Carnival Inspiration, September 2 sailing to Catalina and Ensenada (with pictures)

[Joe817]

Bravo! Well done! And thanks for the review. Very interesting. 

[LandlockedCruiser01]

Concluding thoughts
Well, the cruise is now in the proverbial rearview mirror, and fading.  But I'm so glad I took it!  I said it before, and I'll say it again: the onboard atmosphere was very solo-friendly, even if the pricing wasn't.  No one gave me any heat for being solo.  Most people were as nonchalant about it as about my hair color.  A few even enthusiastically complimented me for it.  Waiters made sure I wasn't neglected, and served me as promptly as they served couples and families.  I don't know if cruising in general is becoming more solo-friendly, or if I got better at taking initiative socially as I got older, but it made for a very good solo cruise.  I'm sure being strategic about which ship and itinerary I picked didn't hurt, either.

 

Although, the main reason I picked a West Coast itinerary was to avoid hurricanes.  Unlike on the last two times, I sailed during the hurricane season.  Ironically, the itinerary I almost picked (Key West and Cozumel on Victory) got rerouted and cut in half, due to hurricane Dorian moving in.  Another close contender (don't remember which one, I think Liberty) got canceled altogether.  Which makes me even more glad I picked Inspiration instead.  Plus, I got to see a whole different ocean (Pacific instead of the Atlantic/Caribbean).

 

At this point, I exhausted all 4-day itineraries Carnival offers: Key West and Cozumel, Freeport and Nassau, and Catalina and Ensenada, all with a sea day added in.  I searched around, and found that I can switch up the ships or switch up the embarkation ports, but the destination ports are the same or at least overlap by one.  I don't know if I'll be OK with graduating to a 7-day solo cruise: too expensive, and therefore out of my budget.  Plus, those tend to be more sedate, and the lively atmosphere was what made my cruises solo-friendly.  And there was no mayhem, just drunken goofiness: more "Three Stooges" than "Fight Club".  We knew where to stop.

 

So, where to next?  Repeat the ports I've been to before, since it'll be at least a year before I do another cruise?  Take different excursions on the same itinerary?  Try out a different ship?  Or even a whole different cruise line?  Do tell.  I'm flexible on all accounts except budget and solo-friendliness.

Edited September 20, 2019 by LandlockedCruiser01

[BeachDiva101]

I'm a solo traveler too.  I do 5 day cruises.  I'm going on a 5 day Sensation cruise on Monday.  I got a good deal because it originally was going to Cuba, but cruise line had to cancel that, so a lot of people cancelled the cruise altogether.  The best deal I ever got was through NCL.  2 years ago in October after the big hurricane wiped out the eastern islands, no one wanted to switch to a western caribbean cruise, so again people cancelled cruise.  I got a balcony with no single supplement and with a sale price!    Thanks for your review.  Looks like you had a fun time! 

[MEUB1112]

We very much enjoyed your review. Completely understand the rational for the 4 day vs 7 day regarding the cost. We have cruised many times and the ports do overlap, different excursions are a great way to completely discover a new(repeat) port. Have a great weekend!

[LandlockedCruiser01]

Checking back on this thread.  For anyone who read it and took a West Coast cruise, how did everything turn out?  Did it match my review of it all?

[Cyn874]

13 hours ago, LandlockedCruiser01 said:

Checking back on this thread.  For anyone who read it and took a West Coast cruise, how did everything turn out?  Did it match my review of it all?

 

Loved reading your review! I'm planning on doing this very cruise, as a first time solo cruiser! I'm just waiting until Black Friday/Cyber Monday to see if any prices drop between Carnival and NCL, but most likely doing the cruise in January or February. I'm fascinated by the idea of doing a solo cruise and very excited for that adventure. 

 

One thing I'm curious about- you mentioned being detained by customs for being a solo traveler. Why? Can you detail that process a little bit, so I know what to expect if it happens to me? And did it happen on embarkation or debarkation? 

 

I really enjoyed your blog style of writing. 

Edited November 25, 2019 by Cyn874

[TOMTOMRN331]

15 hours ago, LandlockedCruiser01 said:

Checking back on this thread.  For anyone who read it and took a West Coast cruise, how did everything turn out?  Did it match my review of it all?

 

Thank you for the review. 

 

We are leaving on Sunday 12/1/19, our first time on both CCL, we will be on the Imagination though. Very excited to try something new, we have been excursively on NCL in the past. NCL caters to solo travelers, I would scope them out for solo cruising. 

 

Out of curiosity did any of your cruise friends bring up pier parking? My travel OCD is getting the best of me and I am anxious how parking at the pier will go. I know others have commented on threads that Carnival has diverted some parking to garages in Long Beach, and a recent thread indicating a new lot has opened up. I know in the long run it will be fine, but I like to plan ahead. Thanks in advance for any information you might have. 

[LandlockedCruiser01]

8 hours ago, Cyn874 said:

One thing I'm curious about- you mentioned being detained by customs for being a solo traveler. Why? Can you detail that process a little bit, so I know what to expect if it happens to me? And did it happen on embarkation or debarkation? 

 

It happened at debarkation, on my Sensation cruise to Bahamas in 2013.  (Embarkation workers are port employees, not Customs.)  I was 29 at the time.  I guess the Customs agent saw a young single man, and thought "drugs!!!".  He even looked p*ssed off when I told him I was cruising solo.  So I was taken to the back room and got the third degree that stopped short of a strip-search: pockets, suitcase, backpack.  As well as detailed questioning about my cruise whereabouts.  I had nothing they wanted, obviously.  The sheepish look on the guy's face at the end felt kind of vindicating, though.

 

So obviously, I braced myself for a borderline strip-search after my Inspiration cruise.  I got nothing close to it!  The grand total time I interacted with Customs was less than 15 seconds.  All they did was: hold my passport next to my face, and say "welcome back".  I wonder if me being 7 years older, and looking the part, helped.  Although, I read in other threads that Customs aren't as thorough as they once were.  Maybe they realized that a burned-out IT guy taking an overdue vacation is as non-threatening as a family with two little kids.  Or in your case, whatever occupation you do, taking an overdue vacation as well.

 

On my first-ever cruise in 2012, out of Miami to Key West and Cozumel, Customs was in-between those two.  I wasn't taken to the back room or anything, but the agent stalled me in line for several minutes.  He wanted to know where I went in Cozumel and what I did for work.  Once he heard "dolphin swim excursion" and "IT professional", he returned my passport and left me leave.

Edited November 25, 2019 by LandlockedCruiser01

[LandlockedCruiser01]

6 hours ago, TOMTOMRN331 said:

We are leaving on Sunday 12/1/19, our first time on both CCL, we will be on the Imagination though. Very excited to try something new, we have been excursively on NCL in the past. NCL caters to solo travelers, I would scope them out for solo cruising. 

 

Out of curiosity did any of your cruise friends bring up pier parking? My travel OCD is getting the best of me and I am anxious how parking at the pier will go. I know others have commented on threads that Carnival has diverted some parking to garages in Long Beach, and a recent thread indicating a new lot has opened up. I know in the long run it will be fine, but I like to plan ahead. Thanks in advance for any information you might have. 

 

I considered NCL, but one thing that puts me off is lack of assigned dinner seating.  That was the reason I picked CCL back in 2012; I didn't want to feel like the new kid in the school cafeteria.  And one time, I even got adopted by my tablemates, and we had the best time hanging out.  So I'm looking to stick to CCL for the most part, although I may give NCL Epic and its Studio Lounge a shot, if the price is good enough.

 

I don't know about parking.  My cruise friend told me she drove in with her friend, but I didn't ask for details other than "how was the drive?".  I do know there's a large parking deck right next to the cruise port; it's where I waited for the Carnival shuttle back to LAX.  I presume you'll be driving in from Tuscon.  My suggestion for you would be to arrive one day early, then stay in a hotel while you enjoy Long Beach. (Normally, I'd tell a fellow cruiser to try In-N-Out Burger, but you're from Arizona. ☺️)  Most hotels, including the Queen Mary I stayed in, should have "park and cruise" packages.  Queen Mary probably even uses that same deck.

Edited November 25, 2019 by LandlockedCruiser01