Carnival Paradise review....6.5/10

Good morning!

We got back on Monday from the cruise. It was a 4-day cruise with Cozumel as the port. Little background information....This is my 6th cruise and we are in our 30s & 40s... I know not many cruises compared to some of you awesome cruisers! I am going to give a pro/con lists and excursion pro/con.... Hope you find this helpful. This is of course my opinion....:):)

PROS: Embarkation. We had a boarding pass time of 1-3, but came early and was able to get on board. We were on board by 11:45. They were organized and friendly!

The entertainment on board was awesome. Loved the 80's show and rock show. They did an awesome job. The shows sure have become short over the years--35 minutes. I remember when they were an hr+ but sometimes it is nice to be able to do other activities....You don't need to get there super early as many folks wait until the last minute to join. Newlywed show was funny like always. They did it different on this cruise but still good. Hasbro show also worth watching.

Our room was always clean and bigger than expected. OV room. No couch though? Shower bigger than RCL. Dining room staff very pleasant and willing to please. Pool entertainment was fun like always. The cheesy contests are a must with cruising and the dancing.

CONS: FOOD- It was very much hit or miss. I couldn't believe the SMALL hot buffet. At first I was like where is the rest of the buffet. LOL I looked around ....The food was either good or terrible. Nothing was excellent. The homemade pizza was good and we were thankful they had that on board. Our go to food. How sad. LOL The desserts looked good on the buffet but tasted awful. Other people were complaining about the food....The Deli was different and good. The formal dining room food was good or bad. It's funny how the best food was on the last day. Crab cake was delicious and tomato/mozzarella salad.

I am use to the room steward greeting you and introducing himself on day 1. NOPE. He called!! Seriously. That was a first. Day 2 I see two room stewards on their phones and I asked if he was our steward and introduced myself. LOL

Pools were OLD and above the ground. Had a yucky feel. That salt water was insane. Although, if you are a kid at heart you will love the slide (cross arms/legs & raise your back...you WILL go fast!) I know it came from the ocean but you'd swear they took galloons of salt and dumped it in...:D

Hit and miss again on friendly staff. Missed staff at the beginning of the lido deck restaurants greeting and all. I enjoyed my drinks but my friend didn't. The WOK was yuck! If you have done Mongolian grill before then you will be disappointed. Who has only rice noodles and such a limited selection.

The disembarkation was crazy. What happened to first come first serve if you are taking your luggage off??? We were on deck 4 and the last ones. Now, if the shipped took our luggage off it would of been 10:40 am before we would even leave to head to customs. Crazy. Customs took 30 minutes so not too bad.

Excursion....We signed up for the ATV and Amazing Secret River excursion. The ATV was a blast. Be prepared to be covered from head to toe in sand and dirt!!! Now, we were aggravated they ran out of single rider ATVs when we signed up for those! My friend had to take the intermediate ATV (double) since I have never rode one before....No guys would let her use the smaller/single riders. UGH. It was fun though. Secret River was awesome. You will be in a wet suit, lifejacket, helmet, and have a walking stick... Very cool experience. The pictures with blue vibrant water was just that an edited picture!! LOL Our guide was very knowledgeable. We felt safe. The ferry ride to Playa del Carmen was about 35-40 minutes and then you board a van for the ATV. After ATV you board another van for the secret river. We waited 45 minutes on the ferry to go home before we ever left That was crazy!

Overall...Would I sail Paradise again. NO. I have been on bigger and newer ships and the overall experience wouldn't make me sail it again. Did we have a wonderful time despite the cons. YES. We wouldn't let anything ruin the cruise!

Make sure to complete the survey and mention these things.

What was on the Wok station? Didn't they have a variety of veggies and chicken, port, or shrimp?

Did the cabin have the life vest box in the corner? Heard they took them out.

Appreciate the feedback.

Thanks for taking the time to comment. I have enjoyed the Paradise twice in the past, on 5 day cruises. She is one of the smaller, older ships, but still a great time!

I filled out the survey this morning and made sure it was thorough!

They had NO shrimp. Chicken (disgusting) mussels, and pork. A lady got so mad they had no shrimp she left her bowl full of food as they were ready to cook it (wasteful and rude to me)... Half of the variety of normal veggies...

The vest were just in the corner in no box.

Make sure to complete the survey and mention these things.

 

What was on the Wok station? Didn't they have a variety of veggies and chicken, port, or shrimp?

 

Did the cabin have the life vest box in the corner? Heard they took them out.

You are welcome!

Appreciate the feedback.

You are welcome! :) A cruise is better than no cruise that's for sure!! It still was fun despite.......... ;)

Thanks for taking the time to comment. I have enjoyed the Paradise twice in the past, on 5 day cruises. She is one of the smaller, older ships, but still a great time!

I filled out the survey this morning and made sure it was thorough!

 

They had NO shrimp. Chicken (disgusting) mussels, and pork. A lady got so mad they had no shrimp she left her bowl full of food as they were ready to cook it (wasteful and rude to me)... Half of the variety of normal veggies...

 

The vest were just in the corner in no box.

Life jackets were on the floor?!?!?

I would be very concerned if the pools on the ship weren't above ground. An in ground pool wouldn't go far on a cruise ship.

It is disappointing the lack of ships in Tampa. I love sailing from there but I am done with the Fantasy class ships. I realize the skyway is the limiting factor. We sailed on rccl Jewel and it was so worth the extra cost for the nicer ship. That being said carnivals included food is definitely better than royals.

Thanks for the review. We were booked on the Glory, but after mom had a medical emergency last month, we had to scramble to save our vacation in Dec. Long story to it and we had to switch ships. We decided on the Paradise.

We are like that! A cruise is better than no cruise! Heck, we used to sail the Monarch of the seas! And we LOVED it!! Good family times.

Thanks for the review.

Thanks for your review of the Paradise. I have been wanting to cruise from Tampa for quite some time now and did so a few years back. I am very familiar with the Tampa, St Petersburg area, and for a while it was my second home. Still I would love to take a cruise out of Tampa, but 5 day ones, just are still to short for me, but I would take one, and tack on a few days at the beach before or after. Thanks again for your review. Paradise is still on my list of possibles.:)

Thanks for your review. I haven't booked yet, but am considering booking a cruise on the Paradise. Thanks for your input about the Mongolian Wok. That's typically one of my favorite places to eat. Judging from your comments, if I had not been forwarded, I'm sure I would have been highly disappointed. Strangely, the Carnival site doesn't even list the Mongolian wok as a dining choice for the Paradise.

Can you please explain what you mean by an above ground pool?

The Wok changes the "meat" every day to 3 different choices.