Questions about my upcoming Cruise!!?

Question

Hey everyone,

My family and close friends of mine are all going on a cruise together Sept 22nd-27th 2008. It will be on the Carnival Inspiration out of Tampa,FL and visiting Grand Cayman and then Cozumel.

The "younger" people in our group are three 19 year olds (I'm 19), two 21 year olds, 17 year old and a 15 year old. I know that we are a bit spreadout in ages, but we were all wondering if there would be other teens our age that will be on this cruise.

Also, for those that have vacationed on the Carnival Inspiration before, is it possible that you could tell me some stuff about the ship that I may find interesting or fun?

The ports we are visiting, are they any good? What are some of the highlights and stuff we should do while there?

Has anyone stayed in an inside cabin with 2 uppers before? Please explain your experience.

Sorry for all of the questions, I'm just excited haha. And you don't have to answer all of them.

Answer 1

That time of year, I wouldn't expect there to be a lot of young people on board, as school has just started back up.  Make sure you parents have notarized permission from your friends' parents - they will need it to get on the ship and should have it in case of any emergencies.  Be sure you and your friends act responsibly at all times - you can read on the site I'll give you below about what can happen when young people misbehave.  They can put you off the ship, leaving you to make arrangements to get back home on your own.  Your parents should talk with their parents about what the rules will be and what will happen if they aren't followed [e.g. who pays if people are asked to leave the ship?].  Not to put a damper on things, but it can happen.

Your cruise has two of the easiest ports to do independent excursions on.  You need to do research ahead of time if you're going to do this, and you need to make sure you get back to the ship on time - VERY IMPORTANT.  If you're on a ship's tour, they will wait for you if you're late, but they'll leave without you if you're on your own and are late.  It's especially important to watch the time in Cayman, as you need to allow time to tender back to the ship.

In Cayman, the most popular activity is to swim with the stingrays.  [See below for hints.]  This is especially better to do on your own, as the boats will be smaller and they can avoid the crowds more easily.  If there are going to be a lot of ships in port that day, planning is especially important.  

At Cozumel, many cruisers like Paradise Beach or Chankanaab Park.  I've been to both and prefer the latter.  You can grab a cab and go whenever you're ready, but the earlier the better.  [These both have websites.]

The cabin with two uppers will be very tight for space.  Cabins are very small.  Two uppers means you'll have beds similar to bunkbeds, but the uppers pull down from the wall.  [To relieve bathroom congestion, you can shower in the gym facilities!]

Go to CruiseCritic.com, click on "Boards" then "Ports of Call" to get more info about your port activities.  You can check on how many ships are in port with you at CruiseCal.com.

Have a great cruise!!

Answer 2

If you are hoping to see other young people on the cruise then Carnival is the right cruise line to go on.  You will see more there than on any other.  But still, don't expect it to be a party of young people.

Do watch out for the young people specific parties and other get togethers.

Answer 3

I haven't been on Carnival, but have been to Grand Cayman and Cozumel on different RCCL cruises.  I went to GC a little more than 4 years ago and did the Stingray City tour, but didn't book it through the cruise line.  I went through stingraycitycharters.com.  It was GREAT!  Very small group of people on the boat with us (which you'll find with most independent tour groups).  I think there were 2 stops for snorkeling and then the stop for the stingrays.  It was a lot of fun and you'll probably find alot of people will recommend doing an excursion like it.  I was in Cozumel this past January and went to Chankanaab Park and booked through the cruise line.  They took us to this Discover Mexico "attraction", which was ok, but I would have rather spent the day at the park instead of doing that portion of the tour.  There's a restaurant, snorkeling, a pool, the beach...just about everything you'd need to have a good time.  I booked this through the cruise line because there were 8 other ships in port that day and since it was my first time to Cozumel, I wanted to be sure I got to do something.

Answer 4

Carnival is a family friendly line.  Most likely there will be others your age on the ship.  It is during the school year, so there may not be many, but there will be some.

The Inspiration was recently remodeled as part of Carnival's Evolutions of Fun program.  This includes some major upgrades to the pool deck.  The water slide is now separate from the pool and is part of the new Carnival Waterworks area on the back deck.  The area around the pool is now a little more open and "resort" like.  Carnival has also added a new, adults only (meaning 18 and older) retreat on the back deck called Serenity.

Here is a link to more information on the upgrades ...

http://www.carnival.com/cms/static_templ...

Grand Cayman has my favorite shore excursion - swimming with the Stingrays.  I have done that twice.  In fact, I liked it better than swimming with the dolphins or seals at Cozumel.  

Grand Cayman does not have a deep water dock, meaning the ships anchor in the harbor and the passengers get to the shore via a tender (a smaller boat - some times it is one of the lifeboats).  This means that if the weather is bad (meaning windy) the ship will not be able to go to Grand Cayman because it will be too dangerous for passengers getting on and off tenders that are bobbing like corks in large waves.  That said, I have been to Grand Cayman three times and we have always been able to stop.  

Cozumel was hit bad by a hurricane during the 2006 record breaking hurricane season.  I was in Cozumel in June 2007 and there is still work going on.  But other than the ongoing work the port seems to be back to normal.  

As for your cabin, if you are saying that you will have four people in it, then it is going to be a bit crowded.  However, you should only be in the cabin for sleeping, showering and dressing, so it will not be that bad.  Being that there is only one bathroom, showering will be the biggest issue.