Trip Index
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One of my Accredited Cruise Counsellor certification requirements was to go on a 2 to 5-night long cruise. In order to fulfill this, Kaleb and I set sail on Carnival Inspiration's 3-night Baja Mexico cruise for an extended Labor Day weekend, Friday to Monday. The itinerary:
- Aug 30 - Long Beach: depart 5:30pm
- Aug 31 - Ensenada, Mexico: arrive 9am, depart 6pm
- Sept 1 - Fun Day at Sea
- Sept 2 - Long Beach: arrive 8am
The ship departed from Long Beach Harbor;
JetBlue flies into Long Beach airport (LGB) but it was less expensive for us to ride Southwest into Los Angeles (LAX). To get to Long Beach from LAX, you can pay for an airport shuttle (
Prime Time Shuttle currently charges $16/pp each way) or you can take a scenic route for $3/pp each way if you have an hour's extra time and willingness to try public transit. I decided to try the $3 route so readers can get a sense of what is involved. I wouldn't suggest doing this if you have a lot of luggage or small
children in tow since the metro was full of people. We were only taking carry-on luggage and backpacks.
The public transit route included the following:
- Taking the "G shuttle - Metro Green" bus from LAX to the Aviation metro rail station (free). You pick this bus up under the blue sign marked "LAX Shuttle Airline Connection" located on the islands outside baggage claim. Other buses stop there too, so keep your eyes out for the G shuttle.
- Taking the Green Line to Willowbrook to transfer to the Blue Line ($1.50/pp)
- Taking the Blue Line to the Long Beach Transit Center ($1.50/pp)
- Walking across the street (Pine and 1st) and boarding the "Passport" bus to the Queen Mary (free). The bus stop is right in front of Rock Bottom Brewery.
- Walking from the Queen Mary stop to Carnival's Long Beach terminal next door
You can purchase the metro rides at automated ticket machines located around the station, which accept cash and credit cards; I would carry both as I have had experiences in the past where a malfunctioning machine would take credit but not cash and vice versa. It may take some time to figure out
how to use the machines so give yourself a few extra minutes to get through your first transaction. You'll also need to buy a plastic "TAP" card from the machine for $1 if you don't already have one. Subsequent transactions get easier.
Here are some photos of the journey. I couldn't take any at the metro stations since there were so many people, but the signage is pretty straight forward.
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| follow these signs to the bus stop |
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| wait for the G shuttle on the center island |
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| at the Long Beach Transit Center |
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| what the Passport bus looks like |
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| view out of the Passport bus of our ship and Queen Mary |
We got to the Carnival terminal around 3:45pm. The wait wasn't bad to get into the dome-like building, but there were a lot more people inside standing in other lines.
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| waiting to get into the dome |
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| waiting in a second line to get into the check-in line |
Eventually we check in and receive our cruise cards, head up the escalators to the embarkation area, get our identification pictures taken, bypass the Welcome Aboard photographer, and walk across the bridge and board the Carnival Inspiration.
We had a interior cabin. It was amusing to have a fake window. Nowadays, new cruise ships are offering "
virtual balconies" for inside rooms...looking forward to trying that out someday!
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| inside cabin with "fake window" |
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| standard shower |
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| standard suction toilet |
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| basket full of useful items |
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| bulk toiletries |
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| robes |
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| safe |
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| small TV |
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| pool towels |
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| free drink coupon for past passengers |
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| stateroom information |
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| room service menu |
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| 110V and 220V outlets |
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| A/C adjustment on the ceiling |
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| some excursions |
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| spa prices |
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| spa specials |
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| page 1 of Day 1 "Fun Times" |
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| page 2 of Day 1 "Fun Times" |
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| page 3 of Day 1 "Fun Times" |
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After we settled in, we grabbed some afternoon snacks. The food was okay; I didn't have high expectations. There was a grill where you could get items like burgers, hot dogs, chicken tenders and fries. There was also a rotisserie where you could find roast chicken. A "Mongolian Wok" station was available but it was not open during embarkation. Then there was the regular Lido buffet in the back. I enjoyed having access to 24-hour soft serve machines. My favorite flavor was the chocolate frozen yogurt.
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| side dishes from the grill |
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| desserts inside the Lido buffet |
We did the compulsory lifeboat drill, then it was time to set sail! On the Lido deck, the Carnival assistant cruise directors were trying to get everyone pumped up with loud music and dance. It wasn't until the DJ started playing Bollywood songs that people got involved as there was a large group of Indians on board. Kaleb and I went to explore the ship as it cast off from Long Beach.
3-second Zoe video of how loud it was at sailaway:
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| bye bye Long Beach |
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| adults-only lounge area and spa one deck below Lido |
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| mini-golf course |
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| water slides at the rear |
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| bow of the ship |
I had read on
Cruisecritic.com about a special kitchen tour and dinner experience called the
Chef's Table for $75/pp (plus gratuity) and wanted to try it out. I went to Guest Services to make a reservation as indicated on CruiseCritic but they directed me to the dining room, where I left my request with the maitre'd. I didn't have any hopes of getting in as there were only 12 spots. (I read later that you can make reservations in advance by going to "
John's Blog" and using the pull-down comment form. It can take up to a month to confirm.)
For dinner, we ate at the Lido buffet as we did not feel like going into the main dining room tonight, even though I enjoy the shows that the waiters put on during dinner.
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| buffet menu |
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| scoop and move |
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We roamed around the ship and watched a bit of a game show in one of the lounges. I also signed up for a "Spatopia" treatment for tomorrow afternoon at a promotions table set up right outside the spa. When we returned to the cabin, turndown service was already performed along with a towel animal and chocolates.
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| large game room |
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| lightly attended game show |
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| neon atrium |
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| the elephant's eyes were black sticker dots |
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On Saturday morning, the ship was docked in Ensenada. Kaleb and I grabbed breakfast at the buffet as we were too late for the dining room.
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| standard breakfast fare |
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| Ensenada |
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| buffet menu |
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| dining room breakfast menu |
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| page 1 of Day 2 "Fun Times" |
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| page 2 of Day 2 "Fun Times" |
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| page 3 of Day 2 "Fun Times" |
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We didn't sign up for any of the Ensenada tours though I had read that the La Bufadora (blow hole) and the wine tasting excursions were popular. After breakfast, we got off the ship to walk around town. There was a Mexican border security checkpoint set up just outside the ship but it didn't feel very formal; there weren't any lines or signs directing passengers in any particular way. I think I might have been able to walk right past it had I not spotted a yellow Labrador amongst the officers. I walked over to see it, but then the officer told me to open my purse and give it to the dog to sniff. I thought it was kind of strange that they were checking for illegal items leaving the ship. There was no such check coming back on the ship.
It was an easy 15-minute walk to downtown and we weren't forced to walk
through gift shops or malls to get out of the port like other stops in
Mexico. Shuttles for a small fee were also available if you didn't want
to walk. From what I observed, the most popular thing in town (besides
drinking) were carts on the street selling fresh seafood ceviche and
fish tacos. They were pretty crowded so we didn't get a chance to try
any.
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| windy day in front of Carnival Inspiration |
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| monumental flag of Mexico |
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| a street in Ensenada (lots of pharmacies!) |
There wasn't anything in particular I wanted to buy, so we returned to the ship in time to have lunch. The Mongolian Wok station was open so I tried the food there. It was nothing like Mongolian grill, more like a stirfry with your choice of sauces, veggies and one protein (today was chicken, salmon or tofu).
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| veggies at the Mongolian Wok |
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| choice of 3 sauces |
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Saturday night's dinner menu as well as a wine package program:
In the afternoon, I went to the spa for my 75-minute "Spatopia" appointment, which included full body massage, foot and ankle massage, scalp massage, and a light facial. The massage therapist asked if I wanted hot stone or bamboo for the full body portion; I selected bamboo as I had never tried it before. She used different diameters of bamboo sticks to "roll out" my knots...an interesting experience. Even though the advertisement said that hot stone or bamboo was a $25 adder, I was not charged extra. The spa treatment was relaxing. After it was over, as expected, the massage therapist recommended products for my well-being, but I just asked her to write it down for later consideration. It wasn't a hard sell.
Time for dinner! When we arrived at our table in the dining room, our tablemates were remarking, "Where were you last night?!?" I was surprised that everyone had made it to sailaway dinner last night except us...especially for a table of ten! I was first asked if I was a teacher as all the other ladies at the table were teachers, but alas, I broke the streak. During my conversation with the tablemate to the right, I learned that he went in for a massage at the spa and ended up buying products that had nothing to do with his treatment! Perhaps he got a harder sell.
Tonight's food was good, and the entertainment by the wait staff did not disappoint! Our waiter was the lead singer for the "
That's Amore" sing-a-long.
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| spicy alligator fritters - good! |
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| tasty roasted pumpkin soup |
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| broiled lobster tail and grilled jumbo shrimp, perfectly cooked (worth ordering seconds but I didn't) |
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| delicious martini-braised basa filet |
3-second Zoe of the dining room entertainment:
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| dessert and cocktail menu |
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| Grand Marnier souffle |
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| chocolate melting cake a la mode |
We found a different animal surprise waiting in our cabin tonight. We also got an invitation to the Chef's Table tomorrow, woohoo!
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| bunny rabbit |
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| Chef's Table invitation |
Tomorrow was our "Fun Day at Sea" and Chef's Table experience...stay tuned!
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Looking to try cruising for the first time? Need a cruise recommendation to celebrate a birthday, anniversary, honeymoon or family reunion? Feel free to
ping me at yellowdogtravel at gmail dot com. I can find the perfect itinerary for your needs.
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