Inspiration Review

[sogamusicman]

I've posted this in the review area, but it seemed appropriate here as well. If not, then the board can delete it.

 

Here is my review of the Carnival Inspiration sailing on November 19 from Tampa to Grand Cayman and Cozumel.

 

Embarkation was a breeze. We stayed at the Doubletree and parked the car there. It is a good deal, but you do have to pay for the shuttle. Parking was free. We left the hotel at 11:00. We sat in the terminal for 20 minutes and were on the ship by 12:30. Boy, was that easy or what!

 

Since this was our first cruise, we had nothing to compare it to, but we really like the ship. It’s newly refurbished and you can tell. The crew is VERY friendly. I don’t remember anyone who wasn’t happy to help, even when we got lost and needed directions! I thought I’d break the review down into experiences and you can judge from there.

 

The Cabin

It was bigger than I expected (I guess I’ve read too many reviews). Our cabin steward did an excellent job of keeping it straight, especially the bathroom. You know how when you’re in a nice restaurant, they won’t let you keep a dirty ashtray on the table? Same concept with Anatoli and the bathroom. I swear, it looked like you could eat off the floor(I don’t want to, but….) The flat screen TV was nice. Love the bed….

 

The Food

The buffets are OK, but not spectacular. The coffee is not good, I’ll bring instant next time. Everyone seemed very conscious of hygiene at the buffets. I was grateful for that. I thought the Dining Room food was quite good. A person at my table wasn’t impressed, but I thought it was very good. Some things were better than others, but that’s been my experience even in 5 star restaurants. The wait staff was excellent and what can I say about Babu that hasn’t been said already.

 

The Entertainment

All of the musicians were first rate. Some, of course were better than others. The singers were not as strong as the instrumentalists. I was very impressed with the dancers. The Las Vegas style show was much better than the first show. This may sound weird, but how do you do a Motown salute with no African-Americans in the cast? That just sorta jumped out at me. On a different note, I agree with some who think the games are a bit juvenile, but each to his own. There was something for everyone.

 

Some Final Thoughts

There were 800 children on this cruise and the crew handled them well. I only noticed them twice. I’m glad I didn’t care about the pool, cause there was no way with all the kids. Despite that, I don’t ever remember being around a happier set of travelers. It is possible that most were practicing better living through chemistry (there was a little bit of alcohol being sold….) but this was just a happy group of people.

 

Disembark

We chose self-disembark and it was a breeze. We lined up at 7:10 and were on the street and in a taxi at 7:40. I was impressed! We may try some other lines for comparison purposes, but I suspect we’ll be back on Carnival soon!

[*Mach*]

Very cool. Did you happen to see folks playing on the new water slide or was it just kids?

 

Thanks for the review!

[Chuggiebug]

What about mini golf? Did they have a course?

[FLCruiser001]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise! Are you hooked? Are you planning your next one?:D

[imatarb]

Sounds great! Can't wait to board in a little over a month from now. I know our almost 9-yr. old son will love the water slide and kids pool area. :)

[pacerzfan]

Thanks for the review, sogamusicman!

[-ClevelandRocks-]

This was our first cruise (Tampa/GC/Coz) when Sensation had that route. It was ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS and I'd recommend it to anyine for a first cruise experience.

[FLCruiser001]

What about mini golf? Did they have a course?

 

Yes, up on the Sun deck. I didn't play, but it was a nice looking set up.

[curlydog]

 

The Entertainment

All of the musicians were first rate. Some, of course were better than others. The singers were not as strong as the instrumentalists. I was very impressed with the dancers. The Las Vegas style show was much better than the first show. This may sound weird, but how do you do a Motown salute with no African-Americans in the cast? That just sorta jumped out at me. On a different note, I agree with some who think the games are a bit juvenile, but each to his own. There was something for everyone.

 

Some Final Thoughts

There were 800 children on this cruise and the crew handled them well. I only noticed them twice. I’m glad I didn’t care about the pool, cause there was no way with all the kids. Despite that, I don’t ever remember being around a happier set of travelers. It is possible that most were practicing better living through chemistry (there was a little bit of alcohol being sold….) but this was just a happy group of people.

 

We saw the second show last month on the Fascination, with the same female singer, but a different male singer, both the singing and dance performance was much better on the Fascination, I liked the first show much better.

It was amazing how well behaved all those kids were