Triumph Aug 29th-Sept 3rd Review

[MissCruiseAddict]

Hi!!! This review is going to be short and sweet and straight to the point on my recent cruise on the Triumph. A little background. This was my 10th cruise and my 9th Carnival Cruise. This cruise I cruised with my parents Overall another successful cruise.

 

Pre- Cruise: We are from Indiana and we drove down the day before the cruise to New Orleans since we've already been to NOLA before and did the local sights. We got in town in time to check into the hotel and get dinner. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Super Dome. They had a park and cruise package for 109.99 plus tax. No shuttle to port the next morning but it was very easy to get a taxi and it was a flat $8 a person to the port. The hotel itself was clean and about a 5 minute or so walk to Canal Street. The only downside to the hotel was there was no cold water or free breakfast. The shower went from luke warm to warm to hot. But overall I'd stay there again.

 

For dinner our top choice turned out to be closed on Sundays. Our second and third choice were closed on Sundays as well. So we walked from the hotel to Acme Oyster House near Bourbon Street. There was a line outside and we waited 10 minutes before we got a table. WORTH IT! Had some oysters and some red beans and rice. My mom liked their chicken and andouille gumbo and my dad liked the oysters and the jambalaya.

 

Embarkation: NOLA of course as the staggered check in. Our time was 1030. We hopped in a cab about 1010. And got to the check in about 1045 as traffic around the port was horrendous. Check in went smooth and now if you cruise with a passport, your passport ID pic will be your sign and sail card picture. Carnival also takes the embarkation day photos before you check in. We got on the ship about 1230 so overall was not bad at all.

 

Food: Lido buffet food, surprisingly was not that great. I usually think it's ok but this time around just was meh. Guys burgers were great as usual. I would get the plan jane and then add bacon, onions, mayo, mustard, pickles, ketchup over at the toppings bar. Chopsticks was great too however they like to be stingy with the food and give you like half a scoop of what you order so always ask for more. I did not have any burritos or tacos from the Blue Iguana. I also did not partake in the pizza, thin crust is not my thing. The deli was good too. Late night in the aft part of the ship the place next to the pizza had late night snacks. Hot dogs, chicken sandwiches, cookies, brownies, and fruit. Also around 9 or 10 they closed all the ice cream machines down except the one in the back of the ship so just FYI.

 

Surprisingly the dining room food was only so so. Better than the lido but I was impressed. Which is odd for me because it's normally great. The Triumph has the American table menus. To be honest I can't think of anything that stood out. The mahi mahi was disappointing. You may like it but the sauce was too tomato-e. Yuck. I did like the jerk pork loin on the last night but the sauce tasted nothing more than a spicy BBQ sauce. On elegant night they do not serve lobster tails anymore on cruises that are 5 nights or less. You had the option all week of paying extra for that. I opted not to. Only went to the dining room once for breakfast. I had the huevos rancheros. Excellent as usual.

 

Entertainment: Our cruise director was Jess from the US. First time having a female cruise director. She was very perky and that sometimes got on my nerves. There was the normal trivia contests throughout the week. I won two ships on a stick. One for winning One Hit Wonder trivia and the other for winning 90s song trivia. I'm proud of that one. I got a 39 out of 40. There was also the normal gender showdown and the love and marriage show.

 

The production shows were GREAT! Even though the Triumph recently went through the 2.0 upgrades they thankfully did not get the playlist production shows. There were 3 main shows and a show in the back lounge. One was a show about various dances of different cultures. Another one, called the Big Easy, was all about NOLA and was EXCELLENT! There was also this magic/ comedy show that incorporated the carnival dancers and that was great. I think his name was Mark Bourdin or something like that. Every week he flys from Vegas and boards the ship at Cozumel, does his show and departs in Progreso. He also puts on a Burlesque show in the back lounge that was good too.

 

The comedy shows were only so so. Normally my favorite but the two comedians, Sid Davis and Dan Chopin were not that funny in my opinion.

 

The ships band Taste of Aisa performed most nights at the casino and they were good.

 

Our room: Two days before we left we got a call from the upgrade fairy. Originally we booked an interior with a Pullman since there were three of us. Well we upgraded to a balcony for 200. First time in a balcony room for me and it was nice to sit out there and relax. Our Pullman turned into a rollaway bed. The mattress is not as thick as the ones on the bed but it wasn't uncomfortable either so I slept on that all week giving my parents the beds.

 

For those curious yes the steward asks you if you want your room serviced once or twice a day and what time of day. We choice morning service but most days she didn't come service it till after noon. I don't know if this is true for all cabins or because she had to come to ours to unfold the rollaway bed but she came at night too and gave us fresh towels and the next days Fun Times but she didn't clean or turn down the beds.

 

Would I book a balcony in the future. Probably not. Interior is fine with me unless for some reason it ends up being cheaper.

 

Ports: Cozumel we took a cab to Playa Palancar. It was a 25 cab ride and we ended up being the only ones there. The water was too rough to get in for a swim as it had stormed the night before. I did sit in the sand and let the waves wash over me and that was nice. We only stayed a few hours as a storm rolled in but by the time we got back to port it had cleared. We looked around the shops and got back on board.

 

Progresso. There are free shuttles that take you to town because it's too far of a walk and would be walking down the highway to get to town. The free shuttles are through a company called Autoprogreso. Once in town at the "bus station" Autoprogreso had a kiosk to buy tours through them. We did the Ruins/City combo tour. It was $39 a person and the ruins were great and beautiful. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable. Probably could have skipped the city tour. We drove through the new part of Merdia and saw the malls and such and then went to the old town where we were dropped off at the town square for an hour. Good thing about booking through Autoprogresso is that they take you right back to port instead of the bus station to get back on the bus back to port.

 

Debarkation: Usual process and we were off the ship by 10 and through customs quick. We got a cab quick back to the Holiday Inn to get the car. We all skipped breakfast because we wanted to try the place we wanted to go precruise but was closed. I'm glad we did. It was Willie Mae's Scotch House. SOOOO GOOOD. Your only options for food is fried chicken, grilled chicken, or chicken tenders. You also got your choice of side. My parents went with the fried chicken. My dad got butter beans that he said were the best he had. My mom went with the green beans and she said they were seasoned great. I got the chicken tenders and mac and cheese. Both were the best I've had. My parents also got the bread pudding to share. This place is in the middle of a neighborhood next to a school and gets very busy. We were lucky to walk in and get a table. After us they had to set up a line outside. When we left the line was about 20 people deep waiting for tables. Just like Acme Oyster House, this place is WORTH IT!

 

 

Overall this was another great cruise. Despite just going through dry dock the Triumph is showing her age but still a good ship and a good time.

[Seago2]

Excellent review, thank you

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[maldenmusic]

Playa Palancar is where we always go in Cozumel. We've been to the Dzib ruins with AP 3 times and always enjoy it.

[poobears]

Thank you for the review. We are on the Triumph next month. Food sounds about right. I have never found cruise food to be amazing. Average is ok with me. I'm not into high end food and much prefer meals cooked at home so if I can get some decent food I'm ok for the week. Sounds like I'll survive lol

 

I still need to find a hotel for us and would love a park and stay so I don't have to drive over to port and fight that traffic, love the NO port, hate the traffic getting there. That's a great price might have to check it out.

[Griswolds]

Nice review! We were also on this sailing. Just to add my two cents:

 

We had FTTF and I felt like this was the latest we ever boarded a ship. However all the lines/check-in process prior to that was actually really fast. And the express line for the guest services deck on the ship came in handy a couple times.

 

This was also the longest muster drill I have ever experienced. Almost an hour.

 

Our cabin (deck 8/inside) was showing its age. There was carpet worn down all the way. Sink/vanity was pink and the sink had several cracks in it. And some large hose contraption attached to the wall that they call a hair dryer. Also, the flat screen TV was very small. Not that TV is important on a cruise, but it looked cheesy.

 

I agree with the Lido food being meh. We were not impressed and actually managed to avoid eating there. We had Blue Iguana several times and loved it. Its nice you can build your own soft taco (chicken, pork or fish) with the toppings bar. Guys Burgers was great as usual but closes too early. I would love a burger/fries later in the evening.

 

Dining room food was OK, sometimes a little bland. But we did love the sea day brunch. They really could tone down the music in the dining room. It was usually very loud and not very relaxing music to dine, especially at brunch.

 

Where I disagree is with the entertainment. We were disappointment with the main shows (very sub par in comparison to the Broadway type productions on other lines) and yet we actually did like the comedian (both PG and R versions). Solo singer in the main bar was also a little drab. He sang good songs, but in depressing slower versions.

 

Also noticed that the windows on the ship are very dirty/streaky. ALL of the windows.

 

With FTTF we were off the ship and standing at the airport by 7:40am !! We had an early flight (11:15am) however it was delayed due to the tropical storm so we ended spending more time at the airport than planned. Ugggh

 

Overall, nothing spoiled our fun, we had a great time and there wasn't anything that would keep me from telling someone not to sail on this ship.

[MissCruiseAddict]

Yeah I have heard that shows on other lines are much better but the three we did have far surpassed the stupid playlist production shows that most of the Carnival ships had.

 

Oh yeah the dang muster drill. Yup it lasted for so long. It was hot and sticky and miserable. They need to take a note from the bigger ships like the Dream and Breeze and have the muster point in the dining rooms and lounges.

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[poobears]

I hate long outside drills, some of the little ships do them in lounges, wish they all did. I almost passed out at one. I started going down and Dh was like SIT lol. Unfortunately another lady did go down and she went down hard. I don't do well standing in the heat. We are going in Oct so hopefully it won't be bad. I usually still sit though I have no problem parking my butt right in the middle of the deck if I have to. Figure it's better to sit down than fall down.

 

Glad to hear Guys and blue iguana are good, I haven't been on a ship with either, the kids are really looking forward to them. I figure that is where they will have most of the meals when they are open. Sounds like the ship is due for dry dock if it's showing it's age that bad.

 

Now the most important question, were the ice cream machines working? :o

 

Last ship we were on the machines were out most of the week, it was a sad cruise.

Edited September 5, 2016 by poobears

[jgskes]

OMG...Acme is my favorite. If you go again, get the chargrilled oysters. The line is worth the wait. I have waited an hour before so you got lucky.

[MissCruiseAddict]

The funny thing is the ship isn't due for dry dock anytime soon. It just came out of dry dock this year. Unfortunately when it was dry docked all they did was add the Guy's burger, Blue Iguana, and the two bar areas on the lido, oh and the Alchemy Bar. Maybe they painted and what have you but the pools were dated, the rooms were dated and showed age. Still as long as it is clean it didn't bother me.

 

Chargrilled Oysters... no thanks!! haha. The three guys who sat next to us ordered them an while they smelled good it's not something I would like with the melted cheese on them. I'm a purest and like good ol' raw oysters with just a bit of cocktail sauce mixed with lemon juice and horseradish. I tried oysters rockafeller once on a cruise. So gross!

 

Yup all the ice cream machines worked but around 9 or so they closed all but one down. The one they leave open is in the back of the ship by the aft pool.

[easyboy]

Thanks for the review.

[Clarea]

Excellent review, thank-you.

[tralbry]

My first cruise with Carnival Triumph (Aug 29th - Sep 3) was mediocre all around, especially compared to the Royal Caribbean ones but the worst part was the food poisoning which luckily happened on the last day and not earlier else it would have been all horrible. I think it was the Blue Iguana Cantina burrito that did it. Anyone else?

 

I was so sick and sleep-deprived because of it that after debarkation it even contributed to a car accident I never would have had. Last time on Carnival I suppose.

[easyboy]

Sorry about your experience. Have not seen any thread on CC regarding food poisoning on the Triumph.

[rollingflintstone]

I actually lost weight on this cruise the food was so bad. I mean consistently bad. How does that happen. I had to eat at Guys Burger bar like every night. And fresh fruit for breakfast. I was extremely disappointed. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/images/smilies/frown.gif

[crazy cajun]

I actually lost weight on this cruise the food was so bad. I mean consistently bad. How does that happen. I had to eat at Guys Burger bar like every night. And fresh fruit for breakfast. I was extremely disappointed. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/images/smilies/frown.gif

Hmmm don't know how you ate at Guy's every night when they close at 6 pm

[rollingflintstone]

Hmmm don't know how you ate at Guy's every night when they close at 6 pm

 

Okay, well we ate there every night before 6. After that we had lousy pizza. The food was just really bad.