Just returned from my excursion  aboard the MS Paradise (two weeks ago), and I'm wishing I was still there.  This was my second cruise with Carnival (in the past 5 months), and as it looks it will not be the last.  Five months ago my wife and I sailed on the Sensation and had such a good time that we booked the Paradise the following week.  The allure of a smoke free ship is what made the decision so easy.  It's kind of like this…while aboard the Sensation we went to the dance club for a little late night dancing.  We were on the dance floor having a good time when we notice a 21 or 22 year old girl on the dance floor waving her arms about with a cigarette.  She burned two or three people before they made her leave the floor….Nuff said.  Anyhow, I booked the cruise through our friendly travel agent, and the air I booked myself on-line (expedia.com…..no problems at all). 

Finally we were off!!  Our flight arrived in Miami at 9:30am'ish, and to our surprise there wasn't a Carnival representative there waiting like they said there would be.  Not a problem, we proceeded to the baggage claim and found a representative there.  We had purchased the transfers (gratuity included.?) from Carnival so what this meant was that since we arrived so early it was hurry up and wait.  The shuttle busses don't start running till 11:30am or so.  You will be able to load your suitcases and such on a truck that will bring them to the boat and have them magically appear at your cabin later.  On the bus your driver will point out obvious sites like the Orange Bowl.  Nothing against the driver, but when you look out the window of the bus and see this huge stadium with the words Orange Bowl on the side you kinda figure it out.  I guess this is their idea of a tour.  Many people mentioned that the drivers ask for tips, but it seems like enough people complained to Carnival that they don't ask per se, but they do use words like Thank You for your generosity.  Hmmm.  Anyhow, then you get off the bus enter the terminal, and grab a British Virgin Island customs card.  I suggest you bring a pen with you and fill this out in line.  Many people seem to stop right in the entrance to fill it out while 20 people rush by them to get in line.  The line appears long, but moves quite fast considering.  All that's left at the terminal is to pick up the sail and sign card/room key, take a quick photo (whoever's idea this was should be shot.  One doesn't look their best after getting up early ridding on a cramped plane for 3 hours). 

After we finished our emergency drill/round up at muster stations, we went up on deck (Starboard Side) for a little game.  Apparently it's a screaming contest with the 104,000 ton Destiny….Does the name Custer mean anything to you.  Our cruise directory Troy assured us that we would be louder due to our superior lung capacity (a.k.a. the non-smoking factor).  No such luck.  Anyhow, that's a great sight/photo op. to see the Destiny slowly move by and out to sea.  Soon after we were under way ourselves.

Elation Dining Room- Late seating:  As expected the food was great, although I thought the food on the Sensation was just a tad bitter better.  Also, aboard the Sensation the waiters dressed up for a theme night every night.  Not so on the Paradise.  Not a big deal, just an observation.  They did sing and dance a couple of nights, which is always a fun time.  Our waiter Willy (Wilfredo) was very attentive and pleasant.  We harassed him quite a bit asking him where certain foods are from and such, but he was a very good sport about it.  Our busboy Raphael was a very nervous person who didn't speak much English, but your glass was never empty with this guy.  If you have ever been to a Chinese restaurant you know what I mean.  He did a great job, which is the bottom line.

Paris Restaurant:   We ate breakfast and lunch here pretty much every day.   They had a great selection and the food was pretty good.  Not much else to say about it other than it's like going to a buffet restaurant.  It's very casual/laid back dinning.  One negative thing is that whenever we tried to get some juice the darn thing never worked or was empty, and the one time that you could get the thing to work it just poured out water.  That was probably the most major complaint I had the whole time.

San Juan:   We didn't get off here based on some of the stories we had heard about it.  Also, I had read reviews from this site about the port and no one else was too impressed either.  We stayed aboard and went to the game show.  This was a great time!  Hilarious!!   Basically the passengers are put to the trivia test for a bottle of champagne.  Some of the answers that come out of people are unbelievable.  As some other reviewers have stated, we could have done without this stop. 

Tortola:   We signed up for one of the snorkel tours.  You 'motor' sail out about an hour; snorkel for an hour or so then 'motor' sail back.  All in all if you like to snorkel it's a pretty good value.  We were swimming around with a barracuda, not by choice it was just hanging around for something…maybe lunch…This snorkeling doesn't begin to compare with that of the Bahamas which is the best I've seen so far.  We didn't hang around and shop at all, cause from what I heard there wasn't too much of it. 

St. Thomas:   This was the best stop by far.  My wife and I took the champagne catamaran tour.  While it is a bit pricey in comparison it was worth every penny.  FYI…in the shore talk with Troy he mentions that you will be served a 6-course meal….I guess if you consider Subway a fine dining experience then you may agree with him.  They provide picnic type food, sandwiches, potato salad, chips, etc.  Anyhow, the catamaran, The Jolly Mon, is a well kept 50-60 footer (not sure) with a very competent and friendly crew.  You sail to a beach on St. Johns for snorkeling, sunbathing or whatever you want to do.  When you get back on the boat you can eat lunch, and take advantage of an open bar for the rest of the time, which was very popular with the people on our trip.  The total trip takes about 6 hours, so if your looking to shop for any bit of time this tour may not be for you.  It sounded like this is a seasonal tour, cause the captain of the Jolly Mon told us that we were the last tour for him this season.  He was pulling the boat out of the water the following week and heading back to New York.   

The last 2 days were at sea, and were probably the most enjoyable.  It's nice to have no agenda, and to be able to sleep in, catch a late breakfast, and sit out on a side deck reading a book.  Because you have 2 and a half days to get back to Miami they travel a little slower.  What this means is that you don't feel a thing and when you get off the boat you have less of that the floors moving thing.  Last cruise on the Sensation while waiting in the airport on the way home, it felt like the whole airport was moving.

Debarkation:   We had a 7pm flight home from Miami so figured we wouldn't rush off the ship.  When our color was called to leave we waited for all of the group to leave then we straggled behind them.  Oddly enough we walked off the boat and into the baggage claim area, all of our luggage was together so we scooped it up got on a bus and left within a matter of 10 minutes!!  My advice as far as flight times go is as follows:  don't take too early of a flight just in case…don't take too late of a flight cause you'll be waiting in the airport which will seem like forever.  If you can, schedule a 2pm flight or so.  This seems like a happy medium.

One important note to mention is that when Carnival says 'smoke free'….they mean 'SMOKE FREE'..  Supposedly there was an instance during our week that someone got caught smoking at 3:30am on an upper deck, and they sent him on his way at the next port with a $250 fine!!  The thing that perplexes me is that this is the only smoke free boat out there..why didn't he book any one of the dozens of other ships??  I guess there is one in every crowd, what can you do.  

Dollar for dollar cruising has been the best vacation I have taken.  I'm planning a cruise for June on Royal Caribbean, but I think that I'll find myself back on Carnival for next fall probably on the Triumph.