Cruising with Zay - Carnival Inspiration - a Back 2 Back Review

[TnomadX]

Hi all,

 

I would like to take a moment to review my experience on the Carnival Inspiration. I decided to book a back 2 back sailing from May 30 - June 6 because I found a really good deal. I was just needing some time to relax. I honestly had planned on sleeping the entire time I was on board because I had just been tired.

 

For the first 3-day sailing, I arrived to the port pretty early because my flight came in earlier than expected. When I arrived, I had a bit of a wait, and they don't allow you to check in early anymore. They began the check-in process about 10am. I had signed up for the faster to the fun so that I could board a little earlier. There happened to be two weddings that were happening on the ship, so boarding was a bit later than I had hoped. I wasn't able to get on the ship until about 12:30pm. Afterwards, things seemed to flow a bit more smoothly.

 

I went to my room and put my stuff away, and then went to grab something to eat (I purposely didn't eat before sailing because I wanted to wait until I got on the ship). The room was ready, and I got a chance to meet my room steward right away. He was such a nice guy, and I'm glad I got a chance to meet him as quickly as I did. I went to the buffet, and having sailed on the Inspiration before, I knew exactly what I wanted. The food was pretty good and met my expectations.

 

I decided to explore the ship a little bit more to see things I may have missed the last time. While exploring, I met some really wonderful people. We stopped and talked for a while before it was time for muster drill. the muster drill was a bit late because there were still people on board the ship that needed to debark before the ship to take off. This made sailing a bit late as well. The cruise director does the announcement for the muster drill, and he really tries to make it as painless as possible. No one really likes the muster drill because it can seem cramped and packed. The thing I really dislike about the muster drill is that not only do you meet in a particular location, but they also have to walk you up to where the lifeboats are as well. I've never done that before on any other sailing I've been on (if you have, let me know).

 

After muster drill, the party began. Everyone began to start to have fun. I honestly thought I was just going to stay in the room since I was alone this sailing, but there were too many people I met that just opened up their hearts to me and allowed me to hang with them.

 

My dining time was at 8:30 pm. I was seated at a table for 10, but no one showed up the first night. I was so disappointed. The wait staff really made up for that. They kept me entertained the entire time. I couldn't be sad at all because they kept coming and checking on me while making me laugh each time. They were so caring and compassionate, it was great.

 

I decided to go to the comedy show right after dinner. I wished I could remember the comedians names, but I can certainly tell you this. Comedians are hit and miss no matter where you go and see them. Before I get into that, I must tell you that I was sitting alone for a while. Then these beautiful women decided to come and join me. They were apart of the wedding party, and it was their first cruise. They were such sweet ladies, and I was very happy they joined me.

 

Now back to the comedians. The first comedian was great. He made me laugh quite a bit. He seemed to have original material that was really funny. The second comedian I didn't enjoy at all. I don't like it when a comedian decides to pick on someone out of the audience. It makes me feel that they have no material at all, and this guy only would pick on people from the audience or the staff. The ladies that joined me seemed to share my thoughts as well. In fact, we agreed that we wouldn't go back and see this comedian again because of how awful he was.

 

After the comedy show, I decided to call it a night and go back to my room and get some sleep. I thought it was a good day.

[TnomadX]

I woke up earlier than what I wanted to (7am). I decided to go up and have breakfast. When you decide to have breakfast, I would get my eggs at the egg station, which is on deck 10 (pook deck) just before you go into the buffet area. The eggs are much better there than the buffet. I would get an omelette made there, and then go to the buffet to get everything else. After breakfast, I hung around the ship for a while just to see if anything else was going on.

 

I looked outside and saw people gathering to go outside to get to Ensenada, so I decided to get off the ship and just walk to the downtown area (about a 5 minute walk). While I was walking into town, I was disappointed at how many of the families use their children (or even someone else's child) to try to get you to buy things. These kids are very push, and I became very irritated right away. Some will even pull your hand if you try to walk away. Be careful about that. There were women sitting on along the sidewalk holding babies trying to get sympathy as well. It was really an awful thing for me to see. I finally decided to walk back to the ship. I did buy a couple of hats on the way back, but that was it.

 

On my way back, I ran into some others from the ship who also decided to take the walk. They were very, very nice. They asked me about what was up ahead, and I explained what I saw warning them to be careful.

 

I got back on the ship and just relaxed for a bit until it was time to grab some lunch. I didn't have a big lunch today as I wasn't quite as hungry as I had been. After lunch, I ran into the beautiful women I had met the day before. We decided to hang out for a while and talk. We talked about what it was like in Ensenada and what we planned to do the rest of the night. They had invited me to dinner with them, and I planned to go with them. After I got back to my room, I fell asleep and didn't wake up until it was time for my dining time (they had my time dining at 7pm).

 

I decided to just go to dinner and call it a night since I was tired anyway. I had another couple to join me the second night. They were a very nice looking couple. I enjoyed sharing dinner with them, and the wait staff treated them like royalty as well. The wait staff on the ship is a great staff. It didn't appear that anyone was having a bad time on board with wait staff. They were all so easy to talk with and VERY funny.

 

I decided to call it a night after dinner and catch up on some missed sleep.

[SadieN]

Carnival musters at the lifeboat stations on the other ships. On the Fantasy class some of the lifeboat areas (the furthest aft station) cannot hold all the souls on that deck so the majority of it is in the lounges.

 

I prefer knowing where the lifeboat is.

[TnomadX]

Carnival musters at the lifeboat stations on the other ships. On the Fantasy class some of the lifeboat areas (the furthest aft station) cannot hold all the souls on that deck so the majority of it is in the lounges.

 

I prefer knowing where the lifeboat is.

 

I'd rather have the muster drills at the lifeboat stations the entire time than to have the muster drill one place, then go to another place. Thanks for your input.

[TnomadX]

Today I decided to take advantage of the Sea Day Brunch. The Sea Day brunch starts around 8:30 AM and goes until about 1pm. I was actually hoping to be seated with other people since I was alone, but I was seated alone this time around. My servers were great and attentive. I decided to have the Chicken Salad, scrambled eggs, and steak. They give you LOTS of bread choices, but I left the bread alone. Everything was great, except I was hoping for grilled chicken for the salad. The chicken was a breaded chicken which didn't seem to go well with the salad for me. Other than that, everything was pretty good.

 

After brunch, I decided to meet with the group of people I met earlier and just hang out for a little bit. We spent some time at the pool and watched the harry man competition. Let me just say that it was fun to watch. Women get to choose the men they want to come on stage and compete, and they really enjoyed this job...lol. I thought the guys chosen were great sports too. Thy really got into character and made it so much fun.

 

Shortly afterwards, I met up with the family that were part of the wedding party and hung with them for a while. We had lots of fun. We went to the Love & Marriage game show just to see what it would be like. It turned out that the newlywed couple was selected, and another couple from the wedding party was selected as well. This made the game very exciting for us. All the couples on stage were great sports, and answered the questions honestly. I won't give away the questions so you can enjoy it, but it was a LOT of fun. I think this was the best newlywed game I had ever seen.

 

While I'm talking about the newlywed game, let me stop a moment and talk about the Cruise Director who was also the host of the show. I've been on quite a few cruises, and this guy was one of the best cruise directors I've ever seen. His name is Jeff Bronson, and I LOVE how he interacts with the guests. He was visible throughout the ship, and was not annoying in any way. You can clearly see that he enjoys doing what he does. I love how he communicates with children. My hats are off to him. I'll talk more about him later.

 

We also went to Hasbro the gameshow later on that evening. This is such a fun show. If you have not participated, please go by and check it out. It's life sized games, and everyone gets a chance to compete in some way. Not everyone will get to go on stage, but everyone does get a chance to participate if they want to. Another person from the wedding party got a chance to be a part of the gameshow, and it was so much fun watching her. Please trust me....the game show really is a lot of fun. Go check it out.

 

I decided to go have dinner after the show. II got a chance to meet another family that joined us for the last evening. They were a very nice couple, and I'm glad they were able to join us. They were so much fun and a wonderful addition to the table. As dinner came to a close, the wait staff did a farewell performance that ended with a dance. What a wonderful way to end the evening.

[ccruisequeen]

I've sailed with Jeff Broonson a few times. I love his personality. I'm glad he's back on the west coast.

 

 

[deetrayn]

Hello? I was expecting another "Fun" cruising with Zay review. What happened? Where is the rest of the review? Lol

 

Dee