Paradise October 17, 2015 - Some Quick Thoughts

[curious_st]

We just got back from a 5 day On Carnival Paradise. I found very little recent information on this ship before sailing, so I thought I would give my take. We sailed out of Tampa with ports of call in Grand Cayman and Cozumel. This sailing also had the Heart concert.

 

The Good

The crews always amaze me, and this ship was no exception. The wait staff were super friendly, warm, and accommodating. Our cabin steward was quiet, but very efficient. He was kind when we spoke, but he kept to himself.

 

The shows were good. The singers did a great job and are talented. The dancers were entertaining when they they were wholeheartedly dancing. It just seemed like the dancers were purposefully holding back during bits when the singers were also dancing, maybe to keep from upstaging the singers. One of the 2 comedians were great. The second comedian was above average, but he really couldn't compete with the better comedian.

 

The Heart concert was great. We had the VIP tickets. If you are a diehard fan of the artist, then VIP is probably worth it. Otherwise, save your money and get the regular ticket. The band put on a good show, and the theater was an intimate setting which was cool.

 

The Serenity area on the Fantasy class ships are wonderful. Unfortunately, the weather did not allow for us to enjoy it for too long. But, it was nice while the weather held out.

 

The Bad

The smoking situation on Promenade was serious. It was impossible to walk through the Promenade without choking on cigarette smoke. Unfortunately, this was the only deck that went end to end inside of the ship. I was also smoked out of the casino, which was just as well because the slots were super tight. I was disappointed that I could not stand the smoke long enough to listen to the musicians by the Casino bar due to the smoke.

 

There was a huge lack of activities during the day. I heard others complaining about this, also. There were a couple of trivia and bingo games each day. Every other organized activity seemed to center around spending money onboard. The weather drove most away from Lido, the pools, the shuffle board, mini golf, etc. This seemed to exasperate the issue with the lack of activities.

 

The whole ship had sort of a tired feeling. One of the elevators never worked. Several of the other elevators did "tricks" with not letting you pick floors or not stopping when they should. The carpet in the passenger cabin hallways had discolored paths. The carpet in public areas had snags and stains. Upholstery was missing buttons, rhinestones were missing from those goofy turquoise eggs, caulk was peeling in areas, screws around the ship were popping out, pieces of hardware were missing, and a couple of the beverage machines seemed to not mix the drink concentrate correctly.

 

The Strange

I guess it was a booze cruise after all. At least, that would explain some of the behavior I saw. I was alarmed at the ladies wearing robes and headscarves to the buffet, until I saw a woman wearing a robe, slippers, and cold cream on her nose at the buffet. (I didn't even realize that people use cold cream anymore). Then, I saw robes at the Fun Shops during the raffles. I saw one of the robed women from the Fun Shops at the comedy show later wearing a giant sunhat. When she sat down, all the people behind her got up and moved. I am not sure if it was the giant hat or the 3 inches of butt crack that she displayed, but I would have moved, too. On another night, I saw another lady go get 3 pizzas . She put plates on them and got a drink. She stacked it all up and asked her friend where the comedy was and when it started. It had already started 5 minutes beforehand, and they had already had too much to drink to remember where comedy was the night before. I am assuming they had a tardy pizza party at the comedy show.

 

I got onboard at 12:30 the first day. A few people were already drunk then. I'm not sure when they started drinking, but I feel bad for their poor livers. Several people were sloppy drunk at muster. On the tender back from Grand Cayman, I watched as a group of 4 - 6 people screamed at each other over their lack of filter since they were drunk. They all had open containers of frozen drinks from Margaritaville. Surprisingly, they were allowed onboard with the drinks.

 

The Food

Food is subjective, but I don't see how anyone could say the buffet is good. The breakfast buffet was absolutely terrible. There were a few things on the lunch buffet, such as the salad bar and popcorn shrimp that were tasty, but most dishes were duds. The pizza is the "old pizza". They had a good selection of toppings, including anchovies, goat cheese, and plenty of vegetables. However, the crust was pretty bad and the sauce was mediocre. The grill was better than bad fast food, but I now see the appeal of Guys burgers over the grill. The rotisserie carvings were decent, but there was generally only an option or two. The Mongolian wok was good, but it took between 30 minutes and an hour to get a bowl of food. The desserts on the buffet looked good, but they did not taste anywhere near as good as they looked.

 

Room service was awesome. It was the "old menu". I am a huge fan of the shrimp salad and strip loin sandwiches and the fajita wrap. Both the chocolate cake and the cheesecake were tasty. The service was prompt, too. I was super impressed with the quality and speed of the room service.

 

We ate in the MDR 4 out of 5 nights. We missed one night due to the Heart concert. The food I the MDR is much better than the buffet. There were some fabulous dishes such as the cured salmon, the sushi, Indian vegetarian, tiramisu, and the warm soups. Other things were just OK, or even bad. We had the new elegant night menu. The scallop appetizer was superb. The scallops were perfectly cooked and seasoned, no the risotto on the side was delicious. I wish I had ordered like 3 or 4 of those instead of getting the ravioli. It was terrible. As in, it tasted like mushy canned ravioli with a fishy twist.

 

The sea day brunch is the best food on the ship. Everything we tried was delicious. My only complaint is that they only have the brunch on sea days. I would love to see that offered every day.

 

The Ports

In Grand Cayman, we did the Deluxe Stingray Sandbar excursion through the ship. They contracted Marineland Tours. It was fabulous. I cannot imagine a better experience or a better tour group. They worked with both physically and mentally handicapped on the tour and ensured everyone had a great time. We didn't get to see much of Grand Cayman outside of the excursion, but it felt safe and the people were friendly.

 

We wondered around downtown San Miguel in Cozumel. It was a nice area, aside from the hustlers trying to bring in business. They were not aggressive like the vendors in Nassau. The vendors in Cozumel will actually take the word "no" as an answer. We also ate some snacks and drank margaritas. Cozumel also seemed safe, and the people were really friendly.

[Mybearsbaby]

Thank you for the review! We will be onboard in a coup,e weeks, and I was searching for current information, but like you said, there isn't much. ;) We booked it knowing it was Fantasy class, and with the knowledge that Carnival has made some less than desirable changes. We are going on this trip for some fun family time, and gonna go into it with a realistic frame of mind.

 

Did you happen to notice if they had a scavenger hunt any of the days? That is one of our favorite things, and I can't get a clear answer in if it is still offered as an activity. Thank you!

[curious_st]

Thank you for the review! We will be onboard in a coup,e weeks, and I was searching for current information, but like you said, there isn't much. ;) We booked it knowing it was Fantasy class, and with the knowledge that Carnival has made some less than desirable changes. We are going on this trip for some fun family time, and gonna go into it with a realistic frame of mind.

 

Did you happen to notice if they had a scavenger hunt any of the days? That is one of our favorite things, and I can't get a clear answer in if it is still offered as an activity. Thank you!

 

I did not see the scavenger hunt listed anywhere in the FunTimes. I did not save them, so I can not be 100% positive.

 

As long as you realize that you aren't getting all the bells and whistles of the new ships, you will have a great time.

[hpugirl27]

Thanks for the info. We'll be on her in January. I've been on 2 cruises before, but all of them have been on the Fantasy class ships, so I have nothing else to compare it too. It's nice to see some recent information!

[smokesmom]

Just off the Paradise. No scavenger hunt for our cruise. Was disappointing as we have enjoyed those in the past.

[Icantdrv55]

I was on this sailing too. The OP's post was pretty dead on accurate.

 

Negatives -

The ship is pretty tired. We had issues with plumbing in our cabin that some of the staff chose to ignore. Not a lot of activities during the days at sea that piqued our interest. Having the trivia contests at the smoky casino bar seemed like a bad idea.

 

Positives - Our room steward was excellent, our server in the dining room was excellent. The food was really good in the dining room. They had Caribbean style food on the buffet during the day we were at Grand Cayman and it was pretty awesome. We didn't do much but a little shopping near the port in Grand Cayman. The weather there was a little wet. Cozumel was gorgeous and we enjoyed a nice beach day and a little more shopping.

[SkyMaster]

I too, recently off "Paradise", and I too concur with 99% of the OP's statements. Not much going on during the days, and even during the sea days! I noticed several "cut backs". They didn't even offer a Passengers Talent Show. :eek: Their "upgraded karaoke system" is a joke, and as noted, very few activities like trivia offered????? Truly sad.

 

"SKY"

[mrs. z]

We will be on the Pride in January just for a short 4 night cruise for some R&R (hopefully). For those who have been on her recently a few questions:

 

1) How was the temperature in the cabins and where is the thermostat - on the wall or on the ceiling? Wall is no problem but the ceiling for shorter people to change can be a trick.

 

2) What was the temperature in the dining rooms? Most of the time - for me it is always very warm but we were on the Victory last year and almost froze in the MDR.

 

3) We will have an oceanview cabin and is there a refrigerator in the cabin? I know on some of the older ships they don't have them and we would have to bring a small cooler for ice, drinks, etc.

 

4) If anyone was on the 4 night cruise - Thurs. to Mon. with stop in Cozumel what night was the formal night?

 

Thank you for any information. Happy cruising.

[fidgety13]

My husband and I just got off from a 5 day on Paradise. We had cabin E102. Oceanview. No they do not have a refrigerator or hairdryer. The last 3 cruises I brought my hairdryer and did not need it. Did not bring it this time :mad:. Ship was tired, food was OK. The staff was amazing. We went to the MDR once and asked for a private table for 2 because it was our anniversary cruise and we wanted to eat alone. we were told we could not get a table for 2 we had to eat at our assigned table. Had Pizza that night. This was our 7th cruise on Carnival and will most likely be the last. Carnival is cutting too many corners.

[xxjulzxx]

The thermostat is on the ceiling on the Paradise.

Seems to be pretty hit or miss. We had 6 cabins in a row a few weeks ago, some of the air worked well, some not so well.

[curious_st]

We will be on the Pride in January just for a short 4 night cruise for some R&R (hopefully). For those who have been on her recently a few questions:

 

1) How was the temperature in the cabins and where is the thermostat - on the wall or on the ceiling? Wall is no problem but the ceiling for shorter people to change can be a trick.

 

2) What was the temperature in the dining rooms? Most of the time - for me it is always very warm but we were on the Victory last year and almost froze in the MDR.

 

3) We will have an oceanview cabin and is there a refrigerator in the cabin? I know on some of the older ships they don't have them and we would have to bring a small cooler for ice, drinks, etc.

 

4) If anyone was on the 4 night cruise - Thurs. to Mon. with stop in Cozumel what night was the formal night?

 

Thank you for any information. Happy cruising.

 

This thread is about Paradise. Are you asking about Paradise or Pride?

[HectorAchilleus]

Thanks for the review about the Paradise. We were thinking of booking a five-day, but will reconsider now. The food choices sounded really bad. I did not think that they still made that awful old pizza! I will even eat frozen pizza, but not that stuff.

[babbs60cruiser]

We will also be sailing on 11-9 on the Paradise!

[Mybearsbaby]

Babbs60cruiser: only 4 more days! I am a little nervous because of some of the recent reviews of Paradise, but nevertheless, I am determined to have a great time. I will take a day at sea over a day here for sure!