Inspiration anyone?

[62 Cruiser]

We are sailing in less than 2 weeks out of Tampa. There are 9 of us going...4 "adults" and 5 children ages m 13, f 15, f 15, m 17, and m who just turned 18. I have enjoyed reading the forums and was wondering if anyone had recently been on the Inspiration and can give us some good pointers. My last cruise was 27 years ago :eek: (I know...way too long) aboard the Dolphin. My wife and children have never been on a cruise and the couple we are going with went 4 years ago on RC but their children haven't gone. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks!! :D

[jpmaximus]

There are tons of things i could tell you. If you have some specific questions i could help. The Port of Tampa is really nice. You will have a great time. So will your teenagers!

[Reverie]

We are going on Inspiration in 6 weeks and would like any good or bad reviews also. This is our second cruise, we went on Liberty out of Miami two years ago. We are also taking our two sons this time 11 & 8 for their first cruise. Looking forward to it all.

[62 Cruiser]

Where to start....

 

1. Drink price avg.? (alcoholic and non-alcoholic- we are buying fountain fun cards for the kids.)

 

2. Is my 13 year old son going to enjoy CC or is it really geared toward younger kids?

 

3. We are going to Sea Grape Beach while in GC. on our own. Is that a good choice?

 

4. We are going to Xcaret through Carnival. Any reviews that you can throw our way? have read some good ones on the board.

 

5. Do we need to take our own picture ID(ie drivers license - no passport)

to embark and disembark when we reach ports?

[62 Cruiser]

Excuse the questions if they seem dumb but if you don't ask ....you don't know.

What about shirt and tie for the 13 year old at dinner in the dining room.

 

Are the shows worth watching?

[SandyW]

We were on the Inspiration a couple of weeks ago and had a wonderful time.

The ship was clean and the service great. There's a few nicks and scratches inside here and there...but nothing to detract from your trip. I think I was just looking because the ship goes into dry dock in September...so I was very pleased that it wasn't in a state of disrepair!

 

The port at Tampa is very well organized. The lines moved quickly.

 

Ice Tea, Water, Juice, Coffee, Hot Tea, Hot Chocolate and during meal times milk are all available on the Lido deck free of charge. The soda card is the best bet for those who drinks lots of soda. Coke ran us $1.75 each plus a 15% gratuity.

 

A side note here...if they don't hand you a tri-folded card with the deck plans as you enter the ship you can find them as you enter the buffet section of the lido deck. They also had them by the desserts and specialized coffees (which cost extra). And I think I also saw them down by the information desk. These will help everyone find their way around much easier. We aren't sure if it was because we arrived early or what - but we did not get one when we boarded.

 

They have greatly improved their programs for teens...so I'm sure your 13 year old will have a very enjoyable time. (The hardest part may be getting him to go to the first "meeting" of the teens so he can find out what will be going on.)

 

Yes, they suggest that you take your sail and sign card and drivers license. Some places check them both carefully, some do not.

 

Since it's a shorter cruise we were concerned that the shows might not be as good...or because there is only one formal night that we might only have the one Las Vegas type show...we were pleased to find out they had two and both were very well done. The other entertainers were enjoyable as well...with the possible exception of the first commedian - Kenny Miller who seemed to think picking on people was fun. (perhaps it is to some)

 

Can't help you with your excrusions. Except to say if you do go to the beach make sure stay on ships time and not GC time. Let me say this...the one excursion we've done that I wished my sons had been with us for was swimming with the Stingrays in Grand Cayman. That was so awesome. That's just my personal opinion though. I can't remember ever hearing anything bad about Xcaret. If this is Calica instead of Cozumel - make sure you take an excursion. Calica is a working quarry and there isn't much there as you exit the ship. That's not necessarily a bad thing...just different!

[62 Cruiser]

Thanks for the replies....please keep them coming. I was aware that the Inspiration was one of the older ships but am very glad to hear that it is still in very good shape.

Any suggestions on how early we should get to Port of Tampa? We are driving in the day before.

 

We are going to Calica not Cozumel. So we figured Playa del Carma or Xcaret.

There seems to be so much to do there. $59 pp isn't bad at all and then if some want to snorkel or swim with the dolphins then we will have the money to do that also. I just wish we were in GC a little longer. We figured Xcaret would be a more variety of fun.

We plan on having fun whatever it takes. I want this to be a memorable cruise for all the right reasons.

[buddyjo143]

These are capers for your son's age group. Different ship but the activities will be similar.

 

http://members.cox.net/wennfred4/12-14.html

 

Thanks to Wennfred who posted them originally.

 

You can read about Xcaret in my review of the Fascination.

 

If you can, pack your own snorkeling gear. They charge a deposit and fee for each item that you rent and they will try to give you your deposit back in pesos and not the US dollars that you give them for the deposit. If you can, do your shopping at the end of your excursion and pay for what you purchase with those pesos.

[Lv2Camp&Cruise]

We were docked beside the inspiration last year and talked to some people on that ship and heard great things. We are sailing her in October.

I can tell you that a 13 year old will probably not enjoy Camp Carnival as much as a younger child would. Last year we took our 10 year old dd and 14 year old ds. Our daughter went to CC the first day and met a few kids that she did things with throughout the cruise. Our son was lost without his buddies! He tried to go to the activities for his age group but there were only a couple of kids there and they didn't seem to have much going on for them. At home, he is always with a bunch of teenagers having a great time so it was hard for me to see him roaming the ship alone. I think it is hard for that aged boy to be without his "wing man". We decided that we would not go again with the kids unless we could afford to bring a friend for him. Luckily we have talked several other families into going next year with us so he will have plenty of his buddies with him.

With that said, I am sure you will have many kids on board since you are traveling in the summer. Encourage him to try the activities the first couple of days. The teen club that was for 15-17 year olds looked like it had mostly 14 and 15 year olds. If he is mature for his age, he would probably like that group better. The counselors that I spoke to said that it wouldn't be a problem.

Let me know if I can answer any other questions for you. :)

[curlydog]

We are sailing in less than 2 weeks out of Tampa. There are 9 of us going...4 "adults" and 5 children ages m 13, f 15, f 15, m 17, and m who just turned 18. I have enjoyed reading the forums and was wondering if anyone had recently been on the Inspiration and can give us some good pointers. My last cruise was 27 years ago :eek: (I know...way too long) aboard the Dolphin. My wife and children have never been on a cruise and the couple we are going with went 4 years ago on RC but their children haven't gone. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks!! :D

 

You're going to gave a great time.

 

I agree with PP think about doing the Sting Rays on GC

The Inspiration was our first cruise and we will be back on her again this November. You can click on the link in my signature for our review, and see pictures also.

 

I would use the search feature in the menu bar across the top of the page for "Inspiration review" in title only, there are a lot of great reviews to read. (you must be logged in)

[njs]

Sailed on the Inspiration in April and loved it. Had only been on the larger, newer ships before~ but found we love this class of ship. Not too big and never seemed crowded

I would definitely encourage Stingray City ~ it's one excursion you'll never forget. When we went there, our 13 yr old dd was a little nervous, but her older brothers loved it

Have fun

[gtalum]

Are you on the June 9 sailing? There are a few of us on that sailing over in the roll call forum. I'm sure it will be a good time. :)

 

We're scuba diving in GC and renting a car to go to Tulum from Calica.

[62 Cruiser]

Yes...we are on the June 9 sailing. I have gone to roll call. Maybe we can meet up.

[cruiselubbers]

I don't mean to advertise the thread I started.....:o but there are some excellent tips on there from not only what I wrote, but from many others as well. If you haven't checked it out, please do......

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=551161

 

You'll find everyone here is eager to answer your questions, so please ask as many as you want!

 

Make sure you do a thread search ust on the Inspiration, you'll find LOADS of stuff!

 

Best I can tell you is the Inspiration is a terrific ship now, the staff is AWESOME & even though she's older, unless your really bored....(good luck!) you'll never notice anything major. She is due for drydock in Sept. 07, but I have to say if she's this great now, she'll be unbeatable after that!

 

Have a TERRIFIC time! :D

 

PS....If you get really bored, check out my picture link in my signature! Or google Inspiration Carnival photos & you should many there too~

[62 Cruiser]

Thanks cruiselubbers. Good stuff.

We are on Empress deck. Mid ship. Any good news and/or bad news?

[schindog]

My family has been on this cruise. We have two boys age 14 and 17 at the time. Neither one really hung out at the teen clubs for their age group. We had asked if the kids could hang out together and because of the age difference we were told no(they seemed strict on the age restriction).They had met up with kids their own age within one hour of setting sail. The older ones generally hung out in the table area outside of the disco. The 14 year old roamed the boat with his friends constantly. Dh and I could be laying next to the pool and look up and they would be going by every thirty minutes or so. They still talk to some of the people they met on the boat. We tried using the walkie talkie strategy but could not get that to work. We ended up having meeting times and places and that worked well. With the back up that in any given circumstance we could always call the room phone and leave a message incase something came up. I have since heard on some ships that cell phones are working. Definitely purchase a drink card for the kids. Bring extra money for the onboard pictures. They were very good quality. We did the stinray city tour through Sotos Cruises and was very happy with the experience. The other boats we saw at Stingray city were much bigger and had many more people onboard. Ours was much more personal. If I was going to Calica again I would either do Xcaret or Xel-ha. We have stayed in Cancun twice before and visited Xel-Ha. If you are a snorkeler and love the water that this is the place for you. We went pre hurricane so i dont know if this area was affected. This particular trip we took a taxi to the beach at mamitas beach where we rented a palpa and some chairs. Then we took a taxi back to the main playa del carmen area and ate at Senior Frogs (good food but expensive) and went and had very good margaritas at Carlos and Charlies (sold in a yard glass :rolleyes: ) Purchased some vanilla and a bathing suit wrap. Got back to the boat early enough to sit on the top deck with a bucket of beer and watched the people getting back to the boat just under the bell. Fun to watch the people who have had a few too many. Hope this helps.

[62 Cruiser]

Everyone has been very helpful. Anything ya'll can throw my way, I am sooooo appreciative. I will give a detailed good and bad-if there is any bad- review of all we did and suggest things for the people who are cruising in the future.

I am going to print the responses off next week before we drive down to Tampa (9 hours :eek:). It will provide some reading material for passengers to help pass the time.

Anything you can think of...don't hesitate to suggest. Keep'em coming!!

 

I have read where many people have taken lanyards....what is ya'lls opinion? (yes..ya'll is a true word here in the south) :D

[SandyW]

I had read in the Port Authority Q&A that "embarkation staff starts processing incoming passengers at 10:30 am." We arrived shortly after 10. Had to stand in line outside because there were three wedding parties that day. Once they cleared the wedding parties the line moved very quickly. (There is a nice seating area inside.) I think we sat for 10 or 15 minutes. They let us go on the ship about 10:40.

 

You won't be able to go to your cabin before 1:30 - or at least are asked not to. (They close the doors to the hallways.) However, the buffet line is open and it's fun to wander the ship when everyone isn't on board yet.

[PINEVIEW01]

Thanks cruiselubbers. Good stuff.

We are on Empress deck. Mid ship. Any good news and/or bad news?

Inside or OV. As long as you aren't under the galley IS.

 

I arrived last time at about 11!

[jpmaximus]

Drink prices are average bar prices. If i remember correctly a Long Island Ice Tea was clos to the price of a rum and coke so that was alittle strange. Anyway you will love the Inspiration. I was so impressed. The ship really looks new fpr her age. I loved the decor and the atrium at night is simply amazing! Wait until you see it all lit up! WOW!

[mattmdv]

We did the Inspiration 2 years ago and had a wonderful time, we would sail the her again, no problem!!

Here's a link to some of my pictures from the Inspiration, hope you enjoy them.

http://community.webshots.com/user/mattmdv

 

Can't really remember any that you must do, or anyting to avoid. Just go and have a blast, we know you will.

 

Matt

[halos]

Any suggestions on how early we should get to Port of Tampa? We are driving in the day before.

 

 

We sailed on the Inspiration out of Tampa in March and I loved sailing out of there SO much!! We left our hotel at about 11:00, took the hotel shuttle to the port; were there by 11:15. The porters were awesome. Handed over our bags, walked into the terminal, right up to check in (no line). They weren't boarding yet, so they gave us a number (group #6) and told us to wait. We walked over to where they had seating for people to wait, stared at the ship out the window. By 11:35 they started calling groups, by 11:45 they called our group, by 11:55 we were on the Lido with lunch in front of us.

 

We will be sailing out of Tampa agin in March 2008 on the Legend :D ...in between now and then we'll be sailing on NCL out of NY City and I already know from experience THAT will not be the same boarding experience at all :eek:

 

Enjoy your cruise, the Inspiration is great!!

[gtalum]

Excuse the questions if they seem dumb but if you don't ask ....you don't know.

 

There's no such thing as a stupid question. :)

 

What about shirt and tie for the 13 year old at dinner in the dining room.

 

On our Miracle cruise in 2005, I saw very few people with ties on formal night. A nice shirt and dress pants and a jacket if possible will do, especially for a kid.

[gtalum]

Any suggestions on how early we should get to Port of Tampa? We are driving in the day before.

 

Again my experience of Port of Tampa is our Miracle cruise in 2005. I assume it will work the same with Inspiration. We arrived about 11:30, and were checked in within 15 minutes. Then we waited another 15-20 minutes for our boarding group to be called and we were sitting in the Lido buffet eating lunch by 12:15.

[schindog]

We got onboard by 12:30. Beer was 5 dollars a can. A bucket of 4 cost 18 dollars so you saved 2 dollars for a bucket. One thing i thought of was dont hurt yourself getting off of the boat in Grand Cayman unless you have an excursion to get to. We were off early and there was nothing to do because the shops didnt open until 9 and 10 am. We sat for like an hour and a half for our excursion to pick us up. Happy Sailing.