I got to judge the hairy chest contest! Inspiration review: 2/26/11.

[gapearl]

Thanks so much for sharing so much detail about your cruise. After years of talking about it - my husband and I are taking our 3 kids on this cruise as part of our 25th Wedding Anniversary Celebration (we'll be at the theme parks in Orlando for 9 days prior to this cruise.) Thanks to your review - many of the questions I've had are now answered and I can hardly wait until October 17!

 

Hi Junibug, thanks for reading! Will it be your first cruise? You're going to have a great time. If you have any other questions let me know. Happy anniversary to you!

[LadyTenorJD]

We did Inspiration in Oct and it was a nice mixed crowd of all ages and then we did the Miracle out of FLL for New Years (dec/jan)and the average age was so much higher. So high in fact that at the New years celebration the newest music they played was from the 80's and only a few songs at that. The majority was 60's-70's music. chubby checker, the twist, all the little fishies in the deep blue sea etc. . It definitely put a damper on the celebratory mood. I just think that time of year attracts more retired persons

 

Oh, no!!! I'm on the Miracle for Christmas! I hope we don't experience this!

 

Two ice creams with the WCMC? Why didn't I think of that?? :smack:

I'll be sure to try that when I sail. And if my husband says anything, I'll ignore him!

 

No problem! Be careful trying to sneak the travel iron. On the last day of the cruise when I went to pick up the liquor I purchased in port, I saw a table of confiscated no-no items from day 1, travel irons included. Tampa is really on their game when it comes to stopping people from sneaking on stuff.

 

I just took my first cruise in June on RC Monarch OTS. My husband his our iron in our luggage and got caught. It was confiscated and we had to pick it up when we arrived back in Port Canaveral. He said when he went to claim it that he saw a myriad of confiscated items, including weapons! :eek:

[sunshine&shiningstar]

gapearl thank you i just found your post here. I'm with you i like to crusie solo but the price is really getting out of hand . i spend just as much or more than my friend had when we sailed together on pictures ,drinks casino when im cruiseing cause its vacation and i want to have a good time. i like meeting people and dong diffferent things . I would have to say it what you make out of your vacation if your going to be happy or not.

I understand not wanting to put where your work i too work for a LARGE bank and right now there are people out there who do not like us one bit.:)

[Stella777]

Hi Karen,

I am loving your reviews:)!!!!!

I was on the Inspiration in 2003. I also had an inside cabin that I shared with a friend.I did another Cruise with a different friend in 2005...I think it was... and it was on the Carnival Destiny. This time around, I will be doing my first long awaited solo out of Baltimore on Royal Caribbean Enchantment of the seas.The 2003 and 2005 crusies were out of Miami and Tampa. The reason I want to do the Enchantment is because I don't have to fly to get the ship as flying hurts my ears pretty awful. I tried the gum and anything else to make the pain stop but nothing worked. I am so looking forward to the solo because when I was with my friends on the other cruises, there was too much drama going on with them that they just couldn't leave it behind them. This cruise will make up for the last ones. It will be nice having my own room and meeting up with people from my roll call and making new friends. The only thing I don't like going solo is the high supplement:eek::eek:. Hopefully in the future the cruise lines will come down on their prices for single cruisers.

[Stella777]

Hi Karen,

I am loving your reviews:)!!!!!

I was on the Inspiration in 2003. I also had an inside cabin that I shared with a friend.I did another Cruise with a different friend in 2005...I think it was... and it was on the Carnival Destiny. This time around, I will be doing my first long awaited solo out of Baltimore on Royal Caribbean Enchantment of the seas.The 2003 and 2005 cruises were out of Miami and Tampa. The reason I want to do the Enchantment is because I don't have to fly to get the ship as flying hurts my ears pretty awful. I tried the gum and anything else to make the pain stop but nothing worked. I am so looking forward to the solo because when I was with my friends on the other cruises, there was too much drama going on with them that they just couldn't leave it behind them. This cruise will make up for the last ones. It will be nice having my own room and meeting up with people from my roll call and making new friends. The only thing I don't like going solo is the high supplement:eek::eek:. Hopefully in the future the cruise lines will come down on their prices for single cruisers.

 

ooops!!!! My mistake:rolleyes: this email is for you gapearl....:p

[Shatima]

I had made plans in advance to do a horse swim with Pampered Ponies. I can’t say enough good things about them! Lori, the owner, and I communicated through email for weeks prior to my cruise, and we spoke on the phone about a week prior to finalize my reservation. She had me down for a private horse swim, but if anyone else booked, it would turn into a group ride (which is what I actually wanted). Lori is from FL, moved to GC 17 years ago, and has been in business for 15 years. I met her in front of the Casanova Restaurant at 11 am sharp. We stopped by the Westin Hotel to pick up a family of 3 that booked at the last minute. Yay, I got a group ride after all! They were a husband/wife/college student daughter family visiting GC for a week from Louisiana.

 

We took a 20 minute scenic ride through town, away from the tourist areas, to her property. Her two guides were Bing and Elvis (not the king). Lori got on a horse and showed us how to use the reigns and guide them. This was my second time on a horse in life, so I was excited. My horse was Moonstruck (at least I think that was his name). We all saddled up and headed towards the beach. If you’re an experienced rider, you can have your horse go as fast as you want, even run. We rode our horses for about 15 minutes, passing some breathtaking scenery. This really is paradise!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I thought the horse was having a temper tantrum, but it was actually rolling in the sand to get all the sweat off it's back.

 

 

GIRRRRRRRRRRRRL When i stroll down and see that Horse on that ground i about scream at the top of my lungs (im at work) Woo.. I really want to try this.. Were there any big people on the Horse too.. I didnt see any. DO want to break the Horse back oney. lolol

 

* Great everything.. Im loving this review..

[gapearl]

Thanks Sunshine & Stella! Sorry, I know I'm late but I'm just noticing your comments since this got bumped up. :o

 

 

GIRRRRRRRRRRRRL When i stroll down and see that Horse on that ground i about scream at the top of my lungs (im at work) Woo.. I really want to try this.. Were there any big people on the Horse too.. I didnt see any. DO want to break the Horse back oney. lolol

 

* Great everything.. Im loving this review..

 

Thanks a lot! Nice pictures from your Destiny review. Everyone on the horses were average size. You would not break the horse's back. LOL You've gotta go back to Grand Cayman and try it!

[phatbachelor]

Hi! Thoroughly enjoyed you review, though I may be biased as my most of my future cruises will be solo or singles cruises also!:D

[Shatima]

Thanks Sunshine & Stella! Sorry, I know I'm late but I'm just noticing your comments since this got bumped up. :o

 

 

 

 

Thanks a lot! Nice pictures from your Destiny review. Everyone on the horses were average size. You would not break the horse's back. LOL You've gotta go back to Grand Cayman and try it!

 

Lolol thanks mama. I have 28 Days And I will be back..

[gapearl]

Hi! Thoroughly enjoyed you review, though I may be biased as my most of my future cruises will be solo or singles cruises also!:D

 

Hey Bachelor! Nothing wrong with cruising solo. You'll have an awesome time. Thanks for reading!

 

Lolol thanks mama. I have 28 Days And I will be back..

 

Check your Facebook email.

[Sarapdot]

GREAT Review!!! Loved it!!

I am sorta traveling solo in August on the Magic. I am rooming with someone I met on my Dec sailing of the Magic and there will be several others from that cruise there. However none of my local regular cruise friends are going. So I consider myself solo since I won't be with someone 24/7 like I would if it were my local friends.

I love your review of the horseback ride in GC. I have been wanting to do this and this company looks great! I emailed them for some information.

Love your shoes! :D

I also only eat chicken! :p

[gapearl]

GREAT Review!!! Loved it!!

 

I am sorta traveling solo in August on the Magic. I am rooming with someone I met on my Dec sailing of the Magic and there will be several others from that cruise there. However none of my local regular cruise friends are going. So I consider myself solo since I won't be with someone 24/7 like I would if it were my local friends.

 

I love your review of the horseback ride in GC. I have been wanting to do this and this company looks great! I emailed them for some information.

 

Love your shoes! :D

I also only eat chicken! :p

 

At least you won't have to pay the single supplement on your Magic cruise. Definitely do the horse swim. Looks like we have a lot in common! :p Thanks for reading.

[Sarapdot]

At least you won't have to pay the single supplement on your Magic cruise. Definitely do the horse swim. Looks like we have a lot in common! :p Thanks for reading.

 

Yeah I'm not sure I could afford it without a roomie.

Thanks again for all your info

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[2013CruiseBride]

Even thought it is a different ship, you were on the same itinerary/ports that I will be on out of Tampa on the Paradise next year. I LOVED your review. It got me all excited all over again for our wedding cruise. Thank you so much for the review!! (I just noticed it was from last year!). And I hope that you write many more!

[gapearl]

Yeah I'm not sure I could afford it without a roomie.

Thanks again for all your info

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

You're welcome!

 

 

Even thought it is a different ship, you were on the same itinerary/ports that I will be on out of Tampa on the Paradise next year. I LOVED your review. It got me all excited all over again for our wedding cruise. Thank you so much for the review!! (I just noticed it was from last year!). And I hope that you write many more!

 

Hi Bride! The Paradise was my first cruise, but out of Long beach several years ago. It's a beautiful ship. You're going to have such an amazing time. Grand Cayman will make for such a beautiful back drop. I don't want to be a Debbie Downer on your excitement, but GC is one of those ports that is missed a lot because of high winds and it's a tender port. It might not be a bad idea to have a plan b, just in case. ;) Fingers crossed everything will be perfect.

[repo-cruiser]

My wife would love to judge the hairy ches contest, as she gets grossed out by a man with no hairy chest, she thinks they look like girls, shes right but to each there own.

[gapearl]

My wife would love to judge the hairy ches contest, as she gets grossed out by a man with no hairy chest, she thinks they look like girls, shes right but to each there own.

 

LOL I'm the exact opposite. I recently went out with a guy with an incredibly hairy chest. He was Puerto Rican, and the hair was soooooo thick. I remember thinking I could bring him on a ship and he'd win for sure! :eek:

[travelplus]

DAY 4/ COZUMEL

 

We weren’t due in until 11 am. I was planning to workout. Really, I did have good intentions, but I didn’t. I slept in until 9. As I was getting dressed, I watched the news and got to see who would be on the new cast of Dancing With The Stars (gonna be a good season!). CD Stephanie was still making announcements about booking Cozumel shore excursions at 9:45. They still had 4 spots open for the behind the fun tour the next day. I went up to the lido for a couple of croissants and to watch as we approached Mexico. It was then I realized that I had lost my sunscreen, so I bolted to the gift shop to buy some more. It was $14! :eek: Highway robbery! I wish I had waited until getting off the ship to buy some, but my excursion required us to take a ferry and I didn’t want to be late and risk missing it. Turns out, I would have had time after all. Oh well.

 

I booked the caverns by jeep and beach combo for $90. This excursion and the Mayan ruins of Tulum were the only two that required a ferry to Playa del Carmen. Both groups met in the Candlelight Lounge and we were given instructions on where to go. While in there, we got to watch as we docked next to the Elation. The Navigator OTS followed us here from Grand Cayman. One more ship was there, either another RC or Celebrity, can't remember. We got to be the first ones off the ship because we had to hurry and catch the ferry. They actually held people up at the stairs until all of us had debarked.

 

 

 

The ferry was a short walk down the pier from the ship, right by Fat Tuesdays. They had a minibar with sodas and snacks. You could get a beer and a tequila shot combo for $6. I got a green margarita for $5 and a bag of chips for $1.50. The margarita was a little weak, so he hooked me up with a little extra tequila. This is what I call breakfast!

 

 

The ferry left at 11:30 and the ride to the mainland was about 30 minutes. There was a safety video shown. I’m a flight attendant and got a real kick out of this. The girl pointed with two fingers and all. LOL

 

 

The ferry is equipped with restrooms. The guy who took care of my margarita for me took me up to see where the captain was driving the boat. I sat in his chair and took a picture with him. Unfortunately, my camera was dying this entire trip (time for a trip to Best Buy for a new one) and somehow that picture vanished into thin air. I went back to my seat and passed the rest of the time thanks to 5 levels of Angry Birds.

 

The ferry in Playa del Carmen.

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZzge1srxXY

[gapearl]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZzge1srxXY

 

LOL

 

Haven't had this one bumped up in a year. :cool: