Carnival Inspiration Review
Rating by category
Additional details
It's a long review, sorry! My previous cruises have been with Princess. After reading reviews and speaking to friends/relatives who have been on Carnival, I did not have high expectations. However, Carnival exceeded my expectations and I will be sailing with them again.
Hotel: We drove to Long Beach Thursday night and checked into the Queen Mary Hotel. The hotel is very convenient for Carnival cruises as it shares the parking lot and the early check-in is actually on the QM. The old girl is looking a bit tired these days but it was clean and comfortable. Parking is $14/day either in the Carnival garage or in the QM lot.
Boarding: The Carnival early check-in office is near the engine room. There were no lines when we checked in at 9:45. We dropped off our bags with the porter in the parking garage and then toured the QM. We were in Zone 1 and could have boarded around 11:30, but waited until after the rush. We boarded at 1:45 and were through security and on the ship in about 10 minutes.
Cabin Review
Porthole
The cabin was spotlessly clean. In contrast to the public spaces, the cabins are plain. Our cabin was an interior-porthole, which is the same as an ocean view but with two small portholes instead of a picture window. The shower was bigger than on Princess Grand-class ships and had awesome water pressure. The bed and linens were very comfortable.