3 Night Carnival Paradise Cruise Review

[Sailfish]

June 12-15, 2009 Review of the Carnival Paradise

 

 

We sailed aboard the Carnival Paradise the weekend of June 12, 2009; though we enjoyed this short cruise, it’s not likely we will be booking another one soon. That said, our cruise got the additional bonus of two ports of call instead of two, and we got a very nice upgrade.

 

Because I too appreciate cruise reviews, it’s important to note who we are - that way you know what lens we used! My husband and I are in our 40’s; we enjoy scuba diving and other outdoor sports. Though we like to cruise, we also enjoy land-based travel and do both; most of our friends are not cruise people. We tend to take longer trips that focus on our hobbies – diving, under water photography and golf, so this three night cruise was not we would normally schedule. But as the price of this particular sailing went down to $100pp, and the fact that both of us needed as much deserved break, I decided to book this cruise around the time the Swine Flu hysteria was at its peak - hence the great price! A week before the cruise, I was notified by Carnival that this cruise would be going back to Mexico, so instead of going only to Catalina, we would also be calling on Ensenada. I was also told we would be upgraded into a suite.

 

Everything one reads about these three night Carnival cruises during peak season is pretty much the was it was on our voyage – lots of high school and college age kids as well as many single groups of ladies and guys all looking to drink and party all weekend long! I knew to expect this, so it came as no surprise to me to see lots of drunk and sick kids partying all night long all over the ship. Except for the few every night who became ill in the hallways, most were well behaved and didn’t really impact my enjoyment of the cruise. That said, others we met were not so complementary, and said they would not have booked the cruise if they had known this would be the case - I guess they don't read Cruise Critic!

 

For better or worse, we pretty much did our own thing all weekend long. We got upgraded into a suite with a balcony, so we probably spent more time in our cabin than we normally would. The back of the ship has an “adults-only” Serenity deck area which for the most part was never crowded when we were there. And during the early part of the day, we got off the ship and spent a few hours in port. We had no desire to take part in any pool games, so much of the time we spent out on deck was on the Serenity Deck with a book and my husband with his travel guitar. We got an earful from people we met who had the unfortunate experience of being out by the main pool in the afternoon – they didn’t know about the Serenity Deck!

 

As for evenings, we enjoyed dinner each night in the formal dining room. The food was good, but nothing stood out as being exceptional. The service was excellent everywhere – our wait staff and bar servers were great. The food up on the Lido Deck was not nearly as good, but we always found something we liked, and the afternoon we stopped in Ensenada, the dining room was open for lunch (as day three would normally be a day at sea).

 

All in all, it was a nice cruise, and worth every penny! Yes, we observed many kids staggering back onto the ship in Ensenada, but as we were enjoying a glass of wine on our balcony, it made for interesting conversation! Here are some details:

 

Embarkation:

 

We are Platinum past guests, so check-in occurred in the VIP Lounge. We boarded around 11:15am. Our stateroom was not quite ready, despite the fact that Platinum occupied rooms are supposed to be ready at embarkation.

 

U80 Stateroom:

 

We loved our cabin! We were upgraded into a Category 12 Penthouse Suite. At 330 square feet, we had a separate sitting area with a bar and a large 70 square foot balcony. There was also a walk-in closet and a whirlpool tub. Now you may understand why we made the decision to enjoy this upgrade and spend some time in our room. We enjoyed breakfast in our cabin and thanks to decent weather, we also spent some time out on the balcony.

 

Our cabin didn't look exactly like this -

but it's similar, albeit nicer. We had a flat

screen TV and a separate living room.

 

Food Quality & Service:

 

We found the food in the dining room to be superior to that up on the Lido deck. The service was uniformly good all over the ship.

 

Weather:

 

We had some concerns that the dreaded June Gloom would put a damper on our cruise. Though we did see cool evenings and overcast skies in the morning, the sun poked through the clouds in the afternoon and brought the temperature up to the mid-70’s. I managed to sit out on deck every afternoon in my bathing suit. Pack a sweater and/or a light jacket, as it was chilly in the morning walking around in both ports of call.

 

Ports of Call:

 

We didn’t do any organized tours; we got off the ship around 10:30am both days and simply waked around for a couple of hours. We have been to both ports of call before. The Peso exchange rate in Ensenada was 13 Pesos to $1 USD; we bought some tequila and a small leather purse. Best prices on alcohol are in the local grocery store (can’t purchase alcohol before 10:30am). The small leather travel purse I got was one that was made in Mexico for $30 USD. I went to a high-end leather goods shop far from the main drag, where the locals shop – a store where they sell real designer brands. I think I got a good deal on this purse designed for holding your passport.

 

In Catalina we simply walked around town before heading back to the ship. I bought an over-priced tee shirt for $25 and nothing else. I had not brought any warm weather clothes, and needed a tee shirt – it was this or one from the ship! I have never had a tee shirt from Catalina, so I was okay, even though the shirt should not have cost so much!

 

Evening Activities:

 

We went to the show on embarkation night and to the show on the last night of the cruise. Both were entertaining and okay, but not nearly as good as some we have been to on other cruises. I lost $10 in the Casino in a matter of minutes on slots and decided to not gamble any more, but my husband was doing well at the Blackjack table, so he remained behind one evening while I spent an hour reading my book before turning in for the night. Three days goes by so fast!

 

Disembarkation:

 

We walked off the ship at 6:45am and picked up the car in the lot adjacent to the pier – it’s $15 per day to park at the port. We each walked off with one roller – it was fast and easy.

 

Final Thoughts:

 

The only bad thing I have to say about our cruise happened after we got home – we both got hit with the dreaded noro-virus! My husband came down with it first and I got it 8 hours later. We were both very sick for two days. We’ve each had it before, so we knew the signs! Because we went to Mexico, we first thought it might be the swine flu – but it was the Norwalk Virus that got us - the symptoms for the Swine Flue are different! Neither of us had a fever, but boy were we ill for 24 hours! By day two, it was just about gone. It hits you about as fast as it goes away! And there is nothing you can do!

 

The good news is we both knew what we had, and we are in good health, so we made a full recovery. Not sure if anyone else got sick – could be we got it in Mexico or on the ship – you just don’t know and never will.

 

That’s it. If you have any questions, fire away.

 

Take care.

 

Suzi

[calicruise74]

"We are Platinum past guests, so check-in occurred in the VIP Lounge. We boarded around 11:15am. Our stateroom was not quite ready, despite the fact that Platinum occupied rooms are supposed to be ready at embarkation."

 

Hi...thanks for the review!

 

I have never heard of this (in bold). Is that posted as a perk on the Platinum list of benefits?

[Sailfish]

"We are Platinum past guests, so check-in occurred in the VIP Lounge. We boarded around 11:15am. Our stateroom was not quite ready, despite the fact that Platinum occupied rooms are supposed to be ready at embarkation."

 

Hi...thanks for the review!

 

I have never heard of this (in bold). Is that posted as a perk on the Platinum list of benefits?

 

During check-in, we received an embarkation flyer with FAQ/information about where to eat, what time staterooms would be ready, etc. It's something that every cruise line hands out to embarking passengers; the one we got from Carnival indicated that staterooms would be ready to be occupied at 1:30pm. However, it stated that cabins occupied by Platinum guests will be ready at embarkation.

 

Because we received a last minute upgrade, our cabin steward wasn't notified of our past guest status, so the cabin was not ready when we arrived. Had he known in advance of our arrival, it would have been ready.

 

Like you, this is the first we had heard of this. Normally, the bulkhead doors that go into the hallways where cabins are located have been locked. Not so this time. They were closed, but they were not locked. We found our cabin, met our room steward and left our carry-ons in the room while he finished. When we returned after lunch (well before 1:30) the cabin was ready to go.

 

Since it's been a while since we cruised with Carnival, this is the first time we experienced this. On Princess, all cabins are ready to be occupied at embarkation.

 

Suzi

[Kurbanfan]

I have always said if you want to go on a booze/party cruise........book the Paradise:D

Nice review! Thanks!

[Sailfish]

One aspect of the cruise I forgot to include in my review had to do with the ship's dress code. It's been a while since we cruised with Carnival, and when we did, it was on an 8 night voyage in the Caribbean. I was hungry for honest input as to how dressy (or not) this voyage would be prior to our sailing - everything I had read up until now concerning three night cruises indicated they were very casual. Reading reviews and soliciting input from past passengers here at Cruise Critic left me somewhat confused; some said to go casual, some recommended dressing to the nines on formal night, so I began looking elsewhere on the web for input!

 

Now that I have been there, done that, I can verify that although all passengers from what I can tell dressed appropriately, they did so more casually on Formal Nights aboard the Paradise than on other Carnival cruises we have done. On past cruises with Carnival, we have always made note how casually people dressed on non-formal nights (much more so than Princess, for example). However, our 8 night cruise aboard the Miracle and 7 night cruise aboard the Valor saw nearly everyone dressing up on Formal Night - not so on the Paradise. I never saw anyone look sloppy or unkempt, however, we saw very few men in suits and most women wore nice sundresses, no gowns and very few cocktail dresses. My black chiffon strapless cocktail dress remained in the closet; instead, I wore a nice sundress, and very happy I did.

 

Despite what I had been reading on the web, I took my little black dress, but it proved to be too dressy. My husband wore a dark shirt and dockers to dinner, and took his silk sports coat, but returned the jacket it to our cabin after noting very few men wore them. We sat in a booth with one other couple in the formal dining room; in my opinion, the formal dining room has a casual feel to it thanks to this arrangement.

 

Now please don't misunderstand - I was fine with dressing down as opposed to dressing up! I felt everyone around us dressed the way they would if they were going out to a nice dinner. Remember, you don't have to dress up to go out to a nice restaurant anymore. On our longer cruises, Formal Nights were definitely more festive, and had a New Years Eve dress-up atmosphere to them - which I also enjoy!

 

Now here is the thing - there are two types of cruise passengers out there on the web; the ones who miss the formality associated with cruising and will always recommend you dress up, and the ones who don't care. I for one like Formal Nights and enjoy dressing up, but I don't want to stick out like a sore thumb. I took the input I got on the web with a big grain of salt - and so should you!

 

Here's what I learned: 1) If you do a three night cruise during spring break or in the summer, you'll find a younger demographic on the cruise who tend to be more casual. 2) When in doubt, take something more dressy just in case!

 

All those people who recommended I dress up weren't on my cruise! I asked several young ladies who worked on the ship as to how the majority dress on Formal Nights - all confirmed that most people dress nicely, but very few wear true formal wear.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Suzi

[Kurbanfan]

Now that I have been there, done that, I can verify that although all passengers from what I can tell dressed appropriately, they did so more casually on Formal Nights aboard the Paradise than on other Carnival cruises we have done. On past cruises with Carnival, we have always made note how casually people dressed on non-formal nights (much more so than Princess, for example). However, our 8 night cruise aboard the Miracle and 7 night cruise aboard the Valor saw nearly everyone dressing up on Formal Night - not so on the Paradise. I never saw anyone look sloppy or unkempt, however, we saw very few men in suits and most women wore nice sundresses, no gowns and very few cocktail dresses. My black chiffon strapless cocktail dress remained in the closet; instead, I wore a nice sundress, and very happy I did.

 

 

 

They did change formal night to cruise elegant night, and relaxed the dress code........could it be it was still called formal night the last time you cruised Carnival?

[Sailfish]

They did change formal night to cruise elegant night, and relaxed the dress code........could it be it was still called formal night the last time you cruised Carnival?

 

You are right - the last time we cruised, it was called Formal Night, not Cruise Elegant, which is what they call it now. What ever it is, it seems to be up for interpretation, as there are still some past passengers who are in denial and recommended we take formal wear! I did just in case, but felt more comfortable in less dressy clothes.

 

Suzi

[Kurbanfan]

You are right - the last time we cruised, it was called Formal Night, not Cruise Elegant, which is what they call it now. What ever it is, it seems to be up for interpretation, as there are still some past passengers who are in denial and recommended we take formal wear! I did just in case, but felt more comfortable in less dressy clothes.

 

Suzi

 

Well they do still encourage you to take your formal wear:

 

Cruise Elegant Dining Dress Code: Gentlemen - Dress slacks, dress shirts. We also suggest a sport coat. If you wish to wear suits and ties or tuxedos, by all means we invite you to do so. Ladies - Cocktail dresses, pantsuits, elegant skirts and blouses; if you‘d like to show off your evening gowns, that's great too!

 

But I agree......on the shorter cruises it seems to be more casual.....I found that about RCCL also......

[calicruise74]

I've been on the Paradise 4 times and guess what, not once did I even look at those welcome aboard flyers :o. Thanks for letting me know where that info is at....next time we know now that we can head to our cabin early.

[Sailfish]

I've been on the Paradise 4 times and guess what, not once did I even look at those welcome aboard flyers :o. Thanks for letting me know where that info is at....next time we know now that we can head to our cabin early.

 

To be honest with you, I don't pay close attention to it either, but this was the first time I noticed this. And it was confirmed by our cabin steward that all Platinum VIP guests may go to their cabins at embarkation. All Princess cabins are open at embarkation - I think this is NEW for Carnival.

 

Suzi