Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Paradise - Jan 26th....4 day to Cozumel

FlaGrl4Evr

By FlaGrl4Evr,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

 Share

Recommended Posts

FlaGrl4Evr

FlaGrl4Evr

Posted
  • Author
Posted

The sky was somewhat overcast but it was hot. After an hour I could feel myself starting to burn. I found an empty table in the shade. It was just to the side of the stage. I claimed it and went to get a glass of iced tea.

 

The Hosts were starting to select contestants for the Mixology Contest. I watch this on every cruise....It never gets old for me as the successfulness of the contest solely depends

on the contestant's personalities and they're always different. That's what makes it fun !

 

I didn't get any pics of the contest but there were 5 very lively ladies mixing up their frozen concoctions.

 

The winner was Lorreka Burton from Florida with her winning drink: " The Island Spirit"

 

You could order her winning drink at any of the Lido bars throughout the remainder of the cruise.

 

Sent from my XT1635-01 using Forums mobile app

Link to comment
Share on other sites
FlaGrl4Evr

FlaGrl4Evr

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Before the Hairy Chest Contest started, I decided to go get some fruit. On my way to the salad/fruit bar area, I saw that they had a Caribbean themed buffet today. The line was empty so I slipped in and got a bowl of the best Jerk Chicken that I've ever had. It was seasoned perfectly and HOT !!! Just to explain how hot..... I can eat hot and nuclear wings at my favorite sports bar without blinking an eye so when I say these were hot......They were you'd-better-have-a-cup-of-ice-ready hot ! Or milk, or bread or whatever remedy you my use for a fired- up tounge. Holy Heck they were good.... I hate to admit this but I went back a second time to get another bowlful. I'm sure that I looked like I was being a pig but they were good. I flagged down a bar waiter and ordered an ice cold beer to go alongside. I was truly in Paradise now.

 

 

Sent from my XT1635-01 using Forums mobile app

Link to comment
Share on other sites
FlaGrl4Evr

FlaGrl4Evr

Posted
  • Author
Posted

a941e3fc1536343b9715b8949ac5a37c.jpg

 

.

I tried to snap a pic of the lovely wings but it didn't come out to well.... So for whatever it's worth..Here they are.

 

Jay showed up and said the bowl of wings were burning his eyes from across the table....Who knows if he was being facetious or not. He ordered his Poweraide, I ordered another beer and we were ready to settle in for the Hairy Chest Contest.

 

Sent from my XT1635-01 using Forums mobile app

Link to comment
Share on other sites
FlaGrl4Evr

FlaGrl4Evr

Posted
  • Author
Posted

The hosts went out poolside and coerced 5 men to partake in the Hairy Chest Contest. They do a really good job of selecting the contestants and all seemed to be jovial and in good spirits.

 

The hosts then selected 3 random women from the audience to be guest judges.

 

They had the men strike different poses, give out their best Tarzan love yodel and do silly dances and such to acquire the votes to become the winner. After dwindling down to two contestants....They were made to go into the poolside audiance and dress head to toe in women's atire. Everything needed to come from asking women at the pool to contribute.

It was so funny......A lot of women were running up to the men with everything from lipstick to shoes to sundresses etc.... This was all timed so the poor guys were in a panic! It was hilarious to say the least.

 

Both contestants stood for clapping from the audiance and it was rightfully decided that it was a tie. Both guys were good sports and had an awesome sense of humor.

 

The games were over and Billy Q took the stage to do his DJ thing.

He played a good mix of music for all ages groups....I was very impressed. Every now and again he would slip in a line dance or two. It was fun! He was very good at appealing to everyone.

 

We sat out there and listened to the music for awhile before heading back to our cabin to read and rest before getting ready for dinner.

 

Sent from my XT1635-01 using Forums mobile app

Link to comment
Share on other sites
FlaGrl4Evr

FlaGrl4Evr

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Tonight was elegant night so I decided on a pair of black silky dress pants and a gold sparkly top with all of the accessories to go with. This is the first cruise that I didn't bring a cocktail dress. I was hoping that everything would be OK. Jay had on dress pants and a button down shirt with tie. We both looked decent so off we went.

 

We arrived at our designated dining room at 7:30 and we were informed there was a 20 minute wait......No biggie. We were given a buzzer and told not to venture off too far.

 

They were just getting ready to introduce the Captain and the other Officers so we felt we had good timing and didn't mind the wait for our table one bit.

As I watched the introductions, it also gave me the opportunity to scope-out how others had dressed for elegant night. Let me say that I was nicely surprised to see lots and lots of cocktail dresses, long dresses and sparkles to the hilt. The men were all a snazzed out in suits, dress pants and ties and some in just nicer pants and dressier shirts. A few in tuxes but just a handful. I honestly expected that there would be less of a formal vibe due to this being a 4 day cruise but I can say that more were dressed up tonight than I've seen on some of my longer cruises......So there....Goes to prove some assumptions are totally wrong. Everyone looked fabulous and there was definitely a festive vibe in the air tonight !

 

I sipped my glass of Pinot Noir, that I generously poured for myself in the cabin, and waited for our buzzer to go off. It did promptly at 8pm and we were on our way to dinner.

 

Sent from my XT1635-01 using Forums mobile app

Link to comment
Share on other sites
FlaGrl4Evr

FlaGrl4Evr

Posted
  • Author
Posted

We were led to a table for 2 in Ronaldo's section.

 

**** just a note here. There really aren't true tables for 2. They are all inches apart from the next table BUT here's a little tip.....Ask for a table for two with a booth back. There is one long booth with chairs on the opposite side. So one person has the booth the other a chair there will either be a 4 top or another 2 top next to you BUT they are separated a bit farther than the two tops in the middle of the room or near the windows.

 

We were seated and given our menus. Our table happened to be adjacent to the galley doors...We enjoyed watching the choreography involved in serving do many guests at one time. It appeared that the Prime Rib was the star entree of the night. Lots and lots of waiters passing by with this.....A close second was the BBQ Ribs. I often wonder why this is served on elegant night.

 

For our appetizers, I settled on the Minestrone soup and Jay the Caesar salad with Ranch dressing. For our entree, I ordered the vegetarian Eggplant Parmesan and Jay, the Grilled Swordfish.

 

It was clearly busy tonight and the wait between our courses was extra long. In fact, there were 2 tables to the side of us, that had diners that arrived after us, and were already on their desserts before we even received our main course. This was the same wait team do not sure what happened. We didn't say anything as they were clearly working their butts of. We just waited patiently and our meals finally arrived.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed the Eggplant. I order this whenever I see it on the Carnival menu. Jay also enjoyed his selection.

 

We ordered dessert and waited and waited and waited....

I ordered the Banana Gateau which was the sugar free selection for the night. It was light and fluffy and came with a bit of strawberry sauce on the side. Jay declined dessert in lieu of his hot tea.

 

We finished up and were among some of the last to leave the dining room.

 

We headed directly up to the Normandie Lounge to get a seat for the show...Tonight was the 80's Pop Show.

 

 

Sent from my XT1635-01 using Forums mobile app

Link to comment
Share on other sites
FlaGrl4Evr

FlaGrl4Evr

Posted
  • Author
Posted
We were led to a table for 2 in Ronaldo's section.

 

**** just a note here. There really aren't true tables for 2. They are all inches apart from the next table BUT here's a little tip.....Ask for a table for two with a booth back. There is one long booth with chairs on the opposite side. So one person has the booth the other a chair there will either be a 4 top or another 2 top next to you BUT they are separated a bit farther than the two tops in the middle of the room or near the windows.

 

We were seated and given our menus. Our table happened to be adjacent to the galley doors...We enjoyed watching the choreography involved in serving so many guests at one time. It appeared that the Prime Rib was the star entree of the night. Lots and lots of waiters passing by with this.....A close second was the BBQ Ribs. I often wonder why this is served on elegant night....Such a messy entree when folks are so dressed up.

 

For our appetizers, I settled on the Minestrone soup and Jay the Caesar salad with Ranch dressing. For our entree, I ordered the vegetarian Eggplant Parmesan and Jay, the Grilled Swordfish.

 

It was clearly busy tonight and the wait between our courses was extra long. In fact, there were 2 tables to the side of us, that had diners that arrived after us, and were already on their desserts before we even received our main course. This was the same wait team so not sure what happened. We didn't say anything as they were clearly working their butts of. We just waited patiently and our meals finally arrived.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed the Eggplant. I order this whenever I see it on the Carnival menu. Jay also enjoyed his selection.

 

We ordered dessert and waited and waited and waited....

I ordered the Banana Gateau which was the sugar free selection for the night. It was light and fluffy and came with a bit of strawberry sauce on the side. Jay declined dessert in lieu of his hot tea.

 

We finished up and were among some of the last to leave the dining room.

 

We headed directly up to the Normandie Lounge to get a seat for the show...Tonight was the 80's Pop Show.

 

 

Sent from my XT1635-01 using Forums mobile app

 

 

 

Sent from my XT1635-01 using Forums mobile app

Link to comment
Share on other sites
FlaGrl4Evr

FlaGrl4Evr

Posted
  • Author
Posted
10.jpg

 

I'm quickly becoming a fan of the Fantasy class, they are good looking ships. Got this picture of Paradise in Cozumel a couple weeks ago. Thinking real hard about catching a ride on her sister Fantasy soon.

Me too...... I can do without all of the bells and whistles of the larger ships.

 

This was the most relaxing cruise I've ever been on. Where were the lines and crowds???? The whole cruise was picture perfect. I just loved the Paradise and am already picking out a date for the Fall.

 

Sent from my XT1635-01 using Forums mobile app

Link to comment
Share on other sites
FlaGrl4Evr

FlaGrl4Evr

Posted
  • Author
Posted

We were just entering the theater as the show was starting. We sat up top again and had a decent view.

 

Let me just say that the 80's Pop Show was GREAT !!! We both loved, loved it. The music and dancing was phenomenal.

We rocked out in our seats to each number.

 

I was sad when the show was over BUT THEN Brandon announced that he was taking the party into the Casino area where the band was located. We all just kind of followed him out and right down to the casino.

 

He announced that there was going to be a dance-off between the woman and men and selected a few of each to participate. The band started to play and each contestant had a few minutes to show their best dance steps and style. It was all very fun with the audiance cheering each contestant on.

Everyone did a great job but I believe the ladies won this one.

 

Brandon then pulled out a blow- up guitar and requested that any air guitar players to step on up.

 

There were so many talented players....The music was pumping and we were all having a rocking good time. A winner was announced and Brandon asked if anyone wanted to round out the night with a few group karaoke songs in the Leonardo lounge. We got there right as the large group started singing. I really wanted to partake but took a bathroom break and was late arriving sans being able to participate with the group singing. We ordered a drink and tried to sign up to sing but were told since this was kind of an unplanned event that there wasn't going to be a long list of singers that night....Just the very few that were quicker to sign up.

 

No problem....We enjoyed our drinks and watched for awhile.

When the singing was over, we made our way back to our cabin to rest up for Cozumel the next day.

 

All in all it was a great first day at sea.

 

Sent from my XT1635-01 using Forums mobile app

Link to comment
Share on other sites
FlaGrl4Evr

FlaGrl4Evr

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I awoke at 8:45 to a knock from Room Service.......yes, all is good...my coffee is here and right outside is the beautiful turquoise water of Cozumel.

 

We didn't have an excursion planned so there was no rush in trying to get up early to be the first off if the ship. We arrived at 8am and were to be in Port until 6pm.

 

We made it down to breakfast right before they closed the buffet to do the turn-over for lunch. I knew we would probably be off of the ship for the afternoon so I decided to eat a good breakfast.

.

5dede9b3eb0b074954ca614c6e077f5c.jpg

 

Sent from my XT1635-01 using Forums mobile app

Link to comment
Share on other sites
FlaGrl4Evr

FlaGrl4Evr

Posted
  • Author
Posted

****. Just a quick note here.

 

The banana bread on the ship is to die for.....well maybe not exactly but it's darn good.

I never use butter at home but while cruising I do make an exception. If you like banana bread and haven't tried it yet.....try and make it a point to.

It does have walnuts in it so beware if anyone has a nut allergy.

 

One of the food managers approached the table to ask how we were enjoying our meal. This gave me the opportunity to ask if the chef used the older, spotted bananas to make the banana bread. To my surprise, he said no. They take the older fruit and grind it up then release it at sea for fish- food. I just couldn't imagine why they couldn't use the older bananas to make the bread.... even though they may be past their prime for eating, they would be perfectly good for bread. I'm sure Carnival has their reasons but it just seems so wasteful.

 

 

 

Sent from my XT1635-01 using Forums mobile app

Link to comment
Share on other sites
FlaGrl4Evr

FlaGrl4Evr

Posted
  • Author
Posted

After our walk of the ship, Jay went off to find a quiet place to do his Tai Chi.....The entire ship was pretty empty so hopefully he snagged a place with a peaceful view. I went back to the cabin and grabbed my book and found a table by the Lido pool to read for awhile. We had plans for Jay to meet me in about an hour and then we were going to go ashore.

 

He met me on time and we were headed to the gangway when an announcement was made that the Sensation was docking next to us and the gangway would be closed until they were secure.

 

This gave us the opportunity to return to our cabin do I could drop off my book plus grab a couple of bottles of water for our backpack.

 

In no time at all, we were off the ship and making our way through the port area.

 

We were one of three ships docked in port that day. We were there with the Sensation and the Triumph.

 

Sent from my XT1635-01 using Forums mobile app

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...