Anyone sailed on Carnival lately, especially the Inspiration?

[cwnhokie]

We finally made a decision for our 10th anniversary trip. We are going for 4 nights on the Carnival Inspiration from Tampa to Cozemel. We were thinking about doing WDW with free dining and trying it without the kids, but decided the cruise was a lot cheaper and more relaxing. Anyone have any reports of recent experiences? We sailed on Carnival on the Sensation for our honeymoon. It was fun, food wasn't outstanding, cabin was large, decor was a little loud, but all in all a great time. What's it like these days?

 

[Kitty 34]

A year ago we sailed the Sensation from New Orleans to Cozumel. The boat was old but cruising was new to us and we had a very nice time. We loved Cozumel!! We took a horse and buggy ride throughout the city which was quite interesting.

If you have a chance get over to Calica and go to Excaret, an ecological zoo.....wonderful beautiful place! My computer background is a picture we took from there.

 

[budbeerlady]

We were on Inspiration a long time ago. It is like any other Carnival ship, it is nice but was looking alittle worn when we were on it. At the time we were in the western carribean but it is a nice ship.

 

[SamIAm21]

It's been a while since I've been on the Inspiration, but the only thing I really remember disliking was the purple tubes/decor in the Lido Deck cafeteria style restaurant. They are just very ACCKK! The rest of the ship was really pretty, except maybe our orange colored cabin... I liked the shopping area and the little lounges that have the windows where you can see the sea!!

The theater was also very nice!! I remember the food being really good when I sailed, but then again, it's been a few years. The waitstaff in the dining room were also very good.

 

[Jeafl]

We were on the Inspiration a couple of years ago. It was fine. It is one of the older ships so it isn't as nice as a lot of the new ones, but we still had a great time. Here are some discussion boards and reviews where you will find out more than you ever wanted to know about Carnival and the Inspiration from people who were recently on it.

http://cruisecritic.com/reviews/review.cfm?ShipID=10


http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=215



Have a great trip!

 

[jodifla]

I went with about 20 other women on the Inspiration in October 2004. It was a nice boat, recently refurbished, and we had a great time. Food was terrific, better than DCL, and the rooms were spacious. Service was good.

You'll have a great time!

 

[cwnhokie]

We have 6 couples going with us know. Four from our neighborhood and two are friends of one of the neighbors from work. Should be a fun and interesting time.

Jeafl thanks for the link to the reviews. I've been reading quite a few and they all seem pretty good. Thanks everyone!

 

[Jeafl]

You're welcome, have a great trip.

A couple of other things...if you want to go to any of the shows in the Paris Lounge, GET THERE EARLY! It is the most poorly designed theater I have ever been in, very few seats have a good view. However, the entertainment was pretty good and worth going to.

Also, they have shopping lectures before every port that are worth going to. They give away a lot of free stuff. I ended up with a large bottle of Kahlua, 2 bottles of flavored rum, a couple of t-shirts, a beach bag and some other little stuff just for answering some EASY trivia questions. If "Nicole the Super Shopper" is still the one giving the talks, make sure you go. She is hilarious.

If Dave still plays in the piano lounge, go see him! He is a lot of fun, he gets everyone involved in a sing a long and he is VERY talented. The fun increases exponentially if you have had a drink or two

If you have any other questions, let me know, I would be happy to help.