Traveled during spring break with my husband and two children ages 8 and 10. Overall, this is a great family cruise. Don't expect luxury but do expect fun.

Embarkation-Day 1

We arrived at the port of New Orleans around 12 noon. Embarkation was a mess as we stood in line two hours. It really seemed that the people at the port were very disorganized.

The Inspiration is clean but somewhat worn. I did notice that people were constantly cleaning it. Our room was an inside cabin on the Main deck. It was plain, but clean. All four of us stayed there but I would recommend getting two cabins for a family of four as storage space was not ample enough.

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After getting into our cabin we toured the boat and had one of the daily drink specials. We then had lunch in the brasserie. Food in the brasserie was pretty poor. Pizza and hamburgers were OK but the buffett food was pretty un-edible. We took the spa tour and then got ready for dinner.

Dinner in the main dining room was overall, very good. I did not like feeling rushed during dinner but food and service is well worth it. Portions are small but with multiple courses it is plenty!

Day 2-full day at sea

Make sure you read your Carnival Capers every day to get an idea of ships activities for the day. There is plenty to do and tons of activities for the kids at Camp Carnival. Some activities included scavenger hunts for the kids, poolside games for adults such as "survivor", shopping talk, snorkeling info etc. We spent most of our time at the pool but be sure to get a lounge chair early as they do fill up. That night, we attended the captains welcome party with free drinks and appetizers. Dinner was lobster and cherries jubilee for dessert. It was excellent.

Day3-full day at sea

Hung out by the pool. Nightime entertainment was a show called "El Nuevo Caribe" and it was excellent.

Day 4-Montego Bay

We arrived at Montego Bay around 7:30AM. Many passengers were on deck watching us come into port. It was a beautiful day. We went to Doctors Cave Beach and I highly recommend it. You will not get hassled there. The beach is very clean and the water is crystal clear. We then walked from the beach to Margaritaville and were hassled quite a bit by the locals. Margaritaville is a restaurant/bar but also has mulitple decks with slides and water trampolines. The kids had a blast and it was quite crowded but a lot of fun.

Day 5- Grand Cayman

We took the 10am Captain Marvins tour. They want you there by 9AM but all we did is wait at the captain marvins office, quite boring. The bus picked us up just before 10 to take us to the boat but then we waited another 30 minutes to get on the boat. The boat took us to two snorkeling reefs and then to Stingray City. If I were to do it over again, I would probably just do the 2 hour stingray tour. The reefs were nice but snorkeling is better in Cozumel and I would have preferred to see more of Grand Cayman. Stingray City is awesome and the water is the clearest and most beautiful that I have ever seen. After getting back to the port, we barely had enough time to eat lunch. Lines getting back to the tenders were very long.

Day 6-Cozumel

This was our favorite island. We spent the day at Chakanaab park and it is very beautiful. They have reefs right off of the beach where you can snorkel or scuba dive. They also have restaurants there and a dolphin encounter. The snorkeling is excellent. There are jungle trails there and a beautiful lagoon. We made it back just in time to do a little shopping but I thought it was a ripoff. The cruise director really sells the shopping in Cozumel. I suppose he gets some kind of commission.

Day7-At sea

enjoyed our last day at sea. i had a massage in the spa and really enjoyed it.

Disembarkation

Took about two hours so get ready to wait.

Summary

Great cruise for families with children. Lots to do and I can see why they call Carnival the funships. Ports of call were excellent. Food in the main dining room was very good but in contrast, very poor in the brasserie restaurant. Cabin service was not up to par as we did not meet our steward the whole time and when we paged him, he did not show up. The room was kept clean though and we liked the towel animals in our room every night. The cruise director was very good but get ready for a constant sales pitch on the excursions and the shopping in Cozumel. Shows were pretty good but the magician show was not worth it. Camp Carnival is excellent and they have a contantly changing itinerary for all age groups. Most of the passengers seemed to be families but this was a spring break crowd. Next time, we will probably try RCI or Princess just to do something different but this cruise was well worth it.