Carnival Triumph clarification needed

[cruising mickey]

Hello,

 

I've been confused:confused: about the recent reviews for the Triumph; either they are terrible, stating that the ship hasn't recovered from it's most recent troubles of being "stranded" at sea, or simply wonderful, that the ship has bounced back and is just as good as before if not better. Is there anyone who has cruised on the Triumph within the last six months and would like to share their experiences?

 

Thanks in advance.

[mom2cuties]

I agree. Every review I read is either one way or the other. We typically cruise RCC but for our upcoming July trip, we just needed a quick and cheap getaway. The reality is, most people are pleased when they adjust their expectations. As my husband says, "as long as the view from my balcony is better than the view in my backyard, I'm good"! It's all how you look at it. :)

[Sitzmark]

Hello,

 

I've been confused:confused: about the recent reviews for the Triumph; either they are terrible, stating that the ship hasn't recovered from it's most recent troubles of being "stranded" at sea, or simply wonderful, that the ship has bounced back and is just as good as before if not better. Is there anyone who has cruised on the Triumph within the last six months and would like to share their experiences?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Well, I haven't been on it so I can't offer first hand info, but it's been 3 years and I think it's had a dry dock since the engine fire. Have you read about any specific thing that has supposedly not recovered?

[belle2]

We were on it a year or two after the fire and lived every thing. But I went in with a good attitude and didn't sweat the small stuff. It's not a Perfect, new ship but still a great little vacation. So I agree, it's all in how you look at it.

[tallyho8]

The Triumph just got out of drydock and being refurbished a few weeks ago. Most of the reviews are from before the latest refurbishment.

[jediyoda9008]

I just got off the Triumph a couple of weeks ago (it's second sailing out of drydock) and I don't have any complaints about it.. well, other than the lack of a Serenity deck... I never sailed on that ship before all the problems a few years ago, so can't compare it to that, but comparing it to all the other Carnival ships I've been on, I thought it was great. Definitely would recommend the Triumph!

[Podna's]

Returned yesterday on the Triumph and had such a wonderful time we booked her again for later this year. Was with a group of 12 with 8 of them being 1st timers. No one had any complaints. I'm platinum so I did notice a some lack of service on the lido and a few other bars but absolutely not a deal breaker for me. The food was very good. We did have a table for 12 in the London dining room and our wait staff was outstanding. Our room steward did give us the morning or evening option I've seen discussed many times here. We chose the morning. I much prefer the one time a day service. Overall, great cruise on a beautiful ship. I'd say it came back from that famous cruise better than ever.

Edited April 26, 2016 by Podna's

[1cruisingal]

We just cruised on the Triumph April 8th. We had a wonderful time! The food was delicious! It was our first time trying the American Table menu and we were really pleased. We sailed on her before and after the stranded incident and it's been just as great as ever. The ship was clean and the staff was very kind and attentive. The Triumph really is one of our favorite ships!!

[kayhold]

I love Starbucks.

Some people hate Starbucks.

If they hate Starbucks, it doesn't affect me or change anything for me.

 

The cruise ships reviews are the same way. Pretty much mostly personal opinion.

[ryano]

I pay absolutely zero attention to the review section of this CC. Like you said, there is no in between. If I had paid attention to reviews here I likely would have never boarded a cruise ship.

 

Take it with a grain of salt and go see for yourself :)

[mykindaparty]

Sailed on her April 8th, the only problem we had was our light switch in our cabin had wires exposed but maintenance fixed it right away. Other than that everything was great. The coffee bar was my go to place for dessert and coffee before the comedy shows, carrot cake and strawberry cheesecake from there is amazing! You will find that most people get out of a cruise what they put into it, if you go expecting a 5star resort setting you will be disappointed, but if you go knowing it's a cruise on a boat that has thousands of people tromping thru daily then you will have fun, yes there is wear and tear on her but so does all the other boats, no matter how much you pay. Enjoy the cruise and remember" a bad day at sea is still better than a good day at work".

[swirlfamily405]

We sailed on Triumph last July - so apparently there has even been a refurbishment since then ?

We loved it. I didn't notice any of what other people noticed and bothered them. I thought the food was great, the entertainment was great, the room steward was wonderful.....

It was our first cruise EVER -- so I don't have anything to compare it to. But I loved the entire cruise, every part of it.... except debarkation. :)

[Je Souhaite]

Even before the fire, the ship and its two sisters have the distinction of being the worst class of the fleet. And although decor wise, the triumph had the distinction of being the nicest aesthetically, it still suffers from that deck 9 faux pax, making them the crowdest ships in the fleet.

 

We still have good memories of her though. We got to tour her before she ever took on passengers, and had a good sailing on her a couple of months later, having the distinction of being our first cruise with a balcony.

[Terri102066]

I will be leaving on this ship in Saturday. No matter what it must be better than my desk at work. It is all about expectations. I exspect overall good quality and I am never let down. I think when people exspect excellence is when they are disappointed. When human beings are involved someone will always screw up but that does not mean my vacation will be ruined.

[KJsNana]

We just recently sailed on Triumph, April 16-21, and it was great. It was my hubby's first time on Carnival and only my 2nd time. The ship was great for us but it also is what you make of your vacation. All the staff we saw were great and had smiles on their faces. Food was excellent. Flow of the ship is a little weird and no Serenity but that won't stop us from more cruises. We had one of those inside square shaped rooms on Deck 6 and it was nice with plenty of room for 2. Shower curtain can be very friendly :eek: but you can fix that with clothespins or something else. Honestly, nothing bad to say so I hope this helps. If you have any questions, I can do my best to answer them. Plus, I might add that I don't follow reviews because those people are NOT me and their expectations may have been too high so I prefer to experience things for myself. With that being said, if I had went off reviews from everywhere, I would have never tried Carnival and would have missed out on 2 FABULOUS cruise experiences that have officially taken me away from cruising with NCL :D

[Quilcruisers]

We cruised on the triumph in July of last year. after the triumph disaster and being stranded. We were with our family of 18 people. We had a ball! The rooms were all nice - we had 6 rooms, I think, but no issues with any of the rooms. Every now and then you could smell sewage but otherwise, no issues. They did a really good job of cleaning and repairing the ship after all the drama that occurred before. We got a great deal and had a great time, no doubts from me. True there was no serenity deck, but the theater outside was there and the gym and spa facilities were top notch. The dining rooms served us well each night, most of us had dinner every night and breakfast/brunch in the dining rooms every day.

 

We left from Galveston, and had cruised Triumph before, I think from another port. We noticed no difference in this recent cruise that was negative.

[treyprice]

Cruised on Triumph before and after the disaster...I say it's better now than it was before.

[meester_jamie]

Hello,

 

I've been confused:confused: about the recent reviews for the Triumph; either they are terrible, or simply wonderful,

Thanks in advance.

 

We just sailed Apr 8 - 15 from NOLA ... and I'd rate it very good to excellent.. but like all things,, there were some things I didn't like.

 

Excellent

Wow! boarding was just about flawless.. and we felt like we were running thru the check in area... lol first platinum trip for us.. it was so organized and fast to board that we didn't even know we missed the photos ... but sort of missed joking around with folks standing in the lines in the past... oh well..

 

Room was avail as soon as we got on.. very early!

 

Good..

a lot of the ship had new paint.. some got paint as we sailed.. some areas had a little wear on the paint..

Ship is clean.. always smelled nice to us..

 

seemed like no one wanted deck chairs! .. I took pictures on a sea day.. very good weather, almost no wake, so no winds on the decks.. warm sunny.. and virtually ALL deck chairs empty! tho some days the Red Frog area was "very busy" at the pool,, bars,, burger area ..

 

The aft pool / hot tubs / bar / pizza / omlette area was never busy.. the omlette bar had all the breakfast stuff ,, with fresh made food,, no lines .. the pool was uncrowded.. the hot tubs had just enough people in them.. altho they weren't really hot..

 

The comedy shows were very good!

 

The stage shows were very good! also the guitar players in the lobby, and near the pool ...

 

I loved the water slide.. no line up.. the dive in movies , guys burgers.. Red Frog, Blue Iguana ... got a little busy... and created a fun atmosphere!

 

The taste bar .... loved the good food.. but only open a few hrs

The ice cream / lemonade area near Blue Iguana sure causes a traffic jam as it is a tight part of the ship.. but not a big deal..

The Deli food was fair to good..

The buffet area did get a little crowded .. but the lines went quick.. tables were avail .. food was very good..

 

I thought the bar staff were non existent.. some ships they bug you too often.. this ship.. I never seen one.. I had to go to the bar everytime.

 

We were asked to pick when we wanted our room cleaned.. and really should have opted for morning and evening.. but we were pushed to take another option,, which really made me wonder why we tip for full service.. and got less than half normal ...... but it didn't mean we had a dirty room, or lacked towels or anything. we didn't see them all week..

 

Photo staff did a very good job.. as all the other stuff going on that we didn't get a chance to take part of... but could tell by the smiles that fun was being had by those participating..

 

Casino was tough as it seemed as there was only 3 machines that were smoke free.. some ships have restricted smoking to about half of the casino.. we have free laundry.. and used it to get the smoke out of our clothes...

 

The piano bar was too serious for me.. we like a bit of comedy with our piano ,,, but we got the sing along, and silly antics ,, hand motions etc with the guitar guy at the lobby bar! lol

 

The welcome back party... last day .. seemed like thanks for coming,, cheer for a ship.. clap for the managers ... see ya later!

 

CC meet and mingle .. last day.. no bartender, CD too busy to talk .. 35 min in, we left, still wondering ... I'd rather see meet and mingles and welcome back on first sea day... oh well , we'll try better next time!

 

I wasn't aware that MDR has 2 locations for traditional.. Paris and London.. we were in London, upper, late,,, which was good! .. next time I'll investigate a bit more to see which MDR I might like best..

 

Also.. I didn't really like the American Table menu... but there was enough specials and selections,,

 

We chose the trip for the party in NOLA ... the ride on Mississippi... Belize, Roatan, Cozumel... and a new port for us,, Costa Maya... and the ship atmosphere... and were very happy!

Edited May 1, 2016 by meester_jamie

[meester_jamie]

it still suffers from that , making them the crowdest ships in the fleet..

 

what is the deck 9 faux pax ?

[RWolver672]

Even before the fire, the ship and its two sisters have the distinction of being the worst class of the fleet.

 

Is that your opinion or did you read it somewhere? That wasn't meant to be insulting it's just that I have never heard that said before. There are only two ships in the Triumph Class. The Triumph and the Victory. We've sailed on the Victory twice and I'd take her over the Dream class any day. We like the layout of the stadium tiers on the Triumph class and they have a lot fewer passengers on them.

[tallyho8]

Just for informational purposes:

The Triumph and the Victory used to be in the Destiny class along with the Destiny. When they converted the Destiny to the Sunshine, they changed the Destiny class to the Triumph class and the Sunshine was put in a class of it's own, the Sunshine class.

[nwo4life]

what is the deck 9 faux pax ?

 

 

I'm guessing, the fact that there are only 2 buffet lines, Conquest class has 4.

[erinmarie424]

Alchemy, Red Frog, Blue Iguana, Guys - all awesome. Near impossible to walk from the front of 9 to the buffet - not awesome. Seems like they could just relocate the ice cream and that would solve much of the problem. Of course since they just did a drydock that won't happen soon. My biggest issue was not getting my luggage in a timely manner with FTTF (got it after we went to dinner) and the service in the dining room. Hopefully they have worked through the issues.

[gobama#1]

We (myself, wife, and nephew) just got off of her this week 04/30- 05/05. We have only been on Carnival one other time, this was a make or break trip for us. We took my nephew (first cruise) for a graduation gift and logistically it was easier than Florida (Miami/Fort Lauderdale), which is our typical departure ports. We have been on several different cruise lines (Princess, MSC, NCL, RCC, and Carnival). Unfortunately for us, no preference to a particular cruise line (no benefits or perks growing rapidly). Our last Carnival trip was the Glory, an was only... blah at best.

 

But to give an opinion to your question, Carnival has totally redeemed themselves. We really enjoyed almost everything. The food was very good, my nephew tried several things he had never had and actually liked them. Who would have thought (typical teenager-he knew this was going to occur prior to the trip, it was a requirement since I was paying and no mom and dad to say he doesn't have to try it. Embarkation went fast and smoothly. The room (balcony 6223) was very nice and clean, beds were comfortable and slept great. The shows were excellent, dancers and singers were very good. Side note to say MSC has had singers that were phenomenal on one trip, but not other trips. But not diminish Carnivals singers. The other entertainers (Jerry and other bands) were entertaining. DJ Jazz I thought was on of the better DJ's we have had. The art gallery people were very knowledgeable and personable. All of our table servers were great,but Florian from Romania made the experience over the top. My nephew really enjoyed listening and talking to him. They also have several different back drops for pictures, seemed like more than other cruise lines.

 

I do wish Carnival and other cruise lines would get better ventilation in the casinos, I don't gamble, but you do walk through the casino a lot, and the smoke is horrible. You could smell the smoke well beyond the casino. Also, they were people smoking on the port side of the deck. Carnival has deck employees, they should be trained to handle this immediately, no if's, and's or but's.

 

I also appreciate that Carnival does the muster drill at the boats. I do not like being herded into a room in the middle of the ship, especially if it is having a problem, and we might have to get off the ship in lifeboats.

 

Carnival has redeemed themselves in our eyes, and we will be travelling with them in the future. Everybody is different and has their own likes and dislikes. With very few exceptions, it really is hard to have a bad cruise.

[shipp2323]

Gobama#1, i see you are in Orlando. From Alabama? We are in Tuscaloosa and are sailing on the Triumph Sept. 12. Thanks for your review.