My Triumph review 4/12/08

[dseres]

I'm finally trying to sit and write my review, I have so many things to say and will probably write too much, but here goes: My group included myself, DH, one 15 yr old daughter and one 17 yr old daughter who turned 18 on the cruise, and her 3 friends one 18 and 2 17 yr olds. - all celebrating their spring break and High School Graduation. My sister and her husband also came as well as my other sister and her daughter. We booked this cruise last June and have waited with so much anticipation and then the week finally came and this is when American Airlines has this cancellation fiasco!! We did go down the day before on friday for our Saturday cruise but I was sooo worried! All I could imagine was our flight would be cancelled and we would not make it down to Miami in time!! Fortunately we got to Laguardia airport on Friday morning and it was fine! There were no lines, or angry mobs hanging around or anything, it was all good, we had a great flight and we actually got our luggage really quick in Miami and went outside, got 2 taxi's for our group of 7. Me and 2 girls in one, DH and 3 girls in the other. It was about $25 for each cab to our hotel the Holiday Inn Port of Miami. I definitely recommend doing this rather than payin $14 each for transfers which would have come to much more, plus waiting around for the bus.

We met up with my sisters at the hotel (they had earlier flight) and got ready to go to Bayside.

The Holiday Inn is right across the street from Bayside which is a really nice, fun spot that has lots of shops, restaurants, and stuff to look at right on the water. There are a bunch of fun places to eat like Hooters, Hard Rock Cafe, Chilis, but we decided to eat at Bubba Gumps outside and it was really fun. It was a great night and terrific way to kick off our vacation.

The next morning we did the auto checkout which is doing nothing but signing the bill under your door and slipping it in the box downstairs. No lines or anything to deal with. We got a couple of cabs out front for about $12 each and off to the port we went. We left around 11 am Only took a few minutes and we went right in to the building and got a number, which they called in just a couple of minutes and before you know it we were on board the ship! We seriously never waited much for anything at all it was very nice. I definitely recommend doing the funpasses, it made checking in so easy.

Once we entered the ship I got right in line at the pursers desk to set up the sign and sail cards for my daughters friends. They put $200 cash down and of that they deducted the $70 gratuities and our post excursion to the miami seaquarium. This was a good way to let the girls have their own sign and sail since their parents weren't there and they didn't have thier own credit card. Later in the week they were able to withdraw the money from the account as they really didn't "charge" much onboard.

 

Our room: Me, my husband and younger daughter stayed in an OV on the Riviera deck, the other 4 "grads" were right across the hall in an inside. I have to say even though we usually get a room on the upper deck I was not sure how it would be to be on the riviera, well our room was great, it was very spacious and looked updated. We had plenty of room and I liked the set up. We didn't feel much movement at all and I like the fact that we were only one flight from getting on and off the ship at Ports. Our elevator brought us right to the main Pool on the Lido deck, and those elevators are fast, so our placement was excellent. I would definitely book that level again. There is a hair dryer in the bathroom, but I am glad I had mine because I like a strong dryer. There was plenty of storage space in the room and bathroom as well.

Our room steward Rudolph was very nice, he introduced himself and then we didn't see him that much but he kept our room clean and the ice bucket filled and of course left our cute towel animals every night. We kept our room pretty neat but he definitely made up for it in the girls room! 4 teenage girls carry lots of stuff!! you couldn't even walk in there. It worked out fine but I think next time I would get them an ocean view just because it's bigger.

To be continued....

[btt05]

Glad that you all had fun Dseres! I was on the triumph April 5-12 and had a great time. I was so glad that my family and I completed our funpasses prior to arrival because it helped make checking in more swifter.

[dseres]

Activities:

To be honest with you we are not much for the planned activities, I like that they have them but I pretty much like to just lay by the pool on a chair all day on sea days. As far as getting chairs. I am an early riser so me and one of my sisters would go out early to get a chair. I can't believe how many people do save chairs and do not sit in them. It's ridiculous. At least I do not save a chair and leave. I do go out early but I stay there all day. It's interesting to see how many people don't care about getting charged the $22 bucks for those towels! I bring a beach towel because I don't want to worry about someone stealing the Carnival one or whatever. Thankfully of my group of 7 nobody lost a towel LOL. We were luck to have a great week weather wise. The only day that it was even just cloudy was Thursday in Grank Turk. My sisters enjoyed the art auctions and bought some stuff and won some too. The hairy chest contest was a riot, we were sitting in a great spot for that one. I managed to go down the water slide one time in the week. It was fun. I would like to try the new water parks on some of the ships. I think that is a great idea. The days go by so fast on vacation. Seems like your out by the pool for a while and then it seems like its almost time for dinner.

 

Food:

The breakfast buffet on the Lido deck was just okay. The regular stuff: Scrambled eggs (not good) hash browns, cereal , fruit, danish, sausage, bacon and they alternate pancakes or french toast every day. They do have an omelet station which is not in a good spot at the end of the line. (should be seperate). I went to the dining room twice for breakfast and it was much better, I wish I went there more often. Also met some nice people as they seat you with other people.

 

Lunch:

The lunch buffet from what I saw wasn't great. I usually opted for the specialty stations because the lines weren't as long. The deli is very good, they slice the meat fresh for you, and have sandwiches, wraps and an awesome panini, with fresh mozzarella and pesto that is delicious. The asian station was good too, I usually got a little something from there everyday. The grill in the rear of the ship is always good for a burger or hot dog, they also have a steak sandwich and fries. I didn't care for the pizza but maybe I am spoiled being close to New york and New Haven- best pizza anywhere!! I also went up to the casino a few times around 5ish where they had a sushi bar that had a few different offering each day. I thought it was good, but I don't eat too much of it.

 

Dinner:

I love going to the dining room for dinner and would never do the buffet instead. To me it is the highlight of the day. All the girls got dressed up every night and they all looked so beautiful. They really enjoyed it. Every night before our 8:30 dinner we would meet in the atrium lounge and take some pictures and have a cocktail. Our waiter Ismail from Turkey was so nice. We all loved him, he did card tricks and always was so sweet. My daughter cried the last night when we said goodbye to him. I thought the food was mostly good. I seem to order beef every night. My husband goofs on me because of it, but I like it. I loved the lobster it was very good, and the shrimp that comes with it was good too. We all ordered more than we should and were kinda pigs but it was sooo good and you can only do that on a cruise lol. We all usually ordered 2 appetizers because there are so many good ones its hard to choose. I didn't think dessert was as good as I remember on previous cruises. Not that we skipped any!!

more later...

[w8ing2cruz]

for the next installment. Sounds like a great celebration is underway. Have fun ~ be safe.

[finoky]

Love your review so far. Can't wait to hear the rest. We are sailing the Triumph next year so I am reading all I can about this ship.

[dseres]

Entertainment:

We didn't go to the shows every night. We usually didn't get out of dinner til after 10pm and sometimes didn't feel like going to the show. There was a comedienne that was really funny. She also did an adult show at midnight one night which was hysterical. I forgot her name, but my sister bought the cd. I didn't think the Legend show at the end of the week was very good. We did hear Elvis practicing during the week in the room next door to us, which was pretty exciting! lol. I think they should have more Lido deck parties at night, there was only one and fortunately it was the night my daughter turned 18 so it was a lot of fun. She got to be on the TV video thing all week so that was a good memory. This brings me to the only bad thing about our cruise. As I mentioned before I had 3 girls under 18 and 3 over 18 (barely). All they wanted to do was go dancing and for some reason the only spot on the whole ship who wouldn't allow anyone under 18 was the Hollywood Disco (the only place they would have any fun). The little man guarding the door was especially rude and nasty about it also. They were not looking to drink or to wreak havoc they just wanted to be together and dance. Even with us (5 adults) they would not permit them in. I understand that they don't want a bunch of kids running around the dance floor, but they could go anywhere else on the ship but there?? So unfortunatly they wandered around most of the time looking for somewhere fun to go. They met some other kids on the ship so one night (my daughers 18th birthday) they found out they could go dance in the O2 teen club with everyone, well they wouldn't let the 3 18 year olds in there!!! said they were adults. So basically I brought these girls on this trip to celebrate their graduation together and they couldn't go dance together ever!! They made the best of the situation by splitting up but it was not what they expected to do. Obviously we are not the first group to experience such a stupid situation, they need to either overlap the age in the teen club to say 19?? or use discretion in the disco. Certainly if people are not acting "appropriate" in the disco, they could be asked to leave. These girls were always dressed nice and are respectful young women. Thank God for the ports of call, they were finally able to have fun TOGETHER!!!

[lcpagejr]

I agree...it's a difficult situation. When we cruised with my teens, we had similar issues. The 18-20 age group is a difficult one. Old enough for gambling and disco...too old to hang out in Teen club. Really divides family and friends who have teens who overlap the pre 18 and over 18 ages

[rekfla]

Sorry to hear about the difficulties regarding the girls and the over/under 18 age rules. However, your review answered a question for our family as we have 3 adult children ages 18, 19 and 19 and will be on the Triumph in August. So, your info about the Hollywood Disco helps us out as they will want to hang together during the cruise as well as meet others in their age range. Our 3 are all in college and this will be our family summer vacation and belated high school graduation gift to all 3.

 

We too will have the late dinner seating and appreciated the comment about the time when dinner was complete.

 

How were the excursions?

[mytee4ever]

Love the review so far & sorry to hear about the trouble with your girls & the disco. We are going on this cruise in August with extended family. My dd will be 17 when we cruise & her cousin will be 18 (for about 6 weeks by the time we go), so I'm sure they will have the same problem. Disappointing:( . I know they have to draw the line somewhere, but wouldn't it make sense to let 18 year olds hang out the their friends that are 15-17?

 

Towanda

[lcpagejr]

A possible solution would be to have a dance area for age group 15-20 and that age limit be enforced. Having 18 year olds and those under 18 with fake ID's in the Disco late at night, where alcohol is flowing, isn't ideal. Really no perfect answer...the line has to be deawn somewhere and I am sure Carnival is limiting the age to 17 in the Teen club for the safety and security of the teens (i.e. 18-19 year old guys). Then again, on many a cruise I have seen older guys hanging out with younger girls on the decks and open areas...so there really isn't a perfect solution for seperation in the evenings

[lcpagejr]

A possible solution would be to have a dance area for age group 15-20 and that age limit be enforced. Having 18 year olds and those under 18 with fake ID's in the Disco late at night, where alcohol is flowing, isn't ideal. Really no perfect answer...the line has to be drawn somewhere and I am sure Carnival is limiting the age to 17 in the Teen club for the safety and security of the teens (i.e. 18-19 year old guys). Then again, on many a cruise I have seen older guys hanging out with younger girls on the decks and open areas...so there really isn't a perfect solution for seperation in the evenings

[Carolinamamasita]

I just wanted to post

that you are doing a great job with your review

and I love the way that

you have added the photos along the way !!

very nice:)

[dseres]

Ports of Call

 

St.Thomas: What a great day!! Not only was it my baby's 18th birthday in paradise, but we had a really good time. After much thought we decided to book Godfrey for our ride to the beach. We only wanted to go to Sapphire beach no tour, no shopping trip. We had Godfreys brother who was very informative and nice. He was waiting for us as soon as we got off the ship (around 9:30 am.) and took all eleven of us in a van to the beach. We weren't sure whether to go to megans bay or Sapphire, there seems to be good reviews about both, and I'm sure we would probably have enjoyed Megans also, we were glad we chose Sapphire. It was quiet, uncrowded, beautiful and nobody bothered you to buy anything or stuff like that. It took about 25 minutes to get there, but a little longer on the way back because of traffic near the port. I am glad we decided to go early because I would have been a wreck worrying about that traffic if it were near boarding time. The girls and my husband did a little snorkling and some of the girls rented a kayak ($15) for a little while. It was a gorgeous day!! There was a snack bar and bar there, also a little convenience store where I bought a six pack of red stripe beer for around $11 bucks. Alot for a six pack but not compared to the bar prices. We had a big breakfast before we left the ship and our driver was there promptly at 1:30 as we asked so we didn't eat at the beach. We did a little shopping back at port, which was enough of a shopping "fix" for my group. Headed back to the ship around 4 and ate then. We loved St. Thomas.

[dseres]

San Juan P.R.

We were originally supposed to be at this port at night on Monday, but because of an emergency we had to stop the first night in the Bahamas so our itinerary changed a little having us stop in Puerto Rico on Wednesday morning instead. The only thing my girls wanted to do here anyway is to go to Senor Frogs. After a little shopping along the way we made it to Senor Frogs around 1pm and it was alot of fun! We got a table right on the dance floor and the girls just had a blast!! At least they got to dance together not like on the ship. It was mostly teens at this time and they just danced and had a conga line and had a good time. We had some nachos (not good), and I had a few beers and I will tell you that they serve anyone that looks even close to 18 years old. We headed back to the ship with some good memories.

 

Grand Turk

This was the only day we had a cloudy day, it was still good and the Margaritaville was amazing! would have been even better if it was sunny. We got some nice lounge chairs right at the pool with a great view of the "stage" where they do all the contests and stuff. Of course the drinks are expensive especially the "yards" but we didn't have to take a taxi or pay for any excursions so it was fine. The girls loved this place they had a really fun time. There is a swim up bar and lots of shops around the port. Mostly expensive stuff, they have a Del sol, and a Ron Jon surf shop and stuff. Not too much to do here but its right off the ship and there is a nice beach with plenty of chairs and the Margaritaville is just what our group was looking for. It was a good day.