Triumph review - 8/27-9/01

[hihosilvers]

Just back from the Triumph. My family had a great time on our second Carnival cruise. Weather was great (got pretty lucky) and ship was looking good. Full review coming soon ...

[cruisedogs2000]

Can't wait for your review. We sail on the Triumph on the 17th. This will be our first time on the Triumph but our 6th Carnival cruise. 13 days and counting!!!!!!!!!!!:D

[CapsR1]

Looking forward to reading your review!!!

[dfmeeks]

Can't wait to read it! Sailing 3/17/12 out of Galveston!

[txponycruiser]

Can't wait either! Hope you have lots of pictures to share!

[hihosilvers]

OK, so here we go:

 

We are a family of five, sailing on our second Carnival cruise.

 

Arrived in NOLA a couple days before, and stayed at the Marriott on Canal St. (French Quarter). Great hotel - great location - and for $70 on Priceline, it can't be beat.

 

 

EMBARKATION

Arrived at the port around noon on Saturday morning to check in for our five-day cruise. This seems to be the witching hour for check-in, and the loooooong lines were a good sign of this. Based on our other experiences in Miami and Ft. Lauderdale, this port seemed a bit overwhelmed, and the congestion and lines were a bit much and seemed a bit disorganized at times. Still, Carnival staff did a good job of moving things along, and we were boarding the ship before long.

 

Boarding the ship is a thrill as always. Being on the Liberty this past January, we were immediately familiar with the ship's layout, and were able to navigate instantly. Headed to our OV room 1251, and popped in a bit early. Exact same room and location as we had on the Liberty. Very spacious - tons of storage - and very comfy beds. Parts of the room showed its age, but nothing too distracting. Headed out to explore.

 

All areas of the ship looked great. Again, all very familliar to us from the Liberty. We did our usual look around, and stopped to have some lunch at the buffet. The buffet was very busy, with very long lines. This would prove to be the case for the rest of the cruise. Nothing terrible - just long waits at times. If you're not a buffet fan to begin with, then this won't help matters. Food selection was good, not great, and food quality was ok. Won't comment too much on food, because I know better :)

 

Did some more exploring, relaxed, and then headed to dinner. We were seated in the Paris dining room - upper level. To our disappointment, we were seated at a table for 10, with another family of five (who happened not to show up this evening). While this may be great for other families, it just wouldn't work for us. We're all for meeting new people, but that would be a bit much. The Maitre D' could not change tables for us that night, but was able to put us at a table for five the second night on. We were very happy with the change. Service in the dining room was always very good. Staff is always great with the kids, which makes us happy.

 

FOOD

I'm not going to comment too much on the food quality, but we did have the new menu. All I will say is it definitely seems like they are now offering the bare minimum in food quality, while still trying their best to pass it off as semi-fine dining. Some appetizers are an absolute joke. Tortillia chips with salsa consisted of eight from-the-bag chips with a dish of salsa. Almost laughable when sitting on the table. A couple nights I found myself resorting to ordering chicken tenders as an app, which consisted of two thumb-sized chicken pieces in sauce. Main dishes that I had were good -to-very-good. The prime rib I had was excellent, and the lobster tail was the first I've had that tasted absolutely fresh and not frozen - good size too! On the other hand, the fillet mignon was no such meat, but instead seemed to be a flat iron steak passed off as fillet. Either that, or it was an incredibly low-grade fillet. Same goes for the Chateaubriand. Overall, things were good. Had WCMC five out of six nights.

 

Tried the buffet several times, and was never impressed with the food. Selection was minimal (three or four hot dishes), and were usually very basic cheap stuff - pasta, chicken, pork, etc. Not holding this against Carnival though. I know what I pay to get onboard, and I know what to expect. If I was looking for mounds of shrimp, I would cruise another line.

Also tried the grill several times (good); the deli (good); and the Chinese place (not great). Never made it for sushi, or pizza. Had room service several times which was quick and good. Any other questions about food, just ask.

 

ENTERTAINMENT

Music on the Lido was the usual canned music duo. Not impressed with them last time - not impressed this time. They seemed more of an annoyance than anything else - but that's just me.

We were lucky enough to catch the show band a couple times, outside their usual surroundings. Once across from the casino, and again at the Oxford lounge. They are awesome to watch. Don't miss them.

We saw the main show every night, and we were very impressed. The two main singing leads (Tim....and I forget the woman's name) were very very good - much better than I expected. The Wonderful world show was great; the magician put on a very good show; and the Big Easy show on the final night was the best of all. A very very good show with everything you would expect from a big broadway musical. This show had great sets, lighting design, costumes, songs, and great music from the show band, and singers. Don't miss this show - it brought the house down. I assume they will keep this, even when the ship moves to Texas, but can't be sure. BTW, CD Tex was awesome. Very very funny guy who was always entertaining at show time. Didn't see him much outside of the main showroom.

 

PORTS

PROGRESSO: Nothing planned. Heard there was not too much to see/do here, so just headed off the ship, walked around the shops, picked up a couple souvenirs, and headed back. Had our choice of chairs, and most of the pool area to ourselves when we returned, which was great.

COZUMEL: Had an all-inclusive beach day booked at Nachi Cocum. In short, beautiful place with great service and great food. Money well spent, and I highly recommend it.

 

KIDS

Our kids attended Camp Carnival a few times (less than we were hoping for), and had a good time. The staff was very good for the most part, and activities were good. CC is a very organized, and very well run option for your kids to enjoy for a few hours. All kids should try at least once.

 

DEBARKING

As we have learned from past cruises, your designated debarking time zone is not enforced by law. You may have difficulty getting off earlier than your time, but not later. We were doing self-assist, and were supposed to be off around 7am. We took our time, had breakfast, and rolled off the ship easily and quietly around 9:30. Easy and painless. Customs was fairly quick and we were on our way.

 

I could go on and on, but I'm going to stop here. If there is anything specific you'd like to know about, just ask.

[Ren4l]

Thanks for the review. I will be on the Triumph starting Sept. 10th. I was wondering if you could give some more information about Camp Carnival. You said you kids did not go as much as you hoped were they more interested in other activities on the cruise or did Camp Carnival not offer enough interesting activities? Thanks in advance for any response as I will be taking my two kids on the Triumph for their first cruise their ages are 4 and 2.

[hihosilvers]

Thanks for the review. I will be on the Triumph starting Sept. 10th. I was wondering if you could give some more information about Camp Carnival. You said you kids did not go as much as you hoped were they more interested in other activities on the cruise or did Camp Carnival not offer enough interesting activities? Thanks in advance for any response as I will be taking my two kids on the Triumph for their first cruise their ages are 4 and 2.

 

This was our second experience with Camp Carnival. Last time our kids went a lot - this time, not as much, but that is to say nothing of the activities or staff. I'm sure your kids will have a great time. It's the same as anything else - daycare, camp, etc., it depends on your kids personalities, the staff, and the first experience. Carnival does a great job hiring for CC, but like anywhere else, there is a range. You should definitely have your kids try it out, and encourage them to continue. When it works, it's the greatest thing ever. It'll give you a chance to relax. Good luck!

[okgirl]

OP, just to clarify so newer cruisers don't get confused.

 

The Triumph and the Liberty are VERY similar ships in layout and size. However, the Triumph is the flag ship of it's class at about 103K tons and the Liberty is a Conquest class ship at about 110K tons.

 

I'm glad that you found them so similar that you didn't notice the difference. We are getting the Triumph here in Galveston in a few months and losing the Conquest. I'm glad that I will still have something similar to my beloved Conquest to sail on from my home port.

[raytownlady]

We were on the same cruise and even spent the day at Nachi (small world) I completely agree with your comments on the food at the Lido buffet, we felt like it lacked in variety we especially thought there could have been more vegtables offered.

 

The Big Easy show was amazing!!! I was not prepared for such an entertaining show; I think it was one of the best shows we've seen onboard a ship.