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Just off the Paradise! Ask me anything! :)

indygirl76

By indygirl76,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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indygirl76

indygirl76

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My best friend and I were on the 10/14 five night sailing of the Paradise to Grand Cayman and Cozumel. My accountant brain works best in bullet points, so here they are....

 

* Pre cruise stay: we flew in Saturday morning, and stayed at the Westin Tampa Bay. This is a VERY nice hotel, with good service, gorgeous views, and large comfy rooms. We ate two excellent seafood dinners at the Rusty Pelican (this is much fancier than it sounds :D ) and the Chart House.

 

* Faster to the Fun: totally worth it. The early luggage delivery alone - it came while we were still working on our first drink in the atrium bar - made it a good purchase for me, as I'm one of those weirdos who can't relax until the unpacking is done. But the early embarkation, zone one debarkcation, priority tenders to Grand Cayman, and priority line at Guest Services (or lack of line, because there was NEVER one, even when 10+ people were at the desk) were all nice as well.

 

* Cheers program: we bought this the first day, and definitely saved money over the course of the week. Service was always very good, although to be fair, we have both worked in the service industry and are prone to extra-tipping.

 

* Bar service in general: by day two (!!!), several of the bartenders were greeting us by name. This was also true of the lovely barista at the coffee / dessert bar.

 

* Dining service: our team was a great combination of funny and professional / efficient. One of our tablemates was ..... interesting ..... and they had seemingly infinite patience with her. We also did not have any trouble getting attention from drinks servers in the dining room, a problem I've read about in other reviews. The only time it was a wee bit slow was lunch on the last sea day, and I think that was because allllll the past passengers realized they hadn't used their free drink coupons yet. :)

 

* Live entertainment: the show band played a different lounge every night. The cover band played a different lounge every night. The (amazing, for serious, maybe the best I've ever seen) karaoke host played a different lounge every night. Anyone complaining about a lack of live entertainment is, in my not terribly humble opinion, looking for something to complain about. We also enjoyed the disco every night until the wee hours.

 

* Ports: I'm largely an indoor girl, and my cruise buddy didn't want to venture off too far on her own, so we shopped, ate, and drank - my three favorite vacation activities! We were scheduled to dock at Puerto Maya in Cozumel, and planned to take a taxi downtown... until we walked off the ship, and found ourselves at Punta Langosta instead. Bonus!

 

* Debarkation: kind of a cluster, thanks to nimrod passengers who insisted in clogging the entire hallway outside our cabin. We literally had to squeeze through these folks, in order to go upstairs to the Lido where we belonged. Sheesh. Carnival made a ton of announcements, so I don't really blame the company per se, but maybe they needed to strategically post security guys to keep people from herding.

 

* Speaking of nimrods, I was ceaselessly amazed by how many people I heard being rude to crew members. Courtesy costs nothing, kids, and always pays - if only in positive karma. :) We greeted everyone we saw with smiles and hellos, and got nothing but kindness in return. #imjustsaying

 

Overall, we had a WONDERFUL time, leading to the best part: my cruise buddy, who had never sailed before, is now a fellow addict and is planning our next trip!

 

That's everything I can think of right off the bat, but I'm happy to answer any questions...

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indygirl76

indygirl76

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Have sailed on her once in the past, but can't remember is there is a Tandoor restaurant on her?? Also, is there still the Mongolian Wok?

 

I don't think there is a Tandoor spot, although to be fair, I don't enjoy that cuisine, so I might have glossed by it. There's definitely still the Mongolian Wok, and it was yummy! I was super happy to see calamari as an option, and it met my high expectations.

 

One other food thing I forgot to mention was the Taste bar. This was open three of five nights, and the selections were really yummy! The pulled pork from the Blue Iguana was one of the best dishes I had all week.

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bfkkbc

bfkkbc

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I don't think there is a Tandoor spot, although to be fair, I don't enjoy that cuisine, so I might have glossed by it. There's definitely still the Mongolian Wok, and it was yummy! I was super happy to see calamari as an option, and it met my high expectations.

 

One other food thing I forgot to mention was the Taste bar. This was open three of five nights, and the selections were really yummy! The pulled pork from the Blue Iguana was one of the best dishes I had all week.

 

Does it have a Blue Iguana? I didn't think it had the 2.0 upgrades???:confused:

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Scooterpi

Scooterpi

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We are doing this same trip on January 6. We are also flying in the night before but I haven't made hotel reservations yet. What did you do for transportation from the airport to the hotel, hotel to pier, and then back to the airport?

 

Is there a steakhouse on the Paradise? Was the dining just lido deck and buffets, pizza, MDR, and taste bar?

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SkyMaster

SkyMaster

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EXCELLENT post, and review. THANKS for posting.

Nope, "Paradise" has NOT had the 2.0 upgrades yet. A VERY BIG plus, IMO. No Blue Iguana, but the ship still offers the BIG production shows. FANTASTIC entertainment available each and every night! :D

I've already sailed "Paradise" three times this year, and have two more voyages booked before the end of the year. BEST cruise, and crew at sea IMO. :cool:

 

"SKY"

Ken

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indygirl76

indygirl76

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[/b]

 

Does it have a Blue Iguana? I didn't think it had the 2.0 upgrades???:confused:

Sorry for the confusion, you're right - no 2.0. The Taste bar features small bites from different venues, which sometimes don't even appear on that ship. The three nights on this cruise had food from the Blue Iguana (soup and pulled pork), Cuccina del Capitano (goat cheese toasts and meatballs), and Red Frog Rum bar (this was the last sea day, and I was a smidge tipsy - I don't remember what it was, but it was good). Hope that helps! :D
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indygirl76

indygirl76

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We are doing this same trip on January 6. We are also flying in the night before but I haven't made hotel reservations yet. What did you do for transportation from the airport to the hotel, hotel to pier, and then back to the airport?

 

Is there a steakhouse on the Paradise? Was the dining just lido deck and buffets, pizza, MDR, and taste bar?

 

Airport to hotel - the Westin has a free 24/7 shuttle service. (We didn't use it, as I have relatives in Central Florida that picked us up for lunch and shopping.)

 

Hotel to pier - the Westin bellman offered to arrange a towncar service, and being high on vacation joy, we gladly accepted. :D This wound up being $35, which we thought was totally worth it as a way to kick off our cruise.

 

[Definitely look into the Westin, since you haven't made your reservation yet. We really enjoyed it, and would absolutely stay there again.]

 

Pier to airport - taxis were readily available, with a flat rate of $25.

 

Paradise has no steakhouse, sadly. In addition to those you mentioned, there are also the other small spots on lido - Deli, Mongolian Wok, omelette station at breakfast, etc. - and room service.

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indygirl76

indygirl76

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EXCELLENT post, and review. THANKS for posting.

Nope, "Paradise" has NOT had the 2.0 upgrades yet. A VERY BIG plus, IMO. No Blue Iguana, but the ship still offers the BIG production shows. FANTASTIC entertainment available each and every night! :D

I've already sailed "Paradise" three times this year, and have two more voyages booked before the end of the year. BEST cruise, and crew at sea IMO. :cool:

 

"SKY"

Ken

FIVE trips on the Paradise in one year?? Where's the green-with-envy smileman when I need him? :D
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indygirl76

indygirl76

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Do you happen to know if they had any Captain Morgan on the ship? There are rumors flying that CCL is discontinuing it and we are sailing on the Paradise in Dec so I hope they still have Captain Morgan.
I'm not a call-brand-rum girl, so I can't say 100% for sure either way. I know spiced rum was available, as one of my afternoon favorites was the banana daiquiri with spiced floater shot. I also saw on John Heald's page that the rumor was incorrect, which sounds legit, because the booze selection in general was VAST. :D
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gagirl2006

gagirl2006

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I'm just off of that sailing also. I loved the Paradise. I was surprised at how I hardly ever felt the boat move. Of course we had perfect weather the whole time and maybe that was why. Also, a few of my last sailings were on the Holiday so maybe that is the reason for the surprise too.

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indygirl76

indygirl76

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I'm just off of that sailing also. I loved the Paradise. I was surprised at how I hardly ever felt the boat move. Of course we had perfect weather the whole time and maybe that was why. Also, a few of my last sailings were on the Holiday so maybe that is the reason for the surprise too.

Yes, my cruise buddy is very motion sensitive, but never had any problems. Verrrrrrry smooth sailing. :) You aren't by any chance one of the Georgia girls who sang karaoke, are you?

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Allie-Oops

Allie-Oops

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Did you get to check out the Serenity area? If so, was it difficult to find seating? My husband and I are taking my in laws on their first cruise on the Paradise as a Christmas present. I think they will love it but I'm worried there might not be a lot for them to do (they aren't big gamblers or drinkers). My plan is to show them the Serenity area and the Steam and Sauna rooms and take them for afternoon tea. Any other suggestions for quiet retirees?

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indygirl76

indygirl76

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Did you get to check out the Serenity area? If so, was it difficult to find seating? My husband and I are taking my in laws on their first cruise on the Paradise as a Christmas present. I think they will love it but I'm worried there might not be a lot for them to do (they aren't big gamblers or drinkers). My plan is to show them the Serenity area and the Steam and Sauna rooms and take them for afternoon tea. Any other suggestions for quiet retirees?

Haha, wellllllllll, cruise buddy and I aren't exactly quiet retirees. ;) But yes, the Serenity deck was lovely and surprisingly uncrowded. We went several times, and there were always available deck chairs both in the shade (me) and sun (buddy).

 

There are a ton of activities going on throughout the ship every day, but also always somewhere restful and relaxing - you might just need to wander a bit to find it. For example, some days the area of the promenade deck around the coffee bar was very peaceful, and other times it was jamming because of karaoke at the casino bar stage.

 

We never paid attention to the schedule, but I know at some point(s), movies are shown in the (darkened) aft lounge, because we walked through on our way to Serenity.

 

Hope that helps!

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Scooterpi

Scooterpi

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Airport to hotel - the Westin has a free 24/7 shuttle service. (We didn't use it, as I have relatives in Central Florida that picked us up for lunch and shopping.)

 

Hotel to pier - the Westin bellman offered to arrange a towncar service, and being high on vacation joy, we gladly accepted. :D This wound up being $35, which we thought was totally worth it as a way to kick off our cruise.

 

[Definitely look into the Westin, since you haven't made your reservation yet. We really enjoyed it, and would absolutely stay there again.]

 

Pier to airport - taxis were readily available, with a flat rate of $25.

 

Paradise has no steakhouse, sadly. In addition to those you mentioned, there are also the other small spots on lido - Deli, Mongolian Wok, omelette station at breakfast, etc. - and room service.

 

 

This sounds awesome! The 24 hour shuttle service from the airport is a big plus since we are flying in pretty late that evening before and a lot of places I have looked at only have shuttle until 9 or 10.

 

Your review is making me even more excited for my cruise. Banana daiquiri with spice rum floater? YES, PLEASE!

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ManicHispanic

ManicHispanic

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Haha, wellllllllll, cruise buddy and I aren't exactly quiet retirees. ;) But yes, the Serenity deck was lovely and surprisingly uncrowded. We went several times, and there were always available deck chairs both in the shade (me) ME TOO and sun (buddy). My wife

Hope that helps!

 

That is so good to know. :)

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SkyMaster

SkyMaster

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FIVE trips on the Paradise in one year?? Where's the green-with-envy smileman when I need him? :D

 

Well, I'm lucky enough to be retired, live within 40 miles of the Port of Tampa, and have a wife who loves cruising almost as much as I do. ;) I love "Paradise", and especially since it doesn't have the 2.0 upgrades yet. Shows are BIG shows with 8 female dancers, 6 male dancers, and 2 production singers. Crew of "Paradise" is second to none IMO. It's a win/win situation..:D

Come on along. There's room for you, and yours too! :cool:

 

"SKY"

 

P.S. I grew up in Fortville, Indiana. Just Northeast of Indianapolis!

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