Carnival Triumph 10/18 - 10/22 First time on Carnival, review with pics!

[texasmelrose2]

Melissa...you're a very good reviewer! Enough detail and well written to keep readers interested. Photos inserted with perfect timing. Thanks again! (A good tequila....ahhhh...so nice!)

 

Thanks! It has been fun to relive it! More to come today... ;)

[texasmelrose2]

I have enjoyed your review and great photos. Boy, have you got me excited for my Triumph cruise on December 8th. Thanks again for the great revieas..

 

You are more than welcome! You will have a great time on your cruise I'm sure! We just booked again in April (just hubby and I) for the 4 day and again in late Oct 2013 for my mom's 70th b-day (5 day). Can you tell we had a good time?! :D

[texasmelrose2]

Thanks a million. Definitely gives a lot of insight and has been a tremendous help already. I absolutely and positively plan to have a good time so I know I will return with a great review!

 

You are so welcome! I cannot wait to read your review when you come back!! :)

[texasmelrose2]

I just figured out how to multi quote in one post! Woo Hoo! :p

Thanks for the review!

You are very welcome!

 

We are boarding for the same cruise on November 5th. I am really enjoying your review and can't wait to hear more!

Thanks so much for taking the time to do this.

Oh wow, that is less than a week away now...jealous! You will have a great trip! Hoping you enjoy it as much as we did!

[texasmelrose2]

OK, at last...hoping to finish up today.

 

Where were we? Oh yes!

 

Day 4 - Last Sea Day....

 

We woke up early again (!!) and did our normal routine of relaxing on the balcony while we waited for the kids and inlaws to wake up. We were excited about our "Fun Day @ Sea" ahead!

 

The only thing we had planned this day was our appointment with the Dreams rep to view our photos. We were excited about that! The appointment was at 11 and we decided we would grab breakfast and take the kids to CC right after that and then head to the appointment.

 

Once everyone awoke and showered we decided NOT to brave the buffet again and decided to try breakfast in the dining room. We headed to the Paris Dining Room and arrived right about 9:45. Once again it seemed everyone had the same idea we did and there was a very long line. Thankfully the line moved fast and we were seated right by the window with an aft wake view. It was just perfect. We were a little worried that eating in the dining room might be a long production but we needn't have worried. They were around in no time with pastries and to take our order. Our food was delivered very quickly and breakfast in the dining room was GREAT! I enjoyed this so much more than the buffet!

 

We finished up by 10:45 and headed to CC and dropped the kids off. We then met our photographer for the picture viewing. We did not have to sort through the masses of pictures. Instead we were lead into a private room with a comfy couch where they presented all the photos for us to look at. Then they started the big sales pitch. (my most unfavorite part) Now remember, before they told us the photos were 29.99 for an 8x10 and that is all the pricing they would give us. Once we were all seated he showed us a GORGEOUS book with all our pictures already in it. It was just stunning. We were oohing and aahing over it and everyone loved the photos. Then the bombshell. The basic packages STARTED at 499.00. If you wanted the book and CD you are looking at over 1100.00 and the packages went up to 3500.00. Unfortunately our cruise budget did not allow for thousands of dollars in photos so we ended up with 10 total. My inlaws chose 5 of their favorites and we chose 5 of our favorites. Unfortunately there were A LOT of really gorgeous photos that we loved that we had to let go. Just too many great shots to choose from.

 

I hope the 300.00 he made from our family was worth it...we kind of felt bad but we got what we could and he did tell us up front that there was absolutely no obligation to purchase any.

 

That said, does anyone pay 3500.00 for famiy photos on a cruise?! Holy Cow!!!

 

Here are a few of the pictures we bought: (OK...confession time. These are photos I took with my iPhone OF the photos LOL)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo limit...more to come shortly...

[texasmelrose2]

Here are the rest of the photos we chose:

 

 

 

 

 

Overall we were very glad we went this route. It was so much less hassle than fighting the crowds on formal night and waiting in the lines and then trying to find the photos in the photo gallery. We likely will not do this again anytime soon but this was perfect for us this time since we were in need of good family photos. The one of hubby and I with the kids will be used for our Christmas cards this year and now we have some recent photos to hang on the wall and so do my inlaws. I just love the one of the 3 generations with FIL, Hubby and DS. Mission accomplished. Next time we will be getting the regular cruise photos with the backgrounds if we get cruise photos. One interesting thing about this Dreams company is they will also take photos of your party at your ports of call. They offered to take beach pictures of us but we didn't want to spend our day at port in a photo session so we declined. This is a great option, though for those that are interested. The samples of their beach photos were gorgeous!

 

With the photos done (that only took about 30 minutes or so!) we headed back to the room to gawk at the pictures some more. Then I took these iPhone pictures of the pictures. (Technology is great!)

 

Just then my daughter came in from CC...she had checked herself out because she was not interested in the event they had going on at the time and she was a little upset. Thank goodness we were back in the room! That still makes me nervous that she could check herself out. We laid down more rules after that and she didn't check herself out like that anymore. She had gone to a "Scavenger Hunt" that they were doing and for that you have to give the kids sign out privledges. She was a little upset about how this Scavenger Hunt went with the kids she got paired up with. They group up the kids and then gave them a list of things to find, signatures to get, etc from around the ship. One of the rules is that they have to take the stairs and are not allowed to take the elevators for this game. Well, the other kids in her group wanted to take the elevator and DD refused and took the stairs which upset the other kids because they had to stay together so they were all forced to take the stairs with her. The kids in that group apparently shunned her after that but I made sure to tell her that we were VERY proud of her for doing the right thing and for being a "leader" and not a "follower". Makes a mom proud! I hope she will always do the right thing and not cave in to peer pressure. After our talk she felt better about things.

 

We all went up to Lido (the back of the ship in the quieter section close to the Pizza station) Our fave place to sit was back there behind the pool/hot tubs in the very back..great aft/wake view and it was always very quiet back there. We grabbed drinks (Drink of the day in whale tail for me) and a slice of pizza for some of us, hot dogs/burgers for others. It was all really good. I am shocked there was not one thing I tasted that I did not care for on this cruise. (Well, I could have done without the escargot but I expected that). We sat and relaxed a while and just enjoyed not having anywhere we had to be. Sea days are our favorite because there is absolutely no where you need to be, nothing pressing you need to do, etc. At home, those days NEVER happen for us.

 

A couple pics from our lunch:

 

 

 

More coming...now....

[texasmelrose2]

When I was in line for pizza I was delighted to finally meet Amy from my roll call! She happened to recognize me in line. We meant to meet up the first day since our daughters are the same age so they would have someone they "knew" but unfortunately that didn't happen. Well, better late than never. She pointed out her daughters to me who were sitting on the other side of the pool so her and DD got to meet and hung out the rest of their time in CC. They seemed to have a blast that last day! It was great getting to meet Amy and later her hubby and daughters, what a great family!

 

As soon as DD ate she headed off to CC, later they were going to be painting t-shirts which she was very excited about. Oh, the previous sea day they had lessons (from one of the housekeeping staff) on how to make towel animals! Morgan loved that and came back and made us lots of towel creations. Again, can't say enough about CC!! We took Zac to his CC class for sand art. He made a sand charm that he could wear around his neck (as a necklace). We decided we would all meet up later to do the "Family Scavenger Hunt" that CC puts on. We didn't really know what to expect but it sounded like fun.

 

At this point my inlaws left to go walking around the ship which left DH and I alone (wow...what a strange feeling!). We ended up at the Game of Love show in the theater. This show was HILARIOUS! We loved this and laughed so much! For those that don't know it is similar to the Newlywed game except they chose a newlywed couple, a couple that has been married a while and then they find the couple in the audience that has been married the longest. They take the men away and ask the women predict their hubby's answer to some questions. It is geared toward adults and not really something to take the kids to. We LOVED this and we will be sure to plan to attend this show on our future cruises as well. Bottom line, try to make this show if at all possible!

We then met up with the inlaws and gathered the kids for the Scavenger hunt.

 

At the allotted time we met at CC for our Scavenger hunt instructions. There were about 10-12 familes that ended up participating. They gave us a sheet with some trivia items and some extra credit point things we could do. Whoever had the most items correct would win. It was all 6 of us participating, my in-laws and the 4 of us. We had 30 minutes which is almost no time at all so we had to hustle. First we wrote down the answers to things we already knew. They ask where certain things are on the ship, where certain muster stations were, etc. A couple of the items were show a picture of the ship, a picture of George Washington and bring a "set of teeth". Just a lot of random things. The extra credit included painting a mustache on each family member, painting their cheeks red and wearing swimsuit over your clothes. We also had to get a signature from a ships officer. We found one at the Guest Services desk and she happily signed it for us. We were running to get back to our room which was NOT close to CC so we could do the mustache/cheeks and gather some other stuff. We ended up winning 3rd place and had such a blast! Unfortunately we had to witness the first place winner (the mom of the kids) cheat for their win. Pretty disconcerting and another lesson for DD. She was just shocked that a grown up would cheat like that. I guess there are all kinds, sure is sad to set that kind of example for your kids. Bottom line, if you have kids in CC, this is a really fun event for the whole family!

 

Here is a group picture of all of us with our "staches" and rosy cheeks. Kind of hard to tell but they are there. FUN!

 

 

After the Scavenger hunt we went back to the room to clean our faces and rest for a while...DS took a nap and I believe DD went right back to CC.

Be back soon with more....

[texasmelrose2]

Day 3: Dinner and Looking for FIL

　

So when I left off we had finished the scavenger hunt and were back in the room. Zac was taking a nap and my MIL and FIL went off to pack and we did the same. Packing is the worst part! I wanted to hurry and get it done so we could enjoy the evening. Once we finished packing my FIL and DH went up to Lido to take the kids to meet their Camp Canival groups for dinner. We would have an all grown up dinner tonight! A while later my DH came back but not FIL, DH said that his dad was supposed to wait for him at a certain spot and he didn't so DH just came back to the room. Some time passed and my MIL came to our room asking where FIL was. We had no clue. We were all dressed and ready for dinner and MIL realized that FIL had already changed and put his dinner clothes on because they were missing from the room. She was concerned, however because he left his glasses in the room and he doesn't go anywhere without his glasses. So that began about an hour of searching for him. We looked first in the casino, figuring he was probably at the blackjack table. Not there...we searched and searched and finally found him sitting in the lounge by the London Dining Room. He said he was waiting to meet up with us for dinner. Needless to say DH and MIL were not happy campers but all was well. We went to check in for dinner and there was a wait so we grabbed our beeper thing and all got a drink from the bar and relaxed a little. About 30 minutes later our beeper went off.

 

FIL waiting

 

　

Dinner this night was great! We had an AMAZING waiter..figures it would be the last night that we finally found a "keeper". I am mad at myself, though because I cannot remember his name. He was awesome! DH and FIL ordered the French Onion soup for app, MIL and I both ordered both the crabcake AND French Onion soup for apps. O M G the French Onion soup was the best I have EVER had...SO GOOD. The crabcake was great too.

 

 

 

 

DH and FIL ordered the steak (DH had 2) for their entrees and MIL and I both ordered the Veal Parmigana. Again...SO GOOD...

 

 

[texasmelrose2]

For dessert I ordered the MCMC again and I cannot recall what the others ordered. I know our waiter brought us a Baked Alaska to try that we didn't order. I was too full to try it but everyone else ate it up so I guess it was good.

 

 

 

After dinner we were pretty tired. We walked around the ship a little until it was time to pick up the kids at CC. We picked them both up about 9:45 and they were ready to get their jammies on and get to sleep. All the fun they had wore them out! They both made T-shirts in CC this night. I love that they made a lot of crafts that they got to take home with them. Morgan had all her new friends sign the back of her T-shirt. What a great momento to take home and CC doesn't charge for the supplies, Point for Carnival! So we got to take as momentos their t-shirts, the hat DS made, the sand art he made, a handprint artwork he made, etc. I think Morgan's favorite thing she learned/did in CC was the towel animals. I know I have said this a lot but Camp Carnival was AWESOME...very impressed! Every single day since we have been back my DS tells me he wants to go back on "Freddie's Ship". Another thing I forgot to mention is Freddie made 2 appearances in each of the CC classes and danced with the kids, etc.

 

Here is the final towel creation waiting for us:

 

 

After everyone was tucked in for the night I snuck off for some last minute shopping on the ship before the shops closed at 11PM. I bought some souveniers for my mom and a Christmas Tree ornament for us. They had some great deals and if you are a drinker the duty free prices on the alcohol were great! Very good deals and they pack it up for you and deliver it to your stateroom the last night of the cruise.

 

I did not mention this much but my FIL spent some time in the casino at the Blackjack tables and he ended up being ahead over 400 dollars. I need to get more comfortable at the tables it seems! I know your odds are much better at the tables than they are at the slot machines! The whole trip I planned on playing a little slots but never got around to it. Probably a good thing in hindsight.

 

I went back to the room after my shopping. I noticed our bags that we had left in the hall had already been picked up. We were supposed to be out of our room by 8:30 and we had embarkation number 18...

 

I sat out on the balcony for a little while. It was a beautiful, warm and clear night and I loved the peace of being out on the balcony and listening to the water rush by. I took some time to think about our trip and thank God for the amazing time we had and for the opportunity to share times like this with our family. It had been a great trip!

 

Now it was off to sleep for me...an early morning ahead.

 

Stay tuned for debarkation...

[texasmelrose2]

Day 4: Debarkation

 

We awoke early and stayed out on the balcony as we pulled in to Galveston. It was an absolutely gorgeous morning.

 

 

 

I ran up to the buffet (1 floor up, convenient!) and grabbed some fruit and cereal for the kids. We got dressed and really just took it easy. It was a relaxed debarkation compared to what we were used to. We had #18 which they estimated would put us off the ship by 10:30. We relaxed on the balcony a little while longer and said goodbye to our room and our room steward. We left him a generous tip and headed up to the 9th deck, aft to the area we enjoyed sitting in (by the bar/pool). We always found it to be quiet and relaxing back there and this morning was no exception. The buffet line was long as everyone was trying to get in their last meals of the cruise. I noticed the omlette line wasn't very long so DD and I got in line and grabbed some omlettes/hash browns/sausage. That omlette was GREAT!

 

After we ate our omlettes we took the kids to get their last ice cream of the trip. At this point I think they were almost burned out on ice cream if that is possible!

We sat and relaxed, called family/facebooked, etc while we waited for #18 to be called. They called our number about 10:15 and we headed off the ship. It was pretty painless and quick getting off. We then had to get in line for customs which took a little while (estimated 30 minutes - 45 minutes). Seemed like an eternity but that was just because we had the kids and my 3 year old was NOT being on his best behavior and we had to have "words" with him. Once he got himself straightened out it was a little better.

 

We got out of there and headed across the street to the Galveston Park N Go and our waiting car. NOTE TO SELF: Do NOT pack so much crap next time! We had way too much luggage and it was a hassle getting it across the street. I needed another vacation by the time we got back to the car. All in all, though...as long as you don't have a cranky 3 year old and way too much luggage this process should be painless.

 

And that concludes our Triumph Cruise. We had a great time and can't wait for our anniversary cruise in April on her! Hope this review has been helpful. I am going to post some photos we took around the ship and comparisons/ final observations next.

[texasmelrose2]

Here are some photos we took from around the ship. DD and I went exploring early on our 2nd sea day and took these. Most of these are of my DD with different backgrounds...

 

Stairs, main area deck 5:

 

 

Hallway, deck 5 by the stores and leading to the theater:

 

 

Looking down to the bar from Deck 5: (sorry for the poor quality)

 

 

In the theater:

 

 

Club Monaco/Casino:

 

 

[texasmelrose2]

Lounge area, Deck 5 close to where they have Karaoke and close to the casino:

 

 

Elevator:

 

 

Jogging track:

 

 

Lido: So peaceful in the morning!

 

 

Ceiling:

 

 

I have to say, it seems our favorite place on the ship is always our balcony. There are lots of comfy and semi private places to relax on the Triumph, however...even if you don't have a balcony.

 

Final thoughts to come!

[4hunters]

Thanks so much for the review! I really enjoyed the read and the pictures. :)

[texasmelrose2]

Please note: The following is just our opinion of how our Carnival cruise comapared to our recent cruises on Princess and Disney.

 

Carnival Triumph Comparisons - Comparing our Triumph cruise to our last 2 -Princess (Sapphire) and Disney (Dream)

 

1)CARNIVAL WIN: More interactive kids program. The kids enjoyed the kids program on Carnival more than Disney. (We did not utilize the kids program on Princess)

 

2)CARNIVAL WIN: Elevators. The elevators on Triumph were plentiful and fast, we never had to wait long for an elevator and they were never packed. Disney (Dream) elevators were awful, not enough of them and long wait times. We didn't use the elevators much on Princess so can't compare.

 

3) CARNIVAL WIN: Food. The food on Carnival Triumph (in our opinion) ran circles around both Disney and Princess. The quality of the food was excellent as was the selection. Food was also served at perfect temperature consistantly. Both Disney and Princess had adequate food but no dishes stood out to us like the ones on the Triumph did.

 

4) PRINCESS WIN: Service. The service on Princess was AMAZING. Our room steward was exceptional along with other staff we met. Service on Carnival and Disney were neck in neck for second. Both very good just not as good as our experience on Princess. Overall, we we were very happy with our room steward on Carnival however the service at mealtimes was a bit on the slow side (except on the last night). This was also the case on Disney. Also, the bartenders by the pool on Deck 9, aft were not very friendly. Other than them, however, everyone was great.

 

5) DISNEY WIN: Decor. This is a no-brainer. The Disney Dream is a new ship and it is absolutely gorgeous. Carnival Triumph is an older ship however she is kept up very well and still has an elegant decor.

 

6) DISNEY WIN: Public Restrooms. Hands down Disney has this one. I am strange in that I am very impressed with a spotless and classy public restroom and Disney had this over both other lines. Their restrooms in the common areas were AMAZING. Carnivals public restrooms, especially on Lido by the buffet are NOT good...serious upgrades needed here.

 

7) TOSSUP: CLEANLINESS: All 3 cruiselines were very clean. No clear winner here.

 

8) DISNEY/PRINCESS WIN: Clientele. The guests on both Disney and Princess seemed to be a little more on the "classy" side then Carnival. That said, we did not come across 1 person that was rude or unpleasant...just some that were a little "unrefined". This did not take away at all from the enjoyment of our cruise as we enjoyed the slightly more "laid back" feel and atmosphere. Heck, we probably fit in better with the Carnival crowd truth be told. :D

 

Final observations: We were pleasantly surprised at just how much we enjoyed our cruise on the Carnival Triumph. We did go into this with preconceived notions of drunks falling overboard and causing a ruckus all over the ship, gross food and generally craziness (Especially since this was a short 4 day cruise over a weekend). I am happy to say none of that happened and we had an amazing time. We are Carnival converts and the pros of sailing on Carnival vs (lets say) Disney outweighed the cons for us. That is not to say we will not sail other lines in the future as we enjoy trying different cruise lines but it is safe to say we will be sailing on Carnival quite a bit in the future, especially when we sail with the kids.

 

If you are considering a cruise on the Triumph, book it...it is a great ship with great people and wonderful food. If you have kids, this ship is a must!

[princesslavender]

thanks so much for the review, just one more question did your nine year old sail card open your room door

[Rayefan]

You are more than welcome! You will have a great time on your cruise I'm sure! We just booked again in April (just hubby and I) for the 4 day and again in late Oct 2013 for my mom's 70th b-day (5 day). Can you tell we had a good time?! :D

 

OH, You've got the every 6 months cruise bug..... Love it!

(me, too!)

[texasmelrose2]

Thanks so much for the review! I really enjoyed the read and the pictures. :)

 

My pleasure...it was fun to relive!

 

thanks so much for the review, just one more question did your nine year old sail card open your room door

 

Yes it did. She would always run ahead of us when we went back to the room so she could be the one to open the door. We also gave her charging privledges however the one time she tried to use it with me present (in the candy store) it didn't work. :rolleyes:

[texasmelrose2]

OH, You've got the every 6 months cruise bug..... Love it!

(me, too!)

 

Ha! Yes, it appears we do! This is getting bad...now once a year will not cut it. :eek:

[texasmelrose2]

OH, You've got the every 6 months cruise bug..... Love it!

(me, too!)

 

Oh and look at your 2005 and 2009! 3 cruises those years!!! You are my hero. ;)

[crystal_clear00]

This is, hands-down, the BEST review I've read on the Triumph! Thank you for taking the time to document your experiences. Also, thank you for sharing the pics of your family. (Your DS is ADORABLE and I commend your DD for doing the right thing)

 

Our family is going on the Triumph for Christmas and cannot wait. I'm excited to share this review and show them all they have to look forward to.

 

Thanks again!

[Rudyard]

Just checking my e-mail after getting home from Triumph and caught the last part of your review. I have to admit the pictures are so much nicer to look at now that I have been there myself. I only got off the ship three hours ago but it feels like it's been days. Time to start planning the next one :)

[oldmedic]

still unable to post to p5 of the nov 1 string... hope this makes it into the string... enjoyed meeting everyone that we ran cross from this string...hope to sail with you again!!

[shinertxgal]

This was an awesome review! I leave on November the 24th and can't wait!

 

Thanks for sharing!

 

Debbie

[texasmelrose2]

This is, hands-down, the BEST review I've read on the Triumph! Thank you for taking the time to document your experiences. Also, thank you for sharing the pics of your family. (Your DS is ADORABLE and I commend your DD for doing the right thing)

 

Our family is going on the Triumph for Christmas and cannot wait. I'm excited to share this review and show them all they have to look forward to.

 

Thanks again!

 

So glad you enjoyed it! I was disappointed that the reviews for Triumph were so few and far between so I decided to do my part. I read SO MANY reviews here and find them so helpful. Thanks for the compliments on the kiddos. :)

 

Oh how great to be on a Christmas cruise! That is on my list for someday! I hope you have a great trip and write about it when you return!

[texasmelrose2]

Just checking my e-mail after getting home from Triumph and caught the last part of your review. I have to admit the pictures are so much nicer to look at now that I have been there myself. I only got off the ship three hours ago but it feels like it's been days. Time to start planning the next one :)

 

I know what you mean...we booked our next one merely days after we got back! We are booked again for April. Glad you had a great cruise!

 

This was an awesome review! I leave on November the 24th and can't wait!

 

Thanks for sharing!

 

Debbie

 

How exciting...only a couple weeks to go! I am sure you will have a great cruise!! I am jealous! :rolleyes: