June 7th - First Triumph Cruise out of NY - Review

[crusinmama06]

St. Martin Sea Caves

So we arrive at the St. Martin Sea Caves and our guide Bill (a fabulous gentleman) tells us that we will only have a few minutes until the tide rises too high to safely get accross to the caves.

 

We put on our water shoes and make the treck across the rocky beach. If you have ANY problems with mobility, this is not the tour for you. The rocks are very difficult to walk on, they slide under your feet. Very different from walking on sand.

Right next to the caves was a SMALL stream of water, about an inch deep, but VERY cold. Bill the guide says that the Bay is always a steady 30-32 degrees. We had to walk across this cold water (about 10 feet wide) to get to the caves.

Once over there, we had about 5 minutes to get our pictures and get back across. One member of our group, not naming any names, (BRIAN) decided to try to make it into the 2 sea cave (there are 3). The guides were telling him to come back. This person (BRIAN) decided to ignore the guides just to get a shot of the 2nd cave because, come on, it's just an inch or 2 of water. Within minutes, the guides were yelling "We hope you can swim!" lol - the water had risen alot in just a few minutes. But we all made it back safely from the caves. And we were able to get some great pictures. And STILL, no Carnival buses had arrived on scene. So we were lucky to have been able to do that.

 

Bill also told my girls some local lore - if you find a rock with another rock layer the whole way through and it created a complete circle through the rock, then you will have luck with the boys (god help me). And if it has 2 layers, then 2 boys will be fighting over you. I think my kids carted back 50lbs of rock in their pockets, I kid you not. Everytime we stopped, Bill would secretly throw one or two rocks out of the mini van. Smart guy! lol

to be continued....

 

 

The unnamed CCer (BRIAN) who didn't listen to the guides and ventured onto the 2nd cave.

 

 

 

 

How many rocks can I fit in my pockets?

 

[crusinmama06]

St. Martin's Sea Caves - Continued....

 

So one thing not to miss is a bowl of the "World Famous Seafood Chowder" at the sea caves restaurant. {I think it started at $7.99/cup} but my oldest declared it - the WORLD'S BEST.

 

And a quick apology to PETER, he was our guide. I wrote "Bill" in my earlier post, he was our driver.

 

By the time our chowder arrived, so did the Carnival buses, TWO of them. :eek: They walked off the bus, and went right into the restaurant for their bowl of chowder. They missed the opporunity to go into the sea caves because they arrived so late but I was surprised that the people on the bus didn't even glance toward the caves, they all walked right into the restaurant - odd I thought. Come all that way and miss a natural wonder right in front of you.

Waiting for the chowder...

 

 

That inch or two of water now becomes feet and impassable without an icy swim.

 

Our tour guide Peter and my oldest giving her thumbs up approval for the chowder.

 

 

Someone gave the water back to the boats.

 

[kyrisong1]

Michele, Excellent review and excellent pics. Thanks so much for posting them.

I'm so sorry about the CC for your daughter, abusing rubber sharks on poles isn't a crime ANYWHERE except at CC it seems :confused:. Funny I thought in a kids club would be a place that kids could be kids.

I HATE when the dining staff comes up short for you, it certainly does detract from the whole experience, you've shown so much patience for it all!!!!

Keep it coming!!!

Carole

[crusinmama06]

On our way back to Saint John...

 

We stopped at a lighthouse "Visitor Center" - those stairs were SCARY. Peter took both kids up because there was no way I was able to do it...lol.

 

 

The covered bridges

 

 

 

And since we had the kids, Bill and Peter decided to veer off from the other group and take us to a Mini Horse farm. My youngest was so tickled by the chicken at this farm - the chicken's name was "Chicken Little". And everytime my daughter talked to it the chicken would say "Booooooock" almost to answer her.

 

 

 

This is one of the horses, the mini stallion, with my kids and the Guide Peter and Driver Bill....

 

[Lgarth]

Michele, Awesome review and wonderful pictures!! I truly love the one of your youngest and the chicken...You can just see the excitement in her expression...Priceless:D Thanks for sharing..looking forward to more.

[crusinmama06]

Thanks Carole - yes, it was odd to me how the Camp staff were treating the young kids. It had never happened before, so I know it's not the usual camp experience. And on the last Sea Day, they took the cake for ridiculous comments, but I'll get to that later.

 

And thank you Linda - yes, she was soo excited over that chicken. I was laughing that we came all that way and a chicken gave her the biggest smile of the week...lol

 

 

Moving on....

 

This is reversing falls, not much to see, but still pretty interesting. The water runs backwards certain times each day....

 

 

 

 

 

And who do we have here, climbing the safety fence just to get a better shot? Yep, you've guessed it, it's that unnamed CCer (BRIAN).

 

And I can say that we don't have these signs in Pennsylvania...LOL...MOOSE CROSSING! And yes, our guides were trying to spot some moose for us, what a sight that would have been...

 

[JaniceB]

Michele,

 

Great review and pictures. Can't wait to read the rest.

 

Janice

[crusinmama06]

After reversing falls, Peter and Bill took us to a "scenic view" to see our ship in port.

 

 

Then it was off to the Farmers Market in Saint John which was really very nice.

 

Next stop, back to the ship. We bid farewell to our guide and driver (truly awesome fellows)

 

And here is where the relaxation ends and we are back in Carnival line hell. We walk into the new terminal, are welcomed back by the terminal security guards (SO NICE) and told to go ahead up the escalator where we come to a complete dead stop. Yes, this would be Carnival's fault.

 

Let me see if I can explain this...this is the new terminal. You can see the building. When we got to the top of it, there was a line snaking up and down the entire length of the top floor of the building, then see the walking bridge? We snaked through that up and down. THEN, when we get on the ship deck, we are lined up one length of that deck which extends up the deck loops around and comes back down to where we started. And get this - ONE Carnival security guard checking in the ENTIRE ship. ONE. Yes, I said ONE. In over 10 cruises and being to at least 20 ports, I have never seen one guard check in the entire ship. :eek:

 

So an hour wait to get back on the ship was a terrible way to end such a fabulous day in port.

 

 

[crusinmama06]

Day 4 - Last Sea Day - Capers

 

 

 

 

 

[cheerfulkim]

Michelle,

Thanks so much for taking the time to post your review. I LOVE the scenery in Canada, and your pictures of Saint John have brought back the memories of our trip to New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. Thank you!!

[MrPete]

WOW! You certainly did get out there in Saint John. Interesting seeing the new terminal. It was just an open lot with tents last we were there.

 

Did you get to the City Market at all?

[crusinmama06]

The LAST SEA DAY

 

So we meet for breakfast with our fellow CCers again and decide that we would spend the day hitting different events on the ship.

 

We got lunch in the buffet - HOLY Traffic jam...This was just one of the buffet lines. It didn't matter what time we went, we were met with this line, morning, noon and night...

 

 

Then later we watched the chaos that is the Chocolate Buffet - many, many people funneling from the buffet into a small area to grab a brownie - yep, never good.

 

Before the chocolate buffet opened....

 

 

 

 

 

People waiting to jump on the chocolate buffet...

 

 

After lunch, we did the Cartoon Trivia - got 15 out of 20, so we lost...lol.

 

 

We did charades - children were asked NOT to play. :eek: It caused one boy (about 12) who tried to volunteer to actually break into tears when he was told he wasn't allowed. Notice, it wasn't in the caper as an adult event. It was scheduled after the cartoon trivia which is usually attended by lots of FAMILIES.

 

 

Then I took the kids to Camp Carnival for an hour (and held my breath). My youngest wanted to go meet fun ship freddy. I needed to go add some more cash onto my account. I had some more shopping to do that night and needed some more cash.

 

Well needless to say, this was the next to Last Sea Day, which meant that everyone and their brother was REMOVING tips. The big hold up, an ENTIRE group of 340 from Brooklyn stood in line to get their tips back. I waited for 45 minutes in this line until I got one back from the counter when I checked my watched, time to get the kids....so I raced up to Deck 11 to grab the kids and came right back down to stand in this line for ANOTHER 45 minutes....this was the picture after I had made it through the line. {The group isn't pictured because they had made it through ahead of me.}

.

 

 

By the time I got to the counter I was not a happy person. I had spent an hour and a half listening to everyone talk about getting their "40 bucks back".

 

The woman in front of me actually asked if this was the line to "get my 40 bucks back"

 

So when I got up to the counter I said to the crew member "I don't know how you do it, all of these hundreds of people taking their tips off"

 

And he replied "Maam, it's their money, they can do with it what they want"

 

And I said "I know I know, you work here, you can't say they're cheap, but I CAN"

 

And he said "It's their money maam"

 

And I said "Yes, it was their toilet that was scrubbed for the week too, yet their cabin attendant will get stiffed on that"

 

HOW CHEAP!

[crusinmama06]

WOW! You certainly did get out there in Saint John. Interesting seeing the new terminal. It was just an open lot with tents last we were there.

 

Did you get to the City Market at all?

 

Yes we did. Our driver dropped us off at the front door and went around to the back door to wait for us. Our tour guide took us inside and told us about the different areas and which part had burned in the "Great Fire", which part was rebuilt. :)

 

We were on hour #5 so the kids were starting to fade fast so I couldn't spend time shopping there. But some of our fellow CCers bought us some great little gifts from the market. :D

[crusinmama06]

NO RUNNING DURING DUCK DUCK GOOSE!

 

I have been waiting to post this story because I didn't want to take the review out of chronological order....but the most ridiculous comment from a Camp Carnival counselor came on the last Sea Day during the one hour my youngest was there.

 

They had been playing Jelly Jelly Fish which is Duck Duck Goose. I went to pick up my youngest (yes, she's 5) when I asked how things went. {I shouldn't have asked...lol}

 

The counselor said "Well, Gabriella was running around the circle when we were playing Jelly Jelly Fish, it didn't matter if it was her turn or not. It's Gabriella play room, she controls it. It's her show" :rolleyes:

 

I just wanted to grab the woman and scream - SHE'S FIVE! Why allow a 5 year old to control you????? And then I thought - of course a 5 year old was running during duck, duck goose, they get excited and run around. They have very little concept of game rules at this age, its up to US to guide them.

 

So if your child plays duck, duck goose on Carnival Triumph, please teach them the game rules in advance. They will have very little patience for a child who does not follow the rules of duck, duck goose.

 

Here's the little trouble maker herself....looks vicious, doesn't she?

 

 

And the best part? I take the kids back to our cabin and realize that my 9 year old doesn't have her lanyard with SS card on her neck {she took it off to play water balloons and didn't want to get it wet}, so we have to race back up to Camp Carnival and I ask them if the counselor laid it in the playroom, they said no. So I asked them if they could check with the counselor, they picked up the phone - presumably to call the counselor, then hang up and say "Nope, the counselor doesn't have it."

So BACK to the customer relations line for a 3rd time to get a new card...lol. Another wait in the tip removing line.

And of course, later that night when I take my oldest to meet with her group for "Swimming Under the Stars" with camp, I asked one of the counselors if he noticed a lanyard laying around earlier, he says "Oh yeah we have it" and then motions me over to another counselor who had it. :cool:

[Name Of The Game]

Maybe next time it will be your husband's turn to go with you, minus the kids, then you won't have to deal with Camp Carnival. Was the food good?

[crusinmama06]

Maybe next time it will be your husband's turn to go with you, minus the kids, then you won't have to deal with Camp Carnival. Was the food good?

 

Sorry, I don't think the kids staying at home would have made my experience any better. I enjoy traveling with my kids, hence the screen name.

 

And next time, I'll be on Royal Caribbean. Yes, hubby too. ;)

 

Yes, the food in the dining room was incredible. The only thing people didn't like was the lobster bisque, but I remembered that from another CCL cruise so I avoided it. And I became addicted to warm chocolate melting cake.

 

Food in the buffet was BAD.

[JuniorCruiser]

Sorry to hear about the lobster bisque. That's always one of my favs while on a cruise. Guess i'm gonna have to pass on it.

 

With all the talk about the choco melting cake i'm gonna have to try it. It sounds delish :D

 

~~Debbie~~

[crusinmama06]

So, wrapping up this review, the Last Sea Day was foggy so they kept blowing the fog horn...kind of thought that was cool.

 

 

 

We had a final night onboard in the dining room (had the Salmon and Crab Cake - delish!)

 

Then it was time to pack up. I noticed that the papers said that the "BEST WAY TO DISEMBARK" was self assist - so we all figured we would try it. :D

 

For those not wanting to self assist, the bags had to be in the hallway by 11pm.

 

We got up at 7am and heading to breakfast by 7:45am. One of the people in our group had made an arrangement with his cabin attendant that we would be leaving our luggage in their cabin until after breakfast, so we wouldn't be blocking the aisles at breakfast.

 

By 8:30am we were picking up our bags, went down to Deck 3 to the gangway, lines were pretty fast moving. And the ship was now docked at Pier 88, we had started at Pier 90. So after talking to some terminal security guards we head out to find the car.

 

I gave some fellow CCers a ride home so they could get home faster than their 10:30pm flight would have gotten them in. So we had company on the way home. :D

 

Getting back out of NYC was a little more tricky since it was a weekday, but still an awesome way to end a vacation! Usually, we are jumping from shuttles to airplanes back to shuttles to cars....this time was VERY EASY.

[frazzledrazzle16]

When I went to get my daughter after the "shark incident", I looked around and the counselors were not doing the activities they were suppose to be doing at that time. They were suppose to be "coloring big cruise ships" and making "princess paper bags". They weren't. The kids were just doing free play. So while I was there, another little girl started crying, a boy had bit her on the arm. :eek: So they called both of their parents too.

 

So I guess the best way to describe Camp this time - CHAOS. And that's a shame because it hadn't been that way in the past. All you need is a couple of inept counselors and they can really ruin the child's cruise.

 

I'm just wondering, did they do those activities at all??? Although I do not have children of my own, I was a camp counselor for years and have experience with kids of all different ages, and I know it's different on a cruise ship, but when you have so many kids together and you have an activity like coloring it can only hold the attention of a child for so long. Most of the kids will scribble some color on the sheet and then yell out they're done and a new activity needs to be started. I can see where you would be frustrated with them calling you for a damn rubber shark (maybe these counselors were lacking some common sense? LOL).

 

And that many people taking tips off on the last day??? HOW ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE! I would have been embarassed to be on the same ship as them. You see how hard a steward or a waitress works all week to make your vacation the best it can be and you know those tips are the bulk of their income. Just terrible...

[MrPete]

 

Yeah I can safely say we are done with Carnival.

 

I've been sort of reading that as the lying overtone throughout this thread.

 

I remember on one of my EXoS cruises, I saw a woman putting her diapered kid in the pool. I promptly went to get a guard. He escorted me back to the pool, and when he saw the kid, says "Oh, it's OK. He's wearing a diaper." :rolleyes:

[crusinmama06]

I'm just wondering, did they do those activities at all???

 

Nope, not that night, don't know why, they had done the other activities as they were listed. This wasn't a sailing overun with kids. There are usually more kids in camp. Most kids aren't off for Summer yet or are just getting out. Mine were left out early. So I don't know why they hadn't done the activities as listed.

Now, the older kids (the 9-11s) were doing the activities as planned. I could always find my older one doing exactly what the schedule said they were suppose to be doing.

 

Speaking of Kid Capers, I scanned those too. SP I might as well post them here...

 

CARNIVAL KID CAPERS - AGES 2-5

 

 

 

 

[crusinmama06]

I've been sort of reading that as the lying overtone throughout this thread.

I remember on one of my EXoS cruises, I saw a woman putting her diapered kid in the pool. I promptly went to get a guard. He escorted me back to the pool, and when he saw the kid, says "Oh, it's OK. He's wearing a diaper."

And that hasn't been my experience on RCCL though. They had deck patrol on Indy removing babies in diapers, I have pictures....lol. And actually, if it was JUST the babies in the pool, I could look past it. It's just the combination of the whole experience.

I didn't even mention the entire bank of elevators down - we usually just walked the stairs anyway (would have been a problem for someone with limited mobility)

I didn't mention the water pipe break on Port Side of Deck 8 - at least 8 cabins were flooded. We saw all of their soaking belongings sitting in the hallway. Those guests were moved to the Spa deck. So those cabins had industrial sized fans in them for the rest of the cruise, trying to dry the area.

On the bright side, I saw WHALES!!!!! :D:D

Camp Carnival Capers - Ages 9 - 11

 

 

 

[crusinmama06]

And lastly - Circle C Pages for 12 - 14 year olds

 

 

[ChipLondon]

Thank you so much for taking the time to post such an inclusive thread, I learnt so much. Certaimly enough to know that I shall NOT be booking this ship at any time. I will happily stay loyal to Royal

[dagadget]

Excellent Job on the pictures and review Michelle. It seems that every cruise that we all go on, something different pops up to surprise us. It looks like all of you had a grand time. well done