We loved the Inspiration - sailed 11/22/08!

[princeryanandevan]

Hi all - we were on the 11/22/08 sailing of the Inspiration. I plan on writing a review soon, but thought I would share some quick tips. I reviewed these boards for months before our cruise and I found a lot of the information very helpful.

 

For starters - here are the "do's" - I would definitely bring an extension cord for charging cameras, camcorders, cell phones, etc. - we definitely used that quite a bit. The over-the-door shoe organizer is also a must - I hate clutter and this really came in handy - I won't cruise without one again. I also used the highlighter quite a few times to highlight things in the Capers - definitely bring one - it doesn't take up any space. I would also recommend a few extra hangers, but I'm sure you could probably get some from housekeeping. And lastly - definitely bring some bigger ziploc bags - these came in very handy to hold wet clothes, seashells collected onshore, and to wrap valuables or things that could break. The one thing I didn't bring but wish I had was walkie talkies. I saw quite a few people using them and wished we had brought ours. We had 3 cabins and we were missing each other quite a bit.

 

Things I brought but didn't use: Let's see - I brought a travel alarm clock, but really didn't need it because the time is on the TV and they do wake-up calls. I brought beach towels, but could have just taken the Carnival towels to the islands. Also - the Carnival towels can be signed in and out at the pool and serenity areas, so you don't need to lug towels back and forth from your cabins. I definitely overpacked and won't do that next time. I ended up buying a big tote bag in Cozumel to bring all our purchases home so I would pack an empty bag next time and lose some of the clothing.

 

The ship looks great - the rooms were much better than I expected. The food was very good for the most part. The kids LOVED Camp Carnival and the waterslides. The shows were very good. The service was excellent too. There was a funky smell occassionally by the glass elevators - not constant, but not pleasant when we encountered it. The water in the bathroom was very very hot, so be careful if you have young children.

 

We had early seating for dinner and I will definitely do late seating next time - even with the kids - I will just let them take a quick nap before dinner and they will be fine. Having to get 4 of us ready by 6 pm was too rushed. There were 800 kids on this cruise - it didn't bother me at all because our group had 4 kids so the more the merrier as far as I was concerned - I wouldn't have wanted to be a couple with no kids though - it was a very family friendly cruise.

 

In Grand Cayman, my husband booked a dive through the ship and said it was very well organized. The rest of us went to Sea Grape beach which was nice, but it was a very windy day - I heard Stingray City was cancelled because of the high winds (40 mph) - the ship was rocking a lot that day - the crew even commented how it was rocking way more than usual. We all had Bonine and didn't get sick at all.

 

In Cozumel - we all went to Mr. Sancho's and had a great day - I would recommend it, but I will try something different next time. My husband and brother went diving in Cozumel - it was a last minute thing and the people at Mr. Sancho's arranged it for them - the had to take a taxi to Playa Palancar - it wasn't as organized at the dive sponsored by the ship, but he said it was the best dive of his life!

 

I'll write a review soon and provide the link when it is finished. My husband and kids are now hooked which is exactly what I hoped would happen - so I'll be on these boards frequenly researching our next cruise. I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have.

 

Happy Holidays,

Barbara

[1RocknRobin]

Thanks for the tips! We are sailing on the Inspiration 1/17/09 and can't wait! I'm looking forward to reading your review. Will you be posting pics in it?

[luvmyjewels]

Thanks for sharing your tips. We are sailing on the Inspiration in 2 weeks, and it will be my kids' first cruise. Can I ask what the ages of your kids are? Is there a special Bonine for kids? Or do you just give them a reduced dosage?

 

Did your kids go to Camp Carnival? How was that?

 

Thanks again!! It's wonderful to read that the Inspiration is a great family ship!

[princeryanandevan]

Thanks for sharing your tips. We are sailing on the Inspiration in 2 weeks, and it will be my kids' first cruise. Can I ask what the ages of your kids are? Is there a special Bonine for kids? Or do you just give them a reduced dosage?

 

Did your kids go to Camp Carnival? How was that?

 

Thanks again!! It's wonderful to read that the Inspiration is a great family ship!

 

I hope to post a review this weekend and I'll try to add a link to pictures. My kids are 5 & 7 (both boys). I used Bonine for Kds which I bought at CVS (just ask a salesclerk) but you can get at any drug store or even Wal-Mart. It said to consult a doctor for under 6, but my 5 year old took it with no side effects.

 

My kids LOVED Camp Carnival. They were in different age groups, but they both didn't care. They do great face painting and crafts. Read the Capers the 1st day and decide what they will want to do for the week. Both of my boys got to color their own Camp Carnival T-Shirts and drawstring backpacks (free of charge). There was a dance contest the first night at the Welcome Aboard party and my 7 y.o won 1st place! He was soooooo excited. He won a Funship Freddy computer game and a free airbrush tattoo. My husband tried to win best Dad dancer, but was edged out - very funny!! I wished I used Camp Carnival a little more than I did because both boys really liked it - my 5 year old thought it was the best thing ever.

 

There were tons of teens on this ship - they had a small arcarde, mini-golf (better than I expected) and ping-pong. The waterworks area is fun, but it can be windy up there. The huge slide is much slower than expected, but that didn't stop my boys from going down it 50 times!

 

Let me know if you have any more questions and I'll do my best to get that review posted.

[luvmyjewels]

Thanks for the info! My kids are 4, 6, & 8 and it's great to hear that Camp Carnival should be a good experience for them. I'm a little worried that my youngest will be too shy to stay there, but if she doesn't that's fine too. I know she would be OK if she could stay with her brother and sister, but since she will be in a different age group she may not want to stay.

 

How was the food? Do you have any recommendations on what not to miss?

 

Was the weather warm enough on the sea days to use the slides??

 

Thanks!!

[princeryanandevan]

Thanks for the info! My kids are 4, 6, & 8 and it's great to hear that Camp Carnival should be a good experience for them. I'm a little worried that my youngest will be too shy to stay there, but if she doesn't that's fine too. I know she would be OK if she could stay with her brother and sister, but since she will be in a different age group she may not want to stay.

 

How was the food? Do you have any recommendations on what not to miss?

 

Was the weather warm enough on the sea days to use the slides??

 

Thanks!!

 

Hi again - your daughter should be fine in Camp - they have a glass door that separates the 2-5's and the 6-8's - so she would be able to see them through the door. They will not let you walk her into the room - you have to leave them at the door, but you can see in through the big windows to see how she is doing. The counselors in the 2-5 room were phenomenal - she will have a great time!

 

The weather was chilly in Tampa the day we left (mid-60's), but that didn't stop my kids from using the slides or the pools which were open when we got on board around 12:00 noon. The weather on the 1st sea day was much warmer (around 80) than the 2nd sea day, but the kids didn't mind the wind at all - it was too chilly for me to get wet the last day, but they sure did.

 

As for the food in the dining room - the kids menu is pretty standard - chicken strips, pizza (my kids didn't like the pizza that much), hot dogs, burgers and PB & J sandwiches (which they toast). The Lido deck has great onion rings and really good mac-n-cheese. The burgers were pretty good and yummy chicken strips up there as well, all good, but very typical.

 

The food we loved in the dining room - let's see....shrimp cocktail almost every night for appetizer, good caesar salad, french onion soup, stuffed mushrooms, crab cakes - we had lobster, shrimp and prime rib on "elegant evening" - all very good. The flat iron steak wasn't good the 1st night, but my niece got it the last night and it was great. The short ribs were awesome, my mom loved the turkey dinner (but not the stuffing), the creamy chicken, pasta, mushroom dish was good, the ribs were excellent - we were very happy with the dining room food and service. The warm chocolate melting cake was sooooo good and the tiramisu was fabulous. I didn't care for the bitter-n-blanc, but I know others love it. We ate breakfast in the dining room 2 times - the eggs benedict was very good, but only if you order the hollandaise sauce on the side - that way it is made to order.

 

The kids loved ordering room service - we got coffee and pastries one morning (just OK) and one night we orderered sandwiches (BLT & Tuna - both good) and yummy, yummy, yummy chocolate cake (I had to fight my son over the last bite!).

 

Any other questions - let me know!

[SparkysMom]

H. Thinking about booking this ship but read another post that said the upgrades have not ben completed on all ships. Does this have the miniature golf course, water slides and updated cabins w/flat screen? Thanks!

[jessemon]

H. Thinking about booking this ship but read another post that said the upgrades have not ben completed on all ships. Does this have the miniature golf course, water slides and updated cabins w/flat screen? Thanks!

Yes...

[Gizzy02]

Hello to you all! My family and I (Hubby, 7 & 9 yr old boys) sail on 1/26/09 and we can hardly wait. I'm starting to get the suitcases out already!! Anyways, is there an extra charge for the mini golf? My 7 yr old says that is the first thing he wants to do when we get on board.HA. Also, do they have video games in Camp Carnival? (like playstation 3) That is question directily from my boys.

This will be our first Carnival cruise so I have just afew questions. We have sailed Disney once before and had the time of our lives so were really looking forward to this also.

 

THanks for all your help!

Linda:)

[bfkkbc]

Hubby and I sailed on the Inspiration Dec 15 2009 and absolutley loved it!! We liked it so much we booked it again for our next cruise.:D:D

[beach410]

NO charge for mini golf, not sure about Playstation.

[Frank12]

Did the Inspiration this past fall. She rocked!!:D

[BooBooMonkey]

No Playstation. They have X-Box 360 according to my DD.