Carnival Paradise

Jenny in TX · May 16, 2012

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.

This is exactly what DH and I do. We always put it in the same spot so whoever is in the cabin has access to the safe.

Ken-SanDiego · May 16, 2012

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 She's an older ship so some things are out of date, but overall, the ship is nice.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.

Regarding the safe issue, yes a numbered keypad would be appreciated. What we always do is bring a non-essential card like a Starbucks or grocery store card and use that, then leave it in a book or somewhere discrete.

kachinkie007 · May 21, 2012

This was our first cruise and we had a blast! We didn't do every activity and we didn't make it to the dining room every night but we had a lot of fun! We found the crew to be very friendly and the ship was very nice (but we don't have anything to compare it to).

I was a little apprehensive before cruising on Paradise because of what people say on here but I think you just need to go in with a positive attitude and then make the cruise what you want it to be. It is vacation!

:D I've never been on a cruise in my life. I've lived in FL for 12 years and have never gone. My childhood friends invited me for this Memorial Day weekend on Paradise to Cozumel and I'm really excited. I hope it's not a let down, but it seems if I'm not expecting luxury I should be ok. I'm really more excited about seeing my friends that I haven't seen in about 20 years!

kachinkie007 · May 21, 2012

There was just one electrical outlet.....by the dressing table in the cabin. I would highly recommend bringing a small power strip. I was with a group doing scrapbooking. My roommate and I were both using our computers so we needed to charge those, as well as her cell phone and various hair appliances. The power strip came in very handy.

As for having a good vacation on this ship.....if you go looking for the negative, you will find it. If you go looking for a good time, you will find it. If what you are looking for in a cruise is top notch food, this would not be the right cruise for you. If you are looking for a good value and a nice getaway, you should absolutely be able to find it. I was not expecting to like this ship. Was just hoping it would be tolerable and was looking to the group I was with to be what I would enjoy most. I was pleasantly surprised by the ship and by Carnival.

I think having access to so much information on the internet is a double edged sword. Sometimes it can prepare us for what we are about to find.....and we can either adjust our expectations up or down. Sometimes it makes us crazy worried about things that we may not have even noticed otherwise.

I'm confused. I am bringing a power strip, but then my seasoned cruise friend said it may be confiscated? Is this true? I can't see how one outlet is enough??? I'm still bringing the power strip since there are 3 girls sharing a room...one outlet! can you imagine? LOL

kachinkie007 · May 21, 2012

We are also sailing memorial Day week ( ~~waving to keystone mama).

Did the dining room have any other theme nights we should pack special things for ? I read a different post that said they had a black & white night on their cruise.

Oooohhhh...martinii tasting. Any chance of a margarita tasting ? ;

:D. What other cool things should I expect ?

What time is the family friendly comedy show ? We have 6:00 dinner and hoped we could still see it once.

Hey Checkers, I'm cruising that weekend as well :) It will be my very first cruise. If you find out any other themes will you let me know?? My 2 friends are experienced at cruising, but I'm a little nervous. Hope to bump into you!

kachinkie007 · May 21, 2012

Waves back!!!:D:D Just 49 more days!!! I have a countdown on my computer at work and home, now DH is counting the days! We also have 6 o'clock dining, we did that on the Freedom and we had plenty of time to go get good seat at the shows, plus we had plenty of room by 11:30 p.m. to jump on the mini buffet! :p
Definitely doing the martini's, I order my own tequila for the room so I can make low-cal margarita's, my fav! I can't wait for authentic Mexican margarita's! Family shows are early eveing, adult is usually 11 or 12 a.m.

We are night owls, my 21yr is w/us on this cruise too, but don't worry, we will be quiet coming back to our rooms!

I don't worry about so so reviews, we had more people on the Freedom and if you time your eats usually we didn't have major line problems, for instance don't go eat lunch at 12:eek:, go earlier, go later. We always have a fun time, attitude is key! I will try to take lot's of picture's and do some sort of a review the first of June for everyone going after us! Can you tell I'm excited?;)

Happy Sailing,

Going on the same trip as you :) this is my first time sailing. I'm nervous, but really excited. I can't recall our room, but I know it's on deck 6.

wranglerguy · May 21, 2012

The paradise use to be a 3 day ship do it was abused.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

OIIIO

murph1031 · May 21, 2012

Sorry I should have been more clear. The MDR is closed for lunch on port days. Yes the Chef's Table is extra. It's $75 + tip per person. But it is so worth it! Or at least I felt it was worth it for the menu we had but I have heard there is a new menu that is not so stellar but I don't know when that menu starts.

We are booked for the chefs table on our July 14th sailing on the Paradise. When you $75 plus tip, do you mean the auto tip? or did you tip extra? I thought the auto tip was in the $75, and I was wondering about tipping extra.

ThetaAddy · May 22, 2012

We are booked for the chefs table on our July 14th sailing on the Paradise. When you $75 plus tip, do you mean the auto tip? or did you tip extra? I thought the auto tip was in the $75, and I was wondering about tipping extra.

Typically when you buy something like a drink from the bar the slip you have to sign has the drink amount plus a line for the auto tip and then you can add extra or not. The slip we had to sign for the Chef's Table did not have an Auto Tip line so I assumed the tip was not included so we added on to the ticket. Hopefully that helped.

keystonemama · May 22, 2012

Going on the same trip as you :) this is my first time sailing. I'm nervous, but really excited. I can't recall our room, but I know it's on deck 6.