Carnival Paradise

[CdnSolo]

Hello - my first time posting on this site. I'm taking my very first cruise in a couple weeks (YAY!). I'll be on the Carnival Paradise. Since I've never cruised before, my question is this - when the ship is docked somewhere, how close to the ships departure time from that port do I need to be back on board, and how long does it take to get back on board (do I have to go through security and all that?)

I ask because I plan to do a snorkelling tour in Grand Cayman - only about 3 hours - afterwards I would like some time to look around Georgetown and do a bit of shopping. Don't want to cut it to close, so would like an idea of how far in advance I need to be back on board.

Thanks in advance!

[SMSACE6]

Make sure your watch is syncronized with ship's time , so just make sure you are in sync with ship's time. (there may be a 1 hr time change somewhere enroute).....sooooo make sure in sync with ships time,,cant say that enough

Read your cruise daily "fun times", will tell you what time to be back on board, and because I am super super punctual, if the ship says be back on board by 3.30pm, I aim for 2.30pm, just me, but just dont cut to the last minute. Grand Cayman is also a tender port, so count on time for that. (give it 30 mins, though the actual tender ride is 10 mins, but there might be a lineup fo the tender, and dont wait for the last tender)

I take it your tour is booked independently, therefore, be cautious of back on board time and ship's time.

Have a great cruise, I love solo cruising.

[keystonemama]

The Paradise is a great ship. GC is easy to navigate, there are vans (taxi) running up and down the street watching for visitors so getting a ride is not hard at all and rather cheap. As far as shopping, GC in my opinion is not "all that". It's pretty expensive. There is a duty free shop near the port and a store the left of the port that sells knick knacks, the rest of the shopping seems to be a lot of jewelry stores. We end up going to 7 mile beach usually. Make sure you have your ship badge and drivers license for ID purposes. Here's a few pics to get an idea. Oh theres also a Margaritaville near the port gates.

Pier




Beach





Near port









Welcome to cruising!


Happy Sailing,

[sjn911]

Welcome to cruising...my first Carnival Cruise was on the Paradise then out of Long Beach...i love the Fantasy class for getting to know ships and I loved the Paradise's fun themes..have a blast..there are older ship artifacts in Library and a beautiful ship painting in main promenade bar over the bar..classic type huge painting i loved...sarah

LOL...forgot to say I was solo and had a great time at a huge table in main dining room.

[CdnSolo]

Excellent, thanks so much for the replies and photos. I am travelling with my best friend, but we're both quite independent, so I figured I'd do the footwork on what I was interested in, and if she joins, great, if not, no problem.

But, having said that, I am all about solo travel as well - I do it often and love last minute stuff. I've always wanted to cruise, but have never done a solo cruise because I was under the impression they charge outrageous supplement fees so it wouldn't make sense financially since I'd also have to cover my flight to/from Toronto. I didn't think it was feasible to cruise alone. I'd love to know more! There's a communal dining table, did I read that right?!

I haven't booked my snorkelling tour yet, I am still trying to figure out how I want my day to play out, but Stingray City I am going to see, no ifs ands or buts, its just a matter of which tour I book. Does anyone know of any tours that go to just Stingray City? They all seem to be hours long and have multiple stops.

As for shopping in Cayman, I meant like souvenir shopping really. I like to buy a shot glass of each place I've been. People coming to my place must think I'm a travelling lush! Since this is my first time in Grand Cayman, a shot glass is necessary for my collection.

[sjn911]

You will have a great time solo or with ...check out the reviews and the port info here and you will find all you seek...Sarah