Just back from the 11/26 Inspiration....

[Jaxgal]

.....and all I can say is that it was a GREAT cruise!! My DH and I will be sailing with Carnival again!! I will post a full review in a few days for all of those interested. :D

[gjules]

YES, please a review would be great! I'll be on the Inspiration 1/2/06 and can't wait!

How was the entertainment? Did you have good weather and where did you go? :D

[Jaxgal]

I thought the entertainment was very good. Comedians were very funny and shows were entertaining. Weather was warm and sunny all except our first fun day at sea and the evening before...it was cloudy, bumpy and rainy. We had 10-11 foot waves in the gulf and we needed to take some ginger, then we were ok, but walking around in a straight line proved a bit difficult! We went to Grand Cayman, and I really recommend the Sting Ray City tour, but not though the cruise ship...use Soto's (will go over why in the review). And we went to Costa Maya- a really neat place I thought...shopping was fun!. We did the Jungle Beach Break there....and you are really better off using the free beach and pool at the pier...I will talk all about that excursion and the waste of $$ it was in the review.

[bellera]

You went to Costa Maya? How come you did not go to Cozumel? I was expecting to go to Cozumel in January - I am wrong?

 

Glad you had a good time - what type of stateroom did you have?

 

Did you spend the night before in Tampa? If so where?

 

How was the dining? We have a balcony and was not sure if we would eat in the dining room or just take something up to our room some nights.

 

This will be our first Carnival Cruise - only sailed Disney. But we are excited to be sailing Carnival and going on the golf excursions that they offer.

[Ehpride]

Definitely interested in a full review. What seating did you have? What size table? How were the activities? And lastly, do you have copies of the capers?

 

Bellera, when are you cruising?

[gjules]

We have booked with Captain Marvin to do the stingrays. I booked through the ship on my last cruise, and we decided to go the less expensive independent route this time.

I'm hoping for Cozumel but Costa Maya would be fine too. I have been to both, but my mom and daughter have not been to either. The shopping in Costa Maya is very convenient and the restaurant there was very good (Excellent Yard-a-rita's!). Keep the info coming!

[bellera]

Ehpride - we are cruising on Jan 7. You?

[Ehpride]

We're sailing on the 2nd...we leave for Tampa in 30 days and counting!

[bellera]

Saw your countdown after I replied! Have a great cruise!

[mamaof6k]

.... and this will be my first cruise!!! I can't wait! I'm going with 4 of my best girlfriends and we were upgraded to penthouses, so I am so excited. Tell me all about your cruise, can't wait for your review!!

 

Mama of 6 kids:D

[Jaxgal]

We went to Costa Maya because Carnival changed our port due to the damage in Cozumel. Check the Carnival site closer to your sailing...they will also send you a letter if that changes.

 

We were in Upper deck #133, a window cabin...very comfortable beds. Our room steward rocked...he got an extra tip from us!! ;)

 

We stayed in Downtown St. Pete the night before because we wanted to check out that area along with Clearwater. We live in FL so we could stay anywhere and drive to the port.

 

I will stress this...EAT IN THE DINING ROOM....the food is fantastic!! and there is a lot to choose from.... We had the 8:30 pm seating in the Mardi Gras dining room...lots of fun with the staff and Matre'd!! We had a table of 10, everyone all strangers at the begining of the cruise and fun table mate friends at the end!

 

I will have more details in the review...I have lots of laundry to finish first! :eek:

[bellera]

mamaof6k - congrats on the great upgrade! What had you originally booked?

 

I am a mom to 4 and this cruise will be our first vacation without the kids! They are in a state of shock that we would leave them at home - but they will get over it!

 

Happy sailing everyone and I cannot wait for the review - but laundry must come first!

[Loves_Dogs]

mamaof6k -

 

I am a mom to 4 and this cruise will be our first vacation without the kids! They are in a state of shock that we would leave them at home - but they will get over it!

 

Happy sailing everyone and I cannot wait for the review - but laundry must come first!

 

And if they DONT get over it WHO CARES...YOU ARE GOING ON A CRUISE..hehehehe! Just wanted to add that my first cruise was on Inspiration last year and it started my love of cruising. She is a GREAT ship. Enjoy your cruise.

[bellera]

I am sure they will get over it! This was there decision to not go on a winter vacation - they picked summer this year! I said that was fine but Mom get's a winter vacation regardless. I hate Canadian winters!

 

We cruised for the first time last year and I think we will cruise every year from now on! The Southern Caribbean is calling me for next year.

 

Hey Jaxgal - how is that laundry going? Do you have enough clean clothes yet that you can take a break and give us your review?:D

[LSUcruisintigers]

:) Also interested on review as we are going on first cruise on 12/19, also as Christmas present to us and our kids (ages 17 & 25). Thanks

[Jaxgal]

Here it is since it has not posted yet....:D

 

Embarkation: Very quick and easy. Only thing we found a bit confusing was accessing the parking garage. This was our first time in Tampa and it was a bit confusing due to all the other cars of people arriving and departing. We drove around in circles for a few minutes and then unloaded the bags on the curb across from the terminal and my husband went to park the car. We arrived at the port at 10:30 AM and were on the ship having lunch by 11:45. The lifeboat drill is not so bad…it is fun to watch everyone hanging out in their life vests.

Food: This was much better than we had expected. My husband is a very picky eater and had no trouble finding breakfast, lunch, and our evening meals in the dining room. I really enjoyed dinner every night. People at our table enjoyed the lobster (it is Caribbean lobster keep in mind, not from Maine, so it is a bit chewy). The pumpkin soup is great, loved the desserts and many if the appetizers were different and very good. If you do try something you don’t like, just ask for something else and it will be brought right out to you with no questions asked. We had the 8:30 seating in the Mardi Gras Dining Room and a table for 10. The later seating seems more relaxed than what we saw out of the earlier seating….The breakfast buffet got very crowded at times, but we figured out that if you went to the line at the pool, it was much shorter. Lunch we ate at the Brassiere everyday and there was always plenty to choose from at the buffet along with the salad bar, deli and pizza. We enjoyed the pizza! One tip…get it when it just comes out of the oven!

Room: We had cabin U133. It was an Oceanview room. Great views outside of our window, but wish they had wipers on them to clear off the water splashes. Our room steward Mohammed was the best. So polite and extremely efficient. All the towel animals inspired me to buy the book and make them for friends and family that stay with us often.

First night/day at Sea: This was interesting. We were hitting 10-11 foot waves, it was cloudy and raining…and it was difficult walking at times and proved a bit unsettling while you were eating in the dining room…but we handled it ok. At one of the events in the lounge the captain introduced the doctor as the busiest man on the ship, so there must have been quite a few people with motion sickness. Ginger pills- buy them! ….they worked really well…We had no motion sickness at all.

Ports: Grand Cayman: It was a beautiful warm and sunny day. We booked a Snorkel/StingrayCity tour with Soto’s instead of through the ship (http://sotoscruises.com) Our ride arrived on time at 8:30 to pick us up and we were on the boat and out in the water by 9:15. There were 13 people on board including my husband and I. They were great. The coral reef was really nice. There were lots of fish and rays swimming by. Sting Ray City was quiet when we got there, about 2 other small boats. Then the hoards of people came from the bookings on the cruise ships. My jaw just dropped. Each boat had about 60 people crammed on them and 4 boats arrived. Lucky for us, we were almost done holding, kissing and petting the rays. We also had some pictures taken that we later purchased from the photographer. I highly recommend Soto’s. I think if you book through the cruise you will not have the same intimate experience with the rays.

Costa Maya: We loved this port. There are so many shops, great places to eat and a lot to see. There is a very nice free beach and pool to use. Now, we had booked the Jungle Beach Break through the ship. I will never book an excursion through them again. The bus ride to our beach was almost a 30 min bumpy fast ride to the middle of nowhere (the tour description said a “short ride”). We arrived and the place seemed nice…a bar/restaurant area, small vendors on the beach, plenty of chairs to go around….etc. We found some chairs and decided to relax…then you smelled it…the stench coming off the water. I am guessing it was all the seaweed, and it was NASTY. Everyone would cover their noses and moan each time we got a whiff of that stink. Then we decided to take a dip in the water. Now living in FL we go to the beach often almost year round…this beach was not so nice. Upon entering the water all you feel below your feet is a nasty slime on top of the sand…that pretty much did me in. We tried to head out further in the water but there were tiny sink holes in the sand and lots of seaweed all over. Swimming for us ended pretty fast. The drinks were good, but service not so pleasant. At this point we decided to leave after an hour and head back to the free beach and have lunch in port. The port was fun. We hit a roof top bar and had some tasty strawberry daiquiri yards and a burrito and chips and salsa for lunch. We did some shopping and then headed back to the ship. Be sure to hit the upper deck at the back of the ship when you get back to watch the “stumbling drunks” show…some people were taking their time getting back at 5:45 when we were leaving port at 6PM….funny to watch!

Debarkation: We did the relaxed debarkation which means you put your bags out the night before. They made the announcement at 9AM…and we were shocked how it was called. They said everyone can leave. We were not called by color or anything…so there were about 1000 people jammed into the stairwell trying to get down to the Empress level!!! We will be sure to due the self debarkation next time!

Entertainment:We enjoyed the show each night. I really felt they did a great job and each show was entertaining. The comedians were very funny and worth seeing. We also enjoyed the casino everyday for a bit. The Rhapsody in Blue piano bar looked like fun, but I am allergic to cigarette smoke and it was pretty smoky in there so we avoided it. .

Overall we really enjoyed this cruise. The ship is in great shape. The staff is ALWAYS cleaning the floors, railings, tables etc…and always smiling. The daily activities are fun and there is always something to do if you wish, or just relax in a chair in the sun and do nothing but order drinks all day. Everyone sailing on the ship was polite and strangers smiled and said HI each day. We did not see too many overly drunk partiers. We will be sure to sail with Carnival again after our experience on the Inspiration!

[bellera]

Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts on your cruise - it is always great to hear of people's good experiences!

 

10 - 11 foot waves do not sound that big! We had 17-18 footers on our Disney cruise but faired rather well! We took dramanine and we were not sick at all. I am interested in the ginger tablets for this cruise though - no kids and looking to have a few cocktails!

 

Can you buy ginger tablets anywhere? Do you take them every day or just when you feel queasy?

 

We have V2 as a stateroom - it is the 1st balcony at the front of the ship. I have heard that it is not very private as a set of stairs goes right by it - did you happen to notice these rooms?

 

Also, you left Costa Maya at 6:00 p.m - is that early? We are not scheduled to leave Cozumel (if we go ther) until 10.

 

Again thanks for the review.

[ISLABONITA]

My DH and I will be heading out to Tampa during February and looking forward to warm sun and water.

One important question. How did you get off the ship in time for the Soto tour ?( which I am planning to book) I have read that if you do not book the ship tours that you do not get off the ship first and in time for the them to pick you up.

Thanks for your reply!:)

[Ehpride]

Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts on your cruise - it is always great to hear of people's good experiences!

 

10 - 11 foot waves do not sound that big! We had 17-18 footers on our Disney cruise but faired rather well! We took dramanine and we were not sick at all. I am interested in the ginger tablets for this cruise though - no kids and looking to have a few cocktails!

 

Can you buy ginger tablets anywhere? Do you take them every day or just when you feel queasy?

 

We have V2 as a stateroom - it is the 1st balcony at the front of the ship. I have heard that it is not very private as a set of stairs goes right by it - did you happen to notice these rooms?

 

Also, you left Costa Maya at 6:00 p.m - is that early? We are not scheduled to leave Cozumel (if we go ther) until 10.

 

Again thanks for the review.

 

Bellera, I got ginger tablets at GNC I think, but I think they have them at Target and Wal-mart.

[Jaxgal]

Hi Islabonita...

We got on the second tender ashore. All you do is go to the Paris Lounge as suggested that AM and blend in with everyone else and get on the tender. They don't ask you for your excursion tickets. We got off the tender and wandered over to the pick up spot with about 45 minutes to spare...its that simple. How are things up in Canandaigua? We are from Rochester originally...we moved to Jacksonville 2 years ago. We dont miss the cold at all!! :D

 

Bellera: I am sorry, we did not notice that room at all. Costa Maya was an early port. We were there with two other RCCL ships. Eveyone left around the same time. I guess the port is not ready for evenings.

We purchased our ginger root pills at Walmart for $4.00 for about 100 capsules.

[damonadrienne]

Hi Jaxgal,

We too were on the 11/26 Inspiration. I will agree with your review, although I must add something. In Costa Maya we did not book an excursion, but we took a taxi to Mahahual and walked a short distance to a quaint beach bar called Buluche. Drinks there were very cheap, food was good, and we were able to get very cheap prices on souviniers. Talking to those staying in port, they seemed to pay 2-3 times what we did for the same thing. My DH and I absolutely loved it and hope to return with friends someday soon. It was paradise....sitting on the beach under the shade of coconut palms.

Our tablemates did not research Costa Maya and stayed in the port. They did not enjoy it at all. We seemed to see that the beach in the port was rocky, but in Mahahual it was all sand and shallow in the water up to 100 yards out.

[ISLABONITA]

Yea it's been cold here for the last week, we had record breaking 72 degrees last Thursday though. I go to Florida a lot, Leesburgh, Tampa since I have friends who live there and now my son lives in Orlando.

Thanks for the tip on getting on the second tender. You don't need a ticket or anything then ? just blend in . that's great...

[Jaxgal]

We went up to the stage area and asked the crew available for questions about a tender ticket and they looked at us funny and said that none were needed...so we just waited and blended in and were on the tender in 10 minutes!

 

We did get some good deals in the port of Costa Maya...you really need to haggle and check every shop...My DH found it fun to haggle with them and we got some great souviners. We should have ventured into town, but booked that beach break. If we ever go again I know what to do next time!

 

The beach in port was rocky, but better than the Beach Break beach we had gone too...I would rather deal with rocks than the slimy bottom we felt!!

[Gregkal]

Can you post the capers? Thanks! Greg

[Jaxgal]

I wish I could post them..I dont have a scanner, sorry.:(