gdisney

7 minutes ago, jean87510 said:

We are also doing the Inspiration before our Panorama cruise coming up in April.  We will board the inspiration on 4/27 and the panorama on 5/2. We are just looking for a marriott somewhere for the night before the panorama as we have a lot of points.

I know there's a Residence Inn by Marriott like one mile away from the Long Beach cruise terminal...

33 minutes ago, cniebla said:

Thank you for the review , we are going this Sunday on same cruise and I have never been before on a cruise.

Oh how fun! Hope you have a great time. These shorter 4 day trips are great for first time cruisers, to see how you like it. And although this is an older ship, I really do think they've done a great job in refreshing it to make it feel newer.

13 hours ago, mexicobob said:

Enjoyed the review. Would like your opinion on cruising solo.

It wasn't that bad actually. I got a good rate for the cruise fare as this was a non-peak time to go. I actually was going to go to the singles mixers they had on three of the nights, but they weren't until 11pm. And frankly that's a but past my bed time 😉 But I had a fun time doing my own thing, and in some ways it was kind of nice not having to worry about anyone else. Dining in the MDR was okay; even when you have a table by yourself the tables are pretty close together so you can talk to other people if you want. Though I'm naturally a social introvert, I did meet a few people and chatted with a few crew members as well. I imagine though if it was a longer trip it might have seemed more lonely.

18 minutes ago, billslowsky said:

 

Probably a tie in with the Hasbro game show.

Oh I didn’t make it to that, but you must be right. 

Hey folks - just disembarked the Inspiration yesterday. Here's my long-winded thoughts on the trip:

This cruise was a four-night trip on the Carnival Inspiration, round trip from Long Beach, visiting Catalina Island and Ensenada. This was my 16^th cruise lifetime, and 4^th on Carnival. My most recent cruises were on Princess; my last cruise on Carnival was about two years ago. This was my first cruise as a solo (divorced) traveler. I picked this trip simply because the timing worked out, and the price was right. Even having to pay double occupancy fare, with taxes, port fees and gratuities prepaid it came to under $500.

I arrived early on Monday morning at the pier at 10:30am. My boarding pass showed I was in boarding group A3 and has a check-in time of 12:30pm. The parking garage is incredibly convenient, being right next to the terminal building. Part of it is currently under construction for expansion, but I had no problem finding a spot, and ended up on the ramp between the 1^st and 2^nd floors, right near the exit. Incidentally, this location charges $23 per night for parking.

There were several porters sitting around by the curb at the edge of the garage, but I couldn’t immediately tell if they were bringing luggage out for people leaving or picking up new luggage. So I walked past them before being directed back by the friendly Carnival staff at the crosswalk. At the terminal building there was no one waiting, and the staff welcomed me to come inside and “get the process started”.  They have three lines at the entrance – one for priority and FTTF, one for people arriving at their check-in time, and one for people arriving early. It didn’t matter though, since again no one was there. So I walked into the terminal at 10:42am and was through security at 10:45. Then I had nothing to do but wait inside the large domed building on their cushy bench seats.

They started calling priority and FTTF boarding at 11:13am. Since there was still not that many people there, they continued by calling groups A1 and A2 at 11:14, followed by group A3 at 11:15. So the folks who purchased FTTF, for which one of the perks is earlier boarding, got on a whole two minutes earlier than me. After walking a long distance through an inclined ramp that went around and around, I made it to the upstairs check point at 11:18 and was on board at 11:21. (Rooms are announced as being not available until 1:30, and the doors to staterooms corridors are all closed at this point).

I had lunch at Guy’s Burger Joint, which is the first opportunity I’ve had to try this. It was actually a pretty decent burger, and they give you a small side of fries on the side. They have a pretty expansive condiment bar, with sauces and toppings such as bacon and mushrooms. Also on the pool deck is the Blue Iguana Cantina, offering street tacos, burritos, and taco salad bowls. They’re only open for breakfast and lunch, closing at 3:30pm (2:30pm on the last day at sea). Guy’s is open Noon-6:00pm. Incidentally, the Cantina also has an expansive salsa bar, so you can dress up your tacos any way you like. I was surprised that for burritos, the only tortilla offerings they had were wheat or jalapeno.

They have two self serve beer kiosks on the Lido deck, one between Guy’s and the Cantina and one inside the buffet area, where you swipe your card and pour your own beer and it charges by the ounce ($.37/oz). I tried the one outside once – it coughed and sputtered up foam. And the resulting ounce of liquid I ended up with did not taste like the Dos Equus it claimed to be. Fortunately I did not incur a charge for this; I guess the machine knows when it’s not working. And even more fortunately, they have the Blue Iguana Tequila Bar and the more popular Red Frog Rum Bar, both of which feature their own menu of cocktails, and daily featured drinks for $1 off.

I like how Carnival has its self-serve beverage station set up, out at the Lido deck near the pool, with machine dispensers for coffee, hot water for tea, and cocoa as well as water and lemonade all day (and other juices at breakfast times). It’s nice being out in the open with room to move around it. It’s so much more…user friendly then how things are setup on Princess. And I love having instant access to cocoa all day long. Except – the machine is a one-touch button that pre-fills the mug a specific amount. And that amount is 60% full. So you have to press it again and pull your cup out before it overflows, allowing the rest to pour down the drain.

For some reason they had a person dressed up as Mr. Potato Head, taking pictures with people on the Lido deck on embarkation day. Still haven’t figured out why.

THE STATEROOM

Off of the stair and elevator landings they have big signs indicating which side has odd and which has even stateroom numbers. And honestly, I still get turned around on ships and almost always head to the wrong side first, turning back as soon as I see the first stateroom door number.  So that was actually appreciated. My stateroom was U7, a far-forward oceanview (portholes) room. This is one area where the ship still shows its age, although flooring and furniture is not original to the 1996 launch date (the ship was last refurbished in late 2018). The room is actually quite spacious, as I’ve found rooms to be compared with the small rooms on Princess. But it has no nightstand, no fridge, no thermostat (just a ceiling vent you can open or close to control air flow). There’s one electrical outlet at the desk. On previous cruises I’ve enjoyed using magnet clips on the walls to hold papers I’m saving. On this ship there’s not enough metal in the walls for this to work. Fortunately the bathroom and stateroom doors would hold a magnet. The bathroom only has one small shelf to put stuff on (on Princess I’ve found they offer a lot of bathroom storage space). But, it is a very good size room, and was comfortable enough. It does have a desk chair and an ottoman seat as well.

I didn’t see my room steward Montana all that much, but I’m a low maintenance guy. She was very nice all the same, and I got a different towel animal each day. They now have you pick what time frame you want for your cleaning time, or a nightly turndown, or if you want both. The stewards have a piece of paper you make your selection on, and you have to sign it.

Muster was call 25 minutes late according to the posted schedule, at 3:55pm. As is the norm these days, no need to bring a life jacket to muster. I was in the Paris theatre, and was impressed that the captain came to our muster station to talk, accompanied by the chief engineer and hotel director. I’ve never seen the high brass at muster before.

I had Your-Time dining this trip, which was the first time on any line that I’ve done this. I’ve almost always done traditional early dining before. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the Your Time dining worked. I arrived the first night at 5:55pm (it opened at 5:45), and was seated right away at my own table. There wasn’t even a line to get in really, just a few people. They pull your room number at the front, which gives your waiter your name; it is a nice touch when they address you by name. My waiter this night was Julio, and it was his first night onboard too (he previously was on the Fascination). Nice guy, but this would be the only night I saw him. I started with the poblano and corn soup, which frankly was amazingly flavorful with just a bit of spiciness. I then had the lasagna, which looked good but was overly beefy and under-seasoned, nor was I a fan of the creamy white cheese they use. But it was still pretty good. And of course I had the chocolate melting cake for dessert. It’s basically like an undercooked brownie-cake with a side of vanilla ice cream. Sooo good. I left at 6:55 and noted that there was still no line outside. My dining each subsequent night went pretty much the same, and all of the food was enjoyable.

I noted at one point on the first night that a pop version of My Heart Will Go On (from the movie Titanic) was playing on the speakers. Why do they play this on cruise ships??

ENTERTAINMENT

The entertainment onboard was pretty good. I should mention that I never had issue getting seating at any show, early or late shows, whether I showed up 5 minutes early or 20 minutes early. Seating just wasn’t an issue here.  The stage shows were…okay. Studio VIP and Motor City. You can tell the cast has some talent, although if I were to be nitpicky I’d say they’ve gotten a little lazy on the choreography. Just not a lot of attention to detail in uniformity. But my big problem is the design of the shows, which I just don’t find to be well written with a good flow to engage audiences. I’ve found the shows on Princess to be written much better, and on Princess they have a live orchestra that really adds to the experience. Where Carnival really excels is in their Punchliner Comedy Club. With two comedians on board and 2-4 shows nightly ranging from PG to explicit, there’s a lot of offerings. They blow Princess out of the water here. It’s among the best in comedy shows I’ve seen anywhere, on land or sea. Andre was a great host and has some talent of his own, and in particularly the comic Douglas Williams was fantastic. I also really enjoyed the Piano Bar, which is in a little lounge in a separate room off the atrium. Michael has great personality for this venue, and he’s quite talented. I also attended the Love and Marriage show, hosted by CD Ryan Rose, which was incredibly funny and well run. And that coming from a single, divorced guy. Incidentally, the CD on this trip w did a great job and was all over the ship.

PORTS

We had tender service in Catalina, and honestly it was the smoothest and easiest tendering I’ve ever done. No tender tickets needed. Just show up and go. Assuming you can figure out where to show up – they are not very good about posting anywhere where you’re supposed to go. It’s not in the FunTimes or on the Hub app. There’s no signs in the stair/elevator landings. I think they made an announcement, but I was in my stateroom and couldn’t hear it. Anyways, tender service was scheduled to begin at 7:45; I headed down at 8am. I basically kept going down as far as I could, wandering eventually to deck 4, where the signs say “Medical Center”. And that’s where you go, apparently. But I walked right on the tender, no waiting, and we were soon underway.

Golf cart rentals in Catalina are $50 an hour, btw. It’s been a few years since I was here and I don’t remember them being quite that high. But I walked around on my own, first along the waterfront before heading up the hill to the Wrigley Botanical Gardens (admisson $8 general, $6 senior). They have a nice collection of cacti as well as plants such as aloe and agave, and a variety of small trees such as shrub oak. The old stone monument, built in 1933, offers some nice views down to the bay. I also did the Garden to Sky Summit trail, which goes up to the top of the hill offering even more fantastic views around the island.

Ensenada was the next day; we docked in at 7:35am. Once again I found my way down to deck 4 and walked right off. I can tell Ensenada has been working on improvements over the last decade. They’ve improved their waterfront walk and added in fountains (which didn’t operate until the afternoon). It seems like there were less people around the pier area trying to hawk stuff. Though downtown, you still see a lot of this. I had lunch at a colorful little street café, and got approached every few minutes by 5-year old girls trying to sell trinkets. As well as groups of older men with instruments trying to play you a song. I was offered several massages with happy endings out on the street, along with all manner of pharmaceuticals and typical trinkets that are mostly identical in every shop you come to. I did visit the science museum just off the pier, which is a huge new building, of which only about 10% is finished and running. But for $3 you can visit a room with displays and videos about endemic plants and animals on the various islands around the Baja peninsula.

On our last day at sea before returning home, I went to the Sea Day Brunch that is apparently a popular thing to do. I arrived at 8:30, which was the opening time, and the line stretched out of the Mardi Gras dining room and halfway around the atrium.  And this was despite having competition with the Green Eggs and Ham breakfast going on at the same time in the Carnivale Dining Room. This was the longest I waited the entire trip to be seated for dining – and it still only took 6 minutes. Of course with the initial opening, service was a bit slow, and it took over a half hour to get served any food. But it was still good, and I recommend it. I had the eggs benedict and a blueberry muffin (served warm), along with a side of “brunch potatoes”.

As far as dining goes, I should note that lunch is never available in the MDR’s. I often enjoyed this on Princess, especially on embarkation day. But it’s not offered on Carnival, or at least this ship. For cooked meats – they give you two options: medium rare or medium well. Getting drinks on the ship was never a problem, as I found servers to be plentiful anywhere I was. And the staff in general was great ship-wide, always friendly and seemingly glad that you are there.

I should also note that this ship has the waterworks slides, as well as a 9-hole mini golf course area that also has a foosball table and two pool tables (not that the balls ever stay put much on a moving ship). And there’s one ping-pong table, midship deck 11, port side.

Well eventually you have to go home. On disembarkation day the full breakfast buffet opens early, at 6:30am (instead of the normal 7am – on Princess incidentally they always open at 6am).  The disembarkation process is more streamlined than on Princess, where they have you wait in a lounge somewhere while they call through dozens of different groups. Here on this Carnival ship anyway, they just call by deck starting at 7:30. You have to be vacated from your room by 8:30, and everyone is supposed to be off the ship by 9:30. I didn’t wait that long, as I hate long good-byes. I noted that a line started forming around the Deck 7 atrium just before 7am, which is when they allow those off who have priority or who are carrying their own luggage. I didn’t head up myself till about 7:08, and by then there were only a dozen or so in line. I made it off the ship and down to security in 10 minutes, and breezed through security in about 30 seconds. 

In summary, the Carnival Inspiration is an older ship but with recent renovations to give it some of the amenities you’d expect on newer vessels. It’s well maintained enough that it’s easy to forget its age, and the crew is by and large friendly, helpful, and energetic, displaying great pride in their work. Although it’s just a short 4-day voyage, and they don’t offer really any enrichment type classes on the places you’re visiting, it’s a nice little vacation getaway.

22 minutes ago, N7786W Flyer said:

 

The information sheet is alluding to what I TRIED, but failed, to communicate in my previous message.  I previously put the date as 6/30, but apparently, it is 7/31/2020....and based on my previous experience, they won't give credit past the 7/31 date until the Board of Directors review the program and decide to renew it for another year.

 

Like Venture Man will probably have to do, I'm waiting for the Shareholder Program renewal so I can submit several of my cruises for the second half of 2020 and the first half of 2021.  I previously tried to sneak in my Hawaii cruise which sails in September 2020, but they shot me down and told me I had to wait.

 

Garnett

I totally missed your previous post. Thanks!

1 hour ago, VentureMan_2000 said:

Well... just emailed mine in.  Will see what happens.

The information sheet on it says it's available for cruises through July 31, 2020. I don't know if that means they WON'T add in a credit yet for sailing dates later than that. I imagine they have that date just in case they ever want to make changes to the benefits. (perhaps you can report back on what you find out here!)

On 11/8/2019 at 1:29 PM, amyotravel said:

 "I was told it needs to be 30 days within the booking to grant it."

 

uh... I certainly hope not.

You have to submit it no later than three weeks out, according to their 2019-2020 shareholder benefit info page.

5 minutes ago, srpilo said:

 

I'm on the same March 20th cruise, and I'm hoping the dry dock next week will address the internet issues once and for alI.

I read somewhere that they were doing initial pre-wiring for Medallion, and replace some furniture and flooring in the more heavily trafficked bar areas and buffet area. Not sure if any internet improvement would be included with the pre-wiring, since the Grand won't be offering Medallion for awhile. Anyone know any more?

18 hours ago, Jeter02 said:

When you get to your cabin, they have a little paper printed with your dinning info including your dinning room and table. You bring it the first night, and you're good to go.

Oh great...another piece of paper left in my stateroom

I was on the Grand last July to Alaska. Hit the Calypso pool most mornings at 6:30 (they were still cleaning at 6am). It was pleasantly warm. 

OK, dumb question: the cruise cards contained other info such as your MDR dining time and table number, your folio number, muster location, and so on. How do you get this info now?

6 minutes ago, Valiamo said:

.....The app itself does not provide notifications to those that you have sent a message to, and they have to be live and in the app to see any messages you may have sent.

Yes, the lack of notifications was the most annoying thing for me when I used it previously. 😞

8 minutes ago, Syracusefan44 said:

Thanks for all the input.  I am using Safari and will switch to a google search engine. 

Just for fun I tried Safari just now on my Mac at work; had no problem saving cruises.

I was able to go on just now and save a cruise for next summer. I'm using Firefox as my browser. Not sure what issue you're having?

At home I'm lucky if I get around to changing my sheets once a month lol.  But honestly, I never really noticed that they did change the sheets during a cruise. Or at least I never thought about it. As another person mentioned, as long as they're changed between cruises, I'm good 🙂

For me personally, I would not use time in the Sanctuary on scenic cruising days. I just don't want to stay in one spot nor be behind glass (not sure if the Star setup is like the Grand, which is the last ship I took to Alaska). I was rewarded by moving around on my last cruise, got great angles of glaciers and waterfalls, and saw a variety of wildlife. But for some people like Ellipooh who posted above, they did the sanctuary and thoroughly enjoyed it. And that's great! It all comes down to personal preferences. It can be quite cold and windy in places like Glacier Bay or Tracy Arm; not as much when in other areas of the inside passage or near the port towns (at least the southeastern ones). I was not "blown to bits" this past July in Tracy Arm. It was actually nice and sunny...almost too sunny! You never know about Alaska, so just be prepared for the possibility of cold and wind...

The OP mentioned liking comedy and music; I wonder if anyone can compare Princess and HAL more in depth on these items? I have not sailed HAL yet, but I have noted that Princess is somewhat lacking in the comedy arena. Compared to, for example, Carnival, which I found to have an amazing variety of comedy, both in quantity and variety.

17 minutes ago, schittenden said:

 The flyer purports to be from Station, but the phone number and website are both owned by Princess, the booking is made with Princess, and the email confirmation (which includes all of the upgrades and additions we made at the time of booking on the Princess website and shows an on board credit) is a booking confirmation from Princess. 

Well, based on what you've said, imo Princess should honor the credit that's on your booking confirmation (assuming no changes to the booking were made after that). But I don't think you were scammed, and I don't think you lost money.

Listen: Station agreed to pay for your "free" cruise, based on the cost of an inside. The deposit you would have had to pay would then be "refunded" as an OBC. For the sake of argument, let's say the inside cabin cost $1000, and the upgrades you paid cost another $1000 (or $2000 total for the balcony). Here's the layout:

Inside

$1000 cost - $1000 paid by Station - $200 deposit paid by you = -$200 (you should get $200 OBC)

Balcony

$2000 cost - $1000 paid by Station - $1000 paid by you = $0 (you shouldn't have an OBC)

That's how I see it anyway, for what it's worth.

2 minutes ago, schittenden said:

It is not. The booking is with Princess. When you call the number on the certificate, it is answered by Princess. I booked the cruise on a Princess website. When I called to confirm the OBC, I called Princess. All Station did was give Princess a list of names. 

Yes, but it was Station Casinos that presented the terms initially, was it not? But you said you have a confirmation email that shows the credit; is that email from Princess? Is it a booking confirmation and if so does it show the credit with the changes you made to upgrade to a balcony and add a person or was it before that?

It seems like your beef is with Station Casinos and not Princess.

Loving the photo review so far!

We've only ever taken our driver's license (and cruise card) when getting off in Victoria, and have not had an issue.

On 11/8/2018 at 11:32 AM, famski740 said:

As far as late port days.  In the past the ship has gone to all anytime dining on those days.  No Early or Late Traditional, just show up when you want and hope to get in

They had this on our cruise this past summer, but only on 1 night (there were two late port days on the trip). I don't recall having this done before; I wonder when did this practice start and is it fleetwide now?

How do we really know that all we read in forums is truthful and accurate? Just because someone writes it, does not make it 'gospel'. IMO To get all angry or resentful because someone once, May have said they might have gotten some thing you want but did not get is -- ---- ( fill in the blank)

Oh no, if it's on CC it MUST be true! ;p