Paradise Information

[terri1020]

I am looking for current information/reviews/opinions of the Carnival Paradise out of Tampa. There doesn't seem to be much out there and there are NO roll calls for this ship. From the pictures I've seen of it, it is a bit older. My niece is getting married in Tampa (10/2013) and since we have to travel from NJ anyway, we thought it might be a good excuse to cruise out of Tampa.

[dioxide45]

We are going on the Paradise in May. It is new to Tampa after moving from the west coast. That is why there is not a lot of information about it out of Tampa. There is a roll call for our upcoming cruise, but it is not very active.

 

The Fantasy class ships are older and in the 70,000 ton range. We have sailed the Sensation and enjoyed it.

[ChefSusan]

We just got off her this past Thursday. She's a very pretty ship - decor is very understated (none of the Joe Farcus neon anywhere!), cabins very comfortable (we had an oceanview on the starboard side of the Main deck), Lido Buffet area was easy to navigate (but what's up with the very small tables? Our group of 6 had to shuffle plates in order for everyone to be able to eat comfortably!), we were actually able to get chairs by the pool on our second sea day (the first sea day was a wash as it was on the cool side and nobody was out at the pool), CD Leslie Sparkles and her staff kept things very lively (ACD Shawn Hale was a riot and we cannot wait for him to get his own ship!), and the staff was very accommodating.

 

The food was hit or miss - the grilled chicken breast was good, the lobster tails for the Cruise Elegant night were extremely salty and rubbery, the Prime Rib was cooked to perfection, the Bacon Mac 'n Cheese was heavenly... our wait staff was hit or miss - some nights everything came out on schedule, some nights we were waiting up to 1/2 hour for our food. I could not figure out why this was...

 

Entertainment was good. We won at a bunch of the trivia contests, caught the last night's show (Shout!, which was really good), and actually went dancing one night at the disco, which was so much fun!

 

The casino once again was very good to me. Our sign and sail card was taken care of by my winnings at the Fun 21 table (8 cruises running!), and this time we got a check back from Carnival for overpaying!

 

Because of the high winds that we experienced when leaving on Saturday night, our captain docked the ship at Fox Run, Grand Cayman (the southern side of GC). We took a 10 minute cab ride to Georgetown, and spent a couple of hours walking around the port area shopping.

 

We did the "Amazing Cozumel Race" in Cozumel, and even though we did not win (we came in last place), we had a blast learning about Cozumel's history. I had not been to the downtown port area in over 25 years, and could not get over how much it had changed.

 

Overall it was a good cruise and we'll try her out again soon!

[surfer_00]

i have been on her twice with my most recent being back in may i believe. i really enjoyed her both times as she is a smaller ship that usually does shorter itineraries. because of that i look for a ship that is easy to navigate ad the paradise definitely is! i spent 7 days on splendor and never knew how to get from point a to point b. both times i sailed on her there was more of a party atmosphere and very friendly staff. she is old and shows it mostly in her decor and carpeting. the dining room food was ok but nothing to write home about. the rooms are comfortable and cozy. entertainment was as good/bad as any other ship i have been on.

 

the shorter the cruise the more kids/party goers you will find. bottom line though is it will be as fun as you and your family make it!! hope you enjoy her she will be missed on the west coast.

[keystonemama]

I am looking for current information/reviews/opinions of the Carnival Paradise out of Tampa. There doesn't seem to be much out there and there are NO roll calls for this ship. From the pictures I've seen of it, it is a bit older. My niece is getting married in Tampa (10/2013) and since we have to travel from NJ anyway, we thought it might be a good excuse to cruise out of Tampa.

 

Look under Roll Calls on here, there may not be one for 10/13 yet because it's so far out....there are roll calls on the CCL site too under the forums, go the ship name and click. We sail in May on her, some are saying you have to ask for blow dryers. She just finished dry docking, so carpet/paint is fresh and people are saying she doesn't look worn now.

Happy Sailing,