Inspiration.....09/13-09/18/2008

[jaw5293]

Hi All.....just back tonight from the 5 night cruise out of Tampa on the Inspiration. Will write review tomorrow.

 

Anyone with questions let me know.

 

Had a wonderful trip with no complaints about anything!!

 

Jane

[cherun]

We are on her on Monday.. so your review will be great to read... Did you get to go to Caymans and Cozumel and what did you do there? Anything that is a "don't want to miss" on the ship?

Thanks

[mycutiepatooties]

We're taking this cruise too for spring break. I'm dying to read your review. I'm new to cruising. I'd love to hear what people are wearing for dinner. How was the childcare service if you used it? Were the shows good--any you liked more than others? What is there to do onboard? What excursions did you do? Thanks!!!!

[jaw5293]

We did the Stingray, coral reef, and starfish tour with NativeWay while in Grand Cayman and loved it! I actually got the hang of snorkeling and loved it. Much cheaper than the same tour offered by Carnival. I've used NativeWay before.

 

In Cozumel did the Nachi Cocum beach break. Was a cloudy day with a few sprinkles though not enough to dampen our partying! They limit # of people to 100 although there were only about 16 there the day we were. Talk about personalized service!! Food great, drinks good. Had chairs on the beach or used their pool with swim up bar.

 

Don't miss the shows in the evening on the ship. And if you're inclined the adult comedy shows were great. Tried the waterslides and had lots of fun there.

 

Jane

[jaw5293]

Didn't use the child care.

 

Most times in the dining room people were wearing dressy casual. I'm not a dress wearer so I had on dressy satiny pants with silky type tops each night. On formal night very few guys had suits. Most wore shirts/ties or with sport coats. There were a couple of tuxes mixed in too. Women wore mostly short fancy dresses and a few long ones mixed in. Got the idea "church" type clothes were the norm in the dining room. Never noticed anyone in jeans except for the teens. My boyfriend did wear khaki shorts one night.

[jaw5293]

Just posted my cruise review....guess it'll be showing soon on the review page. Please let me know if you have any questions.

[prttygirlmss]

Sorry I missed you on the boat. I had a wonderful time and I will posting my review as well. I hope you a had a nice cruise.

Michelle

[prttygirlmss]

I will also be happy to answer questions. I traveled with my DH and 3 kids ages 9,13 and 15.

My DD only used the kids club on 2 nights because they had some fun activities. The other 2 nights the activity was to watch movies and board games. Not what she wanted to do.

 

Shows, I did not like the stage shows. I did like the comedy.

 

I agree with jaw5293 about the dress attire on formal night. On the other nights I saw everything you could think of. It was definitely casual.

[jaw5293]

My review of the Inspiration was just posted on the review page in case anyone is interested.

 

Jane

[Tgrubbs]

Was the Mongolian Grill on board.? I read on the boards that there was and wasn't one. It looked pretty good by the pictures I've seen on other threads.

[jaw5293]

I never noticed a Mongolian Grill......Sorry.

 

jane

[momma5]

We're taking this cruise too for spring break. I'm dying to read your review. I'm new to cruising. I'd love to hear what people are wearing for dinner. How was the childcare service if you used it? Were the shows good--any you liked more than others? What is there to do onboard? What excursions did you do? Thanks!!!!

we were on this trip as well. Our kids (ages 7, 5 & 4) went to Camp Carnival every night and a couple times during the morning or day throughout the trip-their request. They loved all the activities in Camp Carnival and the staff there was great. My 7 year old's only complaint was that we picked him up too early during the late night party and he wanted to stay longer:) For younger kids they give you a cell phone to reach you if they need to, we were never called but it assured us that if our kids needed us we would be notified.

The shows in the evening were okay. I've seen better on Carnival ships but if you're new to cruising it'll be worth going to at least one to see if it's your style. We went to them all but didn't stay for all of them. The last show (a latin dancing & singing show) was the best one although we questioned how appropriate it was for kids as the costumes were, in my opinion, inappropriate. I did wind up taking our 4 year old (the only one who went with us that night) out during the show.

The dress was very casual most nights for dinner. I saw many people in tank tops even though the capers said no tank tops and several people in shorts for dinner as well. It didn't seem to bother anyone that some were very casual and some more dressed up. Formal night varied too but everyone looked very nice.

[princeryanandevan]

we were on this trip as well. Our kids (ages 7, 5 & 4) went to Camp Carnival every night and a couple times during the morning or day throughout the trip-their request. They loved all the activities in Camp Carnival and the staff there was great. My 7 year old's only complaint was that we picked him up too early during the late night party and he wanted to stay longer:) For younger kids they give you a cell phone to reach you if they need to, we were never called but it assured us that if our kids needed us we would be notified.

The shows in the evening were okay. I've seen better on Carnival ships but if you're new to cruising it'll be worth going to at least one to see if it's your style. We went to them all but didn't stay for all of them. The last show (a latin dancing & singing show) was the best one although we questioned how appropriate it was for kids as the costumes were, in my opinion, inappropriate. I did wind up taking our 4 year old (the only one who went with us that night) out during the show.

The dress was very casual most nights for dinner. I saw many people in tank tops even though the capers said no tank tops and several people in shorts for dinner as well. It didn't seem to bother anyone that some were very casual and some more dressed up. Formal night varied too but everyone looked very nice.

 

Hi Momma5 - we are on the Inspiration in November with 2 young kids (5 & 7). It is so good to hear that your kids liked Camp Carnival. Were the 5 & 7 year olds together? Are there any things that YOU did not like about Camp Carnival. We plan on using it here and there - maybe to read by the pool for an hour or two and after dinner so we can attend a show or two.

 

I also saw your comments about Paradise Beach - so it looks to me like you don't recommend it because of the rocks and the water - is that correct? We are looking at Nachi or San Francisco Beach Club - do you know anything about those?

 

And lastly (I could ask you a million questions but I wont!) - did your kids enjoy the food. My boys are fairly picky as are most 5 & 7 year olds so I'm hoping that the food was good for them.

 

Any other recommendations/tips/comments you have would also be appreciated!

 

Thanks so much,

Barbara

[erikmissy]

Hello to everyone from the ship. It was our first and a great experience. My DD, age 9, like some of the kids camp but spent most of her time at the water slides. Hey prttygirlmss I think my DD and yours played together a lot. Are you in Cherokee County? We are in Henry. The food was great my DD is often picky but she tried (and liked) several new foods!

Our complaint about the kids camp was that they did not have there own room like all the other age groups did. We liked the first show but not so much the second. Overall it was great and we will do it again.

[ata1976]

I'm in Henry County, small world!

We'll be on the Inspiration soon. :)

[seashell36]

Were the 5 & 7 year olds together? - did your kids enjoy the food.

Barbara, The 5 & 7 year olds will not be in the same Camp Carnival group. The 5 year old will be in the younger age group (3-5 or 2-5 not sure the youngest age) and the 7 year old will be in the 6-8 yr old group. My kids' first cruise our 4 yr old boy really enjoyed it. Unless it has changed both of those groups will be in the CC room.

On the food front, my oldest was the picky eater queen:rolleyes: . I was sure on our cruise she would live on bread, pasta and ice cream. But, she surprised us. We told her she could try anything that she wanted to, knowing that she could always fall back on her faves. She tried a new food each night - sushi, calamari, french onion soup (because it had cheese on it), lobster. Our then 4 yr old ate more from the kid's menu - he would have fresh fruit appetizer and then either pizza or chicken.

[prttygirlmss]

Hello to everyone from the ship. It was our first and a great experience. My DD, age 9, like some of the kids camp but spent most of her time at the water slides. Hey prttygirlmssI think my DD and yours played together a lot. Are you in Cherokee County? We are in Henry. The food was great my DD is often picky but she tried (and liked) several new foods!

Our complaint about the kids camp was that they did not have there own room like all the other age groups did. We liked the first show but not so much the second. Overall it was great and we will do it again.

Yes, we are in Cherokee County. I do believe my DD did play with yours. The little girls we traveled with were always at the water slides. They were the best. I really was not impressed with the Camp Carnival. I guess I was expecting what It was like last year on RCCL. My DS -13 was not Happy that there was no place special for this age group to have for themselves. Luckily he had his friends with him and they made their own fun.

I thought the food availability was very good. There is something for every kind of eater. You will never go hungry and I think my kids had more ice cream than they ever had in 5 days.:D

[momma5]

Hi Momma5 - we are on the Inspiration in November with 2 young kids (5 & 7). It is so good to hear that your kids liked Camp Carnival. Were the 5 & 7 year olds together? Are there any things that YOU did not like about Camp Carnival. We plan on using it here and there - maybe to read by the pool for an hour or two and after dinner so we can attend a show or two.

 

I also saw your comments about Paradise Beach - so it looks to me like you don't recommend it because of the rocks and the water - is that correct? We are looking at Nachi or San Francisco Beach Club - do you know anything about those?

 

And lastly (I could ask you a million questions but I wont!) - did your kids enjoy the food. My boys are fairly picky as are most 5 & 7 year olds so I'm hoping that the food was good for them.

 

Any other recommendations/tips/comments you have would also be appreciated!

 

Thanks so much,

Barbara

barbara,

 

 

My kids had a fantastic trip! My 5 and 7 year old were not together and I was worried that the 5 year old wouldn't enjoy her age group that much as when I first took her it seemed to be geared toward toddlers more than 5 (almost 6) years old..but she loved it! And when you look at all the activities listed for each group there are lots of things for them to do. We mostly let them go at night after dinner. They ate dinner with us in the dining room then wanted to head straight to Camp Carnival-we picked them up a few minutes before ten each night (after 10 there is a charge for babysitting and it seems they mostly had the kids rest and watch a movie after that time)

Although my 7 year old did stay one night for the late night party for his age group and he had a blast- we didn't let him stay the full time as 1 am is a little late for him (and us) and there was a fee for that, but it was reasonable and he really had a good time.

Paradise Beach was okay, our main issue was with the rocks and water but we did have a lot of fun. I prefer beaches that are soft and the water is clear and has soft sand underfoot, but that's just me. There was plenty of fun stuff to do there but like I said, I prefer a different kind of beach. We went to 7 mile beach (sea grape) in Grand Cayman and LOVED IT! Not any toys (except for the buckets and shovels we brought with us) but it was more our style of beach and atmosphere. And the kids loved Sea Grape just as much if not more than Paradise beach even with all the activities at PB

As for the food on the ship- we told our kids that we wanted them to try new things and not eat the kids food the whole time (hot dogs, chicken nuggets, etc) we thought since we're doing something different and special they should try new things and if they didn't like them, they could have something else later (like pizza from the 24 hour pizza place or room service).

Our 7 year old ate steak most nights but tried many new dishes and our 5 year old ate shrimp cocktail every night as an appetizer and tried all kinds of new foods, which she really loved. Our 4 year old ate off the kids menu most nights but we did get him to try a few new things and he did order appetizers off the adult menu every night. So to sum it up, there are many things for them to eat, and there is always the pizza place and room service available if nothing suits their fancy.

 

Hope your trip is great!!

[jaw5293]

Barbara,

 

My group of 4 did the nachi cocum beack break and loved it. But we were 4 adults. Did not see anything to keep kids entertained unless they just like playing in the sand and water. Especially if you have to pay the $49/person for them.

 

Paradise Beach is free but you pay to use the water stuff...think it's like $10/person and get a wrist band. Did Paradise Beach in 2005.

 

Food and drinks were good at both places. All inclusive at Nachi Cocum though.

 

Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

Jane

[princeryanandevan]

Thank you both for your help. I'm really glad your kids enjoyed Camp Carnival and I love your idea that they have to try something new or different. I guess that really is the beauty of cruising - you don't mind ordering something out of the ordinary because you can always get something else if you don't like it. Great idea!

 

I'm still on the fence about PB, Nachi and I've also gotten recommendations for San Francisco Beach and also the Wyndham - I guess I'll be spending a lot of time on the Cozumel boards. I do plan on going to 7 mile beach in Grand Cayman - everyone says it is a must!

 

Thanks for all your input - it really helps.

Barbara

[marktac]

Hi Momma5 - we are on the Inspiration in November with 2 young kids (5 & 7). It is so good to hear that your kids liked Camp Carnival. Were the 5 & 7 year olds together? Are there any things that YOU did not like about Camp Carnival. We plan on using it here and there - maybe to read by the pool for an hour or two and after dinner so we can attend a show or two.

 

I also saw your comments about Paradise Beach - so it looks to me like you don't recommend it because of the rocks and the water - is that correct? We are looking at Nachi or San Francisco Beach Club - do you know anything about those?

 

And lastly (I could ask you a million questions but I wont!) - did your kids enjoy the food. My boys are fairly picky as are most 5 & 7 year olds so I'm hoping that the food was good for them.

 

Any other recommendations/tips/comments you have would also be appreciated!

 

Thanks so much,

Barbara

 

We just got off the Inspiration today (our 2nd cruise on her this year).

 

The 5 & 7 year old will be in adjacent rooms. I think the breakdown is 3-5, 6-8, and 9-11. Ours was in the 9-11 for the first time. The Inspiration program wasn't as great for the older kids as it seems it was for the younger ones. Our boy spent more time with us than on previous cruises.

 

We have usually gone to Chankanaab in the past but tried Paradise Beach this time. There is a fairly large area that is quite sandy, with both sides going into flat rocky areas that can be walked on with water shoes with no problem. The water trampoline and iceberg are about 100 ft. out in water that was about 15 feet or so deep. They are part of the $10 per person charge (optional) with which you can also get life vests for the kids.

 

Food....Carnival has a good kids menu. All the junk food...pizza, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, fries. They can also order off the regular menu if they choose to do so. Lido deck also has 24hr pizza and ice cream. We ended each day with a cone or two (or three).

[kapeavey]

Was Robin on the ship? He is one of the cruise director's staff. He was only on the ship a few months/weeks when we sailed the Inspiration in August, but he was great! He was much more personable and had much more fun than Risa Barnes.

 

I wonder if he's moved on to a bigger and better ship yet, or if he's CD already. He's got my vote!