A Paradise Review

[JMCruising]

Ok! I am going to try and take a stab at this reviewthing.This is my first one, so begentle.

 

A little background: It’s my husband (43) and I (35) only. We don’t have children and we base ourcruising around the ports. We book excursions through the ship only, as I am aworry wart and that is the only way I can enjoy myself. This was our secondcruise. Both have been on the Fantasy class, so that’s all I can base myinformation on. We enjoy time together alone, which is why we book suites.Every cruises their own way, and we find we enjoy being a big room. While notheavy drinkers, we wanted to try out the Cheers! program. It was roughly $575for this 5 day cruise. The cruise was originally to Grand Cayman and Cozumel.Due to propulsion issues, Grand Cayman was substituted with Costa Maya, Mexico,and we were issued a $25 per person obc. While disappointed, I felt this wasadequate compensation in a situation Carnival couldn’t have wanted.

 

Embarkation: We live an hour from the port, so we drove inthat morning. There were people outside the parking garage with signs saying “CruiseParking,” but when you followed them it took you around the corner to outsideparking off-site. While this is cheaper and fine, we wanted to park in thegarage due to having a rental car from our local Ford dealer (LONG story!). So,we circled around and parked in the actual port garage for $75. It was literalacross the street from the terminal. We could see the ship!

 

We booked a Grand Suite, as suites are the only cabins withbalconies on the Paradise and well, we wanted a balcony. Doing this gave uspriority check-in/boarding. When I tried to go to the priority line, I wasturned away and told to go in the very long regular line. Because I knew thiswas wrong, I searched for another employee who confirmed we could go to the prioritycheck-in. Got our sail-n-sign cards and were then directed to the “Captain’slounge.” This was a tiny waiting area that was already packed at 11:30 am! Ithad the suite guests, platinum, diamond and faster to the fun. We didn’t get toboard until around 12:45. I am not sure why, as there weren’t many friendlyemployees at the port.

 

Day 1: We immediately put that Cheers! program to work! Allthe bartenders were friendly. We ate hamburgers from the grill and Mongolian wokfood, and enjoyed the lido music. It was fun to watch people boarding and beingexcited about being on a cruise. Our rooms were ready at 1:30, so we headeddown to the Upper deck (6) to take a look at our room.

 

The suite was great. Spacious and clean. The ceiling waspink, the carpet was orange, and the trim was emerald green. And I LOVED it. Theship is 20 years old, and shows it. But everything is clean and they areconstantly “beautifying” areas. While we were out on the balcony, our roomsteward and her supervisor came to talk to us. They asked if we could be out ofthe room from 10-1 tomorrow so that they could replace our carpet. We are easygoing, and said no problem. We stayed on the balcony for sail away, enjoyingthe scenery and company.

 

We then got ready for dinner and headed to the dining hall.We had anytime dining in the Elation Dining Room. The waiter said, “Oh we havea food allergy here.” I said nope, as neither of us have any. He lookedconfused, and then took our orders. The first night we both had the flat ironsteak and warm chocolate melting cake. Everything was good. I can’t rememberthe appetizers, but I ate them!

 

We walked around a bit more, stopped at the Rotterdam Barfor some drinks. We were back in the room by 9, and settled in for the night. Whilewe were lying in bed, we saw feathers. Now I know why the waiter thought I hada food allergy! I called Carnival and asked them if the suites had any downpillows or duvets, as I am allergic. They said yes, and that they would let theship know. Apparently, they sent my feather allergy to the dining room. Woops.I let Pat, our awesome steward know. She came in and got everything changed outto the fake stuff. I could now sleep without worrying about dying J

 

Day 2: This first sea day, we decided to try the sea daybrunch in the dining room. I had an omelet and a mimosa, while my husband hadpancakes. It was very good. We then had time to kill while our room was workedon. We decided to check out the serenity deck.

 

At 10:30 on a sea day, of course it was full. We knew this,but still wanted to check it out. It seems to only have about 50 seats. I wi**** was larger. Luckily, this cruise did not have many children on it, sofinding a quiet seat was not too much of an issue. We got some margaritas andhung out by the Whale Tale. After a while, we ate lunch inside at the buffet.We had the pizza, which was very good.

 

At this point, it was nap time! We headed back to our newlycarpeted room, and snoozed for a while. Once we woke up, it was time to get ourfancy digs on for elegant night! I dress business casual for work every daywhile my husband wears jeans and t-shirts. Getting dressed up is a rare occurrence,and I enjoy it when we get to. We headed to dinner, where I enjoyed the filetmignon. Hubby got the duck and enjoyed it. We had Luidmulia(sp?) as ourwaitress that night, and she was wonderful. Funny and attentive. As soon as shesaw the Cheers! sticker, she started recommending drinks and made sure we gotthe best. “Always the top shelves with the Cheers!”

 

2 things here: First, this was the only night there weretable cloths on the tables. Doesn’t matter to me, but I have heard talk on hereabout that, so I wanted to note it. Also, there was the cutest young couplenext to us that asked for the check afterwards. It was so sweet and innocent.They were truly amazed when the waitress told them it was included. Made mesmile and appreciate it more.

 

After this, we strolled around and stumbled on the 80’s rockshow. We sat in the back and enjoyed it. The singing and dancing was fun, andthe songs were great. They were doing a bunch of Michael Jackson at the end,and I really thought Thriller would be the finale! But it wasn’t. Still funthough. The next day was Cozumel from 8am – 8pm, so we headed to the room. Wewatched a movie on our tablet and ordered room service. I tried the pizza andfound it amusing that it was delivered in a pizza delivery guy holder thingy.Hubby got the ham and cheese sandwich, Caesar salad and veggies. All were good.

 

Day 3: We had to meet in the Queen Mary Lounge at 8:45 forour excursion. When we got there (early), an employee was saying to just goahead to deck 3 and then find your excursion on the port. Ok. So we headed out.Except, we couldn’t find out excursion on any of the little signs. We bookedthe Mystic River and Paradise Lagoon excursion. This is different from theAmazing Secret River. (We purposely chose this one because you can take all thepictures you want and the tour specifically said “no shopping.” The Secretriver ones almost all include shopping and don’t allow your own photos to betaken.) We asked around and were told our guy would pop up in around 15minutes. This is when we realized we hadn’t taken our Bonine! Hubby gets verysea sick, so I knew we had to find some for the ferry. We went to many storesand finally found a “Drugs and Deli.” They had some, although it was all in SpanishJ. We took it and thenfound our sign holder. He took our tickets, and gave us wrist bands. He thentold us to head to the big yellow ferry. That’s it?

 

SO, we headed to the big ferry. We sat inside on the front.People were ordering margaritas and such, but we just got some water. Then theride began. Here I was worried about the hubby. He was fine. I, however,thought I was going to die. That ferry was booking it through that water! The upand down, up and down, it got me. Many other people had to run to the back torelieve themselves. I kept myself in my seat, but just wanted it to be over. Myhusband seemed to think the ferry was fun like a roller coaster. We havedecided that I like side to side rocking, and he likes the up and down. Lessonlearned. We got off the ferry and I vowed to find a helicopter or plane back toCozumel! My bank account vetoed that decision…

 

This excursion was awesome! Fabricio was our tour guide.There were ten of us in a van. He explained what we would be doing and someinformation about the area. We briefly stopped for vests and helmets. Thehelmets were stinky. We brought bandanas to wear on our heads as a buffer. Ourfirst stop was the underground river. It was wonderful. Lots of bats,stalagmites, stalactites. Fabricio gave us history on the cenotes and the Mayanpeople. We were in the caves for around45 minutes? We then got a snack and water, and headed to our snorkeling spot.Before so, Fabricio said he could tell we are all good swimmers. This allowedus to trade in our vests for snorkel belts. These made the experience so muchnicer! In order to swim, you need biodegradable sun screen. I knew this aheadof time and got some on Amazon… and then forgot to apply it before snorkeling!Being very fair, just the hour in the water fried me J. The snorkel area was what wecall brackish water. He kept calling it something else that I can’t remember,but it is where salt and fresh water meet. While this didn’t make for very goodunderwater photo ops, the snorkeling was great. We saw many different, colorfulfish. After an hour, it was on the van for a drive back to the port for lunch.Lunch was at a beach club. It was buffet style and was tasty. It came with 2free drinks. We hung out at the beach for a little, and then caught the 4pmferry. This time, we got on early and I fell asleep before we started moving!That seemed to work. I didn’t get sick.

 

We went ahead and got on the ship. In port with us were theVictory and the Triumph. Wow, those are big! And so many balcony cabins. It wasamazing to see them. Back on board, we showered, napped, and then went todinner again. I tried the rabbit for an appetizer, the steak tacos. Everythingwas good. I was exhausted from the excursion, so we headed to bed pretty early.

 

Day 4: Costa Maya. We were scheduled to dock at 8am, butbecause of the high swells, it wound up being more like 8:30. It was weirddocking sideways. Here, they have all the excursion signs in lines. We pickedthe ATV beach one for here. After waiting in line forever (ok, not forever, butyou know!) we boarded a… truck? It was one of those open air trucks like JeffProbst has all the survivors get on before he drops them off in the middle ofnowhere. It was about a 25 minute rideto the ATVs. We brought bandanas again, and neck gaiters. And we are so glad wedid. Most people didn’t, and their faces were covered in sand. I don’t know howthey were able to breathe! The ATV portion was around 45 minutes. I had readreviews about it being bumpy, and they were not kidding. I was scared offalling off sometimes. But it was fun and the ATVs can handle it. I worecapris, but still got a little “scalded” by the hot engine. Eli and Victor andthe team were really pleasant and helpful. After this, we boarded an airconditioned bus to a beach club. There we had open bar. The drinks were watereddown, but free. We ordered some chicken nachos to share ($14). We got on the12:30(ship time) bus back to port, as it was a 40 minute ride.

 

We did some shopping around port. T-shirts and shot glasses.They were definitely pushier than in Cozumel. My tip is to bargain with them! We were looking at something and the guy wentfrom $65 to $30 in a matter of minutes. We saw the pool where everyone washanging out. People seemed to be having a good time. We boarded and then tookpictures from the balcony. We watched some very inebriated people get carriedback on board. Waiting to sail away, we fell asleep. When we woke up, the boatwas really rocking! I went down to the buffet and brought back some roastedpumpkin soup (his fave!). We then decided to skip the dining room and justorder room service. We got the ham and pineapple pizza, the totally awesome wingsin buffalo, and mixed green salads. To my surprise, the wings were allflappers! I don’t eat drummies, so I was very happy at this. They tasted verygood.

 

Day 5: The last day. We took our time in the morning, andheaded to the lido for breakfast around 8:30. The omelets were good. We thenwalked around to find all of our pictures. We liked them, but didn’t buy any. Idon’t have an answer as to why lol. We then did some shopping in the fun shops.We found the candy shop. It is hidden next to the casino. You can barely seeit. The woman working there said with the February dry dock, the candy areawill be moved to a more prominent area.

 

We then went back to the room. We went out on the balconyand fell asleep for a couple hours. I hope our snoring didn’t bother anyone!After that, we showered and got ready for dinner. We caught the waiters showthis last night. I know some people hate it, but it really makes me smile.Dinner was just ok. I had the prime rib and carrot cake. We went back to theroom to talk about debarkation. We decided to take advantage of the prioritydebarking and carry off our own luggage. We packed up and hit the sack.

 

Debarkation: We went to the Normandie Lounge at 8. It wasalready packed with platinum, diamond, suite, and FTTF guests. One thing I didnotice, they did “kind of” check to make sure you were one of those things. Idid hear many people say, “But we have an early flight,” and they were let in.Isn’t that why they should have bought the FTTF? Just a side note.

 

Anyways, we finally were getting off the ship. Everythingwas fine until we were away from the helpful, friendly Carnival employees andwere stuck with the not-so-friendly Port of Tampa employees. As we wereleaving, a guy was handing out the custom papers. As we had nothing to declare,we told him that. He said to just hold it anyway. Umm, ok. So we got in linefor customs. When the agent took the blank customs form from us, he told us wehad to fill it out even if we weren’t declaring anything. Something the firstgentleman should have mentioned. We then had to find an employee who would giveus a pen, and fill it out. We got back in line, and were motioned to separate lines.I handed my agent the customs paper (which he didn’t look at) and was thensummoned to my husband’s line. They then verbally asked us about ourdeclarations (still none), and let us go. Our bags didn’t go through a scanneror anything… seemed strange.

 

We then began our walk to the parking garage. THIS is wheremy husband decided to ask me about our wedding rings. “You got those out of thesafe, right?” So then began the phone calls to Carnival to put in a lost ticketin hopes the awesome steward Pat checks the safe, finds our rings, sends themto Miami, who will then mail them to us, hopefully. Such an awesome vacationended on a sad note LIt is my fault, and I am just really hoping she found them and is mailing them!

 

Wow, long review. Sorry! All in all, it was a great cruise!We almost broke even on the Cheers! program. It was fun trying a bunch ofdifferent drinks and only getting a $53 bill at the end of the cruise. We neverwaited long at the lido restaurants or our dining room. The bar service waspretty good. I always had at least 2 drinks with dinner in the dining room. Theatrium bar was usually too full.The buffetbar was good. The Rotterdam was hit or miss, depending on who was there. I alsowas NOT able to get a drink for my husband unless he was right there. Again,not a problem, but I know some people wondered about this. All the employeeswere friendly and helpful. We didn’t go in the casino, but walked by it manytimes. The smoke never bothered us. The Serenity deck was always busy, and theyclose it down at night. Brandon was a fun cruise director. He seems to reallyenjoy interacting with the guests.

 

If you have any questions, please let me know! I have allthe fun times (I think). If I can figure out how to get them on here, I will,if someone wants them.

 

We are already looking at our next cruise, possibly on theConquest. I can’t wait to start my research on CC for that one!

[bury me at sea]

Loved your detailed review and sure hope you get your rings back!

[easyboy]

Great review! Thanks.

 

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[pcvtmom]

Great review! Thanks so much for taking the time to post it.

[Port of Tampa]

Great review we will cruise on her also in a grand suite in 13 days. What was your cabin number? Hope we get a cabin with new carpet.

 

Cheers and happy cruising.

[Captain Carnival]

...We didn’t get to board until around 12:45...

 

Sorry that I missed you guys at the port and getting you aboard as I was aboard Carnival Splendor that day. There was however a CG inspection that took place that morning that held things up a bit.

[tandemcruzr]

Thanks for the review. Hope they find your rings.

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[BIG GUY]

Sorry that I missed you guys at the port and getting you aboard as I was aboard Carnival Splendor that day. There was however a CG inspection that took place that morning that held things up a bit.

Hey Captain, We surely missed you last week in the Diamond/Platinum lounge. We were there in February and were delayed till 1:30 pm embarkation. You were great at keeping everyone calm by explaining (microphone) what was happening. Last week I felt bad for the two women that were trying to handle the guests. I asked where "CaptainCarnival" was and she sighed and said you were off that day and they sure did miss you. They had to retreat behind the ropes to get away from the complaints. They needed your Mic! As soon as they called Diamond they were rushed and seemed to give up. Next time we are booked for the Paradise, we will make sure to find out if "The Captain" is working. See you soon.

[La Lido Loca]

Great review. We are on the Paradise in September. We will be second time cruisers. Our first ship was the Fantasy and they had Guy's Burgers and the Blue Iguana where the Grill and the Mongolia place is on the Paradise. What did grill offer? Was it just burgers?

[JMCruising]

It seemed that most of the suites were getting new carpet. And some other rooms too!

The grill had burgers and hot dogs. Fries. Fixings like chili and cheese and sauerkraut. We found it to be pretty good. I haven't had guys, so I can't compare. The Mongolian place was my husbands favorite, so do try it.

I did hear people saying there was normally a "funny guy" on a mic. I was sorry we missed you, as our experience at the port has made my husband ban any Tampa sailings from the next cruise. And I was looking forward to the miracle!!

 

 

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[Captain Carnival]

Hey Captain, We surely missed you last week in the Diamond/Platinum lounge. We were there in February and were delayed till 1:30 pm embarkation. You were great at keeping everyone calm by explaining (microphone) what was happening. Last week I felt bad for the two women that were trying to handle the guests. I asked where "CaptainCarnival" was and she sighed and said you were off that day and they sure did miss you. They had to retreat behind the ropes to get away from the complaints. They needed your Mic! As soon as they called Diamond they were rushed and seemed to give up. Next time we are booked for the Paradise, we will make sure to find out if "The Captain" is working. See you soon.

 

 

Hey Big Guy -

Both I and my First Officer are back from Carnival Splendor and will be serving all of our guests here at Port Tampa Bay for YOUR Carnival Paradise and Carnival Miracle when she arrives in January 2018.

Rest assured I will keep the Captain's Lounge in good order by keeping everyone well informed and of course getting everyone onboard in a safe, timely, and organized manner.

Hoping to see you back again soon!

[Captain Carnival]

I did hear people saying there was normally a "funny guy" on a mic. I was sorry we missed you, as our experience at the port has made my husband ban any Tampa sailings from the next cruise. And I was looking forward to the miracle!

 

 

Hi JMCruising -

Please tell your Husband not to "ban Tampa" and go ahead and book a sailing on YOUR Carnival Miracle or Carnival Paradise as I will be here on the microphone and taking care of our incredible guests just like you!

[kyboymom]

Hi JMCruising -

Please tell your Husband not to "ban Tampa" and go ahead and book a sailing on YOUR Carnival Miracle or Carnival Paradise as I will be here on the microphone and taking care of our incredible guests just like you!

 

Hey Captain Carnival...We will be at the Tampa port on 5-22-17 boarding the Paradise. We have cruised before but this time are traveling with our kids, 10yo and 2yo. Do you have any suggestions as to how to make the Port experience as pain free as possible with a 2yo? Any tips or tricks I should know about?

[Captain Carnival]

Hey Captain Carnival...We will be at the Tampa port on 5-22-17 boarding the Paradise. We have cruised before but this time are traveling with our kids, 10yo and 2yo. Do you have any suggestions as to how to make the Port experience as pain free as possible with a 2yo? Any tips or tricks I should know about?

 

 

Hi kyboymom -

My suggestion (in general) would be to arrive around 10:30 as we start boarding around 11:15ish getting you aboard from the terminal with minimal wait time.

Also, so as not to hijack this thread might I suggest that you look for me here.....

[crusinpsychRN]

on't leave your purse in the bathroom like I did. Ran back and got it.

[Florings]

Thanks for the great review!

 

The Conquest is my favorite ship - it will be much larger than the Paradise, which I also like. I hope you enjoy your future cruising.