Well, let me start by saying this and that is we have never been dissapointed in any of our carnival cruises, but this one we were.  The crew had really bad attitudes toward people.  One of the entertainment staff was even going around telling people how much time they had left until they got off the ship and they were not coming back.  The entertainment was't any good,  I had seen reviews on here about Ms. Hughes the comidian before so I wasn't surprised.  The bartender Ales at the casino bar is very funny and good along with the guitar player at the same bar Doug.  We are actually going to miss them.  The food was actually not up to carnival's standards, we didn't bother to eat in the dining room a few nights.  The ship it self isn't as nice as like the Victory or Glory either.  All your sea days are cool to the point where you are wearing sweatshirts and not really able to enjoy the upper decks.  Hopefully when you go it should be warmer.   The ports of call are good we do have to say we had two of the best excursions on this trip that we have ever had.  We also got to see about 85 whales going down and coming back.  All in all it wasn't to bad of a trip except having to come home to snow and cold.  We are already looking at our cruise for next year.  Hope this helps you.

I am a big man but like to drink any of the fruity drinks.  I always tell people Iam getting my Vitamin C when I drink these. So I am drinking HEALTHY(ha-ha)

So sorry about your less than desireable experience! I appreciate your well written comments.

Pretty much sounds like a crap shoot. I hope we have better luck than your did!

Funny I read a recent quote from one of the posters "Is there any such thing as a bad cruise?" Well yeah.....

I was on the cruise in 2006 that was anchored off the Kona coast when the big earthquake hit. My mother-in-law and I were very near the anchor. We felt the quake. Yikes, talk about the cruise from hell. In addition to the quake, we had a tremendous amount of rain and rough seas. We were on HAL.

I will expect a good and hope for the best. Can you elaborate on your port excursions? I take it you went whale watching.

Thanks!

Judy

I'm with Texas Lady... she hit the nail on the head.  What is in this Kiss on the lips and Miami Vice!!! 

Ooooooooh the miami vice is definitely my favorite drink.  :)  I don't know whats in it, but it is 2 colors and after about 2, I feel great!  :) LOL

The Miami Vice is rum and pina colada and straberry daq. Really good.

We don't go on our cruise until the end of July, but you guys are making me thirsty reading this thread.  I am going to have to try some of these drinks at home. 

 I can go for those fruity drinks.  They say you need two servings of fruit and day, so I figure the easy way is to add fruit to your drinks.  That way you are serving two purposes at the same time.

I am actuallya micro beer guy, too, so if there is anything different on the ship I will probably try it. 

LOL I understand, I have read all the post and wrote down what everyone has suggested, so I have a long list to try.  I told my husband about the drinks on the cruise and now he also has a list...LOL.  Does anyone know where I can find an "unofficial" list of the drinks on the Inspiration.  Will be sailing on her 10 March from Miami. Already started packing.

Wow!!  I'm writing down all of these drinks as I type!!  We are also sailing on the Inspieration!!  We go on our 1st cruise April 21st!!  I'm so excited I can't stand it. You will have to let me know how it was!!  I never thought of starting to pack now!  It's a great idea!  My husband already thinks I'm nuts why not start packing now!!!

 Happy cruising All!

I will definitely come back and post how the cruise was.  My husband thought I was crazy to when I wanted to start packing early, but now he is as crazy and excited as I am.   LOL  He is putting stuff in everyday, we are so excited we can hardly stand it!!!  This is my second and his 1st.  Hope you have the best cruise possible!!

Hi FtBraggSoldier, here is a link to the Bar Menu--it is current as of Jan 11,2008: 

http://unofficialcarnivalwiki.com/wiki/Bar_Menu

Oooh! I'm getting very excited! All of the drinks sound so good! I can't wait to get on that ship and relax with a nice cold well deserved drink! Currently I'm working 3 jobs and probably won't have a lot of time off before our cruise which is in 26 days so I'm going to sit back and do nothing but relax the whole time!

I've been packing for the past month!  And don't leave for another 2 weeks!  I'm a very thorough packer and tend to bring alot home with me from the cruise.  My last was in November with my sister and my luggage was breaking at the seams from all the souvenirs and such.  I literally had to check an additional piece of luggage to fly home from the cruise!  My advice pack light going.  You'll have plenty more coming back home with you!

 As far as the drinks are concerned.  I must say, I was pleasantly surprised with my last cruise.  The long island iced teas I ordered on the lido deck were really loaded with alcohol.  If you're looking for something that packs a punch, that's it.  It's funny because the bartenders know that you're looking for something strong when you order one, they're usually good to crack a joke or two regarding this!  Not a bad idea to drink something alittle bit stronger than you normally would if you're trying to save some money since the drinks really aren't cheap.  Also, the fruity frozen drinks taste great but didn't seem to have enough alcohol to do anything.  So I recommend those if you're drinking for taste.  Or laying on a lounge chair for days at sea.  But for $8 a pop I usually like alittle bit of bite to my drink!  Lastly, on my last cruise one of the drink specials was the monkey made out of a coconut (it was actually a bank that you could take home with you as a souvenir).  It looked cool.  As it should have for roughly $20 each! 

I'm usually an early packer too but I haven't even busted out the suitcase yet! Agh! I'm way behind! I'm actually going shopping this Saturday with a girlfriend of mine and I plan to get it all done that day, well for the most part anyway! That will be the 3 week mark until we sail and I will start packing then! Thanks for advising to pack light! I always overpack and defintely don't want to do that this time! I can't wait to sit back in the warm sun with a long island iced tea! Like you, I like a little bite for my buck, especially since they aren't cheap!

We watched the whales right off the ship as we were sailing along.  In Acapulco we went horseback riding and got to run them on the beach.  At night we took the cliff divers excursion.  I wouldn't recommend that one.  If you want to see the cliff divers I would just get a cab and have them take you there.  One it is cheaper and two you get a much better view.  When we got off the bus they herd you into this store and make you stay there for about a half hour.  Then they take you down a bunch of stairs to some tables and chairs to watch the cliff divers.  Which the actual show only last about 10-15 minutes.  After that you have to sit and watch some mexican dancers. In Ixtapa went swam with the dolphins.  In Matzanillo we just took a cab to the flea market and beach and relaxed their.  We actually talked to people that had paid for this same excursion and it cost them more to do it through the ship than for us to take a taxi.  The other thing I forgot to mention and be prepared is the first two days of the cruise the ship is very noisy and vibrates alot.  We were told that it is because the ship has to sail at full speed in order to make it to Acapulco on time.  After that it was fine.