bajohnsons
April 25th, 2004, 12:40 PM
Just returned from Triumph 4/17-4/24 western
Carribean and had a wonderful time. Here is my synopsis for those interested. This was our fifth cruise.
Embarkation: The smoothest so far. We had the Fun Pass complete online prior to sailing and literally spent less than 5 minutes at the check in. Found our room quickly, met our cabin steward and were off to have fun. Our room was an 8A balcony on the upper deck/forward. Was adjacent to the elevators but had no problems with noise from that.
The ship itself: Enormous. Largest we have sailed. I thought overall all very clean and in good condition. No real maintenance issues I could see. My only complaint is that this was the first cruise where I felt it was a bit crowded. Lots of kids of all ages on board, apparently spring break still in the northeast. I thought overall they were well behaved. Despite the crowded feeling, we were always able to find a deck chair (after a little looking) and even some quiet time on deck just outside the Capitol (lobby) Bar. The passengers all seemed to have fun and I heard very few complaints about behavior and witnessed no real conflicts. The air filtration was excellent, I thought especially in the casino, though I did hear complaints about the Piano Bar in this regard.
Food: With one exception, I thought the food was excellent. Carnival, in my experience and opinion, does a very poor job with their beef offerings. The prime rib and sirloin steaks are no better in my opinion than Sizzler, Ponderosa or whatever other budget steak house you have in your area. The seafood and other offerings I thought were exceptional. The lobster was the best of our previous cruises.
Entertainment: The CD, John Heald, lived up to his billing. Best so far in our experience. Very funny and entertaining. The comedian (already forgot his name) was weak. The magic show was entertaing, although, I think there were some lighing issues in their finale that allowed the audience to see how the trick was done. Didn't see any of the musical/dancing shows. The musical options on board all were very good and appealed to almost all tastes.
Ports of call: Cozumel was a lot of fun. Swam/snorkeled with the Dolphins in the lagoon at Chankanaab Park. A great experience. Lots of shopping as well. Didn't venture far from the "tourist" scene this time but will next time. Grand Caymen was a mixed bag for us. There were 4 megaliners in port at the same time. Far more crowded than the previous three times we had been there. Wall to wall people. Many people complained of this. We snorkeled at Abank's at Eden Rock. Had our own snorkel gear so this was a free activity for us. Incredible underwater scenery!! I heard from many that 7 mile beach was intolerable due to the crowds and that stingray city also disappointed for the same reason. I didn't partake in either, just reporting what I heard from at least several people. Not a scientific sample. Jamaica has changed a lot, for the better, than when we were there a year ago. We weren't accosted by taxi drivers or others immediately outside the pier area. Very easy walk to the Taj Mahal shopping area and to the new (not there a year ago) island village. Many shops there. Most popular was Jimmy Bufett's Margaritaville.
Debarkation: Once again, the smoothest of all our cruises. Or course this time we had an early flight and so had "VIP" tags, making us the second group off the ship. New to us is the option to carry off all of your own bags at 7:30 am. These were the first people off the ship. Time wasn't that critical to us so we didn't take advantage of that.
All in all we had a great time. Only a few complaints that I discussed. Certainly nothing to "ruin" the cruise. I'd be happy to share any other details, just let me know!!
Mitch
Carribean and had a wonderful time. Here is my synopsis for those interested. This was our fifth cruise.
Embarkation: The smoothest so far. We had the Fun Pass complete online prior to sailing and literally spent less than 5 minutes at the check in. Found our room quickly, met our cabin steward and were off to have fun. Our room was an 8A balcony on the upper deck/forward. Was adjacent to the elevators but had no problems with noise from that.
The ship itself: Enormous. Largest we have sailed. I thought overall all very clean and in good condition. No real maintenance issues I could see. My only complaint is that this was the first cruise where I felt it was a bit crowded. Lots of kids of all ages on board, apparently spring break still in the northeast. I thought overall they were well behaved. Despite the crowded feeling, we were always able to find a deck chair (after a little looking) and even some quiet time on deck just outside the Capitol (lobby) Bar. The passengers all seemed to have fun and I heard very few complaints about behavior and witnessed no real conflicts. The air filtration was excellent, I thought especially in the casino, though I did hear complaints about the Piano Bar in this regard.
Food: With one exception, I thought the food was excellent. Carnival, in my experience and opinion, does a very poor job with their beef offerings. The prime rib and sirloin steaks are no better in my opinion than Sizzler, Ponderosa or whatever other budget steak house you have in your area. The seafood and other offerings I thought were exceptional. The lobster was the best of our previous cruises.
Entertainment: The CD, John Heald, lived up to his billing. Best so far in our experience. Very funny and entertaining. The comedian (already forgot his name) was weak. The magic show was entertaing, although, I think there were some lighing issues in their finale that allowed the audience to see how the trick was done. Didn't see any of the musical/dancing shows. The musical options on board all were very good and appealed to almost all tastes.
Ports of call: Cozumel was a lot of fun. Swam/snorkeled with the Dolphins in the lagoon at Chankanaab Park. A great experience. Lots of shopping as well. Didn't venture far from the "tourist" scene this time but will next time. Grand Caymen was a mixed bag for us. There were 4 megaliners in port at the same time. Far more crowded than the previous three times we had been there. Wall to wall people. Many people complained of this. We snorkeled at Abank's at Eden Rock. Had our own snorkel gear so this was a free activity for us. Incredible underwater scenery!! I heard from many that 7 mile beach was intolerable due to the crowds and that stingray city also disappointed for the same reason. I didn't partake in either, just reporting what I heard from at least several people. Not a scientific sample. Jamaica has changed a lot, for the better, than when we were there a year ago. We weren't accosted by taxi drivers or others immediately outside the pier area. Very easy walk to the Taj Mahal shopping area and to the new (not there a year ago) island village. Many shops there. Most popular was Jimmy Bufett's Margaritaville.
Debarkation: Once again, the smoothest of all our cruises. Or course this time we had an early flight and so had "VIP" tags, making us the second group off the ship. New to us is the option to carry off all of your own bags at 7:30 am. These were the first people off the ship. Time wasn't that critical to us so we didn't take advantage of that.
All in all we had a great time. Only a few complaints that I discussed. Certainly nothing to "ruin" the cruise. I'd be happy to share any other details, just let me know!!
Mitch