Is Carnival's Inspiration Fun Ship Right for You?

Carnival Cruise Line's Carnival Inspiration is the sixth of eight Fantasy-class sister-ships featuring a uniquely contiguous layout of public decks. The restaurants, bars, clubs, casino, show lounge, pool and waterslides are all conveniently sandwiched close together with nearly all the private staterooms positioned below.

For a relatively small ship, it feels larger thanks to a seamless flow of venues. Even cabin corridors are wider than on most ships. It's classic Carnival at its best.

What's not so classic is the interior design of Joe Farcus. Once again, the endless repetition of fixtures is in full swing. The natural wooden clipper ship accents along the Inspiration Promenade (seen above) are actually tasteful, but a handful versus dozens would have been plenty.

As for the Brasserie Bar & Grill lido buffet, its tacky purple tentacles (pictured below) simply defy description. In other words, there is hardly anything subtle about this ship.

The single most surprisingly themed space onboard is the Shakespeare Library. It's kitsch done right. Too bad the handsome gothic styling and heavy crown molding are seldom seen by pool-frequenting passengers. This is the kind of well-balanced attention to detail that Carnival could certainly use more of across its oldest ships.

Elsewhere, the newer Alchemy Bar showcases a similar aesthetic that is also much more inviting. In fact, all such added Fun Ship 2.0 features display the best design work onboard.

Given the Inspiration's vintage, the majority of cabins onboard are not outfitted with verandas now perpetually in vogue. Suites come with balconies, but most other staterooms are ocean-view or interior only. Even so, they are quite comfortable and spacious, especially for shorter sailings.

Electrical outlets for charging equipment are sparse, and a sofa would be preferred over just chairs. The decor is also a tad bland considering the extravagance beyond cabin walls.

Following the ample layout of the bedrooms are the bathrooms as well. (Please try not to stare too long at my balding head's unintended cameo in the photo below.)

Showers are larger than average compared to cabins on competing ships, and the arrangement of the sink separating it from the toilet is more pleasant. The shampoo smells wonderfully like strawberry PEZ candy. (Thanks to Carnival for providing bar soap in addition to body wash.) On the flip side, the absence of conditioner is unfortunate.

The Carnival Inspiration is not nearly as large as the line's latest ships and thus can not physically fit as many activities onboard either. It does still manage to do an admirable job of including as many as possible, however. The fleetwide activity staff is fantastic and making everything fun including trivia. On deck, attractions range from mini-golf to WaterWorks where the Twister water slide is actually quite thrilling.

Of course, for those who would rather be pampered, Spa Carnival is the place to be. For a different kind of escape, the Serenity Adult-Only Retreat (pictured below with Cunard's original Queen Mary in the distance) has others delightfully covered with an exclusive deck and two whirlpools at the stern.

For nightlife, club dancing and the casino are available, but be prepared for lots of secondhand smoke from the busy adjacent bar. Its central location along the interior promenade also causes clouds to occasionally drift beyond, disappointingly polluting nonsmoking forward and aft lounges as well.

With the Fun Ship 2.0 upgrades now on the Inspiration, the complimentary BlueIguana Cantina and Guy's Burger Joint eateries serve up excellent fresh Mexican fare along with gourmet hamburgers and fries, respectively. Carnival knows how to expertly prepare these comfort foods.

Less impressive is the buffet food and Pizza Pirate pies. Ordinarily, the latter is great on other ships in the fleet, but they are sub par here. Great to wash any of it down with, though, are awesome watering holes like the aforementioned Alchemy Bar where custom cocktails are prescribed according to your mood.

Restaurants onboard are certainly fewer with no specialty surcharge options besides The Chef's Table experience in the main dining room. Making up for the absence of even a separate steakhouse is the opportunity to purchase premium cuts from the menu nightly. My filet mignon from the selections was delicious in flavor but overcooked.

Better, in fact, is the free steak and eggs dish (seen below) available at not-to-be-missed sea day brunches, where you'll find the restaurant's greatest tastes. At other times, dining room flavor profiles are good but nothing to write home about. Breads and desserts-especially Carnival's signature warm chocolate melting cake-are often standouts.

Carnival entertainment is consistently enjoyable. Production shows are typically not originals but skew towards revues creatively presented with gusto and flair. The Inspiration's pair of "Motor City" (seen here) and "Studio VIP" are no different, except the two are very similar in musical genre and style.

It would've been nice to see a greater variety besides the otherwise excellent motown and funk, but the cast of talented singers and dancers are worth seeing twice regardless.

Adding much value to any cruise is The Punchliner Comedy Club, which features two rotating comedians cycling through family-friendly and adult-only sets throughout the sailing. They are always hilarious and worth catching every time.

Another favorite, the love and marriage game show, was hosted one night when the comedians were not on. Unfortunately, it was scheduled at the same time as one of the production shows. Since main performances were only scheduled once each evening, it would've been preferable for the two events not to conflict.

Overall, Carnival service tends to be hit or miss. For example, while sea day brunch food is excellent, the midday staff is rather unattentive. Dinner waiters are much more proficient, and so are bartenders. The Alchemy Bar was just the best thanks to the playful banter of our favorite mixologist: Jason from South Africa (pictured below). Thanks for the good times!

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