We just got back home from our FIRST (and by no means LAST!!) cruise!! Aboard Inspiration out of Tampa. All I can say is that I can't think of very much that would have made the cruise better. We had an incredible time. And so, on with the review!--I just reread this and I didn't realize it was so LONG...you've been warned!

EMBARKATION We had absolutely no problems here. We live in South Tampa and only had a 10 minute drive to the terminal. We got there about 11:00, just as the majority of the previous passengers were getting off. It really looked like a zoo but we found a porter right away and had no problem checking in. No waiting at all. We got our sail n sign card and had a couple of hours to kill before we would be able to board. You can stash your carry-on luggage for $5.00 in the lower part of the terminal where they sell tours. Good deal. We dumped our carry-on bags and went to Cold Stone Creamery in Channelside for some ice cream. We piddled around Channelside for the rest of the time then headed back to the terminal. NOW there was a crowd!! We retrieved our bags and got into line. The personnel there were telling everyone what to have in hand and when they saw our sail n sign cards they waved us past all the lines and right upstairs. Same thing there. We bypassed all the lines and went straight onto the ship. E-Z. Once aboard a crewmember showed us to our cabin and we were ready to go!!

DEPARTURE We had a couple of hours before departure so we made our way to the Brasserie on the Lido deck to grab a bite to eat. Hot in there! Also crowded. This was the only place aboard that was open and it looked like everyone went straight there from the gangway. We had a full ship and had a problem finding a seat. Then there was the food. Adequate....barely. It significantly improved later in the cruise though. We read on here about the great pizza. Disappointment--ours was probably pretty good an hour ago when it was hot. But like I said there were more people than there were seats. So we headed out of there and went to the lifeboat drill. It took about 10 minutes and then we were off. The ride down the channel takes a couple of hours. We went to the Sun Deck forward for the ride past Harbour Island and out under the Skyway. It really looks like the ship won't clear the bridge! In our cabin there was no sense of movement at all. No vibration, nothing. Read more