Short Paradise review

[shipty2]

We sailed on the Paradise August 16th sailing. It was a short(4 day)cruise so I will try to keep this concise.

 

We flew into Tampa and stopped for at one of the stores in the airport. We really weren't long but by the time we went to the get our luggage (less than 20 minutes after the flight landed) they had locked it in an office. An employee of the airline saw us and came out telling us they were going to call us saying the luggage would not be available for pick up until the next day. BTW this was before noon .

 

When we arrived at the port it only took ten minutes to go from dropping our luggage to stepping onto the ship.

 

We had an oceanview room for three of us. DS who is 18 slept on the pull down bed. He at 6'1" slept just fine on it. The cabin number was M192 which I would not recommend it as directly across from it is a crew area which has a nasty stench coming from it. I cannot say that strongly enough do not book this cabin. I had to stuff a towel under the door to keep our cabin from smelling like a garbage dump.

 

One thing I love about this class of ship is the large shower-big enough for two.

 

This was the first time we used the salon/spa. I got my hair cut and colored and DH had the ankle & foot massage and the neck and shoulder massage. The only reason I went is that my life is so hectic I have had no time for months to get a simple hair cut. In any case it was an awesome experience. So much so that next cruise I will have it done on the ship again.

 

The ship is older and showing her age in areas but it was very clean. The staff were all wonderful.

 

The buffet area is small in keeping with the size of the ship. The deli was great. The pizzeria often appeared closed with the lights off and no pizza in the showcase. Luckily I know better so wasn't shy to ring the little bell for service.

 

We ate in the Elation dining room with your time dining. This is by far the ship with the most casually dressed passengers that I have ever seen. Many were in shorts and jeans even on elegant night. This did not impact my dining experience.

 

The casino is the least smokey casino I have been to.

 

Debarkation took a long time because most people opted for self assist and we did not so even though we were in group 1 we didn't get called to leave until 11 am. In fact when we left poepl were already going into the port building.

[wranglerguy]

 

One thing I love about this class of ship is the large shower-big enough for two.

 

.

 

TMI haha

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

OIIIO

[vivavegas]

Thanks for sharing your experiences!:)

[LOVECRUISING100%]

we sailed on the paradise august 16th sailing. It was a short(4 day)cruise so i will try to keep this concise.

 

We flew into tampa and stopped for at one of the stores in the airport. We really weren't long but by the time we went to the get our luggage (less than 20 minutes after the flight landed) they had locked it in an office. An employee of the airline saw us and came out telling us they were going to call us saying the luggage would not be available for pick up until the next day. Btw this was before noon .

 

When we arrived at the port it only took ten minutes to go from dropping our luggage to stepping onto the ship.

 

We had an oceanview room for three of us. Ds who is 18 slept on the pull down bed. He at 6'1" slept just fine on it. The cabin number was m192 which i would not recommend it as directly across from it is a crew area which has a nasty stench coming from it. I cannot say that strongly enough do not book this cabin. I had to stuff a towel under the door to keep our cabin from smelling like a garbage dump.

 

One thing i love about this class of ship is the large shower-big enough for two.

 

This was the first time we used the salon/spa. I got my hair cut and colored and dh had the ankle & foot massage and the neck and shoulder massage. The only reason i went is that my life is so hectic i have had no time for months to get a simple hair cut. In any case it was an awesome experience. So much so that next cruise i will have it done on the ship again.

 

The ship is older and showing her age in areas but it was very clean. The staff were all wonderful.

 

The buffet area is small in keeping with the size of the ship. The deli was great. The pizzeria often appeared closed with the lights off and no pizza in the showcase. Luckily i know better so wasn't shy to ring the little bell for service.

 

We ate in the elation dining room with your time dining. This is by far the ship with the most casually dressed passengers that i have ever seen. Many were in shorts and jeans even on elegant night. This did not impact my dining experience.

 

The casino is the least smokey casino i have been to.

 

Debarkation took a long time because most people opted for self assist and we did not so even though we were in group 1 we didn't get called to leave until 11 am. In fact when we left poepl were already going into the port building.

: )

[AmberTeka]

Thanks for the review. The small ships don't get much board time. After having a ball on the Fascination..I am looking seriously at other small ships. NO CROWDS. And I noticed that few people dressed like they do on the big ships.

For Formal night..my DH left the suit..did wear long pants..and a nice polo. I wore a dress. We fit in fine. Some of the kids on the trip ( it was in May and we had a lot of very well behaved college and high school grads on the cruise)..Some of the girls dressed in formals..and they were way cute.

 

That was the most relaxing cruise or any kind of vacation I have ever been on. Almost everyone on there was from the South.....all genders, all colors, all laid back to the max, all just the most pleasant people in the world.

 

It was a delightful surprise.

[shipty2]

AmberTeka I would go on another smaller ship ,even a short cruise again but I would leave my fancy duds at home. I have been on both the Fantasy and the Fascination a few years back but nothing prepared me for the casual dress of the passengers on this ship.

[suezyq50]

Sounds like casual is the way to go. That's great.

[SkyMaster]

Thanks for posting! I'll be sailing "Paradise" for a 5 day, on Sept 3rd, and can't wait to get aboard. I've been debating on whether to take a suit or not, and I think you just made the decision for me. ;) THANKS for the information.

 

"SKY"

[keystonemama]

AmberTeka I would go on another smaller ship ,even a short cruise again but I would leave my fancy duds at home. I have been on both the Fantasy and the Fascination a few years back but nothing prepared me for the casual dress of the passengers on this ship.

 

Thanks for sharing your review, however we sailed on her in May/June and found most people dressed up. Not many tuxes but lots of suites. I had a long black/white dress and my DH & son suites and we did not feel out of place. Maybe because it was an August cruise and so warm, everyone dressed more casual? :confused: I would not dress to far down either way.

[dgack1]

We were on the same sailing. OP review was the same impression that i had. We had two rooms on the empress deck, no problems with either room. I really enjoyed the casino, either because it seemed to be smoke free or because DH did well playing craps.;) The ship had a great house band they either played on the lido or promenade. The crowd on board was very casual, polite, and ready to enjoy whatever was happening. Food was nothing to praise, but then again no one went aroung hungry.

 

Debarkcation: SLOW...SLOW. We did not choose self assist. That was a big mistake. Finally, after waiting hours we just left with the self assist group and our luggage was waiting for us. There was no hold up or line at customs, the problem was all carnivals (and customers that had not paid their bill). When we were going thru they only had one line to debark, so every time someone had not paid their bill....bing bing bing..alarms go off, line stops, I dont know if something else was going on but it was just mass confusion. I have never seen this on any other ship.

 

OverAll we had a great time! Would sail on her again!

[EZcruiserfamily]

We sailed on the Paradise August 16th sailing. It was a short(4 day)cruise so I will try to keep this concise.

 

We flew into Tampa and stopped for at one of the stores in the airport. We really weren't long but by the time we went to the get our luggage (less than 20 minutes after the flight landed) they had locked it in an office. An employee of the airline saw us and came out telling us they were going to call us saying the luggage would not be available for pick up until the next day. BTW this was before noon .

 

When we arrived at the port it only took ten minutes to go from dropping our luggage to stepping onto the ship.

 

We had an oceanview room for three of us. DS who is 18 slept on the pull down bed. He at 6'1" slept just fine on it. The cabin number was M192 which I would not recommend it as directly across from it is a crew area which has a nasty stench coming from it. I cannot say that strongly enough do not book this cabin. I had to stuff a towel under the door to keep our cabin from smelling like a garbage dump.

 

One thing I love about this class of ship is the large shower-big enough for two.

 

This was the first time we used the salon/spa. I got my hair cut and colored and DH had the ankle & foot massage and the neck and shoulder massage. The only reason I went is that my life is so hectic I have had no time for months to get a simple hair cut. In any case it was an awesome experience. So much so that next cruise I will have it done on the ship again.

 

The ship is older and showing her age in areas but it was very clean. The staff were all wonderful.

 

The buffet area is small in keeping with the size of the ship. The deli was great. The pizzeria often appeared closed with the lights off and no pizza in the showcase. Luckily I know better so wasn't shy to ring the little bell for service.

 

We ate in the Elation dining room with your time dining. This is by far the ship with the most casually dressed passengers that I have ever seen. Many were in shorts and jeans even on elegant night. This did not impact my dining experience.

 

The casino is the least smokey casino I have been to.

 

Debarkation took a long time because most people opted for self assist and we did not so even though we were in group 1 we didn't get called to leave until 11 am. In fact when we left poepl were already going into the port building.

 

Thanks for the review! I've heard great reports about the deli, can't wait to try it. Are there any other special food places to try? Do they have sushi on the Paradise?

[AmberTeka]

AmberTeka I would go on another smaller ship ,even a short cruise again but I would leave my fancy duds at home. I have been on both the Fantasy and the Fascination a few years back but nothing prepared me for the casual dress of the passengers on this ship.

 

We always dress for dinner when we sail on the bigger ships..and on more formal lines..HAL or Princess. Dressing for me...is a nice church type dress....hose...not heels but not sneakers either ( hard to walk on those ships in heels for me)...I wear make up..do my hair ..get gussied up. DH wears his suit...on formal night..pants, nice polo on other nights..changes back into shorts as soon as dinner is over.

 

I really liked not dressing up on formal night. I wore a dress to dinner each night, but they were like dresses you would wear to town or such. Not that dressy. I loved it. I don't think I would like it all the time..We are taking a New Year's Eve Cruise..first ever on Princess this year..and I intend to wear some sparkles that night...

 

I just loved the FAscination. I just loved everything about it. I loved sitting in the casino and losing my pennies on the "Leaping Lemmings slot machine...I loved the grilled chesse and ham sandwiches in the Grill....I loved the staff who served us at dinner...I loved the shows...

[AmberTeka]

EZCRUISERANDFAMILY.............TRY the grilled cheese and ham. Just once. And if you are like me...you will be addicted. the Turkey wraps looked delicious..but I could not eat the grilled cheese and ham and them too! I wanted my husband to get one and let me taste it...he now regrets not doing it and has promised next time..he will. He is a burger and hot dog guy..He also eats a lot of the chopped fruit they have up there.

 

The Salad bar on the FAscination..OUTSTANDING.Pizza was good. Food in the MDR was good. They had a small chocolate buffet at lunch the last sea day..and that was good. I think they might have had a chocolate fountain...I was busy with the chocolate cake..with the ganache (?) frosting sprinkled with sugared nuts. OH..I dream about that cake!!

 

happy sails to you...............for sure...none of us will go hungry!!

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thanks for the info ...

[estebofarr]

When we were on the Paradise in January, they had sushi.

[EZcruiserfamily]

EZCRUISERANDFAMILY.............TRY the grilled cheese and ham. Just once. And if you are like me...you will be addicted. the Turkey wraps looked delicious..but I could not eat the grilled cheese and ham and them too! I wanted my husband to get one and let me taste it...he now regrets not doing it and has promised next time..he will. He is a burger and hot dog guy..He also eats a lot of the chopped fruit they have up there.

 

The Salad bar on the FAscination..OUTSTANDING.Pizza was good. Food in the MDR was good. They had a small chocolate buffet at lunch the last sea day..and that was good. I think they might have had a chocolate fountain...I was busy with the chocolate cake..with the ganache (?) frosting sprinkled with sugared nuts. OH..I dream about that cake!!

 

happy sails to you...............for sure...none of us will go hungry!!

 

How did you know I looove grilled cheese and so does my little girl who will be with us! Can't wait to try it with the ham. :D

[EZcruiserfamily]

When we were on the Paradise in January, they had sushi.

 

Thanks! That is the one question my hubby keeps asking me to find out. :cool:

[minnemom]

Thanks for the review. Much appreciated!

[tamirpr]

Thanks for the review. DH and I like taking the weekend short cruises just to get away without having to load down a bunch of clothes. Short cruises definitely have a more relaxed feel.

 

Question, though. We're doing the four-day (Thurs to Mon) in September. What night was the formal night? If it's the night of Cozumel, we'll skip the dining room that evening. Just trying to plan.

 

Thanks!

[misstopgun]

The last time I was on the Paradise it was the worst cruise I ever had. It was a 3 day get a way with my sister while the Paradise was still on the west coast.

 

Now I normally take 7-8 day cruises on Carnival so keep in mind this a a 3 day week end cruise, but I was totally taken aback by the standards of that cruise.

 

The crew seemed disengaged. The dining was awful, we left the dining room after 45 minuetes waiting while our server flirted with a bachalorette party. They served packets of butter rather than the whipped butter in the dining room.

 

Restrooms in public areas were horrendous. Tables on the Lido were not cleared for hours. Even first thing in the morning were reminants of the previous nights left overs. I could go on and on about other mishaps put that is far in the past.

 

To my sister and I it was the cruise frome Hell. Fortunatly we had both sailed Carnival numerous times and knew this was not the standard. At least whe enjoyed each others company, had it been our first cruise, we would never have returned.

 

It is so good to see that this same ship on a shorter cruise is getting a decent review. Maybe it took an itenerary change. Maybe my letter to Carnival about our experience was taken to heart. Who knows. I am still very leary of this ship.

 

And to those who say you get what you deserve for a weekend cruise, well guess what, it was a 3 day cruise on a Royal Carribean ship that convinced me that this is how I wanted to vacation.

 

Standards should not change because of length of cruise or the intenerary. We booked a suite to enable us to get a balcony, so as far as price goes, we paid more per day than you would on a 7 day cruise for a balcony or higher.

 

I hope to see more reviews such as yours. I would like nothing better than to have the opportunity to take a shorter cruise when time allows and not feel like I will be short changed for doing so.

 

Though I would still hesitate to take a cruise on this paticular ship, your review makes me me think if the opportunity arises, maybe I would chance it again.