Just off the Paradise! Ask me anything! :)

[latitude918]

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?

 

for hotel to pier a lot of hotels will have shuttles to the port. Usually they'll say on their website if they do.

[latitude918]

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

 

2.0 upgrades? What are these?

[latitude918]

Do the cabins on the Paradise have mini refrigerators in them? We always bring some bottled water on with us.

 

They do not. Just ask the steward for some ice. :)

[indygirl76]

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!

It's amazing, for real. You'll thank me when you try one. ;)

[indygirl76]

Do the cabins on the Paradise have mini refrigerators in them? We always bring some bottled water on with us.

 

We had an inside cabin, no refrigerator. I'm pretty sure they're only in suites on this ship. You will have an ice bucket, but it's teeny. If you want more than one cold bottle at a time, you'll probably want to bring a small collapsible cooler. (And consider kicking your steward a few extra bucks to keep it full.)

[indygirl76]

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!

 

Such a small world!! :) Sadly, plane tickets from Indy are ridiculous lately - I searched every day for months, and still wound up paying almost $350 (vs $219 for the cruise)!!!!!!!

 

And yes, I absolutely loved the crew on this ship. I sent Guest Services a long email of thank you's.

[indygirl76]

2.0 upgrades? What are these?

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=4617 - this is a good summary. :)

[lbrav]

Hey Indygirl, I will be on the paradise on November 3.. Our colts is the evening game.. Did they show the nfl games anywhere on ship???

 

Thanks

[indygirl76]

Hey Indygirl, I will be on the paradise on November 3.. Our colts is the evening game.. Did they show the nfl games anywhere on ship???

 

Thanks

 

Hi, neighbor! :)

 

Yes, NFL games are shown in the martini bar (not the official title), on Promenade deck aft - just forward of the Queen Mary Lounge. TV on any ship is satellite-dependent, so it could fritz out at any time, but games and/or ESPN were playing any time we hit that lounge.

 

You will have a wonderful time; I wish I could meet your group onboard to watch the game!! :)

[GottaLuvCruising]

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

 

 

THIS IS WHAT I WANTED TO HEAR! I booked the Paradise BECAUSE she hasn't yet had the 2.0 "upgrades" and I hoped she still has real production shows and not that horrible, pathetic computer-generated crap.

Edited October 27, 2013 by GottaLuvCruising

[carps09]

I just logged in to CruiseCritic because hubs and I were talking over dinner about whether or not we should get the Cheers drink package...and then I saw this post!! Exact same cruise we're going on...Perfect timing! :) This is our first cruise and we have no idea how much drinks cost, so we have no idea if the package will actually save us money. Can you estimate how much a soda cost? A beer? Is it like $8-10/each?

[indygirl76]

I just logged in to CruiseCritic because hubs and I were talking over dinner about whether or not we should get the Cheers drink package...and then I saw this post!! Exact same cruise we're going on...Perfect timing! :) This is our first cruise and we have no idea how much drinks cost, so we have no idea if the package will actually save us money. Can you estimate how much a soda cost? A beer? Is it like $8-10/each?

 

You guys will have a great time -the Paradise crew is FABULOUS! :) I sent an email to Carnival mentioning six people by name, and that's not even including my whole dining team, who I included as "HeadGuy & Co."

 

Soda is ~$2, beers $5-6, liquor and wine are all over the map. This link

 

http://zydecocruiser.net/Carnival-Bar-Menu/CarnivalCruiseBarMenu.htm

 

has all the detail you could ever want. It's my booze bible. ;)

[paleskin]

My friends and I are going on the Paradise for the 3rd yr in a row. Last year was Bloodpower and we loved them. We also liked Music Asia I hope one of those bands are playin.

[allison0523]

We had an inside cabin, no refrigerator. I'm pretty sure they're only in suites on this ship. You will have an ice bucket, but it's teeny. If you want more than one cold bottle at a time, you'll probably want to bring a small collapsible cooler. (And consider kicking your steward a few extra bucks to keep it full.)

 

We pack a medium sized soft cooler (takes up very little room in your suitcase) for our cruises then just get ice from the steward or get it ourselves at the buffet using a clean cup. You just want to make sure that it's a good one that's completely sealed and doesn't leak. The first one we tried leaked all over the floor.

[indygirl76]

My friends and I are going on the Paradise for the 3rd yr in a row. Last year was Bloodpower and we loved them. We also liked Music Asia I hope one of those bands are playin.

It's Blood Power, and they're awesome! :)

[newlife_2010]

Thank you for the great review. I just booked Paradise for January 16, 2014. I do have a few questions.

 

1) Does the grill still serve chicken tenders? I have read on other sites that they have been removed fleet wide but non 2.0 ships still have them.

 

2) How and what the shows/entertainment - I will be on a 4 day though.

 

3) What is Fast to the Fun option?

[indygirl76]

Thank you for the great review. I just booked Paradise for January 16, 2014. I do have a few questions.

 

1) Does the grill still serve chicken tenders? I have read on other sites that they have been removed fleet wide but non 2.0 ships still have them.

Can't help you here, as I never hit the grill (pizza, mongolian wok, salad bar, etc. but not the grill) but I'm sure someone will chime in...

 

2) How and what the shows/entertainment - I will be on a 4 day though.

We did not go to the production shows in the main theatre. But the show band (female singer plus three guy musicians) played a different lounge every night, and were very good. There is also a cover band, Blood Power, that plays a different lounge every night - and trust me, you haven't lived until you've heard Sweet Home Alabama performed by southeast asians. ;) The karaoke host, Alvin, is the best I've ever seen at sea or on land. When there weren't enough singers to keep the party moving, he would sing kamikaze style himself - letting the guests pick the songs for him, with usually hilarious results. You will definitely never be lacking for evening entertainment!

 

3) What is Fast to the Fun option?

This is a really detailed program description: https://www.goccl.com/~/media/Files/Irman/bookccl/shipboard_knowledge/FastertotheFunPackage.htm . Short version: $50 (per cabin, not per passenger) buys front of the line embarkation, tenders, and debarkation, early stateroom access and luggage delivery, and a dedicated "line" at Guest Services. Airquotes on line, because there was never a line, we always just walked right up. Fttf is limited to a small number of cabins per sailing, so if you think you want it - and we thought it was well worth the money - you should look for it right away. It's listed under Shore Excursions for Tampa.

 

Hope that helps!

[mosaic_mom]

We will be on the Dec. 5 sailing. Wondering what type of safes are in the OV cabins. Do we need a magnetic strip card or are they the old combination safes?

[buddybean11]

We will be on the Dec. 5 sailing. Wondering what type of safes are in the OV cabins. Do we need a magnetic strip card or are they the old combination safes?

 

We were on the same sailing. Had a great time but did not have the greatest room steward but we survived. The safes are the magnetic strip card type.

 

There were 4 of us in the cabin so we just had a hiding place for the card if anybody needed to get into the safe if the others weren't in the cabin.

[indygirl76]

We were on the same sailing. Had a great time but did not have the greatest room steward but we survived.

Because you mentioned it, ours wasn't great either. Nothing complaint-worthy, but every other area of service on the ship was outstanding, and the steward was just okay ish. Having said that, him standing out for not being outstanding is a pretty good sign for the ship overall. :)

[QUIGONATOR]

Does this ship always dock at the same spot in Cozumel? The dock Carnival usually goes to has the "Three Amigos" restaurant right there & a small shopping square... which one is this? I think the other dock is in downtown Cozumel. Does the Paradise always dock at the same one?? If so was it the down town dock?

[indygirl76]

Does this ship always dock at the same spot in Cozumel? The dock Carnival usually goes to has the "Three Amigos" restaurant right there & a small shopping square... which one is this? I think the other dock is in downtown Cozumel. Does the Paradise always dock at the same one?? If so was it the down town dock?

The Carnival one you're thinking of is Puerto Maya, and downtown is Punta Langosta. (There is also a third one, International Pier.) Our sailing was scheduled to dock at PM, and we were planning to pay for a cab ride downtown, but walked off the ship to find ourselves at PL instead. So it's kind of a crap shoot, really. Cabs are readily available and inexpensive, so if you don't dock where you want / expect, it's not a major crisis. :)

[mosaic_mom]

What is at the end of the pier at Punta Langosta that is within walking distance?

[indygirl76]

What is at the end of the pier at Punta Langosta that is within walking distance?

The (loooooooong) pier ends in a two story mall, with shops and restaurants. But the pier is literally right downtown, so depending on your definition of "walking distance," there are endless choices. We shopped/ate/drank and wandered our way through downtown, going generally north, and then just caught a $5 cab back to the pier when we were too tired and too hot to hike back.