Inspiration review 4-16-09

[JennKach]

Our group consisted of my husband and myself (mid 40's), son and his girlfriend both 18, all of us from Michigan. This was my 10th cruise, and everyone else had cruised at least three times before. We're all very laid back travelers and have fun wherever we go so you won't hear any major complaints from me. We are not loyal to one particular cruise line but I must say NCL is still our favorite. The trip was for Spring Break since we take each of our children for their Senior Trip. It serves two purposes - we get to make sure they're having a safe time without being intrusive, and we get to have a great time ourselves. We chose this particular trip because it fit our schedule and price range for GF since she was paying for her cruise and airfare. We also have a second home in Clearwater that our oldest son lives in, which gives us a pre-cruise vacation and free ride to the port. My review won't be all inclusive but I'll try to hit some points that get discussed on CC. We did not utilize the kids activities, spa, gym, ship excursions, or attend the shopping or debarkation "talks". This cruise was all about relaxation for me.

 

Embarkation: Tampa is an easy port! It's very easy to get to and we were the only ship in port so there were no crowds to fight. We ended up sleeping in and taking our time. Our son dropped us off about 1:30 and we were in our room by 2:00. First you show your Fun Pass and photo ID to enter the port area. A porter immediately took our bags and sent us to the check in facility 10 steps away. We took the escalator up to where you wait in line until a representative is available. They hold up signs with numbers and someone monitors the line and sends you to an open window. There was a VIP check in area right by the entrance to the regular lines which had chairs and desks blocked off with partitions. We again presented our fun pass and proof of citizenship, and of course the credit card. She gave us our sign and sail cards and sent us to security. Our two bottles of wine were acknowledged by security, and the rumrunner in my husband's bag passed through with no issues. One other in our checked bag also arrived just fine. Then we had our photo taken for the S&S card, and again with the ship's photographers. From there we walked aboard and took the luggage to our cabin.

 

Muster Drill: On Inspiration the muster drill is inside in the lounges. I was very happy not to have to stand outside in the sun! They were very strict and serious about keeping quiet and not actively drinking beverages during the drill. No roll call was taken, but the room stewards did a search of the cabins and placed a "clear" card in the stateroom door lock. They must have checked to see also if the life vests were missing. Names were called at the drill, which I assume were the cabins that still had life vests in them. All of those people answered when called.

 

Cabin: We went for the cheap seats and had 5A port hole rooms on the lowest deck forward (R26 & R28). Accomodations were fine, beds were quite firm, feather duvets were awesome. Fot those that don't like the warm duvet, there was a regular blanket in the closet. We felt a lot of motion in the cabin, but the thing that bugged me was the noise from the crew deck below. At night there was all kinds of banging and clunking down there and it vibrated through the floor and beds. I wore ear plugs so I couldn't hear it but it was hard to sleep sometimes. Next time I would get at least on deck 5. I knew going in that the bow thrusters would be our wakeup call in ports and they did not disappoint. Luckily we had an early excursion in Cozumel, but if you're wanting to sleep in be warned!! I'd never had a porthole room before and was surprised at how thick the walls are. It is kind of like looking through a really big pair of binoculars. The portholes are good for providing light, but you can't see much other than straight ahead. The bathroom amenities included razors, Zicam, fiber supplements and Pepcid. There was a minor flood just down the hall where pipes leaked in the ceiling (confirmed clean water) and three cabins got the giant blow dryers for a few days. I don't know if I was just not finding it, but there didn't seem to be a channel on TV to listen to the ship announcements. I had an issue trying to plug in my hair dryer where the ground fault portion almost wouldn't fit because the outlet is too close to the desk top. I recommend bringing a short extension cord to solve the problem. The small air freshener spray I brought for the bathroom was very useful. I'd seen reports of brown water in the bathroom sink and we did have some each day. It would be gone quickly as I ran the water. There was plenty of storage space in three closet sections. Two were hanging space and one held shelves and the safe. I used my AAA card to lock the safe. It was small but had ample space for wallets, cell phones, passports, cameras and iPods. The cabin has a dial on the ceiling air vent to control temperature. The higher the setting, the colder it got and the noisier the air became. I like white noise, but that also meant it was very cold in the room! If you like it warmer you may want to bring a fan for noise. We had nice bathrobes that stayed in our cabin until the final morning. Our kids next door had theirs disappear the last night.

 

Cabin Service: I wasn't impressed at all by our room steward. We kept the room very neat & clean, reused towels and didn't ask for extra favors. There were two things we needed and from past experience never had to ask for - ice & glasses. We used our two glasses on the first night (they disappeared in the morning) and never saw any replacements even though two bottles of wine were sitting right there. Ice was filled at embarkation and that was it. I ended up getting it at the bar upstairs instead of calling and waiting for it to be delivered. We did get towel animals each night, but they weren't as useful as a bucket of ice would have been:) There were 6 cans of soda along with a bottle of water for purchase and I bet more people would have been tempted to buy them (including me) if there was ice readily available.

 

Food: I ordered room service for a wakeup call with cinnamon pastries (still warm) and tea each morning, then headed to the buffet for some eggs and fruit. Only once did I eat in the dining room for lunch (steak salad) and twice at the buffet. Food was good overall but not spectacular and I did not go hungry. For some unlucky reason our table was always served last at dinner and we were hurrying through dessert while the waiters prepared for the late seating. Our waiters were responsibIe for two tables of 12 and a table of 6. I had chocolate melting cake every night - yummy!! No creme brulee was served during our cruise. Lobster night was the first sea day, but the best thing on the plate was the jumbo shrimp. My other favorite menu items were double chocolate cake, fruit and spinach salad, breads, seafood pasta, and the fried chicken. I didn't try any of the poolside food or late night stuff.

 

Entertainment: Apparently I spent too much time sleeping because I only saw one show, the comedian Diane Ford, and she was great. My husband said the male comedian wasn't as good. The kids went to a few musical shows and liked them. The newlywed game was on cabin TV and was pretty funny. My husband and son partiicipated in the pool olympics and won a medal (not a ship on a stick!!) for synchronized swimming. There was afternoon tea on both sea days with a lovely classical pianist that I enjoyed. We played the giant chess game on Lido and miniature golf. Other things on the schedule were a kitchen tour, towel animal demos, lots of trivia, dance lessons, and bingo.

 

Pool: The chair hogs were out in force. This was the first cruise I've been on that we could not find two chairs together anywhere! My husband and I wanted to sit in the sun for about 45 minutes and spent 15 getting a seat. We searched every deck! People were literally jumping over others to get to newly vacated chairs. The serenity deck was nice in the early evening. During the day it was full, and somebody was trying to hide a toddler in the shady area. Apparently the no kid rule didn't apply if we could only hear and not see him.

 

Shopping: Bought 4 liters of duty free liquor to restock the bar at home. You are only allowed one per person but customs knew there were four and didn't charge us extra. The only other purchases we made were a $20 set of earrings, two photos, and a small framed picture at the art auction.

 

Cozumel: It was our third trip to Cozumel and we'd already seen the island and beaches. We did a private excursion through Cozumel Sailing which lasted from 9:30 until 5:30 that included sailing, fishing, snorkeling, lunch, Passion Island, spinaker sail rides and open bar, all for $80. Afterwards we stopped at a store to buy some antibiotics, and then at Los Cinco Soles for vanilla and a couple trinkets for the kids that didn't come with us on the cruise. We had a few tequila shots on the excursion so the shopping adventure was a little more difficult than usual!

 

Liquor: We're not big drinkers and didn't spend any money on board in the bars. I brought two small rum runners which gave three good drinks each. I'm diabetic so my mixers were Crystal Light packets and tap water. (It saves weight in the luggage) The kids brought gatorade and never finished it all. We also brought two bottles of wine that we drank less that half of - left the rest for the cabin stewards. I usually get a few foo foo drinks by the pool but didn't partake on this trip. The whale tail cups were really cute though. They were offering the drink of the day cards and wine packages.

 

Debarkation: We did self-assist which is only available to US citizens who carry all of their baggage off themselves. They began calling decks at 8:30 and the first one was Veranda. Our deck was finally called at about 9:30 and it took about 30 minutes to get off the ship. Customs and Immigration was quick and we were out the door. I saw signs for taxi's to the airport for $25 per car, and rental cars for $30 plus taxes. If you are having someone pick you up, there is a street that runs parallel to the main street with metered parking that's a great place to meet.

 

Miscellaneous thoughts: Airbrush tatoos were expensive starting at $12, announcements weren't too obnoxious, CCL isn't as militant as NCL with the hand sanitizers.

 

If you have any questions I'll try to answer them!

[lilrosie]

What kind of antibiotics did you get? how much do they cost and where did you get them?/ not being nosy but am going this week to cozumel and would like to get some and some flexeril but didnt know if it would be a problem getting them back on the ship

[JennKach]

We got amoxicillin, Augmentin and Cipro. The amoxicillin was $2 for 12 tablets, Augmentin was $3 for 10, and the Cipro was similar. I can't remember the name of the store, but it was their version of a super Walmart. It was on the main street just north of downtown I think. If I find the receipt I'll post the name. We had no problems bringing them on the ship - I think the issue is trying to bring them back through customs in the States. I brought empty prescription bottles and filled them with the new supply. We have valid prescriptions for each of the meds. We were not searched entering the ship or at customs.

[JennKach]

I have another thread with scanned copies of the Capers if you're interested.

 

Other notes -

 

Casino: I made my obligatory $20 donation to the slot machines. There was too much cigarette smoke to spend any more time and money in that place. There seemed to be a lot of people in there all the time. I saw low minimum tables and an electronic poker table that seats eight I think, and looks just like a tournament table. Never saw one of those before.

 

Internet: I bought a 30 minute plan for $16, plus the $3.95 account setup. The wireless worked great in my cabin on my own laptop. We used it to confirm our private excursion, check on the kids via email, and check in for our flights. One note - you get charged $0.50 per print hit, not per page. One of our boarding passes was four pages (two people with a connecting flight) and it only charged us $0.50.

 

Special Occasion Cake: We ordered a small, heart shaped cake for formal night for $7.95. They need 24 hours notice and you can order at the Formalities shop, or in the dining room. You can have whatever message you want put on them and the waiter will confirm with you whether you need a song or not to go with it.

[lilrosie]

how were people dressed for formal night?? It has been 3 years since I was last on Inspiration and cannot remember how it was

[JennKach]

I only saw one tux that I can remember, and not many full length gowns. Most of them were high school or college age girls. There were lots of sundresses, dressy tops with pants and capris, and church type wear. There were people in shorts in the dining room on formal night too. It really was 'anything goes'! Maybe because it is a 4 day people don't get as formal. On past Carnival 7 day voyages there were a lot more dressed up people.

[xntric1]

Thanks for your review. We will be on the Inspiration for the 1st time in late June.

[Bdd2043]

Great info! First cruise on Inspiration in 27 (and counting) days!!! I love seeing all this info!

 

Thanks!

 

HH

[JennKach]

Decor: The decorator on Inspiration doesn't share many of my tastes and I'm not sure what was going on in some of the rooms. The buffet area has strange tube things winding all over the ceiling with orange caps and black spider webs on the ends. The elevators are very dark inside and not air conditioned, which isn't good if you're feeling seasick. If you like neon you'll love the atrium. I don't remember much about the main dining room except that it has rope lighting all over which animates when the waiters get ready to sing. Cabins were nice though with white bedding and understated carpet and drapes. We liked the library interior and the candlelight lounge.

[jamers22]

Thanks for the review. Glad you had a good trip. We'll be on the Inspiration for the first time next summer and so far I've read alot of good things about the ship.

[arlenefrances]

I enjoyed your review and wonder about a few things. We are traveling with 2 Sons, D.I.L, and 8 year old Grandson. It sounds like deck chairs are a problem to get. Do you have to go put a towel "and things" real early on a chair to be able to get a chair. I'm sure we will want to be on the Water Works deck during the day . We are debating on a Dolphin Encounter tour or going to a nice beach for the day.

[JennKach]

You may have better luck at waterworks because I think most people wanted to be around the main pool.