Bob

Age: 42
Occupation:
Number of Cruises: 2
Cruise Line: Carnival
Name of Ship: Inspiration
Sailing Date: June 8th, 2003
Itinerary: Cayman, Costa Maya, Cozumel, Belize

Our second cruise, the first was on the Royal Caribbean “Sovereign of the Seas” out of Miami. This cruise was booked as a family vacation, so with 12 in our group we always had plenty of company. We were concerned with the Carnival reputation as a 24hr party-boat because our group ranged from 40 to 70yrs. It turns out that this reputation no longer applies, as the average age of their cruiser is now 42.

Most of us booked through an independent travel agent as a complete package. My wife & I used frequent flier miles for the air travel and so booked our cruise-only through Travelocity. We made on-line airport transfers through Tampa Bay Shuttle for less than half the Carnival rate.

Embarkation: We arrived at the port at 3pm, a curbside porter greeted our shuttle to take luggage and we tipped him $1/bag. There were many Carnival employees to greet and direct us appropriately through the check-in process, but there were no lines, and we were on the ship within 5-10 minutes. We quickly dropped our bags at the stateroom and found the rest of our group for poolside libations.

Inspiration: We had an inside stateroom which was much larger than we had expected as it was 40% larger than the outside stateroom and the bathroom was twice that of our previous cruise. The ship was quite clean; the crew was constantly cleaning everything throughout the cruise. A well equipped Fitness room, which also has Jacuzzi, Steam Room, Dry Sauna and offers various spa services. Main and Aft pools with Jacuzzi and one slide. Plenty of events and things to do on-board to fill the 2 days at sea.

I had read earlier reviews of the propeller vibration, which I can confirm. The propellers were not properly balanced and shook the ship when at cruising speed, much more pronounced aft but not really noticeable in the forward third. While sitting on a bar stool in the comedy club the vibration was a bit distracting, so get there early for a comfortable couch. Our stateroom was right in the middle of the ship and the vibration was noticeable, but may have helped me sleep. The ship does rock with the ocean waves; more noticeable up/down in the fore sections and throughout the ship on side/side waves -nothing great, just more so than on our previous cruise ship.

Food: The food was light-years ahead when compared to our previous cruise experience. The Sushi bar provided a good appetizer prior to dinner. The main dining food was very upscale with a large variety of selections to please everyone. As a (non-strict) low Carber, I enjoyed ordering multiple appetizers and main entrées: steaks, lamb, and seafood's. All the food was excellently prepared, of great quality and presentation. The desserts received excellent grades on appearance, but poor grades on taste –I enjoyed the cheese selections mostly, but ice cream, fudge cake and Baked Alaska were great. The Prime Rib was my least favorite entrée.

The buffet dining room “Brassiere” offered good quality breakfast and lunch foods with all the extras one could expect. The poolside grill offered very good quality hamburgers.

Entertainment: Due in part to our early seating of 6:15 we were able to get good seating at the Paris Lounge for the big shows. 5 of 7 shows were excellent and enjoyed by all. The comedians were part of some shows and we considered them of “opening act” quality. These comedians also offered late night entertainment in the comedy lounge and with similar quality.

There was great entertainment in the various bars. Our top pick was a country/rock guitarist “Les” from Raleigh NC. There is a Teen Bar (non alcoholic), dance bar and piano bar, and a Promenade, which offered comfortable seating in and around these bars. These bars close at 3pm.

The casino was always busy and as a group we came out ~$200 ahead, due to some slot machine luck as none of us had profitable card skills.

Internet service allowed us to remain in virtual contact with our 3yr son staying with his grand parents and avoid the $9.50/minute phone charges.

Ports: Some of us had great times on the Passion Island & Beach Break type excursions with inclusive food & drink. My wife & I did not book anything through the ship and did our own thing at each port. We felt the ship did not spend enough time in most ports.

Cayman: 3pm departure: I had been here twice previously and we booked a private charter for skin diving through Bob Soto’s Reef Divers for our entire group. They were very friendly, as expected, and we did a 3-stop snorkel tour on the North side: Coral Gardens, Reef and Stingray City. Our guide drew out a 5’ nurse shark and 5’ Green Moray eel. The guides were also helpful in gaining the attention of the Stingrays, as there were many more people than the 100 or so stingrays. My wife & I have had 12 days of diving around this island on previous visits, with 200ft visibility just off Seven Mile Beach. If you dive, then do not miss this experience.

Costa Maya: We felt like rats in a cage at this port, definitely a tourist trap to purchase over priced souvenirs built solely for cruise ship traffic. We went to the beach adjacent to the pier for sun soaking and snorkeling to salvage this portage.

Cozumel: 5pm departure: 4 cruise ships were in port this day to flood the island with tourists. We took a $14 taxi to Mr. Sancho’s, a beach just a few miles away. We were their first visitors for the day and it did not get crowded. Good food and beverages, nice beach and good snorkeling. They also offered jet skis, kayaks, parasailing. No entry fee, unlike other nearby beaches of Chankanaab Park or San Francisco Park. Food & drink prices were higher than we expected in Mexico and 4 of us ran up a $100 tab over 4 hours ($3 beers, $10 margaritas). We then shopped in Downtown Cozumel before returning to the ship.

Belize: 4pm departure: Awoke to find the ship had anchored ~7 miles off shore on a very windy (23knot) day with rough (4’) sea. We felt there was not enough time to visit Blue Hole Sanctuary or Five Hole Sanctuary, so settled for the Belize Zoo. At the port the taxis were offering City tours for $40 and Zoo trip for $90. So we ventured into the city. We found the city to be very impoverished with police and guards on every corner, even a guard on a seemingly vacant lot. Obviously a high crime rate area. There is nothing in this city worth visiting. We found a taxi and bargained a $40 ride to the Zoo including a city tour and visit to the local beach. The Zoo was not great, but we saw animals we had not seen before: most memorable was the Great Jabiru Stork, 5’ tall and 10’ wingspan. The Howler Monkeys did howl for us –quite a scary sound from such a small animal. There were two other visitors in the Zoo when we arrived, after being chased around a bit by mosquitoes for ~45 minutes we exited to find that 4 buses had just arrived. Some of our group visited a local hotel for poolside lounging - Marriot I believe.

Home Port: With separately arranged airport transfer and a 11:20 flight, we elected to carry our own luggage off the ship. The door opened 9:35am and we exited the ship without incident. Tampa Bay Shuttle had 6 vans parked just outside the port, even closer than taxis and busses. We got on the very first shuttle and were at the airport by 10am.

Summary: Each of our group indicated this was of the best vacations and the best cruise we had experienced. The Carnival staff was always attentive to our needs and always appeared happy and willing to help. All the passengers got along as well: there were plenty of singles, teens, children, elders and middle-agers. It appeared that the Carnival sponsored water based excursions were over crowded, but no one seemed displeased. The port durations were short, especially Cayman, but Costa Maya could have been skipped. The ship conditions were clean, quiet and comfortable.