The Carnival Inspiration, all 860 feet in length, moves slowly down the channel toward the Skyway Bridge and the open Gulf of Mexico. Launched in 1996, Inspiration is a member of Carnival’s Fantasy class. It carries a crew of 920 and 2,052 passengers. This ship is similar to the Legend which I featured just before it sailed on June 21st. The Inspiration has ten decks and sails on 4-5 night cruises from Tampa to the Western Caribbean. It has several pools, restaurants, bars, and lounges, plus lots of entertainment including comedy acts, art auctions, talent shows, Vegas-style revues, piano-bar sing-alongs, and pool games. It amazes me how many shops are on board cruise ships and the Inspiration is no different and features the Galleria Shopping Mall. Of course it has spas, exercise and health center and special kids programs (I guess some kids do enjoy cruising.) First rate casinos include black-jack, slot machines, poker, roulette, and craps tables. (I know this is exactly why many folks enjoy these ships but while losing their money they very well might miss the scenery passing by. Oh, well, it's their money.) I don’t care how many times I watch the ships leave port, it quite a sight. Plus our sky was a beautiful send-off to all the passengers crowded on the decks. Bon voyage.
