Just returned Inspiration 6/15/06

[frankdank]

We just returned from our first cruise. We were on the Inspiration 4 night to Cozumel. We embarked on 6/15/06. We had the best time. We left Atlanta at 4a.m. and headed south to Tampa. We got to the Port a little before 11. We dropped of our luggage handed the keys to the valet and went inside. The valet is the best deal. It was only $10 more total to have them park it. We stopped at the check in desk and got our paperwork straight. The line was very short. We were on the ship by 11:15. We walked around and got some lunch on the lido deck. The food was great. After people watching and exploring we headed down to check out our room. The room was clean and the the gift I ordered from carnival.com was waiting for my wife. It was a cruise for her birthday so I had a gift delivered. Our cabin steward stopped by and introduced himself. I am terrible at remembering names. Every time we left the cabin and came back he had straightened up the room again.

We had the late dinner seating at 8:30. We had a great table towards the front of the dining room. George the Greek was our Maitre D. He was very funny. The food was delicious. Our server Diann was from Romania and was great. Always made sure to tell us what the diners at the early seating had to say about each menu choice. Everything she recommended was right on. The desserts were amazing. I thought it was a little hokey that the servers all had to sing or dance for us.

I won $100 dollars in one of the bingo games. We enjoyed the shows and comedians were funny. The late night comedy shows were a lot funnier. We did a lot of people watching. The photographers all over the boat were great. I think that is a great add on to the cruise.

The day we spent in Cozumel was great. It got off to a kind of rocky start. The tender drivers from the island were on strike when we got there. We had to wait for that to get resolved before we could get to the tender boats. That took a little longer than an hour to get resolved. We didn't miss our dune buggy excursion. We didn't book the one through the ship. We booked and independent one and had the best time of our lives. Our tour included driving dune buggies snorkeling and lunch on the beach. We had the best time ever. Our guide was great and very knowledgeable about local customs and such. We were on the first tender out in the morning and the last tender back that evening. Having the late dining time we didn't miss our dinner either. I would definitely take this cruise again. Let me know if you have any questions.

[bluejeans]

thanks for the review, we will be on her July 1st,,,,,,,,,,,can't wait. Thanks again.........glad you had a great time.