Triumph Opinions

Is the aft pool adult only like the conquest class?

Ugh, NO serenity deck? I thought all Carnival ships had one...so i guess I have NO place to get away from these kids over spring break. Fantastic. Was really looking forward to it.

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Ugh, NO serenity deck? I thought all Carnival ships had one...so i guess I have NO place to get away from these kids over spring break. Fantastic. Was really looking forward to it.

 

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Try the Aft pool! I've known it to be less crowded than the lido deck pool

We were on the Triumph in December. I loved the ports and we had great service in the MDR and in our cabin.

I thought that the lines on the Lido were the absolute worst I have ever experienced on a Carnival ship! It seemed to be the most disorganized of all I have been on so far.

The aft pool was definitely quieter even though it was not Serenity.

We still had a great time but not sure I'd sail this ship again.

We went on Triumph in Oct 2015 and enjoyed it. I wasn't impressed with camp ocean, but that was really my only complaint. I do think service in the MDR was a little slow on formal night, but it wasn't really that big a deal to us. We ended up missing the show that night due to slower service, but we found something else to do so it wasn't that upsetting. There was hardly ever anyone at the Aft pool the few times we went to it.

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Pro: Dive In Movies, Blue Iguana Cantina, there was better access to the main theater than on some other ships

Cons: always felt extremely crowded and doesn't seem to flow well. I did't like that there wasn't as much seating on the back of the ship compared to the Fantasy class ships

Is the aft pool adult only like the conquest class?

No, in fact more children were in that pool than any because the roof didn't open - and the bar was quicker for the parents, I only got in it once - the first hour I was on the ship and no one else had found it yet!

Pro: Dive In Movies, Blue Iguana Cantina, there was better access to the main theater than on some other ships

 

Cons: always felt extremely crowded and doesn't seem to flow well. I did't like that there wasn't as much seating on the back of the ship compared to the Fantasy class ships

I agree totally, I will not take this ship again - if only because it always felt crowded.

The AFT deck above the AFT pool served as a defacto Adults only area. Kids did come through but it was only in passing - nothing there to keep their attention. Go up early and secure your lounge chair as they go quickly. For reference its the deck the aft flagpole is secured at.

Any ship I am on is the best...at the time. Triumph is good, but lines do seem long. A bit crowded. The aft pool is usually fairly empty at first, until others figure it out. There is really no place that is quiet. But that is not what I look for on a cruise.

Pros and Cons of Triumph please

Pro:

1. Convenient port - New Orleans that is not served by many other cruise lines.

2. Value pricing - these two factors were the most important for my family

3. Good shows if you like that sort of thing - Especially Wonderful World and The Big Easy

4. Guy's Burger, Blue Iguana with no upcharge

5. Seuss parade and story time is a lot of fun; Towel Animal Theatre; kids club is good overall

6. Large cabins relatively speaking. (Relative as in cruise cabins are always smaller than you expect. :))

7. Crew is running around cleaning things constantly; crew is cheerful and friendly

8. 3 pools - aft pool is a bit less crowded and that is where we put our 11 year old when she needed to get wet

9. Piano Bar Sing Along with Martin - just one of the live music offerings. There were several including Liz & Lucas and Music Boardwalk.

10. Never felt we had to dress up. Skipped elegant night for the buffet and were happy we had the option.

11. Trivia games were fun. I won a gold plastic ship on a stick (little Triumph trophy)

12. Dining room food was good - sea day brunch is great

13. Pretty easy to avoid most upcharges and evade the photographers.

14. In general everyone seemed to be enjoying a low-stress vacation. Time passed quickly and then it was over!

15. Free coffee available at the South Beach buffet all the time.

16. Even though the alcohol was flowing freely, I never saw anyone acting a fool, and this was Spring Break. We don't drink anymore, so we would notice.

Cons - these are all nitpicky in my opinion, but you asked.

1. Kids arcade has de facto casino games - i.e. stupid claw type machines where they can drop hundreds of $$ trying to win an iPad or other gadget

2. The ship is, as everyone else mentions, timeworn. It would have to go offline for several months and would take a huge investment to gut and fully refurbish it. Instead, it is maintained mostly in its original style, which is serviceable '90's cruise glitz. (which helps keep the price down - see #2 under Pros).

3. The ship caters to a blue-collar working clientele. The middle-America Wal-Mart shopper, if you will. Now, that happens to be my family, so this is a pro for us and only a con if you are looking to spend a good deal more $$ so you can look at prettier people.

4. I did not think this was a big deal, but DH did not like that dinner in MDR takes almost 1.5 hours. Our table mates were late the 2 nights we dined there, and then they got their food before us. This is why we ate up on Deck 9 three of the five nights.

5. 11 year old did not like kids club much during the free-play "kids choice" times. She enjoyed it a lot during themed activities.

6. Faint unpleasant smell in the aft elevators - must be over a garbage storage area. Not a big deal, but noticeable throughout the entire cruise.

7. Capitol atrium area is not large enough to accommodate trivia games if more than about 20 people show up.

In case you want to know my point of reference, I sailed on Premier (SS Royale and SS Oceanic) back in the 1980's. For their time, they were comparable to what Triumph is now - cheapish cruises on older ships for people who can take care of themselves and are not too particular.

Then I did Disney Magic twice when I worked for the mouse in the late 1990's, and finally Celebrity Millennium in October 2001 which was my last cruise until Triumph March 27, 2017. Obviously brand-new ships from Disney and Celebrity were fresher and fancier than an old Carnival or Premier ship.

I found that the more cruises I went on, the less I liked them. I remember being pretty bored in 2001 on the Millennium and spending a lot of time reading in one of the gorgeous quiet lounge/library rooms. I knew at the time it was ridiculous that I was not enjoying myself more. The ship was modern, spotless, upscale, and flawless, just as nice in its way as the Disney Magic had been. But I was just tired of cruising, bored with hot sunny tropical ports (I lived in Florida at the time which was always hot and sunny), and so I moved on to other things on my bucket list for several years.

A lot of reviewers who keep going on cruises comment how things are going downhill, but maybe they are also getting tired of this mode of travel and need to try something else for a while. A cruise is in many ways what you make of it. Research your options, consider your budget, know what you are getting, and then. . . let go and have fun.

The Triumph is a wonderful ship!!! All ships begin to show age, then they go into drydock!!! All ships will have mechanical issues. I mean if your car ran all day everyday for years and years.. Gimme a break!!

With that said, I loved sailing on the Triumph. Best cruise I ever had actually!!! Enjoy your cruise!!

Pro: It's a ship. Con: I'm not on it.

 

 

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Saint Greg - this made me literally LOL!!! My sentiments exactly! HA!!!:'):'):')

Saint Greg - this made me literally LOL!!! My sentiments exactly! HA!!!:'):'):')

Three months...