5Hawkeyes

What a great review!!! And you were so gracious about the whole bathroom issues. I was just curious if they ever came back with additional compensation? I know you didn't expect it but the way you handled the situation I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't give you something more.

Thanks for taking the time to write such a thorough review!!!

Ive done this already but i guess it is a bit early i will email him again closer to my sail date, thank you so much for being so helpful :)

You only want to be less than two weeks out when you email the maitre d'.

We had a group of 13. Link all of your bookings together and make sure you have the same dining time. Then email the maitre d' for your ship to make the request. We were put at the very back along the center window and had beautiful views.

This is the best advice so far on how to do it. We had 24 people and they sat us 12 to a table right next to a window as expected. There's no guarantee since it's just a request, but your maitre d' will do everything they can.

Here's how you contact your maitre d':

I believe you can just substitute the first 2 letters of the email address (i.e. famaitred@carnival.com) with the ship abbreviation to get any email maitre d email address. Same goes with the steakhouse(of ships that have them) email address (i.e. misteakhouse@carnival.com)

CQ Conquest

DE Destiny

DR Dream

EC Ecstasy

FA Fantasy

FS Fascination

FD Freedom

GL Glory

HO Holiday

IM Imagination

IS Inspiration

LE Legend

LI Liberty

MI Miracle

PA Paradise

SE Sensation

SP Spirit

SL Splendor

TI Triumph

VA Valor

VI Victory

EL Elation

PR Pride

BR Breeze

MC Magic

I don't remember the ship but we always do ATD and it was upstairs. Down below was the dancing/singing and messed with the flow. If I want dancers around my food, there are establishments that offer that.

But you know going in this establishment does offer that and you still go. You just choose ATD so you can be away from it. Others have that same option.

Personally, my family and I love the dancing and singing. It's what makes it different than being at home!!! I hope they never change it.

Guys!!!

All the carpet on the ship was replaced after the poop cruise and the main swimming pool was redone. Rooms will still look pretty close to the same, some with flat screens and some with old tube TV's. We loved the 2.0 upgrades especially Guys burgers. They are awesome!!! Blue Igauna Cantina was also a hit. Great breakfast burritos and awesome tacos. They have the best selection of salsas. You'll love it!!!

Most of the criticisms I have seen seem to believe that some executive-level guy/gal just woke up one morning and pulled this plan out of their backside and didn't think this through. I'd like to think they have done a little bit of planning here. After all, I am trusting them to get me out and back safely, so I'd like to think they CAN plan ahead.

 

Will there be issues? Of course. That's why this is a pilot program in one port only. Work out the kinks with one port before rolling it out across the board. Will there be changes to the program? I expect there will be. Maybe even a complete scrapping of the plan. That's what a "pilot" program is all about.

 

We all seem to be doing a lot of hand-wringing over what "could" happen. Let's see what happens. It is likely that all the miserable predictions will only be visited upon the first dozen or so cruises, if at all. At that point (a) adjustments will be made, making it better; (b) passengers will adjust to the new system, making it better; or © it will go away, making it better.

Way to bring a thread to a halt!!! FUN HATER:) I just popped my bowl of popcorn, now what am I supposed to do???

Sorry you didn't have fun. Enjoy your other cruise line.

Thanks for the great review!!! Sorry you didn't get to go to Mr. Sanchos. It was one of our best days of the cruise. You have to try it on your next one:) You guys looked like you had a great time, and that's what it's all about. Congratulations on your marriage!!!

Not meaning to be Snarky, but why did you pay before getting the details? My wife complains that I do too much research before booking, but that's just how I roll and she always enjoys the cruise.

Well, you might have not meant to be snarky but that's exactly how you come off. Actually more like a real DB!!! I call them like I see them that's how I roll:)

As for the Grand Suite, they are huge. The Triumph Grand Suites are by far the nicest rooms on the ship. I don't really recall any special perks because we were so happy with how nice the room was. You'll love it!!!

Take on Me

Mack the Knife

Piano Man

Just book yourself in the balcony with your daughters friend and your husband in the interior with you daughter and you'll be set. They don't care who stays in which cabin when you get on board. We put our 3 kids ages 14, 12, and 12 in an interior just down the hall from our balcony and it was just fine.

I'm not sure, but at 20 you may be able to just book them their own room. But if you wanted to do Cheers program and only wanted to pay for one adult the above approach works well. And before we start the crazy flame talk, we didn't share, my wife doesn't drink so it makes no sense to pay for two people.

Galveston was great! Easy parking, smaller terminal which was easy to navigate, and the embarkation process was a breeze. Really easy if you're driving. We actually stayed in Texas City which was about a 20 minutre drive into Galveston and it worked great.

Port Canaveral was fantastic as well. Much busier port than Galveston but great parking options. If you're flying in you'll most likely come from Orlando. We actaully sailed Disney out of Port Canaveral and thought it was really well done. Not sure if Carnival is as easy but our experience from start to finish was great.

Plenty to do at both ports before or after a cruise.

They will take copies, or at least they will in Galveston. I actually left one of my kids passports at home and we had nothing. I was able to call a family friend, have them go to our house, take a picture of the birth certificate on their phone and that was accepted to get on the ship. We never had to produce the copy or the certificate again.

Yes, deck 7 is a great area. You have all cabins above and below you so it's very quiet. We stayed midship on the Empress deck last year and it was perfect!!!

Sorry, that was a horrible mistake:) EA Sports Club is what I meant. We loved it on the Triumph last year was just hoping they put it on the Conquest with all the other 2.0 upgrades.

Thanks.

I see Guys, Blue Iguana, Red Rum bar and all that good stuff, but did they put an ESPN Club on the Conquest? Going at spring break need the good tv's for March Madness!!!

Thanks!

The cabana's are first come first served unless you reserve the romantic package for something like $200. If you are fortunate enough to get a cabana they will definitely deliver any food or drink to you. They are quite comfortable but it's difficult to spend a ton of time on them when there's so much to do and enjoying the beach and sunshine!!!

Good luck!!!

Well I can tell you Mr Sanchos was a great time. I think we did order every drink on the menu and they were awesome and had plenty of alchohol in them. Ticket to Fly, Dirty Monkey, margaritas, and Miami Vice were the main drinks for our crew. Even the darn beer tasted good there:)

My favorite at the end was the Banana MAMA. A little diffeent from the Dirty Monkey but just incredible. They were strong and fun!!! Our server was Pedro and he was the BEST!!!

For 2 14 year old boys I'll give a big thumbs up for Mr Sanchos. Can't tell you anything about Paradise beach, I'm sure it's amazing. But Sanchos was a blast for our group. We had 12 kids in our party and of that 12 the majority were 11 - 14 and everyone had a great time. The waterpark there is a ton of fun. And if you go to the AI side I can tell you the food and drink were awesome!!!

Good luck!

You are a horrible parent and should be ashamed...just don't tell anyone he's an adult and let him have a couple drinks. They didn't card anyone in our party at Mr Sanchos and we had a young lady who is already in college and still not quite 18. She had a great time with responsible adults and no one said a thing.

I get what you're trying to do. You've picked the right place to do it. And for what it's worth, I think the idea of teaching kids to be responsible is awesome. Anyone who complains you're being a bad parent is so naive to think they won't be doing it when you're not around.

Good luck!!!

The waterpark is $12/person. If you put a deposit down at the suggested site it's a bit less expensive. Same goes for the AI side if you wanted. cozumel watersports dot com allows you to reserve your AI and waterpark admission for a small deposit that is completely refundable if you decide not to go for whatever reason. You have 14 days from the day you reserve to request your refund no questions asked. So it's a no brainer to reserve in advance.

We reserved in advance our AI and waterpark admision. We figured if it was raining the day we were going we'd just get our deposits back.

I can't tell you anything about Paradise Beach but I can tell you our day for all 24 members in our party at Mr Sanchos was the best day of our vacation. We had kids ranging in age from 6 - 17 and everyone had a blast and there's plenty to do. You won't go wrong with Mr Sanchos!!! The waterpark for a 14 year old is the best. All the kids in our party mostly in the 11 - 14 range just loved it!!!

Good luck!

We were on the Triumph for spring break 3/15 - 3/19. Lots of kids, lots of college age, and lots of families. We all had a blast!!! The ship was full but always a place to lounge on the decks during sea days. With Guys, Blue Iquana, Lido Buffet, pizza, and deli, there was always something to eat and never a long wait. We would do a 5 day Triumph spring break cruise again in a heartbeat.

All our kids had a great time!!! Wasn't too bad for the parents either:)

We used a bungee cord and it was so easy to wrap it around the door handle then attach it to the divider. Worked like a charm and never came undone. We left the door open every single night to listen to the wonderful sound of the water.

We had no condensation or stray cigarettes come into our room. And the salty air did nothing to our bedding. Just a person who's grumpy and trying to find the person who peed in his Cheerios so nobody should be happy. Just a silly thing to say!!!

Good luck!

I agree with the poster that said don't try it in Galveston. Experienced it first hand a family who was turned away to go through the regular boarding line with their children as they only purchased it for one cabin. I'm sure every port is different but when you've seen it happen first hand what else can you say. We purchased it for each of our cabins because that's how the rules are stated and fortunately for us that's how they were interpreted in Galveston.

Good luck!!!