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Carnival Paradise 5 Day Jan 2016 w/ Fun Times

jenb1847

By jenb1847,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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jenb1847

jenb1847

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We recently returned from our 5-day Carnival Paradise cruise out of Tampa that sailed Jan 4-9. Our two ports of call were Grand Cayman and Cozumel. This was my second time sailing, and my husband’s third. We traveled with 2 other couples, one of them being their first time cruising. We’re all from Michigan, so January was the perfect time to get away. We loved it!

Fun Times posted in Comments.

 

I thought the ship was in pretty great shape being an older one. Everything was clean and the décor was very nice. There are 12 decks on the ship, and we found it pretty easy to navigate. We stayed on deck 6, room U145. We were mid-ship, so the elevators were about equal distance. I recommend checking out the deck plans before you board to have an idea of where you’re going.

 

Our room worked perfectly for us. It was good sized, and there was enough storage for everything we brought. The closet had hangers and shelving, and there was another area with hangers. There was a desk with 4 medium/small drawers that I put some clothes, shoes, jewelry, suntan lotion… random things. My husband picked the bed up and I pushed our one big suitcase underneath to have it out of the way. There was a chair in the corner with our 2 beach towels on it. Those were really nice, and we were able to take them off of the ship on our port days. You can check out additional ones at the pool deck, but we didn’t need any. If your towel gets wet, the room attendant will replace them with a clean, dry one. The bathroom was good sized. Nice shower that had shampoo and body wash in it. Some water dripped outside of the shower, but it wasn’t a big deal. Just put a towel down. The cabinet above the sink was big enough for most of our toiletry items. I set my makeup bag on the sink which made it a little tight, but it worked just fine. Our room attendant was Ysabel was fantastic and super nice. We had automatic tips set up, but gave her some extra. She filled our ice bucket both morning and evening for us, and the room was cleaned so well. Loved the animal towels!

 

Day 1- Embarkation went very quickly. Our terminal spot got switched, and there was a guy there telling us where to go. There were plenty of workers directing us, and it went very smoothly with almost no lines. We arrived at about 11:40 and were on the boat at 12:00, did not have Faster to the Fun. You have to go through security, pretty much like the airport. You go to a desk to get your Sign and Sail Card, have your picture taken for security, then you’re on your way! We had carried on some cans of pop (can’t put these in your checked luggage), so we went straight to the room to see if we could drop them off. Ysabel was there and said the rooms weren’t ready, but she let us leave our things there. We headed up to the Lido Deck to the Paris Restaurant to get some lunch. The food here was pretty good. They had a large selection with a grill and Mongolian area by the pool. The salad bar was great, and they have a sandwich area where you can order whatever you want. Pizza was great too! We always enjoyed eating outside the back of the restaurant. If it was full, we would go outside to the side of the ship, but it was usually pretty windy there. Still a great view! We went and did the spa tour at 1, which was pretty cool. We got a raffle ticket and had to pop back in at 5:00 for that. I didn’t end up going to the spa at all, but my friend in our group went and really enjoyed it. The safety briefing was at 3:15. Fairly boring… but obviously necessary. Soon after that was done, we set sail. The decks are pretty crowded for this, but we found a spot on the railing. We really wanted to be up there while we went under the Skyway Bridge, but our dinner was at 6:00. We did jump up and get near a window when we went under (about 6:20) and got a pretty good view. Food in the dining room was so good! We ate in the Destiny restaurant and had Marvin, Nick, and Jorge as our waitstaff. They were so friendly and attentive. They learned our names the first night, and we had many laughs with them. You can order as much as you want… so if 2 things sound good, order them! I highly recommend the chocolate melting cake… amazing! Went to the Welcome Aboard show at 10 in the Normandie which was pretty good. The Cruise Director, Steve was pretty goofy, but he did a good job. The singers/dancers came out and did a few songs. After this, we went to the comedy club. It was completely packed by the time we got there and we were standing in the back. There were about 3 F-bombs in the first minute, so we headed out. Not really our thing. We walked around the ship some more and headed to bed. Beds were quite comfortable by the way! Even with the 2 being pushed together- couldn’t really tell.

 

Day 2- This was our first full day at sea. We went to the Sea-Day brunch which is only in the Elation Dining Room. Highly recommend this! They’re open 8:30-1 and have a great selection. I got the French toast which was great, and my husband got the steak and eggs. The steak was fillet mingon which was wonderful! We went to the Shopping show after breakfast. The guys were all pretty bored… but it was ok. Nice to learn some things before going on-shore if you plan to shop at all. We did purchas the $25 coupon book which had a few free things in it, including a small diamond heart necklace, Del-Sol color-changing tote, wallet protector case, and some Carribean Spices from Cariloha. I’d say it was worth it if you have time to get to the shops. The necklace and tote are pretty nice. They also announced the diamond and gem seminar that was at 4 (we ended up going), where they gave away a coupon for free Tanzanite studs. Small, but I really like them! After our 6:00 dinner, we headed to the Normandie for the Epic Rock show. This was pretty good! Right after, we went to the family-show at the comedy club which was pretty funny. Went to bed fairly early, since we had to get up early the next morning.

 

Day 3-Grand Cayman! Since we went to the shopping show and had to do a little shopping, we got on Tender #4. I don’t think it made much of a difference, because Group 7 was on the same boat as us. We got to the area we needed to be at 7, and waited. We got to breakfast at about 6:30, which was just ok. Eggs were nasty… not sure what was in them! Everything else was ok. The port was delayed with whatever they had to do, so they were late starting to tender. I think it was about 8:30 once we got on the tender boat. We booked an excursion with Captain Marvin’s which left at 8:30, so we missed it. They knew our boat was late, so they switched us to the next tour with no problem. We had about 30 minutes, so I ran to Diamond’s International to get my free stuff, and 2 other places. The excursion was great! We went to StingRay City then had 2 snorkel stops after. The Sting Rays were pretty cool… can be quite startling at first when one swims up against your leg! Some girls were pretty freaked out and got back on the boat. :) After about 45 minutes there, we went to 2 different snorkeling stops which were great! Lots of fish, sting-rays and coral to look at. When we got back, we walked around a bit then got back on a tender boat since we wanted to eat lunch on board and didn’t want to have to buy it. We took a few snacks with us to hold us over. Had lunch when we got back, and took a much needed nap! Set sail at 3. Dinner was great as always… it was my Dad’s Birthday, so the wait staff sang for him. After dinner, we went to Normandie for The Brits show, which was the Beatles, Rolling Stones, etc… This isn’t really our type of music, so we ended up leaving early to walk around. We played a round of putt-putt which was pretty fun. It’s all free-you just grab the balls and clubs you need. Later on was the Mexican Deck Party which was great! My friend and I danced the whole time… the guys sat up on the top deck and watched :) That went pretty late.

 

Day 4- Cozumel! We woke up and headed to the Paris Restaurant for breakfast. Again… just ok. I skipped the eggs this time. Not a huge selection, but we found enough. We docked right at 11. Was pretty cool watching from the top deck pulling in next to the bigger ships. We were right next to Oasis of the Seas, and that’s an impressive ship! They started letting us off about 15 minutes after we docked. We had booked the Jeep and Snorkel Excursion through Carnival, and found the guy holding that sign when we walked to the end of the pier. We filled out our stuff and had a few minutes to hit a couple of the stores we needed to go to get our free stuff. The jeep ride was pretty fun. They said they were all sticks, but we ended up with an automatic, with 4 per jeep. There wasn’t any off-roading. It was all main roads, mostly all paved. It was pretty windy, so they had to switch the snorkel stop which was the first stop we made. The equipment wasn’t the best…. It was leaking for a few of us. Ended up blowing up my life-vest because I was getting exhausted having to keep emptying my mask. Snorkeling was just ok… Not a ton to see. They had a shower area we could rise off afterward. Next stop was a small Mayan Ruin which was pretty cool. Interesting stories about it. Headed to our next stop which was a huge Tiki-Hut for lunch. It was right on the beach and was really nice. Food was good, and we walked around the beach for awhile. They had a shop right there and we grabbed couple souvenirs for our kids. Next, we drove by a crocodile lagoon and saw 2 or 3 of them. We stopped at a light-house and climbed all the way to the top… very narrow stairs and they told us multiple times to watch our heads, and I still hit my head. It was really crowded, but a really great view at the top! This was our last stop, and we headed back to town after this. Our leader gave us some stickers for a free drink. Went to get it, and the bartender said we needed a coupon. Found out later that we needed to go to the MC guy to get the coupon. Oh well. Overall, the excursion was pretty fun. Once we got back to town, we walked around and did a little shopping before getting back on the ship. We got back on right at 6, and hurried to the dining room. It wasn’t a big deal that we were a little late. We went to the Hasbro game show, which was alright. Later on was the Love and Marriage show which was hilarious! Before it started, Steve did his short fiddle show which was pretty good. Stopped in the Piano Bar for awhile which was really fun. Overall, a great day!

 

Day 5-Last Sea Day. We woke up and went straight for SeaDay Brunch…. Yes! So good. We were pretty lazy this day. Took a nap, watched a movie, played putt-putt again, and laid on the sun-deck. We never made it to the Serenity Deck. The couple times we checked, it was packed. The other decks were just fine though. After dinner, there was another show in the Theatre. This night was 80’s Pop. It was another great show. We weren’t too excited with the Madonna song which was quite provocative… but oh well. If my kids were there, we would have been covering their eyes! After that, we went to the family comedy show which was really funny again. The comedy club manager, Drake said no flash photography or video… I went to take a non-flash picture, and he poked my shoulder and waved his finger in my face… So I guess it’s no photography at all! After that, we walked around the ship again. Got some late-night pizza and icecream, and then they brought out burgers, chilli-dogs, fries and some other food! Definitely didn’t lose weight on this trip.

 

Disembark- Woke up and went straight to Elation for the last brunch! Perfect meal to end with. We took our time in here, as we chose the disembark option where they take your luggage the night before (leave it outside your door between 9-11). We were scheduled to get off at 9. If you choose to take your own luggage off, you can start getting off right away. I’m glad we had time to sit down and enjoy one last meal by the dining staff. Once they called our number, we headed off pretty quickly, went through customs, and were on our way.

 

We really enjoyed this cruise! Was the perfect 5-Day getaway for us. Most of the staff was really, really great. There was almost always something to do. Would recommend this cruise for sure!

Edited by jenb1847
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elainmir

elainmir

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I LOVE the Paradise.. small, clean and an easy jaunt from my house to Tampa to sail her. This will be my second time on her and I love Coz and Grand Cayman so much it's a great quickie vacation! This time we only sail to Cozumel but that's fine by me I won't be at work!!!!

 

I laughed when I read your comments on the eggs! DH KNOWS I don't do anything but boiled eggs on a cruise now..that grosses me out! Runny eggs! ick!!! And I do fried for him or an omelet.

 

I'll be on her in 13 days! :D

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jenb1847

jenb1847

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I LOVE the Paradise.. small, clean and an easy jaunt from my house to Tampa to sail her. This will be my second time on her and I love Coz and Grand Cayman so much it's a great quickie vacation! This time we only sail to Cozumel but that's fine by me I won't be at work!!!!

 

I laughed when I read your comments on the eggs! DH KNOWS I don't do anything but boiled eggs on a cruise now..that grosses me out! Runny eggs! ick!!! And I do fried for him or an omelet.

 

I'll be on her in 13 days! :D

 

I had actually read a review that warned about the eggs... but I figured, how bad could eggs really be? Well... they were, haha! Have a great time!!!

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jenb1847

jenb1847

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Here's the link to the Fun Times and some pictures of our trip. I know the Fun Times are kind of hard to read... my scanner isn't working right so I took a picture with my phone. Might be easier to read if you download them so you can zoom in. Hope this helps!

 

https://carnivalparadisefuntimes2016.shutterfly.com/pictures/12

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jenb1847

jenb1847

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Do you recall the price of domestic beer and mixed drinks?....we sail feb 1 for our first cruise,,,,,thanks so much!!!

 

Pretty sure beers like Bud Light and Coors were $5.75 plus gratuity. We would order a bucket of 4, and I believe those were $21. Here's a link with a pretty accurate menu- http://zydecocruiser.net/Carnival-Bar-Menu/CarnivalCruiseBarMenu.htm

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mrs. z

mrs. z

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Since you've been on recently can you tell me how the temperature was on the ship? I know everyone has a difference of opinion on temperature but was most of the ship cool or hot? Always seems the dining room and casino are warm while the other areas can be very cold. I always run on the hot side and was wondering if I might need a fan for the cabin? Thanks.

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jenb1847

jenb1847

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Since you've been on recently can you tell me how the temperature was on the ship? I know everyone has a difference of opinion on temperature but was most of the ship cool or hot? Always seems the dining room and casino are warm while the other areas can be very cold. I always run on the hot side and was wondering if I might need a fan for the cabin? Thanks.

 

I thought the temp was fine pretty much everywhere. My husband got hot in the room, so he turned the air on. It's little knob on the ceiling that lets cold air out. It's just a small vent, so if you do get hot then you might want to bring a fan. I always made him turn it down because I got cold... But I get cold easily :) Dining room and other areas of the ship were comfortable. Hope you have a great trip!

Edited by jenb1847
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