Carnival is the Wal-Mart of Cruises!
Written: Sep 17 '02 (Updated Sep 17 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Staff, Internet access, large rooms, decks/pools.
Cons: Frigid A/C, bland food, poor medical service, horrible air quality, never-ending sales pitch.
The Bottom Line: Carnival is the Wal-Mart of cruises - low cost, large rooms, but quality is far from top-notch. Good for budget cruisers, but for those who want first class, look elsewhere.
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| robbiehaf's Full Review: Carnival Inspiration |
In all, I was quite disappointed with my Carnival cruise on the Inspiration to the Western Caribbean. For the entire trip, I was uncomfortable. Most of the time spent on the ship was a bore. One of three destinations was a bomb. The costs aboard were much more than I expected.
The one thing that made my time aboard the Inspiration the most uncomfortable was that the air conditioning was freezing. Thinking I would be in the warm weather of the Caribbean, I brought only bathing suits, shorts, and dresses. Luckily, I brought one sweater for the plane ride there. I wore that sweater every day on the ship, hugging myself for warmth. I was not alone, many others complained of the same thing.
The first 2 days aboard, it rained, leaving everyone to rely on the ship's activities to keep busy. Many things were held in the Paris Lounge, one of the coldest rooms on the ship and a non-smoking room. Despite those two downfalls, I attended a show and bingo. The entire time I was in there, all I heard was one sales pitch after another: sales in the shops, bingo, gambling, health spa services, etc. How annoying! I know what's on the ship (especially by the last day when they're still saying the same things) and I don't want to hear about it non-stop. They'd turn a 30 minute briefing or comedy show into an hour long infomercial. The remainder of the time, I steered clear of the Paris Lounge.
Since I'm on the subject of their never-ending sales pitch, might I add that in the elevators, each floor was labeled with some things located on that level. The only things listed were places you could buy something: photo gallery, casino, shops, Paris Lounge, etc. Never a mention of our dining room or the pools or anything we had trouble finding on the large ship day after day.
In the dining room, the menus offered a wide variety of foods, from simple to exotic. It was hard to choose sometimes. However, most of the food was so bland. They offered wonderful fish selections, but none had a hint of seasoning. What a shame! Never the less, dinner was one of my favorite times aboard. I tried everything from escargot to mussels to lobster bisque. The best part was the presentation - first class all the way! The sushi bar offered nightly was a pleasant surprise which I enjoyed a few times. High tea was also a peaceful retreat in the afternoon. The majority of the food served elsewhere throughout the ship was mediocre. I was very disappointed with the 24 hour pizza parlor - all dough, no sauce, few toppings. Bar drinks were small and expensive, but they offered a wide selection.
Service aboard was, for the most part, very good. After talking to other guests, I discovered we had the worst waiter in the dining room, though. Everyone else's knew their names, knew what they drank, how they wanted their meat cooked, etc. Ours never said hi, never learned our names, never spoke to us unless he had to, and we never even knew we could get something other than water or bar drinks with our meal (yes, you can get tea, coffee, milk, etc.). I can't believe they let a bad one slip through. All the others sounded wonderful! The service in the other dining areas and at the bars was great. Never a problem. Wished my gratuity taken from my bill was given to them! The photographers on board were even friendly, professional, and produced good work.
Our room steward, Sherwin, deserves a paragraph of his own. He was great, for lack of a better word. We weren't the neatest guests (3 ladies crammed in a room with all our clothes and shoes and makeup). He was very patient and worked around our belongings. The animals folded from towels provided for a fun surprise nightly. Every time we saw him walking down the hall, he greeted us with a huge smile. A far cry from our server!
Now for the room critique. It was large enough (larger than other lines from what we heard). However, the air quality was so horrible, all three of us got sick with chest colds. One in my party got so bad she went to the infirmary (more on that below). The doctor confirmed it was, indeed, the air quality that antagonized the condition. Another in our trio kept discovering bug bites on her body, though neither of the other two had them, until one night, I slept in her bed. I awoke with 3 of them. Sherwin changed out the mattress and lines right away, though. The TV in the room provided little entertainment. The same 2 movies repeated. On another channel was footage from the Paris Lounge (as stated above, you can see why I wouldn't watch that). In the bathroom, there was a basket of samples: razors, mints, shampoo, conditioner, etc. This was a nice touch. Storage space surprisingly seemed to be plenty for 3 women.
If you ever sail on the Inspiration, hope you never get sick. When the woman in my group went to the infirmary after having difficulty breathing, she was belittled by the doctor. He never got up from his desk to examine her. The first words out of his mouth were something to the effect of what antibiotics do you want? What do you want me to prescribe? She wanted to be looked at and diagnosed, then treated. Instead, he asked her what blood type she was and is she eating the right foods for that type, he scorned her about the use of antibiotics and the harm it does, and he suggested books she read for health. Over $60 later, she left with some Vicks and Theraflu. What a shame! If someone had a contagious disease aboard that confined ship, it could be disastrous! And if she was ill with something more serious, Carnival could have been in a bit of trouble.
Onto something positive for a change. The decks, pools, and jacuzzis were nice. I enjoyed them whenever possible. Towels were readily available, bar servers were abundant, and the areas were very clean. One downfall, the topless sunbathing deck. I was pleased to see there was one, but once up there, I discovered it was a free peep show to the men who's wives were sleeping or gambling. Men should not be allowed up there without a female accompanying them. If they don't change that, they might as well let the servers come up there and offer drinks.
Another problem I encountered was the internet cafe. Prices range from $.75 to $.45 a minute, depending on how many minutes you pre-pay for. In addition to that, there is a $3.95 charge the first time you log on. So if you want to send one e-mail, you'll expect to pay around $10. The worst thing, though, was that at the end of the cruise, I noticed I was being cheated minutes. There were about 6 minutes unaccounted for during the last 2 days. The man overseeing the cafe was unavailable so I couldn't argue the charges.
Speaking of expensive, everything else on board for sale costs an arm and a leg. An 8" X 10" picture was $9.95. They take many pictures of you throughout the cruise and you're apt to buy at least one. The slots didn't pay out. Anything in the gift shops was overpriced (minus the cigarettes and alcohol the first night). Spa service prices were those you'd find in Los Angeles. Cokes were ridiculously high priced. So, make sure you have plenty of credit available on that card to pay that hundreds of dollars off at the end of the cruise.
When it comes to rating the destinations and their excursions, I'm not versed enough to give a full review. From what I saw, Jamaica was dirty, poor, and simply and annoyance with it's pushy store clerks. Grand Caymen was beautiful and the shopping was good (though a tad bit expensive). Stingray City Sandbar was the shore excursion we took and one we would recommend to anyone - a must see! Cozumel had wonderful snorkeling and, again, the shopping was good. The pushiness was apparent, but bargaining was fun and we left with our arms full of liquor, hammocks, and other goodies.
To sum it up, I see Carnival as the Wal-Mart of cruises. Low prices, big, but not top-notch quality. I won't cruise with them again.
Recommended:
No
Best Suited For: Couples
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Epinions.com ID:
robbiehaf
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Member: Robbie Rice
Location: Dayton, Ohio
Reviews written: 36
Trusted by: 7 members
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