Susan

Age: 49
Occupation: psychologist
Number of Cruises: 1
Cruise Line: Carnival
Ship: Triumph
Sailing Date: May 14th, 2005
Itinerary: Western Caribbean

I'm a 49-year-old woman and I traveled with my 18 and 20 year old step-daughters. It was our first cruise and I chose Carnival and the Western Caribbean route specifically for them.

Miami: We flew into Miami a day early and stayed at the Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay. The hotel was well-located and room was lovely, but the service was terrible. I had reserved a concierge level room but the desk clerk claimed that I had reserved a regular room (at the same, higher price, of course). If I had not had a print out of my confirmation indicating that I had, indeed, reserved a concierge level room, I would not have gotten it. Also, be aware that there is no special concierge level service on the weekends. The only concierge level extra you will get is a room on a high floor (we had a lovely room that overlooked the port, where we watched our ship come in early the next morning). As we checked in, the desk clerk went on and on about the "special" concierge level privileges, including a concierge level reception room and a free breakfast. Rather deceptive considering that it turned out they were not available to us on Saturday morning. We asked for dinner recommendations and were sent to South Beach, to an Italian restaurant called "Sopranos." We were told that a limo would give us a ride to and from the restaurant, and when it didn't materialize, that we would be reimbursed for the taxi ride (which cost $20 each way). None of that happened. Needless to say, the concierge gets a kick-back from the restaurant for his recommendation (the food, in the opinion of my Italian step-daughters, was adequate). South Beach had interesting art deco architecture, but was generally shabby and seedy.

We left the hotel 10:30ish and it took about 50 minutes total to board the ship. We had reserved a balcony cabin in December and were upgraded to a demi-suite. This gave us "Skipper Club" embarkation privileges. This was a very good thing, because it allowed us to avoid the first two of the four long embarkation lines. We were on the ship at about noon and couldn't get into our room until 1, so we ate lunch on the Lido Deck while we waited. Considering how many people were boarding, I thought that whole process went smoothly, quickly and painlessly.

The Room: We were more than thrilled with our room. Our demi-suite, on the Empress Deck, comfortably accommodated three adults. The bathroom was roomy, with an extra little dressing area (very useful to three women with lots of makeup and hair accessories), and the Jacuzzi tub was a nice extra. Our balcony was also large and we all spent a great deal of time there, reading.

The Entertainment: The "fun" atmosphere the ship tries to induce is of the spring break variety: lots of alcohol and sexually suggestive games. Not my kind of fun but other people seemed to be enjoying it. I saw the two evening variety shows: earnest young people in cheesy music and dance numbers. I didn't see the magicians, the passenger talent show or the Mexican folkloric dance company (although I would have loved to have seen the latter, they only had one show at 10:30 and, embarrassingly, I couldn't stay up). I did see the comedian, who I thought was the best of the entertainment (though rather adult for a "family" show). I heard, while just passing through, the reggae band on the Lido deck and the classical trio in one of the bars, and they were fine. On days at sea, I worked out in the gym in the mornings (nice gym facilities), napped, read or went to the internet café in the afternoons, and did dinner and a show in the evening. My step-daughters got up at noon, went sunning on the Lido Deck for the afternoon, and did dinner and dancing or the casino until the early hours of the morning. There were lots of young people on board, so they were able to socialize with people their own age.

The restaurants: The food was adequate (average hotel food, in my opinion). I ate most of the time at the buffet in the casual South Beach restaurant and my girls availed themselves mostly of the 24-hour pizza and ice cream. Since we preferred to eat when we wanted, without dressing up, we only went to the more formal restaurant (we were assigned to the early seating in London Room) twice. The girls never liked anything on the menu, but the waiter obligingly brought them burgers and mac and cheese. The dress code wasn’t strictly enforced and we saw plenty of people there with shorts on. We did not go to the two formal nights but judging by the people we saw around the ship, the dress covered the range from evening wear and tuxes to casual sun dresses. We were seated at a large table with a Baptist minister and his family, with whom we had nothing in common but who proved to be extremely nice and interesting dinner companions. The girls are underage and I don't drink alcohol, so we all bought the all-you-can drink soft drink cards. It turned out that I didn't need one, because I only drink coffee and water which is free (along with ice tea and various fruit juices), and I never used the card.

The service: Most of the service was terrific. Can't say anything but positive things about our room steward, Afan, and our London Room waiter, Lawrence (and their helpers) and we did supplement their tips at the end of the cruise. I ran every morning on the deck track and, at 5:30 in the morning, the crew was up and polishing the brass on deck. One of my step-daughters forgot a med so had to make use of the ship's medical facility. The nurses were terrific. I also used the purser's desk several times and got prompt and courteous service. The only less-than-exemplary service I got was in the ship's shops. I got the feeling that the sales people there work on commission, because they seemed only to be interested in serving people buying big ticket items. The only other annoying service related issue happened at the end of the trip, when we were informed that it was customary to tip the dining room Maitre D'. They even delivered an envelope in which to provide the tip. We had never seen the Maitre D', so when he came around to the table the last evening (ostensibly to give us a souvenir print of the ship but in reality, to collect his tip), we had no idea who he was. Needless to say, he did not get a tip from us.

The shore excursions: Our stops were Cozumel, the Grand Caymans and Jamaica. We bought all of our excursions through the ship. The night before we got into a port, we would program our television to see the excursions and make reservations. It might have cost a little more than making arrangements on our own, but for us, the convenience was worth the cost. I wanted to see Chichen-Itza in Cozumel but decided against the 12 hour trip and compromised with a trip to the Mayan ruins of Tulum, which I would highly recommend. Don't forget to take a bathing suit, because the ruins ajoin a lovely beach and you'll have time to swim. The girls had no interest in Mayan ruins, so they went for the Playa Mia Beach Break. They said that it was the nicest beach they encountered on our trip. The best shopping (choices, quality and prices) was in Mexico and I regret not doing more shopping there. We decided against a tour in the Grand Caymans and opted for shopping and going to the beach on our own. Both the shopping and the beach were nothing special (I understand that the hurricanes last year wreaked havoc on the Grand Cayman beaches) but it was fine for a day out. In Jamaica, we went on the Shaw Park Beach Break and Dunn's River Falls tour. The beach was lovely and climbing the 600 foot Dunn's River Falls (something you’d never be allowed to do in the States) is a must. Jamaican vendors are famous for their aggressive sales tactics and even the cruise director (Chris Jefferson), who tended to put a positive spin on everything, warned about them. We had no problems, but heard stories from others on our tour who were "attacked" by vendors on the mandatory trip through a craft market from the Falls to the buses.

Debarkation: We could either carry all of our own luggage and disembark early, or let the porters take our luggage go with the general debarkation. Because we weren't in a hurry, we opted for the general debarkation. Those who had an early flight could have been off the boat by 8. We were off by 10ish and at the Miami airport by noon. Again, there were long lines to get through immigration, but it went fairly quickly and painlessly.

In general: We enjoyed the trip. Cruising is not at the top of my must do again list, but I would, given the right opportunity. Next time, however, I'd probably choose another cruise line. I thought that Carnival gave good value for the money and found the whole experience was more than satisfactory. However, if I were not traveling with young people, I would opt for a cruise line that geared its services to an older, more upscale client base.

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