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| In 1992 I succumbed to the lure of a very low group fare and set sail on Carnival's Inspiraton out of San Juan. What a big mistake. Our ports included my all time favorits St. Thomas, Guadeloupe, Grenada, St. Lucia and Santo Donimgo. I did not see too much of Grenada. I went on a snorkel tour in the morning. The snorkeling was great and the 'Rhum Runner' lots of fun. Walking along the dock area one was assualted on all sides by the vendors, each with the absolute best price and merchandise. It looked pretty much the same to me. I did buy the usual souveniers to take back home and some spices for myself. Guadeloupe is an island I doubt that I will ever visit again. I was not inpressed. Typical of some French locales, the locals were not very friendly. St. Lucia is a beautiful island and the people are a delight. I tok the tour from the ship and saw a good bit of the island. The banana plantations are interesting to ride through. There are some scary curves and some breathtaking sights. The views of the harbor from the hillsides are spectacular. |
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| Santo Domingo was not too much to my liking. Our tour had more walking than was advertised. My girlfriend and I were about pooped by then and really not up to a lot of walking. I have to blame the cruise staff member who assured us that we would not have much walking at all. The tour guide really got my dander up. All he talked about was how he was so glad to be back in S.D and away from horrible New York. He only stayed long enough to retire from State employment and get his benefits. The people were not as nice as on other islands either. The were rather rude. In fact the ship actually started the cruise out of Santo Domingo on Sat. loading and unloading then on to San Juan where the other half of the passengers boarded. Even on the ship the guests from Santo Domingo were very pushy and rude. When ever I have travelled out of the country I always try to learn some of the native language. Even if it is only please and thank you. Not these people. They would jostle you out of the elevator and just go their way. No common courtesy. | |||||
| After 2 cruises with Royal Caribbean International, I was sorely dissappointed with the service, food and decor on the Inspiration. The food was good but not great in the dining room and average in the bistro. Service was ok but not what I expected. The decor in most of the public rooms was too garish for my tastes. I am certainly not an old fuddy duddy ( after all on a previous cruise I did win the hog calling contest, although I lost the beer chugging) but I prefer the understated elegance of RCI ships. The cruise director was very young as far as cruise directors seem to go and if he had said "Let's give it up for....." one more time, I would have strangled him. Whatever happened to phrases like "A round of applause" or "How about a hand for"? | |||||