (Ha).

 

The day in Tampa was sunny and warm, and we found a cozy table for 4 right outside on deck looking toward the port. Lunch was yummy, though I couldn't mention what everyone had to eat. I chose a cheeseburger (wouldn't you know it was the longest line?!).

 

Just in time, a waiter came by with the Funship Special tray and I treated myself and Chelsea to a FSS to toast the cruise. YUMMY!

 

Our cabins weren't ready until about 2 p.m. When they were open, we went in, but our luggage wasn't there until close to muster--around 4 p.m. I had ordered chocolate-covered strawberries for the girls (who had an adjoining room with ours, which turned out to be so much fun to have) and they weren't there waiting for them when they arrived. They didn't arrive until literally muster was called. They were thrilled by them, but once someone got me a gift and the gift was in the cabin waiting for me when I arrived. I wished it would have been that way for them, but it was still a really big thrill for the two of them to watch someone deliver something to their stateroom just as we're walking down the hall for muster.

 

Because of our cabin location, we needed to go to the Lido deck. They have, as many of you know already, changed how muster is done. They have everyone stand around and ask (repeatedly) not to use a cellphone, talk, drink, eat, etc. But we still saw people doing it. We didn't need to bring our life vests, but it seemed that it took longer because of everyone talking, eating, drinking and using a cellphone.

 

We decided to go back to our rooms after muster and unpack so we were ready for Sail Away!. We unpacked then went up to the deck above Lido toward the back of the ship. We had every intention of doing the dances and participating in the Sail Away party, but ended up just enjoying one another's company and watching the ship actually sail away.

 

Morgan, being a 1st-time cruiser, was SO excited to feel the ship's rumble and vibrations. Oh! And for the first time, we heard the ship's horn as we were getting ready to leave--how fun was that!!! It was L-O-U-D!!!

 

 

[aubreysmom]

Thanks for your review so far Debra :) I am enjoying it and looking forward to the rest of it when you have time :D My DD and I will be on the Inspiration in a litte over 2 weeks for our 3rd annual Mother-Daughter cruise :) I am so excited I can hardly wait. Your review couldn't have come at a better time. Love your pics. too. Thank you!

[valancy1]

 

Morgan, not wanting to be left out of the fun drink experience, ordered a virgin strawberry colada...

 

 

 

 

We stayed there until dark. We wanted to see the ship go under the big bridge there (not sure what its name is, sorry those of you from Tampa St. Pete's!) but the only thing we saw much later was the pilot boat. We waited and waited and never saw the bridge under crossing.

 

Waterworks

 

 

We had late seating and decided it was time to go in and get ready for dinner.

 

More to come! Please ask questions if you have them--I'll do what I can to answer them for you!

[Payd]

Looking forward to the rest of your review...and more pictures.

[Mamasitarica]

Your review comes at a great time as I will be going on this cruise on 12/14. I am a first time cruiser (not sure why it says cool cruiser under my name but oh well) and love hearing about everything. I look forward to hearing more. Thank you!

[valancy1]

On my first cruise aboard Carnival Liberty I took pictures of everything that was food. I'm sorry to say that I didn't take pictures of the food until we went on the Galley Tour the last day.

 

We had dinner in the Mardi Gras dining room. Joseph was our "Super Charged Fun Ship Maitre'd" OMG he was FUN. Our table was 223. We got a good view of the singing and dancing--done nearly every single night. Our server was Jeyrold and assistant was Neli.

 

My family with Joseph Super-Charged... "It's ahhhh ... SHOWTIME!" LOL... so funny!

 

My family with Jeyrold and Neli

 

 

Singing and Dancing!

 

 

The first night's menu had St. Louis ribs--not baby back ribs as used to be on the menu. Barry got them and the portion was HUGE. He said that he didn't think he could eat them all (believe me, he has a great appetite).

 

The food--and the Warm Chocolate Melting Cake--was absolutely superb.

 

Afterward, we went to the evening's entertainment. This was the show we'd seen before with the ship shaped out of the word "FUN". It was good, and again, Morgan and Chelsea had never been to these shows, so it was fun seeing it again through their eyes.

 

Our Cruise Director was Josh (aka "Big Sexy") and being midwesterners, really liked him because he originates from Chicago.

 

One thing I noticed, though... on a Fantasy class ship, it was next to impossible to find a seat in the Paris Lounge. We got there even 30 minutes early and the seats (on both levels) were all but full. We had never experienced that on the Conquest class ships. Don't get me wrong--the venue was lovely and we enjoyed the shows. We just have never had to have a "bad" seat before.

 

I wish I could tell you we partied well into the night--going to the piano bar with Barry or going to karaoke, etc., but it just didn't happen. We came back to our room and found our first towel friend:

 

 

One final change we saw since our last cruise in 2008, there were no chocolates for our pillows! (I put this on our comment card--I missed them :))

[TinaJ04463]

so far! My best girl friend and I are doing a girls trip in February-gotta get out of the cold and snow in ME. You are getting me soooo excited, we couldn't wait before but now-yikes!! Cannot stand to wait another 75 days! Hurry!!

TinaJ

[WAcruisers]

Debra,

Thank you for writing your review. I was on her twice and loved her. The ship is so easy to maneuver and the crew was wonderful.

[CB42]

Hello we cruise again on the Inspiration Jan 30th 2010. Last year we put our soda's in a gym type bag and checked it in with the porters, This can't be done anymore? Also did you get any feedback about the anytime dining? They didn't offer it when we cruised this past January. Thanks

[valancy1]

Hello we cruise again on the Inspiration Jan 30th 2010. Last year we put our soda's in a gym type bag and checked it in with the porters, This can't be done anymore? Also did you get any feedback about the anytime dining? They didn't offer it when we cruised this past January. Thanks

 

What a good idea to check it in a bag! We didn't think about it so we had the sodas and water in their original (ONLY) containers (boxes and shrink wrap). That is probably why we couldn't do it. If you got to do it before with it wrapped up and looking like luggage, you probably can again (they don't know what is in it!).

 

The Anytime Dining was held in the Mardi Gras (the same one for our late seating). The first night, they had people with late seating line up for the left-hand side doors and those for Anytime Dining on the right-hand side. After the first night, though we (our family) just went right to our table. There was someone at the door every night to assist those with Anytime Dining. I didn't hear anyone talking about it, though. Usually we (Barry and I) mingle more with people on the ship. This time we were with his girls and they and our dining room "mates" at our table were about the only people we talked with.

 

I hope this helps you some, though!

[back2tampa]

We to were on the same cruise.We also had a great cruise with the exception of a few things.We never seen our room stewert until late the next day and we had to sign a piece of paper stating we talked to her.Not that this was a big deal but on all the other cruises we always give them a little something when we see them.

#2-Our dinning was good but the wait staff never once ask us if we wanted drinks with our dinner and when I had had ask and ordered a bottle of wine we never recieved it.At the end of our dinner he finally ask us if we got our wine.We said we did'nt want it and we knew they were buisy.(we knew they were rushed and had alot to do but still...

#3-We got charged for 2 cans of soda's from our cabin when we had a case sitting on the table and had to remind people 4 times to get it taken off our bill.

#4-We could not get ice from anyone the last full day and had to go to the lido buffet and get it our selfs---Not a big deal but I even ask the bar in the lobby.-It did'nt ruin my cruise or anything and it did not really bother me but it might have someone else.

We did have a great cruise and will be back and this stuff is really minor.My daughter had a blast at circle C and we loved everything else.I really loved all the music all over the ship and really loved the layout.We are allready planning our next cruise out of Mobile on the sister ship

 

I did not mean to steal your thread and you have done a way better than all the threads I have read-----Great job valancy1 and I am so glad we both had a great cruise.

[justcrzn]

We are so glad you had a wonderful time. We missed you on our Glory cruise. Hopefully we can hook up again sometime and cruise with you and Barry. Your review is VERY good and enjoyable to read. Tell Barry that I said Hi and I (we) hope everything is good with you guys. Let us know when your cruising again.

Brent & Sally:)

[putermomy]

What did you do on your excursions? Also I can't remember how much the soda card was?

 

Thanks, I'll be on the Inspiration 1-16-10, this will be the first time w/my 3 children cruising!

[back2tampa]

The soda card is $27.00.And most the drinks were around $7.00 after tax to $9.00.Drink of the day was like $7.25 for the first one and $6.25 for the second with a 15% tax.We spent like $300 just on drinks between my wife and I and the wife spent on her card $100.00 and we never got drunk(felt pretty good but not drunk).But we had planed on this price.I would bring my own.

[valancy1]

FIRST DAY AT SEA (CRUISE DAY 2)

 

Today we woke up to beautiful skies and lovely water. The girls' ONLY goal today was to lay out in the sun. This left Barry and I the day to ourselves and to explore the ship. This is the first time we have been on a different class of ship and it was fun to discover different things about the ship.

 

 

 

I "donated" money here. The slots just weren't feelin' the love this time!

 

 

 

[ronirp]

I think I read that the inspiration does not have the mini-fridges in the room. Is that true? If that is the case, how did you keep the drinks cold? Also, is there a way to refil water bottles (like coolers, or from drink stations?)

Also do you have capers you can send? I can provide my e-mail if that is easier - just PM me

We are leaving May 31 and I cannot wait!!!

Thanks

[elektrawmn]

We waited and waited to pass under the bridge as well. I happen to go out to our balcony about 6:10 and glanced up and we were zooming under it. Didn't have a chance to grab the camera.

 

We were in Mardi Gras with Joseph as well. He certainly does have a LOT of energy.

[lgerrish]

Debra,

 

Thank you for the review - inquiring minds want to know ALL about the Inspiration so keep it coming. I'm cruising in Feb with my best friend (leaving hubbies home :D). We are both teachers and are anxious to get out of our cold Maine winter and relax in the sunshine.

 

The ship looks wonderful. We have early seating for dinner and wonder if passing under the Skyway Bridge happens about that time. I would really love to see that!

 

Anxiously awaiting the rest of your review!

 

Lynn

[valancy1]

I think I read that the inspiration does not have the mini-fridges in the room. Is that true? If that is the case, how did you keep the drinks cold? Also, is there a way to refil water bottles (like coolers, or from drink stations?)

Also do you have capers you can send? I can provide my e-mail if that is easier - just PM me

We are leaving May 31 and I cannot wait!!!

Thanks

 

There were no mini fridges in the room, that is correct. They have ice buckets. We aren't ones that have a lot of soft drinks. We drank our water at room temperature (we like it that way). However, I know people get soft-side coolers and leave them filled with ice in the shower, so as the ice melts, it drains in the shower.

 

Someone above mentioned something about their room steward. You know that we had that same experience... we developed absolutely NO relationship with our room steward. He was nice enough and said hello, but other than the first day, we NEVER saw him. Our room was always tidied and made up nicely and was always fresh. We just didn't see our steward.

 

As long as he did his job (which he did and well) that's all we cared about!

[valancy1]

So we went to the art show. I was pretty good... I only bought 3 pieces as a "Mystery" selection. Some people don't like art. Some people do. I'm one that does. But I don't like beer. ;)

 

Our day was full. Barry and I had fun walking around, playing in the casino, the art auction, lunch on Lido, etc.

 

We ended the day with dinner and then went to the entertainment for the night. I wish I had pictures to show you. The title of this evening's performance was "SHOUT" and let me tell you, that was THE BEST SHOW I'd seen on a ship. It was so much fun--I hope you all get a chance to go see it when you next cruise on Carnival Inspiration. Lots of stuff starting in the 50's and then going all the way through the 80s. It really was GREAT.

 

After the show, we high-tailed it to bed because the next day was GRANNNND CAYMAN and we had an early excursion.

 

I have oodles of pictures to show, but I have to pack for my next business trip. I will try and get more done tonight, but it may be throughout the week that I get this done after I'm done working for the day.

 

I hope you're enjoying the review... I have so much more to share!

[goodml]

Great job so far! Looking forward to reading the rest.:)