August 2016 - 5 Night Western Caribbean (Tampa Roundtrip) Cruise on Carnival Paradise
Rough Seas but Amenities Adequate
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Cruise1
Review11
Helpful VotesAugust 2016 - 5 Night Western Caribbean (Tampa Roundtrip) Cruise on Carnival Paradise
Rough Seas but Amenities Adequate
Carnival Paradise
Sail date: August 01, 2016
Rough Seas but Amenities Adequate
Staff were mostly friendly and fun, but some very poor service will stand out above the 80% good. Food was ample; occasionally surprisingly delicious but at other times could be very average. Some slippery floors not posted on the boat from time to time, but the older ship is well maintained. We detoured around a hurricane and felt very rough seas for a day, took longer than planned to get to a shore stop and was disappointed with short shore time in Cayman Islands. Stateroom was not airconditioned, I recommend taking a fan. The "free" drinks programs - buyer beware that if in US waters sales tax applies to drinks, so they're not free after all! The photographs taken and produced on board were quite nice, but they start at $22 for one print - and at 4 a day taken for 5 days I could have just cruised again for the cost of the memories captured - no discounts or packages available. Dinner service was too structured and not family friendly, and takes a long time to complete as your entire table moves through courses at the same speed. The "24" hour pizza bar was wonderful, but found it to be unstaffed for 2-6 hours a day. Pools were tiny; and crammed full and weren't in operation at non peak times. It took getting splashed in the eyes with the salt water by unsupervised children and unruly adults 8 times in 15 minutes before I didn't return.
Carnival Paradise
Bring a fan, don't expect food after midnight
Staff were mostly friendly and fun, but some very poor service will stand out above the 80% good. Food was ample; occasionally surprisingly delicious but at other times could be very average. Some slippery floors not posted on the boat from time to time, but the older ship is well maintained. We detoured around a hurricane and felt very rough seas for a day, took longer than planned to get to a shore stop and was disappointed with short shore time in Cayman Islands. Stateroom was not airconditioned, I recommend taking a fan. The "free" drinks programs - buyer beware that if in US waters sales tax applies to drinks, so they're not free after all! The photographs taken and produced on board were quite nice, but they start at $22 for one print - and at 4 a day taken for 5 days I could have just cruised again for the cost of the memories captured - no discounts or packages available. Dinner service was too structured and not family friendly, and takes a long time to complete as your entire table moves through courses at the same speed. The "24" hour pizza bar was wonderful, but found it to be unstaffed for 2-6 hours a day. Pools were tiny; and crammed full and weren't in operation at non peak times. It took getting splashed in the eyes with the salt water by unsupervised children and unruly adults 8 times in 15 minutes before I didn't return.