Carnival Inspiration v. Gustav 8/30: A Pictoral Review

[newistcruiseaddict]

Sorry it took me so long...

 

 

Cast: Family & Friends Group of 10!

 

Me, Shannon, 29

DH, Buddy, 29

DD, Madison, 11

DS, Charlie, 8

Mom, Debbie, 50

Mom's BF, Sandee, 50's

MIL, Jo Anne, 50's

FIL, Al, 50's

Brother, Andrew, 22

Family friend, Jesse, 20's

 

Day 1: So, in spite of Gustav brewing out in the Gulf, we are OFF...knowing that you can drink, even if its raining outside.

 

Car ride from Fort Walton Beach to Tampa... SIX HOURS...shoot me now!

 

Notice how close my cat and dog stick to the luggage! Sorry..but ya can't go.

 

My kids, Charlie and Madison. As you can see, its a bit early for them.

 

My mom's friend, and my old girl scout leader, Sandee.

 

 

My mom...ever the talented woman...smoking, driving, AND talking, all at the same time. Please, hold your applause.

 

We stop in Tallahassee and pick up my brother and Jesse. As you can see, its early for him too.

 

 

I'm sure you've noticed by now, we're all wearing the same shade of blue. Here's what our shirts say:

 

 

 

More to follow!

[newistcruiseaddict]

So we stop at McD's and get some grub.

 

 

 

Jesse

 

 

Taken moments before they decided to feed the birds. They thought that the awning would protect them from being "rewarded."

 

 

DH and FIL

 

A lady stopped us and asked us hour our cruise was...lol that was fun to explain.

[rebeljohn]

GREAT!!!! Looking forward to the rest............

[newistcruiseaddict]

By the way..its so exhausting being my brother..what with not having to drive and all.

 

 

We finally manage to finagle our way into a parking garage in the Tampa port. Its very irritating that some of the aisles dead end rather than loop around. I was driving (very bad idea to start with) and pulled into one of these rows, did not find parking and had to back up moms suburban. Then the dummy behind me decides shes going to skirt around me to go to the next row, rather than waiting for me to finish backing up...then she slams her brakes on and sits there dazed and confused. I have to say, that woman got to see a little of my finger action that afternoon. Guess she thought I was backing up just to inconvenience her.

 

 

Down the stairs...almost there!

 

 

Our first glimpse of the ship on this very rainy day.

 

And into line we go:

 

 

 

MIL and FIL booked a penthouse so they went and sat down to be checked in while being served their cold water. *rolls eyes*... ok...I'm jealous

 

[Mikew0805]

Great review so far, looking forward to more!

[newistcruiseaddict]

Day 1 continued: Lunch at the buffet

 

DH and Jesse

 

Wow..thats a lot of food. I swear we aren't pigs. Okay..so maybe we are.

 

MMMMmmm...reuban...dh was nice enough to get one to split with me. And I didn't even have to ask. Have I got him trained or what?

 

 

This became my groups favorite smoking spot. There is one window on each side of the pool that actually opens so it creates a bit of a wind tunnel. Keeps the smoke from flying in your face and the breeze was also really nice. We were never once chair hogs but we managed to occupy this table throughout the cruise due to sheer numbers!

 

[newistcruiseaddict]

Thats me and Charlie.

 

 

 

Looking down into the atrium.

 

 

 

The muster drill. I was pretty angry at this point. I had somehow become separated from my son. He went up the other side of the stairs. We thought he was behind us when in fact he was in front of us. I stood by the stairs waiting for him to emerge and a REALLY RUDE crew member told me to go sit down. I tried to explain why I was waiting but she wouldn't listen. I finally told her if something happened to him because she prevented me from going back (and didn't offer to go look for herself), that I would come by to see her later and have a little one on one. DH finally went back and pushed his way passed her. About that time I looked up and realized he was sitting with my mother and brother a couple of tables away (see pic..lol). My mom told me later she was wondering "where did you come from?" when she saw him.

 

We think the muster drill is just as important as the next person and we really aren't bullies but I started to panic and the crew member was completely unconcerned.

[newistcruiseaddict]

Enjoying the balcony of my MIL's penthouse suite.

 

 

Well...what time is it? Oh time to eat again? Already? Well lets go! Our waiter, JOSEPH, was an absolute delite. We threatened to pack him in our luggage and bring him home on the final day. They managed to sit all 10 of at a round 10-top...no finagling required.

 

 

 

 

View out our dining room window...passing under the bridge. One day, I swear I'm going to be on deck for that.

 

NY strip steak...YUM

 

Fish...I think.

[Wags67]

Wonderful review...anxiously awaiting MORE:D

[newistcruiseaddict]

Ribs of course!

 

My brother looks satiated...a chore in of itself.

 

 

Day 1 highlights: Well the weather held out for the most part. A few sprinkles here and there. They had changed our iten from grand cayman to key west, compliments of Gustav. We were all looking forward to GC but we were pleased with the alternate destination. My group of newbies were pretty impressed with food quality and those areas lacking in quality were made up for in quantiity.

 

Day 1 negatives: well check in took forEVER b/c most of my group had neglected to fill out their funpasses (our fault of course). That lady in the parking garage that was so impatient she practically ran me over and then came to a dead stop..and of course that horrible woman at the muster drill I could have done without all together.. The ship was starting to sway quite a bit as we headed off to bed.

 

Too be continued.....

[newistcruiseaddict]

Day2: Day at Sea

 

And a rainy day at that! We were hovering along the coast of Florida waiting anxiously for Gustav to hurry up and pass but it was going nowhere fast. So...we found other ways to entertain ourselves. Oh...and by the way..the boat was a 'rockin...but I had nothing to do with that.

 

DH won his first ship on a stick. Sad to say but I can't remember what it was for...I missed it while running off to drop the kids at camp carnival. I want to say he was the official "ball checker" for bingo...he's volunteered several times in the past just to get a free drink.

 

 

My FAVORITE bar...violins.

 

 

The Newlywed game (click on image to play):

 

 

And Gustav rages on (view from MIL's balcony):

 

 

[newistcruiseaddict]

The show must go on...very interesting concept watching an ice carving demonstration while being pelted by rain. Made you feel like you were part of the show.

 

 

Rainy weather makes some people sleepy. So DH decided to take a nap...ummmm...with Jesse?

 

 

So whilst DH slept, my brother and I, with mixed drinks in hand set out to explore the ship.

 

 

And somehow, we came to the conclusion that we would be more entertained if we explored the port and starboard decks on floor 11. (maybe it was the drinks?)

 

 

 

 

Let me just say that one side was MUCH more windy and it took two men watching us through the door to get it back open and let us inside...thank goodness someone was watching..we could have been stuck out there for a while! Here here for voyeurs!

[racegrrl]

Great review so far - love the pics! I always wondered what it would be like to cruise in a hurricane - now I get to see it first hand. Looking forward to reading more! :D

[blivey]

So, you were the people in the blue shirts walking around the ship?? We were on this same cruise. We enjoyed our cruise very much in spite of Gustav. I think the crew did an excellent job keeping us safe and entertained.(And also keeping everything cleaned up where people were getting sick everywhere). Hope your group didn't get sick. Thankfully, we didn't. We were in cabin M24 (Main deck with port holes). We actually had water hitting our windows a few times!!! I think we were also in the same dining room AT the same time you were. We were eating dinner in the Carnivale Dining Room when we passed under the bridge. Small world, isn't it? We had a great time and hope you did too.

[newistcruiseaddict]

Yep..we were "the blue shirt people"...Lol..I heard that a lot during our cruise. No one got sick nor was I privy to seeing anyone get sick (THANK GOODNESS!). I also felt the crew handled the situation well. There were a lot of passengers that blamed Carnival for us missing one of the ports. When we got home I mentioned this to DH's uncle who replied "I'd be mad too, if I paid for those ports I should get those ports." to which I answered "There was no port left to visit..or at least nothing I'd care to visit in present condition. I can't think of a single port I'd risk my life over seeing....AND IF YOU DON'T WANT TO RISK YOUR PORT BEING CANCELED THEN YOU CAN PAY TWICE THE PRICE AND BOOK OUTSIDE OF HURRICANE SEASON." Boy did that shut him up. Guess I was fed up with that comment by that point.

 

Finishing off day 2: Did I mention it was formal night?

 

On to the Captains Cocktail party for free drinks.

 

 

 

 

So we drink....

 

 

and drink....

 

 

and drink....

 

[newistcruiseaddict]

And drink some more....

 

 

Hey...wait!!! Where did that drink lady go?

 

 

And of course before we could proceed to dinner, we had to stop for the addicts in our group to get their nic fix.

 

 

You can see how my son felt about that...

 

[newistcruiseaddict]

And on to dinner!

 

 

 

Can you tell mom is tired of me taking pictures?

 

 

Is this what they mean by "tie one on"??

 

 

MMMM good bread. I think I ate about 1.5lbs of butter during this cruise.

 

 

Let me give you just a little background on this video. We ordered Grolsh with dinner every night. Dh can always open his with a very impressive "pop" and Jesse started to get jealous because he couldn't get his to pop as loudly. His solution? Re-cork that puppy and SHAKE it. Now do you see what I have to deal with?

 

[Luanne21]

Loving your review!!

[newistcruiseaddict]

Our dancing waiters:

 

 

 

 

Lobster.

 

 

Some sort of fish stuff. Mom didn't like it..she said it was too mushy (prefers her fish fried).

 

 

Chocolate melting cake

 

 

Cherries Jubilee (okay) and cappuccino (yum!). The best part about this meal was the prime rib came with REAL macaroni and cheese. It was SO good...and dd stole half mine. They only give you about two spoons full. I could have eaten a bathtub full. In fact my mouth is watering right now just talking about it.

 

Day 2 highlights: Dinner was great, lots of stuff to do on board, not a moment of boredom.

 

Day 2 disappointments: The YUCKY weather (no sunbathing this day), the drinks at the captains party were VERY watered down (usually they're strong enough to make you hair stand on end), and we found out our key west stop was canceled and we would be spending day 3 at sea.

[newistcruiseaddict]

And...just when you thought day 2 was over...

 

....the fun has just begun.

 

The boys, acting out the Godfather in the smoking lounge.

 

 

Karaoke. Jesse is VERY good but I have to warn you I'm terrible. And no, I had no idea that shirt made me look 10 months pregnant prior to wearing it.

 

 

 

 

Shout:

 

 

[newistcruiseaddict]

More Shout

 

 

Midnight Buffet!

 

 

 

 

 

[newistcruiseaddict]

 

 

 

 

That stuff next to the strawberries is some sort of berry gelatin. Very gross..no flavor, but pretty to look at!

 

 

 

MMMmmmm chocolate.

 

And with that I dropped the kids off at their cabin and headed off to the R rated comedy show....laughed till I practically peed my pants (I am 10 mos pregnant after all...har har.) Then we headed off to bed with a short prayer for good weather during our unplanned 2nd day at sea.

[newistcruiseaddict]

Well...day 3 started out with calm waters but cloudy skies.

 

 

 

We took issue with Jesse sleeping in so we woke him up around 10 (he karaoke-d till the wee hours).

 

 

And before we knew it, the clouds had parted and we were in some of the most picture perfect cruise weather I've ever seen!

 

 

 

The new slide!

 

[newistcruiseaddict]

We spent most of the day alternating between sunbathing on deck and cooling off at the violins bar. It was a very relaxing HOT day. The kids stayed glued to the pool, only leaving to attend camp carnival (never to hang with mom and dad...we're boring after all). My mom and Sandee stayed poolside ALL day and mom was STILL peeling two weeks after our return home (she felt that somehow I owed it to her to come to her house and scratch her back b/c I didn't warn her forcefully enough...*shrug* its hard to take advice seriously when your drinking, eh mom? tee hee).

 

On to dinner. I have to apologize, I really did intend to take more food pics. I had my camera EVERY night...its just that hunger over took my brain cells every time (surprising considering I ate non stop).

 

DH enjoying his evening Grolsh....maybe enjoying it a little too much.

 

 

 

Yes folks..these are my in laws!

 

The waiters do the conga line!

 

 

 

 

Notice how empty the dining room is? Guess we were having fun..we were in no hurry to leave.

 

 

So Day 3 highlights: the absolutely beautiful weather and wonderful company.

 

Day 3 negatives: Hmmmm can't think of any..except for going to bed early b/c we have to get up early for our day in Cozumel!

[SunnyinMA]

Great review so far! You must have gotten pictures of one of the very last midnight gala buffets...beautiful.