We flew from Louisville at 6:10 am to Atlanta at 8:25 am and then to Miami with Delta Airlines. The flight was good, although there was no refreshments served .We landed at 10:30 am, Miami Airport is a MESS! There were so many people and it is HUGE Airport! We found our luggage OK and the Carnival people were sure to find us.They lead us to where we needed to be ,to catch our bus to the Port. Our bus was scheduled to leave for the Port at 11:30. Our bus ended up leaving just after 11:30 and we arrived at the Pier at approximately 12:10. We had to tip the driver $1.00 per bag of luggage. The bus driver took it off the bus and takes two steps to put it into a holding container. We were then off to the Carnival building .

Embarkation:

Very, very efficient, quick and easy. We filled out our Funpasses ahead of time…this is a MUST to save time. We spent about 10 minutes in line until we got up to the attendant. She took our passports.

We walked through and received our Sail N’ Sign cards, which are your onboard spending cards (no cash is accepted anywhere on the ship) and also act as your cabin keys. We had our photo taken very quickly and then made our way up the stairs to the ship. Right up to our cabin.

Cabin Verandah deck:

First stop......cabin #8428! on the Verandah deck This was, without any doubt, the best feature of the entire cruise!!!!! We had booked one of the wrap-around balcony cabins (category 9A). The cabin itself was very nice. It is the same size as a standard cabin but is shaped a bit odd due to being on the corner. It had a queen sized bed and a small sofa with a small table. There was lots of storage space (three rather large closets) and a large dresser with 6 drawers. There were two night stands that also had storage area. There was a large, mirrored, vanity area. The bathroom was pleasantly roomy and had yet more storage area. We had a glass door and two large (very large) glass windows that overlooked our balcony. We could lay in our bed and see right out to the ocean!!! (The balcony railing is made out of plexiglass so you can see right through it). This was going to be a great place to spend a week!!!! And we hadn’t even been on the balcony yet! This cabin is located at the very back corner of the ship. When we walked out our door on to the balcony we were facing straight back. Our balcony was about 20 feet long at the back of the ship. It went about 10 feet wide along the back of the ship, and then it cut to the right around the diagonal corner of the ship. The balcony was about 5 feet long along this diagonal and traveled about 20 feet further down the corner of the ship till it came to another slight right turn bringing you to the port side of the ship. Now the balcony was about 5 feet long and traveled about 15 more feet where it met the divider of the balcony next door to us. So, believe it or not, our balcony was about 45 feet long!!!! What a paradise we found on this balcony! There were one lounge chairs, one tables, and an two upright chair. When we were on the very back of the ship we could stand by the rail and visit with the neighbors to our left and everyone in the cabins below us at the back of the ship. This was pretty neat! Our luggage arrived in our room by about 4:30.

Best of all, we could come right out of our cabin and hop up the stairs and be right at the Aft pool and the South Beach Club (which is where all the food is!!!) It was great to be able to run up and grab a glass of iced tea and run right back down to our fabulous balcony!!! Well, here we are on day one of our cruise. After checking out our cabin we went to explore the ship and grabbed some pizza for lunch .

The Triumph:

The ship was beautiful.

The water slide was not open at all on on are trip! The decks were always clean and there was always someone working on something (ie: touching up paint, washing windows, etc.)

Our cabin steward was very attentive and did a great job. The towel animals were very cute and the chocolates on the pillows nice.

THE FOOD:

We had a beautiful table on the lower level of the Paris Dining Room (table # 418)
The food was quite good, with quite a bit of variety. Always served hot and fresh. Our waiter, Keyman, was incredible, as was his associate. Each night, the waiters did a little show before dessert, which was fun. They work extremely hard to keep the guests happy.

We tried all of the different food options for lunch….Chinese, deli, pizza and the grill for hot dogs and hamburgers. There was something there for everyone.

Entertainment:

Bingo was fun, the Casino was fun and the shopping was great. Bingo was held in the Rome Lounge with $1,000. prizes each day and a free cruise on one day.

Weeeeeeeee Jimmy and John, our cruise director was funny and made us feel like family. The bedtime story, which involved the guests was absolutely hilarious and with guests on board with names like “Willy Banger” and “Dick Wooden”, how could the comedy not be good?! Everyone laughing all the time. I have seen this names on more then one Reviews .

The two Las Vegas style shows were very good. The dancers was very good excellent by far the very best!!!

The magicians Kevin and Caruso with their new wave magic were excellent.

Shore Excursions:

We chose to purchase all of the excursions through the ship as they were wright for us.

In San Juan, Puerto Rico,
which is normally a night port.we did the
San Juan Nightlife & Shopping Tour we went to the old city.
we had a lot of fun there.

In St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
We went on the Atlantis Submarine
Paradise Point Tramway-
we seen a Bird Show it was very good .
and a lots of shopping near the pier

In Phillipsburg, St. Maarten
Is another one of our favorite ports.
Butterfly Farm & Marigot

Debarkation:

Quick, easy and efficient. No problems whatsoever.

we opted to carry our own bags off the ship. If you can do this, I highly recommend it.Saturday AM and by 8:30, we were on our way to the airport. The “Self Assist” Program is so efficiently run, it is hassle free, unless you have very heavy suitcases.

Overall:

This was a good cruise !!!!

This was truly the trip of a lifetime and I would recommend it to singles, families, couples young and old. It was simply perfect.

If you have any questions or concerns about this ship, please email me and I will answer whatever I can.

gordon24@kyol.net
Rita & Brad