Paradise Review

[GadgetRick]

Sorry, for some reason, I cannot post in the Paradise section.

 

Anyway, this was the second year we did a family/friends cruise just before Christmas on the Paradise. Both times we had 13 people along for the trip. I will say, the ship is extremely well-maintained. The crew last year provided much better service than this year although it wasn't bad.

 

Food is, well, typical Carnival. Mediocre at best. Not bad but not really all that good either. We dined in the dining room (early seating) for dinners and the dining room for breakfast. Buffet for lunch.

 

Our service this year was very good but he didn't have any regular help. Poor guy was trying to serve a table of 13 people (more or less) alone. So our dinner always took the whole 2+ hours. Not his fault.

 

Personally, I don't care for shows on cruise ships so I'm not going to comment on the shows.

 

We did the comedy shows. The one comedian--I don't even remember his name--honestly, wasn't very good. The other one--The Cowboy Comedian--was hilarious. Each show was different. We also spoke with him a few of the nights. A genuinely-nice guy as well.

 

The ship is, as I mentioned, well-maintained. Didn't notice any problems with anything. Same as last year. It is, as someone else mentioned, a bit choppy in the layout. You kind of have to go around things to go from one end of the ship to the other.

 

The buffet area has plenty of seating (inside and outside) so it's normally not a problem finding a table (or two) in that are. During peak times, it may be difficult to get multiple tables near each other if you have a large party but that's to be expected.

 

It seems Carnival has cut costs in the menu department as well. We did the 5-day cruise (did the 4 day last year) and, this year, they did no offer lobster on formal night. It was on the menu as a $20 upcharge each night. They also seemed to have dumbed-down the menu a bit. I remembered a better variety of food/desserts last year. Not that it's a huge deal but I was a little disappointed in the choices this year.

 

They had a magician who was in the dining room--and did a few small shows on the ship--who was truly awesome. He used me for a trick at the table and one on his stage show. He's very good and humorous. He did tricks at our table two nights. You just have to call him over when you see him and he gladly does a few tricks.

 

Disembarking the ship on Grand Cayman was a bit, well, problematic. I think we arrived a slightly late so it pushed everything back a bit. Those of us with earlier excursions rushed to get there early and didn't need to. Wish they would have made an announcement saying they were running late. They also didn't communicate what was going on to the people waiting to leave at all. That was a bit annoying. Then again, I HATE having to take tenders at ports. It always seems to be something.

 

Personally, I'm not a fan of Cozomel--this was my first trip to Grand Cayman. Grand Cayman is sort of like Cozumel but slightly nicer. So nothing incredible there or anything. Although I cannot dive any longer so I can't say how good the diving is at Grand Cayman (I have dived Cozomel and was not impressed). Two of our party did a dive in Grand Cayman and seemed to enjoy it.

 

Disembarking at Cozomel was a breeze as you actually dock there. I mentioned I'm not a fan of Cozomel but I will say we did an excursion we booked before we cruised (not a Carnival excursion) at Mr. Sancho's Beach Resort. We enjoyed this a lot.

 

Disembarking in Tampa was the same as it was last year. We were not in a rush since we live in FL and drive to/from Tampa for the cruise so we had breakfast then left at our leisure.

 

Overall, it's not a bad cruise. The ship is not a large ship, and it may be a little older, but it's well-maintained. The crew provides good to great service. If you're looking for a short getaway, this isn't a bad one to try.

[cruise pup]

I enjoyed your review. I don't dive but I do snorkel and that is excellent in GC. There is a reef right near the tender docks, so I can just walk there with my equipment and snorkel from the shore for free. There is a dive shop there and people scuba there too. Reef is called Eden Rock. There is another one right next to it called Devil's Grotto. I did like snorkeling in Cozumel but the time I snorkeled at Palancar Reef, which is supposed to be the premier scuba site, I was disappointed. So I can see your point. But since you no longer diving I am probably yammering too much.

Edited January 2, 2017 by cruise pup

[GadgetRick]

I enjoyed your review. I don't dive but I do snorkel and that is excellent in GC. There is a reef right near the tender docks, so I can just walk there with my equipment and snorkel from the shore for free. There is a dive shop there and people scuba there too. Reef is called Eden Rock. There is another one right next to it called Devil's Grotto. I did like snorkeling in Cozumel but the time I snorkeled at Palancar Reef, which is supposed to be the premier scuba site, I was disappointed. So I can see your point. But since you no longer diving I am probably yammering too much.

 

Not yammering at all. I miss diving but I cannot dive any longer. :(

[FlaGrl4Evr]

Did you park at the Port or another off-site parking area?

 

We're going on the January 26th sailing. We are locals and we're thinking of driving and parking near the Port instead of having someone drop us off and pick us up.....Just easier to have our vehicle there upon debark.

Thanks.

 

Sent from my XT1635-01 using Forums mobile app

Edited January 3, 2017 by FlaGrl4Evr

[Buckeye10640]

Sailed a few weeks ago and parked at Park4cruise. It was 7 or 8 dollars/day and is across the street from the terminal....maybe a 5 minute walk. It is a surface lot but they have a shuttle and we had no problems. We did have to reserve and pay online before arrival. I would use them again. I think its about half the price of the cruise terminal parking.

[Bowman1]

Did you park at the Port or another off-site parking area?

 

We're going on the January 26th sailing. We are locals and we're thinking of driving and parking near the Port instead of having someone drop us off and pick us up.....Just easier to have our vehicle there upon debark.

Thanks.

 

Sent from my XT1635-01 using Forums mobile app

 

We live in St Pete and have sailed out of Tampa twice - we have parked at Tampa Cruise Parking on Kennedy for $8 per day and the 717 lot at Union Station for $4 per day

 

Tampa Cruise Parking has a reliable shuttle and a secured lot. About the only good thing about 717 is that it is cheep (you either need to walk to the Port or take a cab)

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[GadgetRick]

Did you park at the Port or another off-site parking area?

 

We're going on the January 26th sailing. We are locals and we're thinking of driving and parking near the Port instead of having someone drop us off and pick us up.....Just easier to have our vehicle there upon debark.

Thanks.

 

Sent from my XT1635-01 using Forums mobile app

 

We park at the port parking across the street. I hate having to deal with shuttles so I pay the extra to park there.

[easyboy]

Thanks for the feedback

[crusinpsychRN]

Did you park at the Port or another off-site parking area?

 

We're going on the January 26th sailing. We are locals and we're thinking of driving and parking near the Port instead of having someone drop us off and pick us up.....Just easier to have our vehicle there upon debark.

Thanks.

 

Sent from my XT1635-01 using Forums mobile app

 

I use 241, it's just a vacant lot across the street from the terminal. Thye are quick to pick you up after the cruise.

[JaniceB]

Thanks for the report!

[JudiDM]

Thank you for your review. . I will be sailing her for the first time in February. I have a couple of questions. . Is there a smoking area? Also, who was the Cruise Director?

[crusinpsychRN]

Thank you for your review. . I will be sailing her for the first time in February. I have a couple of questions. . Is there a smoking area? Also, who was the Cruise Director?

 

One side of Lido. Kind of small area. On embarkation due to fueling you can't smoke there, only in casino if you can find an ash tray.

Edited January 7, 2017 by crusinpsychRN

[FlaGrl4Evr]

OP. Thank you for the parking information. I live in Largo and have never used a park & cruise in Tampa.

 

Sent from my XT1635-01 using Forums mobile app

Edited January 7, 2017 by FlaGrl4Evr

[Stratman56]

My wife and I just got back (Jan 2-7 2017) from the Paradise. This was the Grand Cayman and Cozumel run. We just took it back in May 2016. We have been on quite a few cruises, different lines. We like the Paradise. Park and cruise is cheap and right across the street. The port is easy to get to.

 

We had an Oceanview stateroom and an interior cabin. Both are very accceptable. Comfortable bed and pillows.

 

The shower is amazing. Big enough for two, not like the plastic star trek transporter tube showers on most new ships. And the pressure is fantastic. Not the water saving drizzle shower heads like most.

 

Shiplash (the band) is gone, replaced by Last Call. They are pretty good and very versatile.

 

Comedians were good. They have a new cruise director (Brandon) and he is really very good.

 

The casino is pretty good (machines seemed a bit tight this time). The food was good (miss the lobster on formal night). Brunch at sea, how can you not love filet mignon and eggs???

 

There was always something to do, and with a younger crowd, it was party on !!

 

This is one of the best value/fun cruises out there.

 

Oh yeah, ice cream any time you want. I give it 5 stars.

 

If you don't like fun, there are cruises that are perfect for you, just not this one.

[JudiDM]

I'll be doing that same itinerary on Feb.18th.. Thanks for the review. Have never sailed out of Tampa or on the Paradise. I'm an old lady, and I find the bigger ships are exhausting for me!!:p

[easyboy]

My wife and I just got back (Jan 2-7 2017) from the Paradise. This was the Grand Cayman and Cozumel run. We just took it back in May 2016. We have been on quite a few cruises, different lines. We like the Paradise. Park and cruise is cheap and right across the street. The port is easy to get to.

 

We had an Oceanview stateroom and an interior cabin. Both are very accceptable. Comfortable bed and pillows.

 

The shower is amazing. Big enough for two, not like the plastic star trek transporter tube showers on most new ships. And the pressure is fantastic. Not the water saving drizzle shower heads like most.

 

Shiplash (the band) is gone, replaced by Last Call. They are pretty good and very versatile.

 

Comedians were good. They have a new cruise director (Brandon) and he is really very good.

 

The casino is pretty good (machines seemed a bit tight this time). The food was good (miss the lobster on formal night). Brunch at sea, how can you not love filet mignon and eggs???

 

There was always something to do, and with a younger crowd, it was party on !!

 

This is one of the best value/fun cruises out there.

 

Oh yeah, ice cream any time you want. I give it 5 stars.

 

If you don't like fun, there are cruises that are perfect for you, just not this one.

Thank you for sharing your experience.

[GadgetRick]

My wife and I just got back (Jan 2-7 2017) from the Paradise. This was the Grand Cayman and Cozumel run. We just took it back in May 2016. We have been on quite a few cruises, different lines. We like the Paradise. Park and cruise is cheap and right across the street. The port is easy to get to.

 

We had an Oceanview stateroom and an interior cabin. Both are very accceptable. Comfortable bed and pillows.

 

The shower is amazing. Big enough for two, not like the plastic star trek transporter tube showers on most new ships. And the pressure is fantastic. Not the water saving drizzle shower heads like most.

 

Shiplash (the band) is gone, replaced by Last Call. They are pretty good and very versatile.

 

Comedians were good. They have a new cruise director (Brandon) and he is really very good.

 

The casino is pretty good (machines seemed a bit tight this time). The food was good (miss the lobster on formal night). Brunch at sea, how can you not love filet mignon and eggs???

 

There was always something to do, and with a younger crowd, it was party on !!

 

This is one of the best value/fun cruises out there.

 

Oh yeah, ice cream any time you want. I give it 5 stars.

 

If you don't like fun, there are cruises that are perfect for you, just not this one.

 

Pretty much the experience we've had on this ship both times although, like I mentioned, the service was a smidge lower than it was in 2015 when we went but not bad at all.

[BigSouthFork]

We returned on the 16th from a trip on the Paradise. It was our first cruise ever, and I was a little worried after I booked it. We planned the trip more around cost/scheduling factors and afterward I read the reviews which made me think I had made a mistake. The worries were for naught as we had a great time. Yes, it may show it's age in some areas (cabin restroom), but that's being picky as everything was in very good condition and very clean. Our steward, Putrawan, was super nice, made sure everything stayed tidy, and asking if there was anything we needed every time we saw him. As a matter of fact, the entire crew on this boat was friendly and didn't mind helping/answering anything that you might ask. I give them credit as they work long hours and it's never easy working in customer service type job like that. Getting on the boat was a breeze, deb/emb in Cozumel was easy, and only had a small wait debarking in Tampa. Will definitely be taking more cruises in the future and wouldn't hesitate to be on the Paradise again.

 

*As for parking, we used the Parking Doctors. Shuttle was waiting to take us to the port when we arrived and was waiting outside once we returned. There was no delays at all for us and it was super easy.

[sc4125]

I'm going to also chime in with a good report for the Paradise. I've been on 18 or 19 cruises with CCL but it had been awhile since I was on one of the smaller ships. I was afraid that I was going to miss the bells & whistles found on the larger ships - plus had read some pretty bad reviews.

 

I was very pleasantly surprised. I had forgotten how much larger the interior cabins were - the food in the MDR was good to very good - the hamburger from the grill was (for me) almost as good as Guy's and they had grilled chicken which Guy's doesn't have. I was with a group of family members (9 of us) and we all had a really good time.

 

I live 30-45 minutes from Tampa and I would not hesitate to cruise on the Paradise again.

[figdu]

Did you park at the Port or another off-site parking area?

 

We're going on the January 26th sailing. We are locals and we're thinking of driving and parking near the Port instead of having someone drop us off and pick us up.....Just easier to have our vehicle there upon debark.

Thanks.

 

Sent from my XT1635-01 using Forums mobile app

 

We live in Westchase and use Uber or Lyft to the port and back.

[JudiDM]

Does anyone know if I can Uber to the terminal to and from Largo? If so, what would be the general cost of the ride?

[figdu]

Does anyone know if I can Uber to the terminal to and from Largo? If so, what would be the general cost of the ride?

 

Yes you can and the Uber app shows $27.00 from Largo mall to terminal 2.

[JudiDM]

Thanks for the super quick response figdu! :)