Paradise review w/pics Sept. 14, 2015

Just left the Paradise around 9 AM this morning, flew home from Tampa and unpacked and doing laundry. I have pictures to upload from my camera as well as my cell.

This was a five day cruise departing from Tampa starting on Monday, September 14. On Tuesday we had a sea day, Wednesday we were in Grand Cayman, Thursday in Cozumel, and Friday was a sea day. It was just my DH and I this trip. We asked our friends to go with us, but they declined this time!

Our cabin was M188, an ocean view on deck 2, aft. We had previously sailed other Fantasy class ships - Fascination, Ecstasy, Fantasy - so we were familiar with the layout. I don't mind the smaller ships at all and they are perfect for a 5 day getaway. We booked this sailing around 60 days before departure and got a good price. We opted for a guarantee cabin and I was pleased with the location.

I'm going to work with the uploading and will be back later to start my review. If you have any questions, ask and I will try to answer as quickly as I can.

Looking forward to your review, and pictures. I board "Paradise" again on the 28th, and even though I've sailed her many, many times, the thrill never goes away. THANKS for posting!

"SKY"

Optimistic for this review, thanks in advance for taking the time to write it. Sounds like you had a good time! :)

Optimistic for this review, thanks in advance for taking the time to write it. Sounds like you had a good time! :)

We had a wonderful time! Also, on this cruise, I tried TWO new things that I had never done before on any of my previous cruises. The only bad thing was that time went by so fast!

Looking forward to your review, and pictures. I board "Paradise" again on the 28th, and even though I've sailed her many, many times, the thrill never goes away. THANKS for posting!

 

"SKY"

Here's to many more cruises on Paradise for you, SKY! Have a great time on your upcoming cruise!!

Okay, going to go ahead and try to start this.

We flew out the morning of the cruise. I know some do not do this. We've done it successfully a few times, including this trip. We left out of CAK at 5:55 AM and had a connecting flight in Atlanta. We landed right on time around 9:40 AM in Tampa.

We collected our luggage and grabbed a taxi to the port.

We arrived at the cruise terminal around 10:30 or so, and the place was a mess. Many passengers from the previous cruise still making their way out. Plus, some new arrivals also.

We didn't have a porter approach our cab when we arrived. We had to look for someone to take our bags. Finally, when that was done, we went inside.

We checked in and waited in the Diamond/Platinum area. I noticed many who were in that section were not D/P. Someone came and made an announcement to the group that this was the designated area, and that FTTF were to be on the other side. A few left. It was getting very crowded there.

I saw Captain Carnival and tried to wave through the crowd. I'm not sure if he saw me. By the way, nice announcements. I got in a few laughs.

We were called to board right around 11:30.

Making our way onto the ship...

We went to Guest Services straight away to get our S&S cards punched. We had our lanyards ready to go!

This is blurry, but this is the sign that are on the doors that lead to the cabin corridors. The sign says that cabins will not be ready until 1:30, but to proceed if you are Dia/Plat/FTTF, your cabins will be ready.

How was your cabin steward?

So we make our way to our cabin, M188, an ocean view on deck 5. I had a surprise waiting. DH's birthday would be the next day, so I ordered cabin decorations for him!

I also ordered a 4 pack of Bud Light for him, his favorite beer. He liked the surprise...and the beer.

Very nice surprise.

I just remembered my regular sized luggage wouldn't fit under the bed.

Here are some pictures of the bathroom. One thing that we liked better about this ship is that the shower was larger. That was about the only thing. The cabin itself seemed smaller, and I wouldn't call it immaculate. The mirror on the back of the cabin door was streaked and it appeared to have spots. It looked as if it could have used a "deep cleaning", not just a regular cleaning, if you know what I mean. Nothing that I couldn't live with, however. It would do.

The usual body wash and body soap were in the shower.

The doors on the mirror above the sink actually did open, so you could put things in there if you wanted.

There was an updated TV in this cabin. The old one must have bit the dust.

More decorations

Here's the beer!

Well, we had the beer. BUT....it was warm. I was kind of surprised that the room steward didn't automatically bring ice. I know that you have to ask for it now, but we had this beer. Maybe the steward cleaned first, then the decorations came later. I don't know, but in any case, we did not find the steward until later. I know I could have went to a bar and asked for it, or went to Lido, etc. But I didn't. No beer for us now.

How was your cabin steward?

Well, I was going to go into that later, but since you asked, I will just give my opinion now.

Our room steward's name was Jose. He was from Columbia. I attempted to joke with him but he was not having it. Very dry personality and not very friendly. He did his job adequately, but nothing else. We met an assistant steward and her name was Sarah. She introduced herself around the third day while we walked by in the hall. She said that she was the one who cleaned the restroom, and she wanted to know if we were going to breakfast, or what (she wanted to clean). She at least smiled for us.

One thing I noticed on this cruise, and someone had mentioned it a few weeks ago: The crew overall did not seem as friendly. Normally, every crew member you encounter in the halls will acknowledge you and say good morning, or something. This cruise was not that way. I would say only about 60% of the crew would be greeting us if we met out and about. Some did not even smile or anything.

Very nice surprise.

 

I just remembered my regular sized luggage wouldn't fit under the bed.

Our carry-ons fit under the bed. We didn't have a problem with that.

I saw Captain Carnival and tried to wave through the crowd. I'm not sure if he saw me. By the way, nice announcements. I got in a few laughs.

Of course I saw you and Thanks! Next time slide by for a picture to post here or on CCCC!

Do they have dive in movies? Did you find there was enough to do for a smaller ship?

Of course I saw you and Thanks! Next time slide by for a picture to post here or on CCCC!

I wanted to approach you to say a more personal hello, but you were busy all the time! You were either talking to someone or giving announcements! Maybe, if we ever sail from Tampa again, we'll try to get there earlier!

Do they have dive in movies? Did you find there was enough to do for a smaller ship?

No dive in movies. No TV on the Lido deck. And, we found ourselves busy all the time. Like I said though, we tried some new things this cruise that we had not before. We like the serenity deck and were there most late mornings/early afternoons. We like the comedy club, etc.

I did save the Fun Times and if anyone would like to see them or a certain day, I can scan them.

Great start to your review.

Just for future reference, you can run that 4 pack of beer to any bar and they will give you cold ones in exchange for the warm ones.:D:D:D

DH does it every time.

Great start to your review.

Just for future reference, you can run that 4 pack of beer to any bar and they will give you cold ones in exchange for the warm ones.:D:D:D

 

DH does it every time.

Never even thought of that! Great idea. I will definitely remember next time!

When we sailed on the Paradise they did show movies in the Comedy Club at different times during the day.

Allrighty then, another load of laundry in washer, hot cup of coffee on end table -- think I'm ready to write!!

I went to bed at 8 last night :eek: Totally exhausted. I woke up more than once during the night, but fell right back to sleep. Unusual for me - once I wake, I normally stay awake. Must have needed the sleep.

So where did I leave off....oh yeah, the cabin and hubby's surprise birthday decorations. Yep, his birthday was not really till the 15th (next day), but close enough. I thought it would be funny, and it was. I had ordered those cabin decorations online about 2 weeks beforehand. I did get an e-mail confirmation, but didn't see anything about the decorations in our reservations - like where you see activities booked - shore excursions and the like. I do understand why though, because it is a surprise and they wouldn't want the surprise to get out.

So anyway....

We wanted to go about exploring for a bit and get some lunch. We were getting hungry.

Deck 5, elevator area. We took the steps the majority of the time.

Artwork in the elevator area

Here we go up the stairs!

I will apologize here and now for the blurry pictures. It happens to me every time. I need a camera for dummies.

When we sailed on the Paradise they did show movies in the Comedy Club at different times during the day.

Correct, I saw this in the Fun Times. Just not on a big screen in the main Lido deck area.

Here we are approaching deck 9, aft and the Rotterdam Bar. The bar is located directly in front of the Comedy Club (Queen Mary Lounge). If you go through the lounge and out the door, you will find yourself in the Serenity deck. We used the shortcut a couple of times.

The dining room you see in the above picture (below) is the Destiny Dining Room, where we had 6:00 assigned dining. I had checked our table assignment to see if we had been granted our request for a larger table so we could meet some new people. We did and I was so excited to meet these folks...more on that later.

There's a TV at this bar too..

A seating area in front of the bar

Inside the Queen Mary Lounge

In the picture above, those are the doors that lead to the Serenity deck.

oh, and another seating area in front of the bar, and from this angle you can see the promenade deck (9). This is the way to the Leonardo Lounge, Coffee Shop, Casino, etc....

We made our way to deck 10 to the Paris restaurant for some food. I wasn't sure what I wanted to eat, but debated on the deli for a pastrami and corned beef. Eventually I just ended up with a large salad.

The place wasn't busy yet.