A Good Introduction to a cruise

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Reviews: 0

Helpful Votes: 12

Review summary

The staff was wonderful! Always helpful no matter what department. Do be prepared for fairly expensive drinks (about $9 each). The boat has a lot of open spaces and quiet areas to spread out. Get up early, at least one morning, and enjoy the sunrise at sea, fantastic. Unfortunately for dinner we were seated with a 5 year old who repeatedly crawled up on to the table and grabbed our dinner and glassware. I tried to be polite telling the child "no" and the parents were so passive with him it made your skin crawl, only his 12 year old brother redirected him. We had a great waiter but decided to talk to the maiter D'. No explanation needed as he had seen the child in action and reseated us immediately. The tour to La Bufadora was wonderful. Yes the vendors are trying to "sell" you along the walk but just keep saying, "no thank you/no gracias" and keep a straight path. The view is lovely. Our tour hostess was fantastic and pointed out things all along the drive. The bus was comfortable and clean, I felt we got our money's worth. We also made a quick stop at the original casino (it's in town) from the 1930's that supposedly invented the margarita. If you appreciate old architecture this was absolutely beautiful and you will be delighted with what you see. The two of us walked the town center after our tour in about an hour. We always felt safe. There are a few shops back at the ship's dock, and surprisingly the prices overall were lower than what we found in town (i.e. a $7.50 item was $7 at the dock). And conveniently, all the stores throughout the day dealt with us with the US dollar. Overall, in the end, I'm not a cruiser type, but I have to say that Carnival did a wonderful job and I could recommend their cruises hand down.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

Entertainment

Service and Staff

Ship Quality

Cabin / Stateroom

Ports of call

Ensenada, Mexico

Pros: We loved being out at sea cruising and the land tour to la bufadora

Cons: ill behaved children

Recommends Carnival Paradise? Yes!

Other reviews of this sailing