tgnorton

We were there this week. The place was really nice - exceeded our expectations in every way!

Plenty of loungers, quite a few pools, bars and swim up bars.

They are on central time zone and food doesn't open until 12:30 central. We were in cruise ship Eastern time zone so it was 1:30 our time. We were really hungry by the time they opened for lunch. But the food was fantastic!! Many made to order food stations such as seafood, steak, pasta, burgers, pizza etc.

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Took the pic with 12 min to go - sorry was 5 min to go by the time I posted it. It was a mid afternoon show - so it wasn't sold out.

There were no red cloths on the 2-4 rows only on 1 row but they were all reserved.

Didn't ruin our cruise at all, was just a disappointment compared to how wonderful things were on this one vs. out last Oasis class cruise.

The last one was just so awesome and this one felt less wow. More nickel and dime stuff.

As I said, mostly good, just not quite what it was last time for my parents 50th.

Not ungrateful or Unthankful and still had a good time, just mentioned things I have read others say here.

I thought before I came, it wasn't like that when we cruised, just admitting that the reviews I've read about these things are actually happening and this is the new normal.

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Currently Sailing on Allure of the Seas - aka Sales of the Seas.

Many good things and good times but really disappointed in the constant up selling and pushing of EVERYTHING. Most of the activities are either sales driven (try to sell you something) or cost extra. Trivia is the exception.

My parents bought 7 ocean view balcony cabins for the family to celebrate their 55th anniversary. They are platinum and the Rest of us are gold - just not the priority for RC

We had reservations for every show.

But made to feel like 2nd class citizens by the "Star Class police"at every show. Rows upon rows of seats reserved for Star Class. Snotty RC staff unless you are Star Class. 75% of The Star Class People don't show up and seats are not used but us lowly folks with ocean view cabins and reserved seats can't sit there.

Definitely having a good time other than these few bumps, But my parents are disappointed and the rest of us are as well. We celebrated their 50th on Oasis and felt WOW.

Feel Wow Here but not in a good way 3 rows for Star Class - 5 min before show start - empty but reserved for Star of RC

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Consider downloading a bunch of books on your kindle, bring deck of cards, small hand held games, etc. sorry to say this may be boring for you but being a little prepared might help.

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Why not just book with island marketing if you really want to go there?

 

Bill

 

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I don't see this tour on their website. I see Ocho Rio Resort Ai and I see Montego Bay Resort AI.

I didn't see any others. am I on the right place? I googled Island Marketing and it took me to Carribean Shore Tours/Island Marketing Ltd.

Let me know we are sailing in June. Thanks

On our upcoming cruise, we initially bought two drink packages - but then we realized that with the lengthy day-long excursions we're taking in the med, we realized that drink packages just weren't financially worth it since we're gone every single day while in ports. Something for those of you to seriously consider when looking at drink packages if you're doing a med cruise and taking excursions.

Not to mention you are charged for 8 days - even though you aren't on the ship for most of Day 8 - just disembarking. Maybe you eat breakfast and maybe you get someone to serve you a drink and maybe you get on the internet - but most likely I would not so that day is paid for and not used either.

How were the beds? I've heard these stories about them being hard and needing toppers. Is it still the case?

Hi

you can find chairs, etc on beach but may have a walk. It's quite a walk to get down to the first chairs. There are some tables with chairs in the beach bar area which may work for you.

The pool area was very crowded as well, but also may work for you. I'm sending the only picture I took that day - that shows the pool area.

There were at least 4-5 bus loads of people there at the same time.

Wasn't ready in July cruise on triumph

Beach was sandy - no need for water shoes. It was pretty crowded the day we were there.

Had booked Technotel thru AutoProgresso. One complaint is that they told us to be at the bus at 9 am, so we hustled off the ship and ran down the long pier to the bus. Bus took us to another central location where they spent the next 1 hour and 45 minutes selling packages to other customers. The bus to Technotel didn’t leave until 10:45. So we just sat there with vendors pushing their wares, and Auto Progresso pushing their packages. Pretty disappointed in that. However, at 10:45 we made it on to the 2nd bus which took us to Technotel beach break. Food was ok and drinks were ok. There were 2 pools and both were pretty crowded. Beach was nice and spent some time in the water. Had a short 20 minute massage. The day was worth $35 we paid, but probably not more.

 

Thanks for the awesome and very thorough review. I am going on the five day cruise out of NOLA on the Triumph in a couple of weeks and have booked a tour through Autoprogreso. I read that my tour does not leave until around 11:00 and had planned on doing some shopping while I waited. Was there anything to do while you waited for your Technotel beach break bus? I had read on some reviews there were some good shopping areas where you waited. Are they correct? I am just wondering...I hate waiting, but do not mind, as much, when I can shop! :)

 

Thanks again!!

There is a small shopping area where you wait and some outside of it. I'm sorry but I'm not a shopper so can't say if it was good or not. It would probably keep you busy for 15-20 minutes. I saw some people buying purses.

How do you email the maitre d so I can change to anytime also? Got bumped from early seating to late seating because it was wait listed. Now just want to do anytime dining.

I read about it here on CC - believe the address is ___ maitred@carnival.com

In the ___ blanks, put the ship's code. So, for Triumph, I emailed timaitred@carnival.com.

Folks have reported hearing back but I didn't, the change was just made for me and we noticed it when we received our sign and sail cards. I emailed them 5 days before our cruise, because had read you should email within a week from your cruise.

We were on the same cruise. Seems like we visited the piano bar at the same time and we were also in Nachi Cocom. I agree with your cruise review (especially the Nachi review- that day was Heaven). I only wish to add that I hope one day Carnival will enforce their dress code. On our way to dinner the first night, there was a guy walking around the ship with no shirt or shoes on. We also had unsavory balcony neighbors who smoked constantly and spit (yes, spit) off the balcony quite frequently. I agree also with your food review. I don't think we had a bad meal the entire trip! I don't regret our vacation as we spent some wonderful family time together. In fact, the one day we spent at Nachi (our 3rd visit there) made the trip entirely worth it. This was our first and will be our last Carnival Cruise, though.

I was definitely surprised by the very laid back "dress code" on all the other nights (but most folks did dress appropriately for elegant night in the dining room where I was). I was surprised to see so many men with baseball hats on with their sun glasses on top at dinner. No sun in the night time on the ship in the dining room.

Really shocked about the balcony issue - that is awful! Would have ruined my time on the balcony. Did you call anyone or report to Guest Services. They said they were concerned about smoking on balcony during the muster drill - wondered if they were serious about enforcing it.

Had booked Technotel thru AutoProgresso. One complaint is that they told us to be at the bus at 9 am, so we hustled off the ship and ran down the long pier to the bus. Bus took us to another central location where they spent the next 1 hour and 45 minutes selling packages to other customers. The bus to Technotel didn’t leave until 10:45. So we just sat there with vendors pushing their wares, and Auto Progresso pushing their packages. Pretty disappointed in that. However, at 10:45 we made it on to the 2nd bus which took us to Technotel beach break. Food was ok and drinks were ok. There were 2 pools and both were pretty crowded. Beach was nice and spent some time in the water. Had a short 20 minute massage. The day was worth $35 we paid, but probably not more.

 

We have this booked through AutoProgresso in September and I am wondering if others have had this same experience with timing and having to wait an hour and 45 minutes before you were taken to Technotel. Wondering if I should be looking for an alternative plan? The price is right Thanks in

advance for any input

First, you do not need to book in advance and can book the day of - as the family from Texas did. They do not limit the number of people that go to the resort, so if I had to do it over, I wouldn't book in advance, just bring cash for the fee. As well as some extra in case you want to buy some souveniers, get a henna tattoo, braids, massage, etc. As long as you are off the boat and down the pier by 9:45, you should be fine.

Long lines at food stations were because they only had 1 person working it. So same person takes the order, makes the food and gives to guest. Then next person and so on. Getting on and off at port stops did not seem bad at all

Day 5 – Sea Day.

Enjoyed another Sea Day Brunch with great food and service. Wait staff was always nice. We found head waiters to be very good and assistants to be in training most of the week. We enjoyed more trivia and had plans to go to some other activities but I started to get a nasty cold and spent most of my afternoon in the cabin, sleeping. DH woke me in time for dinner and we enjoyed the last of our red and white bottles of wine and our last night on Carnival.

They had a Big Easy production show and it was really good. After, we went back to the cabin to pack.

Disembarkation – We were supposed to have priority disembarkation but not sure how it was supposed to work. I asked but got snarky response from the crew member so just decided to forget about the priority. We did self-disembarkation and were shuffled into the Rome theater. The staff who handled this were quite rude to nearly everyone who entered and told us all we were lucky to even have the chance to do self-disembark because it isn’t on all ships. Left a bad taste in my mouth after what was a really good cruise, but I left their negativity behind.

They allowed those with FTTF (and probably other priority folks) to leave the ship first, then those in Rome Theater. We were off and to the Fulton Street Garage shuttle quickly. Made it out of downtown NOLA before any serious traffic and made it home safely.

OVERALL–

• MDR Food and service were just as good as I have had on other lines

• Entertainment was good as other lines I’ve sailed out of NOLA

• Room was large because we had a suite, but it did show some wear, never used the robes or tub

• Public Bathrooms need to have more soap dispensers – only 1 for 6 sinks – not enough

• Public areas on Lido deck were crowded all the time

• Pizza and Burgers were nice additions to the buffet but always long lines

• Wish the Blue Iguana had been open for dinner or late night

• Never got a chance to try Chinese or Deli as the lines were too long

• 2 small swimming pools for entire ship – crowded all the time – not enough for full capacity ship

• Wish there were more activities during the Sea Days that did not require paying extra (such as casino, bingo, shopping, etc)

• Water/Ice/Lemonade dispensers were broken a lot

• Ice cream area was out of spoons or cones a lot

• Pretty good value for the money

Day 4 – Progresso. Had breakfast again in the MDR prior to disembarking. Service was quick and food was good.

Had booked Technotel thru AutoProgresso. One complaint is that they told us to be at the bus at 9 am, so we hustled off the ship and ran down the long pier to the bus. Bus took us to another central location where they spent the next 1 hour and 45 minutes selling packages to other customers. The bus to Technotel didn’t leave until 10:45. So we just sat there with vendors pushing their wares, and Auto Progresso pushing their packages. Pretty disappointed in that. However, at 10:45 we made it on to the 2nd bus which took us to Technotel beach break. Food was ok and drinks were ok. There were 2 pools and both were pretty crowded. Beach was nice and spent some time in the water. Had a short 20 minute massage. The day was worth $35 we paid, but probably not more.

Back on board, we changed for dinner and arrived to find there was a wait. We received a buzzer to notify us when our table was ready and went to the Central World Bar to wait. My husband got a soda – again had no problems getting sodas anytime from bar or wait staff. Sometimes took a little while, as they served customers before us, but never much of a wait and always friendly.

Our buzzer indicated our table was ready so we headed off to the dining room. We placed our food orders and asked for our bottles of red & white wine. Then we waited a really long time. It seems they lost our wine and didn’t want to serve our food until they could find it. They were running all over the place trying to find our wine and eventually came back with 2 bottles that had both been in the refrigerator. White should be chilled, but DH merlot is not supposed to be chilled. Then, we noticed it wasn’t actually either of our bottles. So more running around and finally they found our 2 bottles. Mine was chilled and DH was not, as it should be.

By then, our food had been sitting at the waiter station for a long time and wasn’t warn anymore but it still tasted good and was nicely presented.

There was a magic and production show that night. It was fun and really good. We wanted to go to the later show that was for adults, but we were too tired and went to bed.

Day 3 – Cozumel

We made the mistake of going up to the buffet for breakfast. We got there at 7 (it opened at 6:30). The lines were unbelievable. A lady told me she had gotten there at 6 am and the lines were already long. So we just decided to eat at the MDR. The food is brought to you in the same amount of time it would take to wait for it.

Went to Nachi Cocum. Quiet, beautiful place. Did the snorkeling – very good guide and only 4 of us on the boat tour. Had a wonderful lunch and massages. Wished this day would go on forever. There were only 25 people there the whole day. Food and service were very good.

That night, we decided to use our 3rd wine voucher for a bottle of champagne. Our food was excellent again, our only complaint was the rolls were always very hard. Service again, amazing.

We saw the family comedy show and it was good. Would have liked to stay up for the adult show, but we were tired after our beautiful day in Coz and knew we had Progresso the next day, so headed to bed.

Day 2 – Sea Day

Carnival offers a Sea Day Brunch until noon or 1 and we took advantage of it in the Paris dining room. The wait staff was amazing and the food was good. It was so nice to have a leisurely brunch and not feel rushed at all. Enjoyed a number of trivia contests in the central World Bar. The cruise director was Jess from the US. It was only her 2nd Carnival Cruise but she did an amazing job. She was so present thru out the cruise and kept the attitude very light and friendly thru out. In past cruises, don’t remember ever seeing the CD except maybe announcing a show, but Jess was very friendly, helpful and really set the tone for the cruise.

Around 3, we headed to the Guy’s burgers. Small line, but that was nothing compared to usual. Burgers were good but the fries were cold. Still, we enjoyed them and had some ice cream after. It’s nice to have the ice cream in so many places, but it was constantly a long line, and no cones or spoons. Also found similar situations thru out the cruise with water/lemonade/ice stations. Long lines, broken equipment, no ice, etc.

For dinner, it was elegant night. Nearly everyone was dressed up and were having pictures taken. We ran into the family from Texas again. One of the nice things about a ship this size, is that you can get to know other people on board.

Enjoyed the first night show and wanted to try the Piano Bar. Had read some not great reviews about it and quickly found out why. The man behind the piano could not have been more depressing. Played every song slowly from a laminated list and wouldn’t play anything off list. When folks asked for something more upbeat, he said he didn’t have those songs but knew the notes. He kept commenting that he wanted people to make suggestions and that some $ would make them recommendations (as they were walking out) but every song was played slowly and very sadly. It was a big letdown and people were walking out the back door so they wouldn’t have to pass him.

The bar across the ship had karoke and it seemed to be a big party. Sounded like fun, but we headed to another trivia in Central World Bar. It was a lot of fun and there were sing a long parts at the end. Everyone had a great time.

Getting On Board - Because we were in a suite, there was no waiting at priority check in and then they directed us to the Captain’s lounge which had nice couches and some snacks/coffee/juices/water. Since this was our first Carnival cruise, I didn’t realize the check in process brought you to another waiting room, instead of to the ship, but it was a nice room in which to wait. We met a really nice family from Texas who happened to also be staying at the Hilton Garden Inn CBD next door to us!

At 11:30, they called for those with special needs to board and priority boarding was immediately following.

I had some Carnival gift cards, so I added them to our Sign and Sail accounts immediately upon boarding, added the soda package to DH card, and we headed to the Lido deck with our carry-on’s in tow.

I had the Blue Iguana steak burrito and DH headed to the buffet. He was unhappy with his first selections, so he went back for other things .The lines were very long so I was done eating when he finally returned. The burrito was very good but DH said other buffet food was just ok. As everyone boarded, the ship started to feel very crowded, so around 1pm, we decided to take our carry-on bags to our room so someone else could use our table.

We’ve never had a suite so were very pleasantly surprised by the size of the room, the robes and bath tub. Signed up for the medium internet package on my phone – very easy and very worth it. Loved having the Fun times, Restaurants and ship maps at my fingertips.

Dropped off the bags and walked around to familiarize ourselves with the ship. We went to the SkyBox Sports bar for a drink. Stayed a while and then went to the top deck aft to watch Sail Away. There was a sail away party with music and some of the entertainment staff – great way to start our trip.

Watched the Mississippi go by for a long time and finished our drink, then went down to quickly unpack.

We had Anytime Dining which was very convenient. Originally assigned to the Late Dining but had read here on CC to email the Maitre D and it was changed by the time we boarded.

First night’s dinner did not disappoint. We both had the brisket and I had the famous chocolate melting cake. Both delicious. I did miss having the table cloths on the table, especially when I saw the way the tables were “cleaned” between guests. Just a wash cloth that had been sitting in a bowl of dirty water wiped over half the table. Nothing even moved. This was a disappointment but there weren’t many thru out the cruise. Wait staff was very attentive and DH had no trouble getting a soda.

They were offering a 3 bottle wine package, and we decided to indulge. FYI I read here that they offered a wine tasting on board at the Fun Shops during boarding day so you could choose your 3 bottles of wine. This was not the case anywhere on board and the Fun Shops did not open until Day 2. They gave us 3 slips of paper to be used when we ordered the bottles. We used 2 slips to order a bottle of red and white. DH had a glass of red and I had a glass of white. Waiters said they would save the bottles for us and to let our waiters know when we wanted to have them on future nights.

We had a cute towel animal every night when we returned. Our cabin steward was always friendly and made our bed at 11 as requested. Slept well in the bed all week although the mattresses did really dip in the middle.

5 Day Cruise out of NOLA - these are my opinions and impressions of our cruise.

Husband and I are in our 50’s, live in St. Louis and have cruised but never on Carnival.

Found a last minute deal on a cruising website for a balcony on Carnival Triumph out of NOLA. NOLA is a relatively easy 10 hour drive from STL, so decided to call. All the balcony cabins were gone, but for not too much more, we could get an ocean suite. Decided to try it out.

Drove down the day before and stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn CBD. Booked thru Hot Wire, thank you for your help, Saint Greg. I saw that their garage parking was $31 valet but also saw that their garage was part of the New Orleans Parking system. Went online and prepaid self-parking for $20. Arrived at the garage with my receipt in hand, they directed me to the any floor above 6. VERY steep garage and VERY small parking spaces. Finally found one but had to take the luggage out of the car before backing in. Decided we would not try to take the car anywhere except to Port the next day.

Registration was quick and easy and the staff was very nice and friendly. Room was nice and well appointed. We had a quick drink in the bar before heading out to dinner.

Decided to walk in the 100 degree/100% humidity weather to Muriel’s in Jackson Square for a 7 pm reservation. I was melting by the time we got there but the place was absolutely beautiful. Waiter promised to keep my water glass filled and he didn’t disappoint.

They offered a pre-fixe menu that included appetizer, entrée and dessert for $35, with many interesting options, so we both ordered from it. DH had turtle soup, Bayou-baisse (a NOLA seafood take on bouillabaisse) and crème broulee. I went on the waiter’s recommendation and had the shrimp and gorgonzola crepes, drum fish and bread pudding. (None of these would have been my choice, but he was absolutely RIGHT!). All of the food and service were top notch amazing!

We walked around Jackson Square a bit and then took a cab home. After 12 hours in the car, just wanted to take a nice long shower and get to bed for our 10 am check in!

Had the breakfast buffet at the hotel and it was a mix of buffet and made to order items. I didn’t want to spend a lot of time getting to or waiting for breakfast since we still needed to pack up, get out of that garage, drive to Fulton Street Garage and over to Port for our 10 am check in.

I had prepaid for covered parking at Fulton Street Garage and they were pretty organized. Dropped off DH and bags on level 2 and park above level 6. Waited quite some time for someone to come on level 2 and get our bags but then down to street level to catch the shuttle. Shuttle over to the port and we walked right into check in service as it was now 9:45 am.

Hi,

We are booked on Carnival Triumph on July 23 and have booked AutoProgresso Technotel for the Progresso port.

Is the beach sandy or rocky? Do we need to bring water shoes or will flip flops work?

Thanks!:D

Your cabin mate/spouse does not have to buy Bottomless Bubbles if you do, you are confusing the Cheers package.

 

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3836

Unless they have changed policy you don't BOTH have to buy it. I was on the carnival paradise in May and my husband purchased the soda package but I did not. I think if you buy the alcohol package you both have to buy it.....but not the soda only package. Hope that helps :)

 

 

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Oh Yeah!! You guys are helpful and nice! Thank you so much, everyone! Happy Camper here! My husband really wanted the package!

Sorry for another soda package question but can't find the answer...

Going on 1st Carnival cruise and not sure how this works. Triumph July 23, 5 day.

Soda package is $6 per day (plus tip) and both my husband and I would have to buy it if one buys it.

Questions:

1) Is the package price higher if you wait to buy it on board?

2) Can of soda is $2, (plus tip) if you don't buy the package, right?

I don't drink soda or juice, so it would basically be $12 a day for my husband - he would need to drink 6+ sodas/juices every day to break even - probably won't do it.

Just want to make sure I have the facts. thanks!

Just an FYI. The Carnival Gift Cards are available now on AARP Rewards for Good. This will also mean that they should be available on Verizon Wireless.

Thanks! I got 2 - hope they will be here in time for my cruise in 2 weeks - but if not, guess I'll use on the next one :D