Paradise

[Devoli]

Has anyone recently returned from a cruise on the the Paradise? I am looking for information on the shore excursions and daily activities. Thanks.

[KnATL]

We sailed 04/04/04, I am pretty sure I still have all the info for shore excursions and the Capers. Also looked at a web-site by a fellow poster that had all that info on it, may be a few months old although I have not compared the two--think this is it.

http://community.webshots.com/album/95270429MLfRnX

[richfret]

Just returned from the 5/9 Eastern Paradise cruise. Visited Nassau, La Romona, Dominican Republic and St. Thomas. If you want details on these ports, let me know. I also did a review the other day and you may want to read it.

 

Cruiser Rich

[ljrfrm]

Thanks so much...the shore excursion order form was exactly what I've been looking for. Thanks for posting the link.....

 

Paradise 6/27

 

[Devoli]

Thanks for everyone's help. I am just trying to get my trip planned and organized so getting this info will help. This will be our 6th sailing on Carnival and we are planning next years already! We will be taking my two newphews next year on their first cruise and they are so excited.

[Devoli]

Who is the cruise director on the Paradise?

[mj]

The cruise director on the 5/9 sailing was Jeff Bronson.

 

Counting down my Next Cruise on the Paradise

 

 

Sovereign of the Seas 12-9-00

Explorer of the Seas 10-20-01

Carnival Victory 12-9-01

Fantasy 5-9-02

Voyager of the Seas 10-20-02

Carnival Triumph 11-9-02

Inspiration 4-27-03

Navigator of the Seas 10-25-03

Paradise 5-9-04

Mariner of the Seas 10-24-04

[mikeyd]

Just got back yesterday from the Western Carbn. route. It was fantastic!! Great weather and a great time.

Dinning staff was out of this world.

 

We did the Altun-Ha in Belize, CSI Orphanage/ West End Beach in Roatan, Captian Bryan Sting Ray City in GC, and Dolphin Discovery in Chanknaab Park in Cozmel.

 

PLease let me know if you have any questions.

 

Mike

 

Sailing on Paradise in.....

[KnATL]

On 04/04/04 the CD was Josh Riffe, he talked about loving the non-smoking, ..wonder where he is?

[babs275]

Just wondering about Grand Cayman - is it a tender port?

 

I have the Buccaneer Catamaran Tour booked that meets at 10am for a 10;30 departure and although they have assured me that they handle Paradise passengers I'm a little nervous about making it.

 

Barb

 

View the AOS May 2nd Conga Line Picture Website

 

Paradise June 13,2004

 

 Till my baby girl comes home from So. Africa!

 

[tef43]

GC is definitely a tender port.

 

Eleven cruises so far. Up next:

Shhhh, it's a surprise!

Followed by:

Carnival Valor 10/30/05 CC Group

And then:

Carnival Spirit 12/10/05 Mexican Riviera

Perhaps something else as well. Watch this space.

 

Dance like it hurts, love like you need money, and work when somebody's watching.

[babs275]

Another question

 

Does the Paradise change "ship time" as it changes time zones or is there a discrepancy between "ship time" and "island/local time"?

 

Barb

 

View the AOS May 2nd Conga Line Picture Website

 

Paradise June 13,2004

 

 Till my baby girl comes home from So. Africa!

 

[mom of teens]

Hi Barb

 

When I tried to book the Buccaneer they refused to sign me up because I was on the Paradise. I chatted with them 2 or 3 times trying to convince them that we would have enough time, but they said no.

 

Barb, too!

[mom of teens]

Hi Mikeyd

 

Glad to hear that you enjoyed the Paradise. We will be sailing on her in 3 weeks!! I do have a couple of questions:

 

Did you do the afternoon excursion on Capt Bryans, and did you feel rushed to get back??

 

What did you do in Roatan? We are hoping to do the Canopy tour and snorkel and just wanted some update info on both.

 

Thanks for any info...

 

Barb

[babs275]

Hi barb

 

That is so strange - I actually sent a separate email asking specifically about the Paradise and timing and was assured it was ok. I had emailed Cap't Marvin and they said the am excursion wouldn't work for us.

 

Hope all works out for us - guess I'd better bring a back-up plan just in case!

 

Barb

 

View the AOS May 2nd Conga Line Picture Website

 

Paradise June 13,2004

 

 Till my baby girl comes home from So. Africa!

 

[christygobar]

I was on the 3/21 sailing of the Paradise. It was W. Caribbean. You don't say if you are visiting west or east, but if it is the former, I highly recommend Sante Wellness in Roatan on your own & the Tropical Jeep Safari in Cozumel (through the ship).

 

Our cruise director was also Josh Riffe. He was great. Very personable & genuine. I am surprised to hear he wasn't on one of the May sailings. It sounded like he was there to stay for quite awhile. Or at least until it becomes a smoking ship.

 

Carnival Triumph - Oct 2003

Carnival Paradise - March 2004

[mikeyd]

Barb - GC is indeed a tender port, but depending on your anchor location it is a very short tender ride - even though the ship's newsletter said it was 45 minutes it was more like 10 minutes.

 

We were accepted on the Buccaneer, and about 1/3 of the 20 people were from the Paradise. However, we did get a late start. Our tender (the first one) took 25 minutes to load up since it was a double decker and it's a slow process. By the time we walked to their office it was around 10:15-10:20. There was a line to sign up at the office (which were all Paradise people) and around 10:40 we started getting ready to leave. The employee did call out for a group that was supposed to be on the tour and they never showed, but we did wait 5 minutes for them - which means they do wait for people - to a certian extent. You will take a shuttle bus to the Catamaran. Once at the boat the captian did mention our group was running behind - but was not angry and said we are on the islands and everything is flexible and we'll go with the flow. We got back around 3-ish which gave us plenty of time to shop and grab a bite to eat. You may see some long lines to catch a tender back - and in our case the Carnival Victory(?) was in port and scheduled to leave an hour before us. Let the line die and kill some time rather than enduring the lines - when the other ship did leave the line shrank a lot.

 

 

The ship will change time to match the island time. For us we moved the clocks ahead one hour the first night (gained an free hour of sleep!!) and kept that time the entire cruise - except for the very last night.

 

 

In Roatan we visited the CSI orpanage to drop off some supplies and went to some remote area on the west end. There are many other options on the Ports of Call section of these boards. Be sure you either get an elevated chaise lounge or bring bug spray. We got hammered by tiny flea's and had 30-50 bites all over us. They did not itch or anything, but they looked like we had chicken pox. I am thinking that they were on the sand and even though we had towels down they still got us bad. We put on bug spart and it seemed to help. The odd thing was that u did not feel the bits, but after 20 minutes or so you would not 5, then 10 then 20, then....bites on your body.

The snorkeling was fantastic and the water was incredible and warm.

 

 

Our cruise director was Jeff Brrrrroson and he was really good.

 

 

Mike

[babs275]

Thank you Mike - I feel so much better now! Did you like the Buccaneer? I liked the fact that they are supposed to do 3 stops which is why I chose them.

 

In Roatan we have arranged for our group of 15 to go to Bay Island Beach Resort for a combo of boat diving and snorkeling - so I'm hoping to limit the time on the beach for exactly the reason you mentioned!

 

I'm glad to finally have a definate answer on the time as well! It's been difficult to decifer as the list I have apparently must quote eastern time (ie it says we arrive in Roatan at 7am but BIBR says they will pick us up at 6am). It's made picking tours more difficult! For safety's sake I chose the 3:30 royal dolphin swim in cozumel because I KNEW we wouldn't miss it then!

 

Barb

 

View the AOS May 2nd Conga Line Picture Website

 

Paradise June 13,2004

 

 Till my baby girl comes home from So. Africa!

 

[mikeyd]

babs275 -

 

The Buccaneer is really cool and I love sailboats, so it was a treat. It does not motor very fast. We motored out, then on the way back we put the sail up and it was really neat. The three stops are nice, but you will be amazed at how close they are to each other.

 

My kids did the 3:30 dolphin swim in Cozmel too and it worked out well. We took a taxi back to the ship after the Dolphin swim, ordered room service, and went back out to shop for the last 3 hours. "Phil the shopper" who is Carnivals shoping expert told everyone to have the taxi (BTW all Taxi rates are fixed and pre-negotiated which is great) take them to the Forum Shops in Cozmel. We did that and were surprised what a remote area we were dropped off. You may want to have them drop you off around the Hard Rock or Senor Frogs which is more central to shops, dining, etc. - just a thought because we felt like we were left in the middle of nowhere.

 

Also - my 2 cents, in Roatan be sure to go to the market to the right of where the ships drop you off (exit the gated area, make a right and you will see it in 50 steps). They have AWESOME wooden crafts. Thru this board we heard about salad bowl sets carved from wood. We got a beautiful set for $23!! I also got some small wooden boxes, etc. for less than $10. It was probably our best buy of the trip.

 

Enjoy!

[babs275]

Thanks for the tips - I hadn't heard that about the carved goods in Roatan - it sounds great!

 

Is Carlos and Charles near the area you recommended in Cozumel? I know my 23year old son was looking forward to a fun time there.

 

What did you do in Belize? We have booked xtreme cave tubing.

 

Barb

 

View the AOS May 2nd Conga Line Picture Website

 

Paradise June 13,2004

 

 Till my baby girl comes home from So. Africa!