I was on it a few years ago for a music cruise. Having also been on the Carnival Victory and on the 'maiden voyage' of the Carnival Splendor, I will say it is the least impressive of those boats. Having said that, it is just fine. No real complaints, other than the fact that it doesn't have the restaurant choices of a newer ship like the Splendor (basically, your only choice is dining room or buffet). It shows it's age a bit, but it's clean and the staff was good.
We are cruising on the Paradise next month for our anniversary. The Paradise and Inspiration are both in the same class of ship. They are older, mid-sized ships. I guess I know what to expect since I've been on the Inspiration. I'm not expecting anything over the top, and Carnival's food really cannot match up pretty much any other cruise line. But it's adequate, it's far from horrible, it was cheap, and it is allowing us a little getaway. The main thing for us, like you said OP, was the dates worked.