Inspiration Review

[sjohnson529]

Just returned home after a fabulous 5 days cruise on the Inspiration. It was our 8th cruise, 4th on Carnival. We are in our early 50's. We flew in from Chattanooga the day before the cruise and stayed at Best Western in Tampa, on Dale Mabry. The location was close to the port, about 3 miles. We flew into St Pete/Clearwater airport (in order to get a VERY cheap flight) and it was $50 for a taxi to the hotel. Ouch. We should have rented a car, live and learn. Anyway, the hotel was nice and clean, next to a IHOP, and had a nice pool area. We got takeout from IHOP for dinner and tried to go to bed early so the cruise would finally get here:D

 

We left the hotel about 10 AM and arrived at the Port of Tampa at around 10:20 AM. Another taxi, another $20. The traffic was awful. There was already a line but just seeing the Inspiration waiting for us was enough to put goofy smiles on our faces. The line started moving after about 30 minutes and we were checked in very quickly. We got our S & S cards at checkin and then took a seat in the waiting room. Before we knew it we were onboard, at the Lido, with burgers and hotdogs. The rooms wouldn't be ready until 1:30 so we just relaxed for awhile.

 

We went to the excursion desk when it opened, which was at 12:30, and signed up for Xcaret in Calica. We had pre-purchased Fisherman's Rock snorkel for Grand Cayman. Then it was off to see our dining arrangments. We were VERY fortunate to be in the Carnivale dining room, which is where George the Greek is. What a fantastic man! He told us we had a table for 10 and we would love it. We orignally wanted a table for 2 but he talked us into staying where we were and we are so glad we listened to him.

 

It was now time to go to our rooms. Luggage wasn't there yet but we had a carryon with our swimsuits and sandals. We changed clothes and put away what we had. The room is the only place where the ship shows her age. The closet doors were scarred up, the desk drawers were hard to open and close, and there was some damage on the walls. It was clean and comfy, even had the comfort bedding, and we weren't the least bit worried about a few scratches on the wall.

 

Back up to Lido for a drink and to people watch. We had the 5:15 dinner seating so at 4 PM we headed back to the room to change. And our luggage had arrived! Thank goodness. We had a 12 pack of soda and a 12 pack of beer which made it just fine. We got everything put away and showered and changed for dinner. We were a bit nervous about meeting our new tablemates. We were the first to arrive and chose our seats for the next 5 evenings. More to come!;)

[Peaceful]

Looking forward to the rest. Thanks!

[sjohnson529]

Part II...dinner was great, more than great! Our tablemates were our age, 2 couples from Florida and 1 couple from Kentucky. We both ordered the Filet Mignon (sp?), I had the beef/barley soup for a started and DH had shrimp cocktail. We had a salad and for dessert the chocolate melting cake. Everything was great. On all the cruises we've been on, this cruise had the very best food, no matter where or what you ate. The service was perfect and our table crew were so funny. We got along well with our tablemates too. When it was time for sailing under the bridge out of Tampa, George the Greek had all the curtains opened, the lights turned down, and asked that all service be halted. We were able to get up watch. It was an interruption of about 3 minutes and we appreciated being able to see. George made some announcements and one of them was that the next day would be the formal dinner. There were a few groans and he said a remarkable thing! "I don't care what you wear in my dining room, formal, not formal, caual, jeans or shorts, anything goes, I want you to come here to eat and enjoy yourselves". So, to all the "no jeans/must wear formal" screaming people...HA. We saw every mode of dress you could imagine, and it didn't make or break our meal one way or the other. Every night we had impeccible service and wonderful food. We had preordered drink coupons and they were delivered at dinner. We also had bought OBC and when we got back to our staterooms we had a card stating how much we had. Carnival had everything perfect.

 

After dinner we hit the casino, which was not good to us the entire cruise, but we still had a blast. It's a bit small and got crowded when the shows let out, but I was always able to find a machine. Up on the Lido at 11:30 they had a "snack" so we went up there and they had burgers, fries, chicken, hotdogs and desserts. Like we needed it, but yes, we ate anyway. We were exhausted and went to bed. The next day was a day at sea and went pretty much as expected. We had perfect weather and had a great time.

 

The best thing we had at dinner was, for me, the prime rib and lobster. For my DH it was the duck and lobster. We had chocolate melting cake every night, my DH had 2, except one night I ordered apple pie which was also very good. On the last night George the Greek gave everyone a recipe for the chocolate melting cake. Of course it makes about a million servings, but we at least have the ingredients.

 

Next report will be our excursions. Any question please feel free to ask, hard to know what to cover and what to leave out.

[jpmaximus]

I agree that the ship just doesnt show her age. Loved the Inspiration! Great review!

[Tgrubbs]

Can't wait to hear more. I have a group of 42 going in 4 weeks. Love to hear more on the lido band as well as the bands in the clubs. Does the Inspiration have a deli and chinese bar?

[tinkr2]

It is a shame that you can not dress nice for one night. They do offer a casual venue for those of you who want to wear shorys. Why ruin the the fun of dressing up for the rest of us.

[cruiselubbers]

Hi! :D

 

 

Did you guys ever get to the meet & greet?

 

Sorry we missed you! :(

 

We were in group 1 getting on the ship, so we were all in line about the same time. However.....we had 3 hours of sleep the night before....had to be at the airport at 4:00am.....so by 1:30 when the rooms opened up hubby fell flat asleep on the bed. I tried to wake him up, but no luck, then well then....I fell asleep too! Didn't wake up till muster! Shouted dang it! Missed everyone! Man I was mad!

 

I hope you guys had a great time & we're sorry we missed you!

 

We winded up swimming with the rays & snorkeling in Cayman & just went shopping in PDC. Had an AWESOME time with EXCELLENT tablemates!

 

I'll have a full review sometime too! ;)

 

Well maybe next time???!!! When are you guys planning to go again?

 

Take care!

 

Be blessed, be a blessing! :p

[PINEVIEW01]

It is a shame that you can not dress nice for one night. They do offer a casual venue for those of you who want to wear shorys. Why ruin the the fun of dressing up for the rest of us.

I agree. I'm glad they didn't do that on our cruise:cool:

 

OP thank you for your review. I had thought on my last two she was showing a lot of wear. But, I had a great cruise too.

 

again glad you had a good cruise, Thanks for the review.