Just back from Inspiration - 7/2-7/7 - mini-review

[cruisin from florida]

We got home this morning from our first Carnival cruise. We had a great time.

To preface the review, we were cruising without our teen and college-aged kids with another couple. For the last several years we have cruised on Royal Caribbean....

 

We drove to the Port of Tampa. Our friends are Carnival Vacation Club members, and we had booked with them, so we were able to do the VIP boarding. I know nothing about the CVC in terms of its value, etc., but I have to say that the VIP boarding was wonderful. Extremely personal attention. We were in the terminal and on the ship within 10 minutes, and that was at a very busy time.

 

We had an outside cabin on the Main Deck. It was very roomy and the bathroom and shower also had lots of room. We almost never saw our room attendent, but she was efficient and the room was always in great shape. The curtains let in a lot more light than other outside cabins we've had, so if you are sensitive to early morning light and like to sleep late, you might want to bring a sleep mask. The arrangement of the bed was a bit awkward. Because of the big square cabinet in the corner of the room, you had to climb over the bed to get to the side next to the window. Awkward if someone was already napping there.

 

One of the things that I didn't like a lot was the whole deck name thing. If I'm on deck 10 and I need to go to deck 11 for an activity, it's very easy to figure out that I need to go up one flight of stairs. If I'm on the Promenade and I have to go to the Atlantic, now I have to look at a map. Again. I found the ship design daunting. If you take the wrong elevator, you may find that you have hit a dead end and have to go up a deck and then walk through and then go back down to get to where you want to go. The only maps available have a side-view cross-section, but no overhead views, except for a map of the deck you are on, by the elevators. I went to the Pursers desk to ask for a better map, but that's the only one they have. I asked if they had any brochures for cruises, thinking I could use the deck plans in that. They didn't have those either. Oh well. By the end of the cruise I was better oriented. It didn't help that our dining room was the Carnivale, but breakfast and lunch are served in the Mardi Gras, which is on the opposite end of the ship, and you can't get from one to the other without taking the stairs, going to the other end, and going back down the stairs. If we cruise on Carnival again, I'll print out deck plans and bring them with me.

 

The ship is showing its age here and there. I'm sure it will be nicer after the refurb that is coming to all this class of ship. The only real annoyance was where the white is coming off the brass labels in the elevator. VERY hard to see which button to push in some of the elevators.

 

Speaking of the dining rooms. I found the food and service to be excellent. Really a high point. The only thing that wasn't good was the eggs benedict at breakfast. They clearly cook, plate and put these under a warmer until served. I tried a couple of times but each time the sauce was crusty and the eggs hard-cooked by the time they reached the table. I switched to pancakes with sunny side up eggs, and they were great. If you want room service and don't see what you want on the menu, call anyway. One night I wanted.... something....and nothing on the menu was sounding great. I called to ask if they had any other desserts, and they had CHEESECAKE, which was what I had been looking for!

 

One other note about food and dining rooms.... I know that each cruise line has a different look, and decor is very subjective. But can someone please explain the giant purple worm/tree structures in the Brasserie? That was the ODDEST choice for a FOOD location I have ever seen. If you've been on the ship you must know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, I'll post some pictures.. very odd.

 

We had a great time in the casino. I liked the fact that they had several blackjack tables, and it was almost always possible to find one with slightly more experienced players. My head understands that it doesn't REALLY make any difference when the players are splitting 10's and hitting on 16 against 6, but it makes it less fun. Since the house is going to win in the end anyway, if the fun is gone there's not much left. So it was nice to be able to find tables where that wasn't happening all the time. (Note: I ended up +$200 at the tables for the cruise.... We LIKED the casino!!) The dealers were very friendly and nice. Not sure it's a great thing when they can all great you by name :rolleyes: ..... Oh well.

 

We really enjoyed Tim in the Piano bar. I won several ships on sticks at trivia and name that tune...

 

 

As far as the ports go, we had been to both of them (Grand Cayman and Cozumel) before, and just did a bit of shopping in each. We were on the ship for the cruise experience rather than the ports.

 

 

From time to time it came up in conversations with other passengers that we had cruised on Royal Caribbean before, and the question was, how do they compare. Despite all the comments that I have seen on both the Carnival AND RCCL boards, I have to say that they are far more similar than different. Same spa services. Same excursions. Same shops-on-board. Same couples game. Etc., etc. We'll continue to cruise more on RCCL, because we are now diamond and have discounts and perks. But we wouldn't hesitate to cruise on Carnival again depending on the itinerary and price, etc.

 

And speaking of our next cruise.... (drumroll please!!)

 

 

We WON a cruise at Bingo!!! Actually, it was the raffle at the 7 game bingo on the last day. WOO HOO!!! So the question of whether we'll cruise with Carnival is somewhat moot.... I'm looking at the 5 day cruises right after I post this!!

 

 

If anyone has any questions, or suggestions as to where we should take our 3,4,or 5 day cruise for 2 (!!!), please post away.

[oscar's mom]

Congratulations! Have fun planning your FREE cruise on 07/07/07:D

[Honeybear]

(Note: I ended up +$200 at the tables for the cruise.... We LIKED the casino!!) And speaking of our next cruise.... (drumroll please!!)

We WON a cruise at Bingo!!! Actually, it was the raffle at the 7 game bingo on the last day. WOO HOO!!!

 

CONGRATULATIONS!!! Sounds like "somebody" had a great time. :D

[DqALEX]

Thank You for your review. I haven't been on the Inspiration in years. I'M booked for late January. Any idea when the ship is going in for its dry dock?

[ShedQueen77]

Now you know they rigged that bingo win to win over a loyal RCCL cruiser, don't you? :D ;)

 

Congratulations on your win! I'm happy that you had such a good first experience on Carnival. I hope you have an even better second! :)

[cruisin from florida]

Thank You for your review. I haven't been on the Inspiration in years. I'M booked for late January. Any idea when the ship is going in for its dry dock?

 

I think it's this fall! Maybe September? I'll bet it will be beautiful. After looking at the Carnival site, it is almost certain that we'll either be on the Inspiration or the Imagination for our free cruise, based on the ships that do 5 day cruises. According to the news releases I read (gotta LOVE google!) they are both scheduled for their refurbs this fall.