Satisfactory Cruise with underwhelming food

Item: Carnival Paradise
Rating: 3.2
Author: paulbertino

Carnival Paradise Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

paulbertino

Contributor Level: Deck Hand

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 45

Overall rating:

3.2 out of 5

Verified Review

5 Night Western Caribbean (Tampa Roundtrip)

Sail date: February 03, 2018

Ship: Carnival Paradise

Cabin type: Oceanview

Cabin number: M257

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

This was our First and Last Cruise on Carnival. Food and Entertainment were disappointing for the price paid for a cruise. We have had better experience on Princess and Royal Caribbean.

Embarkation

4 out of 5

Quick and efficient check-in and boarding.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

2 out of 5

See Below for explanation. One Star for the Dinner Meal One Breakfast in the Destiny Dining Room for this trip. We were seated on East side of the Restaurant facing the Rising Sun. West side was unoccupied. All windows on our side had shades pulled due to the sun. So much for an ocean view. Ordered Eggs Benedict. Eggs were poached hard (not to my taste). Set them aside and retreated to the Buffet for an omelet. One Star for Breakfast Meal in the Dining Room. Buffets were well staffed and provided a wide range of meal selections. We ate most breakfasts and lunches among the themed meal stations. Breakfast eggs made to order, a decent selection of meats and sides, plenty of fresh fruit. The Deli, Mongolian Grill and Pirate Pizza offered us a range of good tasting meals. Perhaps we learned to appreciate these spaces more since the dining rooms were such a disaster. Not everything was great here. many of the hot buffet dishes suffered the same lack of quality and flavor as the dinner menu. Overall, Three stars for the Buffet. Bar staff was generally courteous, friendly and efficient.

Destiny Dining Room

1 out of 5

The Dinner meals were underwhelming and not of the quality and flavor that we have experienced on 2 previous cruises (other cruise lines). Main courses lacked variety and what was selected were just okay. One night I was served a thin slab of Prime Rib (3/8") with large area's of fat. The au jus was thick as syrup. My wife had a "brick" of Lasagna with no marinara sauce to be found. A spinach pate stuffed Mushroom appetizer was horrible. A Creme Brule dessert was served with carmelized sugar so dense it was removed intact and had to be set aside. These are the worst examples of our meals, but the others were not much better. One Star for the Dinner Meal That said, our wait staff team of Connie and Andrea were excellent. They were attentive and looked to offer alternatives when we voiced that a meal did not meet expectations. They provided the service we expect from a cruise experience, just could not fix the food.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Very good dance troupe providing some terrific entertainment. Their show was 45 minutes. The follow-on entertainment most nights was 2 comedians alternating 30 minute acts for a couple of hours. The quality of these performers was Excellent. But, there was no other acts. Entertainment is apparently not an objective of Carnival.

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

Ship Quality

2 out of 5

Strong smell of Diesel over several days on the Main Deck (5) in the early morning. We smelled it during walks down the corridor but it was fortunately not near our cabin.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Ports of call

George Town, Grand Cayman

4 out of 5

I would suggest the sting ray trip to anyone who wants to experiencea once in a lifetime..

Thumbs Up 14

Cozumel, Mexico

3 out of 5

Disembarkation

4 out of 5

4 Comments

LiaGabriella 6 years ago

Carnival is a great cruise line. Don't just give up. It is like you giving up on an animal or a best friend after they did something they couldn't help but do. Again sorry to hear that

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teddygoogs 6 years ago

Not sure what ship you were on? Im on the same one and our cruise was AMAZING. The diesel smell lasted 4 hours TOPS. You should stick to your "luxury" cruises and allow the people who enjoy fun to come here.

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iamsay 6 years ago

Sorry to go hear. Don't give up on carnival though.

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GIL155 6 years ago

Gotta say - go with what makes you happy. Nice to try something different, but extra nice to return to one's comfort level.

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Other reviews of this sailing

This was my husbands first cruise on carnival. My 4th. He loves it. As always excellent service. We will be back. Happy cruising.

Great Experience all the way!

Great for the kids