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Review of Paradise - November 15-20, 2014 (Some pics - Lots of FUN!!)

cruiser_family

By cruiser_family,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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cruiser_family

cruiser_family

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So … I’ve never written a review. I’ve read plenty of them.

 

I will preface this with the following disclaimer: this review is based on my experiences and opinions. I have taken a few cruises – simply because I like to cruise.

 

So let’s get started ….

I got an e-mail from Carnival at the end of September for a $30 a Day 30 Hour Sale. I sent it to my BFF. I really wasn’t expecting her to say yes (she had just gotten back from a short vacation). But heck, what are BFFs for … she said yes and it was simply a matter of deciding when and where.

 

We decided that we shouldn’t spend a fortune on airfare if the cruise was going to be cheap. And the winner was Paradise leaving on November 15th.

This last minute trip was just me and my BFF – Kim. This was the precursor to our 2015 Birthday Cruise - We will be celebrating our 50th birthdays.

 

We flew into Tampa on Saturday, November 15th at about 9:00am. The plan was to grab a cab and stop at a local store to buy water and wine. While we waited for our luggage, we met a private car service driver. We decided to hire him instead. This worked out perfectly. We went to Walmart and got a case of water and a couple of bottles of wine.

 

We arrived at the Port of Tampa at about 10:00am. There were a bunch a people there already (2 weddings). We had FTTF. (I know that people always wonder whether FTTF is worth it – I say yes.) I can't tell you what time we boarded because the people watching was so entertaining that we never worried about the time.

 

We boarded and were able to drop everything off at our cabin. It worked out well. (YIPPEE for FTTF!!!) We then went in search of lunch. The Lido Deck was buzzing with people, but we found a table. I don't remember what we ate. So that means it was neither horrible nor so fantastic that its etched into my memory.

 

After lunch, we went back to the cabin and luggage was already delivered. We unpacked and then toured the ship.

 

(Here's where I was going to share some photos, but I am having trouble with that. I'll figure it out and continue tomorrow.)

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cruiser_family

cruiser_family

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Thanks for beginning your review.

 

Thanks for reading.

 

Great start. Looking forward to the rest of your review. :)

Thanks, I hope you enjoy this amateur review.

 

Just in time, please post photos. Looking forward to your review

 

I have some pictures, I will post several. I don't want to bore people with what I thought was enjoyable.

 

 

Sailing on the Paradise Jan 19th. Looking forward to your review.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

 

Sailing the Paradise for the first time February 7th - so glad you are doing a review!

 

Can't wait to hear more and see some pics!

 

I'll be celebrating(?) my 50th in 2015 too!

 

The 2015 cruise is going to be a great celebration. We have 9 cabins so far. Happy 50th to you' date=' too.

 

 

Can't wait to read more!!! Will be on Paradise in 5 short weeks for Valentine's Day!!!!

Ok, now I'll get the rest of my thoughts together and tell you about our good time.

 

 

 

The view prior to Sail Away ....

 

100_3322_zpscdf52861.jpg

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cruiser_family

cruiser_family

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We went to the Muster Drill. The 1st half was easy. We sat in the lounge and listened to a safety talk. The 2nd half ... well, it's for our safety. They took us to the section where our lifeboats were located. I think that if people would just cooperate, it would go faster. I will admit that when it was over I thought "will these people know where to go in an emergency?"

 

Anyway, off to the good times ....

 

The Sail Away party on the Lido Deck was fun. We met a group of young ladies who worked together and decided this was a great way to vacation. The funny thing was that one of them is a member of CC. We listened to her explaining to her friends that "on CC they said ...." My BFF laughed and told her that I had a list of things to see/do/try all compliments of CC.

 

The DJ played good music. There were people line dancing, signing up for Cheers! (more on that in a minute) and Bottomless Bubbles. It was not crowded on the Lido Deck, but we went to the Verandah Deck. The view was great. Plenty of chairs. We started with the Twilight Zone and as the cruise progressed, we worked our way through the "Icy Inventions" on the bar menu.

 

We contemplated Cheers!, but after the price went back up - we decided that we just don't drink enough for it to be worthwhile. Besides, we had our 2 bottles of wine so we'd be fine with just paying per drink. It turned out to be a good decision (Free drink coupon, Past Guest Party, Awesome Excursion in Cozumel ... plus 2 bottles of wine, we had plenty to drink.

 

I'll have to check with the BFF to see what else we did on our first day, because my mind has fast-forwarded to dinner. The plan for this cruise was to chill out and not over-think the activities. We were very successful in just relaxing.

 

We were in the Destiny Dining Room. We had late seating. Our wait staff was great.

 

100_3342_zps8b2da2f1.jpg

 

Tomorrow, we'll continue with food and fun!!!

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GeorgiaMomof4

GeorgiaMomof4

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You're off to a great start! Glad you figured the picture thing out. I always have to retrain myself when I do a review because I always forget how to do the pictures.

 

If you have a chance, please tell us about the staff. We have always had wonderful staff except for our last cruise on the Sunshine in October. They just weren't up to par. Hoping the Paradise crew is like all the other ones we are used to!

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Yvonne

Yvonne

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Looking forward to reading more of your review.

 

We will be on the Paradise February 21st so I'm enjoying reading all the reviews I can find.

 

And don't worry about boring anyone with your photos, the more photos the better!! :)

 

Oh, and what was that blue and white frozen drink with the pineapple, cherry and umbrella?

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cruiser_family

cruiser_family

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Thanks for sharing your thoughts and photos. I would like to sail from Tampa sometime, I think it would be an easy port to fly into and get to the port.

 

I'll be checking back later for updates. Thanks!

 

It was very easy to fly into Tampa and flights were cheap for us ....

 

 

Waiting for more, the Paradise is a ship I'm thinking of booking.

 

We had a great time and would do it again.

 

 

Looking forward to reading more of your review.

 

We will be on the Paradise February 21st so I'm enjoying reading all the reviews I can find.

 

And don't worry about boring anyone with your photos, the more photos the better!! :)

 

Oh, and what was that blue and white frozen drink with the pineapple, cherry and umbrella?

 

Thanks for the encouragement. The drink was a Twilight Zone. Very good.

 

 

Awesome info so far! I'm sailing on Paradise Jan 15th!!! :)

 

Enjoy your cruise.

 

 

You're off to a great start!

 

If you have a chance, please tell us about the staff. We have always had wonderful staff except for our last cruise on the Sunshine in October. They just weren't up to par. Hoping the Paradise crew is like all the other ones we are used to!

 

Thanks. We had a great experience.

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cruiser_family

cruiser_family

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I checked in with my BFF and was reminded that the purpose of this cruise was to chill out. So, apparently I took several naps. :D Any gap in time can just be attributed to a nap.

 

Cabin:

No issues for me. BFF found it to be cold sometimes. Blankets solved that issue. The square thing in the corner of the room - weird, but we remembered them from our first cruise on the Carnival Holiday. Since we had 2 twin beds, it worked out fine. I can, however, understand the concern if the bed is configured as a king. We had plenty of space.

 

Water was H O T!!!! Be careful.

 

Cabin Steward:

I can't believe that I forgot his name. I should have written it down. He was efficient and very nice. We never had to worry about the room being cleaned. We left notes when we needed something (extra towels or ice) and he took care of it. When he saw us in the hall, he would speak to us.

 

Other staff:

We never had any issues with the crew. Everyone was kind and spoke to us as we went about our merry way. I don't normally pay attention to the Cruise Directors, but I did this time. I had seen comments about Eric on different threads. I thought he was fine. He made announcements and kept the "party" going.

 

Ok, back to our regularly scheduled programming ....

 

Let's eat!!!! I honestly can't remember what all of these meals are. Some are mine, some belong to various people at our table.

 

 

Soup ... cream of broccoli

 

20141116_014230_zps72baa322.jpg

 

Can't remember which starter this was .... maybe duck???

 

20141116_014608_zpsd7e92377.jpg

 

 

Lasagna (someone else at the table) ....

 

20141116_015704_zps3ecab376.jpg

 

 

Ah yes!!! Now this, I can tell you about. I have read so much about the steakhouses. I cruised with family for Thanksgiving 2013. Few of them have the same love affair with steak that I have. So I passed on the Pride's steakhouse. Well now, Steakhouse Selections in the MDR is right up my alley.

 

It was my birthday (yep, we actually left on my 49th birthday). I gave myself the gift of Filet Mignon. It was fantastic. Cooked perfectly and had great flavor. (I ordered it butterflied and medium-well) It is on my MUST HAVE list for the 50th birthday cruise this year:

 

20141116_015733_zpse3f7fc03.jpg

 

 

We had great dinner companions. We spanned a few decades in age ... college to us old folks (both 49). They indulged my need to take pictures of food and even passed my camera to assist. ;)

 

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sjn911

sjn911

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I simply loved my first Carnival cruise on the Paradise in 2009...I am so glad you all had a good time..I just love that ship...and something about the Fantasy class...

 

Yes they are older but they are now.."small" lol and I think the crew and service on them can just work out...due to less people and stress.

 

Love this idea of steakhouse selections in the main...

 

When a table works out like yours did...the main is so much fun...thanks again for review!!!

 

We all love seeing a ship we had so much fun on...

Edited by sjn911
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cruiser_family

cruiser_family

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Sorry for the delay .... my computer was infected.

 

I wanted to just quickly post from my phone for those that are leaving soon ....

 

Cozumel

We did the Carnival sponsored excursion - The Tequila Experience by Jose Cuervo ®. This was awesome. We aren't huge drinkers. We certainly didn't know that there was more than 1 type of tequila. Worth every penny.

 

Grand Cayman

We both had been to the Cayman Island on our 1st cruise. We tried the Best of Cayman Island Tour. This was perfect. It was a rainy day. We were on a bus. Great tour guide.

 

Hopefully my computer will be fixed tomorrow and I can get back to the rest of my review.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Forums mobile app

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sjn911

sjn911

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Sorry for the delay .... my computer was infected.

 

I wanted to just quickly post from my phone for those that are leaving soon ....

 

Cozumel

We did the Carnival sponsored excursion - The Tequila Experience by Jose Cuervo ®. This was awesome. We aren't huge drinkers. We certainly didn't know that there was more than 1 type of tequila. Worth every penny.

 

Grand Cayman

We both had been to the Cayman Island on our 1st cruise. We tried the Best of Cayman Island Tour. This was perfect. It was a rainy day. We were on a bus. Great tour guide.

 

Hopefully my computer will be fixed tomorrow and I can get back to the rest of my review.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Forums mobile app

Thanks..just went through a 3 month drama with mine..got one fixed finally..good luck and thanks for this..Sarah

Edited by sjn911
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