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

[tink77]

You said the cruise director was Josh? We were the group who was done sailing on the 21st--we had Matt the previous week. What happened to him? I LOVED having him as the cruise director--he did an amazing job!

[momofC&C]

Great review! I am enjoying it very much, DH and I sail January 2nd with our DS (20) and DD (14).

[waitin4cruise431]

Thank you so much for sharing. We will be on this ship for Christmas (1st time on Carnival) and are so excited. I had read that they allow smoking in the cabins. We do not smoke and wondered if you noticed any smell of smoke.

[peachhead11]

Love your reviews. These are the same 3 ships I've sailed on. Inspiration was my first and got me hooked. I don't know if it was a first cruise experience or just a great ship but I thought it was perfect.

[justcrzn]

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!

 

 

Hello Debra & Barry

We really enjoy your review of the cruise. We also missed you guys on our Glory cruise. Keep up the good work, it is really nice to read a review as in depth as you do it. Let us know when you guys are sailing again, maybe we can hook up and join you. Take care and God Bless both of you.:)

Brent & Sally

[valancy1]

Thank you so much for sharing. We will be on this ship for Christmas (1st time on Carnival) and are so excited. I had read that they allow smoking in the cabins. We do not smoke and wondered if you noticed any smell of smoke.

 

I didn't smell smoke anywhere but specific areas in the casino. I don't believe smoking is allowed in any of the rooms... nonetheless, we never smelled smoke anywhere but said casino!

[valancy1]

Hello Debra & Barry

We really enjoy your review of the cruise. We also missed you guys on our Glory cruise. Keep up the good work, it is really nice to read a review as in depth as you do it. Let us know when you guys are sailing again, maybe we can hook up and join you. Take care and God Bless both of you.:)

Brent & Sally

 

Brent & Sally!

 

We want to sail with you all again, too! We're trying to book a cruise today for the Military Friends & Family discount for next September. Wanna hop on and join us?!

[valancy1]

OK, so I think that now I am up to our wonderful day in Grannnnd Cayman!!

 

For those of you who don't know, this is our 3rd trip in as many cruises to Grand Cayman. We have done an excursion with Soto's Cruises and last year booked them again. My husband (God love'm) didn't bring the paper with the pickup directions with him. Said he knew where to go (he didn't). So last year, instead of snorkeling and swimming with the Stingrays, I got a pair of diamond earrings as penance for dear husband making a big ooopsie!

 

THIS year, we had to try again. And I didn't get anything new in the jewelry dept, because Barry said that he wouldn't ever make that mistake again. LOL.

 

We got picked up by Randy and headed over to their home. Last time we sailed with him, there were 4 people on the excursion. This time there were approx. 12 people. A whole slew of them were from Wyoming and hadn't ever been out that way before.

 

First stop: Coral Gardens Reef. Snorkeling was done by all.

 

 

 

 

 

And just because I love this picture, I'll include it here:

 

Everyone seemed to have a good time. Billy was Randy's "2nd" and he was fabulous and so good with people. After about 30-40 minutes of snorkeling, it was time to head out to the Stingray sandbar. The pictures above with rays in them were not at Stingray City--these were of "Frisbee" right on the Coral Reef. (She has this name because she doesn't have a tail.)

[valancy1]

When we got to the sandbar, there were about 6 other boats out there already. Randy did an excellent job of getting us situated and positioned so we could get out there and have some fun! Billy got in the water and got our anchor set and brought up a stingray for everyone to look at, touch, smooch, hold, etc. before we fed them all. Prior to us getting off the boat, he gave us a talk and told us how to approach them, how NOT to approach them, what parts of the stingray are dangerous (the stinger is not in the tail, and their spine (visible) can be really sharp).

 

Having done this before, I was rarin' to go. I *love* going out there. I think the stingray is one of the most fascinating animals and I love everything about them.

 

The people from Wyoming as well as my stepdaughters weren't so sure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More...

[valancy1]

 

 

 

 

 

We had such an incredible time. The only thing I didn't like was people who got so nervous they would "mow" us down in trying to get away. (Um, why did you book a stingray excursion then??) But we had a lot of fun. Billy was a blast. He kept urging Morgan to try to hold one. He said that his goal was not to leave the sandbar until she held one. She finally did. The girls talked about this day even after we got home. I know they had a good time and for us--as a family that is trying to blend--was a step in the right direction.

 

Oh, and I wanted to mention--our formal night was our first night at sea. There was lobster with grilled shrimp as well as prime rib. I ventured out and had the lobster (which was MAINE lobster tail--totally different than rock lobster) and it was delicious. Sorry I forgot to mention that earlier.

[valancy1]

So after our Stingray City excursion, we had originally planned to tender back, clean up and then go shopping. By the time we got back to the port, we had only an hour before the last tender left, so we decided to skip shopping.

 

NOTE: I got burned to a crisp. The day was so pleasant and the breeze so delightful, I totally did NOT think about sun screen. I am usually very much in my right mind, but I don't know what I was thinking that day, nor was I thinking about the pain I would be in a mere 4 hours later. Take it from me: WEAR SUNSCREEN!!! It took longer than the rest of the cruise to be able to move my arms up and down. I was quite incapacitated and don't recommend my predicament to anyone!

 

Dinner was divine. I had sweet & sour shrimp (personally, I don't know anyone that makes it better than Carnival). Jeyrald, our server, would bring us extra food. In fact, on lobster night/formal night, he brought everyone an extra lobster dish without even having to ask.

 

Because of my sunburn, I wasn't feeling all that grand that night, so my dessert was a simple dish of orange sherbet ice cream. Our dinner companions had never tried the chocolate melting cake prior to this cruise and Catherine couldn 't get enough of it.

 

The entertainment was a comedian (gosh I wish I remembered his name--my Capers are at home and I'm far from there) and he was HYSTERICALLY FUNNY. He followed a magician which was ok--the kid he brought up on stage to help him was actually more funny than he was. The comedian was so funny--he talked about the differences between vacations now v. vacations "back in the day" and how parenting had changed between then and now.

 

Jumping back to formal night, there was a comedian that night, too. His first name was Kenny and he was ridiculously funny. I remember only one thing--he was singing a song with his guitar and talked about how this bald guy was putting Chia pet seeds on his head and from that point forward, I couldn't even breathe it was so so funny.

 

Someone asked if I could scan the capers. I don't have a scanner, but I might be able to take pictures of them--would that work?

 

Tomorrow--COZUMEL and Paradise Beach!! We were thrilled not to have to get up early and could "sleep in". The weather has been fantastic and the water incredibly blue.

 

Here are some sunset pictures from our trip:

 

 

 

[breezyk]

Hi,

 

Thanks for the post. DH and I are going on this cruise Dec. 19th to celebrate my college graduation. Any suggestions on what NOT to miss? This is our first Carnival cruise.

 

Thanks!

[valancy1]

DAY THREE (COZUMEL)

 

After waking up (gotta love no alarm clocks, right?!) and gingerly getting dressed, breakfast beckoned.

 

Oh, and while I'm on the subject, I love having breakfast in the dining room. We don't often go because the Lido is just too easy to do, but I believe this was the morning we did venture to the Mardi Gras dining room for brekkie. The dining room wait was long. It seems as though they do "first come first served" which in the standard 2- and 4-somes isn't a big deal. But we had a party of 20 and a party of 13 ahead of us. That takes time to gather enough seating for that many people. Once, when the hostess was looking to see the line, I held up a "2" with my fingers and she seated us right away. Thank goodness!

 

Breakfast was good, but we got there just before the kitchen closed. We got our meals and everything, but one of the people at the same table was complaining about their omelette.:rolleyes: They couldn't help them because the kitchen was closed. What I thought was really nice is they went up to the Lido deck, had a new omelette made for this person and brought it to them and served them. I thought that was awful nice of them to do for this person.

 

After that, we started to "dock" in Cozumel. We had the pilot boat right outside our windows. We got our stuff together and headed off the ship. Carnival Fantasy was already moored there...

 

 

We found a taxi who would take us to Paradise Beach for $15. I was slow getting in the cab--I could barely move from the sunburn.

 

We get to Paradise Beach:

 

 

 

We bought the wrist bands for $10. I don't know if we could have had use of all the "toys" out in the water for the price of lunch or a few drinks or not (anyone have the story on that?) but we did it and eventually had lunch there, too.

 

 

[valancy1]

 

 

 

 

 

[vegasvick]

Debra - Your pictures really show what a great time your family was having. Thanks for sharing!

[valancy1]

So in Paradise Beach, I stayed out of the sun. I read a book, which was fine; I could never have been in the water at this stage of the game. Barry and the girls had a wonderful time, and so again, this was all good for me.

Morgan had been talking for several months about getting her hair braided, and she did just that on Paradise Beach. One of the girls did this for $25 US and she is thrilled with it:

[IMG]http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm299/debra919/Inspiration%20Cruise%2011-21-2009/InspirationCruise11-21-2009295-1.jpg[/IMG]

When we got ready to leave, there were cab drivers standing around waiting. We had to take the next one "in line" and it was a TINY car. Barry is 6'10", I'm plus-sized, Morgan is a big girl, and Chelsea is 6'3". It was hard getting all of us in that little car. Well, when we were pulling away from Paradise Beach, the cab driver (not a small petite thing herself) tries to get someone's attention (landscapers). She stops the car completely and yells in Spanish "TWO FATTIES" and points in the car. Um, she didn't realize that I knew what that word meant. I didn't dare say anything to anyone--Morgan would have been so hurt. Creepy cab driver! HMPF!

BUT after we got out of the cab, two beautiful ships were waiting:

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We went and got cleaned up and prepared for an afternoon of shopping!

More to come... this is all I can do tonight :)

[valancy1]

[quote name='breezyk']Hi,

Thanks for the post. DH and I are going on this cruise Dec. 19th to celebrate my college graduation. Any suggestions on what NOT to miss? This is our first Carnival cruise.

Thanks![/quote]

Is this your first cruise period or just with Carnival? Have you been to these ports before? I wouldn't miss snorkeling and seeing the stingrays with Soto's... they happen to do what I like at a price I like, too.

In Cozumel, Nachi Cocum, Chankanab and Paradise Beach are all favorites. Shopping in Cozumel is really fun, too.

Go to your Roll Call and see if you can meet others on this trip with you. I'm so excited for you--you will LOVE [I]Carnival Inspiration[/I]!

[camper49]

We are cruising Inspiration on jan. 25th...getting out of the cold Maine weather as well!!!!!
Love this review...

[breezyk]

This is our 1st cruise with Carnival. We have taken 6 cruises on RC and 1 on Disney. I noticed that you said your formal night was the first night. Did your bags arrive to your stateroom in time to change into your formal wear? I too am a plus-sized woman and I am so sorry that you had that nasty experience with that cab driver in Cozumel:mad:.

My hubby is really looking forward to the shows. Are they any good? How was the adults-only pool area?

[waitin4cruise431]

[quote name='valancy1']I didn't smell smoke anywhere but specific areas in the casino. I don't believe smoking is allowed in any of the rooms... nonetheless, we never smelled smoke anywhere but said casino![/quote]
Thank you so much. I expect it in the casino and it does not bother us unless you have to sleep with it. Really enjoying the review.

[valancy1]

[quote name='breezyk']This is our 1st cruise with Carnival. We have taken 6 cruises on RC and 1 on Disney. I noticed that you said your formal night was the first night. Did your bags arrive to your stateroom in time to change into your formal wear? I too am a plus-sized woman and I am so sorry that you had that nasty experience with that cab driver in Cozumel:mad:.

My hubby is really looking forward to the shows. Are they any good? How was the adults-only pool area?[/quote]

My bad... the formal night is the 1st FULL day. So it's the SECOND night. Does that make sense? The attire for the dining room on the first night (Sail Away) is "come as you are" because of the fact that luggage might not arrive in a timely fashion. In 3 cruises this was the only one where we waited until about 3:15 to get our luggage.

I absolutely loved the shows. If they offer it, DO NOT miss "Shout" or "FESTIVA LATINA" (which I haven't gotten to yet in my review). You also want to make sure you get there early if possible. The seats fill up fast--both upstairs and down on the main level.

The Serenity area was LOVELY. The only problem was it was full all the time and we never got a chance to sit in it. We didn't sweat that too much because we were with the girls, but when he and I cruise alone in a year or so we will definitely want to spend time there. It's at the back of the ship and so quiet and simply wonderful.

[valancy1]

[quote name='camper49']We are cruising Inspiration on jan. 25th...getting out of the cold Maine weather as well!!!!!
Love this review...[/quote]

Where in Maine? I used to live up in Aroostook County! :)

[mnsawyer]

Small world - I'm from Maine as well - in this thread have seen two posters from Maine and one closeby to a town in which I work

[camper49]

We live in the Augusta area....

[valancy1]

Time for SHOPPING!!!!

Cozumel's weather was so nice and warm (and sunny!). The girls had money in their pockets and just had the need to spend.

We spent several hours in Cozumel (the shopping area by the pier). I was happy to go in and drool over diamonds in Diamonds International (didn't buy anything) while the girls blew their wads in Del Sol, and Ron Jon's.

We didn't get back until just about the last minute. It was dark, so we got some great shots of [I]Inspiration[/I]:

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Coming back in the dark is really always fun because the sky is dark, stars are out, and the ship is lit up in all her splendor.

Two glorious nights left on our magical trip.

We got back in enough time to freshen up and get to dinner and entertainment.

Oh, I've been remiss in showing you our towel friends!

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They say this was a gorilla; I thought it was a platypus!
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