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Paradise Review - 9/1/08 - 9/5/08

cathyz

By cathyz,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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cathyz

cathyz

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My husband and I drove to Long Beach the day before our September 1 cruise on the Paradise and stayed at the Coast Long Beach Hotel (our third time there) using their convenient Park and Sail package. We arrived a bit early, but were able to check in, had a very nice convenient room on the ground floor which was very convenient to the bar/restaurant and had a partial view of the L.A. river and across to Long Beach from our patio outside.

 

The next morning, we took the 10:00 a.m. shuttle over to the port (the regular driver was late so one of the front desk employees kindly drove us over). We dropped our 2 suitcases with the porters and walked to the Queen Mary for early check in. We were the only ones in the Carnival area at first so check in was done in 3 minutes and we were back out the door over to the embarkation area in front of the dome with our Zone 1 ticket. We walked around a bit and then sat on the benches in the Zone 1 area (there were more benches around than we remembered from last time) and were the 2nd group waiting in the Zone 1 line. They had closed up the early check in on the Queen Mary about 10:45 and the employees there walked over to the dome. About 11:00, they said we could get inside the building, but would wait in there for a few minutes before boarding the ship. Just before 11:00, they ushered us in after just a

handful of VIPs and handicapped folks (didn't look like any wedding parties that day). We walked right through security, no lines, then sat on the benches to the left for about 10 minutes. We then all lined up for the

embarkation photos, up the escalator, and on to the ship. We have a personal contest to see how early we can get our first DOD, this time we beat our record by 3 minutes and had our first DOD by 11:39 and were sitting out on the aft Lido eating area enjoying the view and calling our friends just to make them jealous!

 

This seemed to be sort of a 'slow' week in that the ship was not quite completely full and there seemed to be very few kids though we never did hear the statistics. The crowd was all ages, not too many of any age group, so it was a good mix. We were in cabin E75 for the second time on the Paradise (some of our friends thought that was weird to do). It's a great location, very convenient to everything and since this was our 4th time on a Fantasy class ship, we know our way around very well.

 

Our cabin was very clean and the bed very comfortable as usual. Jesse, our cabin steward did an OK job even though we didn't see him too much. We had a great towel animal every night and he kept everything clean.

 

We ate dinner every night at 8:15 in the Destiny dining room where the food was excellent every night. The lobster was great as usual. Our head waitress was Regina and she was excellent and our assistant waiter, Ade, was also extremely efficient, but pretty quiet. We were assigned a 10-person round table with 4 other couples right by the entrance to the dining room, very convenient. We all had a great time and exchanged email addresses the last night.

 

We spent quite a bit of time at the Atrium bar, it's a great people watching place and had a great bartender there, Anji. We also spent lots of time at the Casino Bar and had some great bartenders there, Adelaida, Nelson, and Chong. We went into the America Piano Bar on the 2nd night after dinner, sat down and couldn't get a drink for at least 20 minutes even though there were 2 servers walking back and forth, they completely ignored us, so we left and went down to the atrium bar where we could still hear the piano bar (and it's not smokey like the piano bar!). We

also spent some time in the casino to make our donations. DH played in the Texas Hold 'em tournament, came in 4th, but didn't win anything. That was the only time he played, we rarely saw any other play at the tables.

 

The ship in general was in excellent shape, everything extremely clean. The tables on the Lido and in Tiffany's weren't always cleaned up and reset immediately, which was a change from the last cruises, maybe the crew are spread a little thinner now. They were doing some painting outside and sanding and refinishing many of the railings around

the ship, so everything was clean and bright and shiny. Even our OV window in our cabin was pretty clean. There were crew members everywhere cleaning something at all times (can I take just one of them home with me?). All the crew we saw greeted us with a smile and/or a Hi, many spoke more than that. Every bartender and store employee was

very friendly, we never saw any crew that didn't look like they weren't enjoying their jobs. We spoke with many of them asking them about their families, where they're from, how long they've been on the ship, etc., they really open up when you express an interest in them (instead of treating them like servants, as we've seen a few times).

 

In Catalina, we took the tender over at about 8:30, no lines, only 11 people on the tender. We walked around for a few minutes then rented a golf cart and drove around for an hour, had some great views and tooks some pics from half way up the hill. When we got back, we did some shopping the then went to Luau Larry's for a drink, great place! We

walked around a bit more and then went back to the ship for a late lunch. Since we're only a few hours away by car, we thought we'd do a short vacation on Catalina to see what the night life might be like!

 

It was so hot and humid in Ensenada that I was off the ship only about 15 minutes in the port shopping area. I immediately went back to the ship and my husband continued to shop there, buying some tequila to bring back as gifts. We usually don't get off the ship much in Ensenada anyway, it's a great 'fake' sea day to just relax.

 

Debarkation was easy, we were in embarkation group 9. They started announcing for self-debarkation about 6:45. We didn't do self-debarkation so waited for our group to be called. They had asked we be out of our cabin by 9:00 and they called our group about 8:55 so we were able to just go right out the exit since our cabin was on the Empress deck very near the exit. There was a bit of a line inside the dome for customs though, we were in the 'trainee' line unfortunately so took a bit longer than the other lines. We went into the luggage area and immediately found our suitcase. We walked outside and called the Coast Hotel to get the shuttle and they said he was on his way over dropping off some folks and then there he was 5 minutes later so we hopped in and went back to the hotel quickly.

 

We again had a wonderful Carnival cruise (which keeps us loyal cruisers) with no problems at all and lots of fun! :)

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Curt Jerome Wild

Curt Jerome Wild

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We usually don't get off the ship much in Ensenada anyway, it's a great 'fake' sea day to just relax.

ROTFL!:D

That's my favorite part of your review!

Thanks so much.

I love Paradise as well, for a nice relaxing (I don't feel like I have to run around tiring myself out all day in port) cruise.

And yes, the Atrium Bar is a great people watching spot!

 

And I just noticed that you're having your DODs in one of my favorite "lunch spots"!

 

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cathyz

cathyz

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From the Capers listing, it looks like no "Formal" night the second night - is it just all "Resort Casual" and "Cruise Elegant" now?

That's true, the new dress code has been around for several months now (even since our March sailing on the Elation). My husband wore dress shorts on all casual nights as did many many other men.

 

What to Wear?

 

Casual attire is the order of the day. We suggest shorts, sundresses, tank tops, etc. for the ladies, and for men; shorts, polo shirts, T-shirts, etc. will do. We suggest you wear rubber-soled, low heeled or flat shoes for extra traction while onboard. The use of any footwear with wheels, including but not limited, to Heelys© shoes, is prohibited on board our ships. For dining you may want to dress up a bit and/or bring along a light sports jacket or cardigan.

 

Most evenings we have a Cruise Casual dress code, but there are those Cruise Elegant evenings one or two nights throughout your “Fun Ship” voyage, where you will have the opportunity to showcase your more elegant attire. For those who want casual attire for dinner time, the Seaview Bistro on the Lido Deck is open nightly, and has a more relaxed theme. Both dress codes for the dining rooms are described below.

 

Cruise Casual Dining Dress Code: Gentlemen - Sport slacks, khakis, jeans (no cut-offs), dress shorts (long), collared sport shirts; Ladies - Casual dresses, casual skirts or pants and blouses, summer dresses, Capri pants, dress shorts, jeans (no cut-offs). Not permitted in the dining room during the Cruise Casual dinner for ladies and gentlemen: gym shorts, basketball shorts, beach flip-flops, bathing suit attire, cut-off jeans, and sleeveless shirts for men.

 

Cruise Elegant Dining Dress Code: Gentlemen - Dress slacks, dress shirts. We also suggest a sport coat. If you wish to wear suits and ties or tuxedos, by all means we invite you to do so. Ladies - Cocktail dresses, pantsuits, elegant skirts and blouses; if you‘d like to show off your evening gowns, that's great too! Not permitted in the dining room during the Cruise Elegant dinner for ladies and gentlemen: shorts, T-shirts, beach flip-flops, bathing suit attire, jeans, cut-off jeans, sleeveless shirts for men, sportswear, and baseball hats.

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Onebusyman

Onebusyman

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I enjoyed the review, we have a back to back scheduled for next month, October 17 and October 21. This will be my 9th and 10th crusie on Carnival; 14th overall.

I wish there were more to do on the shore days. Does any one know if a nearby hotel sells any day passes to use at their resort?

 

Thanks again,

 

Mike and my wounderful wife, "Kellie the Hottie".

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  • 2 weeks later...
gumballz

gumballz

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Posted

Cathy, by any chance did you get a photo of the Monarch as both ships were leaving their ports....sailing side by side out to sea? I was on the Monarch the same week you were on the Paradise and got a great shot of the Paradise, but I'd like a photo of the Monarch as well.

 

We'll be on the Paradise next month....thanks for the review and the photos!

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cathyz

cathyz

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Cathy, by any chance did you get a photo of the Monarch as both ships were leaving their ports....sailing side by side out to sea? I was on the Monarch the same week you were on the Paradise and got a great shot of the Paradise, but I'd like a photo of the Monarch as well.

 

We'll be on the Paradise next month....thanks for the review and the photos!

Sorry, no, I guess I missed that, too bad....

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