Living in New York City can be really exciting, but after a while you need a vacation. In 2008 (my first vacation in over 5 years) my girlfriend and I decided that this vacation was going to come in the form of a cruise. After looking at multiple reviews and comparing cruise lines for quality, rate, and overall experience, we settled on the Carnival Inspiration.

Upon arrival in Tampa, we looked for a taxi stand to get to the Pier (we opted not to go with Carnival's shuttle service). $25 and a pleasant taxi ride later, we arrived at the Tampa Port Authority. We got out of the cab and were immediately greeted by someone who took our bags and informed us where to go and how to proceed. - Embarkation: Overall this was a relatively quick and painless procedure. We went into the Port Authority and were immediately greeted with a long and twisting line that had to extend at least 150 feet from the starting point before twisting back around 3 times. Much to my amazement, we were only in line for about 15-20 minutes before we got to the counter to check-in. After showing our Passports and our Documentation, we were assigned a number (16 if I remember correctly) and went to sit in the waiting area and take in the views of the ship. We were called to board about 20 minutes later and after quickly making our way through the metal detectors, we were on the ship. - Upon entering the ship, you find yourself immediately in the Atrium. While not the pinnacle of elegant dEcor, the Atrium does impress with the sheer fact that it is 6 stories tall (if I remember correctly) and leads to a glass ceiling overlooking the bright blue sky. After being informed that the cabins would not be available until 1pm (it was around 11:30am at this point) my girlfriend and I made our way to the lido deck restaurant for lunch.

The food on the lido deck was not bad, but definitely nothing to write home about. It was your typical buffet style fare including sandwiches, hamburgers, pizza, frozen yogurt, a salad bar, and a couple of hot dishes. It sufficed for lunch and my girlfriend and I loaded our plates, indulged in our first of many high-calorie meals, and made our way to our cabin. - Cabin: While I have read some horror stories about luggage taking hours to get to the staterooms, we had the good fortune of having both of our bags waiting for us when we arrived. Upon entering the room, we were pleasantly surprised at the size. While not a place you would want to spend exorbitant amounts of time in, it was definitely comfortable and spacious enough to meet the needs of a 5 day vacation. The room was very clean and I was pleased to find that, despite the fact that we booked a porthole room instead of a full window, we had a decent view. Waiting for us was not only the daily schedule, but a wealth of information on the ship, the ports of call, and all excursions offered. After dropping off the luggage and settling in a little, it was off to explore the ship. - Upon preliminary inspection of the ship, everything seemed pretty clean and well attended to. The library was very cozy, with dark wood tones and dim lighting, and very inviting (although this first excursion to the library would end up being our last). Moving our way up, we took a quick walk through the Promenade deck. One of the few critical things I have to say about this ship could be found on the Promenade deck in the photo area. Every time we walked through this area (and it was necessary many times as a lot of the ships activities, shops, and entertainment are located on that deck), without fail, it would smell like a combination of Sulfur Dioxide and Methane (commonly referred to as a "fart" smell). I would plead insanity had my observation not been confirmed by my girlfriend and other passengers aboard. Thankfully the smell was only relegated to that one area and once you passed through the archway next to the sushi stand, you were greeted by much more pleasant scents. Read more