Back from the Paradise 5 day

Start out by saying its been 10 years since we have been on a cruise. Our son is a senior in High School now and this was his senior trip.

Early morning flight without a hitch. grabbed some breakfast at the airport in Tampa. UBER to the port with a stop at Publix for soft drinks and at Terminal 3 about 9:30. When I requested UBER the destination was Publix on Bayshore Blvd. Once I got in the car I told the driver I wanted to continue to the port. No Problem. While we were in Publix I saw my trip info change from Publix to Terminal 3. I think my original quote was $12.40. After the stop and taking us to the port the total was less than $16.

Porter was great...grabbed our luggage and told us we were good to go. We didn't realize that security would happen so quickly and my wife lost her unopened 20 oz soft drink. There was a large wedding party that was lined up at the VIP check in. we asked and the man sent us to the general check in lines which had about 50 in front of us. They were not taking anybody from this line as the wedding party was getting the check-in people. My wife has bad knees and usually is fine if not asked to stand for extended periods of time or go down stairs. After about a half hour of standing in this line and not moving, I went and asked again about priority check-in. This time he directed us to another line that was almost empty further down the terminal. So I went back to the line grabbed my wife and our carry-ons and headed towards the other line. While we were walking to the other lines...the same man went to the front of the line we just left and marched them all down to the lines he just sent us to. Since they didn't have to go through all the roped off line thingy's they all ended up in front of us. So now...instead of being in the middle of the line we were at the very end. So much for VIP check in. Talked to the manager once we got to the check-in lady who said "sorry". They directed us towards the area for priority holding. Evidently, the ship was going through some kind of Coast Guard inspection. We didnt get on board till about noon.

I will write up more later. I will say....no sewage smell..... didn't hear anything about bathrooms not working... I thought food in the dining room was great..no weird vibrations or indications that something was wrong with the propulsion....wouldn't pay for a suite again on this ship....

ty following

Following! I'd like to hear more about the suite, as we have one booked in 29 days!

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Thanks for your thoughts.

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I'm sailing "Paradise" again on May 13th, so I'm anxious to read more of your thoughts. Thanks for posting, and I'm sorry to hear about your trouble boarding. I've found that more often than not at the Port of Tampa,,,it's practically a "walk on", with very little, if any, wait at all.

Looking forward to reading your full review. We will be sailing on the Paradise May 22nd. If you had the Fun Times that you could share that would be great.

thank you for the positive !!! I'll be on the Paradise in 5 days! :D

I'm sailing "Paradise" again on May 13th, so I'm anxious to read more of your thoughts. Thanks for posting, and I'm sorry to hear about your trouble boarding. I've found that more often than not at the Port of Tampa,,,it's practically a "walk on", with very little, if any, wait at all.

Say hi to Captain Carnival for me!

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Hi I am following we are booked on the paradise June 19, 2017

Looking forward to more.

Talked to the manager once we got to the check-in lady who said "sorry". They directed us towards the area for priority holding. Evidently, the ship was going through some kind of Coast Guard inspection. We didnt get on board till about noon.

Hi McFtlf - Sorry again for the line issue (that was addressed) and also for the later than usual embark due to the USCG Inspection but also glad I was able to get you aboard too!

I have a question for anyone who's been on the Paradise recently or is going soon and had their port changed. The letter said we get a $25 pp obvious. It isn't showing up yet. Did/does it show up for anyone before your cruise? We have 25 days and it isn't there. I don't want to email Carnival if it's not something that shows up before hand.

Thanks!

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Our April 24 Paradise has had $25 pp added for the itinerary change. It showed up about a month ago on the documents. I would call and inquire about the credit, since your cruise is less than a month away now.

I have a question for anyone who's been on the Paradise recently or is going soon and had their port changed. The letter said we get a $25 pp obvious. It isn't showing up yet. Did/does it show up for anyone before your cruise? We have 25 days and it isn't there. I don't want to email Carnival if it's not something that shows up before hand.

Thanks!

 

 

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I called Carnival about this b/c I didn't see that it was showing on our account when I looked online. They stated that these on board credits will not show up until the day of the actual cruise. I printed out the email I got from Carnival about the $25pp credit just so I could have that with me just in case there was any issues once we were on board the ship and the credits still weren't showing.

I didn't see our credit until after final payment. It then showed up as on board credit.

I have a question for anyone who's been on the Paradise recently or is going soon and had their port changed. The letter said we get a $25 pp obvious. It isn't showing up yet. Did/does it show up for anyone before your cruise? We have 25 days and it isn't there. I don't want to email Carnival if it's not something that shows up before hand.

Thanks!

 

 

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I didn't see our credit until after final payment. It then showed up as on board credit.

I just checked...we cruise 27 May 2017. On My cruise manager under my billing nothing shows up but when I go to print my cruise documents it is listed as $50 onboard credit ($25x2).

Cheers and happy cruising.

Say hi to Captain Carnival for me!

I'll do that for sure. Why don't you book, and come along? We'll have FUN, FUN, FUN!

I just went to my cruise and I do see the OBC ... and here is my story. I travel solo and pay for 2. I questioned Carnival whether I would get double the OBC since I pay for 2 travelers. I was told no. My OBC is $40.84 ... did they give me double and take out taxes or something ???

Thank you all for the quick responses. I was wondering because we have 9 people in our party. We already have 25. Credit because we booked with a special and now the extra credits just make for even more cruise fun and I don't want to have complications as I am traveling for the first time with my great aunt in her 80s and my grandmother. I just want everything to be perfect for their first cruise.

I inquired about upgrading to a suite as we are leaving on this ship at the end of the month. I was told by a travel agent, not to spend my money, it was not worth it. Since there are no balcony rooms other than on some suites, I was a little disappointed. After she told me the suites were terrible for the price you have to pay, I was glad she was steering me away from it. Needless to say, I didn't upgrade.

I inquired about upgrading to a suite as we are leaving on this ship at the end of the month. I was told by a travel agent, not to spend my money, it was not worth it. Since there are no balcony rooms other than on some suites, I was a little disappointed. After she told me the suites were terrible for the price you have to pay, I was glad she was steering me away from it. Needless to say, I didn't upgrade.

Has your TA actually stayed in one of the suites on the Paradise? We have and will be staying in one next month and love them...lots of extra room, starage space, huge bathroom and great balconies...

Cheers and enjoy the cruise.

I inquired about upgrading to a suite as we are leaving on this ship at the end of the month. I was told by a travel agent, not to spend my money, it was not worth it. Since there are no balcony rooms other than on some suites, I was a little disappointed. After she told me the suites were terrible for the price you have to pay, I was glad she was steering me away from it. Needless to say, I didn't upgrade.

A wise decision and TA.

We are cruise on the Paradise next year after dry dock. I'd love to hear what people think (positive/negative) about the Junior Suites on Deck 11 (Verandah) as my wife loves a balcony and that is what we booked.

Our last cruise was a balcony room on deck 7 (Empress) on the Sensation.

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