Triumph, Western Review 1/20/07

[Donnask8pro]

Bear with me, I have never written a review before. Excuse any fragments and/or punctuation. If I missed anything I will add later or ask and I will try to answer your questions.

 

 

Triumph Jan 20th 2007 Western

Cabin 1050 Panorama

There were 9 of us.

Me 45

DH 38

DS 6

Mom 79

Mom’s friends 79, 76, 68

And friends daughters 45, 41

We flew into Miami a day early on AA. Got a van for $10 per person to take us to the Holiday Inn Port. No charge for DS 6 yrs old. The Yango liquor store is no longer open but we found another one a few more blocks away. Pricey but had most of what we needed. Packed 2 six packs of beer and 1 six of Smirnoff Ice. Also took a 12 pk of coke cans. Friends of ours packed 4 cases of water and had no problems. I used a rolling cooler and put a luggage strap around it and checked it through. Used zip ties for my entire luggage.

Embarkation, sail away

We got to the terminal around 12:00ish. Very busy but moved very well. The porters did not ask for a tip although we did tip well (I really like my luggage.) When we got on we immediately went to our cabin to drop our stuff. We went up to Lido for some nourishment and refreshments. We did get a souvenir cup for 6.99 plus so it came to 7.26. We then got refills for 5.99 which came to 6. 84. Keep your glass. We saw them left everywhere by people. They will then give you a new glass with the drink when you turn in your dirty one. Miami Vices were cheaper than the drink of the day. 5.25 plus tip,6.04. We had a balcony cabin 1050, great for sail away.

Dinner in Paris late 8:00. Menus I saw posted were different than the ones onboard. Some things had changed.

Cozumel,

ParadiseBeach, We love it here. $30 total for a van for all 9 of us. It was $9.00 for water sports and our friends took a catamaran out for 2 hours to snorkel from the beach dock. I believe it was 35 per person. They had a great time. One of the women is a diver and she enjoyed it also. We ate lunch at the bar and they poured shots in our mouths for free. They even had a non- alcoholic one for DS. Harley (the dog) is still there although I did not see him. Mom said she did.

Grand Caymans:

Native ways: Rays, Rum and Reef. I have done Rays and Reef before but adding the Rum Point was a great move. Beautiful place and the food were incredible. I can not say enough of how great Native ways was. They were the best. My DS got to drive the boat and of course that was to die for. They were professional, helpful and kept to a smaller.

number of booked passengers. which made for a great day for all. We had 11 people onboard total. $60 adults and $45 for DS.

They also brought up a starfish for all to touch and see.

Jamaica:

Phil Lafayette, River Tubing only.35 per person including van ride. No discount for kids. Boy, can that man talk. He did try to charge me 40 per but I brought my paperwork so he charged 35 per. I was not happy with that at all. He even had a price sheet up front which said 35 per person. I though he was informative once he started talking about the island. But in the beginning he was annoying. The Tubing was PERFECT. They worked so hard and it was great. All of us went on this trip also. The seniors did great and loved it. They were talking about it for days.

Margaritaville: great food, watch out for the leaping lizards at your feet near the beach. They were so cute, no problems at all. Selling all sorts of stuff on the beach and reeked of pot around parts of the beach. But they were harmless. Very nice people. I did buy a Bob Marley hat for older DS (did not go with us) for $10.00. He wanted 15.

A FEWS NOTES:

My cabin was smaller than my Moms who had Deck 2, 2351 Ocean view. Her cabin was much bigger than my Balcony. My last balcony was on the Miracle and it was larger also than this one. But enough room to still move around.

Camp Carnival was awesome. My DS6 was up later than us 2 nights. We had to go get him at 12:45am. They had two big parties that he wanted to attend. He has never been up later than 10:00. I was shocked he made it. He was there all the time and we tipped them $50.00. Well worth it for us. They painted faces, had treasure hunts and searched for Funship Freddy. Lots to do for them. He never complained.

Ship was always being cleaned and they all worked very hard. Cabin steward (Tina) called us by name.”Marketa” in the dining room was unbelievable and her assistant “Inyoman” was fantastic also. We did order 2 dinners sometimes and 2 apps too.

Water slide was open all the time as were the hot tubs too. Friends used the showers in Spa and loved them. Bigger than the cabins showers I think they said.

I never really ate on the lunch buffet Lido because we ate a lot of pizza or Caesar salads. Room service one time and man were they fast. Chocolate buffet (Fridays 12:00 to 3:00, not on the capers) was good but I would liked to have had the chocolate fountain they had on the Miracle.

I loved the layout of this ship. The Lido was more interactive than the Miracle or Sensation (that I remember).

Debarkation: slow and painful. But we survived. Our flight was not until 4:00 so we were not in a rush.

All in All…. I’d give it a 10. I am ready to book my next one.

[MamaParrotHead]

Can you tell me what took so long during debarkation? We had a NIGHTMARE of a time last time (debarking the Valor) and want to avoid that this time. Plus we'll have a limo waiting for us that we're being charged for, starting at 9:00 a.m. Do you think self-debark would have been quicker? It was such a damn drama last time, I'm all ready breaking out in hives thinking about it, LOL. We seriously waited in line 2 hours to get off the ship, and atleast another hour to wind through the terminal to the baggage claim area. We had to call to switch flights (didn't get to a taxi outside the terminal until 12:30). :eek:

[bamagirl1]

Thanks for the review!! I cant wait to go on the Triumph! Only

251 more days:eek:

[Donnask8pro]

cant even imagine why the problems. But when they call the first color bust a move. Except, I have no clue if all luggage was out immediately. We did not rush off and our color was called first. By the time I got down my luggage had been moved. I had such a late flight that I waited for all of our friends colors to be called. But, next time hang near deck 3 and go when they start calling if need be. Good Luck..

[bbiggar]

Hi Donna, so glad you enjoyed your trip. We too just had Tina for our room, we had room 1062 just down the hall. She always went out of her way for anything at all for us. No matter what time of day it was she greeted us with a warm hello and smile by name as well. I sure loved Tina! :)

[Donnask8pro]

You probably saw us then. DS is 6 yrs old and wears glasses. He was always racing DH to the room. It seemed like everyone on board knew Justin.. Did you notice the balcony cabins were smaller than OV?