My Carnival TRIUMPH from NEW ORLEANS 2016 Cruise Review!!!

Information About This Cruise & Me: This was my 11th cruise and my third time to cruise on the Carnival Triumph. This cruise was June 16-20, 2016 and it departed from New Orleans to Cozumel. It was interesting sailing on the Carnival Triumph only two months after its April 2016 dry-dock. I have sailed on the ship out of both Galveston & New Orleans in the past.

My Review: I am going to post all of my written review here as I write it. I try to do the review in parts, by day. However, I will be posting all of my photos, FunTimes (activity newsletters - Triumph has been upgraded to new style of FunTimes), and paper handouts on my personal cruise blog because I don't know how to upload them to Cruise Critic. This is the same way I have done my reviews here on Cruise Critic for the past several years.

Here Are The Photos & Fun-Times:

http://www.embarkandaway.com/carnival-triumph-4-day-caribbean-cruise-review-2016.html

Note: I will be sharing the same written information from my blog here too, but I will share some extra information that I didn't written in my blog here! It is also easier to view everything on a desktop or tablet computer, not a mobile device.

And Now It is Time For Me To Start Sharing The First Parts of This Review!

Feel Free To Ask Questions You Have! I will answer questions as quick as possible!

Day 1 New Orleans

Thursday, June 20, 2016

EDIT: Sorry all the pictures are coming across too big!

Arriving At The Cruise Terminal and Parking:

​Each time I cruise, I try to spot the ship's funnel before approaching the cruise terminal. When I spotted the Carnival Triumph's funnel behind the cruise terminal, I was excited that the long drive to New Orleans was over and the cruise vacation was about to begin! We arrived at the Erato Street Cruise Terminal around 9:40am. The roadways surrounding the cruise terminal were busy as disembarking passengers left and embarking passengers were trying to get parked. There was virtually no line to pay for parking at the cruise terminal's garage. The Port of New Orleans charges $20.00 per day to park in the cruise terminal's parking garage. After paying for parking, the attendant directed us to go up a spiral ramp to a luggage drop off zone. Upon arriving at luggage drop off, a luggage steward examined our boarding passes and took the luggage from the trunk of our vehicle. The steward then told us we could park on the 4th, 5th, or 6th floors of the parking garage. Dropping off luggage was extremely easy and took no more than a few minutes. However, finding a parking space was hard. There were no available spots on the 4th or 5th floors when we drove through the garage, but luckily we managed to find a spot on the 6th floor. After unloading our carry on belongings, we took the elevator down to the ground floor to check-in.

Staggered Check-In:

Carnival ships out of New Orleans now operate on a staggered check-in system. While completing online documents and paperwork, each stateroom is required to select a check-in window. These time windows indicate the time a stateroom's occupants can begin arriving at the cruise terminal to check-in. The goal of this process was to reduce crowding and lines.

Once we arrived on the ground level of the cruise terminal, the check-in process began. At the front door there was an employee checking boarding passes and passports. After a quick check, we were allowed to proceed up the escalator to the 2nd floor. There were photographers from the ship taking embarkation day photos of passengers. We declined to have our picture taken because we wanted to hurry to the check-in counter. The next step in the process was to get passports scanned. This took a few minutes because some of the passports took a longer time to scan. Following the scanning of our passports, we were directed to a security checkpoint. There were multiple checkpoints open and this took only a few minutes to get through.

​ Following the security checkpoint, Platinum & Diamond guests were sent to special check in tables that were adjacent to the check-in tables for General Embarkation guests. Since I was fortunate to travel with a family member that is Platinum, we were able go through the priority check-in lines. In past years, check-in for priority guests was held in the Captain's Lounge, but this is no longer the case. There was no line at the priority check-in tables and we were checked in within a few minutes. I noticed the lines for the general embarkation check-in were short too. The lady that checked us in was extremely friendly and recognized us from the year before! During this time we received our Sail & Sign Cards and instructions to wait in the Captain's Lounge for boarding to begin.

Embarkation and Boarding:

​ After waiting for over an hour for boarding to start, the moment to board came around 11:40am. The Platinum and Diamond guests sitting in the Captain's Lounge were allowed to board first. Following Platinum & Diamond guests were guests who purchased Faster to the Fun and then general embarkation. Since I was in the same stateroom as a Platinum guest, I was able to board with the people in the Captain's Lounge!!

Following the announcement that Platinum and Diamond guests could board the ship, I raced up to get in line. Before being allowed on the gangway, we had to get our Sail & Sign cards scanned and show our boarding passes again. I enjoyed walking up the gangway and looking at the ship as I finally became closer to getting on.

Finally Onboard The Carnival Triumph!

The cruise terminal's gangway led us onto Deck 3 (Lobby Deck). We entered the ship through the atrium. There were many crew members around answering questions and giving directions. The elevator area was not crowded yet so we managed to get into an atrium elevator right away to go up to the Lido Deck. Here are some photos I took as I walked across the Lido Deck in order to get to the buffet:

Looking forward to your review. We were on her 2 months ago and will be back on her in August. We enjoyed the 4 day weekend trip very much.

Looking forward to your review. We were on her 2 months ago and will be back on her in August. We enjoyed the 4 day weekend trip very much.

Have a great cruise in August!! The Triumph is one of my favorite ships!

Let me know if you have any questions.

First Lunch Onboard:

The Carnival Triumph's Lido Deck buffet is known as the South Beach Club. Cruisers had many different lunch choices including the Blue Iguana Cantina, Guy's Burger Joint, Chopsticks (Chinese food), Pizzeria, Deli, and the Comfort Kitchen main buffet lines. I started my cruise with tacos from the Blue Iguana Cantina and a Pastrami on Rye sandwich from the deli. I enjoyed the tacos and the Pastrami on Rye was extremely good! Those who have read my past reviews know I love taking photos of my food and the food of others at my table. Here are the food photos from the first lunch onboard:

The Pastrami on Rye sandwich was extremely tasty! The crew member working the deli was friendly and very efficient.

Afternoon Walk Touring The Outside Decks:

After eating lunch it was time to walk around the Carnival Triumph. We went from the Lido Deck (9) to one deck above (10) to start our tour of the ship. The weather was hot, but nice, as we walked around the ship's outside decks. Here are some pictures:

After these pictures, I will be taking a break until tomorrow morning. (I have somewhere to be this evening)

very nice review! thanks for posting. I have a soft spot for Triumph, she was my second Carnival cruise in 2004. Nice to see her again, in today's state. Look forward to more of your review.:)

Great review and I love your pictures. Those tacos looked so good, I'm a little upset my next cruise won't have Guys Burgers or Blue Iguana on it. Can't wait to read more.

Can't wait to read all of this! I have over a year to go but I'm obsessed with thoughts of the Triumph

Enjoying the photos so far.:)

Enjoying your review and pictures. Thanks!

Great pictures! I have 2 cruises booked on the Triumph coming up in the next few months.

Enjoying your review.

Great pictures!

very nice review! thanks for posting. I have a soft spot for Triumph, she was my second Carnival cruise in 2004. Nice to see her again, in today's state. Look forward to more of your review.:)

Thank you! I am sure the Triumph has changed a bunch since 2004. Let me know if you have any questions!

Great review and I love your pictures. Those tacos looked so good, I'm a little upset my next cruise won't have Guys Burgers or Blue Iguana on it. Can't wait to read more.

Thank you! The tacos were extremely good. At Blue Iguana there are two lines, one for burritos and one for tacos. The line for tacos are usually non-existent because most people wanted a burrito.

Can't wait to read all of this! I have over a year to go but I'm obsessed with thoughts of the Triumph

Thank you! Hopefully time will pass quick so you can get to your cruise!

Enjoying the photos so far.:)

Thank you!

Enjoying your review and pictures. Thanks!

Thank you!

Great pictures! I have 2 cruises booked on the Triumph coming up in the next few months.

Thank you! I hope both of your cruises are great!

Enjoying your review.

Thank you!

Great pictures!

Thank you!