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Carnival? Never again!! by
Traci J. from Destin, FL Sailing date: Jul 2010Pros: The Ports Cons: Food, staff personality, things to do Very Poor. nothing going on, very boring. Ship Quality
Dining/FoodThe food is horrible. Tastes like, the refrigerator smells. Very bland, not much to choose from. Stateroom Qualityit was kept clean. Ship Staff QualityNobody went above and beyond accept Cocoa. They have no personality and don't leave a lasting impression, which I've experienced on other ships. Entertainment & ActivitiesNothing to Do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Couldn't wait to get to the port. 
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Cozumel, MexicoThe Dolphin Encounter was great. If you are a dolphin lover it's a must.
Great shopping.
George Town, Grand CaymanThe only action is in Margaritaville. The snorkeling was fun. Beware of the Sea Lice. It is not pleasant. Better shopping deals in Cozumel.
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  Great first cruise by
Lucette L. from Lutz, FL Sailing date: Jun 2010Pros: We loved the food, the staff was very courteous and efficient. Cons: The one tiny pool with way too many kids in it, we never touched it. This was our first cruise. We enjoyed it but learned a lot about what to look for in our next one. The biggest thing was the pool, which was small and there were so many kids we never got in it. We chose to sit on the upper deck away from the kids and wished for a bigger area than the Serenity deck where we could go. The ship was smaller than some and it did not take long to figure out where everything was. Although this is an older ship it is well kept and cared for. Ship QualityThe ship seemed clean and the crew was constantly cleaning it and keeping it picked up. There is a lack of public restrooms. I found myself running up and down stairs trying to find a bathroom and then having to wait in line. Since my cabin was on one of the lower decks that was not always an option to run back to the room. Dining/FoodThere was always food available. There were great choices, you could eat a burger or grab a salad. The kids loved being able to get the chicken fingers. We chose to eat at the lido deck for breakfast and lunches, and waited until the off times when everyone else was already done, that way we did not have to wait in the lines. The dinners we ate in the dining room every night. All our meals were very good, the wait staff was excellent and we enjoyed the shows with them dancing around and goofing off. Stateroom QualityBring a hairdryer!! We got an inside state room, or should I say a cave. This was my first cruise, so I did not know any better. When we got on the ship our room was not ready. When we went back at 7:00 (boarded at 1:30) our room was only partially ready. When we returned from dinner it was finally finished. We did not meet our steward for 2 days, which I found weird, but whatever, I only saw him once after that. On the other hand my kids had a room with a window and we met their steward the first night. But they had one night where no one ever came and turned down their beds. We even went to Guest Services and still they never showed. Overall the rooms were fine, clean, neat, and we loved our towel animals at the end of each day. My husband and I shared a room, and we had 4 teenagers in the other room. Four people is a bit too many, you could get away with 3, but 4, well lets just say there is no room to move, luggage in the middle of the floor, made me claustrophob Ship Staff QualityThe wait staff in the lido deck are "friendly" but more like robots, how fast can they clear your table. They don't say much, not sure they understand much but basic English. The dining room staff is better, more personality there. They get you what ever you want, when ever you want it. Entertainment & ActivitiesNot too impressed with the entertainment or activities (what activities?). The dancers are only so so, like a bad Vegas show, out of sync, looks like they watch too many Insanity videos and then take their moves from them. As for activities, bingo anyone??? Ping pong? What else did they do, not much that I saw. Or maybe it just was not much I cared to participate in. We enjoyed the comedy, although that was also only so so. Paul the cruise director was funny and had a lot of great information during his programs. I made sure to watch them on the TV since I was usually out in the sun when he did them.
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Cozumel, MexicoI would suggest an excursion here or paying to go to the Playa Mia beach. We didn't and regret it now. We rented a taxi for the day, went shopping and then a "free" beach. The shopping was only okay, after a few shops you saw the same things over and over again. The jewelry stores are everywhere, if you like jewelry then I guess that is okay, but they were very overpriced, so what is the point of that. Our taxi driver took us to a free beach, where we could snorkel and kayak for free, it was tiny and there was not much to see. We had a long drive and were very hot by the time we got back.
Don't Miss: I heard Playa Mia was great, next time that is waht I will do. George Town, Grand CaymanWe went on the Snorkel and Stingray excursion and enjoyed it tremendously. Had great boat captain and assistant. Came back to go shopping but the weather was bad, so went on the ship in the pouring rain. What we did see was kind of expensive, so we did not buy anything.
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Great Vacation Memories by
Sheri C. from Alexandria, AL Sailing date: Jun 2010Pros: I enjoyed the fact that I was waited on hand and foot. Cons: The fact that the cruise had to end was the worst part. As a first time cruiser, I was blown away the minute I stepped onto the Carnival Cruise Inspiration. Everything was polished and waiting for me to arrive. I felt like royalty and stress free when I arrived onboard. The crew members on the Inspiration were wonderful and very helpful with any questions or needs that I had. The stateroom with a window view was perfect. We had 4 people in that stateroom and we all enjoyed it. Don't let other people scare you into thinking you can't survive with 4 people in a window stateroom, because we did and loved it. Ship Quality
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Children's ProgramsI have a 15 year old who went to Club O2 and she loved it. She met so many new friends and we hardly even saw her during the cruise. She actually cried when we was leaving the ship, because she was going to miss all of them and she didn't want it to end.
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Cozumel, MexicoWe did an excursion to the Mayan Ruins and then to the beach by Playa Azul. I would not recommend this. Cozumel is great for shopping and the downtown area is wonderful to visit. Great deals can be made there. Carlos and Charlies is Wonderful, but not for small children.
George Town, Grand CaymanI found Grand Cayman to be expensive. The best part was the Seven Mile Beach. It was awesome. Don't be scared to take a city bus to the Seven Mile Beach, it's an experience.
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A Relaxing Cruise by
Barbara M from Tampa, Fl Sailing date: May 2010Pros: Even though the ship was crowded, there is always somewhere to go and relax by yourselves Cons: The pool was too small for the amount of people on the ship We had a great time on our cruise, the room was small but very nice, and kept so clean by the ship staff. Enjoyed the adult only areas of the ship. It was disappointing to not beable to use the pool more as there were too many people for the space. Loved the all day ice cream and yogurt, there was never a time you couldn't get food, very accomodating, but felt the food was very average in the buffet and dinning room. The staff as always was polite and helpful, couldn't have asked for more. Ship Qualityship was great size, layout was kind of annoying at times, very clean and greata condition Dining/FoodI was disappointed in the quality of food, it was so average tasting, even the dinning room, desserts were pretty good however and there was always food to choose from, and so much variety, anything you could want, good value for the price though Stateroom Qualitygreat port holes for light on an inside cabin, very comfortable and clean, nice decor, lots of closet space Ship Staff QualityThe staff that works on the ship are the best anywhere, like a 5 star hotel service Entertainment & ActivitiesNot enough shows, but the one we saw was fantastic
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Cozumel, MexicoThe ocean is too rocky to go swimming, what a disappointment
Don't Miss: Best Restaurant is Panchos Backyard, shops are great near port George Town, Grand CaymanToo short of time avail on the Island
Don't Miss: the crystal clear water beach is the best 0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
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pros and cons of the carnival inspiratio by
Chris G from Providence, RI Sailing date: May 2010Pros: Dinner Service was not only delicious but also entertaining and fun! Cons: Pools, chaotic games I mainly chose this cruise because I wanted two of my friends to come with us and we had to talk them into it with a low price. Overall, the staff were friendly, the ship was beautiful and very clean. The rooms were comfortable with no complaints. Unfortunately, when you think of being onboard at sea in the hot sun, what comes into your mind??? soaking it up in the pool. Well now imagain a small pool about the size of 2 limos parked side by side and now squeeze in about 30 people standing in the pool, another 30 people sitting on the edge soaking their feet drinking drinks and finally, throw in another 5-10 hyper children trying to jump into any open space there is to make a cannonball. salty suntan lotion oily pool water splashing into your 9 dollar drink while the other water goes in your eyes. NOT the relaxing image you'd imagain. The waterslide on board also look fun, but the line was incredibly long for the ship's 1 adult slide and it took about an hour to go through a line with about 40 people because they do not allow the next person to go down until the other people is completely done and off the slide, which takes much longer than necessary. NEXT TIME, I'd pay much more attention to picking a ship with more than one pool AND picking one that has an adults only pooll! This was terrible!!!! Keep reading the other review however because there was good things too! Ship QualityThere is a lot to do on board. We were dissapointed because we were first told that this ship offered the pool side movies, which is a nice activitiy to do at night. Later we were informed that this ship did not have this. Again, on the next cruise, I'll pick a ship that has this feature since it provide a fun and relaxing choice at night. The whole ship was very very clean which I very much appreciated. Dining/FoodDinner time was the best time of the day! The wait staff were very outgoing, charming, and hysterical. The maitre'd came to all the tables every night, danced the conga with the waiters. Just before dessert, the lights went down and party music came on for us to clap to and it was so much fun! The food was great and they would often keep bringing out other dishes and entres that people didn't order (even though you could have picked 4 or 5 entrees/desserts if you'd wanted to) and this was nice because people had a chance to try more things. Stateroom QualityComfortable, completely clean, no issues. It was cleaned several times a time and I am impressed at how how the stewards work throughout the cruise. They deserve a raise! Ship Staff QualityThere are a lot of staff on board and many are from different countries. Those who do speak English seem willing to help. Anytime somebody didn't know the answer or couldn't help us, it was only because of a language barrier, which is understandable. All staff were very friend and engaging. Everybody seemed to be happy and smiling. Entertainment & ActivitiesThere were not as many activities offered as I hoped there would have been. They also hosted some activites in hallways near lounges, making it hard to hear the trivia questions and hard to see. People would walk by and shout the answer and this wasn't too much fun. Some of the activities were cool. They only offered one major adult entertaining (comedy show, talent contest) etc per night, so literally everybody tried to get a seat and many were left out. It would have been better to have 2 choices so that everybody had a chance to at least be at one of them.
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Cozumel, MexicoWe did a short tour of the mayan ruins. The history is cool. I would have hated this as a kid though. It was a bunch of walking in about 95 degree weather. I focused on staying in the shade as we walked around. This isn't like walking through a jungle or through mountainous terrain. Its walking through grassy areas with small rock paths here and there that lead to mini rock structures like huts and small houses. The history is interesting but the sites aren't amazing, in my opinion. This is why you'd have to be an adult to appreciate what you're doing here. If I were a kid, Id be hot and complaining about when its time to eat and go swimming and why do we have to keep walking lolol
On the bus to and from the Mayan ruin tour, we were able to see much of the island. I love seeing other communities and how people live, so I really enjoyed this. Our tour guide was great and called us "famiily" whenever addressing our group. Nice touch.
The shopping was cool, food was ok.
Don't Miss: find some crystal blue water on a beach and swim in it! George Town, Grand CaymanThe island was interesting to look at. We went snorkeling on a barrier reef. I was nervous to accidentally touch a stingray or touch the coral since both could be dangerous. After a while of delicately kicking my feet trying to avoid both, I got tired of it and went back on board the boat. Our bus driver was wonderful, he sang and played harmonica while he drove us to the boat. This was cool and different.
Don't Miss: I would have liked to just spend time swimming at a beautiful beach. 0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
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Great cruise by
Traveler from Arizona Sailing date: Apr 2010Pros: Staff was wonderful Cons: Only one very tiny pool I would recommend this ship. It was very clean. Our stateroom was very nice and well taken care of each day. Plenty of places to mix each days meals up at. Pizza bar and ice cream bar was fun and very good too. Staff is wonderful, so much fun. Not nearly as large as a previous cruise ship I went on. This is something I will take into consideration for planning my next cruise. I was looking for a bigger selection of things to do on the ship. Ship QualityShip is very very clean and well taken care of. But, there were a few things I was looking for on a cruise ship that did not meet my expectations. I love the sun and to swim,. If you don't get up and out early your going to need to wait for chairs. We walked for over an hour to find two chairs. There is only one very tiny pool and two small hot tubs by this pool that were full of only children the entire time. I have kids and grandkids no problem with them on cruises but, would considering for myself looking for a larger ship with additional pools and an adult section with a pool and spa so that I could enjoy the water as well. The Inspiration does have an adult area with two spas which is a very nice area, small but nice just no pool. The spas are great for the evening and mornings but during the heat of the day not very refreshing. Dining/Food
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Dream Cruise by
Arlene C from North Port Florida Sailing date: Mar 2010Pros: Food, entertainment, state rooms, boat, our dinner companions Cons: Too much to do too little time... The ship was beautifu, clean, well maintained and easily accessible from everywhere. Ship QualityIf I was lost, there was a sign telling me where to go. Dining/FoodWOW! Delicious and plenty of it. Servers were helpful and accommodating. I have Celiac disease. Stateroom QualityCozy and roomy. Spotless! Ship Staff QualityThey were attentive, funny, sincere, and helpful. Entertainment & ActivitiesSo much to do and see. Entertainment staff is multi talented. 1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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excellent ship and value! by
A Traveler from tampa, FL Sailing date: Sep 2009Pros: food, service, environment Cons: nothing This was our first cruise a few years ago, and we are dying to get back on it! We have suggested this cruise ship to our sister and brother in law for June. We have been on 4 cruises since this one, and really, this ship was one of our favorites. Don't know if it has changed, by reading some of the reviews, but all I can say is that we loved it! Ship QualityLove the decor of the casual dining room on Lido deck! Tubes on ceiling were amazing! Loved the booths also. Dining/Foodgreat. pizza, hamburgs, icecream, and the formal dinners were out of this world. The salad bar was so fresh also. Stateroom Qualitya little small, but fine. good tv. Ship Staff Qualityexcellent. Entertainment & ActivitiesAll the shows on the cruise lines are about the same......some good, some not so good. 0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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It was ok. by
Melissa B. from Whitesboro, NY Sailing date: Aug 2009Pros: All the activities Cons: Dark ship The itinerary was suppose to be Cozumel and Grand Cayman but because of the swine flu hype we went to Grand Cayman both days...not the ships fault but a little disappointing. The food was horrible! Definitely not like what we've experienced from another cruiseline. The only part that was good foodwise, was the omelet station at breakfast and the sandwich station. We went to the dining room all but one night and wish we would've skipped the dining room every night....wasn't what it should be. Desserts were good. Staff was pretty good....especially our housekeeper. The ship is very dark and dreary. P.S. Our cruise was actually in May 2009 but the date menu only went back to August. Ship Quality
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Stateroom QualityThey have everything you need in a little basket in the bathroom....razors, mouthwash, etc. I thought that was a nice touch! Ship Staff Quality
Entertainment & ActivitiesThere was always something to do and most of the staff made it fun. 0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
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Great relaxing Cruise by
Kyle P from englewood , FL Sailing date: Dec 2009Pros: The stateroom Cons: The embarkation We went on the carnival inspiration ship. We didn't like the "herding" for the dinner. We really enjoyed the stingray encounter in cozomel It was the best part. Ship Quality
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