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My Inspiration Review

Shayhooper

By Shayhooper,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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Shayhooper

Shayhooper

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Posted (edited)

I just got back tonight from my 4 day cruise on the Inspiration. I've previously done a longer more in depth review of the NCL cruise that I took with my family to Alaska but this one is going to be much shorter. All in all it was a wonderful trip and my complaints are mostly nitpicky. If you have questions please feel free to ask.

 

Just a bit about me first. I am 41 year old married woman with two kids who lives just outside of Portland Oregon. Over the past 15 years I have done 3 other Carnival cruises and 1 NCL. All my previous cruises were either with my husband or the entire family.

 

There wasn't a whole lot of planning that went into booking this cruise. I realized at the end of Feb that I had vacation days I needed to use by the end of March. Since I was going to be traveling solo I didn't want to be gone for too long and I didn't want to spend a great deal of money either. A quick search of a few cruise line websites and the 4 day cruise out of Long Beach to Catalina Island and Ensenada fit all of my criteria. With the booking I also purchased the Carnival transfer from LAX to Long Beach.

 

Getting to Long Beach:

I arrived at LAX at 9:30 AM and after collecting my bag went searching for the bus that would transport me to Long Beach. The instructions I received said a representative would be waiting outside of baggage claim so I expected someone with a Carnival sign to be rather conspicuous. After about 30 minutes of wandering around I found the Carnival representative tucked in a corner behind baggage claim with a small sign. Apparently she had been looking for me as well and had even just had my name called on the PA. She guided me to the rest of the group and we all boarded the half filled bus. It took approximately 45 minutes and we were at the cruise terminal by 11:15.

 

Embarkment:

Getting off the bus there were several port people giving clear directions to the porters and the check in line. The line for check in was short and the process was quick and easy. I was assigned zone 3 and warned that boarding was going to be delayed although no specific reason was given. There seemed to be a lot of passengers from the previous cruise that were disembarking until 1:00 and several people who appeared to be escorted out by police. At almost 2:00 PM boarding for our cruise started. I wasn't particularly bothered by the delay but I did sympathize with the families that had young hungry tired children and older people who didn't have a place to sit. Once boarding started though it did go quickly. One very nice thing was I was able to avoid the obligatory "boarding" picture that you can later purchase. In fact the photographers throughout the trip always accepted my "no thank you" without any pressure.

 

On board:

Once on board I was immediately able to go to my room to drop off my carry on bag. I was pleasantly surprised to also see my checked bag sitting outside of my room. For this cruise I booked room R8 which was on the 4th floor forward with 2 port holes. It was nothing fancy but everything was clean and in good working order. My one disappointment was that there was no fridge to store some medication I had. I stashed my wallet and passport in the safe, unpacked, and made my way up to the Lido deck.

 

That is all I can do tonight. I'll write more tomorrow. :)

Edited by Shayhooper
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SoCalKJ

SoCalKJ

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I always love a good "Inspiration"-al review, having been on her several times. I totally understand about the boarding delays after the ridiculous weekend cruises: SO MANY people go on that cruise with the intention of getting as stupid as possible (I know, firsthand: search the Kickball Cruise from hell posts!)

 

Can't wait to read more!

 

BTW...I was born in Portland. :-)

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woodey

woodey

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My family is also traveling from Portland, but we are on the 4 day Imagination! What night is the elegant dinner night? I feel like it is the sea day...

 

Thanks!

second day... it was the day we were in Catalina ...

I just got off that cruise a few weeks ago...I had a good time...it was a good cruise I am sure you guys will enjoy it

Have a good cruise :)

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Love2CruiseMore

Love2CruiseMore

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second day... it was the day we were in Catalina ...

I just got off that cruise a few weeks ago...I had a good time...it was a good cruise I am sure you guys will enjoy it

Have a good cruise :)

 

Thank You Woodey!

 

And Shayhooper keep the review coming! I board in 8 days!!! There are too few reviews of these shorter cruises....remember no detail is too small for those of us anxiously awaiting our trips! :D Thank you for taking the time to write a review!

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Rayefan

Rayefan

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Looking forward to the rest of your review. We added this to an already planned Disney trip in 3 weeks. Can't wait.

One hope is that the weather stays warm. How was it for your trip?

 

We are doing the same things.... Disneyland and the Inspiration April 7th!

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cali-croozer

cali-croozer

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We were on the cruise before you and did the self-disembark. We were done with breakfast around 8:15am and noticed people were getting off the ship (we never heard the all clear) so we went down to the empress deck and that's when the line stopped. After about 10 minutes, they told us customs had stopped the line and they have the final say. A little later, there was a ship wide announcement that there was an incident at the port, that police were on the scene and advised everyone to just relax around the ship until the line starts again.

 

Shortly after that we started moving but customs took longer than normal; really checking peoples passports/documents and asking questions.

 

We were in our car and driving out of the parking lot by 9am but I was thinking the next cruise was going to be delayed if everyone had to go through the questioning.

 

Anyway, I googled long beach port activity, etc. and never found out what happened. Anyone know?

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scuddles

scuddles

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We are doing the same things.... Disneyland and the Inspiration April 7th!

 

Rayefan, We already had our Disney trip planned when our "free" cruise came in the mail. It didn't take too much to twist DH arm and make him go. lol

 

The OP tricked us. We are all waiting to hear how the rest of your trip went. ;)

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Rayefan

Rayefan

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Rayefan, We already had our Disney trip planned when our "free" cruise came in the mail. It didn't take too much to twist DH arm and make him go. lol

 

The OP tricked us. We are all waiting to hear how the rest of your trip went. ;)

 

How could you even pass that offer up? And Disney on top of that makes it that much better, right?

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Shayhooper

Shayhooper

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Since embarkment took so long the first thing I needed was some food which meant a trip to the buffet. Having been on several other Carnival ships I was prepared for the layout but do have to say that in comparison to the NCL ship the buffet area felt small and dark. Aside from a complete remodel there really isn't anything that can be done about it.

 

I loaded up a plate with veggies from the salad bar, found a table in the hallway, and started to relax. After eating I headed out on deck to grab a cigarette and enjoyed my first cruise drink. My husband often says that I will never be lonely wherever I go because I will randomly start talking to people and that was certainly the case on this trip. With a glass of liquid courage in me I started chatting with an older couple near by and enjoyed another 2 drinks with them. During previous cruises I often felt like (especially the first day) that the cocktail servers were a little aggressive and came by a bit too often. It was a pleasant surprise to only be approached when my drink was getting low and the ashtray was still swapped frequently. Well done Carnival!

 

All too soon I realized that I would be late for my 6 PM dining if I didn't hurry. Dinner was by far the part of this trip that made me the most nervous because I knew I was going to be stuck for a few hours with a bunch of people I didn't know. Luckily I was seated at an 8 top with mostly other solo travelers which I imagine Carnival did intentionally. After the initial awkward introductions and uncomfortable silences everyone loosened up a bit and conversation flowed rather well.

 

The food was tasty and the service was OK but I am not sure that the server could be faulted. There were instances when not everyone at the table had their entree delivered at the same time, long waits between courses, and some details not attended to. Of course drinks always took quite a while to be delivered. I was impressed with some of the menu selections and genuinely enjoyed everything that was served. The family style sides was a bit confusing and was never really explained very clearly. Some nights we had sides to share, others we didnt. Hmm, perhaps I need to do a quick section about first world problems.

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Shayhooper

Shayhooper

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First world problems:

 

In no particular order here are the things that I felt Carnival could improve on. Please note that none of these things had a serious impact on how I enjoyed the cruise. They are nitpicky.

 

The daily Sudoku and crossword puzzle that you could get from the library was never updated. All 4 days had the same puzzle sheet. It wasn't a big deal to me but would have been for my super smart husband who can knock out some of the hardest puzzles in record speed.

 

The weather sheet found outside the dining room was never changed either.

 

The dining room was not open for lunch until the last sea day and then it was a brunch. I'm not sure if it was because most of the days were port days but this did disappoint me. I enjoy the service in the main dining rooms and honestly don't feel that the buffet is an adequate substitute.

 

Speaking of the buffet, I touched on it early but the space is small and not well lit. With exception of the first day there only seemed to be half the stations open at any given time. The other stations would have food (salad greens, desserts, ect) but signs that the station was closed. There also wasn't much in the way of variety beyond pub food, salad, and pizza.

 

The cabin floor hallways always seemed to be littered with cleaning supplies. I cannot recall a time that I walked down the hallway to my cabin without seeing a vacuum, bag of towels, or trash bags sitting in the hallway.

 

My cabin steward in general was rather invisible. I met him on the first day, tipped him, and then rarely saw him again. He seemed to have an assistant that I saw frequently that addressed any issues I had like the AC conking out or needing ice. My deck towels were never replaced even though they were very wet and the one bath towel I left on the floor to be replaced never was.

Edited by Shayhooper
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Shayhooper

Shayhooper

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Since I did a section about first world problems I should also write about what I felt Carnival did well. Again in no particular order.

 

There were photographers all over the place but they were always careful to ask if we wanted our picture taken. Previously it felt like I was bombarded by cameras snapping a picture before they would let you participate in an event.

 

Food in the dining room was pretty good. Granted I'm not very picky but I enjoyed it all and got to try some things like alligator and escargot which I never would have ordered if I had to pay for it.

 

Bar service on deck was amazing. The cocktail servers and in particular the bartenders were friendly, prompt, and attentive. The pours were generous (after being tipped) and I especially appreciated how they handed some of the more inebriated guests on what is considered a "booze cruise".

 

Since I am a mother I paid attention to how the kids were handled when the Camp Carnival staff were out and about with them. From what I saw the kids were all engaged, monitored closely, and happy.

Edited by Shayhooper
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