Leaving on Paradise tomorrow!!!

[cascole]

SO excited! It's just a quick weekend getaway, but I'm very ready. Almost completely packed & will drive to the port in the morning. Yeah!!!

 

If anyone has any questions about Paradise I'm happy see what I can find & report back on my return!

[Cinderose]

I would like to see the Capers for a 3 day on the Paradise.

[cathyz]

I'd like to know if they have any tables for 2 in the dining rooms. Have a great time! Thanks....

[rvrgirl]

I'd like to know if they have any tables for 2 in the dining rooms. Have a great time! Thanks....

 

Yes there are tables for 2 on the Paradise. We sailed her last August:)

[cathyz]

Yes there are tables for 2 on the Paradise. We sailed her last August:)

Thanks Rvrgirl! It'll just be me and my DH on the Paradise in October and I thought it might be fun to have a table alone since our last cruise was with a large group and next year's cruise will also be with a large group of friends.

[pppiglet]

I want a full trip report! I was trying to go on Paradise for Father's Day weekend, but no one could get off work to go with me. I'm too chicken to go alone!

[SoCalCruiserGal]

Have a great time and grab on to some great memories....When you get back, we'll be looking for a review of your wonderful time. I will be traveling on Paradise in two months, so I will have to live vicariously through you until then. =)

[rubyfino]

You are sooo lucky! I was on the Paradise with my family two weeks ago (May 15-19) and we had a blast! Beautiful ship and wonderful people.

 

Have a great time:)

 

Lisa

[cascole]

Paradise 5/26/06, 3 day Memorial Day Weekend

 

Embarkation

We arrived at the Long Beach terminal around 11:30 & found a parking space on the first level immediately. We took our bags straight to a porter & he told us the previous cruise passengers had only just been able to debark. We headed to the Queen Mary to see about early check in & they had just closed... so we walked back to the cruise terminal & got in the small line that had started forming. It appeared that there were only about 25 people in the early check in line & I was #39 in the first line to form for check in. They opened the terminal & processed everyone through quickly. We were on board enjoying lunch by 12:15pm! This truly has to have been close to the easiest embarkations I have ever experienced!

 

Room

We had room R4, a category 5A (portholes)... I had just booked this trip less than 2 weeks prior to sailing & there was not much left to choose from - I booked a 5A guarantee & that was what we got. Being a holiday weekend - the ship was at capacity! Overall, the room was fine. Being in the front of the ship, though, I was awakened early as the engines 'changed' when we pulled into Ensenada & then again back into Long Beach at the end of the voyage. This was a slight annoyance, but nothing I couldn't deal with for a couple of nights. The beds did have the new comfort bedding & pillows which were good, but I am not convinced that the beds were the ones everyone else has called comfortable! They were new, it seemed - but hard as a rock! I actually felt as if I had slept on the floor & am a bit concerned about having to sleep on aone of these for a full week when I cruise on Conquest in July. I'd be anxious to know (didn't have a chance to ask during this quick trip) if they have toppers available. This room also did not have a 'sofa' or table & chairs... plenty of floor space, but not a lot of 'counter' space. This was fine since it was just a 3 day cruise & we were living out of suitcases. Our room steward was great. He kept it very well & always kept us full of ice in both our little room ice bucket, as well as one of the buckets from a 'bucket of beer'.

 

Ship & Entertainment

I was impressed with the condition of the ship... she is not new, so that shows in some of the color schemes - but overall, she is in great condition. I didn't see terrible wear & tear on the carpets, everything was always clean & polished ... and everything seemed to function as it was supposed to. The casino was fine - nothing to write home about... and only 1 craps table, but we didn't gamble too much anyway. The waterslide was open for most of the cruise & several people were enjoyng it. We enjoyed spending some time in the piano bar late one evening & I liked the 'piano man', Tervor. It wasn't crowded - but he was having fun, so it was contagious. We only went to one show - the last evening's adult comedy show. There were two comedians, Seth Buchwald & Lance Montalto... it was fun & wasn't terribly crude. It was a nice way to end the night. We didn't use the spa, or the gym, or play bingo, or go to any classes or art auctions... these things were all there but we mostly enjoyed sitting in the sun & people watching during our day at sea. Being a holiday weekend cruise, it was a 'party boat' & there were a lot of antics to watch. There was a large mix of passengers, but the rowdy ones seem to be the most noticible &/or humorous. If only some of them knew how they looked!

 

Ensenada

I'm from San Diego - so Ensenada is just Ensenada... a typical Baja town. We didn't go to Papas & Beer... and from the stories we heard back on board we were glad to have missed it. If anyone has questions about the town - feel free to ask. We simply took the $2pp shuttle into town then walked, shopped a little & had a few beers - making our way back to the ship on foot as we went.

 

Food

The food was fine. Not exciting, not bad. Just fine. We changed tables after the first night (Four of our tablemates began fighting with eachother & creating an obnoxious scene - and they hadn't evem met one another until dinner that night!) so unfortunately lost having an excellent waiter in the process. Our second waiter was horrible - we waited over an hour to get our salads... needless to say, I let him know I wasn't pleased with the service. The last evening was quicker, but after having such an excellent waiter at our first table, it was a disappointment. We didn't let that ruin our experience by any means, though. We were having too much fun to let it be more of a problem than it was. The pizza was good, loved the De Chevre. The buffet was good as well, alway splenty of things to choose from & the grilled sandwiches at the deli were VERY good. I had wanted to try the sushi, but the line was always very long, so I passed. I saw fish & chips on the first day, but didn't have them. I never saw them offered again after that.

 

Debarkation

Again - kudos to Carnival here. We did the self assist at aproximately 7:30am... had no problem getting an elevator to take us from deck 4 to the gangway on deck 7 & practically just walked right off the ship without any line. There was a bit of a line getting through customs, but it only took about 5-10 minutes.... then we were on our way. I had walked to the car, loaded our bags & were driving out of the parking structure at 7:58!!! Amazing & by far the best debarkation I have ever experienced! LOL ... and this review is now being posted only 4 hours later!

 

I'm sure there are things I have forgotten, feel free to ask... I'll also post the Capers from my trip by the end of the week.

[robinblue]

Hey cascole,

 

Glad to hear you had a good time. We were on the ship May 15-19 and had a great time. I'm sorry to hear your dining experience wasn't as it should have been. We had a fabulous waiter and assistant and we found the food to be the best we have ever had on a Carnival cruise. We often had our salads within 10 minutes of sitting down and everything else came out right after that.

 

We also had the "comfort" bedding, which was fine although I'm not sure how long the snowy white comforter is going to remain "snowy white". In fact, when we first arrived at our cabin I thought the steward hadn't finished making the bed yet. We had a Cat 12 suite, and the bed was fine (we have always loved their beds), it was a little worn and each side was a little saggy.

 

Thanks for the good review. I plan on writing one but am still doing laundry from our two week road trip and also trying to recover from the virus I picked up on the ship. :(

 

Robin B.

[massiek]

Debarkation

Again - kudos to Carnival here. We did the self assist at aproximately 7:30am... had no problem getting an elevator to take us from deck 4 to the gangway on deck 7 & practically just walked right off the ship without any line. There was a bit of a line getting through customs, but it only took about 5-10 minutes.... then we were on our way. I had walked to the car, loaded our bags & were driving out of the parking structure at 7:58!!! Amazing & by far the best debarkation I have ever experienced! LOL ... and this review is now being posted only 4 hours later!

 

I'm sure there are things I have forgotten, feel free to ask... I'll also post the Capers from my trip by the end of the week.

This is probably a very simple question, but here goes: My 12 year old son and I are on Paradise October 6. We will do the carry-on and self assist for disembarkation.

 

We'd like to have breakfast before we get off. What do you advise so we don't get caught in a long line??

 

Many Thanks.

 

ketih

[southbayer]

I'm fresh off Paradise Sept 11th. I did self assist as well. As for breakfast, It would have to be an early breakfast, because self assist passengers must line up and be ready by 7:20 to leave the ship. You could probably stretch that out an extra 30 min more, as it will take all those self assist'ers time to debark, and you could possibly catch the tail end of it.

[massiek]

Thanks southbayer!!

[southbayer]

nota prob, and good luck!! :)