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Just off the Paradise - quick review

craigtompkins

By craigtompkins,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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craigtompkins

craigtompkins

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I'm just going to post a few points about the great cruise we just got off. This was my 10th cruise so I got platinum status. I traveled with my wife (her fourth cruise) and 2 friends on their first and 3rd cruises.

* Getting on the ship was fast and easy for all 4 of us. It took my wife and I about 10 minutes and the other 2 took about 30.

* We are not big fans of sea days but had a good time on board just hanging out, going to some shows and making a donation to the casino.

* In Grand Cayman we did sting ray city with Moby Dick tours and had a great time. We all would recommend Moby Dick to anyone looking for this tour. Richard and the gang were great. Ting ray city of course was fun even with some choppy waves.

* In Cozumel we spent the day at Paradise Beach. Well worth the $2 to use the pool and chairs. The food prices are ok. The staff were always attentive and quick. Of note they do add 20% gratuity to all bills. I thought last time we were there that was only for those paying by credit card so either I remembered wrong or this is new.

* As I said before this was my 10th cruise and I can easily say that the service on the Paradise was the BEST by far. It was the best food service in the dining room. Our wait staff remembered our names on the very first night. They could even guess our food choices after the 2nd night. Not only was the quality of service fantastic everyone was extremely friendly. We even saw them in other places around the ship and they would call us by name and make sure we had everything we needed.

* I hate to keep saying best but our room steward was the best I've had too. In 10 cruises this is only the 2nd time I've had the room steward introduce themselves. He let us know what his daily plan would be and asked if we had any special requests. We did have a cooler so we asked for ice daily. He let us know he would fill the cooler twice a day and never forgot.

* The shows were ok, but I would not have been upset should we have missed any. The male singer was ok, but everyone liked the female singer more. She has a great voice and stage presence.

* Getting off the ship was the easiest yet but of course we used my priority perks for that so that is not a fair comparison.

* The only negative I have was the noise under our room the last 2 days and nights. We were in M265 which is an once an view on the Main deck (5) in the very back in which our window looked aft and not out the side. There was an alarm going off every few minutes and then banging on pipes that we could hear. No naps on the last sea day due to the noise and we were woken up a couple times at night with the alarm.

 

I'll be happy to answer questions that I can but answers might be delayed as we are currently driving home - No I'm not doing the driving.

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craigtompkins

craigtompkins

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Welcome home, did you enjoy your new Platinum experience ?

 

Of course:). Disembarking first was the biggest plus and the only benefit I really saw and don't want to give up. Embarking was quicker, but not a lot...of course this could be different in a bigger port or ship like Miami. There were no priority tenders.

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SkyMaster

SkyMaster

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I'm just off "Paradise" as well, and agree with about 95% of your comments. Crew and service aboard "Paradise" is second to none, and I've sailed almost the entire fleet of Carnival ships.

The only place I disagree with your summation, is that IMO, the shows are OUTSTANDING! I love "8 More Seconds", and "SHOUT" is absolutely the best. I agree that the singers are excellent, and the female singer is nothing short (pardon the pun) of 4'11" of DYNAMITE! She is so good, and so powerful that it's hard to imagine that all that music comes out of that little lady. She's fantastic.

Overall, the cruise was excellent, and I too, can't wait to get aboard "Paradise" again.

 

"SKY"

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  • 4 weeks later...
lknoebel

lknoebel

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Loved reading your review. We are cruising in approx. 60 days and this will be a 1st time for our family of 6 (mom, dad, 19 yr, 16 yr, 15, and 13) We all want to Snorkel at either Grand Cayman or Cozumel and would love your opinion as to which location and your opinion as to whether or not you would book an excursion with cruise line or venture on your own. Thanks!!

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happycrafter207

happycrafter207

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Loved reading your review. We are cruising in approx. 60 days and this will be a 1st time for our family of 6 (mom, dad, 19 yr, 16 yr, 15, and 13) We all want to Snorkel at either Grand Cayman or Cozumel and would love your opinion as to which location and your opinion as to whether or not you would book an excursion with cruise line or venture on your own. Thanks!!

 

I have snorkel at both ports and I preferred Grand Cayman-was able to see more plants and fish in grand cayman. have you thought about doing the stringray and snorkel option in grand cayman I was thinking that your group (kids) may really enjoy it. I have done that twice and really enjoyed it. I always book my excursions thru cruise because I feel like I can get left there if something goes wrong with equipment. We that said I am booking my 1st excursion in Cozumel with an outside company. I have read TONS of trip advisors reviews

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4Tacos

4Tacos

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Loved, loved, loved our Paradise cruise. It was awesome!! We were on the Paradise in Feb 2013. I loved the small ship. The staff was amazing. We had a fantastic time. We also went through Moby Dick tours in Grand Cayman and I highly recommend them!!! Can't say as much about our excursion in Cozumel but we did get to see the ruins and had a amazing drink at a tequila place.

 

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Forums mobile app

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coho ken

coho ken

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Hey lknoebel,

Welcome to the boards where you can find a wealth of information.

We are sailing her on March 22nd with a 20 yr old and 17 yr old is this your cruise?

Snorkeling information can be found on the ports of call boards. Plenty of choices at both ports.

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C#C3

C#C3

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Thank you for your review. My family is sailing on the Paradise Feb 17th, it will be the first cruise for our teenagers. We are also planning on spending the day at Paradise Beach. Do you think there are enough activities to keep to active young people from getting bored?

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LoLa_in_GA

LoLa_in_GA

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Loved, loved, loved our Paradise cruise. It was awesome!! We were on the Paradise in Feb 2013. I loved the small ship. The staff was amazing. We had a fantastic time. We also went through Moby Dick tours in Grand Cayman and I highly recommend them!!! Can't say as much about our excursion in Cozumel but we did get to see the ruins and had a amazing drink at a tequila place.

 

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Forums mobile app

 

We used them as well-it was money well spent...this was on our sailing of the Legend in June 2008...

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crusinpsychRN

crusinpsychRN

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No brunch on Paradise--thank goodness! The 2 production shows were very good and I agree with SkyMaster! The female lead singer is one of the best ever on Carnival. Steve, the CD, is a very, very talented fiddle player--don't miss him! And he juggles like a pro.

 

I was disappointed in the talent show. On the Legend the staff make a big production out of it with costumes and dancers. On Paradise, cruisers who were chosen walked on stage and sang--no props or outfits.

 

Blood Power band was really great! Best band I've heard in a long time, and so much fun!

 

If you want creme brulee, ask the first night and the chef might accomodate you as he did our table.

 

DJ noise was WAY too LOUD on Lido. People were shouting sitting next to one another just to be heard over the racket.

 

Staff very friendly. Steward prompt and did a great job.

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