Carnival Inspiration – Jan 30, 2010 (5 day cruise)

Brasserie Bar & Grill, Lido deck dining room, looked newly redecorated with curly purple tubes on the ceiling. It was a little reminiscent of Ursula the sea-witch from Disney’s Little Mermaid.

The pizza was good, typically fresh (except on last day) and was available anytime. Food was generally good. Only complaint was that breakfast hot food was often cold. Mardi Gras Dining Room had less waite staff than on prior Carnival trips. Our thought was that this may not be ship specific but driven by general cost cutting.

There was a lot of good musical entertainment. There was a guitar player with a large vocal range who was a good imitator and seemed un-stumpable when you made requests. There was the disco with the live band and the disco with DJ (this one allowed smoking). One warning to anyone traveling with a combat-zone veteran, the musical show does have a very loud explosion in it.

We were on the cruise with a large family group (about 12 cabins). We found this a good ship for us. There was plenty of seating in the Lido dining room that we could always gather there. The ship was also not so big that if you wanted to find someone you could. But it was also not too small that you couldn’t find someplace quiet. My favorite place was the deck out back of the Lido dining room. It was close to the food (read that as near the ice cream machine) but few people used it so there was always a table by the rail. And it was nice and quiet there.

Overall, it was an enjoyable cruise. One I would recommend.