Carnival Paradise Review

[sierramyst44]

We just returned from a fantastic time aboard the Carnival Paradise we are both seasoned cruisers living in central Florida so we have the ability to choose many different ports and ships. We chose the Paradise based on it meeting our vacation schedules and the ability to have a easy ride to the Port of Tampa.

 

I will try to keep the review in sections so I can recap events as they happened.

 

Embarkation: We used the parking doctor to park our car for this 5 night cruise it was super easy to find and less than a mile away from the ship. Drove right in around noon unloaded our bags into the shuttle van and parked, we were on our way to the ship in less than 5 minutes. We got dropped off at the terminal and transferred our bags to the porter and went up the elevator to check in. Our paperwork was checked out at the first checkpoint so have your tickets and passport/ID and medical form out and ready as your going up the escalator. After the first stop we went through the security checkpoint which was very efficient and organized with plenty of staff directing you where to go. Next stop was the check in area to receive our key cards and photo, again a super efficient system with practically zero lines. Next stop was your welcome aboard photo and then up the ramp to board the ship. We did not purchase FTTF for this trip so we headed right up the elevator to Lido to have some lunch. From parking the car to sitting down with our first meal was about 45 minutes total time.

[sierramyst44]

Getting around the ship The Paradise is considered to be a small ship and it is one of the older ships in the fleet but it does make getting around pretty easy. Most of your activities are to the left or right of the center so if you are looking to get somewhere you can go to the center and see where you want to go or their are maps at the side elevators. Shopping stores are what you expect on any cruise ship and all the shops had daily specials. This area seemed to be busiest when they opened up for the specials so if your the type that likes to have people on top of you and grabbing things off tables around you then go when they open or wait 20 minutes and you can have some space to look at things. we found that the selection was still good after the initial opening and didnt feel like we missed anything by not fighting the crowds. For those that smoke the only designated areas are one side of the Lido deck next to the bar and of course the casino and casino bar. The pool is small for 2000 plus passengers and the water slide drops you into this pool. Deck chairs always seemed to be available anytime we were on deck. Their is no outdoor screen for movies or media nor live music. A DJ played on the pool stage during sea days/sailaways with the typical line dancing songs. The one odd layout was most of the pool activities took place on the stage in front of the pool however the stage faced the outdoor buffet grill so if you were in a chair around the pool everything you would watch was like looking at a show from behind the stage. The library had plenty of games, puzzles and books and appeared to be "open" the whole cruise and I observed many people playing board games, cards and making puzzles especially on sea days.

 

Their was machines set up around the decks to check your sail and sign account or make change if needed. Nice convenience to not have to stand in those long lines that usually end up happening by mid cruise. They look like ATM machines but dont dispense cash just make change. ATM machines were on decks 7 and 9 and had a fee of $6.00.

[sierramyst44]

Cabins The Carnival Paradise only has a few balcany rooms I believe about 24 on each side of the ship because of this these rooms seemed a little pricier than the bigger ships that have many more balcany's. Because we dont spend much time in our cabin we opted for an Ocean View on deck 6 mid/aft. Our room was ready right at 1:30. The cabin itself was what we expected a fairly large bathroom and large enough area in front of sink/toilet to dry off and get dressed. Even though the Paradise still has those dreaded shower curtains that usually stick to you we didnt seem to have that issue perhaps because the shower area is large. Their is no longer the little goodies that used to be in the soap dish just a wash cloth and 2 round soaps. The medicine cabinet is very large and will be more than enough room for 2 adults to store your toilet items. Two closets with enough hangers and a third closet with shelfs and your safe. The desk area had 4 smaller drawers with a little stool to sit on. A chair in the corner had your beach towels sitting on them. The TV appeared to be new flat screen but it is still housed inside a big wooden box that was probably designed for the older TV's. This box thing made it hard to use the remote and hard to see depending on what side of the bed you were on. That same corner had a big plastic thing with an old cruise liner picture that had a switch with a night light type of lighting. Again this wasted some valuable space as it was as big as the tv box.

Our cabin attendant knocked on the door and introduced herself and dropped off 2 complimentary bottles of water. She kept our room neat and tidy every day and turn down we had a towel animal 4 of the 5 nights.

Hair dryers are not provided unless you request and they plug into the European outlet it barely blows warm air so if you absolutly need to blow dry your hair bring your own. Their is only ONE regular plug in the room so a surge bar is recommended for cell phone and tablet charging.

Our beds were comfortable more on the firm side rather than soft which I prefer but had no problems sleeping. Of note their is no longer a chocolate left at turn down dissapointing because I enjoyed the treat!

[Kings queen]

Thanks for the review. We are on her for New Years and am loving getting so excited!

[Kings queen]

Any chance you have some fun times to post????

[Kings queen]

I have teen age boys cruising with me..... They are dying to know if there is basketball on the ship. Did u see a basketball court?

Edited December 20, 2015 by Kings queen

[Captain Carnival]

I have teen age boys cruising with me..... They are dying to know if there is basketball on the ship. Did u see a basketball court?

 

There is a 1/2 court on Deck 11 aft.

[Kings queen]

Thanks Captain Carnival! My boys are so happy to hear that! See you soon!!!

[Keith1010]

Enjoying the review.

 

Keith

[sierramyst44]

Entertainment I had read earlier reviews that this ship lacked entertainment, happy to report that this was untrue. They had shows each night including the standard welcome aboard show with a sampling of the playlist singers/dancers and had an audience participation game. The big mega show was called "Epic Rock" this is in my opinion not to be missed especially if you love the 80's hard rock bands. Costumes were a little mad max looking but the music, dancing and singing were excellent. The third night they had a salute to British bands which was pretty good. Hasbro Game Show, Love and Marriage Show and 2 different comedians rounded out the evening events. Live music played each night on the 9th deck near the casino bar they were excellent and the guitarest from this group does a pre show prior to the Epic rock show that will blow you away. Daytime activities were what you expect around the pool such as hairy chest, ice carving ect. They did have a cuteness factor when on the last sea day the pool deck loungers were all occupied by towel animals.

 

The casino on this ship was on the smaller side and had a decent mix of old/newer slots but they were tight all week. Bar service was easy to get and never had a time where I had to wait to get myself a cocktail.

[sierramyst44]

Food Let me start by saying that my taste are pretty simple, I do not try new things often and I dont like alot of different ethnic flavors so you could say I am pretty boring so my review on the food will be mostly about what I ate and what DH ate.

 

We found the food and the choices to be on the "good" side the Lido buffet had a very generous salad bar with alot of choices as well as the sandwich grill and the pizza area. My one and only sandwich I did not care for as I had asked for a grilled ham and cheese and got a toasted bread with cold ham and not melted cheese. The pizza I found to be very good and was often my go too late night snack. The soft serve ice cream was always open and while it was messy a few times the ice cream was always good and the cones crispy.

 

We had YTD and never had a problem getting a table when we arrived early only 1 night we got down later and they were passing out beepers, we opted for the Lido that night. The menu had a good variety of choices each evening as well as an available every day menu. Since their is no steak house on the Paradise you can order steak house selection items for an additional $20.00 PP. We tried the steakhouse selection on our last night and have no regrets, the filet was superb and cooked perfectly and DH had the surf/turf and had a large Maine lobster tail with his filet.

 

Dessert choices were varied but typical since we dont usually find alot of flavor we opted out of dessert most nights.

 

One interesting thing we noticed several times on different days we would eat something that had the taste of fish including the steak and eggs on the Sea Day brunch and the Lido scrambled eggs one morning. Not sure why unless fish product was stored in the same compartment as eggs?

 

The chocolate buffet is not what it used to be but they did offer a modified version on the Lido dessert area on the last sea day at lunch time. We did sample a few of these desserts and found them to be pretty good.

 

The Green Eggs and Ham breakfast was offered for $5.00 on the last sea day. Brunch was on the first sea day. A Mexican late night buffet was on day 3. Formal night was the first sea day and happy to report more were dressed than not dressed.

 

Overall the food quality is good, selection is good and quantity of food was plentiful, is it five star quality no but you will not go hungry!

[sierramyst44]

next up will be my review of the ports and debarkation

[sierramyst44]

Port Reviews First stop for us was Grand Caymen arriving at 11:00 AM since this was a tender port you needed to get your tender tickets starting at 7:30 AM on the Lido deck. We were on tender #7 and found the tendering process to be smooth and well organized. By the time they called our tender # they were letting all #s go. Its a short tender ride over to the port area which has some tour waiting areas with awnings for shade some food venders and a large bar with some shopping stores. We did not do a tour this time around and decided to explore the outside shopping area. We found the area to have all your expected jewelry stores and trinket stores as well local restaurants. Be cautious of the pricing as the Caymen $ is higher than the US $ so be sure to ask before you decide on your purchase.

 

Our second stop was Cozumel we were at the new Porto Maya which I believe is an exclusive Carnival dock. A short walk to the end of the pier and you find yourself in a self contained shopping and eating area, very clean, lush landscaping and almost any store you could want or need. You can get a Cab to downtown by walking through and following the signs for about $10.00 RT pp. After shopping the area we opted for a local flavor lunch and ate at the place on the left tables sat out on the sand with a view of the water and ships. Excellent food here and huge drinks! They also had beach masssage and those foot tanks with the little fish that eat your dead skin off both areas were doing a brisk business and it was neat to watch people with their feet in the tanks.

[sierramyst44]

Debarkation Getting off the Paradise was quick and easy we chose to walk off. We arrived back in Tampa around 7:45am had plenty of time to shower and eat breakfast before they announced clearance to leave around 9:30 am. Again this process was pretty smooth if you want to get through customs a little quicker you can use a porter and get through quickly. Walked right up to our parking shuttle and back to our car.

 

Overall we had a great vacation for a great price and look forward to our next cruise!

[Captain Carnival]

Debarkation Getting off the Paradise was quick and easy we chose to walk off. We arrived back in Tampa around 7:45am had plenty of time to shower and eat breakfast before they announced clearance to leave around 9:30 am. Again this process was pretty smooth if you want to get through customs a little quicker you can use a porter and get through quickly. Walked right up to our parking shuttle and back to our car.

 

Overall we had a great vacation for a great price and look forward to our next cruise!

 

Glad to hear that you had a great time with us!

[hpugirl27]

Thanks for the review! We'll be on the Paradise in just a couple of days! You mentioned they had the Sea Day brunch on the first sea day.....did they also offer it on the 2nd sea day? I love the brunch and was really hoping to get it 2 days, haha!

[dds4horse]

thank you for the great review very curious about it. We will be first time cruisers on Paradise Feb 20, 2016. 7 days away but whos counting...os

[Max Circus]

Thanks for the review! We'll be on the Paradise in just a couple of days! You mentioned they had the Sea Day brunch on the first sea day.....did they also offer it on the 2nd sea day? I love the brunch and was really hoping to get it 2 days, haha!

I was on the NYE Paradise cruise and they had it both sea days. They also had the Suess breakfast on the final sea day.

 

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