Pirate’s in PARADISE! Jan 13-18, 2020 Review

[obx_fintoo]

19 hours ago, pirate4me2 said:

See the dangerous pole there on the left??!!

😄  We stayed in one of these aft balconys on the Elation last May!  And we made the same comments (running into it drunk and why not put it right in the middle.  LOL   

[pirate4me2]

1 minute ago, obx_fintoo said:

😄  We stayed in one of these aft balconys on the Elation last May!  And we made the same comments (running into it drunk and why not put it right in the middle.  LOL   

Is it in all the aft balcony rooms on Fantasy class ships? I mean...it’s not a deal breaker, but it did almost break me a few times! 

[obx_fintoo]

1 minute ago, pirate4me2 said:

Is it in all the aft balcony rooms on Fantasy class ships? I mean...it’s not a deal breaker, but it did almost break me a few times! 

I was lead to believe it was just the ones on the ends, so not the corner balconies and not the middle ones.  We had the opposite side (and our pole was on the opposite side from your pic) and it was also an Upper cabin.  I would guess it's all of those, but maybe someone else can confirm.  

 

Looking forward to the rest!

[Bases5]

Sailing on Paradise in May  Thanks for the review. 

[pirate4me2]

1 hour ago, Bases5 said:

Sailing on Paradise in May  Thanks for the review. 

Have an awesome time! More to come later today. :) If you happen to have Zach Daniels as the piano bar entertainer, he is HILARIOUS and awesome. We had him on the Sunshine last year, and he posted that he will be going to Paradise next.

[NCTribeFan]

LOL!  Your Mom sounds like me!  Back when DD used to sail with me (before she became an adult and went off and got married), she'd try to get me to leave the club or the casino and STOP DRINKING AND GO TO BED!  Even when we sailed together last May on Armonia to Cuba, she was in the cabin and asleep before I'd finished my evening activities.  😂

 

You really should've sailed Fantasy while she was in Charleston.  I love the Old Gal.  Like her a lot more than Ecstasy.  I was surprised by Paradise.  I thought she looked very "fresh" for her age.  Not sure when she was last in dry dock but even my little 1A cabin had a fridge (was warmer than the cabin, though) and looked like everything was brand new.

 

I hope to sail the others in the class before too much longer (assuming I do any more on Carnival after the 3 I have booked).  I've been on Fantasy, Elation, Fascination, Ecstasy and Paradise.  I've heard good things about Sensation.  Probably won't, though, unless they move Imagination and Inspiration from LA. 

[pirate4me2]

26 minutes ago, NCTribeFan said:

LOL!  Your Mom sounds like me!  Back when DD used to sail with me (before she became an adult and went off and got married), she'd try to get me to leave the club or the casino and STOP DRINKING AND GO TO BED!  Even when we sailed together last May on Armonia to Cuba, she was in the cabin and asleep before I'd finished my evening activities.  😂

 

You really should've sailed Fantasy while she was in Charleston.  I love the Old Gal.  Like her a lot more than Ecstasy.  I was surprised by Paradise.  I thought she looked very "fresh" for her age.  Not sure when she was last in dry dock but even my little 1A cabin had a fridge (was warmer than the cabin, though) and looked like everything was brand new.

 

I hope to sail the others in the class before too much longer (assuming I do any more on Carnival after the 3 I have booked).  I've been on Fantasy, Elation, Fascination, Ecstasy and Paradise.  I've heard good things about Sensation.  Probably won't, though, unless they move Imagination and Inspiration from LA. 

I may still sail Fantasy, I would love to visit Mobile so there is a good chance! I will have to check out Sensation too. I just need to make these B2B cruises since they are shorter itineraries, gotta make it worth the travel to the port! 

[pirate4me2]

Mom and I slept in a little bit today, we got up at 9. Paradise was to arrive in Cozumel, Mexico at 10, but our excursion didn’t meet until 11 so we took our time getting ready. We headed up to Lido for some grub, she opted for something off the buffet while I hit up Blue Iguana for an awesome breakfast burrito. I love those dang things, they are delicious and filling!

 

At 10:30 Mom and I headed to the room to grab our items we needed to take off the ship, then we went to the gangway on deck 3. There was no wait to get off, we breezed thru and made our way down the pier to the meeting point (end of the pier, #15. We had booked the Off Road Jeep Adventure to Passion Island, and all I can say about this excursion is….

 

IT. WAS. A. BLAST!!!!!!

 

Our guides, who’s names I did not write down, were absolutely fantastic. They got us checked in, and we met the rest of the group. There were only 8 people on the excursion today, so it was a nice, small group. They led us to our Jeeps and gave us the basic info…4 people per Jeep, and the Jeeps are stick shift with no power steering. They let us figure out who would drive, and we all piled in. Mom and I were with a nicer couple, and the other people were a family of 4 so it worked out good. Off we went!

 

Mom was the designated driver for our group, and she said that honestly the hardest part of the driving was going thru town! Mexico is cray cray! We had scooters trying to cut us off, horse & carriage tours to dodge, pedestrians with a death wish that would dart in front of the Jeep, and random dogs napping in the road. When we finally got to the off-road part she breathed a sigh of relief.

 

Now, the guides had warned us that the off-road part was bouncy and rough. Holy freakin’ moly, they weren’t exaggerating! It was muddy, dusty, and ROUGH, but so much fun! Our group laughed so hard, and we all left with bruises from bouncing around so much. By the time we reached the boat that would take us to Passion Island, we needed a break from the “abuse.”

 

Now the island….oh my. I cannot say enough good things about it. This is a private island, and it was amazing. The beach was lovely, and not crowded at all. They had changing facilities, restrooms, a few stores, a few bars (some were open bar, and labeled as such, and drinks are included in this excursion!), and a food pavilion where our included lunch was served. They had hammocks you could lay in and take a nap, and they offered a kayak tour included in our excursion if we wished. Mom and I opted out of the kayak and hit up the lunch, which was OK. They offered tacos, pizza, hamburgers, hot dogs, fries, rice, salsa, guac (it was yummy), beans, and a few other items. Overall the food was just OK, but I wasn’t going to starve.

 

We had about 2.5 hours on the island, and I really wanted to swim but the water was COLD and rough waves. I ended up vegging in a hammock. It was so relaxing, and I loved the fact that I was never hassled by a vendor while I was there, unlike at Mr Sancho’s.

 

 

Our trusty steed today. I named her Tank

 

 

I love looking up thru palm trees at the sky!

 

 

 

 

Edited January 23, 2020 by pirate4me2

[pirate4me2]

All too soon it was time to leave our little slice of Heaven, and we took the quick boat ride back to Cozumel and loaded up in our Jeeps again. We didn’t go off-road this time, just back to the main road and then thru town, dodging the obstacles. We arrived back at the port at 4:30 and walked the shops a tiny bit, then got back onboard at 5:15.

 

We were a little hungry, so after cleaning up we headed to Lido for dinner. I opted for a deli sandwich and salad, and the buffalo chicken sandwich was amazing. Nomnomnom. We snarfed down our meals and headed back to the room to read on the balcony for a bit and do a little packing. I couldn’t believe our cruise was coming to an end!

 

At 9:30 Mom and I attended the Love & marriage show in the Normandie lounge, hosted by Leon. It was cute, and the older couple absolutely cracked me up. We followed that by going to the Piano Bar, since my cruise Grandma and Grandpa had “ordered” me to attend tonight since I hadn’t seen them since day 1. How in the world is it that on big ships I always seem to run into the same people, but on this little ship it seemed like I never saw the same person twice?? We went into the Piano Bar and there was no sign of Grandma and Grandpa….they must have had too much fun on the Cozumel Bar Hop. Hehehe. Gustavo the piano man was really, really good though, so we hung around for a bit. Man can he play! 

 

Finally at 11:35 I decided to head back to the cabin and call it a day. I was exhausted from the sun, fun, and excitement of the day. I still couldn’t believe that tomorrow was my last day onboard!

 

 

Conquest, Celebrity Infinity, and Paradise 

 

I always feel so tiny with the ships towering over me! Even these small ships aren’t so small. 

Edited January 23, 2020 by pirate4me2

[pirate4me2]

For once, I managed to sleep in today! I always say that I want to sleep in on vacation, but can never seem to. Well, today I managed to sleep until 10:30. It was absolutely blissful!

 

Once I finally decided to get going I made my way to the coffee shop and treated Mom to a coffee. My iced mocha was delish, but again, they refused to give me a straw. Ugh. I have got to remember to bring some straws in the future!

 

We hit up Sea Day brunch at noon, and there was hardly anyone in the restaurant. Service today was TERRIBLE though. The table next to us had to ask for coffee 3 times (thank goodness I had my own!), and incorrect items were delivered. I asked for cheddar grits, but I got plain, and my omlet was delivered with no brunch potatoes. It was absolutely delicious though, and served piping hot…yay!! The chicken sausage was yummy. Mom also got an omlet and agreed it was good.

 

We went back to the room and enjoyed the balcony for a few hours, then wandered around a bit. At 5:00 we went to the Queen Mary lounge for the Platinum/Diamond Reunion, where I won the Guess the Ship contest! Drink service was terribly slow in the party, I got 1 White Russian (yum!) but had to fetch my own 2^nd drink and ended up just going to the bar and taking a FunShip Special off a tray there.

 

We went to our set dinnertime in the Destiny Restaurant at 6:00 since that was when the party ended and we just had to go down 1 floor for it. My Caesar salad I ordered was awesome, and the salmon cakes are always my absolute favorite entrée of the cruise. The cream spinach I got for my side was OK, not as good as usual. The lady next to me ordered a tofu steak that she couldn’t stand, so I asked if I could try it. It was….interesting. LOL. The Indian Vegetarian dish was spicy, but just OK. It wasn’t what I remembered from the last time I ordered it.

 

Dinner was over in time for us to head to the Normandie for the 9:15 showing of my absolute favorite Playlist show, Epic Rock. It was awesome as always, and when it ended we headed to the Piano Bar to have a fun farewell with our friends. Cruise Grandma and Grandpa were there and got us some seats, and Mom’s friends showed up too. Gustavo fired up at 10:30, and since it was Cruise Grandma’s birthday the day before we played a little trick on her when she left to go to the bathroom. He turned down the lights, shut the doors, and then had us all yell “Surprise!” and sing her happy birthday when she returned. Gustavo really is a lot of fun, go see him if you sail with him.

 

We stayed at the Piano Bar until 11:45, then decided we really needed to head to bed since we had to drive home tomorrow. The letter for Priority debarkation said we needed to be in the Elation MDR at 7:30. Eeek, that is early!

 

OK, Settle a debate between me and my mom. Does this carpet look like hurricanes?? 

 

The hallways on Paradise are nicely updated!

Tofu steak 

 

Indian Vegetarian 

 

Our server during “showtime”

Warm Chocolate Melting Cake 

Edited January 23, 2020 by pirate4me2

[pirate4me2]

Mom and I got up at 6:45 and headed down to the Elation MDR at 7:30. We took our seats and waited for the announcement that we could begin debarkation, but it never came. Finally at 7:50Leon came on and told us that due to heavy port traffic, we wouldn’t be docking until about 8:30. Well poo! We finally started getting off about 8:55or so, and Mom and I were thru Customs (again, no issue with her expired DL) and outside the terminal at 9:20. 

 

It took the hotel shuttle quite a long time to arrive to take us back, but finally at 10:10 we were loading Red up for the trip home. We made good time, until we hit Ocala, aka HORSE COUNTRY. Mom and I had decided that we just HAD to hit up some tack stores since they would be open as we went thru! Yeah….we went to 5 different ones, and blew 2 hours. Hahaha. Between the delay getting off the ship and our shopping, we didn’t make it home until 9:15. But hey, we had fun, and it was a safe trip.

 

Now, my overall thoughts about the trip:

 

*Paradise is so well maintained and clean! I wish I hadn’t avoided the Fantasy class ships for so many years, I really, really enjoyed this sailing. No lines or crowds, and I just overall really liked the ship. I do wish there was another pool onboard, an adult-only one, as I hate swimming with kids so I avoided the pool this sailing. However, you will see me on more smaller ships in the future.

 

*Leon is an excellent CD, he is high energy and so sweet and observant. When I interacted with him he was always very kind and bubbly. Watch out for him, I think he is going to be a top CD one day!

 

*It was nice to get to see more of Cozumel than the usual area we see (port & the road to Mr Sanchos). If you do not mind a bumpy ride, I highly recommend the Off Road Jeep tour we did! It was one of the best excursions we have done I think, the guides were excellent and the private island wonderful.

 

Any questions, feel free to ask. Until next time….happy sailing!

[Joe817]

Loved the review! Very entertaining. Thanks for taking us along! 👍

[Beach_gal]

That was a ton of fun! Thanks for taking the time to do this!

 

With whom did you book the Jeep excursion in Coz?

[pirate4me2]

1 hour ago, Joe817 said:

Loved the review! Very entertaining. Thanks for taking us along! 👍

 

Thanks for joining me!

 

25 minutes ago, Beach_gal said:

That was a ton of fun! Thanks for taking the time to do this!

 

With whom did you book the Jeep excursion in Coz?

 

We booked thru Carnival. I have been getting away from cruiseline excursions, but this one really interested us so we went with it.

[grandmarnnurse]

On 1/22/2020 at 1:58 PM, pirate4me2 said:

We had gotten a notice the day before that for Priority water shuttle service, we could meet between 8 and 8:30 in the United States bar. We had planned to get our butts out of bed and use the priority service, but when we woke up Mom wasn’t feeling well. She fell back asleep for a bit, and we finally got up and moving about around 9:00. We didn’t have an excursion today, the plan was to just walk around town and maybe check out a beach if Mom was feeling up to it. We headed down to the gangway on deck 3 and there was no wait whatsoever. Score! Another plus of being on a smaller ship.

 

Our day really was not all that exciting, sorry y’all. We wandered downtown, walking from one end to the other, and stopped for lunch at Sharkeez. I mainly just needed to use their internet, hahaha. I got a Cayman Mama drink, which was delicious and I could easily get drunk off those, and Mom and I split and order of mixed tacos….2 shrimp and 1 fish. The shrimp tacos were good, but the fish…oh man. The fish wins hands down! It was mahi, so not an overpowering fish, and just so dang delicious. 

 

After lunch we walked a bit more, and we almost made it to some beach but decided that since we were getting close to the last tender time (2:15) we needed to head back. It didn’t take a s long as we thought it would to get back to the port, we probably could have made it to the beach, we ended up back on the ship at 1:45.

 

MSC Mera in port with us today

 

Paradise

 

Paradise, Mera and a Princess ship in port 

 

lots of lizards in Grand Cayman

 

Beautiful church 

 

Look at that stained glass! 

 

 

 

Lizard statue

 

Tacos! 

 

 

Paradise in...well, Paradise! 

Beautiful pics. Following along.

[pirate4me2]

25 minutes ago, grandmarnnurse said:

Beautiful pics. Following along.

 

Thanks for reading!!

[Florings]

Loving your review!     Paradise coming up for me in 4 weeks!!

Edited January 24, 2020 by Florings

[Cruiseman38]

Thanks for your review and pics.  We leave Monday, 01/27 on Paradise.

 

 

Edited January 24, 2020 by Cruiseman38

[pirate4me2]

3 hours ago, Florings said:

Loving your review!     Paradise coming up for me in 4 weeks!!

Have a great time! 
 

1 hour ago, Cruiseman38 said:

Thanks for your review and pics.  We leave Monday, 01/27 on Paradise.

 

 

Right around the corner!! I hope you have a great cruise. 

[DebOinKC]

Great review! Glad you had a good time too 🙂 

[pirate4me2]

15 minutes ago, DebOinKC said:

Great review! Glad you had a good time too 🙂 

Thank you!

[wesorbeth]

pirate4me2 Mobile is a good port and the Fantasy is a good ship, totally gaudy but we have cruised on her twice and had good experiences, actually the best crew we have ever had was on the Fantasy.  We talked to the crew and they love the smaller ships.

[pirate4me2]

1 hour ago, wesorbeth said:

pirate4me2 Mobile is a good port and the Fantasy is a good ship, totally gaudy but we have cruised on her twice and had good experiences, actually the best crew we have ever had was on the Fantasy.  We talked to the crew and they love the smaller ships.

Thanks for the info! We talked to the ED on the Paradise and a Fun Squad member and they both said they prefer Fantasy class to the larger ships. 

[dave_k58]

On 1/21/2020 at 7:15 PM, pirate4me2 said:

Cruise day is here, cruise day is here!

 

Now, before we continue, I need to tell you all a little something. My mother is cruise cursed. Seriously. Her first cruise was on the Vista when we got delayed coming home due to hurricane Irma, then her second cruise was on the Horizon when we had flooding back home and there was an earthquake in Mexico while we were there, but it was on the other side of the country thank goodness. Her third cruise we had a HUGE bird fly into the windshield on the way to the cruise port, cracking the windshield pretty good and denting the car, and on her last cruise we had ANOTHER hurricane go thru the port area while we were at sea and I wondered if my poor truck was going to be washed out to sea. See a trend here??? People tell me it’s dangerous to go on vacation with her! I was hoping that this trip would be different, butttt…nope. Mama needs drama.

 

On the weekend before we were to leave for Tampa, Mom made a run to the  recycle center. They always ask for your driver’s license to give you the cash back for the metal, and she gave the clerk hers and he told her she needed to make sure and go get a new one. “Honey, your ID expired in October, didn’t you know that?” OMG MOM….YOU DON’T HAVE A PASSPORT, YOU HAVE TO HAVE A VALID DRIVER’S LICENSE TO GIVE THEM TO CRUISE! Her excuse? “How was I supposed to know when it expired? Do you know when YOURS expires? How often do people look to see the expiration date?” Well yes Mom, I DO know when mine expires, I make a point to check it now and then. Who is the adult/parent here??!!

 

So, on Monday Mom went to get her license renewed, and our state now gives you this ugly black and white PAPER temporary driver’s license until they mail you the real deal. I had major doubts that this would be sufficient to get her onboard…I mean, c’mon, it’s PAPER! They assured us it was good enough for TSA, so it should be good enough for the port officials, but I was really wondering if I would be flying solo this cruise. I was fully prepared to toss Mom the keys to red (my truck) and tell her to come back to FL to pick me up after the cruise was over. Ugh. Let’s see how this situation plays out…

 

Mom and I got up at 9:00 and decided to walk to get some breakfast before we headed to the cruise port. We made our way down the street and saw this place called 18 Bagel Co., and we were intrigued so we went in. I got an everything bagel sandwich with egg and cheese and an iced coffee, and y’all….it was flippin’ awesome. The bagel was covered in all that goodness that they put on everything bagels, and the egg was nice and hot, cheese perfectly melty….delish! And the coffee….oh my gosh, don’t get me started on it….that is some of the BEST iced coffee I have ever had! Mom and I devoured our breakfast, then walked back to the hotel. Our shuttle to the port was going to pick us up at 11, and we were all packed up and waiting in the lobby at 10:40. About this time, my nerves began to kick in wondering if Mom was going to get onboard, and I started sweating and getting nauseated. Oh God, please don’t let that bagel and coffee come back up! 

 

The shuttle arrived and we piled in, and I looked over at Mom. She wasn’t looking so good herself, and I kept saying silent prayers that a) we wouldn’t throw up in the nice shuttle driver’s bus, and b) Mom would get onboard. The first prayer was answered, and after wishing us a good, fun-filled vacation the driver sped off, leaving Mom and I on the curb of the port. We grabbed the handles of our bags, figured out where to go for check in, and started that way. It was time for the moment of truth. GULP!    

 

At the top of the escalator, there was the first check in point where they just look to make sure you have the right documents. I breezed thru (thank you, passport!) and waiting on Mom. Wait, Mom, what the fudge are you doing, you’re handing over your EXPIRED license! Don’t tick them off! I felt like I was about to pass out. However, the clerk merely glanced at it and waved her thru. Seriously? That easy?

 

We began walking away and I whispered, “You gave them the expired license!”

 

“I know! I figured if they made a fuss, then I would give them my new temporary one,” she whispered back as we approached the security check point.

 

We breezed thru security (they didn’t even glance at my 2 bottles of wine) and made our way to the Priority check in counter. As we approached I studied the agents, trying to figure out which one looked the nicest. I chose one and walked up….and Mom went to a different one! Mom, what the HECK are you doing? I chose this one because she looks nice, yours doesn’t look as friendly! My bagel and coffee started churning in my belly again, and I focused on deep breathing and trying to hold down my breakfast as I listened to Mom and her agent.

 

“Here’s my ID and birth certificate, I don’t have a passport.”

 

“Oh, you were born in New York. I was too. What part are you from?
 

“Upstate, how about you?”

 

“I am as well! What town?”

 

I was finished checking in so I slid down next to Mom, and she and the agent carried on this conversation the whole time. The agent stamped her boarding pass and smiled. “Have a wonderful cruise. Lunch is being served on Lido deck. Boarding has already started, since you are Priority you can head right that way to get onboard. Have fun!”

 

We began walking to the boarding area, and I started trembling. We were home free! They never checked her DL expiration date, or if they did, they didn’t care! I wanted to cry tears of joy, but I held myself together and we made our way up the gangway and onboard the Paradise.

 

I had friends sailing this week, my “cruise grandma” and “cruise grandpa” that I met on the Vista in 2017.  We hadn’t even realized that we were on this same sailing until a week before, hahaha! They had sent me a message that they were waiting in the atrium at the bar, so I looked for them as we boarded. There’s “Grandma!”
 

 

I said a quick hello to Cruise Grandma and asked her where Cruise Grandpa was. He had gone to drop off carry-ons in their room, and Mom and I decided to do the same with ours. We headed to find our room, and here was where the Paradise first hit me as being different from the newer Carnival ships….I have never stayed in a rom that is BELOW the atrium level! Looking at the deck plans all of the entertainment venues are on UPPER decks, and most of the staterooms are below them. We had to go down one level from the atrium and all the way aft, we had an aft extended view cabin, U226.

 

What can I say about our stateroom…. I love, love, LOVED that our balcony had shade on it. The way the rooms were, the balcony from above us completely covered our balcony so we could sit out there anytime and not roast. Also, we were the lowest aft balcony, so we were the closest to the water I have ever been. The sound was soothing, and we could look for flying fish. Our A/C worked VERY well, it actually froze me and Mom out sometimes! Now the downsides…there just didn’t seem to be as much storage as we have had in previous cabins, especially in the bathroom. We made do though. Also, there was a pole that was RIGHT THERE as you walked in the doorway, and let me just say that it could be kinda dangerous, especially if you had a few too many drinks. Not that I ever do that……bahaha. Why couldn’t they put the pole in the middle of the room so I could at least dance around it, brush up on my skills?

 

Breakfast 

 

Bathroom

 

Wonderful balcony!

Ignore my mess 😂 I love how they have the phone on the wall...it’s not taking up desk space! 

 

U226

See the dangerous pole there on the left??!!

Bathroom again

Do the balconies on the Fantasy class ships not have sofas?  Just curious

[pirate4me2]

14 hours ago, dave_k58 said:

Do the balconies on the Fantasy class ships not have sofas?  Just curious

This one did not, but mom and I honestly didn’t miss it...we felt we had a tad bit more room without the sofa!