We booked a cruise with the Inspiration through a travel agent since we were first time cruisers. The cruise was a family outing - 12 total, but the review I provide below is based on comments from my family of 4 - myself, wife, son (9yrs old) and daughter (6yrs old). We were to fly into Tampa the day of the cruise, but due to airplane mechanical issues we missed the first two days of the cruise and had to catch the ship at Grand Cayman. I would suggest that good, cheap insurance to avoid this problem is to arrive the night before and stay in a hotel.

EMBARKATION: The ship already knew that we had missed the scheduled time. They met us at the port in Grand Cayman prepared to help us on the boat. The Romanian purser (whose name now escapes me) did a wonderful job of putting us at ease. She quickly organized us and released the tender to take us to the ship. Yvonne, the excursion director, also did a great job of helping us understand what we could expect. Yvonne seemed to remember us and our troubled start and took good care of us. The embarkation couldn't have been more simple. We whisked into the ship, found our room, and whisked back out to attend our first excursion.

SHORE EXCURSIONS: Grand Cayman - We took the Turtle Farm, Hell and Sting Ray City excursion. All were interesting, with the Sting Ray stop being the most fun. Unfortunately, the water was too deep for our 6yr old daughter and she had to rely on a life vest. The area was a little crowded (approx 250 people - 6 different boats). I would still recommend the sting ray stop - they were magnificent creatures and several of them could be found swimming through legs. Cozumel - we booked the jeep tour which turned out to be about 6 hours. Luis and Clemente were excellent and took part in all activities that we did along the way. The Mayan ruin stop along the tour was not worth the time, but the beach stop was perfect. Food, drinks and a small crowd made the stop worth while. Read more