PARADISE found, plus our CONQUEST of two more ships (with pics) - 4/14/2018

[Jamman54]

We hung out in the cabin until 5pm when it was time for the VIFP Party. It was held in the aft Queen Mary Lounge…..

 

Jason entertained us with his guitar……

 

I’m trying my luck with the guess the ship game…..

 

Can you guess how many candies are in the bag?

 

The snacks and the drinks were flowing. It didn’t seem like there were a lot of people there. For the beer lovers they had a tub of ice cold beer…..

 

CD Jaime was the master of ceremonies, and of course they played the video showing all the ships…..

 

To be continued…….

[Jamman54]

Jaime introduces the Captain and the Senior Officers…..

 

 

Captain Orazio D’Aita says a few words……

 

Here is Jennifer the Guest Services Manager…..

 

Our friends Jim and Pat are recognized for having the most days at sea on our cruise…..

 

Jim and Pat along with Jaime and Captain D’Aita…..

 

To be continued……

[Jamman54]

This is a really interesting statement from such a frequent cruiser! Do you mind sharing why Galveston is a hard no??

(Not a Texan and have never sailed from Galveston - just curious.)

 

Sorry, I didn't mean to make it sound like there is something wrong with Galveston, which there isn't. For us, if we want to cruise to the Western Caribbean, it is much easier and less costly to cruise from Florida. :cool:

[indygirl76]

Sorry, I didn't mean to make it sound like there is something wrong with Galveston, which there isn't. For us, if we want to cruise to the Western Caribbean, it is much easier and less costly to cruise from Florida. :cool:

Totally makes sense, and thanks for indulging my curiosity. :) I thought maybe there was a story about a horrible visit to Houston in the past, haha!

[nybumpkin]

Sorry, I didn't mean to make it sound like there is something wrong with Galveston, which there isn't. For us, if we want to cruise to the Western Caribbean, it is much easier and less costly to cruise from Florida. :cool:

I agree. We cruised out of Galveston once and between the flights to Houston from the East Coast and the travel from Houston to Galveston, it's much easier to sail from Florida for the same ports.

[hockeyguru32]

Mr Sancho's is the best love going there

[Alaskan Joe]

*Bookmark*

[cruiser_family]

We have arrived at Mr. Sancho’s……

Here are a few of the beach cabanas. They are first come, first served……

 

To be continued…..

 

You got there early. Were there cabanas available? I'm trying to plan for a cruise in December. We have senior members of the family going and I was thinking this would be good for them.

[Jamman54]

You got there early. Were there cabanas available? I'm trying to plan for a cruise in December. We have senior members of the family going and I was thinking this would be good for them.

 

I don't think you will have any trouble getting one. To be honest, I don't remember seeing anyone using them.:cool:

[Jamman54]

The VIFP party lasted about an hour. Afterwards we all went to the Elation Dining Room for our last dinner of the cruise. There was no wait at all and we were seated immediately. Here are tonight’s menus…..

The baked onion soup…..

 

 

The flatbread…..

 

 

The steamed mussels…..

 

To be continued……

 

[Jamman54]

The Caprese salad…..

 

The tiger shrimp creole…..

 

The cornmeal encrusted chicken breast…..

 

The ricotta ravioli…..

 

The waiters sang “Leaving on a Fun Ship”, and then danced for us…..

 

Here is tonight’s dessert menu…..

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

The key lime cheese cake stuffed apple…..

 

The cherry pie…..

 

The carrot cake…..

 

After dinner we all went back to our cabins to finish packing and putting our bags out into the hallway. None of us would be doing self-assist tomorrow morning.

 

At 8:30 we all met up again in the casino. The four of us sat down at an empty blackjack table to play. Big mistake. That table was empty for a reason. We got killed. I don’t think we lasted there more than a half an hour. We stayed around for the spin to win drawing, but none of us got selected. We decided to call it a cruise, said our goodbyes, and headed back to the cabin.

 

Day # 6 – Debarkation Day.

 

We were up at 6am to a beautiful day. We were already docked in Tampa. The problem for us was that we were now docked at Terminal 3. We had left from Terminal 2, and we were parked close to Terminal 2. More on this later. Here is the general debarkation information…..

 

Here is my Diamond debarkation information…..

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

We were scheduled to meet in the Piano Bar at 8am. We got there at 7:50 and were there only a few minutes before Jaime came to lead us to the gangway. Once in the baggage claim area getting a porter, finding our luggage, and going through customs was a breeze.

 

I had figured that the porter would drop off our luggage at the front of the terminal, and that I would have to hike over and get our van, and then come back to pick Patti and our luggage up. When I told our porter that we were parked by Terminal 2, he said “no problem, I’ll take your luggage there for you”. You can bet we took good care of that gentleman.

 

We were on the road by 8:35am, and as we made our way towards I-75 South to begin our journey to Fort Lauderdale, Patti got these last three shots of the Carnival Paradise…..

 

 

 

We love the Fantasy Class ships for the shorter runs, and especially if there is a tender port involved. The Carnival Paradise is in GREAT shape, and the crew is a happy crew. I don’t think they are as overworked as the crews that work on the larger ships.

 

It was a pleasure to cruise with our friends Jim and Pat again, and can’t wait to see them again on the Pride in October. We had great days at the Royal Palms in Grand Cayman, and at Mr. Sancho’s in Cozumel.

 

No complaints about the food or the drinks. It was an added bonus that we were able to sail with our favorite bartender Winston again. You rock man!!!

 

We would not hesitate to sail on the Carnival Paradise again, and are seriously thinking of trying a cruise to Cuba in the future.

 

I think that we have covered just about everything, but if you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask.

 

Coming up next: Heading to Fort Lauderdale and a date with the Conquest.

[sgttami]

Jeff,

 

Always love your reviews and photos! You had me hooked on Splendor before I ever sailed on her in 2014 as well as Sunshine and Pride...

 

Going on Pride for the 4th time this year in September!

 

Enjoy the rest of your trip...Smooth sailing:D:D

[Webecruzen]

Great overview of a great trip! Thank you for all the time! We have enjoyed catching up on the review much more than the last two Bolts games. Looking forward to the Ft. Lauderdale and Conquest part of the review! Then the countdown to the Pride!

[sp2]

Thanks for a great read and super photos, Jeff and Patti! I had been watching for this review and so excited, we’ve got another whole ship to come!

 

I just love your reviews, and am looking forward to the Fort Lauderdale and the Conquest!

 

We need to see Ryan again though. Will he be cruising with you again soon? It’s been great to see his casino luck too (I guess he has a great teacher?!).

 

Looking forward to Ship #2!

 

Sharon

[Frank12]

Thanks for the review and Pics. We leave on her in 2 days to Coz and again next summer to Cuba.

[tlw440]

Thanks for following along once again! :cool:

 

 

 

Thanks for reading and the kind words! There are seven Carnival ships that we have not sailed yet, though a couple of them are booked. They are the Imagination, Inspiration (booked), Spirit, Freedom, Valor (booked), Vista, and Horizon. Don't know if we'll ever sail them all, especially since we will never go to Galveston to board a ship. :cool:

We thought the same thing about Galveston but couldn't pass the 14 night Panama Canal Journeys Cruise on the Freedom in October 2019. We don't have as far to drive since we are in North Georgia.

[Alaskan Joe]

Thanks for the review Jeff, we hope we get to meet Winston on our next cruise. So are you going to add on to this review or you starting a whole new thread? I can't wait to read that one also.

[shipper50]

Thanks for the review and the pics. I was on the Paradise right before dry dock and it was my first CC cruise. Seeing pics of places I didn't get to see was great. Congrats on the BJ win and good luck in the big tournament. If you would like a sun set pic going back to Tampa I have some, I had to go up on deck 2 times as the clouds didn't cooperate the first time.

[SunnieC]

Hello Jeff, thank you and your wife so much for the review and the pictures! I know it takes a lot of time to do all of this. My family and I will be traveling on the Paradise in July, and since we just live in Clearwater- we may be driving (haven't come to a complete decision yet) I noticed that you said when you came back to port you docked in Terminal 3. Do you know if this is the way the Paradise docks in TPA then moves over to Terminal 2- or if that was just a flukey thing- particular to your cruise?

[rentayenta]

Great review! Can’t wait for the Conquest portion. We’ll be taking our first Carnival Cruise March 2019 on the Conquest.

[ninetyfeet]

Question about boarding in Tampa. We are Platinum but received a boarding time of 11:30-12:00. The boarding passes show PRIORITY and list out our Platinum status. Does this mean we cannot show up? Should we show up earlier as you did and just flash our priority passes? While I would love to get on early (so my two sons can get a little bit of a pre-tour before the chaos), I also don't want to stand around and wait for an hour with two hyper kids!

We haven't cruised since before kids so it has been 6 years now and I'm itching to get back on. Any info would be much appreciated as we board in two days!! :D:D:D:D:D

[l2f]

We love the Fantasy Class ships for the shorter runs, and especially if there is a tender port involved.

 

Jeff,

 

Great review as always. We have not cruised a Fantasy Class ship yet. So I have to ask why is a tender port better when on a Fantasy Class ship?

[Webecruzen]

Hello Jeff, thank you and your wife so much for the review and the pictures! I know it takes a lot of time to do all of this. My family and I will be traveling on the Paradise in July, and since we just live in Clearwater- we may be driving (haven't come to a complete decision yet) I noticed that you said when you came back to port you docked in Terminal 3. Do you know if this is the way the Paradise docks in TPA then moves over to Terminal 2- or if that was just a flukey thing- particular to your cruise?

 

 

Can’t say for sure but on other sailings out if Tampa we departed and returned from Terminal 3. I think this may have been a one off since the Paradise and the Miracle both left on Saturday. Typically the Miracle leaves on Sunday. It’s not a tremendous difference on the walk to the parking garage either from Terminal 2 or 3 so no big worries.