Triumph Review-June 27 to July 2-Canada(long)

[emalemi]

Part 1

 

Carnival Triumph Review

Sailing date June 27, 2005/Canada

 

Our family of four had previously cruised two (2) times. First on Royal Caribbean and second on Princess, so this was our first experience with Carnival. This time there were thirty of us, and some had never cruised before. (Ages ranged from 5-82) I can’t speak for everyone, but here are my thoughts.

 

New York: Our group had chartered a bus, which I would highly recommend for any groups out there. We arrived at the New York pier at 11:15, and security would not allow our bus to enter the parking area, and asked us to return in 30 minutes. I guess they wanted to allow more time for loading/unloading of existing people in the parking area first. So, we killed about 20 minutes and were allowed right in. Check in went very smoothly, no problems, and we were on board by 12:30. Our cabins were not ready, so we all headed directly to the Lido Deck for the lunch buffet. The food was OKAY, but everyone found something to eat. I personally loved the fruit. It was delicious. About 1:00 we walked down to our cabin and it was ready, so we got the word out to everyone else in our group to head to theirs. Sure enough, everyone was able to get settled in early. (They tell you to give them until 2:00 to clean)

 

Cabins: Many in our group ended up on the UPPER DECK inside cabins, and our family was one of them. We lucked out with our children right next door, (ages 22 & 19), even though we all booked 4A GTY. Our TA did a wonderful job of linking our bookings so we were all pretty close together. Others in our group had booked 6A GTY and ALL ended up on the SPA DECK with the floor to ceiling windows. Nice upgrade!

 

We were happy with our cabin location. Prior to boarding, I was concerned since we were right over the casino that it would be noisy, but I worried for nothing. The only noise we heard was from people in the hall. Unfortunately, some parents must have used this as an opportunity to let their kids run wild, so THEY could have some quiet time, because there wasn’t a parent in sight, and some of these children were quite young. My sister and I did have a nice “TALK” with them all in the hall, and it seemed to help. We asked them to please walk and not run, and to please talk quietly because people were sleeping. The looked afraid, so whatever works!

 

Our cabin steward Elio did a wonderful job of keeping our cabin clean, and we loved our towel animals he left for us. The cabin itself has plenty of storage, and thanks to all the wonderful advice on the boards, I don’t leave home without my shoe organizer for the back of the bathroom door. That’s the best tip I have gotten and I had every section filled. This keeps things very organized. I take along an extension cord and alarm clock also. Forgot the nightlight and we could have used one. We asked Elio to please make up the beds as a king, and he did so while we were at dinner.

 

Weather: Lets just say I’m glad we didn’t pay extra for an oceanview! Fog, Fog, and MORE FOG!! LOL!! We did have ONE nice day to enjoy up on deck. Book in hand and a nice little sunburn. Didn’t expect that on a trip to Canada, so this was an added bonus! The rest of the trip, was cold and rainy, but we still had a great time. It’s what you make it. For those of you wanting information on the water slide, it was closed everyday for us, but not sure if it was due to weather or maintenance issues.

 

Saint John: My husband and I made no reservations in advance but ended up walking around for a little, and then getting a cab to see the Reversing Falls. ($9.00) I think it’s well worth it, because the views are beautiful. If you go, head to the Fallsview Restaurant, and continue to the next place on the left. (sorry don’t know the name) It had outdoor seating set up, and a staircase down to an outlook area. Great spot for pictures and to check out the jet boats which come by often. Then we walked over the bridge to Douglas Ave, (if you are afraid of heights, don’t look down), and made a left to head to where the jet boats depart from. We hung around there for a while, and met up with others from our group who were booked to ride one. EVERYONE loved the boat ride and had a smile ear to ear when they got off. You WILL get wet! They highly recommend this, and booked this on their own to save money, rather than through Carnival.

[emalemi]

Halifax: My husband and I had read a lot about Halifax, and it’s true. If you are able to walk, and don’t mind hills, you can certainly check out the place on your own, without having to take any tours. We walked for 4 hours, and headed back to the ship. We walked up to the Citadel first and went inside to look around. Then to the Freaky Lunchbox Candy Store that I had read about. I enjoyed seeing candy from days gone by…and of course I had to buy some. Then we walked towards the waterfront and happened upon a pedway that had a sign to the Casino. So we headed there just to check it out (no deposits made J). The pedways kept us out of the weather, which was worse in the am, and got better in the afternoon. On the way back we walked outside along the waterfront, since the weather had cleared. Now my parents, who can’t walk for long, shared a cab with another couple and for $100.00, he took them to ALL the sites, including Peggy’s Cove. They had a wonderful day, and saw everything!! Again, no plans were made in advance. They got off the ship, and intended on just getting a cab to the casino, and from there they planned on making arrangements for the Double Decker Bus, which they could hop on and hop off of. Well, when talking to the cab driver, he said he would take them everywhere they wanted to go, and he certainly did! They saved a bundle doing it this way. (I think they were charging people $51.00 a person just to go to Peggy’s Cove).

 

Entertainment: We didn’t see all the shows, but a few. The Wonderful World show was the best one I saw. Everyone that saw it really enjoyed it. I especially loved the costumes, and thought it was well done. Showtime was another show later in the week, and it was good, but didn’t touch the other IMO. We did not see any of the comedians, so I can’t comment. I caught a little of the not-so-newlywed game, and it was funny. Karaoke in the Club Rio was entertaining, but by the end of the week I had had enough. The singers seemed to get much worse as the week went on, and I just couldn’t stand it anymore LOL! I give them all credit for having the nerve to get up there-KUDOS!! Thanks to my waiter Mino-he kept the beers coming and called me by name. I guess I was spending some time in there. J I spent some time in the sing-a-long piano bar too. I believe the piano man’s name was Mark, and boy can he play the piano! Excellent!! The singing was another story, but hey, everyone was having a good time in there. As for the casino, no deposit made from us J, but believe it or not, my parents were hitting on the video poker machines, and doing quite well! I told them both, I hoped they realized that just doesn’t happen often on a cruise ship. (they live in Las Vegas, so need I say more?) Luck was on their side, so we were very excited for them. They like Bingo, but $20.00 for ONE game was a big rip off, so they just wouldn’t play. Again, they live in Vegas, so they’re not used to that. Overall, I thought the entertainment was “fine to good”. 5 days was just right to have time to check out most of the activities on board, and get your fill.

 

Food: We love room service for breakfast, and did this everyday morning except for 2. It always arrived on time, and I loved having that hot coffee in my cabin, along with the delicious fruit. My hubby had cereal and yogurt also, and boy the juice sure is a large size. We always tipped $2 or $3, and felt the service was very good. One morning we headed to the dining room for breakfast. We had never done this before on any of our cruises, so we wanted to check it out. We were seated with strangers at a table for 8, but by the end of breakfast no one was a stranger any longer. That was the best part about it. The food was OKAY. The last morning we had breakfast on the LIDO DECK, and it was OKAY also.

 

For lunch we tried the deli, which I thought was very good. (Pastrami on rye and turkey). We also tried the pizza and we felt it was OKAY. We didn’t try anything from the Hong Kong Noodle place, but my parents did love the soup from there. I had a couple hamburgers from the grill, and the second one was good. The first must have sat for too long. The fries are very good. Hubby said the ice cream was OKAY.

 

Now dinner was very good. Our server Amela was excellent, and by the end of the week, we all hugged her goodbye. Our group was celebrating my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary, and she made them feel special. She even brought out a dessert with a candle in it, and several servers all sang Happy Anniversary to them. Thanks Amela! Take advantage of trying different things you have not eaten before. You can always order another meal, if you don’t care for it. Many nights I passed on the salad, just so I could try a few different appetizers. I liked everything I tried. On formal night, I had FOUR lobster tails. Yes FOUR. That is one of my favorites things, so I took advantage. I didn’t eat any of the sides so I was able to handle this just fine. One in our party ordered a lobster tail first, then a filet, and then another lobster tail. No problem at all! My husband’s favorite was the chateaubriand. Everyone in our group thought dinner was very good. No complaints. I’m not a big dessert eater, but the soufflé was fantastic, so try it!

 

Service: I thought the service on board was very good. Everyone said hello to you in the halls, and was very friendly. I went to the purser’s desk several times, and they were very nice and resolved little things with ease. The only problem I heard about was when some of the younger crowd in our group (17-20+ year olds) went to the Hollywood Dance Club and started requesting songs. They all said the DJ was rude to them, and not nice at all. Not sure what his problem was, but I guess he was not a happy camper, or maybe having a bad day? The only other “bump in the road” we encountered was when we went to the dining room after boarding to make sure our table assignments were correct for our group. This was something we faxed directly to Carnival months in advance and had each table figured out for our group so families could sit together. Well, they had it all wrong, and basically said that was the way it was going to be, and there was nothing more they could do for us. We gave up pretty easy, especially after hearing how things went for other folks who were in front of us in line. Lots of unhappy folks in this room, sorry to say. So my sister and I sat down at a table and spent a half hour trying to work out the new seating arrangements for thirty people so that families could sit together. This was a little stressful, and we were unhappy, but we finally came up with a plan that worked for our new table sizes. What a feeling of relief! We were happy to move on…but not so fast… We all show up for dinner, and the table sizes were totally different than what we were told when we went to the dining room earlier! So thirty people are standing around while my sister and I scramble to figure out again another seating arrangement. What an absolute mess. Thankfully Amela our server stepped in, and with a chair added here and there, we worked everything out.

 

After dinner I approached a photographer to ask how I could arrange for a group photo for the following day (formal night) prior to dinner. He told me to go the photo shop the next morning and make an appt. I did so, and at 4:15 the next day, a photographer showed up as scheduled and placed our group on the staircase near the atrium. Everything went smoothly and he was very nice. So great service there! Then off we went to the Captains Reception for free drinks!

 

Several different lounges were available for the Captains Reception. Our gang all went into The Big Easy Bar and pretty much had the place to ourselves. There was a gentleman playing the piano in there too. Very nice. Meanwhile there was a line a mile long to get into the Club Rio. Either they didn’t know they had other options, or it was important for them to shake hands with the Captain I don’t know. The only difference with being in The Big Easy is there is no bar in there. So you were left with the choices of drinks, which were brought around on the trays. Now one person in our group wanted a beer, and strolled over to the Club Rio bar, and brought it back no problem. They served appetizers also, which was a nice touch.

[emalemi]

General Comments: For those of you wondering if the Triumph has started replacing their bedding, the answer is yes. They were doing so as we boarded, and for a few days I did see new mattresses in the halls that they were moving about. Not sure if this has been completed in all cabins, but they are definitely in the works. I’ve read other comments about how slow the elevators are, and I can certainly attest to this. We had several in our group that really needed the elevators to get around more easily, but they really are terribly slow. I’m not sure why. So this did make it difficult for some to navigate around the ship. Speaking of which, this has also been talked about, and yes the Triumph, is a little tricky getting around. I don’t know how many times we ran into a roadblock right at the London Dining Room, which is mid-ship. Now we knew it was there, but kept doing it anyway. If the door was opened, we’d cut through, but we weren’t always so lucky. So, we’d turn around and usually go to deck 5, and use this deck most of the time to get from one end of the ship to another. This deck runs front to back with no roadblocks, along with the cabin only decks, so if you keep this in mind, you’ll be fine.

 

I thought the condition of the ship itself was very clean and you always saw the crew wiping or cleaning something. Yes, you’ll see a carpet spot or 2, but no big deal. Just don’t look down.

 

As far as the range of ages on board, we found many many families, and many many children. Now I love children, especially mine, but have I said there were many children? Compared to our other cruises, this ship did seem crowded to us. Maybe it was because the weather really wasn’t nice enough to be out on deck? We’re not really sure. We couldn’t help but notice how casual the atmosphere was either. Much more casual than our other 2 cruises. Again, not sure why, just stating the facts.

 

Debarkation: They asked that we be out of our cabins by 8:30 and to hang out in any of the public rooms. Our group arranged to meet on deck 10 (Lido). This doesn’t seem to get as crowded as deck 9. We were cleared by customs I’d say by 8:30, so they first called anyone doing the self-disembark. A little while later they called everyone else. I was surprised at this. I thought they would maybe call by color or deck, so everyone was not trying to get off the ship at once. So, we hesitated, then decided to give it a shot. We headed to deck 3, and it was a massive mob a people all crowded together, with more people heading from the stairs and elevator. I did not want anywhere near this action. So we noticed a crew standing on the staircase, and asked if we could exit from Deck 2 also, and he said yes. So we headed down one more flight of stairs, and wow, what a difference! We lucked out, so I’d say head directly to deck 2. We did have a short wait, but we were off the ship within 30 minutes. Thankfully our bus had already arrived and was waiting for us. I parked myself at the elevators in front of the NY terminal, and waved our party members in the direction of the bus. Pretty darn smooth! We exited the terminal around 10:30. Not bad!

 

In Summary: Everyone in our group had a good time, but I really think it’s what you make it. If you didn’t like something to eat, order something else. They are so many options. Our cabin locations worked out fine, the only thing about those on the Spa Deck, the fog horn went off every night all night, and they could certainly hear this clearly up there. They knew the alternative though, so what can you do? Overall Carnival came through, and we had a great trip together.

 

Just wanted to end this with a BIG thank you to all on these boards who answered the many posted questions from me!

[mathgal]

Cabins: Many in our group ended up on the UPPER DECK inside cabins, and our family was one of them.

 

What were your cabin numbers? My family is sailing on the Victory (a sister ship to the Triumph) next month and two of our cabins are what I have been calling "inside the inside" cabins. On the Upper Deck there is a row of cabins located between the two main banks of inside cabins and that's where my kids will be (we booked guarantee cabins).

 

After looking at the deck plan, it appears that these cabins are shaped differently than most other inside cabins. I'm curious as to how they are laid out compared to other insides.

[emalemi]

What were your cabin numbers? My family is sailing on the Victory (a sister ship to the Triumph) next month and two of our cabins are what I have been calling "inside the inside" cabins. On the Upper Deck there is a row of cabins located between the two main banks of inside cabins and that's where my kids will be (we booked guarantee cabins).

 

After looking at the deck plan, it appears that these cabins are shaped differently than most other inside cabins. I'm curious as to how they are laid out compared to other insides.

 

Mathgal: We had cabin numbers 6357, 6353, 6304, 6320, 6329, & 6327. None of these were in that inside row you are talking about. I'm not sure how those cabins look, and didn't know they are different. Sorry I can't help with that. Have a great cruise though!

[justloud]

I am so thrilled to read your post, thank you so much. My family is traveling on the Triumph on the 25th. My parents are celebrating their 49th (pre-50th). Do you live in the NY area, if so what was the bus company? I pray our weather is better, we are traveling with 17 children from 10 to 21. I was considering renting a car in the ports. Did you encounter anyone who did this? Again than you for posting:), it is very helpful.

[tinna2000]

i am glad you had a nice time, wasn't the deli sandwiches good? we had fog on the last day and it made the ship feel like there was more people on it, but i did not feel crowded.

 

i love your review and i am sorry that the dining arrangements did not work out the way you planned them, but you sound like you did not let that bother you from having fun.

[emalemi]

I am so thrilled to read your post, thank you so much. My family is traveling on the Triumph on the 25th. My parents are celebrating their 49th (pre-50th). Do you live in the NY area, if so what was the bus company? I pray our weather is better, we are traveling with 17 children from 10 to 21. I was considering renting a car in the ports. Did you encounter anyone who did this? Again than you for posting:), it is very helpful.

 

justloud: You are welcome! Your cruise is coming up quickly, and I hope you all have a great time. Congrats on your parents 49th. It's anice way to celebrate.

 

We live in PA, and chartered a bus through Elite Coaches. I would highly recommend this company. Everything went so smoothly, and the bus had a restroom, and dvd/vcr player so we could show movies. Not sure where you are traveling from, but if you need contact info just let me know. I plan on writing the owner of this company a letter with our compliments.

 

About renting a car, I don't think anyone in our group did this, but several just hooked up with a taxi once off the ship. This worked out great and the people there are so nice. I know my sister had a large group with her, and there were able to find a taxi that was a van. Good luck and I hope you luck out with warm weather!

[emalemi]

i am glad you had a nice time, wasn't the deli sandwiches good? we had fog on the last day and it made the ship feel like there was more people on it, but i did not feel crowded.

 

i love your review and i am sorry that the dining arrangements did not work out the way you planned them, but you sound like you did not let that bother you from having fun.

 

tinna: thanks for posting. You are correct the dining room mess was just one small thing when you look at the big picture. it was hectic at the time but we all got over it real quick and had lots of fun!

 

I loved the deli too! Freshly sliced right in front of you, and absolutely delicious!

[tevagirl]

Thanks for the great review. We leave on the Triumph in less than 2 weeks (7/16) for our cruise. It's nice to know about the taxi deal your parents got. Do you know if the the taxi driver let them spend any amount of time at the places they visited? I would like to be able to spend a little time at Peggy's Cove.

[SueSun]

Thanks for such a great review...especially addressing the ports of Saint John and Halifax and how you and your group found ways around without booking excursions.

 

We are leaving in a few days (7/11) and this is a repeat cruise we did on her sister ship Victory a few years ago. This time we are traveling with friends who have never cruised before and I am letting them go through the "first time cruise experience" somewhat by themselves and she is nerved up about not having any excursions booked!!!

 

Last cruise we never left the ship in Saint John....it was a beautiful sunny day and kids had use of the water slide all day just about by themselves and DH and I had best lounge chairs by the pool WITHOUT saving!!!;) . That day was called VACATION :p in my book.

 

We did hit a fog bank on that cruise and it was somewhat unnerving, but we survived and still had fun. We sailed on NCL Dawn with 25 foot waves which really had the whole ship not feeling so well, we survived and vowed not to cruise again for A LONG TIME!!!! See how long that lasted :D !!!

 

Sounds like you and your sister worked out the dining room arrangements (though I am sure it was NOT :mad: what you had planned to do) and all had a great time!!! It is passengers like you and your family, who experience a few "bumps" along the way and STILL have fun in spite of it that I want to be on MY CRUISE!!!! Here is to a ship full of HAPPY PASSENGERS on 7/11 to CANADA!!!!

 

ps...for those of you in the passport thread of mine...7/6 and DH's still is not here. :confused:

[spfar]

Thanks for the review. We are sailing tomorrow for the 4 night. We are a group of 16 I'm printing your review to share on the ride down.

[dmfriedman]

Let me add to the roster of people thanking you for an outstanding review... just makes me look forward even more to sailing along with JustLoud's 683 family members (and about a dozen other CruiseCritics) on the 25th!

 

I've sailed quite a bit, but never out of New York, so your info about embarkation timing was probably the most useful for me -- looks like I'll plan to arrive around 11:30 or 11:45 and give it a shot. I'm staying at a hotel in New York the night before, so this will let me sleep in but still let me board early and get settled in before gathering the un-met troops at the bar for an early round of drinks (which JustLoud still thinks I'm going to pay for) :)

 

Thanks again, emalemi!

[normaxs]

What a great review, thanks so much. I have a group of friends & relatives going in Sept. and most are first timers. It is very reassuring that everything went so well.

Norma

[emalemi]

Thanks for the great review. We leave on the Triumph in less than 2 weeks (7/16) for our cruise. It's nice to know about the taxi deal your parents got. Do you know if the the taxi driver let them spend any amount of time at the places they visited? I would like to be able to spend a little time at Peggy's Cove.

 

tevagirl: This taxi driver was the best! He allowed them to stay as long as they wanted where ever they wanted. He even would coax THEM to please get out to take some photos. One of our lady friends that rode with him is on medication that requires often restroom stops, and he made sure to point out ALL the upcoming restrooms along the way for her. I can't say enough. I wish I had his name. Alls I know is he was born and raised there, so really knew his way around. Good luck! I'm sure you will do fine finding the same.

 

Have a great time!

[emalemi]

<<We are leaving in a few days (7/11) and this is a repeat cruise we did on her sister ship Victory a few years ago. This time we are traveling with friends who have never cruised before and I am letting them go through the "first time cruise experience" somewhat by themselves and she is nerved up about not having any excursions booked!!!>>

 

Tell her not to worry at all about not booking excursions in advance!! She will be fine, and have tons of choices once she exits the ship. My only advice would be to go early, so things don't get booked up. I think we had about 10 in our group that were first timers. They all had a great time!!

 

<<Last cruise we never left the ship in Saint John....it was a beautiful sunny day and kids had use of the water slide all day just about by themselves and DH and I had best lounge chairs by the pool WITHOUT saving!!!;) . That day was called VACATION :p in my book.>>

 

Saint John has construction going on everywhere. I know it will probably be beautiful once it's done, but for now it's tore up pretty good. WE still enjoyed the day, but I like the way you think!! You had the ship to yourselves-nice work!!

 

<<Here is to a ship full of HAPPY PASSENGERS on 7/11 to CANADA!!!!

ps...for those of you in the passport thread of mine...7/6 and DH's still is not here. :confused:

 

I second that!! And I hope your hubbys passport comes. Some of us had birth certificates, and some passports. Have a great cruise!

[emalemi]

normaxs: You won't be first timers for long!! Just go with a great attitude and you'll have a great time! Each time we cruise, we learn something new. The majority of what I learned was from nice people on these boards-so thanks to all of you!

 

spfar: Please write a review for all of us upon your return!! Hope you're having fun.

 

dmfriedman: I'm not sure what time your ship departs from NY, but ours sailed at 5PM. Just wanted to clarify that, incase your departs earlier. You can adjust the time accordingly. You are smart to stay in NY the night before. You have a very good chance of hitting it lucky for smooth embarkation. Good luck!

 

Happy cruising all!

[elliened]

my husband and i are doing this cruise in september for our 50th. thank you for a great review. you have given us so much information but i have one question. you wrote about the jet boats in st. john. we are tentatively booked on a shore excursion from carnival for this trip to the bay of fundy and i am wondering if you can book the boat ride in st. john and save some money. the cost through the ship is quite high. if you have any information i would appreciate it. thanks again for a great review.

[jfpb]

you are wonderful! Loved your review. We're sailing on 8/8 with our 2 kids ages 2 and 7. You definately gave us a lot of information. I just have one question, you mentioned that the age range of your group was 2-82, did the 2 year old spend any time in camp carnival? How was it, I've gotten a lot of mixed reviews over the last few months and am curious about how the camp is now that school is out and there are more kids on board. Again, thank you so much for your help, I'm very happy that your family had such a great time!

[ShadyOne]

my husband and i are doing this cruise in september for our 50th. thank you for a great review. you have given us so much information but i have one question. you wrote about the jet boats in st. john. we are tentatively booked on a shore excursion from carnival for this trip to the bay of fundy and i am wondering if you can book the boat ride in st. john and save some money. the cost through the ship is quite high. if you have any information i would appreciate it. thanks again for a great review.

 

Hi Elliened - I'm emalemi's sister :) We did the jet boats in Saint John and LOVED THEM! I made the reservations on my own by going to their website at www.jetboatrides.com and calling their 800# as their site is not secured for credit cards. The cost is $34.95 Canadian(came to just under $29 USD). The cruise excursion was $85 pp for a 3 hour tour that included the jet boat (20-30 minute ride). I wore my swimsuit under my clothing and slipped off the clothes before the ride. They provide rain gear (a jacket with a hood that blew off on the 1st run <ha!> and pants) and I went barefoot without any problem. The ocean water is cool up there, though salt water tastes the same everywhere - LOL! Don't let the weather stop you from doing this - it was great fun!

 

Two things of note: There is a time difference as Saint John (and Halifax) are one hour AHEAD of Eastern, so make a note of this when making reservations as it will be on their time (the ship is on Eastern & doesn't change). Arrive about 35 minutes ahead of time. Their website lists the restrictions for the "thrill ride" by height. The ship excursion goes by age. One of the younger girls in our larger group thought she couldn't go because of this, and she was tall enough to have done it. :(

 

The folks working this place are great! Taxi's are plentiful and reasonably priced. We did get drenched (those pics will be hilarious!). The youngest one in our group (12 to a boat; everyone was from our cruise group) had enough on the 3rd run, so they took him off and then took the rest of us out for our final run - it was great! There was free coffee & hot chocolate provided after the ride, too - very nice :)

 

ShadyOne

[ShadyOne]

you are wonderful! Loved your review. We're sailing on 8/8 with our 2 kids ages 2 and 7. You definately gave us a lot of information. I just have one question, you mentioned that the age range of your group was 2-82, did the 2 year old spend any time in camp carnival? How was it, I've gotten a lot of mixed reviews over the last few months and am curious about how the camp is now that school is out and there are more kids on board. Again, thank you so much for your help, I'm very happy that your family had such a great time!

 

Hi jfpb - Our group had ages of 5-82, and some of the kids did use Camp Carnival. It was opened until 10 pm, so the 5 yr old often went in after dinner, giving the parents a nice break in the evening (he never minded going, either). He wanted to swim the first day at sea, and the next two were port days, so Friday was the only day he went in the am. The 9 yr old went in more often and enjoyed it quite a bit.

 

ShadyOne

[jfpb]

dear shadyone,

 

 

thanks for the info, I've never left my 2 year old with anyone other than my mom, so I'm a little nervous. The 7 year old should do fine, he's excited to me kids.

[FLDiane]

Hi Elliened - I'm emalemi's sister :) We did the jet boats in Saint John and LOVED THEM! I made the reservations on my own by going to their website at www.jetboatrides.com and calling their 800# as their site is not secured for credit cards. The cost is $34.95 Canadian(came to just under $29 USD). The cruise excursion was $85 pp for a 3 hour tour that included the jet boat (20-30 minute ride). I wore my swimsuit under my clothing and slipped off the clothes before the ride. They provide rain gear (a jacket with a hood that blew off on the 1st run <ha!> and pants) and I went barefoot without any problem. The ocean water is cool up there, though salt water tastes the same everywhere - LOL! Don't let the weather stop you from doing this - it was great fun!

 

Two things of note: There is a time difference as Saint John (and Halifax) are one hour AHEAD of Eastern, so make a note of this when making reservations as it will be on their time (the ship is on Eastern & doesn't change). Arrive about 35 minutes ahead of time. Their website lists the restrictions for the "thrill ride" by height. The ship excursion goes by age. One of the younger girls in our larger group thought she couldn't go because of this, and she was tall enough to have done it. :(

 

The folks working this place are great! Taxi's are plentiful and reasonably priced. We did get drenched (those pics will be hilarious!). The youngest one in our group (12 to a boat; everyone was from our cruise group) had enough on the 3rd run, so they took him off and then took the rest of us out for our final run - it was great! There was free coffee & hot chocolate provided after the ride, too - very nice :)

 

ShadyOne

 

 

Thank you, ShadyOne, for the review of the Thrill Ride. We are going on the July 25 cruise. I had also checked into Carnival's excursion, and then booked it directly. I have a daughter that is tall enough for their height requirement (over 42"), but too young for Carnival's age restriction, which is minimum 12 years old. We paid $114.95 (Canadian), which is a special family rate for 4 (2 kids, 2 adults). Carnival would have charged $340 (US) for 4 people, but they wouldn't even have let my youngest go! We had to go at a calmer time, though, as JetBoatRides wouldn't let an under 12 go when it was very low tide (the roughest conditions).

 

It sounds like we will have a lot of fun. Thanks for the tip to wear a swimsuit, they just tell you to bring a towel and an extra set of clothes to change into, you will get wet!

 

I have a few questions.

 

You mentioned pictures, how were you able to take them on the ride?

 

How long did the taxi ride to Fallsview Park take, and how much did it cost?

 

Thanks again!

[emalemi]

<<It sounds like we will have a lot of fun. Thanks for the tip to wear a swimsuit, they just tell you to bring a towel and an extra set of clothes to change into, you will get wet!

 

I have a few questions.

 

You mentioned pictures, how were you able to take them on the ride?

 

How long did the taxi ride to Fallsview Park take, and how much did it cost?

 

Thanks again!

 

FLDiane: shadyone's sister here- I can answer the pictures question because I was their photographer LOL! While hubby guarded all the boat riders things, I went over and took step by step photos of them all putting on their rain gear and life vests. Then of them all in the boat ready to take off, then departing, then a group shot when they all got off the boat soaking wet and smiling!! We can't wait to see them.

 

Now I took a taxi over and the charge was $9, sister had a van for a buck more I think. It's only a few minutes to get there, but I like looking around on the way.

 

Have a good trip!

[FLDiane]

Thanks for the speedy reply. Your earlier review was great!

 

Did you notice if there was a crepe buffet on your cruise? We were on a 4 day Carnival Cruise 2 summers ago, and if I remember correctly, they had it more than one night. It was fabulous! I think it was really late, maybe at 1 am. I told my kids about it (this will be their first cruise), and they are really excited that we will let them stay up for it!