Inspiration Review 3/16-3/19 LONG w/ pictures

[westcruzer]

Carnival Inspiration Review 3/16 – 3/19

I wanted to take my boys on a cruise for spring break (as we usually do) so since Carnival was the only one for a shorter cruise this was the only option. In the past we have had a great experience it’s just I wanted something new. No biggie I’m sure we will have just as much fun. I told me brother about the trip and invited him with us. So this was a boys only trip.

 

About us….

 

Me = 32 I have been on 5 prior Carnival cruises and a couple other cruise lines

DB = 43 He has been on 40+ cruises mostly Royal Caribbean (Diamond Member), About 6 on Carnival. He’s not really a carnival fan but still came along since the pricing was pretty good and there wasn’t any other option.

DS = 11 This will be his 3rd cruise (all Carnival)

DS = 8 This will be his 3rd cruise (all Carnival)

DN = 8 This was his 15th cruise but first on Carnival (my brother’s son)

 

Embarkation

Before the cruise we checked the weather and noticed it wasn’t going to be the best weather all the time so I made sure we all brought a jacket (sweater etc). We arrived at Long Beach Port at 1:40pm and were dropped off by my SIL and we went to get in line. My brother never wears shorts (except swim shorts) but for me and my boys we wore shorts. It was just a little chilly but still ok for shorts. EVERYTHING was so smooth and the line (or lack of) was great. We were on board and went straight to the room. We reached our room at almost exactly 2pm and before we left to go to the buffet we already had our luggage. Things were looking great!

 

DAY 1

We went to the Mongolian Grill and the line was pretty short, only about 6 people in front of us. Once we got the food we decided to eat inside since most of the seating available outside was in the shade and a little chilly. The food was FANTASTIC. I must say this was the best buffet food on board.

After we stuffed ourselves we decided to go back to the room and get everything organized. I like to completely unpack and not live out of the suitcase. Each person has a suitcase but for our 3 suitcases after they were empty I can put them inside one another and put them under the bed. DB and his son’s were the same size but still fit under the bed without any issues.

Once we were all unpacked and organized we decided to get the kids club all squared away. We arrived at the kids club but realized they were not opening until 7:30pm. The kids wanted to check out the slides so we decided to take a quick tour of the cruise ship. DB has been on this ship a few months before the dry dock and I have been on this class of ship before so we already knew the layout itself. One thing DB did mention is he really liked the ship. When he went on the ship before dry dock he told me it was really run down and at that time confirmed why he prefers Royal Caribbean. The kids loved the slides and could not wait until they had the chance to test them out. The slides were already open but it was still too cold.

After looking all around the ship it was almost time for the Muster Drill. At our drill you did NOT need to bring your life jacket. We waited in the Paris Lounge for about 20 min before the actual talking started. It was pretty quiet while the Captain was talking over the PA system. Once that was completed we were led up to our actual stations and this was done VERY quickly. We only waited about 5 min once we go up to our stations and then we we’re FREE!

DS (8) has always wanted to watch us sail away so we went to front of the ship. After about 5 min DS(8) was done even though we had not left port yet so we headed back to the room to put pants on for the MDR. I always select early seating when I have the kids because the late seating is just too late for them to eat a full meal. We arrived right on time and we were assigned a table of 10 in the middle of the room so the kids were disappointed because the last 2 cruises we had seating right by the window. Our table mates were not on time so the waiter had us hold off for about 15 min until he realized they were not coming. Unfortunately the bar lady had not come by for quite some time so I finished my water off very quickly and had to ask for more water after waiting for more than 5 minutes with an empty glass. This was my first experience with this since in the past we have had our own table with our kids or on other cruises people were courteous enough to let us all know they would not be attending on a particular day. I was pleasantly surprised to see escargot on the menu for the night. I decided to order Escargot, Caesar Salad, Fruit Salad, and Lasagna. I received the fruit salad and escargot at the same time and when the waiter brought everyone else the salad he said he would return with my salad when I was completed with my escargot. I never did see my salad that night but no biggie. Right about now we saw the bar waitress and ordered sodas for us all. She came back in a timely manner with our drinks. The food for tonight was good. The lasagna had spinach in it which I don’t dislike but it’s not my favorite. I saw it on the menu so I knew what I was getting. I still finished it though. Just about 7pm (an hour late) our table mates decided to show up. The server did not say anything and still served them with a smile. Afterwards for dessert DB said he wasn’t going to have any dessert until he noticed Key Lime Pie. I had a banana split. DS (11) had Chocolate Melting Cake which was perfect every time. DS(8) and DN(8) both had chocolate ice cream.

After dinner the kids were wanting to check out the kids club so we went back to the kids club and by now it’s about 8pm. They still were not open….hmm. I noticed we made a mistake. 7:30pm was were the parents and kids meet at the rock and roll room THEN at 8:30pm the kids club opens. Ok my fault no biggie.

We decided to check out our pictures and purchased a few we liked. DB had a little experience that really upset him. The lady selling the pictures kept trying to up sell us to buy frames for 50% off with our purchase which was fine because that is her job but then he selected a frame she rang him up. DB saw the receipt and he was charged full pop for the frame. When he confronted her she said because he selected the wood frame which is regularly $9.99 THAT one is not included in the promo. Hmm…..do you think you might have said something BEFORE you charged the card? So when my DB said he did not want it she told him there were no refunds……HE WAS PISSED OFF! He told her that it was BS what she did and she could have had the common decency to tell him that THAT frame was not included. She pointed at the table I grabbed the frame from and said those frame over there are not included. She then followed up with that on her table those were the frames included. When DB showed her that there were 3 of these EXACT SAME FRAMES on her table she said sorry but these are not on the 50% off frames with picture purchase. Ultimately he wanted the frame and decided she was useless and decided not to go further with it. It was only $5 but it is the principle that what she did was wrong.

By now it is 8:30 and the kids wanted to check out the kids club (for the past 4 hours now). We dropped them off and since we did all of the paperwork online pre-cruise all we needed to do is give them our room key and off the kids went. DS (11) is not into the kids club thing so I bring a walkie talkie along and let him do his thing.

DB and I decided to go to the casino for a bit and by 10pm we needed to be back to pick up the DS’s (8 & 8). They begged us to stay for the Owl Jams party until midnight. We decided since they wanted to stay this allowed us more casino time. Otherwise had they not asked us to stay we would have called it a night. Back to the casino we go! DB played BlackJack and I played Poker. My was that table CRAZY. On a $1-$2 NL table there were a couple guys raising preflop $25 and following up on the flop with $100 quite often and most times with NOTHING. I just laid back and when I had the goods I pounced. Unfortunately I only had 2 hands worth calling in a 2 hours spread…..it KILLED ME to be that patient. Needless to say one hand paid off with me walking away with a decent profit for the night. Around 11:45am we decided to go get the kids and head for bed.

DAY 2 – Ensenada

 

I woke up a little early and noticed the boat was rocking a little more than normal but I fell back asleep and we all woke up around 8am. The kids wanted to do the buffet instead of the MDR which was fine by us. After breakfast I noticed how cold it was so I made sure we all got our jackets when we went back to our cabin to pack for the day. Everyone had their jacket EXCEPT ME! I forgot to pack my jacket. Oh well, I will buy one in Ensenada. I guess I was so worried to make sure I packed my kids a jacket I forgot my own.

I have taken this cruise multiple times in the past so I know it’s kind of a crappy port. There is not really much to do and even less with kids. Last time we were out here it was Me, FIL, DW, DS(8), DS(11) and we did the quad riding which was GREAT! This time we would not be able to do the quad rides because we had more kids than adults and I did not feel comfortable letting DS (11) ride on the streets by himself. Not only that but I wanted to do something different. We had already done the blowhole and I did not want to go through that again. It’s nice for one time or if you have not done it in a very long time but I’m good for at least another 5 years….LOL

I wanted to find a fishing boat to go out fishing but when we got off the boat and started walking along to the left off the ship it almost seemed deserted. It was very strange. Now I know the weather was quite cold but I would think they would all be around to take our money. We continued our walk to where the boats were and one guy wanted to sell us a tour on a boat. I asked if he just did tours or if he did fishing as well. He called his boss and said they would take us out. I offered everyone Dramamine and everyone in my group except DB took the pills. I told him he should take it just in case but he still said no. DB has been on lots of boats fishing and all and has never been sick. Within 15 minutes we had ourselves a fishing boat with 4 crew on board. When I did all my research everyone seemed to want about $425 and up for 5 people. The port was closed yesterday due to weather so these guys were hungry for business.

We got the boat for $50/hr and rented it for 4.5hrs. Before going out to sea I asked the boss where I could get a jacket. It was really getting cold and it looked like it was going to rain. He told me he had a jacket inside the boat I could borrow. We took about 45min – 60 min to get out to where we were going to start fishing. Boy was it really rough out there. I’m glad a had all the kids and including me take the Dramamine. Within 5 minutes of me releasing my line I GOT A BITE!! I was fighting this thing and man was it tough! After about 10 min of fighting I was so tired I had DB take over. After another 5 minutes I realized we were both losing line not reeling it in. At that moment I realized we probably got the line caught on something like a huge seaweed. What a bummer! Just a minute later DN (8) had a bite. Wow this is great, right after a disappointment we will have redemption. He reeled it in all by himself since it wasn’t that big/tough. What do you know….it was a piece of seaweed. This was not very fun in the first 30 min of fishing.

It started to rain and boy am I glad the boss let me borrow his jacket. I would have had a miserable time without it. DB had to go sit down in the inside of the boat because he wasn’t feeling so good. Did I mention the seas were ROUGH. Did I mention he was the only one who DIDN’T take a pill. We continued fishing and I got a bite…..This trip was all about the kids so I could feel this wasn’t anywhere near a HUGE as the fish I DIDN’T catch so I passed it off to my DS(11). This was a fun one to reel in. He did a great job and he ended up with a 3-4 lb Calico Bass. Within a minute of pulling DS’s(11) fish, DS(8) had a bite. He reeled it in with some assistance from me and caught a 3 lb Sand Bass. Where’s DB? Here he comes walking out from inside and off the side he goes puking. I wanted to ask is he was chumming up the food for the fish but I decided now is not the time. I also wanted to throw an I told you so but again not a good time. I did do it later after he was done feeding the fish. J

We continued to fish in that area but after about 30 min of nothing the captain decided to make a move. About 15 min of moving he decided to try another spot. Within about 5 minutes the boat was rocking so bad my weight shifted and the back leg on the plastic chair broke. My right hand was holding on to the rod, can’t let go of the rod, and on my butt I go. I was fine but that hurt my left hand. I tried to break my fall with my left hand and it scraped on the floor of the boat which is rough like sand paper so you don’t slip. After picking myself up and getting a new chair I checked on my brother….passed out.

We stayed there for about 20 more minutes with nothing so the captain decided to move again. 15 minutes later we found a spot. These seas were getting rougher. DN(8) got a bite and with my assistance reeled in a 3 lb Calico Bass. Under normal conditions I’m sure all the kids could have reeled in their own fish but due to the boat and rocking as much as it was they really needed help. We continued for another 30 minutes and the Captain said there was talk about closing the port again because of the storm coming in. He said we could continue fishing if we would like or head back. Since DB was NOT having a good time and since all the kids got at least a fish each I was fine heading back. DN(8) and DS(8) fell asleep inside the boat along with DB who was already passed out. DS(11) was enjoying the sea with me as we headed back to the dock.

Right before we docked the boat we saw a large sea lion hanging out at the end of the dock. We decided to go check him out once we got off the boat but as soon as he saw us he jumped in the water. As soon as we were on land DB was fine. It was still very cold and I now had no jacket again. DB and DN(8) were tired and wanted to head back to the ship. My DS’s (8) & (11) wanted to go look at the cheap toys so we walked down the little market that also had 4-5 hole in the wall restaurants. They were all approaching us to eat there as we passed by and I just said no thank you and continued walking. We found a place that had a jacket and I bought one of those striped common Mexican pull over sweaters for $8. The best $8 I ever spent. I was so grateful I didn’t even negotiate after the first price drop from $10 to $8. I negotiate for a living so I usually pay bottom dollar for things but not this one! On our way back those same ladies asked for me to go to their restaurant so I gave in.

The waitress is not the person hustling the people in. The hustler knows English where as the waitress doesn’t. I speak Spanish so the waitress talked to me a lot more than I would think she would talk to English only Americans. She told DS(8) how handsome they were and she wanted to give him a kiss on the cheek. DS(8) who is usually very outgoing and I will have to worry about him with the ladies was actually embarrassed and said no. Before we were done I was curious on how much they made so I asked. She told me she works from 9am-9pm and makes $160 pesos. It seemed that everyone was giving a $12 pesos to $1 dollar rate. So she makes $13.33 a day or $1.11 an hour. WOW. Food was good and for 3 bottled sodas, 3 carne asada tacos, and 2 shrimp tacos with chips, salsa, and pico de gallo for $8. I gave her a nice tip (more than she makes in a day). She was so grateful she tried to give DS(8) again and he finally gave in. She gave DS(11) a kiss too.

We headed back to the ship and had a long day so I was ready for a nap. I headed back to the ship and DB was laying in bed taking a nap. He told me DN(8) wanted to go to the kids club so immediately DS(8) wanted to go. I took DS(8) to the kids club and came back to take a nap with DB and DS(11).

After a well needed nap DB went to get DS(8) and DN(8) at kids club while I went to iron our clothes for elegant night. There was a line for the ironing boards 4 people deep when I showed up and it was as long as 6 people at one point. I’ve never had this problem before but oh well, no biggie. We all got dressed up and went to dinner. I wanted to stop and take pictures but they were all the same backdrops and we were running a little behind if we stopped for pictures.

As expected our table mates were not on time. The waiter did not make us wait this time. I ordered the fruit salad, Caesar salad, and 3 lobsters. I did get my Caesar salad this time. The lobster was good but not great. I still finished them off. Another banana split for me but DB was disappointed he could not have Key Lime pie again. He decided to try the WMC but he is not a fan. He likes chocolate but he doesn’t love it. Oh forgot to mention our table mates showed up 20 minutes late.

DS(8) and DN(8) were ready to go to the kids club but we needed to change clothes. After changing we dropped them off and DS(11) wanted to go watch the family comedy club so we went and enjoyed a great show. There was this group of adults that had a mental disorder that kept making noises that the comedian thought was someone trying to heckle him. He kept making comments back but really held back because he really wanted to keep it a family show. It was the same all the show so at the end of the show he before the lights came on he asked them to stay for the next show and then he would REALLY have some fun with them. I don’t think he ever found out that it wasn’t hecklers and that they really did have a mental disorder.

DS (11) went and did his own thing and DB and I hit the casino again. Around 10pm we went to pick up DS(8) & DN(8) but once again they wanted to stay for the “Fun ‘Til One” party which has a $20 +15% gratuity fee. We went back to the casino and the poker table was nowhere near what it was the night before so I only walked away with a small profit. Around 12:45am we decided it was time to go get the kids. We were in bed by 1:15am.

Day 3 – Sea Day

Today was a not nearly as fun as I hoped for. The weather was bad and the water was still super rough. We all have been living on bonine after getting back on the ship yesterday. We never did the pool or the waterworks. The kids wanted to stay in the kids club any time they were open. For lunch we decided to go to the Mongolian grill again but this time the line was LONG but still so well worth it!

I played poker again while the kids were in kids club and right before dinner we picked them up. During dinner I wasn’t feeling very well so I cut out before dessert. I ended up sleeping the rest of the night.

 

Debarkation

We woke up and went to breakfast at around 8am. We had pretty poor service as I have had in the past on a debarkation day. The worst part was the actual self debarkation process. We got in line which was a long line and that isn’t what bothered me. The complete disorganization really bothered me. People who were coming onto the empress level from the elevator just cut in the line and also people coming down the stairs cut in the line as well. I stood in line for 15 min without moving (yet the entire rest of the line in front of us had been moving so much we would have almost been out. I told the carnival worker there what was going on and some others behind us backed us up. So she stepped in but it still didn’t work. She would just say that the line was around the corner to the back and they didn’t care. They need to cordon off areas forcing people to only go certain ways. This is one thing Royal Caribbean has down WAY BETTER then Carnival. Once off the ship there was another long line on the gangway. No problem because it was well organized. I don’t have a problem standing in lines because I know there are a lot of people getting on or off. It was the disorganization that really frustrated me on the ship.

 

Overall I had a great trip even though everything didn’t work out as well I had wished.

[westcruzer]

Here is a little video of my son dancing in the MDR while all the waiters dance.

 

[boaterette]

Just wanted to say that I think it is totally awesome that you take your boys on a cruise. Good for you. Thank you for the review.

[gelo7]

Nice review.

[ccruisequeen]

THANKS for the review. We're planning a 3 day post-Thanksgiving family cruise & its nice to know I can still get Lobster!

[PathfinderEss]

Very nice review, thanks for posting it.

[reerun25]

Nice review, thanks!!!

[carlat78]

Great post very informative!! I read every word :)

[Quilting_Cruiser]

Thanks so much for the review! I just booked this cruise B2B with the 4-day. DD and I decided we can't wait a whole year for our next cruise and west coast is easy for us. :D I love that you and your brother took your boys for a guys' cruise. Thanks so much for sharing.