Triumph – December 24th, 2015 – Family Christmas Cruise

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This review is just going to be some observations from our family Christmas cruise on the Triumph. This is our 13th cruise, our second trip on the Triumph. Our first Triumph cruise was in January 2014. Since then we’ve been on Royal’s Navigator twice and RCCL is definitely our cruise line of choice now. Some of my observations will include comparisons between the Triumph and the Navigator, since those are the most recent ships we’ve sailed. Please don’t take anything I say about the Triumph personally. This is just a reporting of our experiences on this trip and our opinions formed based on those experiences. You may have been on the same trip and have a totally different perspective, and that is fine.

 

On this trip we had six adult family members booked in one balcony cabin and two inside cabins on the lido deck, which is our deck of choice on Carnival ships. We chose the Triumph because some members of our party could not take off for seven days and some were hesitant to pay as much as the longer Christmas cruises cost. Many of the recent CC member reviews for the Triumph are not very good, and unfortunately we found that to be accurate to a large degree. We did have a good time as it was Christmas, we were together and we usually have fun together. Also, we did not have high expectations going in and therefore weren’t too surprised by anything. I will divide the review into categories with observations, pros and cons for each.

 

Faster to the Fun

We had FTTF for each cabin and will continue to purchase it for any Carnival cruises we take in the future. The main benefits on this cruise were the ability to board early, disembark early and the dedicated customer service line at guest services. The few times we went to GS, there would only be between 1-3 people working the desk and sometimes the line would have a LOT of people in it. There was never a line for FTTF and one of the reps would have to abandon the regular line to help us. I felt a little bad, but I paid for the service. I felt like that GS should have been a little better staffed though. I do think they probably sell too many FTTF passes. I will explain my reasons for that observation when we get to debarkation.

 

Embarkation

We had two vehicles and used EZ Cruise Parking, which we have used for several years without complaint. We arrived at the terminal just before 10:30 a.m. and were let into the terminal through the priority line. They were checking everyone’s boarding pass to make sure they were priority and holding back everyone that wasn’t. However, once we got through security and made it upstairs, there were a lot of people already checked in and waiting. I don’t know how they got through, since the earliest check-in time was 10:30 a.m. They weren’t all platinum or suites, because FTTF was called and most of them were still sitting there. We were on about 11:30 a.m. and were able to go straight to our cabins.

Comparison to RCCL Galveston – RCCL in Galveston does not have assigned check-in times. On both of our sailings we arrived early and were on quicker than using FTTF for Carnival. We are not priority with RCCL. We weren’t able to go straight to our rooms on the Navigator though.

 

Cabins

 

Pros –

 

Location on the lido deck.

 

Size – Everyone was happy with the size of the cabins. There was plenty of storage. The bathrooms were adequate. I felt like the shower in our balcony cabin was slightly larger than our showers in our last Navigator balcony room.

 

Bedding Comfort – The bed and bedding were very comfortable. So comfortable that I am going to look into ordering some pillows from Carnival. I slept very well 3 of the 4 nights.

 

Cons -

Temperature – Our cabin and one of the inside cabins were really hot on embarkation day, like hot-flash sweating hot. I asked our steward if the room would cool down once the ship was under way and he was kind of vague in his response. A little bit later he showed up with a box fan for us and a smaller round fan for the inside cabin. Those fans made all the difference the first two nights, although they took up valuable cabin space. The third night we woke up in the middle of the night to a sort of burning smell. It was the fan motor so we unplugged it. The last day/night was cooler and we didn’t need it.

 

Shower – The water temperature in our shower would just barely get warm enough to take a shower. It wasn’t really warm, just barely tolerable. The shower in one of the inside cabins was almost too hot to shower in even when on the coldest setting. We just took quick cool showers in our cabin. The guys in the other cabin ran up to the locker room showers on 11 and used those. They said they were larger showers anyway. We didn’t call maintenance because I want as few people as possible in my cabin when we are not there, and we weren’t going to waste valuable vacation time waiting on them to arrive and then waiting on them to correct the problem. Plus, I feel like they should make sure that everything is working properly. The stewards turn on that water every day. They should be able to tell when the temperature isn’t right and they should report it to maintenance.

 

No fridge – There was no fridge in any of the cabins. Our balcony cabins on the Navigator did have a fridge. We knew that there wouldn’t be one, so we had brought a soft-sided cooler to keep waters in and the steward kept it full of ice each day. We tipped him extra each day for that service.

 

Clanging balcony divider – About 11:30 p.m. on Sunday night we ran into the cold front that had moved through Texas. The wind and waves really picked up and the one of the balcony dividers between our balcony and our neighbor to the left started clanging in its hinges. It banged and clanged and clanged and banged. I went down to guest services and reported it and requested some ear plugs which they provided. The ear plugs helped somewhat but between all the noise and the rocking of the ship that was a restless night. The next morning I was looking at the two dividers to try and figure out why one was making noise and the other wasn’t. On the quite one, someone had taken what looked like wads of wet paper that had been squeezed into putty-like balls and wedged into various places to prevent the divider from rattling. It looked ghetto but I guess necessity is the mother of invention.

 

Observation

 

Room steward – We liked our room steward, Apollo. We always keep our cabins neat and orderly, so he really just had to make the bed and provide new towels when needed. He did turn down the bed in the evening and made towel animals each night, including Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer on Christmas Eve. He did keep ice in our cooler and the bathroom was acceptably clean. However, there were several surfaces, especially around the TV (an old-style tube TV), where you could write in the dust with your finger.

 

Comparison to RCCL Navigator – The Triumph bathroom and shower may be slightly larger, but the Navigator balcony cabin on deck twelve was as good as or better in every other way.

Fellow Passengers

 

Pros –

 

It was a very diverse crowd, which I’m comfortable with. In these trying times it gives me hope to see so many people from different backgrounds getting along and having fun together. Even with all the people on board, the crowd was tamer than the last time we were on Triumph. On that cruise we saw live twerking for the first time. Probably because there were so many families with kids on board, there was not as much wild behavior.

 

Cons –

 

It was CROWDED! This is probably more of an observation than a con. We had assumed that since it was a 4 day Christmas cruise it would be crowded and there would be a lot of children and man were we right. We typically cruise while school is in session. This cruise definitely had way more children on it than we were used to. All of the pools and hot tubs were full of kids and teenagers. We didn’t encounter any mean or unruly kids doing anything other than what you would expect of children. However there did seem to be a lot of kids middle school age and younger that appeared to be roaming around unsupervised. It just made me worry about them. One night we watched Jurassic World on the lido screen and a young man about 11 came and set down by us. He was a nice, friendly kid. But for the entire movie no adult came to check on him.

 

There was one incident on the last night of the cruise that was somewhat disturbing. There was a family with several cabins next to ours and down the hall and they got into a screaming fight that apparently went on for quite some time until eventually security came and got them quieted down. We never heard or saw them again.

 

Ship Design and Layout

 

Pros -

 

Jogging Track – The jogging track has a dedicated area that keeps users out of the way of the other passengers, and keeps passengers out of the joggers’ way. This track is definitely better than the track on the Navigator which forces users to dodge other passengers. However, I think their measurements are off. They say 11 laps = 1 mile. A mile is actually about 1609 meters or 1760 yards. So I think ten laps would actually be closer to a mile.

 

Whale Tail Deck – This is a nice, quiet deck for sunbathing and reading. Not too many people came up here. This is where I spent most of the sea days.

 

Dining Room Tables – I will get to food and service later, but the table placement in the London dining room at least seemed to be good. It seemed that tables for two had enough separation between them so that those diners would actually seem to be dining alone. On the Navigator, there may only be a few inches separating tables so you never really feel like you are dining alone.

 

Cons –

 

Layout of the lido deck leading into the buffet and the general buffet layout – Starting at Guy’s Burgers and the Iguana Grill on each side of the ship and leading back to the buffet, the area is too crowded with too many bottlenecks caused by drink stations, deli, etc. The buffet area is crowded and difficult to get around. Navigator’s buffet area has a much better flow and layout to it.

 

Floor surfaces – The surface of the floor of the buffet area and of the lido deck are very slippery, especially when wet. One morning at breakfast we saw three people slip and fall in the buffet area and later that day we saw someone slip and fall out on the deck. None of the people were running or seemed to be behaving recklessly. The flooring is just that slippery. An employee in the buffet area told us that the floor stays slippery in that area due to condensation from humidity. The ship sails from Galveston to Mexico. If humidity is causing the problem, they need to look into different flooring. We did at times see small blowers set around the floor I guess to help keep it dry. But those could cause their own tripping hazards.

 

Other issues – There were several sloppy looking areas around the ship. On the whale tail deck, the wooden portion of the rail did not meet at the corners. The wood pieces were not long enough, and they weren’t cut at the correct angles. They had wrapped the corners where the pieces should have met in masking tape. We couldn’t figure out what that was supposed to accomplish. There was a piece of trim that had been replaced in one of the hallways that was covered in masking tape for two days. When the tape was removed we saw why. It looked like a piece of metal trim that didn’t match the rest had been installed, which cause the sharp edge of the metal to stick out. The tape was covering that. After it was removed, if anyone had bumped into it, it would have probably cut their leg. For the last two days of the cruise there was one spot in the hallway leading from the lido forward elevators to the outside where beach towels were being used to soak up some sort of liquid coming from behind an employee’s only door. Once when I walked by, the door was open and some guys were in there working on some piping. I don’t know what was flowing through those pipes or out the bottom of the door into the hallway.

 

Comparison to RCCL Navigator – Except for the location of the jogging track and spacing of the dining tables we prefer the Navigator in all other areas. The Navigator is a bigger ship and for the most part that space is better used with better flow in the buffet area and on the promenade deck, more sunning deck areas and a nice large adult only area. The pool area is larger, with two side by side pools. We didn’t see any visible masking tape repairs on the Navigator.

Bar Service/Deck Waiters/Dining Room Service

 

Pros –

 

Deck waiters – There seemed to be plenty of waiters on the lido and sun decks. Our favorite waiter was Mosley. When he walked under the whale tail deck he would look up to see if I needed him and would come up there if I indicated. (We tipped extra to compensate him for his trouble.)

 

Cons –

 

Iguana Bar bartenders – I ordered an Iguana Bar signature drink – the Iguana Classic – which is supposed to be made with Cazadores Reposado tequila. The bartender went to the other end of the bar to make the drink and he used the El Jimador Blanco tequila. When he came back with the drink I said wasn’t this drink supposed to be made with Cazadores? He kind of hemmed and hawed and offered to remake the drink but I told him to forget it, just use the right tequila the next time. So the next day I go back to the bar, but I go to the end where the margarita was made the day before, so if they start to use the wrong tequila I can stop them without shouting or jumping up and running down there. There is a different bartender today. I place my order, even pointing to the drink on the menu. He marches to the other end of the bar to make my drink where he proceeds to use Milagro Silver. WTH! He brings the drink over and I ask him why he used the wrong tequila. He looks like a deer in the headlights and says, oh he used a better tequila. Uh no! It’s not like Cazadores is an awesome top shelf tequila but it is better than El Jimador and definitely better than Milagro. It’s what I wanted and it’s what the description on their own menu said it was made with. It’s the only drink on the menu that is made with that particular tequila. This guy added a floater of Cazadores to the drink in an attempt to make it right. So, either the bartenders are either very poorly trained and don’t know the ingredients to that bar’s own signature drinks. Or, and I suspect this may be the case, they are trained very well to use the lesser tequilas and to go to the opposite end of the bar to make the drink in the hopes the customer doesn’t notice. Customers ordering from waiters may never get what they think they are ordering. The experience left a bad taste in my mouth and I didn’t have very many drinks after that and nothing from that bar.

 

Dining Room Service – We went to the dining room the first night, which was Christmas Eve and the next night which was Christmas Day and Elegant Night. Our party of six all had Your Time Dining and both nights we arrived between 5:45 and 6pm. The first night we waited less than five minutes for our table. I would not say service was excellent, but it was acceptable. The next night we probably waited 10-15 minutes for our table. We were seated at the same table with the same wait staff. On this night service was awful. We had set there a while before we were offered bread or water. We were never offered additional bread and weren’t offered water for more than two hours. The entire meal took about three hours, most of that time sitting with nothing in front of us. Two of our party had to leave to attend something they had signed up for in the casino before their entrees even arrived. They should have had plenty of time to have dinner, if the dining room had been operating on a decent schedule. The table of 7 next to us were seated before us and were still not finished when we left. They didn’t look happy either. The waiter was very apologetic but couldn’t explain what the holdup was. The maître de apologized and said he would be sending something to our staterooms to make up for it, but we never received anything. There is really no excuse for dinner taking that long. I understand it was a crowded cruise, Christmas, elegant night and all that. But this is what they do. They knew how many people were going to be on board. They serve dinner in the dining room every Christmas. It was really inexcusable, especially considering the quality of the food we did get. We did not go back to the dining room after this experience.

 

Comparison to RCCL Navigator – The Triumph did seem to have more waiters on deck who came by more often than those on the Navigator. However, the Navigator bar staff at the bar on deck 12 was AWESOME and made great drinks. Service in the dining room on the Navigator was also much better than in the Triumph dining room.

 

Food

 

So food is subjective. I read trip reports where people just rave about the food and I wonder where those chefs were on my trips. I haven’t been on a ship yet where I thought the food was just wonderful, and it has gotten progressively worse since we first started cruising in 2005. Unfortunately, food on this cruise was the worst yet. We all thought it was generally awful. In the interest of full disclosure, our family are generally all good cooks. And we live in areas where we have access to wonderful restaurants serving all different kinds of food. If the ships could just prepare food as good as Luby’s cafeteria, we would be thrilled. But they don’t even reach the level of Golden Corral and that’s bad, and I’m referring to all ships.

 

Pros –

 

Guy’s Burgers – Our entire party agreed that this was the best thing offered on the ship. Some of the guys had one or more burger every day. Mind you, the burgers aren’t the best. They aren’t as good as Fuddrucker’s. They are just better than anything else on the ship. They are also better than the Johnny Rocket’s on the Navigator, and you pay for those burgers.

 

Warm Chocolate Melting Cake – Still the best dessert we’ve had on all the ships we’ve sailed on.

 

Chicken Tenders – The chicken tenders on the buffet on day 1 were pretty good, but we never saw them again. Mind you, they were just run of the mill chicken tenders. But they were better than most anything else.

 

Cons –

 

Almost everything else. I paid $20 dollars in the dining room one night for a surf and turf and while it was edible and better than anything anyone else got that night, it was still pretty sad. One of the worst things we had was the “oysters Rockefeller”. There were no oysters! Just some congealed cheese like substance and breadcrumbs in an oyster shell. I understand that they are cooking for masses, but everything is just SO bland. I’ve had better hospital food. If you want real eggs for breakfast you have to stand in line at one of the omelet stations, or at the Iguana Grill. The fake eggs are not even like egg beaters, they are something weird.

 

No pay restaurants. We would have gladly paid an additional fee for better food.

 

Comparison to RCCL Navigator – The dining room food is marginally better on the Navigator and the buffet food is much better on the Navigator, but that is still not saying much. Desserts in the dining room are better on the Triumph, as are burgers. There are several pay options on the Navigator and the Triumph doesn’t have anything comparable. The pay options we’ve tried were all good to very good.

 

Entertainment

 

Pros –

 

“Live Guitar James with Jesse Alan” – Jesse is a young man from Oklahoma. He plays a lot of Texas alternative country type of music, Jimmy Buffet, that sort of music. We enjoyed him very much. He played in the lobby sometimes and also on lido sometimes.

 

“Variety Music with Jerry” – Jerry is a middle-aged Asian gentleman with a very deep voice. He plays a lot of old classic country music. A lot of his music was too tears-in-your-beers depressing for me, but he is a very good guitar player.

 

“Party Music with Music Power” – This is the cover band that plays on deck 5 outside of the Casino Bar. They were pretty good.

 

Cons –

 

No Caribbean band on the lido deck during sea days.

 

Other thoughts –

 

We didn’t see any shows. “The Big Easy” was the big show. We saw it the last time we were on the Triumph and didn’t think much of it then. The Love & Marriage Show was funny, like every other Love & Marriage Show. We went to karaoke one night but only a few people were participating. We like to go to bed fairly early and get up early, so we didn’t see any of the comedy shows. We watched “Jurassic World” at the Dive-In Movie one night, and part of Furious 7 another night. The cruise director and his assistant were pretty much non-factors during the cruise.

 

Comparison to RCCL Navigator – Of course there were more production type shows on the Navigator because it was a longer cruise, and those shows were good. We enjoyed Jesse Alan a great deal on the Triumph and we enjoyed Bubba Feathers on the Navigator. The cruise director and assistant CD were much more involved and entertaining on the Navigator. Overall I’m going to say entertainment was better on the Navigator, but not by a lot.

 

Activities

 

Activities is where the Triumph really suffers in comparison to the Navigator. I could overlook the food and the masking tape repairs if there were more onboard activities that don’t cost extra. A jewelry sale is not an activity. Spa presentations are not activities. Art auctions should not be considered an activity. So many of the “activities” listed in the daily Fun Times are either sales presentations or have extra fees. Bingo is a rip off. The chances of winning the big jackpot they promote all week are less than 1 in 8000, we looked it up. All of the fitness classes have extra charges attached. The Navigator has fitness classes that do not cost extra and they have more options that do have a fee attached. There are more on-deck activities on the Navigator to keep everyone involved and entertained, such as line dancing lessons, belly flop contests, etc. And because the Navigator is larger of course there are activities that aren’t available on the Triumph such as the FlowRider, Rock Wall, Ice Skating, etc. Those activities are fun to watch even if you aren’t participating.

 

Cozumel

 

This was so annoying. Everyone was sent to the forward elevator/staircase to go down and disembark, so that was a crowded mess. They had two gangplanks and on each one they had the photographers trying to stop everyone to get a photo on the gangplank, which holds up the entire line. They could set those photo stands up 10 feet from the end of the gangplank and let those who want stop without holding up the rest of us. So annoying!

 

When we were finally off the ship we went straight to the taxi stand and got a taxi van to Chankannab Park. For six people the taxi ride was $24 each way. Park entry is $21 for adults but I had coupons from their website for $2 off each. We made sure we had exact change so we didn’t get change back in pesos. We all had our own snorkel equipment so we didn’t have to rent it. (Rented snorkel equipment – yuck!) I think there were six ships in Cozumel that day – ours, one Holland America, two RCCL and two Disney. In addition to all of those passengers, I think that all of the resorts on the island were probably full too because of the holiday. We’ve been to Chankannab several times and this was by far the most crowded we have seen it. We still beat most of the crowds and were able to get good a spot to set up base for the day. We even had the same waiter we had in August. We’ve had better snorkeling there, but it was still good. Snorkeling is easy there. There are lots of easy places to enter and get out. There was no currents or swells to deal with. We had a good time. We snorkeled for a while and then had lunch. Then we all wanted to zip line but all the times were booked up for the rest of the day. So some of us opted to snorkel some more and some had massages.

 

When we got back to the port area we did a little shopping at the shops outside the port and a little more inside the port area before heading back to the ship. We like our port days and try to make the most of them. We are always back on board on time, but we don’t come back too early. I think this was the longest we’ve ever stood in line to get back on board. It just seemed that they were ill prepared to handle the crowd this week.

 

WiFi

 

Carnival now offers 3 different wifi options. I purchased the mid-level plan. It was $16/day or $35 for the cruise. None of the 3 plans will guarantee that iMessenger will work. We were told by GS that is usually works, but it is not guaranteed. It never worked for me. I was able to use iMessenger with RCCL’s wifi, but I paid a lot more for it. Facebook Messenger works on all the Carnival plans. People were also able to communicate with people back home through WhatsApp and Snapchat.

 

Debarkation

 

So things got interesting on Monday morning. We were all FTTF and had chosen self-assist debarkation. We were told to meet in the London Dining Room, deck 3 forward at 8:15am. I’m assuming that suites and other priorities were in the other dining room. We went down about 8am and there were already a lot of people in the dining room. There were signs stating the waiting area was for FTTF, and a staff member was asking people if they were FTTF when you went in, but she wasn’t checking anyone’s Sign and Sail card, so really anyone could have been going in there. The room filled up pretty quickly. We estimated there were at least 200 people if not more in there. I don’t know how many FTTF choice to check their luggage. Their debarkation was scheduled to start at 9am. But it seems like a lot of FTTF people.

 

So we are in the dining room waiting to dock and the ship is headed up the channel towards the dock and we notice that we are stopped. We set there for a bit and they announce that it is too windy to safely dock right now, and since the safety of the passengers is their number one priority, they are going to set there until it is safe to dock. My sister and I left the dining room and went up to deck 5 so she could grab smoke in the casino. We asked the person monitoring the door if there was an ETA on when we might be able to dock, but she couldn’t tell us. On deck 5 we found a window where we could see that the Disney ship that had come in right before us had safely docked.

 

I posted on CC at that time that for those sailing that day, boarding was probably going to be delayed. We went back to the dining room and heard chatter on the staff’s radios about a “line”. We didn’t know what they were talking about. The next thing we notice is the ship moving backwards.

 

I got online on my iPad and went to the Galveston Cruise Cam website. There is a very dedicated group over there that keep track of the ships coming and going on their discussion board. According to comments and pictures on that discussion board, due to the wind the ship had gotten away from either the pilot or the captain and had come very close to hitting the dock there by the Ocean Star museum. They had to drop the anchors to stop the ship before it hit. There was a photo someone had posted that showed the port side anchor hitting the water and the ship was very close to the dock. As my son said, we were close to doing a Speed 2. There is also a picture on that discussion board showing the ships track, how it had to back up, etc., once tugs got there to help.

 

No one on board knew any of this was happening or how close the ship had come to hitting the dock.

 

In the meantime, someone on GCC board had copied my post from CC stating that we hadn’t yet docked and boarding would probably be late and pasted the post on that board. A lot of the GCC posters seemed to be personally insulted by my post. I was called whiney. Actually someone said there are a lot of whiney CC members. It was implied that I was ungrateful for the skill of the captain and crew who saved us all from a potentially horrible accident caused by the wind, something out of their control. So in their minds I was ungrateful for being saved by the wonderful captain, when in actuality at the time of my post I didn’t even know that there had been a near miss incident.

 

I have some background in incident investigation and cause mapping. There are very few incidents, even weather related “act of God” type incidents, that can’t be if not avoided, at least mitigated somewhat by proper preparation, training and action. Or that can’t be made worse by lack of same and by bad decisions. I’m not ready to hail the captain a hero quite so fast. While I am glad that a potentially terrible incident was avoided, I do wonder what happened that allowed such a near miss to begin with. The ship has been sailing from this port for several years. It seems like there would be guidelines in place to avoid this type of thing, such as if the wind is XX mph or greater, ship’s arrival and docking will be tug assisted, or ship will wait outside channel until winds subside. Something along those lines. I would love to see the incident investigation (that I’m assuming was performed) and find out what the lessons learned were. Anyway, I suppose all’s well that ends well.

 

Once the ship finally docked, we were released from the dining room pretty quickly. We were through customs about 10:30am. We live about 75 minutes from the port. On our last two Navigator cruises we did self-assist debarkation and were home before 10:30am. And if not for the near miss and delay, we probably would have been this trip also.

 

Final Thoughts

So, I just went back and read my review from our January 2014 Triumph cruise. I should have read that before I booked this one. Apparently cruising the Triumph is like childbirth, you forget the pain as time goes by. We had many of the same issues and opinions on the last cruise. So if nothing else we know that in two years things haven’t improved. Also, after the last cruise DH and I were issued $50 credit each towards another Carnival cruise taken within two years. The credit was issued as compensation for birthday gifts that were ordered by our friends to be delivered on board and never were. If I’d read my last review I would have at least gotten that credit! How blonde.

 

As I said initially, we did have fun on the trip. We had some good family bonding time. We enjoyed Cozumel. There was just nothing about the ship that increased our enjoyment or made our time together better. I think that now that we’ve been on a larger ship, that is what we are going to prefer from now on, for multiple reasons. For those of you who love the Triumph, cheers! I wish you many fun voyages on her.

 

I have three of the FunTimes, all the info on the WiFi programs and the debarkation information. If anyone has any questions, I’ll do my best to answer.

[Jana60]

Thanks for giving a balanced review. As I posted at your other thread the triumph at least on my past eight cruises on her has still been my favorite cruise ship even including the navigator of the Seas although I'll admit that our ports of call on the navigator were better than all the cruises I've ever been on before or since. I sailed to Crete, Athens, Ephesus turkey, and Rome on the navigator in 2009. The thing I like about the triumph is the friendliness of the crew which has not been equalled on any other cruise I've been on. Also I'm very fond of karaoke and the live show band and they have a very good one on the triumph unless they've changed it. Is Dan Zager still the band leader of the show band? They used to also have a really good piano bar guy called Russell but it appears he is no longer on the triumph. I've never been on a cruise that was 100% problem free and my cruises on triumph were no exception but overall I've greatly enjoyed all of my cruises on triumph. I do wish they would get some modern TVs and refrigerators for the cabins. I'm glad to hear they have the new Wi-Fi packages on triumph since these are much more affordable if you like to spend a lot of time online! Have they changed to the new American Table menu yet?

Edited December 31, 2015 by Jana60

[meatloafsfan]

Interesting comparison.

 

I did the first 4 night cruise on the Navigator out of Fort Lauderdale in November 2015 and found that cruise to be probably our most disappointing cruise. Hard beds, little to no daytime activities, lackluster food and uncaring staff.

 

I guess it just goes to show that different strokes for different folks.

[kwbound]

Thanks for giving a balanced review. As I posted at your other thread the triumph at least on my past eight cruises on her has still been my favorite cruise ship even including the navigator of the Seas although I'll admit that our ports of call on the navigator were better than all the cruises I've ever been on before or since. I sailed to Crete, Athens, Ephesus turkey, and Rome on the navigator in 2009. The thing I like about the triumph is the friendliness of the crew which has not been equalled on any other cruise I've been on. Also I'm very fond of karaoke and the live show band and they have a very good one on the triumph unless they've changed it. Is Dan Zager still the band leader of the show band? They used to also have a really good piano bar guy called Russell but it appears he is no longer on the triumph. I've never been on a cruise that was 100% problem free and my cruises on triumph were no exception but overall I've greatly enjoyed all of my cruises on triumph. I do wish they would get some modern TVs and refrigerators for the cabins. I'm glad to hear they have the new Wi-Fi packages on triumph since these are much more affordable if you like to spend a lot of time online! Have they changed to the new American Table menu yet?

 

We didn't see a performance that included the show band, and I don't see the band leader's name listed in the Fun Times. The piano bar entertainer's name is Greg. We didn't see him either.

[kwbound]

One thing I forgot to mention that might be of interest to smokers is the smoking area on Deck 10 Starboard side. It is a very nice, large area with lounge chairs, multiple seating arrangements, umbrellas. It is located behind the glass wind breaks on that deck. I'm not a smoker, but if I were, it would be a nice area to set out, have a smoke and watch the water go by. There's actually not a comparable area for non-smokers on the ship.

 

Smoking was also allowed somewhere on deck 3 and in two of the clubs and of course the casino on deck 5.

[kwbound]

Interesting comparison.

 

I did the first 4 night cruise on the Navigator out of Fort Lauderdale in November 2015 and found that cruise to be probably our most disappointing cruise. Hard beds, little to no daytime activities, lackluster food and uncaring staff.

 

I guess it just goes to show that different strokes for different folks.

 

You've been on quite a few ships and several different lines. I'd be interested to know overall in what order would you rate the cruise lines you've sailed on starting with your favorite?

[Sweet Dutch Girl]

Interesting review with lots of subjective thoughts...and I probably know more about the reviewer than I do about the ship.

 

I always find it kind of sad when someone "harps" on personal "cons" that will probably never impact anyone reading the review. Example: instead of making assumptions and "blasting" the help a simple "be diligent when ordering a specific drink since the staff didn't always pour the alcohol brand listed" would be all someone reading the review needs to know. The rest just sounds petty and self-centered.

 

And on a personal note and a pet peeve....writing in a bigger font does not a more important review make nor does it give it more gravitas.

[meatloafsfan]

You've been on quite a few ships and several different lines. I'd be interested to know overall in what order would you rate the cruise lines you've sailed on starting with your favorite?

 

It really depends on the trip.

 

I like Disney when I don't want a casino and am in the mood for family/kids/activities.

 

I like Celebrity for a quiet time and for Bermuda it's great - 3 full days in Bermuda, a nice smallish ship and Café Al Bacio is wonderful.

 

I like Royal for an inexpensive getaway - they have an accessible interior cabin for 3 that is perfect for us and if I can get a week on a cruise for less than $2000 for the 3 of us, I'm good to choose Royal. I liked that the Explorer had the freestyle coke machines (Nav didn't have them and I don't think I'd sail a Royal ship that didn't have them again).

 

I like Carnival for the overall experience. I like the Funship 2.0 additions, I like their casino placement, I like their MDR food, I really like their beds and bedding (and pillows). It makes for a very relaxing time where I can sleep well, eat well, gamble a lot and enjoy trivia.

 

I don't like Carnival's placement of accessible cabins or that you can't select accessible cabins on their website. This is what stops me from booking them more. Celebrity, Royal and Disney all have a box to check for that you see accessible cabins - and only accessible cabins - if that's what you need (and my mother who travels with me needs). I can search around and find deals on Celebrity or Royal much easier than on Carnival. When I'm booking far out or am looking for a "big" vacation or "long" vacation, then I look to Carnival and call them and have had good luck at getting an accessible cabin.

 

So for me, all things being equal (though as I mention above, it rarely is) it's:

 

Carnival

Disney/Celebrity (depending on the where/when/from where choices)

Royal

 

I want to try Princess still and I would consider HAL as well but again, finding accessible cabins for 3 on those lines are a struggle. NCL always comes up as another "option" but I'm not too keen on the freestyle concept.

[kwbound]

Interesting review with lots of subjective thoughts...and I probably know more about the reviewer than I do about the ship.

 

I always find it kind of sad when someone "harps" on personal "cons" that will probably never impact anyone reading the review. Example: instead of making assumptions and "blasting" the help a simple "be diligent when ordering a specific drink since the staff didn't always pour the alcohol brand listed" would be all someone reading the review needs to know. The rest just sounds petty and self-centered.

 

And on a personal note and a pet peeve....writing in a bigger font does not a more important review make nor does it give it more gravitas.

 

"Sweet" - I'm sorry my review made you sad. I do find it interesting that you find fault with how I reviewed our actual cruise experience, but you have no problem calling me, someone you've never met or had any personal interaction with, names.

 

As for the font, that was done solely to make it easier for me to read while I was reviewing it. Sorry also if my poor eyesight caused you additional aggravation.

 

Have fun on your future cruises.

[wantocruisemore]

Thank you for your very balanced review. We too have been on Triumph and Navigator of the Seas. However both were before the drydock enhancements. We liked the Navigator slightly better, although with the 2.0 enhancements on Triumph, it would equalize things. One thing I do love about Navigator is the huge aft balconies.

Both ships are great, you have to remember there is a size difference.

 

I would not hesitate to go on either and it would likely come down to itinerary and price.

[kwbound]

Thank you for your very balanced review. We too have been on Triumph and Navigator of the Seas. However both were before the drydock enhancements. We liked the Navigator slightly better, although with the 2.0 enhancements on Triumph, it would equalize things. One thing I do love about Navigator is the huge aft balconies.

Both ships are great, you have to remember there is a size difference.

 

I would not hesitate to go on either and it would likely come down to itinerary and price.

 

 

On our first Navigator cruise we were able to snag one of the corner aft balconies two weeks before the cruise. Someone had to cancel and we snapped it up. By far the best balcony we've ever had. There were two loungers out there so I was able to sun and read and nap on the balcony. It was so relaxing and peaceful. On our second trip we were able to get one of the newly added balcony cabins on deck 12. It was the first cabin inside the door to the hallway from the sun deck on that level. The jogging track was right outside our door, and our favorite bar was steps away. There were always plenty of available loungers on the deck within feet of the cabin, so it was like having a huge balcony. That was by far our favorite cabin of any we've had, including suites on NCL and Carnival.

 

This cruise was chosen based on the 4-day itinerary and the price, and the fact we were sailing with others. We prefer to sail out of Galveston to save the price of airfare. I do wish they could come up with some new itineraries from that port. And I definitely do think we will stick with the larger ships.

[PokerBradOKC]

Interesting review with lots of subjective thoughts...and I probably know more about the reviewer than I do about the ship.

 

I always find it kind of sad when someone "harps" on personal "cons" that will probably never impact anyone reading the review. Example: instead of making assumptions and "blasting" the help a simple "be diligent when ordering a specific drink since the staff didn't always pour the alcohol brand listed" would be all someone reading the review needs to know. The rest just sounds petty and self-centered.

 

And on a personal note and a pet peeve....writing in a bigger font does not a more important review make nor does it give it more gravitas.

 

Aren't all reviews subjective?

 

While I may not agree with everything she wrote or her perspective and tastes about the Triumph, I found her review to be an honest one without too much "harping" and "blasting" and pettiness.

 

I found your response to her review more sad and petty and self-centered and self-righteous.

Edited December 31, 2015 by PokerBradOKC

[kwbound]

Aren't all reviews subjective?

 

While I may not agree with everything she wrote or her perspective and tastes about the Triumph, I found her review to be an honest one without too much "harping" and "blasting" and pettiness.

 

I found your response to her review more sad and petty and self-centered and self-righteous.

 

Thank you PokerBrad. Hope you enjoy your upcoming cruise and have a wonderful new year!

[PokerBradOKC]

Thank you PokerBrad. Hope you enjoy your upcoming cruise and have a wonderful new year!

 

I was actually watching the Galveston Cruise Cam live when the Triumph was coming in that morning and was literally on pins and needles as she got too close to the pier and dropped both anchors. I kept praying that she would recover in time or my cruise in 11 days would be done for!

[bluemarie2]

Thanks for taking the time to do a detailed review. I'll be on the Triumph the end of January, so the info about the bartenders at BlueIguana is indeed helpful.

[kwbound]

Thanks for taking the time to do a detailed review. I'll be on the Triumph the end of January, so the info about the bartenders at BlueIguana is indeed helpful.

 

You're welcome. It'll be interesting to see what your experiences at the Blue Iguana are.

 

Another bar related item I forgot to mention....previously you could insure generous pours in your drinks by tipping the bartenders a little extra. Now they are charging $3 for an extra shot. And that is really being pushed by the bartenders and bar waiters. Seems like a lot, but I guess it is cheaper than two drinks. We just ordered the regular drinks.

 

Have fun!

[KiwiFunCruiser]

Thank's for sharing your cruise experience.

[kwbound]

Thank's for sharing your cruise experience.

 

You're welcome.

[crzndeb]

It's so interesting about IMessenger...I got the value plan for my b2b on the Triumph Journey cruises n Oct/Nov, and it worked all the time. I have read it hasn't worked for others also.

 

My fave spot was the Alchemy Bar, and I miss Tijana. She was a great mixologist.

[kwbound]

It's so interesting about IMessenger...I got the value plan for my b2b on the Triumph Journey cruises n Oct/Nov, and it worked all the time. I have read it hasn't worked for others also.

 

My fave spot was the Alchemy Bar, and I miss Tijana. She was a great mixologist.

 

I've also read that it worked for some and not others. We have an AT&T plan. Idk if it has something to do with that or not.

[crzndeb]

I've also read that it worked for some and not others. We have an AT&T plan. Idk if it has something to do with that or not.

 

I have a wifi only IPad and it always worked. I know it says to put device in airplane mode, so maybe if that wasn't done, it somehow conflicts with the ship wifi if on a plan. But of course, I have no clue. LOL

Edited December 31, 2015 by crzndeb

[exarkkun]

Husband and I are booked on our second Carnival Cruise for our 5 years this October, and it would be our 3rd cruise overall. I'm glad I read your review as you did have a lot of good points (I'll only order cheap drinks so I won't lose so much if the wrong liquor is used). Our only other ship on Carnival has been the Fascination; and on Royal we've done the Vision and Triumph is to be our first "big ship". I'm a little nervous now that we'll have a less-than-stellar time. Then again, the Fascination has so little to offer in the way of amenities I wonder if I can make a fair comparison between the two.....

[kwbound]

Husband and I are booked on our second Carnival Cruise for our 5 years this October, and it would be our 3rd cruise overall. I'm glad I read your review as you did have a lot of good points (I'll only order cheap drinks so I won't lose so much if the wrong liquor is used). Our only other ship on Carnival has been the Fascination; and on Royal we've done the Vision and Triumph is to be our first "big ship". I'm a little nervous now that we'll have a less-than-stellar time. Then again, the Fascination has so little to offer in the way of amenities I wonder if I can make a fair comparison between the two.....

 

We've cruised the Ecstasy 3 times and enjoyed all of those cruises more than the either of our Triumph cruises. Although the last cruise on the Ecstasy was 5 years ago, so things could have gone downhill on that ship too. The Ecstasy does at least have a Serenity adults only area. I think the Ecstasy and Fascination are the same size. The Ecstasy does have some balconies that were added before our last sailing and idk if Fascination does. Honestly, even though Triumph is bigger, it actually feels smaller because of the poor layout and flow issues.

 

Is it easier to get to Galveston from where you are in TN than to Miami or Fort Lauderdale? To a large degree your cruise will be what you make it, especially if you are well informed going in. I only traveled 75 minutes each way to the port. If I had traveled all the way from TN for the cruise I just took, I would be even more disappointed. I'm not trying to be a Debbie Downer or throw a wet blanket on your plans and you could very well have a wonderful time. I'm just saying what I would say to anyone I knew personally. We do like to cruise in October. The ship should be much less crowded then than it just was on our Christmas trip, and that will likely lead to service being somewhat better. Good luck! I hope you have a wonderful time.

[isaiahsnana]

Husband and I are booked on our second Carnival Cruise for our 5 years this October, and it would be our 3rd cruise overall. I'm glad I read your review as you did have a lot of good points (I'll only order cheap drinks so I won't lose so much if the wrong liquor is used). Our only other ship on Carnival has been the Fascination; and on Royal we've done the Vision and Triumph is to be our first "big ship". I'm a little nervous now that we'll have a less-than-stellar time. Then again, the Fascination has so little to offer in the way of amenities I wonder if I can make a fair comparison between the two.....

 

I don't think you will have a less-than-stellar time unless that is what you set out to do. I was on the Triumph last April and have it booked again in March and had a fantastic time - loved the ship and the staff, expect to have the same this time with 10 friends and family. I have sailed Norwegian twice (never again) and on the Magic twice - fantastic times on both. It is what you make it - find the good food places and enjoy them.

[exarkkun]

I think we need to take the Ecstasy out of play for the moment, at least until the poor crew member killed on it Christmas Day is laid to rest. :( *moment of silence*

 

Eh, I couldn't really say. Have never made it out Texas way. I go to Florida quite a bit so it's just a straight shot down I-75, and I-95 as needed. That being said, it is 14 VERY long hours from my place to Ft. Lauderdale. :mad: And that gets old, fast. NOLA won't be too bad, it's roughly 7 1/2 hours and there is nothing on that drive through AL (once you get past Birmingham), MS, and LA. We'll make the drive overnight to go even faster.

 

We're going to go into it with excitement and anticipation but with many grains of salt. At the end of the day it's still vacation and not work. And if the boat breaks down, Carnival will get us back to shore with a hefty amount of OBC for next time. :D

Edited January 1, 2016 by exarkkun