Carnival Triumph 4 Day 1/22 Review

[clcjdn]

Here is the review I just posted for anyone who is interested:

 

8th cruise overall, 6th on Carnival.

 

Embarkation: Very quick.....arrived at port around 11, pretty much straight through to get our Sail and Sign Cards. Boarding Zone 2. On the ship by 12:15 eating a Guy's Burger and drinking a beer. No complaints with this process. Went to see if our room on Lido was available about 1:10, all good, suitcase already there! Good tip to the porter seemed to help!

 

First Night: Got my Drinks on Us card from Felipe. Gambled a bit, nothing major, decent drink service. Early dining, put in a booth with another married couple. Everything was a bit slow, but overall decent.

 

Sea Day 1: Played some Trivia, won a ship on a stick! Gambled, no major wins, but did pretty decent on the Quick Hit slot machines. Best drink service of the cruise was in the afternoon! No wait for those comped drinks!

 

Cozumel: Only got off for about an hour....went to the coffee shop at the pier, got a couple drinks, and used WiFi to Facetime with the kids! Nice enough, but have already been 2 times in last year and going back in March (Mr. Sanchos planned for that trip, so took this one easy!) Dinner service was terribly slow, the other couple was at the Chef's Table, so I took their seat on the other side of the booth. The servers never picked up the extra place settings even though I had stacked all of the silverware and plates and put right out on the edge. When my desert was brought out, the server actually just handed me a fork out of the pile I had made rather than bring me a new one/clear the other setting. Had to ask for refills rather than them just fill like other Carnival cruises, etc. Just poor in my opinion.

 

Sea Day 2: Played some more Trivia, lots of 2nd place finishes. Didn't really need another Ship on a Stick. Gambling was poor and the drink service got worse. These people need to spend a week in Vegas to learn how to route/time their servers. Seemed like 3 took a loop around the whole casino in a clockwise fashion and 3 others took the same loop in a counter clockwise fashion. End result, 2-3 people asking if you want a drink within 5 minutes, then nobody around for 30-40 minutes while all 6 servers stand at the bar waiting for the bartenders to fill 60-90 orders. How about a 15 minute delay and working specific areas of the casino? Dinner again was slow, our table mates seemed to have the same feeling. Again had to ask for refills, etc. Was comped a bottle of wine from the casino. The person just dropped it at the table, didn't make sure we had enough glasses or anything. Was not impressed.

 

Debarkation: Seemed slow as usual on the Triumph. Got down to 3 when we were called, started moving in the line and then a voice over the speaker saying that they were halting the process for 5 minutes. Seems like they could do something to make this more smooth.....

 

Highlights:

 

Our room steward was a complete ninja! Awesome service every day! He was an all star!

 

Stephany (with a y, I assume this is how it is spelled) worked trivia on the last sea day. She brought fun and energy that the other female trivia host lacked.

 

Warm Chocolate Melting Cake with Peanut Butter: Had this every night for dinner, was awesome each time!

 

Blue Iguana Burritos: I had 1 for lunch each day and a couple of mornings for breakfast! I think I may enjoy these more than Guy's burritos!

[IPlayWithString]

Glad you had a good time.

 

My mom was on that cruise with some of her girlfriends from her church and she said it sucked so bad. She said she would go into the MDR and felt horribly underdressed (even though, knowing my mother, she wasn't). She said there was a lot of serious rocking and there was a storm or something (again...knowing my mother, she probably exaggerated just a tad). When she told me after she got home, I felt SO bad that she didn't have an awesome experience given it was her first ever cruise.

[leno]

Sorry to hear the service was slow..We are leaving next Thursday on the four day. Was lobster on the menu at all?

[clcjdn]

Glad you had a good time.

 

My mom was on that cruise with some of her girlfriends from her church and she said it sucked so bad. She said she would go into the MDR and felt horribly underdressed (even though, knowing my mother, she wasn't). She said there was a lot of serious rocking and there was a storm or something (again...knowing my mother, she probably exaggerated just a tad). When she told me after she got home, I felt SO bad that she didn't have an awesome experience given it was her first ever cruise.

 

Yeah, sorry forgot to mention the storm.....seemed like first night was way rocky and then the last night was the same. I think we were out running/skirting a storm both times.......not completely terrible, just a bit of a pain. :)

[clcjdn]

Sorry to hear the service was slow..We are leaving next Thursday on the four day. Was lobster on the menu at all?

 

Yes, it was the first sea day I believe.

[IPlayWithString]

We had that happen on our second cruise (first on the Triumph) and it didn't seem terrible at all. My mom was, as usual, probably exaggerating.

[ctrinco]

Question about Alcohol purchase/policy for Triumph out of Galveston. You mentioned you were drinking a beer by 12:15...Carnival rep is telling me that there is no alcohol sales on day 1 of the cruise and that you can't purchase drink package. Can you purchase alcohol while in Galveston, can you bring a bottle of wine that you carry on to dinner.

[AngAndBoys]

I was on that cruise with you! I had better luck in the dining room, great wait staff, but I've gone many times as well, and it seems to be luck of the draw with waiters and room stewards. We were also seated directly in front of the galley, which made our table faster. Also tipped the casino waiters and they came and found me pretty often, but there WERE times when it was a long wait and then 2 or 3 in a row asking if we needed a drink. Um, yeah, for the last 20 minutes! Haha! Seemed worse at the tables than the slots, for me at least.

 

You are lucky you got on so fast. We had to deal with torrential rain all the way there, normal 1.5 hour drive was 2.5 and I was terrified we were not going to be let on because we were past 2:30 getting there! Anyway, when we finally got there, the line to go through security was CRAZY. I am platinum, so got to go VIP line, which was empty, but others told me it took them 3 hours to get on!

[AngAndBoys]

Question about Alcohol purchase/policy for Triumph out of Galveston. You mentioned you were drinking a beer by 12:15...Carnival rep is telling me that there is no alcohol sales on day 1 of the cruise and that you can't purchase drink package. Can you purchase alcohol while in Galveston, can you bring a bottle of wine that you carry on to dinner.

 

Oh they LIED! Haha! You can get a drink the first day. It is just that they give you a can of beer instead of a bottle....no idea why? So far as I know, all other drinks are available for purchase in their usual form. And you can't get any unlimited drink packages until day 2 per Texas law. But you can certainly buy all the individual drinks you can drink.

 

EDIT: The second part of your question, yes you can bring wine. I don't know if you have to pay a corkage fee to bring it to dinner with you. Not a wine drinker myself. I'm sure one of these folks can tell you.

Edited March 9, 2015 by AngAndBoys

[clcjdn]

I was on that cruise with you! I had better luck in the dining room, great wait staff, but I've gone many times as well, and it seems to be luck of the draw with waiters and room stewards. We were also seated directly in front of the galley, which made our table faster. Also tipped the casino waiters and they came and found me pretty often, but there WERE times when it was a long wait and then 2 or 3 in a row asking if we needed a drink. Um, yeah, for the last 20 minutes! Haha! Seemed worse at the tables than the slots, for me at least.

 

You are lucky you got on so fast. We had to deal with torrential rain all the way there, normal 1.5 hour drive was 2.5 and I was terrified we were not going to be let on because we were past 2:30 getting there! Anyway, when we finally got there, the line to go through security was CRAZY. I am platinum, so got to go VIP line, which was empty, but others told me it took them 3 hours to get on!

 

I must be somewhat unlucky in there.....last 2 times on Triumph, just slow service in the casino...I was tipping dollars with each drink, but it just seemed worse and worse.....next week I am on the Epic, so at least I can play video poker at the bar and get all the service I need. :)

[AngAndBoys]

I must be somewhat unlucky in there.....last 2 times on Triumph, just slow service in the casino...I was tipping dollars with each drink, but it just seemed worse and worse.....next week I am on the Epic, so at least I can play video poker at the bar and get all the service I need. :)

 

Jealous! I love Epic! My next up is Triumph. Again. In April. Can't complain though, I love it! Like a home away from home.

 

You guys have fun on that one!

[clcjdn]

Thanks! Leaving the kids at home and taking my sister, BIL, niece and cousin.....all adults....should be a great time!

[isaiahsnana]

Question about Alcohol purchase/policy for Triumph out of Galveston. You mentioned you were drinking a beer by 12:15...Carnival rep is telling me that there is no alcohol sales on day 1 of the cruise and that you can't purchase drink package. Can you purchase alcohol while in Galveston, can you bring a bottle of wine that you carry on to dinner.

 

Drinks while still in Texas water carry a sales tax so the cost is a bit more than after you are in international waters. But you may purchase away as soon as you hit the deck. I was thrilled to find the Red Frog Pub and Blue Iguana Tervis tumblers available on our cruise last week. I had wanted them since I first saw the pix a year ago. Cost with the drink of the day is $25ish and without a beverage is $15ish with the lid - bought an extra one for my daughter.

[jadesmom78]

I think I saw that your cruise on the Triumph was in January. We're booked for this December. I was wondering if the pools are too cold to swim in and the one that can be covered by the retractable roof, first was it covered and was it warm. Basically was it too cold for any outdoor activities? I know that's a tricky question since it is Texas and the weather is crazy here but any info would be greatly appreciated

[Border Granny]

I was on the Triumph in February and December last year, and there were people in the pools both sailings. You get far enough south for the air temp to warm up pretty quickly after leaving Galveston. We were in short sleeves and pretty light clothing all the time from the first sea day on, and of course Progresso and Cozumel were in the 80's if I remember correctly.

 

Of course the weather can be unusually warmer or colder than normal, but that was our experience. We're sailing on the Triumph again next month, and I'm pretty sure we're going to wish we had that December weather again [emoji1]

[clcjdn]

Sorry, nothing to add on the pools as we didn't spend any time up there. :)

[smurfm69]

I think I saw that your cruise on the Triumph was in January. We're booked for this December. I was wondering if the pools are too cold to swim in and the one that can be covered by the retractable roof, first was it covered and was it warm. Basically was it too cold for any outdoor activities? I know that's a tricky question since it is Texas and the weather is crazy here but any info would be greatly appreciated

 

We have done 4 day cruises out of Nola in December and the weather warms up as you sail South. One year we were wearing jackets on embarkation day and in bathing suits the next day. I find the pools to be a little chilly even in the summer. Once you get in the water, you get used to it.

[jadesmom78]

We have done 4 day cruises out of Nola in December and the weather warms up as you sail South. One year we were wearing jackets on embarkation day and in bathing suits the next day. I find the pools to be a little chilly even in the summer. Once you get in the water, you get used to it.

 

Thanks for the info