JC1026

this is more about not having to fly with our kids because it would just be easier and we are from Jersey. What I meant about the guarantee- was the fares they usually have that your guaranteed a room in the category you choose BUT you do not get to choose location it is just given to you

My husband and I are taking our 2 daughters (ages 4 &6) on their first cruise next year (August 2016). I was looking at the Sunshine 8 days from NY. Right now an ocean view cabin is 4,500 for early saver. When does the category of a "guarantee" cabin usually become available? Is it worth waiting? We are not picky about the cabin or views.

I was looking at the Grandeur of the Seas one and it is coming up as $1500+ where were you seeing $1274

I know they aren't the BEST however my Aunt lives in Port Canaveral (my mom's sister) so they would get to spend the day with her since they don't get to see her very often. However, I will look into the other cruises! Thanks for those suggestions. However, the last time they cruised was about 10 years ago and they don't go away very often so I am sure any place where is better than no where :)

Thoughts? I am booking a cruise for September 2015 from Baltimore, 7 days to Florida/Bahamas to give as a gift to my parents for their 60th birthdays. For 2 the current early saver price is $1303 with taxes and fees included. Good price? I know its a guaranteed lowest price but in the past I have booked it and then an outside guarantee room price was available for cheaper and I couldn't change it because I picked my room

Yes, they still have Shout! 8 more seconds was very well done- I think part of our problem was we were hungry and weren't expecting it to be as long as it was. Though a great production! We were into the live music at the different bars and the comedy shows though more. However, I would definitely recommend checking at least one out, if not both!

There was a comedy show every night except the day we were in Cozumel. I saved all my funtimes so if you have any questions just ask!

Carnival Paradise (Saturday-Thursday) August 9-14th

5 day cruise to the Western Caribbean- Cayman Islands and Cozumel, Mexico

A bit about us- We are 30 year old female and a 40 year old male and this was our 4th cruise, 3rd on Carnival.

We arrived in Tampa, Florida on Friday, August 8th and stayed at the Tampa Garden Inn. The hotel was very clean, spacious and the staff was friendly.

DAY 1- We arrived to the port at 11am and the took our luggage immediately and we went up to the waiting area. We received a Zone 6 boarding card and were on the ship by 11:45. We went up to the Lido deck to grab a bite to eat- the buffet was Italian. We (and by we, I mean my husband) tried a little bit of everything and I had a burger and a couple of bites of his food. We took a walk around the ship to check out everything. Smaller sized ship, easy to find everything. Everything was clean, can definitely see the ships age but that didn't bother us at all. We headed back to the pool and grabbed some chairs and laid out for a bit. Around 1:45pm, our room was ready. We went up quick just to drop off money, passports, etc. in the safe because we didn't want to leave it out while we went swimming in the pool. The room was an ocean view and our room steward was friendly and always available when we needed anything- towels, ice, etc. We headed back to the pool for a little longer before getting ready for dinner.

Got ready for our first evening and headed down to walk around before grabbing a bite to eat We had anytime dining. This was our first time. We felt like the service was a bit slower than we are used to but not sure how it was in the Assigned dining.

The taste bar (near the Casino) was Blue Iguana Cantina (Mexican food). Headed to the dining room. I had shrimp cocktail and broccoli and cheese soup for an appetizer. My husband had the spring rolls and broccoli and cheese soup. We shared the spinach and artichoke dip. We thought that was all very good. For our main course I had Chicken a la grecque- which was a chicken covered in Pesto sauce over a pasta. It was very yummy. My husband had the grilled, marinated pork steak. He thought it was okay- not bad but not great. For dessert, we both had the chocolate melting cake.

Headed back to the casino for a little bit to play some black jack then headed to the adult comedy show at 11:30. It was Ken Rogerson. We both thought the show was great!

DAY 2- SEA DAY

Got up and head to the Lido deck for breakfast. We each had an omelet. I had plain egg whites and my husband had a southwestern. Enjoyed both. They had the usual pancakes, waffles, bacon, sausage, grits, hash browns. Grabbed some chairs by the pool. We headed to the pool around 9:30 every day and never had a problem getting a chair right near the pool. Hung out by the pool until around 1. Grabbed some lunch from the lido. It was American food. I actually grabbed a piece of grilled chicken from the grill and made a grilled chicken salad. Went back to the pool until about 4pm, then headed up to our room to get ready for another evening. Today was formal night and every time we cruise I say I am going to iron my husband's shirt the first night we get there (of course I didn't!) and the line for the iron took about 35 minutes. Headed down to dinner. We first went to the early show of 8 more seconds. It was country music. We love country music and thought the beginning was good but it got a little bit long towards the end. We did not do any pictures but the lines didn't look too bad for them. We walked over to the taste bar- tonight was Italian. It was a meatball (which I could have made a meal out of!) and a little slice of bread with cheese on top. A bit after we headed to the dining room. Tonight we both had minestrone soup and prime rib for our entree. Both were delicious. The couple next to us raved about the alligator fritters but we aren't daring with food- however if you are worth a try. For dessert we had chocolate melting cake and fresh fruit.After dinner we went over to the Casino Bar to grab a drink. The Mickey Utley Band was playing- rock and country. We thought they were great and they drew in a great crowd. We missed the first adult comedy show at 10pm tonight but the comedian (Johnny Millwater) does the same show again the following night. We did catch Ken Rogerson again at 11. Again, another funny and entertaining show. The shows were about 35-40 minutes

DAY 3- CAYMAN ISLANDS

We were suppose to arrive around 8am. However, we were a little behind schedule and then it was raining so the swells were bad and they had to keep stopping the tender. It took a long time to get off the ship. For us it did not matter had we had no excursions booked but some excursions were missed/cancelled. We walked around for about 30 minutes while it drizzled. The rain stopped so we decided to catch a cab to the beach. It was $4 per person each way to go to the Royal Palms. Royal Palms was $2 to get onto the beach. If you wanted to rent a chair for the day it was an additional $7. We opted not to because we could see dark clouds coming in and had a feeling we wouldn't be here long. We stayed for about an hour before the sky looked almost black. Got into a can and the rain came pouring down. Headed back to the port. The rain stopped but still cloudy. We grabbed a couple of $2 beers from the liquor store and hung outside at the tables for a bit before heading back on the ship. We had to be back on the ship by 1:15 as we were leaving at 2. The last tender was at 1:15. We got back on around 12:30 to go eat lunch. I had the grilled chicken salad and my husband had mongolian wok. The buffet was "Caribbean" food. We then went back to our room and layed down for a bit since the weather wasn't great and took a little nap. Got up around 5, got dressed for dinner and headed down to grab a drink and listen to the country band again. Went to dinner around 7:45. Tonight we had the fried shrimp app and chicken noodle soup. For the main course we both had the flat iron steak. My husband also tried the grilled chicken breast with fettucini in a mushroom cream sauce as a starter and it was very tasty! After dinner we went to the casino for a bit and then head to see the adult comedy show at 11:30 with Johnny Millwater. This was the same show he did the night before but we had missed it. We actually went with another couple we met on the cruise and they had seen the previous show. They said it was mostly the same but he had added in 5 minutes or so of some new stuff. After dinner we headed back to the casino for some more gambling.

DAY 4- COZUMEL, MEXICO

We arrived in Cozumel around 11am but it took awhile to get off the ship. We got off around 12. We had made reservations for Nachi Cocom. It was a $17 cab ride each way. On the way back we shared the cab with another couple so it was only $9. This was our second time going to Nachi Cocom. We had gone 3 years ago when we cruised to Cozumel. It was quiet, clean and the service was great. They have all you can drink and a 4 course meal (which is plenty!). We had nachos and cheese sticks for apps. Followed by a plate a fresh fruit. Then our entree we each had steak & chicken fajitas. The guacamole was delicious!! They also gave us 2 baskets of chips which were yummy. Salsa was a little spicy for my liking but my husband liked it. We did not eat the dessert but the choices were ice cream, caramel custard and cheese cake. We enjoyed strawberry daiquiris, margaritas and coronas all day. We spent a little time in the pool which was nice and hung out at the swim up bar. It was a very relaxing day, which is just what we intended. They had wave runners, massages, snorkling and other activities. We left around 5pm (Ship time) because we wanted to do a little shopping for our two daughters who were home (ages 2 and 4). We walked into the shops and purchased little toys- maracas, coin purses, sea shell bracelets, name bracelets, flutes, Ariel t-shirts (big Disney fans!) that said Cozumel, Mexico on them. Headed back on the ship around 7. You had to be back on by 7:30. Went and got ready for dinner. There was no comedy show tonight and the country band was not playing- which was fine because we were exhausted as it seemed most people we met were. Went to dinner around 8:30. We had chateaubriand for dinner and chocolate melting cake for dessert. After dinner we went to the casino for a bit and then headed to bed.

DAY 5- LAST SEA DAY

We got up and decided to try the sea day brunch. We had the free drink coupons so figured we would try it. We were not fans. The food was great but it took about 30 minutes to get seated and then about 30 minutes to get our food. I ended up ordering a fried mozzarella pasta dish which was small but tasty. We left and head back to the lido to grab a little more to eat. then had lunch on the lido It was "American" food again- fried chicken, mac and cheese. I had a half of cheeseburger.We Went back to the pool until around 3 . Then headed in because I wanted to throw some laundry in prior to going home. The laundry is $3 for wash and $3 for dryer but if you time it right- the dryer gives 99 minutes. I shared the dryer with someone else they used it for 45 minutes then my wash was done and I used it for the final 45 minutes. Any longer than that you clothes would probably be too hot to touch. After that we got ready to head down to the casino. We gambled a little, then headed to the taste bar. It was Red Frog Pub- Fried Sweet Potato which was yummy and a little soup/dip which was spicy. After this we head to the dining room for dinner. This was the only night we had a wait maybe 5 minutes. We were seated. Dining room was very slow tonight. It took 15 minutes to order food and then 30 minutes before our appetizers even came. My husband ordered a beer which took an hour to get! Not sure what the problem was. We had the french onion soup (which was yummy!) and fresh mozzerella and tomatoes. For dinner we both had the flat iron steak. Dessert we had chocolate melting cake again with two ice creams- one was just never enough! After dinner we went back up to the casino and then saw the 11pm comedy show with Johnny Millwater. Funny and entertaining. They had Ken Rogerson at 10pm but we missed that one because of dinner. After the show we saw the country band for a bit and gambled. Overall, with the gambling we won $200 which is pretty good for 5 nights of gambling and two people playing. Around 1:30 we headed to bed to get ready to head home tomorrow.

DAY 6- DEBARKATION

We opted to carry our luggage off. We had one suitcase and one small bag so it was easy. We had a 12:50 flight. We got up grabbed breakfast from the Lido went back up grabbed our bags and were out of our room by 8:30 went down to floor 8 to wait. We were off the ship around 9:45. They were pretty good about being orderly and everyone listened to the directions. We took a shuttle for $20 for 2 people ( it was $22 for 3 and $25 for 4) to the airport.

Overall, we had a great time and enjoyed our cruise. Next time we cruise we will be bringing our kids so we will definitely choose one of the larger, newer ships and go for 7 days. But for the two of us it was great- We don't need all the bells and whistles. The ship was clean and the staff was friendly. Only complaint was dining room service was slower than we have experienced in the past.

We also book Southwest. We booked in April for our August 9th cruise and of course the flights dropped $25 there and $22 home so we now have a $94 credit but we will just use it to book our flights to Disney next summer :) one of the reasons we love SWA plus the free two checked bags per person!

Ok we booked the Hilton Garden Inn at Tampa Airport westshore... it was $84 with tax for the night. The reviews were good on various sites and we thought the price was pretty good since we will only be there for one night prior to the cruise :)

Has anyone stayed here before? Experiences? is it clean? It seems to have good reviews on many sites I have looked at.

It says airport shuttle, does anyone know the cost of a taxi to the port from here? Just trying to figure out if its worth the stay and cruise or just booking a room and grabbing our own taxi.

Thanks in advanced:)

Love the Glory and St. Thomas is one of my favorite ports. :)

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We always just ask the bartender in the casino for them and bring them back to our room :)

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We have always done set time late seating dining and enjoyed having the same waiter, same table. In August we are doing YTD because many times around 7 we are ready to eat but had to wait till 8. the early set dining was too early for us. I think we are going to like being able to eat on our time.

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My husband and I have sailed on both. Enjoyed both cruises very much. Princess was a much nicer ship overall. we love carnival and had a fabulous time on the Inspiration as well. I will say my husband preferred the food on carnival

Has anyone done the Sabor All Inclusive resort in Cozumel? I am currently looking at an All Inclusive place to go when we dock for the day. In 2011 we did Nachi Cocom and really enjoyed it. However, maybe looking to do a different place.

Doing a little research early. We are cruising early August out of Tampa. Last time we went out of Tampa we came in the morning of the cruise. This time we are coming in the night before but not till late. Our flight arrives at TPA at 11:40pm. Any suggestions for a hotel that is close to the airport since its so late and we will just want to get right to bed by the time we get luggage etc.

@Jenhem31 It was just as easy to get a cab/shuttle after the cruise. We made no arrangements prior but they had cabs/shuttles waiting when you got off the ship.

We just took a taxi right from the airport. They were waiting outside when we arrived. It was like $30 for two of us but we made two stops st target and the liquor store.

Great review! My husband and I are going on this cruise in August for our 5 year anniversary and each review makes me more excited. It will be our fourth cruise, third with Carnival and we have loved them all! Agree with above- we did a 9 day and still could have stayed longer :)

Does anyone know what kind of plug/outlet it is? Last time on Carnival Inspiration I brought my own but it didn't fit the outlets.

Hi Everyone,

My husband and I are taking a cruise to Cozumel and Grand Cayman in August. We are going with another couple and have done this exact cruise before except it was the opposite- the longer day was in Cozumel and the shorter day in Cayman. Any how, we are thinking of doing Nachi Cocom because we have done this previously on our own and loved it. Anyone know of something similar in Cayman that we can do on our own and not through the cruise line? Thanks in advanced :)