Everything is rated above. We'd never been on a family cruise before. Overall I'd give it a "B" grade. My wife and I did spa treatments and had a Chinese acupuncturist talk with us beforehand (not forced but felt like it) and then at the conclusion of spending $350 for couples massage our therapists pressured us into purchasing the lotions they used. We didn't, but they were way too pushy. We just wanted to relax and go back to our children. This is an area for improvement. Most of the ship's employees were great, especially Mr. P our cabin steward and the Elations wait staff. Need a few more activities, more deck chairs around the swimming pool and warmer water in the pool to prevent everyone from crowding the hot tubs.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Terrific, no problems at all
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Main dining room was nice, breakfast good. We pre-paid tips and pre paid the Cheers and Bubbles packages for drinks. Did not like either of the programs. We had to sign a receipt with every drink order and because we're nice people we signed additional tips. Don't like being under that "pressure" on vacation. If you pre pay tips plus drinks you should get an armband or something similar that allows you to get what you want when you want it
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Pool was nice but freezing cold which meant everyone went into the hot tub. No space there at all during the cruise. Warm up the temperature of the pool. Waterslide was fun. Increase the water pressure though. People were getting stuck in the slide and it took people a long time to go down the slide as a result. Miniature golf was fun. Fitness center was nice.
Entertainment
2 out of 5
Just really didn't see anything that interested us much for the family
Children's Programs
2 out of 5
liked the arcade, but more video games needed. A room with X boxes for the 15 year old teenagers would be great
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
We were in U floor, 6th floor and "Mr P" was amazing. Did everything for us that we asked and our children loved him. He deserves a promotion. Servers were amazing in the Elations dining room.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
Hard to find a chair by the main pool if you didn't get there early. Not enough. Adult area not big enough. Overall, pretty good. It was our children's first cruise so we wanted a smaller ship to get them used to it. But not enough activities on board for children. This ship would be difficult to go on more than 4 nights.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Loved our room, loved our balcony. Cabin steward was terrific.
Ship tip
Carnival Paradise is a nice ship but a small one. If you're looking for a short cruise to Cozumel, this is a good choice.
Seemed very disorganized. We didn't get off the ship until close to 11am and it was only because we didn't hear our floor being announced. Kind of a poor way to end a vacation. Carnival should improve this experience. People have a great time for 4-5 days and then get a poor taste in their mouth upon departure. But that's what they remember. Areas for improvement here in customer service.
I've been trying without luck to get my hands on a recent Fun Times for the Paradise. My family is travelling on the Paradise in March and am wondering how it's changed since the last time we sailed with Carnival. Thank you!
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