home town buffet on a boat

Carnival Paradise Cruise Review to Mexico

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)
Reviews: 0
Helpful Votes: 36

Overall rating:

2 out of 5
Verified Review
Carnival Paradise

4 Night Baja Mexico (Los Angeles Roundtrip)

Sail date: January 31, 2011

Ship: Carnival Paradise

Cabin type: Oceanview

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 13 years ago

Review summary

Food: we were so excited to try the food everyone raves about. the quality is that of a sizzler or hometown buffet. honestly, i felt like i was at a hospice eating food that had no love in it. the cups are all dirty plastic. in fact the first cup and roll of silverware i grabbed had chunks of food on it. at night, in the restaurant, everyone at our table ordered a lot! at first we were shocked but then jumped on the bandwagon since the portions are small. the wait staff almost seemed annoyed, but this food was so much better than the buffet so we took advantage! entertainment: the main show was a joke. my high school plays were of better quality. i felt embarrassed for the performers. we actually walked out of the show and when we talked to the people at our dinner table, so did they! the cruise "fun crew" actually put on the best shows. their personalities were probably the best part of the cruise. the comedy itself was a joke. overall, i guess you get what you pay for. we were often bored. we met some awesome people, but other than that i think this ship left a bad taste in our mouth when it comes to taking another cruise. we are told this is a "starter cruise." personally, this made me never want to go on one again.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5
read above

Entertainment

1 out of 5
read above

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
if it weren't for the "fun crew" i think i would have nothing good to say. the cruise director had an outstanding personality. so did the rest of his crew. carnival is lucky to have them!

Ship Quality

3 out of 5
just dirty. i just didn't feel like anyone took pride in this ship. it was like a motel 6 on the water.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5
the rooms were a decent size. as soon as i got in my room there was a hair hanging on the towel rack. how could someone miss that? it was like it was purposely put there!!!!

Ports of call

Ensenada, Mexico

3 out of 5
i think after a day of being stuck at sea, it was nice to get off the boat. everyone will hassle you, trying to sell you the same thing the last guy just tried to sell you for either a lot more or less! when we got off the ship, all the shuttles asked us if we wanted a ride. when we declined, they said "good luck" as if we were in danger! it's literally a 10 minute walk and never for a second did we feel unsafe. a lot of other cruisers will be making the walk too so you aren't alone.

Catalina Island, California

3 out of 5
we just rented an electric bike and rode along with the golf carts! we made our own fun. not much to do, but pretty.

Pros: relaxing

Cons: food, the smells, entertainment

Recommends Carnival Paradise? No.

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