Susan DeVries

Age: 24
Occupation: Bookkeeper
Number of Cruises: 1
Cruise Line: Carnival
Name of Ship: Inspiration
Sailing Date: September 29th, 2002
Itinerary: Western Caribbean


My husband and I sailed on our 1st cruise (honeymoon) on the Inspiration on Sept. 29-Oct. 6, 2002. I am from New Orleans, and we were married there the night before, so there wasn’t really any touring happening beforehand. We arrived at the pier (based on previous travelers’ directions) around lunch time, and after checking in (the lines move pretty quickly) we were herded like cattle into another area to sit and wait. The wait wasn’t too bad. They were pretty organized, just didn’t realize so many people were cruising that day. The only downfall at this point was the fact that my travel agent (from N.O.) did not give adequate directions to the pier. I AM from New Orleans, but had never cruised before. I knew the basic area, but had no idea exactly where I was going or what to expect when we pulled up. Turns out the best bet is to have someone drop you off (that’s what we did) instead of paying to park there. A couple we met on the cruise drove in from Atlanta and paid $10/day for parking. Even though it is a paid lot, New Orleans isn’t exactly the safest place to leave your car unattended for a week. At the very least, don’t leave anything in your car you care about keeping. There is a sort of semi-circle drive where you’ll see attendants waiting to help you with your bags. Just pull up along side of the drive and pop the trunk and they’ll take it from there. Also- be sure to tip these guys, maybe $2/bag, after all, they are responsible for whether your baggage gets on the ship or not!

On the way to the dock, you’ll have your picture taken, whether you like it or not. It’s not going to be the best picture, (w/carnival cruise’s backdrop) but buy it anyway for the memory. Lol Walking up the ramp to get onto the ship, an ID picture will be taken. You won’t RECEIVE an ID, they just take your picture, so that when you slide your card to get on and off the ship, they can look at the picture and see that you’re really you. This also helps them to determine that they have everyone on the ship before they leave a port.

I thought I would be lost on this ship, because from the outside it looks so huge. I did get a little turned around, but after a day, I really knew my way around. It’s actually not that big of a ship. The shows were ok, but some of them we missed because we had late seating for dinner. They try to accommodate you with the dance/musical shows by having two of them, one for early and one for late seating, but there were some shows that I wanted to see that I didn’t because of the late seating. I have to say, there weren’t many (if any) children at the late seating dinner. So it was good for the honeymooners!

One of the nights for dinner the wait staff brought us out a little “happy honeymoon” cake and sang to us. It was cute. There’s a few things the staff does to make you feel extra special. It is a very nice experience and they really do work hard for the tips. There was a new towel design (in the shape of a lobster, snake, etc) on our bed every night. We would leave the room for 10 minutes and come back, and our beds were made, new towels were put in the bathroom and ice had been refilled. That was kind of neat. How do they know you’re gone? lol Each member of the staff is from a different place in the world, so it is interesting to hear them speak. The food in the dining room was the best on the ship, but that isn’t saying much. I mean, the entrees were great, but the desserts and appetizers. I've had better. But then again, being from New Orleans, my standards may be a little high. Food on the lido deck and brasserie was mediocre, and so was the room service food. The room service came in handy for me at the end of the trip, considering I broke my foot 2 nights before we were to return. People ranted and raved about the food in reviews before I experienced it for myself and realized they obviously haven’t had real food. But, considering it is a cruise ship that has to stay at sea for a week with no supplies delivered, the food (fruit, bread, etc) was pretty fresh. When you think about all the work that goes into feeding everyone on the ship alone, it is worth the cost.

Our ports were supposed to be Grand Cayman, Jamaica and Cozumel, but thanks to hurricane Lily, we had to skip Grand Cayman, which really upset me because I was looking forward to GC the most. Carnival will alter the route before putting you in harms way, and you have to commend them for that. I still feel like we got our money’s worth, even though we missed a port.

Cozumel was first. Our shore tours were cancelled because of the weather/choppy water, so we were on our own to site-see. We took a cab to Chankanaab National Park. The cost was $10 one way, so $20 total there and back. Admission to the park was $10/person. I believe there is some kind of marine life show there. There’s also snorkeling (gear available for rental - $7/person) and garden/ruins tour. There’s little huts and lounging chairs you can sit under and relax in, for no extra charge. The only thing I didn’t like was that the beach is not your regular beach where you can wade into the water. It’s rocky and there’s steps to get into the water. The water was really choppy that day, so the waves were crashing. I’m not a big water fan, but my husband is, and he had a blast. Got lots of great underwater pics of fish with our underwater camera (run about $100, but disposable ones you can get for about $10). Disposable cameras will only go so many feet, but if you’re only planning on snorkeling, that’s all you’ll need. Oh yea, and buy ALL your film/cameras, etc. BEFORE the trip. They have them available in the gift shops on the ship, but they are extremely expensive. Also, bring a few dryer sheets and a zip lock bag of a scoop of laundry detergent just in case you need it.

A big question I had was “what do you do with your money/cards/wallet while you’re in the water?” You can buy a waterproof pack at an adventure sports store that might sell equipment for kayaking and diving. These run about $25, but a cheaper suggestion might be to have a female hold the money in a zip lock bag (make sure it’s zipped!) and just put it in a safe place insider her bathing suit (if ya know what I mean). We brought our waterproof fanny pack thing, but didn’t need it because most of the time, I didn’t go into the water, so everything stayed with me.

After Chankanaab, we ate at Carlos n Charlie's and I had a pina colada. It was really good. The average cost for a meal there (2 appetizers, 2 entrees, 2 or 3 drinks) was about $50, which isn’t really bad. After that, we walked around the shops, but were exhausted, so went back to the boat. Since the shore tours were cancelled, and since Grand Cayman was cancelled, all the charges were credited to our acct.

Jamaica was pretty. We took the wet n wild tour. The boat is kind of rickety but it wasn’t too bad. The water was so clear we could see the fish and coral just looking over the catamaran. The catamaran took us snorkeling then to Margaritaville for about 20 minutes. From there we had the option to get back to the boat by taxi or by catamaran. We chose to go back the way we came for fear of being brought somewhere else, never to be found again. We’ve heard some horror stories, and Jamaica is so poor, there are beggars and people trying to sell you weed, etc. So be careful there!

Even though I had a lot to complain about (the hurricane, the cancelled shore tours, cancelled GC, broken foot, etc) we still had a great time. Someone (staff) even called our cabin to see how I was doing after my visit to the infirmary. Special thanks to Kyle and April (our dinner table mates) for helping me out the night I broke my foot! Overall it was a great experience, and we’d like to go again possibly on a bigger, newer ship. I also recommend getting an outer cabin with a window. There were several times we took naps and couldn’t tell if it was daylight or night outside and there’s no alarm clocks in the rooms! Our trip cost a total of about $1400.

I know I’ve probably left a lot out, even though this summary has turned into a novel. If you have any questions, email me!