Reviews from paradise

[hbcheergurlie01]

Tomorrow, the 10th im going on the paradise... does anyone have any comments on that ship?

[flacplnj]

We have sailed on her numerous times when it was smoke free. Had some great times cruising on the Paradise. Now that she is a smoking ship it would compare to any other small liner. Good food and entertainment.

[pescado!]

Hi

 

(I wrote this review on another post.)

 

This was our third Carnival cruise. We traveled with our three sons (ages 16, 15 and 12 years old). We had an inside cabin on the Main deck, and surprisingly, we did just fine with all five of us in the cabin. The over the door shoe rack was a lifesaver for us! We went on this cruise with our friends (their first cruise).

 

We cruise mainly to get away from the Fresno fog, and we enjoy the fine dining and the nightly entertainment. We had early seating (5:45 pm). Please don't flame me, but I thought the food was just OK. This is our third cruise in three years and I would have to say that Princess Star (Mexican Riviera) had the best food, followed by NCL (Hawaiian Islands). They served lobster and prime rib on the first night.

 

SUSHI BAR: If you like sushi, I would recommend not signing up for the early seating dinner (at 5:45 pm) as the sushi bar is only open from 5:30 pm - 8 pm. We would pass by the sushi bar at 5:45 pm on the way to the dining room and there was always a long line. By chance, we happened by the sushi bar on the first night around 8 pm and it was empty. The sushi bar is located in a little nook by the casino.

 

Formal night was on Tuesday and it was wonderful. One of my "goals" was to get a really nice family photo taken with the boys dressed up in their tuxes. We had our pictures taken at several locations by different photographers to ensure a good shot. The 8 x 10 was $20 and we ordered reprints; a 5 x 7 was about $8, 12 wallets were $10 and 15 Christmas cards were $10. The Christmas card photos were the best deal as they were twice the size of the wallets.

 

Formal Night is also the Captain's Cocktail Party. Free drinks and appetizers (meat balls, chicken nuggets and little won ton things). The band is playing and many couples went to the stage and danced. They serve punch for the kids.

 

The entertainment was good; we especially liked Here's Hollywood (two showings @ 8:45 and at 10:30 pm) and Shout ( two showings @ 7:00 pm and 8:45 pm). Monday and Wednesday there was a Comedy Act. For some reason, they just had just one show both nights at 10:30 pm, which was a little late for me. I wish they would schedule it earlier. It was very crowded and the Normandie Lounge is kind of peculiar in that many seats had obstructed views, so get there early if you want a good seat. We also enjoyed Karaoke.

 

They had a lot of fun things to do on board: ping pong tournament, TV trivia contest, Austin Power Dance Class, Newlywed Game, Galley Tour, karaoke etc. The in cabin movies were just so so (Stepford Wives, The Terminal, De-Lovely).

 

It was raining in Catalina so we just walked around and shopped for about two hours before heading back. You can rent golf carts and bicycles. There is also the half-submarine and glass bottom boat tours. In Catalina, you can't help but notice all the beautiful tile that is simply everywhere. There is also a casino tour (around $15) that is supposed to be very good. We've been to Ensenada before so we just walked and shopped in the downtown area. My friend paid $15 for a shuttle service and for about five hours, the driver took the group whereever they wanted to go.

 

If you go to the casino, they will give you a lanyard so you can hang your sail and sign card around your neck (you can get a hole punched at the info desk). You can also get free decks of cards at the Info desk. No need to bring shampoo as they have a soap and shampoo dispenser in the shower. They also had trial size samples of toothpaste etc by the sink.

 

 

Our sailing was pretty cold. Make sure you bring a jacket. Thursday was the warmest day and a handful of people tried the jacuzzi/slide. Be sure to check the highway reports as Highway 5 (Grapevine) was closed on Monday and Friday and the alternate route added 2 hours to our commute.

 

 

For disembarkment, our color was called last. We cleared customs around 11 am. If you are in a hurry, I suppose you can carry out your luggage and be out of there with the first group (around 7:30 or 8 am). Parking is now $12 per day.

[Sharon Temple]

I didn't know it wasn't smoke-free anymore. We loved it when it was, since that was when we were on it. It was a beautiful ship, nice cruise.

[mikeyd]

Who was the cruise director on the Paradise? When we went in 6/04 it was Jeff Garson(sp?). He was really good.

[pescado!]

Cruise Director was Trevor Block. He seemed quite pleasant.