kwbound

We always use EZ Cruise and have never had a problem. If you don't want you car in the elements, they can provide a car cover for I think $10. We live about an hour away from the port and we always do self-assist just to get to the car and get home faster.

OP - Thanks for your review, and thanks to the other passengers who chimed in. We are sailing on the Liberty at the end of May and looking forward to it.

The Bad, IMHO. Galveston. Whats up Texas, only 4 types of beer, no top shelf liqour or champagne on sail away.I wanted a Mudslide with Belvedere and was told no. OK how about a shot of Patron, sorry. Well just give us a glass of champagne, nope. Texas law requires only products made in Texas be offered until your 12 miles out to sea.

The liquor doesn't have to be made in Texas. It has to be purchased in Texas and state taxes paid on it. I'm not sure where most of the liquor on the ship is purchased if not in Texas. Maybe Cozumel?

Maybe when we cruise the week before you on 5/22 they will have it going then we can be the guinea pigs. I will watch them shoot off that ride into the ocean and report back. Fortunately they will be on a tube so it will be easy to recover from the sea. LOL:D

LOL...we are on the 5/22 sailing also. I hope no one shoots overboard!

We did a tour with Cresencio a couple of years ago and it was excellent. First we had him drive us through McDonalds for breakfast and that was interesting. He showed us around San Miquel, where residents live, shop, go to school, etc. We toured a little cenote in town. Then we went to the ruins for a while and then over to the East side where we made several stops including Coconuts for lunch. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend him.

When we were in Roatan last August there was a new zip line right at the port. There was a sign across the roof of the shops that said "Monkey La-La Zip". Zip liners took off from a platform at the end of the shops and went across the bay and then it looked like they were driven back to the port facility. I haven't been able to find any reviews of this zip line. We hope to be back in Roatan in May. We're planning on visiting Maya Key, but we were thinking of coming back to port early enough to try this zip.

Has anyone done this zip line? Did it seem safe? Would you recommend it? What was the cost?

Thanks for any help.

WoW, I didn't know that you were in Law Enforcement or trained in Security .I have been reading your comments for months now and you seem to be a expert in everything, so I am not surprised for your comments here ...... .I have been involved in Police work both Military and civilian and security since I was 15....and yes people will steal anything that isn't tied down...What Carnival needs to do is keep a Couple of Cabins free for this type of problem.

 

Also the OP needs to be compsated for her troubles!!!!

 

Mike

US Army Military Police (ret)

Nailed it.

Agree on all counts.

Thanks for the support Kerry. I knew when I posted the review that since it wasn't 100% positive there would be someone who took it personally. I had actually posted on another thread that I was going to be posting an honest review and hoped it didn't offend anyone. (I think you posted on that thread also.) She tried to tell me on that thread to keep my personal opinions to myself, but I'm not a big fan of censorship. Plus, what is a review without opinions?

Happy cruising!

Any updates on this? :)

We were on the Triumph cruise that departed on Christmas Eve. The only thing I noticed about the sail away party was that they were handing out free glasses of champagne. Not good champagne mind you, but it was unlimited. I assumed they were doing that was just because it was Christmas, but maybe that's the upgrade? The actual sail away party was pretty short lived.

This is heavily dependent on your itinerary apparently. If you go to Belize the customs always takes twice as long for whatever reason! We've done the grand Cayman and it was a breeze, my sister did the Bahamas and it was the same. Customs is stricter on the other itinerary for some reason

I have heard the same thing. In fact, the cruise director on the Navigator warned us that that would be the case.

Just want to say ( its been said already somewhat), the fog issue in Galveston is usually only in Jan through March, its not year round. I've been on the Magic delayed docking several hours both ways due to fog.

We were on the Ecstasy in the summer of 2010 trailing a tropical storm back into Galveston. The waves were too choppy in the bay and they closed the port. We went back out into the Gulf far enough so that they could reopen the casino and shops and had an extra night on the ship. It was fine for us but I felt for people who had children or dogs at home with sitters, or needed to get back to work, and for the people waiting for the next sailing. But tropical storms can happen at just about any port.

Thank you! And the lido aft is the one you recommend? 9am is perfect after coffee on our balcony! Thanks!

It was actually silverspringscruiser who made the recommendation, but I'm sure that's the one they are talking about.

No, that's me also!!! Thank you for this. I'm not sure why everybody bashes Galveston so much. Most of the issues people bring up either: also happen at other ports, e.g. fog, distance from airport, transportation, etc. or are out of the port's control, e.g. immigration, customs, Texas' alcohol tax. I love cruising from there.

Just because something is out of the port's control doesn't make it any more pleasant to deal with, especially if you have other options. I'm only 75 minutes from the port, so it is our port of choice but I can see why people who have to fly in would want to avoid it.

Thanks for the tip! What time do they start serving ?

According to FunTimes breakfast times on the sea days were:

7am-10:30am - Continental - Lido Mid

7:30am-10:30am - Breakfast Grill - Lido Mid

7:30am-10:30am - Blue Iguana Cantina - Lido Mid

9am-12pm Breakfast Grill - Lido Aft

Breakfast times on Cozumel day were:

6am-10:30am - Continental - Lido Mid

7am-10:30am - Breakfast Grill - Lido Mid

7am-10:30am - Blue Iguana Cantina - Lido Mid

7:30am-9:30am - Open Seating - Paris, 3 Aft

9am-12pm Breakfast Grill - Lido Aft

The breakfast buffet was open early when we returned to Galveston also.

Did adjusting the handle on the air vent help with temperature at all?? On triumph ships we've noticed since the air system is different it stays a lot cooler than newer ships. Instead of a wall thing there's a handle that you can turn to open the vent/close the vent more

We tried that but it didn't make any difference. When the steward brought the fan he also made sure the vent was open all the way.

We got the new anchor installed in Cozumel, had a glorious day at sea, a great time in Nachi Cocum and then it turned downhill. First, I made a poor decision to choose 2456 and 2457 as an alternative to lido deck inside cabins. We select lido balconies for all warm weather sailings, but this one we took a chance. Poor decision! Once the props were pitched for speed everything in this cabin rattled from the door to the glasses all night. We also heard every winch being prepped for arrival in ports.

 

The aft suffers most from the pitching in seas, and yesterday was a big time rock and roll for most of the afternoon and all night. It reminded me of days sailing aboard the Celebration.

 

Carnival had a new Holy Guacamole shore excursion for Progreso. They did not promote any excursions that were not selling over the PA system when the promoted everything else, didn't display it in the daily guide and only told us when we returned to the ship in Cozumel the tour was cancelled due to lack of interest. My party of 6 was stuck with most of the popular tours sold out or not able to accommodate all of us.

 

We finally negotiated a spot in a more expensive tour and had really nice time at the private residence party.

 

Yesterday at sea was one of the roughest ones I've had in a long time. Waves were 4-6, capping and the ship pitched and rolled together. The main pool was cleared and drained and the aft pool should have been. I have video of both with kids being washed up on the sides.

 

The Big Easy was canceled in the Rome Theater for good reason! The comedian had the entire venue for the night.

 

We've sailed the Triumph 9 times, and for a variety of reasons not weather and nature related this was the one I'd rate at the bottom. I'd also go again tomorrow, but if forced to stack rank this would be number 9.

 

Booked on the Magic in February!

 

.

I was also on the Triumph cruise that just got back today, with my mom, brother, and sister-in-law. Was wondering why there were so many people waiting outside the port when we embarked on Monday, now we know why there was a delay.

 

FWIW, my mom and I were in cabin 6376 and had no problem with our A/C. If anything, it was too cold at times. Agree that the ocean on Friday was the roughest we've experienced in a long time.

How did embarkation go for y'all? Were you allowed in the terminal close to your assigned times?

BallFour - Was the Holy Guacamole excursion one that you reserved online prior to the cruise? I'm glad you enjoyed the replacement excursion, but that sucks when you make plans ahead of time, which they encourage you to do, and then those plans are altered through no fault of your own. It's annoying when vacation time has to be spent on something like this.

Holy food Batman!

I've just informed my husband we are eating there, like it or not. Cannot wait! Thanks for the share :)

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

I especially love the shrimp and grits and the eggs Benedict. They have super fluffy pancakes too. Thinking about this place is making be want to plan a long weekend in NOLA!

Our first cruise will on the Triumph, lido deck, does it sway/rock a lot up there?

We felt like there was a lot of motion on the ship during this cruise, forward and aft. We first noticed it at dinner the first night which was in a forward dining room, and then the same night all the way aft while watching karaoke. When we went back to the cabin that night, it was moving so much that for the first time ever I had to take some Dramamine and lay down with a pillow over my head to ward off sickness. DH wondered if there was an issue with the stabilizers, since the seas did not seem bad at all. On the last night the seas and winds did pick up and the ship was really rocking that night. But I don't know if it was any worse in our room than anywhere else on the ship. I guess my body had gotten use to it by then because, even though the ship was rocking more than the first night, it didn't make me feel bad. It just contributed to a restless night. Early Monday morning, while we were still in the Gulf, my sister and I went to the buffet. As we were walking through, the ship pitched and a large stack of plates when flying off the counter and onto her legs and feet and those of a couple of other passengers. She wound up with some nice bruises.

When we got home Monday for a while, several of us including me, felt like we were still on the ship with wobbly legs.

Same here. Although I totally respect and appreciate op's review' date=' our last cruise on the Triumph just weeks ago was so much different including our lido room (9282). I wouldn't have enough cons to complete a sentence. Looking forward to our next sailing on the Triumph in April out of Nola. Again op, we might disagree on a lot here but thanks for taking the time to share you experience with us.[/quote']

 

You're welcome. Hope you have a wonderful time on the cruise.

Hey, that's an awful lot like our plan! What is the restaurant? Since we'll be sailing when it's just barely autumn (by the calendar at least) I was hoping we'd see the Mississippi all the way to the Gulf. We got an aft-view balcony so we an watch it just slip away.....

http://www.cafefleurdelis.com/

Cafe Fleur de Lis on Chartres St. Everything they serve is delish.

Which cabin did you stay in?

We were in 9238.

Anymore folks that have cruised out of Galveston RECENTLY (since the staggered check-in times were implemented) have more experiences to share.

 

 

 

We have 10:30am check-in time. So basically I need to brace myself for a WHOLE bunch of people standing on the curb waiting for their check-in time? When we arrive at the terminal, we will be able to drop our luggage (that we want to be delivered to our stateroom) with a porter? And then we stand in a line up to enter the terminal (based on your check-in time). Then we will be "cattle-herded" into the terminal, and then given a "boarding color" and then we will wait some more?

 

 

 

I think the IDEA of staggered check-in sounds good, but if people are not following the rules of showing up at their check-in time (and there is no where for them to stand) that causes confusion and chaos. I feel sorry for those who purchased FTTF... :(

We were on the 12/24 Triumph sailing. We had FTTF and went through the priority line just before 10:30. There was another line, long, crowded and congested, of people who had assigned boarding times. It was just one line, with no indication where different check in times should stand. They were not being let through yet. I wondered what was going to happen when people with 11am assigned times started showing up in the line before their time. If they don't let them through, they are just going to step back and cause even more congestion. It really didn't look like the program was going to accomplish much to me.

Once we got through security and upstairs to check in there were already a lot of people checked in and waiting, probably a couple 100 people. Idk where those people came from. They weren't wedding parties, suites, FTTF or other priority because they were still sitting there when we were called to board.

So, idk if our experience is helpful to anyone or not. We had FTTF, and embarkation was fine for us. I can't speak for those with assigned times, other than to say it didn't look like anything I wanted to deal with.

I think we need to take the Ecstasy out of play for the moment, at least until the poor crew member killed on it Christmas Day is laid to rest. :( *moment of silence*

 

Eh, I couldn't really say. Have never made it out Texas way. I go to Florida quite a bit so it's just a straight shot down I-75, and I-95 as needed. That being said, it is 14 VERY long hours from my place to Ft. Lauderdale. :mad: And that gets old, fast. NOLA won't be too bad, it's roughly 7 1/2 hours and there is nothing on that drive through AL (once you get past Birmingham), MS, and LA. We'll make the drive overnight to go even faster.

 

We're going to go into it with excitement and anticipation but with many grains of salt. At the end of the day it's still vacation and not work. And if the boat breaks down, Carnival will get us back to shore with a hefty amount of OBC for next time. :D

We've sailed out of NOLA twice and really enjoying sailing from that port. We always arrive in NOLA a couple of days early and start the vacation there. Then when we arrive back in port we go have breakfast at our favorite French Quarter breakfast place before heading home. We've sailed from there once in December and once in January, so it would be dark shortly after departure. We'd like to do a sailing in the summer so we could see the Mississippi all the way down to the Gulf.

Husband and I are booked on our second Carnival Cruise for our 5 years this October, and it would be our 3rd cruise overall. I'm glad I read your review as you did have a lot of good points (I'll only order cheap drinks so I won't lose so much if the wrong liquor is used). Our only other ship on Carnival has been the Fascination; and on Royal we've done the Vision and Triumph is to be our first "big ship". I'm a little nervous now that we'll have a less-than-stellar time. Then again, the Fascination has so little to offer in the way of amenities I wonder if I can make a fair comparison between the two.....

We've cruised the Ecstasy 3 times and enjoyed all of those cruises more than the either of our Triumph cruises. Although the last cruise on the Ecstasy was 5 years ago, so things could have gone downhill on that ship too. The Ecstasy does at least have a Serenity adults only area. I think the Ecstasy and Fascination are the same size. The Ecstasy does have some balconies that were added before our last sailing and idk if Fascination does. Honestly, even though Triumph is bigger, it actually feels smaller because of the poor layout and flow issues.

Is it easier to get to Galveston from where you are in TN than to Miami or Fort Lauderdale? To a large degree your cruise will be what you make it, especially if you are well informed going in. I only traveled 75 minutes each way to the port. If I had traveled all the way from TN for the cruise I just took, I would be even more disappointed. I'm not trying to be a Debbie Downer or throw a wet blanket on your plans and you could very well have a wonderful time. I'm just saying what I would say to anyone I knew personally. We do like to cruise in October. The ship should be much less crowded then than it just was on our Christmas trip, and that will likely lead to service being somewhat better. Good luck! I hope you have a wonderful time.

I am sure this video wasn't " turned over" to the local news.......it was SOLD to the highest bidder...I am also certain that this guy was PAID for the interviews he gave on the news channels. Sick.

Can you quote your sources of this certain knowledge? I'm not saying you're not correct, I'm just wondering how you are so sure. All of our local news sources offer the ability to send them video or photos through their websites or apps, but there is no offer of payment associated with the submittal of such information. And news sources across the country are reporting the story now too? Are they also paying the guy that video taped it? It wouldn't be pleasant to see, but if I was the victim's family I would at least want to be aware of any bit of photographic or videotaped evidence out there. If this guy hadn't submitted this to the media, how would the family be aware that it was out there?