PLEASE tell me good things about the Paradise!

[chadsjewel]

I was just on the non-cruise on the Splendor and it was our first cruise ever! We had already booked a 4 night group cruise on the Paradise, but never even thought about it because of our "big" cruise.

 

I know its an older ship, but could you guys please point out some good things about it so I can start getting excited about cruising again, for the first time...again lol.

 

We have an inside guarantee cabin booked, a little bit of OBC and photo credit.

[AQW]

I consider the Paradise my "home ship"... first ship I ever sailed, and the ship that is local to me for shorter cruises. She is smaller and older than the Splendor. She lacks the opulence of the Splendor, and her Lido deck can't hold a candle to the Splendor's beautiful two-deck pool/Lido area. With that said, I love her and would sail her anytime. :) I plan to sail her at least once more in the next year before she repositions to Tampa.

 

You'll have a great time on your second first cruise. ;) Enjoy!

[chadsjewel]

I consider the Paradise my "home ship"... first ship I ever sailed, and the ship that is local to me for shorter cruises. She is smaller and older than the Splendor. She lacks the opulence of the Splendor, and her Lido deck can't hold a candle to the Splendor's beautiful two-deck pool/Lido area. With that said, I love her and would sail her anytime. :) I plan to sail her at least once more in the next year before she repositions to Tampa.

 

You'll have a great time on your second first cruise. ;) Enjoy!

 

 

Thank you! Considering what happened on the Splendor, you couldnt really appreciate the full beauty of the ship, although the size certainly allowed everyone privacy in the lighted public areas!

[jebuell]

When are you cruising on the Paradise? I'm booked to go on it for the first time in April and am actually very excited. I see the Paradise as the replacement for Elation which moved last year. Nice, short, affordable trip for anyone living in the area. I think you'll have a great time!

 

Are you planning on using your free cruise credit?

[scotch232]

bad food, bad smell, crew seemed to be non professional

[FightOnRon]

I am a seasoned vet of Holland America. I have been on 5 HAL cruises. Due to the fact my money was a little thin this year but I felt the need for the ocean I decided to try the so-called Walmart of cruiselines,,or the Funships. I live in the LA area so the best part was no flying, the second best was the price. Also, I have never been in an oceanview cabin before (always a balcony) but I booked an OV on the Paradise.

 

I will tell you now, I had a blast on the Paradise. I learned a few things, first I don't need a balcony for every cruise. I can cruise with a boatload of kids and not have my fun disrupted. Everything I needed on a HAL ship is almost on the Paradise (no DVD players, room service not as good,,not the service but the selections). I think, for me personally, the entertainment was a lot more fun as far as the shows. It was my first cruise with anytime dining and it worked out great.

 

BTW, as far as dining. IMHO HAL has better dining room food (I have never eaten in Lido buffets so no comment on that) but the Paradise was not too bad. The other food like the sandwhices and burgers and pizza and Mongolian grill were pretty good, no difference really except HAL doesn't have the Mongolian grill (HINT: do that the day you embark, the lines can be outrageous). My suggestion is, try to eat between 6 and 7 pm if you're eating int he MDR. Seems like the food is hottest at those times. I compared notes with another guy from a different cruise and he said is food was always warm. Ours was always hot. We ate earlier then him. What I did find suprising is elegant night. On this board you will find a lot of arguing about dress codes etc so I wasn't sure what I would see on CCL. Well what I saw was everyone (that I could see) adhered to the dress code and in fact I was suprised how well dressed many were for a 4 day cruise.

 

Ther were quite a few 20 somethings doing their drinking things, but they were not where I needed to be so it didn't matter.

The staff was a good as HAL, at least the ones I delt with. Would I do this again,,actually I do plan to some day. For the price it was well worth it.

 

NOw I will say also, unknown to us, was an inside cabin about 4 cabins down from ours were having pot parties at night. I never smelled it so I didn't know,,,until debarkation day when before we were allowed to leave we had to wait for the Customs officers and some DEA guys handcuff an haul them off the ship. NOt a rumor, I saw it.

 

BTW, I did a long review on my trip, its here somewhere. My trip was back in March.

[chadsjewel]

Thank you!!

 

We are headed out Feb 28, 2011. We already had this little cruise booked, through a travel agent on a group thing. I am soooo looking forward to this cruise since our adventure on the Splendor!

 

I am trying to book my free cruise now, but its a bit busy at CS, LOL.

 

 

I am a seasoned vet of Holland America. I have been on 5 HAL cruises. Due to the fact my money was a little thin this year but I felt the need for the ocean I decided to try the so-called Walmart of cruiselines,,or the Funships. I live in the LA area so the best part was no flying, the second best was the price. Also, I have never been in an oceanview cabin before (always a balcony) but I booked an OV on the Paradise.

 

I will tell you now, I had a blast on the Paradise. I learned a few things, first I don't need a balcony for every cruise. I can cruise with a boatload of kids and not have my fun disrupted. Everything I needed on a HAL ship is almost on the Paradise (no DVD players, room service not as good,,not the service but the selections). I think, for me personally, the entertainment was a lot more fun as far as the shows. It was my first cruise with anytime dining and it worked out great.

 

BTW, as far as dining. IMHO HAL has better dining room food (I have never eaten in Lido buffets so no comment on that) but the Paradise was not too bad. The other food like the sandwhices and burgers and pizza and Mongolian grill were pretty good, no difference really except HAL doesn't have the Mongolian grill (HINT: do that the day you embark, the lines can be outrageous). My suggestion is, try to eat between 6 and 7 pm if you're eating int he MDR. Seems like the food is hottest at those times. I compared notes with another guy from a different cruise and he said is food was always warm. Ours was always hot. We ate earlier then him. What I did find suprising is elegant night. On this board you will find a lot of arguing about dress codes etc so I wasn't sure what I would see on CCL. Well what I saw was everyone (that I could see) adhered to the dress code and in fact I was suprised how well dressed many were for a 4 day cruise.

 

Ther were quite a few 20 somethings doing their drinking things, but they were not where I needed to be so it didn't matter.

The staff was a good as HAL, at least the ones I delt with. Would I do this again,,actually I do plan to some day. For the price it was well worth it.

 

NOw I will say also, unknown to us, was an inside cabin about 4 cabins down from ours were having pot parties at night. I never smelled it so I didn't know,,,until debarkation day when before we were allowed to leave we had to wait for the Customs officers and some DEA guys handcuff an haul them off the ship. NOt a rumor, I saw it.

 

BTW, I did a long review on my trip, its here somewhere. My trip was back in March.

[vinsheer]

I have been on both the Splendor and Paradise and for me the Paradise wins! While everything was newer and bigger on the Splendor and the cabins beautiful, I found the ship difficult to navigate even just to go to our dining room. It also seemed to me that the buffet lines were longer and often we had to walk upstairs with our plates to find seating at the Lido. I still loved the Splendor though and if the pricing were right I wouldn't hesitate to book her again. With that being said, maybe it's because I've been on the Paradise enough to know it like the back of my hand, but I like the smaller ship and have never had a bad cruise on her. You can actually walk from one end of the ship to the other without changing decks. I like the way the shops are set up as well and prefer the open feel of the Atrium which is beautiful. I'm really sorry to see her leaving Long Beach, but I understand the Inspiration will be replacing her and that is a sister ship with the same design so that will probably be the next cruise we book. I'm sure you will have a great time, happy cruising!!

[steveNcindy]

I was just on the non-cruise on the Splendor and it was our first cruise ever! We had already booked a 4 night group cruise on the Paradise, but never even thought about it because of our "big" cruise.

 

I know its an older ship, but could you guys please point out some good things about it so I can start getting excited about cruising again, for the first time...again lol.

 

We have an inside guarantee cabin booked, a little bit of OBC and photo credit.

 

The toilets flush and last I heard they have removed the cold wiener/corn/onion/pickle sandwiches from room service as well :D

 

Hope you have a great cruise

[chadsjewel]

I have been on both the Splendor and Paradise and for me the Paradise wins! While everything was newer and bigger on the Splendor and the cabins beautiful, I found the ship difficult to navigate even just to go to our dining room. It also seemed to me that the buffet lines were longer and often we had to walk upstairs with our plates to find seating at the Lido. I still loved the Splendor though and if the pricing were right I wouldn't hesitate to book her again. With that being said, maybe it's because I've been on the Paradise enough to know it like the back of my hand, but I like the smaller ship and have never had a bad cruise on her. You can actually walk from one end of the ship to the other without changing decks. I like the way the shops are set up as well and prefer the open feel of the Atrium which is beautiful. I'm really sorry to see her leaving Long Beach, but I understand the Inspiration will be replacing her and that is a sister ship with the same design so that will probably be the next cruise we book. I'm sure you will have a great time, happy cruising!!

 

 

Thank you for your response! My one complaint about the Splendor was the same as yours. It was crazy to try to find the Black Pearl dining room! And we had to use the stairs the time we were there lol, and that made it even more interesting. I am going to LOVE the fact that I can walk through on each deck!

[GrandBistro]

I first sailed on the Paradise last year; I am booked on a 3-day cruise on the Paradise this weekend, and a 4-day cruise in May. I enjoyed everything about the Paradise - the smaller size, the walkability of the ship, the layout, fewer people. Food and quality of service are completely subjective; I thought both were excellent. My cruise last year did NOT have lots of loud young people or heavy drinkers as far as I could tell. In fact, I thought it had a high percentage of older folks. But that was a 4-day, Monday-Friday cruise. The weekend cruises might be different. I'm in Long Beach and I know lots of people who have sailed on the Paradise, and all have enjoyed their cruises very much. I'm sure you will, too!

 

Happy Sailing!

[maritaysa]

Just got off of my 7th cruise on the Paradise....great service! The staff was top-notch!

[chadsjewel]

The toilets flush and last I heard they have removed the cold wiener/corn/onion/pickle sandwiches from room service as well :D

 

Hope you have a great cruise

 

 

Lol, you rock. Thanks!:cool:

[chadsjewel]

I first sailed on the Paradise last year; I am booked on a 3-day cruise on the Paradise this weekend, and a 4-day cruise in May. I enjoyed everything about the Paradise - the smaller size, the walkability of the ship, the layout, fewer people. Food and quality of service are completely subjective; I thought both were excellent. My cruise last year did NOT have lots of loud young people or heavy drinkers as far as I could tell. In fact, I thought it had a high percentage of older folks. But that was a 4-day, Monday-Friday cruise. The weekend cruises might be different. I'm in Long Beach and I know lots of people who have sailed on the Paradise, and all have enjoyed their cruises very much. I'm sure you will, too!

 

Happy Sailing!

 

 

Thanks! We will be doing the Mon-Fri cruise, thankfully. You get an extra day and we got it for just over $200 per person. Its part of a group of 400 people from our area, going through a local travel agent. So, there will be quite a mixture of people, just within our group. That should be nice!

[Kailin]

Hey Chadsjewel, as a fellow Slendor passenger on the cruise to nowhere, I'm glad to see you made it home safely. I would agree that the Paradise is a good ship for a 4 night cruise. Like AQW, the Paradise was my first cruise and it got me hooked on cruising, -- so much so, that I did it twice in one year. The pool is bigger than the one on the Slendor, and the band on the pool deck was fun. Food was pretty good, layout was simple, service stellar and I found a lot of fun things to do. I shared one of the small inside cabins but, hey, I only showered and slept there. Have a terrific time!

[chadsjewel]

Hey Chadsjewel, as a fellow Slendor passenger on the cruise to nowhere, I'm glad to see you made it home safely. I would agree that the Paradise is a good ship for a 4 night cruise. Like AQW, the Paradise was my first cruise and it got me hooked on cruising, -- so much so, that I did it twice in one year. The pool is bigger than the one on the Slendor, and the band on the pool deck was fun. Food was pretty good, layout was simple, service stellar and I found a lot of fun things to do. I shared one of the small inside cabins but, hey, I only showered and slept there. Have a terrific time!

 

And a Welcome home to you as well! Wasn't that interesting? lol. Ive been trying to book our other cruise but wouldnt ya know it, CS is super busy! LOL!!