BooBooMonkey's excellent PARADISE Tampa to Cozumel 4-day cruise (LONG with Pix)!!!

[BooBooMonkey]

Hello Cruisers! We have just returned from the 4-night Carnival Paradise cruise from Tampa to Cozumel! We were on the 2nd cruise after the ship was dry-docked for a couple of weeks. Our sail dates were February 16-20, 2012. I will be posting a long, detailed review with pictures, in several segments here. Cruising this time was just DH and me—forty some-things with much cruising experience (see signature line), no kids with us this time..

 

Reader’s Digest version for those who detest long, detailed reviews with pictures:

 

We flew to TPA from home the day before and booked a hotel that had a shuttle package to/from airport, hotel, and port. The 11:30 shuttle got us to the port by 11:50 and on the ship by 12:10 pm, and was very easy!

 

Embarkation was the best ever due to being VIP. We had booked a “Junior Suite” which, on Paradise, is on deck 11- Verandah. The Verandah balcony cabins are bigger than a standard OV cabin, but not by much. The balcony is smaller than what most are accustomed to on the newer ships. We enjoyed the room and spent about 3 hours/day on our tiny balcony. DH was a balcony virgin, but I had been on one once on an NCL cruise with my DD (upgraded last minute at the port kinda thing). I could cruise in any room, so the balcony is a “perc” for me—not a necessity. This room cost more than we are normally willing to pay, but I wanted DH to have the balcony experience for himself.

 

 

I will post more about the flight, hotel, embarkation, and the room/ship in my review to follow.

 

The ship was just fine, but I found myself wondering what they did during the dry-dock. It was probably just outside/hull/public area cosmetic and mechanical updates from what I could tell. It was clean and in working order, but I didn’t notice any overt updates.

 

This time, we thought the food in the MDR was better than on the last few cruises (Carnival and NCL) with some exceptions (the lobster tails were pretty bad this time). We did the early dining at a table with others, which I found had its merits. Would probably do it again—like having a time that we plan on every day to just sit and eat and talk cruising. We had done “freestyle” on NCL and didn’t really enjoy not having the same wait staff every day. This cruise, most food was excellent, some good, and just a couple things were bad.

 

Service was excellent in the cabins, very good in the MDR for both lunch and dinner (timing for dessert was always off), and bar service was very good. No real complaints, not over the top, but friendly and usually efficient.

 

Itinerary: I’ve been to Cozumel six times now, and DH five. I have done this exact trip on the Inspiration, which is the ship that Paradise replaced in Tampa. It is nice for relaxation because you get a port day sandwiched between two sea days. You can make it as laid-back or as action-packed as you want to. That’s the good thing about Carnival cruises—lots of choices for everyone.

 

In Cozumel, we went to Playa Uvas. We loved it, and it was a great alternative to Nachi Cocom if you want something all-inclusive with a beach. Uvas also has snorkeling from shore, which Nachi does not. Probably not for everyone. I will post more details in the full review.

 

Casino was standard Carnival casino which ate our money, but we enjoyed. Bar service was plentiful in there. They were enforcing the new smoking rules (can’t just hang out in there to smoke anymore) until the last night, where it seemed they didn’t care (it wasn’t crowded and people probably knew the drill by then).

 

 

Bon Voyage liquor, pre-purchased bar coupons, and using Funship Dollars for OBC all worked perfectly. Two 8 oz rum runners made it through in checked luggage. Mixers and two 500ml cartons of wine made it through carry-on security without scrutiny (but the e-cig box required hand inspection). DH used his E-cigs a lot/everywhere, by the way. They were the best thing ever! No one really cared if you were using them. Discretion was a good thing, but really the most comments we got were asking about them and how they worked, etc. Only place he didn’t use them was on the plane and in the MDR on the ship.

 

Shows: Only did two of the adult comedy shows (one with each comedian). It was a fun activity. We missed all the production shows and game shows. I have the “Fun Times” so if you have specific questions, I can probably look it up for you. I will probably not be scanning them.

 

Debarkation was a bit nerve-wracking as we had an 11:20 flight, but in the end, it was just fine. Wish non-US citizens would be on the ball about clearing customs in the morning! That delayed everyone by about 20-30 minutes, I think. We were at the airport 30 minutes after leaving the ship. I will give more details about that later.

 

In all, this was a great cruise and I would do it again in a heartbeat! Details to follow…

[declansdad]

We sail on the 5 day cruise in 2 weeks; looking forward to your review and pictures.

[CruiserJul]

Welcome back! I am enjoying your review thus far. We sailed out of Tampa on the Inspiration also..but have never been on Paradise. Looking forward to the rest...

[BooBooMonkey]

Flight and Hotel:

 

We booked Southwest air for the “bags fly free” feature. We love SWA and would fly them again any time. I did get selected for extra bag screening at the gate this time. We noticed that on the way back too. There were so many TSA agents hanging around and doing random checks on the way to TPA and back. No worries…I welcome the added (if false) sense of security.

 

Upon arrival in TPA we had about a 20-minute wait until our bags arrived. We went out to the ground transportation area and proceeded to call what I thought was our hotel…turns out the package deal I booked was at the Holiday Inn Express (HIE) Tampa Cruiseport, not the HIE at Rocky Point! I booked through an online site and got a great deal for a room and all transfers for like $115 plus tax.

 

Once we figured out which hotel it was, the shuttle showed up about 15 minutes later and took us for a 15 minute ride to the hotel. We asked the driver if there was a carry-out nearby, and he stopped there first so we could pick up some supplies.

 

We checked in around 4:30. The hotel only charged $70 + tax to my card, although our reservation said it would be $90 due upon check in. Win! I haven’t stayed at a Holiday Inn property in years and years. It was fine for what we needed it for, and the room was really big, with a King bed and plenty of places to sit. The pool area was nice and behind it was a pond with a fountain and many types of water fowl, and a walking path around it. Very peaceful. I plan to post a more detailed account of the hotel on Tripadvisor. The hotel is very close to the football stadium. If you have specific questions about it, let me know.

 

 

Shuttle and Embarkation:

We were disappointed to find out the first shuttle wasn’t until 11:30. I usually like to be at the terminal by 11:00! No worries, though. I was surprised how very easy and super fast the whole process was! We left the hotel around 11:35 with another couple on the shuttle and were ON THE SHIP in 30 (yes, thirty) minutes! I assure you that I am not exaggerating this...I was writing it all down as we went! :)

 

We did have “priority boarding” since we booked a junior “suite”. This was a first for us. After the security line, we walked into the boarding area and the woman there said, “Oh, you’re VIP…right this way”. The VIP boarding area has two rooms each with two desks you can sit down in front of while they check you in. Literally only 5 minutes to complete this.

 

Back to the security line…We had carried on three (3) quart-sized bottles of tonic, 3 -20 ounce ginger ales, and two 500ml cartons of wine. I was expecting them to shake our bottles or stop us after seeing them on the scanner. I pulled the ziplock containing the 2 wines and showed it to the guy at the front of the line. He waved me by. After I went through the metal detector, I noticed them re-wind one of our bags twice. They asked another security person to come hand inspect it. The thing that caused the scrutiny was DH’s e-cig box containing a charger and several nicotine cartridges. The screener asked me to open it, and I did and told her they were electronic cigarettes. They were fine with that and we were off! We were on the Lido deck by 12:10 pm! This was, by far, the easiest boarding experience we’ve ever had!

 

I promise to post some pix as soon as I can get them uploaded from DH's cell to our computer and my photobucket account. Let me know if you have any specific questions and I will try to answer them.

[BooBooMonkey]

Welcome back! I am enjoying your review thus far. We sailed out of Tampa on the Inspiration also..but have never been on Paradise. Looking forward to the rest...

 

Hey Jul! Scott stopped by a couple weeks ago and mentioned he won the mixologist contest last time! How fun!

 

I will be posting more details soon. It is basically the same as Inspiration, but much less bright and cheery in decor.

[LUVMYGSDOG]

Loving your review and thanks for taking the time to post it. Looking forward to the pics! Since we sail on the Paradise in May I may have some questions for you later on.

 

Kim

[declansdad]

Curious about your cabin. We are on that deck as well and are looking forward to it.

[blivey]

Looking forward to pics. We cruise on the Paradise in 31 day!

[lhanson38]

Can't wait for the rest of your review. I'll be on her with a large group of friends in Sept..:)

[Luv2Cruz32]

Looking forward to the rest of your review.:D

[BooBooMonkey]

I had to take a round-about way to get our pictures uploaded. Phone and computer were not playing nice together!

 

Here are a couple from the hotel, in case anyone might want to stay there:

 

Pool area:

 

Nice pond with walking path behind the hotel

 

Crazy signs...who should we call?

(Ghost Busters?)

The door was never locked...by the way.

[BooBooMonkey]

Muster was supposed to be at 3:15, but probably started around 3:45. It was over by 4:15 at the latest. People paid attention at the beginning. Our muster was on Lido deck, outside by the pool. The other stations were inside, but then got called one-by-one to their outside lifeboat areas. It took a while because we didn’t have to go anywhere. It was quick and people were generally polite and attentive.

 

Picture of Lido deck when we boarded--not too crowded yet at 12:20 or so:

 

 

We met our stewardess “Kat” (much longer real name on her name tag) once we got back to the cabin. She and her assistant provided excellent but unobtrusive service throughout the cruise! The luggage arrived around 4:20 and I could start unpacking. For those of you who are curious about rumrunners…our two 8-ouncers made it onboard safely in our checked luggage. The ship was still docked at that time, but the horn blew right then, and sailaway was here!

 

We spent sailaway on our balcony instead of up top, like we normally would have had we not booked a balcony room. We met our neighbors on both sides and got along fine with them throughout the cruise whenever we were out there at the same time.

 

Cabin review and pictures up next!

[BooBooMonkey]

We had cabin V-34 on the port side Veranda deck. It is a “junior suite” which is the only way (plus the grand suites) to get a balcony room on this ship. These cabins are only slightly larger than the ocean view cabins on the same class ship. Pretty much the same closet/drawer/bathroom space as any standard cabin on Fantasy class. Ours was the third cabin on the left as you come into the hallway from the elevator/stairs.

My first impression was that the cabin was very dark! The décor included lots of dark wood. Usually Carnival cabins are bright and gaudy…not the case here. We found the darkness a theme throughout the ship in the inside areas.

 

This one looks brighter:

 

 

The cabin was sold as an “obstructed view” cabin for a slightly lower price than the unobstructed cabins in the same area. We were pleasantly surprised to find no obstruction!

 

 

The cabin location was perfect for peace and quiet from the hallway (no one ever goes there unless they have a cabin there). The cabins just aft of us (two) had the obstructed views (lifeboats). None of those forward of ours had any obstruction. The very front ones were less private because anyone who found the “secret” deck above the bridge could see right onto those balconies. Although the promenade was right below us, we noticed that no one ever looked up as they were walking by! Also, not many people walked by below us anyway.

The balcony is small by comparison to the newer ship standard balconies. Another 10 inches in any direction would have made it better. The balcony was really nice to have though! We spent an average of 3 hours/day out there.

This is the balcony seen from the divider between ours and the neighbor aft of us.

 

There is a refrigerator (not very cold) and a cabinet with a selection of glassware to use for your drinks. The TV was a flat screen. However, they still had a VCR (yes---I said VCR) hooked up to it. Who even has VHS tapes to play anymore? They should have just trashed that thing during dry-dock (or at least replaced it with a DVD player).

 

The carnival comfort bed was comfy, but a bit firmer than the last time. I like a softer mattress (my sleep number is 35 on our sleep number bed at home). Love, love, love the pillows and duvet!

 

Here is a picture of the outside of the ship from Cozumel. Our cabin is just below the "e" in Paradise. The Grand suites are under the red line on the side of the ship.

 

 

[declansdad]

Thanks for the cabin pictures. We originally were in cabin V23 which would be the same as yours on the Port side but we switched to V30. All the old pictures we have seen showed a smaller version of a lifeboat outside of V23 and V34, looks like they have removed it.

[BooBooMonkey]

Thanks for the cabin pictures. We originally were in cabin V23 which would be the same as yours on the Port side but we switched to V30. All the old pictures we have seen showed a smaller version of a lifeboat outside of V23 and V34, looks like they have removed it.

 

We were expecting that smaller lifeboat and were pleasantly surprised it was not there! You will have no obstructions whatsoever in V30 (one forward of ours). It is a great spot!

[LUVMYGSDOG]

Thanks for the continuing review and the pics!

[declansdad]

We were expecting that smaller lifeboat and were pleasantly surprised it was not there! You will have no obstructions whatsoever in V30 (one forward of ours). It is a great spot!

 

 

Great to hear, thanks.

[pooksma]

Thanks for the info on the fridge! Was there a hairdryer in the room as well? Your pics are making me sooo excited!

[ravmg]

Thanks for this review. I will be sailing on the Paradise in May for my honeymoon. I've been getting anxious because there have been a couple of reviews that didn't seem to be too thrilled about the Paradise. :confused:

[BooBooMonkey]

Thanks for the info on the fridge! Was there a hairdryer in the room as well? Your pics are making me sooo excited!

 

There was no hair dryer. I read that you can ask for one and they will bring it.

 

A couple other things about the room:

There are two outlets/four plugs (one in the vanity and one on the wall between the fridge and balcony door area), plus the shaver only one in the bathroom.

 

I noticed on the next-to last day that one of the mirrors on the side of the vanity opens up and there is tons of storage space in there (like a large medicine cabinet).

 

The lighting is a bit kooky in there...can only light up the whole room to get light in the vanity area.

 

Having the sofa and coffee table was a nice touch.

 

More to come! Have to write in shifts after work!

[BooBooMonkey]

We had assigned early seating (6:00) in the Elation (FWD) dining room. Very convenient to get to from our room (as were all the public areas). We were seated at a 10-top with (presumably) other couples. When we arrived the first night, one other couple was there. Shout out to Brad and Misty (aka “At least she tried it!). ;)

 

Besides us, they were the only other couple who showed up for dinner every night. One couple came only once and we had an Uncle/Niece combo who were added to the group starting day 2 who came every night after. One couple just never showed up.

 

Around 6:15, the waiter came and asked if we knew any of the other couples who were assigned to our table. We did not, so he waited a couple minutes and then took our orders. As we were getting our first course, in walks couple #3. Even though they arrived so late, the wait team didn’t miss a beat! They also didn’t make us wait for the late-comers to “catch up” with the courses, which was nice.

 

I ordered the Caesar salad and the Southern Fried chicken. The chicken was perfect! Just like my grandma used to make!

 

 

DH had the Escargot starter, which he said was delicious, and the pork steak—also very good.

 

 

 

Those who ordered the lasagna said it was very good (it looked good, and was a large portion). DH also had a spinach/artichoke dip starter which was good, but they should include more chips with it.

By the time dessert time came, the service slowed down, so we decided to leave and save the calories for a late night snack. We grabbed some Lido coffee before heading to the casino.

 

For those doing anytime dining, there was always a line. Not sure how long a line except I heard someone mention a 45-minute wait on elegant night. Not sure how many in their party, and that was around 7:00 or so. We really enjoyed the set dining time and meeting interesting people at our big table. Would definitely do it again. I only wish they would have 3 times instead of 2. 6:00 is a bit early, but 8:15 would be so late that I would die of food coma by 10:00 each night.:p

[BooBooMonkey]

Day 2 was a lazy day for us. I went up to the Lido around 8:15 (which is late for me) and it was not too crowded yet. DH slept until around 9:15. We ate breakfast on the Lido (I settled for dry cereal due to my recent germ-o-phobia) and sat around there for a while, until about 11:00. I did see some chair-saving going on, but I think you could have found 2 chairs together if you didn’t need to be right by the pool.

Tip: If you like the passo-guava juice and want to use it later for mixer for your booze, get it before 10:45—that’s when they were switching it out for tea.

 

We had a quiet lunch in the MDR. I was a bit germ-o-phobic this cruise due to the Noro outbreaks on other ships and towns around the US. We really ate next to nothing from the buffet this time. The MDR lunch included the shrimp/crab salad sandwich on baguette (very good). For starters, I had the California rolls, and DH had the Indian pepper pot. We both liked our choices. Once again, dessert was too slow. We ended up leaving because we wanted to go to a trivia game that started at 1:00. The slow dessert service was a common theme throughout the cruise.

 

We went to the 70’s music trivia and scored 11/20. The winner had 16/20 correct and got medals (no ship on a stick). 70’s was just a little bit before our time…should try the 80’s music trivia tomorrow…

 

We spent a lot of time on our balcony today.

This was elegant night, so we got dressed up and had several photos taken. We were hoping one turned out well because we had the $15 photo coupon from the casino club. We did find one good one to take home the next day. It was an additional $8 or so plus the coupon. We don’t often pose for or purchase the over-priced pictures on board…only if we have a coupon. The photographers really do a good job with the posed pix though.

 

Our dinner table was almost full tonight. Madison and her uncle were new today (they had asked to be moved from another large table where they didn’t feel comfortable). The late couple from the first night showed up on time. One of the missing couples from the night before showed up an HOUR after dinner started! They said it was because of the casino! We never saw them at dinner again (but did see them in the casino).

 

The stuffed mushroom starter was delicious as usual!

 

 

DH and I both had the lobster. I thought it was just OK, and DH thought it was terrible! Misty “at Least She Tried it” didn’t like it, nor did her hubby. I give Misty two thumbs up for trying everything! She was very brave trying new things…just didn’t like most of them!

 

The WCMC with two ice creams was delish!

After dinner, we did our usual donation to the casino and then went to the 10:00 comedy show with Chris. They had 5 comedy shows tonight with two comedians--2 "family friendly" and 3 "R-rated". These fill up quickly, so get there at least 15 minutes early. They did enforce the age limits on the adult shows.

[declansdad]

Thanks for another update.

[LUVMYGSDOG]

Thank you for the update!

[frankdp]

Day 2 was a lazy day for us. I went up to the Lido around 8:15 (which is late for me) and it was not too crowded yet. DH slept until around 9:15. We ate breakfast on the Lido (I settled for dry cereal due to my recent germ-o-phobia) and sat around there for a while, until about 11:00. I did see some chair-saving going on, but I think you could have found 2 chairs together if you didn’t need to be right by the pool.

 

 

Tip: If you like the passo-guava juice and want to use it later for mixer for your booze, get it before 10:45—that’s when they were switching it out for tea.

 

We had a quiet lunch in the MDR. I was a bit germ-o-phobic this cruise due to the Noro outbreaks on other ships and towns around the US. We really ate next to nothing from the buffet this time. The MDR lunch included the shrimp/crab salad sandwich on baguette (very good). For starters, I had the California rolls, and DH had the Indian pepper pot. We both liked our choices. Once again, dessert was too slow. We ended up leaving because we wanted to go to a trivia game that started at 1:00. The slow dessert service was a common theme throughout the cruise.

 

We went to the 70’s music trivia and scored 11/20. The winner had 16/20 correct and got medals (no ship on a stick). 70’s was just a little bit before our time…should try the 80’s music trivia tomorrow…

 

We spent a lot of time on our balcony today.

 

This was elegant night, so we got dressed up and had several photos taken. We were hoping one turned out well because we had the $15 photo coupon from the casino club. We did find one good one to take home the next day. It was an additional $8 or so plus the coupon. We don’t often pose for or purchase the over-priced pictures on board…only if we have a coupon. The photographers really do a good job with the posed pix though.

 

Our dinner table was almost full tonight. Madison and her uncle were new today (they had asked to be moved from another large table where they didn’t feel comfortable). The late couple from the first night showed up on time. One of the missing couples from the night before showed up an HOUR after dinner started! They said it was because of the casino! We never saw them at dinner again (but did see them in the casino).

 

The stuffed mushroom starter was delicious as usual!

 

 

DH and I both had the lobster. I thought it was just OK, and DH thought it was terrible! Misty “at Least She Tried it” didn’t like it, nor did her hubby. I give Misty two thumbs up for trying everything! She was very brave trying new things…just didn’t like most of them!

 

 

The WCMC with two ice creams was delish!

After dinner, we did our usual donation to the casino and then went to the 10:00 comedy show with Chris. They had 5 comedy shows tonight with two comedians--2 "family friendly" and 3 "R-rated". These fill up quickly, so get there at least 15 minutes early. They did enforce the age limits on the adult shows.

 

Good review Booboo....My wife and I were the ones that won the 70's trivia, lots of fun.