Fresh off the Paradise!

[Calilivin]

So the past 4 days I was on the Paradise for my 21st birthday cruise to Catalina and Ensenada. We got off the ship this morning and I thought Id share my adventure with you guys.

A little background: this is my 2nd cruise, first was a disney cruise when i was 13. The cruisers are myself, celebrating my 21st birthday and my other two friends who are also 21, it was one of their first and the others fourth cruise.

We're from Northern California so we drove down the day before (about a 5 hour drive), stayed in Long Beach, went to dinner at Rockin Baja(sooooo good) then went back to the hotel and passed out.

First Day:

The next morning we woke up early adn went to the queen mary for breakfast/lunch. The whole area wasnt crowded at all, I was pretty surprised. around 1245-1 we went ahead and walked to the cruise terminal and the process was so easy, it must have been because we were early. We carried our own luggage on with us and it was no problem. The whole process took like 15-20 minutes, and by the time we got on the ship it was a little before 130 and then we got to go to our cabins. Since it was my 21st we went straight to the bar on the lido and got some drinks! We explored the ship most of the day and tried to get familiar with it, took a lot of pictures. That night after dinner we hot tubbed and met some really cool people we met up with later that night. We all dressed up and went to the Rex dance club and it was hoppin. I wore my birthday sash so I got a lot of "happy birthdays' and the bar staff took great care of our group. It was an amazing first night, we were there until about 2am dancing which is how almost every night ended.

Catalina:

we woke up for Catalina around 8 went to breakfast, then off to our shore excursion we had booked before, scuba diving! The process was kind of unorganized and they could have gotten it together a little better, it was me and a friend then another group of 4. Getting ready took a while but once we got in the ocean it was amazing. Such a cool experience and something I definitely want to do again.

That evening was formal night and me and my friends wore our heels and cocktail dresses, we had early dinging and I think thats why we noticed not too many people dressed up that much, I think it was more at late seating.

That night we went to the R rated comedy show and unfortunately left early, it wasnt that funny, kind of the same jokes you hear over and over. We went to the Rex after and danced the night away.

Ensenada

The next morning we woke up very early to catch our bus for the papas and beer excursion. It was nice being on the beach and having the pool and bar and everything but it was a little too tame for us, there werent a ton of people or a ton of things to do besides lay out and swim. after that we just spent the rest of the day on the boat and I think a lot of people were recovering from the nights before because it was very calm on the ship that night.

Day at Sea

We finally got to sleep in and it was so nice. I scheduled myself one of the spa special deals for that afternoon it was a hot stone massage and facial and it was amazing, im so glad i splurged on it. The whole afternoon we spend on the Lido in the pool, on the slide, laying out, in the hot tub, it was really nice. As I mentioned before we made friends with a handful of the bar staff and they were so fun they hung out with us a lot this day (as much as they are allowed im assuming) and then that afternoon before dinner we went to the normandie lounge and they had free drinks for an hour! We went a little crazy there and actually missed dinner that night! After some more relazing we went to carnival boulevard where there was live music. It was a guy and his guitar and he was great, everyone loved it. At midnight we went to the R rated hypnotist show and it was HILARIOUS, extremely R rated and raunchy but so so funny, best show we saw on the cruise. After that we spend our last night at the Rex with all the friends we had made, it was a lot of fun.

This morning we got up around 8 and did self assist debarkation. It was pretty simple, lines were long but thats all. We were off the ship by 930-10.

 

OVERALL:

-so so so much FUN, honestly I was nervous because I had read a handful of bad reviews of this cruise but I dont know how that could be, granted the most fun was had on the ship and not the ports, but it really was amazing, the staff, the activities, I think you just have to be very open and try everything

-I was very surprised at how much I could feel the ship rocking, I felt nothing on my last cruise.

-If I was going to do anything differently Id probably not book the excursions through Carnival, and not wear myself out so much the first two nights, because we did feel it the last two.

and now some photos...

[Calilivin]

more photos

[Gini]

Good review! Just wondered if they always have free drinks for one hour

at the Normandie?

[Calilivin]

well it was only on the last day, they did do a happy hour type thing every day from like 6-8 where it was one dollar off drinks

[capndinghy]

We took our very first cruise on the Paradise and loved it. We take our tenth cruise to Hawaii in just a few more weeks! :)

[LBumb]

thanks for posting

[PhxRain]

Glad you had a good time. I sail her in Oct. so it's nice to see a positive review. And Happy Belated Birthday! :D

[Gini]

Thanks for the information - thinking of booking for October 25th - rate is over $400.00 pp - must be a full ship.

[cruisinthemed]

Happy belated B-Day...glad you had a good time. We are gonna jump on board this weekend. I have been on her a few times...always fun for a weekend getaway!!! Nice review!!!

[pkrchkr]

We took our very first cruise on the Paradise and loved it. We take our tenth cruise to Hawaii in just a few more weeks! :)

The Paradise was our 1st Carnival cruise:D. at the time it was smoke free I guess it isn't anymore:(..I would love to do a cruise to Hawaii, leave a review for the rest of us that are not going on the cruise with you:D