Pam Collins  

Age: 41
Number of Cruises: 2
Cruise Line: Carnival Cruise Lines
Ship: Inspiration
Sailing Date: June 30th, 2002
Itinerary: Jamaica, Grand Caymen, Cozumel

I am writing this review because it was so helpful to us before we took our cruise!

We had sailed on Holland America in the past and had a wonderful time, but this time we were taking our children 13 and 18, so we decided on Carnival since they cater to a younger crowd. We drove in from Mansfield, Texas the day before and stayed at the Fairmont Hotel (5 star- and wonderful). We arrived at New Orleans- Julia St ship terminal around 12:30 pm. The terminal was already crowded and the luggage carriers were busy unloading luggage out of the cars. What we didn’t know was that the ship had mechanical problems on the trip previous to ours, therefore had got in late. The passengers from the previous trip were still on board the Inspiration; therefore the parking lot for passengers to leave their cars was full and would not empty until around 4:00p.m. This left us with no place to park our car. We were told by a parking lot security officer to drive our car around until the lot opened (Yeah Right!) A kind man told us about the Hertz rent a car parking lot just around the corner. We drove there and parked the car ($7.00 a day-cheaper than the cruise ship terminal). Hertz shuttled us back to the terminal.

Upon arrival at the terminal we were asked 4 times for our birth certificates and picture I.D.’s (I was glad-after September 11th-I would rather be safe than sorry). After standing in a line, we were given a boarding pass and placed in yellow chairs to wait until called. The chairs were almost full when we saw chairs just for us in the corner.

We were given a paper informing us that the ship had some difficulty on the previous trip, therefore would be boarding late.

At around 4:20 they began to load the passengers on the ship. The terminal had filled up and the crowd was beginning to lose their patience. When they opened the door to go to the next area the crowd started pushing and some of them were cutting in line, therefore making others very angry. Carnival did not do anything to get some of the employees for crowd control until people started yelling. It was a bad situation that could have been worse. One lady was accusing others (including us-who had been there at least one hour before her) of cutting in the line.

After a final security check, we were allowed to board the ship. Once onboard, we were directed to our cabins. We were pleasantly surprised on the space and the cleanliness of the ship. The décor was wild, but this was going to be a fun cruise-I could tell. We had plenty of space for all our clothes and belongings.

We did not know what to expect since we had a bad time boarding the vessel. The dining room was lovely and the wait staff- Adem, Indiana and Dewa were pleasant and wonderful. They were so patient and continued to fill our glasses with tea and water at the first sign of the glass emptying. The food on the trip was good. I have read complaints about the small portions, but considering the fact that there is first a starter, then salad, then main entrée and last a dessert, we were always very full. My 13-year-old son always asked for 2 salads and they were ever so happy to get it for him. The bread was wonderful. The food on Holland America may be better, but everything we had was good. Our room Stewart, Troy was great, friendly and always helpful. He kept the room clean and the beds made. He made us a towel animal every night.

The games that were continually going on were fun to watch. We enjoyed the cruise director (Brett) and all his jokes. The Paris lounge was very comfortable and pretty. The shows were very good. The dancers on board the vessel were very good (Jimmy was outstanding-Hollywood material is my guess). The singers were very talented as well. We enjoyed the comedy too. I cannot think of one bad show. Every night after dinner, (early sitting) we looked forward to seeing the shows.

Now for the Ports Of Call-

JAMAICA-We took a taxi to Doctor’s Cave Beach and snorkeled. The beach was very pretty. It was fun and the changing room and restrooms were clean. At lunch we walked to Margaritaville. This was so overrated. We had to sit on the top level in the hot sun with half an umbrella. We paid $9.50 for a dry cheeseburger no bigger than a sausage patty. The margaritas were very good, but they were very small and $6.75 each. The waiters add the tip in the bill automatically. When we were ready to leave we were almost overtaken by the taxi cab drivers wanting to take us back to the terminal. There must have been 30 of them waiting for you to exit the restaurant to pounce on you. Overall- The Island is beautiful (I love the trees with the red flowers on them). The people are very pushy and cannot drive very well at all.

GRAND CAYMAN-We split up for this one. I took the city tour while my husband and the kids swam with the stingrays. They had a great time and my husband said he would never forget the experience. He also said it was worth the 39 dollars per person. The stingrays were docile and loved the humans. The city tour was good, but in order to get it all in you feel rushed. We went to the Tortuga Rum factory and sampled rum and watched them making rum cakes. We were off to the green turtle farm. This was very interesting but I went away feeling very sad. The people of Grand Cayman eat the turtles and dolphins for their main source of food. The turtles are swimming in giant holding tanks. Some of the tanks are for breeding while others are for eating. The green turtle was once extinct. When the U.S. banned them from being imported for this reason the owner of the turtle farm almost went bankrupt. The Cayman government took over saving the farm. We then boarded the bus and went to HELL. It is a rock formation that is very unusual. It was nothing more than a gift shop and a 50-foot by 50-foot rock formation. I was disappointed. The bus took us back to the dock and we shopped for about an hour. We purchased rum cake and rum at Tortuga.

COZUMEL-Shopping! Shopping! Shopping! We took a taxi to downtown (3 miles) to Touch of Gold and started shopping our way back toward the ships. If you are looking for jewelry, this is the place. The prices are good and you can bargain them on most things. I highly recommend Bruno at Diamond International by the pier. He was very knowledgeable, fair and nice too. We will definitely be using him for future purchases too! Viva Mexico was fun. They had dancers and nice items for sale. And air-conditioning. They have a lot of Silver jewelry. We shopped for 7 hours straight. So we were exhausted when we got back to the ship.

The rest of the cruise was fun and we were sad to be headed back to New Orleans so fast. I found myself constantly comparing the two cruise lines and I must admit, we had a lot of fun with our children on this cruise line. My children rated it a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10. My 13 year old made a lot of friends and stayed out late most nights with his friends in the Brassiere Grill and had 24 hour pizza and ice cream. My 18 year old had fun too! She wants to go again. In spite of the bad experience embarking, we will definitely go Carnival anytime!