Inspiration/Catalina and Ensenada

We are going on the 4 day Catalina/Ensenada cruise in November(yet again..yay for being my hometown port!). This is the 3rd time we've done this cruise but this time it's on the Inspiration instead of the Paradise.

Does anyone have any good tips for us re: the Inspiration? Since we've been to the ports a few times we may just stay on the ship and enjoy the "emptiness" if the ship is nice!

We are also contemplating doing Parasailing in Catalina (provided they are open as it's off season) and/or the Las Canadas Canopy tour in Ensenada, has anyone done either of these? Any input would be appreciated!

Thanks! Angie :)

Sailed her in January, I don't have anything to compare to the Paradise. I liked the ship. I don't look for imperfections. It is an older ship. I brought my own hair dryer. We stayed on the Rivera deck , inside cabin , aft.

I thought the food was really good, we had great waiters. I had a really good time. I did not do ship excursions , so I cant help you there.

Lay-out basicly the same. Decor a little more subtitle and refined especially in the mid-ship MDR. Crew I sailed with in Jan

was fun, but I know they should be changed by Nov (we're cruising 3-day after thanksgiving.)

We are going on the 4 day Catalina/Ensenada cruise in November(yet again..yay for being my hometown port!). This is the 3rd time we've done this cruise but this time it's on the Inspiration instead of the Paradise.

 

Does anyone have any good tips for us re: the Inspiration? Since we've been to the ports a few times we may just stay on the ship and enjoy the "emptiness" if the ship is nice!

 

We are also contemplating doing Parasailing in Catalina (provided they are open as it's off season) and/or the Las Canadas Canopy tour in Ensenada, has anyone done either of these? Any input would be appreciated!

 

Thanks! Angie :)

I'm planning to take the ensenada thanksgiving weekend cruise.

How was the crowd both in the cruise and in las canadas canopy (zipline to be exact)?

Thanks

I've done this cruise 4 times and will be doing it again in December (yep - I live in California!) I've been on the Paradise, Imagination, and Inspiration, and to tell the truth they're all about the same. I love this cruise, though!

I've done the parasailing in Catalina - me, my daughter and her friend all on one parasail. Really fun!

The Canopy tour in Ensenada, is, IMO, the best thing ever in Ensenada. I've done it twice and it is SO MUCH FUN! And really inexpensive, too. We just found a cab at the port and kept the driver basically all day. At Las Canadas one time after doing the canopy tour, we rented little ATV's and went riding all over the place - that was great fun, too.

Have fun on your cruise!

I've done this cruise 4 times and will be doing it again in December (yep - I live in California!) I've been on the Paradise, Imagination, and Inspiration, and to tell the truth they're all about the same. I love this cruise, though!

 

I've done the parasailing in Catalina - me, my daughter and her friend all on one parasail. Really fun!

 

The Canopy tour in Ensenada, is, IMO, the best thing ever in Ensenada. I've done it twice and it is SO MUCH FUN! And really inexpensive, too. We just found a cab at the port and kept the driver basically all day. At Las Canadas one time after doing the canopy tour, we rented little ATV's and went riding all over the place - that was great fun, too.

 

Have fun on your cruise!

Thanks for the quick response.

What will the approx charge for keeping the cab the whole day?

When we did the Inspiration 3-day to Ensenada a couple years ago, I recall that there were no waits to get a table for YTD. This contrasted greatly with our experience on the Glory this past summer when we regularly had waits of 30-40 minutes (one time it was 50 minutes) for YTD seating. Our Inspiration cruise was the first week of April, so just after the normal spring break rush, but it shocked me how poorly prepared they were on the Glory compared to how well it ran on the Inspiration.

The biggest thing that I can think of compared to the Paradise is Inspiration has the Waterworks and Serenity deck, both which are really nice. She also has the new American Table menu in the MDR so be prepared to try some new things. Enjoy the tablecloths in the MDR since her fellow long beach sister ship Imagination does not have them. I truly missed the tablecloths. We love the Inspiration. Have a great cruise.

Thanks for the quick response.

 

What will the approx charge for keeping the cab the whole day?

I can't remember exactly, but I think it was about $50 - 60, plus a tip. The driver was great on our last time there - and Las Canadas even let him have an ATV for free so he could have some fun, too.

In Ensenada, we went on the wine tour and it was excellent. We are going to Ensenada in January on a cruise from Hawaii (it's final port). We booked the wine tour for that cruise as well. They give you a free bottle of wine when leaving the first winery. If you like wine, I highly recommend it.

I can't remember exactly, but I think it was about $50 - 60, plus a tip. The driver was great on our last time there - and Las Canadas even let him have an ATV for free so he could have some fun, too.

Thanks

They just changed the schedule of the inspiration due to golden Princess also doing 4-days. Now they do the sea day on Tues (to Encenada and back) at the start of the cruise. Catalina is day 2, back to Encenada on day 3 and home to Long Beach. Kind of throws everything out of whack, no chocolate buffet, the Final Art auction the first day, etc.

They just changed the schedule of the inspiration due to golden Princess also doing 4-days. Now they do the sea day on Tues (to Encenada and back) at the start of the cruise. Catalina is day 2, back to Encenada on day 3 and home to Long Beach. Kind of throws everything out of whack, no chocolate buffet, the Final Art auction the first day, etc.

 

 

Did this change start this past week? We were on the Inspiration for the 13-Oct-14 sailing. We docked alongside the Golden Princess in Ensenada on Wed 15-Oct-14. Our At Sea day was day 4, Thursday as well.

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Does the ship enter international waters when leaving LA and the next day's port is Catalina? Toying with the idea of buying the cheers program and wanted to see if we'll save on the taxes.

On the Hawaii cruise right now.

Those with drink packages are only paying taxes on the drinks they actually consume. The Soda Package people got bills for $0.14 before sail away.

You'll only get taxed on the drinks purchased in Long Beach. Not at any other time.

Did this change start this past week? We were on the Inspiration for the 13-Oct-14 sailing. We docked alongside the Golden Princess in Ensenada on Wed 15-Oct-14. Our At Sea day was day 4, Thursday as well.

 

 

 

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Jeff said that the new itinerary would definitely be in effect by December for sure. I think that last week is the first time they tried it out. Golden Princess is a bigger ship so it has the right of way in Catalina. We caught up to them in Ensenada on thurs.

Does the ship enter international waters when leaving LA and the next day's port is Catalina? Toying with the idea of buying the cheers program and wanted to see if we'll save on the taxes.

Someone tracking the ship on an app said they saw us in Ensenada on our sea day then back to Catalina.

Jeff said that the new itinerary would definitely be in effect by December for sure. I think that last week is the first time they tried it out. Golden Princess is a bigger ship so it has the right of way in Catalina. We caught up to them in Ensenada on thurs.

 

 

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We have really enjoyed the past two cruises we did on the Inspiration! I wrote a detailed photo review of our 4-day journey, in case you're interested! You can find it here.

Have fun!!