foxesden1 Posted January 17, 2012 #1 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Carnival Inspiration, January 2012 First let me say I will do my best to get this done within the week.. (or two) ;-) I took photos of EVERYTHING and grabbed copies of TONS of things to scan. I will make sure everything is posted for you all to see. I have cruised a few times before, with different lines. BUT I have a travel background, so I look at things, as someone who has been trained, and worked in Travel and Hotels. My last position was as Acting Director of Sales for a Major hotel chain in Downtown Toronto, Canada. So in some ways I may be "harsh" sounding in my reviews, but I am not. I just seem to notice the "small things" because that is what a hotel would get docked for when they are rated. Its what I was trained for. So I am no way a "cheer leader" for anyone line. So here we go.. My family and I moved to So Cal about 4.5 years ago, and we always wanted to take a cruise from San Diego - but we never got around to it.. then RCL pulled out, and all cruises seemed to be running out of Long Beach, so we thought we better hope on it, before CCL pulled out to! I booked us on CCL a EA inside last Aug, for a sailing in Jan, of 2012. I knew I wanted to sail in a inside cabin, as we have already done outside, afts, and balconies. So a short four night trip would be perfect for us! Tangent: First myth on inside cabin.. its really NOT THAT DARK. If anything, I was disappointed by the amount of light that came in through the door. We had brought mini LED flashlights (handy btw) just in case. Because the ship was departing on a Monday, and we live in San Diego, I booked us a Cruise rate at the Queen Mary for $159.00 (plus taxes). We booked into a "family room". I did not want to face the drive to Long Beach - RUSH hour for 3plus hours is not my idea of a holiday! We made good time to the Queen Mary, only to find that the day we arrived a Bridal Show was going on, WHAT A ZOO the parking lot was! We were able to get our selves sorted and went directly to check in (around 11:30am) before we had brunch (Champagne Brunch $49.00 and $25.00 aprox for adult and child). Our room was not ready, so they stored our baggage for us, and went went off to brunch. Outside the dining room they have a photographer set up $20.00 cash, for a selection of photos taken with a green backdrop. I am a sucker, and was in vacation mode, so we all posed for a pix (to be added if I can find it.. ). We were seated, and I could feel the stress of the road roll off my shoulders, I was on Vacation! The man of the far right (next to my daughter) is a dear friend who came to pay us a surprise visit from Chi-town.. SURPRISE.. we were going to Mexico in two day! My daughter was THRILLED that they had a kids buffet! And went right over to it! (Pizza, Chicken nuggets, Grilled Cheese, Cookies, Fresh Fruit) I was busy eying the other direction.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxesden1 Posted January 17, 2012 Author #2 Share Posted January 17, 2012 After what seemed like many hours of eating, we made our way back to the front desk to see if our room was ready.. We were given A115 - just a short walk from the front desk! We made our way down the hallway - (now at this point, I wanted to say that I had no idea who the Queen Mary was set up - but it seems rather then 1st, 2nd and 3 class being on higher/ to lower floors they have it set up in MID, Bow, and Aft potion. Mid being first class. It is very cool walking down the way from one end of the ship to the other, and seeing the changes! We arrived at A115 (or so we thought) on to find NO DOOR KNOB! The four of us looked dumbstruck and made some sort of comment about the hotel being haunted.. only to realize we were at the BACK door, not the front of our suite. Thats right, SUITE. We scored a first class 600sq foot suite for $159.00 I was THRILLED! This is the view as soon as you open the door. To the right Looking in from my daughters room Her own sink One of two twin beds in the family room And the shared bath Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxesden1 Posted January 17, 2012 Author #3 Share Posted January 17, 2012 After a short rest we went out on deck to look around. I think what I liked the most about the Queen Mary was that they played music from the 30's when you were strolling on deck. It really added to the "feel". They had a live band in the Observation Bar, and demo area's set up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxesden1 Posted January 17, 2012 Author #4 Share Posted January 17, 2012 The best part of the day for me, was when we were given a impromptu tour from one of the staff members! We learned so much, without having to take the tour. While walking around on my own, I meet up with two friends from CC - WAVE to USNUZULOOSE! We all watched the Splendor on her sail away.. Before heading off to dinner We were so full from brunch, we shared one meal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxesden1 Posted January 17, 2012 Author #5 Share Posted January 17, 2012 We had time for one last visit to the gift shop, before heading to bed! It was going to be a early wake call, as we wanted to be at the gates for 9:30! A room service order was placed outside our door. Three King George Breakfasts to arrive between 8:00 and 8:30. Now the DOS (Director of Sales) part of me wants to chime in.. The Queen Mary is a LOVELY ship, but she is in need of more then a little TLC. Yes, this would be at a great cost - but to keep her in better shape, would help with the long term care. The wood needs to be sanded and polished all over the ship. Many areas have large chips, and scratches. Light fixtures while up to date, are smaller then the ones they replaced, and you can clearly see unfinished wood around them. Safety pins, to hold the bedroom curtain on will just not cut it. Shower curtains, missing hooks. Alarm clocks should be turned off by the cleaning staff before the room is let out again. (Thanks for the 7am wake up call!) Yes I, understand that this ship costs a fair amount to upkeep, as does ANY historical building. But in the long run, it will save you money. IF the Queen Mary, were any other hotel - it would be a two star at best, charging 3 and 4 star prices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonbgd Posted January 17, 2012 #6 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Wow the queen I remember staying on her pre cruise a couple times before getting on the Pride. It is so cool to experience her for the night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USNUZULOOSE Posted January 17, 2012 #7 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Okay, I am here and following your TR. You saw things I did not. How did I miss the band? You keep it going excellent job. I wont need to a report here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxesden1 Posted January 18, 2012 Author #8 Share Posted January 18, 2012 Its 9:20 am and we were the 2nd family to arrive! These are the doors you access for early check in on the cruise. Gates opening.. and here we go! Zone 1! Now this is where the baggage drop was not clear to us, the staff directed us, but we got mixed up, so more staff directed us, but not to the same place.. so in the end, with the help of USNUZULOOSE we were able to find where to drop of our bags! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxesden1 Posted January 18, 2012 Author #9 Share Posted January 18, 2012 The port area has a few options if you are hungry or need a drink.. Also there is a cart that sells hats, sun screen, etc A reminder.. Waiting to be called! Because of were we were standing (directly under the zone one sign) we ended up being about 30th on board.. the gate to enter is to the left of this sign, and people started to "crush" (it was very nice and orderly) in. So a tip out be - stand in front of the gate, not the sign if you want to be one of the first on board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxesden1 Posted January 18, 2012 Author #10 Share Posted January 18, 2012 And here we are! Just about ready to board! My husband and daughter made a bee-line for the slid, I went to GS to sign up for the Behind the Fun tour! But 20min later.. I was on V A C A T I O N! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxesden1 Posted January 18, 2012 Author #11 Share Posted January 18, 2012 Where you buy the soda card - top deck - Lido Bar. You also had to pay for the cup, $4.95. On RCL the cup is included in your pkg. We bought the pkg for two adults, just under $60 for a 4 night cruise. We did not get our money's worth this time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxesden1 Posted January 18, 2012 Author #12 Share Posted January 18, 2012 We were in cabin U109 - it was a inside, cat 4 cabin. great location, no noise, lots of space in the head, but not much floor space, once the beds were set up (we had a trundle bed in our room - NOT suited for a adult). The head was very large, and easy to move around it. I found we had enough closet space, for the three of us. More drawers would have been nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxesden1 Posted January 18, 2012 Author #13 Share Posted January 18, 2012 The stateroom had two beach/pool towels already in it, but we opted to not use them. (worried about them getting miss counted and charged). We just used the towels from the Lido deck. No I have no idea why, but the CD sent us two ships on a stick, as well as a plate of strawberries. I can only assume because I had asked on JH FB page how many kids were on our sailing in my daughters age rage (85) that they were sent for us. It was a very nice touch. Tip - most of the games were broken, I would not buy a large pkg. We still have quite a few coins left...:rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CourtneyLovesCruising Posted January 19, 2012 #14 Share Posted January 19, 2012 looking forward to more pics :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDMiller Posted January 19, 2012 #15 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Leaving in 10 days!! Looking forward to your review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxesden1 Posted January 20, 2012 Author #16 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Working on it, I should get more up this week! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdamion Posted January 20, 2012 #17 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Thanks for doing it. I know how time consuming it can be to do one of these photo reviews. I particularly appreciate the QM photos and thoughts as I am scheduled to stay there for a couple nights before Splendor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosefloater Posted January 20, 2012 #18 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Leaving in 10 days!! Looking forward to your review. DDMiller - I'm on the same cruise as you. There is a small roll call going on. Foxesden1 - Do you remember who the comedians were? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaddleAddict Posted January 20, 2012 #19 Share Posted January 20, 2012 When you say the trundle bed was not suited for an adult, what did you mean exactly? I just booked an inside room on this deck for three adults. Will this not work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinJenF Posted January 20, 2012 #20 Share Posted January 20, 2012 LOVE your toenails!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinJenF Posted January 20, 2012 #21 Share Posted January 20, 2012 When you say the trundle bed was not suited for an adult, what did you mean exactly? I just booked an inside room on this deck for three adults. Will this not work? Trundle beds are pretty short- I imagine that is what OP is referring to. They are fine for kids or very small adults ;). I am not sure of the dimensions but they are at least a foot shorter than a regular bed and if memory serves it's actually a couple feet short. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USNUZULOOSE Posted January 20, 2012 #22 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Yes that line was kinda of crushing. Darn if only we could have gone VIP. Love your pics. I forgot to buy the disco ball for a souvi. Nice pictures. Your doing very well with the camera. Cant wait to hear more. Chris slept on the overhead and said it was very uncomfortable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SadieN Posted January 20, 2012 #23 Share Posted January 20, 2012 When you say the trundle bed was not suited for an adult, what did you mean exactly? I just booked an inside room on this deck for three adults. Will this not work? For three there are cabins with upper bunks. If a double cabin is booked a rollaway or trundle is used. The deckplan will tell you which you have. A rollaway is a folding bed that has the same dimensions as a regular bed. It is usually folded up during the day. A trundle is good for anyone under 4'6", usually children. It has no legs and is stored under the bed. I'll be testing an upper on her in a few weeks, hopefully it will be as comfortable as the ones on the Paradise. What is up with that bathroom? No shelves or medicine cabinet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxesden1 Posted January 21, 2012 Author #24 Share Posted January 21, 2012 DDMiller - I'm on the same cruise as you. There is a small roll call going on. Foxesden1 - Do you remember who the comedians were? Yep I can check today Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxesden1 Posted January 21, 2012 Author #25 Share Posted January 21, 2012 There was a on board coffee shop, where you could pay for coffee, and sweets. IMPO the coffee was no better then the dining rooms, so I never bought a cup again. This is the only time I made it out on to the adults only deck, so I am not going to be able to give any more info or details on it. But I can say, that I liked the look better on the RCL Liberty of the sea. They had two hot tubs, and a pool. A bar, and a area with chilled fruit. I don't recall what Disney's Magic was like (as I had a three year old at the time, so I am sure I never made it!). This is the Formalities shop, You can rent Tuxs ($85.00 on board - my husband did not pack his, and when we found out we were going to the Chef's table he went on his own to get a price quote - just in case the other couples in our parties were going to have theirs on. I smiled and told him we were not on that type of cruise this time... Internet Package. I did not buy one, spent about 15min total online and paid about $35.00 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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