Just back from a 5 day on the Triumph!

[mDag]

This is my 3rd cruise, and my 2nd with Carnival (though that one was 20 years ago). We sailed on the Triumph on a 5 day stopping at Progreso and Cozumel (Apr 6-11).

 

I traveled with my husband, our two kids, my sister and her hubby and two kids, and our mom. We all flew in to Houston (IAH) early Monday morning and took the Carnival transfer down to Galveston. I was initially worried about the timing, but it worked out perfectly. We arrived in Houston at about 9:40, and the shuttles were already running. All nine of us got on the bus (it was a big touring bus), and arrived in Galveston right around noon.

 

Embarkation was a breeze. Since we had suites, we flew through security and again through registration. Our only hiccup was with my mom. She had booked an interior room (no priority for her!), but had called to link our bookings. The Carnival rep had told her she could embark with us, but that did not happen. She got through priority security with us, but had to wait in the longer registration line. No big deal though, she was through that in about 20 minutes. After that, we walked on to the boat into the Capitol Lobby.

 

Our rooms were ready when we got there, but not my mom’s. Too bad, mom! We were in Ocean Suites 7266 and 7268. Two adults and two kids in each. We had the couch for one kid and a trundle for the other. Plenty of room, even with the trundle out. I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of storage! Two big closets, 4 drawer chest, more drawers in the dressing area, and more cabinets in the bathroom. Loved having the full tub and shower combo too.

 

The ship looks fantastic. All the public areas seem well maintained and clean. The bathrooms were easy to find and also clean and well stocked. We loved the pools and the waterslide. There are three pools: the center one between the Red frog rum bar and the Blue Iguana cantina had a nice shallow wading area surrounding it, the aft pool had a cover (if needed) and plenty of shade around the perimeter, and the pool under the water slide was smaller but tended to be a little less crowded. There were plenty of chairs available. I also liked how the pool areas and Lido dining areas flowed together. The elevators seemed rather slow, so I was glad we were on deck 7 – only two flights of stairs away from everything! My only complaint was this horrid stench around the aft elevators. Not sure what that was, but it was nasty!

 

We didn’t do many planned activities besides Bingo one day. We didn’t make it to any shows, so I can’t comment on the entertainment. Most of the lounges and bars are out of the way on the promenade behind the casino, so you wouldn’t even know they were there unless you went looking. We did do the Dr. Suess breakfast and the Dr. Suess parade/storytime.

 

Service on the ship was EXCELLENT. Our room steward was fantastic. We did Your Time dining, so we had different dining room staff each night, but we really enjoyed Florence and her crew in the London dining room. Everyone we came in contact with was great, but I really have to hand it to the staff in the Lido buffet area. Just really nice, friendly, helpful, attentive people. Ni Wayan at the Capital Bar was also awesome. Very sweet lady!

 

We did not plan excursions at either port. With 4 small kids in tow, we just wanted to hit the beach, but I couldn’t see making them sit through a 40 minute bus or boat ride to the resort. Nor could I see them being interested in walking through Mayan ruins. So we stayed on the boat both days and enjoyed having the pools all to ourselves.

 

Progreso was an interesting stop. The pier is 4.5 miles long, so you can’t see much from the ship. There were shuttle buses to the mainland. There was also a duty free shop, a marketplace, and a bar right near the ship that you could walk to.

 

Cozumel was next. We had a little cabin fever, so a couple of us walked to the mall that is attached to Punta Langosta pier. We bought a couple little trinkets and headed back to the ship.

 

We chose Your Time dining and were assigned to the London dining room. I know the topic of food is very subjective, but I will just say I did not have one bad meal on this ship. The desserts were just ok. If you really want a good treat, get the chocolate cake from the Vienna Café. $2.25 gets you a giant slice of 7 layer dark chocolate deliciousness! I ordered a couple cartons of milk from room service to go with it. Yum! Of course, there is always the warm chocolate melting cake – that was pretty awesome too.

 

We did lunch mostly in the Lido buffet and Guys Burgers or the Blue Iguana. The burgers were excellent, as were the tacos. I thought there was a nice variety of cold salads and hot items on the buffet.

 

Breakfast was a little blah for me. The pancakes and waffles were dry, and the eggs were really gross. Plenty of other things to pick from though. We did breakfast in the Paris dining room a few days, and while the food was still just ok, it was nice to have the wait staff instead of dealing with the back and forth of the buffet. Also, the orange juice is phenomenal. The best breakfast we had was the Dr. Suess Breakfast. The omelet was fantastic – it will not disappoint!

 

Bottom line… you will not go hungry on this ship! The dining times of each area were staggered so that there was always more than “just pizza.” Speaking of pizza, it was great. If you like a thicker crust, get the pizza from the kids menu in the MDR!

 

We were very happy with Camp Ocean. The two younger kids (4 and 5) had a blast at the different activities and parties and always asked to go spend time there. The older two (6 and 7) weren’t as thrilled, though we’ll chalk this up more to personality than to a problem with the programming. My 6 year old daughter spent two afternoons there and had a good time. When she didn’t want to take part in the dodgeball game, one of the staff sat aside with her and played tic-tac-toe and hangman. They were very good with the kids and kept them engaged. Many many different activities planned on sea days.

 

Finally Saturday arrived and it was time to go home. Boo! Disembarkation went very smoothly. We were in a suite, so we were given Zone 2. They started at about 9:00 (I think?) calling the self-assist groups by deck. We were in the London dining room waiting and did not hear half of the announcements, which was unfortunate for any self-assist people who had been in suites! They ended up sitting there longer than necessary. I feel like it went pretty fast. I was not watching the time too closely, as our flight wasn’t until later that evening, so we were not in any hurry. Zone 2 was called, and off we went. Once in the terminal, we saw all the luggage grouped with easy to find zone signs. I thought this was great. Nine years ago on our honeymoon cruise, the luggage was in one giant pile in the terminal – took forever to wade through that mess! The line to customs moved very quickly. There was plenty of staff to help direct you. We walked right outside and onto a bus back to the airport.

 

Our flight wasn’t until 7:15 that evening, so we had 6 hours to kill in the airport. Thank goodness for iPads and headphones is all I have to say about that!

 

And that’s the end of my Triumph review. Overall, it was a great time. 10/10 would cruise again!

[jsmac3]

Thanks for writing this review.

[isaiahsnana]

Thank you for the trip report! I will be on the Triumph on Thursday for the 4 day trip. We can't wait!

[DebOinKC]

Thanks for the review. We will be on the Triumph in September...can't wait.

[MNCruizer1]

Thank you!! We are cruising on the Triumoh in August. Nice to hear good things.

[jst]

Glad you enjoyed Triumph, it is one of our favorite ships, do you by any chance have a fun

times you could post?

[MNCruizer1]

Glad you enjoyed Triumph, it is one of our favorite ships, do you by any chance have a fun

times you could post?

 

I would be interested in this as well.

[mDag]

Thank you!! We are cruising on the Triumoh in August. Nice to hear good things.

 

Thanks for the review. We will be on the Triumph in September...can't wait.

 

Thank you for the trip report! I will be on the Triumph on Thursday for the 4 day trip. We can't wait!

 

You guys will love it! Wish I could go again soon!

[mDag]

Glad you enjoyed Triumph, it is one of our favorite ships, do you by any chance have a fun

times you could post?

 

I saved a couple of them. I will scan and post them tomorrow.

[jst]

Thanks Mdag,

I am interested in the page that shows the bands for the evening on the back of the first page.:)

[Tissa]

Thanks for the review, we leave on the Triumph in May so it is good to hear nice things about it.

[CENT]

:)Thanks! We will be on her September.

[watermelonqueen99]

Enjoyed your review! We'll be on the Triumph in September. :)

[funcruiser1234]

Thank you for the review!

[LSUcajunmom]

Thanks for the great review!! We were right down the hall from y'all in cabin 7277 interior. This was my 2nd time on Triumph. I love her and her staff. I agree about the foid, it was really good! Leaving on the Elation May 30th w dh. It will be my 3rd time on her. Glad I had such a great time on Triumph to warm me up for the next one.

[mDag]

Thanks for the great review!! We were right down the hall from y'all in cabin 7277 interior. This was my 2nd time on Triumph. I love her and her staff. I agree about the foid, it was really good! Leaving on the Elation May 30th w dh. It will be my 3rd time on her. Glad I had such a great time on Triumph to warm me up for the next one.

 

So jealous you are going again so soon! I swear if we weren't so far away I would cruise ALL. THE. TIME. Now that we have kids though, airfare for 4 from Detroit to almost any cruise port almost doubles the cost!

[Podna's]

Thanks for the review. Looking forward to her arrival in New Orleans next year. Already have her booked next April.

[mDag]

Thanks Mdag,

I am interested in the page that shows the bands for the evening on the back of the first page.:)

 

Here you go! I scanned in one port day and one sea day.

funtimes_triumph_cozumel.pdf

funtimes_triumph_seaday.pdf

[jst]

mDag,

Thank you so much:) We are counting the days.

[DebOinKC]

Here you go! I scanned in one port day and one sea day.

 

Thanks so much for posting these

[MNCruizer1]

Here you go! I scanned in one port day and one sea day.

 

Thank you

[justusfour2014]

Thanks for the review. We booked for October with friends and kids are nervous bc it's the "stranded poop" boat.

[mDag]

Thanks for the review. We booked for October with friends and kids are nervous bc it's the "stranded poop" boat.

 

Oh goodness, tell them not to be nervous! :) My coworkers were teasing me about that, but, honestly, you would never know that occurred on this ship.

[justusfour2014]

Oh goodness, tell them not to be nervous! :) My coworkers were teasing me about that, but, honestly, you would never know that occurred on this ship.

 

It's funny because at first, I'll admit, I was too. It was my BFF's husband and I who decided the Triumph -- it just fit with our two schedules. I haven't told my kids yet (son - 16, daughter will 13 day of sailing). Son won't care, he'll be glad to be out of school!lol Daughter will worry until we get on the actual boat so I'm waiting to tell her. Plus, if she does happen to find out -- I'm holding out on telling her I booked a balcony as a surprise. I'm excited, and it's so far away.

[Perez1992]

Tell about the Seuss breakfast please