Review** Carnival Inspiration June 4-9 Grand Cayman and Cozumel

[cespo]

To start a little about us. DH is 53 (13th cruise), myself 45 (11th cruise), DS 18 (6th cruise) and DD 16 (7th cruise).

 

We live in Central Florida so we decided to drive to the port on Saturday Morning and got there in about an hour and 45 minutes. We arrived about 10am and they were still unloading all the previous guests. We were told that we could not drop off out luggage until 10:30. So we decided to drive around Tampa for for a bit. At 10:30 we dropped our luggage off at parked our car at the parking garage. The cost was $70.00 for the 5 day cruise.

 

This was our first picture of our new home for the next five days.

 

 

The lines to check into the port started forming, but moved very quickly. Once thru the first security area we made our way over to the VIP check in area. We had one family in front of us and then we got checked in. We were handed a plastic card that said VIP on it for boarding. Now we are use to the great facilities that Miami has to offer there VIP's. Tampa really only 2 desks to check you in (and only one was being used) and then you wait to board in the main room they have for all there guests.

 

Sitting waiting to board.

 

 

There were 2 wedding parties that boarded first and then we were able to board, and got onto the ship around 12 noon.

 

Picture of one of the newlyweds.

 

DH getting the first food of the day

 

 

And I had to get the first drink of the day.

 

[cespo]

Our son following right behind with food

 

 

And our daughter being excited about just cruising again...

 

 

but at the same time could not put down the phone...had to text until the last possible second. ohhh wait both of them had to keep texting.

 

 

We had some time to kill before our rooms were ready so we walked around the ship for a bit..

 

Look at all the soda and beer being brought on board.

 

 

And the luggage being brought on board.

 

[cespo]

Of course we had to do our smoke stack pictures.

 

 

 

At 1:30 our rooms were ready, so we headed down to the Empress Deck. We had 2 rooms. E1 and E3. These are porthole rooms. We love this type of room. We are able to pay the same price as an interior, but still have natural light.

 

Our first look at our rooms.

 

 

We did order 2 bottles of liqour from the Bon Voyage Dept prior to sailing.

They were waiting in our room as soon as we got there.

 

 

The rum cost $40.00 and the Southern Comfort was $55. Even though more than what you pay locally it was still worth it than buying drinks at the bar.

 

We also brought 2 bottles of Sangria and 2 bottles of Mai Tai Mix for the Rum.

 

[Catrin]

We did this same cruise almost three years ago.... cannot wait to re-live it through you and your kids!

 

Catrin

[gapearl]

Great start! I had an awesome time on that same cruise back in February!

[cespo]

We did this same cruise almost three years ago.... cannot wait to re-live it through you and your kids!

 

Catrin

 

Great start! I had an awesome time on that same cruise back in February!

 

Catrin, we also were on the Inspiration before in 2008. I hope you enjoy re-living it.

 

gapearl, thanks I hope you enjoy it back in February as much as we did this time.

[themnms]

loving the review!! We sail her in Dec

[cespo]

We also ordered 2 soda cards for the kids prior to boarding and we were told that the stickers were going to be on there cards upon arrival. This was not the case.

 

Once we ate, I went to guest services and inquired about the soda cards and was told to go the bar right across from guest services. When I spoke to them they told me I had to go to the coffee shop. So up 2 floors to the coffee shop and she had a list of everyone that preordered the cards and was able to put the stickers on the cards.

 

With all the hassle it is really not worth buying the soda cards in advance. For now on I will just get them once on the ship.

 

The one new thing that they are doing with soda cards is before you showed the bartender the card with the sticker and they gave you a soda. Now the bartender actually takes the card from you and swipes it into their register and your picture shows up so they are making sure that there is no more sharing of the soda cards going on and the person actually ordering the drink is the person that actually bought the soda card.

 

When we got to our room we had one of our bags already waiting for us and the rest showed up within 20 minutes. We all decided to unpack first.

 

DH waiting for me to finish unpacking

 

 

At 3:30 was the muster drill. Painless as usual, and it is so nice not having to bring the life jackets anymore.

 

We left the port of Tampa right at 4pm. We walked around for a bit and got some shots of the sail away.

 

 

 

 

The sail away party festivites starting.

 

[cespo]

loving the review!! We sail her in Dec

 

thank you...I hope you have a wonderful time on her in December.

[cespo]

We are not big into the same dances that they always do at the sail away party, so we just went exploring.

 

 

 

 

Now the next picture I would like to say I am sorry if I offend anyone. Did not realize the butt crack was in the shot until after I took it.

 

 

And my daughter still texting her friends....so glad she shut it off shortly after this.

 

[cespo]

Now if you have never sailed out Tampa this is one thing that is not to be missed.

 

This is one of the reasons we picked the ship again. I loved and am just amazed seeing the ship go under the Sunshine Bridge. It only clears the bridge by some 5 feet.

 

Getting so close...

 

 

Even closer...and wait is she still texting

 

 

Almost there

 

 

Oh my god, are we going to make it??

 

 

Wheeeww it cleared it...

 

[cespo]

Now to bring it up on the rear of the boat....

 

 

 

[lilypad76]

Very Excited to read your review. We are doing the same itinerary in July!

So far looks fantastic!!!

[cespo]

Very Excited to read your review. We are doing the same itinerary in July!

So far looks fantastic!!!

 

You are going to love this ship and the ports...if you have any specific questions please feel free to ask.

 

Do you have any excursions planned yet?

[cespo]

After the Sunshine bridge we decided to go down and eat dinner. We choose the Any Time Dining option. We have done this before and do really love it. We normally eat at the same time every night, but if we wanted to go later we were able to. I just like the option of going when ever is conveniet for you and not having a set dinner time.

 

Now I know some people will disagree with me on this and complain of long lines and wait time. We ate usually around 6:15 each evening and never had to wait for a table. When we left the dinning room the lines were very long and definetly had to wait for a table. So just remember the later you go that longer you have to wait.

 

We did have the have same wait staff every night and they were great. The main waiters name was Deni. I did notice at times he was a bit crazed and over whelmed, but all and all he did a wonderful job.

 

Since the Inspiration does not have a steak house, they are doing this option as a test for ship that don't have a steak house. For $18.00 you can order 4 items off the steak house menu. You had the choice of Filet Mignon, Lobster Tails, Surf and Turf, and lastly another steak option something like Prime Rib.

 

It is a great option if there is nothing that you like on the regular menu. I actually ordered the lobster tails twice, besides having lobster on the formal night. Sorry no food porn pictures.

 

 

 

They did have a person going around the tables and doing card tricks...his actual title was Table Artist.

 

[lilypad76]

You are going to love this ship and the ports...if you have any specific questions please feel free to ask.

 

Do you have any excursions planned yet?

 

We have made reservations for Nachi Cocum in Cozumel and have yet to book an excursion for Grand Cayman. Thinking about booking the Best of tour through Carnival as we aren't really into Sting Rays and we will have a beach day in Cozumel.

[cespo]

That evening we checked our daughter in Club O2 which is for 14-17 yrs olds. She did end up hanging out with about 4-5 people the whole cruise. They did not hang out inside the club much, more just around the ship.

 

The main reason for not staying in Club O2 was because of all the kids being there and the way they where behaving. Really not her cup of tea and could not handle drunk 14 and 15 yr olds.

 

This cruise was at capacity of about 2650 people on board. Out of that there was something like slightly over a 1000 kids on board. I believe her age group had somewhere around 200 - 250 kids.

 

Now don't get me wrong, kids on cruise ships do not bother me...it is the parents that let their kids run around wild and have no clue on what they are doing that bothers me. (more to come on that later)

 

The rest of the evening we either were at the casino, which was not being very nice and taking all my money and not giving me any in return or hanging out on the lido deck.

 

Our first towel animal...

 

 

Day 2: Sunday June 5th Sea Day

Today we all slept in a bit. Once our daughter woke up she went right out to sunbathe. We did not see her till close to 4 pm. She was good and did not get burned. Our son on the other hand slept till about noon and went right for lunch.

 

We choose to just lounge around on the lido deck and people watch.

 

 

 

We did end up meeting up with our son for lunch

 

 

 

 

Now this was our sons 6th crusie (all with carnival) and this was probably his least favorite cruise. Remember his is 18 years old, and kinds on the shy side when it comes to meeting new people for the first time.

 

I like to refer to him being in the lost age group. I really wish carnival would do more for the 18-20 year olds. Yes they are able to get into the clubs at night and gamble if they choose but no real way to meet others in my opinion.

 

They really need to do some kinda meet and greet with this age group or have their own activities during the day. The are technically adults but still in my opinion it would be nice to have there own club to hang out in.

 

The one thing that DH and I liked is that he really spent alot more time with us for a change, and it was great hanging out with him since he was away at college this past year.

 

 

 

 

[cespo]

We have made reservations for Nachi Cocum in Cozumel and have yet to book an excursion for Grand Cayman. Thinking about booking the Best of tour through Carnival as we aren't really into Sting Rays and we will have a beach day in Cozumel.

 

We went to the Ocean Beach Bar in Cozumel and did the Rays, Reef and Rum Point with Nativeway. Our kids were not real crazy about the rays at first but ended up being the highlight of the day.....review on both coming soon.

[cespo]

That afternoon we did a couple of trivia games and just hung out. Since we are VIP's we received two free entries to either the blackjack tournament or the slots tournament. Since our son is now legal to gamble we decided to enter the slots tournament.

 

 

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Neither one of us qualified....ohhh well maybe next time.

 

Tonight was formal night. Now as everyone has stated before the dress code has become much more laxed. We did see everything from tuxes and long gowns to shorts and polos. They did not seem to really care what you were wearing as long as it was not cut offs or a bathing suit.

 

 

 

The kids getting into the dinner show...

 

 

 

After dinner we decided to go the game show and John got picked to be a contestant, but had trouble hearing a lot of the questions on stage and came in last place.

 

[cespo]

We did not see any of the Dance/Musical shows. We have seen the shows on other ships and actually within minutes of it starting John actually falls asleep.

 

That evening we sat on the lido deck relaxing and people watching.

 

Now here is the story about the drunken 14-15 year olds.

 

We witnessed the whole thing and actual were asked by security to write a statement of what happened.

 

While sitting by the lido deck bar, two tables away from us I first noticed 4 boys (ages 14-15) hanging out with 3 women (approx 35-40). I first started to comment on one of the boys who was attempt to smoke a cig. I actually was making fun of his attempt to smoke and trying to look cool. We then noticed one of the ladies going up to bar and ordering a bucket of beer. When she returned 2 of the boys gave her money for the beer and gave her a twenty dollar tip for buying them the beer.

 

At this time the bartender realized what was going on and called security. A security lady came over to the bar area and started watching what was happening. The table was unaware that security guard had even appeared. One of the boys opened a beer and that is when the security guard stepped in. At this point two out of the four boys ran away. The other two got stopped by security for questioning. When security was questioning the boys at first they tried claiming that they were 21 and was attempting to look in all his pockets for his id. Then he pulled out a twenty dollar bill and tried to bribe the security guard. The other kid kept mumbling under his breathe that he can not believe they got caught.

 

The security guard then started asking the lady that bought them the beer. She realized she was caught buying alcohol for minors and tried telling security that the boys tried stealing the bucket of beer from her. Security then asked her why she continued talking to her girlfriend instead of getting up and chasing the boys.

 

The kids were taking way by one security guard and the lady was taking away by another.

 

Later on in the cruise my daughter had told us the same boys were caught again being drunk. And finally on the last night the two boys were caught again drunk and in possesion of marijuana. They actually started a fight with the people that sold them the pot. One of the kids started pushing around someone else and they actually punched him back and broke his jaw and blood coming out of his mouth. My daughter has seen the whole thing from about 10 feet way. She was amazed on how quickly security got there and how many showed up.

 

We later heard that the kid with the broken jaw was being arrested for underage drinking and possesion of illegal drugs.

 

Even when speaking to one of the Fun Force member that first sea day night, he said that this is a weird dynamics of kids on this cruise and could not believe how many of them were running around drunk from alcohol that ther have either smuggled in or taken from their parents.

 

Now my kids are no angles but for the life of me I could not figure out why the parents allowed this kid to have any privledges after being caught the first time, unless the just didn't seem to care as long as he was out of their hair.

 

This is why my daughter did not really hang out in Club O2. Most of the kids hanging out there came in drunk and really had respect for the club host or anyone else....

 

Tonight towel animal

 

 

Another note we did run into some rough weather...their was a tropical storm out near Cuba. The seas did get a little rough and alot of people were buying sea sickness medication.

[erewhon]

Thank you for the report and photos of your cruise.

[sealpup]

I can not wait to hear the rest, I have just started looking into this cruise for Oct with my sisiter. :o

[cespo]

Thank you for the report and photos of your cruise.

 

I can not wait to hear the rest, I have just started looking into this cruise for Oct with my sisiter. :o

 

erewhon, your welcome all and all we had a great cruise and can not wait to go again.

 

sealpup, you and your sister will love this cruise. The staff is super friendly and we had a great time.

[cespo]

Day 3 - Monday June 6th - Grand Cayman

First look at grand cayman

 

 

 

The photographers tendering off.

 

 

A look at our boat from the tender

 

 

We were in port from 8 am to 3 pm with the last tender being at 2 pm. These times made it tough to find and excursion that we wanted to do.

 

After going back and forth several times on what everyone wanted to do we decided we wanted to take the kids to see the stingrays and rum point.

 

We contacted Sharon from Nativeway Tours. We wanted to do the Rays, Reef, and Rumpoint tour. According to her website the times just were not going to work for us. But I am so glad I contacted her...this is the response that I received.

 

Regarding the time, so that we can stay on time, we do a Rays & Rum Point tour for people traveling on Inspiration. The tour departs the cruise ship

pier at 8:45 AM ship time and completes 1:30 PM ship time. The price is $57.50 USD including lunch.

Everyone on the boat will be from Inspiration and it is usually a small group. If you, as a group, decide that you want to do the entire RRR tour,you can. However, if you do, you will have to limit your time at Rum Point to one hour, 10 minutes.

Sharon Ebanks

I am so glad that we booked this tour with her.

We were able to get on the first tender to Grand Cayman since we have priority tendering being VIP's. We were on land by 8:30. We met up with Sharons husband right near their tent. He brought us to Sharon, who then drove us over to the boat. Since we were the only ship in town that day we actually ended up on a private tour with only the four of us.

[cespo]

We then met our Captain for the day. His name is Chris and he was awesome. Once we got settled he took us directly to see the rays. Chris got us there in record time and we were the first boat there. We were able to interact with the rays all by ourselves for a good half an hour. At times we had close to 25-30 rays swarming around us. It was an unbelievable experience.

Sites from the boat..

Our captian for the day.

Making our way to the rays.