Just Returned Paradise 4-NT Baja

[PeggySand]

We just arrived home from the Paradise 4-NT sailing 02-06-06 to 02-10-06. We had a great time, and since there doesn’t seem to be too many posts for the Paradise, I thought I would try to give some information about our cruise.

 

We spent the night on the Queen Mary and went to early check-in which is easy to find because there are Carnival employees who will direct you to the right place. We gave our two pieces of luggage to a fellow located at the entrance to the parking garage, and then we went back to the Queen Mary for some breakfast. At the Queen Mary, they told us that early check-in starts at 9:00 am, and boarding usually starts around 11:30 am or 12:00 pm. Once the line started moving at the dome, check-in went fairly quickly and we were on the ship in good time.

 

This was our third cruise on the Paradise, and the first since it became a “smoking” ship. They restrict smoking to certain areas on the ship, so smoke was never a problem for us. We were blessed with beautiful weather throughout the cruise. It was foggy a few times, but the sun soon burned it away. We did the semi-submersible tour in Catalina and took the shuttle to La Bufadora in Ensenada. Our guide on that tour showed us the safe places to eat in the vendor area, and we had the BEST fish tacos of our lives!! There is a small taco stand/bar across from Havana Banana that you shouldn’t miss. They make the corn tortillas fresh for each taco as you order, and they also had carne asada tacos and shrimp tacos. The best part? They were only $1.00 each (shrimp $2.00), and the beers were two for $3.00.

 

For the most part, we were happy with the food in the dining room. However, the Beef Wellington was the worst we had ever had. The Prime Rib, Lobster, Filet Mignon, and Chateaubriand were very good. My favorite desserts were the Key Lime Pie and the Chocolate Fudge Cake. We were fortunate to have two other couples at our table that we really enjoyed, and that made the dining experience even better. We ate breakfast and lunch in the Paris Lido Restaurant, and it was your standard buffet food. My husband had some cheese pizza right from the oven which was terrific, and we had Chicken Caesar Salad a couple of times from the Pizza place. I didn’t have a sandwich from the sandwich bar, but they looked really good. Of course, there was the Hamburger/Hot dog/french frie bar, and they were pretty good as well. I can't fail to mention the frozen yogurt, which I have become addicted to!! There was carved meat every day at lunch time, and that was always good. My only complaint for the Paris restaurant is that they had a very limited selection of fresh fruit available. It was always the same... three types of melon cut up and thrown together. We found some apples at the chips and salsa party on the Promenade Deck on Wednesday, and we pocketed a few!!

 

I can honestly tell you that the service every where on the ship was excellent. I didn’t come across one crew member that wasn’t happy to help you, and they were very friendly and always smiling. Our safe was malfunctioning, and they had someone up to fix it within fifteen minutes. Now that’s service!! A fellow named Trevor Block (?) was the Cruise Director, and we’ve had better and we’ve had worse. For us, he was just “okay.” However, he was getting off the ship for his vacation, so I’m not sure who was replacing him.

 

The process of disembarkation was well run, very organized. We were out of our cabin by 8:00 am, and went up to the Paris for breakfast. We were the fifth color called, and were off the ship and in our car by 9:30 am. If you had an early flight, they made the orange tags available to you, and they were the first color called. We left our car in the Queen Mary parking lot, which was $10.00 a night. The parking was free the night we spent on the Queen Mary. It is fun to walk around that grand old ship and experience the history of her sailing days.

 

In conclusion, we had a great time on the Paradise. We have always loved this ship, and it did not disappoint. For a short fun getaway, I would definitely recommend this cruise. If you have any questions, I will try to answer them.

 

Until next time,

Peggy

[deborahjo]

I have enjoyed the Paradise once and my oldest son twice. It is a great ship.

[kanyon24]

Nice trip report. I will be on the Paradise on 3/6/06 I can't wait.

[pppiglet]

Thanks for the report. I'd love to go someday!

[Cinderose]

Were having a 30 yr high school reunion on her in Sept. 90+ signed up so far. Ive been busy making door signs, and trying to figure out table decorations. I didnt know they had the chips and salsa, Im going to request that for our party. Thanks!

Cinder

[Hawaiianjessica]

Thanks for the post Peggysand! I'm going on paradise next month and this makes me even more excited for it!

[CFoxx]

Peggy,

 

THANK YOU so much for this information. I am cruising on the Paradise 2/27/06.

 

I do have a question. I'm sailing with my mom(75) and she does very well, but long distance walking for her is too much. I am thinking of doing the La Bufadora & blowhole tour, can you tell me how much walking it would be for her? Thanks so much.

 

Also, we have an early flight out, so you have eased my worries about disembarking.

[boaterette]

Hi,

 

We are going on April 3, and are wondering how the shows and evening entertainment are. Also my sister likes the art auctions. Did they have one?

[cruisecastle]

I'm going Friday and am slightly confused about the early check in process. Once you do the early check in do you go directly to where the line is or can you go back to the QM and then later go to the line. We have skippers club so I though I would do early check-in and then go cruise around utnil 11:30 and then show up for skippers club. Will that work??

[t2limar]

Thanks Peggy for your review.

I do have two questions and hopefully you could help:

 

1. When was the first group of people being called to debark?

2. How was the weather on the Ship?

 

Thanks!

 

Chi

[PeggySand]

Cinderose: They had a chips & salsa party on the Promenade at 7:00 pm on the Ensenada day, Wednesday. I didn't see them any other time, but that doesn't mean that they didn't have them, I just didn't see any.

 

CFoxx: You must walk down a fairly long street full of vendors (they call it the Flea Market) before you can reach La Bufadora. However, it is a level walk, not too strenuous. If you need to, you can stop at Havana Banana which is about half way, and have a cool drink. The vendors beg you to stop and look at their booth, but they didn't get too pushy. La Bufadora was blowing quite high the day we were there. As for disembarking, just request an orange tag at the Information Desk (Purser's Desk), and you will be the first called off the ship. I believe they were calling for orange right around 8:00 am as we were leaving our cabin for breakfast.

 

boaterette: The band in the Leonardo Lounge was really very good. They are called "Music Manilla" and they played a lot of Santana and that type of music, along with other music that was fun to dance to. The Paradise singers and dancers were entertaining, but don't expect too much. The Paradise band in the main showroom was pretty good. Yes, they have ONE art auction on the sea day, and once again, we added to our collection with another Thomas Kinkade called "Sunrise." We only bring home pictures that we really love, and don't really think of them as investments.

 

cruisecastle: The early check-in on the Queen Mary was a breeze, and afterwards, we went around to the other entrance for the Queen Mary and had breakfast. You can go to the white dome for embarkation any time you choose to, up until the final boarding time. There is plenty to see on the Queen Mary to keep you entertained until you decide to board the Paradise.

 

t2limer: I belive they called for orange tags around 7:45 or 8:00 am. The disembarkation was handled very smoothly, so you should be in the parking lot by 8:30 am or so. Of course, every cruise could be slightly different, so these are approximate times. You can pick up the orange tags at the Information Desk (Purser's Desk) on the sea day, Thursday. We had beautiful weather for our whole cruise. In fact, it was on the hot side both days in port. By the way, the "fun day at sea" is spent basically drifting in one spot for most of the day, so there was little or no wind on the pool deck. Since Ensenada is about a 3-4 hour drive to Long Beach, they just hang out in the ocean for most of the day!! Also, the seas were almost glass for most of the cruise. The engines are going so slow most of the time, you can barely tell the ship is moving. Hopefully, you will have the same weather conditions..... it made for a wonderful time!!

 

Until next time,

Peggy

[cutiger76]

PeggySand: Thank you for the review. My wife and I are looking forward to our cruise on the Paradise starting Feb 27. We are staying at the Coast Hotel the night before the cruise and plan to come to the QM for early check-in. My question pertains to sightseeing on the QM itself. Will we be able to board the QM and view public areas without purchasing a tour ticket? Anything in particular you would recommend for viewing on the QM? Glad you had a great time on your cruise...just hope we get lucky with the same good weather.

[DottieMay]

I just took the same cruise on 1/30/06 and would be happy to answer any questions, as well.

 

In our case, we were the second color called and left the ship about 8:45 or so - but, we were in the *wrong* customs line and stood there for almost an hour - it was very frustrating...

 

other tips? a lot of the desserts were bland - LOL - stay away from the orange cake, *do* try the tiramisu, too much lobster will give you indigestion... ;-) And, the curry stuffed tomato was incredible...

 

and, don't lean on the pillars outside on the Lido deck - the paint will come off on you.

 

Is there a sushi bar on this ship? I never found it and really wanted some sushi! LOL

[CFoxx]

Dottie,

 

Since you brought up food, I will ask you these questions.:)

 

I'm going on Paradise 2/27. I love lobster & am wondering if it was good? Is it just for the formal night? Also, people talk about room service but only getting small servings of things, especially the cookies. Well couldn't you just tell them you want 2 or 3 orders of the same thing? I don't mean to sound like a pig, I'm just trying to figure it out. Thanks & also thanks for the heads up about the orange cake. ;)

 

Peggy,

 

Thank you so much for your generous answer.I feel like now my mom will be fine doing it. We wanted to do a flea market anyway.:)

[DottieMay]

Dottie,

 

Since you brought up food, I will ask you these questions.:)

 

I'm going on Paradise 2/27. I love lobster & am wondering if it was good? Is it just for the formal night? Also, people talk about room service but only getting small servings of things, especially the cookies. Well couldn't you just tell them you want 2 or 3 orders of the same thing? I don't mean to sound like a pig, I'm just trying to figure it out. Thanks & also thanks for the heads up about the orange cake. ;)

 

Don't let that stop you! LOL - seriously, I learned on my first cruise to order everything that I might like to try - the entrees and appetizers are not huge servings - so, trust me, order everything that sounds good! One night I ordered 5 of the 7 appetizers on the menu - they were absolutely perfect! ;-) I think I always liked the appetizers the most.

 

I think the lobster was wonderful - I do love lobster. I ordered two entrees and ate every bite. I'm not a very big person, though, and suffered from too much rich food all night long! LOL I even took a picture of my plate...

 

The lobster is only available on Formal Night - which is Tuesday, Catalina Island.

 

As to room service, I loved it in the morning, especially. No need for a wakeup call when room service would knock on your door with a pot of coffee, a few bowls of sliced citrus and some salmon... ;-) Order as much as you want - there will always be someone eating more than you.

[CFoxx]

Ohhhh lobster,,,,,,,what a great pic,,,ooh,,,oh,,lobster,,,,I think I had a tiny little orgasm.(hope I can say that on here)

 

Wow thanks so much Dottie for the pic. It looks so delicious! I cannot wait!

 

Thanks too, for encouraging my "pig" behavior! lol

 

I'm glad you said you ordered 5 of 7 appetizers, cause I was also thinking, we should do that, but I didn't want to get that, "Oh my God, tubby" look. Now I know, I won't. The other thing I am looking forward to, is someone else making coffee & bringing it right to me,,,every morning.

 

Thanks again,,,,,

[t2limar]

Hi Cutiger,

 

Have been looking for you regarding the car rental problem you have but the thread was being moved.

 

Anyway, for your return, if you change the rental time to about 24 hours long (even you are using it for 4 hours), you will see a significant decrease from $42 to about $23.

 

Try it.

[cutiger76]

Hi Cutiger,

 

Have been looking for you regarding the car rental problem you have but the thread was being moved.

 

Anyway, for your return, if you change the rental time to about 24 hours long (even you are using it for 4 hours), you will see a significant decrease from $42 to about $23.

 

Try it.

 

Thanks t2limar,

 

I was able to get your last reply regarding the car rental issue even though the thread had been moved. Have already rebooked as you suggested; saved about $18 and moved up to an intermediate car from a compact. This is about as crazy as trying to figure out airline fares, but hey it works. Thanks again for sharing and saving me a good deal of money overall. It's not that I am cheap but I had much rather spend my hard earned dollars on board the ship or in port than unnecessarily on a car rental. It's getting close for us now and we can't wait - just 7 more days of work for me!!!

[cutiger76]

Hi Cutiger,

 

Have been looking for you regarding the car rental problem you have but the thread was being moved.

 

Anyway, for your return, if you change the rental time to about 24 hours long (even you are using it for 4 hours), you will see a significant decrease from $42 to about $23.

 

Try it.

 

Thanks t2limar,

 

I was able to get your last reply regarding the rental car issue even though the thread had been moved. Have already rebooked as you suggested; saved about $18 and moved up to an intermediate car from a compact. This is about as crazy as trying to figure out airline fares, but hey it works. Thanks again for sharing. I had much rather spend my hard earned dollars on board the ship or in port than unnecessarily on a rental car. It's getting close for us now and we are so excited. Just 7 more days of work for me!!!

[fidoprincess]

This is silly but I've read conflicting info and am trying to get it straight. One post suggested packing bathing suits in our carry on so when we get on ship, we can eat and then hit the pool right away.

 

Sounds easy enough but..another post said that the pool is closed that first boarding day and that they don't even fill the pool up until the ship gets to Catalina. Then they use the water right from the ocean and it is so freezing that you can't really swim anyway. Did you notice what happened? Was is too cold to swim or heated? Thanks in advance!

[azlefty]

Hi - we're on the Paradise next week on Feb 20 for the 4-day and you can imagine how giddy we are. :D :D :D

 

I have a question regarding our situation. It sounds like you didn't bring any children, but... do you have any idea how it would be to bring a child into the dining room?

 

In particular: our daughter who is almost 1 will be with us. We are hoping to get seated with another family with a small child, so as not to disturb an all-adult table and also so we can be with people in a similar situation who can relate to us. We signed up for the 6:15 dining. Any suggestions on how to make this happen?

 

Is this a realistic expectation? Were there many toddler-age children on board? Would we be able to eat in the dining room with her? (She is unusually patient when we go out to restaurants, sometimes more so than her parents.) And if so, how strict is the dress code enforced for small children? Plan b is the buffet but we are hoping to sit in the dining room if we can.

 

Apparently we can't use babysitting during dinner, only late at night.

 

(I've heard all the rants about kids on cruises but she has no grandparents that would be willing and/or able to take her for that length of time.)

 

Thanks very much for your insights. Also I will take your suggestion for the fish taco because that is one of my favorite foods.

 

doug

[jeramie.finch@pulsarco.co]

We are sailing on 2/20 on Paradise we have cruised on Paradise last fall in November. We were pleased with the ship and the crew we felt the best food was in the dining room for dinner we never missed a night. The food in the buffets is at best average the pizza was good the salad bar was good we tried breakfast in the dining room one morning we decided that the buffet at the Paris restaurant was the same food as the dining room for breakfast and lunch without the wait of the dining room. We are looking forward to sailing on the paradise again we have never cruised with our kids so I have no advice as to camp carnival.

[t2limar]

Thanks t2limar.

 

You are welcome. It feels good being able to help others.

 

It's getting close for us now and we can't wait - just 7 more days of work for me!!!

 

Have a wonderful trip. Mine is about 4 weeks away.

I would hope that you could give me some tips after you come back.

I would especially like to know the temperature on the Ship and see if it's wamr enough for my kids to swim.

Have fun!

 

 

Thanks Cutiger!

[FurryCruiser]

azlefty and jeramie, we'll see you on the boat. Given I was the only one in the roll call for so long, I was wondering if any other CC folks were going to be on this one.... *chuckle*

 

To identify, just look for the long, bushy brown bearded guy with long hair and a septum ring... I stand out a little. *grin*

 

Furrycruiser

[Curt Jerome Wild]

Hi - we're on the Paradise next week on Feb 20 for the 4-day and you can imagine how giddy we are. :D :D :D

 

I have a question regarding our situation. It sounds like you didn't bring any children, but... do you have any idea how it would be to bring a child into the dining room?

 

In particular: our daughter who is almost 1 will be with us. We are hoping to get seated with another family with a small child, so as not to disturb an all-adult table and also so we can be with people in a similar situation who can relate to us. We signed up for the 6:15 dining. Any suggestions on how to make this happen?

 

Is this a realistic expectation? Were there many toddler-age children on board? Would we be able to eat in the dining room with her? (She is unusually patient when we go out to restaurants, sometimes more so than her parents.) And if so, how strict is the dress code enforced for small children? Plan b is the buffet but we are hoping to sit in the dining room if we can.

 

Apparently we can't use babysitting during dinner, only late at night.

 

(I've heard all the rants about kids on cruises but she has no grandparents that would be willing and/or able to take her for that length of time.)

 

Thanks very much for your insights. Also I will take your suggestion for the fish taco because that is one of my favorite foods.

 

doug

 

azlefty -

Two things...

Number one - start a new thread asking this question specifically, you'll get a lot more responses from people in your particular situation, instead of it being lost in this Paradise thread. (just a helpful hint;) )

Number two - first of all ask your TA or PVP to note your request to sit with another family. It might be too late now, but it doesn't hurt (the maitre'd is usually doing the seating for next week during this week).

Your seating is always a request, and you'll only get your seating assignment when you get to the dock. When you get onboard, sometimes the capers (the paper of the days activity) will be in your cabin, and you can check when it says the dining room will be open to talk to the maitre'd (which is usually 2ish or 3ish). Go there, and check out your seating assignment with the maitre'd. He will be able to tell you if you are seated with another family, how many kids, and how old are the kids. If not, then nicely ask him if he can find another family in a similar situation to seat you with.

That is your only way to make sure that you are getting as close to your ideal situation as possible.

Hope this helps, but again post a new thread about kids in the dining room specificially, and you'll get a lot more specific responses.

Curt Jerome Wild