Visiting Cuba via a cruise ship is about the only way the average American will ever see this country, and while the overall cruise experience on the Paradise is a little less than stellar, being able to check this item 'safely' off our bucket list was well worth the price of admission. So worth it. we're going back again.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
After years of stumbling, Carnival has figured out how smoothly embark passengers. Albiet, while this cruise was only at 60% capacity, the embarkation process was very quick. We arrived at the very beginning of our embarkation window at 11:30, and was onboard sipping a cold one by 12:00. That's a far cry from years past when you may wait in line for hours just to get inside the cruise terminal, only to wait another hour or so to get through security.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
The buffets were pretty much standard across all of Carnival's ships; however, the lunch salad bar was much improved from just 6 months ago. Meaning, it was actually a 'salad' bar. We cruised on the Paradise in Sept. 18, and back then, there were salt and pepper shakers on every table on the Lido deck's tables in the buffet area. Not so in April 19. There definitely was a shortage of S&P shakers on this boat. You had to go to a condiment station to find them. On this particular cruise, there seemed to be a shortage of help in the main dining room for dinner. One of the frustrations many guest experienced each night was that all service was suspended during 'show time'. This was the first time we've experienced this, and was a little disappointing.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
The fitness center on the Paradise is adequate for the size of the ship that it is. The pools were also adequate, but we were also at only 60% capacity with only 65 minor children on board, so there was plenty of real estate in the pools for everyone.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
The entertainment on the Paradise was the most disappointing aspect of this cruise. The stage shows were, how should I say: horrible. We thought it was just us, but after talking to other passengers, our own critiques were confirmed. While stage acts on a cruise are just that, a cruise act; the performances on the Paradise this trip were the worst we've ever seen. They gave validity to the joke: there's a reason they're performing on a cruise ship. HOWEVER, the comedy acts were some of the best we've experienced. Kudos to the comedians. They definitely made up for the lackluster stage acts.
Children's Programs
We did not travel with any children, and there were very few children on the ship.
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
The stateroom staff on the Grand deck, deck 14, were excellent. No problems, no issues. Service as expected on Carnival. The Lido clean-up staff were very lacking. During sea days, it would literally take hours before someone would come by and empty the ash tray or collect the empties. On the last sea day, I sat in the same spot for 7 hours without anyone coming by to empty the ash tray or collecting any trash.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
The Paradise has gone through a couple of design changes/upgrades of the past couple of years, with each bringing welcome improvements. The one thing it's lacking is the ubiquitous Alchemy Bar. Once that upgrade happens, it'll be about as good a layout as you can get for a fantasy-class cruise ship. One other thing regarding the layout: this was a cruise to Cuba. Carnival should consider expanding their smoking section after porting in Cuba. The amount of people wanting to light up and savor their recently procured puros from Cuba overwhelmed the normal designated smoking section. I know; I was there. With two post-Cuba sea days, the outdoor smoking section should definitely be expanded.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
My wife and I are experience cruisers, so we know not to over pack, thus a Jr. Suite was just fine for us. While the bathroom was a tad bit on the small size, we had no issues for the 5-day cruise we were on.
Ship tip
There are no good seats in the Normandie Theater aft of the first set of support poles on the stage level. If you're going to go to a stage show, GO EARLY and try to get your seats forward of the support poles on the stage floor.
I'm only giving this port a 4 star rating, not because of anything Carnival did, or didn't do, or because of anything wrong with the excursion we went on, but because of the restrictions placed on all US citizens by the US State Department. Without those restrictions, this would be a 5 star destination. We did the 'In Hemingway's Footsteps' excursion. It was 7 hours long. But so are all the excursions. They have to be to qualify for the 'People to People' category to be able to visit the country. I could write an entire article on this topic alone. But I digress. If there's one thing about Carnival and their excursions, they are organized. Disembarking hundreds upon hundreds of tourists into a communist country's cruise ship terminal went surprisingly smooth. From organizing the different groups, processing through their customs and immigration stations, to segregating and boading the different tour buses, everything went surprisingly smooth. Cuba is a must see for anyone who wants to step back in time; for anyone who wants to be reminded of how truly blessed we Americans are. Go to Cuba. Do your research. Know the rules. Buy your cigars; and have a great time. We're already planning our next trip back... this year.
About as organized as you can be when disembarking a couple thousand weary tourists. We hand carried all of our luggage of the ship, so when we got the green light at 7:30 am to disembark, we were in our car and driving away from the terminal by 8:00 am. It doesn't get much better than that.
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