Triumph

[canjay95]

We're leaving on Jan. 23rd and staying at the Drury Suites for $129 for one night and a week of parking. I heard it's really nice and close to the French Quarter. If we choose not to park there, then it's just $109 for the one night. Either way, I thought that was a great deal. I just went on trip advisor and read the reviews for the hotels to find out more about each one.

[dadsbdaycruiser]

First of all, we were true first time Carnival cruisers... we have typically cruised on Celebrity (10x+ cruiser), Royal Caribbean and Cunard in the past, so this was a true departure for us. We loved the nature of a short cruise out of New Orleans and I was curious to see how it might compare. In many ways we were very pleasantly surprised... in a few not so much... so here goes. We had a group ranging from 13 years to 80 years (a true 3 generation cruising group)- my husband and I are in our 50's.

 

The Fellow Cruisers: It was a very eclectic group, largely from the South (many many with LSU and Saints shirts, so they seemed to do a good job drawing from Louisiana). People really did dress for dinner and on New Years eve there were a more then a few in black tie even though it wasn't a formal night (my dh wore one, and there were a few people who tried to order drinks from him, and one more that asked directions). Many ages, although the average "adult" was younger then many other ships we've been on. I was pleased to say that things didn't get too out of control on the "party" nights... although folks did have fun. It was a far better place to have your family then on Bourbon Street. In general there were quite a few families... and kids of all ages.

 

Our Cabin: The cabin was a true bright spot. We had 8 cabins onboard with our group, and I found the design of our cabin to be excellent. We did not need a mini bar... and the extra space was appreciated. The bed was extremely comfortable and full sized. Was not sure how I would feel about the "door" instead of sliding doors to our veranda, but it meant the bed was closer to the window which made the room much roomier. The leather couch across from the TV made for a very generous sitting area. The colors were golds and orange, which was tasteful, and it made for a very comfortable cabin. The balcony chairs reclined some (nice touch) and the bathroom was more then adequate. We really liked the panorama deck as it was quieter, and much of our group was on the Lido which was great as well (also nearer to pool area and restaurants). Bathrooms were adequate, and the extra storage below the basin was helpful. I liked the two closets, and the safe system (activated with the key card) was handy. It more then exceeded our expectations. At night the sound proofing was only OK... but the hall was generally quiet so no big complaints. One other very nice touch was the TV programming, with a very nice selection of free movies and most of the major channels.

 

The Pool area: Liked it. Nice new lounge chairs which were comfortable. Liked the tiering of the pool deck as it meant we had more privacy. The New Years day bowl games were on, and many people enjoying watching the games... even though the weather was only OK- it drew a lot of people outside. They seemed to have the chair saving under control and people were good about this. The cleanup service was very good, and carnival staff was very diligent about cleaning up and keeping trash and food under control almost immediately. Very impressed. Bar service was a little slow, but no one seemed to complain or be bothered by it. Some might not like the large screen in the pool area, but if you didn't know it was there, I'm not sure if you paid any attention to the pictures of the ship at all. I found this to actually work out well, and appreciated the fact that there wasn't a lot of loud music blaring everywhere, and they seemed to be toning it down by the pool. For those of you who have kids and were wondering, are kids allowed in the hot tub? The answer was definitely yes, as I saw one grandmother venture in during the day, but the kids were largely in charge. There may have been "adult" hot tubs, but I didn't understand the system that well, and some seemed to have more adults.

 

The Casino: Large... lots of activities... people were winning. The lounge singer was a little bit of a parody of a lounge singer, but hey it all worked. The sushi station in the casino was crowded and the sushi was mediocre, but the sake was supposably good and well priced.

 

The Bars: One of my biggest complaint was that there seemed to be a lot of smoking. I am sure Carnival would love to have less of this, but I wish they had more non-smoking bars and more non-smoking outside areas. It was annoying to the non-smokers, and there were some very nice bars which we would have loved to spend more time in but it was pretty smoky. The singer in the atrium bar was the best onboard, and we enjoying spending time there at night (he had a guitar and did a great job). Bars were busy, and the wine bar (another favorite) was nearly impossible to reach... generous pours throughout the ship, and prices on wine and drinks were fair. No big complaints. Night life was busy and active which was fun.

 

The Dining Room: Liked it. Dinners were well prepared, simple and everyone was happy. Not super gourmet, but all in all quite tasty. Service was very good at our tables, and people really dressed up and looked nice for dinner which was great. The dining room was busy on this cruise, which was nice. We had breakfast one morning which was good (although don't order the eggs benedict) and some in our group and lunch every day and really enjoyed this as well.

 

The South Beach Restaurant: Buffets are not my favorite... but there were some bright spots: the noodle bar was fairly good and freshly prepared, the pizza was fine (I liked the goat cheese pizza), and the kids liked the grill and the omelets at the omelet station near the pool were quite good, and the coffee and tea were very good (in fact the coffee was some of the best I have had on a ship). The negatives was the general buffet, which was generally mediocre. My view by the end was that if you really cared about getting the best quality food, go to the main dining room... if not, take it for what it was.

 

The Room Service: If you tried to order on the TV, you weren't going to get much (there were about two choices). Similarly, the breakfast delivered to the room was a simple selection. However, if you ordered off the paper menu and over the phone there were quite a few sandwiches and selections which were tasty and were generally enjoyed by our group. It took a little while (usually over 30 minutes), but it worked well. We tried to order a bottle of wine over the TV, and the wrong one came... after some confusion, it was cleared up.

 

The Lines: I spent a few days watching the line dynamics, and couldn't figure out why there were more lines then I was used to. I finally came to the conclusion, that some of it was unavoidable (the way they did embarkation and disembarkation) and some of it was people just going where other people were. This was perhaps one of the biggest differences from previous cruises, and it was something that needed to be worked through a bit. We got better at avoiding them (as my dh has is allergic to lines), but some of it is just the way it works. On day one we stood in a lot of lines... by day four, very few.

 

The Cruise Director and "onstage" staff: were a lot of fun, and we enjoyed it. It wasn't as stuffy as some of the other cruise lines (yes, some might find some of it a little "surprising"), but they were great and very funny. Humor is clearly valued and rewarded in this group, and the folks on the Triumph were having fun and as a result everyone enjoyed even the most mundane of talks. We attended Bingo several times and the Bingo guys were very funny, and people had a lot of fun, which really is the point.

 

The Photo Opportunities: I have never seen anything like this before... at every turn there was a chance to have your picture taken with a different backdrop. We had a group picture and some smaller pictures done, and I must say the quality was very good and the photographers were professional. I can't say that the jungle or antebellum theme in the background were what I would have chosen, but it turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Some were complaining about the $20 per 8x10 cost, but I have to say that it was far less then a sitting and they turned out to be very nice.

 

The Towel Animals: I have never been impressed by a towel animal before, but our room stewards out did themselves... the elephant was adorable, and I loved the little bandit hanging from the ceiling (we kept him there for a few days). Very well done.

 

The Embarkation/Disembarkation: OK... a low point for me as it took over an hour each way. There were lines and it felt like there must have been a better way to manage this... some of it might have been the port, but it was involved, and I wish a bit smoother.

 

The "Big Brother is Watching You" element: Let's face it, every ship has this going on, but they definitely had subtle ways of letting you know on Carnival. I actually did not see this as a problem, as with this many party goers things could get out of hand. They referenced safety more then I have remembered, and if some younger folks wanted to sneak into a bar or disco they were turned around fairly quickly. I did not see this as a problem, and in fact they seemed to have the situation well in hand. The employees were professional, and probably quicker then on other cruise lines to step in.

 

Overall impressions of the Triumph: There were quite a few things about the ship I liked, and they had put some money into her recently which meant nicer furnishings, bedding, deck chairs, carpeting etc. I struggled a little bit to figure out how coherent the design was, I liked the "global theme" with the globe in the atrium and the star background. I liked the globes on the handrails and the carpeting was nice- and the names of various places in the world for the main venues. There was a lot of stone and it was a very nice touch (in particular the stairways were very pretty). The decking on the pool deck was in good shape, and she was well cared for. Then all of a sudden there were elements that made no sense... the mayan decor around the elevators (help me on this one?)... the Big Easy bar with the oyster shells on the roof (I'm with them on that part), but with the fern wallpaper and the Louis the XIV furniture it stopped making sense. I kept wishing they could have picked one designer and stuck with it, as the bones of the ship are lovely. The flow was good, and all 3200 of us were well absorbed much of the time onboard.

 

Overall Impressions of Carnival: It was generally very good... I felt that had a good product and managed the cruise quite well. It was fun, the ship had a lot to recommend it... and I would definitely consider another cruise on Carnival if the itinerary and trip suited the group.

[My6Dogs]

Thanks for the review! It sounds like you all had a great time.

 

I really enjoy reviews that are balanced and detailed. Too many of the others are either "I loved everything" or "Worst cruise ever".

 

Thanks again!

 

Mike

[Willie T]

Wow! Thanks for all the imput. It sounds like the Truimph gets mostly thumbs up. Still in the choosing stage, but it''s at the top of the list.

[Genesis803]

Since you live in NO, can you tell me how safe Gretna area is? I am especially concerned about leaving my car in the Holiday Inn parking lot. Thanks!

 

I wouldn't leave anything of value in New Orleans. I live fairly close and get thier local news channels which consist of a 30 minute daily crime report. They even have this "game" they play on the nightly news called the Wheel of Justice. A police officer spins a large wheel with 4 different criminals' photos on it. Which ever one lands on the pointer is profiled to the public for thier assistance in capturing the "suspect". Its the craziest thing I've ever seen!

 

Park your car with Carnival. At least then it will be in a secure garage way above street level on top of the terminal.

[BeeBeeCee]

Since you live in NO, can you tell me how safe Gretna area is? I am especially concerned about leaving my car in the Holiday Inn parking lot. Thanks!

 

I wouldn't leave anything of value in New Orleans. I live fairly close and get thier local news channels which consist of a 30 minute daily crime report. They even have this "game" they play on the nightly news called the Wheel of Justice. A police officer spins a large wheel with 4 different criminals' photos on it. Which ever one lands on the pointer is profiled to the public for thier assistance in capturing the "suspect". Its the craziest thing I've ever seen!

 

Park your car with Carnival. At least then it will be in a secure garage way above street level on top of the terminal.

 

 

Really???? .....because our car was stolen from the Radisson Hotel Cruise Parking lot in Port Canaveral during our recent Dream trip :eek:....but never has any of our vehicles been stolen in New Orleans :rolleyes:

 

Yeah ...we should have parked at the "Port" in Port Canaveral....

 

The parking at the port in New Orleans belongs to the "Port of New Orleans"... and yes would be a safe bet!

[Carol1560]

I agree, although I am not from New Orleans, I am from Baton Rouge. I ALWAYS park our vehicles at the garage that is owned by Port of New Orleans. It is not open to general public. That makes a huge difference. Just think if you are a criminal and walk by a parking lot everyday and see a bunch of cars with out of state plates just sitting there for days, not moving............tadah find a brick! It is better safe than sorry

[nowendy]

I just don't get why you did not share your menu with the other person. :confused: The breakfast menu is the same everyday. Yes the waiter should have given everyone a menu but this was an easy fix.

 

 

we did, the waiter just forgot that he hadn't taken my nephew's order and walked away. you know they understand a limited amount of English and it was an act of congress to make them understand that they needed to take his order.

[karenh1127]

I am more nervous than ever now about leaving my car at a hotel. It is nothing special (2004 Expedition) but it is paid for and since insurance would no way give me enough to buy a new one, I cant afford to lose this one. The Holiday Inn in Gretna told me they have night time security.:rolleyes:

 

Also....does the Triumph have a mongolian grill? Does it still have the gelato at the gourmet coffee shop?

[cajunchick]

nowendy I live in marrero also. I am the mgr at the daiquiri shoppe at the corner of westwood and expwy. Maybe we know each other

[cajunchick]

Gretna by that hotel is pretty safe.

[halos]

Just returned from the Triumph today.....We went during the week of Thanksgiving and booked for New year's Eve....and now we are booked for the week of Mardi gras....we live 45 mins from New Orleans, but would book this cruise again if we lived in another area....

 

We love the Triumph....we have had the best service and food on the Triumph than any other ship we have sailed on....we found the shows to be the best we've seen on Carnival....and the ship is beautiful....can't wait to return in 40 days!

 

I'm sailing Mardi Gras week as well.

Getting a hotel for pre-cruise wasn't easy :eek:

 

I'm happy you enjoyed the ship so much. :)

[BROOKSIDE]

I have booked the 9-11-10 cruise come join us.