This was our first ever cruise. Overall, we feel cruising is a fairly good deal for your $. We did enjoy ourselves on the Inspiration. However, we did find the focus to be all on drinking and gambling. Since we do neither, we got bored with the ship's focus on this through entertainment, events, and functions.

The shows were quite good, the food was excellent, the service was good. However, with 3 long days at sea, my husband and I found ourselves wandering the ship a lot bored and wished we'd had more time in port. Others seemed to be enjoying themselves, drunk and staggering around the boat dropping loads of $ off their "sign and sail" cards. I would imagine they were shocked by their tab by the last day. Advice we'd give: Pack your own snorkeling gear so you don't have to bother renting it and waiting in line at ports. Don't book excursions off of Carnival. There are lots of vendors awaiting you at each port and they are always about half of what Carnival charges. Cozumel was a dream. We loved the snorkeling there, and I swam with 4 dolphins at the Chankanaab National Park for $125. It is $180 through Carnival. You must take a cab to get anywhere and the rides range from $8-$10 from our experience. The cab drivers drive very fast and are all over the road. Its a bit scary. The cruise line staff stressed not to rent mopeds and after seeing how close we nearly clipped a few moped drivers, I can see how dangerous it is there. Cayman was a disappointment, but StingRay City is really a neat experience which made it more fun.

My husband and I ate in the formal dining room each night at our assigned time of 6:15. It was excellent gourmet meals (Escargot, Lobster, Filet Mignon, and many choices). We always over ate! There were midnight buffets too. We also ate often in the Brassiere for quick meals since lines on the LIDO deck were often too long for us. The food everywhere was good. I was disappointed to find that not everything can be ordered for room services (as my Carnival agent had told me). For example, the only breakfast you can order has to be "cold." No hot foods for breakfast - room service. Room service was very fast though and it is inclusive, no extra charge. Room Stewards cleaned our room two times a day. We rarely saw them. We did get the towel animals, but not every night like some. Read more