The Inspiration 2/24 "Booze Cruise"

[PaddleAddict]

I titled this "booze cruise" because it truly was just that. I've done two other three-day cruises to Ensenada (Royal Caribbean) and it's definitely a rowdier bunch than a seven-day Caribbean cruise, and in some ways it feels like "cruise light" when compared to those longer cruises. However, we had an absolutely fabulous time on the Inspiration!!

 

Our group was six girls in our mid-30s celebrating a bachelorette party for one in our group. Everyone except one girl had cruised before. We slept three to a room, which worked out well for us (good thing we are so close!). :D

 

Embarkation in Long Beach was OK. We showed up at 2:30 and other than the security line, which moved very slowly, getting on the ship was pretty easy.

 

One thing I will say is the safety drill was the absolute worst I have ever experienced. I am the lame type who actually listens during the drill, but we couldn't hear a word during the announcements. Perhaps this was due to our muster station, which was on the Lido deck by the pool. Everyone was talking, eating, drinking... it was so loud we could hear nothing and there were LONG pauses in between the announcements. It took a long time and felt pointless to us since we couldn't hear anything. In light of the recent cruise emergencies, it would have been nice to have experienced a more organized drill, but what can you do?

 

The ship left a little late, which gave us a really pretty view of the Queen Mary all lit up.

 

[PaddleAddict]

After sail away, we had to start getting ready for dinner. Even though we had late seating I figured it would take a while for six girls in two cabins to get ready and I was right.

 

The hardest part about having three to a cabin was there was only one working outlet in each cabin. There is another outlet in the bathroom, but for some reason this one did not work with our hair dryers and curling irons.

 

Dinner was great. I had the Indian vegetarian meal and it was fabulous! The other girls enjoyed their meals, as well. It was loud and rowdy in the dining room, likely due to the fact that a lot of the boat seemed pretty well sloshed by this time!

 

After dinner we headed to the karaoke lounge where it was time for a(nother) drink!

 

 

Karaoke was a bust so we decided to check out the piano bar and I am SOOOOO glad we did. We went to the piano bar every night. The performer, Seth, was very talented (the best I've seen on a cruise) and cute, cute, cute!!! Every night we'd laugh as we looked around and saw all of the women gazing at him with stars in their eyes (us included, ha ha!). Oh to be a decade younger and single! ;)

 

[PaddleAddict]

Oops, I moved my photo of the Queen Mary, so here it is again:

 

[Frankm559]

We had a great time on this cruise! Its was our first cruise and definately not our last. We were seated at a table of 7 who were also having a bachelorette party. My bf Jesse, was in the hairy chest competitions lol!!

[MszKitty]

We went to the piano bar every night. The performer, Seth, was very talented (the best I've seen on a cruise) and cute, cute, cute!!! Every night we'd laugh as we looked around and saw all of the women gazing at him with stars in their eyes (us included, ha ha!). Oh to be a decade younger and single! ;)

 

 

We were on the cruise before you and you are so right about Seth. Not only a cutie, but very talented. I ended up closing the piano bar all three nights. But in my case....oh to be TWO decades younger!...LOL Seth is now my new favorite piano entertainer. (Although I still love Barry Miller, its been too long since I've seen him.)

[PaddleAddict]

We were on the cruise before you and you are so right about Seth. Not only a cutie, but very talented. I ended up closing the piano bar all three nights. But in my case....oh to be TWO decades younger!...LOL Seth is now my new favorite piano entertainer. (Although I still love Barry Miller, its been too long since I've seen him.)

 

Oh finally, someone who understands, LOL!!! We closed the piano bar every night too!

[PaddleAddict]

After closing down the piano bar at 1:00 and saying a sad goodbye to Seth, we decided to check out the night club (Rock and Roll). Wow, this place was hopping all night and every night thereafter. Great music, tons of people, it was lots of fun!

 

After a quick slice of pizza (Carnival has GREAT pizza), we headed back to the cabin around 4:00 am and we were far from the last ones to bed. On this cruise, you could find people up partying until 5:00 and 6:00 in the morning every single night. Like I said, this was definitely a booze cruise!

 

We came back to this towel animal. Our room steward made them every night, which was a nice touch.

 

[PaddleAddict]

I just wanted to mention something neat. It was so much fun to be with a first-time cruiser. Everything I am used to was exciting to her and I saw the cruise through her eyes, which made me relive my early memories of cruising. She didn't know that the food is not as amazing as it once was because she had nothing to compare it to. She thought the food was great! She thought the ship was amazing even though it's older because again, she had nothing to compare it to. It was an awesome experience both for her and me! :)

[kornuttle]

Hi Paddleaddict and thank you for your info and pictures!! Much appreciated! Esp since I am going to be on the Inspiration the weekend of 3/16! :D You mentioned that others on the ship weren't heading to bed til 5 or 6 in the a.m. do you have any idea what time they would close the nightclub down?? Also, as far as booze for your "booze cruise" did you bring your own booze on board or strictly bought through the ship? I have been wondering if Carnival is a little more lax with bringing booze on board for a 3 day cruise rather than a week-long...? I haven't been on a cruise in about 4 years now and just wanted to see if you had any smuggling experiences, even seeing it through fellow passengers. I have rum runners but we would like to bring beer as well and I'm wondering if I could somehow get it on board like the good ole days?? Thanks again!!

[PaddleAddict]

The night club was still open every time I left , so later than 3:30 am, although I'm sure it depends on a number of factors.

 

We did smuggle. Four of us put a few extra bottles of wine in our checked bags and it all came through fine. One girl brought a small amount of tequila in a juice bottle in her checked bag and it came through. One girl put a bottle of vodka in her suitcase (original container) and it was taken.

[kornuttle]

Good to know! Thanks again for all of the info and your response! Can't wait til we embark on our own booze cruise!! Lobster tails are calling my name! I was also wondering, I know the Inspiration went through plenty of renovations how would you compare it to your experience on the Monarch?

[PaddleAddict]

I thought the Inspiration was in great shape! I loved my cruise on the Monarch too, she was old and small, but still a great ship. The cabins are much larger on the Inspiration, which is nice.

[CourtneyLovesCruising]

We were on the cruise before you and you are so right about Seth. Not only a cutie, but very talented. I ended up closing the piano bar all three nights. But in my case....oh to be TWO decades younger!...LOL Seth is now my new favorite piano entertainer. (Although I still love Barry Miller, its been too long since I've seen him.)

 

We were on your same cruise and nearly closed the piano bar every night too. Seth was *fantastic* and his Disney songs were the perfect precursor to our Disneyland visit after we disembarked.

[PaddleAddict]

We were on your same cruise and nearly closed the piano bar every night too. Seth was *fantastic* and his Disney songs were the perfect precursor to our Disneyland visit after we disembarked.

 

Were you sitting at the bar? I think I remember you!

[PaddleAddict]

I had booked an Ensenada tour for us all prior to boarding the ship. After our late night, wine tasting was the last thing we felt like doing, but we bucked up. ;)

 

The tour was womderful! About a 40-minute drive outside Ensenada is beautiful countryside with about 30 wineries. We visited two. At the first, we were given a tour of their wine making facility, which was very neat.

 

 

Afterward, we tasted their wine, as well as cheese, bread, olive oil and olives. Yum! Then we enjoyed the beautiful weather outside on their patio while people bought wine and food.

 

 

 

At the second winery, we tasted wine as well as amazing cheeses, breads, olive oils, hot sauces, jams, pizza and a number of other foods. The food was amazing! I tried strawberry habanero jam that was to die for.

 

To be very honest, we all thought the wines were pretty terrible! But the location, the food, our guide Belen, and the general ambiance made this tour perfect! And all for $36. It was supposed to last only four hours, but by the time we made it back to the ship it had been closer to five hours.

[CourtneyLovesCruising]

Were you sitting at the bar? I think I remember you!

 

I was sitting at the bar most nights with my husband, the last night we sat in a booth since the bar was filled!

[PaddleAddict]

As we boarded the ship, evidence of wild times at Papas and Beer greeted us (in the form of vomit, ewww). Not cool people. :(

 

We all had wine with us since a free bottle was included in the tour and some girls had purchased additional bottles. The line to check in the booze was LONG and we were all tired and ready to rest before dinner. The employees checking in all the alcohol were totally overwhelmed so we just took our wine and walked right on the elevator and no one said a word.

 

Making our way back to our cabins we witnessed many extremely wasted people. To be honest, it was a little obnoxious. I have never understood the mentality of "I'm on vacation so I'm doing whatever I want". Don't get me wrong, we had FUN on this trip and at times were not sober, but is it really necessary to hear people screaming/slurring obscenities in the halls?

 

Anyway, we had to start getting ready for dinner early this night so we could make it to the captain's reception. I had heard this was a thing of the past, so I was excited as I have always enjoyed this event in the past. Well, sorry to say that it was pretty disappointing. It was held in the theater and the best part was the live music, which was great. But the drinks were pretty bad, they did not pass any hors d'oeuvres and the captain came up on stage and spoke for about 20 seconds. Oh well, free drinks at least and as we all sat there we made a pact that we would all go on a cruise with our husbands (no kids) in five years to celebrate our 40th birthdays.

 

Our pact:

 

[Payd]

As we boarded the ship, evidence of wild times at Papas and Beer greeted us (in the form of vomit, ewww). Not cool people. :(

 

We all had wine with us since a free bottle was included in the tour and some girls had purchased additional bottles. The line to check in the booze was LONG and we were all tired and ready to rest before dinner. The employees checking in all the alcohol were totally overwhelmed so we just took our wine and walked right on the elevator and no one said a word.

 

Making our way back to our cabins we witnessed many extremely wasted people. To be honest, it was a little obnoxious. I have never understood the mentality of "I'm on vacation so I'm doing whatever I want". Don't get me wrong, we had FUN on this trip and at times were not sober, but is it really necessary to hear people screaming/slurring obscenities in the halls?

 

Anyway, we had to start getting ready for dinner early this night so we could make it to the captain's reception. I had heard this was a thing of the past, so I was excited as I have always enjoyed this event in the past. Well, sorry to say that it was pretty disappointing. It was held in the theater and the best part was the live music, which was great. But the drinks were pretty bad, they did not pass any hors d'oeuvres and the captain came up on stage and spoke for about 20 seconds. Oh well, free drinks at least and as we all sat there we made a pact that we would all go on a cruise with our husbands (no kids) in five years to celebrate our 40th birthdays.

 

Our pact:

 

 

I enjoyed reading about your girls trip. I hope you all stay true to the 5 year pact. Our girl friends are important!!

[kornuttle]

Getting me more and more excited, can't wait to see the infamous Seth for myself!!! Love the pact pic! Very cute and a great idea!

[PaddleAddict]

Getting me more and more excited, can't wait to see the infamous Seth for myself!!! Love the pact pic! Very cute and a great idea!

 

You are so lucky that you will get to see Seth. I am so jealous, LOL!

[kornuttle]

Hehe...you didn't happen to find out if he is single by chance?? :D As of right now, I could very well be single by the time I cruise and a guy that cute and piano player/singer will definitely cheer me up!

[CWcruisers]

PaddleAddict I see nothing has changed on that 3 day cruise, new ship, same result.

 

I'm with you on the Mexican wines, I've done that tour several times because it is a decent deal for the money, and what else is there to do anyways? If you do it again, try the champagne at LA Cetto, it wasn't too bad.

 

I was told that because that was a ship sponsored excursion that not only did you not have to check in your bottle of wine, but that you could bring it to the MDR with no corkage fee. We did that on the Elation a few years ago, so unless the rules have changed, just info for the future.

[PaddleAddict]

Hehe...you didn't happen to find out if he is single by chance?? :D As of right now, I could very well be single by the time I cruise and a guy that cute and piano player/singer will definitely cheer me up!

 

I honestly don't know if he's single or not but if he is you're gonna have to get in line sister! That bar was packed with smitten ladies every single night. :)

[kornuttle]

Hahaa that's great! I will definitely be in line! We always go to the piano bar regardless of hottie entertainers! We make it a point after dinner to go to the piano bar, have a couple glasses of champagne and enjoy the music...Seth being cute is just a bonus!! I was kidding about him being single, I plan on going and just enjoying myself...man or no man! But eye candy is always welcome! ;)

[PaddleAddict]

PaddleAddict I see nothing has changed on that 3 day cruise, new ship, same result.

 

I'm with you on the Mexican wines, I've done that tour several times because it is a decent deal for the money, and what else is there to do anyways? If you do it again, try the champagne at LA Cetto, it wasn't too bad.

 

I was told that because that was a ship sponsored excursion that not only did you not have to check in your bottle of wine, but that you could bring it to the MDR with no corkage fee. We did that on the Elation a few years ago, so unless the rules have changed, just info for the future.

 

I think that rule has changed. The tour operator told us that we would not be permitted to take the wine up to our room.

 

I did have the champagne at LA Cetto and I would classify it as the least bad. It actually tasted good but had an odd aftertaste.