rich659
Second Mate
Tarpon Springs
Joined 12/2013
20
Cruises3
Reviews52
Helpful VotesUpcoming cruises
Past cruises
April 2024 - 4 Night Western Caribbean (Tampa Roundtrip) Cruise on Carnival Paradise
December 2023 - 8 Night Panama Canal - Partial Transit (Tampa Roundtrip) Cruise on Carnival Pride
November 2022 - 5 Night Western Caribbean (Tampa Roundtrip) Cruise on Brilliance of the Seas
July 2021 - 7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Port Canaveral Roundtrip) Cruise on Mardi Gras
January 2021 - 6 Night Western Caribbean (Tampa Roundtrip) Cruise on Carnival Legend
April 2020 - 5 Night Western Caribbean (Tampa Roundtrip) Cruise on Carnival Paradise
September 2019 - 7 Night Glacier Discovery Southbound (Seward To Vancouver) Cruise on Westerdam
January 2019 - 7 Night Western Caribbean (Tampa Roundtrip) Cruise on Carnival Miracle
January 2018 - Western Caribbean Cruise on MS Rotterdam
Terrific!
The embarkation could have gone a little better. There were several stations that did not have attendants, which would have improved the boarding process.
May 2017 - 5 Night Western Caribbean (Tampa Roundtrip) Cruise on Empress of the Seas
Empress, 5 night, Tampa roundtrip
The boarding and disembarkation processes were the best I have experienced.
Food in the dining room for evening meals (Deck 5) was very good, except there were no bagels for morning service(Deck 4). This was a major disappointment. Lox is NOT served on an English muffin! At our table of 8, there were 4 other errors in the orders brought to our table. On our exit from the dining room, the desk personnel said that no bagels were brought on board for this cruise. The casino had all the usual activities, but it was H O T in there. Need to get the A/C fixed! On one occasion visiting the lavatory, the water coming out of the faucet was brown, eventually clearing. I asked an employee about this, was told "they as clearing the tanks, but this is not potable water anyway". Awful comment! This was our first cruise on the Empress, and probably won't again. We will give RC another go, perhaps from one of the east coast ports.
December 2016 - 4 Night Bahamas (Port Canaveral Roundtrip) Cruise on Carnival Valor
December 2015 - 5 Night Western Caribbean (Tampa Roundtrip) Cruise on Carnival Paradise
November 2014 - 7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip) Cruise on Westerdam
May 2014 - 5 Night Western Caribbean With Carnival Live (Tampa Roundtrip) Cruise on Carnival Paradise
November 2013 - 5 Night Western Caribbean (Tampa roundtrip) Cruise on Carnival Paradise
Pleasant cruise
Most things aboard went as we hoped and expected them to.
Good: Clean ship, stateroom, bars, lounges. Food good, but unremarkable (no "wow, yummy, gimme more!"). Dining room service was terrific. Room steward prompt to clean and set up stateroom. Entertainment teams and activites were enjoyable. Serenity deck much appreciated and well maintained.
Could be improved: Sound system during production shows in main showroom was not so good to my ears. Hand microphones did not provide consistent quality... sometimes spoken or sung words were unclear, or echoed. Don't have a clue what to recommend, not being an audio engineer. Although dining room service was terrific, occasionally, not all flatware, glassware or service utensils were in place.
REALLY needs help: casino exhaust system. Even though areas were designated as smoke-free, smoke from nearby areas drifted and made that part of the cruise experience less than enjoyable. Other cruise ships (Carnival and HAL) have not affected me to this degree.
August 2011 - 4 nights on Carnival Inspiration
November 2010 - 7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Port Canaveral roundtrip) Cruise on Carnival Dream
July 2002 - 7 Night Western Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale roundtrip) Cruise on Maasdam
June 1999 - 3 nights on SS Dolphin IV
Carnival Paradise
Sail date: November 30, 2013
Most things aboard went as we hoped and expected them to.
Good: Clean ship, stateroom, bars, lounges. Food good, but unremarkable (no "wow, yummy, gimme more!"). Dining room service was terrific. Room steward prompt to clean and set up stateroom. Entertainment teams and activites were enjoyable. Serenity deck much appreciated and well maintained.
Could be improved: Sound system during production shows in main showroom was not so good to my ears. Hand microphones did not provide consistent quality... sometimes spoken or sung words were unclear, or echoed. Don't have a clue what to recommend, not being an audio engineer. Although dining room service was terrific, occasionally, not all flatware, glassware or service utensils were in place.
REALLY needs help: casino exhaust system. Even though areas were designated as smoke-free, smoke from nearby areas drifted and made that part of the cruise experience less than enjoyable. Other cruise ships (Carnival and HAL) have not affected me to this degree.
MS Rotterdam
Sail date: January 07, 2018
The embarkation could have gone a little better. There were several stations that did not have attendants, which would have improved the boarding process.
Empress of the Seas
Sail date: May 15, 2017
Empress, 5 night, Tampa roundtrip
The boarding and disembarkation processes were the best I have experienced.
Food in the dining room for evening meals (Deck 5) was very good, except there were no bagels for morning service(Deck 4). This was a major disappointment. Lox is NOT served on an English muffin! At our table of 8, there were 4 other errors in the orders brought to our table. On our exit from the dining room, the desk personnel said that no bagels were brought on board for this cruise. The casino had all the usual activities, but it was H O T in there. Need to get the A/C fixed! On one occasion visiting the lavatory, the water coming out of the faucet was brown, eventually clearing. I asked an employee about this, was told "they as clearing the tanks, but this is not potable water anyway". Awful comment! This was our first cruise on the Empress, and probably won't again. We will give RC another go, perhaps from one of the east coast ports.
Cruise tips
MS Rotterdam
Be aware that some of the lounge chairs on Deck 3 are designated for the cabins on that deck. This means there are fewer chairs for folks to are from other decks.
Empress of the Seas
One of the older ships (maybe the oldest) in the fleet. Shows some age
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