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Carnival Paradise

ColSavLan

By ColSavLan,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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ColSavLan

ColSavLan

Posted
Posted

Would like to hear more about the Paradise. Have been on the Fascination, trying to decide between the Paradise and the Fascination with an 18 yr old, 15 yr old and 9 yr old. Paradise goes to Grand Cayman and Fascination goes to Bahamas. Trying to decide between the 2 ships and the different ports. Any help would be appreciated. May be the only family cruise we ever do as my oldest will graduate this year.

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geovet

geovet

Posted
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Paradise is a great ship. I have been on several ships if the same class. It does not have the waterworks. It has an extra pool and a small basketball area. I like the 5 day western cruise over the Nassau ports.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Mutumbojimbo

Mutumbojimbo

Posted
Posted
Would like to hear more about the Paradise. Have been on the Fascination, trying to decide between the Paradise and the Fascination with an 18 yr old, 15 yr old and 9 yr old. Paradise goes to Grand Cayman and Fascination goes to Bahamas. Trying to decide between the 2 ships and the different ports. Any help would be appreciated. May be the only family cruise we ever do as my oldest will graduate this year.

 

 

I prefer the itinerary of the Paradise, but the kids may like the waterworks area which the Fascination has but the Paradise does not. I've had a great time on both. Enjoy your cruise!

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misterchatter

misterchatter

Posted
Posted (edited)
Would like to hear more about the Paradise. Have been on the Fascination, trying to decide between the Paradise and the Fascination with an 18 yr old, 15 yr old and 9 yr old. Paradise goes to Grand Cayman and Fascination goes to Bahamas. Trying to decide between the 2 ships and the different ports. Any help would be appreciated. May be the only family cruise we ever do as my oldest will graduate this year.

 

We are thinking about this ship at the end of ship because we have family in Tampa area and therefore saving on hotel/car cost. Would love to hear details as well?

 

Just off the Paradise December 5th, this was the second leg of a back to back. I found the ship to be in great shape, for being one of the older ones. Food was very good, no complaints. Service was good as usual, stateroom service was excellent. Room service was better than previous, quite good actually. I cruised solo, so your activities would probably differ from what I did. They had two good shows, one was country. And a REAL orchestra. The CD, Steve, played the fiddle in the country show, he was very talented with this instrument.

Nothing really bad about the cruise. My preference would be doing the Western Caribbean, just my opinion.

Edited by misterchatter
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SkyMaster

SkyMaster

Posted
Posted

I agree with 99% of the above comments. Western itinerary is FAR superior to the Bahamas itinerary, and "Paradise" is truly, an outstanding ship, and crew. Always friendly, always efficient, and always taking care of business. The ship is in excellent condition, with no problems at all. Entertainment is far superior to the ships that have had the 2.0 upgrades, with BIG shows that feature 8 female dancers, 6 male dancers, 2 excellent production singers, and a great show band. Embarkation, and debarkation is fast, and easy at the port of Tampa, and overall, I just don't think you'll beat a cruise aboard "Paradise"

Good luck, and I'll probably see you aboard!

 

"SKY"

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VeggieGirl83

VeggieGirl83

Posted
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Paradise all the way. We were on the Paradise B2B in September and we loved it! Some of the best food out of all the ships we've been on. Even though the ship is older, the crew is fantastic and the ship is very clean.

 

We were on the Fascination in May...I won't be back on that ship. The food is the worst (to the point of, I didn't eat at dinner) and the crew is not very nice. Also, the biggest thing to us, the drinking water is TERRIBLE! It tastes moldy. I thought that it just might be "Florida water", but the water on the Paradise was fine.

 

I don't think you'll be disappointed with the Paradise.

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GottaLuvCruising

GottaLuvCruising

Posted
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I sailed the Paradise last month (for the 2nd time). Our experience was similar to those already mentioned. The food was very good (last night a little disappointing). We LOVED having a show band and real production shows. Ship is older and smaller but in great shape. Serenity deck was crowded. Love the western itineraries.

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  • 2 weeks later...
histo217

histo217

Posted
Posted

My mom and I will be cruising soon. This will be my 4th cruise and her 1st. I sailed on the Ecstasy before is the Paradise similar since they are in the same class? We are looking to book for the end of April.

 

Sent from my KFJWI using Forums mobile app

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Max Circus

Max Circus

Posted
Posted
Just got of the paradise on sat.....the15th.....we had blast....loved the ship...great shows...great service.....great food.....will cruise her again.....I can answer any questions.....

 

We sail on her 1/16/14 for the 4-night to Cozumel. Some questions:

 

Favorite bar?

Favorite appetizer in MDR?

Favorite entree in MDR?

What were sea days like for entertainment?

Did they have a brunch or lunch in MDR on sea days?

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RuthlessBoss

RuthlessBoss

Posted
Posted
Just off the Paradise December 5th, this was the second leg of a back to back. I found the ship to be in great shape, for being one of the older ones. Food was very good, no complaints. Service was good as usual, stateroom service was excellent. Room service was better than previous, quite good actually. I cruised solo, so your activities would probably differ from what I did. They had two good shows, one was country. And a REAL orchestra. The CD, Steve, played the fiddle in the country show, he was very talented with this instrument.

Nothing really bad about the cruise. My preference would be doing the Western Caribbean, just my opinion.

 

And boy can Steve play the fiddle:D As for water things, who cares? The kids will think things are fine even without evolution. One can't miss what they never had. Go Paradise, no question.

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sjn911

sjn911

Posted
Posted (edited)
Paradise is a great ship. I have been on several ships if the same class. It does not have the waterworks. It has an extra pool and a small basketball area. I like the 5 day western cruise over the Nassau ports.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

A Paradise cruise is what started me liking Carnival..I don't get to cruise often still but this ship taught me the older and often most affordable cruises are just fine..the size used to be big and now rather small with all huge ships these days gives a little taste of slightly more personal service on a budget line..I really fell in love with the older ship things on the Paradise and just loved how it was spaced out..did not seem that crowded to me except usual places...and I enjoyed the aft serenity..would love to take it to Grand Cayman..Bon voyage..another vote for Paradise!!

Edited by sjn911
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SkyMaster

SkyMaster

Posted
Posted
My mom and I will be cruising soon. This will be my 4th cruise and her 1st. I sailed on the Ecstasy before is the Paradise similar since they are in the same class? We are looking to book for the end of April.

 

Sent from my KFJWI using Forums mobile app

 

Yep, the ships are very similar, but the entertainment is FAR SUPERIOR on the "Paradise", because "Ecstasy" has had the 2.0 upgrade, and has the "Playlist Production" shows. You're going to have a ball on "Paradise".

 

"SKY"

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CruisinCrow Great Review Rare

CruisinCrow

Posted
Posted
We sail on her 1/16/14 for the 4-night to Cozumel. Some questions:

 

Favorite bar?

Favorite appetizer in MDR?

Favorite entree in MDR?

What were sea days like for entertainment?

Did they have a brunch or lunch in MDR on sea days?

 

Favorite bar was the Rotterdam because of the martini tasting. :)

Lunch, not brunch (at least that's what did back in May).

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allison0523

allison0523

Posted
Posted

We were on the Paradise this month as well and would take Grand Cayman over Nassau or Freeport any day. The paradise is older but clean. The pool in the back was not open when we were on it. And I don't know if it's like this on all ships or not but the only "hot" tubs were in the serenity area. And the one was warm compared to the other. But, the serenity area was an awesome place to hang out on a sea day. We got lucky and scored a couple chairs for the day. Not as breezy as the deck above. Only downer is that there is no bar or bathroom in that area. I needed to use the restroom and the attendant pointed me inside. I opened the door and I would have been walking through the Queen Mary lounge in my bathing suit while they were doing a future cruise thing. :eek: No thanks! So, I had to 2 decks up to use the restroom. Not a big deal, just further.

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tcs1366

tcs1366

Posted
Posted

Good to read great review of the Paradise -- I've read a few that were mediocre.

 

Will be on it in 21 days!!

 

Can't wait to get back to Grand Cayman.... our last attempt seas were too rough and all we could do is wave as we went past.

 

Getting excited about heading south again.

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The4Cruisers

The4Cruisers

Posted
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We've cruised on 4 of the Fantasy class ships and haven't had a bad cruise on any of them!

 

We've probably been on Fascination the most, then Inspiration, and one cruise each on Paradise and Ecstasy.

 

Go and enjoy either one. (BTW - I prefer the Western itinerary, but I'll put up with Nassau to get to HMC on the Bahamas itinerary!)

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DreaminFP

DreaminFP

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We will be on Paradise on the 25th it's good to hear such positive things about her.

This will be our 3rd cruise and the other 2 were on the Liberty. We decided to do a cruise out of Tampa for many reasons.

Thank you all for posting on this thread!

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