Just back from a weekend on the Paradise. A few thoughts

[jxtgreek]

Just did a short 4 day cruise on the Paradise to Cozumel and back out of Tampa.  Our cabin was perfect, our room steward was great.  Food was just ok but not terrible. Cozumel is always fantastic and the drinks at Fat Tuesday were very strong. During the first 3 nights the casino was nice.  Blackjack didn't take away but it didn't give much either so it was fun.  My one dissatisfaction was on the last day we had cold rough weather which kept everyone indoors.  On top of that it was the last day of NFL so the bars were packed.  Carnival should have had contingency for this.  It took forever and I mean a very long time to get a drink.  I was playing Blackjack and even the pit bosses couldn't find a server to get drinks.  It made for a frustrating day.  If there were no outside activities due to weather management should have shifted people and jobs.  I can personally attest by watching 3 gaming tables that nobody was able to get a drink in a timely manner.  I guess that helped me since I stayed a bit more sober and was able to focus better on the cards and was able to pay everything from my winnings but I would have rather been able to get a few drinks.  Would I do the Paradise again?  Yes I would she is a classic and for 4 day weekends nothing is better.

[hurricane0226]

Guess it was Paradise😎

[DallasGuy75219]

1 hour ago, jxtgreek said:

It took forever and I mean a very long time to get a drink.  I was playing Blackjack and even the pit bosses couldn't find a server to get drinks.  It made for a frustrating day.  If there were no outside activities due to weather management should have shifted people and jobs.  I can personally attest by watching 3 gaming tables that nobody was able to get a drink in a timely manner.

Understaffing is now the status quo on Carnival.  Carnival does sometimes send bartenders and servers from other bars to the casino--look for employees for example in red frog and blue iguana shirts--but here are only so many bartenders and bar waiters to go around.  

 

As someone who always has Drinks On Us, this is especially frustrating because I have to order from a waiter and can't order at the bar.

[Honolulu Blue]

10 hours ago, jxtgreek said:

Just did a short 4 day cruise on the Paradise to Cozumel and back out of Tampa.  Our cabin was perfect, our room steward was great.  Food was just ok but not terrible. Cozumel is always fantastic and the drinks at Fat Tuesday were very strong. During the first 3 nights the casino was nice.  Blackjack didn't take away but it didn't give much either so it was fun.  My one dissatisfaction was on the last day we had cold rough weather which kept everyone indoors.  On top of that it was the last day of NFL so the bars were packed.  Carnival should have had contingency for this.  It took forever and I mean a very long time to get a drink.  I was playing Blackjack and even the pit bosses couldn't find a server to get drinks.  It made for a frustrating day.  If there were no outside activities due to weather management should have shifted people and jobs.  I can personally attest by watching 3 gaming tables that nobody was able to get a drink in a timely manner.  I guess that helped me since I stayed a bit more sober and was able to focus better on the cards and was able to pay everything from my winnings but I would have rather been able to get a few drinks.  Would I do the Paradise again?  Yes I would she is a classic and for 4 day weekends nothing is better.

Thanks for your review.  I'm happy you had a good time.  I'm sorry that Mother Nature didn't cooperate on the last day.

[Frank12]

We like Paradise and have cruised her several times.  For the life of me I cannot understand why they didn't add Alchemy Bar on her last dry dock.  That is almost a deal breaker for me in my old age! 😜

Edited January 9 by Frank12

[nascartim]

2 hours ago, Frank12 said:

We like Paradise and have cruised her several times.  For the life of me I cannot understand why they didn't add Alchemy Bar on her last dry dock.  That is almost a deal breaker for me in my old age! 😜

Is Alchemy bar that much better than the Rotterdam bar? I hear nothing but high praises about the Rotterdam. Maybe Carnival felt like the cost to retrofit it wasn't worth it? 

[Buckimion]

Would you describe the embarkation / debarkation as smooth or a royal cluster?

[Frank12]

49 minutes ago, nascartim said:

Is Alchemy bar that much better than the Rotterdam bar? I hear nothing but high praises about the Rotterdam. Maybe Carnival felt like the cost to retrofit it wasn't worth it? 

Just like the Alchemy menu and concept.  The only other Fantasy class ship left ( Elation) has had one for years.  I think some of the ones that got scrapped also had been upgraded with Alchemy. Paradise is the only ship in the fleet without it.

[nascartim]

1 hour ago, Buckimion said:

Would you describe the embarkation / debarkation as smooth or a royal cluster?

I was on in November, will be back on her next week. Embarkation is a breeze. Debarkation on the other hand was a little bit of a slow process. Though we wait up in the lido area as long as we can until we think the lines have died down, well it was a very long line to get off the ship, once off, it's a breeze.

[pirate4me2]

Thanks for the review! We sailed Paradise back in January 2020 and it was nice to be on a smaller ship for a change. I really enjoyed her. 

[jxtgreek]

Regarding embarkation and debarkation...both were exceptionally smooth for us. Debarking was interesting for me.  First I lost my sail and sign card.  Not a problem, when I left person scanning cards simply asked for my room number.  He punched it in and up popped my picture.  He let us through.  Next you are split into 2 lines.  One for those with passports and one for those with birth certificates.  We had passports.  they had a scanning iPad device that looks at you and matches your picture (which was taken when you embark) to your passport.  That was it.  We were then motioned to simply leave.  Nothing else.

[Frank12]

4 hours ago, Buckimion said:

Would you describe the embarkation / debarkation as smooth or a royal cluster?

Fantasy Class are a breeze compared to the new Excel class.  Talk about a cluster!

[ZoeyVictoria]

I have been on the Paradise four times and really enjoyed the first three. Last time, the entire ship just seemed loud.  We were unable to find a quiet place to just sit and watch the water. We said that was the last time, but now there is a free cruise involved and the temptation to drive just one hour to Tampa is strong. We figure we will enjoy it if we go into it with realistic expectations. 

 

Where are the quietest locations on the ship?  I am willing to head up to Serenity early, but IIRC most seats are in the sun and it is not always serene in Serenity. Any ideas?
 

[scpirate]

The only quiet place I remember was our cabin..we spent a lot of time there. We stepped out on to serenity for a minute it was like we stepped into a blast furnace as we walked through that door we turned around and made for the hills.

[simplelife]

On 1/9/2024 at 10:25 AM, Buckimion said:

Would you describe the embarkation / debarkation as smooth or a royal cluster?

We just came off Paradise and found embarkation and debarkation to be very smooth. The Port of Tampa is very convenient and well-planned. We parked in the parking garage across from the ship and made the short easy walk to the embarkation point, No lines for embarkation,(we did have to pause a few seconds for the drug dog - first time we have ever experienced that), plenty of check-in stations, and we only waited a few minutes in the preboard area before boarding. Debarkation was smooth as well. We selected luggage tags the day before debarkation for the time we wanted to debark. After we ate breakfast, we waited just a few minutes in one of the lounge areas until our number was called ,and we pretty much just walked off' Love this port!

 

[simplelife]

On 1/8/2024 at 10:33 PM, DallasGuy75219 said:

Understaffing is now the status quo on Carnival.  Carnival does sometimes send bartenders and servers from other bars to the casino--look for employees for example in red frog and blue iguana shirts--but here are only so many bartenders and bar waiters to go around.  

 

As someone who always has Drinks On Us, this is especially frustrating because I have to order from a waiter and can't order at the bar.

 

On 1/8/2024 at 8:33 PM, jxtgreek said:

 

We are just off Paradise and also noticed how understaffed the bars were.  I passed on specialty coffee the whole cruise because Java Blue ALWAYS had a line. It took forever to get drinks at every bar. It used to be there were so many "roving waters" on the pool deck and Serenity, and in show venues that it was almost a nuisance. This time it was rare to see one. 

[scpirate]

6 hours ago, simplelife said:

 

We are just off Paradise and also noticed how understaffed the bars were.  I passed on specialty coffee the whole cruise because Java Blue ALWAYS had a line. It took forever to get drinks at every bar. It used to be there were so many "roving waters" on the pool deck and Serenity, and in show venues that it was almost a nuisance. This time it was rare to see one. 

I don't drink alcohol anymore and I noticed that also in September. The few times I went to the bar to see what soft / energy drinks they had.

[dolphinsfan246]

On 1/30/2024 at 8:00 AM, ZoeyVictoria said:

I have been on the Paradise four times and really enjoyed the first three. Last time, the entire ship just seemed loud.  We were unable to find a quiet place to just sit and watch the water. We said that was the last time, but now there is a free cruise involved and the temptation to drive just one hour to Tampa is strong. We figure we will enjoy it if we go into it with realistic expectations. 

 

Where are the quietest locations on the ship?  I am willing to head up to Serenity early, but IIRC most seats are in the sun and it is not always serene in Serenity. Any ideas?
 

Book a balcony cabin, best quiet spot I can think of to watch the water. (As long as you don’t have rude neighbors with Bluetooth speakers) 

[ZoeyVictoria]

3 hours ago, dolphinsfan246 said:

Book a balcony cabin, best quiet spot I can think of to watch the water. (As long as you don’t have rude neighbors with Bluetooth speakers) 

Usually that is sound advice, but in this case, it is the difference between $0 and $1,738!  
 

Sorry about the bad pun 😂

[dolphinsfan246]

10 hours ago, ZoeyVictoria said:

Usually that is sound advice, but in this case, it is the difference between $0 and $1,738!  
 

Sorry about the bad pun 😂

Haha well in that case , I reckon I’d just take my chances on the serenity deck LOL