Overall Score

BERLITZ'S RATING
	Possible	Achieved
Ship	500	295
Accommodation	200	138
Food	400	213
Service	400	262
Entertainment	100	73
Cruise	400	242

How this score is created

Carnival Inspiration is the 10th new ship for this successful cruise line (others in the same series include Carnival Ecstasy, Carnival Elation, Carnival Fantasy, Carnival Fascination, Carnival Imagination, Carnival Paradise, and Carnival Sensation). The ship, whose bows are extremely short, has a distinctive, large, swept-back wing-tipped funnel – the trademark of Carnival Cruise Lines – in the company colors of red, white and blue.

Almost vibration-free service is provided by the diesel electric propulsion system. It has proven to be a successful design for this company that targets the standard (mainstream) market, and particularly the first-time passenger.

The ship has expansive open deck areas (sadly, there is no walk-around open promenade deck), but they quickly become inadequate when it is full and everyone wants to be out on deck (the aft decks are less noisy, because all the activities are focused on the main swimming pool and hot tubs).

Inside, the ship reflects the talents of interior designer Joe Farcus, whose philosophy is that the cruise ship environment should provide fantasy and an escape from routine with “entertainment architecture.” The general passenger flow is good, and the interior design is clever, functional, and extremely colorful. There is lots of neon lighting, and the color combinations are quite vivid (think total sensory stimulation).

The decor itself is themed after the arts (in an art nouveau style) and literature. There is also a $1 million art collection. Particularly interesting is an avant-garde rendition of the famed Mona Lisa, in Pablo’s Lounge.

There are public entertainment lounges, bars and clubs galore, with something for everyone (except quiet space). Most lead off from a wide indoor boulevard.

As in its sister ships, there is a six-deck-high atrium (whose balconied shape may remind you of some of the world’s great opera houses), appropriately dressed to impress, topped by a large glass dome. The atrium has scrolled shapes resembling the necks and heads of violins, and a marble staircase. The Shakespeare Library is a fine, stately room (25 of his quotations adorn the oak veneer), but there are few books. Another dazzling room is the Rock and Roll Discotheque, with its guitar-shaped dance floor and video dance club and dozens of video monitors.

Berlitz Guide © Apa Publishing 2008