triumph 6/25/09 my own good, bad and ugly

[mgmigs]

just got home a little while ago. i'll post a review later. this was my first ccl cruise in about 12 years, i decided to try ccl after being exclusive to rccl. i had good expectations and thought some of the bad reviews were isolated incidents..............not true! i will post a review according to my personal experience, please do not bash me if you experienced differenly, i am reviewing the 6/25/09 sailing of the triumph only. more later and please, my fellow passengers chime in.

 

let me start by saying that it took us 2 hours to get into the parking lot from the street (i think 12th)!!! p.s. the parking lot at the pier was full so we parked at the next pier. the wait time was ridiculous and when we asked if something was wrong/why the delay they said nothing was wrong???? going to the the other pier actually was not all that bad because we debarked at the next pier. after that, another 1 1/2 hours on the check-in line!!!! i suppose i should of seen this as a sign of things to come.

[we3k9]

cant wait to hear what happened. there have been a few other reviews for this cruise date and they had a good time.

[jks336]

like the saying goes, everyone's experience is different, you take each review and go from there. sounds like it wasnt the greatest for you, which is sad. but i hope too that ppl don't "bash". each person should be able to say what happened and then others take that and learn from it. again, everyone has different experiences.

 

we had a great time, we were on the june 15th-20 cruise, didnt park at the pier, took the train then taxi. wait time was great, not a big issue for us, we got there 11ish, they started boarding at 12 and we were on say around 1230 maybe. went to our cabins just after 130 and our baggage was even there! that was great. dining room food was good. the food overall was your usual basic buffet food, didnt care for their "scrambled" eggs lol but everything else was fine. all the crew we ran into were friendly. our steward had our room done and kept our ice filled. leaving wasnt bad either, but we didnt rush off. going thru customs was fine too. i was just amazed that having over 2700 ppl on board there was only a couple times you ran into alot at once. my friend who was very skeptical (sp) had a blast. she who gets bored easy found all she needed to do was go around the corner, or down the hall and see something else. some food was good to her, some wasnt. again, everyone has different experiences, but i will tell you, on the way home on the train she said....... so where we going next year? lol..

[G'ma]

The initial "complaint" seems to be the result of not arriving at the port early enough to avoid the crowds.

 

Tsk, tsk.

 

I can't wait to read the rest.....being a veteran of 5 cruises on Triumph - one of my favorite Carnival ships.

 

Bring it on....

[Rowan555]

The initial "complaint" seems to be the result of not arriving at the port early enough to avoid the crowds.

 

Tsk' date=' tsk.

 

I can't wait to read the rest.....being a veteran of 5 cruises on Triumph - one of my favorite Carnival ships.

 

Bring it on....[/quote']

 

I'm delighted to hear that the Triumph is one of your favorites. I've been a little concerned about this being our new ship in NOLA - I love the Fantasy, and just from looking at the photos, I wasn't sure how I'd feel about the Triumph. It makes me happy to know there are cruise pros out there who feel about the Triumph as I do about the Fantasy!

[mom2tcdx2]

I wish someone wouldn't start a thread when they are not yet ready to provide details. Just lacking to read the post and there isn't really anything noted yet, other than they had a wait at the port. The longest wait we had was from getting to the port too early but when driving we always leave a bit too early just in case there are any delays on the way etc. We ended up just parking in the garage and waiting it out.

[mgmigs]

fyi: there were over 3,300 passengers on the ship that i thought only held a max of 2,700. we arrived pleanty early and there is absolutely no reason it should take 2 hours to get into the parking lot from the street.

[travelntreats]

fyi: there were over 3,300 passengers on the ship that i thought only held a max of 2,700. we arrived pleanty early and there is absolutely no reason it should take 2 hours to get into the parking lot from the street.

fyi: this ship has guest capacity of 2758 ..... BASED ON DOUBLE OCCUPANCY

 

Hopefully you will take the time to share more of your cruise experience. :cool:

[mgmigs]

while waiting on the cattle call for check-in, 2 members of my party were physically threatened by the passengers behind us. once on board, one of them was threateend again by one of the same people. thankfully, security did an excellent job of nipping this mater in the bud. we were impressed with how swiftly they took care of the matter.

 

we had an inside room. the room was spacious as was the bathroom and it had a nice amount of closet space. the bathroom had a ladies razor and sample tooth pastes which was nice.

 

the room was always clean and the cabin attendent was expedient.

 

it seemed many staff members were either indifferent and at other times scared of the passengers. we witnessed passengers comletely disregard staff during muster drill as they walked away in the middle of it and the staff could do nothing except look dumb. several times we saw passengers yell at staff and the staff seemed scared and had no authority. it was really sad. i don't know what they can do to fix it. obvioulsy the passengers have no right to yell at staff but the staff should have some authority to enforce rules and keep an orderly environment.

[mgmigs]

fyi: this ship has guest capacity of 2758 ..... BASED ON DOUBLE OCCUPANCY

 

Hopefully you will take the time to share more of your cruise experience. :cool:

 

there must have been many many rooms filled to capacity, i suppose 4 to a room because there were 3,300 passengers and it showed. the ship could not efficiently accomadate this many passengers. the waits in line for all of the alternative eating optons were painful, i.e. buffet, pizza, chinese. i waited 30 minutes on line for the chinese. i assumed the wait was because they were cooking the food to order but when i got to the window, the staff just scooped my food choices out of chafing dishes on his side of the wall and handed it to me through the window. if the food was already cooked, why not just add it to the buffet? why make people wait on line for someone else to scoop the food when you can do it yourself???

 

most of the times i was in the main buffet, only 1 side was open. the lines were ridiculous and the food placement makes no sense. i am not sure how to explain this one easily. also, you could not just easily go back to get something, you'd have to get back on the end of the cattle call again. i did not even bther to try to experience the choc buffet because of the mob scene around it. note that they were serving breakfast, lunch and the choc buffet in the same area at the same time!!!

[mgmigs]

i will write more later but just wanted to add this for now. although the sushi was not authentic, i was impressed with it, it was tasty and it is much better than the sushi on rccl.

 

also the dining room meats were always cooked perfectly. i was very impressed that they are able to do this correctly when preparing food for so many people at once. however, i did not enjoy the sides. all of the veg sides were in cream or topped with cheese. the veggies were not at all healthy and did not need the dressings they had, they'd be fine just on their own, either steamed or sauted.

[Rowan555]

there must have been many many rooms filled to capacity, i suppose 4 to a room because there were 3,300 passengers and it showed. the ship could not efficiently accomadate this many passengers.

 

This is exactly why we cruise when school is in session - you can tell when a ship is booked to maximum capacity, and when it's not - and I much prefer when it's NOT. Not really the ship's, or the cruiseline's, fault - just a function of when you cruise. I don't go to Disney during the summer or over the Christmas holidays for the same reason. Waiting in long lines and being trapped among hordes of people is not my idea of a vacation - either on land or on a cruise ship.

[bobsfamily]

there must have been many many rooms filled to capacity, i suppose 4 to a room because there were 3,300 passengers

WRONG!

They are not allowed by law to go past the occupancy rate of 2758... period! It did not happen, could not happen and will not happen. Sometimes when you are trying to get a room at the last minute there allow only 2 to a room even if the room will accommodate more... because they want to sell the remaining cabins but can only put two to a room so as not to exceed the occupancy.

[mgmigs]

WRONG!

They are not allowed by law to go past the occupancy rate of 2758... period! It did not happen, could not happen and will not happen. Sometimes when you are trying to get a room at the last minute there allow only 2 to a room even if the room will accommodate more... because they want to sell the remaining cabins but can only put two to a room so as not to exceed the occupancy.

 

please do not be nasty, i do not deserve this, i am trying to be helpful and informative. like i said, i am reviewing MY experience. i did not make this number up, we were told this number at the captains welcome aboard reception and they stated that they had never had so many passengers on-board.

[bobsfamily]

please do not be nasty, i do not deserve this, i am trying to be helpful and informative. like i said, i am reviewing MY experience. i did not make this number up, we were told this number at the captains welcome aboard reception.

And you were told wrong. No ship can sail over the rate. It will not be allowed to leave the dock... There would not be enough lifeboats/vests/etc. for that many passengers. As for being nasty - what are you talking about? And as for deserving this... hey you posted it.

 

Have I said anything about your experience? I (as others) am letting you know that the ship did not have 3300 passengers.

[Isasprings]

This is exactly why we cruise when school is in session - you can tell when a ship is booked to maximum capacity, and when it's not - and I much prefer when it's NOT. Not really the ship's, or the cruiseline's, fault - just a function of when you cruise. I don't go to Disney during the summer or over the Christmas holidays for the same reason. Waiting in long lines and being trapped among hordes of people is not my idea of a vacation - either on land or on a cruise ship.

You are correct.I cruise after spring break and in the Fall Sept or Oct on the Summer we flight or drive to a nice beach and stay a week this year

Sanibel and Captiva in Florida.

[mom2tcdx2]

WRONG!

They are not allowed by law to go past the occupancy rate of 2758... period! It did not happen, could not happen and will not happen. Sometimes when you are trying to get a room at the last minute there allow only 2 to a room even if the room will accommodate more... because they want to sell the remaining cabins but can only put two to a room so as not to exceed the occupancy.

 

 

I didn't believe that was the case, I thought they could book above that but that was occupancy if all rooms had 2 guests. So by you saying people book three or four to a cabin would then cause the ship to sail with empty cabins. As every cabin booked with 4 would leave a cabin for 2 that can't be sold? Seems a little odd to me. How else can they claim to sail at 105% of capacity unless they exceed that occupancy number.

 

Now I don't know the port the Triumph sails out of but I know on the day we were in Ft. Lauderdale there were over 7 ships we could see in port which meant over 15000 passengers trying to get out and the same amount getting in. Surely that would lead to a backup somewhere. That is why they post times to board is so you can let the others get out so that the next group can get in.

 

I know when I did the sailing out of Mobile, the only way we found the port was by the line of cars and assumed it was for the cruise and just got in the line.

 

I had looked up an older thread regarding lifeboat capacity, etc. - one reference mentioned the Freedom of the Seas - the double occupancy was listed at 3634 but lifeboat capacity was 4500 with it being mentioned that the total occupancy of passengers could be 4375.

[regjr13]

fyi: this ship has guest capacity of 2758 ..... BASED ON DOUBLE OCCUPANCY

 

Hopefully you will take the time to share more of your cruise experience. :cool:

 

She is correct. The 2,758 is just as you said, based on double occupancy. As you are aware or may not be, you can add additional people to your room by adding bunk beads and cots which could dramtically increase the passenger count. I experienced this myself on the Carnival Victory in May 27 - June 7th there were well over 3,100 passangers and the captain and crew not included.

[bobsfamily]

I didn't believe that was the case, I thought they could book above that but that was occupancy if all rooms had 2 guests. So by you saying people book three or four to a cabin would then cause the ship to sail with empty cabins. As every cabin booked with 4 would leave a cabin for 2 that can't be sold? Seems a little odd to me. How else can they claim to sail at 105% of capacity unless they exceed that occupancy number.

They never sail 105%... they sail at 100%. If you reread what I wrote you will see that once a certain threshold is hit they will sell only 2 to a cabin, so that all cabins are filled. They will sell every cabin as 2 to a cabin as it brings in more money than 4 to a cabin. Once again occupancy rates are determined by the amount of space in lifeboats/life vest/etc. and regulated by the Coast Guard. Regardless of where a ship is "flagged" once it docks at a US pier it must abide by US rules and the Coast Guard would not allow the ship to leave the port/pier with more passengers than what their occupancy is. How hard is this to understand?

[bobsfamily]

She is correct. The 2,758 is just as you said, based on double occupancy. As you are aware or may not be, you can add additional people to your room by adding bunk beads and cots which could dramtically increase the passenger count. I experienced this myself on the Carnival Victory in May 27 - June 7th there were well over 3,100 passangers and the captain and crew not included.

Wrong! See above.

[JaniceB]

I was on this cruise, too. People were very rude at the muster drill. One family refused to put on their life jackets. We had a crew member help my friend whose buckle was all twisted. He was very nice. We were glad they had the drill because if she had needed this jacket in an emergency it would not have been ready for her to wear. I could not hear the annoucement very well on the deck. Carnival needs to improve this. The crew member tried their best to get everyone in the proper places, but some of the passengers didn't want to follow the rules. I am not sure how this should be handled;.

 

I also heard that there were over 3,000 passengers and this came from a person who had called Carnival before we left. It never seemed that crowded to me unless you were in a Lido line or trying to find a spot near the big screen on our warm sea day.

 

I did not care for the South Beach restuarant. I like to know what I am in line to eat. One time I couldn't find the sign because of all the people. I didn't like the fact that you couldn't tell if the line was for the deli or the buffet. I didn't like standing in a long line just to get a salad. I wish the salad station was seperate. There is nothing that can be done about this since the ship was designed that way. I went to the dining room for breakfast everyday and dinner, so I only tried the Lido during lunch. I had no complaints about the dining room except for one day for lunch. It was very slow and didn't seem crowded. We were there over an hour, but it was our foggy cold sea day so I really didn't mind.

 

Janice

[regjr13]

Wrong! See above.

 

Once again, the 2,758 is based on the number of cabins on each ship with each room accounting for two people per room. Any additional passengers can be added to any stateroom up to 4 people per stateroom depending upon the location and size of the state room hence, raising the total passenger count to well over 3,000 at any give time. The maritime laws allow cruise ships to add passangers not to exceed a certain number. 90% of cruise ships ARE NOT governed by US laws but by consortium of countries that create and adhere to specific laws. So once again, a cruise ship whose capacity states 2,758 can well exceed that number!

[figs]

The ship can feel crowded. It may list as 2758 passengers, but that is just counting beds on the floor. The maximum capacity is 3360 people, and when the ship is full a lot of those will be kids in rollaways and bunkbeds. Don't be surprised to find yourself in long lines at the shore excursion desk or the luncheon buffet. And finding your way around can take some doing, as the signs at elevators and stairwells are neither as numerous or as clear as you might hope.

 

From here: http://www.cruisemates.com/articles/reviews/carnival/triumph.cfm

 

 

Name: Carnival Triumph

Registry: Bahamas

Capacity: 3427

 

From Yahoo: http://cruises.travel.yahoo.net/c/shipdetail.asp?lineid=1&vessel=30

 

 

 

Not authoritative, but tends to show that bobsfamily is just a little too certain of his numbers for someone with no proof.

 

EDIT:

 

NEVERMIND - here we go, here's authoritative: http://www.bookccl.com/irman/bookccl/booking_procedure/OccupancyRestrictions.htm

With the Triumph @ 3470 capacity.

[hbrote]

CARNIVAL TRIUMPH</SPAN>

102,000 tons

Passengers: 2,642

893 feet in length

116 feet wide

Decks: 12

Crew: 1000

Registry: Panama

Entered service: 1999

 

 

The ship can feel crowded. It may list as 2758 passengers, but that is just counting beds on the floor. The maximum capacity is 3360 people, and when the ship is full a lot of those will be kids in rollaways and bunkbeds. Don't be surprised to find yourself in long lines at the shore excursion desk or the luncheon buffet. And finding your way around can take some doing, as the signs at elevators and stairwells are neither as numerous or as clear as you might hope.

 

In my opinion you are a little tough with your answers.....

[CC Help Michell]

WRONG!

They are not allowed by law to go past the occupancy rate of 2758... period! It did not happen, could not happen and will not happen. Sometimes when you are trying to get a room at the last minute there allow only 2 to a room even if the room will accommodate more... because they want to sell the remaining cabins but can only put two to a room so as not to exceed the occupancy.

 

Um, I was also on this sailing and I'm not sure why your tone has been so nasty, especially since your information is incorrect. The number of passengers onboard this sailing was announced as 3394. I think that "occupancy rate" for double occupancy is what is fooling you. The maximum passenger capacity for this ship is over 3400, so it was all but full on this sailing.

 

PS I was on both this sailing and the previous one (6/20/09) and while I'm doing laundry and stuff today I'll be perusing the boards to see what others thought. I had a good time, myself, though the ship did feel crowded at times (especially with that poorly-designed one-line buffet).