LOOONG REVIEW: Inspiration 4/23/07 - 4/28/07: 5 nights, first cruise!

[indie]

BACKGROUND: I am a first time cruiser, age 29. I traveled with my wife who is 31, and also a first time cruiser. I am a very large and tall guy, which was a major concern. I have become an avid reader of cruise websites and message boards and have learned many tips that have proven to be very helpful. We booked the 4/23 Inspiration cruise after learning that my best friend would be getting married on 4/21 in Tampa and I would be the best man in his wedding. I brought a collapsible chair just in case deck chairs weren’t sturdy enough. We also had lanyards from walmart and id badge holders off of ebay which worked out great for keeping our Sign and Sail Cards, ID’s and cash. So many people asked me where I got those from and even told me I should have brought extras to sell.

 

PRE-CRUISE: We departed from our home city of Columbia, South Carolina on Friday, April 20th early in the morning and arrived in Tampa around 4:00 pm. We booked the Amerisuites Busch Gardens Hotel on priceline for three nights pre-cruise. It turned out to be a perfect location because of its proximity to the wedding site and ease of travel to the cruise terminal. We were literally a couple of blocks away from the wedding. I have heard people say not to book in the Busch Gardens area, but it was very safe, convenient and the hotel was very nice. The hotel is changing over to Hyatt Place, and all of the rooms were already fully upgraded with a nice décor and include 42inch plasma Televisions. The rooms were very comfortable and the staff was extremely friendly and helpful. Sunday we visited the Florida Aquarium right at the port. It was a great entertaining afternoon, and we got to see the Carnival Legend and take pictures of it from the aquarium. After the aquarium we went to University Mall which was about a mile from our hotel. It’s the average mall, but we mainly went to just walk around and eat. We had a great time overall in Tampa.

 

EMBARKATION/DAY 1: We arrived at the port around 12:15 pm. We knew how to get to our terminal, but we were not really aware of how the whole parking/unloading luggage process worked. We circled the block a few times and eventually found the correct garage entrance. They told us we needed to pull into our terminal to unload our luggage with our porters if we were not carrying it on. We did as they instructed and got a few additional luggage tags from the porter and he unloaded everything and we tipped him. The porter was very pleasant and friendly. Parking and embarkation didn’t really take long at all. Maybe 20-25 minutes from the parking lot to boarding the ship. We were on board around 1:00pm.

 

We immediately headed for our cabin U4, which was a porthole on the upper deck at the front of the ship. The cabin was larger than I expected, as were the portholes. It was not ready yet, so we sat down our carry on bags and headed to the Lido Deck for lunch. We ate burgers, hot dogs, and fries which were all very good. We started off the cruise on a very full stomach.

 

After lunch, we walked around the ship a bit to explore the public areas. While the ship was large, it was not overwhelming as we thought it would be and it didn’t take us long to get our bearings and figure out how to get around. There were people everywhere cleaning. We returned to our rooms and it was ready for us. Announcements were coming in every few moments it seemed. We met our cabin steward who didn’t seem very friendly. She wasn’t rude but it seemed as if she wasn’t as wonderful as some of the stewards that everyone wishes they could take home. It was almost time for muster drill. Some of my luggage arrived and one of my bags came back with one of its handles shredded and ripped off. I called my cabin steward and she told me to take it to the pursers desk.

 

Muster Drill time…I won’t spend a lot of time on muster drill in this section of the review, but it didn’t seem very well organized. I was also very uncomfortable, and my allergies were bothering me because our room seemed to be smoky from the previous cruisers.

 

After muster drill, I took the damaged luggage to the pursers desk. They asked me the value of the luggage and told me I would receive a call about it. We went back to our cabin for a little while, then headed out for sail away. We took lots of pictures and enjoyed the views for awhile then headed back to the room to relax and get ready for dinner and the welcome aboard show. All of our other luggage arrived just fine, including our rolling cooler. Before the show and dinner we stopped back by the pursers desk and they told us we would have a “letter” in the morning regarding our damaged luggage.

 

We decided to give the dining room a try on the first night. We thought that we wouldn’t enjoy the dining room and would prefer the buffet but we had the friendliest most welcoming head and assistant waiters. Both were great and my favorite staff on the cruise. We had a late 8:30 seating in the Mardi Gras Dining room. The Maitre D was Ajimi. We sat a table with a bunch of young couples, all of whom were first time cruisers. Dinner was kind of awkward as there was very little conversation or small talk. Everyone warmed up a bit before the end of the meal. We enjoyed the food although I can’t remember what we had the first night. I remember having the pasta dish as an appetizer which I really enjoyed.

 

Dinner moved quickly. The welcome aboard show was cheesy but hey, it was something to do. The first comedian Tony Esposito was very funny.

 

We went to bed, and the rocking of the ship was very noticeable the first night. My wife is prone to motion sickness but she slept like a rock. She was taking bonine and ginger pills and seemed to handle the movement very well. She didn’t even notice that night.

 

 

DAY 2: AT SEA

We slept in pretty late because we were still tired from the wedding and all the activities in Tampa. We got up and went to lunch at the Brasserie. I had a grilled reuben which was very good and my wife had a burger and fries again and some fruit. We are not big fans of the sun and heat, so we found a nice shady spot with a breeze and a view beside the childrens pool on the promenade deck. Surprisingly there were very few children. We didn’t see many kids at all the entire cruise. It was quiet and breezy and we drank and slept the afternoon away in loungers. Everyone on that deck seemed to have the same idea.

 

I spent a little bit of time in the casino, which wasn’t smoky at all! I only went 20 dollars, I won 10 dollars on the wheel of fortune machine. I only played for about 45 minutes before getting bored.

 

We never got our letter from the pursers, so we went by to check on it. They printed it out and it was just an insurance claim form. I was expecting a small onboard credit or something but now we have to file an insurance claim.

 

We also asked about the tender process because we booked an independent stingray city sandbar tour. They told us to just go down to level 3 in the morning around 7:45 or 8:00 with our excursion reservation.

 

We went back to our spot and then watched the sunset. It was amazing. We didn’t bring clothes for formal night so we skipped the dining room and ate dinner in the brassiere. The food was decent, but we preferred the dining room, or the lido grill. We went to bingo and I think we saw the second comedian, and a magician that night. The magician was funnier than the comedian. The comedian was so bad it was funny laughing at how bad he was. He reminded me of Screech from Saved by the Bell. After dinner we went back to our room after dinner and watched Pursuit of Happiness on a Carnival movie channel. . This night we felt a little bit of rocking but not as much as night one. My wife noticed more it because she wasn’t as sleepy. She got a bit sick, but she says it wasn’t because of motion sickness but because she ate too much. We were unable to get in touch with our cabin steward or housekeeping. We had to leave a sick bag in the garbage locked away in the bathroom all night. We left a note on the garbage can for our steward to see the next morning

 

DAY 3: GRAND CAYMAN

We woke up, showered, got dressed and headed down to level three for tendering around 7:45am. We didn’t have any problem with getting an early tender and didn’t have to show anyone a reservation. We had to wait about 20 minutes before getting on a tender boat. It took about 15 more minutes to fill the boat it seemed. The tendering process was better than expected. It was really nice weather and the water was amazingly blue.

 

Stingray City and Barrier Reef: Moby Dick Tours

We arrived on land around 8:30am and dodged the photographers, right on time to meet with Moby Dick tours. The Moby dick staff hadn’t come down to our tender landing yet, as they were at the next landing. Soon Mark from Moby Dick showed up, and we walked to the second landing to sign in with Kim and wait for our excursion group.

 

At around 9:30 am (8:30 GC Time) we walked a short distance to a parking lot and boarded an old school bus. There were around 25 people in our group. Our driver gave us a very informative mini tour on the ride over to the boat. We got to hear a bit of history, see some of the resorts hotels, a bit of seven mile beach and the Governor’s House. I wish we had more time to see more of Grand Cayman as it looks like an amazing island.

 

We arrived and boarded the Moby Dick. Captain Zak and William were fun and briefed us on what to expect with a stuffed stingray. The ride was very scenic and water and fruit juice was provided. We met a few people from our ship and had some great conversations on the way over to the sandbar. We had a blast with the stingrays. This is truly a not to miss experience. My wife who is expected to be afraid had the time of her life. She held and fed the stingrays and loved it. She said she could have spent the whole day out there. It was great fun for everyone, even if you think you will be afraid try it. It’s a rare opportunity that you will not regret. I am a non-swimmer and I had a ball.

 

After leaving the sandbar we rode over to the barrier reef for a snorkel stop. My wife and I stayed on the boat and dried off but we were able to see some tropical fish, occasional stingrays and even a nurse shark from the boat. The water crashing against the reef was amazing. One of the most amazing natural things I have ever seen. On the way back we saw some nice homes and some iguanas sunning on rocks. Stingray City Sandbar was unforgettable. I highly recommend a private tour with a smaller group. If we go back to Grand Cayman we will definitely do Moby Dick again.

 

We were cutting it close, for our 1:00 tender and had to hightail it back to the landing, we got there around 1:05, but there was plenty of time. We had to wait in line about 30 minutes for a tender but it was a nice breeze clouds keeping us from being to hot in the sun.

 

We returned to our room to find out that someone had switched our door sign from “Please Make up Our Stateroom”, to “Privacy Please”, so our room and the sick bag in the bathroom were never cleaned.

 

I think we went to the Newlywed not so Newlywed Game this night. It was a riot. The passengers are often the best entertainment. This older couple married 50 plus years were really shocking and provided some of the funniest moments of the cruise. We ate at the dining room again and there were two other couples there. We got to chat a bit more with the other couples and they were very nice. The head waiter seemed so excited to see us. We had a really fun dinner and the waiters danced and entertained and got everyone involved! A conga line and limbo line ended the night. Ajimi our Maitre D was hilarious. We again really enjoyed dinner and it got us excited for our next day. Finally when we returned to our room, it had been cleaned up but we didn’t get our capers for the next day! We called room service that night and ordered sandwiches and also asked could they bring us a copy of the capers. They showed up with the food and the capers and all was right.

 

This night we didn’t experience much movement at all. It seemed as if we were not even moving. We slept very well and felt refreshed in the morning.

 

DAY 4: COZUMEL, MEXICO

The Inspiration docked downtown at Punta Langosta! We got a huge breakfast from the lido deck and ate while looking across at the balconies on the Grand Princess. The omelets were very good. We got off the ship around 9:45 am. We were immediately caught by photographers before we even exited the ramp. It was a minor annoyance. I took some amazing pictures of the Inspiration and Grand Princess that just look like enhanced the sky and water is so perfect. We walked into the open air Punta Langosta Mall, and were again badgered by Cozumel natives looking to sell things, direct us to beaches or tours, or take photographs. They were all very nice and it wasn’t too annoying. The mall was huge and had a lot of stores. We knew thanks to tips from other cruisers that better deals were to be had in town. There was a quick rain and we waited for it to pass then exited the mall and headed into San Miguel. Store merchants were calling out to us from all directions it seemed trying to sell us silver, tee shirts and Cuban cigars. We passed them by and walked into a small shop area off of the main road with a bar. We bought several souvenirs at one shop, and bought a bunch of t-shirts at another. We entered both shops mainly because the people in the store weren’t bugging us. It got very hot walking around so we decided to go ahead and catch a taxi to our beach destination, Playa Uvas.

 

It was easy to catch a cab, and the ride was $10 to playa uvas but we gave the driver a 2 dollar tip as well. It was a lot to see on the way. It started raining a little again, but by the time we got to Playa Uvas it was bright and sunny. Uvas was very nice. The landscaping, green grass, and beautiful beach and water. All of the facilities were extremely nice. We prebooked open bar and lunch. We were greeted by the hostess Carmen, who was very friendly and called over our waiter Raul to take care of us for the day. Raul was very friendly and funny. We rented a locker for our stuff and Raul took our drink orders, asked us what time we wanted dinner then sent us down to the beach. We enjoyed the spot for awhile but it had become very hot. There were several snorkel and cleak kayak excursion groups who came through, but the beach was never crowded. A beautiful and relaxing spot. The place was immaculate. We spent about an hour sitting under an umbrella in the loungers, Raul brought us some drinks then we decided to come back to the restaurant and bar covered area and sit where it was cooler. Shortly after there was another quick rain. My wife wasn’t drinking alcohol and had some virgin strawberry daquiri’s and soda, but I had a whole bunch of drinks. I had a beer to start, then I had 2 mango margaritas, then I had about 4 strawberry Daiquiri’s, then I had a regular margarita, then about two more mango margaritas, then another beer. For dinner I had garlic fish, with steamed vegetables and rice, and my wife had beef fajitas. The food was tasty and very colorful. We had to take pictures of the food. There were some huge pelican looking birds flying around frequently. We didn’t get into the water but we took pictures at the shoreline. We spent about three or four hours at Uvas. We took more pictures together around Uvas and some pictures with Raul and Carmen. We visited the gift shop but we didn’t buy anything, despite one of the merchants coming down from 15 dollars to 8 dollars on an item my wife was considering. We were going to leave and head back to downtown San Miguel to shop a little bit more before heading back to the ship, but a very heavy rain and wind storm came out of nowhere. We stayed on the covered eating and bar area for awhile and waited out the rain. Tipped the bartender and our waiter Raul, and caught a taxi when the rain slacked off to a drizzle. By the time we got to Punta Langosta/San Miguel, it had stopped raining but it was still cloudy so we decided to head back to the ship.

 

 

We showered and took a nap. We came back out for dinner at the dining room only one other couple was there again. The ship was rocking like crazy that night and the dining room was moving. Dinner was good again and the waiters danced again. There seemed to be a lot of casualties from Cozumel and Tequilla. The dining room was less than half full.

 

We went to the guest talent show which was fun and entertaining as well. There was actually some pretty good talent aboard. A guy even played the bagpipes. Risa was a great host for both the talent show and the newlywed game. We checked out karaoke for a little while and the clubs. Then we went to the midnight buffet and went to bed shortly after.

 

 

DAY 5: AT SEA

We slept in a bit again. I went to the debarkation talk, while my wife stayed in bed. When I got back she was up and we went to eat burgers and hot dogs at the lido deck. We could not get our spot all morning next to the kids pool. It seems everyone else discovered that spot too, and it was crowded. We moved around the ship all day just trying to find a spot we liked as much. We took a nap, and got up later and found a spot on the other side of the kids pool which we also enjoyed. We relaxed awhile and tried to catch another sunset, but unfortunately it was too cloudy. We decided to eat at the brassiere buffet for our last night because I was out of dining room clothes. I had a huge salad and a sandwich.

 

We attended the last show “El Carribe”. It was vegas style and pretty entertaining. The lead female singer was very good, but the male singer was Sanjaya status. He had the energy and the performance down, he just had a weak voice which was very noticeable compared to the female lead. The dancers did a great job. It was a nice production with lots of set and costume changes and even some pyrotechnics and lighting effects. The music was very appropriate for a carribean cruise and some of the songs are still stuck in my head right now. We were sad to have to leave in the morning. After the show we packed and started setting out our luggage for debarkation. That night it was hard to sleep because I kept thinking about all of the cool things we had experienced.

 

DAY 6/ DEBARKATION:

We woke up around 7:30 as the calls for self assist debarkation were coming out. We showered got dressed and went to the lido deck for breakfast. General clearance was called around 9:00. There were too many people waiting in the atrium lobby and crowded on the stairs to debark with their carry off bags . It seemed as if they were stuck in line for awhile so we went back to our rooms. It was announced that we should wait awhile for it to clear up and they would announce when it would clear. About 9:25 our steward asked us to leave the room and go to the promenade on standby. We left the room and went to the promenade but no-one was out there. I looked down at the lobby and it seemed a lot clearer. Almost immediately they called for people to disembark again. We went down and a crowd quickly formed. We stood there not moving for about fifteen minutes, but when the line started moving, it went quickly. We seemed to get through the line almost as fast as we could walk. We found our luggage quickly and got a porter. He was also very nice and extremely talkative. He helped us get all the way to our car in the parking garage and even chatted with us for awhile after I tipped him and the car was loaded. We were in the car around 9:50 and headed out of the garage.

 

THE GOOD: Embarkation, Tendering, and Debarkation were all pretty easy. The weather was near perfect, the dining room was fun and our waiter and assistant waiter made us want to keep coming back. Risa the cruise director did a great job and we really enjoyed the games and activities she hosted. I also never had to use my chair. I never made use of the plastic deck chairs, but the loungers were just fine. I think we picked the perfect time to cruise. After spring break, and there were few little kids or big kids. We got to dock for the first time in awhile on this cruise itinerary in Cozumel. And we made Grand Cayman. Besides the brief rains in Cozumel, the weather was great the whole time!

 

THE BAD: The only negative points of our experience were our cabin steward who wasn’t terrible but wasn’t great either. Also we felt that the photographers and photo staff were pushy and annoying at times. We feel that they were much more invasive than most of the venders in Cozumel.

 

THE UGLY: Muster Drill was miserable time of the cruise. It’s a necessary evil. It just seemed as if life vests are designed for small people. I felt like my head was about to pop off. I had to suck in and stretch to get the life vest around me. And being so tall it seemed like my head was baking directly in the sun while we stood on the deck waiting for the whistle.

 

BEST TIPS I RECEIVED: bring a collapsible cooler if you wish to, insulated mug, lanyard and badge id holder, and cable ties to secure luggage!

 

BEST TIPS I CAN GIVE: Do what you want, when you want. There is so much fun to be had. Do not be afraid to book private excursions with reputable companies. Do your research It will save you a lot of money, and likely a better overall experience.

 

OVERALL EXPERIENCE: Best vacation we have ever had! We are spoiled now and want to be able to wake up and eat and not have to clean up a thing afterward. Based upon this trip, Carnival is right for us we would like to try a larger ship next time…and we are pretty sure there will be a next time! We loved both ports and would like to return, and look forward to visiting new places in the future. We brought a few things we didn’t need and we left behind a few things we should have brought. Next time will be even better.

[Mrichy555]

Wow that was a great review. Very detailed and honest. I have 20 days til my cruise and now im even more excited. thx for a detailed LOOOOOONG review!!

[patmom4]

Wonderful review! My DH and I are going on our first cruise this fall; your description of Cozumel comes in very handy as we are interested in going to Playa Uvas. Where did you find your taxi? And what was the taxi $$ to get back to the ship? It all sounds SO great---I can hardly wait for September!

[indie]

Wonderful review! My DH and I are going on our first cruise this fall; your description of Cozumel comes in very handy as we are interested in going to Playa Uvas. Where did you find your taxi? And what was the taxi $$ to get back to the ship? It all sounds SO great---I can hardly wait for September!

 

 

As soon as you cross outside of punta langosta mall if you dock there, there will be taxi drivers waiting at every exit. Also at the road along the waterfront in front of san miguel just outside the mall there was a long line of taxi drivers. Taxi's were everywhere When we left playa uvas. there were three taxi's waiting. There was a line of taxi's at international pier and puerta maya as well when we rode by. It was also $10 back to the ship, and we also tipped the driver $2. Both drivers were very friendly and talkative lol.

[indie]

Wow that was a great review. Very detailed and honest. I have 20 days til my cruise and now im even more excited. thx for a detailed LOOOOOONG review!!

 

 

thanks alot, i am already no the hunt for our next cruise!

[BigDogCruiser]

Before the show and dinner we stopped back by the pursers desk and they told us we would have a “letter” in the morning regarding our damaged luggage.

 

 

You left us hanging. How did they resolve the luggage issue?

[indie]

You left us hanging. How did they resolve the luggage issue?

 

the letter they gave me just informed me how to make an insurance claim for the bag, which unfortunately is probably more trouble than its worth. We ended up carrying off the bag and putting little extra stuff in it that we couldnt squeeze in our other bags.

[tinkerbell_82]

Great review! We leave on the Inspiration in one week and now I'm so excited!! :D

[buddyjo143]

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

 

Counting the days till it's time for our turn. Family Cruise, Part Two, here we come.:)

[madaamt]

Great Review and I'm glad you had a fabulous time on your first cruise. I love the Inspiration and it's staff. Booked our family cruise on her. I can't wait. thanks again for the review

[trevette1981]

Glad you had a great time! When you said long, you meant long!LOL!

 

That is one thing I worry about- tablemates in the dining room! I wish I could bring the ones I had last year!LOL!

 

Did you go to where they played texas hold 'em? That bar was by far my favorite!

 

I have a few days left and I am TOO excited!!:D

[girlznme]

Hi Indie,

 

I was on this cruise also and your review is perfect! I could not have described it better.

We were on the Moby Dick tour as well so I am trying to picture who you are. It was a great excursion wasn't it? I was a little worried that we would not back on time but I shouldn't have been. It went very smooth.

[indie]

Glad you had a great time! When you said long, you meant long!LOL!

 

That is one thing I worry about- tablemates in the dining room! I wish I could bring the ones I had last year!LOL!

 

Did you go to where they played texas hold 'em? That bar was by far my favorite!

 

I have a few days left and I am TOO excited!!:D

 

 

 

lol, i didnt spend any time at the bar. $0 sign and sail balance besides tips LOL. have a great trip and i want a recap when you get back!

[indie]

Hi Indie,

 

I was on this cruise also and your review is perfect! I could not have described it better.

We were on the Moby Dick tour as well so I am trying to picture who you are. It was a great excursion wasn't it? I was a little worried that we would not back on time but I shouldn't have been. It went very smooth.

 

 

hey, im glad you enjoyed it as much as we did! We were very worried once we were still at the barrier reef and it was like 25 minutes til 1. Then it seems as if we were moving slower on the way back. But i feel better knowing that there were lines and how long it takes to load those tender boats. I had no idea if we would have to run to catch the boat or not.

 

 

LOL, im easy to identify. the big tall black guy with the long dredlocks.

 

What did you do in Cozumel? I didnt buy enough souveneirs because everyone at work is asking for one. LOL

[girlznme]

I remember you! We were sitting straight across from you on the opposite side. I thought that your dreds were great!

 

We were one of the last in line for the tender. The weather was so great that day that I wished we could have stayed longer.

 

In Cozumel we mainly shopped. After we got all of our souvineers we decided to hit the beach but it was almost 4 pm. The cab driver took us to the closest beach for $8 each way. I believe that it was called Playa Azul. It was pretty rocky so we didn't stay very long.

 

All in all, it was a great cruise!

[pacerzfan]

indie a great review! Our 1st cruise was a 5 day out of Tampa too....We really enjoyed it.

[flynrph]

Cozumel...... There seemed to be a lot of casualties from Cozumel and Tequilla. The dining room was less than half full. .......

 

 

This is most probably attibuted to Carlos N' Charlie's / Senior Frog's. On your next pass through Cozumel, give it a try!

Great review, this is what makes reading CC worthwhile.:cool:

[PINEVIEW01]

Good review, thanks!!

[darleen1421]

Good review. DH and I were on the 4 day 4/19-23 and also loved the Inspiration. Had you thought of posting your review on the member review page? That is the first place I go to look for information on any of the ships. Yours would be a great addition! Thanks.