Embarkation- Me being a 13-year-old kid, never being on a cruise before and getting out of school, waiting in lines did not bother me. Although there were very few lines to go though, you still needed to wait. It took my parents, my older brother and I, about 45 minutes to get onboard the vessel, and another 15 to get to our two rooms on the Veranda Deck. This was due to the massive crowd of fellow cruisers trying to do the same. Our luggage arrived about 3-4 hours later, in perfect condition, right to the door of our Interior Staterooms on deck 8.

Day One, Fun Day At Sea- After being on deck all the night before getting used to the ship, finding the rooms of our friends who traveled with us. I met our cruise director, Paul Stanley, in one of the very nice glass elevators on my way up to see the Ice Carving and The Hairy Chest Contest. He is one of the funniest people in the world. He is even more funny then the comedian who was performing the night in the Rome Lounge. You must meet him! After tanning on Lido deck for half the day, I decided to grab a bite to eat. Now, I did not care for the food that they served in the main Dinning Rooms so that night I stayed in my cabin and ordered a peanut butter and jelly sandwich from the very handy room service.

Day Two, Cozumel, Mexico- Cozumel looks very small from the deck of the ship and that it is, very small. The Triumph luckily did not have to take a tender to shore. When we got on shore the first thing in our face, photographers. They are very pushy; you can either take the picture for the fun or just politely say no. My family did not order any Shore Excursions, we stayed on the main strip and shopped and partied. I highly suggest Carlos n’ Charlie’s, best restaurant in the world! It was very windy in Cozumel but other then that, it was a great day. Here is a fact for you, for every car in Cozumel there is seven taxis, so you can get where you want to be.

Day Three, Fun Day At Sea- Today was the first Formal Night in the dinning rooms, which I did not really want to do, dressing up and all, but I eventually went and had a good time. You get to meet new people that will sit at your table, which is very pleasant. Today was my golf day. I am a huge golfer. It was great having a specialist on board to help me in all ways. Later that night I went to play Scattagories in the Rome Lounge. I was there the rest of the night, playing Bingo, almost winning and watched the Magic Act by Kevin & Caruso. It was a great act with the music and all but the tricks were very lame and I could easily figure them out.

Day Four, Grand Caymen, Caymen Islands- Our second stop of three was great. Although having to take a tender to shore and waiting to get back on one to get on board. Here is a very valuable piece of information, DO NOT RIDE THE TAXI’S OR BUSES WITHOUT A RED STICKER OR LICENSE PLATE and DO NOT RENT THE MOPEDS OR SCOOTERS! Without the sticker, they are not legalized and may be dangerous. The scooters are also very dangerous, sadly, there was a case of a person getting hit by a car when his scooter broke down in the middle of the road. Again we did not order any Shore Excursions and while we were on shore we easily found a bus with enough empty seats and did a two hour tour around the island stopping at all of the major sites in Grand Caymen such as the Turtle Farm, Hell and 7 Mile Beach. We did not get to do the Stingray Excursion due to the wind in the open water. Everything in Grand Caymen cost a lot more then you would think, try to hold off getting many souvenirs because you will see it will cost you. Overall, the Caymen Islands are a great place to go.

Day Five, Ocho Rios, Jamaica- Ocho Rios was by far the best destination on this cruise. So much that you can do and here is one that you absolutely have to do! Dunn’s River Falls, at first it may look scary as you walk up the famous falls as water is shooting down at you but it is not that bad. You have to do it! Then there is the Bob Marley Museum which is also necessary visit. Now the vendors are definitely the worst of all the stops. First the will come to you and say “respect” and put there hand out to shake yours and then when you do, they will ask you question like “ do you like necklaces?” and other things like that when you answer you will be at there booth buying a wooden elephant! Just keep that in mind. Also, the taxi drivers, they will say “do you need a drive” you say “no” and then he will offer you a joint. Now if you are one of those people who would take it, you better watch out! Most of them are undercover cops trying to stop the major drug problem in Jamaica. The weather was great and you must go to Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville.

Day Six, Fun Day At Sea- Now since it’s the last day on the vessel I decided to get some final pictures of the great sites around the ship and that I did walking the ship for three hours taking in all of the wonderful things that have happened to me. That night was the best show all week. Throughout the week, there was Karaoke each night in the Club Rio Lounge, which was quite amusing. That night the picked the person who most resembled the singers such as James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Elton John, Madonna etcetera, etcetera. This was funny!

Debarkation- During the debarkation we had the choice to get off on our own with our luggage or give them our luggage to bring ashore and then we get off when they call our deck. We chose to give them our luggage. We were one of the last decks to be called which we didn’t mind because we had an extra day in Miami and it was easier to find our luggage. This was very quick and very easy.

Overall- This cruise was the best vacation I have ever been on and I would definitely do it again! Everything was perfect and I definitely recommend Carnival to anyone going on a first time cruise. Everyone was nice, almost all the food was great and everything was easy to locate and find. I would rate this cruise 110% on everything!