SoCalKJ

Once we left Arnold and the electrical control room, we made our way outside of the infirmary. While we didn't go inside, we were able to ask different questions regarding medical, emergency and various available services. Granted, NO ONE wants to wind up there, but it IS there, thank God! They will want your insurance information, should you need medical attention not covered by Carnival.

After a few minutes outside of the infirmary, we start to make our way up a couple of floors...some take the stairs and others wait for the elevator. I'm one of the first stair-climbers up there and by that point, I HAVE to go!! There are still tourists that haven't made their way up yet so since I know where the next nearest bathroom is, I'm athletic enough and always take the stairs anyway and I've been trained in the fine-art of speed-peeing thanks to my 20 years of hosting Karaoke, I guarantee my departure will be 3 minutes or less....which it was! She also said where they could be found since the tour was not going to wait. And they didn't.

I tore down the hall and a nice stateroom steward opened a magic "crew only" door and guess what? There they all were: inside of this little exercise room. Obviously it was a fraction of the size of the gym for the guests, but it was cool to see. We also walked down a hall where the crew dining hall was, a crew lounge was and other crew areas.

I did notice a sign from Carnival offering their sincerest sympathies for those crew affected by the tragedies in the Philippines and had offered temporary free incoming/outgoing text/data and drastically reduced calling rates...in an effort to help. It was big of Carnival to offer relief, albeit temporary.

Anyway, we eventually made our way to meet the Captain. We saw the Pacific from their POV...what a mighty, mighty big windshield!! LOL! I forgot to count the windshield wipers...but they're there! Fortunately it was a clear, beautiful day in Pleasantville, so obviously not much activity. We saw the different control panels and learned a lot about what goes on up there...two of his assistants were up there as well...and it was another 15-20 minutes of Q&A and looking around. Finally it was time to pose for the only picture you get to have as proof that the tour even happened...LOL!

And that was the end...but not before we'd head back to the Library to turn in our BtF passes, fill out a questionnaire/review of our tour, receive a special BtF ball cap, a cookie (or a few) and thank Elvira for a great tour.

Later that evening, another Behind the Fun gift would arrive!!

More Later.

Our next destination on the tour was down below where pallets and pallets and even more pallets of every single product you can think of are kept. Also, we walked through waste areas, recyclable areas and all the goings on with regard to maintenance. They even have a place where certain food waste is broken down and released into the ocean...many sea life eat like royals when it's time for the broken down waste to be released!!

Also, since Inspiration had just come out of Dry Dock, all kinds of maintenance and upgrade materials were down there. There was also an area down there where crew could check out bicycles to use while in port. If memory serves, it was a free service.

We then made our way into a conference-type room where we got to ask questions about crew life onboard. Elvira, our tour guide, was really knowledgeable and interesting. While we were unable to actually see crew staterooms, we saw photos...2 per room...kinda reminiscent of an indoor stateroom.

The conference room was also a computer lab/educational-type center. There are programs to learn and better language skills, enrich career paths and choices...and I swear I saw a Tony Robbins motivational book on a shelf for those needing more "personal power"...LOL!!

After about 15-20 minutes of Q&A there, we then made our way down to the electrical control room. Arnold from Croatia was the engineer in charge and I couldn't help but feel like we were in an underwater submarine control room...like in a movie...except obviously this room was a bit bigger and we were NOT on a submarine.

There were tons of control lights, buttons, knobs...each deck was accounted for.

There are no windows in the control room and it is a bit warm and stuffy in there...after a while of listening to Arnold and his over-technical engineering mind and his broken English attempt to explain salt-to-fresh water conversions, air-conditioning and electrical facts and other tidbits regarding all things below, it was time to move on.

I'm gonna stop here too...I wrote a whole bunch of stuff that now has somewhat disappeared (correction: I wrote all this crap last night and somehow mysteriously lost it...and then again tonight), so before I chuck my iPhone out into the middle of the street, I'm gonna post this, breathe and pick up where I left off later.

Thanks for reading so far!

It's photos like this that remind me just how glad I am to be living in California!:rolleyes:

Word!

So Sunday morning rolls around....and again...I've had LESS than enough sleep when the tap, tap, tap of the room service attendant hits our door. Another sky high tray of plates and a pot of coffee (that I just can't drink fast enough) makes it's way inside. We scarf it all down and make our way to the Library for our Behind the Fun tour. Check in was 9:15 and the tour began at 9:30.

Take Note: this tour does NOT take a potty break. Drink pots of coffee at your own risk. (I did.).

Also, skirts and flip flops/open-toed shoes are not permitted. I have a sweat-skort (sweatpant-material-sport-shorts built-into a skirt), but didn't want to risk it. Ladies, check first if you have any clothing/shoe questions that border on what's permissible.

Anyhoo, once in the Library, we were given a special lanyard with a BtF pass attached (the pass we had to give back at the end, the lanyard was ours to keep) and also a pamphlet with tons of fun facts about the Inspiration inside. On the back is the recipe for the World Famous WCMC! (Okay, I've made it twice now...first was okay, second time it came out like a brownie....don't overcook!!)

Anyhoo, I think there were, like, 12 of us total and before we even stepped foot out of the Library, security went over each of us with a fine-toothed comb (hand-held detector) to make sure none of us had a camera, phone or any other kind of recording device. They weren't messing around! So, one by one, we all made our way out into the Atrium to begin our tour. First stop: through the MDR and into the Galley!!

We were immediately met by Chef Jorg: a very tall, robust, gray-haired, no-nonsense, dry-witted (but really nice!!) German gentleman (I'd say, early 60's) who had many a fact about the inner workings and numerous jobs in the kitchen. We started near all the toasters and the different toasted bread scents were just heavenly. We moved all around the "kitchen" as Chef Jorg spoke about various facts...from how he predicts which meals guests will order, how many plates of whatever will be served during any given meal to how people start at the ground floor with their different jobs (i.e. the person whose job is just to cut onions...LOL!)...and how rapidly employees can advance (said onion cutter cannot do that for long without some sort of incentive, right?!? LOL!!).

We pass a dishwashing section to the side which is basically no different than what a large-volume restaurant has...only a larger area.

We also listened to Jorg discuss safety and dispersing of each meal...at which point, yours truly was asked to volunteer how to lift a tray with...if memory serves...12 covered plates. Granted, the plates were empty, so they didn't weigh nearly the same as what the servers effortlessly sashay out with night-after-night, but that's the safe limit and it really was fascinating (thank God I didn't drop 'em!!).

On the walls are large laminated poster boards with photos of every dinner's main course and how each plate needs to look. They're obviously big on visual presentation.

So then, depending on what a table orders, server has a tray that slides all the way down from one end to the other (like at a buffet) and that counter is sectioned with each plate...SO...server grabs different quantities of different plates depending on what the table(s) order is(are) and just keeps sliding down the way, filling the tray with the various plates....and then eventually making his/her way to the table.

There are a LOT of people to see and pass in the kitchen and not even one had anything less than a smile and a hello for each of us. We were also introduced to an amazing artist who carved a fish out of a watermelon. Spoiler Alert: he's the same guy who carves the Indian Chief out of a block of ice on the Lido deck.

Finally, towards the end of our tour/q&a with Chef Jorg, we're treated to a chocolate-covered strawberry. At this point, my bladder's starting to sing. I'm tough. What's another 2 hours?

To Be Continued....

Dang! I have mixed emotions. I live about 5 minutes from the Pacific Coast and if I want snow, I can drive a couple hours to Big Bear or Mammoth.

Any chance to be on a cruise ship is a chance I'm happy to take...and the thought of snow angels and hot chocolate on the Lido sounds tempting, but then again, after being in the hot tub on Serenity in a Long Beach November and not feeling like the water was hot enough, I dunno.

But...sitting alone in the Lido hot tub while sailing through the Inside Passage in Alaska the first week of May, 2011 was pretty breathtaking (and hot enough...until you get out!!).

I don't know. I mostly equate cruises with warmth. But I love cruises...so if my choice was snow or nothing, I'd take the snow.

Forgive me if this entire post was one big contradictory rant! :-)

Warm Chocolate melting cake equates to 1400 calories. I was told by a chef,ouch!!!

Only need to climb the stairs for just under 3 hours to burn it off. No problem, right? :eek::D

Ok...you are an excellent singer. :eek: You know exactly how to position your mike, which is a sure sign of someone who knows what they are doing.

 

I have to tell you how cute that facetime picture is of you and your husband!! :) The way you smile for pictures has me cracking up at 6am. My DH is asking what I am laughing about this early. I told him that one of our CC members is so funny in these pictures. You have an infectious smile. I dare anyone to look at them and not smile. Too cute. I am enjoying your review. Thanks.

Welcome to the Platinum Club. :)

Thank you!! Honest truth: I make silly faces, because I'm really insecure about taking serious pictures... So now, it's just become a goofy habit. I'm so glad my DH is goofy too! :-)

Thanks for the compliments!! Hope you didn't wake your DH up laughing...LOL!

Enjoy the Platinum cruise! Congratulations, in advance! Make sure to post the silliest of selfies! :D

I totally misquoted...my apologies… I'm glad you enjoyed the ship is well! :-)

Thanks everyone for the ideas. Even some of the snarkier posts are (kinda) helpful.

As we know, different ships provide different services and what might be allowed on the Glory may not be on the Pride...or the Inspiration...or the Ecstasy...or whatever. But being reminded that it never hurts to ask or try is good for the next go 'round, so thanks for the hints. :-)

You can take it to the piano bar outside the MDR and they will give you the drink during lunch time.

Thanks! I've been given some great information for my next cruise. :-)

Robin...it is 20 below here....it is snowing not from snow but the moisture in the air..but 3 nites in a row I have made it on the ice and highways as it all started last week warmer it is slicker than usual at this temp...so after soup and wine at my dads with sisters. B-in-law and niece...well..i was really ready for some little evening thing..so miss small city living ..but too cold to go to a place and here a couple of bad band country songs..in by 9 pm in this cold..and i find your fun review and on top of it...SOME MUSIC..just what i needed..a little Friday music..my favorite eras and wowowowowow..you are FABULOUS..those poor MC's very few could match you..but they should be thrilled when you offer to belt one out...LOVE your voice and approach and this review..thanks soooo much for posting your songs too...Sarah

Sarah, thank you so much. I really enjoy performing and sharing the gift of music...

20 below is just a weeeee bit cold! Man! Where are you? I was just complaining (briefly) that it was dipping in the 30's here in Southern California...but I will complain no further. :-)

Thanks for finding my review...I'm trying to make it as entertaining as possible. Not much can be reported on a 3-day weekend cruise to Baja, but I'm doing my best! Take care, stay warm and happy holidays!! :-)

I just watched all 3 of these. Holy BLEEP you are good!!! :eek:

Thank you so much. How kind. :-)

True. Thanks all. You're right...never hurts to ask. Besides, I'm a non-drinker and would redeem it for a Sprite Zero anyway...LOL! What's the big deal, right? :-)

Fantastic attitude, personality, and voice! Thanks for posting! :)

Thank you so much!! :-)

Great review and love reading it!! Can not wait for the rest.

Thank you! Will get on the rest as soon as I can! :-)

Please forgive if this topic has been beaten to death, brought back to life and then re-beaten to death ad infinitum...

Why can't the free drink coupon be redeemed at ANY bar on the ship? I usually don't eat in the MDR during breakfast, lunch or brunch (dinner only...but you can't use it then....grrrr) so my coupon goes to waste every time.

What gives?

I use my free drink coupon for a banana split (virgin) get my fruit in for the day!

Yummy! Problem is, I never have breakfast, lunch or brunch in the MDR, so it ALWAYS goes to waste.

So after a huge dinner of 2 Lobsters/Shrimp plates...each with the various starters SANS dessert (no room, no surprise), we watched all the other diners slow dance to "That's Amore" (I thought fondly of DH and I dancing among the lovers on September's sailing) and then we ducked out for the rest of the evening's festivities.

We decided to go to the early Studio VIP show in the Paris Lounge...what an awesome, fun show. I have to admit that I rarely go to these, because I've always been afraid of being stuck in some cheesy production with no way out...but this was far from cheesy: being able to sing each song word for word...disco and funk hits...was just fun. The costumes were great, the dancing was good, but I have to say the guys were much better, stronger vocalists than the girls....

Reminder: Carnival has made certain changes to their Inspiration entertainment team and now they are down to 4 males and 4 females...all MUST sing AND dance. You can easily tell who the singer-dancers are (those who sing but had to learn to dance for the gig) and who the dancer-singers are (those who dance really well!! LOL!!). Overall, though, that show (and they interact with the audience which is fun to watch) left me feeling happy, uplifted and thrilled to be in the moment. A girl like me has trouble stopping everything and just enjoying the moment. It was a rare 40 minutes on ANY cruise where I stopped worrying about how LITTLE time there was left of my weekend, how much was on my folio or how MANY stairs I had to climb to burn off the lifetime supply of calories I had ingested in just one and 1/2 days onboard.

After the show, we proceeded to make our way into Monte Carlo where I would plop down on a Fun-21 table and have a little fun. I ended up making $40 bucks last a long time (for me, a couple hours IS a long time). I buddied up with a few other players and enjoyed the ups and downs of wild blackjack play. After it was obvious that the table wasn't going to recover, I made my way to some slots (Dumb! Dumb!) and made some donations. Anyway, by about 2:30-ish, I decided it was time to hit the hay...I mean, hell, we had to be up for the Behind The Fun tour fairly early and room service would be delivered before that so I had better call it a night!

Also...earlier in the evening, my Platinum gift was waiting...

More Later...

You seem like a hoot to travel with!!!

I'm enjoying the review :)

Awwww shucks. Thanks! I kinda like my own company...it's nice when others might, too!

I need to remind myself that even a play-by-play review of a couple hours of the cruise is less overwhelming than my usual expectation of ONE big long complete review from start to finish at once...will continue with that attitude soon! :-)

I loved your review. I was on your same sailing and also had a great time. The ship was in great shape. I've learned not to shop in Ensenada for the very reasons you mentioned......you described it perfectly.

Enjoy the Platinum cruise! Congratulations, in advance! Make sure to post the silliest of selfies! :D

We had a similar experience with a vendor in Cozumel. They had an item with NFL logos but they didnt have the one we needed. We go to the next store RIGHT NEXT DOOR and they have it, for DOUBLE. I was not going to even pay what it was next door, we didnt need it that badly I tell him I will give you $ 20 or nothing he said $25 so I walked away. He chased after us and said $20 was fine I agreed and he said " dont forget my tip" ARE YOU KIDDING!?! uhm no tip for you, your tip is whatever the % you get from this over priced item. He was in a store for gods sake. not even a cart vendor.

Crazy! That's like a salesperson in Old Navy or Gap (etc....) asking for a tip...really?!? Jeez!

Thanks for the review! I don't know if we will ever fly to California to cruise, but never say never. Congrats on your new Platinum status! My favorite perk is boarding. I hate lines--no, I hate lines that don't move and people that push ahead. I don't mind organized lines. It's the OCD in me. :)

It was definitely sweet getting to hang in VIP and then walking right past and through the regular line of losers (kidding!! kidding!! LOL!!), through security and right to the first pre-embarkation photo op, up the escalator, around the corner and to the plank from the Long Beach dome to Ms. Inspiration herself!

Never say never: last November, DH and I flew to Orlando to include a 5-day Ecstasy to the Bahamas in our vacation itinerary. He hates to fly: he's a big guy (6'3", about 3 bills) so a 5-hour non-stop from LAX to Orlando was not his favorite past time, but he did it...so can you!!

What a fun review! I'll be on the Inspiration in January for a fun girls trip, very excited :). How is the night club?

Nightclub is typical. I rarely go in for very long, but when I do, it's the usual current hip hop/top 40 stuff...they even sprinkled in some Latin (Suavemente). They have some varied themes like an hour of Michael Jackson ONLY (gotta love that!) early in the evening Sunday before they bust into the regular club stuff. There's a "Ladies Night" theme and there are different bar specials so they try to add some variety even to a 3-day itinerary.

Will you post pictures of Elegant night?? What did you wear??

Thanks for your review.

I'm gonna be honest: since this was a 4th sailing this year and my DH wasn't with me, I kinda did exactly what I did with him in September...same easy dress, same hair-do...since Alex and I were part of a 5-friend crew that sailed in April and we did formal shots then, we didn't do any professional pics this time other than really bad selfies!! I will post the pic from my September cruise just so you can see something a little more serious than the silly poses I'm notorious for! :)

And now a silly selfie:

Selfie flash misfire! (At least it's better than the silly platinum selfie!)

I have a couple of past performances on YouTube I'll link...I'm not in the habit of tootin' my own horn, but I enjoy the experience.

This first one is "Separate Ways" by Journey in April, 2013

The second is "Last Dance" by Donna Summer in February, 2012

The third is with the Motown Band (September, 2013) that played in the Violins Bar area on Sunday afternoons for an hour immediately after the marathon trivia games there. Having sang with the same band during Superstar Live Karaoke on the past 3 sailings, the keyboard player asked if I'd like to sing a song with them! So this one is "Chain of Fools" by Aretha Franklin. What an honor, a privilege and a thrill!

Thanks for watching. :)