1st TIME CRUISER ON INSPIRATION WITH ?'s

[ProvGirl27]

Hi everyone, I booked a cruise as a surprise for my family. Its going to be an all girls weekend... There is a total of 5 people, no kids. I booked one room, but now people are telling me that 2 rooms would be much better and that we won't fit in one... What advice do you have..?

 

Secondly.. we are going out of Tampa... our ship leaves at 4:00PM. I want to book a limo to bring us from Spring Hill.. but Im not sure what time to tell him to pick us up... Spring Hill is about an hour away..

I work in Boston's Port Authority.. and Im a police officer there... We deal with all the cruise ships, and see people boarding 1 hour before and having no lines... then I see people arriving at 0800 for a 1600 ship... I just don't want to wait around... Does anyone know if Tampa's Port has police there or just security?

 

Thirdly... I was thinking about booking a day trip to Passion Island in Cozumel.. anyone ever do this.. and is it worth it.. I don't want to do the shopping thing... I know we will just want to do the beach.. and pools..

 

 

Thanks for your advice... and I can't wait to experience my first real cruise... I get jealous when I have to go on board these ships for Police Matters, and then have to get off...

 

Thanks again

 

-Jessica

[Wennfred]

There is a total of 5 people, no kids. I booked one room, but now people are telling me that 2 rooms would be much better and that we won't fit in one... What advice do you have..?

 

Thanks again

 

-Jessica

 

Hi Jessica,

 

5 Adult ladies and only 1 small bathroom is going to be hard, its best to book 2 adjoining cabins so you can keep the cabin door open to share the extra space for all of those shoes.

 

The ship usually starts boarding around 11:30am so you can get there any time after that until 4pm

 

Most port terminal hire security.

 

 

Fred

[*Mach*]

Jessica...

 

Welcome to CruiseCritic! If you can't find an answer to your questions here you can't find it anywhere!

 

I have sailed the Inspiration but it was several years ago so my experience probably wouldn't not be of great help to you.

 

Yes, you would be vastly more comfortable with two cabins v. one cabin. The typical size for a cabin on a Carnival ship is 185 sq ft. Plenty of room for a couple or even three but with five it would be pretty cozy.

 

Concerning Cozumel, this site has a ton of links to many places that will fit your requirements:

 

http://www.cozumelinsider.com/

 

Stop by Margaritaville before re boarding the ship... You won't regret it!!!

 

Have a great time!

 

Mach

[csaeroach]

We will be on the Inspiration Jan 5, 2008 and we booked 2 rooms for 4 of us. More then 2 -3 people in those cabins is very tight, and it would be impossible with 5 women in one cabin with only one bathroom.... very tight! Everyone needing showers and getting ready for dinner.... you will enjoy your cruise much more with 2 cabins.

 

Have a great time, and enjoy your first cruise!

[Chigirlcruzin]

No way would I ever do a cruise with 5 women in one cabin. Yikes! These rooms are quite small; not like a hotel room. You will have a much happier, saner cruise if you get a second room. Have a great cruise!

[woodey]

No way would I ever do a cruise with 5 women in one cabin. Yikes! These rooms are quite small; not like a hotel room. You will have a much happier, saner cruise if you get a second room. Have a great cruise!

 

You know how many Mens fantasys are just that...:D

 

First welcome to CC

 

I agree with eveyone, 5 ppl for anybody (male, female,kids) is too much for one cabin...unless you rent a suite then you still have the bathroom issue also at that point its cheaper for 2 rooms..

 

Most of the people that arrive early want to get on the boat early or they have a hotel room they needed to vacate and no place to go..if your boat leaves at 4 pm i would say try to get there between 2:00 and 2:30 It seems the first few waves has boarded and the lines shorten up a bit and still have time to board with out problems.I wouldnt go later then that. Everybody will tell you going early will be a crap shoot as far as the lines go there is just no way to tell.

[sotuffexecutive]

Have sailed Carnival MANY times. Most we have crammed in a room is 5....2 adults, 2 teens, and one child. It was tight but only having one bathroom was an issue. Only time however that we were in the room was to sleep and shower.

[Yellow_Jacket]

Five is too many people. Especially all females. Get another cabin.

 

The earlier you arrive at the terminal, the shorter the line you will have to stand in to get signed in and on board. Despite what it says on your cruise docs, registration and boarding starts at 11:30 AM. Plan on arriving at the port between 11:30 and noon. If you have to pass through security, the limo driver will know the process and where to go. (If he doesn't, the gate guard will.) And you may need your ID and tickets to get onto the port property. You will need them a few minutes later anyway...

 

As soon as you get on the ship, food will be available on the Lido deck. You just find a comfortable place to hang out until your cabin is available (which is usually 1:30.) Pick up deck plans at the service desk (Purser's Office) when you get on the ship, so you can look them over while you wait.

 

Leave the job behind and get ready for a good time!

[Anonymous Number]

At the risk of having something chopped off here, I would definately recommend a second room. I went with only one woman and she definately spent a good amount of time in the restroom getting ready. Five women? :eek:

[FLCruiser001]

Hello Jessica! Must be you have family in Spring Hill? That is where I live! We were on Inspiration's first post dry-dock cruise in October. We were hoping to get on board early since there were no previous passengers departing, but...Boarding did start at 1:30, which is when they said it would. We were on the ship at 1:58.

 

Which way will you be traveling to the terminal? We found it just as quick and easy to take US41 south until it ends in Ybor City. A few lefts and rights, and your right there. Mapquest is a good reference. (The express ways can be slow and crowded, plus more chance of an accident=could miss cruise:eek: :( )

 

Have a super cruise, you'll love Inspiration!

[bstman]

It would be much better with 2 rooms. We had 4-2 adults, 1 teen and 1 child. I will NEVER do that again. It was really hard trying to get ready for dinner. We went to the room in shifts to get ready. If anyway possible I would get 2 rooms. We were on Inspiration in Feb 2007 and arrived about 1:30 and walked right on, no line at all-but you can never tell. A lot of the beach clubs in Cozumel have nice beaches and pools without having to go to Passion Island-I have never been there(Passion Island)-but have done a few of the beach clubs and we had a great time. Hope you have a great cruise!!!

[Lv2Camp&Cruise]

We just cruised the Inspiration 2 weeks ago and were told by the ladies that worked at Embarkation to arrive at 10:30. We followed their advice and it was perfect! As for the cabin, do not even consider putting 5 into that room. It just isn't worth it considering how easy it would be without much cost difference to get 2 rooms.

 

As for Cozumel, DH and I did passion island our first trip to Cozumel. It was nice but the travel time was extrememly long and cut into our beach day. The second time in Cozumel we took a cab to Paradise Beach and enjoyed our day tremendously. There was alot to do or you could relax and do nothing. On our trip two weeks ago, we arrived in Cozumel and grabbed a cab to Nachi Cocum which is an all inclusive beach day and costs $49 per person. This included food, drinks, padded lounger, fresh water pool and swim up bar. There were less than a dozen people there and it was a true slice of heaven. Check out the Ports of call board to get more details.

 

Our capers are found on our link below if you wish to take a look.

 

Enjoy your trip!

[ProvGirl27]

Thanks so much for the responses... I just got off the phone with Carnival and booked my second room.. fortunately, its right next door to the other room.. so us 5 women will have sufficient bathroom time..lol

 

my new tennessee friend, if you had to choose.. would u choose passion island or Nachi Cocum? We have an age range of 23-85 and just want to satisfy everyone... My grandma, would love to sit inside, and read, or under a cabana on the beach... I like the idea of the all inclusive, but I hear Passion Island is to die for...

 

I just can't wait...

Thanks for all the advice...

 

-Jessica

[Lv2Camp&Cruise]

Thanks so much for the responses... I just got off the phone with Carnival and booked my second room.. fortunately, its right next door to the other room.. so us 5 women will have sufficient bathroom time..lol

 

my new tennessee friend, if you had to choose.. would u choose passion island or Nachi Cocum? We have an age range of 23-85 and just want to satisfy everyone... My grandma, would love to sit inside, and read, or under a cabana on the beach... I like the idea of the all inclusive, but I hear Passion Island is to die for...

 

I just can't wait...

Thanks for all the advice...

 

-Jessica

 

 

DH and I had to talk about this for a moment before I replied.

When we went to Passion Island, it was shortly after a tropical storm so we assumed that the rough dirt roads we traveled for so long were due to that. I can tell you that it seemed like we were beaten and banged to death in that stuffed van. That took alot away from us. Another thing I didn't like was that the food was served buffet style and there seemed to be alot of flies everywhere. I am a picky person when it comes to that so it was a big turn off to me. For the price we just didn't feel it was the thing for us although it was beautiful.

 

Nachi Cocum was very tranquil. It looked like something from a post card and I must have said 20 times that I couldn't believe that we were experiencing this for such a low price. The infinity pool was gorgeous and we had it to ourselves all day. There was a swim up bar and a hot tub, although "hot" was far from the temperature. There was an area off to the side set up for massages and as a spa loving girl I can tell you that it was one of the greatest massages I have ever had. The price was 29 bucks for 1/2 hour and I tipped her 6. When we arrived at Nachi, our waiter, Carlos immediately escorted us to our chairs and palapa where we sat right on the edge of the water. He brought us anything we could think of and never let our drinks get empty. The food was ordered off of a menu and was delicious. We had a full rack of ribs each, fries, and chips and homemade salsa. Everything was wonderful. You could eat on the beach or up at the large palapa by the bar. It was also quite easy to stay out of the sun if desired.

 

 

They came around with a book offering different excursions such as jet skis, parasailing, snorkeling etc and took you right from the resort area. Since you have a large age range, I feel you would be very happy with either as far as the younger crowd but if you want peaceful, Nachi will be much more relaxing. Their web site says that they take 100 guests per day but Carlos informed us that they rarely have even half that many.

And because it is only a short cab ride away, you will have plenty of time to do some shopping at the pier. Los Cinco Soles is a favorite spot of ours for souveniers. By the way, the cab ride is 15.00 each way up to 4 people. When ready to leave, they will have a cab there for you within 5 minutes. Just let Carlos know.

 

Are there any other questions I can answer? I am sure I am leaving some things out. We are returning to Cozumel next October of the Fantasy and we will definetly do this again.

 

Here is a link to our pics of Nachi Cocum. Just click on pages 7 and 8 for the pics.

http://good-times.webshots.com/album/561210264BSPmZF?vhost=good-times

[PINEVIEW01]

If the only way you can aford to go is 5 to a room, I'd do it. If you have to remember that you can use the showers in the spa/gym. I would rather do as stated above and try to get two togeather.

 

I went out on the Inspiration this past January and got to the docks around 11 and went right thru the lines. Than sat for a little while until we could board.

[ProvGirl27]

Thank you for such a quick response.. Im so excited to go.. my parents own a house in Aruba.. and I usually go there for Thanksgiving, but this year, we decided to cruise... and I have never been on a cruise... so I thought this was a great surprise for everyone...

 

I have two family members from Poland, who have never even seen white sand beaches, only on TV, so this will be great...

 

Im leaning towards Nachi Cocom, It sounds wonderful... I have a few more questions... You will get sick of me soon... I promise...lol :o)

 

Is there an inside to the resort, meaning, if my grandmother wants to get away from the sun, can she rest inside?

 

Is the food all you can eat off the menu's or is it pay as you go, or just one meal per person. Just curious, since we are there all day...

 

Do we buy this excursion off the boat, or just arrive and say we are here... now give me my corona..lol.. and if we don't buy it off the boat, how quickly do we get off the ship, to catch a cab for 5.... ?

 

Is there any water sports, or snorkeling to be done at Nachi... before I spend the money and order some flippers...lol

 

Thanks again for all your answers.... I feel prepared to conquer the Coz...

 

-Jessica

[Lv2Camp&Cruise]

Thank you for such a quick response.. Im so excited to go.. my parents own a house in Aruba.. and I usually go there for Thanksgiving, but this year, we decided to cruise... and I have never been on a cruise... so I thought this was a great surprise for everyone...

 

I have two family members from Poland, who have never even seen white sand beaches, only on TV, so this will be great...

 

Im leaning towards Nachi Cocom, It sounds wonderful... I have a few more questions... You will get sick of me soon... I promise...lol :o)

 

Is there an inside to the resort, meaning, if my grandmother wants to get away from the sun, can she rest inside?

 

Is the food all you can eat off the menu's or is it pay as you go, or just one meal per person. Just curious, since we are there all day...

 

Do we buy this excursion off the boat, or just arrive and say we are here... now give me my corona..lol.. and if we don't buy it off the boat, how quickly do we get off the ship, to catch a cab for 5.... ?

 

Is there any water sports, or snorkeling to be done at Nachi... before I spend the money and order some flippers...lol

 

Thanks again for all your answers.... I feel prepared to conquer the Coz...

 

-Jessica

 

There is not an "inside" area, but if you look at the pics you will notice a very large thatched roof area that has between 40 and 50 tables. There were ceiling fans there and a nice breeze. It would be an ideal place to relax with a good book. There are plenty of places with shade.

 

The food is included in the 49.00. They will pretty much bring you snack type foods, like chips and salsa, as you want them. The lunch portions are very large and you are free to order an appetizer, entree, side item and desert. They have a cocunut ice cream that is to die for. Our friends had the mixed fajitas and raved about them. You will not go hungry here!

 

You book the excursion online and pay a deposit of 12.00 per person. They email you to let you know if there is availability and then they will email your confirmation. You must bring the confirmation with you and then pay the balance in cash.

 

Did you get a chance to look at the pics? On page 7 they start down near the bottom and end when you see the Senior Frogs waiters dancing. :D

[letsgocruz1]

There is not an "inside" area, but if you look at the pics you will notice a very large thatched roof area that has between 40 and 50 tables. There were ceiling fans there and a nice breeze. It would be an ideal place to relax with a good book. There are plenty of places with shade.

 

The food is included in the 49.00. They will pretty much bring you snack type foods, like chips and salsa, as you want them. The lunch portions are very large and you are free to order an appetizer, entree, side item and desert. They have a cocunut ice cream that is to die for. Our friends had the mixed fajitas and raved about them. You will not go hungry here!

 

You book the excursion online and pay a deposit of 12.00 per person. They email you to let you know if there is availability and then they will email your confirmation. You must bring the confirmation with you and then pay the balance in cash.

 

Did you get a chance to look at the pics? On page 7 they start down near the bottom and end when you see the Senior Frogs waiters dancing. :D

 

Hi, thank you for sharing your photos. I really enjoyed looking at them. What category room were you in? Looks like you had a balcony, so I'm guessing you had a suite? (If I remember correctly, there are no standard balcony cabins on the Fantasy class ships??) I was wondering if the ocean view rooms would have the sofas in them? thanks

[Lv2Camp&Cruise]

Hi, thank you for sharing your photos. I really enjoyed looking at them. What category room were you in? Looks like you had a balcony, so I'm guessing you had a suite? (If I remember correctly, there are no standard balcony cabins on the Fantasy class ships??) I was wondering if the ocean view rooms would have the sofas in them? thanks

 

We were in the Category 11 Suites on the Verendah deck and we did have a balcony. The regular oceanview rooms do not have a sofa in them because our friends were in an oceanview. There are not regular balcony rooms on the Fantasy class ships. It is just our opinion that the balcony is not worth the extra money. Use the money you would have to pay for the suite and enjoy a few more Drinks of the Day.

[momsolt]

Hi,

I'm new to these message boards and have found them to be extremely helpful.

 

I'm sailing on the Inspiration in January and interested in the excursion you took in Cozumel. Is it safe for 6 women to get a cab and go to Nachi Cocum on our own? Will we need 2 cabs and how much should it cost? Is the water in the beach club filtered for us to drink? Should we sign up on the website? What is there to do near port in Cozumel?

Thanks for your help. If you don't mind I might think of more questions to ask in the future........

[Lv2Camp&Cruise]

Hi,

I'm new to these message boards and have found them to be extremely helpful.

 

I'm sailing on the Inspiration in January and interested in the excursion you took in Cozumel. Is it safe for 6 women to get a cab and go to Nachi Cocum on our own? Will we need 2 cabs and how much should it cost? Is the water in the beach club filtered for us to drink? Should we sign up on the website? What is there to do near port in Cozumel?

Thanks for your help. If you don't mind I might think of more questions to ask in the future........

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

We find Cozumel to be very safe and feel totally comfortable taking cabs to the beach clubs. There are vans for taxi service also so you may be able to fit into one. We drank bottled beer as well as mixed frozen drinks and did not have too many problems. The next day we had a touch of tummy rumblings, but we think it was more from all the alcohol both there, and at Senior Frogs. And after 4 days on the ship with the round the clock eating, that isn't always a bad thing!:eek:

Right at the end of the Puntu Lungusta pier you have lots of shopping, Senior Frogs, Carlos and Charlies among other restaurants. The one thing I will always warn against is renting the scooters which are very plentiful. The roads are rough, the drivers are wild and your chances of an accident are very high. A couple on our sailing found out the hard way and were very banged up with broken bones.

I will be happy to answer any more questions that anyone may have.

[goLC]

We had a group of 6 in Cozumel in October - just 6 women. We got a van taxi right when we got off the ship; fit us all comfortably. There was a supervisor type person who asked what we needed and he had a whole row of different taxis. Our driver took us to our beach club (Mr Sanchos) and we arranged for him to pick us back up at 3:00. He was there waiting promptly at 3. So I was very pleased with the transportation. I'm thinking it was $30 total each way, and Mr Sanchos is, I believe, farther out than Nachi. Either way, it's cheaper than a cab here.

[intandemNV]

Hi. I just got of the Inspiration Nov 5th. I went by myself and shared a room with a woman I had never met. We got along great - but I wouldn't have wanted any more people in the room! Pretty small! I literally walked right on the ship at 11:45am. There were no lines! It was the best Embarkation ever! My 3 reef snorkel in Coz was cancelled (it was windy) so I walked all around by myself and felt safe.

 

I had a great time. I'm sure you will too!

[Lv2Camp&Cruise]

:)

We had a group of 6 in Cozumel in October - just 6 women. We got a van taxi right when we got off the ship; fit us all comfortably. There was a supervisor type person who asked what we needed and he had a whole row of different taxis. Our driver took us to our beach club (Mr Sanchos) and we arranged for him to pick us back up at 3:00. He was there waiting promptly at 3. So I was very pleased with the transportation. I'm thinking it was $30 total each way, and Mr Sanchos is, I believe, farther out than Nachi. Either way, it's cheaper than a cab here.

 

Actually, Mr Sanchos is the resort right before you reach Nachi so the cab fare will be the same. :)

[smrn]

We just got off the Inspiration on monday. Went shopping for a couple hours then rented a cab for $5 each way and went to paradise island. It is Paradise. You can't go wrong.

Enjoy your cruise. We were a group of 19 women. We had 8 staterooms. We had a wonderful time and I am sure you will too.

:)