Triumph 05/10/09 Review With LOTS of PICS!!!

[dixieva]

Great pics and great review.

 

Question for you-I'll be on the Triumph in 10 days-woohoo-and wondered if you saw any ice machines on the passenger decks that you could go get ice yourself any time you wanted? I know there's no fridge in our balcony room and really didn't want to have to carry a small cooler. Ice in the ice buckets melts so quickly.

 

Thanks!

[ebandive]

In the last 3 cruises I've gone on, I have not gotten a sunburn. I load up on my SPF 50 on my face and upper body and that's all I've ever needed. Never have my legs ever burned, so I didn't think that I'd need to lather them up. Besides, I'd be under the water the whole time, right??

 

Well, I had the W O R S T burn... on my butt. You know that area just outside of your bathing suit... apparantly my butt was a sun magnet as it bobbed up and down in the water when I was snorkeling. I swear I coudn't sit down right for 3 days. The toilet was the worst. I was beat red all the way down the back of my legs to my ankles, and on the top of my feet. I didn't bring any Aloe with me because I arrogantly thought that I woudn't need it, so I went to buy it on the ship and it was $10 for a little bottle. But I think that was the best $10 I spent the entire trip!!

 

We ate dinner that night in the dining room. Charlie still wasn't that enthusiastic about it but the tablemates passed the test the first night so we would try again. It was nice seeing them again catching up after 2 days in port. Then the most wonderful thing happened. One of the guys said he bought a bunch of cigars in Puerto Rico and would like to share them with the other guys later that night. Charlie could hardly believe his ears. The plan was to go to the 8:30 Magic Show and then meet up on Lido.

 

The Magic Show was with Kevin & Caruso. These guys are fabulous. It was a highly entertaining show. And it definately built the anticipation for the 12:00 "Adult Only R Rated Burlesque Show starring the Triumph Dancers". Kevin & Caruso were amping up the Burlesque show saying that it was the first one EVER on a cruise ship and the "girls" are really nervous about it. Meanwhile the "girls" are dancing around on stage in thongs, and this was the family friendly show.

 

So going through everyone's mind:

"What on earth is a Burlesque show, and what are the dancers going to be doing that is R rated!?!? I don't know, but I'm going!!!"

 

According to Wikipedia:

Burlesque is theatrical entertainment of broad and parodic humor, which usually consists of comic skits (and sometimes a strip tease).

 

We killed the time between shows my bonding with our table mates over cigars and watching the seaside theatre. We were all speculating as to what would be happening at this mysterious show tonight. I must say, Carnival did an awesome job placing us all together. After the initial awkwardness wore off, we all got along great and hung out together pretty much every night.

 

Midnight finally came, and it was standing room only. The much anticipated Burlesque show turned out to be a few magic tricks, a few jokes, and in fact a strip tease done really artfully using a type of walk through curtain. Its really hard to describe, but they used a lot of shadows to add in interesting allusion to the whole thing. They came out in bathrobes and gradually wore less as the show went on. At one point they grabbed two guys from the audience and acted like they would actually take off their top... but they never did. And the dirty old men in the audience were very disappointd. :D:D:D

[ebandive]

Great pics and great review.

 

Question for you-I'll be on the Triumph in 10 days-woohoo-and wondered if you saw any ice machines on the passenger decks that you could go get ice yourself any time you wanted? I know there's no fridge in our balcony room and really didn't want to have to carry a small cooler. Ice in the ice buckets melts so quickly.

 

Thanks!

 

 

Check out this link

 

http://unofficialcarnivalwiki.com/wiki/Category:Information_Pack

 

Click on the Triumph, then go to page 3. They have every ice machine listed. :D

[ebandive]

OK I don't think that link is working. I got this information from something I posted close to a year ago.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=794630

 

Go down a few posts and someone posts a link on how to get the information packet for many Carnival ships. :)

 

I love cruise critic!

[ebandive]

I really feel like I know you guys! Its awesome how you got to St. John's on your own - I would have been a wreck (I'm irrationally paranoid over missing the boat).

 

I love the self shots you guys take, me and my husband do the same - we've now perfected the kissing shot ;-)

 

Definitely try to sail out of NYC some day - it really is gorgeous (but being from NY, I might be biased). I did the Carribean cruise out of NY a few years ago... In July I'll be on the Triumph to go up to Canada.

 

I hope to someday perfect the kissing shot too!! :) I was a bit nervous about missing the boat, but that's why we left so early in the day. The ship didn't pull out of port until 6:00 pm so we had plenty of time.

 

What an awesome review! I am totally in love with your pics! LOL. I love taking photos and I usually carry a camera or camcorder with me everywhere I go because you just never know what you may see. I must say, I have had no desire to visit San Juan until reading your review and seeing those beautiful pictures! You have a great talent of capturing the true essence of your surroundings and experiences so that we all feel that we are there with you! Great job! :)

 

I wish I carried my camera around more. Usually it's at home unless I'm on vacation! Thanks for the compliment!

[ebandive]

I forgot to mention that we discovered the funnel deck that night. It seemed like all other times we wanted to go up there it was blocked off due to winds. we were both amazed at how big the funnel actually is!! Here are some pics:

 

 

 

 

Just for fun... :)

 

And here is that evening's towel animal:

[ebandive]

The next morning was St. Maarten. Originally I wanted to get up early to watch the sunrise, but I didn't want to risk having bad weather again. Also, I was SOOO tired from getting up at 5:15 and staying up well past 1:00 AM.

 

We got up at 6:45, went to Lido for breakfast, and then had to meet our tour at 8:00 at the pier.

 

St. Maarten:

 

 

 

 

We booked our tour with captainalan dot com. Let me just say that unlike St. John, pictures can in no way capture our experience. It's a 3 island snorkeling tour. We were met at the pier by a man with a sign with our last name on it. THere was also another family going on the tour with us. They were super friendly and great to spend the day with.

 

After a van ride we arrived at where we would be getting on the speed boat:

 

 

They took two boats out, the awesome and the awesome too. We chose the awesome because it had more shade.

 

We made the best choice!! The awesome had a little sitting area out front, where you could sit out on the edge of the boat with just a little metal bar holding you in. They warned us that we could sit up there but the seas were rough so we'd have to hold on tight. Also that we might get sea sick because there were 8 foot waves.

 

I was all excited. I was definately going to sit up at the top!! Our legs dangled over the edge of the boat, so every time we dipped a little bit, our feet would get wet.

 

Once we got going, we got out of the safety of the little inlet where the boat was docked and out into the water. I coudn't take pictures because my camera would have been ruined for sure. But the waves were HUGE on this little boat. Within moments we were soaked head to toe. We were soaring up and down on these waves. It was SO exhilerating! It was a half an hour ride to the first island, and it was incredible. I laughed and screamed the whole time. This is by far the best exursion we have EVER done on any of our cruises. Just the boat ride out to the first island was worth the money we paid for the entire trip!

 

Our first stop was Tintamarre Island. This is an uninhabited island that is breathtakingly beautiful. It is apparantly known for it's volcanic ash mud that you apply to your skin that supposedly takes ten years off. Our first stop was just for swimming and enjoying the beach and giving ourselves a mud bath.

 

 

[ebandive]

More from Tintamarre Island with captainalan dot com:

 

The "Awesome" is on the right, with the "Awesome Too" on the left

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ebandive]

And of course you know by know that I have more pictures!

 

 

 

 

The sand was so soft you just sunk way into it with every step

 

[ebandive]

This boat was just amazing!

 

Here are our hosts mixing the mud bath!

 

And the mud was put on:

 

 

 

 

[Valley Twin]

Thanks for the great review & pics. We're taking our first cruise on the Triumph in late June. I didn't think we could get more excited!

 

Congrats on graduation too.

 

Russ

[ebandive]

Thanks for the great review & pics. We're taking our first cruise on the Triumph in late June. I didn't think we could get more excited!

 

Congrats on graduation too.

 

Russ

 

 

Russ- Welcome to Cruise Critic! You have found a great resource for everything you'd ever want to know about cruising, and you will be surrounded by people to share in your excitement!! Enjoy your first cruise!! :)

[dixieva]

Thanks for the link. There seems to be an ice machine right down the hall from our room so I guess I'll leave the cooler at home!

[Taters]

I am looking forward to sailing on Triumph out of New Orleans in January and love the ship pics that you've posted! Beautiful! Also, your pics and descriptions of the ports have been lots of fun... They've brough back great memories of St. Thomas, St. John, San Juan and St. Maarten! Thank you so much for taking the time for all of this!

 

Cheers,

 

Taters

[martek]

This is so great!!!! We were also on this cruise of May 10th! After that initial screw up on embarkation, this was the best cruise ever. I have been on 5 and this tops the list. We were, my mother and myself, sister and brother in law, and brother and sister in law. Everyone had a super time. I am so happy to see all your great pictures as memories for us also. As far as Ice machines, we were on Riviera deck #1260 and we had ice machine and pop machine directly across the hall from us. I look forward to sailing on the Triumph again some day and also the Eastern Caribbean is so nice!!!!!

[travlngrl1996]

Erin,

I have one word to say about this review...WOW!!!!!:):):) Thank you for allowing me to re-live my very first cruise experience on the Triumph. I saw some familiar scenes that took me back. We didn't go to St. Marteen, but through your pictures and dialog, I feel as if I was there. I'm gonna have to look for other reviews that you have written to pass the time before my next cruise in January. Can't wait to read more.;)

[junebug8]

In one word Erin...WOW! This is an awesome review!:):)

 

Congrats on graduation and the job.:)

 

Your review and photos are amazing. You guys are a cute couple.:D

[OrlandoD]

Erin,

Thanks for the awesome post - it's rare I read a thread from beginning to end - but I just couldn't resist since we'll be on Triumph next month. For the record you looked absolutely adorable at Trunk Bay - all beachy and happy!!

 

Great shots, loved looking at San Juan. We were there on a really windy day back in November when there were lots of locals flying kites at the Fort. The blue stones in the cobblestone streets are supposed to be the ballasts from ships from the 16th century. We sat in one of the outdoor cafes and had mojitos and watched the tourists after we had climbed to the fort. The best part for me was being on deck when we came in and went out of the city as we slipped by the Fort.

 

Thanks for sharing and best wishes in the new job!

D

[TnMama]

Ok, Erin, You guys should come join our Unofficial Whale Tail Club. youve got some AWESOME pics of the funnel that Im sure the group would love! theres a few thereads on here that mention us. I think you and DH would fit right in with our crazy tails!

 

LOVED the mud pics, I giggled! and the beaches ,ahhhhh!!!!!!!

Thanks again for posting all these!

Sarah

[ebandive]

Thanks to everyone who is posting on this thread!

 

I should mention that I do have more ship pics coming. I'm just posting them in the order I took them.

 

Sarah- Thanks for the invite! I was under the impression that you had to be loyal to Carnival to join the Whale Tail Club. Is that true? I love Carnival, but I'm sure I'd love any cruiseline. My only requirement is that the ship is on water. ;)

 

D- Thanks for the interesting info on the cobblestone! I had no idea! :)

 

Martek- Sorry I didn't get a chance to meet you! You all seemed like a great group!

 

To everyone else, I really am glad that there is interest in this thread. I wasn't sure there would be that much because this was Triumph's last trip to these ports. And it's nice to know that I'm not rambling on just to myself. :D:D:D

[ebandive]

OK, so after Tintamarre island we got back on our speed boats and went to Pinal Island. This was a much shorter and calmer ride.

 

This is Pinal Island:

 

And this is the part of the island that we went snorkeling. You can see little markers in the water in front of the rocks. We were told there were 3 stages, but we could only go in the first 2 because of the rough conditions.

 

 

The other boat:

 

 

Another view looking behind us:

 

Charlie back on the boat after swimming:

 

 

 

[ebandive]

After Pinal island we went to Green Key. The big rock on the left is green key, and across the water is Orient Beach:

 

 

 

 

And here are our underwater pics from the Captain Alan exursion.

 

At Pinal Island we saw mostly fish. We were given pieces of bread and the fish would come eat right out of our hands. There was also some coral in the stage 2 area. I had really wanted to see a Sea Turtle, but we had no such luck that day.

 

At Green Key there was just tons of coral. We saw a few fish there, but that stop was mostly to look at the coral.

 

 

 

[ebandive]

At both of these places that we stopped, you could swim down pretty deep and there was great visability. I know this is the deepest I've ever snorkeled because when I would dive down the pressure I felt in my head was substantial.

 

 

Oh check out Charlie's fins!! Charlie has size 14 feet and it is SO hard to find him decent flippers. We've done a lot of snorkeling exursions on past cruises, and these are by far the best flippers he's ever worn. Kudos to Captain Alan. He said that this is the first time he's truly enjoyed himself because his feet were comfortable.

 

We brought our own snorkeling gear on this trip but decided to leave it in the room since it would be provided for us. While the flippers were great, I do regret not bringing my own snorkel. I have a dry snorkel so that when you go under water you don't get any water in your mouth. This snorkel was fine going under water, becasue when I came up I just blew out the air. What was challenging for me is that when I was just swimming along the surface I would inhale big gulps of water because there were pretty significant waves. I'd never had that happen before. I think it was just mine though because no one else had problems. Charlie said it looked like my snorkel kept flopping down at an angle instead of staying straight up.

 

Feeding the fishies:

This picture KIND OF shows how big the waves are. But they were bigger. Trust me!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ebandive]

This is our guide, Paul. He took tons of under water pictures in his super fancy under water camera in a under water case. He would get way down in the fish's faces. It was fun watching him. He was also able to somehow blow air circles... like smoke circles just under water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ebandive]

I tried to snap this picture while riding on the boat. I wanted to try to capture how it actually felt with the water crashing up with us while we were on the edge. After I took this picture Charlie freaked out on me and told me to put the camera away and hold on tight! You can see that it was just a little bar separating us from the water! It was SOOO much fun!

 

 

 

 

 

I told you he got in the fish's face: