Carnival Cruise to Grand Cayman Review

Most Fascinating Place I've Visited

In 2009, my husband, son, Dad , sister in law and brother in law took a Carnival cruise to Grand Cayman. We were supposed to be sailing to Cancun also but that stop was changed,  and we spent 2 days in Grand Cayman. The 1st day was the best, we were the only ship in port so we decided to do our excursion then.

All of us thought snorkeling and swimming with the stingrays in Stingray City would be awesome. Getting the excursion off the boat was the best option for us. For $20.00 per person, we were taken to a spot for 45 minutes of snorkeling, which was absolutely amazing. The water was so clear and calm that day.

We got to see the beautiful colors of the fish, conch on the bottom and even turtles swimming along with us. After the time snorkeling, we got back on the boat and headed to Stingray City. It is a fabulous spot where all the stingrays seem calm and they know that people will be there daily to touch, swim and feed them. They seem so docile but we all know they can be deadly killers. My son was kind of scared of them, but had a blast touching and even kissing one! To feed them, all you do is hold a shrimp in your hand and they will glide over your hand sucking up the shrimp. It felt weird, but it was amazing to see these creatures and how they have adapted to the humans in their environment.

After Stingray City, we rode in the van and were dropped off at Seven Mile Beach. Walking into the beach area, there were little lizards scooting around, amazing beautiful flowers and lots of palm trees. Seven Mile Beach is a beautiful place to stop and admire the glistening blue green water. If you love beaches, this isn't one to miss. My sister in law talked us into walking back to the ship, that was a hike~ ha ha. On our way back we were amazed by the iguanas that were just roaming the roads along with us. Some were laying in the sun, others were hanging out in trees and some would run from us trying to take pictures. Finally back on board the ship, we headed out to sea for the night and then back into Grand Cayman the next day. On the 2nd day, we were joined by 3 other Carnival ships. It was crowded so we decided to do a little shopping and the tourist thing. They have Margaritaville and the Harley shop, of course we headed into them. Just walking through the town and gazing at the buildings, I love the feel of the Caribbean. Grand Cayman is an amazing place to visit, I would love to spend a week or so there. I would recommend everyone visiting there at least once!

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You May Need a Travel Agent If...Planning a Vacation? Where Do You Start?

You’ve decided to go on vacation!  A cruise sounds just perfect for your family, you think, so, you can do one of the two following options:

1. Look up what cruise lines service where, because I’d prefer to go out of Florida.  Or maybe Galveston?  Oh gosh, there are like 300 ships in Florida.  Okay, which is better? Carnival?  Royal Caribbean?  Norwegian?  Princess?  Celebrity?  Disney? I’ll check Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Princess, Celebrity, Disney.  Should I call?  Look online?  How do I know I’m getting the best price?  Why does my state of residency matter?  Should I call? I have small kids, what line is best? Do I need a hotel the day before?  I’ll check Expedia, Kayak, Trivago, Hotels.com. Oh, gosh, some of those have cruises too. What is better? Should I go through the hotel directly? How do I know it’s a safe hotel?  I’ll check Trip Advisor.  Oh, I can price things there too.  Maybe Hilton?  Hampton Inn? A Disney hotel? Where do I book that? Staybridge? Where has free breakfast?  Any of them have shuttles to the port? Should I call? What is onboard credit?  What is OBC?  What can I use it on?  How much will I get? What type of cabin?  Are insides really dark?  Will it be noisy?  What deck is good?  Why can’t I find one that fits four people?  I guess I’ll call. I heard dining is handled differently on cruises, how does that work?  Should I call?  Is three days enough?  Four?  Seven?  Is Nassau safe?  What should we do about shore excursions?  Is a verandah worth it? What does gratuity cover? Oh, main, late and anytime dining…what should I choose?  What are specialty restaurants? How can I celebrate a special occasion?  Can I decorate my cabin door?  What is muster?  What time will my cabin be ready?  What legal documents do I need for my family? I have a stepchild, should I call? Can I bring my own alcohol? Is there a nursery? Charge for nursery?  Do I need reservations?  Soda? Water?  What do I do about motion sickness?  What is debarkation? I read somewhere luggage pick up is the night before?  How do I get to and from the airport and port?  Should I come in a day early?  What items aren’t allowed onboard?  Should I call? How are the kids clubs?  What times do they run?  What programs do they offer?  How do I sign up for those?  Do they cost?  How much spending money should we plan for?  Do I tip anyone else? What about tour guides?  What do I do with my luggage when we arrive at port?  My Grandma might want to come but is disabled, should I call? How do we link dining to sit with someone else we know?  How do we request that we not be seated with anyone else? What are the adult only areas like?  Is there gambling?  Should I get insurance?  How should I time the flights, can I book one for 10 AM the debarkation morning? And what exactly is debarkation? Do they have accommodations for autism?  Food allergies?  I should call.  How much luggage can we bring?  Is there ice in the cabin?  What are the bathrooms like?  Where do we store our suitcases in the cabin?  What if we don’t want to sit down for a formal meal, what else can we do?  Soda is included, right?  Should I look into loyalty programs?  What do the cruise lines mean by “private island”?   Can I get wake up calls?  I read somewhere there might be a sewage smell in the bathroom?  What difference does it make if the ship is older? Smaller?  Bigger?  What if there is rough waters?  What do we do for breakfast and lunch if dinner is the only planned meal?  Why do we only get to eat in one dining room?  What is rotational dining?  For the flights, should I pay for assigned seating?  Do more open up later?  How much is luggage check?  How much can I bring?  Can we bring golf clubs? I see flights on American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Delta Airlines, some mixtures that I found on Kayak, I’m not sure what the difference is?  I called, but they aren’t nice.  How far in advance should I buy flights? Should I call the cruise line, when I pick it, and try to get flights that way?  How far in advance should I do online check in? When is final payment due?  Should I book spa treatments in advance?  I found one cruise that is $800 per person and one is $1300 per person, why would anyone choose the more expensive one?  Can we use cash onboard?  Why do I have to put a credit card in?

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2. Contact an agent at Travel Time, for free.

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Let us make your vacation even easier!  We'll help you plan from the start and can advise you and handle your arrangements, including dining, fast passes, room requests, discount application, and celebrations.  We are the same price or less than if you book on your own, and you get us for FREE!  Have an expert on your side at zero cost to you and contact one of our agents today!