Carnival Paradise April 13, 2019 - Countdown to Cuba Cruise Review

[MistyRo76]

April 16 & 17, 2019 - Fun Days at Sea

 

I'm going to just package our two sea days into one post, because we really didn't do a whole lot on these days! I didn't feel great after we got back on the ship in Havana. I think it was just a combo of a long, hot day, eating too much lobster at dinner and all those mojitos! I didn't feel sick really - just felt icky! So I laid down early (and by early I mean 11:30PM) and got a good nights sleep. 

 

For breakfast each day, I had the Sea Day Brunch in the main dining room ordering sunny-side up eggs and bacon both times with a mimosa! I let them know the first day that I had a 10:10AM massage appointment in the spa and they were sure to get me out of there in time! The brunch is served in the forward dining room and tables are first come, first serve. The second morning there was a wait so they gave us a buzzer - but it only took about 5-10 minutes for a table to be ready for us. 

 

After breakfast on the first sea day, my sister and I had a "couples" massage booked. She booked it as a birthday present for me and it was cheaper to book as a couple. We arrived to the spa on time, filled out our pre-appointment paperwork and were taken immediately back to our treatment room. The massage itself was pretty good. My only complaint was that the room was on the colder side so it was harder to relax and really enjoy it. The table also didn't have a warmer (which most places I've had a massage do) and the only cover you with one sheet (not a sheet and blanket). The temp didn't seem to bother my sis, so maybe it was just me! After the massage, we got the typical product hard-sell. But we both politely declined and went about our way. They weren't nearly as pushy as I've had in the past (one girl in the past all but told me the products I was currently using were crap - which they are not! I pay a lot of money for that "crap"! LOL). 

 

After the massage, I found the hubby up in the smoking area above the Lido deck enjoying a morning pipe. We walked around the ship a bit intending to try to enjoy the serenity deck, but it was boiling hot back there! So we made our way downstairs to find something for lunch. We ending up getting Guy's Burgers. I had the Ringer Burger and it was delicious! I only ate 1/2 of it cause that's lot of grease. And their fries are so good....esp. with a side of chipotle mayo! The hubby went to finish off his pipe and my sis and I found a couple of chairs poolside on the main Lido deck and enjoyed some of the pool games (including the longest game of beer pong ever!). 

 

I will say that this was one of the "hotter" cruises I've taken. I think the short distance we had to travel between ports allowed us to go slower than I've experienced in the past which created hardly any breeze up on deck! Luckily, there were a couple showers next to the pool that you could rinse off/cool off in. The rest of the afternoon was spent enjoying the sun and some beverages. 

 

We had dinner that night in the main dining room. The hubby and I ended up getting ALL of that night's appetizers and shared them! We had spring roll, shrimp cocktail, salmon or crab cakes (can't remember which), a flatbread, a soup and I think a meatball dish. I have a pic, but it's hard to tell what everything was. I had the pasta dish for dinner that night - a penna with a cream sause. It was tasty! After dinner, we headed up to the promenade deck for some fun! We were planning on checking out the 80's party in the nightclub, but got sidetracked by the awesome band playing outside the casino! They were playing all 80's music and they had the whole place dancing along. It was a fun time. We did go to the nightclub, but it pretty much sucked and we headed right back to the casino bar. We then went to bar next to the nightclub where they have karaoke to see our favorite bartender, Pinky. We met her on the Valor almost 10 years ago and saw her at the Blue Iguana on the embarkation day. She makes a tasty shot with a dirty name which makes her giggle every times she says it! So we had to have one group shot with Pinky! Then we called it a day. 

 

The next day was even lazier. After breakfast the hubby and I lazed around the cabin and hung out on the balcony for a bit before heading out for lunch. I grabbed some sushi from the Bonsai Sushi stand on the promenade deck and met the hubby up on Lido. I think he had either Blue Iguana burrito or a Guy's Burger (or maybe both?? lol). We watched the Hairy Chest contest (and I did not agree with the chosen winner) and then it was back to the cabin to get packed up and relax. We had reservations for the Chef's Table that night. I was super excited for that! 

 

Next up - Chef's Table

[ChinaShrek]

On 4/21/2019 at 2:33 PM, MistyRo76 said:

April 13, 2019 - Embarkation Day Tampa, Florida

 

 

 

The only issue that I would even note is the water in our cabin seemed to have a yellowish tint to it. I noticed it a few days in when the toilet kept filling up with yellow water. I also noticed it in our sink when it would fill up. I meant to mention it to our steward, but kept forgetting to. I started using bottled water for brushing my teeth and washing my face. Couldn't tell if the shower water was the same since the floor in the shower was blue and the water didn't pool in there.. So showering didn't bother me. Again, not something that ruined our cruise or impacted us much...but wanted to note it nonetheless. 

 

 

 

I was on the exact same cruise as you and will comment about some of the things you mentioned in your review.  I was on Deck 11 (V cabin) and I had the same yellow water come out of my sink, (and toilet) so it was not just your cabin.  Everyone always says cruise ship water is very safe but I wasn't sure about this water, so I never drank the water from the faucet.

[ChinaShrek]

On 4/22/2019 at 4:40 PM, MistyRo76 said:

Once we got unpacked, it was nearly time for muster drill. Thankfully, our muster location was in the Rex Nightclub on Promenade deck. It was already quite full when we arrived, but we were able to secure some seats with our friends. People continued to file in for another 10-15 minutes. Once everyone was there, it was a pretty standard and painless muster drill.

 

After muster we continued to enjoy sail-away until we got to the point of nearing the Sunshine Skyway bridge. This was something we were looking forward to as another cruising first for us. We made our way up to the top deck all the way forward and had a great vantage point as we approached the bridge. It was cool to see the bridge getting closer and closer and going underneath it was really neat to watch! I do kind of wish that we would have watched it from near the tail as that is where the clearance is tightest. We could see it from the front, but I just think it would have looked spectacular standing right under the tail! 

 

After we cleared the bridge, we headed to our cabin to get ready for dinner. We had chosen late dinner seating since we had such a large group and were assigned to the Destiny aft dining room. Thirteen of our group was seated together at a long booth table. Two others were able to be re-accommodated to the table next to us and the other three did their own dinner thing. 

 

To start, we had the calamari and chicken quesadilla appetizers. For my main course, I had the fried shrimp dish. It was all really good. Our waiter brought out a special chocolate dessert and sang to us for our anniversary. But I was so stuffed, I couldn't really put away any dessert! After dinner, we went to the comedy show in the aft lounge. We got there plenty early and had great seats. But I didn't find the comic to be all that funny. Spent a couple hours after the comedy show donating money to the casino! LOL Actually, that night I was actually up, but I did donate overall! Spent most of my time playing blackjack with a little three card poker and texas hold'em mixed in. I didn't notice an overwhelming smell of smoke in the casino itself, but it was noticeable at the casino bar. But it was much better overall than many of the other ships I've been on. On the Vista, it was hard to even walk through the promenade area due to the smoke! After our casino time, we called it day and got ready for our first port day in Key West, Florida! 

 

Next up - Key West Pub Crawlin'! 

 

I am glad to hear that you had a positive muster.  I had an entirely different mustering experience.  This was my 8th cruise, but my first on Carnival. It was by far the longest and most chaotic muster experience of any of my cruises.  We had to muster on the Lido deck by the pool.  It took almost an hour.  People kept talking while announcements and names were being called.  The cruise director kept telling the crowd to be absolutely silent.  That worked for about 2 minutes and then people would loudly talk again.  Several people came late. They said they didn't know where to go.  Some people tried to leave and we told they couldn't.  These people just became louder! Actually, the muster was the most negative aspect of the cruise for me.  The rest of the cruise got much better and I hope it is not common on Carnival cruises.

 

I don't want to seem too negative in my comments.  I had a wonderful dinner experience o this ship.  I was traveling solo on this cruise and had Anytime Dining.  I went to the Elation Restaurant at 6:15pm on the first day of the cruise.  I asked if I could sit with other people, so I was seated at a table of 8.  The people were great.  Each night I came down for dinner to sit with these folks.  The head waiter was awesome.  He remember my name after just the first night.  He brought over what I liked to drink without even asking.  The food was very good.  I ordered the salmon most nights and thought it was cooked nicely. I thought the the dinner service and food equaled that of HAL or Royal Caribbean.

 

 

[MistyRo76]

59 minutes ago, ChinaShrek said:

 

I was on the exact same cruise as you and will comment about some of the things you mentioned in your review.  I was on Deck 11 (V cabin) and I had the same yellow water come out of my sink, (and toilet) so it was not just your cabin.  Everyone always says cruise ship water is very safe but I wasn't sure about this water, so I never drank the water from the faucet.

I’ve never in my 18 cruises experienced anything like that yellow water. When I first saw the yellow water in the toilet, I thought it just hadn’t gotten flushed. But after flushing three times it was still a little yellow. So weird! I wish I would have mentioned it to our steward, but when I did see him, I never would think about it! Did you report it? 

 

45 minutes ago, ChinaShrek said:

 

I am glad to hear that you had a positive muster.  I had an entirely different mustering experience.  This was my 8th cruise, but my first on Carnival. It was by far the longest and most chaotic muster experience of any of my cruises.  We had to muster on the Lido deck by the pool.  It took almost an hour.  People kept talking while announcements and names were being called.  The cruise director kept telling the crowd to be absolutely silent.  That worked for about 2 minutes and then people would loudly talk again.  Several people came late. They said they didn't know where to go.  Some people tried to leave and we told they couldn't.  These people just became louder! Actually, the muster was the most negative aspect of the cruise for me.  The rest of the cruise got much better and I hope it is not common on Carnival cruises.

 

I don't want to seem too negative in my comments.  I had a wonderful dinner experience o this ship.  I was traveling solo on this cruise and had Anytime Dining.  I went to the Elation Restaurant at 6:15pm on the first day of the cruise.  I asked if I could sit with other people, so I was seated at a table of 8.  The people were great.  Each night I came down for dinner to sit with these folks.  The head waiter was awesome.  He remember my name after just the first night.  He brought over what I liked to drink without even asking.  The food was very good.  I ordered the salmon most nights and thought it was cooked nicely. I thought the the dinner service and food equaled that of HAL or Royal Caribbean.

 

 

I will say that this muster drill seemed more strict than ones I’ve been to in the past. I remember people being shhh’d and we got scolded for taking a pic of our group while waiting for people to file in. I mean I get the need for total attention and quiet while they are giving instructions, but until then I don’t see why the need for everyone to be still and silent! 

[Anyislandwilldo]

Thanks for your review.  We loved everything in Cuba.  Truly a once in a lifetime experience.  

[ChinaShrek]

3 minutes ago, MistyRo76 said:

I’ve never in my 18 cruises experienced anything like that yellow water. When I first saw the yellow water in the toilet, I thought it just hadn’t gotten flushed. But after flushing three times it was still a little yellow. So weird! I wish I would have mentioned it to our steward, but when I did see him, I never would think about it! Did you report it? 

 

 

No, I figured the cabin steward could see it for himself, but now I wish I did say something.  I also wasn't sure how widespread it was on the ship.  I thought it was just a rusty pipe in my cabin but from your comments I think it was a bigger issue.

[MistyRo76]

April 17, 2019 - Chef’s Table

 

Tonights dinner was something that We’ve been looking forward to since we booked this cruise. The hubby and I had actually booked Chef’s Table on our Vista cruise in 2017. But we were traveling with our then-three year old daughter Sawyer Rose. Iit would be the first time she was old enough to go to Camp Ocean and we honestly didn’t know how she would like it (she was in a phase of not liking being left places - i.e. church nursery, dance class, etc.). Knowing it was a three hour dining experience, we decided to cancel rather than risk getting called out of there if she was not adjusting well to camp. We wanted to be able to enjoy the experience without worry or distraction, so we waited! 

 

When we booked this Cuba cruise and decided to leave Sawyer home with the grandparents, we immediately knew we would do Chef’s Table this time around. 

 

I requested my reservation for the Chef’s Table by emailing the Maitre d’s email address and I promptly received a confirmation email back. Over the next few weeks, four others from our group joined us and we were able to change our reservation accordingly thru email. 

 

I knew that Chef’s Table could be held on multiple nights and that we would be informed of when we would attend via a letter sent to our cabin once onboard. By day three (our day in Cuba), we had not received our letters. That night after getting back on the ship I went to Guest Services to inquire only to be told they had no record of our Chef’s Table booking. I showed her the email confirmation I had received (luckily I save everything!!!) and she proceeded to tell me that it wasn’t really a confirmation (even though that’s what it clearly said) and it was more of a waitlist indication. She said that she would have to talk to the Maitre d and he was off duty until morning. She made a note for someone to contact us once they had talked to him. 

 

The next morning after our massages my sis and I headed back to Guest Services to follow up because I’m impatient. This time they had the Assistant Maitre d and another high ranking member of the dining room staff come out and talk to us directly. We explained the situation and showed him the email from last June showing the Maitre d confirming our reservation for Chef’s Table for six of us. They had no record of this email in their system. They thought it may have been because that Maitre d had left the ship and they had actually had three others since him. So our early planning had maybe hurt us in this case! I also mentioned that three of us in our group were Platinum - I don’t play this card very often (if ever). But I do think in cases like this, your status should account for something.

 

The gentlemen explained that typically the capacity for the Chef’s Table is 18 and that evenings dinner was booked to 16 already and the next night was booked to 15. He said they would speak with the chef and make sure he was comfortable going above that number and also look to move around some dining staff to accommodate extra people. He said they could come by our table at dinner that evening to let us know if they could work it out and they would do their best which was all we could ask. I will say that during this whole time, we never got upset or raised our voices or made demands. I just feel that the best way to handle these situations is to stay calm and manage your own expectations. If they couldn’t make it work, it would be disappointing but it certainly wouldn’t ruin our cruise! 

 

True to their word, our Maitre d came by that evening during dinner to let us know they were able to make it work and we would be joining the Chef’s Table the following evening. Our invitation would be delivered to our cabin the next day. Yay!!! So grateful to the staff who were able to accommodate us and allow us to enjoy this culinary experience! 

 

Next up - an amazing dinner! 

[MistyRo76]

April 17, 2019 - Chef’s Table continued

 

Our Chef’s Table invite said to meet near the Lobby Bar at 6:00PM. The hubby and I headed down early to get a drink from the bar. While we were waiting for our drink, a staff member came over and asked if we were part of the Chef’s Table and directed us over to a sectioned off seating area where they served us champagne while we waited for everyone to arrive. 

 

A couple of notes about booking Chef’s Table:

* you have to complete a health questionnaire stating you have not been ill or around anyone who was ill. 

* it says that closed toed shoes are recommended due to waking in the galley. But I don’t pick closed toed shoes on vacay. I wore wedges and it was fine. I saw others in heels. Do be careful though as the galley floor can be slippery. 

 

Once everyone had arrived, they guided us up to the galley where we got a short intro to the goings on in the area. One thing that always strikes me when I’ve done galley tours in the past is how fast the revolving doors the wait staff uses spin. I couldn’t imagine going thru those doors with a tray full of food! 

 

While we were here in the galley we were serve four small appetizers. 

 

The first thing they handed us literally looked like an egg yolk on a cracker. We were told to just put it in our mouth all at once, close our mouth and bite in to it. I was a little skeptical but did it. All of a sudden, this liquid rushed through my mouth. I wasn’t sure how i felt about it initially...I started looking for a trash can to spit it out. Lol But then it started to taste really sweet and good. It was a Mango Sphere on a Rosemary Biscuit. Very interesting! 

 

The second app was a Salmon Tartar Cornet. This may have been my favorite! 

 

Thr next appetizer was Beef Carpaccio on an Air Pillow with Chocolate Bacon Apple Ribbons. 

 

And finally we had Double Cooked Lamb with Tapioca. 

 

After we finished our appetizers, we were escorted to another area of the galley where we were given a demo of how make Carnival’s famous Warm Chocolate Melting Cake. 

 

More to Follow! 

[MistyRo76]

Chef’s Table continues:

 

After we concluded in the galley, we were escorted to the Library which was closed for this private event and set up for dining. We had assigned seats with name cards on the table. Before being seated we took a group photo with our Chef. We were each given a free 8x10 copy of the photo at the end of the dinner. 

 

Our wait staff then described the wines they would be offering. There was one white and one red. I asked for a glass of both so I could pair accordingly depending on each dish. They also came around with water - still or sparkling. And I think others ordered drinks like sodas as well. 

 

Each course was described in great detail by our Chef. There were eight courses in all not including the appetizers served in the galley or the bread. Below is a description of each course and pics will be below. It was amazing! And the service was top notch! There was someone in our group who had some dietary restrictions. I did see the Chef bring her specially prepared meals. 

 

1. Breads - included a Bleu Cheese Biscuit and these very flat crisp breads. Not my favorite breads ever...but considering I usually hate Bleu Cheese the biscuits weren’t bad. 

 

2. Salad - no pic and I didn’t really eat much of it. I was saving all my belly space for the good stuff to follow! 

 

3. Beet Blanket, Spiced Grape Tea (Asparagus, Caluiflower, Honey Carrot Tian Panacotta, Mache, Lemon Streussel) - this was one of the more interesting dishes for me as I don’t care for beets at all, but it wasn’t bad. The panacottas were different but tasty and it sure was beautiful! 

 

4. Crab Stack (Corn Custard, Polenta Cracker, Tangerine and Passionfruit Cavier) - this dish was amazing! The cavier was an awesome touch! 

 

5. Duck Textures (Creamy Quinoa, Parmesan Churros, Olive Snow, Port Wine Jus) - this was also very tasty, especially the churros. I’ve not had duck more than once or twice, but I would have this again! 

 

6. Bisque Our Way (Two Tomatoes, Three Basil, Crisped Brioche, Garlic Chip) - this was just beautiful once they added the soup! And the tastes were amazing! 

 

7. Sea Bass (Chorizo Crust, Fried Pop Corn Pudding, Lemon Macaroon, Lobster Foam) - this was also amazing with the various flavors combined together. But this is also where I started losing steam. I wish I would have eaten less Sea Bass and saved some room for the next dish which was the best of them all! 

 

8.  Wagyu (Bone Marrow Soufflé, Scallion & Garlic Panisse, Gremolata Crisp) - As I said above, this was THE best dish of the night! I could only eat about half otherwise I wouldn’t have any room for dessert! 

 

9. Dessert Sea Salt Praline Chocolate (with Chocolate Rice Krispies on top), Raspberry Mojito Cake, Key Lime Cake, Apricot Vanilla Gel, Citrus Cream - they put a nice little birthday message on my plate and sang to me! My birthday was the day after we got off the ship. I’m not a huge dessert person -  but these were really good esp. the chocolate one and mojito cake! 

 

We left stuffed and very satisfied! This meal is so worth the $75 upcharge - from the service, to the artistic, different dishes, the food quantity and quality, the free flowing wine and intimate dining setting! Would do this again in a heartbeat! 

 

Next up - Disembarkation and Travel Home. 

[MistyRo76]

April 18, 2019 - Disembarkation at Tampa, FL (AKA - Back to Reality lol)

 

I woke up early - probably 6AM or so. The ship was nearing the port area already. We had decided since it was just the two of us, we would carry our bags off the ship ourselves. I had mostly packed my stuff the day before, but my hubby had left his packing to that morning. I woke him and we went about getting everything ready to disembark the ship. Around 7:15AM, we grabbed our friends and started to head up to the Rex nightclub where self-assist people were supposed to gather. Disembarkation for self-assist was supposed to start around 7:30AM. My hubby wanted to stop at the specialty coffee counter for a good coffee. He was in line there when they called for self-assist to head to the Lobby to exit the ship. It was 7:34AM when they made the first call for self-assist. Once Drew got his coffee, we joined our friends in line for the elevator. It moved surprisingly quickly. Once we got down to the Lobby, things moved very fast. We were off the ship in minutes. The down escalator was not working in the terminal building. You could either wait for the elevator or carry your bags down the stairs. We elected to carry and use the stairs. We were directed to customs and got in lines based on who was in your household. The customs agents verified our passports and we were on our way. We requested a Lyft to the airport and he picked us up within 5 minutes (he had to circle once because of where he was when he accepted the trip). Even with morning rush hour traffic we were to the airport within 15-20 minutes. We had already checked in us and our bags on the Delta app. We dropped our bags at the counter (my big one weighed 51 lbs - oops - but they didn’t say anything about it) and headed to our gate. At the Tampa airport, you take a train to your concourse and then go through security there. Since the checkpoint only processes passengers for those gates the lines are pretty short. It only took us a couple minutes to get through and on to our gate. All in all, it took us one hour and nine minutes to get to our gate from the moment Carnival called for self assist! I feel like may be some kind of record. It was so easy! I would definitely cruise from Tampa again in the future! 

 

We got to our gate three hours before our plane was scheduled to depart. I grabbed “breakfast” from Panda Express. Orange Chicken and Rice isn’t my traditional breakfast but it hit the spot. We just hung out and relaxed until our flight boarded right on time. We had Delta Comfort again for the trip home and settled in watching some Santa Clarita Diet on Netflix for the duration of the flight home (if you haven’t watched this show, you should! It’s hilarious!). My mother-in-law has promised to take our daughter shopping for a small toy since she was so good while we were away, so they were going to up by where we live anyway and offered to pick us up from the airport saving us the Lyft fare. It was a great trip, but it was SOOOOO good to see our little girl again! We missed her so much! 

 

It was nice nice to get home to our house by 3:00PM and have the rest of the day to relax and recharge! 

 

Next up: Closing Thoughts.

[MistyRo76]

Carnival Paradise Final Thoughts:

 

I think I hit most of the big items during the bulk of my review, but wanted to touch on a few other things here that may be of interest to others. 

 

Wi-Fi: This was the first time I’ve purchased any kind of wi-fi plan. I don’t typically like to have my phone out much while I’m on vacation. The complete inaccessibility was always one of the biggest draws for me to cruising. But given that we were leaving our little one home with the grandparents, I didn’t want to be completely unreachable. This itinerary was nice as it allowed us to call our daughter while in Key West so we really only had three days that we couldn’t talk to her or FaceTime with her. Being able to check in via Facebook messenger was great to stay in touch! It seemed to work ok - there was part of one day that I couldn’t get or receive messages. Someone finally told me to re-connect through the app and that got things started again. Messaging seemed to work better when we weren’t in our cabin. I was also able to get news through my apps and post to Facebook a bit. Overall, it was more than adequate for the price! 

 

Hub App: With a large group, the hub app is great for tracking people down or coordining meeting locations. The hub app automatically shows you people whose bookings are connected to yours. We set up a group chat on the first day but someone I got dropped from it - it showed me still as part of the group on others’ phones but I wasn’t getting those messages. 

 

The app also allows you to check your account balance, look at the daily activities and mark events as favorites, check out dining menus and see when everything is open or serving food. You can also view your photos in the app and make purchases from it. It pulls pics to your app by facial recognition or if the photographers enter your folio number. But the facial recognition doesn’t work well. I had many photos of people I didn’t know showing in my hub app. Pics of my sister and I from dinner, would show in her app but not mine. It was really hit or miss. We didn’t take a lot of ship photos and I didn’t purchase any this time. 

 

Fitness center: I should have used this. It didn’t! Lol My sis did use it every day though. She took a fall skiing this winter and injured her arm. She had to do her physical therapy on vacation twice a day. She said the gym was nice and it never seemed to be too busy! 

 

Cheers Program - my hubby and I purchased Cheers. We like to drink on vacation and enjoy knowing what we will pay up front. This also allows us to try new things and not have to worry if I don’t like it. As I mentioned before, we hit it came close to hitting our 15 drink limit several days so it was definitely worth it for us. Nice to have a morning mimosa or Bellini to start your day! We didn’t find the service to be slow because of our cheers programs but we usually tipped an extra dollar for each drink so maybe that helped. Never waited more than a couple minutes to be served at any bar. But the number of waiters walking around the Lido deck taking orders seemed noticeably less than on previous cruises. We didn’t spend a ton of time just laying out on Lido, so it didn’t impact us, but just wanted to note it none the less. 

 

Serenity: the serenity area on this ship was small. Half of it was under the cover of shade and half of it was loungers in direct sunlight. We only spent about 30 minutes total here the whole cruise. To get drinks here, you have to go upstairs to the bar at the back of the Lido restaurant. But this bar was usually not too busy and also had a couple TV’s where the hubby got to catch of bit of our Reds baseball game. 

 

Entertainment: We did not take in any of the shows in the main theater. And we caught the one comic who was pretty terrible. The ship seemed to be pretty dead at night - karaoke seemed to be a pretty big hit from what we saw and the 80’s band was awesome and a real crowd pleaser! On this class of ship, the piano bar is located above the lobby outside of the forward dining room. So it’s kind of a case of out of sight, out of mind. We never thought to go there so I can’t comment on how the piano player was. The guy playing at the lobby bar seemed a little hokey and cheesy. Didn’t catch much of his act - but what I saw wasn’t really my cup of tea. The casino never felt that busy. I usually played either before or after dinner and never had an issue getting a seat at a table. I played mostly blackjack and a little three card poker and Texas hold ‘em. But the dealers were great and very personable! 

 

Demographic: This was definitely a different demographic than I’m accustomed to. I think it’s the Cuba stop that’s the reason. We definitely cruised during the later part of spring break and there were very few kids on board. Mostly couples, groups, and the average age was probably 40-50 and up (which was great for us cause that fit with most of our group!). 

 

Savings: We were able to save a ton in this cruise for a lot of reasons:

*saved $300+ by switching to the earlier booking date

*saved using All-State Rewards for paying off most of our cruise and pre-paid onboard purchase like Cheers, Key West excursion, spa services, Wi-Fi, gratuities, etc. I also used these gift cards to buy cruise cash so we had a pretty good head start on our shipboard expenses like our Visa, Chef’s Table and gambling. 

*got two offers on my Delta AMEX that got me two $100 credits for paying toward my cruise balance. 

*used miles for booking most of our airfare. My Delta AMEX also allowed both of us to check a bag for free. 

 

These savings really add up - to the tune of over $1000 for us! That’s gonna more than pay for my next cruise (plus Cheers and other stuff) which is a Girls Cruise for me and my two best friends on the Conquest in fall of 2020! 

 

Fantasy Class Thoughts: I enjoyed being back on a Fantasy class ship after over 10 years. It was a nice change of pace and I don’t think I really missed out on anything other than the big screen on Lido and Alchemy bar. I know my husband enjoyed the lack of crowds more. My favorite ship class is still the Conquest class (Breeze is my favorite!!), but I wouldn’t hesitate to sail on another Fantasy Class ship in the future! 

 

Im gonna post some pictures from my phone next but if anyone has any questions, please ask away and I’ll do my best to answer them! 

 

 

 

[MistyRo76]

[MistyRo76]

[MistyRo76]

[MistyRo76]

[MistyRo76]

Key West Pub Crawl

[future1sttimecruiser]

This is very helpful 😊 I sail on the Paradise in about a month. Which Internet Plan did you purchase - Social or Value? TIA

[MistyRo76]

More Key West! 

[MistyRo76]

Some Random Ship Pics and Arriving Havana!

[MistyRo76]

I Love Cuba Photo Tour:

Fusterlandia

Havana Forest

Plaza de Revolucion

El Cocinero for Lunch

[MistyRo76]

Tour Continued:

Hotel Nacional

El Morro Fort

Central Havana

[MistyRo76]

Dinner at Los Naranjos 

Havana at Night

[MistyRo76]

These are a few of my favorite shots that I took of Havana (with my lowly iPhone 6S - my work really needs to start issuing newer phone models soon). I’ll come back later and post some of the professional shots our guides took once I get them uploaded. 

 

 

[MistyRo76]

Miscellaneous Pics

 

[MistyRo76]

Well, gang! I think that’s mostly it for now (other than our professions tour photos). So ill be signing off here...but will definitely check back to answer any questions that people may have about the ship, Port of Tampa or the itinerary. Hope you enjoyed reading along as much as I enjoyed reliving our vacation! 

 

Thanks for reading!