Inspiration 4 Night- Catalina/Ensenada Review and Videos

[Sheebah]

Hey everyone,

 

Thought we’d share our Inspiration 4 night experience. I’m 40, DH is 51 and we have a 5 year old son. We’ve sailed many times with Carnival and this cruise was to celebrate hubby’s birthday in early May.

 

We booked an outside cabin, but received a call a few weeks before the cruise offering an upgrade to a Grand Suite. I researched the price Carnival offered, and it was about 60% less than the normal cabin cost, so we jumped on it, mainly because of the balcony and bathtub.

 

As always, we purchased Faster to the Fun, and were glad we did. We are the types that love to arrive to the port early and unpack immediately so we can enjoy every moment of the ship on the first day, so it’s worth it to us. Plus, with a tender port in Catalina, we thought it would be worthwhile. We probably didn’t need it since we’d upgraded to a suite, and we knew that, but we kept the FTTF since we’d purchased it prior.

 

I’ll start with a few overall pros and cons, then break down our experience a little more.

 

Pros

Timely room service

American Table- fun to try something new!

Service in dining room

Comfy beds

Friendly staff

Waterworks- all of us (yep, even the grown ups) loved the waterslides. The water was chilly, but so was the air. It's just the time of year we traveled.

 

Cons

Lack of suite perks

Had to miss first night in dining room to wait for a private table for our family – so tired of this Carnival- please honor the request for table size made on your website! Some of us just want to dine with our families.

Cigarette smoke coming through vents and doors. No clue where it was coming from, but it permeated our bathroom a few nights on the trip.

Noisy neighbors at times, hosting late night parties in the room.

 

The Ship

Overall, we were very impressed with the cleanliness of the ship, particularly due to its age. The staff works so hard to keep everything sparkling and it was clean and bright.

 

The Cabin

We really enjoyed the balcony and extra space in the Grand Suite. It’s odd that Carnival offers no suite perks, aside from priority embarkation, but hey, we save a lot of money sailing with Carnival so I get it. I did have a hard time with the fact that there wasn’t even free bottled water with the suite, but again, no biggie.

Our son slept on the full size pull out couch – it was a huge bed for a couch arrangement, and still left plenty of room to walk around the suite when the bed was fully extended and made.

 

The Jacuzzi tub in the room was really nice, but rather narrow. I’m petite and when I was showering, the tub felt super narrow (like my feet were pressed up against the edges), but it was SO nice to be able to bathe our son, and relax in the tub rather than the standard small shower routine.

 

Here’s a little video tour of the room:

 

The Food

 

Yes, the ship features the American Table menu. The menu is a little visually confusing at first, but you get used to it. I did find that we tended to order fewer dishes, perhaps because we were SO in love with the “for the table” size calamari every night that we filled up on that. The food quality seemed the same or better to me than it normally did with the old menus and we had no trouble finding entrees we liked. The only thing I didn’t care for was the Veal parmesan. Too gamey. We’re putting a little food video together too, and will try to post it when its done.

 

The Service & Staff

 

Great- all around, from the dining room to the room service staff to the room steward, especially considering the fast turnaround on this ship (short sailings).

 

The Ports

 

We still haven’t found anything we love doing in Ensenada, so we took a quick walk around and immediately got back on the boat. We did La Bufadora last time, so we didn’t want to it again. Wish I knew some “secret fun” things to do there!

Catalina was beautiful the day we were there, and pretty uncrowded. We rented the golf cart, and took photos and videos around the island. That was super fun.

 

Embarkation/Disembarkation

 

So smooth! We did take advantage of express debark and while they started it earlier than they were supposed to and the lounge we were directed to for priority was CLOSED at debarkation time, we still walked right off the ship and were in our car by 8:30am to drive home. Awesome job Inspiration staff!

 

Overall it was an awesome trip and we'd do it again. It was about half the price of a 7 night to Mexico, which offered the chance for a nice getaway.

 

Have a great weekend everyone!

Oh, and here's the ship tour:

[dobiemom]

I'm thinking about this cruise in October, so thanks for your review and videos! :D

[besito20]

Enjoyed your review and video! We will be sailing this ship in November. Thanks!! :)

[elliair]

Hey everyone,

 

Cons

Lack of suite perks

Had to miss first night in dining room to wait for a private table for our family – so tired of this Carnival- please honor the request for table size made on your website! Some of us just want to dine with our families.

Cigarette smoke coming through vents and doors. No clue where it was coming from, but it permeated our bathroom a few nights on the trip.

Noisy neighbors at times, hosting late night parties in the room.

 

That's the #1 reason why we no longer cruise Carnival. The cig smoke was 24 hr in our cabin. I hated the ship "Inspiration" and will never go on that ship again. It needs to be mothballed!

[erewhon]

Thanks for your review and video links.

[SadieN]

Where was your cabin?

 

We've discovered that the smoke from the casino bar travels down the midship elevator bank. We avoid cabins within four doors of the stairwell.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[Sheebah]

Thanks everyone. It was a fun cruise overall. We finally finished the waterslide/waterworks video too:

 

WaterWorks - Carnival Inspiration Water Slides Cr…:

[SoCalKJ]

Hey everyone,

 

The Ports

 

We still haven’t found anything we love doing in Ensenada, so we took a quick walk around and immediately got back on the boat. We did La Bufadora last time, so we didn’t want to it again. Wish I knew some “secret fun” things to do there!

 

http://www.lascanadas.com/en/Canopy-Tour-Zipline-in-Ensenada-Baja-California.php

 

Done this twice now. Best time EVER! :)

[Shmoo here]

Thanks everyone. It was a fun cruise overall. We finally finished the waterslide/waterworks video too:

 

WaterWorks - Carnival Inspiration Water Slides Cr…:

 

Did you go to any of the shows?

[ILCruzr]

OP, you should stay in a grand suite in a Conquest class ship. Stayed in them and they are like 2 times the size of your room on the inspiration. I hope we get upselled on our Valor cruise from a Balc to GS..It will be so worth it for a week :)

Edited June 16, 2014 by ILCruzr

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for your review and video link.

[linga]

Thanks for the great review and videos! We're going on the Inspiration this fall and can't wait!

[dad2my3]

Thanks for your review! My family will be doing the same itenerary on the Inspiration in August.

 

I'm concerned about the cigarette smoke, but otherwise excited. Our three kids (8-12) are looking forward to that waterslide.

[Sheebah]

Where was your cabin?

 

We've discovered that the smoke from the casino bar travels down the midship elevator bank. We avoid cabins within four doors of the stairwell.

 

Sadie- we were in U79 which wasn't super close to elevators but I think you're probably correct. It was so heavy and only at night, making the casino a likely culprit.

[Sheebah]

Thanks for your review! My family will be doing the same itenerary on the Inspiration in August.

 

I'm concerned about the cigarette smoke, but otherwise excited. Our three kids (8-12) are looking forward to that waterslide.

 

Your kids will love the water park. The arcade is pretty fun too, as are the pools and hot tubs and of course burgers and fries poolside.

[Sheebah]

Did you go to any of the shows?

 

Yes, one. Awesome fog and light effects. We sat in the front row off to the side. I'd move back next time. Beware- the shows are now audience participation! You'll see.what I mean :-)

[SadieN]

Sadie- we were in U79 which wasn't super close to elevators but I think you're probably correct. It was so heavy and only at night, making the casino a likely culprit.

 

 

Thank you

 

It's so bad that I've told My Friend the Travel Agent not to book anyone around that elevator for our yearly group cruise. We've never had it as bad as you did. We must have been lucky with the amount of smokers onboard.

 

FWIW the Paradise and Elation didn't have this problem. The smoking area of the casino bar is on the other side.

Edited June 18, 2014 by SadieN

[Sheebah]

http://www.lascanadas.com/en/Canopy-Tour-Zipline-in-Ensenada-Baja-California.php

 

Done this twice now. Best time EVER! :)

 

Wonderful recommendation! Thank u!

[Sheebah]

OP, you should stay in a grand suite in a Conquest class ship. Stayed in them and they are like 2 times the size of your room on the inspiration. I hope we get upselled on our Valor cruise from a Balc to GS..It will be so worth it for a week :)

 

That would be dreamy!! I hope u get the up sell fairy call too. Fingers crossed!

[lepfan66]

Hey Everyone,

 

My wife and I were both aboard this same ship. Just wanted to mention a couple things that Sheebah didn't in her original post.

First, we left our two daughters at home so we could enjoy our first cruise together. Actually this was my wife's 40th birthday gift.

So, we spent a good majority of our time on the Serenity deck, located on deck 9, which is designated adults only. This area was taken care of by Why You, who was a young man from Indonesia. He did an excellent job of keeping the kiddies out of this area and made sure the adults were happily enjoying the quiet.

Second, cabin placement on the ship obviously plays a big part in the "smoke and noise complaint". Our cabin was Empress level 7 cabin E238, which was the last aft cabin on the port side. This kept the passageway from being a noisy area at any time during the day or night. And, as it was well away from both the casino and the pool deck which are both designated smoking areas, no smell of smoke. The balcony rooms allow the occupants to smoke on the outside balcony, which are only separated by a thin frosted glass pane from each other. Knowing this in advance, we chose a cabin with ocean view instead.

The activities onboard are designed to make sure that Fun is the top priority, however for those seeking just quiet romantic time together, this is possible by not taking part in the voluntary activities / shows. We always found a quiet place onboard to just relax and enjoy the southern California weather .

Edited June 22, 2014 by lepfan66
mis spelling

[Sheebah]

Hey Everyone,

 

My wife and I were both aboard this same ship. Just wanted to mention a couple things that Sheebah didn't in her original post.

First, we left our two daughters at home so we could enjoy our first cruise together. Actually this was my wife's 40th birthday gift.

So, we spent a good majority of our time on the Serenity deck, located on deck 9, which is designated adults only. This area was taken care of by Why You, who was a young man from Indonesia. He did an excellent job of keeping the kiddies out of this area and made sure the adults were happily enjoying the quiet.

Second, cabin placement on the ship obviously plays a big part in the "smoke and noise complaint". Our cabin was Empress level 7 cabin E238, which was the last aft cabin on the port side. This kept the passageway from being a noisy area at any time during the day or night. And, as it was well away from both the casino and the pool deck which are both designated smoking areas, no smell of smoke. The balcony rooms allow the occupants to smoke on the outside balcony, which are only separated by a thin frosted glass pane from each other. Knowing this in advance, we chose a cabin with ocean view instead.

The activities onboard are designed to make sure that Fun is the top priority, however for those seeking just quiet romantic time together, this is possible by not taking part in the voluntary activities / shows. We always found a quiet place onboard to just relax and enjoy the southern California weather .

 

Good points! Isn't serenity wonderful?

Agree on tje cabin location- we had a good experience with an outside cabin on Imagination as well- much more quiet and less smokey than the up sold suite on this ship. :-)

[Sheebah]

Hey everyone,

We put together all the food photos in this little video. We would have loved to have taken more photos, but only had 4 nights. There are a few shots from seaday brunch (bloody mary, pancakes covered in chocolate sauce, salmon, Caesar salad tomato soup) and from the new American Table Menu (calamari "for the table" and may entrees).

 

Now, I'm craving warm chocolate melting cake! Enjoy.

 

 

[THIS IS US!]

Sheeba you truly have the best videos on the internet! Thank you for sharing.

 

Questions for anyone that has stayed in a vs on a fantasy class ship. I will be sailing on the inspiration. How big was the couch once opened as a bed length wise was it a full? How big is the tub can you sit comfortably in it? Tallest person in my party is 5'8.

Thanks

[Steamboat Holly]

Oh my gosh!! We watch all of your videos on You Tube!! I feel like I have found a celebrity!! My dd4 says "Hey cruisers, it's Mary!" And she says it just like you! DH and I are taking our kids and my parents on their first cruise on the Imagination this December. We have my parents over and show them your videos to prepare them for the cruise. Thanks for all the work you do, it really is informative!

 

Also, we went to Ensenada on the Inspiration about a year ago and we got massages and had lunch. It was awesome and very relaxing.