Triumph Mini-Review: First Time on Carnival

[Jamrenjer]

My wife and I sailed on the Triumph 4-Day leaving NYC on July 23rd. We have been on several cruises--NCL, RCCL, Princess and Costa. This was our first on Carnival.

 

We stayed the night before at the Millenium UN Hotel-- a great deal $149 including breakfast buffet. We ended up with a 2 room suite-- even had 2 bathrooms-- on the 35th floor with excellent views of the river etc.

 

Embarkation went pretty smooth-- Maybe 30-45 minutes and we were on the ship. First thing we noticed was the slow and long buffet lines! We have never been on any cruise with such long lines at the buffets. We are not fussy people-- and we just dealt with it-- but it did leave a bad impression-- as this is how it was the whole cruise.

 

Positives: Compared to other lines-- our cabin was very spacious! We had an ocean view cabin-- it was very large. Loved it!

 

Our cabin steward was excellent! Very efficient and fast. Never had such a varied towel animal each night on any other cruise!

 

Room service: Again-- excellent service and menu. The fastest and most consistent room service we have ever experienced.

 

Dining Room: We were easily able to get a table for the 2 of us. The food was pretty good. We had heard from many that Carnival food is so great-- maybe we were expecting too much. It was good, but not great. (Never have seen mac and cheese in a main dining room on a cruise before! :confused:) Dinner Service was almost too fast! One night we had 5 courses and were done in just under one hour! We felt very rushed-- but I guess it is better than waiting for ever! :) Our wait staff was friendly. Breakfast: Only ate once-- as the food was cold and the service cold too!

 

Accounts: We had a cash deposit. On other lines-- you would have to get up early to go settle your account and get a refund. We loved how Carnival cut you a check and slid it under your door in the morning. Did not have to wait in a line to get your money back! Excellent idea!

 

 

Negatives: As already mentioned-- the buffet set up was just so slow. The food often times was ice cold. I found myself eating at which ever station had the shortest lines. i.e. Asian or Hamburger grill

Maybe it is just this Carnival ship-- but we were amazed at the lines! In the elevators- many other people were complaining about this. The Asian food was great and some of the buffet food was too. (Never have seen fried chicken on a cruise buffet before... and it was cold.) The 24-hour pizza was good-- and the guy working there was always friendly.

 

We know the motto is "Fun SHips"-- and if you like the tons of loud and roundy party stuff going on-- then it is for you. It was a bit much for us-- but to each their own. ;)

 

 

Overall: We thought the weather was going to be worse-- we actually got sunburned. St. John was a pretty quiet little port. People were friendly. Not tons to do-- but enjoyable. Water slide was only opened I think once-- and all hot tubs were closed the entire time. (Didnt bother us-- but some were ticked off and complaining!) Went to one show for a little bit-- then left. Seemed to be kind of like a high school dance/drama production-- but that is just our opinion. We were shocked at the Captains Welcome Party-- they were just giving you 2 drinks at a time each-- some people ended up with 4 or 5 free drinks each!

 

Would we cruise Carnival again? We probably would-- but if it was the same price as another line-- I think we would have to go with the other line. We still had a great time-- as who can ever complain about going on a cruise, right? We got lots of rest and that is what we were desiring.:)

 

BTW- Before this cruise, we had asked some questions on the Carnival board-- thanks again for your help and answers!

[martinchem]

Ok post. I would suggest the newer ships like Liberty or Freedom, they added another buffet area spreading lines 50%, I think that makes all the difference.

[jmecme]

Thanks for your review. We leave Monday on the 5 day cruise. :D Did you hear why the slide was only opened 1 day or why the hot tubs were closed? Another post suggested the weather was the cause of not operating them. I know it will not make or break the cruise, but I was just curious. Glad to hear the weather was cooperative for your sailing. That has been my main worry and not knowing what clothes to pack. I am suprised to hear of rowdy party crowds. I thought from the other reviews that this would be a little toned down and older/mature crowd. Hoped all the rowdy partiers would be in the Caribbean this week! :) Julie

[firefly4423]

thanks for sharing.

[Jamrenjer]

Martinchem-

We were thinking that maybe it was just this particular ship-- with the slow, long buffet lines--so probably that is the case. Though it did slow things down having the wait staff serving the desserts-- rather than just having them all plated.

 

Julie-

It was not obnoxiously "party-party" all the time-- just more than on any other lines we have been on. Only once was it difficult to pass through the casino one night- as they were having some kind of Mardi Gras like thing going on--but it wasn't too bad. I think we had the same thought as you-- since it was Canada and not Caribbean it would be more subdued. Talking with other past Carnival guests on board-- they said it really was more subdued than the Caribbean cruises.

I dont think it was the weather for the hot tubs-- as the pools were open. I am not sure. The slide maybe was the wind? I am just guessing there. You will have a great time I am sure!

[mdguy99]

I too am not fond of the traditional, 2 line buffet setup on Triumph, but I found if I wandered a bit usually one line was shorter than the rest. The buffets outside by the main pool generally had most of the stuff that was inside and seemed to move faster. The asian and deli counters were slow (but the fresh hot sandwiches were worth the wait!) I also got into the habit of going in the slightly off hours, helped a lot with the lines. i also did sushi almost every night and that line really ebbed and flowed so if it looked long I'd wander a bit and come back. Course if you start a conversation in line the time passes faster.

 

The real solution is just go to the dessert display at lunch, that always moved pretty fast!

[Jamrenjer]

Yes-mdguy. We agree- to try to go at off times. The problem was it was very rarely an "off" time. :) And as you said there was a "non-serving" dessert area-- but it was usually all the diet desserts and fruit. Any of the good cakes etc. had to be cut and served-- which took up alot of time.

My wife would go on side (line) I would go check out the other to see if it was shorter-- this did help too. :)

 

There was though- always tables to sit at-- there was no shortage of tables and chairs...