Carnival & Triumph Review 2/26/11

[gman0119]

Just got back from a week cruise on Triumph. Had a blast and didn't want to come home, but had to anyway. It had been at least 2 years since my last cruise, so I first want to start with Carnival and some of the things I noticed that were different. Not saying if they are better or worse, just different from the past.

 

I noticed that the food quality was close to the past, but the serving size in the MDR seems significantly smaller than the past. I didn't see that as a problem, I just ordered more. I surely never went hungry!!! Even though I should have!

 

The biggest difference I see in Carnival is how they are trying their hardest to make trips "Carnival Exclusive", cutting out anything else. In Belize, they used to let you show a time you needed to be on shore, and you would be on a tender with Carnival Excursions. Not this trip. We had to get to the tender ticket area early. The line by the time they started issuing tickets was from the start of the casino back past the disco, almost to the wine bar. We got the Number 1, from getting there so early, and we were still some of the last ones to get to our excursion.

 

I noticed that when Tex (Cruise Director) would give talks, he almost never used the name Roatan. Instead, he would say Mahogeny Bay. Even the Caper had it listed as Mahogeny Bay. If you have a non Carnival excursion on Roatan, you have to walk a while to get to where they allow them to stand. I was really surprised when Tex told everyone that Mahogeny Bay would probably be crowded since 2 Carnival ships would be there, so he recommended getting a Carnival Excursion to other beaches on the island. In Mahogeny Bay, the stores are like shopping in America. Just not the same as going to Coxen Hole and going among the street vendors.

 

In Cozumel, once again, we docked at the Carnival dock, and go through the exclusive Carnival area. I looked at all other ships from other companies docked, and none of them had their own "shopping village".

 

I still like adventure and to see the place as it is. If I wanted to shop like I was in America, I would stay in America. Give me a taste of the place I'm in!!!

 

I know that a CD is hired to promote their own vessel, but to me, Tex went a little overboard. He pounded Carnival only so much that it got annoying to me.

 

The liquor you buy on shore is now given back to you the morning you are getting off the boat. Some really long lines for that too. I know there are some threads on that, so I won't dwell on it.

 

I have only cruised Carnival, so I can't really compare it to another line, but as I said, I saw differences, but whether they are good are bad are up to the individual. Some people want the safety of being led, some don't. Make you own decision and opinion!!!

 

Now, the Triumph! It was sooooo good to be back on a ship! We had excellent service throughout. We were in Rm. 8229, a balcony room. Our staff was great, and they took care of a minor service issue (sink plug broke) in a very short time! I do have to mention some favorites: In MDR, Alexandro, our head waiter was absolutely GREAT!!! My GF asked him if she could adopt him, but he said his wife might not appreciate that! LOL He takes very good care of the tables assigned to him. At the Casino bar, my GF made me ask for her drink. I looked at the bartender, who is a female named Nappa. Her name is much longer, so she goes by that. I told her, my GF wants a Kiss on the Lips. She seized the opportunity to look at my GF, smile, and do a big mmmwwwwaaa, to her! For the rest of the cruise, she knew our name everytime we went there, and would automatically give us the kiss, and a Kiss drink! We had fun with her!!!

 

The New World Pool, the aft pool on Lido, where most adult areas are being made had 2 wonderful bartenders also. Yati was my favorite and Mary was fun also. I was there getting a coke one day, and Yati had a customer who's S&S card didn't work. He got so rude to her that I actually forgot I was NOT a cop on duty, and I told him to keep it down and back off. She called for a manager, and he continued making snide remarks until the manager got there. I watched Yati recompose herself, go to the next customer, and act like nothing had happened. She showed the same niceness that she always did. I called her over and tipped her about $5, even though I had the coke card, and told her how much I appreciated her, and how I was glad she didn't let butt-heads get to her. When I did that, she teared up and thanked me for the rest of the week. Such a sweet lady!

 

I did notice that the Triumph is starting to show its age, and there were some issues that I'm sure will be addressed when it is dry docked later this year. Surely needs new carpet, and many of the fiberoptic lights they use over doorways that name what is on that deck had parts of words or letters missing. Many of the elevators had floor lights above the door that would not light, or would not show what was on that floor. Minor issues that didn't affect my fun, just stuff I noticed.

 

I will continue this later, since my fingers are on fire from typing, and tell you more about the excursions we did, but I'll leave for now. Will try to get some photos on here, but if you want to see them before I do, they are on photobucket.com My name on there is the same, gman0119, so you can look me up and have a look.

 

Ask any questions, also, and I'll try to give you an answer.

[cadoocrazy]

We had to get to the tender ticket area early. The line by the time they started issuing tickets was from the start of the casino back past the disco, almost to the wine bar. We got the Number 1, from getting there so early, and we were still some of the last ones to get to our excursion.

So, you're saying that you received Tender Number 1, but they allowed the Carnival Excursion guests to fill the tenders before you? In effect, were you "First Tender After All Carnival Excursion Guests"? If so, that's fairly discouraging.

 

For Belize specifically, how early did you arrive at the "line-up" to get a tender ticket?

 

Also, what time did your tender into Belize actually arrive at port?

[LBumb]

thanks

[gman0119]

So, you're saying that you received Tender Number 1, but they allowed the Carnival Excursion guests to fill the tenders before you? In effect, were you "First Tender After All Carnival Excursion Guests"? If so, that's fairly discouraging.

 

For Belize specifically, how early did you arrive at the "line-up" to get a tender ticket?

 

Also, what time did your tender into Belize actually arrive at port?

 

Yep, we got in line for non carnival excursions at about 7AM. The boat was due to anchor at 8AM, and the tender desk we were instructed to go to didn't open till 8AM. We were down the hall from the Rome Lounge, the main theater, and could see group after group go to the tender line. Group #1 was called at about 8:20. We made our way to Deck 0 and got on a tender with the last remaining Carnival excursions, that had the numbers 9 and 10 on their shirts. We got to the port about 8:45.

The excursion we were on told us that they have not had any trouble with other ships getting people to them. Just Carnival is showing muscle and keeping the non carnival crowd till later.

[gman0119]

Ok, time for a little more. Still can't get the photos to show here. Keep getting error message...

 

We were sooooo very anxious to get on the boat, we left the hotel at about 8AM. We got to the port at about 8:45. We went in, thinking we would have to wait before they opened, but we didn't! We were given directions on where to go and it was very pleasant! Got through the entire line and into the waiting area in less than 15 minutes. Amazed me when we went through the security area. I had seen all the posts about carry ons being checked, and all that. I had a carry on with the 2 bottles of wine, and 3 one liter bottles of water. The private security company never batted an eye, never opened the bag to see if it was water, never looked at the bottles to make sure they were sealed, nothing. They were all just sitting around shooting the breeze, and joked with us about how early we were. If only I had brought booze!!! LOL There were no lines anywhere, so we went from one station to the next immediately. When we got to the waiting area, with our Number 1 boarding pass, there were only about 4 people that had beat us there. It was fun watching the crowd start to grow at about 10AM, and watching the people working that had joked and had fun with us start getting business like. Whole different ball game! I really think that since I am one of those proverbial early people already, all future cruises will be the same. I'm gonna get there early before the others tick the people off! LOL

 

Some of the people working must have forgotten to give out the Boarding numbers, because there were a few times that ladies came through hollering for anyone that didn't have a number. We had an old grouch ask us how we got that number 1, and when I told her that we got it when we got our S&S cards, she chewed her husbands butt, he got up and went and got a number, and it was number 9. She stayed mad the rest of the time till boarding. We just smiled and waved when they called number 1. LOL

 

I have been out of Galveston, Tampa, and now NO, and this one was by far the easiest, but probably because we were so early.

 

More to come...

[weddingmooners13]

Thanks for the review. Did you park in the port parking garage. Erato ? Just wondering cause it would seem to me that they wouldnt open the garage as early as you got there. Just planning our mode of attack for this weekend. Just afraid if we show up to park too early we will just have to wait for all the other passengers to get out of the garage before they will let us in . You have any idea when they open the parking garage?

[gman0119]

Thanks for the review. Did you park in the port parking garage. Erato ? Just wondering cause it would seem to me that they wouldnt open the garage as early as you got there. Just planning our mode of attack for this weekend. Just afraid if we show up to park too early we will just have to wait for all the other passengers to get out of the garage before they will let us in . You have any idea when they open the parking garage?

 

No, the rate there is pretty ridiculous, but I can't remember what it is. We had driven in to NO the day before to meet my son that lives there, and stayed at a motel on the Westbank, in Gretna. They let us leave our vehicle there for the week for no charge. Taxi was $25 each way. If we would not have been going in early, and just going directly to the port, it might have been cheaper, but for us it wasn't.

[weddingmooners13]

Ya wish we stayin in a hotel but not this time. Just drivin in day of. How was the weather on your cruise?

[gman0119]

Ya wish we stayin in a hotel but not this time. Just drivin in day of. How was the weather on your cruise?

It was absolutely beautiful!!! First 2 sea days were 1-3 ft. seas, all ports were warm and sunny! The only bad day was when we left Cozumel. Late that evening, going into final sea day, seas got about 7-10 and it was cloudy and rainy till we got into port. Was that wonderful cold front that came through on Saturday. I feel for those that left the day we came in. They would have had to cross some more as they got in the gulf.

[weddingmooners13]

It was absolutely beautiful!!! First 2 sea days were 1-3 ft. seas, all ports were warm and sunny! The only bad day was when we left Cozumel. Late that evening, going into final sea day, seas got about 7-10 and it was cloudy and rainy till we got into port. Was that wonderful cold front that came through on Saturday. I feel for those that left the day we came in. They would have had to cross some more as they got in the gulf.

 

 

6 out of 7 is great I hope we have the same luck. Thanks agian for the review and I will be glued to it as it develops.

[gman0119]

First view from waiting area!

 

 

First view of room!

[Scobandit]

Love it. We go on this cruise in 4 weeks cant wait to see more

[Cruiser from MS]

We were also on this cruise and loved it. I think this cruise is one of my favorite. I liked the parking at the port it was so easy and convient. The food was very good, I do agree it seemed like the portions were smaller, and that was also fine with me. The only problem we had was the weather on our last sea day, but that gave us an excuse to pack :-( My favorite ship has been the Liberty but the Triumph now runs a very close second. I would do this cruise again in a heart beat.

[gman0119]

Ok, today is Mardi Gras, and I have to work in a little while, so sorry if I don't get much done today...

 

Our first 2 days at sea were not eventful for me and GF. I work too many hours a week, and by the time I hit a boat, I need some rest. We took it easy those sea days and just let the crew spoil us! LOL The only shows we went to were the welcoming show and to a couple of comedians. The first 2 comedians on board: One was a guy that always wore a cowboy hat, and we enjoyed him. The other one was a big fat guy who does what he labels as jokes, and also has a dummy that he does as a ventriloquist. He sucked major... When he did late shows, you could see many people walking out during his show. Carnival needs to make him walk the plank! The second half of the cruise were 2 different ones, and they were great. A big guy named Mutzie was a comedian who likes to pick on the crowd, and I was one that got it... I thought I was gonna pee in my pants I was laughing so hard! See him if he is a repeat!!!!

 

We went to the Chef's Table, and there is no way to describe it. That is one of the best experiences I have ever had. The food, the mood, the service is all a level I have never seen before. From what the Master Chef told us, we were the only ones that had booked in advance, but enough people signed on when arriving at the boat that he actually had 3 nights of Chef's Table! This chef loves his job so much that he really enjoys doing this, and it shows! That was the first time I had heard of a cruise doing 3 in 7 days.

 

Ok, work is calling, so don't expect any more today. I'll start on the excursions tomorrow. We did cave tubing in Belize and Extreme zipline in Roatan, so brace yourself!!!

 

Couple of plates from Chef's table!

 

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[gman0119]

By the way, if anyone knows how to use Photobucket to get the photos on here, please let me know. Everything I try gives an error...

[Scobandit]

Keep it coming :}

[hillbillycruisers]

I am enjoying this review. We sail the Triumph in December, and are really looking forward to it...love reading the reviews!:)

[Soonerbaby]

Great review so far! When is she going into drydock? We will sail on the Triumph in October.

[americanmama]

more, more!! lol thanks for the review...going on this cruise in May...hoping to read about your excursions soon:)

[djacobson]

Thanks for the review. Did you park in the port parking garage. Erato ? Just wondering cause it would seem to me that they wouldnt open the garage as early as you got there. Just planning our mode of attack for this weekend. Just afraid if we show up to park too early we will just have to wait for all the other passengers to get out of the garage before they will let us in . You have any idea when they open the parking garage?

 

A good time to arrive at the parking garage is between 10:00 - 10:45. You park in the garage, but instead of going to the terminal on the second floor, they are requiring that you go to the ground level and re-enter the building, going up an escalator to the second level. From there you go through security and then to check in.

[lovermonkey]

We are going on the triumph in april. And we too have the Chef's table so would love more pictures. Did they have a problem with you taking pictures of the food? Had heard that don't like that for some reason.

 

As far as Photobucket, when you upload you photo it will give you a few links to use. The one that has the [ img ] and [ /img] is the link that you want to post in this forum. You want the whole thing from the [ img ] to the [ / img ] when you post on the forum.

 

Keep it coming please. Love the photos.

[lovermonkey]

Oh, by the way, we have a balcony in the same area. Could you show some pictures of your room etc if you got them? Thanks.

[weddingmooners13]

A good time to arrive at the parking garage is between 10:00 - 10:45. You park in the garage, but instead of going to the terminal on the second floor, they are requiring that you go to the ground level and re-enter the building, going up an escalator to the second level. From there you go through security and then to check in.

 

 

Thanks for the info. I am going on this cruise on Sat and when I get back I will be sure to write a review for those who are waiting. I will try and include pictures also. This will be our first time with an aft extended Balcony.

 

I cant wait to hear more on this review.:D

[ticka1]

great review.

[gman0119]

Ok, hate to do this to you all, but my work computer doesn't allow me to go to photobucket to get some photos, so as a reminder, if you can't wait to see what we took, go to photobucket and on the search bar, make sure you click the person option. If you just enter my handle of gman0119, it will say no results. You have to click on the little arrow and click on the person. I will try more photos here tomorrow evening, when I'm not working another 16 hour day... Being back sucks...

 

Ok, first, a little more on Chef's Table. You can take photos once you get to the serving room. They ask you not to take any photos in the galley, but you can take all you want in the library or wherever they serve you. I cannot recommend this enough!!! If you have a desire to experience a cuisine event like no other, I encourage you to book it!

 

Now for the excursions. First stop was Belize. After Carnival finally let us off the boat to catch a tender, we arrived and went right out. We had booked with Cave-Tubing. com, and I enjoy these guys. Our driver was Richard, and when we got there, a bus had just left with some guests, so he loaded us in the boss's truck and we had a helluva drive!!! LOL I told him his last name must be Petty. He replied that instead of NASCAR, his specialty was BUSCAR! We ended up going back to the pier, since some of the other Carnival guests did not get in tender line early enough, and were delayed for a while. I have to stress this: IF YOU ARE TENDERING IN BELIZE, AND YOU AREN'T BOOKING THROUGH CARNIVAL, GET TO THE TENDER TICKET AREA EARLY!!!!! When we did leave the port, our load was the last bus of the day. Aston or Ashton was our guide, and between him and Richard, they kept us laughing the entire trip. There was a couple that were about the last ones on the bus, and they were constantly complaining to Ashton how they HAD to be back at about 2:30 so they could shop. Ashton and Richard were more diplomatic than I ever could have been, and bent over backwards to make sure they got their request. My GF and I had to make snide remarks to them that they shouldn't have booked! They kept blaming Richard and Ashton for not getting them sooner, and Richard finally looked at them and asked how they could have done it!? He said, "Weren't we here waiting when you came out of the terminal?" Lady said yes, so Richard followed with, "Then blame Carnival. They are the one who got you off the boat late. We are having to cater to them when they allow our customers to get to us." My GF and I stood and applauded, and so did others, so it kinda shut them up. After the cave tubing, when we went back to the cave tubing place for lunch, they griped again, and were put in a van and rushed back to port. We still got back with more than enough time to shop all we want. Some people... Anyway, (whew) I had gone with cave-tubing before, and I noticed a small difference. When I went over 2 years ago, they would keep you in groups, but you still had some freedom to move around on your own. Well, ever since the accident a year or so ago where a woman died, and NOT with them, they have changed their requirements. The Belize government now mandates a tour guide for every 8 people. So what most companies are doing is getting 8 people to get in line, have the one behind you tuck his feet under your arms, and all go together. It was hard to get comfortable holding someone else's feet. My lower back was hurting by the time I got to the end. I can't blame them, since the government is the one making all the new safety mandates. I did ask them if the line was required, and they said it is their choice. Government requires 8 to 1 ration, but they have a spotless safety record, and don't want to mess it up, so they choose to continue the snake line. We did see a company letting the people go on their own, and they often ended up in the cave wall or trees and bushes, so I can't argue too much. Just getting a little old with a bad back... Life can be cruel!!! It is still beautiful enough of an area to experience, and I do encourage people to do it at least once! There are some reputable companies, so find one and have a blast. Richard gave us a huge laugh on the way back to the port. All day, they keep asking us what time it is, and then assure us we will be back in time, but when we were headed back, we noticed a mini-bus on the side of the highway with a flat. People were standing outside the bus, sweating their butts off. Richard honked his horn and waved, and then got on the PA and said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, ease any worries you have, that was a Carnival bus!" A few other times when Richard (Petty!) passed buses, he would brag every time it was a Carnvial bus! It was a great time, and we really enjoyed it!

 

More later... Probably tomorrow...