My husband, 7 year-old son and I had planned a group vacation with family from Canada for over a year to attend the wedding of a cousin on Grand Cayman Island in Dec. Our trip was pre-paid and tightly planned to the hour. We had 38 people in our group, many with suites and balconies on the ship, so we were not unnoticeable. We arrived in South Beach a couple of days prior to the sailing to spend time with family and while looking through our documentation the night before, noticed my husband was missing his birth certificate. My son and I both had our passports in order, so we called the crusie line to inquire, and were reassured that they would try to make it possible for my husband to board the ship.
We arrived with our large group and moved through the line. When we reached the point where ID was presented, my husband explained his situation to the gentleman. At that point, we were pulled from the line, and escorted outside where we were asked to remove our luggage from the carts. After much searching, we located our bags and asked to have help to remove them. I'm not kidding. They wanted us to unload our own luggage and haul it out. They then escorted us up into the terminal like criminals and questioned us in public for info or solutions in how we were going to obtain our info. We called a friend to go to our home and look for the documentation, but he was unable to find it.
Ironically, the person grilling us was HEAVILY accented and my husband is third generation American, with retired Peace Officer ID, Retired Military ID and a state driver's licence. At this point they asked us to leave the terminal... We couldn't loiter, and did we have an airline ticket out of Miami. They wanted all 3 of us to leave at this point. I told the person that my young son and I would board the ship and my husband would fly home. He seemed almost disappointed.
Oh... It doesn't end. We boarded the ship and resolved to have a good time. It started OK. Then began the endless... Endless grub for money. From the incessant picture ops, to the jewelry sales, the port shopping, the drinks... Ad nauseum. I was bombarded from morning to night.
The incessant music on the Lido deck, the incredible lines of food-seekers that actually put me off my appetite, and then the cheesy... Oh so cheesy entertainment. It was like the worst immitation of Vegas at sea.
To be fair... The rooms were nice. The dining rooms were nice. The food - palatable-but only just. The buffet food was horrendous and I'm no snob. The worst - the non-stop music from the lido deck. The only solace I found on board was on my balcony. The adults only 'serenity' area, was filled with chatty drunks and european nudists. Eccch! If people wanted the good deck areas, they just monopolized them by placing towels and shoes and they stayed filled all day. I gave up.
All in all - a huge disappointment. The saving grace was my friends and family on the cruise. 38 people - reserved an entire bar for a reception... Monopolized the piano bar for dancing and the disco later... Sneaked a 3 year old in after 10. The best part: One of the people in our group is a 30 years experienced travel agent. I am sending a copy of this to all in my party. 38 People WORD OF MOUTH = PRICELESS!!! Oh, and by the way... On the last night of the cruise... The brother of the bride proposed to his girlfriend... Wedding in one year - NOT ON CARNIVAL CRUISE LINES!!! Amen
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