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

[Jamman54]

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

 

Thanks Pam! Always great to have you along for the ride! Warm the Pride up for us. We'll be on her again in October. :D

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!

 

The Bolts got to get a win tonight! I'll be starting the next chapter of our trip tomorrow. Still have a lot of work to do prepping the pictures and uploading. :cool:

[Jamman54]

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 een great to see his casino luck too (I guess he has a great teacher?!).

Looking forward to Ship #2!

Sharon

Hey Sharon! Great to have you along again. Stay tuned as the next segment will start going up tomorrow.

Ryan and I will be sailing on the Elation the end of August for a father and son get away. Won't be doing a full review of that one, but I will share some pictures when we get back. :D

 

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

 

Thanks for reading Frank! Enjoy your cruise on the Paradise! :cool:

[Jamman54]

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.

 

A Journeys cruise would be a reason for us to cruise from Galveston, but it would really have to be a very unique itinerary for us to consider. :cool:

 

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.

 

Hey Joe! Winston has left the Paradise and is now on vacation. When he returns in a couple of months, he will be on the Valor.

I will be adding on to this thread starting tomorrow. :cool:

[Jamman54]

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.

 

Thanks for reading! If you liked the Paradise before, you'll love her even more now! :cool:

 

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?

 

Thanks for following along! I see that Jim and Pat have answered your question in their post above. Enjoy your cruise on the Paradise! :D

[Jamman54]

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

 

Thanks again for reading! I'll be starting the Conquest portion tomorrow. :cool:

 

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

 

As Platinum cruisers you can show up as early as you want. so pay no attention to the check in times. Have a great cruise on the Paradise! :D

[Jamman54]

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?

 

It's all about the numbers. Would you like to tender into a port such as HMC with 2,400 fellow passengers or with 4,400 fellow passengers? :cool:

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.

 

Hey guys! Thanks for jumping in and answering this one. Go Bolts!!! :D

[E@syPe@zy]

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?

Not as many people trying to get off at the same time. The Fantasy class ships have a nice flow to them and never seem crowded.

Sorry Jeff....I didn't see your response....my bad!

[cruiser_family]

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

 

Thanks!!! We'll see how it plays out but at least we know it is a possibility.

[ninetyfeet]

Thanks for the quick reply and preview of what to expect! Looking forward to getting back on the boat!

[sp2]

Hey Sharon! Great to have you along again. Stay tuned as the next segment will start going up tomorrow.

Ryan and I will be sailing on the Elation the end of August for a father and son get away. Won't be doing a full review of that one, but I will share some pictures when we get back. :D

 

 

 

I will watch for the mini-review in early September.....

Patiently waiting for Conquest to begin..........:D:D:)

[Jamman54]

Great review, Jeff, as always! I'm looking forward to the next chapter. This type of "side to side" cruise is something I'd love to do. Once my husband retires, we will!

 

Thanks for coming along for the ride again! Since Patti retired we are enjoying these types of vacations a lot! :D

Not as many people trying to get off at the same time. The Fantasy class ships have a nice flow to them and never seem crowded.

Sorry Jeff....I didn't see your response....my bad!

 

No problem. We gave the same answer! :D

[Jamman54]

Our drive down to Fort Lauderdale was uneventful and took about 5 hours which included an hour stop for lunch at a Perkins. Around 1:30pm we arrived at our destination……

 

We will be spending the next three nights at the Springhill Suites in Dania. The hotel is right off of I-95, and is about a ten minute ride from the airport and cruise terminals. They offer free shuttles to and from the airport and cruise terminals.

 

This is the front desk of the Springhill Suites…..

 

 

We had to wait about an hour for our room to be ready. We were given room # 615. Here are a few views of our room…..

 

 

 

 

To be continued……

 

[Jamman54]

Here are some more views of our room at the Springhill suites…..

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued……

[Jamman54]

Of course Patti had to do a little exploring and picture taking. This is the exercise room…..

 

 

 

 

They had a nice little pool area……

 

To be continued……

[Jamman54]

Here are some more views of the pool area……

 

 

 

 

Right next to the front desk there was a little snack shop……

 

 

Around 6pm we went to the nearby Rustic Inn Crab House for dinner. The restaurant runs a shuttle to various hotels in the area, so we took advantage of it. The restaurant is on the water, and judging from the amount of people that were there, very popular. Our seafood dinners were very good, but on the expensive side. After dinner we took their shuttle back to the Springhill Suites and relaxed for the night.

 

To be continued…….

[Jamman54]

The next morning we were up at 8am to a beautiful day. The Springhill Suites offers a complimentary breakfast every morning……

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued……

[Jamman54]

Here are some more views of the complimentary breakfast. Not bad at all…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued……

[rs45thompson]

Subscribing

[Jamman54]

I mentioned at the beginning of this review that in our over 50 cruises we had never sailed from Fort Lauderdale. Patti had never been here, and it was almost 40 years since I had been here. Back in my younger days, Fort Lauderdale was the place to go for Spring Break. I think I was down here for 6 or 7 straight years. I have very vivid memories of the time I spent down here, so today I’m going to show Patti around. As I mentioned earlier, the airport is very close by…..

This way to A1A, which runs right along the beach…..

 

The Coral Princess and Serenade of the Seas are in Port Everglades today…..

 

 

Pier 66……

 

 

Welcome to Fort Lauderdale…..

 

 

To be continued……

 

[tarheelmjfan]

I've been enjoying your review. You've finally made it to my backyard. I'm looking forward to seeing what you guys did in this area. We've never been to the Rustic Inn Crab House, because we're afraid it's yet another tourist trap. Would you recommend it for locals?

[Alaskan Joe]

*Bookmark*

[tybrkr17]

The Coral Princess and Serenade of the Seas are in Port Everglades today…..

 

 

 

 

I just got off the Serenade of the Seas this week! I did a 7 night Norway cruise out of Copenhagen, Denmark from May 6th-13th. You must have saw her in Florida before she did her Transatlantic crossing to Europe. :):):)

[tlw440]

I've been enjoying your review. You've finally made it to my backyard. I'm looking forward to seeing what you guys did in this area. We've never been to the Rustic Inn Crab House, because we're afraid it's yet another tourist trap. Would you recommend it for locals?

We ate there a 2 or 3 years ago, it was good but very crowded. We recommended it for some family that live outside of Fort Lauderdale.

[rjl1977]

Jeff, thank you for taking so much time to put this, and all your reviews together. I really enjoyed the first part and I'm looking forward to the rest of the review since I haven't ever cruised out of Fort Lauderdale and would like to see it from your perspective. I can't wait to read the rest!

[missholly24]

Hi Jeff,

You have some of the best cruise reviews I have ever read! Thank you (and Patti) for taking so much time documenting and taking all of the photos. I have written down so many pointers from your trips! You, Mitsugirly, and GaPearl have made so many of my vacations easier and more enjoyable. The insider tips are priceless. Some people don't understand my obsession with cruising, but here on cruisecritic its normal :D