Review: Paradise, Cheers!, and Cozumel

[KCruise9876]

We had a fantastic 4 day cruise to Cozumel on the Carnival Paradise (July 28 – Aug 1). Here is a little about us: My husband and I are both 34. We have three children. Two girls ages 13 & 9 and one boy age 3. My FIL gave us this cruise as a Christmas gift. We left the kids at home with my mom so that we could enjoy an adult only vacation. So, we had my husband and me, my BIL and his wife (both 31), my BIL and his girlfriend (30 and 21), and my FIL and his girlfriend. My FIL also purchased the Cheers! Package for everyone. Let me take a minute to say that I know I am extremely lucky not only to have such a kind, generous Father-in-Law, but because I truly love my in-laws. We have so much fun together and I know not everyone is as lucky as I am to have such a close relationship.

 

Now, as you can imagine, we are really busy parents. With a teenager and a toddler at home… yikes! We really were looking forward to this vacation. A chance to reconnect as a couple and see if we still know how to have fun together (spoiler alert, we do!!) I read a ton of reviews before we left. I heard about the lack of bar servers, waiting in lines, a rundown ship, etc, etc. I have to say before I start this review, I never once had an issue with any of these things! The truth of the matter is, there is very little that would have “ruined” this cruise for me. I rarely ever have time alone with my husband and it is an even rarer occurrence for me to have alone time with myself!

 

I really did not take enough pics to do a play by play of my cruise and honestly, I did a lot of relaxing. So, I doubt anyone wants a play by play of me sitting by the pool ordering drinks all day! I will break it down into sections and throw a bunch of pics in along the way.

 

Embarkation: I wish I had looked at my watch to see exactly what time we went on the ship. We parked at a lot close by the port in Tampa and I believe it was about $35 for our stay. They shuttled us over to the port and we walked right in to check in. There were no lines. We waited about 20 mins before they started to board. We were zone number 3. I don’t see how Faster to the Fun would have made much sense for this cruise. We really were only a few minutes behind them. When we walked on there was music and drinks. So much excitement from all of the passengers and the crew. It’s the best feeling. We walked right up to the Lido deck, got a drink, and had lunch. No lines! I think we checked out rooms around 1pm and they were ready and our luggage came before dinner time. I never felt like I was waiting for anything. Everything was quick and smooth!

 

On our way!! No kids in the backseat!!!

[KCruise9876]

Ship: The only other cruise I have been on is the Sensation, so I don’t have a lot to compare to, but I thought the ship was great! I did notice a few areas where paint was chipping, but they were not very noticeable and it didn’t bother me at all. I mean, I have someone else cleaning and cooking for me. A little paint missing is not going to be a deal breaker as far as I am concerned. I constantly saw crew members cleaning. We did anytime dining and the only night we had to wait was elegant night. We had about a 15 minute wait. It wasn’t bad. The dining room was beautiful and still have table clothes. The buffet area always looked clean. The pool was small, but everyone was friendly and having a great time. The Serenity deck was lovely and looked relaxing, but I preferred to sit by the mail pool. I liked the music and talking to the other passengers. Overall. I thought the ship was in fine condition and already have another cruise planned on the Paradise next summer.

 

 

 

 

 

[KCruise9876]

Pool: Every morning I woke up, went to the gym, and then grabbed a spot by the pool. I just sat here until other people from my group got up. Then I had breakfast and went back to my spot. It filled up quickly, but I don’t really remember there being chair hogs. I didn’t pay much attention though. I grabbed my seat around 8:30 and stayed there most of the day! My husband would come back and forth between the ship and sitting with me. It was so nice to have some time to myself. While I was sitting there alone, I tried to remember the last time I was actually alone. I don’t remember!! I literally do not remember the last time I was alone. How sad it that? I must have been before my son was born and he just turned 3! Anyway, I never had to wait for a drink. There was always someone willing to bring me a refill when my cup was empty! I only walked past the little pool in the back once. It was small, but I am sure it served its purpose.

 

 

[KCruise9876]

Food: I think I ate from every food source on the ship! I had the deli, the pizza, the grill, the main buffet, dining room, breakfast on the lido, breakfast in the dining room, room service, and even the taste bar. Out of our party of 8, the only time someone didn’t like what they received was the pork chop the first night. Everything else was decent. I had the cheese plate with a dessert wine a couple nights for dessert and I thought it was fabulous. Other favorites were the Warm Chocolate cake and the Bitter and Blanc. I also tried the Strawberry soup and thought it was great! Another thing I had read complaints about was the dress code. I have absolutely no idea what other people wore. I don’t have one single memory of the clothing of anyone aside from myself. So, if they were breaking the rules, I couldn’t tell you! I think everyone not only looked nice, but everyone acted civilized. I never saw a rude or rowdy group of people it the dining room. I do remember a table with a few children and thought how well behaved they were.

 

Entertainment: I saw the Welcome Aboard show, the Epic Rock show, and a Minute to Win it game show. Everything was great, but I LOVED the Epic Rock show! Last time I cruised I didn’t see any shows and I am really glad I made it to that one. We visited the Casino a few times and had a blast. I have never gambled before and we ended up ahead slightly. So, that was nice. Let’s see… what else did we do.. We played bingo twice and saw the Comedy show a couple times as well. There was a band that played by the bar at the Casino and they were great. There was also someone (maybe two guys who looked similar?) that played guitar and sang by the pool and the Atrium bar. I loved having live music. The DJ’s were good too, but it seemed like they played the same songs over and over. I liked the music, so I really didn’t care, but it drove my husband nuts for some reason. I didn’t use the kids clubs, but every time I walked past it seemed like they were having a great time! I hardly ever saw kids running around, so they must have been having fun somewhere! We did try the mini golf, but it was so windy and I suck on a calm day, so I gave up and let some kids take my place. The cruise director was Calvin. He was so funny and friendly. We saw him out and about several times.

 

Drinks: One of the things I read a lot of complaints about is the cut back in wait staff. People waiting for drinks at the pool or the dining room. I never experienced that. Like I said before, my cup was never empty! There were bar servers walking around the pool area constantly. Sometimes it was faster just to head to the bar, but we are talking about a difference of just a few minutes. I didn’t mind waiting 5 minutes for someone to serve me while I sat and read my book. At dinner they took our drink order right away and it was out before appetizers. I don’t know… maybe we got lucky, but I thought the service was fast.

 

Cheers!: We all had the Cheers package and it was totally worth it! I had mimosas in the morning, drinks by the pool all day, wine with dinner, and cocktails at the shows and in the casino. We bought bottled water, energy drinks, tons of coffee, milk shakes, and sports drinks. Our only port was Cozumel, but I would say we still broke even that day. I rarely drink more than a glass or two of wine at home, but I think we all really cut loose this vacation. No one was ever “drunk”, but we were always pretty buzzed and happy.

 

 

 

[KCruise9876]

Room: We were in room M207. It was an oceanview room on deck 5. The beds were OK. I think they were more comfortable on the Sensation, but I slept like a rock every night, so I can’t complain. The only complaint was that it was warm. I thought maybe once we started moving it would cool off, but it didn’t. It was more stagnant than hot, but it was not very comfortable when you were getting ready for dinner. Elegant night was night 2. I had been by the pool all day, took a hot shower, and attempted to blow dry my hair. It was miserable in the room, so I stepped in the hall to cool off and ran into our room Steward, Michael. He was fantastic and has someone come up right away to fix it. I don’t know what they did, but we were OK the rest of the trip.

 

Sorry for the messy room pics. Apparently we turn into slobs on vacation!

 

 

 

 

 

[KCruise9876]

Cozumel: I read a bunch of positive reviews for Mr. Sanchos and made the decision to go there a long time before the cruise. I couldn’t wait to check it out and it was AWESOME!!! Our group was met by Eduardo and he took us over to a table and chairs right by the water. He was our waiter for the day. The food was fabulous, the drinks were great and never empty. My husband and BIL did the water obstacle course and it exhausted them. They couldn’t keep up with all the kids.  My SIL and I kayaked and took a banana boat ride. It was SO much fun. I haven’t laughed that hard in ages. Some members of the family did the ATV adventure and had fun. I also had a massage. I thought it would be kind of gross and sticky on the beach, but it wasn’t. It was amazing. I am so glad I did it. I cannot even express what a wonderful time we had here. We live on the Gulf coast of Florida. We have some of the best beaches right in our back yard. When I told my husband about Mr. Sanchos, his reply was “why pay to sit on a beach when I can do it here for free?”. Well, you know what? When I am sitting on the beach here, I don’t have Eduardo refiling my drinks! It was TOTALLY worth it and I plan on going back next summer with the kids.

 

 

 

 

 

[KCruise9876]

Debarkation: We did self assist. I think we were off the boat by 9:30 or 10. It didn’t take long. The shuttle area was kind of crowded, so we just walked to the parking lot. It was really close. Next thing I knew I was home and it hit me that I had to start cooking meals again! How depressing!

 

Overall, this was an awesome vacation. The crew was great, the ship was great, Cozumel was great. I wouldn’t change a thing and I can’t wait to take my girls back next summer!

[travelgirl01]

Good to hear such a good review. Thanks for the pictures we are doing a 5 day cruise in 26 days on the Paradise. We are also signed up for Mr. Sanchos. I have read bad reviews on the ship but there are so many people that have negative about everything I dont let that make up my mind. I agree that it is the people you are with and what you make of it. So glad you guys had a great time.

[JMCruising]

Thanks for your review!

[Rock_ON!!]

It's funny how some people find so many things to complain about on their vacations. I'm like you, happy to be away from the normal daily routines, no cooking and no cleaning for a week , and I'm good. Glad you had a good vacation.

[sushi_tampa]

Awesome review and great pics!! We did the same 4 day to Coz on Paradise a few weeks prior to your sailing and we had a blast as well. We also thought Cheers was worth it just being able to order anything you want pretty much.

[CruzerDeb]

Sounds perfect! Glad you had such a good time.

[KCruise9876]

Good to hear such a good review. Thanks for the pictures we are doing a 5 day cruise in 26 days on the Paradise. We are also signed up for Mr. Sanchos. I have read bad reviews on the ship but there are so many people that have negative about everything I dont let that make up my mind. I agree that it is the people you are with and what you make of it. So glad you guys had a great time.

 

I wish I had better pictures. I have a million pics of my husband and me. I tried to remember to snap a few along the way.

 

Enjoy your cruise! You will have a blast!

[Buckett]

Thanks for your review! Glad to hear about Mr. Sanchos. I have booked it for when we visit Cozumel next March on the Vista. :D

Edited August 3, 2016 by Buckett

[KCruise9876]

Awesome review and great pics!! We did the same 4 day to Coz on Paradise a few weeks prior to your sailing and we had a blast as well. We also thought Cheers was worth it just being able to order anything you want pretty much.

 

It really was nice to be able to order whatever we wanted. I tried things I never would have.

[KCruise9876]

Thanks for your review! Glad to hear about Mr. Sanchos. I have booked it for when we visit Cozumel next March on the Vista. :D

 

You will love it. I bet the weather is beautiful in March and the Vista looks amazing!

[SkyMaster]

THANKS for taking time to write such a great review. I've sailed "Paradise" many, many times, and always have a fantastic time on this ship. I'll be back aboard in 31 days, so was glad to read that the great majority of the things that I enjoy, are still there. Once again, THANKS!

 

"SKY"

[KCruise9876]

THANKS for taking time to write such a great review. I've sailed "Paradise" many, many times, and always have a fantastic time on this ship. I'll be back aboard in 31 days, so was glad to read that the great majority of the things that I enjoy, are still there. Once again, THANKS!

 

"SKY"

 

You are welcome! It was such a wonderful vacation. The perfect little getaway! 31 days will go fast and I think the anticipation is half the fun!

[cruisinsly]

Thanks for the review

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[SMSACE6]

thanks for your review. I have long wanted to cruise from Tampa, because I am familiar with the area, and going back there is like going home of sorts, so the Paradise is always on my list of next cruise possibilities. Nice review, thanks:)

[ShipsAhoy508]

Thanks for the very thorough review. I'm cruising the Paradise this coming January and hope I have as much fun as you and you're group did.

[Bluemoon319]

Thanks so much for your review! :)

[Bluemoon319]

Good to hear such a good review. Thanks for the pictures we are doing a 5 day cruise in 26 days on the Paradise. We are also signed up for Mr. Sanchos. I have read bad reviews on the ship but there are so many people that have negative about everything I dont let that make up my mind. I agree that it is the people you are with and what you make of it. So glad you guys had a great time.

 

Thanks for your review! Glad to hear about Mr. Sanchos. I have booked it for when we visit Cozumel next March on the Vista. :D

 

 

I'm sure you will love Sancho's. I've been there numerous times and always go back there whenever I'm in Cozumel, even did the long commute from the mainland once during a land-based vaca. Sometimes they have a buffet there, but don't get fooled. You can also order off the menu. I highly recommend the coconut shrimp, fish tacos, & fajitas. :) The mango margaritas there are also the best I've had. :)

[crusinpsychRN]

At Mr Sanchos I wasn't sure if I was supposed to go to the buffet or that they'd bring me food. They brought me food but I never ordered. How does it work?