My Triumph Review 7/20/08-7/27/08...Really Long!

[Madiandfly]

My monstrously long and extremely detailed review on The Carnival Triumph sailing the Eastern Caribbean out of Miami on July 20 through July 27th.

I decided to book this cruise last minute, maybe about 5 weeks prior to sailing. I called Carnival directly and dealt with a Personal Vacation Planner that was very helpful throughout. This, by the way was my first Carnival cruise. I have been on one other cruise, 5 years ago on the Disney Magic.

I had two guarantee inside cabins…which I will discuss later on in the review. I went to this cruise with my husband, my son age 7, my daughter age 15 and my Godson age 15. I shared a cabin on the second deck with my hubby and 7 year old, and the other cabin which was a few doors down for ours was shared by my daughter and my Godson.

Day 1

I decided to sail out the same day of cruising, which was Sunday July 20, 2008. I am not sure if I will do this next time. We left JFK (NY) airport at 6:30 AM, and arrived at FLL at 9:20. I had originally booked a private car with SAS Transportation out of Fort Lauderdale. I highly recommend using this transportation. His name is Steve, and he is wonderful. If anybody needs his contact info, please let me know. After getting our luggage, which was immediately, I called Steve to tell him I was done with baggage claim. He then told me to wait for him right outside the door. Steve arrived within 2 minutes, put our luggage in, and off we were to the Port of Miami. We arrived to the Port at about 10:30 AM. Once my hubby paid and tipped Steve, we were greeted by a porter outside who asked us our cabin number. He gave us some tags to put with our luggage. We tipped him $10 for 5 pieces of luggage. We were now on our way inside. I had to make sure to get our Fun Pass out for security, and pass through the detectors. We then went up, and signed in with the Cruise Concierge. She handed us our Sail and Sign cards, and by 10:45 we were sitting down waiting to board the ship. At around 11:45 they began calling people by groups to board. We boarded the ship soon after. We were all excited, as we all wanted to feel the “Carnival Experience”. When we boarded, they took our welcome picture. We immediately “took in” the lobby. We were starved and wanted to check out the buffet. There were no lines, as there weren’t many people already on the ship. I took some salad, pasta..and I forgot what else, but I do remember that it wasn’t all that tasty. I then went by the Lido deck and grabbed some Pizza. I kept hearing all the raves about Carnival’s pizza, so decided that it was a must try. Now coming from NY, I have had some of the best pizza of my time. Let me bluntly put it…Carnival’s pizza taste no different that Dominos, in my opinion. I still ate it, because I do like Domino’s pizza, although it’s not the best tasting pizza I have had. After eating, we were roaming the ship. I wanted to check out the Spa, Casino..oohh we stopped by the casino, and got the free lanyards for our Sail and Sign Cards..so I suggest to try that. We wanted to see our cabin, but the doors leading to the cabins, said the rooms will be ready by 1:30. So…we kept exploring the ship. Stopping by the Rome Lounge, Hollywood Disco, Arcade room, Club O2..so on and so forth. When I stopped by the spa, I spoke to the staff there and brought up a conversation about being a “model” for any of their services. Let me tell you now…This does not work all the time. They really just try to get you there. When I got to the Spa, let me tell you I was the only person there. So I began speaking to a staff member, and she asked me if I wanted to become a model for the teeth whitening procedure. I mentioned to her that I would be interested, but I would prefer the “Body wrap” treatment instead. She said she would be able to put me down for either, but to be back by 1:45 sharp. Off we went to do some more exploring. I arrived back at the spa by 1:40, and went directly to the staff member that was helping me out before. I forgot her name, and wished I would have known it. I do know that she is Filipino. She then had the nerve to tell me that they already had their models….WHAT????? I wasn’t even gone for 30 minutes and she had promised me a spot…and took it away like that. Anyway…I was not going to stop it that easily. I told her that I was basically guaranteed a spot…She mentioned to me that usually Carnival Staff members get first dips…so all of their models for all treatments were Staff members…What the heck? I thought that was so unfair…but of course there was no fighting with her on that. so I left angrily, and even refused to make an appointment for a much needed spa treatment, such as a massage that I so desperately wanted. Oh wait a minute I forgot to mention that the girl told me that I can become a next model on my next cruise…ha ha ha…what does she think, I would be in the following week’s cruise? I was so annoyed, but just decided to walk away and don’t say another word. I went to check out our cabins, and they were ready. We had a king size bed…which was so COMFORTABLE…and those pillows…ahh..loved them! My 7 year old had an upper bunk. The room was a bit uncomfortable walking around, but we managed. It wasn’t that bad for the price. I then walked to my daughter’s cabin, and it had two double beds, with the same layout as ours. Again we were in the Main deck (Deck 2). I started unpacking and reading through the Capers which was put on top of our beds. By now it was time to start getting ready for the boat drill. Now..I did a bunch of research before going on this cruise, and I recall form many other posters that it is best to go last to the boat drill. We did this very thing…and it wasn’t that bad at all. After the drill, we went to drop off our vests back to the cabin, and off to the deck to watch the sail away. I was kind of disappointed in the sail away, as there was no excitement on the deck. I remember when I did the Disney cruise, and sail away was a blast. Live music and pure festivities were on board. Carnival really needs to work on that. I then went and grabbed a chair by the pool slide to watch my 7 year old go down the slide. This was where I had my first drink. It was the Fun Ship Special. Very tasty, but sweet. Hat same day was my hubby and my anniversary. 17 years married. I wanted to drink and feel nice that night. So I had the drinks coming all day and night. LOL . We stayed by the Pool for about 30 minutes, so that we can start getting ready for our 6:00 dinner time. We had dinner at the Paris dining room. We met our waiters, and I could only remember 1 of their names. It was Sergy, and he was from Ukraine. The other server was Filipino, but I cannot remember his name. They were really nice guys. For an appetizer I ordered the shrimp cocktail which was yummy. I cannot remember what my main course was, but it had to be yummy as well, becasue everything that came out of the dining room was to die for. I do remember having the Chocolate Melting Cake that first night, and being in heaven. It is so delicious. The desserts in the main dining room can’t be beat. A must try is the Bitter and Blanc. I swear, I have been dreaming about this cake. I am hoping to get the recipe to try and make it…and if it comes out the same way, I can only begin to imagine that by winter time I will be a few pounds heavier…because I will be hooked. Ahhhh I just had to take a deep breath thinking about that Bitter and Blanc cake again. Moving along…other things that I tried were the hamburgers at the Lido and the minute steak sandwiches. These were also yummylicious. The New York Deli was good too. I only tried the Ham and Cheese, Turkey and Cheese and Pastrami sandwiches. The Hong Kong Noodle shop looked disgusting, in my opinion. This was upsetting to me, because I really wanted to try this, but it just didn’t look appealing to me. I want the bitter and blanc…lol…okay, okay..let me stop with that!

Entertainment/shows at the lounges on the Triumph was plentiful, however it lacked on deck. The bingo games were fun…but expensive. I played every night, and did not win anything at all. Hmmpphh..Hubby and I were angry with this…but what the heck, we took our chances. Those cards by the way are $10 for single cards or $20 for a triple card. We saw all of the shows. The hypnosis show was great, as well as the magic show. These were very entertaining. The legends show was good too, and our Cruise drirecor Matt Ross was very funny. I have to say all of the shows were really worth going to. Later that night hubby and I went to Karaoke and saw people perform. We then went to the Hollywood disco, and saw people dance. By this time I was a little tipsy, and wanted to go back to the cabin, shower and get ready for the next day.

Day 2

By now…you are probably tired of reading, and wondering what the heck…this is only day 2…we have to read all the way until day 7…no…I will make these short…I promise. We arrived to Half Moon Cay at about 9 AM. We got up, ate breakfast in the main dining room, and decided to go out and have fun. The weather was hot and beautiful. Half Moon Cay was so pretty as well. The water was crystal, and the sand was powdery. We headed straight to where the children’s play area was. We immediately found 4 chairs and even set our stuff up right by a hammock. I knew I didn’t want to spend $200 in a Cabana, as I think in my opinion it is worthless. Most of the time, you will be in the water, tanning, getting food from the BBQ, and right before you know it..it is time to head back to the ship. The water had some strange looking silver fishes, which kind of creeped me and the kids out. I guess if they were tropical fishes, it wouldn’t be that bad, but the silver ones looked slimy..yuck…we still swam in the water, but were paranoid about those fishys. We went to the BBQ area, and they had Jerk Chicken, Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, Salads, Fruits, cookies. These were all good. We went back to the beach for a few more minutes, grabbed our stuff and were headed back to the tender to get back on the ship. We had to get ready for dinner. Our waiters sand us Happy Anniversary and brought us out a slice of Cheesecake with a candle. Very nice touch! This night was a beautiful night. We watched the sunset and off we went to enjoy the activities for the night.

Day 3

We all woke up late this day. We missed breakfast, and went straight to the Lido deck. The day was beautiful. My hubby and I got 2 chairs by the pool slide and ordered buckets of Corona’s. We had lunch bin the main dining room, and dropped off my 7 year old at Camp Carnival. By the way, Camp Carnival is great. They keep those kids pretty entertained. My 15 year old daughter and 15 year old Godson hated the O2 club. Most of the time, the club was empty, teens were pretty much doing their own things. My hubby and I enjoyed all of the activities, played Bingo and went to the Casino. We went back to our cabins to start getting ready for Formal Night (Captain’s Dinner). We all got dressed up and headed at 5:00 to meet the captain. Our captain was Captain Faunacci ( I think that was his name)…something similar. They had some appetizers and free drinks for this 1 hour. So I suggest you take advantage of this. After that, we headed to the dining room for our Lobster dinner. T was great. Every single dining room food every night was outstanding. After dinner, we went to take formal pictures. Please note that there are photographers everywhere waiting to snap away. The pics come out amazing, and you may want to purchase them all. We did! And boy are they expensive. $22 for 1 sheet..and that’s an 8x10. Needless to say we purchased almost every pic we took. This day at sea was amazing. We had a great time at the shows, dinner, and at the clubs and casino.

Day 4

We arrived in St. Thomas early. I think at about 8 AM. We left our cabin a bit later..maybe at about 9. We went straight to the Lido and wanted burgers…yummy…we got those and off we went to go to our excursion. We had booked Parasailing, but we had to meet the guy at 11:30 AM, so we went to do some shopping. By 11:30 we met the guy for Parasailing. It was our 1st time doing this, and although I was nervous, it was quite an experience and we truly enjoyed it. After parasailing we decided it was still early..about 1:30 PM…so we wanted to try Megan’s Bay Beach. We took a car service right outside, and went to discover this Beach. To my surprise, the beach was not crowded. The water was warm and clear, but again I saw these silver fishes. I really wish they would have been colorful. I don’t think I would have been so skeeved if they were. We had a 6 o’clock sail away time, but we arrived at the ship by 4:30. This gave us enough time to shower and get dressed for dinner. After dinner, we took more pictures and enjoyed the shows and activities.

Day 5

We arrived at San Juan early..about 7 AM. My hubby and I got up on time and got the children ready to start our day. This day, my husband’s parents were coming to pick us up to take us to their home. They live about 25 minutes from San Juan. We have bee to Puerto Rico numerous times, so we did not care for any sightseeing. My husband wanted to spend time with his family, and I was all for it. My mother in law cooked us an exquisite Puerto Rican cuisine. It was about lunchtime when we ate, and boy did we enjoy it. My husbands’ aunts, uncles and cousins visited and we all had a great time. They surprised us by buying us an anniversary cake (which was delicious) and singing us Happy Anniversary. Aww. How nice! Our time in Puerto Rico was very short. The sail away time way at 3:30 so we had to get ready by 1:45 to get back to San Juan. Our time was short spent but very, very nice. It was something different. We got back to the ship in time to get ready for dinner. Dinner again was great and the shows were spectacular. I cannot stop raving about the food and shows!

Day 6

The best day so far! Grand Turk was my absolutely favorite place throughout this whole cruise. I told my hubby that I did not want to leave. I wanted to stay there! We got to Grand Turk kind of late..I believe it was about 11 AM. As soon as we got off the ship, the beach was right there. It’s funny because I did not get to go to the beach. We immediately saw Margaritaville, and knew we wanted to stay there by the gigantic swimming pool. The kids had a blast. They have a swim up bar, which was fantastic. The drinks are very expensive, but tasty and strong. The kids had virgin daiquiris and pina coladas and my hubby and I drank margaritas. We stayed by the swim up bar where all of the entertainment was. Hey had some DJ’s playing good music and holding a few contests. This was very entertaining to see, and overall we had a magnificent time. I really want o go back here. Sail away time was at 5:30, so by 4:00 we left the pool, and did a bit of shopping. We were then on our way back to the ship and getting ready for another wonderful dinner.

Day 7

The kids, my hubby and I were already tired…so we slept in late since this was a sea day. We missed breakfast, and had a nice lunch at the dining room. We stayed by the pool for a few hours, played miniature golf, and did other activities. Today was truly a fun day at sea with so many activities planned throughout the day.

Day 8

My hubby and I went to the debarkation speech the day before, so we knew what to expect. We knew we were carrying our luggage ourselves, but what we didn’t know was that we don’t have to wait till our number or deck is called. We waited around for a long time, only to find out we can walk right onto customs. Hmm I know this for next time. We got off the ship by like 9:30 AM, and called Steve our transport guy to take us back into FLL airport. Our flight was for 2:30 PM. Okay here is the major dilemma I had throughout my entire vacation. We were stuck in the airport for 13 hours. That’s right!!! 13 hours..Miserable hours. My due time to get back to NY was at 7:00 PM Sunday. I didn’t walk into my home until 6:00 AM Monday morning. There was some type of rain storm in the NY area, which delayed our flight.

Sorry for the long review, but I am a very detailed person. I am hoping this review can help others plan their cruise or answer any questions they might have. The Triumph was a nice cruise.a bit outdated, with small swimming pools that I did not care for. The buffet food was not tasty. The dining room food was outstanding! Burgers were delicious! The staff was great! The towel animals were adorable! The itinerary was the best! Entertainment/Shows on the lounges were great and not to be missed! The beds and pillows are very comfy! Entertainment on deck should be better! It was very poor in my opinion! I would consider doing this cruise again. This is an excellent itinerary with excellent Ports of Call.

[kiraryker]

Thanks for the review!! I wonder if after they dry dock the ship some of those issues will be addressed?? We will be on this ship in March and they have changed the ports to just San Juan, St. Thomas & St. Maarten so many more sea days.

 

I hope they do a better job for entertainment around the pools - when we were on Destiny they had us all laughing with the scavenger hunts and games by the pools - very entertaining. And I know with us we stayed on our lounge chairs and ordered many drinks of the day just because we were so entertained!! For them that definately meant more $$$

[bonnys]

Thanks for the review. It seems that there are only a few threads relating to the Triumph and it is nice to read one. We are going on the Triumph in October and are looking forward to it.

[nothomeonacruise]

I bet the cruise director didn't plan enough outside activity! On our Triumph cruise we had a fun time outside. We had a ball at the deck party!

I agree about the buffet, as I much prefer the dining room on the Triumph, too. We ate almost all our meals in the dining rooms. When we couldn't eat in the London (our main room), we went to the Paris for breakfast and lunch. If our waiters were in the dining room for the other meals, we asked for them.

 

It sounds like you had a wonderful time. :)

[finoky]

Thanks for the review.:)

[cjkumbaya]

Thanks so much for the review - glad your first Carnival cruise was a nice one. Also glad that the food in the dining room was great (I've seen way too comments that the food was off in the dining room). Hope you are hooked on Carnival like we are.:)

[shortstuf1255]

Thanks for the review. I sail the same cruise in a month. Looking forward to it.

[Quilcruisers]

great review! We were on the Triumph last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. The ports were great, the food was great and we stayed in Miami for an extra day when we got back and that was wonderful.

 

I'm on the countdown for my cruise in 3 days!!

 

Angela

[rebeljohn]

Very nice review.............Thanks for posting it.................

[Madiandfly]

Thanks for the review!! I wonder if after they dry dock the ship some of those issues will be addressed?? We will be on this ship in March and they have changed the ports to just San Juan, St. Thomas & St. Maarten so many more sea days.

 

I hope they do a better job for entertainment around the pools - when we were on Destiny they had us all laughing with the scavenger hunts and games by the pools - very entertaining. And I know with us we stayed on our lounge chairs and ordered many drinks of the day just because we were so entertained!! For them that definately meant more $$$

 

I really do hope that it changes once they go into dry dock too, because overall the Triumph is a good ship. The entertainment around the pool was not that "entertaining". They did have a hairy chest contest for the men and that was a bit funny...but overall that was really it. I think they need to do it up for sail aways and make it FUN!

[Madiandfly]

Thanks for the review. It seems that there are only a few threads relating to the Triumph and it is nice to read one. We are going on the Triumph in October and are looking forward to it.

 

Enjoy your cruise...and don't forget to sample as many desserts as you can possibly try. They are the best!

[Madiandfly]

I bet the cruise director didn't plan enough outside activity! On our Triumph cruise we had a fun time outside. We had a ball at the deck party!

I agree about the buffet, as I much prefer the dining room on the Triumph, too. We ate almost all our meals in the dining rooms. When we couldn't eat in the London (our main room), we went to the Paris for breakfast and lunch. If our waiters were in the dining room for the other meals, we asked for them.

 

It sounds like you had a wonderful time. :)

 

The cruise director was wonderful, and the shows in the lounges and theater were amazing. I think that they really need to step it up when it comes to sail aways. They should have nice parties and theme musics for each port. For example, if going to St.Thomas then have caribbean music or bands, if going to Puerto Rico, then have nice Puerto Rican/Spanish bands...and so on and so forth. I didn't actually feel the "island" rhythm while at the pool. All in all, the Triumph is wonderful and we had an amazing time! Enjoy your next cruise!

[Madiandfly]

Thanks so much for the review - glad your first Carnival cruise was a nice one. Also glad that the food in the dining room was great (I've seen way too comments that the food was off in the dining room). Hope you are hooked on Carnival like we are.:)

 

Whomever said that the food in the dining room was way off..obviously need to check their taste buds.. The food is simply amazing...As I mentioned, i didn't care for the buffet food, but the dining room food is another story.

 

I seriously can see myself getting hooked to Carnival. The prices are great. I really just wish that they can have better itineraries. I may try the Southern Caribbean next.

[Madiandfly]

Thanks for the review. I sail the same cruise in a month. Looking forward to it.

 

 

Enjoy your cruise. You will have a great time!

[Madiandfly]

great review! We were on the Triumph last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. The ports were great, the food was great and we stayed in Miami for an extra day when we got back and that was wonderful.

 

I'm on the countdown for my cruise in 3 days!!

 

Angela

 

Thanks! Enjoy your cruise. I wish I could go on another one right now!

[Madiandfly]

Very nice review.............Thanks for posting it.................

 

Thanks! I can't wait to book another cruise! :D

[kiraryker]

great review! We were on the Triumph last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. The ports were great, the food was great and we stayed in Miami for an extra day when we got back and that was wonderful.

 

I'm on the countdown for my cruise in 3 days!!

 

Angela

 

 

Where did you stay? We are flying in a day early and need to stay in Miami also.

[neverpar]

Great review!! We are sailing on the Triumph in December....and I can hardly wait!!

kiraryker...we are staying at the InterContential downtown Miami after the cruise...got a great rate on easy click travel dot com..

Check it out!

[kiraryker]

Great review!! We are sailing on the Triumph in December....and I can hardly wait!!

kiraryker...we are staying at the InterContential downtown Miami after the cruise...got a great rate on easy click travel dot com..

Check it out!

 

When you use that does it show you the hotel your bidding on? Also does that hotel offer shuttle service airport & port?

[neverpar]

When you use that does it show you the hotel your bidding on? Also does that hotel offer shuttle service airport & port?

 

 

No it doesn't but here is a link that will give you all the info of the hotel read post #8...as far as a shuttle, no I don't think it has a shuttle to the airport...check out their website.

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=799288