Question for those just off the Triumph (10/11/10)

[MillieOK]

I just finished my first Carnival cruise. I'm wanting to plan another cruise, so I have a question for those who just experienced the same week as I did. Compared to other Carnival cruises you've taken in the past, how would you say this one compared? Did I experience a typical 5 days on Carnival? I'm most interested in your thoughts on the cleanliness of public areas, management of the buffet lines, food quality and taste, and also the debarkation process.

 

I know some of the people around here flame the people who don't post often and who post about bad experiences, so I'm not going to give my opinions. I will say I had a lot of good and bad experiences and I was very happy with the way Carnival handled the hurricane issue.

[firefly333]

Triumph only has half the buffet area that a ship like Conquest has, and only a little smaller, so its already at a dissadvantage. I was not on the Triumph the week you asked about, but I was on her when she had leaking pipes, one over part of the buffet, so we only had half the buffet open... try and imagine half of what you saw open and the whole ship there.

 

Iv had debarkation issues, more than once from that port. ..just a matter of luck it seems to me. Iv even had the full customs from this port and some on my roll call didnt make it off the ship until about 1:30 pm.

 

It happens ... I would cruise on her again if the price was right...and have.

[EmmasNana]

I wasn't on this sailing but we love this ship and leaving out of New Orleans. We have been on the Triumph 3 times and will be on it in 13 days and again in Dec. I think the buffet is sometimes pretty crowded but we try to go at the off times if we will be doing it. I'm not really a foody but it is typically banquet food as on most of the lines.

I don't expect perfection so for the most part things have been clean enough for me. Usually it will be a fellow passenger that will make me go ewww.

For me debarkation has always been good but you never know what kind of issue there will be, as on any sailings. I have had to wait for a full inspection before but wasn't really a big deal and we still got off relatively quickly.

[Angelamu7]

I just finished my first Carnival cruise. I'm wanting to plan another cruise, so I have a question for those who just experienced the same week as I did. Compared to other Carnival cruises you've taken in the past, how would you say this one compared? Did I experience a typical 5 days on Carnival? I'm most interested in your thoughts on the cleanliness of public areas, management of the buffet lines, food quality and taste, and also the debarkation process.

 

I know some of the people around here flame the people who don't post often and who post about bad experiences, so I'm not going to give my opinions. I will say I had a lot of good and bad experiences and I was very happy with the way Carnival handled the hurricane issue.

 

I will do the Triumph again. The ship is desent and despite the issues I had (not much to do on added sea day and the lack of clean dishes at dinner) I will sail her again.

 

I prefer a 7 day cruise but anything less then a 5 day is not relaxing for me. The Triumph is not my fav. cruise I have had but she is good. I wouldn't sail smaller then her unless there was a great deal out there. She lacks a lot of extra space for the buffet so that shows but not enough to skip her.

 

HTH

[Sargent_Schultz]

Here is a recent review:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1290359

 

We did a 5 day last month and loved it. Lots of pictures here:

http://www.zydecocruiser.com/CarnivalTriumph/index.htm

[firefly333]

I wouldn't sail smaller then her unless there was a great deal out there. She lacks a lot of extra space for the buffet so that shows but not enough to skip her.

 

HTH

 

Iv paid more a day for Ecstasy than I pay a day for Conquest. I love Ecstasy and it has a wide open buffet space and eating area, probably as big as the Triumph, but for far less people. I love that it gets to feel more like family as you run into the same people more often on a small ship.

 

Texas is getting Triumph, oh joy, I loved Ecstasy. But I dont really dislike Triumph, luckily.

[MillieOK]

Thanks for the responses. I'd read the reviews, and as I said I was actually on this cruise. I was looking for the opinion of somebody who went through the exact same week- I know every company can have an off week, so I'm curious as to whether it is normal for the public areas (hallways, pools, buffet area) to be as dirty as they were, whether the food is always as bad as it was (not just my opinion- I was at a table for 8 and I don't think any of us enjoyed a single MDR dinner), whether the buffet is always as crowded, etc. I know that every business can have an off week, and I'm trying to decide whether to give Carnival a second chance.

[Sargent_Schultz]

The other time I run into crowds anywhere is if I expect to eat at high noon, so I don't (or when any particular venue opens up). As for debarkation, we are never in a hurry but it seems lots of people are, so we let them duke it out while we take our time. Never any issues. I don't think this is ship or port specific.

 

Here is a review in progress of that sailing, me thinks.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1293467

[Magic City Cruiser]

Thanks for the responses. I'd read the reviews, and as I said I was actually on this cruise. I was looking for the opinion of somebody who went through the exact same week- I know every company can have an off week, so I'm curious as to whether it is normal for the public areas (hallways, pools, buffet area) to be as dirty as they were, whether the food is always as bad as it was (not just my opinion- I was at a table for 8 and I don't think any of us enjoyed a single MDR dinner), whether the buffet is always as crowded, etc. I know that every business can have an off week, and I'm trying to decide whether to give Carnival a second chance.

 

There were 10 of us on this cruise and no one noticed or mentioned any cleanliness issues. Everyone enjoyed dinner in the MDR and we often got more than one entree. There were dishes we didn't care for but there always are. In my experience on 5 ships, buffets are usually crowded. The Triumph wasn't our fav ship but we didn't dislike sailing her. There were things we liked, things we didn't...same as all the other ships/cruises. We all did different things, had different experiences but we all enjoyed our cruise very much. However, I've only sailed Carnival...I think the other have sailed other lines, one of our groups was a new cruiser. After reading CC for a few years, I'm pretty much of the opinion that everyone's experience is different and it doesn't matter if it is the same cruise, ship, line, etc. I can't tell you to give Carnival another try or not but I think most people enjoy sailing her.

[MillieOK]

Thanks for the response! That's what I was trying to find out. Glad you had a good time!

[EmmasNana]

never mind...

[deannasch]

Thanks for the responses. I'd read the reviews, and as I said I was actually on this cruise. I was looking for the opinion of somebody who went through the exact same week- I know every company can have an off week, so I'm curious as to whether it is normal for the public areas (hallways, pools, buffet area) to be as dirty as they were, whether the food is always as bad as it was (not just my opinion- I was at a table for 8 and I don't think any of us enjoyed a single MDR dinner), whether the buffet is always as crowded, etc. I know that every business can have an off week, and I'm trying to decide whether to give Carnival a second chance.

 

 

I was on this cruise.. This is my 3rd Carnival Cruise, first on Fantasy (which I didn't care for), 2nd on Freedom and 3rd on Triumph. Would I sail another Carnival vessel again? Absolutely. I sailed on the Fantasy when it sailed out of New Orleans as well. I did the self debarkation, so was off the ship by 7:30, as I still had an 18 hour drive ahead of me. This went extremely smooth. I did not think that any areas of the ship were dirty. Yes the food lines were slower than I am use to, but hey we were on vacation and what is the hurry. Had we of been able to go to all the ports that we signed up for, I don't think the smaller issues would have bothered people the same. It was a big bummer that we only went to Key West, but our weather was beautiful. For the MDR, we only went two nights as I had my DDs with and they got to pick where we ate. Please try Carnival again.

[suzycruiser2]

We were on the prior sailing. I didn't notice any cleanliness issues. The buffet lines went fairly quickly with not much waiting. I didn't always like the food offered (I know I am a picky eater), but I would just go get one of the yummy grilled ham and cheese sandwiches or got a burger.

 

The food in the MDR wasn't near the quality as on our prior cruise. The lobster was tough and seemed to be overcooked. I had a pasta dish that was really good. One night none of the nightly offerings looked that good, so I ordered grilled chicken. The chicken was apparently cooked from frozen. It was slightly overcooked on the outside and when I cut into the center, it was raw.

 

We were impressed with all of the employees that we encountered.

[MillieOK]

We were on the prior sailing. I didn't notice any cleanliness issues. The buffet lines went fairly quickly with not much waiting. I didn't always like the food offered (I know I am a picky eater), but I would just go get one of the yummy grilled ham and cheese sandwiches or got a burger.

 

The food in the MDR wasn't near the quality as on our prior cruise. The lobster was tough and seemed to be overcooked. I had a pasta dish that was really good. One night none of the nightly offerings looked that good, so I ordered grilled chicken. The chicken was apparently cooked from frozen. It was slightly overcooked on the outside and when I cut into the center, it was raw.

 

We were impressed with all of the employees that we encountered.

 

Good to know that the food is usually better. The cleanliness issues I'm talking about are things like room service trays not being cleared from hallways (there was a muffin in our hallway that was there for over 24 hours- by the end somebody had stepped on it) and also we noticed that some of the Lido tables still had the same trash on them after 20 minutes or so (there were a few tables we liked and watched for them to be cleaned).

[Angelamu7]

Thanks for the responses. I'd read the reviews, and as I said I was actually on this cruise. I was looking for the opinion of somebody who went through the exact same week- I know every company can have an off week, so I'm curious as to whether it is normal for the public areas (hallways, pools, buffet area) to be as dirty as they were, whether the food is always as bad as it was (not just my opinion- I was at a table for 8 and I don't think any of us enjoyed a single MDR dinner), whether the buffet is always as crowded, etc. I know that every business can have an off week, and I'm trying to decide whether to give Carnival a second chance.

 

Here were my issues on this trip:

 

- MDR the food was cold, slow, staff was not very nice nor helpful at my table and my water glass was dirty each night, knif had food on it, plate was dirty, ect. So we only went 3 nights. It was just awful. Now on the bright side I have never had these kinds of issues before on Carnival so that is a good thing.

 

- The entertainment staff were not great at all IMO. There were some desent acts and some that were just like why the heck did I just sit through all of that.

 

- Bar staff was the ONLY staff that remembered me and was nice everytime.

 

- The public bathroom areas left much to be desired. One was so bad it maded me gag but that is the people on the ship not really the staff. I called the front desk to let them know about the issue and after 2 hours NOT one person went to check in on it. Just odd too me.

 

- Not a lot going on poolside. and a lot of please come pay to do such and such but not a lot of just chill things going on.

 

Now I say all of that to say that I do not expect everything perfect. Overall we had a great time there were just little things, well a lot of little things that just added up this trip. I have never had an issue with Carnival on the scale of this time. I think it was just an off week and tensions were high and people were yelling at staff because of the lack of ports and such so maybe that was just a lot going on for them. I didn't make a big deal about it all nor would I not sail on her again or with Carnival because I will.

 

OK, I hope that didn't come off as I was trying to bash Carnival or even the ship because I wasn't. I sailed her and overall had fun. Was this the best Carnival had to give; no it wasn't and is this the normal type of cruise Carnival does; no they normally knock it out of the park! So sail again with her.

[Grits53]

Here were my issues on this trip:

 

- MDR the food was cold, slow, staff was not very nice nor helpful at my table and my water glass was dirty each night, knif had food on it, plate was dirty, ect. So we only went 3 nights. It was just awful. Now on the bright side I have never had these kinds of issues before on Carnival so that is a good thing.

 

- The entertainment staff were not great at all IMO. There were some desent acts and some that were just like why the heck did I just sit through all of that.

 

- Bar staff was the ONLY staff that remembered me and was nice everytime.

 

- The public bathroom areas left much to be desired. One was so bad it maded me gag but that is the people on the ship not really the staff. I called the front desk to let them know about the issue and after 2 hours NOT one person went to check in on it. Just odd too me.

 

- Not a lot going on poolside. and a lot of please come pay to do such and such but not a lot of just chill things going on.

 

Now I say all of that to say that I do not expect everything perfect. Overall we had a great time there were just little things, well a lot of little things that just added up this trip. I have never had an issue with Carnival on the scale of this time. I think it was just an off week and tensions were high and people were yelling at staff because of the lack of ports and such so maybe that was just a lot going on for them. I didn't make a big deal about it all nor would I not sail on her again or with Carnival because I will.

 

OK, I hope that didn't come off as I was trying to bash Carnival or even the ship because I wasn't. I sailed her and overall had fun. Was this the best Carnival had to give; no it wasn't and is this the normal type of cruise Carnival does; no they normally knock it out of the park! So sail again with her.

 

I wasn't on your sailing, but I was on the Triumph 3/1/10, 5/8/10, and 10/2/10 sailings. While I admit that the 10/2/10 cruise wasn't my favorite of my 13 cruises, it wasn't bad. Loved the other two! I didn't notice any of the problems you listed, but I don't use the public bathrooms or eat from the buffet. As for the entertainment, my DH and I agree that The Big Easy show is the best Carnival show we've ever seen. HOWEVER, since we were on the Triumph in May, they have changed lead singers in the shows. These new singers are decent but not nearly as good as the pair before them. The dancers are very talented. I assume you had rough seas, and that could have had a big impact on the quality of the shows.....

I see that the ship you sailed previously was the Conquest, which is my all time favorite ship. In my opinion, it's hard for other ships and crews to follow up behind the Conquest. Maybe you should give the Triumph another chance. As I said, our Oct. cruise wasn't as good as the two Triumph cruises before it. So maybe Oct. is an "off" month for them.

[Angelamu7]

I wasn't on your sailing, but I was on the Triumph 3/1/10, 5/8/10, and 10/2/10 sailings. While I admit that the 10/2/10 cruise wasn't my favorite of my 13 cruises, it wasn't bad. Loved the other two! I didn't notice any of the problems you listed, but I don't use the public bathrooms or eat from the buffet. As for the entertainment, my DH and I agree that The Big Easy show is the best Carnival show we've ever seen. HOWEVER, since we were on the Triumph in May, they have changed lead singers in the shows. These new singers are decent but not nearly as good as the pair before them. The dancers are very talented. I assume you had rough seas, and that could have had a big impact on the quality of the shows.....

 

I see that the ship you sailed previously was the Conquest, which is my all time favorite ship. In my opinion, it's hard for other ships and crews to follow up behind the Conquest. Maybe you should give the Triumph another chance. As I said, our Oct. cruise wasn't as good as the two Triumph cruises before it. So maybe Oct. is an "off" month for them.

 

The seas were not rough at all; it was the best weather I have ever had on a cruise. I just think the staff was not having a good 5 days that sailing. I think there were a lot of rude people (staff and other sailers) that just took its toll on everyone. I will sail her again at some point I am sure. :-)