Inspiration Spring Break Review with FTTF, Extra Kid, and Pot Issues

Well I haven't posted a review in a while so I am kind of rusty. I always appreciate reading reviews so I will give it my best shot. I will also say that I didn't take a lot of pictures on this trip, but I will post what I have once I convert them to a smaller file.

We started our trip on April 3rd at Disneyland. Actually this was supposed to be our only trip but I received the "free" cruise offer so we decided to add it to DLR and take the following week off, which was spring break. My DD, 16, and her BF, 17, also joined us. We told them that we would need to share a cabin since we had already paid for DLR but secretly we booked them an inside bunk, U167, so Carnival got extra money out of us even with the free cruise. We had U177 which was a great OV cabin, but more on that later. I also booked us FTTF. Mostly because we had sailed during Spring Break out of LB before and it was a mad house. DH isn't a big fan of crowds and we had the Catalina tender so I figured why not for this cruise.

We really lucked out on the weather. The morning of the cruise, April 7th, it was clear and forecasted to be in the mid to high 70's. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. We had no traffic driving to the port and arrived around 10:30 am. We gave our 5 bags to the porter and I let him know that they were FTTF, just because the logo is so small. He put bigger stickers on them and we were on our way to register. Surprise, there was no one in line and maybe 20 people standing around who looked like they had already signed in. This is the part where I was extreamly nervous. I always carry a notorized document from my DD's father stating the trip details and that I am allowed to take her on the trip but this time I had her friend also. To complicate things her friend is also from a blended family and her father has sole custody. I made sure we had all documents but you never know. Well I will say now and just as on any other trip on Carnival, no one has ever asked me for a single document. Nada, nothing, of course I was glad but still a little stressed. Until I had that drink in my hand and I was on the Lido deck I would not relax.

The CC rep told us to proceed to Priority Boarding and we waited until a very large wedding party boarded. Once they were in line they stated that we could get in line as well. It was approximately 11:10 and when I looked back there were maybe 100 people waiting to board. No big crowds that I remembered. We bypassed the pictures and had our luggage "rum" scanned and we were on our way. Yes, I said rum. DH had two RR in his baggy short pockets, and one wine "rum" bottle (thanks youtube). He also put two 12 packs of soda and a 24 pack of water in the carryon. No questions and no problems getting it on. I honestly couldn't believe it. I also had one large RR in my checked but of course we didn't know if that made it yet or if we were being called to the "naughty room".

Whew, we were on. It was so nice to scan our card and hear it "ding". First stop to guest services. I had booked one adult in each cabin just in case they said anything with the girls being minors and the cabins being around the staircase from each other. No problem changing them and we had new cards in a matter of minutes. We then used the Kiosk to add cash to our cards. These were new to us but there were a lot of helpers around.

Off to our cabins. I really appreciated the reviews on FTTF at this time because the doors were closed and normally I would have just gone to the Lido but because I remember that FTTF can bypass them we opened and went to find our cabins. We first went to ours, U177. Well it wasn't ready and the bed was still as twins, which I made sure to switch to a King when I booked. No biggie but there was also a bunch of papers/trash on one of the beds. We decided to go to the girls cabin, U167, and see if it was ready. It was and immediately the room steward introduced himself. DH gave him an extra tip and told him we were sorry that he had to deal with two teen girls but if he had any issues to let us know and gave him our cabin number.

DH and I left our carryon in their cabin and went back to ours, no cabin steward but a man looking like a supervisor, he was just standing in the hall watching, came and said that the cabin was fine. We told him that it wasn't and that it didn't look like it was done being cleaned and that the bed needed switched, (which I knew would only take mins.) No biggie but he got this attitude and said that they would make sure our cabin was ready by 3:30pm. Ok yeah that's not ok. We left and as we walked away I told DH that 30 mins was fine but it was only 11:30-11:40 at this time and why would we have to wait that long. We headed to guest services. This is the only name I can remember because we saw him off and on during the cruise but "Marin" listened to our story and made a call, as soon as he got off the phone he stated that our cabin would be ready in 15 mins and our luggage would probably be there by then. I thanked him and we headed back. It was ready and our luggage was there!!! Very surprised but excited. We also met our cabin steward, which I feel horrible about because I can't remember his name, but he was great. DH introduced us and he kept apologizing over and over about not having the cabin ready. DH and I assured him it was fine that all was well. He then slipped him a twenty and asked that he keep our ice full. We later found out that he was six weeks away from going home to see his kids. Of course we had to give him some nice parting gifts.

My take on FTTF, it was nice to get on early, and it was great having it for Catalina because with the great weather the tender wait was over an hour, but to be honest we would have been fine without it. We maybe save an hour to an hour and half. No biggie for $100. I could have used that in the casino.

We unpacked our "bar" first and then the rest of our stuff. My RR made it through also. Yippe!!! Coconut Bacardi!!! DH made us a drink and we met the girls up at the lido for lunch. Still no big crowds. I looked down the gangway and no lines, nothing. I was really surprised because this is not how I remembered LB.

We reinforced the rules with the girls. No boys in their cabin or going into the cabins of anyone else, dinner with us, and a decent curfew (which we would be notified of at dinner). Security would later tell us that the girls were a pleasure and good kids. Nice to hear.

I brought dry erase boards at the dollar store and we affixed them with the 3m command hooks. These were a "Huge" hit. Not just with our girls but a bunch of "friends" in our hallway. We got all kinds of notes and comments but everything was clean. If you have never used them, they work great when you have teens because they can check in and you can leave them notes.

We spent some time wandering the ship to figure the layout and told the girls we would see them at muster. Muster was a little different. We first met in the Candlelight Lounge and listened to a briefing for about 15 mins and then moved to the lifeboat Muster Station for another 10 to 12 mins. This is when I realized that there were a lot of other people on the ship because before this it never felt crowded. I asked one of the staff and he said with the smaller ships this is how they handled it.

After Muster we headed to our cabins to freshen up for dinner. We had early dining in the Carnivale Dining Room. We were seated with two other families, one of which was from the Anaheim area and one from WA, about 20 mins from us. The Inspiration has the new American Menu. Sorry I don't know all the terminolgy.

My take on the new menu. It was ok. There was nothing really special about it. To be honest by the last night I really felt sorry for the staff. I seems as if it has just created extra work with all of the choice in sides. The tables are huge and it always felt crowded with dishes. It wasn't that the staff wasn't doing their job, they were great but if you ordered two sides they had to bring you three plates or dishes including your entree. Just seemed like a waste and for food that was no better than before. I was also surprised that twice, two different guests at our table had egg shells in their WCMC. The food was often just warm and not hot. Overall the food in the dining room was just ok.

Ok going to bed. Tomorrow I will get to the good stuff. The "Hot Boxin Cabin!". Yep just as it sounds.

Thank you for posting this detailed review. I am taking this same trip in July and also have the FTTF and you are providing extremely helpful information on every topic I find relevent. This is actually the best review I have come across since it feels like you are speaking specifically to me :p.

I am anticipating more posts from you. Keep up the great work ;)

Looking forward to reading more!

Thank you for the nice comments. Unfortunately I am slammed at work today but hopefully I get some time later to finish it.

Question about the cash on your S&S cards.

Couldn't you have put the cash onto the cards at Guest Services? Or did they direct you to the kiosk?

interesting.

Did you see whether creme Carmel was offered on the Room Service menu? Also was chateaubriand offered on the first night?

Question about the cash on your S&S cards.

Couldn't you have put the cash onto the cards at Guest Services? Or did they direct you to the kiosk?

We could have but I really wanted to try the new Kiosks, because we didn't have them available the last time.

I have to say I really liked putting cash down for our S&S cards. Cruising is our budget travel and in the past when I put a cc, it was so much easier to spend, especially when you are drinking!!!

Did you see whether creme Carmel was offered on the Room Service menu? Also was chateaubriand offered on the first night?

 

 

I'm sorry ccruisequeen, I am not really into the food so I didn't notice.

Ok, trying to kick a little more out on my lunch.

After dinner on the first night we told the girls to check in on their board, and we went back to our cabin for drinks and to plan the evening. We were in our cabin for about half an hour when I realized that we had a few items that the girls may need, so on our way out we stopped around to see if they were in their cabin. Immediately after turning the staircase into their hall we could smell pot.

Now I should say, this is not a big deal for us. I mean we are from WA and we smell it at Public Events all the time. It's just not our thing but we have friends that use but they are respectful. I think we just weren't prepared for it in the middle of the ship. A few steps to the girls door and the smell was getting stronger. The girls answered and said that their cabin reeked. We inspected and seemed as if it was coming through the air vent. DH went down the hall and investigated. I should also note that DH is in Law Enforcement, but regardless anyone in their right mind couldn't miss it. He felt that it was more than likely coming from the cabin next to the girls, so he knocked on the door.

He was just going to let the occupant know that they really should take it up on deck where no one else could smell it. No answer. We aired out the girls cabin the best we could, and closed the vent. Although we hadn't been on this ship and wasn't sure if that would work. They were leaving and we decided to shrug it off. More on this issue later.

Monday night before Catalina was pretty much a bust. We were tired from DLR and the days activities of getting on board. We each played some slots in the Casino and DH became addicted to the Cash Cube. Does anyone ever win that thing? I am sure he spent over $50 trying. We took a walk up to the lido deck to get a soft serve and to enjoy the warm evening. We ran into the girls who were excited that they had already met a group of kids, mostly boys, to hang out with. They told us they weren't interested in the Club 02 but would behave and follow the rules.

I should also add that DH gets seasick and this was the first time he tried the S patches so I was constantly asking him if he was ok. They worked great and with the exception of a dry mouth which just gave him more reason to drink he was feeling great.

A few small pictures, since I am at work!

Wow! Based on the pics you attached, you were not kidding about the ship seeming empty!!! Nice!

I get motion sickness too. I tried to Google S patches and Scopolamine Transdermal Patch came up. Is that what your DH used?

We awoke the next morning in Catalina, Whoooo!!! All 29 something miles from LB. :)

I was excited to head ashore because my father had taken us here as kids. I couldn't wait to show DH and the girls the cuteness of Avalon. We had told the girls to meet us at 9:30 on the Lido for breakfast.

The buffet was the same I had remembered. I was excited to have choices that I didn't have to cook. The girls made it close to 9:30 and found us pretty easy.

After breakfast we headed down to level four for the tender over. DH was sure this would not be a problem but I told him with FTTF we were supposed to check in and let them know we wanted to go ashore. He was already in the elevator. There was a staff member directing a line and I asked her if we needed to go back up top. She wisked us to the front of the line and said that we would be on the next tender just pulling up. NICE! We learned later that the line was over an hour wait. A lot of complaints.

Catalina was beautiful. No fog and the water was so calm. It was a little more built up but still charming. We decided to take a walk out to the casino and see the divers, fish and sea lions. The girls knew this part of the trip was on a budget so they didn't even ask if we could rent golf carts. It was a nice walk and after checking out the sites we went back into town to claim a spot on the beach and check out the shops.

I get motion sickness too. I tried to Google S patches and Scopolamine Transdermal Patch came up. Is that what your DH used?

Yes those are them. I am not sure if anyone else had this problem but they didn't stick very well. Maybe because that it was warmer and he was sweating. I finally had to use alcohol wipes before I put a fresh one on him. They aren't cheap so you really want them to stay on.

Wow! Based on the pics you attached, you were not kidding about the ship seeming empty!!! Nice!

It never felt crowded.

Pretty cool review thus far. Thanks for all your awesome info:)....btw I am really holding onto this "pot" story....where in the heck did it come from:confused:

Once the girls were set on the beach. DH and I went to look in the shops for a small souvenir and a drink. I am sure you are all thinking that all we do is drink. Well on vacation, Yes! We do drink more than we usually do.

When we returned to the girls we got cozy on the warm sand and enjoyed a little people watching. I noticed to the side that there was a small stand with a table cloth and some flower petals around. A little while later DH said that it looked like there was going to be a wedding. Well he and I were married on Maui just over a year ago so I am a big sucker for beach weddings. Just then the wedding party started to walk our way. DH asked if they would like us to move. A bridesmaid told us to stay right where we were, so we watched this cute couple with all of their family tie the knot right there in front of us. I was a little worried when the bride threw the bouquet, that it was going to land in one of our girls hands. I was so happy for this couple. They could not have asked for a perfect beach day. I didn't get a chance to tell them we took some pics but maybe they will see this review and contact me. The most pics I took during the whole trip.

Pretty cool review thus far. Thanks for all your awesome info:)....btw I am really holding onto this "pot" story....where in the heck did it come from:confused:

Thank you, I will try to get there tonight. I am off and have to get home.

A couple of pictures of our cabin, U177. We have only had balcony cabins before and I was unsure if we would like the OV but it was just fine and we had plenty of room. We did purchase one of the door shoe holders to put our toiletries in because this ship has very little space in the bathroom. I am not sure if you can see it but our soft sided ice chest is under the sink. This worked perfectly and the steward was "great" at keeping it full of ice.

I'm back. So I forgot something about the first night. When DH and I were done checking out the "pot" issue we headed to the liquor sale. Anyone from WA knows if you have a chance to buy at a liquor sale with no crazy tax you take advantage of it, but we had to remember we were on a budget.

We headed to the shops and decided that we had no reason to wait in a crazy line for a half an oz of booze. We went straight for the cashier. Six bottles of Bacardi Superior, total $66. Not bad considering that much at home would have been almost twice as much for fifths. At check out the cashier tells DH that he need to come back at 11:15pm for the "drawing". Well that did it, he was hooked on winning this drawing. At about 10:30 DH tells me that we just need to go to bed. No way we already stayed up this late. We pushed on and sure enough found our way back to the shops just in time for the drawing. There were about 30 people standing around. They called one name and the poor guy wasn't there. Then they called DH's name. Yep he won. Fifty dollars off his liquor purchase, so we ended up spending $15.96 on six liters of BS. Yes, it all made it home on the flight.

Back to Catalina. After the wedding we decided that it was time for lunch and we would head back to the ship before the crowds. There were a few people in line for the tenders but it wasn't back. It was close to 1:30. We headed to the cabins to drop our stuff and then to the Lido for lunch. After lunch the girls asked that I wake them for dinner just in case they didn't make it for elegant night. My DD loves elegant night so I wanted to give her time to get ready. DH and I headed to the Serenity Deck. I have to say I love the Serenity Deck on this ship. I like that it is in the Aft and blocked from the wind. We never had problems with smokers and or heavy drinkers and it was never really crowded. If there was no lounge in the sun we waited in the shade and within 30 mins or so something opened up.

Close to 5pm so we headed to the cabin to get ready. When I went to wake the girls I noticed the "pot" smell again. Once they opened the door they said that the smell was making them sick. I told them to get ready and we would check in downstairs after dinner. After they showered they left their door open, but the smell in the hallway was pretty bad as well so I am not sure how good it did. We headed to dinner at 6pm and enjoyed the elegant night. I was a little surprised not many people dressed up but we have only done longer cruises and I had heard that this was common. Once dinner was over the girls wanted to change so they could hang out on the mini golf with their friends. We headed back to the cabins with them and noticed that the smell was still really bad. I told DH that this was getting ridiculous and if they weren't going to answer their door we need to go to security. He agreed.

Ok if anyone has ever delt with CC Security, they are usless. Really I know I have never read anything positive. Nothing really negative but just not there to really help. We went to Guest Services and our friend "Marin" was not there but another woman who listened to our story and called security for us. Once they arrived we explained everything. Told them that they just needed check it out. They said they would but stressed they could not just "walk" into a cabin for no reason. We said we understood and even stated that we tried to handle it ourselves. We left and went to the casino. DH and the Cash Cube addiction! :rolleyes:

While DH was trying his luck at the Cash Cube, I tried a few slots. No such luck and my drink was dry. I found DH and told him that we needed refills and I wanted to check what time the adult comedy show started. We headed back to the cabin and filled our drinks. It was a little past 9pm so we had some time to get to the Candlelight Lounge. As we were leaving I noticed a few other notes on our white board that were not our DD handwriting. Some asked if we would "share". Later we would find out that they thought it was our cabin that was stinking up the hallways.

Just as we walked to the elevators, around the staircase we noticed 3 security coming out of the girls cabin. Ok so really we knew they were not there??? Why were they just going in their cabin but they couldn't check the suspicous one??? I was pissed. DH said to let it go that maybe they were just checking out our complaint and we needed to go and have a good time.

We got to the Candlelight and all I kept thinking is if the girls had been there. I don't know these people. It really bugged me and I don't get upset easily but when I don't it won't stop. About 5 mins before the show I told DH that I just couldn't let it rest. I needed to find out why they just walked in their cabin without them there when they told us they couldn't do that. We headed to Guest Services. Marin was there and DH explained that we needed to talk to Security again. He called and while we were waiting he and DH started talking. He told DH that he had sent us a "little gift" for all our troubles from the cabin not being ready. I overheard and both of us stressed that everything was great and he really didn't need to do anything. That we loved our steward and were really getting to know him. Security arrived and it was actually a supervisor. We explained our concern and immediately he was defensive and said that "No One" would have gone into their cabin this late and he "was sure" it wasn't his staff. Really we both sat 12 to 15 feet away and watched them. I started to get pissed.

After going around for 15 to 20 mins. another Security Officer and Guest Services Supervisor decided that they could run a special card on the door of the cabin an it would "tell" them if a staff member had been in the cabin. I was freaking out. These are two teen girls. I don't just want any staff member going in their cabin. Honestly I had forgotten about the "pot" at this point. We headed to the cabin. Just as we arrived at the door the GS Supervisor receives a call stating that housekeeping indeed had been in the cabin because they had been told by security to "check it out for the smell". They comfirmed the smell and agreed that it was coming from the ventilation system. I was not happy but gave them time to explain their plan of action. The supervisor said that there was a cabin on the main floor that they could move the girls to but because the girls were minors we would all have to move. Ok really, I understand that this was a solution but at this point I was just ready to pull the arses out of the next cabin and give them a piece of my mind.