Carnival Inspiration Review - Sept. 3rd 3-day escape

[Winterstale]

Day 1 - Embarkation & fun by the pool!

 

Warning - NO PICTURES - sorry, but if you were hoping for a review with tons of photos, this one isn't for you!

 

We left our home in Burbank to head down to Long Beach at around 10:30 that morning. We've sailed twice from Long Beach on the Splendor, so we knew what to expect and didn't want to get there too early and just end up sitting around.

 

We arrived at the port, parked the car, grabbed our bags, and we were through security on the ship by 11:45am. Easy peezy. We each checked one bag and carried on bags that had our swimwear, books, ipod, etc so that we could relax by the pool or on the Serenity Deck while waiting for the cabin to be ready.

 

The Serenity Deck was E-M-P-T-Y. There may have been one other person there. We got ourselves cocktails and relaxed while watching people sailing out of Long Beach Harbor - saw a catamaran that belongs to our sailing club go past us. :D It was a PERFECT day - very sunny and hot - so we decided that perhaps some time by the main pool was in order. There was barely anyone in that pool as well -- and we imagined (correctly!) that we'd never see the pool this way again so we really enjoyed ourselves, met some new friends, and enjoyed more libations :D.

 

I have to say, I was very impressed by this little ship, after reading so many negative reviews. Is it the Magic? NO. Did I expect it to be? NO. We had a porthole cabin - yes, it was a bit small but for 3 days, no biggie. We still had the comfy Carnival beds and that was just fine by us! I wouldn't waste money on a fancy cabin for this short of a trip - on the Splendor, Magic, and Dream, we ponied up for the Spa Cabins -- and we're doing so again on the Breeze next October.

 

Soon enough, it was time for muster drill and sail-away. After that, we relaxed a bit more and then went down to the cabin to get ready for dinner.

 

We had anytime dining and were seated right away. Service the first night was very good - and the food was pretty good too! I had French Onion soup and lasagna :D -- and of course we had to have CMC for dessert :D

Again - was it Jean Georges? NO. Did I expect that? NO. ;) It is a cruise ship.

 

I did notice that they offered some of the steakhouse entrees for an upcharge and made a note to plan for that the next night!

 

We explored the ship a bit more, listened to a pretty good guitarist/singer at the atrium bar, and went to bed. We had a big day planned for Ensenada.

 

Day 2 - Massages and a lovely beach resort!

 

Day 2 was our only port -- Ensenada, which a lot of people say is how you say "Stay on the ship" in Spanish. My husband needed to do some research for a story he's working on, so we got off the ship and explored the port a bit and then headed into town for massages we had booked at Massage and Facial Care. They were amazing!!! 90 minutes later, we went next door afterwards to a little cafe for a couple of cold beers and then headed out to get ourselves a taxi to Estero Beach Resort. It took about 20 minutes to get there by taxi. For $25 each we were able to enjoy all of the facilities at the resort - it was absolutely wonderful - swim-up bar, lounge chairs, towels, and a very nice pool at a resort that is right on the ocean. Lovely views and I walked down to the little beach and got in the ocean as well. We spend the whole day there, then taxied back, stopped in town for a last beer, and got back on the ship. We showered off the beach day, had some pre-dinner cocktails, and then headed to the dining room. This time...our anytime dining was not as great an experience. We were able to get a table right away....but we seemed to be somewhat invisible to the wait staff. It took about 20 minutes for anyone to come over to us - which I thought was very odd but oh well! Ordered the New York strip steak and it was absolutely wonderful - just like I hoped! Worth the upcharge as far as I am concerned.

 

Day 3 - Football/writing at sea and horrible pizza - LOL

 

Well, the last day heading back to Long Beach is almost always a little dicey. First of all, you're going against the swells so you're always going to have some motion heading in that direction -- not too bad on this trip but on one of our Splendor sails, it was horrible - LOL. We enjoyed a short period of nice weather in the morning but the afternoon started to get cooler and greyer so we stayed inside, lazing around watching football and my husband got some writing done. We usually skip the MDR on the final night and "graze" most of the day and this one was no exception - we decided to get pizza for football. Bad choice. I've enjoyed the pizza at times on other ships -- did not enjoy it on Inspiration. Really my only real complaint food-wise other than our lousy service the second night.

 

Arrived in port at around 7am on Monday and did self-debarkation. We were back home in Burbank by 10:30am.

 

All in all, a very enjoyable weekend and I would do this trip again in a heartbeat. That said, I would only do it at a time of year when I knew the weather would be good - i.e. late summer/early fall - this trip in January would not be as enjoyable. The first day of beautiful sun and fun on the Serenity and by the Main Pool really made the trip feel longer than it was.

 

Thanks for reading and happy cruising!

[EL Capitan Z]

Awesome!! I'll be cruising on her next week for a 4 day. How were the room temps?

 

 

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[Winterstale]

Hmm....room temps were fine - not too hot, not too cool - you're picking a good time of year for the 4-day!

[yamsi12]

Going to Ensenada in a few weeks and Im interested in the massage place for my wife and I. Just a question.....how much do you usually tip for a 90 minute massage?

[Linda the Book Lover]

Thanks for the review. My DD and I had pizza on the Imagination and thought it was horrible so I am not surprised the Inspiration pizza is also not a good choice. I stuck with the deli offerings with my olive addiction. I wondered if the steak upcharge was worth it in the MDR on Inspiration and you did sound like it would be.

 

I agree these 3 and 4 day trips are just the ticket for a few days relaxation.