Have you been on the Paradise recently?

[topsweeper]

We will be a party of 7 travelling on Carnival for the 1st time. I have several questions.

*Is breakfast and lunch also served in the dining rooms or only in the buffet area and room service? We usually prefer dining room service.

*We have 2 cabins on the Upper Deck (outside) and 2 demi-suites on the Verandah deck (Cat 11). Has anyone stayed in these type of cabins/suites lately? One cabin (V42) has a partially-obstructed view. We are a little concerned and are interested in knowing how much of the view would be obstructed. I would appreciate any comments you might have on these cabins.

*We will be visiting Catalina and Ensenada on the 4 night cruise. Are the shore excursions worthwhile? Any tips/suggestions as to what to do in these ports? Wine-tasting and Fox Studio sound interesting - could we do these on our own?

* Any other helpful information you could pass along would be very welcome. Thank you.

[scooby4048]

Hey Topsweeper,

Welcome to Carnival.

I can answer a couple of your questions. The others I'm sure that the veterans can answer a little bit later.

Yes, breakfast and lunch are served in the dining rooms on all Carnival cruises. I do believe there is a time for each as appropriate.

As for information on the ports that you'll be visiting, I would suggest you try the POC (Port of Call) boards. There you will find al sorts of information and tips about the ports that you'll be visiting.

Enjoy your cruise :D

[WorldCruzer]

We will be a party of 7 travelling on Carnival for the 1st time. I have several questions.

*Is breakfast and lunch also served in the dining rooms or only in the buffet area and room service? We usually prefer dining room service.

*We have 2 cabins on the Upper Deck (outside) and 2 demi-suites on the Verandah deck (Cat 11). Has anyone stayed in these type of cabins/suites lately? One cabin (V42) has a partially-obstructed view. We are a little concerned and are interested in knowing how much of the view would be obstructed. I would appreciate any comments you might have on these cabins.

*We will be visiting Catalina and Ensenada on the 4 night cruise. Are the shore excursions worthwhile? Any tips/suggestions as to what to do in these ports? Wine-tasting and Fox Studio sound interesting - could we do these on our own?

* Any other helpful information you could pass along would be very welcome. Thank you.

 

I just called Carnival direct to find out about your V42 cabin. It's partially obstructed & they say there is a lifeboat which would be visible if you look down from your balcony. Or would be visible from foot / ankle level basically. The Carnival rep said everything else should be the same though...hope this helps.

[Curt Jerome Wild]

Fantasy Class Category 11 Cabins are the demi-suite balcony rooms on the Verandah deck on (in alphabetical order)

Ecstasy, Elation, Fantasy, Fascination, Imagination, Inspiration, Paradise, and Sensation.

Note that they are a demi-suite (or mini-suite) not a full suite, so they are about the equivalent size of the balcony rooms on the bigger ships.

I have stayed in both Category 11 and Category 12 on this class, and I must say that I am a bigger fan of the 11, for my own personal preferences. If I were to sail on this ship class again, I'd book the 11 and not the 12.

Balconies are small in comparison to the new ships, big enough for two chairs and a table, or one full size deck chair lounger. But, it has the best views on the ship. (Just don't book the obstructed views V23, V25, V27, V34, V38, or V42. Great if you get a free upgrade, but otherwise don't).

There are lifeboats right in front of your cabin quite high, and it definitely blocks about half of your view. You have to look up and over the boat, can't really look down.

It also the one location on the ship with the fewest cabins, so unless you have the bad luck of rowdy neighbors, very quiet and very little traffic.

Also a great location to all activities.

 

Here are some pictures below (mine with a lot of pics and angles)

And some from other people who got shots I didnt' get.

Fantasy Class Category 11 Demi-Suite and various balcony views

http://community.webshots.com/user/curtjeromewild

Verandah Balcony Door

http://community.webshots.com/photo/158982045/1159098574044717972rkoNas

Verandah Balcony Deck Chair

http://community.webshots.com/photo/158982045/1159098730044717972CElVEb

Category 11 Room (Fantasy Class)

http://community.webshots.com/photo/158982045/1159099257044717972waDizU

 

If you're worried about the rocking, it wasn't much worse, than other areas of the ship. And you are right there with an ocean breeze, and a horizon to look at. My finace gets carsick, and we both took Bonine starting the day before the cruise, and she never had a problem at all. In fact she said she had the best sleep ever, because the boat gently rocked her to sleep each night.:)

Now, some people have had great experiences in this Category, and some haven't, mostly because their expectations were unrealistic for what this cabin type is and isn't. :confused: This is for people to see and know what they're getting, so that you can take full advantage of the benefits, and get off and running on a great vacation. Your vacation is what you make it, if you choose to have fun you will.

 

Hope this helps people!

Ask any specific questions, or feel free to add.

Curt Jerome Wild

PS Don't forget to take advantage of your Skipper's Club, skip the long line and get on ahead of everybody else!:D

PPS I've got a picture somewhere that might show the lifeboat "obstruction", I just have to find it...

[Curt Jerome Wild]

Okay, I found some pictures of the lifeboats that are in front of the obstructed views (are you going to tell me this is "ankle level", like the apparent Carnival rep said?).

These are not directly behind the obstruction, but looking back (aft) toward it. The obstructed cabins are directly behind these boats and riggings...

Category 11 Obstructed View

http://community.webshots.com/photo/468634643/2510011150079337728nQIcsS

http://community.webshots.com/photo/468634643/2759704890079337728ixtqtX

http://community.webshots.com/photo/468634643/2669172450079337728zbhxpi

Unless you got a free upgrade, I'd move...

Just my opinion, let me know what you decide.

And check out info in this previous thread:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=298868

Hope this helps,

Curt Jerome Wild

[cruzegirl]

Topsweeper,

Yes, breakfast/lunch are served in the dining room.... As far as excursions, I leave this morning (woo hoo) for my 4 day cruise.....lol.... So I'll report when I get home..... I am wanting to do the Whale Watching in Catalina and the Fox Studios in Ensenada.... I would not recommend doing the Fox Studios on your own.... Afterall, your in mexico and I would want Carnival transportation/security........ But I'll let you know when I get back..... have a great week.........

[topsweeper]

Wow, thanks to all of you for your great replies!

Scooby4048: thank you for your welcome and helpful information. Where would I find the Port of Call Boards?

WorldCruzer: how nice of you to call Carnival on my behalf!

Curt Jerome Wild: Many, many thanks for all the practical information and great pictures, too!

cruzegirl: I appreciate your comments. Wishing you a fabulous cruise and hoping to hear about your experiences upon your return. We leave in three weeks.

[cutiger76]

My wife and I just returned from The Paradise 4-day cruise last Friday. Had a wonderful time. We have both cruised several times before and this was by far the best ship and the best cruise we have been on. The ship was clean and well-appointed, our cabin steward was super nice, we had a great group of people at our dinner seating, the service was good, and we could not have asked for better weather.

 

On Catalina, we just rented a golf cart ($35 for an hour) and followed the suggested route around Avalon. Beautiful scenery and an hour is plenty of time to do the prescribed route. If you want to see more of the island, you will need to book one of the tours. After the golf cart trip, we walked the full length of the main street (Crescent Ave) and did some shopping.

 

In Ensenada, we took the trip to La Bufadora. Beautiful scenery here too but be prepared to walk through some rather aggressive vendors on the way to and from the blowhole. We did not book the trip thru Carnival. If you take the shuttle into town, they will want to charge you $3/pp for a round trip ticket. On the way to the drop-off point at the shuttle terminal, they will describe the blowhole tour provided by the locals at $15/pp. Takes aboout 45 minutes to get there; we had a local lady telling us about Ensenada and the sights as we travelled. Once at the blowhole, we had about an hour and a half to view the scenery and shop before returning to Ensenada itself. There you have the option of shopping in the downtown area for an hour and then taking the same bus back to the ship (included in your $15/pp tour fee) or you can use the shuttle that brought you into town provided you paid the round trip fare. Really, you could easily walk back to the ship anyway.

 

As for dining, we ate breakfast and lunch each day from the buffet or grill area rather than going to the dining room. We also skipped the formal dinner but ate in the dining room the other evenings. The food was good, nothing spectacular but certainly plenty of choices available to try. Several times people at our table ordered more than one appetizer, entree, or dessert with no problem. Good to try a little of different things, and the portions are not huge. Must have enjoyed the food enough though - I had lost about 15 pounds before leaving for vacation and put 7 back on while away. Oh well, it's time to get back to the diet.

 

Hope you enjoy your trip as much as we did. If I can, I will be happy to answer any other specific questions you have.

[Cuizer2]

We will be a party of 7 travelling on Carnival for the 1st time. I have several questions.

*Is breakfast and lunch also served in the dining rooms or only in the buffet area and room service? We usually prefer dining room service.

*We have 2 cabins on the Upper Deck (outside) and 2 demi-suites on the Verandah deck (Cat 11). Has anyone stayed in these type of cabins/suites lately? One cabin (V42) has a partially-obstructed view. We are a little concerned and are interested in knowing how much of the view would be obstructed. I would appreciate any comments you might have on these cabins.

* Any other helpful information you could pass along would be very welcome. Thank you.

 

Yes, you can have breakfast, lunch and dinner in the dining room.

 

The life boats block the view of the rear most cat 11 suites on the Paradise. See the photo below ...

 

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As long as we are at it, here is a photo of the Paradise docked at its home port ...

 

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