Need Planning Help with Carnival / Caribbean Ports

[MsBoomerang]

Hi All,

 

I'm thinking of planning a cruise to celebrate a birthday. Our daughter will be 10 in early January 2009 and has been wanting to try a cruise. Prices that time of year are very attractive and she happens to have a few days off of school around then.

 

Since this is her 1st cruise I think something shorter would be best and that brought me to Carnival. I have cruised before but not with Carnival.

 

Our daughter has a disability so I am trying to figure out solutions to any barriers I can anticipate. Two things concern me - lack of a bathtub and tendering. She has a difficult time standing in a shower. A hand held shower head, along with possibly a shower chair, could easily solve the problem. After seeing some of the photos posted in reviews it seems as though Carnival has shower heads that can be detached and held in your hand? Can anyone confirm this? We are considering the Fantasy, Fascination and Inspiration. We don't really need a HC cabin and wouldn't want to take one that someone else may truly need. I suppose we could book a suite, I assume those have tubs, but that is pricey and we have used the above solution often when traveling and it works out just fine.

 

The other concern is tendering. Potential ports are:

 

Cozumel - the last time I was there (with Princess) we did not have to tender. Has any one had to tender there? I don't know what specific day we might be there so I can't tell you how many ships are going to be there.

 

Progresso - ??.

 

Grand Cayman - I've been there with Holland and Princess. If I recall correctly, we had to tender. Is that dependent on # of ships?

 

Nassau - never had to tender. Has anyone?

 

Freeport - ??.

 

Key West - ??

 

Tedious questions I know, but in our situation planning can make all the difference. Any knowledge you can pass along would be very much appreciated. Thanks!

[yst347]

The shower heads are detachable not fixed.

Of the places you have listed, only Grand Cayman is a tender port.

 

Good Luck! :)

[serene56]

Grand Cayman is ALWAYS a tendered port no matter how many ships in port-

 

Why not an eastern caribbean== St thomas, st marten, San Juan.

I think the destiny out of florida is doing a 5 day run there.

 

Before deciding on a ship-- might i suggest checking out the cruise critc groups..

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=24

 

freeport and nassau are docks---

keywest we docked at a pier far away from anything and we had to take a shuttle- so that is dependant on where you dock.

 

with the older class fantasy class ships you want to be careful of what type of room you get-- how many will be in your sailing party-- 3 people you proably dont want an upper bed but a convertible sofa bed--or a rollaway which takes up precious floor space.

you also want to be careful of whats over the cabin-- you do not want to be under the galley.

 

the 3 day cruises are more party barges= lots of young people trying to cram in as much in a 3 day cruise as one of a 7 day cruise. if you cant doa 7 day cruise at least consider a 5 day one.= your daughter will love it

[MsBoomerang]

yst347 and serene56 -

 

Thanks for the quick info! We are interested in these particular ships because NOLA, Tampa and Jacksonville are all within driving distance. South Florida would be too far. These are all 4/5 night itineraries, we are strongly leaning towards the 5 night, because of the reason you discussed serene56, and also because it is such a good value, why not! There would probably be 4 of us, so we would get 2 cabins.

[Ship Addict]

Hi All,

 

Our daughter has a disability so I am trying to figure out solutions to any barriers I can anticipate. Two things concern me - lack of a bathtub and tendering. She has a difficult time standing in a shower. A hand held shower head, along with possibly a shower chair, could easily solve the problem. After seeing some of the photos posted in reviews it seems as though Carnival has shower heads that can be detached and held in your hand? Can anyone confirm this? We are considering the Fantasy, Fascination and Inspiration. We don't really need a HC cabin and wouldn't want to take one that someone else may truly need. I suppose we could book a suite, I assume those have tubs, but that is pricey and we have used the above solution often when traveling and it works out just fine.

 

You should be able to request a shower chair. Discuss this with whomever you book with -- TA or PVP. They will let you know what to do. The handheld shower head is great and will fit the bill for what you need. The showers are plenty big in case she needs help in the shower -- you can even open the curtain and let the water hit the rest of the bathroom -- there is another drain in the main bathroom floor. Just don't leave stuff sitting around you don't want to get wet!

 

The other concern is tendering. Potential ports are:

 

Cozumel -

 

You shouldn't need to tender anymore. I think Carnival's main dock is open again.

 

Progresso - ??.

 

No tender here either, but it is a LONG walk to get to some un-air-conditioned buses that take you into town. Half the windows on our bus did not work. It was hot a miserable on the bus, so be prepared with cold drinks, wet bandanas, whatever you need to help you endure the heat on the ride.

 

Grand Cayman -

 

Everyone tenders in this port.

 

Nassau - never had to tender. Has anyone?

 

Freeport - ??.

 

It's been 17 years since I have been to these ports, but if I remember correctly, you didn't have to tender at either one.

 

Key West - ??

 

dunno.

 

Tedious questions I know, but in our situation planning can make all the difference. Any knowledge you can pass along would be very much appreciated. Thanks!

 

Hope this helps a little! I have been on all 3 of these ships and they are all beautiful.

[stu & SAND]

Just a question to all and maybe some help... aren't the showers in the spa fairly large? Wouldn't it be easier for someone who needs more room use one of these showers? Just tryin' to be helpful and offer altenatives...

[Texaswinediva]

Key West is not a tender port.

[MsBoomerang]

Just a question to all and maybe some help... aren't the showers in the spa fairly large? Wouldn't it be easier for someone who needs more room use one of these showers? Just tryin' to be helpful and offer altenatives...

 

Good point. I wondered about that too. Since we never know exactly how things are going to work until we actually see what we are working with, this could be a plan B.

[Ship Addict]

Good point. I wondered about that too. Since we never know exactly how things are going to work until we actually see what we are working with, this could be a plan B.

 

Does she need a scooter or wheelchair to get into the bathroom area or can she walk? If she can get into the shower area under her own power or just some human assistance, I think the shower in your cabin should be plenty big.

 

Yes, the showers in the spa are bigger, but they just have a curtain for a "door," (if I remember correctly) so I think with an additional person in there, someone would constantly be hitting the shower curtain and privacy would be lost.