You're welcome for the time. This way, I get to help you, but I also get to relive the great time we had...
There are three pools- one on deck 10 with one hot tub right next to the slide. There are two pools on deck 9, one outside with two hot tubs right behind the stage and the other is aft by the pizzeria and hamburger station. That one has a retractable roof, so the roof maybe open or closed depending on the weather. But the roof is a skylight, so it still has natural light. The are two more hot tubs back there, these are "adult only". I think that means 18 and older. I found this area to be less crowded when it was nice. Security would kick kids out of these, which was nice. I don't think people realized the roof opened up back there and they tended to crowd around the two outdoor pools. Also, there is a hot tub in the gym. This one is adult only as well. It has a waterfall behind it, but it is indoors with a skylight.
There is alot of chair saving everywhere by the pools, so beware. People put their towels down and you don't see them for the rest of the day.
Next-
Getting off at Grand Cayman was no problem. We had a 9:15am excursion, so we were told to meet in the Degas Lounge and then when the tender was there someone directed us to walk down to deck 0 and we got right on the boat. No waiting! Getting back on board was a different story. We waited 45 minutes at least to board a boat going back to the ship. No customs check or anything here, just waiting for the boats to go back and forth to the ship.
Carnival doesn't have a private beach there, but there is an excursion that goes to 7 mile beach. You'll be better off getting advice from some more seasoned cruisers about what to do and where to go on Grand Cayman.
On Cozumel-
We took the catamaran/snorkel tour and had a blast. After snorkeling we went to a private beach for an hour or so. I have heard that Chakunab Park is the place to go. I would check that out if I went again.
As far as evening meals, I wore tropical/Hawaiian shirts and linen-type white pants and sandals, which I thought was fine. The dress code is no shorts, jeans, or t-shirts. So anything but that is good. My wife wore summer-y dresses. We saw people wearing shorts and thought it was not allowed, so go figure. It looked to me like most men had shirts like mine or short sleeve dress shirts and slacks. Follow the dress code, you'll be fine, you're on vacation! On the formal nights, I wore a black suit and tie and my wife had her formal/cocktail dresses. There were some men with tuxs but not many. I wasn't going to get a tux just for a cruise.
Lastly,
If you are not interested in Jamaica, stay on the boat. But I didn't want to be right there and not see it at least once in my life. If you do ANYTHING in Jamaica, just stay with your tour group and you'll be okay.
Hope this helps.
Post Edited (07-28-03 13:53)
