Inspiration Review - 5/23-5/28 - Lots of Photos!

[Rachel5309]

what a fun review! I enjoyed reading it!!!

[mebfalcon]

Thanks for takign the time to write it. Can you tell me what to wear to dinner in the dining room. Can I wear capris or do I need a sundress. What about guys, are cargo khaki shorts o.k. with nice shirt? What about formal night for guys (dh and ds15)

[bfkkbc]

Thanks for takign the time to write it. Can you tell me what to wear to dinner in the dining room. Can I wear capris or do I need a sundress. What about guys, are cargo khaki shorts o.k. with nice shirt? What about formal night for guys (dh and ds15)

Capris wil be fine. For fomal night I would be a little dressier though. Kaki shorts are fine for the boys with a polo shirt. Formal night for guys my husband wore kakis with a dress shirt as well as his father who is retired military. I don't think ties are called for. You will see people from one extreme to the other.

[kyrisong1]

hey Jimbug what about an 8 day Miracle to Costa Rica and Panama? More sea days but omg Costa Rica is beautiful and the locks in Panama are fun to do ONCE, as well as the indian tribe at the port, really cool handcrafts and stuff, I think this one is also a Belize stop, gotta love cavetubbing!!!!

Great review, thanks!!!

Carole

[jimbug]

hey Jimbug what about an 8 day Miracle to Costa Rica and Panama? More sea days but omg Costa Rica is beautiful and the locks in Panama are fun to do ONCE, as well as the indian tribe at the port, really cool handcrafts and stuff, I think this one is also a Belize stop, gotta love cavetubbing!!!!

Great review, thanks!!!

Carole

 

Thanks for the suggestion, kyrisong! :) That IS a great itinerary...but I actually did that on our 8-day Liberty trip in 2008, so I'm not quite ready for a repeat yet...

[JXR]

- I am, officially and completely, a piano bar crazy girl. Before my Carnival Liberty cruise last year, I'd never experienced the phenomenon, and just didn't understand it when certain people would come on CruiseCritic raving about how great the Carnival piano bars are...ha! Well, after my first experience with the one and only Vince Strong on the Liberty (Vince, you're awesome), I thought no one could top him. Now, I can say I don't know if anyone can top Barry...very different styles, but both so very talented! :) So, I'm looking forward to seeing a few other Carnival piano bar entertainers on future cruises...and for that reason alone, I think I'm "hooked" on cruising with only Carnival in the future...

 

I agree with you. I now plan my cruises based on who will be playing in the Piano Bar. Last year, I sailed with Ron Pass, and I thought that nobody could top him. This year, I sailed with Vince Strong, and he was equally as good, but very different at the same time.

 

Another great itinerary is the 7-day Eastern that goes to St Thomas, Grand Turk, Half Moon Cays & San Juan. I did it on the Freedom last year, but I think that the Liberty now does that itinerary.

 

PS. Great review ....

 

Joanne

[jimbug]

Thanks for takign the time to write it. Can you tell me what to wear to dinner in the dining room. Can I wear capris or do I need a sundress. What about guys, are cargo khaki shorts o.k. with nice shirt? What about formal night for guys (dh and ds15)

 

I just wanted to add that this was probably the most casual cruise I've ever been on...I'm guessing it was mostly because it was a shorter cruise and most of the passengers seemed to live within driving distance of Tampa...it just wasn't as "fancy" as I'm used to.

 

That said, capris or whatever you want to wear in the dining room are just fine. I packed a few pairs of capris, some casual pants, and a couple of skirts. I ended up not wearing the skirts at all, except for my dress on formal night. It was just *that* casual...there were lots of denim capris, cute/tasteful denim shorts on girls, etc. I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to what the guys were wearing, but I seem to remember most of them just wearing khaki-type pants and either a polo or a very casual button-up shirt. Formal night, most everyone was dressed very nicely and appropriately--not a lot of tuxedos, but still a well-dressed crowd nonetheless. :)

[lollylew]

jimbug..have you considered some of the port heavy Southern Caribbean ones? Probably the only thing that turns me off is that they sail out of Puerto Rico or Barbados but there are many, many cool ports on those itineraries. :)

[billh65]

- Food...I thought the lunch and late-night food on the lido deck was pretty consistently bad, both indoors and at the poolside grill. The pizza was really bad (sorry, it just was, and I wasn't the only one who thought so!), and the hot dogs/hamburgers/chicken strips/fries were either majorly picked over every time we went, or had been sitting out for far too long. We just didn't have good luck there.

 

We got on the Inspiration the day you got off ... we did the Lido for lunch only, did breakfast and dinner in the dining room. My downfall was the salad and dessert areas in the Lido area. I always tried to get things I don't usually get at home - so never had a fry all week let alone a burger or dog. The deli sandwiches were great ... and we got pizza at least once a day, usually later in the evening. Was disappointed with a late night calzonne as it lacked enough pepperoni ... but hardly ever found the pizza bad ... I tried about 4 different varieties, missed a couple of the choices. I do think the portions of food at dinner were larger in the dining room on Inspiration than our last cruise on RCCL Mariner.

 

And Southern crowd - it does make sense to see so many ... I am fortunate to have 5 Florida cruise ports within 4 hours of my home. In fact on May 28, we left home at 10:45, were waiting at check-in at 11:45, and eating lunch on the lido deck at 12:20. With the price that I got for an outside view, it made a great extended weekend.

[jimbug]

We got on the Inspiration the day you got off ... we did the Lido for lunch only, did breakfast and dinner in the dining room. My downfall was the salad and dessert areas in the Lido area. I always tried to get things I don't usually get at home - so never had a fry all week let alone a burger or dog. The deli sandwiches were great ... and we got pizza at least once a day, usually later in the evening. Was disappointed with a late night calzonne as it lacked enough pepperoni ... but hardly ever found the pizza bad ... I tried about 4 different varieties, missed a couple of the choices. I do think the portions of food at dinner were larger in the dining room on Inspiration than our last cruise on RCCL Mariner.

 

And Southern crowd - it does make sense to see so many ... I am fortunate to have 5 Florida cruise ports within 4 hours of my home. In fact on May 28, we left home at 10:45, were waiting at check-in at 11:45, and eating lunch on the lido deck at 12:20. With the price that I got for an outside view, it made a great extended weekend.

 

As for the food...well, this was probably the first cruise where I just didn't care. Normally I will make it a point to try lunch and breakfast at all of the different venues, and will really pay attention to the food for dinner in the dining room, etc....but food just wasn't a priority this time. I do admit that if we had gone to the lido at more typical meal times, instead of the "off" hours, we probably would have had better selection...stuff like that. The pizza at 3:00 a.m. though, was just not that tasty. It might have been better during the day when they weren't just setting there for so long.

 

Also, I am very jealous that you live so close to the cruise ports!!! I have a feeling that if that was me, I would be on a cruise at least once a month!!! :D

[cathyoo]

Thank you for sharing your experience. It looks like you had a grand time (your pictures are fantastic)

thanks again

[DarthGrady]

However, I do have one final picture to share...this is just outside of the Violins Bar near the casino, and I just thought it was a nice portrait of the Inspiration...she may not be as "flashy" as the Conquest-class and newer Carnival ships, but truly, the Inspiration is still in great shape and has quite a few more years left in her!

 

Totally agree, she is a great ship! I've had some great times on her, and in that same piano bar! Its going to be a sad day when they finally relocate her to a new port or retire her.

[Kisigi]

Jimbug thank you so much for the review and fun commentary. We just booked our first Carnival Cruise on the Inspiration to sail August 15 and your review was just what I've been looking for. :)

[CMM]

Great Review

 

Planning for a Western cruise so I was interested in your experiences in Grand Cayman, thanks for sharing. Then you mentioned your Liberty review so had to look up your review on Cozumel and you had great info on Chankanaab there too! If it isn't taxing your memory too much do you recall what the t'shirt was like with the combo there? Was it decent quality. Our family is considering this.

 

Piano bars seem a lot more intriguing after your review. Thanks for sharing.

[jimbug]

Great Review

 

Planning for a Western cruise so I was interested in your experiences in Grand Cayman, thanks for sharing. Then you mentioned your Liberty review so had to look up your review on Cozumel and you had great info on Chankanaab there too! If it isn't taxing your memory too much do you recall what the t'shirt was like with the combo there? Was it decent quality. Our family is considering this.

 

Piano bars seem a lot more intriguing after your review. Thanks for sharing.

 

The t-shirt at Chankanaab was not very good quality...much like those 5 for $10 shirts you see all over Cozumel...but, they made some cute souvenirs for my grandma's neighbors back home that she wanted to get something for. But, t-shirt or not, that combo seemed to be the most cost-effective overall, especially if you wanted to snorkel.

 

Definitely check out the piano bar at least once. ;)

[RaMar]

Nice review and nice shots. Thanks!

[Hollybelle]

Great review and pictures!! Your piano bar love gives me hope that one of our future cruises will have a great piano guy, because our recent experience was less than stellar (Liberty, 5/2/09). However, I'm more than willing to keep trying different cruises until I find one :D.

[jimbug]

Great review and pictures!! Your piano bar love gives me hope that one of our future cruises will have a great piano guy, because our recent experience was less than stellar (Liberty, 5/2/09). However, I'm more than willing to keep trying different cruises until I find one :D.

 

Awww, I'm sorry you didn't have a great piano guy. I've just been really lucky, I guess, with my two Carnival cruises. Vince and Barry are the best! :)

[CMM]

The t-shirt at Chankanaab was not very good quality...much like those 5 for $10 shirts you see all over Cozumel...but, they made some cute souvenirs for my grandma's neighbors back home that she wanted to get something for. But, t-shirt or not, that combo seemed to be the most cost-effective overall, especially if you wanted to snorkel.

 

Definitely check out the piano bar at least once. ;)

 

Thanks for the info!

[fdlafon]

Thanks for the review and photos!

We are sailing this August and I can't wait! First cruise with kids. We are all excited to go.

[sailingawaysoon]

Thanks for the awesome review and pics. It looks like you guys had a blast!

[vanislandcruisers]

You did a great job on this Review..love the Pictures in the Piano Bar

[beachgirl75]

Ahhh, I'm jealous! What I would give to be back on the Inspiration in 2 weeks...whatever you do, go to the piano bar at least once. ;)

 

Definitely not too early to start packing--get movin', girl!

:Dhey girl!!! loved the review! we just got off the fascination in january>>>had a blast and am going on inspiration in january with friends and family and I am soooo lookin forward to the piano bar now...ill tell barry heyyyy from ya lol.....I am ready to throw down some drinks with my girls!!! i really enjoyed your rview...maybe i can email u sometime? I get confused on this site on how to check messages....my email is cinnamonevans@yahoo maybe u can drop me a line and we can swap cruise pics? i am also going on dream next....my name is cinnamon and i am 34 from springfield,illinois.....nice to "meet ya"

[hawaiikat]

Looks like you are my type of cruiser, glad you had a great time. I have a quick question for you....

 

You mentioned the Jet Ski with Fat fish adventures and my daughter and I are booked for that in 12 days! Here's my question...(well, 2)

 

1. Was it difficult to get back on the Jet Ski from the water? I am a pretty fluffy woman with one bad leg...will I make it?

 

2. Should I spring for 2 Jet Skis? Right now my daughter and I are booked one one. She is 16 and has Jet Skiied before, I haven't done it in years so I original thought it would be best to ride tandem...but????

 

Much mahalos!

 

Aloha,

Kat

[jimbug]

Looks like you are my type of cruiser, glad you had a great time. I have a quick question for you....

 

You mentioned the Jet Ski with Fat fish adventures and my daughter and I are booked for that in 12 days! Here's my question...(well, 2)

 

1. Was it difficult to get back on the Jet Ski from the water? I am a pretty fluffy woman with one bad leg...will I make it?

 

2. Should I spring for 2 Jet Skis? Right now my daughter and I are booked one one. She is 16 and has Jet Skiied before, I haven't done it in years so I original thought it would be best to ride tandem...but????

 

Much mahalos!

 

Aloha,

Kat

 

1. It wasn't easy...but it's much more about arm/upper body strength than legs, that's for sure. You just have to pull yourself up on the back of the jet ski...our guide was willing to help anyone who needed it, but fortunately for me, I didn't need it, surprisingly enough.

 

2. I think having our own jet skis was definitely fun, and worth the $$...but if the money was a factor, I would still go and just share a jet ski. The family with us had 3 people on 1 jet ski...they still went just as fast and did crazy turns and stuff just like we did on our own, so I'm sure they still had plenty of fun! :)