Disapointment

[JoKen1]

Got back last week from taking my girl scout troop on their first cruise. We just did the 4 night one on Inspiration to Mexico.

 

I've been on several other cruise lines and loved each one. This was my first time on Carnival Cruise Line.

 

This was by far the worst ship! The worst trip!

 

We got three cabins. Each one had the worst smell of sewage in the bathrooms. So bad that it made you sick to go in there!

 

Our rooms were all mixed up with how many people in each room. They didn't have the beds made out right in some, in others we had extra beds taking all the room and in another one we didn't have an extra bed at all.

 

But, rather then complain, we made due and moved the people around to fit the rooms.

 

The food was so bad we couldn't decide where to eat. Not because we were trying to pick the best food but rather the least of the worst.

 

Other then the hamburgers, pizza and nachos we didn't enjoy anything they had to offer. So we ended up eating only a side dish and then getting a sandwich through room service.

 

Hated how the MDR served family style. There were 8 of us but we still had three women at our table with us. They felt the same was about the food. One night they had a side of mushrooms, one night several plates of tomatoes and cheese and one night only bread.

 

We weren't much better. Eating soup and dessert.

 

The entertainment on board wasn't great but it was entertaining and gave us something to do at night. However, they had only two shows and then they showed them over and over.

 

So we were left to listen to music or swim. Both got old before the trip was over.

 

The adults did not drink as we were with girl scouts and it's not allowed. Perhaps that is what one needs to do on this ship to make it fun???

 

While we were not really even looking forward to getting off the ship as it was only going to Catalina which is 26 miles from where we live and we have been there many times and to Ensenada which I heart was a dump.

 

However, both stops ended up being the highlight of our trip. The girls went snorkeling and then we went shopping in Catalina and had some yummy ice cream.

 

In Ensenada we had a blast! We didn't book an excursion on the ship as nothing sounded like it was worth the money. However, we did take a city tour and had the best tour guide, Jesus.

 

He took us to where the rich politicians lived and we had a lovely view of the whole city and our ship from up on the hill. He also taught us a lot of the Mexican customs, history and celebrations. We made a stop at an old casino that is now a location for celebrations.

 

When we got back we enjoyed a free buffet lunch that was included with the price of our tour. Then we headed off on foot to shops and thanks to Jesus we knew the streets to stay off of.

 

Everyone in Mexico was super nice and many joked around with us. We got wonderful deals and everyone came home with treasures.

 

The sea day on the ship turned out to be a very long day as there wasn't much to do. We had already done everything offered. But the girls wanted to go swimming once it got dark out. So I took them. The other adults ended up going to the Casino. One lost money but my sister ended up winning several hundreds of dollars. That of course made the trip a bit better.

 

The ship is old and needs to be updated. Several lights were burned out in the lounges, the sound system in some of the locations were so bad you couldn't even understand what was being said. Bingo cost $20 for ONE game!!!

 

Now I can only assume that other Carnival ships are better but to be honest, I'm not sure if I want to risk my money to try out an other ships. I already know I love the cruise lines so I'm thinking it's best to stick with tried and true ships that I know are nicer.

 

I was really hoping to love Carnival and went on this trip with an open mind.

 

Even most of the staff wasn't that friendly. Not mean or bad but not very friendly like other lines where they know your name after the first night and bend over backwards to make you happy. Many didn't smile, say thank you, your welcome or anything.

 

We went to a tea and I don't like tea so I asked for a glass of ice water. Well the way the guy acted was like I asked for a glass of gold. He rolled his eyes, made such a big deal that he had to go get it from the back. Then he took so long that we were all done with the food and everyone finished their tea.

 

I could go on and on but why? I think you get the idea. It wasn't up to par.

 

However, we still had lots of laughs and made the best of what we had to deal with.

 

It was the first cruise that I and the other adults was happy to see end. That's pretty sad.

[bobsfamily]

4 night cruises can be more booze orientated.

Sorry for the bad time.

Edited August 26, 2014 by bobsfamily

[champagne123]

Isn't the Inspiration 4 day notorious for being the "Booze Cruise?" Not a cruise I would have taken a bunch of little girls on.

[Rosefloater]

Wow. Our last cruise on the Inspiration in May was exactly the opposite. The crew was very friendly towards us the whole cruise.

 

We usually find the beds set up in the incorrect configuration and always ask the room steward to fix them. They beds are done correctly by the time we are ready for bed.

 

I would have complained about the sewage smell to either the room steward or to Guest Services.

 

The weekend cruises are supposed to be the booze cruises.

[sjn911]

I am so sorry..I remember your cute planning posts..sometimes things are just a flop..hope Carnival listens..the 4 day should be a good one..vs the 3 day there,,,,glad you made lemonade out of the lemons...Sarah

 

Years ago I had a good one on the Paradise...same 4 day...I think they are still getting the quirks out of the new dining menu and methods.

Edited August 26, 2014 by sjn911

[winddawn]

Did any of the girls try Camp Ocean?

[qsuzi]

Our last cruise was on the Inspiration and it was the worst cruise we have experienced in more than 30 cruises. I encourage you to try Carnival again because your next experience will be better.

[Tapi]

Short, cheap, 4 night cruises on older, smaller ships are not truly representative of the best that any cruise line has to offer, whether its Carnival, Royal, Princess, or any other. In addition, Carnival is a budget-minded cruise line. You can't go expecting Holland America, or even Royal Caribbean. You can have a great time on Carnival (we have, many times), but you need to go with REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS. That's why I cringe any time that someone recommends one of the older Fantasy class ships to a first timer as if they're about to sail on the Queen Mary 2 in a Queens Grill Suite! These recommendations set up the first timer for failure. :(

 

About the cabin beds not set up properly, some wear and tear throughout the ship, the quality of the food, the amateur entertainment, and even the whiff of sewage smell, these are all common complaints, but some people can easily overlook them, while others can't. If you are more discerning, and find it harder to overlook when things are less than perfect, Carnival may not be for you.

Edited August 26, 2014 by Tapi

[RuthlessBoss]

Could it be these were spoiled girls? Really, the food was that bad? They didn't like hamburgers or pizza or ice cream? I'm wondering if the activities were too structured trying to keep the group together. I can't grasp how they had a bad time.

[sprint180]

This isn't a diss but I can't imagine girl scouts going on a cruise. Boy times have changed. My daughter was in girl scouts and we took them to a park for a picnic. She would have definitely migrated to your group.

[riffatsea]

I wonder what badge the girls were working on during the cruise?? Otherwise if not .then I don't see the purpose of the trip?? I agree that 4night cruises are usually the "boozy" ones. It is hard to believe that there was no food the girls would eat.

 

Sorry it didn't work out. Maybe a camping trip would be better next time.

[tnf]

Which ship did you sail on?

Imagination or the inspiration?

At the beginning of your post you say the inspiration but on your cruise list you have the imagination

[crazyfrazee]

"The adults did not drink as we were with girl scouts and it's not allowed"

 

Sounds like you should have ordered a few stiff drinks when nobody was looking. :D

 

I have had a couple bad things happen on a cruise but not as much as this.

 

"Other then the hamburgers, pizza and nachos we didn't enjoy anything they had to offer. So we ended up eating only a side dish and then getting a sandwich through room service.

 

Hated how the MDR served family style. There were 8 of us but we still had three women at our table with us. They felt the same was about the food. One night they had a side of mushrooms, one night several plates of tomatoes and cheese and one night only bread.

 

We weren't much better. Eating soup and dessert."

 

Sounds like you and the girls must have lost a lot of weight with all the food being bad. Did you complain at GS or just on here? I bet the girls had a blast as long as they didn't hear the adults sitting around complaining the whole trip.

[losijon]

Weird. I sailed on the inspiration last September with my wife and found the ship to be VERY clean and the staff very friendly and never lacked for anything to do, especially on a short four day cruise. We also found the food to be pretty darn good. My wife is one of those that if it isn't good she won't even eat one more bite of something and I believe she only threw two things out the entire trip. Sorry you had such a bad time. But we had a blast.

 

 

.....................................................

Carnival Pride 7 day Mexican Riviera: September 2008

 

Carnival Inspiration 4 day Mexican Riviera: September 2013

 

Carnival Miracle 15 day Hawaii: coming October 2015

[Cruise-Crazy]

Wow! Out of the 37 cruises on Carnival I have never experienced anything even close to that.

[ShakyBeef]

Could it be these were spoiled girls? Really, the food was that bad? They didn't like hamburgers or pizza or ice cream? I'm wondering if the activities were too structured trying to keep the group together. I can't grasp how they had a bad time.

 

Having different tastes (sometimes more discerning tastebuds) doesn't make one spoiled. Some of the food on Carnival (and some on each cruise line I've been on) is genuinely bad. It's all a matter of personal tastes, which comes down to opinion. But why you would think this makes the girls spoiled escapes me.

 

ETA: Read the OP a little closer - the specific foods you mentioned as not being liked by the girls are the ones she said they did enjoy.;)

 

I wonder what badge the girls were working on during the cruise?? Otherwise if not .then I don't see the purpose of the trip?? I agree that 4night cruises are usually the "boozy" ones. It is hard to believe that there was no food the girls would eat.

 

Sorry it didn't work out. Maybe a camping trip would be better next time.

 

I was in Brownies in the 1980's. We took a trip to King's Dominion and rode roller coasters all day. I don't think we were working on a badge. Just having fun together. I still have fond memories of that particular trip to an amusement park I had been to before and many times since. Not everything Girl Scouts do have to be about badges.:rolleyes:

Edited August 26, 2014 by ShakyBeef

[Grannycb]

The Inspiration was our first and almost last Carnival cruise. I hated it and couldn't wait for the cruise to end. Thankfully, we tried Pride and had a great cruise. Next was Legend and it too was great. Don't judge Carnival by this one experience. I'm looking forward to more great cruises on different Carnival ships.

 

I wondered what the girls thought of the cruise. Did they concentrate on the positives or negatives?8

[ShakyBeef]

OP,

 

Thanks for taking the time to give this very balanced and honest review. I'm sorry your well-planned trip didn't turn out as well as you had hoped. I'm glad to hear you and your girls were still able to find fun and joy amid so much disappointment. Hopefully, as you all look back on the cruise in the future, the good memories will outshine the bad.:)

[ShakyBeef]

Although I agree with what many that a short ("booze") cruise on an older ship is not representative of the best that Carnival can be; shouldn't Carnival (or any company) do the best to present themselves with each of their products? They only have one chance to make a first impression and many people will sail for the first time on one of their older ships, on a shorter (cheaper) cruise in order to 'test the waters' of cruising. I'm sure they lose a lot of potential repeat cruisers because of this particular aspect of their business model.

[BarJen]

That's a shame you had such a bad experience, looking through some of your questions/posts in regard to this cruise I'm not convinced that you didn't have your mind made up about Carnival before hand.

I have never experience "family style" dining on Carnival, did you end up in the crew dining area by mistake?

 

Barry

 

 

Hope your future cruises are much better.

[PAPERBKWRITER]

The only legitimate complaint I see is the sewage smell. We had that for 1 day on Miracle once and it was awful but that happens on cruise ships. The beds? That's what the cabin steward is for. The rest; IMO you were just po about the smell and made sure nothing else was good enough. I'm sure price was a big consideration for choosing Carnival. Sorry you were disappointed.

[carsastic]

it is a bummer when things don't work the way you plan or when it doesn't meet your expectation, let alone a epic fail.

my wife took our daughter and the girl scout on a 4 day Bahamas cruise years ago. they worked hard doing the fundraising, planning and it turned into a legendary failure ( I don't remember the cruise line) .

but on the brighter side, they still talk about it and today laugh about how bad it was...

[jlindemer]

That's a shame you had such a bad experience, looking through some of your questions/posts in regard to this cruise I'm not convinced that you didn't have your mind made up about Carnival before hand.

I have never experience "family style" dining on Carnival, did you end up in the crew dining area by mistake?

 

Barry

 

 

Hope your future cruises are much better.

 

Maybe this ship has the new menus? I know some ships have converted to family style dining.

[jeepguyyyc]

My hubby and I sailed on the Inspiration last Oct. It was my first cruise in 25 years and his first. Reading the Op's review we must have been on a different ship. I read all the reviews of a 4 day sailing and went in with a open mind. We had a blast. So much so we did the same cruise in Feb on the Imagination and might plan another cruise on either ship this Feb. Yes the ship is not brand new. No she doesn't have a roller rink, skydiving, and the like. She is still a good ship. She does offer a great travel value.

 

Its like Vegas. The Mirage and Treasure Island were once the biggest, flashiest and had the most to offer. Now the Wynn and Encore are one of the newest and nicest on the block. Its all a matter of perspective. We never had poor service in the rooms, the dining room or anywhere else on the ship. The crew did their best to make our vacation great.

[riffatsea]

I think there is a difference between a day at an amusement park and a 4 day cruise! One is just a fun activity but a 4 day cruise sounds like it could have been part of a planned experience and not just a bunch of girls hanging out for 4 days. I was also a Brownie and a Girl Scout and can't imagine my leaders just planning an outing like that without including some thought to activities. I suppose it is just a case of "different strokes".