Paradise 10-25 mini review

[wfinley]

So we got back of Friday from our 4 day cruise on the Carnival paradise visiting Catalina and Ensenada.

 

Precruise: Drove down day before and stayed at the Hilton. Their shuttle was a pain as they would not take us till 12:30 so I dropped family off went back parked, and took the passport to queen mary. Worked OK. The pick up was great however.

 

Background, we (DW, DD 4, MIL, and I) originally had 2 inside cabins booked. We accepted an upsale to a GS on the upper deck. DW, DD, and I did the same cruise 1 year ago, MIL had not been on a cruise in about 17 years.

 

Cabin: We liked the GS. With DD scedule we are actually glad we went with the GS. There were times my wife and I were in the cabin with DD and it would have been strange watching DD in MIL cabin. The best case would have been getting the rare adjoining cabins, if we had that we would not have switched. Overall the GS was worth the $150 we spent to upgrade. I did like the balcony (our first) but we did not use it much. I would never spend full price on the GS. I might be inclined to book a balcony if he price is right. I keep looking at the coves.

 

Dining: We ate one breakfast in the dining room one day. Day at sea (we did behind the fun tour so we needed a quick early breakfast) and debarkation day (sad day) we ate on Lido. Ensenada day MIL was on an excursion so I went to Lido and brought breakfast back for DW and I. We had dinner on Lido one day because DD halloween activities were at 7pm after that the menu did not look appealing to DW. We made a mistake. The meat was edible but all else was not. I ended up going to pizza standby. We had YTD and enjoyed the flexibility that. We had the same serving team all three nights and can say we have not had better. They were more personable then we have had in the past. The bar waiter brought my diet coke every night. DD ate with camp every night except the first night. She made the choice.

 

Stateroom service: Best steward we had to date. Since our room is rated for 4 we were not guaranteed a roll away for the DD. He brought one and was rewarded for it. He always cleaned the room whenever we went out. Even when we left the room at 11:30 one day (had to leave to get DD).

 

CD and social hosts: We had Jeff Bronson last year as well and I think he is a good cruise director. He is not a comedian but does well. I think his comedy is best when he is doing guest interaction. The Game of Love was funny. The social hosts were more attentive and interacted with guests more then last year.

 

Camp Carnival: for us this is a major reason why we cruise. If DD did not like camp we would not cruise. She loved it once again. She enjoyed the activities. She did one late night and stayed up an extra 30 minutes another night. She also did build a bear. She enjoyed it last year as well. But I can say from the parent perspective this year camp felt so much more organized. When we checked in on first day they gave us the Camp fun times for the week (last year they did day by day) and they seemed very well staffed and organized. They remain the best part of a Carnival cruise.

 

Behind the Scenes: we had a great tour that lasted about 3 hours. It cost MIL almost as much as we paid as she spent time in the casino. We met with staff and learned a great deal about the ships operations. Chef was amazing. We learned more there then anywhere else. It was well worth the $55 per person. I am happy we did it on a smaller ship.

 

Debarkation: since we were VIP due to the GS we waited in the Library till about 8:45 and then we were led off the ship. We had to locate a bag as it was in the wrong zone. We called the hotel shuttle and it was there when we got outside.

 

As we walked off the boat my DD was very sad. She said she did not want to leave. We will be on the Splendor in a year and it will be DD first 7 day cruise. DD loved the ability to see out and will like the porthole cabin we have. All in all it was a great cruise.

 

We only got off the boat for about 30 minutes in ensenada and stayed on in Catalina. MIL got off at both ports. Seeing new ports will be nice.

[pmc7704]

Can you tell me which dining room was designated for YTD ??

[braydensmom]

What time did the behind the scense tour begin? We are planning on going on it with our 13 year old. Thanks. We are leaving this Friday on Paradise.