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A trip to paradise on Carnival Paradise.

By Trent1984 , April 22, 2013 in Carnival Cruise Lines

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Just returned from the April 15th sailing aboard the Carnival Paradise. The itinerary was 5 nights from Tampa with ports-of-call in Grand Cayman and Cozumel. This was my first cruise aboard Carnival.

I created an elaborate review on Microsoft Word and converted it into a jpg, unfortunately, it won't upload on cruisecritic, so I will just copy and paste below. I will also attach some photos. The premise of my review is to inform those who have not sailed Carnival or who haven't sailed at all, not necessarily for those of you who know all things Carnival.. although, I hope you enjoy it just the same.

As a sat at my laptop, arrow hovering over the ‘book it’ feature on Carnival’s website, I debated back and forth whether I should click it, or not.

At the time, Carnival was plagued with several mechanical mishaps and a public relations nightmare.

The truth is, I’ve always had a negative impression of Carnival, admittedly based on hearsay. Many will say I'm a snob in certain respects, while I prefer to call it discernment..

So after cruising with NCL, Royal Caribbean, Princess, and Celebrity, I decided to add Carnival to my portfolio of cruising experience. I decided in one quick moment to cast away any negative predispositions and go into the cruise completely open to the experience and with the goal to have a nice, relaxing time.

I clicked the booking feature and reserved myself and a close friend on Carnival Paradise’s 5 day itinerary roundtrip from Tampa to the ports-of-call of Grand Cayman and Cozumel.

Pre- embarkation Accommodations:

I booked a room for Sunday night at the Double Tree Westshore Hotel, near TPA International. The hotel is located roughly 15 minutes from the port of Tampa and offers a Park and Cruise rate, however, the hotel does not offer transportation to the port. My friend and I arrived at the hotel shortly after 4pm and were greeted at check-in by a very friendly and professional desk clerk. I was informed by the clerk I had been upgraded to a larger room and was invited to the Concierge Level for complimentary hors d'oeuvres and adult beverages - benefits to being enrolled in the HiltonHonors program.

As I collected the room key and began to walk away, the clerk called me back to the desk and informed me that the hotel would arrange for our transportation to the port. She informed me they had halted the transportation to the port late last year, but the hotel would be happy to accommodate me. At this point, I was feeling pretty special, especially considering the fact it's not as if I have hundreds-of-thousands of points sitting around in my HiltonHonors account. After settling into the room, we headed up to the Concierge level for a glass (or two) of wine prior to going to dinner. My friend and I decided to go to Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City. The restaurant serves Cuban cuisine and was phenomenal. After returning to the hotel, there was an envelope placed under the doorway. The contents of the envelope included a hand-written letter of thanks from the same clerk (I'm assuming she is a manager) who checked us in. By this point, I'm thinking the clerk either thinks we are a young couple and doing all she can to ensure we have a pleasant stay... or.. she thinks I'm cute. Either way, the Double Tree Westshore provided for a pleasant pre-embarkation stay and kept the car safe while we were away.

Embarkation

We arrived at the Port-of-Tampa at roughly 12:30pm. From the time we set foot on the sidewalk to the time we first set foot aboard the Paradise only twenty minutes had passed. Embarkation was quick and smooth with pleasant interactions with staff along the way. I was surprised by how pleasant those interactions were considering the fact I was carrying a wine bottle, not full of wine mind you, but full of vodka in my carry-on. At no point was my carry-on searched and the contents of the bottle checked. Ha. Immediately upon boarding Paradise, my travel companion and I headed for the buffet where we had a nice, quite lunch outside. By 1:30pm our cabin was ready. Just a few hours afterwards, Paradise set sail through Tampa Bay and into the open Caribbean.

Entering service in 1998, Paradise can be considered ‘small’ compared to today’s mega-ships. Carrying just over 2,000 guests, she lacks in the accoutrements of modern day vessels. You’ll find few balcony cabins, no water park or rock climbing wall.Even so, Paradise makes up for it with an aire of conviviality and relaxed pace of onboard life. Like the rest of Carnival’s fleet, Paradise’s décor is centered around a particular theme. Uniquely designed public spaces such as the Queen Mary Lounge, United States Bar, and Normandie Showroom pay homage to ocean-liners from the golden era of sea travel.

Entertainment

Paradise offers a plethora of entertainment options around the clock. By night, the Normandie Lounge (above) showcases dance productions such as Eight More Seconds- a country/western inspired performance and Shout- a high intensity production transporting the audience through eras of American popular music. Comedians perform both family-oriented and adults only acts in the Queen Mary Lounge. Rex Nightclub is where the party-hard end the evening. Throughout the day-time, guests enjoy the main pool, try their luck in the casino, play bingo, and enter Carnival’s infamous hairy chest contest.

Food, food, and more food – options abound on Paradise. Although there aren’t specialty restaurants, there’s plenty of opportunity for guests to satisfy their palate. Destiny and Elation dining rooms offer the traditional dining experience while the Elation dining room also offers anytime dining. The fare in the Destiny dining room was flavorful and beautifully presented. The gazpacho I ordered on the first night was amazingly picante and the Jamaican jerk chicken had a wonderful confluence of flavor.

The Paris Restaurant, on Lido deck, offers buffet fare with a different theme each day and an abundance of choice. Soft serve ice cream is available 24 hours a day. Other venues include a sushi bar, burger grill, Mongolian wok, and the Café Ile de France, serving an assortment of coffee based drinks, shakes, and pastries.

Accommodations

Paradise offers a small range of cabin categories. Oceanview cabins offer 185 square feet of basic comfort. Two twin beds can either be converted into a queen size bed or configured separately to form an L shape, giving a more roomy sense. There is a small vanity area complete with 5 drawers and a stool, as well as a small chair and side table. Clothing storage is ample with a closet and wardrobe as you enter the cabin. Inside hang two 100% cotton terry velour robes available for use throughout the cruise. The bathroom is decent size with a fairly large shower.

Ports-of-Call

The Royal Palm Resort in Grand Cayman is just a 10 minute, $5 ride from the port. The resort charges a $2 entry fee and offers guests access to a buffet, restaurant, adults-only pool, lounges on the beach ($5 fee), snorkeling and other activities.

In Cozumel, Playa Palancar is a respite from all the touristy beaches. The $20 (one way) cab fare is well worth it. The beach club is free to enter and also provides free lounge chair rental. There’s a bar and restaurant serving delicious Mexican cuisine for reasonable prices. Snorkeling gear and kayaks are also available for rental.

Over-all Impression

If large balcony cabins, multitudes of perks for suite guests, multiple water slides, and rock climbing walls are imperative for your cruising pleasure, you will probably be dissatisfied with Carnival Paradise. If, on the other hand, you're happy with the the essentials of a cruise vacation such as non-stop entertainment, delicious food, personable and professional service, and a relaxed atmosphere then you are sure to enjoy the Paradise.

For me, the Paradise erased any negative preconceived notions I had about Carnival. It was paradise onboard Paradise for 5 days.

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MrFunInTheSun

Great review and pictures, thanks for sharing!

Great review. Glad you enjoyed your cruise. I agree that the Paradise is a wonderful ship.

Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T using Tapatalk HD

Nice review and pictures.

jerseygirl79

I've been debating about this ship, but I love the itinerary. Your review gave me chills! I'm so excited to sail this ship now.

Cruised her last year and am repeating this year..great ship and crew!

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