Just Back Off The Triumph

[DreDre]

Just back from the triumph 5/10 sail. I'll try and keep my review short and sweet.

 

We flew in to Miami Friday afternoon and spent the day walking around and hanging out by our hotel pool. We stayed at the Marriott South Beach and enjoyed it very much! The staff was friendly and it was within walking distance to mostly everything. Our cab ride to the pier the next morning was around $22.00 and it took about 15-20 minutes to get to the port. Let the lines begin!

 

we hand off our luggage and head off to the long wait to get on board, from start to finish it took about an hour. I guess it wasn't that bad but when your 're so excited to start your cruise it seems to take for ever.

 

Lines everywhere be prepared for waiting to get on the ship, off the ship, buffets, ports ect.

 

Ship- She is a bit older and it shows in the decor in the cabins.The staff kept her very clean, never saw as much as a piece of paper on the floors. They do an amazing job! It took me all week to figure out how to get around. The only floor that seemed to go straight through was the 5th floor. The staff on this ship was friendly and accommodating. I don't know how they do it? Day after day, week after week....

 

One of the pools seemed to be closed for most of the cruise but the other never was too crowed. There were chairs available throughout the day,even on sea days. There also was a slight scent of sewage every so often near the atrium elevators.

 

Cabin-We decided to get a balcony and it was worth every penny. We were on the 7th floor (7419) towards the very back of the ship and yes we did feel the vibrations and the swaying. It didn't really bother me much, it actually put me to sleep easier.

 

Dining- The food buffets were average, not great but not bad. I didn't care for the pizza but the BF seemed to enjoy it, he had a slice almost every night after hitting the bars. We had sandwich's once from the deli and they were pretty good. Be prepared to wait in long lines for any of these.

 

We had the 8:15 seating which was great! We had enough time to relax after returning from our time at port. Again, the food here was average and there were nights that the food was better than others but overall the variety was good. There was one night we had a special request for dessert and our server had it for the entire table the next night. We had a great group of people at our table, lots of laughs!

 

Ports-Okay...... cruises are good because you are able to stop at ports you probably wouldn't ever decide to go to and if you like one you can always go back and perhaps spend more time there.......right?

I found most of where we stopped was very commercialized which left me a little disappointed. I was hoping for a little more local flare. I guess it's hard to find unless you venture far away from the ports and surrounding areas.

 

Half Moon Cay - Simply put.....paradise. This place was gorgeous, I felt like I was in that corona commercial. we rented a clam shell ($20) and it was well worth it, that sun gets pretty hot. We stayed on the beach and swam all day.

 

St. Thomas- We booked a day sail out of Red Hook with High Pockets. We booked this one on our own based off of other reviews and we are so glad we did. We were the only two who had booked this, we had the entire boat to ourselves. Kathleen and Jim were great and the lunch that was served was the best food I had the entire trip. I would highly recommend doing this! The snorkeling spots they took us to were some of the best I had ever seen.

 

Puerto Rico - We decideD to walk the town on our own. When exiting the ship we were approached by some tour groups that were offering a driving tour around town for $10.00 a person. I wish we would have done this, a couple that sat at our table said it was short but worth it. They take you well beyond where we walked. Another couple that we sat with did the rain forest tour which was not booked through the cruise ship and they loved it. There's a lot to see and I would love to go back here some time to really do some exploring. I highly recommend waiting to book anything, there is so much offered right out side the gate for a lot less.

 

Grand Turk- This little island is pretty new to the cruise ships and beyond the docking area it shows. We rented a golf cart from Nathan, another great tip from cruise critic and we just toured the entire island this way. I loved this stop, we hung with the locals, went to the light house, sat on a beach and ate at Michael's (best conch fritters I ever had). This island is up and coming and is still very much untouched. Most of our table didn't care for this stop but I loved it!

 

Over all we had a great trip on the Triumph and would travel on her again as a matter of fact I still feel like I'm on her:p

[Nuttycruisegirl]

Thanks for the great review!

[bankonus]

Thank you for the review, we are on her June 8th, and can't wait!!

[ATLCruiseJunkie]

Thanks for the review. We leave on Friday for Miami for our 8-day ::insert squeal of joy here::, and are quite excited!

 

We are probably just going to do our own walking tour in Old San Juan - did y'all have a specific walking tour route/guide or did you just walk around?

[CatgirlNC]

Thanks for the review! I'll be on the Triumph on November 9.

[cruiseapril]

Enjoyed your review.

 

We also really like Grand Turk. We took a taxi into town and walked around. It is very basic with a kind of charm.

 

Swimming at the cruise port was very good, too.

[cathyoo]

I'm glad you had a great time and thanks for sharing your memories.

[Pomcoach]

The Golf Cart sounds great!

Thank you for taking time to share. I made a copy of everything! We sail on June 8th also. Yeah!

Pomcoach

[Handsome58]

Review!!!!!!!!!!

[CyClore]

We did this cruise in April of last year and loved HMC and Grand Turk. We are going again in Feb of 2009 on the Destiny just for these two ports on a 5 day cruise. Glad you enjoyed yourself!!! I know we did and will again!

[Guppie45]

We are leaving on the Triumph on Saturday.. Five more days!

We also have High Pockets booked once we get to St. Thomas. Glad to hear that it was worth it. We are looking forward to cruising around the island, especially St. John.

Thanks for your review!

 

Laurie

[shortstuf1255]

Thanks for your review We leave on Aug 31. can't wait to go

[JessicaRN]

Thanks for the great review! We're doing this same cruise in August. :)

 

In St. Thomas, you took a private tour, correct? How did you find out about it? Website? If you don't mind my asking, how much did it cost?

 

Thanks!

 

- Jess

[Guppie45]

Thanks for the great review! We're doing this same cruise in August. :)

 

In St. Thomas, you took a private tour, correct? How did you find out about it? Website? If you don't mind my asking, how much did it cost?

 

Thanks!

 

- Jess

 

We booked the same private tour for next week. I found it on the web. The website is: sailhighpockets.com

I believe it is $125. a person if you pay cash and $135. a person if you use a charge card. That is what we are paying anyway next week.

[chitown cruisers]

Thanks for the review, glad you had a good time.

 

She was our first and gave us the addiction.

[shipty2]

Dredre what was the special request dessert you had?

[Loves To Explore]

Dre-Dre

 

Thanks for the quick review of your Triumph experience. I'll be cruising on the Triumph 06/01/08. My question is.....which nights are actually the formal nights? I'm hoping that they will be the nights we are at sea. I have an evening excursion planned for Cozumel and will miss the dinner seating. I'm hoping that I will not be missing anything special like formal night. It's nice to get all dressed up once in awhile. :)

 

Out Itineray is:

 

06/01/08 Sun Miami

06/02/08 Mon Fun at Sea

06/03/08 Tues Cozumel

06/04/08 Wed Fun at Sea

06/05/08 Thurs Grand Cayman

06/06/08 Fri Ocho Rios

06/07/08 Sat Fun at Sea

06/08/08 Sun Miami

 

 

Thanks for the help!

Debbie

[DreDre]

We just got a map and walk around. I would catch a tour out side the port gates, the tour was only $10.00 and from what I it was worth it.

 

Thanks for the review. We leave on Friday for Miami for our 8-day ::insert squeal of joy here::, and are quite excited!

 

We are probably just going to do our own walking tour in Old San Juan - did y'all have a specific walking tour route/guide or did you just walk around?

[DreDre]

There were two formal nights and everyone was dressed up! Suits and floor length dresses. I felt out of place with my cocktail dress

[Loves To Explore]

Thanks....I do plan to dress up! I know that there are two formal nights. However, what I wanted to know was.... what the actual days of the week the formal nights were going to be on Mon-Fri. :)