Four Days of Paradise: Baja Mexico - Aug. 8, 2011 Review with Photos

[Crusin Karen]

I am enjoying this and loved seeing the pictures of QM. BTW, we went on a Spirit MR cruise a few years ago from San Diego. I SO FELL IN LOVE with SD that we booked the exact same cruise for the next year the day we got home JUST so I could go back there. We spent 4 days pre cruise there and rented a car and spent 2 days post cruise there. I LOVE CRUISES, but I have to admit you had to almost drag me on the ship and I couldn't wait to get off to get back to SD again. :p Sadly, I don't think we will be going out there again, :( (we live about 15 minutes from the Manhattan cruise terminal and we cruise out of here exclusively now) but I have a ton of really happy memories. Thanks for sharing your cruise. I have never been on the Paradise and enjoy seeing the pictures! ;)

[CrusieToy]

Love your photos!

[Inklight]

It's Official -- Welcome Aboard Fun Times!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Inklight]

I am enjoying this and loved seeing the pictures of QM. BTW, we went on a Spirit MR cruise a few years ago from San Diego. I SO FELL IN LOVE with SD that we booked the exact same cruise for the next year the day we got home JUST so I could go back there. We spent 4 days pre cruise there and rented a car and spent 2 days post cruise there. I LOVE CRUISES, but I have to admit you had to almost drag me on the ship and I couldn't wait to get off to get back to SD again. :p Sadly, I don't think we will be going out there again, :( (we live about 15 minutes from the Manhattan cruise terminal and we cruise out of here exclusively now) but I have a ton of really happy memories. Thanks for sharing your cruise. I have never been on the Paradise and enjoy seeing the pictures! ;)

 

 

Oh, thank you ... we love San Diego too. We have a brand new cruise terminal built with hardly a cruise ship stopping by. Surely it must have to do with money. :D

 

We will be on the Carnival Spirit next May for a cruise through Alaska ... and I can't hardly wait. Not only will Alaska be AMAZING but, I'm really looking forward to exploring the Spirit. We've never been on a Spirit Class ship before!

 

We'd love to go to Manhattan ... we really want to do the seven day Fall cruise from New York to Canada. :)

[Inklight]

Love your photos!

 

 

Thank you so much! I have plenty more. In fact, maybe I should just post some now!:)

[Inklight]

Let’s Explore the Ship!

 

Our cabin is in a great location ... it seems everything begins at the Empress Deck. So let’s explore a bit.

 

The Blue Riband LIbrary had a great decor ... very nautical. We would find ourselves here often since it was the meeting place for both the Behind the Fun Tour and Chef's Table.

 

 

There were pieces of art and such that reminded us of the Paradise's them of "Great Ocean Liners of the World." Very fitting and reminiscent of our stay on the Queen Mary.

 

 

The windows were lined with ship models. Looks a bit like the Queen Mary, doesn't it?

 

 

We weren't traveling with any children this time but I wanted mention how great Carnival's kid program is (for parents and kids alike!). Here are some of the meeting spaces for Camp Carnival.

 

Circle C is the club for 12 to 14 year olds.

 

 

Club O2 is for the older teens (ages 15-17). At this point this is where we would find our kids ... well, at least the youngest! They have all grown so fast!

 

 

Camp Carnival caters to the 2 to 11 year olds. They have a fun looking room, don't they? I hear they even get to do Build-a-Bear! Next cruise I'm sneaking in and building one for myself!

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Still Exploring ...

 

 

The Normandie Main Lounge was the gathering place for shows, Bingo, talks ... and even our initial Lifeboat meeting spot.

 

 

Looking towards the back you can see how large the Lounge is as it extends two levels. Can you spot DH? Hello, Rod!

 

 

Check it out ... I look like I'm on stage. Superstar!

 

 

Hey, we've reached the Promenade Deck. Here is the Rex Dance Club. Looks dangerous!

 

 

And of course, here is everyone's favorite ... the $10 store!

 

 

The Carnival Blvd. Promenade extends the length of the ship and is filled with all kinds of fun places ... Majestic Casino, Cafe Ile De France (coffee shop), Club O2, Video Arcade, shops, Photo Gallery and a few bars. A lot of activity happens down this stretch of boulevard.

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Exploring still ...

 

 

The Carnival Blvd. Promenade was lined with these cool art deco chairs and seating areas. A great place to sit and relax, looking out the windows and sipping a specialty coffee from Cafe Ile De France.

 

 

The United States Bar sat right outside the Majestic Casino. A smoky area for sure ... good news for some, not for others!

 

 

Again, the Paradise Atrium was a favorite place for us ... you could see everything!

 

 

We even had time for a self-portrait! Nice of Carnival to use so many mirrors!

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Living on the Lido

 

The Lido Deck has the best of two worlds ... food and fun in the sun! Along with everyone else who just embarked, we headed up to the Paris Lido Restaurant (AKA Lido Buffet) for some lunch. Outside was the Mongolian Grill with its continuously long lines, along with hamburgers and hotdogs. Inside was where the rest of the food was laid out. Here was the main buffet, salad bar, fruit bar, dessert shrine, deli, pizza and of course 24-hour soft-serve ice cream machines. Heaven on a Lido!

 

We ate lunch here everyday and my first stop was always the Salad and Fruit Bar. If I could figure out how, I would have a continuous Salad Bar running in my house.

 

You enter the Buffet area through two long hallways ... Port side and Starboard side.

 

 

It's no wonder the food is such a large part of a cruise for us all. There is just so much there ... and plenty of choices. We can't help but be like kids in a candy store (hmmm, I wonder if that will ever be included).

 

 

There is plenty of seating in the Paris Lido Restaurant. I love the cool art deco leafy pillars strewn throughout.

 

 

Sorry, I don't have much in the food photo department. But, here is DH picking up something that I would never put on my plate. Fortunately, I have him ... I ate his off his plate! They were delicious! And no, I have no idea what it was!

 

 

Yes, you can pass me some of that fabulous dessert too! Thank you!

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Sail Away!

 

 

There is so much to do when you first get on the ship! But, now we can go outside and see what's going on for Sail Away!

 

But first ... Safety Drill

 

We were Lifeboat Station #5, but we had to meet in the Normandie Main Lounge and then be led here by Carnival Team Members. Am I the only one who misses wearing the Life Vests during the drill?

 

 

Okay, let's get back to Sail Away!

 

Woo Hoo, Whale Tail! Not many people hanging out in the pool yet. And just LOOK at all those EMPTY chairs!

 

 

Say Goodbye to Long Beach and the lovely Queen Mary! See you in four days (yes, that does sound a bit short!).

 

 

The Sail Away party was well underway with dancing and fun!

 

 

Heading away from Long Beach.

 

 

And we sailed away!

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Okay, I'm done for tonight. But, I will be back in the morning winding up Embarkation day with our first try at Your Time Dining. I will also share our day in Catalina! Thank you for reading! :)

[Payd]

Great start on the review Robin. Cute pictures of you and your husband taking pictures of each other:)

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Great start on the review Robin. Cute pictures of you and your husband taking pictures of each other:)

 

 

LOL! Thank you so much. My husband and I take pictures of each other shooting all the time. I've been trying not to include so many ... but they just seem natural to me. I'm not sure I know what hubby looks like without a camera! :)

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Your Time Dining

 

AKA Your Time Dining just as long as we have space otherwise you’ll be given a buzzer to wander around the ship until We Have a Time we can seat you.

 

 

We chose to try Your Time Dining this trip, we had never experienced this options before. I have been cruising since 1983 (SS Norway - I was 22!) and in that time I have come to look forward to and even rely on the Traditional Dining system. Late Seating, Early Seating ... I loved the ‘event’ of it all. I knew what I could count on. I knew where I had to be and I knew what time I had to be there.

 

In recent years, many cruise ships have been offering alternative dining options as well as a more relaxed dress code for the Main Dining Room. With all this said, I did have my concerns about Your Time Dining and how it would impact our cruise.

 

Here is how the wait played out:

 

First Night - There was a 20 minute wait.

Second Night - There was a 25 minute wait.

Third Night - No wait at all.

Fourth Night - We did Chef’s Table.

 

We opted to go to dinner each night between 6 and 7 p.m. PLUS we did ask for a table for two. We probably would have been seated quicker had we chose to sit at a larger table. The wait time wasn’t really that bad. We were given a buzzer and told we could go anywhere except the cabin. We wandered through the Photo Gallery and the shops until our buzzer lit up and our table was ready.

 

:o I’m sorry I have no photos of the dining room ... nor do I have any of those mouth-watering food photos. So I will try to make this as quick and painless as possible! :o

 

I found the food to be good. Our first night, we both decided to order the Lasagna as a starter ... I couldn’t believe the size of it when it came out! It was huge ... I just wonder how big it is as an entree! It was delicious, however and I wish I could have eaten more. But, I still had more food coming ... so I only ate a small portion of it. I will definitely order the Lasagna next time, though as my entree ... it was that good and probably my favorite item in the MDR.

 

In the end my thoughts on Your Time Dining is this:

 

On the plus side: I wasn’t worried about having to get ready to get to dinner on time. There was a certain relaxation about that. I did like that part of it ... a lot.

 

On the down side: There wasn’t the pomp & circumstance that I have grown to love from the MDR experience. There were no singing waiters ... yes, I am one who loves the singing and dancing! We must have always just missed them or were so far removed from that action that I wasn’t aware of them. But, I missed the singing waiters. The service was fine, the food was fine it was just missing the ‘event’ part.

 

Your Time Dining wasn’t, by any means, a bad experience ... it was just different. We will choose it again, for sure, depending on the cruise we are going on. I know on our Alaska cruise next year we will have YTD because we will be more concerned with what is going on outside the ship and don’t want to worry about having to be anywhere at a certain time (wouldn’t want to miss any scenery!). In fact, we may even eat a few dinners at the Lido Buffet ... now, that will be a whole other experience to share! :)

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Sushi and Laundry - Two Random Sets of Photos That Don't Belong Together

Sushi Bar

Sushi was available each night at the Sushi Bar on the Promenade Deck from 5 to 8:15 p.m. And let me tell you ... nothing brings the crowd out more than a declaration of free sushi! While I'm not a fish or sushi fan, DH is. So, he was able to enjoy double the sushi offerings with me along!

 

Just check out this line! It meandered all the way down the Promenade deck. It went pretty quick, though ... the Sushi guys were efficient!

 

 

You just walk right up and grab a plate with one of each ... a nice mixture of Sushi. DH thought it was pretty good.

 

 

Laundry Services

 

There is nothing that can spoil a vacation faster than to start mentioning laundry! However, sometimes it is a necessity - if only to press a few things.

 

We had a Self-Service Laundry facility right by our room forward on the Empress Deck 7 (there is another aft on Upper Deck 6).

 

I just need to iron a couple of items so DH and I didn't look like we rolled out of our suitcase! As you can see, there are two ironing boards with irons and a number of washing and drying machines.

 

 

I didn't use any of the machines, other than the irons, but I did note they all take quarters. You can buy detergent and softener for $1.25 and the washer and dryers were $3 each.

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And so Day 1 ends ...

 

We skipped the Welcome Aboard Show (too bad too, I really like this show) and went back to our cabin at about 10:30. Of course we were hungry again so we decided to call Room Service! They came in under 10 minutes - seriously. I couldn’t believe how fast they got there. Anyway, I had a wonderful BLT and DH had a Reuben ... nice way to cap off a great day!

 

 

Hello, Seal! Look who was waiting for us with tomorrow's Fun Times!

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Tuesday Fun Times - Santa Catalina Island

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Planner48]

We are loving your review. We will be sailing on the Paradise next February out of Tampa. Great Pictures and wonderful writing. One question, my wife is a laundry nut. Are the 2 laundry rooms you mentioned the only ones on the ship? We will be on Deck 1 and were hoping there would be a laundry room on that deck also. Thanks for taking the time to write this for all of us to enjoy.

[rene194215]

Hi! Great review!! Really makes me more excited for my trip on her Sept 26th!!!! I love the pictures too!! Can I ask what kind of cameras you used? Love this!!

[SweetpeaOne]

Great review and pictures. Thanks for sharing.

[momof3cruisers]

Great. Pics and review! Thanks.

[sjn911]

That would of been cool to see people in period costume on the Queen Mary. Yes, I agree, it is sad to see Carnival Paradise leave. But, I'm now excited to see what her replacement, Carnival Inspiration, has to offer! Thank you for you kind words. :)

Me too and that is the fun part..another ship to see...the photos here always look nice...Sarah..thanks for your kind words...this is just great...Sarah:)

[tiggerman101]

great review and pictures. Thank you for taking the time to do this. I know how much effort it can take!

[spacepotatoes]

Love your pictures! The Queen Mary looks like it would be a neat experience.

[Kokopelli2]

Just wanted to say that I like your review. Good photos! :)