Triumph 1-23-10 Review/info With Pics

[conchead]

First of all, please forgive any spelling or grammar errors, I am not a writer.

 

We stayed at the Drury Inn near the port. We decided to walk to the

port which was a real good hike with the bags.

Day 1 Saturday

We arrived at the port about 11:40, checked in our bags, went through

the line and were checked in by 12:05. Then the wait to board. Our

boarding number was 7. They kept making announcements about lunch on

the lido, but we were still in the holding area with a large group of

people...getting anxious to get on that Lido Deck!!

Onboard at 12:24 not too bad. It took a few minutes to find my wife,

again.

Last cruise she took off and I didn't see her until a half hour after

sailaway. In the moment it took for me to look at the camera to have

the ID photo taken she goes with the flow and I had no idea where.

This time I was able to get her on the phone quickly.

So we went to the pursors desk got the accounts set up and I finished

my sail away special by 12:50 while she was in line at the Lido buffet.

That is 1 hr 10 minutes from arrival to port to her being in line at the

buffet and me finishing a sail away special...

 

Soon after boarding the fog started to roll in, I was just hoping that we would be leaving sometime that night and not the next morning. The called the Muster drill..a good sign.

Muster went fine, but, it did bug me that the ones of us that did go when called had to wait, and wait then be squashed back into the walls by the late arrivals, but then again that is how it goes. The fog was thick, but we left at about 4:15..whew!!

So far, smooth as silk, or as smooth as that sail away special.

Early afternoon, my wife saw a familiar face, Petra from the Czech Republic.

My wife asked had she been on another ship in March, she said yes, the Fantasy.

Well, that was that..She was our waitress for 90% of the cruise.

I have to say that Petra is a shining example of the image Carnival

is wanting people to have of them. She is a very hard working and

very friendly young lady. This was noted on the comment card.

 

This being the first night we ate in the Lido buffet.

Fried shrimp and WCMC. Explored the ship. We met Yohanics our room

steward. Went to the Lido deck and watched part of some Disney movie

and had some hot chocolate while wearing our hoodies...pretty cool

outside. We are still on regular ATT, no Cellular at Sea...a good thing.

 

Day 2 Sunday Fun Day at Sea

NFL division Finals on the Lido deck today. Fairly long

lines at buffet for breakfast and lunch. The dessert area on the buffet

had many of the same items as the buffet, but this was just come up

and pick and choose, no waiting. That is what I did and took it back

to the cabin. The wife had been feeling bad all night long with an

upset stomach. This had nothing to do with the cruise food, she has

chronic stomach problems. We nibbled on what I brought back to the

cabin then took showers and got ready to go check things out. It was a

beautiful sunny morning with mid 70's temp.

We watched the mixology contest hosted by Squishy. He made a couple

of drinks to pass out after the contest. They were called a "frozen squishy".

He gave my wife one and it was pretty good. We watched the hairy chest contest.

It was pretty much the same as the one we saw on the Fantasy except

Stitch on the Fantasy chose "nice older" ladies to be the judge where

Squishy had much younger ladies as judges so...I think this was the

better of the two.

 

The Lido deck was rapidly filling with football fans from the various teams.

I think the ship favorite is the home team of the New Orleans Saints(Who Dat!!).

The sunny skies had been getting more and more cloudy as the day went on and by early afternoon it was a nice light gray outside.

 

 

The frozen squishy and a few sips of my yellow bird were having an

effect on my wife especially when added to about a half glass of wine

she had with lunch. While she "napped" a few minutes I went and sat on

the balcony. I kept hearing a tapping noise when it finally dawned on

me to check it out. There were a few crew members working on some part

of the life raft system. Just normal maintenance but it did seem

strange to see people on the outside of the rails of the ship. Later

on I heard more chipping and grinding and took a few pics.

 

So far we have not spent much time on the front (fore) end of the ship

except a little while in some of the shops and showing my wife the

"secret" door and deck on the front of the Lido deck. Well, that

didn't go over too well with her. That small deck the darkness the fog

and looking over the side had her creeped out for a long time! As far

as I could tell for most of the day all outside decks above Lido were

closed off due to high wind so no waterslides today kiddos.

As it turned out for most of the cruise, the upper outside decks were closed off.

 

This was also "Elegant" night. I saw no bathrobes or shorts. The

majority of the men that were there (New Orleans Saints were still

playing, so there were many empty seats) were wearing ties if not

suits and a few in their tux's. I saw nothing out of line for the

ladies. There might have been some men and women not in compliance,

but I didn't see them. My wife and I both had the lobster, I am not a picky eater

at all...if you ever see me, I guess you would be able to tell, but

The lobster was not good at all. I didn't want to say anything that might

influence my wifes taste while she was eating, but I said that the shrimp cocktail

was much better than the lobster, she agreed and said that she thought the

lobster almost had a raw taste about it, but didn't want to say anything either.

 

Day 3 Monday Progreso!!

This is our favorite port between Progreso and Coz.

Beautiful weather, good food and friendly people.

We took the famous $3.00 double decker bus tour and loved every minute of it.

After the tour we went walkabout in some local market areas. We went through

a locals market where they sold fruits, vegetables, meats, fish and

chicken. It was all just sitting out unrefrigerated, except for the

fish which was iced down..somewhat. There was some beautiful fresh snapper there.

We ate buffet tonight. Whatever we ate was good. I can't remember what

we had. After dinner we went around the ship. Lido, gift shops, etc. Again.

 

Day 4 Tuesday Cozumel

We arrived to port and docked next to the Carnival Glory. Apparently

someone was I'll or injured and was loaded into an ambulance right at the ship.

I have no other info. We went through the Puerto Maya pier shops and

took a taxi to Margaritaville. After my wife looked at each and every

item they had in the store (about a good hour) we started walking

towards downtown. The vendors were Extremely pushy. Along with the

Triumph and Glory, there was also the Ecstasy, Disney? and RCCL

Grandeur of the Seas.

 

Soon after Regents Seven Seas Voyager arrived. There was a port FULL

of people. Btw... This was another shopping day. We returned to the

ship and cleaned up, changed clothes and attended the past guest

party. It was pretty nice with plenty of liquor. Time for dinner. We

had the usual excellent service from Aga and his team, they were doing

their job and doing it well. We both ordered Petite filet with beef short

ribs confit. Again not the best, but not bad.

My wife ordered med rare as did I. We both understand the mass

production of the food and realize it is not cooked and prepared when

ordered. My med rare was what I would call med.Hers,well half of it

was med well and the other half was med rare. One of our table mates

ordered med well and hers was very med rare. It happens, no biggie.

What I did notice was a lot of people arriving late. It was obvious that

some were a bit under the influence and a few just apparently didn't bother to

show up on time. You could see the waitstaff rushing around to accomodate

them, when in my opinion the ones arriving after 7(seven)pm should have

been turned away.

 

This is where my wife (and I...mostly her) had an experience that was

just enough to get her P.O.'d in a big way. She went to order the DVD

of the cruise. The guy working at the desk acted like she was a total

nuisance and didn't want to be bothered. He was not busy, no other

customers around. He was just standing there looking around when we

walled up. He seemed to have no knowledge about the product he was

selling. ( this was noted on the comment card )

After dinner my wife got to meet Judit an almost brand new asst waitress

on the Lido deck. Judit is Hungarian as is my wife. Judit almost jumped

when my wife greeted her in Magyar. Her faced beamed with a smile when

she heard something that reminded her of home. I had seen her several

times always working hard and once I saw her name tag with Hungary on

it, I had to tell my wife. The Triumph was her first cruise assignment.

My wife appologized for her Magyar being a little rusty,

but Judit said it didn't matter, she said that it was good to hear.

 

Day 5 Wednesday Fun Day at Sea

My wife slept in, I went to the buffet and hunted and gathered food

and brought it back to the cabin, we ate and got ready and went about the ship

just doing this and that. We went back to the cabin and got some sun on the balcony.

Started doing some packing, getting more sun. Nothing much going on for us.

She did some more last minute shopping, I took pictures, which I had been doing all week.

We ate in the MDR again, and met a second couple.

This night we both had the lobster bisque, I loved every drop of it.

My wife liked it too. She had the prime rib and loved it.

I had the shrimp and BBQ ribs, I have read and heard so much about them...

I had to order them. I am from Memphis..you know the BBQ city...well...

I ate some of them. It wasn't that there was too much or anything, but I just didn't like them.

They tasted like what I was hoping they wouldn't, just oven cooked ribs with sauce on them.

Then it was time for the most dreaded moment of any cruise.

Singing of the "All your bags are packed and your ready to go"...I thought my

wife was going to cry.

 

The other couple at the table were celebrating their 25th

anniversary and at dessert time Aga and crew brought out a little Chocolate heart shaped cake and sang the "Happy Anniversary to you..kissy kissy song", they shared the cake with the

table. It was good, but I was half way through my Warm Chocolate Melting Cake

so it was a bit too much chocolate all at once.

Speaking of the Warm Chocolate Melting Cake, I had it every night!!

sometimes getting one from the buffet and taking it to the cabin.

Later on this evening, my wife had to make a run for the ladies room, when she saw me heading towards the table. When she came out, she asked do you have my purse? I said I thought she had it...panic time..we hurried over to the table where she left it a man asked were we looking for a purse? we told him yes and he said he gave it to one of the people that was wearing a gold vest.

We immediately went to the Lido buffet area and asked someone about it. He didn't really understand..so we went a little further and she asked another employee did he know about it, he said no, and looked around and loudly asked Istvan something in Magyar, my wife almost immediately relaxed..they were Hungarian, she could explain it to them and they would understand what she was talking about. (not all of the employees speak English real good, so being able to speak in their language helped out), within 3 minutes of finding her purse gone, she had it back in her hands, then up walks Judit, 4 happy Hungarians talking for about 15 minutes...another good comment card moment

 

Our final impressions

We really liked our cabin an aft wrap..Beautiful Balcony!!!

We both felt and heard others commenting on the layout of the ship not having a good flow.

There were at times very long lines and the decks were somewhat confusing.

The ship is nice, but definitely has an older feel about it and is in need of updating.

Jorge, left a very good impression on us. He is a very funny man.

The food, in my opinion, was not as good as I remember, except for the WCMC

always wonderful. The crew were friendly and hard working..except for that one guy.

We can really describe what we have talked about to each other, but it seemed like

there was just a bit of "fun-ness" missing...maybe it was the cooler weather or something.

It was still a great cruise

Link to more pics

http://s184.photobucket.com/albums/x233/SDZD/Carnival%20Triumph%202010/?start=0

 

or the slide show

http://s184.photobucket.com/albums/x233/SDZD/Carnival%20Triumph%202010/?albumview=slideshow

[papanh]

great review, just right in length, we sailed on the Triumph 4 years ago and your pictures brought back memories

Papanh

[conchead]

great review, just right in length, we sailed on the Triumph 4 years ago and your pictures brought back memories

Papanh

 

Thanks

 

If there are any questions about arcade, self service laundry, capers

questions. I have lots of info that I collected. So, just ask and I will do

what I can.:)

 

I plan to scan the capers and other items on Sunday or Monday.

I have to work 7am-11pm tomorrow..it will have to wait just a little;)

[Naomi John]

If the Lido deck was bouncing after the NFC playoff game? (I was in the Superdome at the time, just wondering what it was like on the ship).

 

But about Triumph. Was there a pool near/next to the slide ending? And for the Dhubby, did you note a cigar bar?

 

Great pictures and I like the slide show.

[CruisaholiCandy]

We were on Triumph for 7 days, right before your cruise. We had the best entertainment. Did you guys have the hypnotist? He was fantastic! The magician was also wonderful.

Is it true that a couple got left behind in Cozumel on your cruise?

[conchead]

If the Lido deck was bouncing after the NFC playoff game? (I was in the Superdome at the time, just wondering what it was like on the ship).

 

But about Triumph. Was there a pool near/next to the slide ending? And for the Dhubby, did you note a cigar bar?

 

Great pictures and I like the slide show.

 

WHO DAT!!!

I have never heard anything so much in my life!!

You would have thought you were in the Superdome..just a little smaller.

There was a pool that the kid slides onto, not into..it isn't the deep kind....But..I don't remember seeing it used, (42" minimum height)

They had most of the outside decks above Lido closed most of the cruise "due to high wind":rolleyes:

The main lido deck area by the big screen had a pool and 2 hot tubs.

Yes there is a cigar bar..I think?? but if not they sell them on board somewhere and smoke them all over the Lido.:)

[conchead]

We were on Triumph for 7 days, right before your cruise. We had the best entertainment. Did you guys have the hypnotist?

I don't think so..He was fantastic! The magician was also wonderful.

Is it true that a couple got left behind in Cozumel on your cruise?

 

That was talked about at dinner one night in the MDR.

We were not positive but we think it was the Glory, we were

docked together. He/they got to the pier and their boat was gone.

Apparently they were looking at the wrong boat:rolleyes:

 

 

Story is, the Pilot boat took the pax to the ship when it

went after the Pilot. I can not verify any accuracy to any of

this, but that is what was said.;)

[airlink diva]

Thanks

 

If there are any questions about arcade, self service laundry, capers

questions. I have lots of info that I collected. So, just ask and I will do

what I can.:)

 

I plan to scan the capers and other items on Sunday or Monday.

I have to work 7am-11pm tomorrow..it will have to wait just a little;)

 

Thanks for scanning the capers!! I'm sailing the same ports in April!!!

[Sea Born]

Conchead - Awesome review! My DD and I will be taking this cruise in May and are really looking forward to it. Was just wondering, in Progresso is there enough things to see and do without taking a CCL excursion? Are there beaches (public) that you can just get transportation and go on your own? Are there shops, bars, restaurants around the port area too? Didn't really want to spend the extra money for an excursion if not really neccessary. We won't be doing an excursion in Cozumel because my DD just wants to be able to explore around on our own there too. We usually always do excursions, so this would be the first that we just explore on our own. How "safe" is it in Progresso? When we were in Belize they advised that you don't go out exploring on your own and was wondering if it was that way in Progresso? I have been to Cozumel (DD has not), so I feel pretty comfortable exploring there. Of course, just like any where, you always need to be cautious for sure. Any other tips and advise would be appreciated.

 

Sue

[Sea Born]

Conchead -sorry, one more question. You said that you stayed at the Drury, how was that? Is it within walking distance (short walk, that is) to the French Quarter? We will be driving down from St. Louis the day before, so of course I am checking out the hotels down there. Last time I was there, we flew in and stayed near the airport, but this time am looking to stay closer to the port area. Thanks again!

 

Sue

[nana6]

Great review. We were on this cruise and I agree that the fun-ness just wasnt what it has been on other ships, but then I have never sailed when I needed a jacket to go outside.

 

Conchead...hope you made it home before the ice!!!

[newt98]

good job borat, keep it coming!;)

[arom729]

Thanks

 

If there are any questions about arcade, self service laundry, capers

questions. I have lots of info that I collected. So, just ask and I will do

what I can.:)

 

I plan to scan the capers and other items on Sunday or Monday.

I have to work 7am-11pm tomorrow..it will have to wait just a little;)

 

I see you did the Fantasy before this. We did Fantasy last March and will be on Triumph March 1. We really really did NOT like Stitch on the Fantasy. I'm hoping you can tell me that Squishy and his fun crew are not as intrusive and annoying?!?!? Or, was it just us that found Stitch to be awful? UGH. I don't know if I can handle a fun crew like the Fantasy's again.

[conchead]

Conchead - Awesome review! My DD and I will be taking this cruise in May and are really looking forward to it. Was just wondering, in Progresso is there enough things to see and do without taking a CCL excursion? Are there beaches (public) that you can just get transportation and go on your own? Are there shops, bars, restaurants around the port area too? Didn't really want to spend the extra money for an excursion if not really neccessary. We won't be doing an excursion in Cozumel because my DD just wants to be able to explore around on our own there too. We usually always do excursions, so this would be the first that we just explore on our own. How "safe" is it in Progresso? When we were in Belize they advised that you don't go out exploring on your own and was wondering if it was that way in Progresso? I have been to Cozumel (DD has not), so I feel pretty comfortable exploring there. Of course, just like any where, you always need to be cautious for sure. Any other tips and advise would be appreciated.

 

Sue

 

Yes..when you get off the ship, you MUST get on the courtesy shuttle to get to town.

The pier is about 4½ Miles long.

There are some shops right at the ship before you get on the shuttle.

The shuttle will drop you off in town at a little market area. You can take

the famous $3.00 double decker bus tour(from the same drop off point)about 20-25 minutes long.

It is really a good little tour. If you are able to, get on the upper deck for the best view.

You will see you are only about a block and a half from the Malecon and beach. There are free public beaches right there. The restaurants and bars across the Malecon will have servers crossing the street bringing food and beverages, depending on what part of the beach you choose.

 

Progreso is what I consider Extremely safe, I think if you go to the ports of call boards on Cruise Critic, you will see that many others agree.

 

Conchead -sorry, one more question. You said that you stayed at the Drury, how was that? Is it within walking distance (short walk, that is) to the French Quarter? We will be driving down from St. Louis the day before, so of course I am checking out the hotels down there. Last time I was there, we flew in and stayed near the airport, but this time am looking to stay closer to the port area. Thanks again!

 

Sue

It is about 2 blocks?? from the French Quarter.

It is on the corner of Poydras and Carondolet(sp?)

Carondolet turnes into Bourbon Street when you get to Canal St.

We parked at the Drury for $35 for the duration of the cruise.

and walked to port. It was not too bad of a walk, depending on

how much luggage you have. We did take a taxi from port back to the

Drury, because we did some shopping and had too much baggage to make it easy..also,

I wanted to get home asap because of the forcasted Ice/snow on the way.

Taxi fare was a flat rate of $14.00 plus tip.

The Drury gave each guest a coupon for 3 drinks in the lobby from 5:30-7:00, they also had snacks. There is a soda fountain in the lobby and a nice complentary hot breakfast, with cook your own waffles.

 

Great review. We were on this cruise and I agree that the fun-ness just wasnt what it has been on other ships, but then I have never sailed when I needed a jacket to go outside.

 

Conchead...hope you made it home before the ice!!!

 

I agree...the weather and the fog might have had something to do with it.

It was still a great cruise and better than being at work!!

[conchead]

I see you did the Fantasy before this. We did Fantasy last March and will be on Triumph March 1. We really really did NOT like Stitch on the Fantasy. I'm hoping you can tell me that Squishy and his fun crew are not as intrusive and annoying?!?!? Or, was it just us that found Stitch to be awful? UGH. I don't know if I can handle a fun crew like the Fantasy's again.

 

We were on the Fantasy last March too.

I thought the Fantasy was a much nicer more updated ship

than the Triumph.The Fantasy also had less lines and it was

easier to find your way around.

 

Ok..I liked Stitch, and Brittney...Brittney more than Stitch;)

I did not see Squishy nearly as much as Stitch..

maybe it was just that Stitch was a little more noticable??

 

Jorge the CD..was absolutely hilarious!!

 

Basically, I think you will find the fun crew a bit more subdued

and hopefully more to your liking.:)

[conchead]

good job borat, keep it coming!;)

 

 

Thanks ;)

[Sea Born]

Conchead - thanks for the additional info! What type of parking did Drury provide? Is it some sort of security there? The reason I am asking is we are driving my daughter's new car and she is concerned about the security at parking lots other than the port parking, so just wanted to get your opinion.

[conchead]

Conchead - thanks for the additional info! What type of parking did Drury provide? Is it some sort of security there? The reason I am asking is we are driving my daughter's new car and she is concerned about the security at parking lots other than the port parking, so just wanted to get your opinion.

 

Well..

It is gated parking and fenced in (heavy iron fence).

Mine is just a few months old, so I had similar concerns

When we got into the room, there was a note on the desk.

Basically..

Dear Guest,

.....The Police have reported a number of automobile break-ins in the area.

We have hired outside security to patrol our lot. Please do not leave

valuables in your car....

 

My car was there when we got back, exactly as it was left..no problems.

 

Our other car at home...thankfully was there just as we had left it too.

(we have had a few in our neighborhood broken into recently).:rolleyes:

 

I hope for the best in situations like this, and tell myself, I have insurance..

and keep my fingers crossed.:p

[SMSACE6]

Very nice review and photos. Im glad you enjoyed your cruise. I also enjoyed the Triumph back in 2004. Thanks for sharing your experience.:)

[adjburch]

Great review! Thanks for posting.

[BBigfoot613]

Thanks for the review. We are sailing on March 1st and staying at the drury. What did you think of the drury overall? do it again? Also was the pool open?

 

in progresso did you have to make any type of reservations for the double decker? We've figure out what we are doing in coz but still searching for progresso. The double decker sounds like a good starting idea added to something else. Do they have more then one that departs every so often?

 

Thanks for any input.

[kmr444]

Great report Conchead! Lovely pictures. My husband commented that we will put your slide show on when we have guests so they will think they are ours!

[conchead]

Thanks for the review. We are sailing on March 1st and staying at the drury. What did you think of the drury overall? do it again? Also was the pool open?

 

in progresso did you have to make any type of reservations for the double decker? We've figure out what we are doing in coz but still searching for progresso. The double decker sounds like a good starting idea added to something else. Do they have more then one that departs every so often?

 

Thanks for any input.

We really liked the Drury Inn, and would probably do it again, without much thinking about it.

Yes the rooftop pool and hottub were up and running. It was kind of cool, so only the hottub was being used.

Double Decker bus..no reservations, I don't know how many there are, but

it is no problem getting to ride.

 

Great report Conchead! Lovely pictures. My husband commented that we will put your slide show on when we have guests so they will think they are ours!

 

I am glad you like them. I have a LOT more, but I was just trying to get some up real quick. I have some from the Drury Inn and a some from the Hairy Chest competition and tons of balcony pics. I am going to scan the capers and other things on Sun and Mon and try and get them up on the photo album.

[papillon cruiser]

We were neighbors. I know I saw your wife. We were in cabin 8424. I don't know if it is port or starboard. I was really glad to know where the Ice machine was because we never even got our Ice bucket filled once. I have learned not to prepay tips though. My DD was going to remove hers but since she is a waitress changed her mind. Stating the guy may just be having a bad week. Other than that we had a great time. I love palanacar beach. Took DD parasailing and it was a blast. Snorkeling was ok but it was better in august. I did see 3 turtles and a barracuda. I thought the food was great, but DH did say his lobster was not as good as usual and DS had a very tough steak one night. I also work in health care. To bad we couldn't have met. I did do a m and g on one cruise but we were stalked for the entire cruise.:eek: So I am kind of leery to go to them. I am very jealous that you got called for an upgrade. How the heck did you do that? On all my cruises I have never got an upsell call. Now that I am platinum I will probably get a call to move from my cove balcony on the Dream but I don't want to move because I think they are going to be prime area. Glad you had a great time. See you on the boards/;)

[qprrules]

Well..

It is gated parking and fenced in (heavy iron fence).

Mine is just a few months old, so I had similar concerns

When we got into the room, there was a note on the desk.

Basically..

Dear Guest,

.....The Police have reported a number of automobile break-ins in the area.

We have hired outside security to patrol our lot. Please do not leave

valuables in your car....

 

My car was there when we got back, exactly as it was left..no problems.

 

Our other car at home...thankfully was there just as we had left it too.

(we have had a few in our neighborhood broken into recently).:rolleyes:

 

I hope for the best in situations like this, and tell myself, I have insurance..

and keep my fingers crossed.:p

 

Did u have to make parking arrangements prior to arrival?