Just back from Carnival Triumph - ask any questions you would like

[martinchem]

Do you recall the maitre'd? Elvis?

[zac226]

Do you recall the maitre'd? Elvis?

 

yes we met him and talked to him, you can see him in the background of our gallery tour video

[zac226]

Cozumel was one of the stops. we did a tour of the island and of course food met the locals and a tequila factory stop

 

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[KmomChicago]

Did you see any shows?

 

Janice we saw the all the evening shows in the Rome Lounge, also saw the Green Eggs and Ham Story time and Towel Animal theatre. We saw the early PG comedy shows but not the late, adults only show. The only 18+ show we saw was the Love & Marriage show on the dancers' night off. All the entertainment was very, enjoyable - however we don't really have access to this kind of live entertainment in our normal lives. I suppose if you live on Broadway you might have different expectations. I was surprised how much DH enjoyed this kind of thing! In fact we only ate in the MDR twice in order to make it to all the early shows on time.

 

Day 1: Welcome Aboard Show - good but not as memorable as the subsequent shows

Day 2: Wonderful World - lots of set and costume changes to reflect international locations, a lot of variety

Day 3: Mark Bennick - magic show - pulled DD out of kids club to watch this. FUN!

Day 4: Love & Marriage Show - we had a surprise proposal to start off this fun "Newlyweds" type game show.

Day 5: The Big Easy - On a par with Wonderful World - extravagant, colorful tribute to New Orleans

[KmomChicago]

The Taste Bars often DO feature items and eateries that aren't on that ship. "Touring the fleet" or some such and yeah, it seemed like a waste of public space. And a bit of a cruel joke.

 

Now, if they'd had steakhouse selections when I happened by the Taste Bar (they haven't yet), I might have been tempted to upgrade my steak in the MDR. :)

 

I think we discovered a steak "hack." Filet mignon is a $20 upgrade at dinner time in the main dining room; however, steak and eggs with filet mignon is included in sea day brunch.

[KmomChicago]

May be a silly question, but was the ship very crowded? We are traveling on April 29th. Was there a lot of kids? Thank you so much for answering questions.

 

This is not a silly question at all. This cruise was full with 3400 passengers - double occupancy capacity is in the neighborhood of 2700 and of course there were plenty of kids in those 3rd and 4th berths. I agree with Zac that the upstairs seating in the Lido buffet/South Beach Club is a lifesaver. The serving lines all over Deck 9 get a little congested and around the drink stations, but it all moves quickly. While Guy's Burgers stayed busy most of the time, service was still very fast.

 

The pool areas were likewise crowded, but we were able to find a chair or three open the two days we took a dip; the aft pool seems a little less popular than the two at mid-deck. But it seemed like a lot of people dropped by, put the kids in the water for maybe a half hour, and then moved on to something else. Trivia games got a little overcrowded a couple of times in the capitol atrium, but then other times there were only a few players. The Rome lounge always had plenty of empty seating for all the shows we saw.

 

The first night at the kids' club there was some kind of weird backup problem at 9:45-10 for pickup and we parents were all pretty annoyed just standing around for about 20 minutes; this never happened again and pickup and drop-off were easy the rest of the cruise.

 

We had Faster to the Fun and we also arrived very early on embarkation day so that we were the 3rd FTTF family to board right after the Platinum/Diamond/Suites passengers just before noon, and we were also in the first group off the ship back in New Orleans. We parked at Fulton Street Garage and took the first shuttle bus; we were on the interstate at 8:03 a.m. If we had parked at the port garage we might have saved another 10 minutes.

 

In Progreso we had a private tour with Lawson's to Uxmal and The Choco-Story and knew we were pressed for time, so we went down to Deck 0 at around 7:30 (announced port time was 8:00), before they even had the line roped off. We were the first passengers off the boat and took the first taxi into town.

 

We were in stateroom 2441. This was an aft room so there was no "thru" traffic - the only passengers passing that way were in the 10 or so rooms further back from us and we only occasionally and briefly saw or heard anyone in the hallways near us.

 

So the moral of the story is, knowing the ship will be full, if you have something that is a priority for you, plan to beat those inevitable crowds to the punch.

[zac226]

I think we discovered a steak "hack." Filet mignon is a $20 upgrade at dinner time in the main dining room; however, steak and eggs with filet mignon is included in sea day brunch.

 

 

ooh a great tip there

[Miata]

So, if I'm understanding your thread, Liz and Lucas only play together. Translation: Lucas does not do any solo shows or Liz does not do any solo shows.

 

We met Lucas on the Splendor last year and were VERY impressed with him. Even more so when we got home and looked him up on the music sites.

 

We are very fond of Lucas' original works and we think he will be really big some day.

[Pellaz]

I think we discovered a steak "hack." Filet mignon is a $20 upgrade at dinner time in the main dining room; however, steak and eggs with filet mignon is included in sea day brunch.

 

I knew about the steak'n'eggs at seaday brunch -- and that brunch is truly one of the hidden gems of eating on Carnival -- but I suspect that filet isn't quite as good quality as the "upgrade" filet mignon in the MDR. Still well-worth it, though! We have two seadays coming up on my October cruise and we're all looking forward to the brunch again.

[zac226]

So, if I'm understanding your thread, Liz and Lucas only play together. Translation: Lucas does not do any solo shows or Liz does not do any solo shows.

 

We met Lucas on the Splendor last year and were VERY impressed with him. Even more so when we got home and looked him up on the music sites.

 

We are very fond of Lucas' original works and we think he will be really big some day.

 

right, did you see the interview i did with them?

[Miata]

Yes I did. I enjoyed it.

 

I hope that you got to hear some of his original songs as they are quite good.

[smith7869]

Did you feel like you had room to move around? Did you enjoy your trip? To be honest my husband is not a huge crowed person. I am starting to think I chose a terrible vacation.

 

 

 

 

This is not a silly question at all. This cruise was full with 3400 passengers - double occupancy capacity is in the neighborhood of 2700 and of course there were plenty of kids in those 3rd and 4th berths. I agree with Zac that the upstairs seating in the Lido buffet/South Beach Club is a lifesaver. The serving lines all over Deck 9 get a little congested and around the drink stations, but it all moves quickly. While Guy's Burgers stayed busy most of the time, service was still very fast.

 

The pool areas were likewise crowded, but we were able to find a chair or three open the two days we took a dip; the aft pool seems a little less popular than the two at mid-deck. But it seemed like a lot of people dropped by, put the kids in the water for maybe a half hour, and then moved on to something else. Trivia games got a little overcrowded a couple of times in the capitol atrium, but then other times there were only a few players. The Rome lounge always had plenty of empty seating for all the shows we saw.

 

The first night at the kids' club there was some kind of weird backup problem at 9:45-10 for pickup and we parents were all pretty annoyed just standing around for about 20 minutes; this never happened again and pickup and drop-off were easy the rest of the cruise.

 

We had Faster to the Fun and we also arrived very early on embarkation day so that we were the 3rd FTTF family to board right after the Platinum/Diamond/Suites passengers just before noon, and we were also in the first group off the ship back in New Orleans. We parked at Fulton Street Garage and took the first shuttle bus; we were on the interstate at 8:03 a.m. If we had parked at the port garage we might have saved another 10 minutes.

 

In Progreso we had a private tour with Lawson's to Uxmal and The Choco-Story and knew we were pressed for time, so we went down to Deck 0 at around 7:30 (announced port time was 8:00), before they even had the line roped off. We were the first passengers off the boat and took the first taxi into town.

 

We were in stateroom 2441. This was an aft room so there was no "thru" traffic - the only passengers passing that way were in the 10 or so rooms further back from us and we only occasionally and briefly saw or heard anyone in the hallways near us.

 

So the moral of the story is, knowing the ship will be full, if you have something that is a priority for you, plan to beat those inevitable crowds to the punch.

[Pellaz]

feel free to ask me any questions, but remember I am still a newbie cruiser with just a red card so I may not know the answer ( this was my 2nd ever cruise)

 

I'm curious....how did you manage to do all the nifty interviews and behind-the-scenes stuff? Were you working for Carnival, or a media outlet?

[zac226]

I'm curious....how did you manage to do all the nifty interviews and behind-the-scenes stuff? Were you working for Carnival, or a media outlet?

 

I run a blog called cruiseweek.Tv we have a great relationship with carnival and royal and they give us access on the ships to the crew and other areas. we also do a weekly live webshow where we bring on guests who are experts in their cruising field and let the viewers ask them questions. I started it quite by accident by being asked by my friends to record their 1st cruise. it kinda snowballed from there

[bamasteph]

My daughter and I are cruising the Triumph on May 8, celebrating her college graduation!! What is the nightlife like, are there places on the ship for clubs/dancing?

[princessdivaapril]

it was in nice condition nice and clean, no issues. only one oddity I noticed, the tasting bar offered a taste of the steakhouse, yet there wasn't a steakhouse on board :) someones idea of a joke?

 

I thought there was a steakhouse on the ship? Are there not any specialty places on board? We are going on our honeymoon in July on that ship.

[Miata]

My daughter and I are cruising the Triumph on May 8, celebrating her college graduation!! What is the nightlife like, are there places on the ship for clubs/dancing?

 

We are going on her on April 29th just tolisten to Lucas Day. We saw and met him last year on the Splendor and reallyliked his music. He plays acoustic guitar and can cover nearly any genre. Weparticularly liked his own material. Be sure to ask him to sing some of his songs.

Lucas now has a singing partner named Liz. We have notheard her sing so we are looking forward to that.

I think that any place where a band is playing you candance. We aren’t afraid to get up and dance even when no one else is. Thequestion is ‘are you?’

Search YouTube for Lucas Day Music and you’ll find someof his videos. One is called ‘Lay Down Your Arms’ and was filmed in Puerto Ricolast year. Quite good.

This is our first time on the Triumph so we can’t personallyvouch for the other entertainment. I have read people really praising theentertainment staff (shows, etc.). Some even claim it is the best in the fleet.We shall see…

Congrats on the graduation.

[nwo4life]

I thought there was a steakhouse on the ship? Are there not any specialty places on board? We are going on our honeymoon in July on that ship.

 

 

There are no specialty restaurants on Triumph. You might consider booking the Chefs Table.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[zac226]

indeed, we did the chef's table, that's about the only special dining. it was very nice though

[KmomChicago]

I thought there was a steakhouse on the ship? Are there not any specialty places on board? We are going on our honeymoon in July on that ship.

 

In lieu of a dedicated steakhouse on the Triumph, the evening menu in the main dining room offers upgraded entrees for an upcharge of $20. As noted, the Chef's Table ($75) is the only specialty high end dining in its own space. Also try to request a table for two for your main dining room seating each night for a more intimate feeling. During sea day brunch, steak and eggs (filet mignon) is an included with no upcharge.

 

Guy's Burger Joint and Blue Iguana Cantina are forms of specialty dining, albeit casual walk-ups at the midship pool. However, the food is really good at both, the lines move fast, there is no upcharge, and you could always fix a plate and bring it to your room if you prefer (people did this all the time on our cruise). My husband and many reviewers feel that this is among the best food on the chip. I get that it might not be everyone's idea of fancy honeymoon stuff :). Recently they unveiled Seafood Shack, another walkup, at the aft pool. This carries an a la carte upcharge but includes some classics like crab and lobster by the pound and fried seafood (shrimp, clams, etc.) There is also a limited room service menu, but it was a lot faster to run up to deck 9 and get our own at the buffet, pizza place, Guy's, or Blue Iguana.

 

If you have not yet planned shore excursions, consider that Progreso and Cozumel offer some interesting dining options if you would like to enjoy something different or special for a couple of your lunches. TripAdvisor lists Thai, Indian, Mediterranean, and of course seafood places at Progreso with very high ratings. Cozumel has hundreds of restaurants within a short taxi ride of the port.

 

Enjoy your honeymoon! You won't go hungry and you might find that you enjoy the laid-back, come-as-you-are ambiance.

[KmomChicago]

Did you feel like you had room to move around? Did you enjoy your trip? To be honest my husband is not a huge crowed person. I am starting to think I chose a terrible vacation.

 

Hi, yes we felt like there was plenty of room to move around. I really don't like crowds either, and we loved the trip. There are certainly moments when there will be a lot of people but everyone seemed to be focused on their own group, so it was pretty easy to avoid interacting. :) We minimized some of the inconveniences by avoiding eating at the buffet / Deck 9 walkup restaurants during obvious peak times like noon. If you eat mostly in the dining rooms, everything is pretty orderly as you are seated by a crew member and make your way out quietly when finished. You might ask for a private table for the dining room. We were a family of 3, and seated at a table for 9 with two other similar families. They were all about the nicest people you would ever want to meet, but the socially challenged might be uncomfortable in this situation.

 

The Capitol Atrium area gets crowded during some of the trivia games. I think they should be holding these in the Oxford Bar or one of the other big lounges that sits empty during daytime hours. On the other hand, we really enjoyed Piano Bar sing along with Martin, in the tiny Big Easy lounge. He mentioned he was new to this ship and loving it. He was excellent, great voice and knew lots of fun songs.

 

While there is no adults-only Serenity pool, the aft pool is less crowded than the two mid-ship pools where the waterslide, movies, and parties are. We visited the aft pool twice for about 30 minutes and we were able to find open deck chairs right next to the pool both times. We are morning people, and that helps too. We were able to explore the ship early and avoid a lot of late night carousing.

 

I worried about getting in to the musical revue shows, but the Rome Lounge never got more than about half full and it would be easy to find yourself a quiet corner off to the side somewhere on the floor or in the balcony - Husband liked being in front and we were able to do this every night. The comedy shows did get full. We found a very tiny table for 2 or 3 just behind the front row banquettes almost to the far wall of the punchliner room. If you plan to attend the comedy shows I recommend getting in early and far away from the entry doors where there is a lot of coming and going.

 

In the stateroom areas, the hallways were empty most of the time and I certainly never felt like I was battling hoards to get there.

 

On elegant night the photographers have a bunch of stations set up along the World's Way Promenade on Deck 5 and that was pretty chaotic and congested with people lined up all over in their fancy clothes for a pic at the different backdrops.

 

The only time I felt a little claustrophobic with people was during the muster drill where a lot of us stood around very close to each other for a good 15 minutes while the crew did their thing.

 

You might consider upgrading to a balcony room if you don't already have one. Some people report that they spend a large percentage of their cruise out there, preferring to enjoy the ocean view and breeze in private rather than up on a deck with noise, people, and activity all around.

 

A cruise is basically a floating resort. The crowds will flock to the amenities of the resort, but at the same time, the place is designed to accommodate everyone. I am sure you will have a great time.

Edited April 17, 2017 by KmomChicago

[zac226]

here is part 3 of the Cozumel tour

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[Michellem74]

In case you also want to take a peek behind the scenes on the galley, here is an interview I did while on board last week when I got to tour they galley and talk with the head chef about his creations.

 

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This was very cool, thank you!!!

[smith7869]

Can u please tell me the movies that are being played on the ship? Thank u for all ur help.

[KmomChicago]

Can u please tell me the movies that are being played on the ship? Thank u for all ur help.

 

I believe the Dive-In Movies on deck change constantly; however according to our Fun Times on our March 27 cruise they were:

Day 1: "Comedy Night" Central Intelligence at 7:30 pm, Ghostbusters at 10:00 pm

Day 2: "Action & Adventure Night" The Magnificent Seven at 7:00 pm, Jason Bourne at 9:30 pm "Midnight Movie" Bad Moms at 12:00 am

Day 3: "Blockbuster Night" Suicide Squad at 7:30 pm, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them at 10:00 pm

Day 4: "Marvel Mania" Captain America: Civil War at 7:00 pm

Day 5: "Family Movie Time" Trolls at 7:30 pm, Moana at 9:30 pm