Inspiration 4 Day Review w/Grandkids!

[aashleyjc]

Thanks for the review. We sail on the Inspiration in two weeks. We have been to Ensenada more times than we can count, but it will be nice to just get away for a few day. :D

[Gazelle2]

Thank you so much for your great review. I have read a lot of reviews by people on 20-day cruises in full suites but I have never before read a review where everyone appears to have enjoyed every minute of the cruise. You are the kind of people Carnival needs to profile in their ads. I'll bet the next group of grandkids can't wait for it to be their turn.

[edpat5911]

Thanks for the review. We sail on the Inspiration in two weeks. We have been to Ensenada more times than we can count, but it will be nice to just get away for a few day. :D

 

Hope you have an awesome time!

[edpat5911]

Thank you so much for your great review. I have read a lot of reviews by people on 20-day cruises in full suites but I have never before read a review where everyone appears to have enjoyed every minute of the cruise. You are the kind of people Carnival needs to profile in their ads. I'll bet the next group of grandkids can't wait for it to be their turn.

 

Thank You! Your response really made me feel good! Next spring it will be our autistic grandson, age 12, with his parents along for extra help, since we are not sure how he will do. Should be great fun tho!

[jjfromsd]

Thank you for sharing your family's experience aboard the Inspiration. Great review and great photos. I will also sail the 4-day itinerary next month. I will also spend two nights on the Queen Mary pre-cruise. Can't wait!

[tnf]

After watching for a while we went down to our cabin to get dressed for our late seating dinner. DH and I had had Anytime Dining on both our previous cruises and so we had decided this time to try Assigned Dining and see how we liked it. We had a great serving team, Ernesto and Ni. By coincidence we had met Ni at lunch in the buffet and had chatted with her about her family back home etc. We were pleasantly surprised to find that she would be our assistant server for the next 4 days! The kids had all gotten the Endless Bubbles and so on the first night we asked Ernesto to get the bar server for us. He soon came over and the kids ordered their drinks. When he brought their sodas the kids tipped him a dollar that we gave them for that purpose. (We had read on Cruise Critic how sometimes the kids get ignored by bar servers because they don’t make any tips off them other than the small initial tip that you pay that is included in the price of the Endless Bubbles) Well our strategy was that the kids would tip a little each night and it worked! Never were their sodas empty! During the day, hanging out on the ship the kids did not tip each and every time, but every 3rd soda or so they would tip. Made the servers happy and the kids learned to appreciate their service.

We went and saw the Welcome Aboard show in the theatre and then it was off to bed for us as we had our “Wild Dolphins” excursion on Catalina Island the next day.

We got up about 8 and went to the Lido deck to eat some breakfast and about 9:30 we went down to the tender. There was no line at all at this time and the sea was calm so we were quickly on the pier at Avalon. We had a couple of hours until our Dolphin excursion, so we decided to rent a golf cart and tour the island. They provided us with a map of the streets to get a good look at the island in the amount of time we had. I think it was 1 hour and 15 minutes for us to complete the loop, with stops along the way for pics and sightseeing.

 

 

 

 

 

More later this evening....

 

How much was it too rent the golf carts?

Thanks for the review we sail next month and we cannot wait.

[crusinpsychRN]

Nice review! I was on Inspiration many times out of Tampa and sure do miss her.

[4hunters]

Thanks for the review!

[edpat5911]

How much was it too rent the golf carts?

Thanks for the review we sail next month and we cannot wait.

 

Since there were five of us, we rented the larger one, $60 an hour. The smaller 4 person ones were $40 an hour. If you bring it back past the hour, no problem, it is just increments of the hourly rate.

 

Have a great time!

[tnf]

Since there were five of us, we rented the larger one, $60 an hour. The smaller 4 person ones were $40 an hour. If you bring it back past the hour, no problem, it is just increments of the hourly rate.

 

Have a great time!

 

Thank you very much!

by the way We live right near Apache Junction

[LSEA]

Thanks for the great review! I was lucky to have 4 really terrific grandparents and I so treasure all of the memories.

[Nanaimobound]

Awesome review! What great Grandparents you are!

Looks like you guys know how to have fun on a four day cruise for sure.

It has been many years since I have seen "El bufadoro" The blowhole in Ensenada. Thanks for sharing!

[edpat5911]

Thank you very much!

by the way We live right near Apache Junction

 

Hi!, So Nice be meet a neighbor!

 

Thanks for the great review! I was lucky to have 4 really terrific grandparents and I so treasure all of the memories.

 

Thanks! That is my goal, to make wonderful memories with them!

 

Awesome review! What great Grandparents you are!

Looks like you guys know how to have fun on a four day cruise for sure.

It has been many years since I have seen "El bufadoro" The blowhole in Ensenada. Thanks for sharing!

 

This was our second time to see it, almost didn't because the first time we saw it, it was not "blowing" very much. It was much better this time!

[ttnc4me]

Great review. Thanks for sharing. I've been doing mock bookings for CCL and am only offered this room for 5. Did you find that you had enough room? There seems to be only one option short of booking two rooms at a MUCH higher cost.:(

 

Did your grandchildren go to the kids club(s) at all?

[edpat5911]

Great review. Thanks for sharing. I've been doing mock bookings for CCL and am only offered this room for 5. Did you find that you had enough room? There seems to be only one option short of booking two rooms at a MUCH higher cost.:(

 

Did your grandchildren go to the kids club(s) at all?

 

It was pretty tight in the room. However, we do not spend much time at all in our room, even when it is not 5 of us. We also looked into booking two rooms, but did not want to spend the extra $$, we would rather spend the extra $$ on awesome excursions. We actually thought it worked out better than we thought it would. We utilized the closet doors and the hallway for a "changing room". If I had it to do over again, Yes, I would put us all in one room.

 

No, they did not go to the kids clubs at all. It is a little different for us, being grandparents and not their parents. We do not get to see them as often as we would like to, so we talked it over with them beforehand and we all agreed to spend all our time together. It was wonderful!

[AQW]

About 2 pm we went down to our inside cabin on Empress deck 7. Wow, yes, it was a little tight for the 5 of us, but we quickly learned how to maneuver around each other and take turns dressing, etc. Kayleigh (the youngest) had a mattress on the floor at the foot of our bed, but she said she was very comfortable.

 

 

 

Wonderful review! Thanks for taking the time to write it and provide such great pictures.

 

We brought the Inspiration to Long Beach from Tampa via the Panama Canal, and the configuration for our Ocean View room w/four people was the same as above, just with no mattress/trundle on the floor. It was tight - especially for 14 nights - but definitely doable.

 

My only question about the way this is laid out - how does the person on the far side of the big bed get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night??? LOL That was my husband's spot, and he whacked his head on our son's bunk almost every night trying to climb around the bottom of the bed. Memories. :)

 

Looking forward to your next grandkids/cruise adventure - please do another review! I enjoyed reading about the memories you are creating with your grandchildren. :)

[edpat5911]

Wonderful review! Thanks for taking the time to write it and provide such great pictures.

 

We brought the Inspiration to Long Beach from Tampa via the Panama Canal, and the configuration for our Ocean View room w/four people was the same as above, just with no mattress/trundle on the floor. It was tight - especially for 14 nights - but definitely doable.

 

My only question about the way this is laid out - how does the person on the far side of the big bed get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night??? LOL That was my husband's spot, and he whacked his head on our son's bunk almost every night trying to climb around the bottom of the bed. Memories. :)

 

Looking forward to your next grandkids/cruise adventure - please do another review! I enjoyed reading about the memories you are creating with your grandchildren. :)

 

The far side was my side. I never banged my head, probably because all my life I have camped in an overhead camper, and so I am used to staying ducked down. Also did not get up much, and then only when DH got up first! LOL

 

I will definitely write another review! Thanks for your kind comments!

[wrigley80]

Great Review. I have been on 8 Carnival cruises but never been to the Mexican Riviera side. I should try that one someday

[edpat5911]

Great Review. I have been on 8 Carnival cruises but never been to the Mexican Riviera side. I should try that one someday

 

You should! We went on a 7 day Mexican Riviera last year, after they pulled out of Mazatlan, but we visited Puerto Vallarta and Cabo two days. We enjoyed it very much! We are going again in September before the Splendor leaves the West Coast!

[Quilting_Cruiser]

Another "thank you!" for the review! I really enjoyed reading it. What a wonderful time with your grandchildren. Thanks for sharing.

 

DD (17) and I are doing B2B on the inspiration in August and we're really looking forward to it. We've never sailed her before though we did the four-day itinerary in 1997 on the Holiday. It was our first cruise. DD was only 21 months old so it will be a very different experience this time.

 

Thanks again for sharing your experience!

 

:D

[mringenoldus]

Also from AZ and also taking my teen grandson and nephew on the 3-night Inspiration in mid-July. I'm glad to see you also had a great time with your grandkids!

 

My guys are veteran cruisers (even our twin toddler grandsons have cruised already :))

 

You are braver than me! I book the full suite when cruising with the boys. They are spoiled - but what the heck - it's only money. Can't think of anything better to do with it!

[edpat5911]

Another "thank you!" for the review! I really enjoyed reading it. What a wonderful time with your grandchildren. Thanks for sharing.

 

DD (17) and I are doing B2B on the inspiration in August and we're really looking forward to it. We've never sailed her before though we did the four-day itinerary in 1997 on the Holiday. It was our first cruise. DD was only 21 months old so it will be a very different experience this time.

 

Thanks again for sharing your experience!

 

:D

 

You are so welcome! We enjoyed this trip soooo much! I hope you and your daughter have a wonderful cruise! We are going on the Splendor in September, but this time just hubby and I. Our cruise next Spring we are taking our Autistic Grandson, age 12, with his parents.

[edpat5911]

Also from AZ and also taking my teen grandson and nephew on the 3-night Inspiration in mid-July. I'm glad to see you also had a great time with your grandkids!

 

My guys are veteran cruisers (even our twin toddler grandsons have cruised already :))

 

You are braver than me! I book the full suite when cruising with the boys. They are spoiled - but what the heck - it's only money. Can't think of anything better to do with it!

 

I hope you all have a wonderful cruise!

 

It really wasn't bad at all with five of us in a room, we all seemed to work well together as far as taking turns dressing, sharing the bathroom.

[LOVECRUISING100%]

Thanks for posting, going on the Inspiration in Dec .. Can't wait .. : )

[mringenoldus]

I'm sorry to be a downer (and I'm sure you will have a great time with your grandkids) but the Inspiration - all I can say is YUCK!