A First Time Cruiser's Review: Carnival Paradise 7/14/12-7/19/12 (LOTS of Pics)

[Gemynii]

I and my husband are seriously considering going on this ship for our 2nd cruise. Sooo glad you had some pics to show what it looks like. We sailed out of Port Canaveral on our first cruise on the Ecstasy and he loved it! thanks for the snaps!

 

:D

 

I'm glad you're enjoying the review. I'm trying to talk DH into the 7 day Western Caribbean on the Dream out of Port Canaveral now. He enjoyed himself on this cruise (which is what I was worried about most before we left) so hopefully it won't be as hard to talk him into another.

[murph1031]

[quote.Cash line on the right, Credit Card line on the left (Cash line was as long as CC line 10 mins later):

 

 

 

We also sailed on this sailing, and I think the reason the line got bigger is because they started to let people using credit into the cash line. we were at the very back of the credit line and they called us into the cash line and then started letting a bunch of people into the same line.

[Gemynii]

Debarkation Day

 

We woke up at 7am and noticed a building outside our window. Hopefully no one was in the building watching us sleep. I saw that our invoice had been slipped under the door, so I picked it up and had a look. As I had previously stated in the review, we boarded with a $230 OBC ($130 from price drops and $100 that I paid over the phone) for gratuities and a little bit of spending money. Well, on day 3, I had gone up to Guest Services and added another $100 since we had bought 2 cartons of Marlboros for $57. Gratuities for 5 days came up to $57.50 each for a total of $172.50 for the 3 of us. After subtracting gratuities and our charges for cigarettes, bar drinks, smoothies, sodas, etc... we received a check for $43.06. I was pleasantly surprised by that.

 

Anyways, we got ready, grabbed our bags and headed up for breakfast. We sat up on the Lido deck for a quite a bit while we waited for Zone 17 to be called. DD was exhausted and ended up falling asleep while leaning against DH and I snapped a pic (I won't post it because she'd never forgive me).

 

At about 9am, they started refueling, so smoking was no longer allowed on the open decks, so we grabbed our stuff and headed down towards the casino bar. On the way down, we made a detour to where they had all the photos displayed. I finally managed to locate our embarkation photo (which I had looked for almost every day) and bought it for $11.95. While I was paying, we noticed a cool little frame that holds a picture on the left and the right side has a picture of a Carnival ship with lights that twinkle. It was only $8.95, so I had to have it. We paid for the frame then headed to the casino bar for one last smoke before we went through the disembarking process.

 

At 9am, they had already disembarked up to Zone 10, so we figured that it wouldn't be too much longer until 17 was called. We went down to the America Piano Bar on deck 8 to meet up with Mom and her BF. We had only sat there for about 10 minutes when our zone was called, so we grabbed our bags again and went down to deck 7 to disembark. On the way down, I managed to snap a pic of Sparkles as she was bidding everyone Farewell.

 

 

 

Getting through the line to disembark was very fast and we "dinged" our card one last time and were out the door. We went down to the luggage/claims area and it looked like total chaos. Lines to the claims areas were winding all over the place and the zones for the luggage were in no order. Once we located our zone, it was surprisingly easy to find our luggage and make our way to one of the long lines. Well, I was shocked once again at how fast and easy it was to get through claims. We were only in line about 5 mins before we were at the counter where we handed over our claims form and showed our passports. Easy peasy.

 

Once we were outside, the 3 of us along with sis and her family headed across the street to the pickup area for Capital Parking while Mom and her BF went to the port parking garage. We ended up waiting in front of Red Brick Pizza for about 10 mins since the van had just left to take another group to the parking lot. When the driver returned, he loaded up our luggage while we got in and we were at our cars within 5 mins and were on the interstate and headed home 5 mins after that.

 

In closing, I would have to say that I found the cruise and the Carnival Paradise to be very enjoyable. I am officially addicted and can't wait until we can book another cruise. :)

[Gemynii]

[quote.Cash line on the right, Credit Card line on the left (Cash line was as long as CC line 10 mins later):

 

 

 

We also sailed on this sailing, and I think the reason the line got bigger is because they started to let people using credit into the cash line. we were at the very back of the credit line and they called us into the cash line and then started letting a bunch of people into the same line.

 

Yep, I remember you from our roll call.

 

It makes sense for them to allow CC users to go into the cash line. That way people would not be forced to stand in the back waiting to get into the line. I'm just glad we got through before they did it. ;)

[Gemynii]

This was such a nice review and I really enjoyed all of your pictures!

 

Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[Gemynii]

I forgot to mention that I managed to gain only 2 pounds during the cruise, but I've already lost 1 since we've been back. :D

[Florings]

Great review and great pictures. Sounds like you had a great time!

[Gemynii]

Great review and great pictures. Sounds like you had a great time!

 

Thanks you! We did have a great time and I can't wait for the next one.

[sandys57]

Great review. I enjoyed all your pictures. Glad you enjoyed your cruise. It IS addicting.....:)

[leja9802]

What a wonderful review.

Thanks for sharing.

[Gemynii]

Great review. I enjoyed all your pictures. Glad you enjoyed your cruise. It IS addicting.....:)

 

What a wonderful review.

Thanks for sharing.

 

Thank you both! :)

[dms_cruisers04]

WOW!! Great review. And wonderful pics and vids.

Glad you all had a good time.

 

Tell DH he'll love the Dream. We sailed the Magic (sister ship) last summer and loved it.

[4hunters]

Awesome review! I really enjoyed reading it and am glad you had such a nice trip. :)

[Gemynii]

WOW!! Great review. And wonderful pics and vids.

Glad you all had a good time.

 

Tell DH he'll love the Dream. We sailed the Magic (sister ship) last summer and loved it.

 

Thanks. I've seen mixed reviews on the Dream, so it's good to see someone who would recommend it.

 

Awesome review! I really enjoyed reading it and am glad you had such a nice trip. :)

 

Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[TrqoisWtrs]

Great review and pics.

 

She just stood there and looked at us with accusations in her eyes.

lol :D

[SharkCruiser24]

Great review, I loved all the pictures! Thank you!!

[Gemynii]

Great review and pics. :D

 

Great review, I loved all the pictures! Thank you!!

 

Thank you both. :)

[Gemynii]

I forgot to mention in the review that our steward Rony was fantastic. He anticipated all of our needs, room was spotless after he left, ice bucket was kept full and he even helped with the kids. When I say he helped with the kids, what he did was... he tore apart the room that he had just cleaned trying to help DD find her iPod (which she had left on the bed in her purse along with her money and I had put it in the safe) and then re-cleaned it afterwards and he helped when all 3 kids were in our room by themselves and were arguing. We ended up giving him an extra $40 tip the last night of the cruise. You rock, Rony!

[Avril]

Thank you. I hope you and your BF have a great cruise. Make sure you bring Bonine or some equivalent. I've never been motion sick in my life, but the rocking on the ship definitely got to me. It could be the same for your BF.

 

You're welcome!! :D I'm sure it'll be a great cruise and we both can't wait!!!! :D Yes, I'll definatly bring some Bonine, thanks for reminding me!! I usually bring it anyway just in case, I've gotten slightly queasy before (usually when the seas are on the rough side) and it's no fun at all!! :( Also, since the Imagination (like the Paradise) is a small(er) ship, I would think that the motion would be more noticeable. I don't want the poor guy to feel sick the whole time!! Do you have any other tips on what to do (or not to do) with a 1st Time Cruiser?

Thanks again and I love all your pics!!!! :D

[Orpheo]

You really did a great job:D

Writing a bit and then the pics....:)

For me it was like I was there with you you guys having a blast....that's an amazing thing I think.

Hope that you'll be going on another trip very soon!:cool:

[brooklynfc]

Great review!

 

I just wanted to share a camera trick with you for when you were taking pictures of the atrium with no flash. Depending on the camera, you have to keep the camera really still so that the lens can pull in all the available light to capture the picture, so if there is shaking or movement it blurs a bit. Try putting the camera on a table or railing for something sturdy and see if that helps next time.

 

Just something I learned from these boards, passing it on to a newbie :D.

[twinsbur]

Thanks for the Great pictures. I recently cruised on the Sensation out of Port Canaveral and Had a great time. That was my first time and i was hooked.

 

How was the weather and the seas out of Tampa? Was it rough?:)

[Gemynii]

You're welcome!! :D I'm sure it'll be a great cruise and we both can't wait!!!! :D Yes, I'll definatly bring some Bonine, thanks for reminding me!! I usually bring it anyway just in case, I've gotten slightly queasy before (usually when the seas are on the rough side) and it's no fun at all!! :( Also, since the Imagination (like the Paradise) is a small(er) ship, I would think that the motion would be more noticeable. I don't want the poor guy to feel sick the whole time!! Do you have any other tips on what to do (or not to do) with a 1st Time Cruiser?

Thanks again and I love all your pics!!!! :D

 

I can't think of any first timer tips at the moment. Maybe let him know that if he does need to take the Bonine, don't be afraid to take the 1 a day tablets twice a day. Since it said you only need 1, I started the first dose the night before we left so I could sleep off any possible side effects. The result was that I was getting queasy around 9pm the first two nights of the cruise. My mom's BF said he was taking 2 a day (1 in the morning and 1 at night), so I tried that and it worked great.

[Gemynii]

You really did a great job:D

Writing a bit and then the pics....:)

For me it was like I was there with you you guys having a blast....that's an amazing thing I think.

Hope that you'll be going on another trip very soon!:cool:

 

Thank you.

 

I wish I could go on another cruise very soon, but it will probably end up being at least a year. We're a one income family, so we'd have to save up money for the deposit. I know $750 isn't a lot to have to save, but first I'd have to talk DH into it, then I'd have to try and get him to fork over the money each week (we have no bank account or credit cards, so he hangs onto almost all the money except what's needed to bay the bills).

[Gemynii]

Great review!

 

I just wanted to share a camera trick with you for when you were taking pictures of the atrium with no flash. Depending on the camera, you have to keep the camera really still so that the lens can pull in all the available light to capture the picture, so if there is shaking or movement it blurs a bit. Try putting the camera on a table or railing for something sturdy and see if that helps next time.

 

Just something I learned from these boards, passing it on to a newbie :D.

 

I read about that before I left and I tried setting the camera on the railing, but it didn't stop my camera from sensing movement (the red icon stayed on even when I thought I was holding it still). We've had our Canon PowerShot A560 for several years now, so maybe it's time for an upgrade. Thanks for trying to help, though.