Fireopal36 Posted August 7, 2012 #1 Share Posted August 7, 2012 We are going on the 4 day Catalina/Ensenada cruise in November(yet again..yay for being my hometown port!). This is the 3rd time we've done this cruise but this time it's on the Inspiration instead of the Paradise. Does anyone have any good tips for us re: the Inspiration? Since we've been to the ports a few times we may just stay on the ship and enjoy the "emptiness" if the ship is nice! We are also contemplating doing Parasailing in Catalina (provided they are open as it's off season) and/or the Las Canadas Canopy tour in Ensenada, has anyone done either of these? Any input would be appreciated! Thanks! Angie :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USNUZULOOSE Posted August 7, 2012 #2 Share Posted August 7, 2012 Sailed her in January, I don't have anything to compare to the Paradise. I liked the ship. I don't look for imperfections. It is an older ship. I brought my own hair dryer. We stayed on the Rivera deck , inside cabin , aft. I thought the food was really good, we had great waiters. I had a really good time. I did not do ship excursions , so I cant help you there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccruisequeen Posted August 7, 2012 #3 Share Posted August 7, 2012 (edited) Lay-out basicly the same. Decor a little more subtitle and refined especially in the mid-ship MDR. Crew I sailed with in Jan was fun, but I know they should be changed by Nov (we're cruising 3-day after thanksgiving.) Edited August 7, 2012 by ccruisequeen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quizzer25 Posted October 23, 2014 #4 Share Posted October 23, 2014 We are going on the 4 day Catalina/Ensenada cruise in November(yet again..yay for being my hometown port!). This is the 3rd time we've done this cruise but this time it's on the Inspiration instead of the Paradise. Does anyone have any good tips for us re: the Inspiration? Since we've been to the ports a few times we may just stay on the ship and enjoy the "emptiness" if the ship is nice! We are also contemplating doing Parasailing in Catalina (provided they are open as it's off season) and/or the Las Canadas Canopy tour in Ensenada, has anyone done either of these? Any input would be appreciated! Thanks! Angie :) I'm planning to take the ensenada thanksgiving weekend cruise. How was the crowd both in the cruise and in las canadas canopy (zipline to be exact)? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2011mom Posted October 23, 2014 #5 Share Posted October 23, 2014 I've done this cruise 4 times and will be doing it again in December (yep - I live in California!) I've been on the Paradise, Imagination, and Inspiration, and to tell the truth they're all about the same. I love this cruise, though! I've done the parasailing in Catalina - me, my daughter and her friend all on one parasail. Really fun! The Canopy tour in Ensenada, is, IMO, the best thing ever in Ensenada. I've done it twice and it is SO MUCH FUN! And really inexpensive, too. We just found a cab at the port and kept the driver basically all day. At Las Canadas one time after doing the canopy tour, we rented little ATV's and went riding all over the place - that was great fun, too. Have fun on your cruise! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quizzer25 Posted October 23, 2014 #6 Share Posted October 23, 2014 I've done this cruise 4 times and will be doing it again in December (yep - I live in California!) I've been on the Paradise, Imagination, and Inspiration, and to tell the truth they're all about the same. I love this cruise, though! I've done the parasailing in Catalina - me, my daughter and her friend all on one parasail. Really fun! The Canopy tour in Ensenada, is, IMO, the best thing ever in Ensenada. I've done it twice and it is SO MUCH FUN! And really inexpensive, too. We just found a cab at the port and kept the driver basically all day. At Las Canadas one time after doing the canopy tour, we rented little ATV's and went riding all over the place - that was great fun, too. Have fun on your cruise! Thanks for the quick response. What will the approx charge for keeping the cab the whole day? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T. Advisor King Posted October 23, 2014 #7 Share Posted October 23, 2014 When we did the Inspiration 3-day to Ensenada a couple years ago, I recall that there were no waits to get a table for YTD. This contrasted greatly with our experience on the Glory this past summer when we regularly had waits of 30-40 minutes (one time it was 50 minutes) for YTD seating. Our Inspiration cruise was the first week of April, so just after the normal spring break rush, but it shocked me how poorly prepared they were on the Glory compared to how well it ran on the Inspiration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonnie&clydecruzers Posted October 23, 2014 #8 Share Posted October 23, 2014 (edited) The biggest thing that I can think of compared to the Paradise is Inspiration has the Waterworks and Serenity deck, both which are really nice. She also has the new American Table menu in the MDR so be prepared to try some new things. Enjoy the tablecloths in the MDR since her fellow long beach sister ship Imagination does not have them. I truly missed the tablecloths. We love the Inspiration. Have a great cruise. Edited October 23, 2014 by bonnie&clydecruzers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2011mom Posted October 23, 2014 #9 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Thanks for the quick response. What will the approx charge for keeping the cab the whole day? I can't remember exactly, but I think it was about $50 - 60, plus a tip. The driver was great on our last time there - and Las Canadas even let him have an ATV for free so he could have some fun, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elliair Posted October 23, 2014 #10 Share Posted October 23, 2014 In Ensenada, we went on the wine tour and it was excellent. We are going to Ensenada in January on a cruise from Hawaii (it's final port). We booked the wine tour for that cruise as well. They give you a free bottle of wine when leaving the first winery. If you like wine, I highly recommend it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quizzer25 Posted October 24, 2014 #11 Share Posted October 24, 2014 I can't remember exactly, but I think it was about $50 - 60, plus a tip. The driver was great on our last time there - and Las Canadas even let him have an ATV for free so he could have some fun, too. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccruisequeen Posted October 25, 2014 #12 Share Posted October 25, 2014 They just changed the schedule of the inspiration due to golden Princess also doing 4-days. Now they do the sea day on Tues (to Encenada and back) at the start of the cruise. Catalina is day 2, back to Encenada on day 3 and home to Long Beach. Kind of throws everything out of whack, no chocolate buffet, the Final Art auction the first day, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattjs Posted October 26, 2014 #13 Share Posted October 26, 2014 (edited) They just changed the schedule of the inspiration due to golden Princess also doing 4-days. Now they do the sea day on Tues (to Encenada and back) at the start of the cruise. Catalina is day 2, back to Encenada on day 3 and home to Long Beach. Kind of throws everything out of whack, no chocolate buffet, the Final Art auction the first day, etc. Did this change start this past week? We were on the Inspiration for the 13-Oct-14 sailing. We docked alongside the Golden Princess in Ensenada on Wed 15-Oct-14. Our At Sea day was day 4, Thursday as well. Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app Edited October 26, 2014 by mattjs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awaflyboy Posted October 26, 2014 #14 Share Posted October 26, 2014 Does the ship enter international waters when leaving LA and the next day's port is Catalina? Toying with the idea of buying the cheers program and wanted to see if we'll save on the taxes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SadieN Posted October 26, 2014 #15 Share Posted October 26, 2014 (edited) On the Hawaii cruise right now. Those with drink packages are only paying taxes on the drinks they actually consume. The Soda Package people got bills for $0.14 before sail away. You'll only get taxed on the drinks purchased in Long Beach. Not at any other time. Edited October 26, 2014 by SadieN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccruisequeen Posted October 26, 2014 #16 Share Posted October 26, 2014 (edited) Did this change start this past week? We were on the Inspiration for the 13-Oct-14 sailing. We docked alongside the Golden Princess in Ensenada on Wed 15-Oct-14. Our At Sea day was day 4, Thursday as well. Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app Jeff said that the new itinerary would definitely be in effect by December for sure. I think that last week is the first time they tried it out. Golden Princess is a bigger ship so it has the right of way in Catalina. We caught up to them in Ensenada on thurs. Edited October 26, 2014 by ccruisequeen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccruisequeen Posted October 26, 2014 #17 Share Posted October 26, 2014 Does the ship enter international waters when leaving LA and the next day's port is Catalina? Toying with the idea of buying the cheers program and wanted to see if we'll save on the taxes. Someone tracking the ship on an app said they saw us in Ensenada on our sea day then back to Catalina. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccruisequeen Posted October 26, 2014 #18 Share Posted October 26, 2014 Jeff said that the new itinerary would definitely be in effect by December for sure. I think that last week is the first time they tried it out. Golden Princess is a bigger ship so it has the right of way in Catalina. We caught up to them in Ensenada on thurs. Sent from my iPod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare sailawaybellaluna Posted October 27, 2014 #19 Share Posted October 27, 2014 We have really enjoyed the past two cruises we did on the Inspiration! I wrote a detailed photo review of our 4-day journey, in case you're interested! You can find it here. Have fun!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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