Carnival Inspiration Review
Parents with two kids beware!!! One might get left out of the fun.
Rating by category
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After other travel plans fell through, we decided to try a short cruise as a different type of family vacation. We thought the cruise would have a little something for everyone (unlike a theme park that is geared mostly for kids, we thought that we might enjoy some adult time while the kids were engaging in their activities we had heard so much about. However, it didn't really turn out that way and I don't think we would choose to do this cruise again based on our experiences. We are a family of four with two boys ages 11 and 13. Below are comments designed to help other families wondering if a cruise like this would be for them and not meant to just be complaining.
Our 13 year old had a blast at the Circle C (12-14 year old) activities. They did dance parties/contests, scavenger hunts, Karaoke, Ice Cream Socials, Glow Stick Parties, video games, soda pong etc. The staff leader was great. She knew all the kids by name and really made things fun for them. Our son couldn't wait for it to open each day so he could go see his friends
Unfortunately, Camp Carnival (For kids aged 2-11) didn't measure up to Circle C. I'd like to start by saying I'm sure there are probably a lot of people with younger children who have had good experiences with this, however, for us, there were some serious shortcomings. Our son is 11, and it seemed like all the activities were geared for kids who were so much younger! It really just had a feel like it was daycare or a place where people would drop their kids to be watched while they went out and had fun. I knew we were in trouble on the first day when we went to check out the Camp Carnival room, and saw tiny tables and chairs like what you'd see in a kindergarten class room! There really weren't any activities that seemed age appropriate for our 11 year old (we asked about the name of one listed activity and were told they would spend that time coloring a picture of a turtle! Seriously? Our son is in 6th grade!)
Cabin Review
Ocean View
(I'm not positive this is a 6B!) Cabin was sufficient for a family of four as long as you pretty much just plan on sleeping there. It had a pull down bunk bed, and a roll away that was brought in. I was surprised the roll away was actually quite comfortable (I had worried it might be like an old sofa bed with pokey springs and bars you could feel through the mattress but it wasn't).It was worth the extra price (we thought) to get the window and have a view rather than an interior room. It was nice to see the ocean when in the room.We had requested the "King" bed for my husband and I and knew it would just be two twins put together, but thought maybe there would be some king bedding or a something that would fill the crack between the two and keep the beds from sliding apart or falling through if you ventured toward the middle, but no such luck. My husband and I each had twin size sheets and blankets, and middle void inhibited any cuddling, so we would have been better off with just the two twin configuration which gives more interior room space.Bring a power strip! Only one outlet. Also bring a watch. There are no clocks, and if you rely on your cell phone for telling time be warned it will get all wonky when you get into international waters.