4 Day Baja Mexico *Inspiration* Review & Pics

[ch27088]

Hey lady - found your review and can't wait to read it!

[ch27088]

Autumn this was our first cruise (the Mexican Rivera), and although it was nice, I would never do it again. My hubby is legally blind in one eye and stumbled in the open air market. I quickly forgot that we were not in the US as no one came to help us, and only wanted to know how much we would pay for the broken item. Thank goodness there was an another American who just happened to be around and spoke Spanish. He helped us resolve the issue...we paid the vendor $40 for the broken item (not even worth $40), and we were on our way. The guy told us they were ready to call the cops on us if we were going to walk away. So scary in Mexico!!!

[AutumnBM]

Great review Autumn!

 

Really enjoyed the pics too.

Have you more to come? I hope there's a bit more. I would like to see any pics you have of the restaurants/bars maybe. Any on board tips?

 

We are doing this cruise in 7 weeks time! Our first US cruise.

We have been to Catalina several times before and love it. We have done the bus tour of the Island and also hired bikes and explored ourselves but our favorite was the glass bottom boat. Fantastic underwater views of the kelp and fish.

 

We are reasonably nervous of Ensenada, having heard some awful stories so I found your review interesting.

Thanks again for posting.

Jo :)

 

 

I do have more to come!! And I will include some ship pictures soon! I hope you have a fantastic time - just be careful in Ensenada.

 

Hmm. Gimme some time on the on board tips. I'll think of some I'm sure!

[AutumnBM]

Autumn this was our first cruise (the Mexican Rivera), and although it was nice, I would never do it again. My hubby is legally blind in one eye and stumbled in the open air market. I quickly forgot that we were not in the US as no one came to help us, and only wanted to know how much we would pay for the broken item. Thank goodness there was an another American who just happened to be around and spoke Spanish. He helped us resolve the issue...we paid the vendor $40 for the broken item (not even worth $40), and we were on our way. The guy told us they were ready to call the cops on us if we were going to walk away. So scary in Mexico!!!

 

 

Lord girl that is scary. That's terrible but sad to say - sounds pretty typical :( At least they took the $40 (!!) and left you alone.

[welldone60]

Thanks for the post.

But Oh Dear!...... that wine tasting sure sounds good to me but DH doesn't drink alcohol at all.....so not much fun for him! :(

 

Jo :)

 

He might enjoy it, they take you to two winery's. One, they give you samples of bread cheese and pizza. This one also has a small store and they have lot's and I mean lot's of different jam's and jelly's that you can sample.

The other winery is a large commercial one and they give you a tour of the plant and wine making process.

By the way, DW does not drink wine and she enjoyed the tour.

 

OP, really like your review even though we have done this cruise way to many times....lol.

Edited May 7, 2014 by welldone60

[AutumnBM]

Ok. I'll pick up with Ensenada evening & our sea day!

 

^^Getting back on the ship

 

^^Went to Serenity to relax. This is how I relax.

 

^^And when Jordan's not reading, this is how HE relaxes! Yes, he was OUT!!!

 

 

^^Before dinner, I love staircase pictures!

 

^^S'mores parfait from the new dessert menu - not bad at first bite but after about 3 I was no longer interested. The "marshmallow" was soooo not marshmallow! Luckily, this was not my main dessert. I finally caved and ordered my 1st melting cake of the cruise but Jordan ordered this for me to try **this was the night the wait staff completely forgot his melting cake so he was stuck with this

 

 

That night we went to the main lounge for 70s/80s music trivia (I am a child born in the wrong generation. I am a music expert from those decades, being born in '87 just doesn't make sense for me) & the Hasbro game show (new, but also pretty cool!) and eventually my favorite - the Love & Marriage show. After that it was definitely -way past- my bedtime!! 10:30 is late on Pacific time lol That's 12:30 my normal time...eesh.

[AutumnBM]

Our last sea day was very nice. I am so thankful for the awesome weather we had on this cruise...it truly did my body good!!

 

Except...

 

I got sunburned on our sea day. Normally I tan religiously before any vacation so I WON'T burn *healthy, yes lol* but this year I'm swearing off the tanning & wearing sunscreen. I wore it the previous days & avoided burning...for some odd reason I skipped the sunscreen this day & ended up with an awkward spot on my forehead and cherry red shoulders.

 

Before the burn though the day was awesome! We played 2 rounds of mini golf and wondered around the ship. I ordered myself a Miami Vice and we managed to see some dolphins (Jordan thought they were whales but I find that hard to believe) and we just relaxed. After the burn, we sat inside the cabin watching "The Hunger Games : Catching Fire" while I put cold rags on my shoulders, trying to take the heat out of the burn. It was a real party.

 

 

^^This dude. He beat me the first time but I won the 2nd...and I suck at mini golf!

 

^^I want one NOW!

 

^^You can kinda see the redness forming on my shoulders already. Sunscreen people! It is COOL to wear it!!

 

^^Ehhhh you can't really tell but these were the dolphins/whales we saw! I took some videos too (posted on my Facebook but unable to do so here) and the videos are actually better but I tried!

 

^^Another

 

^^That night's dessert (normally have more food porn than this but did not take much on this cruise, mostly if I ate something that is a new option) - white chocolate banana bread pudding with coconut sorbet. I liked this! Didn't taste like white chocolate but banana bread is always good! And I would honestly eat the coconut sorbet on it's own!

 

That night we saw more comedy but called it another early night since we had to leave the next morning.

 

 

STILL not my last post! I will be back tomorrow to post some ship photos & some miscellaneous pics and some general info. Thank you to anyone who read this! I hope you enjoyed it. Gotta get ready for the Blackhawks game though so I'm callin' it quits for now!!!

[AutumnBM]

He might enjoy it, they take you to two winery's. One, they give you samples of bread cheese and pizza. This one also has a small store and they have lot's and I mean lot's of different jam's and jelly's that you can sample.

The other winery is a large commercial one and they give you a tour of the plant and wine making process.

By the way, DW does not drink wine and she enjoyed the tour.

 

OP, really like your review even though we have done this cruise way to many times....lol.

 

Thank you! I'm glad you like it!

[pepsigirl64]

:D Thanks for the story, I wish I saw it before I posted a question asking the difference between the Imagination and Inspiration. So far you have answered my questions, do you have a picture of the lido area?? Or can you tell me if it is full of purple sea urchins climbing the columns and ceiling??

 

Come back to California anytime!!!

[Rosefloater]

We are reasonably nervous of Ensenada, having heard some awful stories so I found your review interesting.

Thanks again for posting.

Jo :)

 

Check out the Mexican Riviera board. No problems in the tourist zone. Just be careful if you walk on other streets besides Mateos Lopez (main tourist street). There are open utilities boxes in the sidewalks.

 

The tourist area is safe. There are police (uniformed walking, driving and undercover) and surveillance cameras.

 

OP - I call the vendor area before the Bufadora "running the gauntlet". It is the worst part of going to the Bufadora.

[Rosefloater]

:D Thanks for the story, I wish I saw it before I posted a question asking the difference between the Imagination and Inspiration. So far you have answered my questions, do you have a picture of the lido area?? Or can you tell me if it is full of purple sea urchins climbing the columns and ceiling??

 

Come back to California anytime!!!

 

Yes, the buffet area has the purple tubes on the walls and ceiling.

 

The Inspiration still had the old, thick crust pizza. Not the new thin crust. Pizza crust was underdone. Needed a few more minutes in the oven.

[pepsigirl64]

Autumn this was our first cruise (the Mexican Rivera), and although it was nice, I would never do it again. My hubby is legally blind in one eye and stumbled in the open air market. I quickly forgot that we were not in the US as no one came to help us, and only wanted to know how much we would pay for the broken item. Thank goodness there was an another American who just happened to be around and spoke Spanish. He helped us resolve the issue...we paid the vendor $40 for the broken item (not even worth $40), and we were on our way. The guy told us they were ready to call the cops on us if we were going to walk away. So scary in Mexico!!!

 

I have to disagree with the statement "the Mexican Riviera". I have been on 8 "Mexican Riviera" cruises and none of them included Ensenada as a port of call. The Riviera is south and includes places like Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta and Acapulco. These ports are very tourist friendly and have beautiful beaches. So, give a try to a "Mexican Riviera" cruise, you will see a difference in "Mexico".

[AutumnBM]

:D Thanks for the story, I wish I saw it before I posted a question asking the difference between the Imagination and Inspiration. So far you have answered my questions, do you have a picture of the lido area?? Or can you tell me if it is full of purple sea urchins climbing the columns and ceiling??

 

Come back to California anytime!!!

 

 

I absolutely will!! :D

[AutumnBM]

Just some ship pictures & last minute thoughts ::

Someone asked for pictures of some of the bars...

 

 

^^Main atrium bar area

 

^^Bar on deck 9, promenade

 

^^Comedy club bar

 

^^The actual comedy club

 

^^The bar directly above the Carnivale dining room

 

^^Not a bar but the pool area!

[AutumnBM]

^^Main lounge

 

^^Casino 1

 

^^Casino 2

 

^^Promenade

 

^^Sample menu pic

 

^^Dessert menu

 

 

Some notes -

 

1) Wear sunscreen. No really, it's hot out there. Be smart.

2) The Punchliner brunch was held during the sea day and this is now the 2nd brunch we've done and they both have been gross. The food is horrible.

3) I keep stressing how bad the new menu is - it is. However, something worth noting is that the options "for the table" can be ordered in smaller portions just for you. Calimari was good! Flatbread was decent.

4) This ship sways back and forth like crazy! Luckily, neither of us get sea sick but I think it could be a possibility with some.

5) You can get a hair dryer from your steward (says the girl who has nearly no hair anymore)

 

 

Hmm. I'm pretty pitiful but that's all I got. If you have anymore questions or pic requests just ask!!

[BlancaNoir]

Thanks for your review!

 

Just want to say . . . try catalina island agian sometime when you are not on a cruise ship. It''s a wonderful place to spend a weekend. Plenty to do! Tours of the island and the wildlife, submarine boat tours, that awesome mini golf, movies at the casino, beach, restaurants. One of my favorite places!

 

Also, for those going to ensendada, try going inland a bit. Ensenada is NOT Cancun, for sure! :) But I took a quick cruise out of San Diego and while in Ensendada I did a wine and olive oil tasting excursion and it was great!!! You just have to get past the sleazy part and there are lots of opportunities!

[Shmoo here]

:D Thanks for the story, I wish I saw it before I posted a question asking the difference between the Imagination and Inspiration. So far you have answered my questions, do you have a picture of the lido area?? Or can you tell me if it is full of purple sea urchins climbing the columns and ceiling??

 

Come back to California anytime!!!

 

Yes, the buffet area has the purple tubes on the walls and ceiling.

 

The Inspiration still had the old, thick crust pizza. Not the new thin crust. Pizza crust was underdone. Needed a few more minutes in the oven.

 

I have a picture of the lights in the buffet:

 

[pepsigirl64]

I have a picture of the lights in the buffet:

 

 

Are those on the Imagination also??? :eek:

[Shmoo here]

Are those on the Imagination also??? :eek:

 

No, the Imagination buffet has a different theme. I think it's some sort of "under the sea" - lots of blues and aquas.

 

I found this with a google search:

 

[Shmoo here]

nevermind

Edited May 8, 2014 by Shmoo here

[LandlockedCruiser01]

I have a picture of the lights in the buffet:

If you've ever seen the Blue Man Group perform live in a theater, the decor in their lobby looks just like this. Pipes all over the walls and ceiling. (It has to be their land-based theaters, not on Norwegian Epic.) I wonder if Inspiration's purple piping and industrial-looking lights were, um..., inspired by the Blue Man Group decor.

Edited May 8, 2014 by LandlockedCruiser01

[SoCalKJ]

I have to disagree with the statement "the Mexican Riviera". I have been on 8 "Mexican Riviera" cruises and none of them included Ensenada as a port of call. The Riviera is south and includes places like Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta and Acapulco. These ports are very tourist friendly and have beautiful beaches. So, give a try to a "Mexican Riviera" cruise, you will see a difference in "Mexico".

 

Mexican Riviera trips I've been on included those ports and also Ixtapa/Zihautanejo and Manzanillo. Amazing ports...even though more than half of 'em aren't even offered anymore. :(

 

On the other hand, I've gone to Ensenada 7 times on different weekend getaways (hey...when that's all the time you've got and you live an hour and a half from the port, it's mejor que nada!)...there are actually quite a few nifty things to do....not all offered through Carnival, but if you love outdoor activities, the zipline/canopy tour is AWESOME!, there's horseback riding...heck...even DH and I went SNUBA (snorkel/scuba) diving last September...all decked out in silly wetsuits!

 

I know the OP didn't exactly say she DIDN'T like Ensenada...most of her points are spot on. Those children SHOULD be in school...and EVERYONE knows it, the vendors are ruthless (they will say insulting crap like, "Champagne taste on a beer budget" when you're trying to avoid being overcharged for junk you don't even want), and the roads/vegetation is unsightly....so her points are absolutely valid...but it is a fun little town, too!

 

OP: if you ever come back with your DH, the BEST tacos there at the market are found at the very first taco stand (if you're walking towards the blowhole) on the right: the shrimp tacos are hellamazing! Best tacos hands down ANYWHERE. Your tablemates were just punishing themselves by ordering tacos onboard. WTH?! LOL!

 

Glad you had a good trip. :)