One of the BEST Cruises I've ever taken

Item: Carnival Paradise
Rating: 5
Author: ScottNWDW

Carnival Paradise Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

ScottNWDW

Contributor Level: Second Mate

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 2

Helpful Votes: 101

Overall rating:

5 out of 5

5 Night Western Caribbean (Tampa Roundtrip)

Sail date: October 27, 2018

Ship: Carnival Paradise

Cabin type: Oceanview

Cabin number: U170

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

This was our second time on the Paradise in 2 years. Our first time was in April 2017. On that cruise we were told of the upcoming changes and so we booked this cruise to see the changes. It was very impressive to see how much the ship had changed, newly renovated rooms, and dining rooms, the waterpark, the completely renovated Lido deck and it seemed everything was updated or upgraded.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Embarkation was nice and smooth. We were in our room within 20 minutes of parking the car across the street at the Tampa Terminal Parking. We did have "Faster to the Fun" and with that we bypassed the line and boarded right away. With FTTF our room was ready upon arrival. We were onboard and unpacked and having lunch by 12:15

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

the food this time around was just fantastic. The layer cakes that they were serving in the Paris Restaurant on Lido deck during lunch were out of this world. My favorite was the Citrus cake. The food in the destiny Restaurant at dinner was just perfect each time. There wasn't one thing I didn't like. The special desserts they had on Halloween were really good as well.

Paris Lido Restaurant

5 out of 5

The food here was very good and it was nice to see the variety of the offering. I loved the layer cakes they had at lunch and wished they had them through dinner as well. They were better than the desserts the MDR was serving at dinner. Also nice were the fruit (melons, pineapple) that were available most of the time.

Pool Bar

5 out of 5

Both Pool bars, now renamed Blue Iguana Tequila Bar and Red Frog Rum Bar were improvements over the generic bars that used to be here.

Paradise Atrium and Bar

5 out of 5

This was the place to be for the 80's review by Brandon, the cruise director. The atrium (with the two working elevators this time) was beautiful. I don't think they build them like this anymore.

Cafe Ile De France

5 out of 5

The drinks that I had here were great and a fraction of the cost of what you would pay at Starbucks. They need to get more desserts in there though like they show in promotional ads. What they had was kind of bland looking.

Taste Bar

5 out of 5

I know that on our April 2017 cruise this was the Taste Bar, but now all they have is Sushi, and it was a welcome change and with more operating hours a much welcome change.

Leonardo Lounge

5 out of 5

We had some fun here watching the Karaoke

Elation Dining Room

5 out of 5

We had Sea Day Brunch here and it was quite good and the staff was just as good as they were in the Destiny

Destiny Dining Room

5 out of 5

The food this time around was just great. There wasn't anything that I really didn't care for. Everything was done top notch. The staff that we had for our table were the best. When they saw us in other parts of the ship they made the effort to come and talk to us.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

The activities this time around seemed a lot more varied and the activities that we participated in were a lot of fun. Our last night of teh cruise was Halloween and the Halloween party was a lot of fun.

Serenity Adult-Only Retreat

5 out of 5

The Serenity Deck is always a favorite spot. A nice place to relax and read and/or watch the sea go by.

Resort Style Pool

5 out of 5

Loved the renovated pool area. Gone were the slide and the roof over the stage and the whole Rea just seemed so much larger. We heard there were only 129 kids on this cruise so maybe that helped out since the pool wasn't filled with the kiddos.

The Fun Shops

5 out of 5

It was nice to see the brightened up shops and now some actual Logo merchandise. Our last cruise had no Logo merchandise whatsoever, at least this time I was able to pick up a few things with the Carnival logo on them as well as a very nice polo shirt.

Mini Golf

5 out of 5

The new mini golf area was a very nice upgrade since our last cruise.

Carnival Blvd Promenade

5 out of 5

The promenade was a very nice place to stroll along. The only thing I didn't like about it was in the evening all the photographers and their backdrops make it next to impossible to sit and relax or just meet people.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

What we did see was top notch and not to be missed was the cruise director's 80's show in the Atrium. That was a blast.

Normandie Main Lounge

5 out of 5

The shows we saw here were very well done and the seating was comfortable

Art Gallery

2 out of 5

Most of the art was very nice, but I thought it was highly overpriced and the salespeople were too pushy

Children's Programs

We didn't have any kids with us, in fact the rumor was that there were only 129 kids onboard. We hardly saw any kids.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

The staff was just great. Our dining room staff Joseph, Sandra, Immune (not sure of the spelling) were the best. We saw each one of them in the Paris Restaurant at lunch or breakfast or at the Sea Day brunch and they always made the effort to come to our table, say hi and let us know what was happening that day on the ship. They were fabulous.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

We were on the Paradise in April 2017, and since then she has been dry-docked and renovated. Everything done during the renovation was great. The newly remodeled rooms were much brighter and and the addition of the USB ports was great. The renovated pool area seemed so much bigger without the slide and the roof over the stage. Guys and Blue Iguana, and Red Frog were welcome additions and even the renovated dining rooms were fantastic. Although the ship is about 20 years old it seemed like a brand new ship compared to last time.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

The newly renovated rooms were great. They seemed larger and were much brighter. The new cabinets and closets were great, although an additional shelf in the one closet would have been nice. The mini fridge was a welcome addition and the lighted mirror was awesome. The new fixtures in the bathroom were also very nice and will probably be much easier for the staff to keep clean.

Ship tip

Although this is a smaller and older ship than most in the Carnival fleet, it is still a Great ship and you will have fun. Bigger isn't always better. There IS plenty to do on this ship so don't let others deter you from any of the Fantasy Class ships.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Tampa, Florida

5 out of 5

Tampa is an easy port to sail from. For us it is just a quick drive from Orlando and we park in the port garage and walk across the street. Yes it may cost more than other lots in the area, but it is SO easy it is worth it. For the 5 night cruise it was just $75

Thumbs Up 2

Key West, Florida

5 out of 5

Key West is a favorite vacation destination for my partner and I, and this was the first time we did it as part of a cruise. Regardless of how much time you spend in Key West, you should have a nice time.

Thumbs Up 10

Cozumel, Mexico

5 out of 5

I've been to Cozumel several times and just find many of the shore excursions too expensive these days and since I have done a few I prefer to just get off and shop around the port area then get back on the ship and enjoy the almost empty ship. We just stayed in the Puerta Maya area and it was nice to browse through some of the shops before returning to the ship.

Thumbs Up 13

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

Traveler Photos

1 Comment

Other reviews of this sailing

Had a wonderful trip and great weather.