The Forgotten Cruise--Carnival Inspiration 2015

January 19, 2015 -- Carnival Inspiration Day 1

It's 2016 already, and as I was searching for my photos of 2015, I realized that I did not have anything download to my computer of the cruise we took in January 2015. (Probably because I was busy with the preparation of our big trip to Europe for February). The short 4-night cruise out of Long Beach, with the exact itinerary and ship as our 2014 cruise. After the 2014 cruise on the Inspiration, we decided that January is a good month to cruise near L.A. With the low cruise fare and pleasant weather, it's nice just to get away for a few days and enjoy the food and fun on a cruise.

Itinerary:

Day 1 -- Long Beach

Day 2 -- Catalina Island

Day 3 -- At Sea

Day 4 -- Ensenada, Mexico

Day 5 -- Long Beach

As you can see, this is really not a very attractive itinerary. We have been to Avalon a few times and there is only so much that you could do. I kept reading that people don't even want to get off the ship in Ensenada, which is a shame. We have seen the blow hole and walked around town enough to know the area by now but we are still attracted to this place, mainly because of the seafood stand. Worth a cruise stop there any time! After all, Long Beach is just a 45-minute drive away.

We like to board the ship early, so brother Jon dropped us off around 10:30 at the pier. Embarkation was a little better than last year and this time we had lounge access because we were in the grand suite. There is really nothing much in the lounge except you have a place to sit while waiting to be called to board, if you are lucky. There was only water in there inside that cramped space. Nevertheless, we felt kind of special. We were called before group #1.

We had a little problem going through security because son forgot to put his pocket knife away and husband had a pair of scissors in his bag (he was planning to do some work on board.) We decided it was not worth the hassle and told them to just toss them away. After that was done everything was fine and we started our journey to the gangway. 

It's always exciting going on the gangway and boarding the ship. After more than 25 cruises, we now skip the obligatory on board photos, you know, the ones they want you to purchase, and head to the ship.

Inspiration, 2nd time around!

After dropping off our carry-on, our next stop would be the buffet which at this time was still very quiet.

I wonder what the designer had in mind when he did this space?

It's best to hit the Asian 'wok' station early on the first day when the line is short. Otherwise, expect a long line during meal time.

The Atrium 

We received an upsell call from Carnival a couple of weeks before sailing to switch from an inside cabin to this Grand Suite for an additional $300. 

A huge cabin with a balcony, spacious for three people, nothing fancy though.

The dome and Queen Mary from our balcony.

The long gangway.

Bathroom that came with a bathtub.

Lots of storage space

We were here probably for the muster drill that afternoon.

Sailing away

The Taste Bar serving small tidbits around dinner time. Something different everyday.

Dinner!

Everything looked and tasted delicious!

The fake wine bottle on the table.

Melted Chocolate Cake

Chocolate and towel animal

Embarkation Day--Hotel Maya, Port of Long Beach

Embarkation -- January 20, 2014

After a restful night at the Hotel Maya, we woke up to a beautiful morning in Long Beach. Right out of our balcony was the sight of Downtown Long Beach, the marina, and the Queen Mary. It was a good idea to spent the night at Maya to get us into the mood of vacationing and cruising.

Waiting for the sun rise.

Fire pit down at the hotel ground. That walkway can easily take us to the cruise terminal in about 20 minutes.

Queen Mary from our balcony. Inspiration was not there yet.

Gorgeous!

After a really nice breakfast buffet at the hotel, we took a relaxing walk around the area.

This was building 3 and we stayed on the 3rd floor.

Inspiration is now docked.

Downtown Long Beach in the background.

Large outdoor swimming pool at the Maya.

The park between Hotel Maya and Queen Mary.

It took us less than 10 minutes to walk from the hotel to here.

Carnival cruise terminal--the Dome where they used to house the Spruce Goose. 

(Sorry, this is the Long Beach Arena, not the Aquarium. Thank you, Rosefloater, a cruisecritic member, for pointing out my mistake.)

Hotel Maya

We requested the hotel shuttle to transfer us to the pier at 10:00 and we were dropped off exactly where the luggage collection area was which was very convenient. The driver told us what to expect and how long it will take us to go through the process. We were the only three passengers on that shuttle.

We arrived early and the whole place was quite empty and quiet. Queen Mary to the left of the dome.

No lines at all at this outdoor check-in area. It took us less than 10 minutes to check-in. Little did we know that we were there for the longest wait. The staff who checked us in said it would be 1:15 before we will be boarding. I thought he was joking.

Our beautiful ship waiting for us.

Zone 1 waiting area. That's the parking structure where they charge $17 daily rate.

We were given this for boarding.

As we waited and waited, more and more passengers showed up and this was how it looked at around 12:00. The reason for the long wait was that they were still disembarking passengers from the previous cruise. This has to be the slowest disembarking port there is. We found out later on our debarkation day.

I would hate to be in that long check-in line now.

People were getting impatience. By the time they started boarding it was close to 12:30. They started with Priority Boarding of Diamond and Platinum guests and guests who needed assistance, then zone 1, and so on... and it was time to move into the dome for security check and embarkation pictures before boarding.

We skipped the pictures and walked onto the gangway.

Finally getting on the ship.

Ready for our short cruise on the Inspiration!