Triumph Western Caribbean 2/19-2/26 Review!!

Carnival Triumph Western Caribbean2/19/05 – 2/26/05

Left from: Port of Miami

Ports of Call:

Cozumel

Grand Cayman

Ocho Rios

6 adults in our party

Cabins we had:

8428 (Verandah Aft, port side, with wrap-around deck)

8433 (Verandah Aft, starboard side, with wrap-around deck)

2211 (Main Forward, starboard side)

Room Steward for 8428 was Made (pronounced "Maddie")

Dining:

London Dining Room, Upper, 6:15 p.m., table for 6, Waiter: Richard

Embarkation:

Arrived in Miami at 12:30 p.m., collected our luggage, and grabbed a cab at about 1:30, and headed for the port. It took about 15 minutes to get there. Embarkation was SOOOOO FAST AND SMOOTH and within minutes, we were checked in (no lines), and on our way to get our sign and sail cards. The entire process was the fastest I’ve ever experienced! We were in our cabin and on our balcony by 2:30 p.m.!

Smuggled 2 bottles of Bacardi, and one bottle of Vodka in our checked luggage, which we estimated that saved us about $400 in drinks for the week. We brought two large travel coffee mugs to carry our drinks around in. It worked out well. Thanks for all the “smuggling” suggestions I received on these boards!! Still came home with the unopened bottle of Vodka, and the Bacardi lasted all week.

I will start with a few things that I was disappointed with. Overall, we booked a BAD week to cruise....school vacations and the place was LOADED with kids! Couldn't get a chair by the pool to save our lives (darn chair-savers), so didn't come back with that glowing tan I intended on!! Pools were so crowded we didn't bother to even go in. TONS of kids swimming in the hot tubs, so only went in there once at night when there were only a few kids. Service was slow in the dining room; i.e. waiter brought courses at all different times, bar server forgot drinks or would take 20 minutes to bring drinks, so we ordered drinks 2 at a time! Couldn't hear loud speaker announcements in the two Verandah Deck cabins, so whenever an announcement was made we had to open our cabin doors to hear it. Announcements could be heard in the cabin we had on the Main Deck though, so we weren’t sure why we couldn’t hear them. We all personally thought the ship was hard to navigate, even on the last day we were still getting lost! I think they had a total of 5 songs that played back-to-back in the South Beach Club (if I ever hear "I am a Rock, I am an Island," or "Bridge Over Troubled Water," again it will be too soon)!! Lots of stains on the carpets (at least in the corridors on the Verandah Deck anyway). We also experienced an occasional smell by the vanity it our cabin; almost like a faint sewage smell. It came and went but one day it was really strong and we had to keep our cabin door and balcony door open. We didn’t realize that we had to open a little lever on the ceiling A/C units to get more air in our room, so for the first two days, we roasted in our cabin! The A/C does stay on when the balcony door is open though, and a couple of nights, we slept with it open, and the A/C blasting. The balcony door in cabin 8428 is rusted, so when pushed all the way open, it stays open on its own (a plus). At first I thought it was supposed to do that, but then I realized my neighbor had to use his cabin door stop in order to keep his balcony door open. We lost an engine in between Grand Cayman and Jamaica, so instead of docking in Jamaica early in the morning, we didn’t get there until 9 a.m. So, instead of leaving Jamaica at 3:30 p.m., the Captain decided to let us stay there until 5 p.m., which was nice. The negative side to that was that in order to make up time, the ship was sailing at her max of 21 knots that evening, so it was rocking a LOT, and very windy. Many people that I spoke with experienced motion sickness that evening.

Food:

Dinners were excellent, breakfast and lunch buffets were good, Hong Kong Noodle Company left much to be desired, pizza was OK, Coney Island Grille hamburgers were overcooked and dry. Room service was FAST, even with my coffee deliveries each morning, and the sandwiches were very good. One day, we couldn’t decide what we wanted, so we literally ordered 1 of everything on the menu! LOL

Entertainment:

Two out of our group went to almost all the shows and really enjoyed them. They said the R-rated comedian was excellent. DH and I didn’t do any of the shows this time…instead we lounged out on our balcony or visited the casino in the evenings.

Excursions:

Cozumel – Booked the Royal Dolphin Swim 2 weeks prior to cruising through cometocozumel.com (cost: $125 per person). The most amazing experience of my life! It was SOOOOO much fun! Afterwards, we went back to the ship, changed up and headed back out to Senor Frogs. We had been to Senor Frogs once before, but the others with us had never experienced it. We had a TON of fun!

Grand Cayman – Booked the Snorkel and StingRay excursion through Carnival at $65 per person only to realize that once you get off the ship, people are holding signs for $35 per person. Oh well…it was great even though I panicked and wouldn’t get in the water!! Everyone else in our party really enjoyed it. Afterwards, we headed to the Hard Rock Café, at lunch, did a little shopping, and headed back to the ship.

Jamaica – Decided to hire a cab and have him drive us around for the day. His name is Winston and I have his business card and phone number if anyone is interested. He was EXCELLENT! He took us up into the mountains where we saw Mick Jagger’s house (Rolling Stones), and a few other celeb’s Jamaican retreats. Then he dropped us off at Dunn’s River Falls for about an hour. We called him to come and get us and he brought us to Margaritaville (FUN FUN FUN). Once we were done eating, drinking, and shopping, we called him again and he brought us back to the ship. Winston spent the day with us, didn’t ask for any money when he dropped us off at places, and always came right back when we called him. Also, the beer he kept stopping to buy for us was also a bonus! At the end of the day, we tossed Winston $100 and he seemed pretty happy with it. He said whenever we come back, to call him and he will get as big of a cab as we need, stocked with as much beer as we want, and he will stay with us for as long as we’d like! It was great!!

Disembarkation:

We decided to book a Miami excursion because our flight wasn’t until 4:15 p.m. We booked the Art Deco Tour through Carnival for $28 per person. We self-disembarked, which went very smoothly and pretty quick, loaded our luggage onto a bus and had an EXCELLENT tour of Miami South Beach. So much so, that DH and I booked a trip to Miami South Beach for April 2005. It was well worth the $28! We got off the bus in South Beach and had lunch at TGI Fridays. Then had an hour to walk around and shop and find a hotel to book our April trip. It was gorgeous there and I can’t wait to go!!

Overall:

As my first paragraph may seem like I was whining, I know that a lot of you like to hear the negatives. But don’t get me wrong, the positives definitely outweigh the negatives!! In my opinion, there is absolutely nothing that compares to cruising and we are in the process of booking another Carnival cruise for September 2005.

By the way, the “secret door” that I heard about on this board is definitely there, and it was AMAZING to go out there! It was so beautiful!!

Hope I covered everything. If not, feel free to ask any questions!

Here’s to September 2005!!!!

Stacy

Stacy - thanks for your review! I can't wait to go! Re: your dining - what did they call your time - Main Second Seating? That is what I have requested (or what I see on my reservation) and I'm hoping it is the one at 6:15. Since we are on the spa deck (forward) I'm also thinking that we'll be assigned to the London dining room.

Thanks for the info!

Lisa.

On our sign and sail, it said we were "early" dining. Our cabin was aft and we were assigned to London, so I'm not sure if they will place you in London or Paris.

Stacy

Brennan,

Dining location has nothing to do with your cabin location, it depends on the time you chose to eat. 5:45 = Paris, 6:15 = London, 8:00 = Paris, 8:30 = London.

Intrepid

Stacy, Nice review glad over all you had a good time. I thought it was difficult to find your way around the Destiny style ships as well. You should try a Spirit class ship, I love the layout of those. I'm surprise you had so many kids on there, I thought most of them would be around Easter.

Well thanks again for the review, see you around the boards....

Stacy ... thanks for your review -- I have been waiting for you to come back to find out how your vacation was! I leave on Thursday for Saturday embarkation and I am totally panicked!!!

I'm glad you had fun overall!

You said you lost an engine!! :eek: Is it repaired now??? I hope that doesn't happen to us! I'd hate to miss out on the shore excursions I bought the BF ....

J

Yes, it lost an engine. They announced it as a "technical difficulty" but we later ran into a ship officer who told us about the engine problem. It only delayed us for a short time though. I also heard that the Triumph is making another couple Eastern Caribbean trips then moving to NYC to do smaller trips, then eventually is going to be retired. Don't know how much truth there is to that, but it was told to me by one of the Lido deck bartenders.

OMG TONS AND TONS of kids! I wasn't happy about that....

I take a vacation to GET AWAY from our 5, so the last thing I want to do is be around other people's kids (no offense, that's just me). I didn't realize I booked during a vacation week when I booked a year prior.

Oh well, I strategically booked our September 4, 2005 cruise on the Valor for just that reason. Kids will all be going back to school, so I don't think many parents will keep them out and take them on a cruise the first month.

Have fun on your cruise!

Stacy

brennan5!, I'm not sure how accurate this is, but we requested the 6:15 seating and when we got our S&S card (during embarktion) we were assigned to 5:45. I made a comment wondering why it was not the same time we requested, and a woman working there said that they try to put everyone in the dining room closest to their room. We were on the Empress Deck and closer to the Paris Dining Room and had requested an early seating, and the early seating in the Paris Dining Room is 5:45 and the London Dining Room is 6:15. Makes sense to me.

OY! The kids! They were everywhere, even at 2am!

Did you ever go out on the pool decks (9, 10, 11) at night? There were preteens and teens everywhere in little groups. At 2 am! Where were their parents????

~Intrepid

Thanks for the review. I, along with the other poster, was waiting for you to get back to see how your cruise went. My family and I are going on the Triumph next Jan. (way to far away but no one could get time off before then). I am glad to hear that overall you had a great vacation. I hope that we don't have any mechanical problems (it seems to be going around) because I don't want to miss out on a port. Well, thanks for the review.

Rebecca

Mask,

Maybe...but... I was in 7416 next to the last cabin on deck 7 and was assigned to London. When I tried to change to 8pm dining, the Maitre D said there was nothing in the Paris, and we stayed with 8:30 in the London.

~Intrepid

Good news Rebecca,

Per our Captain, the Triumph will be going in to drydock for 3 weeks in October. You should have a brand spanking new ship!

~Intrepid

OY! The kids! They were everywhere, even at 2am!

 

Did you ever go out on the pool decks (9, 10, 11) at night? There were preteens and teens everywhere in little groups. At 2 am! Where were their parents????

 

~Intrepid

Intrepid - I couldn't agree with you more. Yes, they were out until LATE LATE at night. We were in cabin 8428, corner, directly below the Lido Deck Aft. While sitting on our balcony, we could hear them "partying" until the wee hours of the morning. I heard somewhere that Carnival has a curfew...is that true?

Regardless, I will pay more attention to my booking dates from now on!!

Stacy

If there was a curfew it was not announced or enforced! I was shocked. I usually take a late night stroll around the ship one night at 2 or 3 in the morning to take pictures and video of the public spaces, that way there are less people in the rooms. I did this on Thursday night. When I went to any elevator area, the South Beach buffet, the Lido deck and all upper decks there were hundreds of kids about. If I were a parent #1 I would worry about them being alone, possibly falling overboard, or being injured or hurt in any way. It was REALLY WINDY outside! I cant understand how people allow there CHILDREN to run around freely. When I am a parent, my children will stay home until they are responsible enough to take care of themselves.

~Intrepid

Thanks for the great review Stacy. How was the noise inside your cabin on the Verandah? I also am booked on that deck, and was wondering about the noise factor being right below the Lido deck. Also, can you explain this "Secret door" thing? never heard of this on the board. Any chance of you posting any capers?

Thanks again Stacy, glad you had a great time.

-Gunner

Thanks for the great review Stacy. How was the noise inside your cabin on the Verandah? I also am booked on that deck, and was wondering about the noise factor being right below the Lido deck. Also, can you explain this "Secret door" thing? never heard of this on the board. Any chance of you posting any capers?

Thanks again Stacy, glad you had a great time.

 

-Gunner

Hi Gunner! Yes, there was a tiny bit of noise in the morning from deck chairs being moved about, but so light that it didn't bother me at all. I think my neighbors moving about their deck chairs irritated me more!! LOL

If you go deck 6, 8, and 9 and go all the way forward you will see a door in front of you that doesn't say anything on it. It takes you to the bow of the ship (reserved for crew members only). It's really beautiful out there at night!

Have fun on your cruise!!

Stacy

We did this itinerary in March 2003 and loved it! I can't imagine cruising Presidents' Week unless you have kids of course. Sounds like you had a great time....you guys really must have been partying if you needed a cab to get you back to the ship from Margarittaville!!! Just teasing you of course. We did a post-cruise on South Beach...glad we've done it but not a place I'd want to go back to for a week unless I had a lot more money than I do now. We stayed at the Holiday Inn and it was okay...older and in need of some TLC like most South Beach hotels unless you are paying $300 a night. We thought the restaurants were very, very expensive and I don't typically complain about costs on vacation. Maybe it was just us but am glad we had the opportunity to go there for a couple of days.

I'll definately have to try the bow thing out. What they gonna do, throw me overboard? :) Definately looking forward to the cruise. Your review made me even more so. Be sure to post any pictures or Capers if you have them.

Thanks again

Gunner - Yep, got all the capers! Will scan them and upload within the next few days or so.

Mnsawyer - Yes, after Margaritaville, I really didn't want to walk back!! ;)

Stacy

My sister and friend and I will be cruising the Triumph April 2nd. Did you do the Royal Dolphin Swim at Chankanaab Park?? I can't find the website you mentioned, but I can find another place to book it, and am thinking of doing this. How long did you spend with the dolphins? Can you describe the experience more? Thanks!

My husband, myself and our three teenage sons are leaving on March 5 from Portland, Maine. This will be our first cruise. Do you have any helpful tips?

We have a balcony suite and our sons are in an interior room. I look forward to your response.

Thank-you

Anne

My sister and friend and I will be cruising the Triumph April 2nd. Did you do the Royal Dolphin Swim at Chankanaab Park?? I can't find the website you mentioned, but I can find another place to book it, and am thinking of doing this. How long did you spend with the dolphins? Can you describe the experience more? Thanks!

We LOVED the dolphin swim. Yes, it was the Royal Dolphin Swim at Chankanaab Park. We booked it through www.cometocozumel.com $125 per person. I'm not sure exactly how long it was, but it was a good amount of time! First they have you climb down a set of stairs onto a platform. The trainer brings 2 dolphins over to each person (I think they take 8-10 ppl at a time). The person gets a chance to kiss the dolphin, and grab it's front fins while a camera person that works for Chankanaab Park takes photos of you. The trainer has the dolphin go over to each person and splash them, all the while giving detailed information about dolphins, their habitat, how they make that high pitched noise, etc. After that, two people at a time swim out and get a chance to do 2 things with the dolphins. First, you wait in the water with your legs straight down and your arms out in a "T" position. The dolphins will swim up behind your hands giving you a chance to grab onto each fin and they will drag you back to the platform. The second thing is to float in a "superman" position then the dolphins come up behind you and nestle their noses in the bottom of your feet and push you really fast towards the platform. Your whole body almost comes out of the water! After each person gets a chance to do that, everyone swims out and forms a circle. The trainer instructs the dolphin to swim around everyone in the circle giving you a chance to pet them as they swim by. Then the instructor tells you to make a signal with your hands as the dolphins come by and they will "talk" to you. Also, if you splash them, they splash you back. It's really neat, and one of the most amazing things I have ever experienced!!

Tip - Don't forget to bring the credit card that you used to book the excursion online. They will need to verify the signature when you get there!

Have fun! :)

Stacy

My husband, myself and our three teenage sons are leaving on March 5 from Portland, Maine. This will be our first cruise. Do you have any helpful tips?

We have a balcony suite and our sons are in an interior room. I look forward to your response.

Thank-you

Anne

The only thing I can really give you for a helpful hint is to really get to know the ship early on in the week. Because of her size, she is difficult to navigate (well for us anyway) and it is very easy to get lost!

Have fun on your cruise!!

Stacy

My husband, myself and our three teenage sons are leaving on March 5 from Portland, Maine. This will be our first cruise. Do you have any helpful tips?

We have a balcony suite and our sons are in an interior room. I look forward to your response.

Thank-you

Anne

Learn the few floors that go all the way across. Now if you are midship or in the aft--always walk to foward elevators or stairs--that will get you to the Rome lounge. If you are going to the London in the rear walk all the way down to the rear elevators. If you are in the aft of the ship--take the steps all the way up--they put you right in the Seaview Bistro and the New World Pool and the lido deck. By walking to one end versus the other--we stopped getting lost the second day!

My husband, myself and our three teenage sons are leaving on March 5 from Portland, Maine. This will be our first cruise. Do you have any helpful tips?

We have a balcony suite and our sons are in an interior room. I look forward to your response.

Thank-you

Anne

Do you know what cabins you will be in?