Carnival Triumph questions and concerns

[fadeintoblue]

I'm booked on a 4 day Cozumel and back trip from Galveston for next month. This will be only my second cruise, the first with HAL last month. We really enjoyed the HAL cruise but looking at the reviews and deck plan I have to say I'm concerned about the upcoming Triumph trip.

 

Seems like:

100% of people hate the traffic flow. Any tips on staying out of the fray?

50% say the boat smells like sewage. Probably no tips on this.

50% say the food is terrible. I can't find anything other than fast casual on the site. Do they not have The Steakhouse or anything else other than burgers, tacos and fast casual?

Very little info in the reviews but is there a spa? I don't see anything but a massage room on the deck plan. Could I book a thermosuite / pool package?

 

Is there a formal night on this type of cruise?

 

Thanks for your help.

[WLHyatt]

Traffic flow on this series of ships is often misunderstood.

The galley cuts through deck 3, which some people complain about, but it's pretty easy to navigate once you get used to it. The trick for getting to the aft dining room is to go to the rear elevator or stairs on any other deck and just go up or down to it. We usually used deck 5 on the conquest to get from the front to the rear, then down to the dining room with no trouble. You could also use deck 2, since it's all rooms.

Triumph does not have a steakhouse, but the MDR food is usually quite good, and the fast casual stuff is perfect for a quick snack on port days.

I can't comment on the sewage smell.

[cjknox]

I'm booked on a 4 day Cozumel and back trip from Galveston for next month. This will be only my second cruise, the first with HAL last month. We really enjoyed the HAL cruise but looking at the reviews and deck plan I have to say I'm concerned about the upcoming Triumph trip.

 

Seems like:

100% of people hate the traffic flow. Any tips on staying out of the fray?

50% say the boat smells like sewage. Probably no tips on this.

50% say the food is terrible. I can't find anything other than fast casual on the site. Do they not have The Steakhouse or anything else other than burgers, tacos and fast casual?

Very little info in the reviews but is there a spa? I don't see anything but a massage room on the deck plan. Could I book a thermosuite / pool package?

 

Is there a formal night on this type of cruise?

 

Thanks for your help.

 

 

Where did you get these statistics?

 

Don't let some bad reviews ruin you cruise and your anticipation for it. You'll have a good time.

[Vitamin_Sea]

We sailed the Triumph a couple years ago before the 2.0 upgrade.

Did not see any problem. Was a nice ship.

[belle2]

Just off the Triumph 4 day in December. Had a terrific time. Traffic flow was no biggie for us. Food was excellent, but no steakhouse on the ship. I had a wonderful massage in the spa. It is not a fancy spa but the service was good. I noticed a sewage smell one time. It was gone the moment I noticed it. The service on the ship was very good. I think you should take others experiences with a grain of salt. I believe your experience will depend on your frame of mind. Be positive and laid back and your cruise will be also! Don't sweat the small stuff, you're on vacation! I would cruise the Triumph again in a heartbeat! My only complaint was that it was too short of a cruise!

[mollynmax]

We were on the Triumph the first week of December 2013.

We were all over the ship, and never once smelled any "sewage" smell.

The food was very good for any cruise ship - what do you have to compare it to? We enjoyed the main dining room for breakfast or brunch each day, and for dinner each night. There are plenty of food options for lunch.

The traffic flow is not hard once you get used to it. Just look at the deck plan that they give you when you check in.

The spa is full service. I had a full body massage, facial, mani & pedi and it was great. Comparable to a spa here in the Galleria area of Houston. They did push their products quite a bit, but just shut them down, and they will back off.''

I love this ship, but have always done the 5-day. This December 6th will be my 4th cruise on this ship, and I love its size and friendly crew. You will have a great time - just relax, and enjoy the ride!

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

My friends still laugh at me to this day! But if you mix the Triumph with Dramamine, it's NOT GOOD! Prior to that, I had been used to RCCL ships where the stairways were at the end. EVery time I got to the stairway, I turned around and came back. I went back and forth and up and down to try to find the only grill at the very back of the ship that was open. My friends still joke to me that I couldn't find food on a cruise ship, but honestly, it was hard! There was one small grill open, and all the lido buffets were closed at 2 which I found odd. Anyway, I had done a workout that morning (started at 1st deck and did the stairs to deck 11! I NEVER EVER recommend that! Seemed like a silly thing to take an elevator to the gym, well, have I learned MY lesson! round and round and round you go and around around some more until you finally get there... and suddenly you don't feel too good...but now that you are at the gym, its time to workout...) well anyway I crashed my bloodsugar, was on a birth control pill that I did not know made me VERY VERY nauseous and after my workout, had THE WORST sea sickness I can ever remember. That's when I remember someone telling me that you HAVE TO EAT when you get seasick. By this time, it was 2, and the lido buffet I went for was closed. That's when I tried to find my way to the back of the ship, but I had no idea I had to go both through the stair wells AND through the lido buffet and around the buffet and out the other side to get to the back of the ship and finally get to the grill. Honestly, I never, ever would have made it. I would have collapsed into a tired, hungry, nauseated, dramamine-induced disoriented coma if someone in our group hadn't found me. They had to take me by the hand and direct me to the food. I still barely remember it, but I finally found the chicken tenders and fries, my go-to food for seasickness.

 

Since then, I have learned a few things. First, the CCL set up is just odd and weird and frankly yes, if you have been on any other cruise lines, CCL is DIFFERENt with their 'you can't get there from here'. Not that the instance above was all CCL's fault, but it just didn't make sense to go into the buffet to get out to the lido deck. And since I never went outside, I went back and forth to the all the stairs, and even tried to cut through some other decks to see if I could get outside that way. Additionally, my friend and I tried to meet up for afternoon tea, but I could never figure out which dining room it was in, they would change it, or I would end up at one, and have no idea how to get around to the other and just give up. I've also learned that the only time I can hit the gym is around 4 pm, after lunch and before dinner, to keep sea sickness at bay. (no more AM workouts! blahhhh) and I have since changed my birth control pill twice but finally found one where I encountered ZERO sea sickness on both cruises this year! Thank goodness.

 

Bottom line, if you are on dramamine, you will probably never, ever figure out how to get around the Triumph.

[douglinc@msn.com]

We have been on the Triumph several times and really enjoyed it. I have not been on a cruise ship that at one time or another I didn't notice any sewage smell. (I guess that's just part of cruise ships) There has only been a couple of times I noticed it on the Triumph & that is usually when walking down the hallways by the staterooms and you walk out of it pretty quick/

 

Food has always been very good on the Triumph. (Better than most ships)

 

Service has always been excellent.

 

Triumph is pretty easy to get around on once you get used to it.

 

Go and enjoy yourself, it will be great.

 

Doug

[maldenmusic]

Triumph was OK but I actually enjoy the Fantasy and ELation better. But it was not enough for me NOT to have a good time on Triumph. I did feel it was a bit more crowded but because we did a pack and go we got a terrific room on Lido for a terrific price.

[kymmyk13]

We were on the Triumph in December and had a great time. Loved the food in the dinning room, only ate at the buffet 1 time and it was OK. Guys and Mongolian wok were great.

 

I never notice a smell.

 

As far as getting around it can be confusing at first but each set of elevator had a little map on the wall and I used it many times to help me. PP mentioned not being able to get around while taking Dramamine, I had no problems with it. My DD22 who is directionally challenged didn't even have problems getting around.

[DallasGuy75219]

I just got off the Triumph yesterday. My biggest hangups with traffic flow are:

 

 

• Photographers and backdrops taking up an ever-increasing width of the Promenade deck in the evenings.
  
• Putting in Guy's Burgers and Blue Iguana seems to have decreased the size of the passageway leading into the main Lido restaurant. Traffic really bottlenecks here, especially when people are stopped at the adjacent beverage stations. I wasn't on the Triumph before the 2.0 upgrade but am comparing this to what I remember on sister ship Victory several years ago.
  
• Traffic also bottlenecks horribly at the drink stations next to the main Lido restaurant serving lines. It's really a horrible place to have people stopping for drinks amid (1) traffic going between the front and back of the ship, (2) people lined up for the buffet, and (3) people going between the buffet and the tables, or just wandering aimlessly looking for open tables.
  

[webzila]

I'm booked on a 4 day Cozumel and back trip from Galveston for next month. This will be only my second cruise, the first with HAL last month. We really enjoyed the HAL cruise but looking at the reviews and deck plan I have to say I'm concerned about the upcoming Triumph trip.

 

Seems like:

100% of people hate the traffic flow. Any tips on staying out of the fray?

50% say the boat smells like sewage. Probably no tips on this.

50% say the food is terrible. I can't find anything other than fast casual on the site. Do they not have The Steakhouse or anything else other than burgers, tacos and fast casual?

Very little info in the reviews but is there a spa? I don't see anything but a massage room on the deck plan. Could I book a thermosuite / pool package?

 

Is there a formal night on this type of cruise?

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Have no clue where you are getting this info from.

We just got off the Triumph and were on the same ship this past July and did not experience any of the items you are mentioning.

 

No issues navigating the ship - even with a toddler

Never once smelled any sewage

Food is all based on peoples opinions and you know what those are like...everyone has one. One person will love it and one person will hate it

It was fine for us...

[tncap]

Have no clue where you are getting this info from.

 

Based on the OP's statement, the info is anecdotal non-scientific measurements from the reviews he/she has read.

[raytownlady]

I just got off the Triumph yesterday. My biggest hangups with traffic flow are:

 

 

• Photographers and backdrops taking up an ever-increasing width of the Promenade deck in the evenings.
  
• Putting in Guy's Burgers and Blue Iguana seems to have decreased the size of the passageway leading into the main Lido restaurant. Traffic really bottlenecks here, especially when people are stopped at the adjacent beverage stations. I wasn't on the Triumph before the 2.0 upgrade but am comparing this to what I remember on sister ship Victory several years ago.
  
• Traffic also bottlenecks horribly at the drink stations next to the main Lido restaurant serving lines. It's really a horrible place to have people stopping for drinks amid (1) traffic going between the front and back of the ship, (2) people lined up for the buffet, and (3) people going between the buffet and the tables, or just wandering aimlessly looking for open tables.
  

 

We were on the Triumph in October and I have to agree that the photographers really have the route to the Paris Dining Room congested. We found it to be a little anoying but nothing that would stop us from cruising on Triumph again. In fact, we'll be on the Triumph in a couple of weeks.

[cwestbrook]

We were on the Triumph in late July (after 2.0) and did smell sewage from time to time but I have smelled sewage on Carnival Conquest and on Princess Island.

 

I agree the traffic flow is horrible during the evening when all the photographers with their backdrops are set up. It wouldn't be so bad if there weren't so many and if they didn't do it every night. This is all pretty much on one deck--not all over the ship.

 

The Triumph is smaller than the Conquest. The same photography stations weren't a problem on the Conquest because there was a lot more walking room.

 

We really enjoyed the food but we are not food snobs nor do we go to expensive restaurants so it was a treat for us.

[autofan]

We have been on the Triumph several times and liked it. As another poster mentioned once you get the layout of the ship down it is easy to get around. If you are a late riser and hit the lido for breakfast between 9 and 10 it is on the crowded side, same for lunch around one. We have had the smell you mentioned on most of the ships we have been on, it is not constant and not sure if I remember it on Triumph. It has always been on decks where there are a lot of rooms so have a feeling someone flushed something they shouldn't have and created a blockage. On out times the food has been good, both the MDR and lido. Usually a good variety so you will be able to get something you like.