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

[kappagirl222000]

I have really enjoyed reading your posts. My husband and I are going on our first ever cruise in July to Key West and Cozumel. I look forward to doing may of the fun things you mentioned and I CANNOT wait to try all the food!!:)

[FlaGrl4Evr]

I have really enjoyed reading your posts. My husband and I are going on our first ever cruise in July to Key West and Cozumel. I look forward to doing may of the fun things you mentioned and I CANNOT wait to try all the food!!:)

Thank you.....I'll be back later today to finish up.

 

I hope you have a great cruise. Key West and Cozumel sound like a good time.

 

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[homeofthedogs]

We woke up on our last sea day to drizzle. Not only drizzle but wind and some pretty nippy temperatures. Our cabin was freezing so I quickly adjusted the temp.

** For anyone wondering, the control is directly above the bed on the ceiling . To make it warmer, just turn the dial towards the green arrow. This closes off some of the vents. Do the opposite for a cooler cabin.

 

We lingered in our cabin over our coffee and OJ and decided to head down for lunch instead of breakfast.

 

We found a seat towards the very back of the buffet....by the windows near the Pizza place.

 

Jay wanted something different so he asked the Deli guy if he would make him a turkey, lettuce and tomato on Ciabatta bread then toast it.....No problem. These guys were all great....I've been on some ships where the Deli would make no special accommodations. I couldn't decide between a Ham & Swiss on Rye or a hot dog from the grill. I try to get at least one hot dog per cruise and my time was running out. The Deli guy suggested just a half of a sandwich that way I could get a hot dog too.......Score !

 

The hot dogs on the grill are good. They even toast the buns. There is a little fixings area that had the usual mustard and catsup plus sauerkraut, chili, grilled onions, chopped onions and cheese sauce. I actually like my hot dog plain or with a touch of catsup so I was good to go.

***. I did see a lot of cruisers using this condiment area to top their tortilla chips and also their fries not to mention the burgers.

 

** I'm not a fan of the greasy Guy's Burgers and am really going to miss the grill area when it's gone and the 2.0 is implemented on this ship.

 

Just to the other side of the grill area was a Wok Stir Fry area. I'm sorry but I can't remember the exact name. It must have been popular as there were always guests going through the line.

I get my share of Asian food at home so I didn't try it this trip.

 

I returned to the table and Jay and I decided what we wanted to do with our day.

 

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Do you know when the Paradise will get the 2.0 upgrades?

[FlaGrl4Evr]

Do you know when the Paradise will get the 2.0 upgrades?

I believe the Paradise goes into dry dock February of 2018. I'm not 100% positive but heard from a cruiser friend that the ship is getting the 2.0.

 

 

 

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[FlaGrl4Evr]

Jay went to exercise and I went back to the cabin to grab my book. I have a favorite inside reading place but today it seemed to be everyone's.

 

It's right in front of the windows across from the Cafe de France Coffee Bar on The Promenade Deck 9. The window seats are long so you can put your legs up and stretch out.

 

Herr is a pic from before it got too busy.

.

 

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[FlaGrl4Evr]

There is a separator between the long seats so you can rest your back up against it......It's so comfy and very peaceful. Just behind the seats are the windows. You get a great view of the ocean.

 

I kicked my feet up and read for about an hour or so. I scoped- out the coffee bar and decided to get an Irish Coffee. It had a splash of whisky in it and a generous topping of whipped cream.....It was five o'clock somewhere.

 

The staff came by and stacked some puzzles and board games on the counter at the end of the Coffee Bar. It didn't take too long for the tables to fill up with other cruisers enjoying some game time. Among the games that I saw were Battleship and Connect 4 plus a few others that I can't remember.

 

It was nice of the staff to do this, on this rainy, cold day.

 

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[easyboy]

Enjoying your review, Following.

[Oppalopa]

This is the best review of the Paradise.

[FlaGrl4Evr]

Enjoying your review, Following.

Thank you.

 

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[FlaGrl4Evr]

This is the best review of the Paradise.

Thank you so much.

 

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[FlaGrl4Evr]

I read for awhile longer...It was so very peaceful. I could've easily stayed all afternoon reading, listening to the waves and working my way through the world showcase of spiked coffees....but then suddenly something happened....... I committed the carnal sin of avid readers.... I finished my book and didn't pack a backup. I also decided not to bring along my tablet. I was screwed or at least I thought that I was until I suddenly remembered that duhh.....The ship has a Library. Whoop....I was back in business....Off I went.

 

I must have looked like it was on a mission because I cleared my little table off in record time, whipped out my ship map and was in complete tunnel-vision mode enroute to the library.

 

 

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[Alantra]

I am enjoying your review!

 

I didn't know there was a library.. how was the selection?

[jimjamxx]

I read for awhile longer...It was so very peaceful. I could've easily stayed all afternoon reading, listening to the waves and working my way through the world showcase of spiked coffees....but then suddenly something happened....... I committed the carnal sin of avid readers.... I finished my book and didn't pack a backup. I also decided not to bring along my tablet. I was screwed or at least I thought that I was until I suddenly remembered that duhh.....The ship has a Library. Whoop....I was back in business....Off I went.

 

I must have looked like it was on a mission because I cleared my little table off in record time, whipped out my ship map and was in complete tunnel-vision mode enroute to the library.

 

 

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Miss Cari, you are so funny. Jimmyjames

[FlaGrl4Evr]

I am enjoying your review!

 

I didn't know there was a library.. how was the selection?

The selection was pretty good . There was a nice selection of popular authors.

James Patterson, Harlan Coben,

etc...

 

 

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[dsnutz]

Awesome review. Wish I could find one as detailed for Victory, we sail her in a few months.

[FlaGrl4Evr]

Awesome review. Wish I could find one as detailed for Victory, we sail her in a few months.

You'll have to do a review for the Victory... I haven't sailed her yet.

 

Have an awesome cruise !

 

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[FlaGrl4Evr]

To my surprise, I arrived to a library filled with guests.

 

* Due to the wet and chilly weather, the entertainment staff must've created some fun events because lots of things that I saw going on throughout the ship were not in the Fun Times.

 

The staff was leading the guests in some type of game. I'm sorry that I don't remember what it was but I can say that folks were taking it seriously......There must have been a ship on a stick involved. For anyone not familiar, the ship on a stick is like the Grammy award of Carnival.

 

Anyhow, I went over to the books, that were nicely divided into fiction and nonfiction, and tried to decided what I wanted to read. There was a nice selection of popular authors....Lots of James Patterson, Harlan Coben, and Carl Hiaasen plus the likes of Nora Roberts ,Lisa Gardner and many more. There was a little something for everyone. The one thing that I did notice was that the books were mostly all hardback with only a minute amount of higher quality paperbacks. ( Larger in size, glossy covers and larger print size). I narrowed my eyes at seeing this because I thought this ship library worked under the a take-one-leave-one system......Well Nope...It doesn't.

 

All of the books were catalogued with this nice little sticker attached.

 

 

 

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[FlaGrl4Evr]

Well he!!, My plan was to leave my paperback, which btw was a fantastic thriller hence the reason I read it at record speed, and take another book to start reading and take along home with me to finish. For anyone interested....My fantastic thriller, that I read as quickly as I could turn the pages, was - Desperate - by Daniel Palmer.

 

I was now in a dilemma.....If I take out a book, I won't be able to finish it. If I don't take out a book, I'll go into literary withdrawal during my downtimes.... I read every night before turning out the light...365 nights per year..... I can't believe I packed 4 swimsuits with matching cover-ups and no back- up book.

 

I finally figured out what to do.....I'll take the book, read as much as I can, return it in the morning and then check the same book out from my local library and finish it.

 

So with book in hand, I was on my way to the Piano Bar to try my hand at Name-That-Tune.

.

 

 

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[Sailor_Sally]

We were on the Paradise in late October . I was reluctant to go since it is an older ship but we had sooo much fun , Every area was fun Karaoke , Piano Bar , Comedy Club ,etc.

I also read Desperate by Daniel Palmer. Great book .

[FlaGrl4Evr]

We were on the Paradise in late October . I was reluctant to go since it is an older ship but we had sooo much fun , Every area was fun Karaoke , Piano Bar , Comedy Club ,etc.

I also read Desperate by Daniel Palmer. Great book .

I'm already checking dates so that I can go again. Something about this ship is special.

 

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[FlaGrl4Evr]

I headed to the Piano Bar and the event was well attended....perhaps due to the weather or maybe because lots of folks enjoy Name-That-Tune with the tune actually played by piano..... Nevertheless, there was lots of folks, me including, trying to make our way into the room.

 

This is where Adam, the Piano Dude, rubbed me the wrong way.....He actually peeved me off twice in one day but I will get to that later. I realize that games and events need to start at the appointed time BUT if you see folks honestly trying to make their way in and find a seat AND it's your event......Maybe try and bend the rules and allow an extra few minutes for people to get settled before starting the game.

Just to note, we were not late and not lollygagging....This was a well attended game and there were a lot of guests to seat hence the line backing up a bit.

 

I was at the very end of the line..last person. Piano dude was already on song three by the time I had even reached the door. I was trying to keep track of the three songs in my head, because I was positive I had them correct. All I needed to do was get in the door and grab a game sheet and pencil.

🎹🎙🎼 There goes tune number four. I was done, I was peeved.... I stood outside and listened for awhile but didn't venture in. I finally left and went back to the cabin.

 

*** I could've spoke up and requested a few extra seconds to get in and grab a game sheet.....I didn't even care if I had to stand ; I just wanted to play. He was already 4 songs into the game so I just decided just to stay outside and listen. I know that I wasn't the only one who wanted to play.

 

I really debated even including this part in my review....I did because one of the things that I really wanted to do on this cruise was experience the Piano Bar. It turned out to be a flop both times. ( Jay and I went later that night...again a bit of a disappointment).

 

 

 

 

 

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[FlaGrl4Evr]

I headed back to the cabin and Jay was just getting ready to leave for a late lunch.... I really wasn't hungry but with book in tow, decided to join him.

 

The weather had cleared up a bit so we decided to take a nice leisurely walk around the ship, before heading to lunch.

 

Despite the cool wind, lots of folks were sunning....Some partially covered by towels, others braving it. The Serenity Deck was partly full and all of the decks were starting to fill up again with cruisers that were bound and determined to make the best of their last day at sea.

 

 

 

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[FlaGrl4Evr]

It was now way after 4 pm and Jay was now starving so we made a bee-line to the Deli for his very late lunch/early dinner.

The deli seemed to be his go- to spot for lunches, while on this cruise.

 

His favorite deli guy was on duty again so they high-fived and jibber-jabbered about South American Soccer. Jay had a shirt on with one of the player's names.... Messi from Argentina, I believe. This employee must've been a fan so they struck up a conversation while Jay decided what to order.

 

He decided on a tuna wrap. The menu board only lists a turkey wrap but this guy was so awesome, he never had an issue with making a special preparation.

 

I still wasn't hungry but did order a cold beer from the aft bar. We selected a table in the very aft of the buffet near the window that overlooked the serenity deck. With the exception of Jay and myself, this area was empty. It was very peaceful. A few minutes into our meal, a staff member approached us and asked if we wouldn't mind moving to another section as the children from Camp Carnival were going to be coming in and this section is where they were to be seated for dinner. We had no issues and found another table by the side windows.

 

*** This is just a heads up for any parents wondering where the dinner area is for the kids in camp...The very aft of the buffet by the back window and directly between the pizza place and the aft bar. The employee was sectioning off these tables so only the staff and the children would be permitted. This woman was standing her guard in front of the area. If I were the parent of a camper, I'd feel pretty good about how vigilant Carnival was being about keeping the children separate from the other guests. ***

 

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[FlaGrl4Evr]

Just a few notes about the buffet:

 

They do not have trays but will provide you one, if you ask. I saw several people with trays. They have the large oval shaped plates that, to me, worked just fine.

 

At lunch, certain salad items change on the salad bar. There is always the same lettuce, tomato, cucumber, carrot, radish, garbanzo beans, kidney bean, coleslaw, potato salad etc.... items but they change out 2 or 3 of the specialty salads on a daily basis. For example, one day they had a Spicy Wasabi Corn salad and a Russian Beet and Cabbage salad. Another day, there was an Italian Basil Corn Salad and Oriental Noodles. So do check it out, for something a little different each day.

*** I do not believe these little special salads were available during dinner hours.

 

I did not eat any dessert items from the buffet so cannot really comment on these. They did however offer a very nice selection of fresh fruit....Sliced watermelon and sliced pineapple were our favorites.

 

 

 

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[FlaGrl4Evr]

Since Jay had a very late lunch, our plan tonight was to go sing some karaoke and then head to the MDR around 8:45.

 

On the way to the Leonardo Lounge, I stopped in the ladies room. When I was coming out of the stall, the lock wouldn't open. When I tried again to open it, it snapped back and took half of the nail on my right thumb with it......all the down to almost the cuticle area...It was so unbelievably painful. The nail was half hanging by just a shreds of skin and there was blood everywhere. I washed it and cleaned up the best that I could. I wrapped it in several layers of toilet paper and went to locate Jay, who went on ahead to sign up to sing.

 

By the time I reached the lounge, the bleeding was under control. I pretty much decided that I would see who to report the faulty lock to and then try to band-aid my thumb. When I got off the ship the next day, I could see if my manicurest could properly clip away the last portion of nail that was hanging on to my skin. I was afraid to pull it because it was extremely painful plus I knew it would bleed. Well as luck would have it, the bleeding started up again; this time like a fountain. The bartender gave me a small bar towel and we headed down to medical.

 

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