Carnival cruise eastern caribbean

Many first-timers looking for a tried-and-true cruise experience test the waters between Florida's Atlantic Coast and islands of the Eastern Caribbean, the most frequented sea lanes in the world, at least in terms of cruise-ship traffic. The standard one-week circuit from Miami or Fort Lauderdale continues to dominate Caribbean cruising. Even the short-cruise market is centered on the state's east coast, with three- and four-day hops from Port Canaveral to the Bahamas a long-established phenomenon.

For a tropical voyage with a twist, switch sides and set sail for the Western Caribbean from west-central Florida, specifically Tampa, the fastest-growing cruise port in North America. Since 1991, the number of passengers traveling through this city on the Gulf of Mexico has skyrocketed 450 percent. Passenger counts have shot from 200,000 in 1998 to nearly 700,000 last year as more and bigger ships have offered Western Caribbean itineraries from Tampa. Since Carnival Cruise Lines started service from Tampa in 1994, the city has emerged as the fourth busiest port for the "Fun Ships."

Currently, Carnival's 2,052-passenger Sensation offers four- and five-day Western Caribbean swings that mix two days at sea with visits to Cozumel, Mexico, and either Grand Cayman island or Key West, Florida. Both cruises, ideal for those short on time and money, can be easily combined with hotel stays in Tampa or Orlando (less than two hours away) for a neatly wrapped land/sea vacation.

Cozumel, a sun-kissed isle basking off the Yucatan peninsula, provides a great introduction to the Mexican Caribbean. The town of San Miguel is a shopper's paradise, and the coral reefs attract scuba divers from all over the world. Many daytrippers, though, are perfectly content to just relax on the white-sand beaches.

Some would argue Cozumel's chief draw is its proximity to the ancient Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza and Tulum. Carnival's day-long shore excursion to the walled city of Tulum, the single most visited Mayan ruin, involves a 40-minute ferry ride to Playa del Carmen on the mainland, then a one-hour, air-conditioned bus ride. Tulum was the only Mayan city built on the coast and the only one inhabited when the Spanish conquistadors arrived in the 1500s. The most prominent of its 60 structures is a pyramid topped with a temple to the god Kulkukan. Visitors also marvel at the Temple of the Frescoes, Temple of the

Descending Gods, and House of Columns, but most memories center on dramatic panoramas of the turquoise sea from the towering cliffs.

Another all-day adventure is Carnival's "Tropical Jeep Safari Tour." Traveling in a convoy on Cozumel's bumpy roads through lush mangrove jungles, guests watch for iguanas, tropical birds, and other wildlife. Highlights include a cave tour and secluded beach picnic. Guests (four to a Jeep) share driving responsibilities.

A variety of ship-arranged snorkel and scuba-diving excursions showcases Cozumel's crystal-clear waters and marine life of the world's second largest

barrier reef system. Palancar Reef, about a mile offshore, is the most famous dive site, with its elephant-ear sponges, black and red coral, and caves, canyons, and tunnels. Visibility ranges from 150 to 200 feet. Other active outings feature horseback riding, golf, and mountain biking. The popular "Catamaran Sail & Snorkel" tour gives guests a chance to snorkel over some of the reefs, followed by a beach party with opportunities for volleyball, sea kayaking, and just snoozing in a hammock.

Shopping is the main focus of many cruise passengers in San Miguel, and most of the activity takes place along the waterfront. Favorite souvenirs include colorful bark paintings and papier-mache figures, straw placemats and hats, hammocks, silver and copper plates, black coral jewelry, and leather sandals and handbags. Exquisite silver jewelry is big business, but don't expect big bargains.

Like Cozumel, Grand Cayman has become one of the world's top dive destinations, with a system of underwater marine parks offering shipwrecks and dazzling coral reefs. Carnival offers dive tours for beginners and certified divers. Its "Shore Snorkel Experience" goes to Treasure Island Resort on Grand Cayman's famous Seven Mile Beach, where brilliant blue water meets sparkling white sand. The shimmering strand, actually less than six miles long, is regularly rated one of the Caribbean's top beaches.

Those who do not scuba-dive or snorkel can still enjoy the treasures of the deep, either on a glass-bottom boat cruise or a sightseeing submarine. In air-conditioned comfort, passengers on the Atlantis XI submarine explore to depths of up to 100 feet, passing in front of huge barrel sponges, star corals, grouper, snapper, turtles, and stingrays.

On a shallow Grand Cayman sandbar is Stingray City, where everyone--even non-swimmers--can feed and pet the groups of tame stingrays while standing in three to five feet of water. The area, once used by fishermen to clean their catch, has long attracted the gentle creatures, some with "wing" spans exceeding six feet. Besides feeding squid to the seemingly alien rays, tour participants can snorkel with them.

Another hands-on experience awaits at the Cayman Turtle Farm, one of the island's classic attractions. At petting tanks, visitors can pick up and cuddle some of the babies. The largest turtles weigh in at nearly 700 pounds. The farm's restaurant serves turtle soup and turtle sandwiches. Nearby in the West Bay area is the town of Hell, so named for its ominous outcroppings of black rocks. A favorite tourist activity is buying postcards to be postmarked "Hell, Grand Cayman." The Tortuga Rum Factory store, with its tempting rum cakes, is another fixture on the shore-excursion circuit.

George Town, the capital, abounds with duty-free shops selling perfume, jewelry, cameras, and electronics. But it has even more banks. One of the world's top offshore financial centers, it's been called the "Switzerland of the Caribbean."

Key West, a fun-loving island off the tip of mainland Florida, is a great day-trip destination. You can walk almost anywhere from the cruise-ship docks, located almost at the heart of Old Town, the most fascinating and historic part of Key West. Other onshore options include renting a bike (it's relatively flat terrain) and the open-air, trolley-type Conch Tour Train. Sights include the Ernest Hemingway House, Harry S. Truman Little White House, and the marker indicating Key West's status as the southernmost point in the continental United States.

Closer to Cuba (just 90 miles away) than to Miami, Key West is both an island and a city (with about 50,000 residents). Long a home for artists, writers, and various eccentrics, it blends overtones of New Orleans with the ambiance of the Caribbean. A stroll down Duval Street, the main drag, appeals to shoppers, history buffs, and people-watchers; souvenir stores and art galleries abound, as do bars and sidewalk cafes. Have a drink and buy a T-shirt at Sloppy Joe's, a Hemingway haunt and one of the most celebrated bars in the world.

Those who would rather commune with the natural side of the Florida Keys opt for Carnival's kayak tour. Paddling through mangroves and calm, protected salt ponds, kayakers discover many bird species and a variety of marine life. Adventurous types sign up for the "Key West Cup Regatta," helping an experienced captain crew a catamaran in an actual yacht race.

But despite the excitement ashore, with Carnival getting there is more than half the fun. These four- and five-day cruises from Tampa include two "Fun Days" at sea to enjoy the Sensation's amenities. There's plenty of time to lounge ondeck, take a dip in one of three swimming pools, work out at the health club, browse the duty-free shops, and try your luck in the casino. Every evening the Fantasia Lounge presents Carnival's brand of top-notch Vegas-style revues.

The 70,367-gross-register-ton Sensation sports a sophisticated interior that focuses on artistic imagery. Rather than the theme-oriented atriums and promenades of other Carnival ships, the Sensation is abstract and sculptural. The prevailing design throughout the seven-story Grand Atrium Plaza and Sensation Boulevard, the enclosed promenade, is a vivid configuration of wavy lines and dot perforations that pour out streams of computer-controlled, color-changing neon.

Seating along Sensation Boulevard is in the form of double-faced sofas in between whose common backs are rooted fiber-optic, tree-like sculptures that emit light from the sides as well as the ends. Fifteen miles of neon tubes and 1,000 miles of cables go into creating the ship's special effects.