Paradise?

[peggisue]

I have been reading these boards for quite some time now, and notice that there is rarely any information on the Paradise. We are leaving next Friday (yeah -- finally a short vacation without the kids!!) and am wondering if anyone has been on her recently. I'm also wondering what the weather will be like when sailing out of Long Beach -- will it be warm enough to sit by the pool during daylight hours or will I need to concentrate more on sweatshirts? I know that the dining rooms, etc. get REALLY cold and am planning on packing dressy sweaters, but I'm just curious about the pool. So......do I need to pack socks???

[mrdood]

my DW gets cold at 80 degrees when I am still sweaty. You are best off checking the temp forecasts for LB on www.accuweather.com or some similar site, I am sure it would be more accurate than any wild arse guess anyone on this site could take. Then you can decide for yourself what you will need to wear.

[jleq]

I live in Los Angeles. Temps supposed be in the low 70s this weekend.

[Astronomer]

My daughter ( she is 23 ) has sailed on the Paradise several times now, she loves it and keeps going back.

[Litewait]

Hi!

 

We just came back from the 3 day Paradise on Monday. We had an excellent time. The weather was wonderful, bright and sunny. You will certainly be able to be by the pool. The upper decks with chairs can be breezy, but around the pool it's not. We lived in shorts & t-shirts, bathing suits. And yes, the pool slide was up & running. The dining was wasn't that cold. I wore short sleeves and on formal night wore a spaghetti strap dress w/ lace shawl and was fine. The Normandie show room is the coldest area IMO. We loved the shows and the passenger talent show was amazing! The participants were awesome. I went to 2 nights of the adult comedy show ( I don't usually) and they were too funny.

 

Hope this helps and you have a great time!

[peggisue]

Thank you all for the information! I am starting to get my things all piled up and set out (even got my bungee cord for the balcony door!) for next week's vacation. Donna -- good to hear that you had a great time on her and that you were still able to sit out by the pool and didn't freeze either outside or in the dining room! How was the embarking and disembarking? We are spending the night before at the QM and we have an early morning flight out on Monday, so will have to do the self-disembark. Any problems there?

[Litewait]

Embarkation was a breeze. We stayed at the Coast Hotel, did early check in at the Queen Mary and were 1st in line for zone 1. Yes, I want to spend as much time on the ship as possible. We were onboard before noon. The only people before us were 2 wedding parties.

 

Debarkation is the same mess as always. We didn't have an early flight ( we drove) so you will probably not experience it. The 1st people off the ship are crew. They were in line at 7 am. We were out of our cabin at 8 as requested an off the ship at 10 and we didn't wait for our color, an employee just told us to go. When we arrived on the Friday, people were still disembarking at 11:30! I would go the night before to the pursers desk and make sure they know about your flight and get priority to get off as early as possible.

[Mom2Joce]

I noticed you just finished up a cruise on the Paradise. I had a few questions if you don't mind! We are cruising the Paradise (first cruise for all of us, including our 4 year old) and were told to be at the dock at 5pm. You said you were on board at 12noon? Is there something I don't know, like it doesn't really matter when you get there to embark? We are in a Cat 12 (well 11 really bec that's all they have) and he said that we would have some sort of priority? Maybe you could fill me in!

 

Also, we're driving from Sacramento (no. calif.) and were thinking about driving further south to visit some friends the weekend before we leave then have our friends drive us to Long Beach to drop us off. Is there parking for our car if we drove ourselves? Is that recommended?

If you have any info it would be greatly appreciated,

Kelie

[Ella2]

Kelie, the ship SAILS at 5:00 pm, so you definitely need to be there MUCH earlier than that! Boarding typically starts around noon, so do plan on being there around that time.

 

There is parking at the port, not sure of the cost, but you can definitely park and leave your car there if that's what you want to do. :)

[peggisue]

I think that I read that parking at the port was $12/day -- not 100% sure on that figure, though because we are flying in from Seattle. When are you sailing -- we are going next week (Sept. 16th) and we have a Cat 11 suite booked also. By booking a suite, you will be able to use the "Skippers Club" which gives you "priority" boarding and a room to wait in instead of standing in line. Not much of a perk, really.

[peggisue]

Just pulled up a review I had saved on the Queen Mary and the Paradise and in May, 2005, the person submitting the review paid $12/day. He said that they stayed on the Queen Mary the night before and had indicated that the QM lot was the same as Carnival's lot. Hope this information helps.

[Litewait]

Yes, parking is 12 a day and they have it right at the pier. The ship sails at 5 so you need to be there way before that. Early check in at the Queen Mary is a breeze, but ends at 11.

Suites have a priority to get on but if you do early check in it really doesn't matter. If you don't and arrive when there is a line then by all means go to the front and give them your info.

We did the park & sail package at the Coast Hotel. Very nice, included breakfast & parking and I didn't have to worry about traffic coming from San Diego. They shuttled us over at 10 am. We checked in walked around the Queen Mary, Got in line around 11 and was onboard at noon with no waiting.

Called them when we were disembarking and they came right away to pick us up.

 

Have a great time!

[wavecruiser]

I got off the Paradise about 4 hours ago...I had an awesome time, will post a review shortly. To answer the OP's question about weather - it should be nice:) The sun was out and shining every day. Catalina Island was unexpectedly hot! Ensenada was cool in the morning but warmed up later. Yesterday morning (sea day) was overcast but the sun came out later. It was very windy though..especially on the upper pool deck. I was planning on watching all the contests by the pool but instead hung out at the Paris restaurant all day (our favorite spot LOL) with my family because I was too cold! I never had to wear a sweater indoors...wore pants and a dress shirt and a spaghetti strap dress for formal and was fine. Some areas get pretty chilly, so if you get cold easily wear something warm (or just keep walking like I did to get the blood flowing:rolleyes: ) I only wore socks once during the cruise but that was to go running on the track lol.

 

We drove to the port and arrived at 1:30. Parked in the structure ($12/day) and only found a spot on the top level. Embarkation - the whole process prob. took about 25 mins. We were granted handicapped access for my grandma, so we got to bypass the rather long line at the door. Check in was rather slow, but our handicapped line seemed to be the slowest.

Debarkation - our color (Blue, Empress Deck) was called at 8 am but went to the Paris for breakfast to meet up with other family members before leaving. Left at 8:45 and bypassed the line to get off the ship (which snaked around the hallway). Customs took 15 mins. We found our luggage easily (since most of blue was already off) and were back home by 10.

 

For those of you traveling soon, have fun...the Paradise is a beautiful ship and the crew members are some of the nicest I have ever met. If you run into Franz from the Philippines and Sergio from Peru (from the Paris and the Destiny dining room) say hi to them for me! If you have any more questions, feel free to ask while everything is fresh in my mind!:)

[4yanx]

I have not sailed on this ship but several people that I work with in NoCal have taken it, some SEVERAL times. They love it for their interests, but are much younger and heartier party animals than me. You can draw your own conclusions for that. :)

[peggisue]

Waverunner -- Thanks so much for the information on your trip -- I will wait patiently to read your review since there aren't many out there about this ship. We sail on Sept. 16 (next Friday -- yea!!) and spending the night before on the QM and will be able to use the skipper's club -- hopefully we will be on board having our first "drink of the day" early! So nice to hear that you had warm weather -- I've been watching the weather report for Ensanada, but am always wondering how cold it is on the day at sea. Guess that I will only bring work-out socks because it sounds like the weather should be great!

 

Thanks again for the information and I'll keep watching for your review!:)

[pennme]

I don't know about the weather. My wife and I used to sail her when she was non smoking, and doing 7 day in the Caribean. We loved her. It is a wonderful ship. I still wish it was non smoking. Two small tips for anyone reading about this ship.

1. This tip applies to all Fantasy class ships. If you go thru the Normandie past the stage on either side where the drink servers go, you will find 2 sets of doors. These are for passenger use. This will lead you out to a deck at the front of the ship. At night itis very dark, and sometimes very windy, but the stars are awesome from there. Most people don't know that you can go out there, or how, so it is very quiet.

2. This tip only applies to Paradise. Go to the Aft of the ship on the Promenade Deck by the childrens pool. On the Port side, there is a set of stairs that lead down. There is a gate, and it will say "Conference Room". Passengers can go down here. The gate is to keep the kids from falling down there. There is not much there, but there is one bench at the back of the boat, and the Port half is for Passengers. It is a great place to have a slice of Pizza, something to drink, and a good book. About the only people that come down there are Crew to walk thru to a Crew Only area of the ship further down. They give you a look of, "You found the Nice Quiet spot, good for you". I spent a lot of time reading books here on the 5 cruises we took on her.

 

Enjoy, and I hope this helps.

 

Also, the Cat 11 rooms on the Starboard side of Verandah deck are quieter than the Port side. Less hall traffic.

[wavecruiser]

I just posted a (very long) review in the Reviews section...it might take awhile for it to be there since CC is having delays posting them.

 

Pennme- I really wish I had known about those quiet spots when I went!! Thanks for sharing! Now I really want to go back just to see them! I wish the ship was still non-smoking too...

[peggisue]

Wavecruiser -- Thanks for the review. We fly down to Long Beach on Thursday (2 more days!) and after reading your review, I'm really getting excited and the weather looks like it should be fairly warm, too! Thanks again for posting your review.

[wavecruiser]

Wavecruiser -- Thanks for the review. We fly down to Long Beach on Thursday (2 more days!) and after reading your review, I'm really getting excited and the weather looks like it should be fairly warm, too! Thanks again for posting your review.

 

Glad you found the review helpful! You will be going on the 3 night one right? Go to the Captain's Cocktail party and try the lime daiquri. Have fun this weekend...let us know how it went!

[Mom2Joce]

Nice to read your post! Thank you! We too are doing the park & sail at the Coast Hotel, how did you like the hotel in general? It looks fine for our quick overnight ;)

 

Also, you mentioned check in at the Queen Mary? I'm confussed? That morning after breakfast (also, what time do you suggest we leave the hotel?) we get a shuttle and where does that take us? What do we do next? And then next? And then next? This is our first cruise and I'd love to know a play by play!!

 

Any help would be apreciated, Kelie

[Mom2Joce]

I was wondering, did you do the 5 day to Catalina and then to Ensenada? What night was the formal night?

[Mom2Joce]

A HUGE THANK YOU!! We're staying at a nearby hotel so we'll be there early. We have the Skipper's Pass but I think I'll be there so early it won't matter...hehehehe!

[Mom2Joce]

I'm sorry to bother you but I'm not sure where the "review" section is?

[Eliot Ness]

I'm sorry to bother you but I'm not sure where the "review" section is?

Here are the reviews for the Paradise:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/getreviews.cfm?action=ship&ShipID=12

 

John

[wavecruiser]

I was wondering, did you do the 5 day to Catalina and then to Ensenada? What night was the formal night?

On the 5 day cruises, the formal nights are on Tuesday, which is also the day you go to Catalina.