booked with Carnival..now a little concerned

[busymomcanada]

:confused: I just booked a cruise out of Tampa on the Inspiration in April. After surfing the carnival forum site I noticed that there are a considerable amount of negative reviews about this ship, i.e. too much smoking, pool is crowded, waterslides not open, children's programs not well run etc. We are bringing our 3 children (6, 11, 12) and am concerned they will not enjoy this cruise line as much as they did Royal Carribean. Did I choose a good ship? Anyone with any experience on the Inspiration? We are booked for the end of April (24th), with adjoining rooms on the Empress level.

[firefly333]

There are also a lot of positive reviews. Throw out the top and bottom ones and concentrate on the more well balanced reviews.

 

Some wouldnt like a older ship, some like it better just because its smaller and they get acquainted more. No one ship or cruise is going to be perfect.

[LINANRIC]

on Monday we got back from a great cruise off of the Inspiration.. Let me tell you.. there were 800 children on this ship and you would have never known it.. THE Carnival Childens PROGRAM was excellent.. WE did not have any smoke issue.. DO not read those reviews.. Just go and have a great time.. There are some people that just like to complain.. The food was good, rooms kept very clean and all staff was so NICE.. The ship was wonderful..

[LHP]

Go and enjoy your cruise.

 

Will things be perfect??? nope

Will you get your money's worth??? definately!!

[serene56]

Most people on a cruise will not "review" good cruises-- if a person is not having a good time-- 9 times out of 10 they will report it.

 

Cant help it if the slide closes--if its windy it will close. No question about it.

 

your 3 kids will be in 3 different programs-

2-5 6-8 9-11 and 12-14

 

It really will depend on what the parents were expecting from the camps. Some people want babysitters 24/7= sorry but camps close cause like the cruiser== the counselor needs some free time away from the kids.

 

as for too much smoking--considering that most of the ship is non smoking,- only a select few areas are smoking. and only one side is smoking.

I cant tell you how many times we would be outside on the smoking side of the ship-- and the non smoker will come out and wrinkle their noses= cough and wave their hands.

 

Casinos are always smokey= so you see- it depends on the person on the issues you are stating

 

example- a person who is used to dining in 5 star resort restruants WILL find something wrong with the food-- gawd--its being cooked for at least 5o0 people at a time.

 

Be careful of the year that the review was written-

[DebBrown]

:confused: I just booked a cruise out of Tampa on the Inspiration in April. After surfing the carnival forum site I noticed that there are a considerable amount of negative reviews about this ship, i.e. too much smoking, pool is crowded, waterslides not open, children's programs not well run etc. We are bringing our 3 children (6, 11, 12) and am concerned they will not enjoy this cruise line as much as they did Royal Carribean. Did I choose a good ship? Anyone with any experience on the Inspiration? We are booked for the end of April (24th), with adjoining rooms on the Empress level.

There are people who would complain if you used a brand new rope to hang them so don't worry about the reviews. I have been on a number of Carnival cruises and have never had a "bad" time. Your kids will have a great time!

[Max Circus]

I posted a recent review of the 12/10/09 sailing of Inspiration. Do a search and you should find it. It is also posted in the regular Cruise Critic review area. Was it perfect? No. However I haven't been on a cruise yet that is "perfect" - don't think it is possible.

[Perfect Stranger]

My friend and her family sailed on the Inspiration in August and loved it!

[wizard-of-roz]

Whatever you do.....don't let the kids hear your hesitency in your voice...they'll pick up on it and before you know it, all you'll hear are complaints from them!

Tell them about all the fabulous things you've heard and that Carnival has the best kids programs on the high seas.

Now, go have a fabulous cruise, take lots of pictures and make some wonderful memories. ;)

[yesterdaystime]

Sailed on the Inspiration twice, once before the refit (evolution of fun) and once after - had a great time, both times!

 

Enjoy yourself!!!

[SkyMaster]

We've done "Inspiration" four or five times, and every time it gets BETTER! The ship was recently in dry dock, and had lots of new equipment installed, including the new "Serenity Area", and it's once again, even better. Excellent crew, outstanding entertainment, and superior food. Perfect? Probably not, but so far ahead of many of the others IMO. You're going to have a wonderful cruise. WORRY NOT! ;)

 

"SKY"

[A&Jfamily]

I'd trade places with you in a heartbeat. We were on her sister, the Fascination in March, and even though it is a smaller, older ship, we prefer it to the Conquest Class. And the slides with Evolutions of Fun and the adult area will make it all the better.

 

The food is better on CCL IMHO and the staff is friendlier. Go with a positive attitude and I guarantee you will have a good time. Will there be things that you like about another line better? Sure, but there will also be things that you like better about CCL.

[jayesouthworth]

After being on this board for some time, I have found that people who give bad reviews are basically nit-picking. I don't know what a legitimate bad review would entail, but most of the stuff people talk negative about is subjective. Like the bacon police, or chair hogs, or missed a port due to horrendous weather. I think ITSHTF in real life, these same people wouldn't have a clue as what to do. They would just huddle up in a corner somewhere and die. IMHO, I could get on any ship and enjoy myself because that's what I wish to do. That's better than going to work or sitting at home doing nothing. :cool:

[CB42]

We cruised on the Inspiration this past January and liked the ship so much we are cruising on it again in 31 days!! Don't believe everything you read negitive about this ship, Just enjoy it!! "Happy Cruisin"

[hoopsielv]

Oh, your choice is a good one! Keep it! :) I loved the Inspiration! Sure, there will be things that won't be "perfect" but a good attitude goes a long way- and you will have a great time!

[Drew B]

I always find it amusing when people assure you that you will have a good time because they did. While I certainly HOPE you will have a good time, you really won't know until you've done it. Only you know what makes you happy and unhappy. Beyond that, every cruise experience is different. You could sail the exact same ship on the same itinerary two weeks in a row and love it one week and be disappointed the next. So many random factors (weather, fellow guests, who your waiters/cabin steward are...) have a lot to do with how the trip goes -- IMO, even more so than the ship itself. There is really no way to predict these things. You would face the same uncertainty if you chose a different ship/line as well.

 

I say invoke the Serenity Prayer and accept the things you cannot change. Hopefully, all will be fabulous. If not, there will certainly be SOME things you will enjoy. Focus on those, instead, and you will look back on the vacation more fondly.

[halos]

I always find it amusing when people assure you that you will have a good time because they did. .

 

That's just as silly as the OP worrying about having a bad time because she read bad reviews.

I agree with you 100%. The only way anyone will know if they'll like a particular cruise is to take the cruise themselves.

 

OP:

I don't know if you'll like CCL as much as RCCL....a lot of true RCCL fans would tell you you've made a mistake. In fact, if you have posted this concern on those boards I wager more than a few posters have told you just that.

All I can tell you is I sailed the Inspiration and I had a wonderful cruise. I sailed during spring break (in March 2007). The kids on board seemed (to me) to be having a ball. I enjoy Carnival cruises a lot. I have sailed Royal only once. To me, it was no more special than any other cruise line.

 

Relax and enjoy your cruise and pelase come back afterwards with your thoughts. :)

[yogimax]

:confused: We are bringing our 3 children (6, 11, 12) and am concerned they will not enjoy this cruise line as much as they did Royal Carribean. .

 

Which Royal Caribbean ship? If it's Voyager or Freedom Class, they will probably be underwhelmed by Inspiration.

 

We have sailed Inspiration twice and have enjoyed it, but mainly for the price and convenience.

 

I want to be honest here. Camp Carnival will be excellent for the kids, but the Inspiration itself probably cannot compare with the majority of RCCL ships, especially the newer, bigger ones.

[pseudochicken]

Ha ha.

 

To ALL of you who say that no cruise can be perfect, I was on the Inspiration 11-12 years ago on a 7-day cruise from San Juan. It was my first cruise and dare I say: it was perfect! :D

 

Now of course it was the first one, but thinking back on it SO many things went well. Then again, all the cruises I have ever been on have been very good at the least. :rolleyes:

[busymomcanada]

:)thanks for the responses... especially from those who vacationed on this ship before. This will only be our second cruise as a family. We cruised on the Majesty of the Seas last year for four nights and we loved it. I'll be sure to post my thoughts on this cruise when we get back.

[cruisincory]

:confused: I just booked a cruise out of Tampa on the Inspiration in April. After surfing the carnival forum site I noticed that there are a considerable amount of negative reviews about this ship, i.e. too much smoking, pool is crowded, waterslides not open, children's programs not well run etc. We are bringing our 3 children (6, 11, 12) and am concerned they will not enjoy this cruise line as much as they did Royal Carribean. Did I choose a good ship? Anyone with any experience on the Inspiration? We are booked for the end of April (24th), with adjoining rooms on the Empress level.

 

 

We took the inspiration on our honeymoon in August 08. It was our 1st ever cruise. We loved every minute. I hope you like the color purple, because it is everywhere on this ship. Yes, the pool was crowded most of the time, but you could usually find a corner to dip in and get wet. Dont expect to be swimming laps. The waterslide was open everyday. As for the smoking, non-smokers have the majority of the ship. I cant speak for anyone else, but my wife and I made sure to go to the smoking areas to smoke. We did smoke in the cabin, but with the air cleaning machine they use, you would never know it. There were approx 600 kids on the ship, but we never had any problems with them. We loved our entire cruise. I would love to take the ship again.

 

Take the cruise on the Inspiration and have a great time.

[goodml]

:)thanks for the responses... especially from those who vacationed on this ship before. This will only be our second cruise as a family. We cruised on the Majesty of the Seas last year for four nights and we loved it. I'll be sure to post my thoughts on this cruise when we get back.

 

Great news that it was Majesty that you've sailed before. The size and age are comparable to Inspiration. We've sailed Majesty twice before and had a great time. Will sail on Inspiration in March and have sailed twice on Fantasy which is the same class. You'll find the decor was far more subdued on Majesty but the cabins will be larger on Inspiration. Our kids loved the kids' programs on both lines.

 

The Evolutions of Fun water area will be a plus and the serenity area will be nice for you. If you enjoyed Majesty it's likely you will enjoy Inspiration as well.

 

As an aside, no matter which ship you are sailing on you will read good and bad reviews here. After a while you learn to take it all with a grain of salt. Happy cruise planning.:)

[richfret]

We are going on our 13th Carnival cruise in March and am booked for our 14th Carnival cruise for the following year. The cruises include 9 different Carnival ships. It's not a matter if you will like the cruise but rather that you like one cruise better than another. Other than factors you can't control (like weather, seas, breakdowns, etc), you will have a great time .................. if you want to.

[cccer]

Don't worry about negative reviews. Many people let the small stuff ruin their vacation. Statistically people are more likely to write to complain than to write to praise something. When was the last time someone called a company to tell them their product works great, but if there is a problem we will all call the company to get it fixed.

[ronirp]

I am also booked on the inspiration and was a bit concerned about the reviews, but no more. For two reasons - first, there are some really good reviews out there (see the review by host mach for a really good and detailed one). Second, when you read the reviews you can see what they are complaining (or like) and whether you agree or if it is important to you. When there are no details, I usually ignore the review - I want to make up my own mind. In other cases you find when your read the review that they liked almost everything, but there was one thing that annoyed them enough to set them off, and maybe that is not important to me.