Paradise is a dud

[baby doll]

Just got back off from the Paradise and I must say it is the worst of all the Carnival ships I have ever been on. The ship was ok, but one thing that makes the cruise is the cruise director and this one was a dud. Hardly ever heard from him like all the other ships. Even the activities were sparce. If they were it was after 10:00 pm as was most of the shows. After dinner nothing to do until late. I was really disapointed especially when I booked 4 other couples to go with me this time. Some first time cruisers and some first on Carnival, and hearing them will probably be the last.

[LisaP]

Welcome back, baby doll. I am sorry to hear your cruise wasn't all you had hoped -- I know how much you were looking forward to it. How were your ports of call?

[penny3333]

Welcome back baby doll, sorry to hear that Paradise wasn't. I still hope you enjoyed the cruise, and it definitely gives you an excuse to book another. As Bob E. says, there are no bad cruises, just some better than others. If the other couples didn't have a good time, you surely can convince them that this was an anomoly. Get busy book, it makes the debarkation blues much easier to handle

[baby doll]

You are right in that some cruises are better than others in a way, I've been spoiled by the Pride,Destiny, etc., but this cruise was WAYYYY below Carnivals standards. Its the fun ship right? Always fun, excitement coming from the crew, but this one was lacking big time. Liza you ask about shore time. Well Catalina is known for the round casino. You see it like a landmark and I have visited it and was excited to tell everyone how wonderful it was and be sure not to miss it. Guess what it wasn't even open until 3:00 pm and the last tender was at 4:00 to get back on ship. Carnival never even told anyone. We walked up to see it only to walk back and rested before hand to watch hundreds of people that walked by us going there to turn around and go back. I certainly sent a letter to the Chamber of Commerce of Catalina that when a ship is visiting and they want revenue they need to make sure their landmark is open. Why didn't Carnival know this? Sure would have saved a lot of walks to it. There is not that much to do at Catalina anyway as I had been on all of the little tours they offer before. Just over priced shopping.

[Dwayne]

Originally posted by baby doll:
You are right in that some cruises are better than others in a way, I've been spoiled by the Pride,Destiny, etc., but this cruise was WAYYYY below Carnivals standards. Its the fun ship right? Always fun, excitement coming from the crew, but this one was lacking big time. Liza you ask about shore time. Well Catalina is known for the round casino. You see it like a landmark and I have visited it and was excited to tell everyone how wonderful it was and be sure not to miss it. Guess what it wasn't even open until 3:00 pm and the last tender was at 4:00 to get back on ship. Carnival never even told anyone. We walked up to see it only to walk back and rested before hand to watch hundreds of people that walked by us going there to turn around and go back. I certainly sent a letter to the Chamber of Commerce of Catalina that when a ship is visiting and they want revenue they need to make sure their landmark is open. Why didn't Carnival know this? Sure would have saved a lot of walks to it. There is not that much to do at Catalina anyway as I had been on all of the little tours they offer before. Just over priced shopping.

baby doll, I am truly sorry the Paradise did not live up to your expectations. I don't think it is fair to blame Carnival though for the Catalina Casino hours of operation. I was on St. Thomas one time and missed going to Paradise Point. It was a big disappointment for myself and the friends I had talked it up to. Everyone was coming down, and they were not taking anyone up at that hour of the day because it was close to closing time.

I didn't think it was Carnival's fault at all for not announcing/printing the hours of operation. I thought it was my fault for not researching and getting the details about it.

I truly feel bad about your cruise not being what you expected. I have had a few short ones that didn't match my expectations either. I have never had a bad one though.

Dwayne

[Cruise Fanatic]

Catalina certainly has more to offer than just a casino. I took a very nice island tour where we saw buffalo and breathtaking views of the ocean.

[billybuzzy]

BabyDoll - Sorry about your cruise, there are other tours into the island that are more interesting than the Casino, many people expect to gamble there and that is simply not the case on Catalina, it is only a theatre like Grauman's Chinese in L.A. Still, you well know that there are other great ships and cruise adventures awaiting you! Don't let it get you down-book another cruise right away to wash away this memory!

Bon Voyage,

BillyBuzzy

[Lil' Lori]

We have only been on 1 Carnival ship, and it was the Paradise, for a 3 night new years eve cruise. We were with another couple, who had never cruised before. I was dying to go back on the RCCL Monarch, but it's dates were screwy over the new years, so we had to take the Paradise. Now, I also believe that any cruise, is better than not cruising at all. My husband and I both really thought that parts of the Paradise were very cheesy. I HATED the dining room. I felt like I was in a disco. Our table was a booth, there were several booths, and sliding into a booth with a long gown on just sucked . I felt the dining room really cheapend the ship. With these long line of lights, that would flicker on and off. I did not feel that it even compared to any of the dining rooms on RCCL or Princess we had been in. We were pleased with the room, big and room for an inside. Overall the ship we thought was ok, didn't mind the loud colors, (I thought the colors were loud) in parts of the ship. It was mostly the dining room, it really scarred us. My husband told me, don't ever book another Carnival. I told him, maybe it was because it is an older ship. If we ever did cruise Carnival, as of now, we would only consider a newer ship. I don't mind being ruff and rugged at times, I just like my cruise experience to be special. Does anyone have any thoughts on the other Carnival dining rooms? Sorry, this just reopened the "dining room can of worms" for me. Thanks, Lil' Lori

[Dave]

The newer Carnival ships have very elegant dining rooms. The Paradise is a Fantasy-class ship and that basic design dates from 1990 or so.

[TrvlPro]

You are right in that some cruises are better than others in a way, I've been spoiled by the Pride,Destiny, etc.,

baby doll, I too am sorry to hear of your disappointment with the experience.

It's apples vs oranges. Pride and Destiny have longer itineraries are newer, nicer ships and are a week long cruise. Comparing a little 3 or 4 nighter that hits one or two ports near by, Ensenada from the left coast and bahamas from FL are normally disigned as a quick get away vs a vacation. They're typically priced very low and often attract a different demographic. Its one of the reasons I hate when I hear recommendatios for first time cruisers to take a quickie to see if they like cruising. They're not really getting the full experience. They're getting a taste of an older ship in most cases and by the time they figure out their way around the ship and get comfortable, the cruise is over.

These are fine to get away and relax for a few days but your expectations have to be way different for for a quickie than a 7 day or longer cruise experience.

Cheers, Neil