Short Review for a Short Cruise - Triumph CTN 10-24-09

[NCTribeFan]

OK, well, it's short for me. I tend to give very long, very detailed reviews that include some photos.

 

I booked this solely because I wanted to be Platinum on my upcoming cruise on the Miracle and because of the proximity to the port. I sailed solo for the first time, and told no one I was going, other than my CC friends.

 

I left the house on Saturday morning, dropped the dog off to board at the vet’s office, went through the drive-thru at Hardee’s, and was on my way by about 8:20. Slight snag when I exited I-85 in Virginia at exit 12-A. I had planned on getting gas, but the power was out on both sides of the interstate. Absolutely nothing was working. Traffic was nuts because it seems many people do not comprehend that when the traffic signals are out that an intersection because a FOUR-WAY STOP. I hope no one got killed before they got the power back on. Thankfully, there was one BP station that had a generator, so they were doing a brisk business. I had no idea whether it was 5 miles or 50 until the next town, so I got in line and filled up. That added at least 20 minutes to my trip.

 

Anyway, I made it to the parking lot although the driving directions on Carnival’s website are incorrect – they tell you to take I-264 West when they mean for you to take I-264 East. Slight difference! I had enough sense to continue East toward Norfolk and the tunnel, because I had also looked up the driving directions on AAA. I parked at about noon, caught the bus, and then got to stand in line in the terminal for ages. Both lines to get S&S cards were snaked all the way back to the seating areas. At least by the time I got my card, they had just called #19 and everyone who had still been seated was in line to board.

 

I skipped the embarkation photo and again got in line for the security photo on the S&S card. Not sure why this is needed on a CTN since there are no ports, so why the need for an id photo? Oh well. What’s one more line, right? I had booked the last available 1A which was cabin 1402 on Riviera, aft, portside. I went straight down to drop my bags although it was only about 1:15 and there was still lots of cleaning going on in the cabins. Since I was alone, there was no way I was going to haul my bag and 2 carry-ons (one of which contained a bottle of wine) through the buffet line.

 

Up to Lido for a Ruben sandwich, then a quick walk around the ship. I had sailed Victory in May and although I did next to nothing on that ship other than eat and sleep, I found my way around easily. Plus, I had sailed Glory in May 2008 and they aren't that different. Back down to the cabin to unpack the few things I’d brought. Unfortunately, even though I packed for both warm and cool weather (I was trying to be optimistic by bringing 2 swimsuits), I would’ve been much better off had I simply taken another hooded sweatshirt and left the swimsuits at home.

[NCTribeFan]

Capers “Today-at-a-Glance” section stated that the Mandatory Safety Briefing would occur at 4:00 and sailaway at 4:30. I did not see that there was a note on the front of the Capers which said the muster drill would take place at 4:30. So, silly me, I went up to the Oxford Bar on Deck 4, since my muster station was “H” and was just outside, at about 4 pm. I wasn’t the only person there. We sat and sat and sat and finally, at about 4:20, the CD came on and called the crew to the muster stations and announced that the public would be called in about 15 minutes. Some people were already out there on the deck, waiting. Well, after waiting another 20 minutes with no announcement, I went in search of a restroom. I found crew members, in their little green hats, directing passengers to their muster stations! Well, no one was directing the folks that were waiting in the Oxford Bar!

 

They never did blow the emergency alarm (what is it, 7 short 1 long?). Meanwhile, I made my way to Muster Station H and stood there. Finally, with people still straggling in at 4:50 (remember, the capers showed 4 pm in one place, 4:30 in the other), they finally began the drill. But we could barely hear anything from the speakers. Even with people NOT talking (and of course there were those who couldn’t be bothered to shut up for a few minutes), it was impossible to understand what was being said. The only thing we “learned” was where the muster station was located and how to put on the life vest. Whatever else was being said was totally lost. Of course, by now we had set sail. And, of course, when it was finally over, they let the people on the starboard side go and we got to stand for another 5+ minutes.

 

Finally, we were released from captivity and I headed up to the Lido deck aft bar to meet with my fellow Cruise Critic folks. I only connected with 2 couples although I think maybe there were some others there. While we were sitting there, they closed the roof over the pool and it got really, really hot and stuffy under there. It was in the 80s when I arrived and was still sunny and warm. Wish we’d been up there in the sun while it lasted.

 

So, the early diners left to get ready for dinner, and I went to wander around and have some sushi (probably the best I’ve had on board so far). Since we got a late start, the casino didn’t open until nearly 7:30. By then, there was someone parked at just about every stool in the place, anxious to lose their money. I know I was! I only played for a few minutes. Asked for a wine glass at one of the bars and went down to open my bottle. My cabin steward asked if he could bring a bucket for ice, which he did (one of the plastic ones they put the beer in). Then I went back up to the lobby bar area to wait for dinner (I was in the London dining room, late seating). Good thing I went early (or so I thought), because my watch was running about 25 minutes slow!

 

I was seated at table 100. It was a 10-top, but there were only 5 of us both nights. There was an elderly woman with her 40-ish son, a single mid-30s guy (a truck driver) on his 1st cruise, and a middle-aged woman who arrived about 10-15 minutes late both nights, so the rest of us were already eating and we didn’t get much info from her. I must point out that Sunday night, I was again sitting in the lobby bar area enjoying my pre-dinner glass of wine and people watching, and there were many, many people going in for early seating after 6:30. I’m sorry, but that’s too late. A few minutes is one thing. But 30+ minutes late for dinner when there’s a 2nd seating that these people have to deal with? Thoughtless and selfish, IMHO.

 

I had the smoked salmon appetizer, Caesar salad, and tilapia, which I enjoyed. We didn’t have the regular dessert menu but were given a choice between chocolate cake of some sort and a pumpkin cheesecake with a cute pastry topping that looked like a ghost. I’m not a chocolate fan so had the cheesecake, which was quite good.

 

Then I went back to the casino and had absolutely no luck at all. And I had more wine. And then more slot machines and more money lost. I finally gave up (after having lost about 4x my daily allowance!) and went to the Halloween costume contest in the disco at 11:00. By then, I was too lazy to go get another glass of wine from my cabin, so I started drinking beer. I’m too old for such behavior!

 

I did go to the cabin after that and got a bathrobe and put on my hoodie. Then it was up to the Lido deck to try to watch Beetlejuice on the big TV. It was foggy, cold and windy. I sat with 2 ladies I’d met while we were having sushi. We were about the only ones silly enough to attempt to sit out there. And, of course, there were technical difficulties getting the movie started, so it didn’t begin until about 12:15. I lasted until about 1:15 and gave up and went to bed.

[hill6]

Nice review so far. Bummer about the direction. Yes 264 East and West does make a big difference.

[NCTribeFan]

I didn’t sleep well. I think our fine captain opened the throttle and it was full steam ahead. There was the usual rocking, but every once in a while, there would be some serious shaking. It was ONE TWO THREE pause one two three pause one two three. Then I’d go back to sleep only to be shaken awake again. So I wake up at one point and hear banging from the stewards closet next to my cabin. I’m thinking “geez, it must be 6 am!” Turned on the light at it was 8:40! LOL. I had set an alarm for 7:45 and it didn’t go off. Man, I love those interior cabins! I could’ve slept until noon, just like in the good old days when I was younger.

 

Jumped in the shower, got dressed, then up to the buffet for my ham/cheese/mushroom/tomato omelet, well done, thanks. Sat and read for a little while, then decided to try my luck in the casino. Well, I found a bank of four 2-cent machines that I wish I’d found on Saturday night. I had much better luck. At one point, my $15 had blossomed to $102, but of course I failed to walk away and let it get back down to $50.

 

The boat was rocking a lot and I was surrounded by the chain smokers, as usual in the casino. So I wasn’t feeling so good. Went to the aft grill and got some French fries and lemonade and sat back there. That didn’t help, so I went down to the cabin, ran in and took ½ Sea Calm (the generic Bonine the ship provides), grabbed my beach towel and went up to the Lido deck. It was brutal. It was SO COLD. And I never quite figured out why the sun (what little you could see through the clouds) was on the starboard side. That meant we were sailing south. Weren’t we supposed to sail south Saturday night and then head back north on Sunday? I was so confused. At least I started to feel better once I was out in the brisk air.

 

And for the first time in my 9 Carnival cruises, I watched the Hairy Chest contest. Know what? It was hilarious! The best part of it was the English girl from the Entertainment staff who was hosting the show. She had some brilliant comments about the guys and their body hair. I was feeling good enough to try the grill again and managed to force down a cheeseburger, fries and chicken strips. More sitting around and people watching (I was afraid that if I tried to read the nausea would return). I totally missed tea time, which was at 3 pm. I thought it would probably be around 4. Whoops. Since there wasn’t going to be any sushi that night, I headed back to the deli and had the turkey on sub roll. Yummy. I do wish they would make chips available at the deli. You can get them from room service, so you know they have them!

 

I was a little bored, so I decided to get ready for Elegant Night while I was feeling good. Went to the cabin and dressed, poured myself a glass of wine, then back up to the Lobby bar area. Besides watching all the late folks, I watched a man propose to his girlfriend on the staircase! Then I went back up to the casino and sat and laughed at people getting their photos. It was such fun watching them try to move to the positions the photographer wanted. You know what I mean… lean forward, tilt your head, turn your shoulder, put your hand there…

 

Next, into the casino to meet Precious, the casino hostess. She had someone get me my free drink and put the 500 points on my S&S card. I played my new favorite machine for a few minutes and won a little, again.

 

Then down for dinner. Had the strawberry bisque (I adore the chilled fruit soups). I asked for the prime rib (as rare as he could find) with a lobster tail on the side. Well, he brought me the entire lobster dinner which included the shrimp and the best mashed potatoes ever, then he brought out the steak. I’ve commented before that even when the beef is tender (this was pretty tender), there just doesn’t seem to be much flavor. I don’t think they put any seasoning on the beef when it is cooked. Well, I didn’t eat much of the steak because I was stuffed by then. But I did manage to force down most of the carmelized apple dessert.

 

Our headwaiter was Putu, from Indonesia. Our assistant waiter was Putu, from Indonesia. HW Putu explained that just about every first-born son in that region is named Putu. He said it’s sort of like Michael. Very common name. HW Putu was fabulous. Why don’t I ever get waiters like him on the longer cruises? He was one of the get-on-the-service-table dancers with the frilly sleeves. Too cute, really. I wanted to stuff him in my suitcase and bring him home.

 

I went back to the casino, because by then I was getting close to receiving my $10 bonus. I cashed out at about 11 pm and went down to the cabin. I threw my stuff back into my suitcase and tote bag and climbed into bed. I tried watching some movie (never did figure out what it was) but was too sleepy, so just turned off the tv and slept really well.

[NCTribeFan]

The alarm went off at 6:45. I jumped up, pulled on my clothes, and went up for my breakfast. I don’t recall ever being up on Lido deck, pulling into port while it was still dark. Make that cold and dark. They were disembarking by decks, and we poor folks down in steerage had to leave first. I was off the ship by 8 and on my way to the parking lot. I stopped for gas and picked up the dog, and was back home before 12:30.

 

Would I do another CTN? Maybe. If I had a travelling companion to share the cost, I would consider it. It isn't nearly as good a value as a regular cruise, and my main reason for cruising is to get to ports, so I'm not sure this is something I'd do very often. It was nice to see yet another ship, although they're all starting to look rather a lot alike. There is something to be said for knowing your way around the ship, though. Every time I saw anyone standing around looking lost, I tried to help. I guided more than a couple to Deck 5 when they were "stuck" at the aft of the ship on Decks 3 and 4. I enjoyed sailing solo but I'm not sure I want to do it for every cruise, particularly a long one. The freedom to do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted was nice, but I pretty much do that anyway. After all, I am single. ;)

 

I may add my photos to my Webshots page, but since this was a "secret" cruise, that might give it away, and I'm not sure I want to do that yet. I mostly took photos of the cabin, since there are always questions about the layout of the various 1A cabins.

 

I really missed being able to sit in the sun and read, though. But I have an 8-day coming up in mid-December with 4 sea days and I have an aft balcony, so I guess I’ll just have to wait. Oh, and I’ll be Platinum!

[CWcruisers]

And Welcome to the Platinum club. Be sure to bring your dirty laundry!:D:p

 

Back in the old days of cruising, they used to shut the dining room doors 15 minutes after the seating began. I really wish they would return to that custom for the traditional seating.

 

For me, because I am not single, the Your Time Dining is a great thing, but I can see where single folks would stay with Traditional.

[NCTribeFan]

I stayed with late dining for December, but I'm going to talk to DD to see what she thinks. We've always really enjoyed getting to know our dining mates (well, except for Alice), and getting to know the wait staff, but I'm wondering if we should switch to Anytime. The flexibility would be nice. Maybe.

 

Actually, if it had been available this past weekend, I probably would've tried it. While my dinner partners were pleasant and it was nice to meet them, I was on a bit of a quest to talk to as many different people as I encountered, and changing tables would've furthered that goal.

[cbpanda]

We were also on this short cruise and totally loved it. My husband said more than once over the weekend, that he was having a great time....and it was a great getaway...and why didn't we do this before?

 

I have to say, however, the muster drill was a joke. I was also at station "H" and the crew line you up shoulder to shoulder 5 deep on the deck and... God help you if you're 5'2" tall and you were on time so you're in the back of the group. There was no way I could see or hear anything. It was hot and sticky on deck and having so many people squeezed in there made it worse. There was total complaining. Especially since muster was held at least a 1/2 hour late, and for those of us who wanted to watch the sailaway and had early dinner, had to choose one or the other. As it was we were late getting to dinner because muster ended close to 5:20.

 

Aside from that little hiccup, the cruise was terrific. I was unsure how I would like a cruise that is essentially only 1 day. And while it completely made me determined to book a longer one sometime in the near future, it was very near to a genuine cruise experience. We had cruise newbies traveling with us and at breakfast on Monday we heard "Next time..." So I guess that means they are willing to come and try again, despite the female of the couple getting sea sick on the rough ride on Sunday.

 

Really enjoyed the Halloween themed activities. I wanted to stay up for Beetlejuice (my sister's favorite film) but too much wine topped off with that blue/green looking martini (which looked really good at the time), I had to stumble back to the cabin right around the time it started.

 

Anyway, not to hijack the thread, but just thought to put my 2 cents in.

 

Thanks, Carnival for a great weekend! :)

[cbpanda]

I stayed with late dining for December, but I'm going to talk to DD to see what she thinks. We've always really enjoyed getting to know our dining mates (well, except for Alice), and getting to know the wait staff, but I'm wondering if we should switch to Anytime. The flexibility would be nice. Maybe.

 

Actually, if it had been available this past weekend, I probably would've tried it. While my dinner partners were pleasant and it was nice to meet them, I was on a bit of a quest to talk to as many different people as I encountered, and changing tables would've furthered that goal.

 

I didn't realize that Carnival had the flexible dining option. That's one of the reasons I prefer Princess. I like the flexibility of Anytime Dining. I took a cruise in July 2007 and because we had fixed early dining, we missed every sunset. It was a total bummer!

[NCTribeFan]

I'm sorry we didn't get to meet.

 

Yeah, muster drill was really not a good way to start off what was already going to be a very, very short cruise.

 

My docs for Miracle now say VIP, though! :D

 

On the down side, I probably have H1N1 virus. I felt really tired on Monday, which seemed odd because I slept really well Sunday night. I started sneezing and coughing Monday night, and took myself to the Urgent Care place on Tuesday morning. I'm on Tamiflu and starting to feel a little better.

 

The only place I had any contact with other people was when I dropped off the dog at the vet's (but I don't think I touched anything there other than pushing the doors open) and on the cruise. So I imagine I picked it up on the ship, despite the extreme attention I place on hand-washing when I'm on board.

 

I asked the doc if they needed to test for H1N1 so they could alert Carnival if the test was positive, but he said they were only testing people who had to be hospitalized. :eek:

 

Of course, it seems like I get sick after every cruise. Not surprising, considering so many people packed into such a tight space (like the stupid muster drill!), and the lack of hygiene by so many. :(

[balcony bound]

I hope you feel better soon, it totally stinks to get sick during or after a cruise. I hope you have a regular flu, and not the H1N1:(

 

Thank you for your review. I always cruise with DH, and sometimes my SIL and her SO come with us. But, I have been thinking about doing a short cruise on my own, just to totally destress. I always feel like I wouldn't enjoy it without DH, but maybe.... anyway, I appreciated you telling about your cruise solo. Hope you win more on the slots next time!

[alwayswantedtobekelli]

NCTribeFan,

 

I was on the Triumph in September for a 7 day cruise to New England and Canada and I have to agree that the cute little English girl (Sally) was just a delight !! We got to know her pretty well as we attended many trivia and games that she was hosting. She also hosted the hairy chest competition on our cruise and seemed to really be having fun making witty comments about the contestants. We really enjoyed her.

 

Glad you had a good cruise and I'm considering doing a CTN just to get my cruise count up and hopefully get to Platinum quicker !!