Carnival Triumph 5 Day Cruise from Galveston

[mollynmax]

On of my company reps (I am an insurance agent) was in today to do a presentation, and mentioned that they sailed on the Triumph a couple weeks ago. She has sailed Carnival for more that 15 cruises, and for the first time, she said the service on the Triumph was "not up to par". The never saw or met their cabin steward the entire cruise, they would pass cruise staff members in the hallways, elevators, in the buffet area, and they did not have the usual Carnival "Smile - how are you today - can I help you" attitude that we have become accustomed to. She said it was the worst cruise ever - has anyone else has the same or similar experience? We are sailing on the Triumph on 11-16, and all of a sudden, I am beginning to wonder if I am going to have the same experience. Any comments on recent cruises would be appreciated! We cruise in 10 days!!! Thanks!!!

:)

[bzpilot]

I really wouldn't worry too much about it. I have been of the same cruise with groups of friends who thought it was amazing and some thought it was bad and they were with each other 50% of the time.

 

Most people initially form a quick opinion of the cruise. Unfortunately, quick opinions are usually negative because of something typically small right of the bat- delays when boarding, issues with the cabin at first, etc. Once it's formed a bad opinion for many is hard to change and they just set themselves up for a "bad" cruise.

 

Those who can let the little things go that don't really matter, those that don't harp on things that aren't quite perfect and can keep an open mind will always be fine.

 

Not saying that people don't genuinely have some bad cruises because they do. I tend to think it's usually a bad moment that converts to a bad attitude that ends up ruining or at least taking away from a possibly great experience.

[tootsiebit]

On of my company reps (I am an insurance agent) was in today to do a presentation, and mentioned that they sailed on the Triumph a couple weeks ago. She has sailed Carnival for more that 15 cruises, and for the first time, she said the service on the Triumph was "not up to par". The never saw or met their cabin steward the entire cruise, they would pass cruise staff members in the hallways, elevators, in the buffet area, and they did not have the usual Carnival "Smile - how are you today - can I help you" attitude that we have become accustomed to. She said it was the worst cruise ever - has anyone else has the same or similar experience? We are sailing on the Triumph on 11-16, and all of a sudden, I am beginning to wonder if I am going to have the same experience. Any comments on recent cruises would be appreciated! We cruise in 10 days!!! Thanks!!!

:)

 

 

Well we went on the Triumph Oct 24th thru Oct 29th, and it is the best cruise we have ever been on...I too had read all the so called bad things about the ship, and I will tell you we experienced NONE of what was being put here....we had the best stewards EVER on a cruise, and all the staff we came across were smiling, except maybe the Lido buffet staff that just seemed to busy all the time to worry about smiling all the time or greeting people, which is fine with me, because I understand how busy they are on the ship....the food that we ate all week was a lot better than what we eat at home on a nightly basis and the best part was someone else cooked it and I didn't have to clean up a kitchen and could go play for the rest of the night!!!!

I will say it again, sometimes I think too many people cruise too much and start letting the petty things make their vacation less than desirable.....I always look at the glass as half full and go with the fact that for 5 days I am not at work, no phone bugging me, or having to do anything I don't want to do, so it is all good...as a matter of fact I am thinking about booking another 5 day on her in a few months, and trust me, after sailing the other ships I never gave them a second thought....so that should tell you how much this ship impressed me!!!!

Go with a sense of vacation and have fun....and by the way I did a sort of review on our cruise...don't know how to put it here for you, but just dearch my screen name and I am sure you will come across it...Bon Voyage and Have a GREAT cruise!!!!

[JL&Fam]

Whenever I hear comments like that my first thought is...I wonder how much they lost in the casino. I'm sure you will have a wonderful, just keep smiling....it seems to be contagious.

 

Cheers,

Jeff

[wstxn]

We booked the Triumph's Halloween sailing as soon as we found out it was coming to Galveston. The last few months, Triumph has received some pretty negative comments here on cc and we weren't sure we really wanted to go or not. We finally decided to go and make the best of it. Despite rain at both ports of call, we had a great time! Out of about a dozen cruise experiences, it fit into the #3 or #4 slot (and I have never had a bad cruise). The staff was superb - as friendly as I have ever seen, and just as efficient, too. I could make a few negative comments - like traffic jams around the drink dispensers in the lido dining room, but we never had a problem finding deck chairs, or a place to sit in the theatre. Our food & service was as good as we have ever had in an mdr. However, the food on the lido... ...did not send us to the infirmary. LOL In short, we had a great time. In fact, my partner has booked 2 more cruises on the Triumph before March when we try out the Magic! We hated to lose the Ecstasy. She is our favorite ship. But we are certain we are going to love the Triumph nearly as much.

[firefly333]

I sailed Triumph last week, and thought it was fine. Did not notice anything terrible, though dinner service was slow. We had people who kept not showing up for dinner on time and our waiter waited for them. I finally complained to the maitre d' to put a stop to that. Waiter said our orders were backed up in the kitchen. I said if it hadnt taken you 20 minutes to come over and take our order we wouldnt have backed up orders.

 

maitre d' had just walked up and asked how things were .. its not like I went looking for him. He asked and I said SLOW.

 

Nice enough waiter, but dinner was slow.

[okgirl]

I was on the same cruise as Fire and it was my 1st time on the Triumph....it was our 24th cruise, and I was a little surprised in several ways......

 

We were as usual in an interior cabin, this time we were on the Upper deck in the interior hallway that only runs midship..(6289)......I wasn't too thrilled with the location.......the actual location would have been fine, but they tended to leave bags of laundry and cleaning carts in the cross hallway all day and night.......

 

I didn't like the closets and I'm not sure if this was just this specific cabin or if they are all like this on the ship.......it had basically 2 1/2 closets, none had shelves and the 1/2 closet had the safe, the robes and the lifevests in it so really we only had two closets to hang cloths in.

 

Sister and I both felt like the bartenders were slow to warm up to us.....they eventually did, but for the 1st couple of days, they just served us and mostly did so without a smile or any personality.

 

The Casino was the tightest that I've ever experienced and such a contrast to the casino on the Conquest which I sailed the week before. I take the same amount of money to play with each day and I'm typically at my 1500 points for the On Us card by the 2nd day, but on this cruise I didn't make my 1500 points until the LAST night of the cruise....I think I got 3 or 4 free drinks.......The other 3 five day cruises I've been on I gotten up to 3500+ points by the end......I never even got to 1800 points on this cruise.

 

I particularly didn't like the Casino bar area.......they have removed the barstools along the Promenade side and the Smoking side of the bar and in the evening people are standing 4 deep trying to get served.

 

We didn't get ship pins.......and at the past guest party the servers were so disorganized that we only got 1 drink and 2 pieces of cheese......

 

I'll sail on the Triumph again, because in the end I'm just glad to be on a ship and having my meals prepared for me and my cabin cleaned for me, but for me this was my least favorite cruise.....maybe it was the ship, maybe it was the sailing........

[tximprov]

I sailed the Triumph over Halloween and found the staff extremely friendly. I was always greeted with a smile and had great care from our room steward. And staff in all areas. My niece and nephew were on a different deck and commented that their room steward was lacking compared to ours but still good service. The asst Maitr'd or Head hostess came by every dinner meal to go over the menu due to my neices food alergies. We got great service from bartenders and servers. However there were a few drink pedlers that were extremely pushy. One in particular who didnt seem to understand no thanks. I was about to take the drink and thank him for buying it for me since he kept insisting. Lorrain Ingle the piano bar entertainer is the best Ive ever had except for a cruise on the exctacy in which she was the piano bar entertainer. I do agree the rooms were the worst of any of my cruises, but it was far from bad...comfortable and clean, just some humorous repairs made with scotch tape. I kinda figured a past guest had maybe made the repair. I was very dissapointed that there were no refrigerators in the rooms. I dont recall any other ship ive been on not having one.

We had every emergency under the sun occure. But reguardless it was still an awesome trip and we had a blast. Halloween on board was a blast. Our fellow passengers were great. Dance club hopping, piano bar consistant and fun, more people with costumes than i expected. So go and have fun, be flexible and let your experience determine the outcome.

[dane225]

We sailed on the Triumph on the Oct. 15th sailing. We had a wonderful cruise and all the staff that we encountered were very friendly and courteous. Our MDR dinner service was excellent. Our food was hot and delivered in a timely manner. I know the Triumph has been getting alot of negative reviews lately, but we had a fabulous cruise and plan on sailing on the Triumph in the future.

[waiting4acruise]

I sailed Triumph last week, and thought it was fine. Did not notice anything terrible, though dinner service was slow. We had people who kept not showing up for dinner on time and our waiter waited for them. I finally complained to the maitre d' to put a stop to that. Waiter said our orders were backed up in the kitchen. I said if it hadnt taken you 20 minutes to come over and take our order we wouldnt have backed up orders.

 

maitre d' had just walked up and asked how things were .. its not like I went looking for him. He asked and I said SLOW.

 

Nice enough waiter, but dinner was slow.

 

I was on the same cruise as Fire and it was my 1st time on the Triumph....it was our 24th cruise, and I was a little surprised in several ways......

 

We were as usual in an interior cabin, this time we were on the Upper deck in the interior hallway that only runs midship..(6289)......I wasn't too thrilled with the location.......the actual location would have been fine, but they tended to leave bags of laundry and cleaning carts in the cross hallway all day and night.......

 

I didn't like the closets and I'm not sure if this was just this specific cabin or if they are all like this on the ship.......it had basically 2 1/2 closets, none had shelves and the 1/2 closet had the safe, the robes and the lifevests in it so really we only had two closets to hang cloths in.

 

Sister and I both felt like the bartenders were slow to warm up to us.....they eventually did, but for the 1st couple of days, they just served us and mostly did so without a smile or any personality.

 

The Casino was the tightest that I've ever experienced and such a contrast to the casino on the Conquest which I sailed the week before. I take the same amount of money to play with each day and I'm typically at my 1500 points for the On Us card by the 2nd day, but on this cruise I didn't make my 1500 points until the LAST night of the cruise....I think I got 3 or 4 free drinks.......The other 3 five day cruises I've been on I gotten up to 3500+ points by the end......I never even got to 1800 points on this cruise.

 

I particularly didn't like the Casino bar area.......they have removed the barstools along the Promenade side and the Smoking side of the bar and in the evening people are standing 4 deep trying to get served.

 

We didn't get ship pins.......and at the past guest party the servers were so disorganized that we only got 1 drink and 2 pieces of cheese......

 

I'll sail on the Triumph again, because in the end I'm just glad to be on a ship and having my meals prepared for me and my cabin cleaned for me, but for me this was my least favorite cruise.....maybe it was the ship, maybe it was the sailing........

I sailed on the same cruise. My main complaint was the service for ATD in the MDR was slow. This is the first bad experience with ATD. Our room sterwerd was great. I liked the layout of the Lido deck. I thought the casino was tight also.

[Princesss]

I was on the same cruise as FF and OKGIRL, and it was great ! This was one of my best cruises, even though my house got broken into the night we left, but I didn't let that ruin my cruse. Everyone was so nice & remembered our names. We always ask their names then call them by it, the waiters, stewards and drink bringers. The Maitre D "007" came by our table every night to ask if everything was ok. We had the nicest waiters ! Even waiters who were not working our table were hanging around and joking with us, but probly because we were a fun-loving group. At one point my niece even told them to get back to work !

We dressed little Ariel up on formal night and everyone said she looked like a princess and we got so many compliments & even the Captain took a picture with us (which I purchased) and was telling me how cute she was and that he has a 5 month old baby at home. The photo people even said they were suprised because he doesn't do that, pose for pictures at the photo set-ups. I actually saw him in a gift shop and asked him to please take a pic with me, and he did :)

Our stewards were awesome and even helped us scour every inch of the room and locate Ariels little white sparkly pony, which she managed to shove into a tiny shelf. We would have never found it ourselves, and she sleeps with it. They were very nice and always smiling and talked with us in the halls.

Then it was cool to meet and go get pizza with the 2 lounge/band employees I met while walking around an otherwise deserted ship around 3:30am the night the ship was rocking a lot, I think Thursday. I learned alot of cool stuff and met some really nice people. I loved all the shows and we sat in the very front for most of them.

As far as the past guest party, I had more drinks than ever before, I got at least 12 drinks !!! Usually I would get maybe 2-3 but this time it was in abundance and they kept coming around and leaving them !

Camp Carnival was great. I didnt use the spa. The casino manager was very friendly & even offered me some free drinks, but I never went and took her up on it. For me, this cruise was really good & so were the excursions.

[Princesss]

Oh yeah, did anyone notice the group who was singing by the casino.. they sang some rock, some country, it was a drummer and a really sexy guy singing then a lady singing too with big dark hair ? I think the lady looked high the whole time. Anyone else notice ? She just looked "out of it" to me & not all there.

[firefly333]

I meet the captain once in the elevators and agree, he was nice.

[okwriter]

As far as the past guest party, I had more drinks than ever before, I got at least 12 drinks !!! Usually I would get maybe 2-3 but this time it was in abundance and they kept coming around and leaving them !

 

 

Isn't the party only an hour long---maybe an hour and a half at most?

And you had at least a dozen drinks? :eek:

 

Glad to hear that most people here had a good cruise. I'm looking forward to introducing my sisters to cruising on the Triumph November 26.

[firefly333]

I had two drinks at the past guest .. but could have easily had more if I wanted them.

[okgirl]

Isn't the party only an hour long---maybe an hour and a half at most?

And you had at least a dozen drinks? :eek:

 

Glad to hear that most people here had a good cruise. I'm looking forward to introducing my sisters to cruising on the Triumph November 26.

 

The past guest party is 45 minutes and I have to agree 12 drinks (1 every 3.75 minutes :eek:) seems like a huge amount. Maybe that's why we didn't get but one. Some people must have been being served multiple drinks at a time........that shouldn't happen.........

 

We had a good cruise, it just took some of the bartenders longer than normal to warm up to us........we had YTD in the upper London dining room around 7ish every evening and it was great.

 

The food was good though the service at times was a bit slow......I tried all of the new menu items and thought they were all pretty good, but some I wouldn't have again.....

[platinum.wannabe]

I was on Triumph in October. This was my second cruise with my DH. Our last cruise was on Jubilee for our honeymoon in 2002.

 

We had a balcony room on the Lido deck - loved the location. I met our room steward and signed his list - he was professional at best. I saw him 3 or 4 times during our cruise and, at most, I got a cursory acknowledgement of my existence. He was not friendly at all until the last morning of the cruise when I was leaving my room for the last time - he was very friendly then, which was weird considering before that I had gotten a nod of the head and he rarely looked at me. I saw his assistant 2 or 3 times during the week and she was always sweet, friendly but not excessively and she always actually looked at me and spoke to me. Our room was always nice and neat (I was careful not to leave a bunch of our crap laying around for them to clean up) but my cooler was only filled with ice twice in the 5 days - and I almost always left the lid open so they could see it was low. They did always fill the ice bucket. In terms of the room steward I would say the service was good, not great. We had pre-paid the tips (and I would never remove them unless service was horrible and did not improve upon request). I gave the assistant an extra $20 (I walked down the hall, found her, and handed it to her personally and thanked her with a smile), the room steward got $0.

 

Food - the food was okay to good. I can't think of anything I had that was really great, but some of it was pretty good, some was okay and some was not so great. I think it was reasonable for the price I paid for this vacation. There was enough there to satisfy me and I just passed on the stuff I didn't like. What's hard is - I hate to waste, so when I get something I really like to finish it, but there was just some stuff that I just really didn't want to make myself finish...there were several things I didn't bother to finish and I'm not picky. Out MDR experience was okay. The MD was funny, and I mostly enjoyed his nightly entertainment. I never saw him. Not even on the last night. Not at all. I didn't like our location but didn't ask to be moved (by the time I figured that out at the end of the second night it was probably really too late anyway). Our wait staff was okay. The service seemed slow a lot of the time and their friendliness felt forced. Often adequate, sometimes not (they hardly ever kept DH's glass of tea filled), nothing to write home about, but I was on vacation and not really in a hurry so I took it all in stride.

 

I pretty much hated eating on the Lido deck. Waaaay to crowded for my taste, and again, I was on vacation and not really in a hurry, but that was a little ridiculous, even for me. SO much standing in looooong lines. Vacation or no, that bummed me a little.

 

The casino seemed tight to me too, but I'm not a gambler and assumed it was me. :p Last time I played a little bit for 3 of the 5 nights - this time I play a little bit 1 night and only a few minutes the next.

 

I probably would not go on this ship again for along time because the layout is so crazy. Fortunately I knew that going in (thanks, CC!) so I was able to orient myself pretty quickly but it was a pain sometimes.

 

We went to all of the shows except the Welcome Aboard Show (I was motion sick :( the first night the boat was rocking quite a bit) and I thought they were really good. Enjoyed them all. Loved the magic show.

 

We went on the Behind the Fun tour. Very interesting and worth the $95 ($90?) bucks. Fun. :)

 

I was bummed not to get a funnel (whale tail) cup the last day. They ran out before I got one. :( Not the end of the world but I was disappointed.

 

Overall we had a really good vacation. Lots to do if we wanted, plenty of relaxing - I still think a Carnival cruise is a good vacation for a good price and I see many cruises in my future.

 

I should note that this was only Triumph's second cruise out of Galveston, so maybe they were still working out the kinks...

[Princesss]

The past guest party is 45 minutes and I have to agree 12 drinks (1 every 3.75 minutes :eek:) seems like a huge amount. Maybe that's why we didn't get but one. Some people must have been being served multiple drinks at a time........that shouldn't happen.........

 

 

I'm just the messenger. It's not like the drinks are 32 oz each, they are a tad bit on the small size, maybe 8oz or so ? (including Ice) & it's not like strait up hard licquor or anything, not too hard to down. All I know is I had 3 red ones and a ton of blue ones & did not walk out empty handed ! :D

[btrbill]

 

I will say it again, sometimes I think too many people cruise too much and start letting the petty things make their vacation less than desirable.....I always look at the glass as half full and go with the fact that for 5 days I am not at work, no phone bugging me, or having to do anything I don't want to do, so it is all good...

Go with a sense of vacation and have fun

 

I TOTALLY agree!!! I had a phenominal time on our cruise on the Ecstasy a few weeks ago... and there were a few things that happened that probably would have made most people angry the whole cruise... But we were on vacation!!! Let it slide!!

 

i really think people expect too much for what they pay on some of these cruises.;)