Carnival Paradise April 1 -6 with pictures and funtimes

[JaniceB]

I wanted to do a review of my first cruise on the Paradise and post the fun times, since I was not able to find them all when I was researching this cruise. The ports on this 5 day cruise were Grand Cayman and Cozumel. This was my 8th cruise with Carnival. There were 17 of us on this cruise to celebrate the upcoming graduation of my friend’s daughter. I had an ocean view cabin E107 that I shared with my sister-in-law, others in our group had suites and but mainly ocean view cabins. This was my sister-in-laws first Carnival cruise and we had one other first- timer in our group. Some of us traveled long distance, one from as far away as Alaska, others lived close to the Port of Tampa.

I chose to fly from Maryland on the day of sailing. This is not what I usually do but since Sunday was Easter, I wanted to stay home. I took the first flight of the morning from BWI to TPA and arrived in Tampa a little earlier than the scheduled time of 9:20. My luggage arrived quickly. Others in my group had arrived the day before and more were arriving later in the day. I decided not to wait at the airport for others to arrive but to head to the ship. I quickly found the taxi stand. There was no line and off I went to the Port of Tampa. The cost was $25. The ride seemed pretty quick.

This is my first glimpse of the ship

 

 

 

 

Edited April 15, 2013 by JaniceB

[Cruising Golfer]

Can't wait for more. Love reading reviews, even if it not a ship I will be on soon...:D C.G.

[JaniceB]

The cab driver let me out across the street from the port building and I was immediately met by a porter. Everyone in my group had decided to purchase FTTF since we would be tendering in Grand Cayman. The porter saw that my boarding pass had FTTF on it so he put FTTF tags on my bag. He also had a stapler to staple my luggage tags to my bags. I had brought tape in my purse, but I didn’t need it. I had 2 bags with me but I had packed some water and wine in one so I only checked the one bag. I proceeded to the building. I went through security and it was a breeze. I had packed my wine and water in a plastic bag that I showed them. I was told to use the elevator since I had a bag with me but then I was told I could use the escalator if I could pick up the bag. I chose the escalator. I was a little confused by the signs directing FTTF when I got to the top. It looked like I was going to the VIP section but when I got there I was directed to an employee with a clipboard who took me to the front of the check-in line. My sister-in-law was still in route, she was driving, so the employee noted that only one of us was checking in. I got my boarding pass and found a seat and proceeded to wait. I think it was around 11:30 before we were able to board. I skipped the picture line and boarded the ship. We boarded on deck 7 the Empress deck. My cabin was located on this deck and an employee opened the door for me to access my cabin. My cabin was ready and I dropped off my bag, took a few pictures and headed to the Lido deck for some lunch.

 

 

 

Edited April 15, 2013 by JaniceB

[JaniceB]

Pictures of the storage

 

 

[JaniceB]

Pictures of the bathroom

 

 

[Coolcruise02]

Great start....can't wait for more!

[mosaic_mom]

Great start to your review. Can't wait to see more. We are doing the 4 day on Paradise later this year.

[tlcs]

We'll be on the Paradise in August and can't wait to read the rest of your review!

[JaniceB]

Here is some information about Faster to the Fun (FTTF) that I found in the room.

FTTF.pdf

[JaniceB]

Also in the cabin was my welcome aboard letter and pin. I have enclosed a scanned copy of the letter since it is hard to read in the picture.

 

 

I always get a kick out of the sign left with the beach towels in the cabin.

 

welcomeaboard.pdf

[JaniceB]

I grabbed my copy of the Funtimes and headed to the Lido for lunch. I still hadn't heard from the rest of my group. I went to the Mongolian station for lunch. This was my first time eating the Mongolian. There was no line so I decided to try it. I have read a lot of reviews that it is really good. I was disappointed. I think I would have preferred to have rice as a choice instead of noodles. After lunch I headed to the Serenity deck to check it out.

 

Here are some pictures.

 

 

 

 

View of Tampa from the back of the ship

 

ParadiseDay1.pdf

Pages from ParadiseDay1.pdf

[indygirl76]

Thanks so much for this - I sail this same itinerary in 181 days!!!! :D

[poptart]

enjoying your review. I did a 7 day on the Paradise when she was new and a non smoking ship. Loved it!!! The OV cabins haven't changed at all. :D

[Orpheo]

Great start:)

[mosaic_mom]

Here is some information about Faster to the Fun (FTTF) that I found in the room.

 

We have booked the FTTF for our cruise in December. I use a walker and it was easier to be able to drop carry-ons in our cabin before walking around the ship. I used to have to sit with the carry-ons while everyone else explored, so I ordered FTTF this cruise. :D

 

One question about the letter. It says priority dinner reservations at the Destiny dining room (does not include YTD). I thought that was one of the regular dining rooms. What kind of reservation is needed there that you could get priority for?

[indygirl76]

One question about the letter. It says priority dinner reservations at the Destiny dining room (does not include YTD). I thought that was one of the regular dining rooms. What kind of reservation is needed there that you could get priority for?

I think it's priority for early vs late seating, which most are unlikely to need, but gives them one more benefit to list on the brochure. ;)

[4evercruiser]

Great start to your review. Loving the pictures. Hubby and I just booked the Paradise yesterday for a 4 day cruise in August.

 

Elizabeth

[BenjiRodney]

Thank you, doing this trip May 18, also purchased FTTF.

[mel7350]

I don't know why but I can't see the pics. But the pdf's of the Fun TImes and stuff really helped me a lot. i was wondering about those.

[JaniceB]

Can't wait for more. Love reading reviews, even if it not a ship I will be on soon...:D C.G.

 

I love reviews, too. Thanks for reading mine.

 

Great start....can't wait for more!

 

Thank you!

[JaniceB]

I don't know why but I can't see the pics. But the pdf's of the Fun TImes and stuff really helped me a lot. i was wondering about those.

 

I am not sure why either, is anyone else having this problem? I am using snapfish to get my pictures from.

[cdancer20]

Great start to the review. I am excited to see the Fun Times and have an idea of what types of things are offered. I will be taking going with my family on their first cruise in Aug on the 4-day Paradise.

[JaniceB]

I explored and took some pictures of other areas on the ship on my way back to my cabin to see if my luggage had been delivered.

 

Aft pool area and Tampa shots

 

 

 

[JaniceB]

 

 

Rex

 

 

 

[JaniceB]