Triumph Review 6/2-6/9 w/pre&post Cruise info.

[UpstateCruizer]

This was our first cruise and one that I had researched on here for ages. I took the reccomendation to go through Cruise Compete and can't reccomend it enough. Not only did we save hundreds of dollars on the 4 of us the agency that we booked with was fantastic from start to finish.

 

We flew into Miami airport around 1:30pm on Friday. Had absolutely no complaints or issues and found it much easier than our previous trips to Orlando airport. Grabbed a taxi van for approx $30 after the tip for all 4 of us to get to the Holiday Inn at the port. We had booked a room that included 2 double beds and a sofa bed and overlooking the port. During the booking the gal encouraged us to sign up for their Priority club (free) which we did. It allows you to check in through the priority check in line and gives you $5 off your resturant bill each time you eat in the hotel. The room (6th floor) was better than I expected after reading reviews but it did have a musty smell. Otherwise it was fine. We walked across the street to Bayside Marketplace with our umbrellas as it was still raining. This is a mostly open air mall and many of the vendors had closed down because of the rain. We walked the food court and decided to eat at Chilis. The hotel has a resturant that serves dinner but the menu is extremely limited. Breakfast was much better with a bigger selection and buffet offered. We got to watch the Triumph sail into port on Saturday and took pictures of it from the hotel window.

Saturday morning we took a taxi to the port at 10:15 and walked right into the embarking building. No lines to get our sign & sail cards and things went smoothly. From there we went into a much longer line to wait for the actual embarking process to begin. This went smoothly once the line began moving. At this point we were all put into chairs to wait for the actual boarding to begin. Again all very smooth and no complaints. One tip here is when you reach the point where you can get onto the people mover you will find that it takes alot less time to actual walk next to it instead of getting on and waiting. We opted to walk and were having our picture taken to embark before the first group of people had gotten off the mover!

We went to our cabin and dropped off our carry on bags and locked our valuables in the safe. By 12 noon we were on the Lido deck eating lunch. Our luggage arrived in the early afternoon with no issues. After lunch we wandered through the ship. We found it to be much better than we could have imagined. Our cabin was bigger than we had expected and we had more than enough room with plenty of extra storage that we didn't use. The one tip on here that proved invaluable as far as what to bring was the outlet strip. We had 2 outlets in the cabin but I could not plug my hairdryer into either of them because they were recessed outlets. The hairdryer in the bathroom was great for drying the steam off the mirror after a shower and drying damp swimwear. Our room steward was incredible for the entire cruise and we never had to ask for anything more than once.

Muster Drill time...hmm we were told it would start at 3:45 right before the 4pm sailing. At 3:45 we were amoung the first to arrive at the F station so we wandered for awhile. At 4pm we headed back and still only a trickle of people were coming in. I had dreaded this drill as I do not like to be confined and have anxiety issues. Not once was this drill a problem and honestly found that it was hyped far more than what we experienced. People were still loading in as the drill had started and by the time the area had filled up they announced it was over. Really really short and nothing like what I had expected. We stayed in the same F station the entire time.

Our first night we had late dinner seating in the Paris dining room. We found this was way too late for us and had it switched with no problem at all the next morning. Our new dining time and waiter were much better and we were glad we had changed. After our first night the waiter Koumat ( I believe was his name) and his assistant had our drinks waiting for us. My husband is a very plain eater with no sauces or condiments on his meals. The waiter remebered this from the first night forward and took the extra steps to ensure that his meals arrived this way. There were 2 nights where we decided to eat in the buffet instead of the dining room based on what was being served those nights. The buffet and other food choices were good but I still preferred the dining room meals. The formal nights were excellent including the lobster tail that was served on the first formal night. We were dressed in formal attire and enjoyed getting dressed up for dinner. Since this is often a heated debate I will share what we saw as far as attire in the dining room went. First night several people did not have their luggage yet so many were in shorts. Luckily for us my son went out and found all of our luggage and brought it to our cabins. Many people did that also instead of waiting for deliveries. On the second casual night we saw shorts, capris, jeans, and some dress pants. On our formal nights most were dressed in nice pants and a dress shirt and tie, we did see a few in jeans and a nice button down shirt and others in suits, tie etc. For the most part it resembled the dining we see in an upscale to casual resturant in my area. We saw very few women dressed in long gowns it seemed most wore pantsuits or cocktail dresses and some in a pants and a blouse. We only noticed these things because we were looking after it being a topic on here. No one was turned away from the dining room regardless of attire.

 

The shows were wonderful and we attended each of them. The comedians were quite funny and Al Capone doing his "crotch dance" on the lady 2 rows in front of us was hysterical. The dancers and the talent show were also enjoyable. The games that were played such as In the Bag we weren't really sure if we were going to enjoy turned out to be hysterically funny and we were glad we participated.

 

Lines were long at the buffet stations for breakfast and lunch but dinner lines seemed short or non existant. We heard several people say this was their first cruise that involved long lines. On the night of the gala buffet make sure you realize that the early line at 11:15 is for taking pictures of the buffet only. You won't be able to eat until 12:15 and this was another grumble we heard. The buffet was gorgeous but we were still full from dinner so we skipped eating. The other cruiser who mentioned the beverage stations not working in some areas while the other stations had issues with the ice was accurate but overall not a big deal as long as you don't mind walking around to get ice and drinks. We found we really enjoyed the Fruit Guava Cocktail that was served on the lido decks in the am. Even though we had breakfast in the dining room we made sure to go up and get a glass before it was changed to fruit punch at lunch time. We enjoyed all of the beverages that were considered "free" including the coffee and iced tea. I had overheard several people comment that they had never experienced such long lines on any of their other cruises with Carnival. We chatted with a couple who were on their 8th Carnival cruise and were planning on sticking with the smaller carnival ships. Not sure if the lines are normal or not as this was our first.

 

We saw lots of chairs hogs in force but there were plenty of chairs on the higher decks where it was quiet and had a very nice breeze. Chairs by the pools were never an issue on port days. Loved the walking track and the pool slide was open every day. Traded our wet towels in at the towel station for dry ones before heading back to our cabins. Didn't know about this until the third day of the cruise and saw others doing it.

 

Our first port was Half Moon Cay and we waited until we thought the crowds might be small only to find at 10:30am the lines were very long. We decided to walk around awhile and check back. Lines were still very long but we got in line anyway. By the time we made it into the lounge and got our number we figured we'd tender soon. This wasn't the case as we were number 21 and they had stopped letting people tender after the group that included 19. We only wish they had explained the reason for the delay sooner as we had waited an hour in the lounge. They called our group and we headed to the stairs to wait again. Seems they had decided again it wasn't safe to tender. After a long wait on the stairs we decided that we'd skip this port since we were concerned with the ride over to Half Moon Cay. Shortly after we watched them load the group we had been waiting with on the stairs onto the tender. It began to pour and the tender boat was rocking like crazy so they had them get back off the boat. There was an announcement made that they were stopping the tendering and the captain was trying to manuever the boat to a safer area for tendering. They resumed sometime after lunch.

 

The next port was St Thomas which we loved. We had not booked excursions at any of the ports with this being our first cruise. We wanted to get a feel for things and go from there. As soon as we got off the ship we were bombared with offers for rides and tours. We took a taxi van to Cokki Beach which was $9 per person and only covered the ride to the beach getting back is another $9 per person. All rates are set by the government they claimed and are flat rates. The ride over was intresting :) Cokki beach was beautiful and if you go to the far end on the left facing the water you can actually see the fish swimming right up to you. This is where we spent most of the time on the beach. You can rent chairs and umbrellas as well. We just used our towels since most of our time was in the water. First guy to approach us offered snorkel gear for $10 per person. Next guy offered it for $5 per person so the prices do vary :) Our ride back from the beach was even more interesting that the ride over. We were in an open air taxi shuttle bus. We had joined in on a group tour that were being shown around the island. The 20 minute ride ended up being closer to 2 hours with all the stops the driver made to point out various highlights. It was quite enjoyable and breath taking....most of the breath taking part was due to crazy driving they do ;) We went back to our cabin to change out of our swim wear and grab a quick bite to eat. We spent the rest of the time in port exploring the shops that were in the mall closest to the ship. There is a drug store in one of these strips of stores in case you find yourself needing one.

 

San Juan.......you either love it or leave it from what people were saying. From the time we got off the ship we had taxi drivers trying to get us to take a tour of the city. They insisted stores wouldn't open for another hour and it would help pass the time. We opted to walk and explore on our own. Many of the street vendors were just setting up but as we got into the shopping areas there were several stores already open. After buying some souveniers we headed back to the ship. This was one of the reasons we fell in love with cruising....it allowed us to experience different areas without having to stay in them for a full week. For us this was a definate leave it port.

 

Grand Turk.....this one surprised us as we didn't realize until the night before that it was all beach front with a little shopping thrown in. Unless you book an excursion you will find yourself on the beach or sitting poolside at Margaritaville. We absolutely loved our time at this port. Gorgeous beach, water and of course the drinks. We originally headed right to the beach in hopes of finding a clamshell and some chairs. Chairs were plenty but the clamshells for shade were all taken. We decided to head back over to Margaritaville and got loungers and moved an umbrella next to us for shade if we needed it. Unless you really want to be on the beach this is the place to be. Drinks were steep at $18.75 for two regular glasses of daquiri, margaritas etc. Bottled water was over $2 for a small bottle. When you see the Carnival staff set up selling those huge cold bottles of water in the halls grab some as they are a much better deal and you are going to wish you had once you get to the beach. The games and entertainment provided at Margaritaville were entertaining to watch. We learned that Margaritaville is only open 6 days each month. Every Tuesday and every other Thursday for cruiselines which is why they charge the higher prices.

 

Disembarkation was exactly as I had read on here. We had an early breakfast in the dining room and left our cabins by 8am as instructed. We had purple and I encouraged my family to wait until the last possible minute to get off. After sitting in the lido buffet area for 2 hours they were ready to head down dispite the lines when our color was called. We were in the group of last colors to be called so I figured it may not be so bad. Next cruise we will wait longer as the lines in the luggage area were quite long. If you want a faster process get yourself into the porter assist line and you will advance to the front of the lines. You do have to locate your luggage before getting into line. It will cost you a tip of course but worth it if you are impatient or can't stand for long periods. Headed outside to grab a taxi van and back for another night at Holiday Inn Portside.

Remember our first night really was uneventful but this one would be a little different. We got there at 12:00 and our room wasn't ready. We checked our luggage with the porter at the hotel and walked back to Bayside. All the vendors were open and the place was lively with people and music. Went back to the hotel and our room wasn't ready but they had an identicle room on the 4th floor that was if we wanted it so we took it. We headed to the pool for awhile after printing our boarding passes for the next days flight. They have computers with internet acess on the second floor of the hotel. Printer was out of ink so they took me into the front desk office area to print my boarding passes. Again excellent service. Back to the room to shower only to find the shower hose hanging in the tub. It was broken so I had to shower holding the hose and spray head. Called the front desk who would send someone right up to fix it. 2 hours later the guy came and fixed it. Other than that and the musty smell the room was fine. This room is lower so we couldn't see the ships in port. Around 6pm a "church service" began across the street from the hotel. It was outside and consisted of a couple of guys taking turns yelling into a microphone that was attatched to a PA system in some other language. We figured it wouldn't last long but it ended up going on until 9:30 that night. We had 6am flights so we tried to get to sleep early. Next time I'd book a room on the opposite side of the hotel for a Saturday night stay since we were told this happens every Saturday night. Not a big deal overall just annoying.

Sunday morning the hotel called a taxi van for us at 3:30am. We waited until 4am and still no van so they callled again. There was an airport shuttle express on it's way for us for the same rate since the vans were tied up. We got to the airport and found a line of people waiting to check in. Self service Kiosks don't open until 4:40am either. Went back out to curbside check in and was told it was opening in 5 minutes and that the check in counters inside would not open until 4:45am. We used the curbside check in and tipped the porter. Off to the security check in only to be told they do not open until 5am. Getting through security was a breeze at this hour.

 

So there you have it a start to finish over view of our first cruise. We loved it so much that not only is my husband finding cruises for next May he just suggested looking for one for our August vacation this year. Any questions just yell and I'll try to answer them :)

[joan_al]

Glad you had a good time. Our first cruise was the Triumph also, March 2007, we had a ball.

[KMBSCD]

Thanks for the review! We're sailing 2/9/08 & can't wait!

 

Kathryn

[jckvpa0]

Glad you had a great cruise & thanks for posting the review !

 

I must say, unfortunately I did not read all of it due to the spacing, for some reason it bothers my eyes. I hope this is just me & everyone has an easier read than I because it really looks like a nice and detailed review !

[nothomeonacruise]

Thanks so much for your great review! We're going in November. I guess getting down to the tenders early is probably the only thing to do for Half Moon Cay. We might book an excursion there, which would help get us off early. I'm looking forward to everything!:)

[RyanMFitz1]

Absolutely wonderful review...Thank you so much for the very detailed information. I cruise her in September and after reading your post, I am more anxious than i was before...

[Sea Turtle]

So there you have it a start to finish over view of our first cruise. We loved it so much that not only is my husband finding cruises for next May he just suggested looking for one for our August vacation this year. Any questions just yell and I'll try to answer them :)

 

Thanks for your share, crazed. Hope my Triumph cruise in Oct07 is just as delightful!! AND, welcome to the wonderful world of cruising!!! :D

[hockeyluver]

Thanks for the great review, we loved the Triumph so much we are going on it again, different itinerary this time :D

 

 

 

jckvpa0 try copying and pasting it into "word" make the font bigger helps to make it an easier read

[memecakes]

Thank you so much for all the info! One question though, You said you did not get to got off the ship in Half moon cay. Was that due to bad weather or is it always hard to get off the ship there? Yours is the third review I have read where the poster has not gone to HMC and I am a bit concerned about why. I am very much looking forward to that Island.

[jckvpa0]

Thanks for the great review, we loved the Triumph so much we are going on it again, different itinerary this time :D

 

 

 

jckvpa0 try copying and pasting it into "word" make the font bigger helps to make it an easier read

 

Now why didn't I think of that, suxs to be 40 something :cool: !

[gypsyrose]

Great review. We did this trip in April and took 1 of the tours in San Juan that you are bombarded w/ once you get off the ship. We were taken around for almost 3 hours and shown a ton of stuff. San Juan really is a beautiful place if you get out away from the port and see it. I would love to go back again.

[pacerzfan]

Thanks for the review!

[Jan_In_Maine]

Really nice review ... Thanks ... Jan