Tigerdog1

Just got back from a quick 3 day Ensenada cruise on the newly redone Inspiration. Overall, this cruise was excellent. Keep in mind the price you pay and the value you receive. In our case, we paid very little and received a great value.

 

PROs:

1) Clean Boat-Our room was always cool.

2) Friendly Staff-Ali the Cocktail Server was extremely hospitable.

3) Guy's Burger-Awesome, mouthwatering burgers pretty much available all day.

4) Next to Guy's is a Burrito/Taco Bar. Excellent Breakfast Tacos.

5) Sea Day Brunch-Wonderful food and crowds were minimal. Mac n cheese with Bacon was tasty.

6) Alchemy Bar-Great drinks and tasty little bites (Cheese, Olives, Cashews).

7) Taste Bar-Next to Casino..Had free appetizers nightly.

 

CONs:

1) Carnival needs to put better soap and shampoo in the rooms.

2) NO LOBSTER on elegant night. IT was an up-charge of $20. We bought it and it was worth it. You get TWO BIG TAILS.

3) Dining Room Food-Not as good as previous Carnival cruises.

4) Party Boat- A lot of POT SMOKERS. I got sick from the stench.

5) Casino staff a little irritated. Almost did not pay out for a Blackjack Double Down. Thank god for the witnesses.

 

Overall, this cruise is perfect for a weekend getaway. I would definitely recommend others and will be booking again, shortly.

The Inspiration and Imagination tend to be more like a frat party on the weekend cruises, less do during the 4 day week journeys.

The Guy's burger, Blue Iguana cantina, Blue Iguana tequila bar, Red Frog Rum bar, and Alchemy bar are part of the 2.0 upgrades just completed at the end of January. We're sailing next week and looking forward to them.

The upcharge for lobster is a real bummer. They could have limited the quantities so that the feature wasn't abused, but for many of us, it was the highlight dinner of the cruise.

The taste bar is very hit and miss as to when it's open. Seems like maybe 2 hours a day. Maybe.

Your worst day on a cruise is better than the best day at the office!

If you have a set time- early or late dining, they assign you seating in the Carnivale Aft dining room. With Your Time Dining, you eat in the Mardi Gras Dining room, both on the Atlantic Deck.

I'm pretty sure that all full-time Carnival US ships has the new internet plans.

Only four of Carnival's 24 ships currently have the Hub App available on board. Breeze, Freedom, Glory, and Sunshine. Two others are getting it within the next 2 months, and the rest should have it some time this year.

The social media package is available I believe on all ships.

Don't see that Fun Times that was promised. That would be nice, since I sail on March 7.

I'm interested to know where the Alchemy Bar went. I went to check deck plans on carnival dot com, but the updated ones don't appear to have been uploaded yet.

The deck plan on the Inspiration has been updated.

The Alchemy bar is on the Promenade level just outside the Candlelight lounge, where the old Chopin lounge used to be.