Back from First Cruise...The Verdict is In!

[cruisemomof2]

My family and I just returned from a five day cruise to Grand Cayman and Cozumel aboard Carnival’s Inspiration. Let me preface this by stating that we were traveling with our young daughter and it was also spring break…someone should have prevented me from going from the get go :eek: . Embarkation was a breeze. The Carnival staff has that down pat. Once we got on board…the fun (LOL) began.

It’s true that they hit you up with the alcohol as soon as you walk onboard. They are pretty much in your face the entire time you’re trying to eat lunch on the Lido deck. The drinks do look appealing, but beware…they’ll cost ya.

We quickly made it to our cabin. I was very pleased with the accommodations. The room was an ocean view and was a little larger than what I expected. The Inspiration is an ‘older’ ship, but she’s in good shape for the most part. The cabins were very clean as were the common areas. The crew takes great pride in their ship.

Off we go, finally on vacation. The first day at sea was very relaxing. Our child spent a few hours at Camp Carnival. Hats off to that staff. They were excellent. I was leery about leaving her with strangers at first, but she seemed to enjoy it from the start. We chose to eat dinner in the Brasserie (sp?) that evening. Not too impressed with the selections, but what do you expect for mass produced food.

This is when things started to be ‘not so fun on the fun ship’. We went to the purser’s desk that evening to inquire about tendering the next morning in Grand Cayman. We had booked a private excursion through Captain Marvin’s and were told we needed to be at their location by 8 am. The lady at the purser’s desk specifically told us that Grand Cayman was an hour behind ships time, so we needed to account for that. Make sure you notate what they call “SHIPS TIME vs Cayman time”…it’s not true. We arrived in port around 7:30 that next morning. My spouse and I immediately went to get in line for the tender. From what we were told, there really wasn’t any rush since it was supposed to be 6:30 on the island. We waited and waited and waited in the stairwell packed like sardines for the tender. Finally…we made it on a tender boat. We arrived at Captain Marvin’s at what we though was 7:50. To our dismay, it was actually 8:50. Captain Marvin’s is on Ships Time…WHAT :mad: ?????? So, we missed our excursion.

Now, what do we do? All we wanted to do while in port was to swim with the sting rays. So, off we go running back to the pier area to see if we could latch on to another tour. We ended up giving our money to the tour outfit called ‘Dockside’. I guess you could say you get what you paid for, but this cost more than Captain Marvin’s did. They immediately loaded us on a very old school bus and we were taken to a marina. We boarded a very old and small boat. Off we were to the sandbar. It seemed like it was taking forever to get there. I know at least five other boats passed us on the way. Talk about slow…it’s a miracle we made it.

There were several females on board that needed to use the facilities, but there weren’t any. Once we arrived back to the marina, we found out there weren’t any restrooms there either. I know they must have been miserable on the trip back to the pier. Once we got back to the pier, there wasn’t any time to shop. What we thought was going to be a two hour excursion took over three hours…thanks to the slow boat. No chance on checking out Grand Cayman. It was time to get back in line to catch the tender back to the ship:( .

Our next port was Cozumel. My opinion is that they shouldn’t port there until they rebuild the piers. Tendering there took almost three hours. It seems as if Carnival lets all of their guests that book excursions through them off the ship first. Leaving the rest of the guest sitting on the lido deck waiting for their tender number to be called. Did you catch that I said it took three hours to get on a tender??? What is up with that?

We were told that Cozumel was the place to shop for bargains :rolleyes: . What a joke. There weren’t any bargains to be had. Be weary of the shops at the pier trying to sell ‘fake’ sterling silver. Cozumel has a lot of recovering to do from all of the hurricane damage. We decided to head to Paradise Beach thanks to all the great comments on this board. It was nice, but since we didn’t arrive till after lunch, it was very crowded. TIP* don’t buy a wrist band until you know if there are available beach chairs. Several people bought bands right as they came into the complex and quickly sought a refund when they found out there was no place to sit. All in all, I wouldn’t go back to Cozumel in the near future. I know they need our money, but there isn’t a lot to do on the island for the time being.

The tendering process is a nightmare. I don’t necessarily blame it all on Carnival, but there is definite room for improvement on their part. Word of warning, if you like to take it slow and go sight seeing, I would choose another cruise that offered longer times in port. Due to the tendering, you loose precious time especially when your time is extremely limited from the get go.

I would rate this cruise 6 out of 10. The time on board was nice. The seated dinners were by far the best time we had. The staff does an excellent job entertaining the kids. The food is okay, but not like you imagine. Not a large selection to choose from which was dissapointing.

Next time, if there is a next time, I would be more selective at choosing ports and the conditions at those ports before booking.

[Ralphinsc]

Sorry you had a bad time. Look at the bright side. About 60% of our cruise were drunk loud college students. I didn't mind it but it was hardly the family atmosphere. We had the same tendering nightmare in Cozumel, so it's not just a Carnival thing. Tenders are very large but take forever to load and unload. All cruise lines always let their own excursions off first. Sorry you had to catch on to that one the hard way. I hope things work out better on the next cruise. Sounds like a lot fo the things were not in carnival'sw control and they did the best they could from their end. I too, hope they get those piers rebuilt ASAP in Cozumel.

[chasetf]

I do not know why folks keep heading out to the Western Caribbean with all the posts on boards like this about the tender problems / destroyed ports / lack of things to do. :confused: Only reason I can think of is the cheaper fares. Every cruise line has passengers complaining about three hour tender waits, missed tours, and no time to spend on the island. :(

 

Next Caribbean cruise for me will be Eastern. Almost all those ports the ship docks, and their is more variety of things to do. Every Mexican town looks the same to me and they all sell the same knock-off stuff.

 

So if you have a choice, my recommendation is go Eastern...:D

[Old As Dirt Mom]

Cruisemom, thanks for your observations. Sorry your cruise ended up being a "learning experience." A few questions for you: Did you enjoy the stingrays on Grand Cayman once you got to the Stingray City sandbar? And, armed with the knowledge you now have, would you cruise again, and if so, what kind of cruise would you select? Thanks!

[cruisemomof2]

Cruisemom, thanks for your observations. Sorry your cruise ended up being a "learning experience." A few questions for you: Did you enjoy the stingrays on Grand Cayman once you got to the Stingray City sandbar? And, armed with the knowledge you now have, would you cruise again, and if so, what kind of cruise would you select? Thanks!

 

I was dissapointed with the entire stingray experience. I thought there would be lots of rays swimming around and there wasn't. I know no one has any control of them. After all, we're not mother nature. However, I've spent more time touching rays at the local aquarium than I did at the sandbar.

 

For the money, I wouldn't do it again. Though I think it's somthing you should at least experience once just to say you did it. We had contemplated on taking our child, I'm glad we didn't. That would have been a huge waiste of money.

 

If I were to do it again, I think I would prefer flying to an all inclusive resort vice cruising. I really didn't get to experience any of the culture and that was a huge dissapointment for me. I need more time in port and I would prefer not having to worry about getting on and off the tender boats.

 

If I were to crusie again, it would have to be on a ship that ported in areas where you didn't have to tender and that offered more time in each port. Other than enjoying the days at sea, I think this was a waist of money.

[HOLIDAY4ME]

I just returned from our 1st cruise on miracle march 12-19th

did all shore excursions through carnival and never had a problem

with tenders or time waiting

of course they are going to let the people booked throught the ship of 1st

i would be pissed off if they didnt-hey we paid for the service

sting rays were great and we had bathrooms on our boat.

a not to miss experience- feed them they wont bite and will come closer.

as for shopping i never do this on holiday. ship has good prices for

jewelry and stuff.

my family had no problems with spring break kids either. all well behaved

[cwc]

Tender problem?! Go on a smaller ship, less people. You can do a round-trip from dock to ship and back within 15-20 minutes.

[metrowon]

Tendering in and out of a port a part of the price of a cruise. Perhaps, Carnival did not charter enough tenders, or there may have been a number of tenders wrecked by the last hurricane. Port times vary from ship to ship, as different ships cruise at different speeds. 3 or 4knots faster over 12 hours, may = 2 hours more in any given port. If you think spring break was bad, I heard real Horror stories about Senior week, coming in June to a cruise near you. Metrowon

[cruisemomof2]

Tendering in and out of a port a part of the price of a cruise. Perhaps, Carnival did not charter enough tenders, or there may have been a number of tenders wrecked by the last hurricane. Port times vary from ship to ship, as different ships cruise at different speeds. 3 or 4knots faster over 12 hours, may = 2 hours more in any given port. If you think spring break was bad, I heard real Horror stories about Senior week, coming in June to a cruise near you. Metrowon

 

Oh the horror! I can't imagine being on board with a bunch of drunken 18 year olds. At least college aged passengers have a little more experience (I hope) being drunk and can function a little better.

[Happy ks]

Well, I doubt anyone has enough experience being drunk and maintaining civility, a little tipsy, perhaps, but drunk is drunk, no matter what the age.

 

I'm sorry you didn't have a wonderful cruise experience, it's just not for everyone. Your post reminds me of why I never tell people to try a short cruise for their first cruise experience. And....to pay attention to the ports, whether you dock or tender, it makes so much difference.

 

I've avoided cruising this area, because of all the reasons you mention, too crowded, tendering.

 

If you were to cruise again, you would do well to study the ports visited a little more thoroughly, the ports of call board here can be excellent. But, you do have to pay attention to who is writing and how many people are writing about it. Some of the more popular choices I would not go with, simply because it appeals to too many people, again, too crowded.

 

There are many other places in the world to cruise than the Caribbean. There are many other cruise lines to choose from. We first narrow our choices down to where we want to go, then choose a cruise line. It also pays to pay close attention to the ships once you have narrowed the field. It's not always best to go with the cheapest, or the largest, or the newest. I'd rather go on a classier ship in an inside cabin, than a balcony cabin on a sub-par ship.

 

The service and food is always subjective. Many people still believe the myth that you have gourmet food served by white gloved waiters who dote on your every whim. Yeah, you and the other 3500 pax onboard. What may have been partially true when cruising was on much smaller ships at twice todays cost just isn't true any longer. Not unless you are willing to pay 4 times the cost of a mainstream line.

 

But, in reality, if you know what to expect, cruising is an excellent value. You are fed, entertained, transported and cleaned up after. We have had a number of lovely cruises and look forward to (hopefully!) many more, in many areas of the world and on many different cruise lines. I've never gone hungry on a cruise, always have been picked up after and they take me places I haven't been to in the past. I do like land vacations, too, but I most love being on the ocean.