booked with Carnival..now a little concerned

[tiggerman101]

:)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.

 

In that case you will be fine. My last cruise was on Majesty and I was on Imagination in August (sister ship to Inspiration with the waterslide update, etc as well). I think your kids will like Inspiration better actually. The only drawback is that there is only one pool instead of two, however you have the water park area. I liked both ships, but I would say Inspiration is more kid friendly. Plus you have the Serenity area for yourself,

[agmakar]

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-

 

Well put! I want to second that that statement it is Totally true, no matter where you go there will be someone complaining about something because it did not go there way or emphisize their dislikes.

 

Non smokers will always complain about smokers and tea toddlers will complain about drinking and the isolationist complian about too many kids and crowding it is the way they are in todays society.

 

I was on the the INSPIRATIONs sister ship the IMAGINATION, it was my first cruise. I did the same thing looking at the reviews and I almost did not cruise because of the negative reviews. After doing some rationalizing and talking to others I decided not to take things with a grain of salt and the itenerary and date and go. What ever happens, happens but I did not place any expectations other than having a good time. And you kow we had a FABULOUS time even though there were a ton of kids everywhere on the Christams cruise. we went to the serenity deck and enjoyed the quite or on the water works deck that was quite as well because of the massive open space.

 

Every ship has the own uniquness, identity and character they are special in their own way, Just like people. Go out out with expectation to have fun and I will gaurantee you, you will. The kids will enjoy Camp Carnival I did not see a sad face there except when it was closing time.. ;)

 

GO FORTH AND BE HAPPY!!! :D

[steveaaaaa]

: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.

 

I think you took a step down by booking CCL. If you have sailed RCL voyager class before your kids will really be dissapointed. The week you sail will also impact the crowds and other issues.

 

Steve

[Djptcp]

DH and I just sailed on the Inspiration at Thanksgiving and the ship was terrific. It's in great shape, food was very good, crew was very friendly, cabin was clean and in good order, and we had a wonderful time. These are general comments about the ship and I can't speak for how kids will react because we don't have any kids. Just thought you might be interested in some general thoughts. Have a great cruise!

[gijanemom]

I can help you out with the children part. We have four children, 2 10 yr olds and 2 13 yr olds. As for ours, they had a great time with Carnival on the Sensation last year. Camp Carnival does a great job. This was a wedding/honeymoon cruise for us, and we hardly ever saw the children. We had to "make" them have dinner with us on formal night so that we could see them and talk about what a great time they were having on the trip!.They made several new friends with whom they still talk to on facebook or email. The kids can not wait to go back in March again, but this time on the Fantasy. All the kids are still talking about the yummy food(usually the anytime pizza and 24 hr softserve)and can't wait to go back to it! For our family of 6 with my military discount we just can't vacation with any other line for the price! As for all the negativity, you have a house full like us, and any cruise where Mom and Dad does not have to cook and clean house for a week while the kids are still having fun...well that's my idea of paradise!:D

[yogimax]

The best aspect of Inspiration is...

 

Joseph, the Super-Charged Maitre D'.

 

Make sure you are assigned to his DR!

[Mack2]

I just took my family on our first CCL cruise with the kids aboard the Legend the first week of November.

 

I guess I'm loyal to Royal, having done 5+ cruises with them, and my eldest son a cruise away from... what? Platinum? whatever....

 

I will say that we had a great time on the Legend. I mean, sure... you always compare different ships, different lines, etc...

But no matter what... a week aboard a cruise ship is a million times better than a week at home, cooking and cleaning.

 

For the kids.... no matter what. A cruise vacation is 1000% better than staying at home watching Sponge Bob.

 

Go with an open mind and enjoy everything they have to offer!

[Sandgnat]

I love the Inspiration. Great times are to be had. The most important thing to take with you on a vacation is a Good Attitude. Have fun!!

[jima53]

Read the reviews, both good and bad but remember that they are based on a persons individual likes and dislikes. It's just like dinner reviews, movie reviews, food reviews, it reflect what the person expects and we really don't know any of the people that write the reviews.