Paradise Review (5/9/04 Eastern Cruise)

[richfret]

Just got back from a great cruise. On a scale of 1 to 100, would rate this cruise about a 94. Here are details:

 

The 3 ports were Nassau, La Romana and St. Thomas. All were outstanding to visit. At Nassau, we visited Atlantis on Paradise Island via a taxi from the ship. Atlantis is a luxury hotel with rooms going from $700 and above per day. The interior of the hotel is filled with much marble from around the world. There is also a aquarium that is probably one of the best you will ever see. About 1/3 of it is viewable for free. If you want to see the remainder, you can take a tour for $29.00 per person. The tour lasts about an hour or so but you can return to view it at your own speed. The price is rather steep but you can take pictures that look like you were down a hundred feet in the ocean. The background are scenes of Atlantis and look like a movie set. Definitely worth the visit.

 

At La Romana (Dominican Republic), we took a taxi from the pier to Casa De Compo. This is a $38 million dollar housing development. The taxi charge was $20. On the grounds is an area for the workers and it is made in a Mediterian style. It is very picturesque and worth the visit. You can get a tour guide at the location for another $20 if you are so inclined. There is a river that goes through the out skirts of the town and is great for picture taking. Also located there is a theater in the form of a Roman Forum. Can hold as much as 5,000 people.

 

St. Thomas is one of the nicest ports in the Caribbean. There we took a Godfrey tour ($20 each). (just go to Godfrey - St. Thomas on the web). I can't say enough about how nice that tour is. Godfrey takes you on an open bus that holds about 20 people. He takes you to the highest part of the island for the best view. You also have 3 hours to shop in town. In addition, he takes you to a choice of 3 of the best beaches. You can't beat this deal and he is very knowledgable of the island. Definitely would recommend him as the best tour.

 

On the ship, we found the food excellent and nothing more could be asked of the servers. Entertainment (although repetitous if you been on the ship previously) is very good. The room and ship as a whole were very clean. The twin beds, however, should be replaced. They are getting lumpy and feel like 8 year old beds would. The TV selection is lousy. There are few channels, the movies are old and the ship pictures of some events are repeated over and over again. Bingo is not as good as it use to be. They spend 20 minutes selling cards and then have a 3 number game. Got the feeling they are going through the motions only because if it a good money producer for Carnival.

 

We had cabin E168 (Empress)located under the Galley. You can hear the Galley sounds very early in the morning and if this bothers you, I would look for a different location. I hear the same is true of the Lido deck.

 

The following points are provided to clear up some questions I have seen on this site. On the Paradise (maybe not all Carnival ships), Capuchino is available (no charge) at supper and lunch in the Dining Room. Fruit Punch is still availabe (no charge) as a drink as well as tea, lemon aid and apple juice. As for other freebies, Carnival provides shampoo, tissue, small tooth paste, 2 shaving blades and a small pack of Rolaids.

 

There is but one plug in the main part of the cabin. You can get a extension cord that will give you two plugs and a 3 or 4 feet of cord. Just ask.

 

There is plenty of closet room for 2. Even less for 3 (naturally) and near impossible for 4 or 5.

 

Just a couple of other things I noticed. The windows in the cabin are definitely cloudy. You can see through them but it is definitely frustrating. I doubt you can take a good picture through them. The baths controls are excellent and I wish I could get the same controls put in my shower. Got to visit a Suite on the Paradise and was not impressed. The room size is double but the decor is kind of a blackish trim. Very depressing. They do have a bar, VCR and balcony.

 

The worst wind conditions were one day where it reached 35 miles an hour and 9 foot waves. Not a problem at all. It would take a lot more to be a problem.

 

Weather was delightful and was cloudy at all 3 ports. (That is unusual). The only real sunny days were the last 2 sea days and every body at the pool liked that.

 

Our Cruise Critic friends who I met on this site were the nicest people you would ever want to meet. We had a get together on the first day and from there on we would meet each other on many parts of the ship. Also had a very nice group at our dining table and that can make for a great cruise.

 

That's about it for now. Thoughts were a bit mixed but I wrote them down as they came to me. Will try to answer any questions you may have.

 

Cruiser Rich

[Cyt4SoreEyes]

Great review..thanks so much for sharing your cruising experience!! As it will always be informative for us fellow cruisers especially the great breakdown of your visits to the ports and tours you took and pricing..great job and glad you had a wonderful cruise.

 

Cyt

 

Atlantic

Oceanic

Norway

Enchantment of the Seas

Destiny

Voyager of the Seas

Conquest March 30th 2003

Glory May 29th 2004

Caribbean Princess Oct 23 2004

 

 

 

 

[IrishEyes2]

HOw long did it take you to get off the ship? Was it a long process? I'm taking the same route when I go crusing in Aug. and would like to book an excursion "privately" in Nassau instead of through the cruiseline. We're supposed to dock at 7:00 a.m. and the bus for the excursion is to pick us up at 8:00 a.m. Will we be able to make the bus?

[richfret]

Timing for getting off the ship varied at each port with St. Thomas being the worst. Being a US port and with home defense in effect, the US government is checking each person individually. We had a tour scheduled for 9 am in St. Thomas and we did not get off the ship until about 9:30 am. The tour operators knew about the problems, however, and waited for us (Godfrey Tours - best value in the Caribbean). He even had a sign made with my name and another person who was late and he was waiting for us at the pier while waving the signs. By the way, this delay had absolutely nothing to do with Carnival and they could not change any thing.

 

The good news is that getting off the ship at Nassau was no problem at all since it is not a US port and they do not do as stringent a review. Once the ship clears customs, you just show your Sail and Sign card and an ID like a Passport or Driver License and you walk off the ship. I don't think you will have any timing problems in Nassau.

 

Cruiser Rich