Carnival Triumph 10/12-10/17/13

[tkportersat]

Carnival Triumph 10/12-10/17

This was my Platinum cruise (10th, grandfathered). Traveling was Me (41), Husband (32) and my parents both 62. We were in Cabin 1065 and my parents in 1067, balconies on the Panorama deck. About the cabin…LOVED it!! The location was absolutely perfect. You walk right out the door by our rooms and you are on deck. Both sea days we found four chairs right as you walk out of the door and we could go back and forth to our cabin to go to the bathroom, grab something, etc. Short walk down from that area and your right on the lido deck. We also were lucky that we had adjoining balconies and within the first few hours our steward Henry got the partition opened. So nice to sit every day and visit with our family.

Parking: We drove in from Dallas that morning and arrived at EZ cruise parking about 10:30 and were on a shuttle to the terminal within minutes. My parents bought FTTF so we all jumped in the priority line and were all on board and in our cabins by 11:27am…by noon we were already eating a Guy’s burger (yum!!) and drinking a beer from the Red Frog.

Tip: When sailing out of Galveston you can order buckets of beer for $15 + tax vs. $22 + tax if you order them before muster. We bought three this way and took them to the cabin.

Muster: This took longer than usually because people don’t listen. People strolling by with cell phones and drinks in their hands made the rest of us have to wait a little longer. If this was the old days of bringing the life jacket with you I would have clubbed some of them as they walked by :eek:

Ports:

Progreso – We did the Jaguar Truck excursion purchased through Carnival. First you go to the end of the pier to meet with your group. After you are gathered you hop on a bus for about 40 minutes. Bus has a bathroom but was not air conditioned. It did cool off once the bus got moving and natural air circulated (sorry just had read some reviews that there was AC and there was not, fyi). First stop you ride tandem bikes for about a mile, all flat land to Ocambo (sp?) ruins. Climbed the ruins on our own for about 30 minutes. Loaded back on to the buses to head to our secluded beach, for the bus ride everyone was given a protein bar to eat. Once at the beach Everyone is given a chair and you can take it down to the beach area, you hang out there while waiting for the guides to bring out the paddles boards. They give instruction and you can take turns trying them out. Seems us girls had an easier time balancing then the big burly men. It was fun but exhausting!! Afterwards they brought us fresh pineapple as our snack. When everyone was done we headed back over to the bus area where they fed us Cheese quesadillas and chicken fajitas. Clean up and 35 minute ride back to the port area. We had about 20 minutes to shop before having to board. The guides Eduardo and Benjamin were so nice and funny and tried really hard to get the group doing fun activities on the bus. I think our group needed tequila as most seemed pretty shy.

Cozumel – Here we booked the all inclusive at Nachi Cocum, directly through their website. It is $55pp. We just wanted to eat, drink and be lazy this day and we definitely succeeded. Way too much tequila! Joseph was a great waiter and we were never left wanting for anything. The food was delicious and the drinks were good.

The ship: The Triumph as a great ship and looked really nice and clean. I was very pleasantly surprised with everything. Yes it is confusing to navigate at times but we always figured it out.

Food: I will add this disclaimer…This is the first time in 14 cruises that I have NOT one time gone to the Buffet. We loved the Blue Iguana for breakfast tacos and I also tried it once on one of the sea days for lunch. Guy’s burgers were also so good, we did this twice for lunch as well. On Port days we just had room service delivered and it was always on time and mostly accurate. One time they forgot cream but we were so close to lido I just ran down and grabbed some…no biggie. Dining room food was all good, the only issue was when I ordered the Chateaubriand the waiter wanted me to have rare and I told him well and he brought me rare anyways. Waste of time for him as I did send him back for a more done piece of meat and after I got what I wanted it was delicious!! My favorite dessert is normally the Bitter and Blanc but I have to say their Tiramisu was the best for me this time. I had the best lobster ever this trip too, very tender. Really no complaints about the food, I was happy with everything I had.

Shows: The only thing we went to were the Comedy shows and both comedians were really funny and it was quite easy to get a seat after the longgggggggggg lines on the Magic last year so that was a pleasant surprise.

Gambling: Casino and bingo were a total bust for us but we had fun anyways. For the first time I accumulated enough points to get free drinks in the casino on the last day. I must have done a good job at this because I felt awful during debarkation and wished I hadn’t had that one last drink! Couldn’t even drag myself to one last breakfast L

Kids: Maybe I was more aware of others this trip as we didn’t have our 3 year old with us this time and all I can say is wow. I saw little children running about with no supervision. The mothers club bringing all their babies and toddlers into the hot tub. At one point this 6 year old girl kept running into the hot tub and this couple was like, how old are you?…”6”, Where’s your parents? “my mom is down there laying in chair”., go tell your mom that some guy is talking to you “ok, she then would run down tell her mom and come back”. Can you go on the slide “I will have to ask my mom”. Comes back again. This went on for at least 30 minutes and the mom never came to check on her. Look, I get that vacationing isn’t easy with children but if you aren’t going to continue to parent them then don’t bring them!! And again, small children should not be in the freaking hot tub. Ugh. Ok rant over, sorry.

In closing we had the best time, best weather and great service. Met some really nice people and have wonderful memories. The Triumph is in great shape and the 2.0 additions are fantastic.

Any questions, let me know..I am sure between all the drinks I left out some details. Cheers!

[dane225]

Thank you for your review!! We are sailing on the Triumph for Christmas and can't wait to see the new upgrades!

[pspercy]

How many beers in a bucket ?

 

We're in that area of cabins in December :-)

[texasmelrose2]

Thanks for your review Kerry! We are sailing on her this Saturday.

I feel your frustration about the little kid at the hot tub..what are these parents thinking?! We will be bringing our kiddoes but will keep them on a tight leash as always.

 

So glad to hear the 2.0 upgrades are great...can't wait to have a Guy's burger!

[swscruiser]

Kerry,

What movies were available on in room tv and on the big screen?

Thanks,

Keith

[tkportersat]

4 in a bucket

I think you will love the location !!

 

How many beers in a bucket ?

 

We're in that area of cabins in December :-)

[tkportersat]

You're welcome :) have a great time!

 

Thanks for your review Kerry! We are sailing on her this Saturday.

I feel your frustration about the little kid at the hot tub..what are these parents thinking?! We will be bringing our kiddoes but will keep them on a tight leash as always.

 

So glad to hear the 2.0 upgrades are great...can't wait to have a Guy's burger!

[tkportersat]

Keith-

I'm sorry, the only time I turned on the tv was late one night trying to fall asleep and Flashdance was on.

 

The only movies I remember were Pitch Perfect (tried to watch, couldn't do it) and the Guilt Trip. I know there were a couple James Bond movies as well. Sorry, since we didn't have our son this time evenings were spent in the casino and comedy club.

 

Kerry,

What movies were available on in room tv and on the big screen?

Thanks,

Keith

[tkportersat]

Have fun! The ship looks really great.

 

Thank you for your review!! We are sailing on the Triumph for Christmas and can't wait to see the new upgrades!

[Rudyard]

 

The only movies I remember were Pitch Perfect (tried to watch, couldn't do it) and the Guilt Trip. I know there were a couple James Bond movies as well. Sorry, since we didn't have our son this time evenings were spent in the casino and comedy club.

 

Thanks for the review. The next two weeks can't go quick enough for me!

 

With my luck it will be the same two James Bond movies they were showing this time last year ;)

[MicksMom]

Great review! Panorama is our favorite deck. Quiet yet close to everything. Couldn't agree more about the kids, although our DD was 17 on our 1st cruise, she would have never been allowed to run free.

[tkportersat]

I felt the same way and now mines over :(

 

I think Quantom of Solace was one.

 

Thanks for the review. The next two weeks can't go quick enough for me!

 

With my luck it will be the same two James Bond movies they were showing this time last year ;)

[tkportersat]

Yeah, I will be looking for comparable locations in the future :)

 

The teens and pre-teens didn't bother me at all, never noticed any bad behavior there. I was more surprised at little bitty kids roaming without a parent nearby.

 

Great review! Panorama is our favorite deck. Quiet yet close to everything. Couldn't agree more about the kids, although our DD was 17 on our 1st cruise, she would have never been allowed to run free.

[Grayce]

Thanks for the review. Glad to hear you liked the room location as I'm in 1064 in just a few weeks. I was wondering if the your room had a couch or a love seat?

 

Sent from my Galaxy Note

Edited October 22, 2013 by Grayce

[tkportersat]

It was the sofa bed. We never sat on it, just piled all our junk on it :) our cabin said it could accommodate 5.. But there was only two of us in the cabin.

 

Thanks for the review. Glad to hear you liked the room location as I'm in 1064 in just a few weeks. I was wondering if the your room had a couch or a love seat?

 

Sent from my Galaxy Note

[Naomi John]

Fwd, deck 10 near the slide exit and fwd pool. My favorite spot as well.

[jburk]

Why are the beers cheaper before sail away?

 

Did you check out the ea sports bar? If so, thoughts on it?

[pspercy]

4 in a bucket

I think you will love the location !!

 

Good deal:D

 

Do you buy at any outdoor bar ?

[marcarr623]

Thank you for your review!! We are sailing on the Triumph for Christmas and can't wait to see the new upgrades!

 

We are too:)

[misstopgun]

Loved the Triumph. My only complaint is one of my own making. We settled on a 5 day cruise and this ship and their crew must be experienced for a longer amount of time.

 

I see a B2B on this same ship in the near future. 5 days is just not enough!

[tkportersat]

You have the right idea, just the opposite side :)

 

Fwd, deck 10 near the slide exit and fwd pool. My favorite spot as well.

[tkportersat]

You know, it is a mystery to me...this was my tenth Carnival cruise and no one has ever told me this before. We were sitting with my parents in the smoking area on Deck 10 and the waiter told us this. So we bought two buckets...then after taking those to the room we went to Red Frog to get two more. Anderson was the waiter's name and he was a super nice guy that got quite a few extra tips from us. The guy was on deck, later in the dining room and again at the Comedy club. I asked him if he ever slept. The guy was always smiling and dancing, and we tried to buy most of our drinks from him.

 

I never went in but walked by many times and it was always packed. Looked like a really nice place.

 

Why are the beers cheaper before sail away?

 

Did you check out the ea sports bar? If so, thoughts on it?

[tkportersat]

As far as I know, when purchasing you might just ask to make sure....that is what we did when we went to buy some at the Red Frog.

 

I have my receipt...Buckets before muster were $17.25 after all the charges are applied (tax/gratuity).

 

 

Good deal:D

 

Do you buy at any outdoor bar ?

[tkportersat]

Yeah, I hate to sound like a brat but I had all these plans and ran out of time. The last several cruises I have taken have been 7 days; we took a 5 because we left our 3 year old with Grandma. I wasn't prepared for how quickly it flew by.

 

Loved the Triumph. My only complaint is one of my own making. We settled on a 5 day cruise and this ship and their crew must be experienced for a longer amount of time.

 

I see a B2B on this same ship in the near future. 5 days is just not enough!

[marimojo]

Thank you so much for the review! Our Family Triumph cruise is one year away, but I love to gather information. Where was the Muster Drill? Did you have to stand outside or was it an inside, sit down location? Does anyone know if they serve lobster on the 4-day cruises? Also, can you order alcohol from the Bon Voyage department on the shorter cruises?

 

My brother booked a cabin on the same deck you stayed on, I am so happy that you loved it up there. The rest of the family booked on Lido deck, so far we have 28 people going, it is going to be fun, fun, fun!!