Zila Douglas

Age: 52
Occupation: nurse
Number of Cruises: first
Cruise Line: carnival
Ship: Inspiration
Sailing Date: May 9th, 2004
Itinerary: Western Carribean

This was a long awaited cruise for my bestfriend and me. Mabe we are naive or just did not expect as much as others in reviews we read.

We ported at Tampa Fl. We are from Fl but the northern part. Tampa was a shock to the two of us. We found no one to be rude in any way except for the Tampa Police that were working the port itself.

The staff was curious, efficient, and you really could not expect it to move any faster according to the volume of people loading and unloading on this ship.

The ship was immaculate .The staff was constantly cleaning twenty-four hours a day. We never had one rude staff encounter. We did have a rare occasion where the communication was difficult but cheerfully and easily overcome.

Our cabin tender was great. Our matrade was great and headwaiter and assistant professional and witty, entertaining us and meeting our every need. The food excellent in all areas we dined in to include the all night pizza.

We had all the fun one could want onboard and off ship. Fun days at sea were fun.
Our first port of call was Grand Cayman where we chose to tour the island and go to the sea turtle farm (magnificent).

Getting off was not difficult only required patience. Our second port of call Cost Maya Mex. We chose to shop they had plenty to see and do. The beach was beautiful, only don't think you barter there we found you could not so we saved it for Cozumel. That being our third port and to us the best. We went to their national park and swam with the Dolphins and I could never put that experience into words, greatest I ever had anywhere. The taxi drivers are fast and scary but we survived coming back to town was a delight with a slower cab driver that as well entertained us. We then shopped and received fair prices and then went to Carlos N Charles a for adults bar and grill and had a blast. Belize was final and I think it was beautiful but a five mile ride on a dingy to see this was not impressive and I would have preferred more time in Cozumel and skipped this port.

We met people on the ship that have actually kept in touch and became friends that plan to meet a group of us next May for another cruise.

Disembarkation is long and drown out but my sister being a avid cruiser had given us heads up and we knew what to expect and just went with the flow.

Now to summarize this .I had a great time .I think carnival is the fun ships I think you get well worth what you pay for and I too believe that anytime a cruise/vacation is what you make it out to be .I highly recommend this cruise ship and Carnival. Thank You Carnival for my first cruise and such a great one .Zila Douglas