Short Review: Carnival Triumph - 1/18/09 - 1/25/09

[MonaCK]

Crazy Cabaret Cruise on the Carnival Triumph.

 

First off - a little bit of background. The majority of us on the cruise are part of a cabaret group that performs 2 shows a year out here on Long Island. Last year we had 11 folks on the NCL Sun. This year I was able to convince all to jump ship and give carnival a try. Originally we were going to go on the Carnival Victory. But airfare cost became an issue as gas prices rose, and I was worried that we were not going to be able to afford to fly to San Juan. So in order to keep our options open, we switched to the Triumph. As a result, we lost 2 in our group, as they did not want to go on a cruise that was only in San Juan for a few hours. So she kept her cruise on the Victory, and the rest of us switched to the Triumph.

 

Six of us decided to drive down to Florida. We gave ourselves three days on the way down, two days on the way back. We would definitely do this again, but if there are going to be six folks doing it, we would rent a larger vehicle. A mini van and six adults just did not cut it. However, we did eat in every state except for Georgia. I'm not quite sure how that happened :) I had my fill of pulled pork, and realized that it's like the perfect food for me - I could eat pulled pork every night of the week and be a happy girl.

 

I am going to go section by section, as I do not take notes during vacation, and do not remember what we did on any particular day.

 

EMBARKATION

 

Well, we didn't arrive at the pier until 1:30pm, thanks to 95 being closed - thank goodness for our GPS that was able to navigate us through the streets and to the pier using back roads. By the time my husband was able to park the van, we didn't get to check in until after 2. Note to all who are driving. Right now there is NO parking garage from Terminal D, which is one of the terminals that Carnival uses. You will need to park at Terminal C and either take the shuttle, or make a quick 1 1/2 block walk. My husband ended up driving around for a good half hour before he figured this out, as there are signs for the Terminal D parking garage, but no actual garage.

 

Anyway - there were no lines. Once the parking situation was resolved, we were able to get on board quickly and easily.

 

We made a quick stop to the room to drop off our carry ons, and then up to the Lido for a quick bite to eat. It was basically shovel it in and get back to the cabin, because it was time for the lifeboat drill. But to our surprise, our bags were already at the cabin, so we dragged them in, and after the lifeboat drill was over (really people. 15 minutes out of your vacation is not going to kill you. Go to the lifeboat drill so that the rest of us can also get on with our vacation), we headed back to the room to unpack and get ready for dinner.

 

FOOD

 

Overall, the food was good. I certainly did not go hungry. As always, the desserts are awesome, and I always enjoy the baked goods on board ship. There is always something that you can grab - whether it's a sandwich from the deli, or a slice of pizza from the back of the ship. Now some specifics:

 

South Beach Buffet: I have never experienced lines to eat like I have experienced on this ship. I don't know if it's a problem with the flow, or if we just had really slow people on board this week. But often we ended up going to get pizza because we just didn't want to deal with the lines. We expected them the first day - there are always lines the first day - but the lines just never went away.

 

Dining Rooms: there are two dining rooms on board. We had first seating in the London Dining room, and LOVED our wait staff. And our bar guy was the best we've ever had on a cruise. Most of us at the table had the soda card, and after the first night, he had glasses of ice and cans of diet coke strewn about the table for us. We never had to ask him for anything, though he did come by several times during the meal to make sure we were okay. We ate in the paris dining room a couple of times for breakfast and lunch. It was alright for something a little different than the buffet.

 

SHOWS & ENTERTAINMENT

 

We actually only caught the comedian on one of the first nights. It was the adult show, and he catered to an older audience - most of the jokes he had was for the over 60's males, which was interesting... friends of ours went to other shows an thought they were good. We mostly stuck to Karaoke in the evenings, and had a really good time with the host, Salaz. Great guy. My DH and I, as well as our friend John, ended up being in the Legends show at the end of the week. I was Aretha Franklin, and DH was Ricky Martin (and got the gig on Friday night, after the host pretty much begged him to do it. ;) ). Our friend John was an excellent Elton John.

 

We had fun with the usual shows during the day - the Love and Marriage game is always a hoot, and we also enjoyed both Beat the Brains and Liars Club.

 

STATEROOM

 

It was thankfully very very cool. DH likes the room like an icebox, and this room was definitely up there as far as that was concerned. Loved the balcony as always - I think we're completely spoiled now. Beds were mostly comfortable - a little harder than I remember them being on the Miracle, but certainly got enough sleep every night. Our Cabin steward was tops - no problems at all, and all requests were accommodated.

 

PORTS OF CALL

 

We were on the eastern caribbean route, and went to Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and St. Martaan. Puerto Rico, as far as I'm concerned, is really a waste - you just don't get enough time in port. We basically got off the ship, walked around the downtown area... we were going to try to go to casino across town, but di dnot want to spend the $20 they were asking for to get there. So it was nice to get on land for a few moments, but we were back on the ship relatively quickly.

 

We hired a taxi in St. Thomas that took us around the island, and then downtown for shopping, for $25/per person. It was money well spent, and we had a good time. This was the only daytime activity that all 9 of us did together.

 

In St. Martaan, we took the water taxi over, and then spent some time downtown, DH and I went to the casino for a while, and we always manage to do well there. Then we bought him some t-shirts as he realized he was running low.

 

OVERALL

 

Again, overall, we had a really good time. We could have done without the lines. And without some of the... ruder folks on board - but overall? Wouldn't change a thing. We had a blast.

 

Any questions? Feel free to ask :)

[MonaCK]

A couple of other notes:

 

* The elevators did seem to be exceedingly slow this past week, and I am really not sure why. Normally on a cruise, I have not had to wait that long for one - but this time it was an issue.

 

* I liked how relatively small the ship was - i could easily walk from one end to the other.

 

* I really enjoyed Ryan, the cruise director. He was the right personality - bubbly, etc. I will say seeing his... surprise role on Saturday night was priceless. Luckily, someone in our party got pictures.

 

Biggest laugh of the week: As previously mentioned, my husband and I were in the legends show. We were riding up in the elevator afterwards to drop something off in our cabin and another gentleman joined us. He turned to us and said: "I have really liked all the shows on board this week. all except for tonights show. Did you guys see it?"

 

My husband and I looked at each other, and then back to the guy: "Well, we were in it..."

 

the guy: "Oh.. I.. well... i just mean.. fireworks... I wanted fireworks... you know... for the last night..." He got off on 5, and we headed up to 7. After the doors closed, my husband and I burst out laughing.

[CruisinloversfromTexas]

Crazy Cabaret Cruise on the Carnival Triumph.

 

First off - a little bit of background. The majority of us on the cruise are part of a cabaret group that performs 2 shows a year out here on Long Island. Last year we had 11 folks on the NCL Sun. This year I was able to convince all to jump ship and give carnival a try. Originally we were going to go on the Carnival Victory. But airfare cost became an issue as gas prices rose, and I was worried that we were not going to be able to afford to fly to San Juan. So in order to keep our options open, we switched to the Triumph. As a result, we lost 2 in our group, as they did not want to go on a cruise that was only in San Juan for a few hours. So she kept her cruise on the Victory, and the rest of us switched to the Triumph.

 

Six of us decided to drive down to Florida. We gave ourselves three days on the way down, two days on the way back. We would definitely do this again, but if there are going to be six folks doing it, we would rent a larger vehicle. A mini van and six adults just did not cut it. However, we did eat in every state except for Georgia. I'm not quite sure how that happened :) I had my fill of pulled pork, and realized that it's like the perfect food for me - I could eat pulled pork every night of the week and be a happy girl.

 

I am going to go section by section, as I do not take notes during vacation, and do not remember what we did on any particular day.

 

EMBARKATION

 

Well, we didn't arrive at the pier until 1:30pm, thanks to 95 being closed - thank goodness for our GPS that was able to navigate us through the streets and to the pier using back roads. By the time my husband was able to park the van, we didn't get to check in until after 2. Note to all who are driving. Right now there is NO parking garage from Terminal D, which is one of the terminals that Carnival uses. You will need to park at Terminal C and either take the shuttle, or make a quick 1 1/2 block walk. My husband ended up driving around for a good half hour before he figured this out, as there are signs for the Terminal D parking garage, but no actual garage.

 

Anyway - there were no lines. Once the parking situation was resolved, we were able to get on board quickly and easily.

 

We made a quick stop to the room to drop off our carry ons, and then up to the Lido for a quick bite to eat. It was basically shovel it in and get back to the cabin, because it was time for the lifeboat drill. But to our surprise, our bags were already at the cabin, so we dragged them in, and after the lifeboat drill was over (really people. 15 minutes out of your vacation is not going to kill you. Go to the lifeboat drill so that the rest of us can also get on with our vacation), we headed back to the room to unpack and get ready for dinner.

 

FOOD

 

Overall, the food was good. I certainly did not go hungry. As always, the desserts are awesome, and I always enjoy the baked goods on board ship. There is always something that you can grab - whether it's a sandwich from the deli, or a slice of pizza from the back of the ship. Now some specifics:

 

South Beach Buffet: I have never experienced lines to eat like I have experienced on this ship. I don't know if it's a problem with the flow, or if we just had really slow people on board this week. But often we ended up going to get pizza because we just didn't want to deal with the lines. We expected them the first day - there are always lines the first day - but the lines just never went away.

 

Dining Rooms: there are two dining rooms on board. We had first seating in the London Dining room, and LOVED our wait staff. And our bar guy was the best we've ever had on a cruise. Most of us at the table had the soda card, and after the first night, he had glasses of ice and cans of diet coke strewn about the table for us. We never had to ask him for anything, though he did come by several times during the meal to make sure we were okay. We ate in the paris dining room a couple of times for breakfast and lunch. It was alright for something a little different than the buffet.

 

SHOWS & ENTERTAINMENT

 

We actually only caught the comedian on one of the first nights. It was the adult show, and he catered to an older audience - most of the jokes he had was for the over 60's males, which was interesting... friends of ours went to other shows an thought they were good. We mostly stuck to Karaoke in the evenings, and had a really good time with the host, Salaz. Great guy. My DH and I, as well as our friend John, ended up being in the Legends show at the end of the week. I was Aretha Franklin, and DH was Ricky Martin (and got the gig on Friday night, after the host pretty much begged him to do it. ;) ). Our friend John was an excellent Elton John.

 

We had fun with the usual shows during the day - the Love and Marriage game is always a hoot, and we also enjoyed both Beat the Brains and Liars Club.

 

STATEROOM

 

It was thankfully very very cool. DH likes the room like an icebox, and this room was definitely up there as far as that was concerned. Loved the balcony as always - I think we're completely spoiled now. Beds were mostly comfortable - a little harder than I remember them being on the Miracle, but certainly got enough sleep every night. Our Cabin steward was tops - no problems at all, and all requests were accommodated.

 

PORTS OF CALL

 

We were on the eastern caribbean route, and went to Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and St. Martaan. Puerto Rico, as far as I'm concerned, is really a waste - you just don't get enough time in port. We basically got off the ship, walked around the downtown area... we were going to try to go to casino across town, but di dnot want to spend the $20 they were asking for to get there. So it was nice to get on land for a few moments, but we were back on the ship relatively quickly.

 

We hired a taxi in St. Thomas that took us around the island, and then downtown for shopping, for $25/per person. It was money well spent, and we had a good time. This was the only daytime activity that all 9 of us did together.

 

In St. Martaan, we took the water taxi over, and then spent some time downtown, DH and I went to the casino for a while, and we always manage to do well there. Then we bought him some t-shirts as he realized he was running low.

 

OVERALL

 

Again, overall, we had a really good time. We could have done without the lines. And without some of the... ruder folks on board - but overall? Wouldn't change a thing. We had a blast.

 

Any questions? Feel free to ask :)

 

 

Hey Mona!

 

Too bad I didn't get a chance to talk to you guys but Steve and I too were in the Karaoke several nights....Steve was Garth in the Legends show. Anyway, I totally agree with you about the lines on this cruise. Steve and I have cruised Carnival in July and September and have never experienced the lines as we did this cruise. I honestly believe it was because the folks were slow...but as you know the majority of the cruise guests consisted of the older generation of at least 60 years and older. We had a nice time and really enjoy cruising but I prefer crusing in the summer and probably in September. September seems to be a nice mixture of generations.

[MonaCK]

Hey Mona!

 

Too bad I didn't get a chance to talk to you guys but Steve and I too were in the Karaoke several nights....Steve was Garth in the Legends show. Anyway, I totally agree with you about the lines on this cruise. Steve and I have cruised Carnival in July and September and have never experienced the lines as we did this cruise. I honestly believe it was because the folks were slow...but as you know the majority of the cruise guests consisted of the older generation of at least 60 years and older. We had a nice time and really enjoy cruising but I prefer crusing in the summer and probably in September. September seems to be a nice mixture of generations.

 

Your husband was -awesome-! :) I was really glad that he got the chance to be Garth - felt that he really did a good job of taking over the part :

 

There was definitely an odd age thing going on - I think that there were likely a lot of local specials in january - and some who I spoke with (like from that large group from that one community - I think there were 300 from one community there) said that Carnival offers them the best deals - and they tend to alternate between Carnival and Royal Caribbean - though they do Carnival more lately.

 

Didn't quite have this... demographic mix on NCL during the same time period.

[Name Of The Game]

We loved everything about the Triumph, including the food, staff and service. We went to several meet & greets with Ryan and found him to be very personable.

[cathalane]

Since I'll be on the Triumph in July, I've been reading everything I can about this ship... The lines at the buffet seems to be a common complaint for this ship (and I think for the Victory also) - I think it has a lot to do with the set-up.

 

Also, does anyone know how they pick who gets which dining room? And if there are 4 person tables (or booths) in either dining room?

 

Thanks!!!

[SunshneNC]

Since I'll be on the Triumph in July, I've been reading everything I can about this ship... The lines at the buffet seems to be a common complaint for this ship (and I think for the Victory also) - I think it has a lot to do with the set-up.

 

Also, does anyone know how they pick who gets which dining room? And if there are 4 person tables (or booths) in either dining room?

 

Thanks!!!

I'm not sure how they pick the dining rooms. I will say that we stayed in cabin #9252 which is all the way forward on the lido deck. We had the Paris Dining Room early seating. This dining room is all they aft on deck 3 & 4. There were 4 of us. We were seated in a booth all to ourselves. I don't mind eating with new faces but my husband is very quiet and does not like eating with others.

[qualtek]

Can you tell me if you had to eat at your assigned dining time on the night you were in San Juan, or was it open seating?

Thanks