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Anybody back from the Inspiration yet?

betsyrossapk

By betsyrossapk,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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worth

worth

Posted
Posted

further to your reply as to how many times we would have used it,,,you obviously have not travelled with children

when we booked the cruise we were anticipating the best tours for kids in cayman (submarine tours) and cozumel (swimming with dolphins)

after these were taken from the kids and the first day at sea the slide was closed and the first port progresso was so disappointing, (we only stayed in port approx. 1.5 hrs) my kids were getting more and more disappointed.

i had booked on the boat a penthouse suite and 1 inside cabin, there were 8 of us travelling....my husband + 3 kids in the suite and 2 cousins and neice in the indside cabin

once the slide was opened, the kids were never off it.....except in port.....

so when you compount the first two days of disappointment, + their father being injured on the boat (ship problem/error) and no slide yes it did affect my kids perspective of the boat......

therefore, to answer your question it was a disappointment for 3 days and add that to a list of other problems it was a contributing factor.......

 

as far as the cruise director was concerned i thought the asst. cruise director stood out much more.

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softballmom

softballmom

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I have not yet cruised with my family but we are looking into a five day on the Inspiration. How can the cruise line say they will take you to one port and then not be allowed in? Don't they plan this really far out with the port people? I know my kids will be disappointed if they change ports. How often does this happen (other than due to weather which I understand)?

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worth

worth

Posted
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unfortunately due to the hurricanes grand cayman was changed. this was unavoidable....however,cozumel which was part of our original itinerary should not have been changed...the only reason was too many vessels which is not acceptable....we were in port with the elation in progresso (disgusting port) and they were still going to cozumel....

i have been on other cruises with carnival (the pride) and nothing had been changed....we did just get some back luck, but that combined with bad decisions is what was more disappointing..

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Diamond Graham

Diamond Graham

Posted
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I have already posted a topic on the board reviewing my experience on the Inspiration... But I will paraphrase for this message.

 

The first notably obvious outcome of the recent 3 week dry dock was the removal of the soaring "Bird of Parradise" sculpture in the lobby, it has been replaced by a car (oops...meant to type "bar") and small stage accomodating a classical trio. The flooring in this area has been completely replaced with both marble tile and new carpeting.

There were several areas of the ship that had clearly been recarpeted. and My cabin was one of those areas (U107).

Also the Cafe des Artistes area had been completely redone and outfitted with Bistro tables, cappuccino bar and dessert station.

The Brasserie casual Lido food service area had the addition of a Deli area where sandwiches are made to order for a large part of the day.

Some areas that appeared to be incomplete were the Rock and Roll Dance Club, it appeared as though a wall was erected and there were some unfinished areas behind it as well as another area in the casino that was similar.

The slide on the Lido deck was in service the entire week and did not appear to have any problems.

The entire exterior of the vessel had clearly recently had a new paint job, both above and below the water line.

Hope that answers your questions regarding the recent refit...

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betsyrossapk

betsyrossapk

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Hello amfenske,

We are almost neighbors! We are leaving for the Inspiration this Thurs & I will be sure to write a review when we return. So far, I would have to say the comments about her on these boards have been about 90% positive. I can hardly wait.

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Landlocked In Ohio

Landlocked In Ohio

Posted
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Hey, just back and had a Great Time! Still they seem to be working out post hurricane and drydock problems. Ship looks great inside and out...except the elevators which have seen better days. Found the same as Host Graham. Except its a bar and not a car. (most likely a typo) Still did not see Grand Caymans, staff stated they would on the next cruise. Slide was open most of the time. Could not figure out pool times, sometimes they were open sometimes they were not? Also because of cruise ships being shuffled around there was no room for us at Playa Del Carma and we spent a second day in Cozumel (which had seven cruise ships docked that day) The new deli was great, try it! Also... did not book one excusion with the ship. I went on the glass boat boat and snokel tour $49.99 on the ship...$18.00 negotiated downtown Cozumel, Scuba dive - 2 tank and all the gear included $99.99 on the ship...$50.00 negotiated downtown cozumel. Wait staff Owen and Goran were excellent, as soon as we sat down they knew what we wanted from the prevous days.

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betsyrossapk

betsyrossapk

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I am so grateful for your comments on the Inspiration. Our cruise is only 4 days, so Cozumel will be our only stop, but we will get to be there from 7AM to Midnight. Everything on her seems to be shipshape & ready for us to board her.

Only 3 more days til we see her. :)

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js2003

js2003

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I love reading the posts on these sites. We sail the Inspiration next year and I have had a great education as to what tricks work best. Everyone is so helpful. I hate to hear that Worth's trip was not the vacation they planned. We too had that problem last year - but not on a cruise. Until you've been rolled upside down in an SUV, I wouldn't be all that disappointed with a bad cruise! At least on the cruise I'll get a massage and it won't cost us a week in ICU to get it!

 

The best advice I got on cruising was not too look for problems but to be open minded about the experience and judge our satisfaction by our standards. After all they say do say "a bad day on a cruise still beats a good day at the office".

 

Worth - hope you will not boycot future cruises...and that your DH is on the mend. Even I got back on the horse...

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mattmdv

mattmdv

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js2003, Just read your post, when are you cruising on the Inspiration?

We are booked for 9 May '05 for the 5 day cruise. Maybe we will be sailing at the same time, or whoever goes first can give advise to the other.

Counting down the days.

 

Fantasy Sep 99

Fantasy May 02

NCL Spirit Jul 04

 

Matt

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js2003

js2003

Posted
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Not until Nov. 26, 2005...a small bit of a wait! But plenty of time to read boards and become better educated about excursions, formal nights, soda cards, and duct tape!

 

This will be the honeymoon we didn't get in 2003 (second marriage for us both) and it will definately be the vacation we were robbed of this past year! No kids, no work, no SUV's and no cell phones! They can drain the pool and even cancel all our ports of call...it will still be heaven to us!

 

Sheryl

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joeb49

joeb49

Posted
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Betsy-just wanted to say "Have a great Cruise!" Jealous! 2Days!

Bring us your impressions and memories of your trip!

 

Hope to hear how Grand Cayman was soon!

 

Thanks to everyone for sharing their thoughts!!

 

Sue

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mbnpatty

mbnpatty

Posted
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Well my 10/2/04 cruise on GLORY convinced me to come home and talk my finace into doing a cruise in March 2005 for our wedding. Our original plan was Vegas but I could not get over how great our 7 day cruise to the Eastern Carib. was on Glory and for the $$$ you can't beat it... SO we are booked on the 3/10/05 out of Tampa 4 night cruise to Cozumel. There are 12 of us total so far and growing. I was concerned after reading the first few reviews on the Inspiration after being in dry dock but the lastest reviews and postings seem much more positive. SHEW!!!

 

I'm soo excited! If anyone has any suggestions or secrets to share pleeeeaaase do.

 

One concern is that our travel agent says she cannot guarentee our cabins will all be together, even though most everyone is getting the same type of cabin, except "US" we are doing a Cat 11 Suite. Anyone have any clues how to get everyone on the same deck.Its bothering me already because all of us are such close friends being on the same deck would be a blast.

 

Thanks for any help!!

:p

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mattmdv

mattmdv

Posted
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Hey matt.... We are booked on April 21, 05 cruise on Inspiration. I can give you a review when we get back. Hopefully it will be a wonderful review!!!

 

angeldaisy03, Will be counting down the days, and waiting to read your review. Even it's the worst cruise ever, it won't stop us from going. Like someone else wrote, "No kids, no work, no SUV's and no cell phones! They can drain the pool and even cancel all our ports of call...it will still be heaven to us!" Thanks js2003 !!! Just being on a ship again is good enough for us!!

 

Matt

 

Fantasy Sep 99

Fantasy May 02

NCL Spirit Jul 04

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hbgjohn

hbgjohn

Posted
Posted

Just returned home from my first cruise, which was on the Inspiration. My wife and I were on the 10/30 through 11/4 cruise. Overall it was an enjoyable experience. The shows were wonderful, the food was great, we ate in the Mardi Gras dining room late second seating. Our wait staff was Idana and Viktoria (spelling) they were wonderful.

 

Everything seemed in good working order, except one elevator in the atrium was closed for repair the entire cruise. One word of caution, be careful walking on the marble/stone floor in the Lido deck dining area (Brassiere), near the new Deli and Salad buffet. I almost slipped and fell once or twice, I was sober at the time, and I did see one women fall. It seems that the humidity causes the floor to become very slippery.

 

We overheard discussions when checking in that we were going to Grand Cayman and not Costa Maya. We confirmed this while onboard. When we arrived in Grand Cayman we ended up doing some shopping and stopping in the Atlantis Sumarine shop and asking about their excursion. They were not running it yet and were not sure when it would start back up. So we bought some rum cakes and returned to the ship. Being one of the first ships back the people seemed happy/relieved to see tourists. They still have some work to do, but thier spirits seemed good.

 

The next stop was Cozumel, we did the Dune Buggy and Snorkel Tour. Very enjoyable excursion. We snorkeled then toured the island in dune buggies. On the other side of the island we stopped and had an mexican buffet lunch on the beach then returned to port. We also ate at Pancho's Backyard right at the Port. Very good dinner.

 

Embarkation and Debarkation were very smooth. The lines to debark were long but seemed to move fairly well.

 

Pre cruise: We stayed at the Marriott Waterside and Marina the night before the cruise. Very close to the port. We walked down to the Channelside and had dinner at Stumps. The next morning we took a shuttle from the hotel to the port for $3 per person.

 

Post cruise: We rented a car from Hertz located at the Marriott Waterside and drove over to the Marriott Hotel and Suites at Sand Key and spent two nights there. We had dinner one night at the Lobster Pot, expensive but great food. Then we ate at the Columbia Restaurant Sand Key located next door to the hotel.

 

Hope this information is helpful.

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