I just recently returned from a cruise with my sister Becky. She is 28 and I am 15. Just to let you know. Anyway, we got to New Orleans a day early to see Bourbon Street and to eat at a good Cajun restaurant. Well, we live in Texas and miscalculated the time, so we got there around 9:00 p.m on Saturday night. It was dark and we didn't know where we were going and we couldn't find Bourbon Street (hard to believe but true) so we went back to our hotel and ate at a fast food restaurant. The next day was Sunday (St. Patrick's Day) and we arrived at the cruise terminal about 10:00 a.m. When we got there people were still getting off the ship so we waited around 5 minutes. Then we were checked in and got a guy to take our luggage. It was still too early to get on the ship so we went to the Riverwalk and picked up some things that we forgot. I highly recommend getting one of those little waterproof cases that you wear around your neck to hold your money and identification if you are going snorkeling. We shopped for about 2 hours and then boarded the ship after sitting and waiting for 15 minutes. I don't see why they take a picture of you getting on the ship when there are people you don't know behind you in your picture. And they expect that you to want to buy it. Thats okay, its just 20 dollars that was still in my pocket. Since it was just me and my sister we decided to get the cheapest room possible the upper and lower room. I was amazed at how roomy it was. I expected it to be small and cramped, but we were fairly happy with it. The 2 days at sea were fun. I especially liked High Tea Time. Our room steward's name was Menino, he was very attentive and earned every penny we gave him. Our dining room staff was Paul our head waiter from Romania and Mica our assistant waiter from Croatia .They were okay, but I expected better. I was just recently looking at our Carnival brochure and our waiter Paul is in there. I was surprised to see him. Anyways, the first port was Montego Bay, Jamaica. I arranged with Carolyn Barrett over the internet...I would highly recommend her. When we got off the ship she was there with a sign that had my name on it. She told us that her husband would be taking us instead. He was such a great tour guide. First he took us to Y.S. Falls. When we got there we were about the only ones there. It was soooo beautiful. One guy that was there took us underneath the waterfall, he also took us to a part that when you sat under the waterfall it felt like a back massage. That was fun. He then took me over to this rope and he expected me to get on it and swing into the water. Well, he and his friend helped me get on it and I did it twice. After that we swam around for a while and then were on our way. By the way, our tour guide's name was Errol. So, Errol took us to this cute little cafe. There was a part inside for people to eat and a part outside under a hut .Errol thought it best that we sit outside because of the breath-taking view .It was soooo gorgeous. And we were the only ones out there. I had shrimp soup for an appetizer and so did my sister and then for my main course I had chicken and my sister had crab cakes. Just thought you guys might like to know what we ate. Anyways, I found a couple of conch shells on the beach and Errol went down and got them for me. I picked one to take home, hey it's a free souvenir. So when he was down there he found a hermet crab and I held it. Since we only had a certain amount of time in Montego Bay we had to hurry and go to the Hummingbird Sanctuary. We stayed there for around 20 minutes. We fed the finches and they would land on your hand, and of course the main attraction were the hummingbirds. They would come and scare me and my sister to death because they sounded like wasps, but after the first couple of times of them coming up to us we were okay. After that we went back to the ship so we could be there at least thirty minutes before the ship was due to leave. The next morning we were in Grand Cayman. I had arranged to do Captain Marvin's three hour tour to a coral reef, a coral garden, and to Stingray City. It was fun. My sister was scared of the stingrays. Every time one came by she would jump on my back. I was a little scared at first but then I fed one twice and I held a baby one. We had a great time there, and it was only 39 dollars.The next day we were in Cozumel, Mexico. That day we went shopping. It is well worth the 10 dollar taxi ride to get down town. I don't think I could have walked that far and back in time to get on the ship, plus it was very hot and humid. First we went to all the jewelry shops to find the bargains we had heard about at the shopping seminar on the ship. My sister got the free pair of Tanzanite earrings and I got the Cozumel silver charm. Which is good because I have a charm bracelet. The only thing is, instead of them putting Inspiration on the back they put Carnival. But I prefer the Carnival instead. After our shopping we went back to the ship to eat. Then we took a taxi ride for 8 dollars to Chankanaab National Park. We paid 10 dollars to get in. When we got there we wanted to go swimming, but when we got in the water these little nasty things were all in it. So we just decided to lay in the sun. Well, the sun lasted for about 15 minutes and then the sky got dark and it began to rain. Not hard but it rained. So we went to the botanical gardens. I wasn't very impressed. We waited for the rain to stop, but it didn't so we layed under a hut. After around 2 hours we left. I probably wouldn't go back to Chankanaab and pay ten dollars to get in and $8 for the taxi ride.The next day was a fun day at sea and for some reason it was really cold and windy. But other than that our vacation was sunny weather the whole time. Out of Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Mexico our favorite port was Jamaica. Overall I had a great cruising experience and can't wait to go on another cruiseBubblegum14EBApril 2002