Inspiration 6/24 trip report

[polymerpig]

We were on the June 24th sailing on Inspiration (Tampa - Grand Cayman - Calica - Tampa)...really most of my report will just be re-confirming everything I learned on this board!

 

We had a party of 18, ages 9-72, meeting in Tampa from 4 different states. Two families flew, 2 drove. My family flew in from NY the night before...we had a 7 hour flight delay in Baltimore, so first thing to believe when you read it on the boards...ARRIVE the day before your cruise! We'd have missed it if we'd been flying in the morning of the cruise.

 

The two drivers took two loads of people to the Tampa terminal, then went back for the rest. They used valet parking - $70, as opposed to the $60 it would have been if they self-parked for 5 days. They just didn't want everyone waiting any longer for them. We were all walking into the terminal by 10:40 am...the first three families in line got boarding group 3, the fourth family got boarding group 4. Everyone had boarded the ship and we were taking pictures in the atrium by about an hour later. We were eating lunch soon after noon.

 

One thing I was confused about was the exact Sail and Sign procedure. Lots of people say they board the ship, set up their S&S account, go to the dining room and check their dining times... I was happy to see that because we were using a credit card for our S&S, we were done with that in the terminal...we did not have to do anything else once on board. Also our dining times and tables were printed right on the S&S card, and they were what we'd requested, so no need to check on that either...we could just head straight to lunch!

 

After lunch we saw an employee standing next to the purser's desk with a punch in her hand. We all had our S&S cards punched, and asked about the lanyards. She said they were one per adult when you played at the Casino. We said we had kids who couldn't enter the casino, could we get them elsewhere. She said you could buy them in the gift shop, then whispered "or you can "lose" yours and go back to another person in the casino until you have enough". My MIL thought that was silly, so just asked the person in the casino if we could have them for the kids. She refused...so we just had to "lose" ours and go back.

 

This was the first cruise for all families but mine, and we'd never been on Carnival before. So everything was fun and new for us. We felt they had a good variety of things to do for all ages. Our kids (10 of them altogether) get along well, so there was no problem with them entertaining themselves. The older ones checked out the teen club - hardly anyone was there. They all just would gather in the library and play board games, or explore, get ice cream or pizza. We did take walkie-talkies but never used them. The ship was small enough they learned their way around quickly and always were back at the appointed spot when we told them.

 

At least a few of us participated in or attended almost everything free (ie - we didn't do Bingo!) ...trivia games, dance lessons, afternoon tea, went to all the shows (the "Inspiration Singers and Dancers" were okay - the first show wasn't great, but each got better). The comedians were great. We were disappointed that some of the most late night fun was on nights we had to get up really early for excursions, so missed the "adult" comedy, midnight buffet, etc. We also did the Galley tour, saw the ice carving, hairy chest contest, etc. It was all fun, but sometimes I wished there wasn't anything scheduled - I really felt like I should participate, but if you did it all there wasn't much down time. I must admit though, that if we did several Carnival cruises it sounds like a lot of these things don't change much. Either I will have that down time in the future or start wondering what else there is to do on board...I don't think I'll need to see the hairy chest contest each time!

 

Our family take of Ship on a Sticks: 5 ...My daughter and I each won trivia contests and my MIL, niece and nephew won for the Scavenger hunt. My nephew was the guy from the audience that got "transformed"...I won't spoil it for others who haven't seen it yet. (I'm assuming this is part of all of the scavenger hunts???)

 

We are not sunbathers, but I specifically looked around to see the chair situation. Except for absolute peak times, I always saw quite a few lounge chairs available. There was often a lot of room to put up even more chairs if needed (sometimes they filled all the space)

 

As far as the infamous F Deck...went up a few times with my husband and various family members because it was really nice and quiet and we could watch our kids in the pool. Most of the time it was absolutely empty. As far as comments on various F-Deck threads about being embarrassed, etc....you don't have to park yourself right at the top of the stairs as one well-tanned lady did - she obviously wanted to be noticed and we couldn't avoid her!! You can find a nice little corner and not have everyone walking right by you as others did if you're a little apprehensive! And in reference to the other F-deck thread...we really enjoyed seeing Cuba...No, really, the REAL Cuba. Seriously. The country :) Look for it on your way to Grand Cayman. Seriously. BTW, my BIL took a picture of our kids in the pool from up on the totally empty F Deck, and security came running...absolutely NO cameras allowed whether there are people up there or not (although I know some of you have posted pictures of the empty deck).

 

Food: we had the 5:45 seating and ate in the dining room every night. Everything was good, but portions were really very small. Do NOT feel intimidated ordering double entrees, seconds, etc. Lots of people did with no hesitation. We ate breakfast in the dining room twice and lunch once. It was nice, but we didn't feel it was anything special (since we were already eating in the dining room every night) and it took a long time (an hour each time). I felt the evening staff in the dining room was much friendlier than the morning people. All other meals were at the buffet. We had hamburgers, pizza, deli sandwiches (good!)...everything was pretty good, some better than others, but there was always something everyone liked. The deli is an omelette station for breakfast, and it was very nice, but the line was even longer than the lunch deli line. In general the food was fine to good - I've had a lot better, but I've had A LOT worse! Dress - No one stood out as inappropriately dressed, but I wasn't really inspecting everyone. I didn't see shorts, but in our section I didn't see anything outrageously formal either - everyone was very nicely dressed for formal night, but I don't even remember any tuxes. This could be because we were at the very earliest seating maybe.

 

Drinks...I had not planned to take any alcohol onboard until someone mentioned how good the free lemonade and punch tasted with rum...I filled two new travel shampoo bottles with rum, put them in the bag with my shampoo and toiletries and walked on with them in my hand luggage. No problem, and the lemonade and punch was indeed very good...actually we mixed them both together with the rum. I also took on a half dozen bottles of water, which we refilled onboard.

 

The seas were very calm except for one night when we passed through a storm. I am very prone to sea-sickness so I started Bonine the night before we boarded and kept taking it every night even though I never felt sick. There were a few occasions when I felt enough movement that I am positive I'd have been queasy, but I wasn't. So I'm really glad I didn't quit the Bonine. Just an aside question for those of you who have cruised various regions...I know it totally has to do with storms etc., so there's a lot of variation, but I was surprised how totally calm the seas were compared to our Alaskan cruise. If you had to rank average sea conditions what would be the roughest cruise in general, vs the least - Eastern Caribbean, Atlantic, Western Carib., Alaskan, Atlantic Canada, transatlantic...just wondering what in general has the best chance of the calmest seas.

 

One interesting thing...someone in our group didn't feel great just due to adjustment to the food, water, etc. They wanted to take Immodium before an excursion just to be safe. It is not sold in the stores onboard, and if the infirmary gives it to you they will write you up and quarantine you!!! They said they had to in order to determine if it was food poisoning or something contagious. We couldn't believe it was not available! Just FYI to be prepared!!

 

Excursions: Since we had 18 first timers and lots of kids I scheduled our first excursion on Grand Cayman through Carnival. We did the Hell, Turtle Farm and Stingray City tour. The stop in Hell was short, but it was long enough. We really enjoyed the Turtle Farm - got to hold baby sea turtles. Swimming with the Stingrays was also fun but by the time we got there they weren't too hungry, but still enough hovered around that everyone got to touch them, take pictures, etc. (TAKE AN UNDERWATER CAMERA!!). All in all, we enjoyed the tour. In Calica I arranged a private tour with Isabel. We had two vans to fit us all in. She took us to a shopping area, then to Tulum. There we were turned over to a local guide (could speak English well enough to give the tour, but didn't understand our questions). Then Isabel took us to a restaurant in a private cove with a great beach. We enjoyed the food and the beach. Would recommend both excursions. Isabel was very enjoyable.

 

Now, the only little problem we encountered was one nephew left his S&S card in a bathroom in Mexico...we discovered this when it was time to get back on the ship. Fortunately his parents had brought along his birth certificate, so they let him right on, and they printed up a new card without question at the pursers desk. So it was a few moments of panic, but turned out okay. And really, 18 people, 10 kids...that was really our only problem!

 

We had 5 people in our inside room. We were impressed at how well we fit (we'd been on a Celebrity ship before and were very cramped with 3-4) They fit a small cot on the floor, and we still had plenty of space for the luggage, etc. (we used soft duffle bags and they fit right under the beds) The two main beds were probably the most comfortable I've ever slept on. The upper bunks weren't bad at all (but no nice comforters), and the cot was pretty short and uncomfortable, but all survived! We were on the Empress deck, last room before the back elevators. We were worried about traffic and noise, but never heard anything from the elevators, and there was very little traffic (compared to others in the family farther down the hall, in the last section) The only thing we heard was vague noise very early in the mornings when stewards were getting supplies out of the closet between us and the elevators...didn't keep us up more than 30 seconds.

 

Debarkation went pretty smoothly. We chose self-debarkation as we wanted to be on our way to Orlando as soon as we could. (it's late and I'm blanking on the times, but we were at MGM Studios in Orlando by 11:00 am. That included debarking, getting a ride to the airport, coming back to the terminal with a rental car and driving to Orlando) We were on the Empress deck, so could hear people starting to make their way to the doorway before the announcement was made. We went into the hall...waited a while...the line moved slowly but it wasn't too bad, and was a lot worse for the people behind us! After an hour they won't let anyone else out, even if they've been standing in line since the announcement, until the regular debarkation gets called. My BIL was in line a ways behind us and he got stuck... I was not there, but apparently retrieving the valet-parked cars went smoothly...you have to walk across the street into the parking garage and pick them up there.

 

Can't think of anything else right now, but will post more if I do. Oh yes...general conclusion - we had a great time and will do it again. And after stepping onto Disney property and spending more at the ticket window than we had all week on the cruise, you realize what a great value Carnival is!!

[wannacruisemore]

Great review....Enjoyed it!!!! :)

[Peaceful]

Nice review. I'm so glad it went well for all of you. Managing a group that large could have been formidible.

 

Bonnie

[polymerpig]

I realized after I went to bed that I hadn't included a link for Isabel's tour...that would help :)

Tulum Mayan Ruins Mexico Excursion and tours for cruise ship passengers riviera maya tours

[crazycruzer68]

I am glad that the reviews coming from the Inspiration are good, we'll be doing the same cruise you did in Oct.

 

So the rum was good with the punch and lemonade?

 

Did any in your group get their hair braided in Calica? My DH and her friend are wanting to and I was wondering about the cost.

 

Are you going to post any pics?

 

Glad you had a great trip!!!!:) :) :)

[Cotopaxi]

We were also on this cruise, our 7th, and I have never in my life seen seas this calm, it was truly amazing. Even the night it pick up, the movement was so slight. I really forgot I was on a ship if I wasn't on Deck or looking out our window.

 

We had our ds in a bunk, and just for info, if you ask for a comforter for that bed, your room steward will bring it, he really enjoyed having one, and boy are they nice, love the bedding.

 

Also we did not do self assist, waited up on the lido having breakfast for the general call. We waited through several calls, until 9:20, when they told everyone who was left to please head for the exit. Hardly any line at all. It took us only 15 min to get off the boat, grab our bags and be on the Alamo shuttle to the airport. We were at the airport by 10:00, that was great.

 

We probably saw you at the many trivia contests, we love those. My dh won the sports after many a tiebreaker question. It was a great cruise, I agree with you, great ship, and ports. We did xcaret in calica, and snorkling at cayman. I would also recommend it to anyone.

[DeBeCruiser]

Wasn't this your free bingo cruise??? I am glad you had a great cruise. We are going on the Inspiration for our free bingo cruise also on December 4, 2006. We are going to Cayman Islands and Cozumel though. Did you have the 6A oceanview cabin on the Riveria deck? How was the room, etc.? Did you try to win the free bingo cruise again????

 

Thanks for your information.

 

DeBe

 

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Carnival Celebration -- first cruise -- 4/3/2006

Carnival Inspiration -- free bingo cruise -- 12/4/06

[PattiPB]

Thanks for the reviews!

 

Can't wait to get back onboard the Inspiration. We have a group of 27, and most of my family has never sailed before!

[Cotopaxi]

DeBecruiser,

 

Yes this was our Bingo free cruise, and it was great. Great ship, staff, and ports. For your info, there is no free cruise bingo on this ship, it is a raffle. You buy raffle tickets starting on the 3rd day I think it was, and they draw the ticket at the last bingo of the cruise, 3pm last sea day I believe. We did buy 20.00 worth of tickets at the past guest party, as they were running a deal, but did not win. Happy for the woman that did win, she was so excited, and we remember all to well how it exciting it was for us. We did have the 6A cabin on Riveria deck for 3 of us. The cabin was in great shape, and we really had no problem getting elevators ever, which we had been worried about. We were in R 139. I have to say, it is very convenient, easy access on port days! I am sure you will have a great time, it was a wonderful trip for us. Hope yours is a great vacation for you as well!

 

Any other questions, I would be happy to answer.