Jani

Age: 37
Occupation: Medical Office Support
Number of Cruises: One
Cruise Line: Carnival
Ship: Paradise
Sailing Date: January 11th, 2004
Itinerary: Western Caribbean

My husband and I were first time cruisers on the “Paradise” and this trip was the honeymoon that we never had and also our anniversary. We were told by our travel agent that because of this, there would be a special dinner or party etc. for all those celebrating special occasions, if there was such an event, we were never informed or made aware of it. Even though we had a good time, we were somewhat disappointed in some aspects of the trip.

We began by flying from Dallas, Texas to Miami International. Even though our tickets included a shuttle to the port, we chose to take a taxi, which turned out to be a good choice since we took the shuttle at the end of the cruise back to the airport and it was a mad house. Take my advice, pay the $11.00 or so for the taxi. Once at the port the wait in line to go through security and check in went quickly and the staff was smiling and friendly. Then we were sent upstairs to be treated like a herd of cattle and have commands barked at us by more than one abrasive and rude Carnival Representative. We were so relieved when we were finally aboard so that we could start enjoying our trip. My husband, who was famished from all the early morning travel, went to the 24 hour pizza bar and was ignored by the staff behind the counter as he placed a “closed” sign where we were standing. Not a great start for a vacation we worked hard and saved several months for. We encountered several rude staff members throughout the week in the same Paris Restaurant where the buffet is served. After the safety drill at 4:00 and we at sea, all the buffet counters were reopened and a sweet, smiling young man named Ephsian in the Paris Restaurant said, “Welcome aboard the Paradise!” He was the first sincerely warm and polite staff member since 11:00 AM that morning and genuinely made me feel welcome.

We were very happy with our dinner waiter George and the food was okay but not as fabulous as I had anticipated. We also met two great couples seated at our table from Michigan and New Jersey who we hope to maintain a friendship with. Our cabin steward also did a great job and we were very entertained by the wonderful towel animals left on our bed each night while we were at dinner.

The shore excursions were very over priced and Carnival discourages tours not booked through them. Our first day we went on the Mayan tour in Belize which was beautiful in spite of the rain during the “Dry Season” and our guides were wonderful at taking us to another culture’s world and time. Our short stay in our second port of Isla Roatan was again rainy but enjoyable. However, we did pre book a private tour in our third port in the Grand Caymans for the stingray sand bar through Captain Bryan’s (http://grandcaymancruiseexcursions.com) and this was by far the best excursion (our first day of sunshine) and well worth the approx. $70.00 for two adults. We met one couple from the ship who ordered room service before they left and brought it with them to the island (a tip for those on a budget). Our last port was Cozumel where we snorkeled with the dolphins and shopped afterwards and had dinner on the pier. We spent almost $1000 on the three excursions booked through Carnival and we will definitely pre-book all of our excursions in the future with private tour operators.

The days at sea were a little boring since there weren’t many activities geared towards active thirty something couples. Lounging in the sun and the pleasing live music can last only so long. Also, while lounging and sipping tropical drinks from any of the bars, top shelf drinks are only an extra dollar and well worth it. But, pay close attention and know the ingredients of your drinks since we only came across one bartender who knew that tequila wasn’t the only liquor in a strawberry margarita.

Carnival has had a hard time selling the non-smoking cruise and will discontinue it later this year which is unfortunate. The loss in their profit margin from this ship could account for the lack of everything that should have been spectacular on this cruise. Overall, the ship itself is nice and we had a good time but I don’t feel that we got our money’s worth. We plan on trying another cruise line which our new friends from Michigan suggested and we may try another Carnival ship in the future since we hear that Carnival will upgrade you for free if you have sailed with them in the past. Maybe their other ships will live up to my grand expectations.