Carnival Paradise Cruise Reviews - Reviews

The service overall was good, and we have a good appreciation of Wijaia, our cabin steward.

I accept the necessity for the initial safety meeting, however the extended duration of the process coupled with the lack of seating or shade for your guests while they wait for the routine to complete was a lackluster beginning.

This was a first cruise for my wife and I, and after the experience, we are both questioning if there will be another one.  The Faster To The Fun package was easily our best purchase on the whole excursion.  We also purchased the drink package while on board which was a good investment, but the process of ordering drinks was a harassment.  Having to sign each and every time we ordered a drink is absurd.  Not only do you have our picture, you also have our room card.  This is a waste of paper, your employee time, your company resources, and your guests time.  As well, with the lack  of waitstaff attending the upper sundecks of the ship, it was constantly necessary for us to have to walk to the bars to refresh our drinks.  This wouldn't be something overall to complain about as we aren't helpless, but my wife or I should be able to go to the bar independently and pick up drinks (yes plural, one for myself and one for my wife or vice versa) without being interrogated or refused by one of your bar tenders.  If we are within our individual drink limit, and the package has been purchased for both cruisers, then the line of questioning should be eliminated.  It is insulting.  The point of buying the package is to make the cruise experience an all inclusive experience.  

We also had a negative experience in Cozumel when we took our lives in our own hands by taking a cab to the Aquarium beach resort, and overpaid and had a borderline terrifying experience with the staff.  That is not the fault of Carnival, and we don't hold you responsible.  I would ask that Carnival prep some type of guide for guests who are going to take their port days in their own hands.  We legitimately questioned whether we would make it back to the ship at all that day, and there were no red flags whatsoever when we were making our decision.

The food throughout was okay.  There was at least a lot of it, but none of it was outstanding.  The drink quality was quite good.  I was also regularly impressed by the consistent effort of your crew to clean the ship.  The saving grace of our whole trip was your crew and the beautiful views on the open ocean.  Everyone seemed to be invested in making us happy, and they did a great job.  The comedy club was always fun.

We did not do much in the way of excursions other than shop but it was extremely hot this time of year...the ship and employees were extremely nice we enjoyed ourselves

All staff for our room and meals were wonderful!!! Depending on your taste entertainment was good. I would not buy an excursion from anyone outside of the cruise line. Buy through Carnival. We bought our excursion from we missed our excursion due to partly trying to get off the boat and the other part due to very poor directions to where we were to go to get to our meetup area. Carnival excursions have some one to meet you right as you get off the ship so no getting lost in a foreign land. The directions we received were basically over the river and through the woods kind of directions so they could easily be misinterpreted.It would have been so much more helpful if there was a map showing you so the written directions would have made more sense. We did buy the insurance just in case for some reason we couldn't make it.However, I have emailed them a week ago and so far I have not heard back from the company to file to get our money back on the excursion...again I would strongly suggest to go through cruiseline they wait for you and they meet you off the boat so no bad directions and the prices were not that different either. Also bought a product online through a seminar sounded really good but we did not get internet while we were on the cruise so when we got back and I had internet through my phone and was still on the ship I looked up that product and more than 50% bad reviews on it and several stated their doctors said it was hazardous to your health.(Detox capsules) so I went to the spa area no one was there so then I went to guest services and told them my concern and wanted a refund. Their response at customer service was the cruise was closed and to contact the company via their website and again I have not heard from that company as well. Be careful of what you buy and who you go through to buy.

Everything about the cruise was excellent. From the meals to the entertainment to the wait staff, I loved everything about it. The only con was that my girlfriend and I developed a rash from what we think is the detergent used on the sheets and when we told carnival about it, they said its not there problem. We just asked for maybe an onboard credit for our next cruise which we wanted to book within the next few months but after that remark we probably will go with another cruise line. However, will definitely book using again.

Plusses: Very enjoyable cruise overall. The food, entertainment and staff were outstanding.

Drawbacks: The ship (Paradise) only had one pool: it could've used two because with 2400 guests it was crowded. The worst was going to the Mayan ruins at Cozumel about a week after Tropical Storm Bill. The mosquitoes were voracious! Even with repellant the mosquitoes were swarming and merciless. The park staff should spray bomb for them, esp. after a rain. 

We went in cruise from Tampa to Cozumel and back. Staff were so friendly.. in diningroom staff would come by, make sure you liked your meal. They did not treat u as though "u are stuck with the food so eat it".. Staff all over the ship were very engaging with the children. Helped alot throughout cruise. This is my 3rd time with Carnival and I am ready to go again!!

We had a great time and our son truly enjoyed Circle C.  The comedians were outstanding.  The ship is old but we had a great time.

The cabin was small but clean at all times.  The food was good but it needed to be more sophisticated.   The ship needs more updating.  The decoration is old and there's only one pool.

The spa and salon were great and the gym was a good size.  I attended different talks and even volunteer for a hairdo.  The gift personnel was really nice as well.

At the dining room, we liked the great service and our waiter attention to detail.

I have been on about 5 cruises. This one was good. Relaxing for me. But, if you have been on bigger ships enjoyed more. Movie night and offer more activities.

There were very few hand sanitizers available and some had no solution in them.  The tables by the pool and in the buffet area were not kept clean ... had to clear them ourselves.  Observed several cleaning crew just standing around talking to each other.  The pool was way too small and the tiles were so hot I burned my feet.  No hair dryers in the room.  Food and service in dining room was good.  Room was well kept and had good storage space.

The trip to cozumel was great but boat was not clean, water leaked on the floors, bathrooms were not clean, bartenders were great though!! Would not take this ship again!!

We took out grandkids on the 4 night to Cozumel cruise. This is just the right amount of time, kids loved the slide into the pool, the soft serve ice cream and the shows. Their first time out of the country was a hit in Cozumel. We went to a beach club that had all inclusive drinks and food. It had a nice pool with swim up bar and a lovely beach with palapas. Over all a great experience.

This was our first cruise and we were very excited about the trip because my children would have dedicated special time with thier 82 year old grandmother.  This was her 4th cruise and she was excited to introduce us to the experience.  I must admit I was a little hesitant because I read poor reviews about the age and appearence of the Carnival Paradise but again, my mother was so excited about taking us I tried not to worry about it.  Upon check in we were quickly notified that "some" of the rooms had been updated and that they were still working on a few.  Well, we were in dated rooms.  Clean, but dated.  Our rooms were on the 4th floor and directly under the casino.  The smell of smoke was so prominent  in the hallway and at times the room.  Well... my mother is a severe asthmatic. By the end of day two she spent more time in her room using her breathing machine than she did anything else.  My daughters eyes and nose watered excessivly the entire trip.  My daughter cleared up the day after we arrived back on land and my mother was hospitalized.  The smoke combined with the renovation of the rooms above thier room was a complete disaster.  

I must say, the accommodations and smoke completely ruined our trip BUT the Carnival Crew are an awesome bunch.    

The trip was great.  I was disappointed in the room.  It was obvious that Paradise is an older ship and the rooms show it.  The rest of the ship was great, employees, food, service and activities were great.  We enjoyed the shore cruises as well.

We have been on over 15 cruises in the past.  We went on this cruise just to unwind from stressful jobs.  It was exactly what we needed.  Two days at sea, Grand Caymen and Cozumel.  We had been to Cozumel a few times already, so we shopped for 2 hours and stayed on the ship the rest of the time.  The ship was empty and very peaceful.  Took a tour in Grand Caymen to see stingrays, turtle farm and Hell.  It was great!  Enjoyed the stingrays most of all.  Overall, very relaxing time on an older, but very well kept up, ship.  Embarking and disembarking were easy and painless!

Calvyn the CD was awesome! The food was good as was the service and housekeeping. The ship's pool was very small and crowded and the bed was hard were my only complaints.

Another fun cruise. Cruise was good, most staff was friendly and destinations were great. Loved paradise beach at Cozumel, and look forward to returning too.

Bartenders and servers were pretty rude for the most part. We got a few that were nice but most were rude. The food was OK but nothing to write home about. The best meal we had was at a $20 up charge. The Cheers  program was kind of a rip off considering they make every adult 21 and over staying in your room purchase it plus it is limited to 15 drinks in 24 hours. Overall would much rather do an all inclusive hotel rather than this cruise. Our time in each port was super limited as well. Guess i would have enjoyed it and found better value if the staff was nicer, food had better quality, and drink program was of better value. 

What a great trip to Cozumel !! The food was great !! Lots of options for eating. The pool could have been bigger, but it had the tube slide, which lots of people and children used. Not enough places for smokers. Pretty much had to stay at the pool or the casino and they still cut half of the smoking area because the bar at the pool was closed on the non smoking side and they only gave smokers 5 seats at the bar on the smoking side. All the bars are non smoking except the casino bar, but once again only allowed 5-6 seats for smokers and most of the bars were empty. Seemed kind of a waste

There were lots of activities to go to that appealed to everyone. The trivia activities were great !! The staff were all wonderful !! Loved all the different towel animals !! The cruise director was a hoot !! He went down the slide with all his clothes on !! Very funny !! The room was great too, not too big and not too small.

Cozumel was wonderful, although not enough time for shopping because of the time of our shore excursion. I think that should have been first thing in the morning as we did the amazing Cozumel race. It didn't start until 1130 and it got hot !! Great shore excursion !!! Would recommend that to everyone !! Got to see Cozumel in a totally different way and learned a lot too.

 All in all great trip and would recommend this to everyone.

We took 6 children on this cruise, as we are avid cruisers and wanted something reasonable to kick-off summer.  Unfortunately, the activities for kids were lackluster, and even as adults we found the offerings to be very limited.  The ship itself is very outdated....even our suite was reminder of something from the 80's.  There was no sliding door to get out onto the balcony.  Rather, there was a huge, heavy wooden door that wouay open for us to enjoy the ocean breeze.  

There were plenty of drunk people and aboard this ship - most likely because there wasn't much else to do.  The food offerings never changed and were extremely poor.  Nothing healthy to be found, and the salad bar was oftentimes empty of both lettuce and dressings.  

its almost like being little kids again : you don't have to be worry about a thing and you don't have to do anything , your "parents" will take care of you , your breakfast , lunch and dinner. You lose count of days and time. The only thing for us was to figure out how to see all the entertainment packed in days and evening time . We could'nt see it all....

thanx for the memories !!!