Just got home from Inspiration cruise from Tampa to Ft Lauderdale

[MILEMRKR63]

Just came home today after having a terrific cruise on the Inspiration. The cruise departed from Tampa on Thursday (8/25) and the ship returned to Ft Lauderdale yesterday(8/29). The ship had to make a change to Ft Lauderdale because they would not sail through the gulf with Katrina around. Smart move since we had 28 ft swells Sunday morning as the Inspiration very quickly got out the gulf and headed towards Ft Lauderdale. The ship was rocking and a rolling until around noon when then sky opened up and it became hotter then blazes with the sunshine plentiful with pretty smoothe seas. Now being that we disembarked in Ft Lauderdale, bus transportation was provided for all passengers to Tampa and ship allowed calls from cabins to make alternate flight arrangements. My friends and I were unable to get through to the airlines until we docked on Monday so we changed our flight time in Tampa and hopped on the busses for the 6 hour ride (yes 6 hours) In a nutshell, the busses were not bad but we did miss our rescheduled flight and when we did arrive at the Tampa airport, we rescheduled yet another later flight that was eventually cancelled due to weather. We were put up at the Wyndham (compliments of AirTran) in Tampa and got out today on a flight home to philly.

 

I have to really commend Carnival and the staff on how they handled this change for the passengers. We had recieved notice in our cabins on Friday night that due to the hurricane, the ship might not be returning to Tampa and that guests that needed to leave the ship in Cozumel to return home because of the potential of the cruise being extended do so. Then on Saturday night, we recieved another letter stating that the sailing home may be delayed into Tampa due to the storm. Sunday morning we recieved another letter staing that the homeport was changed and that they would keep us updated on the arrival time. Throughout the day, the CD Becky would come over the PA and let us know what was going on. I will say this again, Carnival did all it could to keep up updated and they could not have done more to keep the passengers happy during this situation. Yes the bus ride wasn't the best way to get to the airport but hell, at least I had a home to come to unlike so many passengers on the ship from Biluxi and NOLA we met. So sad but really puts things into perspective..

 

Now more about my experience.

 

Tampa embarkation crew ROCKED. Never had my cruise check-in be so efficient. We arrived literally at the pier at noon and by 1215 I was eating. Very efficient staff and more importantly, very friendly staff. Got my Platinum S/S card and wherever I used it, the staff would make quite a big deal about it. I truly believe drink service was so much better and the service my friends and I got was top notch was due to the card color. I would walk up to the bar and wait in line and they would call me to the side to wait on me. I also tipped well so that could also explain alot of it. I know many won't believe this but after my 19 cruises on Carnival. I have never had such attention.

 

The ship was in great condition. Always being cleaned, very polite staff and very strong cocktails. Our outside cabins were well maintained and the beds were very comfy. Weather was very good and man o man did I get a serious tan.

 

The fellow passengers were possible some of the nicest and well versed in the art of drinking I have ever seen. There were people drinking every hour of the day and the disco was open past 3 every night including the last night. I was amazed the ammt of alcohol I saw being consumed. I had my share myself. The band in the Avante-Garde lounge was incredible. They played everthing and played it well. They departed the ship on Monday and will be back in December they said.

 

Must also say that AIRTRAN was very nice and did all they could to get our flights changed without any fees. As I stated eralier, they gave us 3 rooms at the Wyndham due to flights being cancelled. Excellent job by AIRTRAN.

 

OK I am starting to get wordy so I just wanted to share my excellent experience on the Insiration. I would sailr her again in a heartbeat.

 

Any questions, fire away.

 

Don

[michgirl]

I just returned from the Inspiration 8/25-8/29 and I totally agree with you Don. The crew was awesome and did everything they could to keep us comfortable and up to date with the hurricane.

 

Personally, I was praying for that extra day at sea, but being that this is a business for Carnival, I do understand going to the alternate port.:D The bus wasn't the best way to travel, but they made every attempt to get us back and taken care of.

 

This was our 1st cruise and we had a FANTASTIC TIME! I was a little worried about the boat from some previous reviews that I had read, but kept an open mind. The boat was fabulous, very clean, the crew members were always helpful and smiling. This was clearly the best vacation I've ever had.

 

Embarkation in Tampa was as you stated, a breeze! No lines for anything, dropped off the luggage at the curb and walked right thru all check points and onto the boat by 1230. We went to our room to drop off our carry-on bag at 1pm, even though they said to wait till 1:30 for the cabins to be ready. Our cabin was all ready and much bigger than I had thought it would be. It was very comfortable, the bed was also very comfortable.....for what little time we spent in our room!

 

We ended up walking around the boat alot and took in many of the activities. We were not disappointed with anything. Many of the games were hillarious (IE: the newlywed/not so newlywed game, Carnival fear factor, trivia etc) The comedian Hank McGauley was absolutely fabulous, I haven't laughed that hard in a while!! Both of the Vegas style shows were fantastic. I totally agree the rock & roll band was great, one of the best I've heard. Spent a little time in the casino. While were not big gamblers, I enjoyed playing Roulette and black jack. Came out relatively even for all my casino time.

 

I enjoyed every day of this cruise as well as all the crew members I came into contact with. Big Tex rocks!, Darcy (CD) was awesome and so friendly.

 

The only thing I could think of that wasn't "perfect" with our cruise was the occasional sewage smell in our room. It came and went at times and was not over-powering. I won't put the boat down though because ya know.......lots of people......and its a boat....its got to go somewhere! I'm sure that it is like this on any boat at some point, goes with cruising. Honestly, it was very tolerable and we did not smell it all the time.

 

I would definately cruise on this boat again! Next week if I had the $$ and the time! (I wish!) We are looking forward to booking our next cruise soon. A land based vacation will never compare to a cruise.

 

A new cruisin fan!

Deanna

[MidtheNight]

We'll be sailin' on her October 1st so it's nice to hear some info about the ship. Sounds like you guys had fun and that's what matters. Can't wait to see if my check in goes that fast! Don't think we've ever had a check in go that fast. :)

[pungo3]

Don & Deanna, glad you had great times on the Inspiration. I applaud your attitude about the change in port. I can't imagine the nightmare of coordinating that many passengers and getting them back to Tampa! Just to let you know, I sailed the Inspiration back in May and I can tell you, I got terrific service as well. It was my first experience on an older, smaller ship. That crew is so proud of their ship and it shows. It was the best service I've had on any ship! I've got to plan another cruise on the Inspiration soon. I also experienced the fastest embarkation ever. Arrived at pier, had valet parking, and was on the ship in about 10 minutes. It was the BEST!

 

Thank you to both of you for posting. It's great to hear happy cruisers!!

[SUNNY D]

Thanks for posting your reviews. We are going on Inspiration Oct 10th. I was glad to read that the club was open till 3am. I have read some other reviews that said they turned on the lights at 1am and closed things down. We are going with another couple and definitely want to take advantage of the night life while we are without the kids! :)

 

 

 

Dawn

[Carny]

Was on the 8/25 Inspiration cruise,agree with OP. Ship in good shape,crew great. Third trip on this ship. No body seemed to complain about the change to Port Everglades. The bus trip! They could have split up the amount of buses, stopping at one place,there was 10 to 15 buses at one exit stop.

[jimvern1966]

We'll be sailin' on her October 1st so it's nice to hear some info about the ship. Sounds like you guys had fun and that's what matters. Can't wait to see if my check in goes that fast! Don't think we've ever had a check in go that fast. :)

 

 

We will also be on that sailing. Just got our Doc's yesterday and I'm still dancing!!!!!! Only 30 to go and I'm starting to drive my husband and co-workers crazy.... oh well I know I have OCD about cruising. Still haven't slipped and told the kids, it's a surprise. We aren't telling them until we get to the peir. How much is the Valet Parking???? Anyone know? I think it would be easier with the kids with us (6&8). Thanks

[SROYCE]

:) I'm glad to hear that you had a great cruise. We are sailing on the Inspiration Oct. 15. I am glad to hear that everything on the ship was great. This will be my first time on the Inspiration. If you have the capers and could email them to me I would greatly appreciate it.:D

 

sroyce1@yahoo.com

 

Thanks,

 

Sue

[MidtheNight]

We will also be on that sailing. Just got our Doc's yesterday and I'm still dancing!!!!!! Only 30 to go and I'm starting to drive my husband and co-workers crazy.... oh well I know I have OCD about cruising. Still haven't slipped and told the kids, it's a surprise. We aren't telling them until we get to the peir. How much is the Valet Parking???? Anyone know? I think it would be easier with the kids with us (6&8). Thanks

 

You sneaky little devil...hmmm, sounds like something we did on a trip up north to let the kids see snow (my oldest was 1 when we moved from Chicago to Florida)...just somehow showed up at the airport with a suitcase and they didn't have a clue at all. Hope you can pull it off because the look on their face is worth the pain of keeping it a secret! I still remember that look and I still marvel at how the little things (seeing snow) mean so much. They'll remember this trip forever.

 

Not sure about valet parking but the self park at the port garage is $12/day.

[pungo3]

I believe valet parking was only $10 more. It was well worth it to me even though the parking garage is only across the street from the terminal. That way, I never even touched my luggage. The stevedores were there to unload my luggage, the valet took my payment for parking, gave me a receipt and off I went. When you return, you walk up to their return booth (turn left when you exit the terminal), hand them your ticket, they radio for your car, and it's brought to the bottom of the parking garage, directly across the street from the pier. They said they weren't allowed to bring it to the doors of the terminal because that's where the new passengers are unloading. The process was extremely quick. To me, it was worth every penny.

[CruiseFever]

With your great attitude I am sure you'll have many more ships come your way that you would sail "again in a heartbeat"

 

Thanks for sharing the story of your unique sailing

[seashell36]

Glad that you all had a great time! DH & I will be on the Inspiration on 10-10, first cruise. I am already driving DH nuts. I have a couple of questions. Did you all do excursions booked through the ship or self book? Also, what, if any, did you take for motion sickness? TIA! I can't wait for our turn :D

[michgirl]

I actually booked our excursions on-line thru Carnival. I explored a couple different sites and found the ones I wanted to only be $10 cheaper than the Carnival price. I know they can be cheaper other places, but being a 1st time cruiser, felt more comfortable sticking with Carnival. I'm actually glad I booked ahead, our 1st excursion sold out very quickly. We picked 2 excursions:

 

1st one: the ATV beach adventure. It was a great time, we met our excursion at the end of the pier and they took us to vans for the drive across the island to where the ATV's/trails were. I think the drive was about 25 min. After a short info/safety briefing we were on our way. We drove for about 1 1/2 hrs on the ATV's, stopping once at a small Mayan ruin, then continued back to the beach for some play & snorkle time. The trail is basically along the water (not directly on the beach), and in a lot of places was very rocky. Those with bad backs or necks may want to think twice, it got a little rough in a few spots, you just had to go slow. The guide said the trail was much rockier from the last hurricane. All & all, we had a blast.

 

2nd excursion: was supposed to be the Mayan sunset catamaran cruise, but it was cancelled due to rough seas. The outskirt winds from Katrina made the water very rough by evening in Cozumel. Carnival refunded our $$ right away on our account.

 

Ref sea sickness, I took seabands and dramamine with us. We both took a dramine before bed when we left Cozumel "just in case". The winds were very strong and we had I think 20 ft swells about 45 min out of Cozumel until we got to the northeast area of Cuba. Things calmed way down after that with no problems. Neither my husband or I ever felt "queasy" through-out the trip, but just didn't take any chances that one night. I honestly believe in the seabands over the patchs, maybe because all my friends use them and 2 of our friends had trouble with the patchs.

 

Hope this helps! Have a great cruise, we did! Can't wait to book our next one!

Deanna

[michgirl]

Hey! For anyone looking for a really good pre-cruise hotel.....The Residence Inn by Marriott downtown! It's only 1 mile from the port.

 

We flew down to Tampa the night before.......thank goodness since Northwest was kind enough to only have one of our suitcases show up! On a non-stop flight, checked our baggage in together.....go figure! Northwest delivered our 2nd piece of luggage to our hotel at 3am!

 

Anyway, I booked the Residence Inn by Marriott thru Priceline.com. It's listed as a 2 1/2 star, let me tell you, it was great. All rooms are suites, queen bed, with large couch sitting area and kitchen. It includes a hot breakfast bar in the am. (It has eggs, pancakes, make your own waffles, fresh fruit, juice, coffee, cereal, etc) It cost us $18.60 for a cab from the airport (no free shuttle from A/P), BUT they do have a free shuttle service that goes within 2 miles of the hotel. So we got free shuttle service over to Ybor for dinner, and free shuttle to the port in the morning.

 

The best thing....I paid $53 for the night with Priceline! So, if your flying down ahead, give it a try!

 

Deanna

[jimvern1966]

You sneaky little devil...hmmm, sounds like something we did on a trip up north to let the kids see snow (my oldest was 1 when we moved from Chicago to Florida)...just somehow showed up at the airport with a suitcase and they didn't have a clue at all. Hope you can pull it off because the look on their face is worth the pain of keeping it a secret! I still remember that look and I still marvel at how the little things (seeing snow) mean so much. They'll remember this trip forever.

 

Not sure about valet parking but the self park at the port garage is $12/day.

 

 

I just have to make it another 27 days...........I hope I make it. OP says only $10 extra for Valet Parking........mmmmmm I think that will work. It's almost time to start packing..... and finish up the shopping. I can't wait.

[deener32]

I believe valet parking was only $10 more. It was well worth it to me even though the parking garage is only across the street from the terminal. That way, I never even touched my luggage. The stevedores were there to unload my luggage, the valet took my payment for parking, gave me a receipt and off I went. When you return, you walk up to their return booth (turn left when you exit the terminal), hand them your ticket, they radio for your car, and it's brought to the bottom of the parking garage, directly across the street from the pier. They said they weren't allowed to bring it to the doors of the terminal because that's where the new passengers are unloading. The process was extremely quick. To me, it was worth every penny.

 

Is that $10 more for the week or $10 a day more?? I think I saw it was $18 a day there to park your own car...I would love to not have to walk to the car..valet would be much simpler.

[cruisinonmymind]

We leave in 7 days for the Sept 12 sailing. We are staying precruise in Tampa at the Hyatt. I can't wait and I enjoyed your review. Thanks

[burnsie]

Thanks for the great review..We sail with JimVern on Oct 1st. Both her and DH are starting to crack. We should be taking bets on whether she makes it before till then without telling the kids. The 6 yr old is starting to catch on!!

26 days and counting.

Burnsie

[Doughboy77]

My DW and I will be taking our first cruise on the Inspiration on 10/15 and would also love a look at the Capers if anybody has a recent copy scanned in that you could email or post somewhere.

 

Thanks!

[MidtheNight]

Thanks for the great review..We sail with JimVern on Oct 1st. Both her and DH are starting to crack. We should be taking bets on whether she makes it before till then without telling the kids. The 6 yr old is starting to catch on!!

26 days and counting.

Burnsie

 

Whoever said kids aren't bright? Hopefully they'll make it until the end! Hide the suitcases! Hide the garment bags! Don't talk about it (the hardest part)! Good luck JimVern...think you're going to need it to pull it off!

[mariah9999]

Hi,

 

I just got home from the other half of this cruise 8/29/-9/3 on the Inspiration. We were to leave out of Tampa but left out of Ft. Lauderdale and then returned to Tampa. I couldn't agree more about the attitude of the staff on this ship. They were great! In fact, this was my sixth Carnival cruise and we felt this was the best overall staff we've encountered on Carnival so far. Everything went very smoothly and we had a great time. I highly recommend going on the Carnival Inspiration, although Darcy the cruise director, said she was going on vacation after our cruise...

 

Jennifer

[burnsie]

Did you guys wear out the staff?? The rock band we've been hearing so much about is going on hiatus for 6 months and the CD who everyone is saying is so good is going on vacation who's left??? lol

 

I am really excited now that you all have said such great things bout the ship. And thankful ours didn't get cancelled.

 

JimVern's DD is bright takes after her Aunt?!!! She gets so excited when they get cruise mail I don't know what she will do when she knows she's going!!

 

Burnsie

[jimvern1966]

Did you guys wear out the staff?? The rock band we've been hearing so much about is going on hiatus for 6 months and the CD who everyone is saying is so good is going on vacation who's left??? lol

 

I am really excited now that you all have said such great things bout the ship. And thankful ours didn't get cancelled.

 

JimVern's DD is bright takes after her Aunt?!!! She gets so excited when they get cruise mail I don't know what she will do when she knows she's going!!

 

Burnsie

 

 

She'll be squeeling!!!!!!!!! Noone can squeel like a six year old girl, I plan to start the Video with them finding out. can't wait only 24 more days! YEAH

[mosel]

We will be on the Inspiration on the 26th and I cannot remember if there are blow dryers on the Fantasy class ships. I am sure there are but I would hate to go 5 days without one. Cindy