Carnival Paradise

[CroozinFamily]

I just returned from a cruise on Carnival Paradise. I have not cruised on Carnival in a LONG time. Carnival is not really my cup of tea but I was going with a group so I went along. I must say I was pleasantly surprised. The food was decent. Certainly nothing to rave about but was okay. Several at my table did have some problems with their food being cold though. The warm guacamole dip was sent back 3 times by 3 people and each time it came back cold. No excuse for that. So, nothing special with the food but it was okay.

 

It was a 5 night cruise and there were no shows for 2 nights. On those nights they used the lounge for game show type entertainment. Disappointing that there weren't shows. The shows they did have were good though. Lounges always seemed to be hopping.

 

This was the first cruise out of dry dock. I'm not sure what the ship was like before, but I did read reviews that said there were strange smells and that the ship looked tired and worn. I didn't find any of this to be the case. Carpet had been replaced and in the buffet restaurant it had a lot of "fuzzies" so you definitely knew that it was new. I noticed that the chairs in the outdoor eating areas looked brand new. Not sure what else had been updated/replaced but the ship did not look worn out at all. She's an older ship so some things are out of date, but overall, the ship is nice.

 

My biggest complaint about this ship is the in room safes!! They only operate with a credit card or the room key and the one that locks it is the one that must open it. When you have 2 people sharing a cabin this can be problematic. My roommate missed a shore excursion because she needed something out of the safe and I had already left and it had been my room key that had locked the safe. By the time she got someone to open the safe she had missed the shore excursion. This is a totally ridiculous system!!!

 

I found the cabin to be quite roomy with plenty of storage space. Bathroom medicine cabinet had plenty of room for stuff. Shower was a little tricky to get a good water temperature. We had no problem with water pressure but did hear others complaining about that. No hair dryers in the cabin and there was exactly ONE electrical outlet. I would highly recommend bringing a power strip if you have more than one appliance to plug in.....hair dryer, curling iron, phone or iPad charger, etc.

 

Some of the elevators had some issues and were out of order or being worked on during the cruise. We never really had a problem waiting for elevators though.

 

Overall, service on board was okay. Everybody did their job but I didn't feel like they were going above and beyond. I have no complaints about how anyone did their job but I have had other experiences where most of the crew members are going above and beyond and it makes me feel like they are sailing the ship just for me! It's all part of what makes cruising feel so special and that was missing on this ship.

 

There always seemed to be somewhere to sit on deck. Perhaps not in your most favorite spot, but there was always somewhere to find a seat. Some hot tubs were hot, some were lukewarm and one was cold. The pool is a salt water pool.

 

Bar waiters were easy to find but they were never annoyingly pushing drinks.

 

Embarkation and debarkation were easy and organized.

 

If anyone has any questions, ask away and I'll try to answer as best I can.

[declansdad]

You wouldn't have any pictures by any chance?

 

How were the ports of call?

[pkrchkr]

The Paradise was our very 1st Carnival cruise..loved her then would probably still.. glad you had agood time

[marym933]

I've solved the issue of the safe that uses magnetic strip cards to activate. I take an old gift card. Mine is from Staples. I use the card to lock the safe, then I put the card in one of the drawers along with our clothes. My traveling companion knows where the card is kept. We both have access to the safe whenever it is needed.

[Captain Carnival]

Flat screens or old box TV's?

[CWcruisers]

Flat screens or old box TV's?

 

 

I was on her before drydock and she already had flat screens.

[LoveCruisin']

We just booked Paradise for Aug 20. Is there a formal night, if so, which night and what excursions did you do? We sailed Paradise years ago and she was a good ship then.

[NorthGeorgiaCruiser]

If you have pictures I would like to see some please!

[readingfast]

Hi

 

You say there were no hairdryers in the cabins, but I have an e-mail from Carnival assuring me that there are!

Do you have to ask for one?

We are coming from England & I do not want to bring one just for this cruise.

Can anyone help?

[lhanson38]

I know when we were on her sister ship in a inside cabin we had to ask for blowdyers...That was a frist for us they alway have them in a drawer or on the wall.

[ccruisequeen]

Enjoy her! I had fun on her 3x while she was here on the West coast!

[ThetaAddy]

We were on this cruise as well and we had an amazing time! We brought a hair dryer but our friends didn't. She just asked for one and she got it right away.

[waldocruiser1]

So, does the Paradise have the resort style pools like the website says?

 

The pictures on the website looks cool.

 

Do you have any pictures.

[CroozinFamily]

I'll try to get some pictures posted in a day or so.

 

Aha! What a super great idea to get around the whole safe thing!!! Wish we had known about that before going!!! It's such a stupid system. I can't believe they are still using it!!!

 

We brought our own hair dryer because even when they are in the cabin, sometimes they are lame. If I am close on weight I will leave it at home. Never saw any info in the cabin to ask for one.

 

We did NOT have a flat screen TV but our across the hall inside cabin neighbors did. I'm guessing they are replacing them as needed? I could care less about the TV. It would help to make the cabin look a bit more updated, but the fact that the cabin was very roomy was more important to me than whether it looked updated.

 

We hit Grand Cayman and Cozumel. The weather was beautiful in both ports, but a storm was coming in and currents were strong in Grand Cayman so most snorkeling excursions were canceled. I ended up doing a tour with stops at the Tortuga Rum Factory, turtle farm and hell. I would much rather have spent the day on the beach. We could not tender in Georgetown either.

 

I had an appointment in Cozumel so I didn't do a whole lot there.

 

There was one formal night on our 5 night cruise. It was the second night of the cruise and we were at sea that day. It was FAR less formal than on any other ship I have sailed.

 

Again.....I will try to get some pics up soon.

[murph1031]

Tks for review, we are sailing on her in July. Look forward to your pics.

[keystonemama]

Glad to hear you had a nice time, we sail Memorial day week on her. Someone on the CCL website said she did not have refrigerators? Did you find this to be the case? We have booked an inside room. Looking forward to your pics! Also, do you remember what nights the shows were on?

Happy Sailing,

[keystonemama]

Sorry, one more question, do you remember if she has martini tasting, I think is usually the first day?

[sanmarcosman]

"The warm guacamole dip was sent back 3 times by 3 people and each time it came back cold. No excuse for that."

 

Guacamole is served cold, perhaps you are referring to the artichoke dip?

[kicia]

The Fantasy class ships only have refrigerators in the suites.

[llski]

Thanks for all the info. We are sailing on the Paradise on March 19th. Love the safe idea.

[NorthGeorgiaCruiser]

I'll try to get some pictures posted in a day or so.

 

Aha! What a super great idea to get around the whole safe thing!!! Wish we had known about that before going!!! It's such a stupid system. I can't believe they are still using it!!!

 

We brought our own hair dryer because even when they are in the cabin, sometimes they are lame. If I am close on weight I will leave it at home. Never saw any info in the cabin to ask for one.

 

We did NOT have a flat screen TV but our across the hall inside cabin neighbors did. I'm guessing they are replacing them as needed? I could care less about the TV. It would help to make the cabin look a bit more updated, but the fact that the cabin was very roomy was more important to me than whether it looked updated.

 

We hit Grand Cayman and Cozumel. The weather was beautiful in both ports, but a storm was coming in and currents were strong in Grand Cayman so most snorkeling excursions were canceled. I ended up doing a tour with stops at the Tortuga Rum Factory, turtle farm and hell. I would much rather have spent the day on the beach. We could not tender in Georgetown either.

 

I had an appointment in Cozumel so I didn't do a whole lot there.

 

There was one formal night on our 5 night cruise. It was the second night of the cruise and we were at sea that day. It was FAR less formal than on any other ship I have sailed.

 

Again.....I will try to get some pics up soon.

 

You say you could not tender in Georgetown but you did tours?

 

How did you get to shore to do the tours?

 

I will be going to Grand Cayman as well and have been worried about not being able to tender but maybe there are other ways to get ashore?

[aam3]

Thanks for your review. Just a few weeks until we are on her. Would love to see some pictures if you can get them posted!

[IrishLassie]

Thanks for all the info on the ship. :D I do have a question tho, did you dock at Cozumel or tender?

That was a great idea about the "safe", can't believe that's how you have to open or close them tho! :confused:

 

Oh, one more question. Did they redo the cabin decor (bedspreads, carpets, etc.).

Looking forward to your pictures & thanks again. :)

[BooBooMonkey]

We just got back from the 4-day and will post a long review with pix!

Glad to see some reviews finally showing up about this ship since it has moved to Tampa.

[cathyz]

Aha! What a super great idea to get around the whole safe thing!!! Wish we had known about that before going!!! It's such a stupid system. I can't believe they are still using it!!!

 

Actually, most of Carnival's ships have the safes that require a card, only the newest newest ships have the safes with codes. The only ship we've been on with the codes is the Splendor, otherwise, all cards.