Ms Bee

I just wanted to post a quick review/warning about cabin R182 on the Carnival Paradise.

Warning: After 10pm we got a definite food garbage smell wafting up on the outside wall. You could not smell it in the hall so I don't think it was someone's room service. If you opened the door and ran the fan it dissipated, but sometimes in the middle of the night it was stronger again.

We didn't complain because 1. Because we could air the room out and we kept thinking it wouldn't happen again, 2. We didn't want the hassle of packing up and moving.

Other than that the room was fine. Small no doubt but were ok. For two women, we had plenty of space, but you did have to plan/take turns walking. We had twin beds so the big box was under the TV at the end of one bed. We used one of our suitcases as a bedside table between the beds, the other fit in the closet. The window was nice and big.

The room is COLD! Bring sweats to wear in the room. I wore the provided bathrobe over my clothes when we were in the room.

The bathroom is bigger than other cabins I've had, the shower is awesome! Lots of hot water and water pressure.

Bring an extension cord for multiple outlets, ask the cabin steward for a hairdryer. The plug was above one of the beds but with a little cord control it was fine when sleeping. I also asked the steward for ice and he kept the bucket full for us. That was great for the water and soda we brought on board.

You can really feel the ship move, we had high winds one day and you could hear the ship creaking when you were standing by the elevators. That said, I liked the motion of the ship and I slept very soundly. Best sleep I've had in a long time actually. Under the comforter with a beach towel over it and the vent closed I was plenty warm for sleeping (I like it cold).

All in all if I did it again I would move to a higher deck above other cabins.

Hope this helps.

Any idea what it costs to check your luggage?

We are staying at the Best Western because the rooms are only $84 and on the water. Some of our group is more interested in a slow morning.

We are staying in Tampa the Sat night before our Sun cruise at the Best Western Bay Harbor Inn. It's in the Rocky Point area, I think.

Does anyone know how far Ybor City is from our hotel? Would we have time to walk around and maybe get breakfast before we have to board?

The trolley doesn't run Sunday morning, so I'm also wondering how we could even get there and what it might cost. Ybor City looks close to Port, if we took the hotel shuttle to Port Is there a cheap way to check our luggage and go to Ybor city from there?

And lastly where do I find out the latest time we should be boarding? Obviously don't want to miss the boat!!! :eek: If the logistics are too hard and expensive I will let the idea go.

Sorry for all the questions, but thanks for any help!

I saw several horseback riding options. None of them worked out for me :(, but it looked cool.

Souteast tours had a flexible option of a van up to the Yukon and then you could either ride or go??? just remember there were options so the group could split and get back together.