Triumph March 29, 2008 Pros and Cons

[bobcan]

I will base this review on my experiences on this cruise and past cruises (2 Carnival, 5 RC1 & 3 Princess) and have broken it down based on what I felt were the good points, okay points and bad points.

 

Good:

 

1) Lemonade, fruit punch and apple juice at the cold drink stations an excellent idea that all cruise lines should have. I do not drink carbonated beverages anymore and water gets pretty boring.

 

2) Soap and shampoo dispensers in the showers, sure beats chasing the bar of soap around in the shower stall.

 

3) Superior cabin size, we had a balcony cabin deck 8 that compared favourably in size with our mini suites on Princess and far bigger that balcony cabins on RCI.

 

4) Amenities basket in the bathroom, very helpful to anyone who may have forgotten something.

 

5) Excellent supervision of the adults only hot tubs. Security were always there to chase off those under 18 who were not permitted or those who felt the no food or drink rules only applied to other people.

 

6) Photo staff were the most polite we have ever experienced on any cruise, we were never pressured into having a photo take, just a simple no thankyou and the photograpers would be on their way.

 

7) On deck bar staff were not in your face all day trying to push the daily specials as they were on previous cruises

 

8) Hot dogs at the New York Grill were terrific.

 

Okay

 

1) Cruise director Matt was a riot on stage the first night and during the newlywed game, unlike other cruise directors in the past we never saw him around the decks like other cruise directors in the past.

 

2) Food and service in the London dining room were for the most part adequate, nothing spectacular nothing bad.

 

Bad

 

1) Lineups at the Lido buffet were always long, Carnival could learn from both Princess and RCI how to better organize their buffet to make it more efficient.

 

2) Being late diners, we usually like to have a light snack around 4 pm, however, unless you wanted a hot dog etc from the New York Grill, a large sandwich from the deli or pizza nothing was available. A few sweets and maybe some cheese, cold meat etc would have been appreciated, but since the buffet closes at 2 pm until 5 pm nothing was available.

 

3) The pizza was always cold and the staff mostly indifferent at the pizza parlour, in fact one one crew member was almost rude in his insistence that we have the pizza he already had cut, rather than our choice.

 

4) Service for breakfast and lunch in the Paris dining room was for the most part awful, at breakfast for refills of coffee and tea you had to chase down a staff member because it seemed that once your breakfast was brought to your table you wait staff disappeared. At lunch the same was true, once your food was served, everyone ran and hid.

 

5) The entertainment on this cruise was by far the worst, we have experienced on any cruise, the magicians were unimpressive, the hypnotist was irritating and the singers and dancers bless their hearts tried very hard but did not have the talent necessary. I can't comment on the singer on the second night because we missed the show and did not bother with the last night because neither dw or myself are fans of talent shows and karioke.

 

6) Embarkation and debarkation, as always on Carnival were always horrendous, with lineups and delays.

 

Overall, we got what we wanted out of this cruise which was a week of relaxation and a little shopping at a good price Will we cruise Carnival again, probably not, if in the future we are looking for a southern getaway and can't afford one of the other cruise lines, we would opt for an all inclusive instead

 

bob

[EricaLovesCats]

We were on the same sailing! And I agree with you on bad 4 and 6, and a little on bad 5. Those dancers never stayed together...but I thought the magician was kinda funny. The one that did all the talking was funny, not that creepy little one! :D