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Inspiration Review 4/21-4/26

jpmaximus

By jpmaximus,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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jpmaximus

jpmaximus

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Here is my review of the Inspiration cruise i took on 4/21. I went with my friend Christen. It was her first cruise. We had a fantastic time! Our dinner mates were terrific and we ended up spending alot of time with them throughout our 5 days.

 

PRECRUISE/FLIGHT : We flew down the morning of our cruise on Southwest from Norfolk, Virginia. Our flight was at 7:30 and we arrived in Tampa at 10:50 a.m. which was perfect. We took a shuttle for $32 to the Port of Tampa and waited about 5 minutes until we made it to the ticket counter. We were given a group number to board and waited about 10 more minutes and then we boarded. It was right at noon when we got on. Perfect timing!

 

SHIP IMPRESSIONS: I was thrilled to be sailing the Inspiration again. The ship was completely full on this sailing but didnt seem overly crowded until lunch. Upon boarding the ship i noticed the new lighting that they installed in the atrium. The LED red, blue and green stripes were bright and lively. They would look even better at night. My friend had never been on a cruise ship so i took her around and gave her a tour. We loved the pool area. It looked great with new tile and those resort style umbrellas. The WATERWORKS area was really cool and gave the impression that the ship was brand new. The serenity deck is a great touch by Carnival. It is an adult escape area with cushion lounge chairs and soothing music. It also offers one of the best views from the ship as it is located at the very back of the ship. We used this area several times and loved it. Our cabin looked completely different than what i remembered from when i sailed in 2006. The colors are more modern and adult looking. The cabinets and desk were made of a nice wood. The bathroom was also updated with new walls, mirror and flooring. The ship was in fabulous shape and we enjoyed every minute of it. You would never believe the ship was built in 1996.

 

LIFE BOAT DRILL: This was the first time that Carnival did not make us go up on deck to our muster station after meeting for our briefing in the show lounge. I was thrilled not to have to do it. Im not sure if they changed a rule or not but it was great!

 

DINNER/FOOD: I was in the Mardi Gras dining room for the late 8pm seating. We were seated with 6 other people. Everyone got along great. The meals were terrific. I dont remember getting anything i wasnt happy with. The salmon was very good and i had that 2 nights. The penne pasta with chicken was delicious also. The buffet meals when i got them were decent but i stuck mainly to getting sub sandwiches for lunch and of course the late night pizza was good as usual. One more thing - try the diet cake. It is delicious!!!

 

GRAND CAYMAN: We chose to do the Trolley Roger tour which was very inexpensive. We wanted to see some of the sights without walking and then shop and snorkel until it was time to leave. Our tour was very well done by a local man who had good humor and was very informative. He stopped at a nice cove to take pictures of the water and the rocks. After the tour we went to EDEN Way and snorkeled and then walked around the shops before returning to the ship.

 

MORE LATER!!

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*Mach*

*Mach*

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What's the new procedure? On my 4/13 Valor cruise, it was business as normal. What does the Inspiration do differently?

 

 

The life boat drill is conducted entirely inside. My muster station was at Violin's bar on the Promenade deck of the Inspiration.

They pass along lots of good information, have you put on your life vest, take it off and pass along some additional info. Very quick, very painless and VASTLY better than the old method.

John Heald encountered this type of drill on a sister line... I can't remember if it was Princess or another Carnival brand... and he brought it over to Carnival. Good move!

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sarasotasteve

sarasotasteve

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They may have borrowed the idea from Princess and it is indeed a lot less painfull.

 

JP We got rained out of our last cruise when we were gonna try Eden Roc. Can you tell me how much of a swim is it out to the reef and then how deep is the water?

thanks steve

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pkw1966

pkw1966

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We were on the 4/12 sailing of Inspiration and were instructed to go up on deck after our orientation in the lounge. It was a real pain waiting for everyone to walk up the stairs. We were on deck for all of two minutes when they instructed everyone that the drill was over.

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tbjl24

tbjl24

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We were on the 4/12 sailing of Inspiration and were instructed to go up on deck after our orientation in the lounge. It was a real pain waiting for everyone to walk up the stairs. We were on deck for all of two minutes when they instructed everyone that the drill was over.

 

Thats odd. Went in December. Had to meet in the aft lounge and that was it. No climbing stairs to the outer deck.

 

Where was your muster station?

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jpmaximus

jpmaximus

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They may have borrowed the idea from Princess and it is indeed a lot less painfull.

 

JP We got rained out of our last cruise when we were gonna try Eden Roc. Can you tell me how much of a swim is it out to the reef and then how deep is the water?

thanks steve

 

They will not let you swim out very far at Eden Rock because of the tender boats moving nearby. There really is no need. You can see fish right at the stairs leading into the water. Just amazing. The water is crystal clear!

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jpmaximus

jpmaximus

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We were on the 4/12 sailing of Inspiration and were instructed to go up on deck after our orientation in the lounge. It was a real pain waiting for everyone to walk up the stairs. We were on deck for all of two minutes when they instructed everyone that the drill was over.

 

Well im not sure what the deal is. The carnival rep giving us our info asked an officer if we were going up to the lifeboats and he shook his head no so we were dismissed. Maybe someone else has a definitive answer as to if they have changed policy. At any rate, it was great!

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jpmaximus

jpmaximus

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PT 2.

 

COZUMEL: We elected to take the Discover Mexico + Chankanaab excursion because we wanted some Mexican history and i really wanted to see the beautiful beach at Chankanaab. Discover Mexico is a modern museum. It has an inside area in which there is alot of cultural artwork on display. When you reach the end of the tour inside you proceed to an outside path area which has large full scale models of Mexico's historical buildings including Mayan temples. The models are very impressive! The whole tour actually takes over an hour but there is an outdoor bar area where you get to take a break midway through. Our guide on this tour was David and he was very friendly. He offered tequila shots during the break and i took one. I got to wear a poncho and a sombrero and he took pictures. It was great. After the tour ended you get to go to a gift shop area and then you get in a shuttle and go to Chankanaab. David escorted us to Chankanaab and arranged our admission into the park. He showed us the highlights of the park on a map and at that point we were free for 2 hours to do anything we wished. My friend and i made our way around the corner and there was my beach. Absolutely gorgeous with the white sand, tiki style huts with lounge chairs underneath and the beautiful blue water. I was in heaven! We elected to get some food at the restaurant on the water. It was very nice. Some local mexican musicians played us music while we ate. What a feeling! After we ate we went for some snorkeling. The water was crystal clear and you could see huge fish swimming all around you. Once i looked under the water with my snorkel mask i was in awe. After the beach we went to look at the lagoon which was nearby. It was neat. The water was again crystal clear but since it was not moving you could see everything swimming in it. Swarms of fish would come from nowhere in packs and it was great for pictures! After the lagoon we met back up with David and we departed. We went shopping with the rest of our time. I was desperately looking for some DV tapes for my camcorder and i found just what i needed thankfully at a gift shop down the main street. We topped our day off at Margarittaville where we met our dinner mates for some drinks. We then stopped in a local bar for a $1 bottle beer and i asked the bartender to pick me a good one. He did, the beer was very smooth. Great day!

 

MORE TO COME!

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jpmaximus

jpmaximus

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Much appreciate your review... sounds wonderful. We had friends on that cruise with you...it was their first cruise and they had a great time.

Got pictures?

Thanks! I took 8 hours of video footage on this cruise. I just purchased a high definition camcorder and so i used that exclusively. My friend took pictures with her digital camera so i need to get some from her.

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Chigirlcruzin

Chigirlcruzin

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The life boat drill is conducted entirely inside. My muster station was at Violin's bar on the Promenade deck of the Inspiration.

 

They pass along lots of good information, have you put on your life vest, take it off and pass along some additional info. Very quick, very painless and VASTLY better than the old method.

 

John Heald encountered this type of drill on a sister line... I can't remember if it was Princess or another Carnival brand... and he brought it over to Carnival. Good move!

 

Interesting...I never had to go outside on any of my previous Fantasy-class muster drills.

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Chigirlcruzin

Chigirlcruzin

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PT 2.

 

COZUMEL: We elected to take the Discover Mexico + Chankanaab excursion because we wanted some Mexican history and i really wanted to see the beautiful beach at Chankanaab. Discover Mexico is a modern museum. It has an inside area in which there is alot of cultural artwork on display. When you reach the end of the tour inside you proceed to an outside path area which has large full scale models of Mexico's historical buildings including Mayan temples. The models are very impressive! The whole tour actually takes over an hour but there is an outdoor bar area where you get to take a break midway through. Our guide on this tour was David and he was very friendly. He offered tequila shots during the break and i took one. I got to wear a poncho and a sombrero and he took pictures. It was great. After the tour ended you get to go to a gift shop area and then you get in a shuttle and go to Chankanaab. David escorted us to Chankanaab and arranged our admission into the park. He showed us the highlights of the park on a map and at that point we were free for 2 hours to do anything we wished. My friend and i made our way around the corner and there was my beach. Absolutely gorgeous with the white sand, tiki style huts with lounge chairs underneath and the beautiful blue water. I was in heaven! We elected to get some food at the restaurant on the water. It was very nice. Some local mexican musicians played us music while we ate. What a feeling! After we ate we went for some snorkeling. The water was crystal clear and you could see huge fish swimming all around you. Once i looked under the water with my snorkel mask i was in awe. After the beach we went to look at the lagoon which was nearby. It was neat. The water was again crystal clear but since it was not moving you could see everything swimming in it. Swarms of fish would come from nowhere in packs and it was great for pictures! After the lagoon we met back up with David and we departed. We went shopping with the rest of our time. I was desperately looking for some DV tapes for my camcorder and i found just what i needed thankfully at a gift shop down the main street. We topped our day off at Margarittaville where we met our dinner mates for some drinks. We then stopped in a local bar for a $1 bottle beer and i asked the bartender to pick me a good one. He did, the beer was very smooth. Great day!

 

MORE TO COME!

 

This sounds awesome. I'm going to Coz twice when I do my B2B. My parents are coming along on the second leg...think we might have to do this.

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