Fletcher Smith

Age: 49
Occupation: Sales Management
Number of Cruises: 2
Cruise Line: Carnival
Name of Ship: Inspiration
Sailing Date: August 3rd, 2003
Itinerary: Grand Cayman, Costa Maya, Cozumel, and Belize

Overall, the Carnival Inspiration got very good ratings from our group of 10 people. Feel free to email me @ fletchersmith2002@hotmail.com  and I will try to answer your questions.

Embarkation: First, let me tell you that Carnival’s website did not have directions to the port in Tampa so we sought that on our own. Coming from North Florida down I-75 take I-275 into Tampa. East on I-4 towards Orlando. First right south on 21st street. After several blocks turn right on Adamo Drive. After a few blocks, turn left on Channelside Drive and this will take you direct to the ship. You will see it in front of you. Entry to the ship was not too difficult; overall took about an hour. I would suggest that you arrive at either 11:30 AM or 3 PM. If you get there at 1 PM, then you arrive with the masses. An 11:30 arrival gets you on the ship early and you can do 3 things while you await your luggage. You can enjoy lunch on the Lido Deck and begin to familiarize yourself with the ship. The 3rd thing is to prepare to purchase your excursions if you have not already thought about what you want to do in the ports. Don’t forget your passport, birth certificates for kids, photo ID’s, etc. You will need them several times.

Excursions: Here is where I would spend most of my pre-trip planning time. The ship sponsored excursions are very expensive. Many of them are available as your arrive from independent operators at huge discounts. One example of this is the stingray and snorkel trip on Grand Cayman. You can do this for $ 45 through the ship or you can do this for $ 34 through www.captainmarvins.com  just 2 blocks from where the ship docks. In Belize, you can do Goffs Caye Snorkeling for $ 55 through the ship or $ 35 from the pier through a local. You do the math ! I would highly recommend lots of investigation of excursions before you go on your cruise. Read through all the cruise reviews you can find. One mistake I made was reading only Carnival Inspiration reviews. Don’t limit yourself to this, because a review from any other ship of a given port might lead you to a better, less expensive outing.

Food: Food is very good. Not as good as my memory of Royal Caribbean Cruise food, but still very good. They never offered, but you can order 2 of something. Example, I did get 2 lobster tails. They will bring it, you just have to ask. Our waiters were incredible young men ! They made our dinners so pleasant with attention to fine detail.

Cabins: Nothing but praise in this category. The room stewards work on your cabin a couple of times daily and you will be pleased. Your “sign and sail credit card” is also your room key. It is also your exit and entry to the ship at each port; so it is a very important card.

Soft Drink Card: I drink lots of soft drinks, but I would not recommend the card. I did not get it and was very happy with all the ice water, iced tea, lemonade, fruit juice, etc that you can possibly drink available free at your fingertips on the Lido Deck.

Day One: This is a relaxing day at sea. Read your Carnival Capers ( ship newspaper ) from cover to cover each day. It will inform you of events, times, and places of things you may want to do on board. There are a reasonable number of activities for all ages.

Day Two: Grand Cayman ! Our entire group chose the independent ( Captain Marvins ) stingray and snorkel excursion. This is a terrific excursion if you like snorkeling. We also had a little time to shop along the portside prior to returning to the ship.

Day Three: Costa Maya, Mexico. Here is a place that you can’t gain by looking for independent excursions. The reason is this stop is a place created by and owned by the cruise lines. It is a very isolated and somewhat uninhabited place so there are not a lot of choices. Our group went on the bike and kayak tour and this was excellent. It takes some muscle and being in shape ( 5 mile bike ride round trip and 30 minutes of kayaking in the ocean ). But, we thoroughly enjoyed it. The kayaks are basically flat pieces of plastic so this will take some work to negotiate around in the water. After that, you will have time to shop and relax at the pier. There are lots of shops; many selling the same stuff. So, don’t forget to be a good negotiator. If something is posted for $ 20, offer $ 8 to $ 10 or 2 for $ 30, etc. You will likely get it.

Day Four: Cozumel, Mexico. There is some shopping at the pier although it is not as good as Costa Maya in my opinion. Our group split up and some went on the Passion Island tour. That is basically a day on the beach with all the amenities. They highly recommend this trip. The rest of us went sport fishing. What a disaster ! Paid $ 900 for 6 of us to catch one 2 pound red snapper. That is about $ 450 per pound. Fish were not biting but the worst part was we really felt taken. The boat had 2 Mexicans who spoke little English and were not equipped to make us try and enjoy the fishing. The boat did not have any sonar equipment like I have seen on the East coast for hunting schools of fish. As we left, one lady asked if the excursion was guaranteed. The guide somewhat in a snippy tone said, “No, if it was guaranteed we would call it ‘catching’ instead of fishing”. Well, maybe he should call it ‘deceiving’. With that said, before you go, investigate the season. Possibly it is a bad time for fishing. Also, investigate other independent operators who might have better equipment and better boatmen.

Day Five: Belize City, Belize. You definitely want to find an excursion or stay on the boat. Small amount of shopping and not much food at the pier. The Inspiration has to dock 7 miles from shore and you take a tender to the dock. I would do something that day, otherwise you are on the boat from Thursday night until Sunday AM without a break. Some of our group went snorkeling which they said was very good. Some of us found a local cab driver to give us a city tour. He was a native and gave us a great trip and excellent history of Belize.

Day Six: Last day is at sea. Again, read your ship paper and look for activities you will enjoy. Still lots of food to eat all day as well. Go to the debarkation meeting at 11:00 AM ( just one member of your party needs to go ) as you will find this helpful in knowing what to expect Sunday morning.

Debarkation: We could not get off the ship until 11:30. US Immigration was looking for two couples named Patel and Swift. Maybe they had made it to South America by then; I sure hope so because they kept us on the ship for awhile ! You have to be in a designated waiting area by 9:15 AM. After clearance by customs and immigration, you can leave the ship based on the color of your luggage tags. Before you leave for your cruise, you will prepare these color coded luggage tags. Leave them on your bags all week and this is how you will exit the ship and where you will find your luggage in the terminal. Once off the boat it goes quickly. In fact, I thought US Customs was very lenient. Just hand them your declaration card; no questions asked.

Here are a few other thoughts:

Money – Everywhere we went you only needed US currency or credit card; no exchanging is required.

Entertainment – Shows are average in my opinion with the best show being Saturday night. Whatever you do, go get a seat in the Paris Lounge 30-45 minutes in advance of a show or you may find yourself in a seat where quite a bit of the stage is blocked from view. Some places are smoking and some are non-smoking. Sadly the piano bar is smoking and it is about one level from a house fire. This is too bad because the pianist is good and seemed to work to please his audience.

Tipping – We did end up giving waiters and stewards a little extra at weeks end. We felt like they did a terrific job. You do pay about $ 70 per person in advance for their tips; what I will always wonder is how much of this the ship really gives them.

Pizzeria – Yep, it’s open 24 hours per day. And it is tasty pizza if and when you can find one second when you are actually still hungry

Photos – Ship camera personnel are out and about all week. They are not as aggressive at Royal Caribbean photographers and the prices of the pictures are not unreasonable. So, definitely spend some time with this if you want that type of memory.

Gym – If you like to workout, I have nothing but excellent comments. The equipment was first class and there was never a time that I had to wait to workout. Great job by the ship in this category !

Dress – Long pants and dresses every night for all ages. Two nights are formal ( Monday and Friday ) but dark suit and tie will work for men; tux not required and in fact, we saw very few of them.

Back pack – Take along a backpack for the family for most outings. They will come in handy with sunscreen, sunglasses, towel, money, sign and sail card, etc.

Reading materials – If you plan to read, take all your books with you on the trip. The gift shop has very little to choose from and I found none at the ports.

Enjoy your cruise !