We had the BEST time (And all these years later, I've found shipmate and a place to leave a review)!
Carnival Triumph Cruise Review
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 2-3 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 21
5 Night Western Caribbean (New Orleans Roundtrip)
Sail date: June 25, 2016
Ship: Carnival Triumph
Traveled as: Family (older children)
Reviewed: 4 years ago
Review summary
This was our first cruise. We had always been a little "iffy" about cruising because I'm prone to motion sickness (A LOT). After this one cruise, we were hooked. We love Carnival, have enjoyed our vacations with Carnival so far and look forward to many more!Embarkation
We read up on cruise experiences before planning this trip so we knew this process is a little time consuming. We were all excited and had no problem waiting our turn.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
The food was absolutely incredible. We literally loved every single meal and joked that the food alone would be reason enough to continue cruising.
Onboard Activities
There is something for everyone. We are pretty low key people and we thoroughly enjoyed both planned entertainment by staff and the unplanned entertainment of just people watching. It was awesome watching people from all walks having a blast together.
Entertainment
*see onboard activities 😊
Children's Programs
Our kids were 14 and 17 on this trip. We had read extensively about Club02 and were excited they would have their own vacation inside our family's (so to speak). My daughter (17 at the time) is extremely outgoing and just fit right in. Before this trip, my son (14 at the time) was a total introvert and the fun he had completely changed him and helped him come out of his shell (and boy did he...he went from a loner to being able to fit into every crowd there was at school the next year). Our rule was they had to meet us for supper in the dining room every evening so we could eat as a family and we had to experience sports of call as a family. Other than that, they enjoyed themselves onboard (we often caught glimpses of them with friends and the smiles were always big) and we enjoyed ourselves on board. This became one of my favorite things about cruising...an opportunity for our kids to experience new things on their own level while still being able to enjoy the family part of our vacation.
Service and Staff
I just cant say enough about the staff. Our room steward and our wait staff in the dining room made our trip even more enjoyable as did the staff in Club02 for our kids. We didnt have 1 single negative experience with the staff the way others have in some of the reviews I've read.
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
Our cabin was small but we expected that. We had enough room to sleep comfortably and get ready each day (which was literally all the room was used for).
Ship tip
Just enjoy it!
Thumbs up
0
Ports of call
We did a jeep ride to Punta Sur with ruins, alligators, a lighthouse tour, snorkeling and a beech buffet. It was PERFECT!
We stayed at Le Pavillon Hotel. It was a beautiful hotel and the best part was the midnight pb&j sandwich rush. It was a tradition in the hotel (with a story behind it too long to tell here) and EVERYONE waited patiently in the loooong line to be a part of it.
Kayaking in a mangrove and lunch at a small, non tourist restaurant ending with a walk on the beech. The kayaking was a blast and the food was incredible and the beech was beautiful!
Disembarkation
We were all ready to go pretty early in the morning. We had breakfast and relaxed on deck until we were told it was time. If memory serves me correctly, we were off the ship and had our car rented and heading back home by 1030. I've been asked about embarking and disembarking a few times and how the experience was. The thing is, it doesn't matter what kind of vacation you're taking, there will always be housekeeping things the staff of wherever you are has to take care of. As long as you remember they're doing the best they can, you'll be just fine, lol.