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Spring Break Triumph Review with pics


dfmeeks

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We had been looking forward to this cruise for close to a year! Originally, we talked about me, my DD, & her 2 BFFs (all 17 yrs old. well, not me of course) flying to Florida & staying at my brother's beach house for spring break 2012. But, believe it or not, it was more expensive to fly from OKC to Florida than it was to book an inside cabin on the Triumph & just drive to Galveston!! So...after convincing my DH that we could have a second honeymoon while the girls enjoyed spring break, I booked the girls an inside cabin & DH & I an aft wrap. Woo hoo! I'm going on a cruise! Umm....I mean we're going on a cruise!

I booked the ES rate & ultimately realized a savings of $270. I love ES!

Here's an idea of what's to come. We stayed at Harbor House in Galveston. As I said earlier, DH & I booked an aft wrap 1 deck below lido (I'm blanking on the deck name. I'm up at 4:30 am M-F & it's night now. So don't judge my memory :)). In Progreso, we did the AI beach day through Autoprogreso. Would NOT do that again. In Coz, we spent the day at Mr. Sancho's. Loved it! Finally, DH & I took the Behind the Fun Tour. Wow! Fantastic & highly recommended.

 

Photo-wise, I didn't take too many pics of the ship but I'll post what I did take. I did take photos of Galveston, Progreso & Mr. Sancho's.

 

So, here we go!

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As soon as I booked out cruise, I got online & found the best rate for Harbor House. I never stayed there before but was dying to wake up the morning of the cruise, look out my window & see my ship. I booked 2 rooms for Friday night & paid about $280 total with tax, etc.

 

We were hoping to leave Stillwater, Ok very early in the am, drive the 9 hours, & enjoy at least part of the afternoon in Galveston. But, alas, the girls all had finals in their 2nd hour so we didn't leave town until about 10. We finally made it to Galveston around 8:30 pm. Let me tell you, we loved Harbor House! I had read several negative reviews on tripadvisor, especially about staff. However, I found the staff very friendly & helpful. HH was very quaint, the rooms large & comfortable & the breakfast quite adequate with juices, coffee, tea, milk, cereals, pastries, bagels, muffins, fruit, & yogurt.

 

We ate dinner on the deck at the Olympia Grill. It was not only convenient but the food was plentiful & delicious! We missed the belly dancer but later we saw her giving impromptu lessons to some partying diners. Very funny!!

 

We finally made it to bed around 11:30 completely exhausted from the long ride & good food.

 

Feeling so very excited, both DH & I woke up very early at 5 am & glanced out our window. No Triumph yet. We got dressed, grabbed coffee & ran downstairs to wait for out ship to come in. After awhile, we realized that we didn't have to wait outside for her. We could see her when she arrives right from our window. So, up we went to watch from the comfort of out room. Here she comes!!!!!!

 

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I have to say it. I LOVE Galveston! I loved Galveston since I first stepped foot on her in the late 1970's when I would skip classes at University of Houston & play on the beach with my friends. Galveston has so much to see & do & the people are so friendly. Some time in the near future, I'm driving down for a long weekend. Anyhow, more photos!

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I'm not going to write much about the ship because lots of people did that. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. I will, however, use this space to post the pics I took, Again, remember, there aren't lots of ship photos. I plan on writing my review mostly about the excursions. So, before I head off to bed, here are some photos.

My aft wrap ...Hell yea!!

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Great start. I'm sailing on Triumph in November so I'm reading as many recent trip reports as I can :) Looking forward to more.

 

I really liked the Triumph. I would definitely book her again! We had previously sailed on the Carnival Liberty & Conquest. It was smaller than those ships & had no steak house but I didn't miss a thing!

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Great pics so far, we loved the triumph. It was out of new Orleans at the time. I am looking forward to the rest of your review.

 

Thank you! I'd love to cruise out of NOLA at some point. But, I'd have to stay there either a few days prior or after the cruise. Love NOLA!

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Great review and pics!! I loved the Triumph when I sailed on her 12 years ago!! I have to ask, was it rough or bumpy being in the aft? I have an aft balcony booked for my upcoming cruise. I've always been more toward the middle.

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I really liked the Triumph. I would definitely book her again! We had previously sailed on the Carnival Liberty & Conquest. It was smaller than those ships & had no steak house but I didn't miss a thing!

 

I did not know that the Triumph was smaller than the Conquest. I always learn something on this board. Thanks for the review!

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Hi, I have a balcony on deck 7 booked for 2013 on starboard side. Just wondering what side was up against the dock at Progresso and Cozumel? I really want to be up against the dock. Also thanks for the pictures. Did you go to the beach in Galveston and was the new roller coaster ride area (not sure what it's called) done yet? Thanks..

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So we decided to let the girls pick the excursion. They wanted to go on excursions without us because "We're 17 & will be on our own in college next year." No way! We're in a foreign country & it's just not going to happen. We told them they could choose the excursion & not hang out with us. They were trying so hard to be adult & on their own & I'm all for independence but not at the expense of safety. So, they chose Autoprogreso's excursion to Xcambo ruins (not that they wanted to see the ruins) & an all-inclusive resort. DH & I were psyched about the ruins & were looking forward to relaxing with food & drink.

 

When the ship arrives, it docks on this loooong pier, almost 5 miles long. It's reportedly the longest pier in the world. It's very industrialized with a small shopping area. We purchased our excursion in that area for either $40 or $45. I don't recall. Anyway, everyone who leaves that area must ride the free bus into town or at least to the end of the pier. The bus took us to town where there was another shopping area to look around while we wait for the bus to take us to Xcambo & the AI. The description on the Autoprogreso site states that you go to Xcambo before the AI, which would have been perfect because, otherwise, the girls had no interest in the ruins. Well, that's not the way it's actually done :(. Instead, you're driven to the AI & then you let them know if you want to see the ruin & they take whoever is interested to the ruin & then back to the AI. We just couldn't leave 3 17 yr old girls alone at a resort so we opted out. Oh well. We'll be in Mexico plenty more times.

 

I wasn't impressed with the resort. The drinks weren't very good. I ordered a Miami Vice & it was sugary but not fruity & the pina colada part was to grainy. The food, in my opinion, was below average & very limited. The salsa was good but the cheese sauce watery. The burgers were more like sliders which would have been fine if they weren't like hockey pucks. Everything was very, well, starchy. I knew the beach wasn't going to be like we were use to in Cozumel so that wasn't an issue. But, I was bored & couldn't wait to get out of there. My girls felt the same.

 

That said, I'd love to visit Progreso again. From what we saw on the drive to the AI, it looked like an interesting area. Next time, I'd like to either visit Meridia, some ruins, or just tour the city on the open air bus. DH agrees. Next time.

 

The shopping offers good values. Buy in Progreso instead of Cozumel. Much better prices!

 

When we returned to the ship we were STARVED! We ate a light breakfast in preparation for the AI & hardly ate at the AI due to the quality of the food. Room service on the ship was excellent. DH & I ordered veggies & dip, BLT, shrimp salad sandwich, chocolate cake, ceasar salad, & cheddar & roast beef sandwich. My favorite sandwiche is Cheesecake Factory's Shrimp Club so I took the shrimp salad off the open-faced baguette & placed it in the BLT. It wasn't the same as CF but was still unbelievably delish! I highly recommend it! And the chocolate cake! Oh my! They add a dollop of chocolate mousse to the plate!Even the veggies for the veggie & dip were varied & seemingly fresh. Eating it on our balcony made it taste even better.

 

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