Carvival Triumph Review May 24th-29th.

[Sooner01]

Our family of 6 (Parents, 23, 22, 19 and 10yr old kids) just got off a fabulous cruise on the Triumph. Here is our review, but sorry, no pictures).

 

Flew into Dallas from Kansas City, and rented a van for the week (cheaper than flying into Houston and then paying for transfer to Galveston).

 

We stayed the night before at the Homewood Suites near Webster. Great hotel, and had a great rate on a 2 Bedroom, 1 King, 2 Double Suite that was perfect for our family. Sleeps 8 people if needed. Hot breakfast included. Highly recommen this property. That evening, we went to the Kemah Boardwalk, ate at the Lighthouse Buffet, and had a great night.

 

CRUISE DAY FINALLY! Following breakfast, we departed for the Port of Galveston around 9:15am, and arrived at the terminal at 10:00. Dropped the family and bags off there, ensured the porter put the orange stickers on our luggage as we had FTTF, and then drove the van across the street and parked at Park N Cruise ($40 for the 5 day cruise). Then I made the easy walk across the street, joined back up with the family, and we proceeded to Priority Check-in. (We had a suite, which gets priority check in as well as FTTF. We were quickly checked in in the Priority Lounge, and waited to board the ship. Probably 10:30 at this point.

 

Shortly after 11:00 they boarded the wedding parties, then Diamond and Platinum guests, shorty followed by suites and FTTF. We were on the ship by 11:15 and first stop was guest services (priority line due to FTTF) for 3 quick things. 1. Asked for the balcony divider between our two rooms be opened (suite 7231, and balcony room 7225). They were able to do this, and told us 80% of the dividers on the Triumph can be opened despite what go ccl shows. 2. Asked for extra key cards for each room and got those (need to have someone from each room there). And asked for FTTF sticker to be placed on 2 or our cards that were missing it. Yes, he had FTTF for both cabins as wanted the cabin ready when boarding. Suites get priority embarkation, but not early access to cabins.

 

Now it was up to our rooms. Hallway doors are closed with a sign stating they will be open at 1:30, but open for Diamond and FTTF. Went in and went straight to our cabins which in fact were ready. Our steward Melvin immediately met us, welcomed us, and told us he was going to open the balcony divider for us which he did. More on Melvin later, but he was the best steward we have had on 4 previous cruises. Always smiled and greeted us by name.

 

I'll have to post more later.

Edited June 1, 2014 by Sooner01

[Keith1010]

Thank you for posting.

 

Look forward to the additional posts.

 

Keith

[Jeansfanatic]

We were in port with y'all. I was on the glory and I absolutely loved y'all's DJ!!!!

[Sooner01]

We enjoyed a quick glass of wine in our cabins (each of the 4 adults brought 1 bottle in our carry-on. I also carried on a 12 pack of diet coke. Yes, security did open the container, look at each can, then put them back in the container and said have a great cruise. Brought a soft sided cooler on board which Melvin our steward kept filled with ice as well as an ice bucket in the suite.

 

It was now almost 12:00, our carry-ons are unpacked and stowed, we've enjoyed our rooms, checked the balcony (joked about the "I was promised an Ocean View balcony but I can only see a parking lot................." complaint, and then my oldest son stated GUYS Opens in 5 minutes. So we headed up to Lido deck.

 

Guy's: They are as adverstised, fantastic. We never waited more than 30 seconds in line to get a burger and fries. They have two lines always going. The crew that works there are friendly, energetic and fun, and always served us with a smile. The burger is great, but the fries are even better. I had at least one Guy's burger each day. Guy's is open 12:00 to 6:00 PM daily.

 

More later

[Sooner01]

I agree, he was good. Also I never felt the music was too loud.

[Sooner01]

So, now our bellies are full, went to the Red Frog and got a beer, DW got a DOD. We did the Cheers Program, but that's not available until Day 2 on Texas cruises, so you just buy your drinks first day. We configured our two rooms with Me, DW, and our 22 yr old son in 7231, and our 10 yr old son along with his 23 and 19 yr old sisters in the balcony room. We did it this was as those in 7231 wanted the Cheers while the 23 yr old daughter did not. Reminder, if you want the Cheers, everyone listed in the Stateroom must buy it. More on Cheers later, suffice for now that for us it was well worth it. Now in actuallity, our 10yr old son slept in 7231, and the three older kids shared the bacony cabin. (Remember, we asked for extra keys for each room). Plus, with the balcony open, you could always go into each others rooms (we kept the balcony doors unlocked). That made both bathrooms available for whoever needed them. For example, if both girls came back to the rooms and needed restrooms, then both were available. Also, the girls used the Whirlpool tub in the suite throughout the week.

 

Now it was time to explore the ship. We thought the ship was in great shape despite being 15 years old. Fresh paint everywhere, very clean, fairly easy to navigate. We had seen some reviews that said there was a lot of rust everywhere, but we did not see any. Every crew member to passed always smiled and greeted you. After the tour, we again went back to our cabins with another drink, and sat out on the balcony until we were called to the Muster Drill at 4:00. Now, as you've probably read before, you DO have to go to the drill (no, we didn't try to avoid it), but you do NOT want to be the first ones down there as you will be in the back and wait a good bit until everyone gets down there. Crew is directing you where to go, and we did not have to take our life vests. We got to our Muster Station, (outside deck 3, but covered (shade). They gave the briefing, did a count, and we were done by 4:20. Just as we finished up the drill, the Captain began pulling out of the Port of Galveston. We enjoyed sailing through the harbor on our balconies.

 

(BTW, I've read 100s of good reviews, but writing one is a lot harder than it seems, so bear with me). More later.

Edited June 1, 2014 by Sooner01