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   Cruise Travel - Reader Reviews

Welcome to Your Favorites, where you have the opportunity to share your travel experiences with fellow Internet Travelers around the world.


Carnival Cruise Line

MS Paradise

Your Rating:Five Stars
Reviewed by: R. David Vergara
# previous cruises: 4
Date of Trip: February 14, 1999
Itinerary: Caribbean - Western

Overview
The first few steps aboard this ship paved the way for the rest of the cruise... a beautiful wooden and stained-glass atrium, a trio playing chamber music, and not a hint of smoke anywhere! I truly admire vision in marketing, and Carnival has made history again. But the best part is that Carnival is very serious about maintaining a smoke-free environment for their guests aboard this ship. (They escorted an entire family of six off the ship because a guest reported to the crew that their 15 year-old son was smoking on one of the open decks)

I gave this ship a 5-star rating because of the friendly & well trained crew/staff, overall cleanliness of the ship, value-added services provided by the staff, the sustaining level of superb service by the dining room personnel, and (most important) because I never had to smell smoke the entire time while on the ship.

Public Areas
The public areas were large and spacious both inside and on the open decks. During the days at sea, I noticed many guests on the Promenade (Carnival Blvd.) and perched in the corners of the empty lounges quietly enjoying a book, their favorite drink, and the peaceful view. At night, the Paradise lounges had something for everybody. We enjoyed everything from production shows to comedy acts, and dancing to a sing-along piano bar. I loved the smoke-free casino and heard numerous other guests lauding their praises for Carnival.

However, I do wish they would open the Piano bar earlier (about 7pm) and allow the Karaoke to continue later into the evening (Say about 11pm, for the benefit of the diners at Late seating)

Food and Service
Being a former waiter/bartender/manager at various fine dining establishments on the West Coast, as well as a world traveler, I have pretty high dining expectations from a $250/night/person all-inclusive hotel . However, we really enjoyed both the food and the exceptional service that the Paradise had to offer. We sat at a window table for eight in the Elation Dining Room with friends that we brought on the cruise with us. The ever-changing variety of food in the dining room was always prepared and presented exceptionally well. The service was always friendly, accommodating, precise, and non-intrusive (Our waiter, Okto, had a different table trick for us each night!). The Lido Deck buffet food was generally pretty good and very convenient. And the 24-hour Pizzeria served some the best pizza we've ever had on this planet. The Room service menu was somewhat limited, but was always delivered within about 5 minutes after you hung up the phone (that's FAST!!).

Cabins
Our outside cabin was located on the Empress Deck Forward behind the Purser's Office and was quite adequate for the both of us. The closet and drawer space was more than enough for my wife to enjoy. Carnival has done an exceptional job in insulating outside noise from coming into the cabin. (Our room was just below the dining room and we only faintly heard the footsteps of the dining staff during their nightly march around the dining room) The shower was more than large enough and the water was always hot. However, I wish they would replace their current toilet seats to a more comfortable (wider)version and use softer toilet tissue instead of thin sandpaper.

Entertainment
We attended all of the shows in the theater after dinner and I thought they were very well done. The orchestra was very good and never over-powered the performance. The midnight comedy acts were very funny but not too vulgar. The classical trio playing in the atrium bar seemed to always give the ship a continual aire of luxury.

The cruise staff was friendly, enjoyable, and very informative. We really appreciated the list of Carnival-recommended shops and that Carnival has purchase agreements with these vendors that guarantee the quality of the products that you buy form them. I also noticed various members of the cruise staff while in port helping Paradise guests with their shopping questions. (That's value-added service!)

Activities

Activities: While aboard ship:
- Saw the nightly production shows and daytime game shows
- Played BINGO
- Went to the Information Sessions about the Ports of call
- Always ate at a table on the fantail for lunch
- Ordered as many food items as I wanted to sample in the dining room
- GOT A MASSAGE!! (and found a new best friend)
- Played in the casino at night

Shore Excursions:
- Went to the ruins/beach at Tulum (Playa del Carmen)
- Snorkeled at Chaunkanab (Cozumel)
- Ate at a REAL Mexican Resturant while in Cozumel
- Saw mexican Mardis Gras parade
- Fed the Stingrays. VERY COOL!!(Cayman)
- Ate Conch fritters and Turtle steak. VERY GOOD!!(Cayman)
- Went to Brimmer Hall Estate & Plantation (Ocho Rios)
- Climbed Dunn's River Falls. WOW!! (Ocho Rios)
- Ate Stew Peas w/Red beans & Rice (Ocho Rios)

Who Goes
We booked this cruise with (3) other couples that were also celebrating their wedding anniversaries and had a GREAT time together. We all did our own thing (sometimes together) then always met for dinner.

Ages of the other guests ranged from toddlers to the elderly, with the majority being 30 to 50 years-old. Also, due to spring break in the Northeast, we had over 2500 guests aboard (a Paradise record), with about 530 of them being minors. However, other than the occasional "pattering feet" down the cabin passageway, the line at the pizzeria and the frozen yogurt machine, and the nightly meeting around the Atrium Bar with their "Coke Cards", we never really noticed them anywhere else.

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