First time experience cruise

Item: Carnival Paradise
Rating: 4
Author: Cruiser23317351

Carnival Paradise Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

Cruiser23317351

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 11

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

Verified Review

5 Night Western Caribbean (Tampa Roundtrip)

Sail date: November 20, 2017

Ship: Carnival Paradise

Cabin type: Oceanview

Cabin number: R153

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

Enjoyed our first cruise. but our next one will be on a larger ship with more pools and larger cabins. We will also leave from a port closer to our home. Long ride to Tampa from our house. Hopefully we will know more of what to expect next time since this was our first cruise. We did really enjoy snorkeling and the beach area in Cozumel. The land water bus tour in Grand Cayman was pretty cool too.

Embarkation

3 out of 5

Embarkment was great. Quick, simple, easy and staff was very friendly.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

Main dining room was clean with friendly staff who brought food and entertained us with song and dance. Food was okay. Lots of different foods each day with grill options, omelets and lots of ice cream.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Children's Programs

5 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Staff was nice, friendly and helpful.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

Pools were small. Only 2 hot tubs for regular guests which were taken over by a group of teenagers most of the time who were very rude. Staff kept the ship very clean.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Cabin was kind of tight and difficult to walk around bed with bunk bed over top. But other than that it was a nice cabin. Except we were right on top of the loading area and there was noise under us all the time especially when we docked.

Ports of call

Tampa, Florida

4 out of 5

George Town, Grand Cayman

3 out of 5

Cozumel, Mexico

4 out of 5

Disembarkation

4 out of 5

A little confusing on where to go to get in line. But other than that everything went pretty smoothly.

5 Comments

Kell78 6 years ago

Going in April. I really do hope they get Guys Burger Joint.

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ScottNWDW 6 years ago

The Paradise is one of Carnival's older ships. The room size on these ships is actually larger than on many of the newer ships. Like the previous post says check the square footage or upgrade to Jr Suite or higher. paradise will be getting updated in February with a water park where the aft pool is, and the Lido Deck ool area will also be updated with more hot tubs I believe as well as Guys Burger Joint and the Blue Iguana Tequila Bar and Cantina and Red Frog Rum Bar.

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pappasmurf22 6 years ago

Unless you upgrade to junior suites or higher the cabins are pretty much all 185sq ft. Some are even a little smaller. Check the sq ft of the cabins before you book them. Also, use the "Explore Ships" in Ship Mate and check the deck above and below the cabin you are considering to see if something is going to be too noisy for you. I never book a cabin without checking this first. The

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jbattle48 6 years ago

Paradise is going into dry dock in February...they have started the renovation already. Be patient, excellent crew!

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Aamili 6 years ago

Paradise is a bit small and dated, but Carnival has some great ships. Look for ships that have been updated to the Fun Ship 2.0 status, they have a lot of fun extras.

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