Triumph review: November 8-13, 2010. Best 1A room # 2444

[k2excursion]

My mom & I threw this cruise in as one to hold us over between our big cruises. It gave us a chance to try out a few things, including a day in New Orleans. Not everything was great. There were some issues and some annoying things, which I feel I should report, just so people will be prepared. But when it came down to it, we overlooked those things and really enjoyed the trip. It was a great cruise. I will write in more detail and include pictures in the coming days, but I'll start with this.

 

New Orleans: we stayed at the Drury Inn in downtown, a few blocks down from the Superdome. We arrived early, so we walked the French Quarter in the afternoon, which was really nice. We were definitely happy to be back in the hotel in the evening though. We're not party animals. There are some adult oriented establishments around the French Quarter, not my thing, even though I am a young adult male. And the police were out in force, which had something to do with the vice president coming into town.

 

Onto the ship: Embarkation went pretty smooth, not as much as in Port Canaveral, but better than Mobile. It could be better. The ship definitely felt really small, after being on the Dream earlier this year. I love the decor of the Triumph, especially around the atrium. The waterslide is alot of fun, exactly like the waterslide on the Conquest class. Big Tex was our cruise director, and he was the best CD I've ever had. I've had a few great ones too, but he topped them all. The shows in the theater were amazing every night, especially their big song & dance show "The Big Easy", which we had on the final night. Food was decent on the ship, but certainly not up to the standard of all our previous Carnival cruises. The quality of the lido buffet food wasn't quite as good, and some selections in the main dining room were lacking. It didn't bother us too much, as there's always plenty to eat, but we couldn't help but notice.

 

Our room: # 2444. It's a 1A, which is the cheapest category, but it included 2 picture windows. It's wrapped around a staff stairway, which never was an issue. But we definitely heard noise and vibrations when coming into the ports. The room has one regular bed, plus an upper. I measured the room, and found it to be around 200 sq.ft, not including the hallway on the inside of our door which led to the main part of the room. We were very happy with this room, because of the price and the windows.

 

The people from our rollcall were very friendly. Many showed up to the meet & greet, and we had a great time getting to know each other. The crowd on the ship was very different from any other cruise I've had. There were always plenty of people willing to get up and dance the popular dances of today: Cha Cha Slide, Cupid Shuffle, etc. They were always willing to cheer and give standing ovations at the big shows in the theater. I've never been on a cruise where so much food was eaten.:p The food lines were always very long, at all hours. The waterslide seemed to always have a very short line, a first for all my cruises. It allowed me to ride it a ton, but I wondered why others weren't partaking. There were very few kids/families on board the ship, which seemed very unusual to me. I know that some people like not having kids on a cruise, but the whole family atmosphere is more my style anyway. Plus, I work with kids for a living, so it never bothers me when they're around. A cruise out of New Orleans doesn't seem to be the best option for families or those that appreciate the whole family atmosphere. Our tablemates at dinner were...hmmm...well, let's just say they had an interesting outlook on things. Sometimes, you don't get the best tablemates.

 

Please don't take this as a rip on New Orleans. It's just something I wish I knew I would be encountering. If you ever go out of New Orleans, be prepared. You will get New Orleans Saints thrown in your face at every turn, not only by passengers but in the activities. Some people who feel that the city is the best city in the world will make sure that you and everyone knows that it's the best and all the reasons why it's the best. Galveston cruises will promote Texas & Texas things, but not in a shove-it-down-your-throat kind of way. I really appreciate the way Galveston cruises do it. So, this is what I was mainly referring to, in regards to what we had to overlook. It just seemed to be extremely way over-the-top.

 

We had great weather almost the entire cruise. We had rain in the late afternoon of Day 2, which started some rocking of the boat. Fortunately, it never got too intense. There was some rocking as we were sailing away from Cozumel and entering back into the Gulf. But overall, it was a smooth ride with lots of sun. We went to the Ux Mal ruins from Progreso, which was a great excursion. It was nice to get to climb on the ruins. In Cozumel, we opted for Paradise Beach. Even with 5 ships and over 14,000 people in port, the beach never got too terribly crowded. We both climbed out on the inflatable slides, and I climbed halfway up the mountain. That was a hard one! We had a great time there.

 

Once again, despite the few negatives that I mentioned, it was a great cruise. The many positives, by far, overwhelmed the few negatives. Still, I probably will not cruise out of New Orleans again, mainly because I appreciate more of the family atmosphere. If I do, it may be just because the Ecstasy is moving there next year, and I haven't sailed on her yet. I like sailing on different ships.

[ArthurIhde]

wow,congratulations! dude!

[k2excursion]

ok, I couldn't resist throwing in a few pictures off the top. Here we are, shortly after boarding and eating lunch. The bridge created a nice backdrop.

 

 

It looks alot like Conquest class outdoor decks, but it is noticeably smaller.

...

 

Awesome waterslide, with downtown New Orleans in the background:

 

Another advantage to the Louisiana crowd is that there aren't many chair hogs. So many of the chairs would go unclaimed. There was never any problems finding one near where you'd want one, even on sea days. I guess they get enough warm weather down there, that they don't need to lay in the sun. Where I'm from, there's only about 3 months of decent laying-in-the-sun weather in the year.

[goodml]

Thanks so much for taking the time to post your review. Your pics are great. Less than three weeks to go for me.

[habby]

You will get New Orleans Saints thrown in your face at every turn.

 

So...... I guess I should rethink wearing my Detroit Lions jersey, huh?;)

 

Love the pics! Thanks for taking the time to post them and the review.

[Alvinsr]

We're not party animals.  There are some adult oriented establishments around the French Quarter

 

yet you complain about New Orleans...the French Quarter probably not your cup of tea.There are many of other things to do in the city....World World 2 museum, ride a street car, visit the zoo, aquarium...

 

As far as being proud of New Orleans, what is wrong with that?

 

Sorry you didn't enjoy our city, most people who come here love it.

 

Have a good one

[VegGirl]

Thanks for the pics! I'll be on this ship next week (Louisiana native).

 

I laughed a bit when I saw you describe the ship as small :) The other two ships I've been on (Island Princess & Celebrity Constellation) both hold ~1950 passengers and felt ENORMOUS. A week on either ship wasn't enough to explore every area. I've been curious to see how "big" Triumph was in relation to the other ships on which I've cruised, since it holds nearly 1000 more passengers.

[Echo Queen]

Thanks for the rewiew, love the photos. June will be our first cruise out of NOLA and we are really looking foward to it. It will be my husband and I only whoo hoo leaving the kids in Texas:D Did you take a shuttle, walk, or taxi to the port and what time did you board?

[goodml]

So...... I guess I should rethink wearing my Detroit Lions jersey, huh?;)

 

Love the pics! Thanks for taking the time to post them and the review.

 

LOL I am also just "south" of Detroit. Sigh...woe to be a Lions fan.....

[k2excursion]

Thanks for the rewiew, love the photos. June will be our first cruise out of NOLA and we are really looking foward to it. It will be my husband and I only whoo hoo leaving the kids in Texas:D Did you take a shuttle, walk, or taxi to the port and what time did you board?

 

With our parking deal at the Drury Inn, we decided to try the drop-off then walk. I dropped mom off at the port with all our luggage, drove back and parked, then walked to the port. It was a long line of cars at the port; took about 10-15 minutes stopped in line before getting to drop her off. The walk from the hotel to the port was much longer than expected, over a mile easily. Plus, the riverwalk entrance that I expected to use to cross over to the port was closed off. That meant that I had to walk where I wasn't supposed to in order to get to the port. We started the whole process at about 9:45. It was around 11:15 when I finally met back up with mom. We were on the ship a little bit past noon. A cab probably would've been a better option (we used a cab after debarkation). It's $7/person for the very short drive between Drury & the port, which seems quite pricey by comparison to some other cities. But it saves a lot of time and walking.

 

So...... I guess I should rethink wearing my Detroit Lions jersey, huh?;)

 

Yeah, you may get some comments coming your way. If you enjoy that kind of sports banter, go ahead and do it. You will definitely hear it from the Saints fans, but I'm sure they won't go too far with it. They're just a little extra excited right now after their team winning the Super Bowl, which makes sense.

 

I should clarify that I did enjoy the time we had in downtown New Orleans & the French Quarter. I was just pointing out a few things that I know would be a turnoff to some people who might be visiting the city in the future. If you know those things are there ahead of time, they don't bother you so much when you do come across them. A friend of mine absolutely hated Las Vegas when we went there, all because I didn't adequately prepare him for what we'd come across there. He couldn't get past the negative things. I overlooked those things in New Orleans and enjoyed the good things. I probably wouldn't enjoy the nightlife of the city, but we weren't there at night, so I did enjoy it there.

[BeeBeeCee]

There were very few kids/families on board the ship, which seemed very unusual to me. I know that some people like not having kids on a cruise, but the whole family atmosphere is more my style anyway. Plus, I work with kids for a living, so it never bothers me when they're around. A cruise out of New Orleans doesn't seem to be the best option for families or those that appreciate the whole family atmosphere.

.

 

Really :confused:...I would have been surprised to see lots of kids during that week....

 

Where were the kids???.... In school ;)

[k2excursion]

Really :confused:...I would have been surprised to see lots of kids during that week....

 

Where were the kids???.... In school ;)

 

Actually, even though I've never cruised in March, holidays, or the summer, I've always seen plenty of kids on the cruises I've taken. Of course, it isn't nearly as many as there would be at those peak times. It's never a ton of kids, but there's still a fair representation. On this cruise however, there were hardly any at all. In fact, the staff that handle kids activities were working in other areas most of the week. I talked with one of them, who told me that this wasn't an unusual week. She said that not many kids sail out of New Orleans at all, by comparison to other ships on the same weeks.

 

The reason there are still some kids that cruise during these times is because of the kids that are homeschooled or do year-round school. Those families rarely cruise during peak times, because it's so much more expensive. Plus, many parents pull their kids out of school to cruise, as long as their behavior and grades are good.

[boaterette]

Nice review. Thank you for posting.

[BeeBeeCee]

Actually, even though I've never cruised in March, holidays, or the summer, I've always seen plenty of kids on the cruises I've taken. Of course, it isn't nearly as many as there would be at those peak times. It's never a ton of kids, but there's still a fair representation. On this cruise however, there were hardly any at all. In fact, the staff that handle kids activities were working in other areas most of the week. I talked with one of them, who told me that this wasn't an unusual week. She said that not many kids sail out of New Orleans at all, by comparison to other ships on the same weeks.

 

The reason there are still some kids that cruise during these times is because of the kids that are homeschooled or do year-round school. Those families rarely cruise during peak times, because it's so much more expensive. Plus, many parents pull their kids out of school to cruise, as long as their behavior and grades are good.

 

I have cruised 4 times out of NOLA and once from PC on the Dream during the same seasonal time, and the ratio of kids seemed about the same.

 

And, yes i use to pull my kids out of school a week in early May to take them to Disney World to avoid the crowds and also a few days in winter for ski trips to Lake Tahoe...so, I clearly understand the concept. But we did not seem to be the norm. Here, most people i know take their kids on vacations during Mardi Gras break, summer or Thanksgiving break.

 

My girls are both grown now....the baby will graduate from LSU in May :D

[Cruiser@Heart]

Do you have pics of your cabin? I'm sailing in 2445 with a friend and specifically picked it because of the big picture windows and that killer 1A price. I've been in cabins with some noise and vibrations when coming into ports before. I just think of it as my "wake up call" to get up and going for the day. :D Oh, and how was it sleeping on the Upper...that has been where I have been designated at to sleep. LOL!!!!

[k2excursion]

Do you have pics of your cabin? I'm sailing in 2445 with a friend and specifically picked it because of the big picture windows and that killer 1A price. I've been in cabins with some noise and vibrations when coming into ports before. I just think of it as my "wake up call" to get up and going for the day. Oh, and how was it sleeping on the Upper...that has been where I have been designated at to sleep. LOL!!!!

 

Ask, and ye shall receive. I was just working on that, as my computer fights me. It really is a great room to have. You're going to love it!!! As I mentioned, I measured the room. It's about 235 sq.ft, including the hallway on the inside of the door, leading to the main part of the room. That long hallway (about 35 sq.ft.) can't really be used, but the hallway in other rooms can't be used either, and their square footage includes the hallway too. Most rooms are either 185 sq.ft. or 220 (OVs on the big ships) including the hallway. So this is a very big room: around 200 sq.ft. without the hallway. The vibrations went on for awhile pulling into Progreso, but there wasn't much at all coming into Cozumel. There was quite a bit coming back to New Orleans though, which I somehow slept through. Mom didn't. There's also the occasional extremely loud thumps at random times while pulling in. You may think we've hit an iceberg. The closets are tricky. None of the 3 closets have the shelves, like I've had on all my other cruises. There are 2 with hangers, and the other one has the safe and lifejackets, but no shelves. There's still plenty of space elsewhere to store stuff. But if that's all we have to put up with to get a giant room with 2 windows for the cheapest price on the ship, that's an amazing deal!!!

 

Here's from just inside the door, looking down the hallway to the room:

 

Entering the main part of the room. 2445 will have the opposite orientation.

 

Obviously, these were taken on the 2nd day, as we got our first little pet resting on the couch:

...

 

From sitting underneath the upper, with the closets in front and the bathroom to the left:

 

We had so much room to move around, it was amazing!

 

This was my 4th time to sleep on an upper on a cruise. My favorite upper was definitely on the Dream. I'm usually a stomach sleeper, but on this bed, I couldn't sleep like that. I slept quite well on my back instead. I think the only uncomfortable part of it is climbing up the ladder to the bed. I always pick lower bunks when I'm at kids/youth camps with my church. So the climbing & being up high feels strange (even though you can't see anything at night. They don't really keep the windows that clean (lots of soap scum), but at the price we paid, we're not complaining at all. We could see out, watch sunsets, storms rolling in. I could see how close we were getting to docking in Cozumel as I got ready in the morning, as we passed other ships. We could see across to Ecstasy's Main deck balconies, right across the pier (from 2444, not 2445). The small couch is not the sleeper couch. It's smaller. The arms can be removed, but I can't imagine anyone over 4 1/2 feet tall being able to sleep on that. It was nice to have it though. For the price, you definitely can't beat these rooms.

[wantocruisemore]

It was great being on the cruise with you and meeting you and your mom.

 

Just a few comments, I think mainly since our room was a category 8N that we had bigger closets (3), at least one had a shelf. There was more than enough storage between the long vanity with cabinets and drawers and the nightstand that opened to two large shelves. Probably more of a room category difference. We really liked the aft and the balcony.

 

We LOVED New Orleans but everyone there is serious about the Saints. We really enjoyed their excitement and loyalty. It was funny on Sat. afternoon because the Saints were in NC playing our own Panthers (which are NOT very good even though they did play in the Super Bowl a few years ago) and everywhere we went the game was on. We explained although from NC we were not really Panthers' fans. Our state is more into college football & basketball (w/Duke, UNC, Wake Forest & State nearby) and for pro teams we are more into Hockey. (Go Hurricanes, Stanley Cup 2006).

 

We did do the Carriage ride, aquarium, St. Charles streetcar etc. in New Orleans. Things we missed and will do when we return was a Ghost Walk, the WWII museum, insectarium and more great food!!! Our hotel was in the garden section on the streetcar route. It was always very quiet and I am an extremely light sleeper. We didn't even get on Bourbon since we had DD.

 

I figured there were not as many kids due to the time of year. With most in school and it not far from the holidays, most don't want to take off, either from school or work.

 

Glad you liked the forward part of the ship. Personally I prefer the aft. Love a balcony!!!.

 

Were you in the London or Paris dining room? I seem to remember that you had an early seating too. We loved Paul and the staff in the London.

 

I'm glad you enjoyed the cruise. For us, it was PERFECT. And for DD's sake if there was ever a vacation to get right, I'm glad it was this one.

 

Soooo glad we have a cruise already booked, just wich it could have been Carnival.

[luv2trvlnow]

wantocruisemore: Yes we had early dining but we were in the Paris Dining Room. We had a great wait staff. Just wish we had better table campanions. Like my son said they had a different outlook on life. Like children should not be allowed on cruises or airplanes. They should be locked away from others until they are 18 years old. They should not have to deal with children that are not theirs.

 

Also 1 of them pushed how great New Orleans was on us every night. This could be why we felt like it was pushed in our faces all them time. In spite of all this I has a great time. I apparently enjoyed New Orleans more than my son.

 

We like cabins in all parts of the ship. We have had cabins forward, midship and aft. This room was aft on Main Deck. Didn't mind the vibrations just the occasional loud bang, like metal slamming into metal. And this was only when coming into port. This is definitely a great room especially for the price.

 

Sharon

[chasinraynbowz]

We have cruised out of NOLA several times and have not ran into the type of Saints fans you have described. Maybe its the time of year????

 

Anyway, thanks for your review!!! DH and I are looking forward to a cruise on the Triumph before she moves.

[Poorplaya]

Thank you for posting the pictures of the room you stayed in and everything else, great review.

[WOWGirl]

Thank you for your review.

 

I am curious, what are some things you table mates did? Just curious.

[k2excursion]

I guess I should clarify again that I actually did enjoy New Orleans & the French Quarter. Once again, I only mention that there were adult establishments there because if someone who doesn't like that stuff visits New Orleans without knowing that those things are there, they'll be turned off so much by it that they won't be able to enjoy the good things. By the same token, I also mentioned the negative things about our room (so people looking to book it will be prepared), but make no mistake that I still LOVED that room!

 

We arrived in New Orleans around 11:30, and Drury Inn let us get checked in and park the car. From there, we were able to walk all around the French Quarter and check out the cool architecture and hit some of the popular spots. Here are some pics from our day:

 

 

This is the type of architecture you don't see too many places:

 

Looking down on the patio seating at Pat O'Brien's. We are Irish, so we had to check it out and get a Hurricane. I've got the glass. It was a cool setup they had, and the Saints game was on. They even scored a touchdown while we were there. Even though I don't care for the NFL, that was still pretty cool.

 

 

And of course, we had to go to Cafe du Monde. We got their square donuts. We weren't too hungry, but we had to give them a try. We didn't have a terribly long wait. We've heard it can be quite busy at times.

 

It was pretty along the Mississippi. Below the bridge on the right side of this picture, you'll see a cruise ship. It's an NCL ship, finishing up a 15-day cruise (I think) from Boston to NOLA. Several getting off that ship were at our hotel, and they really enjoyed it.

[k2excursion]

St. Louis Cathedral! I really liked this. It was beautiful!

 

inside the Cathedral:

 

the roof of the Cathedral:

 

 

 

from the roof of the Drury Inn. They had a pool & hot tub up there:

 

We met one family at the hotel that was also going on the cruise with us, a family of 5, one of the few families on the ship. We got to spend some time with them, and we kept running into them over and over in the hotel and on the ship.

[k2excursion]

I had already described the difficulty involved with the dropoff, park the car, then walk option. Next time, the expensive cab ride will be the way to go. It wasn't terrible or unsafe; it just took a long time. Embarkation went good enough. We were so happy with our room when we got to see it for the first time. They opened the rooms at 1:30. Boat drill was at 3:30, didn't have to bring our life jackets. We set sail around 4:20, at which time we started the short deck party. We did the Cha Cha Slide and Cupid Shuffle around the main pool area. It was fun. At 5:00, we had our cruisecritic roll call meet & greet near the pizzeria & aft bar. We started a little late, but had a great time with each other once we got going. We had agreed to wear beads, so that we'd know who was there for the M&G. I don't think any other M&G ever lasted more than 30 minutes, but we were still talking at about 5:55, when we finally had to break it up, since most of us had 6:00 dinner. We were having too much fun. I did the line dancing class at 8:00 in the theater. Those are always fun. At the 10:30 Welcome Aboard Show, the singers & dancers did a short set, then we got to meet Big Tex. My mom & I actually did get to meet him, as he was coming down the first few rows talking to everyone, including us.:eek: Some of the people seemed to be prepared for that, as their responses to Tex were hilarious. The husband of the lady sitting next to us had gone to the bathroom, and Tex was wanting to joke with him when he came back. He must have heard, because he didn't come back for about 30 minutes.:D It was hilarious! The 2 comedians both did short sets. The first one was caught off guard, as the whole crowd was reacting to the triumphant return of that lady's husband. After the show, I checked out the other places around the promenade. I wasn't impressed with the band around the casino or the one in the Venezia Lounge. But the guy in the piano bar was really good. Those can be hit & miss on many ships. I enjoyed this one, as did my mom. I'll have to find my Fun Times to tell you his name.

[k2excursion]

Here are some cool pics from the inside common areas of the ship.

 

Obviously, these are looking down the atrium. Unlike the Conquest & Dream classes, this atrium actually has a little opening down to Deck 2.

 

The Rome theater:

 

 

Club Rio Aft Lounge (always dark lighting):

 

and the piano bar: