Hey, Ya'll; Just returned from our five day trip to Grand Cayman and Cozumel aboard the Inspiration.

First, the trip down: We drove down from North Florida. There were six of us and we left at 6 am. I was worried about leaving out of Tampa as the port is practicaly "Downtown". I had pulled up Flash Earth and picked out the best looking roads, then entered it into our GPS and we went straight to the port with very little hassle or traffic! We arrived a few minuets early and had to wait for the departing passengers to clear. Be sure to use the Valet Parking, about ten dollars more, as this will save your nerves getting around in Tampa! Check in was a "Breeze" it took about 10 min. as the Tampa's "Got Their Ducks In A Row"! Total time in the terminal was less than 30 min. I also liked the gangway entering on the Empress Deck, very handy to the Lido! I give the Port of Tampa five stars.

Next, The Ship: The Inspiration is a Beautiful, Well Maintained Ship! Some folks had complained about the purple decor and I was expecting tacky, but it is actually not bad at all! The layout is basically the same as the other Fantasy Class Ships, so we had no trouble gettin' 'round. The night before leaving, Carnival had announced that our itinerary had been changed and that we would be in Key West the next morning, but about three hours into the trip they changed us back! YAY, Carnival!! We had a Port Hole [PT] cabin and it was nice. This trip was rough so we felt it a little more because of the location. It wasn't very bad, though! We had encountered our first problem early. We used my Buddy's PVP and she didn't link our bookings like she was supposed to! I went to see the Maitre'd, Roland and he straightened it out, "No Problem"! He brought us a new table number before dinner! The food was Great! We ate in the Mardi Gras with Uysef [sp] as Maitre'd, and our two waiters[ they were Russian or Romanian or something unpronounceable] were a lot of fun! Hot food, hot and Cold food, cold! Just like it should be! The only time we had long lines were in the buffet during the busy times at lunch. I give the food five stars for the trip! Read more