Just off the Triumph (Charleston 5/25-30) - Review

[jscarl01]

I just got off the Triumph a few hours ago. Here's my take on our cruise.

 

A little background - My husband and myself went for a little break from work. My 5th cruise and his 3rd but our first since 2005. We are 28 and 29.

 

Embarkation

I'd like to spend a little time on this part because there was so little information on leaving from Charleston at 10pm because Carnival only cruises out of there a couple times a year. All cruise documents and Carnival staff insisted boarding would be at 7pm. The port stated they would open for parking and luggage drop off at 4pm and NO earlier. Our plans were to drive into Charleston (90 min. from Columbia), get some lunch and head to the port around 4pm. We arrived into Charleston around 1:15 and decided to drive by the port to familiarize ourselves with it. I'm glad we did because signs indicated embarkation would begin at 2pm. People and cars were everywhere and signs weren't posted yet as stated on the port's website. After a few times around the block we stopped at a deli to get a sandwich because we were unclear if lunch would be served on board. Once we were done the signs were posted as indicated and the port was open for business.

 

We parked at the port and boarded a shuttle to the ship (no passengers are allowed to walk to the ship, you must be dropped off). Everything else was a breeze until we got to the table to pick up our keys. They had no record of me filling out the sail and sign credit card info (which I did) so I had to redo that but no big deal. We were on board no later than 2:30pm. Since the ship arrived to Charleston empty we were allowed to go straight to our rooms.

 

Once on Board

We went to our room, grabbed the caper and headed straight to the dining room. We prefer to eat at a table for two so we wanted to make sure we were assigned to such. We ended up assigned to a table for 8 and got reassigned to a table for four but were the only ones assigned to it. Perfect for us...more room!

 

Our luggage was at our room by the time we got back. We unpacked a bit. All smuggled liquor made it safe and sound, it wasn't much but enough to subtle the blow on our bar bill.

 

That's it for now, will type more when I get a chance. Please feel free to ask any questions!

[dixieva]

I'm boarding the Triumph tomorrow in Norfolk for a 6 day Bahamas cruise. I'm hoping since the ship is coming up from Charleston empty that our rooms will be ready when we get on board.

 

What room did you have?

 

How did you like the food, entertainment, staff, casino?

 

Thanks!

[jscarl01]

Room Info

We were in a balcony room, 7393. It was located aft, right by the elevators. Great location, I never heard any foot traffic or the elevators. It was perfect for getting to where we needed to go. Two floors up - Lido deck (food and pool). Two floors down - Promenade (where everything else is). See below for navigating the ship. The room was smaller than I remembered but big enough for what we needed it for. The pink decor was definitely an eyesore but I got over that quickly. The bed was fabulous and so comfy. We didn't get many channels (fox, abc, tnt, discovery, three movie channels). The movies that played in the room were: Bride Wars, Twilight, Marley & Me, Space Chimps, The Day the Earth Stood Still.

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Once unpacked we began to explore the ship. We grabbed a couple DOD - Funship Specials. They were $6.95 plus tip. Lunch was being served so we ate for the sake of eating even though we weren't really hungry. The food was plentiful and delicious. Italian was the nation of the day. Of course they had pizza and grill food, as well a random food inside the South Beach Grill.

 

The Ship

The ship was easy to navigate. I had heard complaints about how the floors don't go all the way through on the Triumph. It was confusing at first but once you realized floors 5 and 9 go all the way through you're good to go. The ship was very clean and I noticed no wear and tear (but I wasn't looking for it either).

 

More to come.

[jscarl01]

I'm boarding the Triumph tomorrow in Norfolk for a 6 day Bahamas cruise. I'm hoping since the ship is coming up from Charleston empty that our rooms will be ready when we get on board.

 

What room did you have?

 

How did you like the food, entertainment, staff, casino?

 

Thanks!

 

The food: as delicious as I remembered it to be. Breakfast left something to be desired as it was the same every morning but no big deal. We ate in the dining room for dinner every night but one. I had some type of steak every night and thoroughly enjoyed it. I don't eat seafood but my husband does so he had whatever variety of that they were serving.

 

Entertainment: I can't really comment on. I'm not a big show person so we didn't go to any of them. The singer by the casino was good. The most entertaining guy was each evening behind the lobby bar just outside the London dining room. Sorry I can't comment more on that.

 

Casino: I like to gamble (not big bucks) but my husband doesn't. I talked him into letting me play roulette the last night. I played on $5 for a long time and ended up winning $20 which is good for me. It was packed though and definitely the most happening place on the ship each night.

[dixieva]

Thanks for the info.

 

We have a balcony room on the upper deck towards the aft port side. I think the location will be perfect.

 

Can't wait to board tomorrow. Our docks said not to get to the port until 4. We sail at 7. There's no way all us folks can get on board in 3 hours. We're getting there earlier and are hoping for the best.