PHOTO Review:Inspiration to Ensenada & Catalina + "Behind the Fun" Tour & Queen Mary

[sailawaybellaluna]

The next day we tendered in Catalina Island.

 

The weather was awful! Dark, stormy, cloudy and so windy!

 

We noticed there were DOZENS of dolphins jumping outside our cabin window! It was entertaining to sit and watch them - so many of them!

 

 

We had coffee and milk from room service and then bundled up and headed out to the back of Deck 10 for some substantial breakfast food. I have to say, I wish Carnival had a larger variety of healthy breakfast food at the buffet (besides fruit and cottage cheese). Oh well, we indulged in some gut busting fried eggs and chicken cheese rolls! :p

 

We did get attacked by the birds, who had no problem rushing down to our cups and plates as we were sitting there! Our son had a good laugh and really loved it! (He loves birds).

 

 

 

I love this area of the ship - so peaceful, overlooking the different decks and the Serenity Lounge!

 

 

 

 

Next up...some problems with tendering!

[sailawaybellaluna]

Carnival had made an announcement that tendering before 9:30am would be very busy, so to wait if possible.

 

Well, all morning, the line to tender was incredibly long! In fact, it reached up to the staircase at Deck 9 during one point! People in line were getting angry and Carnival made some announcements that they had ordered additional tender boats.

 

It wasn't a big deal for us. We live pretty close to the boat that you can take to Catalina in an hour or so, and we've been there recently. But if you were a passenger that was really looking forward to spending a full day on the island, you might have been one of the disappointed / angry ones.

 

We stayed in the Rhapsody in Blue Piano Bar and read magazines and watched the dolphins. In fact, I saw some of the tender boats taking passengers on a "leisure ride" in front of the ship because the dolphins were going crazy, jumping around them on both sides!

 

Rhapsody is such a pretty little piano bar. I have several photos I will share when I discuss the tea that was held there during our sea day.

 

Anyhow, like I said, it was freezing in Catalina and once we were finally in line waiting to board a tender, a staff member came over the loudspeaker to announce that they may stop the tenders if the waters became any rougher. So, we had to listen for 3 long horns from the ship, and if they sounded, head back immediately.

 

We went on the glass-bottom boat, however I did NOT book through Carnival. Once you get off the tender, you'll see signs for Catalina Adventure Tours. We paid $14 for each adult ticket. I tried to pay for our 3 year old son, but she winked and said, "oh, you mean your 2.5 year old son"? :p I thought that was so nice of her!

 

Interestingly, this is the EXACT company AND boat that the Carnival excursion takes. It had the Carnival excursion sign out front. Unfortunately, Carnival charges their passengers $26.99 per person for this tour. Leaving at the exact same departures times, on the same boat, etc. To me, I understand the need to make a profit and give people peace of mind about booking through the Cruiseline, however, putting us all on the same boat at the same time having paid quite a substantial difference in price is just bad form. That's just my opinion. To charge almost double...for nothing? It's not the type of excursion you might take on a Med cruise. The boat is RIGHT there - on the SAME pier the tender drops you off at? Hmm...

 

Anyway, we did this tour last year on the Inspiration cruise (and I HAD paid Carnival that time)...We really enjoyed it. It's a cold weather version of snorkeling that is possible to do with toddlers! Our son really liked it too. For $5 you can buy fish food to throw down the funnels of the boat. The fish swarm to the food and it is really fun to watch! Keep in mind, they only accept debit/credit card for the food, no cash.

 

A few pics:

 

View from the tender boat:

 

 

 

 

 

On the way back to the pier, there were lots of seals out, which were fun to watch!

 

A great 45-minute tour. Afterwards, it was so cold that we decided to head back to the ship. However, the line was HUGE. Down the entire length of the pier! Thankfully, it moved relatively quickly, and we were on our way...

[SadieN]

Great review so far. I was on the Inspiration Jan 28 and Feb 8.

The crew was great.

 

Good deal for the Park & Cruise at the Queen Mary as parking is $17/day.

[sailawaybellaluna]

Great review so far. I was on the Inspiration Jan 28 and Feb 8.

The crew was great.

 

Good deal for the Park & Cruise at the Queen Mary as parking is $17/day.

 

Oh, how fun! So you didn't quite do a B2B, but almost?!

 

I agree, the crew was great!

 

And I do feel pretty good about the deal I got at the Queen Mary! I was very hesitant at first, but I'm so glad we did it. So easy and convenient! We were home by 9:45 this morning - no hassle waiting for shuttles or taxi's, etc., and not paying the huge amount to park at the port!

[sailawaybellaluna]

We returned to the ship, and I made took a brisk walk around the deck to take a few pics. Last May when I was there, the weather was so hot, I could barely stay out in my swimsuit, reading on deck! Ahh, I was longing for a day like that!

 

 

 

 

And, the sports park with the mini golf course! We were wanting to take our little guy up there, but again, it was just so cold and windy! Maybe next time...

 

 

Next up: Formal Night!

[sailawaybellaluna]

We had some downtime before getting dressed up to go to Formal Night - AKA "elegant night" on the Carnival ships.

 

Or, in this case, not so elegant night. :rolleyes:

 

I'm not the type of cruiser that's going to freak out if someone is in the MDR wearing jeans and flip flops. It won't ruin the taste of my lobster!

 

That being said, I've never seen people dress the way they did for this elegant night! Perhaps it was the cold stormy weather that made people reach for their hoodies rather than their heels? Some people really took it a bit far though. That evening I saw a gal wearing her Old Navy flannel pajama bottoms (I know because I have the exact same ones!) along with a thermal in the MDR for the formal night dinner. In fact, I saw her in the dining room the next day wearing the same thing for breakfast!

 

I sat next to a gal at dinner that only ever sails Princess. I have never sailed Princess, but since we like to take 2 - 3 family vacations a year, I don't think we'll sail it unless it's our primary/only vacation! Cha-ching! She was pretty horrified at how everyone had dressed! She was saying how on Princess you dress up for every meal, and barely any of her clothes would work on the Carnival ship because everyone was so casual (or in the instance above, wearing PJs)!

 

So, I guess if you're thinking of splurging on a tux and an expensive evening gown, this probably isn't the itinerary to do it on....

 

Anyhow, back to dinner in the MDR.

 

We arrived around 6:20pm there was a HUGE line! We were given a beeper, and unfortunately, a table for us wasn't ready for a solid hour. :(

 

 

So, we walked around the ship, taking pics. And the guys went to the arcade and got silly little ducks/aliens from a vending maching game there!

 

 

My handsome little ham:

 

 

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Next up: our yummy food! (FINALLY!)

[sailawaybellaluna]

Dinner that night took nearly 2.5 hours (after waiting the one hour to be seated). Yikes!

 

My only guess is that people who may have gone up to deck 10 for Mongolian or BBQ were too cold to deal with the wind and rain and decided to bombard the MDR all at once? Unfortunately, the next two nights we also had difficulty getting seated. It made me wonder if they allowed too many people to do the "anytime dining" option?

 

Anyhow, our food was delicious!

 

I started with the stuffed mushrooms, which I love!

 

 

Our little guy was excited to try the alligator fritters, but really enjoyed the shrimp cocktail! This is all so funny, because my husband believes there are 3 food groups: Bread, Cheese & Beef. He doesn't eat any seafood and he only eats the fruits and vegetables I push down his throat each night at dinner! :p

 

 

My son also had the farfalle with chicken breasts, and he loved it!

 

 

And, of course, I had lobster!

 

 

Everything was cooked perfectly, and I finished up with the warm chocolate melting cake, which I love.

 

 

All in all, a good day. Up next? My visit to the casino! One of my best yet!!

[sailawaybellaluna]

After our long dinner, we headed back to our cabin. Our son was of course, thrilled with his towel animal from "B", our cabin steward.

 

 

I left him to get into PJs with daddy for an hour, and headed for the casino! One of my best wins yet! And I had only put $20 in!

 

 

And, I'm proud to say, I WALKED away after winning the $155!

 

Unfortunately, I did lose it all over the next two days. Oh well!

 

Next up: A fun day of wine tasting in the Guadalupe Valley outside of Ensenada, Mexico!

[love2relax]

Thanks so much for sharing your review, and for the wonderful photos. Your son is just precious. I really enjoyed hearing about his snail adventures!

[sailawaybellaluna]

Thanks so much for sharing your review, and for the wonderful photos. Your son is just precious. I really enjoyed hearing about his snail adventures!

__________________

 

Oh, thanks love2relax! I'm glad you've enjoyed reading along!

 

More to come...

[luvsviola]

Loving your review. We are cruising with little ones coming up, and my son is about your son's age. He is adorable! He looks like he had a blast.

Edited February 23, 2013 by luvsviola

[PathfinderEss]

Enjoying your review, looking forward to the rest of it.

[Dicecatt]

Your little guy is so handsome!

 

I love the style of your trip report, it is so similar to mine, and selfishly your timing couldn't be more perfect! I planned on writing a trip report but after your great one, I might not need to :D

 

Edited to say, I saw in another thread that you have the ship activities sheets (Fun Times?). I would LOVE to see them if possible!

Edited February 23, 2013 by Dicecatt

[sailawaybellaluna]

Loving your review. We are cruising with little ones coming up, and my son is about your son's age. He is adorable! He looks like he had a blast.

 

Thanks luvsviola! You're right, my son absolutely loves cruising! He is already asking when he can go on another "fun ship Freddy" cruise! We joke that he'll probably want to grow up to be a cruise director! :o I'm sure your son will really enjoy it too!

 

Hope you guys have a wonderful time!

[sailawaybellaluna]

Enjoying your review, looking forward to the rest of it.

__________________

 

Thanks so much for reading along PathfinderEss!

[sailawaybellaluna]

Your little guy is so handsome!

 

I love the style of your trip report, it is so similar to mine, and selfishly your timing couldn't be more perfect! I planned on writing a trip report but after your great one, I might not need to

 

Edited to say, I saw in another thread that you have the ship activities sheets (Fun Times?). I would LOVE to see them if possible!

 

Thanks Dicecatt! I'd still love to read your trip report if you get around to writing one! I love reading trip reports - even if they are on a ship/itinerary I have no plans of taking! :)

 

I will post the FunTimes. I'm missing one right now (from our day in Ensenada), so I need to find it. Hopefully later today or tomorrow I'll get them scanned and uploaded!

[sailawaybellaluna]

The next morning we arrived in Ensenada - to pouring rain and high winds! Yikes! Not exactly what you envision when you're headed to Mexico. :(

 

And to make matters worse, I had been checking the weather on my phone, and it had been sunny and 82 the entire weekend before! What bad luck!

 

Oh well, we were headed out to the wineries in the Guadalupe Valley. I know, people hear "Mexico & Wineries" and it sounds a bit strange. But we love it out there! This was our 4th trip out to the wine country. Three times we went as part of a cruise tour and once, we road tripped from our home in Southern California and spent several days visiting all the wineries. It was wonderful!

 

For this excursion, I had booked online through Carnival and paid $39.99 each (our son was free). Interestingly, in the "Fun Ashore" excursions brochure onboard, they were charging $49.99 each. I'm not sure if that was a typo or if you get a discount booking online in advance?!

 

They offer the tour at two times: 9am and 11:30am. We had booked the 9am tour. I know, I know - who drinks wine that early? Well, we have a 3 year old that naps at 1pm or so and I was trying to keep him on schedule so he'd be rested and well behaved during dinner in the MDR. So, we set the alarm and woke up early to room service. Around 7:30am, the staff member from Shore Excursions knocked on our door informing us they were cancelling the 9am tour because we were the only ones who had signed up. So, we got moved to the 11:30am tour. No big deal, I just wish we would've known before waking up so early!

 

Back to the excursion...The tour consists of a 40 minute drive through Ensenada (along the coast) out to the Ruta del Vino.

 

 

The first stop on this tour is LA Cetto. It is a larger family run winery, and they make some really excellent wines. Our favorite is the Nebbiolo, Cabernet and Chardonnay. This was our 4th time there, but they now have a proper tasting room just for the cruise tours in the back. It was very well arranged when we arrived. We were able to try 6 wines. They also had some wonderful homemade bread out with olive oil, cheese and olives. Whenever I go I buy a ton of their olive oil - it is amazing! And a good deal at only $7-$8 for a 750ml bottle.

 

 

 

And a view from the outside of the winery - during our tour of the production facilities:

 

 

LA Cetto also has a lovely barrel room which is fun to see and take pictures in...more on that soon!

[xplnusa]

I've been talking to my wife about taking my son on a father son trip on this cruise so I'm very interested in following this review!

[sailawaybellaluna]

The beautiful barrel room which you get to see during the tour:

 

 

 

 

You also get to visit the fermentation tanks and see a bottling machine, although they've know moved most of the bottling to a facility in Tijuana.

 

If you're looking to purchase wine or olive oil I'd recommend doing it at this stop, because the next stop on the tour is a bit unusual...

 

We brought back 7 bottles of wine, 3 bottles of olive oil, and 1 bottle of grapeseed oil and paid a total of $59. Oh, each adult also gets 1 bottle of free wine during this tour. We were given a bottle of Riesling to take home...

 

Next up: another "winery" on our tour...

[sailawaybellaluna]

I've been talking to my wife about taking my son on a father son trip on this cruise so I'm very interested in following this review!

 

xplnusa, That sounds like a great idea! Thanks for reading along!

[Excited7]

Loving the review! We did the 3 day on the Inspiration last year and are doing the 4 day this May. I am very excited for the wine tour. I was pregnant last time so we chose to stay in town and shop. Cannot wait to hear/read more about your trip!

Edited February 23, 2013 by Excited7

[sailawaybellaluna]

Loving the review! We did the 3 day on the Inspiration last year and are doing the 4 day this May. I am very excited for the wine tour. I was pregnant last time so we chose to stay in town and shop. Cannot wait to hear/read more about your trip!

 

Thanks Excited7!

 

How was the 3 day? I wondered about that one, since my husband would only have to take 1 day off work...but did you feel it was too short or did you guys still enjoy it?

 

I did the wine tour one year when I was pregnant too! Haha. We had still bought a case in anticipation when that baby came out! :)

 

We're having a family dinner this afternoon, but I'll keep writing more tonight!

[Excited7]

The three day was nice. It was an early friday morning flight from Portland, Oregon and then a late afternoon flight home on Monday. We had two kids already and was pregnant with number three so the whole point of the get away was one last trip before baby.

 

We wanted just a few days away and it was perfect....far enough away to feel like a vacation but close enough in case we needed to get home quick.

 

This time for the 4 day we had some vacation plans with friends and that fell through but my MIL and SIL still agreed to babysit so again this is close enough to get home if needed and just far enough to feel like a vacation. We looked into other ports but to spend a whole day or so traveling to and from plus cruise time didnt settle with me. My husband works 12 hour days so this quick cruise is great since he only has to take a day or two off.

 

We don't normally get away without kids. We usually always go as a family but since family offered we decided to go for it.

 

How did you feel the safety on the boat was for your son? I know thats a crazy question. I'm normally not the worrying type but for whatever reason I worry about my kids on the ship and wanting to stand on the rails watching then falling over. Crazy I know!!! :o

[Genner]

Great review, look forward to seeing more :D

[aggiejade]

I'm loving your review! We'll be going on the Miracle 4 day in Oct and have been pondering doing the Wine Country tour. Now that I've read about your experience and have seen your pictures I'm convinced to book it. I'm really interested in the olive oil.

 

Such a beautiful family you are! Thanks for sharing!