Just back from the Paradise this morning... A mixed review!

Just off the Paradise. This was my 12th cruise and my 8th on Carnival. I'm a loyal Carnival cruiser unless I find a great deal on another line. Let me start this review by saying, I am typically not a negative Nancy. I view ANY day at sea as better than a day on land...... with that being said, prepare for a rocky review.

Embarkation: Painless. This was my first time out of Tampa. I've done Miami, Jacksonville, Fort Lauderdale, and Port Canaveral. This was the easiest. I completed all of our paperwork online and printed everything ahead of time. We were ushered through a pretty long line to a much shorter line. Total from valet parking to on the boat, less than 30 minutes!

The Ship/Staff: I've sailed the imagination, glory, ecstasy, fascination, triumph, freedom, inspiration, and elation. I wasn't expecting many surprises in this area. The ship was clean upon our arrival. It is very well kept up for an older ship. Unfortunately the staff couldn't be bothered to keep it that way. I can't tell you how many times I saw staff members walk past trash, leave cups sitting around, etc. (Yes I am aware that slobs leave it that way and NO..... I don't think that makes it ok). The staff was the most unengaged on any ship I've been on. Many of them were zombie like. They didn't speak or if they did, it was the bare minimum. The ship was easy to navigate which was lucky because the promenade elevators didn't work after the second night and by the fourth night, we were down to 6 working elevators on the ship with 1 going to the spa and kids club level. My cabin door wouldn't lock property either. Guest services told me on day one after we sailed that they were fully booked and there was nothing they could do about my lock.

Our room steward was the worst I've experienced. We had a standard cabin for four (two adults, two kids). Upon arrival at the room, neitherBunk was pulled down. We contacted Michael (our steward) to ask if we could pull the mattress down from one bunk as our four year old tosses and turns a lot. He came by the room about 30 minutes later and told us that he couldn't pull a mattress down but would bring us a cot. Before dinner, we had to reconfigure our room so a cot would fit and found a trundle bed under the main beds. We pulled it out. My husband decided to order room service from dinner as he had a headache and Michael never returned to the room. My son slept on that trundle with the extra blanket the first night. He was spotty in servicing the room including making the beds and we only had two towel animals the whole week. [emoji35][emoji35][emoji35] our floor was never once vacuumed. Asking for anything was like begging. Extra towels, luggage tags at the end, everything. Worst room steward I've ever experienced.

Camp Carnival 2-5 and 9-11: the kids were blah the first two days about it but then begged to go. I'm not sure what changed and my 10 year old couldn't really figure it out. They were both upset tonight that they couldn't go to kids club after dinner! The staff here was AMAZING! They remembered both kids by name around the ship, even in port. Huge success with the Little's.

Dining Staff: we were on anytime dining and tried to go before 6. The first night, the wait was insane so we ended up at the buffet. The second night (formal) the wait to get in wasn't bad, but we waited on our appetizers for over an hour. My kids are well behaved but ask any 4 year old to sit still for three hours and see how that goes for you. We spend 2 hours and 45 min in the dining room. Our water was never refilled. We were so frustrated with the dining room that we didn't go back for dinner other than the last night. They were better then. It seemed like they were getting into a groove and starting to function properly. Service was still slow and we are still waiting on my son's chocolate milk.

I didn't use the spa or gym this time so I cannot speak to the staff there. I did minimal

Shopping but when I was in the fun shops, the folks were nice enough.

Phillip is the restaurant operations manager and he was phenomenal. After asking for chocolate milk three times on formal night, he happened to walk past in the dining room, and my son said "hey excuse me. Do you have my chocolate milk?" Guess what Phillip brought?

We did attend the Seussical Breakfast and the staff all seemed to be having fun there. Service was still pretty slow though.

Food: This would probably be my biggest complaint with the paradise. Carnival food is usually spot on. This cruise was nothing to write home about. It was served Luke warm, over cooked or undercooked, and was just bland. The buffet was boring and often had dining room leftovers from the night before. Even the warm melting cake wasn't warm. I am

Not sure if this is a new Carnival thing or was just a Paradise thing but it made us pretty hangry! The pizza was [emoji13] as well. The steakhouse selections were not worth the $20 extra because they weren't cooked properly. The deli was the only great food on the ship!

Blah: within a day of each other, my husband, self and 10 year old all became pretty ill. It is of course hard to pin point whether it was a bug or a form of food poisoning however the gentleman at guest services informed me this morning that many people who ate in the buffet were sick as well. My son is a very picky eater and will only eat certain foods and no meats. ( sensory processing/ speech disorder). He did NOT get sick. Because of this, we were forced to cancel an excursion through carnival. They refunded all but my husbands' fee saying "if you are well enough to walk to the shore excursion desk, you are well enough to go on an excursion". Seriously????

Coffee shop: AWESOMESAUCE. I mean who doesn't like a little rum or vodka in their coffee?

Excursions: We were unable to enjoy our planned one in the Caymans. In Cozumel, we took a private taxi tour of the island. Beebrioso was AAHHMAZING. Took us to all of the touristy stuff but also gave us a history lesson and behind the scenes tour. Best $100 (including tip) for an almost 3 hour tour ever!

Shows/entertainment: the 80s show and comedy shows were great. No complaints there! The cruise director; Brandon was hilarious! His accents and comments kept us laughing all week.

Casino: I'm Not a huge gambler but do have some pretty messed up lungs. Asthma is a wonderful thing. I could not walk on the floor with the casino without having to use my inhaler. ( coffee shop, lounge, two bars, pictures). I've never experienced this before.

Customs/ end of cruise: No major issues. I prefer to sit on the ship with a cup of coffee and laugh at the people trying to carry 15 bags, a sombrero, 4 bottles or liquor, and a kitchen sink off like there is a rush to get back to work. We were off the ship by 1030 this morning and were one of the last families on board.

The kids: eeeek did I say that the food was the worst? The unmanned kids were the worst. I get that it was a holiday, I get school Was out and there were more kids on board than usual, I get that they are confined on a cruise ship but please for the love of all throngs holy SUPERVISE your kids. I watched as kids knocked over people Running through the halls and stairs, kids cut in line, and was awoken at 3 am when a *maybe* 3 year old Little girl was running up and down the hallway with her brother/ cousin and she fell into my cabin (through that pesky broken lock). I jumped out of bed thinking my daughter had fallen off the bunk and saw the girl, Went over to the hallway and there were no parents in sight. The oldest child was probably 8. At 3 AM!!!!!!

Will I cruise again???? Um duh YES... looking at March 2017 [emoji41]

Will I cruise Carnival again???? Yes. I certainly hope this was a one time/ ship thing. I love the vibe on carnival!

Will I cruise the Paradise again? NO. It was my worse cruise experience, worse carnival ship.

Any questions.... ask away [emoji267][emoji924][emoji267][emoji924][emoji267][emoji924][emoji267][emoji924]

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Thanks for the review. I have read some not so nice things about the Paradise. I have her booked for a 10 day cruise to the Panama Canal and I am not very excited about the ship. We have lots of friends going and that will make it better. I have been on older ships and the personal were great and very attentive. I think I would have reported the cabin steward to the hotel manager. Sounds like he didn't want to be there. Hope they can get it straight before I board. Thanks again for the review.

Thanks for the review. I have read some not so nice things about the Paradise. I have her booked for a 10 day cruise to the Panama Canal and I am not very excited about the ship. We have lots of friends going and that will make it better. I have been on older ships and the personal were great and very attentive. I think I would have reported the cabin steward to the hotel manager. Sounds like he didn't want to be there. Hope they can get it straight before I board. Thanks again for the review.

I was told this morning while waiting to go through customs that it is a training ship. They train new staff and then put them on other ships. That's pretty disappointing if it's true. Stay away from the meat on the buffet and enjoy the views from the serenity deck. [emoji267]

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Thanks for the review.

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Went on the Paradise 2 years ago for Christmas it was our first cruise. For us it was a great experience sorry it wasn't so for your family. I noticed her worn and frayed edges but for us the staff more than made up for it and we had no issues with the food or mdr. I even felt confident enough to book a New Years trip on the Fantasy for this holiday. It's the same class and I think even older but it's had its 2.0 upgrades. Heard mixed reviews of that ship too but hope we get lucky again.

Thanks for the review, I'd like to try leaving from Tampa but not if it's Paradise. Just wanted to say how cute your son is, love his black shirt and tie but it's him sipping on his chocolate milk in a wine glass that sets it off, adorable!

Thanks for the review! I was on the Paradise four years ago and loved the staff, but he condition of the ship was meh.

Our cabin steward was kind of distant too. But our dining room experience was great, but we also did traditional dining.

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I've sailed out of Tampa a few times. Luv the port. Only a little over an hour drive from home. I've never sailed on the Paradise though. I have read too many negative reviews about the state of the ship. I will be glad when the Miracle returns there in 2018. Only then will I cruise out of there again on a Carnival cruise.

Sorry to hear about your not so good experience on Paradise. I sailed on Paradise last month. My overall experience was good.

Easy and quick embarkation and disembarkation.

I found the ship was clean.

The crew was not the most friendly I have had but they did a very good job. My cabin attendant was one of the best I have ever had. He made sure my cabin was always clean and my ice was filled twice a day. He took care of any request I had very quickly. I would not have know it was a training ship.

I found the buffet food to be fresh and tasty and kept clean. Luckily I had no problem with the meats.

I also did Your Time Dining. I eat late and service was good and quick. I usually try to pace the meal quickly this help me to get out of there quickly. I found the food in the MDR to be very good. The only negative I had was the steakhouse selection filet mignon was way overcooked and the maitre d took care of it.

The shows were very good especially the 80's show and the comedians. Also the entertainment around the ship was very good especially the violinists in the lobby bar area.

Overall i did enjoy Paradise even though it is a smaller/older shipand would sail on her again. But I am looking forward to Miracle coming in for a change of ship. :cool:

Thanks for your review. I like your positive attitude and hopefully this was an isolated incident.

Thanks for the review. As far as your husband not getting his cost of the excursion refunded, I think I would take that a bit higher up. That's ridiculous that his cost was not refunded.

Thanks for your review, I guess they all can't be great.

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Thanks for the review. As far as your husband not getting his cost of the excursion refunded, I think I would take that a bit higher up. That's ridiculous that his cost was not refunded.

I completely agree with this.

I completely agree with this.

I agree as well. They should have refunded his money. Also, I am very upset that they left a passenger without a locking door! I would have insisted that they do SOMETHING to make my door lock. I would have raised the roof if a child fell into my room in the middle of the night because my door wouldn't lock.....This is very disappointing.

Not cool.

Kim

Thanks for the review.

I sailed on Paradise last month. My overall experience was good.

 

Easy and quick embarkation and disembarkation.

 

I found the ship was clean.

 

Overall i did enjoy Paradise even though it is a smaller/older shipand would sail on her again. But I am looking forward to Miracle coming in for a change of ship. :cool:

Sounds like a change of ship on your next:)

Thanks for the feedback.

I was on the Paradise earlier this month and was a little apprehensive based on some of the reviews. This was my 18th CCL cruise & it had been several years since I sailed one of the smaller ships.

I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. I can't really complain about anything. Our wait team in the MDR were fabulous. We were a group of 9 and everyone thought the food was good to really good. Our cabin steward was also wonderful.

In reference to the staff - I will admit that several of the entertainment staff were not outgoing at all - but several officers were very friendly and outgoing (as opposed to the nose in the air officers on the Magic).

Maybe I enjoyed it because I went in with low expectations, but I wouldn't hesitate to go on the Paradise again for a quick get-away. I live 30-45 minutes from the port in Tampa which makes it more attractive.

We've sailed the Paradise twice and, other than the extreme smokiness of the casino, loved our cruises and did not experience the same things as OP.

I am really sorry you had the issues on your vacation! I hate when that happens....we sailed on the Splendor in October and that was our worst! I will never go on that ship again - then there are those that love Splendor.

I guess there are just times when the karma isn't so good....Hopefully our next cruise - and yours - will be great!

Thanks for the review!

Thanks for the review.

We are sailing on Paradise at Halloween .

The disturbing part is the non-repair of the door lock.

This should have been a 30 minute fix.

Long waits for dinner with children are not acceptable.

Great pics !!

I had the worst steward on Paradise. He cleaned my room last even though I told him I was staying on board in GC and asked for early service. My door was hard to open, it would get stuck somehow. After 6 tries it'd finally open. This ship needs a dry dock sooner than 2018 when it's scheduled.

Thank you for your review and I am sorry that you have such a bad experience. My husband and I will be cruising on the Paradise for our Wedding Anniversary. We sail June 19, 2017. This is our 3rd cruise with carnival but I have read many mixed review about this ship and I am starting to wonder if this will be a week of love and reconnecting without the kids or a week of hell wondering why didn't we pick another ship.. Well I guess as long as we are together that is all that matters..

I hope you have better sailing on your next cruise,

La Toya

Quote: "Not sure if this is a new Carnival thing or was just a Paradise thing but it made us pretty hangry! The pizza was as well."

I was on the Paradise in February and have to agree that the pizza was the worst that I have ever had on a Carnival ship. tried it three times and could not finish it. Interesting new types *Anchovies & Kippers), but really bad.

I hope that they do not start using this pizza on other ships.