Please tell me about your recent Paradise cruise

[cruzn buckeye]

I am taking a friend on the Paradise in May. It will be my 26 cruise and yet my first on this ship.

If you have cruised on this ship lately, Please tell me about your experience. We are doing a 5day Coz and Grand Cayman...

I wanted to look it up but the search function isn't working yet...

[Misshig]

We did the same cruise the second week of January. Three couples with a total of 6 kids ranging from 6-16. We had a blast. The food was fine ( nothing spectacular stands out- but we never went hungry) The entertainment was pretty good. The shows were not as good as on the Royal Caribbean ships we have been on- but they were still entertaining. We saw all of the comedians. They were funny- and the kids really enjoyed the family comedy show. The ship is very dated, but clean. Our room attendant was great but our friend's room attendant did a very poor job. I guess that might be hit or miss- or they just had bad luck. All of the bartenders were very friendly and never acted annoyed to give a a soda with my soda card. If you have any specific questions I will answer the best I can :)

[cruzn buckeye]

Thank you! yes... I was wondering how the pool deck was? How was the sailaway party? Also, do they have a DJ? I have read that the DJ blasts the music so loud that you can't hear the person beside you talking? I love my music loud but not so much I that I have to lean to their ear just to tell them something :D I am taking a first time cruiser friend and want her to have the best time.. she hasn't been on a vacation in years... I was leaning toward switching to the Victory... thanks for any info you can give me!:D

[kwazi07]

Thank you! yes... I was wondering how the pool deck was? How was the sailaway party? Also, do they have a DJ? I have read that the DJ blasts the music so loud that you can't hear the person beside you talking? I love my music loud but not so much I that I have to lean to their ear just to tell them something :D I am taking a first time cruiser friend and want her to have the best time.. she hasn't been on a vacation in years... I was leaning toward switching to the Victory... thanks for any info you can give me!:D

 

It isn't exactly recent but we went on the Paradise in August 2012. The sail away party is loud but the rest of the music at the pool is at a fine volume. The ship is clean, but dated. It is a little guady, but a lot less than earlier ships. There are some obvious signs of wear, like broken pool tiles. The water slide is a blast. However the pool is PACKED. The aft pool has kiddie pool that is even hotter than a hot tub! The shows are good. The comedy lounge, the Queen Mary, is one of the nicest lounges. I would probably switch to Victory. Newer , bigger ship, more pools, bigger water slide. However, your best bet would be to try Royal Caribbean. Ships are in much better condition, less gaudy. I would suguesst the Enchantment of the Seas from Port Canaveral or the Brilliance of the Seas from Tampa.

[BBBonBon62]

Just off the Paradise on Monday and had a great time. Our best cruise thus far. Not necessarily due to the ship but because we were with a group and we did things I missed on previous cruises. Also, Cozumel is our favorite port so that added to our great time.

 

I must say that the staff were extremely attentive and friendly. This was my mom's first Carnival cruise. She has sailed previously on HAL and Celebrity and thought the crew was better on Carnival. Food was very good in the MDR. Buffet was like any other buffet...ok. Did not sit on Lido because my son used the kids pool on Deck 11. Never had trouble getting a chair and when I was walking on Lido didn't think the DJ was too loud.

 

Shows were quite good especially Shout. Did not get to Comedy shows but others said they were very good. Don't miss the first show on the first sea day. Steve, the CD, plays a mean fiddle.

 

Ship was clean our room was always neat and refreshed. I can't really understand all the horrible reviews. A vacation is what you make it and if you go in nit picking I'm sure you will something to b*tch about. To me it is utterly ridiculous, but to each his own. Although we only sailed Carnival 4 times we have never been disappointed.

 

Also, it was a 5 day sailing and I saw no crazy drunks or obnoxious activity. Wasn't everywhere, every second but it was a very mellow cruise. Have a great time!

 

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[carrieluvsgreg]

We did the 4-day itinerary in December with a party of 14. It was a nice little trip. The crew were excellent! Of course, the ship is smaller, so doesn't offer the bells and whistles of the big ships, but we had an enjoyable time. (Although 4-days aren't enough for me!)

 

 

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[dogchopper]

I am sailing on her in June. I'm a little nervous about the crowds and the heat because I've never done a June cruise.

We've sailed over spring break and I'm hoping the crowds aren't any worse than that.

I hate that there isn't a search feature on here because I want to see as many pictures as possible. I love reviews but I want photos.

 

So, any advice or info would be great from the past cruisers!!

[FlaCruiser007]

I am taking a friend on the Paradise in May. It will be my 26 cruise and yet my first on this ship.

If you have cruised on this ship lately, Please tell me about your experience. We are doing a 5day Coz and Grand Cayman...

I wanted to look it up but the search function isn't working yet...

 

Just off the Paradise 10 days ago. Had a great time! Wrote it up here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1990809

[Mutumbojimbo]

We've cruised on the Paradise twice, and think it's a great ship. The crew has been very friendly both times. We've found great waiters in the Anytime Dining that we've ended up requesting every night. I'm not a big Country music fan, but 8 more seconds is a fun show. We enjoyed the family comedy shows, we took our two boys, and the magician. Our younger boy swims in the main pool a lot, so we spend a good amount of time on the Lido deck, I think the volume for the music is alright. If the life jackets could be stored somewhere other than a giant box in the corner of the cabin, and I could get a guy's burger and a breakfast burrito from Blue Iguana, the Paradise might be my ideal ship.

 

 

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[CheckersMidwest]

We cruised on the Paradise the last week of May 2012. It was our first cruise, and we really liked it. It was big enough to spread out, yet we still ran into the kids occasionally. It was easy to find each other too.

 

We had oceanview rooms.

 

In my signature, are reviews for that trip. Our ports were also Grand Cayman & Cozumel.

[cruzn buckeye]

Thanks everybody