Carnival Triumph 10/18 - 10/22 First time on Carnival, review with pics!

I thought I would write a review of our first cruise on Carnival. We cruised on the Carnival Triumph out of Galveston (one stop in Cozumel) on Oct 18-22. Previously we have sailed Princess (Alaska) and Disney (Bahamas). I have heard a lot of stories on Cruise Critic how Carnival was not great and that it was nothing but a drunken party cruiseline. But then there are a lot of other people who love Carnival. We wanted to check it out (on a short cruise) and decide for ourselves but to be honest, our expectations were very low.

A little background on us: Hubby and I are both 40 and we have 2 kids, a 9 year old daughter and a 3 year old son and we live in Ft Worth, Texas. We traveled this time with my in-laws who are both in their 60's. I was very curious to see how this cruise would add up to pour previous (awesome) cruises. We were also very interested to see how the kids liked Camp Carnival since they were used to Disney and their wonderful kids program. My son was bummed when he realized it was not "Mickey's ship" so we spent some time getting him psyched about "Funship Freddy". By the time we left he was excited to go on "Freddy's ship."

To be honest, this cruise was more fun than our Disney cruise, HANDS DOWN. I can't say it was better than our Princess cruise because that was to Alaska and nothing compares to that scenery HOWEVER the ship/food/service was very comparable in our opinion. Actually, we thought the food on this cruise was BETTER than both Disney (Dream) and Princess (Sapphire). We could not get over how good the food in the dining room was! We did not have one thing that was below par.

We drove to Galveston on Weds and got there around 10PM. We checked into the hotel and just went to sleep. The hotel was just OK. We stayed at the Four Points Sheraton. It was a great location, right on the beachfront and across the street from Pleasure Pier. I like Sheratons generally and this one had great beds, etc but just seemed "off". The welcome upon checkin was like I was bothering the receptionist. The view from our room was of a wall. (a red wall...seriously) I probably would not stay here again but it served it's purpose for such a short stay. When we got up in the morning we saw our ship out the window of the hotel (The window in the hall since all we got was a red wall) This got us excited!

We then drove to Galveston Island State Park where my in-laws were staying in their RV. We stopped at McDonalds first to grab some breakfast sandwiches. After we drove off we realized they forgot to include all the hash browns. We did not want to waste time driving back so we just continued on our way.

After picking up my in-laws we drove to the port and parked at the Galveston Park N Go. We had reserved online beforehand for 40.00..no issues, we got to park in a coverage garage. Lugged our (overpacked) suitcases across the street and happily handed them off to a porter (along with some cash). Then we got in line for embarkation. The kids were so excited seeing the ship up close and knowing the fun that was in store for them. We waited in line about 20 minutes and it was only about 5 minutes after that when our number was called and we were getting on the ship, it was pretty easy and painless! One point for Carnival!

I was a tad bit worried on our way up the gangway onto the ship because there were some super rowdy (already drunk?) people behind us whooping it up and acting the fool. This was playing right into my nightmares of wild, drunken crazy party ship. YIKES!

We got on board and it was very pretty. A greeter directed us to the Lido deck where they were serving lunch. We went up and sat in some lounge chairs by the pool for a while and immediately started with Drinks of the day. :thumbup:

My daughter immediately started going down the water slide. (We prepared and had her wear her suit under her clothes) She was happy because they told her she was the first one of the day to go down it. She went down it a few more times and then we all went in to the buffet and grabbed some food. My MIL and I grabbed chinese at "Chopsticks". It was VERY good and fresh. They had some kind of soup that was just amazing...no clue what it was called because I have never seen it before. My hubby FIL went and got some other goodies on the buffet and of course the kids wanted ice cream..the first of MANY. As you may know, Carnival offers 24 hour ice cream and pizza, the kids LOVE that.

By that time it was after 1:30 (the earliest we could check into the room) so we headed up to our room, 8427 which was an extended balcony room. The room and balcony are huge, almost the size of 2 regular balcony rooms put together. This room was on Deck 8, the last room Aft. (see pic) My in-laws were in 8429 right across the hall, an inside room. The balcony was huge and had 4 chairs and 2 tables...perfect! We spent a lot of time out there! The room was...uh, PINK! Ha! Yes, it was a bit dated in style and could use some updating but it was large and clean, no complaints! The closet space was ample. We had 3 closets, 2 that were really usuable and one that had the safe and lifevests with not much room for anything else. There were plenty of drawers as well and we had plenty of room for all our stuff. Our bags all fit under the bed which was great. They had the couch converted to a bed, the king bed and another bed set up in the corner. With all that there was still ample space and we never felt crowded.

Great Review so far keep it coming!:D

Continuing on, we are still on day 1...we just checked out our room...

We had pre-ordered 2 Funship Freddy stuffed dolls to be delivered to the room and they were there waiting for us. The kids loved them!

We spent a little time on the wonderful balcony.

We then went to walk around the ship a bit and explore. My hubby and I went to Formalities to buy a birthday cake and rose for my MIL, we had missed being with her on her birthday so we planned a belated party in our room the next day. We asked it to be delivered at 2PM on our first sea day (Friday) to our room. After that we went back and met up with the inlaws and explored the ship some more.

By then it was time for muster. Oh, muster. The one part of our trip that was truly horrible. We were in muster station G and we were a little worried because they said to be there at 3:45 and we got there about 3:50. We needent have worried. We got there and stood where we were supposed to. We stood and waited, and waited, and waited some more. Then they started cramming everyone in like sardines and we ended up in the back against the wall. My 3 year old was getting smothered they crammed us in so tight. We had to take turns picking him up so he could get some air. My 9 year old fared a little better but it was definitely unconfortable. They kept making announcements over the speakers ordering people to their muster stations. I guess people were thinking they would sit it out but they were NOT starting until they thought everyone was where they were supposed to be. It was ridiculous we stood there for over 45 minutes in the heat, crammed in like sardines. NOT FUN. This was the WORST muster we had been through, hands down and I am already dreading this part of our next Carnival cruise! People were to the point they were yelling and getting really upset too....and for good reason. NOT a good start. Luckily, things just went uphill from there. If I were to grade, Carnival lost points on this one.

After muster we planned on heading to our meet and greet but we had to get a drink and chill out a little first after the muster ordeal. My 3 year old was cranky and hot and we wanted to get the kids something to drink and freshen up a bit. We ended up back on our balcony and lost track of time and enjoyed sailaway.

To be continued....

Great start - really enjoying your review.

I've sailed both Disney and Carnival and find them more alike than different.

There are little things (you can bring alcohol on board and they have soda included) that I prefer on DCL but for the price difference, it's worth paying extra for that stuff on Carnival.

Can't wait to hear the rest of your review! :D

Fantastic start! Can't wait for more. :)

Great start to your review!

We had a few drinks and before we knew it the meet and greet had dissipated and we missed it. (Either that or we were at the wrong place!) We headed to the Camp carnival registration to get the kids set up. This was a very easy and quick process. One point for Carnival!

We then decided to get ready for dinner. We had Anytime dining which worked out just perfect for us. We could go anytime between 5:45 and 9:30 to the London dining room. We were a little worried about long wait times with Anytime dining but it was not bad in the end. It worked out perfect for us.

The first night at dinner I had escargot for the first time. (Nothing to write home about, now I can say I have tried it) My daughter and MIL had the spinach artichoke dip and chips, they loved it as well. For the main course my MIL, daughter and I all had the Tilapia and my hubby had the best brisket we have ever tasted in our lives. (And we are from Texas, we have had a TON of brisket!) This stuff just literally melted in your mouth! Unbelievable! My FIL had the Lasagna Bolognese which was great (I tasted it!) The tilapia was great and the Mac & Cheese that came on the side was AWESOME. My son had pizza which he wolfed down, no complaints there. For dessert I think we all had the Warm Chocolate Melting cake...YUMMY...a piece of heaven! Our first dinner was off to a great start, very impressed with the food and oddly nothing I ate on my Disney or Princess cruise was truly memorable. I will never forget that first bite of the WCMC, though!!

*** Disclosure, these are not pictures I took, they are from zydecocruiser.net but they are identical to our dishes. I was enjoying it so much I slacked in the food picture taking dept. (Later there will be a couple I actually took)

Escargot

Tilapia

The best brisket ever!

Lasagna Bolognese (My FIL's portion was about twice this size, he couldn't finish it)

Heaven

I wanted to add, there was NO wait the first night at dinner for our table of 6. The service was painfully slow this first night but we were still getting back in the swing of the very long, drawn out dinners. I did feel that they were short staffed but it was no slower than our dinners on the Disney Dream. The service this noght was not the best but it did get better. I guess that is one downside to the Anytime Dining, you never know what kind of service you will get that day.....

Looking forward to the rest of you review!

Great start - really enjoying your review.

 

I've sailed both Disney and Carnival and find them more alike than different.

 

There are little things (you can bring alcohol on board and they have soda included) that I prefer on DCL but for the price difference, it's worth paying extra for that stuff on Carnival.

 

Can't wait to hear the rest of your review! :D

I was so shocked at how much we liked Carnival! Just goes to show you CANNOT go by word of mouth and it is best to try for yourself!

Yes, I liked that soda was included on Disney but we are not big soda drinkers so we didn't utilize that much. There were other things (of course) better on Disney as well, namely it was a newer ship and was fancier. The Triumph was really pretty and well maintained though so that was not an issue. The public bathrooms on Disney have the edge though, hands down! Not to mention the balcony rooms with the split bathroom and refrigerators. I was disappointed the Triumph did not have fridges. I am hoping those are added at the next dry dock. Again, not things that make it worth the huge price difference..especially since our kids enjoyed the Triumph so much more! I will get into that more later.... ;)

I am going to quickly end day 1 so we can get to our first sea day...

After dinner the first night we took the kids to Camp Carnival for the first time. My daughter (9) went to the Hollywood nightclub where that age group meets. They were having a dance off and looked like they were having a great time. (I spied on her through the port holes that look into the club LOL) That was on Deck 5. Since she is 9 she was able to sign herself in and out which helped since my son was in Camp Carnival which was on Deck 11 all the way forward. Quite a trek from our room. We decided that my daughter would check herself out at the end of the night (9:45) and go up to the room and wait for us. We hung around the ship and my FIL hit the Blackjack tables. He ended up winning over 400.00 during the course of the cruise, that is his game. We listened to Jerry for a while. He is an Asian gentleman that sings a mean Johnny Cash and Elvis, etc...he is really good! We wandered around and there was so much going on everywhere, you can never say you are bored on this ship!

I was so shocked at how much we liked Carnival! Just goes to show you CANNOT go by word of mouth and it is best to try for yourself!

 

Yes, I liked that soda was included on Disney but we are not big soda drinkers so we didn't utilize that much. There were other things (of course) better on Disney as well, namely it was a newer ship and was fancier. The Triumph was really pretty and well maintained though so that was not an issue. The public bathrooms on Disney have the edge though, hands down! Not to mention the balcony rooms with the split bathroom and refrigerators. I was disappointed the Triumph did not have fridges. I am hoping those are added at the next dry dock. Again, not things that make it worth the huge price difference..especially since our kids enjoyed the Triumph so much more! I will get into that more later.... ;)

You might want to try one of the newer Carnival ships - the Carnival Dream has fridges in each cabin plus some of the ocean view cabins have split baths (that doesn't affect me because I usually sail DCL with my mom who's in a wheelchair and the HA cabins don't have the split baths).

No where other than Disney will you run into Mickey mouse on the ship - but there's a lot to be said for sailing $1000 or more each sailing! ;)

Enjoying your review. I remember the port holes from my cruise on the Triumph. Glad you enjoyed your first Carnival cruise. Love the picture of your little one with Freddy!

Enjoying your review. I remember the port holes from my cruise on the Triumph. Glad you enjoyed your first Carnival cruise. Love the picture of your little one with Freddy!

Thanks Janice!

You might want to try one of the newer Carnival ships - the Carnival Dream has fridges in each cabin plus some of the ocean view cabins have split baths (that doesn't affect me because I usually sail DCL with my mom who's in a wheelchair and the HA cabins don't have the split baths).

 

No where other than Disney will you run into Mickey mouse on the ship - but there's a lot to be said for sailing $1000 or more each sailing! ;)

I would like to sail one of the newer Carnival ships soon...I have heard great things! True about Mickey but I am still trying to get over giving Mickey all but my left arm during our Feb Disney World/Dream vacation...wowza! Worth it, though!!

Hey, I'm Melissa too! Your son is oh my squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee adorable! Great start to your review!

enjoying the review... we leave next week

Thanks for the review Melissa. I'm taking my daughter on the Triumph in December for her birthday. You are giving me a little bit to tide me over. (40 days, but who's counting) :D

We are also booking a B2B on her with friends in February.

I would like to sail one of the newer Carnival ships soon...I have heard great things! True about Mickey but I am still trying to get over giving Mickey all but my left arm during our Feb Disney World/Dream vacation...wowza! Worth it, though!!

I am really enjoying this review. Thanks for taking the time to write a review. I love Carnival and Royal, but I could never cruise Disney. Disney costs more and they don't have a casino. I am not a big gambler, but that is one thing that I must do on a cruise. Blackjack is my game.

Hey, I'm Melissa too! Your son is oh my squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee adorable! Great start to your review!

Hi Melissa! AH thanks...he is a little character for sure! :D

enjoying the review... we leave next week

Oh how exciting, I am jealous, want to go back! :p

Thanks for the review Melissa. I'm taking my daughter on the Triumph in December for her birthday. You are giving me a little bit to tide me over. (40 days, but who's counting) :D

 

We are also booking a B2B on her with friends in February.

What a great way to celebrate her birthday! What are ya'll going to do in Cozumel?

The B2B sounds awesome, would love to do that someday!

I am really enjoying this review. Thanks for taking the time to write a review. I love Carnival and Royal, but I could never cruise Disney. Disney costs more and they don't have a casino. I am not a big gambler, but that is one thing that I must do on a cruise. Blackjack is my game.

Glad you are enjoying it...I read so many reviews, time to give back! We have never sailed RC but want to someday soon. Disney is VERY expensive and we are glad we did the one but I will have a hard time justifying it after seeing how the kids enjoyed Camp Carnival more! We really have enjoyed trying the different cruise lines but in the future we will be leaning toward Carnival I think..

Continuing on....

I forgot to add, when we returned to our room the first night the kids were delighted to see our first towel animal and my son had to eat a chocolate IMMEDIATELY. Ah, isn't cruising great?!

Day 2 - Sea Day (Friday 10/19)

My hubby and I awoke before the kids which unforunately was a theme on this trip. We spent some time out on the balcony and waited for our juice/fruit/coffee to be delivered. Soon it was delivered and the kids woke up and joined us on the balcony. My daughter was itching to explore the ship so after a while we checked if my inlaws were awake and we all went down to the buffet. It was about 10AM which seems to be the busiest time for breakfast on the sea days. The buffet was packed and the line was long. My FIL, son and hubby grabbed a table while me and my MIL and daughter went to brave the buffet. I got enough on my plate for me and my son and got an extra plate for hubby and my MIL did the same for FIL. The scrambled eggs looked "iffy" but they tasted better than they looked. MUCH better than the buffet scrambled eggs we had on Disney, they were awful. The buffet was pretty good although I am not a fan of buffets in general. I definitely was not a fan of the line but I guess that is par for the course on a packed cruise ship/sea day.

After breakfast we wandered around exploring. Went up on Lido and up to the top deck to check out the mini golf. We checked out the kiddie pool and just enjoyed the morning. The weather was just perfect, sunny and clear. The music on Lido seemed to always be a couple decibles too loud for me. Maybe I am just getting old but it seemed uncomfortably loud, great music otherwise.

Somewhere along the way we ditched the men and my little man went off to Camp Carnival so MIL, DD and I went shopping. They were having the famous 10.00 sale in one of the stores so we bought some hats and earrings and evening bags. Some good deals to be had if you are willing to brave the crowd. This is one area Princess gained a point over Carnival. They had their sale in one of the clubs and there was much more room to browse and it was not so crowded. My MIL and I later had to model our new hats. Here she is trying to throw me overboard. Those hats are great for 10 bucks!

After this we headed over to the photo area, a pirate had made the rounds at dinner so we found our pictures but decided not to spend the $ on them. While we were there we were approached by a photog from "Dreams" which is a company that takes private photos in different locations on the ship. They asked if we were interested in a private photo session while on board. I was very interested as we had decided to try and get some good family pictures taken on the cruise...some to frame and use for our yearly Christmas cards. They just so happened to have a slot open that evening (elegant night) from 8:15 - 9:00 so we snatched it up. I did ask about pricing and was told their 8x10's are 29.99 which is more than the Carnival photos (21.99) but we really liked the idea of working with a photographer.

After this my MIL went back to the room and DD and I went up to Lido and grabbed a slice of pizza and some ice cream. We went and picked up DS from Camp Carnival and headed back to the room. DH had picked up some hot dogs and chicken nuggets for him and DS to eat and then we took the kids to get Carnival's version of a Build a Bear in Camp Carnival. This was fun, we went to CC where they have different bears and outfits you can choose. Then you stuff it yourself. We brought theirs back up to the room to stuff. (notice the hat DS made in CC..they did lots of fun crafts!)

My MIL and FIL left to go to their room for a while. As soon as they did (it was 1:50) there was a knock at our door and they came to deliver her Birthday cake and rose. We went and knocked and told them to come over when they got a chance and we surprised her by singing Happy Birthday as she walked in.

We then relaxed a little, I think the kids went to CC again for a while and then it was time to get ready for elegant night and our family pictures. I will leave you here and pick up soon with Elegant night and our photo session. Was it worth it or should we have stuck to the regular Elegant night photo ops? Come back to find out!

Picking up where we left off...Elegant night. We all got dressed up for elegant night. I was not thrilled with the time of our photo session (8:15) because it meant we had to eat dinner first. It is not ideal (especially with kids) to eat first and then have pictures taken! Plus you feel so full and bloated after a cruise dinner meal and not photo ready! (Or is that just me?) Oh well, we clean up pretty well. Unfortunately I did not get any great photos of our outfits but here are a couple pictures:

My son is a HUGE ham!!!

I have hit my photo limit for this post so I will be back with dinner pictures and details on the photo session... To be continued