Four Days of Paradise: Baja Mexico - Aug. 8, 2011 Review with Photos

[Defendem]

Thank you for this wonderful review! I've been reading it since the first night and have enjoyed checking back several times each day to read the latest.

 

My GF and I are sailing on the Paradise this coming Monday...and thanks to your review (I never would have thought to look for it) we're staying the night before on the Queen Mary with the Stay, Cruise & Park package.

 

My hope is that we board early enough to get a spot on the Behind the Fun tour...I bet that'll sell out fast, huh? Also, the Chef's Table looked amazing. Coincidentally my GF also cannot stand seafood of any kind. I wonder if Chef is willing to accommodate another non-seafood eater the way he did for you.

 

This will be my second cruise ever, and the last one was a 1992 cruise on Song of America when I was 18. I am very excited already, but reading your review updates (and looking at your beautiful photos) these past several days has heightened my anticipation.

 

Thank you again,

Mike

[Defendem]

Thank you for this wonderful review! I've been reading it since the first night and have enjoyed checking back several times each day to read the latest.

 

My GF and I are sailing on the Paradise this coming Monday...and thanks to your review (I never would have thought to look for it) we're staying the night before on the Queen Mary with the Stay, Cruise & Park package.

 

My hope is that we board early enough to get a spot on the Behind the Fun tour...I bet that'll sell out fast, huh? Also, the Chef's Table looked amazing. Coincidentally my GF also cannot stand seafood of any kind. I wonder if Chef is willing to accommodate another non-seafood eater the way he did for you.

 

This will be my second cruise ever, and the last one was a 1992 cruise on Song of America when I was 18. I am very excited already, but reading your review updates (and looking at your beautiful photos) these past several days has heightened my anticipation.

 

Thank you again,

Mike

[Defendem]

Thank you for this wonderful review! I've been reading it since the first night and have enjoyed checking back several times each day to read the latest.

 

My GF and I are sailing on the Paradise this coming Monday...and thanks to your review (I never would have thought to look for it) we're staying the night before on the Queen Mary with the Stay, Cruise & Park package.

 

My hope is that we board early enough to get a spot on the Behind the Fun tour...I bet that'll sell out fast, huh? Also, the Chef's Table looked amazing. Coincidentally my GF also cannot stand seafood of any kind. I wonder if Chef is willing to accommodate another non-seafood eater the way he did for you.

 

This will be my second cruise ever, and the last one was a 1992 cruise on Song of America when I was 18. I am very excited already, but reading your review updates (and looking at your beautiful photos) these past several days has heightened my anticipation.

 

Thank you again,

Mike

[Defendem]

Doh! :confused:

I'm a first time poster, sorry about the triple comment!

[Defendem]

Sorry about the triple post...newbie here!:confused:

[Kokopelli2]

Great review! Thank you for taking the time to put it together! :)

[Inklight]

Thank you for this wonderful review! I've been reading it since the first night and have enjoyed checking back several times each day to read the latest.

 

My GF and I are sailing on the Paradise this coming Monday...and thanks to your review (I never would have thought to look for it) we're staying the night before on the Queen Mary with the Stay, Cruise & Park package.

 

My hope is that we board early enough to get a spot on the Behind the Fun tour...I bet that'll sell out fast, huh? Also, the Chef's Table looked amazing. Coincidentally my GF also cannot stand seafood of any kind. I wonder if Chef is willing to accommodate another non-seafood eater the way he did for you.

 

This will be my second cruise ever, and the last one was a 1992 cruise on Song of America when I was 18. I am very excited already, but reading your review updates (and looking at your beautiful photos) these past several days has heightened my anticipation.

 

Thank you again,

Mike

 

 

Thank you, Mike, for your kind comments. The Queen Mary was wonderful and it's nice now they have the Park & Cruise package. I don't know what it is about paying for parking, but it just annoys me! :D

 

I hope you enjoy your stay as much as we did!

 

The Song of America! I think that was my second cruise. How fun!

 

I will wish you and your GF an early Bon Voyage! Have a great cruise! :)

[Inklight]

Doh! :confused:

I'm a first time poster, sorry about the triple comment!

 

LOL ... no worries. These boards can behve crazy sometimes when you post. :)

[Buckett]

Thanks for taking the time to write your review, and for posting all those lovely pictures. I am sailing on the Splendor out of LB in April, and am also now considering the park/cruise stay at the QM. Your pictures were just gorgeous, and since we'll be driving up from San Diego this would be a nice relaxing way to do it without having to drive up that morning. Thanks again! :)

[Inklight]

Thanks for taking the time to write your review, and for posting all those lovely pictures. I am sailing on the Splendor out of LB in April, and am also now considering the park/cruise stay at the QM. Your pictures were just gorgeous, and since we'll be driving up from San Diego this would be a nice relaxing way to do it without having to drive up that morning. Thanks again! :)

 

 

Thank you for reading my review, I am happy you enjoyed it. You know, as much as we obviously loved the Queen Mary, I think my favorite part was how convenient it was the next day to just board the ship. We were already right there ... we boarded very relaxed.

 

The Splendor is beautiful, too. We cruised her last year. I have a link to photos in my signature if you would like to preview her!

 

Thank you, again. :)

[Inklight]

I have attached the Fun Times for the Paradise here for anyone who would like them! :)

Fun Times Paradise MON.pdf

Fun Times Paradise TUES.pdf

Fun Times Paradise WED.pdf

Fun Times Paradise THURS.pdf

[Sharib]

Thanks for the picture heavy review! Taking this ship out of Tampa in May and love getting to "see" it before we go!

[Meyer2]

Loved your review & pictures!!! Thanks so much for sharing it all with us!

[Inklight]

Thanks for the picture heavy review! Taking this ship out of Tampa in May and love getting to "see" it before we go!

 

I am so happy you enjoyed my review. You will love the Paradise ... she is beautiful! :) I am excited, though, for the Inspiration to come here ... I can't wait to cruise her!

 

 

Loved your review & pictures!!! Thanks so much for sharing it all with us!

 

Thank you ... I am glad you enjoyed it! :)

[radrayjax]

Let’s Explore the Ship!

 

 

 

The Blue Riband LIbrary had a great decor ... very nautical. We would find ourselves here often since it was the meeting place for both the Behind the Fun Tour and Chef's Table.

 

 

There were pieces of art and such that reminded us of the Paradise's them of "Great Ocean Liners of the World." Very fitting and reminiscent of our stay on the Queen Mary.

 

 

Inklight, Your photos are magnificent!

 

When I saw the above photo I just GOGGLED! I'm a Life-Long numismatist and I couldn't believe you came across a 1935 medal of the original, ill-fated, Normandie. I felt I had to post this reply and "fill in the blanks" on this magnificent work of art:

 

Photo of 1935 Normandie Medal

Description:

This is a 68 mm (just under 2 ¾ inch) in diameter, 148 gram (5.2 oz) 1935 Bronze Art Deco Medal for the 1935 launching of the French Line Ship “Normandie” by Jean Vernon, one of the masters of the Deco Art. The obverse shows an allegorical woman superimposed over mythical sea horse, the reverse shows the latest ship of the line, Normandie, and the date 1935.

[pink roses]

Thanks for letting us know about the Queen Mary, I had no idea. We are not from that area and normally fly into Florida if we fly and not drive, so I will certainly need to give some thought to this. GREAT review. MAny thanks.

[Inklight]

Let’s Explore the Ship!

 

 

 

The Blue Riband LIbrary had a great decor ... very nautical. We would find ourselves here often since it was the meeting place for both the Behind the Fun Tour and Chef's Table.

 

 

There were pieces of art and such that reminded us of the Paradise's them of "Great Ocean Liners of the World." Very fitting and reminiscent of our stay on the Queen Mary.

 

 

 

Inklight, Your photos are magnificent!

 

When I saw the above photo I just GOGGLED! I'm a Life-Long numismatist and I couldn't believe you came across a 1935 medal of the original, ill-fated, Normandie. I felt I had to post this reply and "fill in the blanks" on this magnificent work of art:

 

Photo of 1935 Normandie Medal

Description:

This is a 68 mm (just under 2 ¾ inch) in diameter, 148 gram (5.2 oz) 1935 Bronze Art Deco Medal for the 1935 launching of the French Line Ship “Normandie” by Jean Vernon, one of the masters of the Deco Art. The obverse shows an allegorical woman superimposed over mythical sea horse, the reverse shows the latest ship of the line, Normandie, and the date 1935.

 

 

Wow ... thank you for adding some history here! There were a lot of items behind glass cases. I wish I had photos of everything. The same held true for on the Queen Mary ... a lot of old items dating to the 1930s. Love it!

 

Thank you again for your keen eye! :)

[Inklight]

Thanks for letting us know about the Queen Mary, I had no idea. We are not from that area and normally fly into Florida if we fly and not drive, so I will certainly need to give some thought to this. GREAT review. MAny thanks.

 

 

The Queen Mary was awesome, I am happy you enjoyed that part of the review. If you ever cruise out of Long Beach, she is a wonderful place to stay the night before your cruise. Thank you again! :)

[futureAG]

Great review!! Thanks for sharing!!

[sassyredhat]

You will like the location, I'm sure ... it was so handy. I can't wait to cruise the Inspiration. I love exploring new ships (well, it's new for us at least). Enjoy your trips! :)

 

Robin what a great review and wonderful photos. :)

We sailed Paradise last June and loved it. In Feb., we are booked on the Inspiration for my brother's first cruise.

Just got off the Sea Princess, and many times wished I was aboard one of the Fantasy class ships.

Pat

[foxesden1]

I also booked the Queen Mary Park and Sail pkg ( had to call them, it was not online) at a rate of 183.00 tax included for a king bed, twin bed family room. I tried to ask the rsvn agt about early check in for Canival, but she did not know what I was speaking about. So to confirm, do they tell you how to check in early on the queen mary? I am a little lost on that...:rolleyes:

[crusinpsychRN]

The pictures are fabulous! The Queen Mary is gorgeous too. When I was 13 I went to Europe on the Queen Elizabeth. Reminds me of her. Get a load of the size of the hallway!

 

I seldom see reviews of Paradise and i've never seen them with QM. Thanks, Paradise is coming to Tampa soon so now I know what she looks like.

[oncruisecontrol]

 

The Lobby, located on A Deck, was easy to find. We quickly checked in and received a pass key for our Stateroom #449 on B Deck ... one deck below. We have cruised quite often and have stayed in quite a few hotels in our life, so it came to a halting surprise to us that we got completely lost looking for our stateroom on the Queen Mary.

 

Plodding our way through the infinite hallway watching the room numbers rise ... B301, B315, B331 ... we were confident we would soon reach our room ... B341, dead end. What? We were at the Bow of the ship with not a #400 in sight. So, with plenty of backtracking (and even a few sidetrackings) we found that the stateroom numbering systems begin mid-ship. B301 starts mid-ship and goes forward, while B401 starts mid-ship and goes aft towards the Stern. We were at the wrong end of the boat.

 

Our stateroom was awesome. There were two Portholes with a sitting area, a flat screen TV, a King size bed and good size bathroom that included a bathtub. Yes, we were sitting in the lap of luxury.

 

 

Hello, Rod! Here is my hubby’s review of the Queen Mary bed: “Best. Bed. Ever.” And I concur.

 

 

Hey, did you know the Queen Mary is haunted? They have tours available ... but, we decided to create a few ‘ghosts’ of our own!

 

 

Yep, that’s me taking stateroom photos. We spent the rest of the evening running around the ship with our cameras (you’ll probably hear this a lot).

 

 

Thanks for posting these photos. As I looked at the photo of the corridor, I was thinking it was beautiful, but I bet there are a few ghosts lurking about.:eek:

[oncruisecontrol]

 

 

The outer decks were cool and the views fabulous. What's that I see peeking through the lifeboats? Ahhhh, the Carnival Paradise!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This photo here reminds me of the 1972 movie The Poseidon Adventure. Portions of that movie were filmed aboard the Queen Mary, particularly the deck scenes at the beginning of the movie.

[cathyz]

I also booked the Queen Mary Park and Sail pkg ( had to call them, it was not online) at a rate of 183.00 tax included for a king bed, twin bed family room. I tried to ask the rsvn agt about early check in for Canival, but she did not know what I was speaking about. So to confirm, do they tell you how to check in early on the queen mary? I am a little lost on that...:rolleyes:

The early check-in on the QM isn't only for QM guests, anyone sailing that day can do the check-in, but it's only for the Paradise. The early check-in for the Splendor is at some temporary counters outside the front door of the dome, I can't tell from your signature which ship you're on. If you are checking in on the QM, it's in the very aft lower end of the ship (the part closest to the Carnival dock), you can't miss it, lots of signs and people to help you. But you would need to go over to the bottom level of the parking garage to drop off your luggage with the porters separate from check-in (unless maybe a porter from the QM Hotel will do that for you). There are some pics of the area in some of my albums in my signature.