Inspiration 4 night cruise, 2/4/19

[cali-croozer]

Here's a review of my latest cruise,  Inspiration 4 night out of Long Beach, February 4-8, 2019

 

Background:  8th Carnival Cruise (3rd on the Inspiration, 1st was out of Tampa, 2nd was the 3 night out of Long Beach), just my hubby and I

 

Itinerary Change:   we were supposed to have our last day at sea, but "due to congestion at the port in Catalina", they switched our sea day to Tuesday, Catalina to Wednesday, and Ensenada to Thursday (received a letter in our room when we were at dinner the first night).  The weather forecasted rain on Tuesday anyway, so it worked out that Catalina was delayed.  The captain did a good job finding some sun on Tuesday so people were able to use the outside decks.  It did sprinkle at one point and was just warm, but better than rain and cold.

 

Embarkation:  drove to the cruise port from No. Cal, left home at 6am and arrived at the port at around 12:30pm.  No trouble finding parking and no traffic at the port as the guests from the previous cruise were long gone. $20 per day to park.  Tip for those driving the I-5 from No. Cal.....stop at Buttonwillow for the least expensive gas.  We ended up spending $1 more per gallon getting gas near Magic Mountain.  Our check in time was 1:30 to 2:00, but there were no lines at the terminal and we were on board by 1pm. We had lunch on the Lido (Blue Iguana) and then our cabin was ready so we went to check it out.  We were in M56, close to the stairs/elevators (no issues with noise).  Since it was our 3rd time on this ship, we decided to go to the welcome aboard afternoon show, instead of exploring the ship.  Didn't win any prizes, but was good to see/meet our cruise director, Orlando.  Muster was uneventful.  Looked for the 1/2 price drink specials at the casino bar but there weren't any.  Just the drink of the day for $1 less and "make it a double" for $3 more (available each day at all bars).

 

Cabin:  M56, oceanview.  Good location, near stairs and elevator (some people shun being close to the stairs/elevator, but we have never had noise issues with it and like the convenience).  Front of the ship so convenient to the YTD dining room, Paris Lounge and Spa/Gym.  The last few cruises we have been on the Lido or Verandah deck, and I did miss being closer to the action, but really not a big deal, especially since I booked at the last  minute for a very low price!

 

Food/dining:  we would have preferred early dining, but we booked this trip 1 week out, so were able to choose from late dining or waitlist your time dining.  A few days before sailing we were confirmed to your time dining.  We ended up eating pretty early each night anyway, lining up anywhere between 5:45pm (opening for YTD) and 6:15pm.  We requested the same wait staff each night and had the same table 3 nights and the same wait staff all 4 nights so it was almost like set dining, except for the queue to get in.  We noticed that when we were done with dinner around 7pm to 7:30pm, there were some cruisers with pagers milling about, waiting for a table. Most of the things we ordered were very good.  We ate breakfast in the dining room 3 out of 4 days (hubby wanted to try the breakfast burrito at the Blue Iguana one morning).  Most of the breakfast choices are the same as the Lido, although I was able to get a baked apple and cranberry juice in the dining room, both of which were not available on the Lido the one morning we ate there.  Sea Day brunch was ok; my husband had the steak and eggs and I had the blueberry pancakes.  I was surprised with the limited choices; I thought there would be the regular breakfast offerings plus some brunch ones.  Food was good though, nobody is going to starve on this cruise....lol.  For lunch, we didn't eat at the buffet except for getting some fruit or salad; we, instead enjoyed Guy's Burgers, Blue Iguana, The Deli and Pizza.  If the cruise was longer, I am sure we would have looked to the buffet for more variety.  We did get room service each morning, just for coffee and a pastry.

 

Pour you own beer (available on the Lido).  It is 37 cents per ounce, but once tip is included (yes, 18% is applicable to the pour your own beer!), it's actually a little more expensive than just ordering from the bar.  

 

Carnival Hub:  really don't like using the phone on vacation, but since we use it as a camera anyway, we are usually carrying it.  The Hub was especially good for finding out what's happening (without having to carry around the fun times) and checking you account balance/transactions.

 

Entertainment:  The Motown Review was awesome and we enjoyed the comedy shows on 2 of the nights.  Hasbro the Game Show was fun to watch.  We participated in towel folding (making towel animals), groove for Saint Jude and Carnival Tower.  Orlando was a very personable and fun cruise director.  We didn't care for the entertainment on Wednesday night (Gender Battle or something like that) so we watched the Warriors/Spurs game at the Casino Bar.  We thought it was the only place to watch the game, and then, later found out there was a TV at the coffee bar and the back of the Lido.  Wish we knew because the Casino Bar is very smokey.  But, the Warriors won so it was a good night!

 

Gym:  we worked out for an hour each morning in the gym, getting there anywhere between 6:30am and 7am.  Never had trouble getting on a machine at that time; maybe 10-12 people working out early morning.  Free stretch class at 7am daily if interested; we usually partake, but, this cruise, just worked on the  eliptical, treadmill, cycle and weights.

 

Catalina:  took the public bus $2 per person, per ride, around Avalon and then walked around the "downtown".  

Ensenada:  walked a loop around town (down the walk by the water, then over near Papa and Beer and down the street, back to the cruise ship)

 

Debarkation  morning:  woke up at 6am and went to breakfast in the dining room at 6:30am (that's when they opened).  Back to room to finish packing the toiletries and make our way down to deck 7 (around 7:30 they started calling decks for disembarking if you had all of your luggage with you).  We walked off the ship and were back in our truck at 7:43am.  If you wanted/needed to check your luggage you could choose from 2 times to disembark (8:45-9:15 or 9:15 to 9:45).  Regardless of your choice, everyone had to be out of their cabin by 8:30am.

 

If you have any questions, fire away.

 

 

[GTVCRUISER]

Thank you for review , I will be on the Inspiration in 7 days and a wake up ….Feb. 18th 2019 :)

[cali-croozer]

6 hours ago, GTVCRUISER said:

Thank you for review , I will be on the Inspiration in 7 days and a wake up ….Feb. 18th 2019 🙂

Have a great time!  Hope the weather is a little warmer for you.

[NutsAboutGolf]

Thanks!  Any photos of the ship/food you'd be willing to share?  Also with the pour your own beer, any idea if it's included in the cheers package?

[cali-croozer]

15 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

Thanks!  Any photos of the ship/food you'd be willing to share?  Also with the pour your own beer, any idea if it's included in the cheers package?

We really didn't take many pictures on this cruise, since we've done it before.  There was another recent post/review with lots of pictures.  Also, Scott Singer cruises on you tube has a series of videos he did on the Inspiration about a year ago.  He does a good job showing the ship, foods and ports.  Not sure if the pour you own beer is included in the cheers package; you have to swipe you sail and sign card; that's all I know (and that it's not a deal...lol).  

[JaniceB]

Thanks for sharing your cruise.

[InfernalJill]

Thanks for sharing!!

[mexicobob]

Enjoyed reading your review.  Thanks for taking the time to share it.  Glad you had a good time.  A good review always makes me want to book a cruise and yours did the trick.

[SadieN]

If you haven't sailed on her since the remodel you're in for a big surprise!

 

We sailed in December. 

The arcade has moved and the Purple Worms are gone from the buffet.  The buffet is much brighter now.  Many of the public areas have new upholstery.  Cabins have been given new linens.  Some showers have been resurfaced. Ours looked the same, Mom's shower had a white floor.

Nice change was a difference in the cabin hallway carpet showing the entrance to the elevator lobbies. 

[GTVCRUISER]

17 hours ago, SadieN said:

If you haven't sailed on her since the remodel you're in for a big surprise!

 

We sailed in December. 

The arcade has moved and the Purple Worms are gone from the buffet.  The buffet is much brighter now.  Many of the public areas have new upholstery.  Cabins have been given new linens.  Some showers have been resurfaced. Ours looked the same, Mom's shower had a white floor.

Nice change was a difference in the cabin hallway carpet showing the entrance to the elevator lobbies. 

Sounds good :) I will be on the Inspiration in 4 days

[bdever]

On 2/12/2019 at 1:27 PM, SadieN said:

If you haven't sailed on her since the remodel you're in for a big surprise!

 

We sailed in December. 

The arcade has moved and the Purple Worms are gone from the buffet.  The buffet is much brighter now.  Many of the public areas have new upholstery.  Cabins have been given new linens.  Some showers have been resurfaced. Ours looked the same, Mom's shower had a white floor.

Nice change was a difference in the cabin hallway carpet showing the entrance to the elevator lobbies. 

Hallelujah and praise the Lord in heaven! This is the BEST news I have had all day!!! No more purple worms and new carpeting!!!! Can’t wait!!!