nlg2nlc Posted August 7, 2009 #1 Share Posted August 7, 2009 Hey all. I just got back from the 08/01/09 sailing on the Carnival Inspiration to Grand Caymen and Cozumel. It was just my husband and myself sailing....we had a really great time!!! I'm just gonna do a little mini review, but if anyone has any specific questions feel free to ask! Embarktation: This was a very smooth process. We flew into Tampa the night before the cruise and stayed at the Embassy Suites downtown. Beautiful hotel, wonderful service, would strongly recommend. We took a taxi to the pier in the morning. We arrived at around 11:30 am. We were on board eating lunch and having a DOD by 12:30. Cabins: We were in cabin E78. It was an oceanview stateroom. More spacious than I expected. We didn't spend much time in our room, but it was very adequate for the purpose of sleeping and showering! :) Our room steward was awesome...always addressed us by name and made sure we always had everything we needed. Food/Dining Room: We were assigned the Mardi Gras dining room. We had your time dining. I was a little nervous about it, but we never had any problems being seated. We tried to arrive between 7:00 and 7:30 pm to avoid the lines of the early and late seatings. The only thing we felt like we missed out on was having the same group of servers each time. They tried to sit us in the same area, but could not always accomadate that. The food in all areas was really good! I could not get enough of the warm chocolate melting cake!!!! Shows: We both really enjoyed both of the "adults only" comedy shows. Very entertaining!!! We saw the Shout show also, and thought it was pretty good. Our favorite was the Love and Marriage show. The cruise director, Skip, hosted. He was awesome. Definately one the highlights of the cruise. Spa: I had two different treatments from the spa. I was a little nervous going into it since there had been some negative feedback before. No one pressured me to buy anything. I won a hot stone massage the first day. The girl did a fantastic job. She gave me a card at the end with recommended products, but did not pressure me to buy any of them. Grand Caymen: We did the reef and rays tour through Carnival. We had a great time. It is put on by Don Foster's. Robert, Steven, and Esteban were amazing. They were very informative and made it a really positive experience. I had never been snorkling before...I loved it!!!! Cozumel: We booked Nachi Cocum after reading all of the great reviews. It did not disappoint!!!! There were only around 30-40 people there. We got fantastic service and the beach was beautiful! It was like sitting in the Corona commercial on TV!!!! I would definately go back. Debarktation: We decided to do self debarktation, just cause we were not in the mood to get our luggage together the night before. It was very easy. They called our floor around 8:15 and we were in a cab before 9am! We spent lots of time at the airport waiting because we booked a 3pm flight since we were not sure how the process would work. We will know better for next time! All that said....we had a great time! I cannot wait for our next cruise. I am already planning!!!!! I would recommend the Inspiration to anyone. They had an amazing staff...especially the cruise director Skip! He made our cruise :) Any questions....feel free to ask:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDD Posted August 7, 2009 #2 Share Posted August 7, 2009 That sounds great, we leave on 9/21 on the Inspiration. This will be our first cruise and I am so excited, especially after reading your review.:o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nlg2nlc Posted August 7, 2009 Author #3 Share Posted August 7, 2009 It was our first cruise too! We had heard mixed reviews, but I can tell you we had a great time. The Inspiration was a great ship, they have a great staff, and a really nice itinerary! Enjoy your trip!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gooker Posted August 7, 2009 #4 Share Posted August 7, 2009 Hey all. I just got back from the 08/01/09 sailing on the Carnival Inspiration to Grand Caymen and Cozumel. It was just my husband and myself sailing....we had a really great time!!! I'm just gonna do a little mini review, but if anyone has any specific questions feel free to ask! Embarktation: This was a very smooth process. We flew into Tampa the night before the cruise and stayed at the Embassy Suites downtown. Beautiful hotel, wonderful service, would strongly recommend. We took a taxi to the pier in the morning. We arrived at around 11:30 am. We were on board eating lunch and having a DOD by 12:30. Cabins: We were in cabin E78. It was an oceanview stateroom. More spacious than I expected. We didn't spend much time in our room, but it was very adequate for the purpose of sleeping and showering! :) Our room steward was awesome...always addressed us by name and made sure we always had everything we needed. Food/Dining Room: We were assigned the Mardi Gras dining room. We had your time dining. I was a little nervous about it, but we never had any problems being seated. We tried to arrive between 7:00 and 7:30 pm to avoid the lines of the early and late seatings. The only thing we felt like we missed out on was having the same group of servers each time. They tried to sit us in the same area, but could not always accomadate that. The food in all areas was really good! I could not get enough of the warm chocolate melting cake!!!! Shows: We both really enjoyed both of the "adults only" comedy shows. Very entertaining!!! We saw the Shout show also, and thought it was pretty good. Our favorite was the Love and Marriage show. The cruise director, Skip, hosted. He was awesome. Definately one the highlights of the cruise. Spa: I had two different treatments from the spa. I was a little nervous going into it since there had been some negative feedback before. No one pressured me to buy anything. I won a hot stone massage the first day. The girl did a fantastic job. She gave me a card at the end with recommended products, but did not pressure me to buy any of them. Grand Caymen: We did the reef and rays tour through Carnival. We had a great time. It is put on by Don Foster's. Robert, Steven, and Esteban were amazing. They were very informative and made it a really positive experience. I had never been snorkling before...I loved it!!!! Cozumel: We booked Nachi Cocum after reading all of the great reviews. It did not disappoint!!!! There were only around 30-40 people there. We got fantastic service and the beach was beautiful! It was like sitting in the Corona commercial on TV!!!! I would definately go back. Debarktation: We decided to do self debarktation, just cause we were not in the mood to get our luggage together the night before. It was very easy. They called our floor around 8:15 and we were in a cab before 9am! We spent lots of time at the airport waiting because we booked a 3pm flight since we were not sure how the process would work. We will know better for next time! All that said....we had a great time! I cannot wait for our next cruise. I am already planning!!!!! I would recommend the Inspiration to anyone. They had an amazing staff...especially the cruise director Skip! He made our cruise :) Any questions....feel free to ask:D Great review, just booked 2/8/2010, coming back to Carnival after many years. We have been to Nachi Cocum, it's fantastic - how was the waterslide? Did you try it? Joey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapeavey Posted August 8, 2009 #5 Share Posted August 8, 2009 Who was the comedian on board? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
halos Posted August 8, 2009 #6 Share Posted August 8, 2009 Glad you enjoyed your cruise. :) I have 4 cruises this year and not one is going to Coz. How I screwed that up I have no idea, but I won't make that mistake again. I loved the Inspiration when I sailed her too....except hated the idea that the cruise was short. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisingirl75 Posted August 8, 2009 #7 Share Posted August 8, 2009 That sounds great, we leave on 9/21 on the Inspiration. This will be our first cruise and I am so excited, especially after reading your review.:o My DH and I will be on the same cruise!!!:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoopsielv Posted August 8, 2009 #8 Share Posted August 8, 2009 It sounds like you had a great time- I enjoyed your review! I love the Inspiration and it was my first cruise too! :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mosaic_mom Posted August 8, 2009 #9 Share Posted August 8, 2009 I'm glad you had such a good time. We were on the Inspiration last Thanksgiving and had a wonderful time. They didn't have the your time dining when we sailed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDD Posted August 9, 2009 #10 Share Posted August 9, 2009 My DH and I will be on the same cruise!!!:D Hey cruizingirl, maybe I will see you on board!;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scout leader Posted August 9, 2009 #11 Share Posted August 9, 2009 Did they have a good Piano Player in the piano bar on the Inspiration. That is my favorate evening entertainment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnieB925 Posted August 10, 2009 #12 Share Posted August 10, 2009 Thanks for the review. I just logged on to get some information on Inspiration and am happy to see so many happy cruisers. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lgerrish Posted August 10, 2009 #13 Share Posted August 10, 2009 I'm booked on the Inspiration Feb. 13 and excited to sail on this ship. Thanks for the review. The excitement is building! You mentioned the CD was Skip. Was he very interactive with the passengers? Curious about the piano bar too. Can't wait to hear more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjkumbaya Posted August 10, 2009 #14 Share Posted August 10, 2009 Sounds like you had a really great cruise, thanks so much for sharing your review with all of us! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nlg2nlc Posted August 10, 2009 Author #15 Share Posted August 10, 2009 Great review, just booked 2/8/2010, coming back to Carnival after many years. We have been to Nachi Cocum, it's fantastic - how was the waterslide? Did you try it? Joey We did do the waterslide....it actually went faster than I thought!!! Pretty fun!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nlg2nlc Posted August 10, 2009 Author #16 Share Posted August 10, 2009 Who was the comedian on board? There were different comedians and they were both hilarious!!! My husband and I attended both of the "adults only". We liked them both equally!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nlg2nlc Posted August 10, 2009 Author #17 Share Posted August 10, 2009 I'm booked on the Inspiration Feb. 13 and excited to sail on this ship. Thanks for the review. The excitement is building! You mentioned the CD was Skip. Was he very interactive with the passengers? Curious about the piano bar too. Can't wait to hear more. Skip was fantastic!!! He hosted several different shows including the "Love and Marriage" show, which was probably one of the best times during our cruise. We saw him around the ship frequently and he was always pleasant and happy to stop and chat. I don't think we could've done better in that department! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nlg2nlc Posted August 10, 2009 Author #18 Share Posted August 10, 2009 Did they have a good Piano Player in the piano bar on the Inspiration. That is my favorate evening entertainment. Barry was the piano guy. Honestly we didn't spend much time in the piano bar, but everyone always seemed to be having a really good time!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSUTIGERS Posted August 10, 2009 #19 Share Posted August 10, 2009 Sailing on Inspiration on 8/20 for 25th anniversary! Where did you make reservations for Nachi Cocum? Great reviews of this place! Can't wait!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
micbooth Posted August 10, 2009 #20 Share Posted August 10, 2009 My son and I are sailing on 9/7/09 and have your time dining. They would not let you request the same dining team when you were seated? They let us do that in May on the Sensation! Mick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nlg2nlc Posted August 10, 2009 Author #21 Share Posted August 10, 2009 You can request to be seated in the same section, but you may have to wait if those tables are full. We were seated in the same section the majority of the time, but not every time. We always were seated at a two person table. Not sure if this is the norm, but this is what we got! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nlg2nlc Posted August 10, 2009 Author #22 Share Posted August 10, 2009 Sailing on Inspiration on 8/20 for 25th anniversary! Where did you make reservations for Nachi Cocum? Great reviews of this place! Can't wait!! http://cozumelcruiseexcursions.com/cozumelbeachbreak.htm This website allows you to book in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
croozin_boozin Posted August 10, 2009 #23 Share Posted August 10, 2009 hi, thanks for posting 1) how many formal dinner nights were there? 2) were there soap/shampoo dispensers in the shower? thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nlg2nlc Posted August 11, 2009 Author #24 Share Posted August 11, 2009 1) one formal night...it was on the first "fun day at sea" 2) yes...shampoo and body wash dispensers in the shower! have a great cruise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kisigi Posted August 11, 2009 #25 Share Posted August 11, 2009 We're on our way in just four more days. Thanks for such an encouraging review! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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