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I was suffering from a sore throat due to a sinus infection the entire trip so to be honest the food was not appealing at all - but that was totally because I didn't feel like eating the entire time. I'm sure I was the only person to actually lose weight on the cruise. My husband, however, commented that it was the best food ever (and he's someone that can be trusted on that point). He gained 5 pounds eating so much!

We would definitely go on Carnival Glory again. In fact, we will be planning a Southern Caribbean cruise some time in the next few years and hope that Carnival Glory or one of her fabulous sister ships will be it. ]]> Angela DeWispelaere Carnival Cruise Line 2008-07-02 11:01:12 http://www.bestcruisespot.com/component/content/article/59-carnival-cruise-line/29-carnival-valor cruiseXpress Carnival Cruise Line 2008-04-01 21:32:06 http://www.bestcruisespot.com/component/content/article/59-carnival-cruise-line/133-carnival-celebration
Shows were terrific with a variety of performers. Many in our group loved that there was something for everyone, especially since this was their first cruise. Nassau was a lot of fun and had so much to do. Freeport was okay, but not much to see there or do; better off booking an excursion when your there.

But overall, great ship for new cruisers. ]]> Carrie Haubenstricker Carnival Cruise Line 2008-02-11 05:55:28 http://www.bestcruisespot.com/component/content/article/59-carnival-cruise-line/136-carnival-inspiration
#1: I had been pre-warned about tenders at Grand Cayman and Cozumel so I knew it was best to return to the ship as early as possible. So, DH and I took an early excursion (more details about that later) and were back on the ship before lunchtime. I'm not sure what went wrong with the tenders, but there were 1,000 + passengers stuck on the dock waiting for a tender for almost 2 hours at Grand Caymon. The sun was very hot and I even heard that one lady passed out from the heat (that was not verified - just what I was told). I also heard someone from the Inspiration contacted the Liberty (who was also docked there) and got them to lend their tender boats so the passengers could return to the Inspiration. We were never given an explanation as to what exactly happened to cause the delay. My DS and several other people from our group were among those stranded at the dock. Some people felt like Carnival could have at least provided water because of the extreme heat.

#2: Our ship had to return to Tampa early to avoid forecasted fog. This meant that all ship stores and, of course, the casino had to close at 9p. Many people were upset about missing out on their last night of gambling. However, those who had early flights were thankful that the ship was not delayed in returning.

#3: The itinerary said Cozumel was 9:30a - 8:00p. When we got our Capers, we discovered that the last tender back from shore was at 5:00p and that the Inspiration would set sail at 6:00p. I had already been pre-warned that this would probably happen so I wasn't bothered by this. Again, we were off the ship early, walked around the shops and took a taxi to downtown. We were back on the ship around lunch time.

#4: This was absolutely the WORSE debarkation I have ever experienced! Self Assist went smoothly. Some of our group had an early flight and so they did the self debarking and said it was great. No problems, everything ran smoothly for them. Otherwise, we were instructed to have our luggage outside our cabin no later than midnight (no problem there). They also instructed everyone to make sure their luggage had ship tags on them so that they could be organized by color and make sorting and pick-up easier. Passengers were assigned various Debarkation Waiting areas based on the color of your tag. We were informed that we were to wait patiently until our "color" was called and then to follow the instructions for debarking. Sometime shortly after 9a, they made an announcement that anyone ready to leave the ship could then make their way to the Empress Deck (#7) and debark. Needless to say, all passengers started making their way to leave. I still want to know what happened to the system where they call each color and clear the ship in sections?!?!?! It was a nightmare!!!! As we were struggling to make our way down the stairs, we talked with a couple who were not happy with their cruise at all. According to the man, their bathroom had been flooded from day one. They kept reporting it and were told someone would be there right away to take care of it. Nobody ever came. They said their cabin steward (who according to them had a major attitude) gave them extra towels to keep on the floor. They said they had to wade in about 3 - 4 inches of water every time they went into the bathroom so they made sure to wear flip flops or some kind of shoes that could get wet. He said they wouldn't be cruising on that ship or with Carnival again.

#5: There was only one power outlet in our room. We brought a power strip along to accommodate our needs. On formal night, I was blow drying my hair and had my camera charging at the same time. The breaker must have tripped cause I lost power. DH reported it and it was fixed in no time. Also, our telephone was out of order off and on. We didn't get our wake-up call on the day we docked at Grand Cayman and there were several times people in our group tried calling us (when they knew we were in our cabin) and never could get through. We didn't miss having a phone ring (especially after all we went through just b4 our cruise). I set the alarm on my cell phone as a back-up for a wake-up call (when we discovered what was going on with the phone) so it was not a big deal.

#6: The Lido deck was very slippery on the day of embarkation. It had been raining in Tampa off and on that day. They did put out some blue runners but they didn't cover the entire path. I watched a couple of people slip and fall. I don't believe anyone was seriously injured but it would have been a terrible way for me to start my cruise! I was extremely careful and walked very slow and basically took baby steps to get where I needed to go.

I think that about covers the negative stuff. Guess once I started listing it, it might seem worse than it actually was. I'm just trying to cover all the information - good and bad. So, enough with the bad and onto the good!

Pre-Cruise: We stayed at the Best Western Westshore on Westshore Drive. I booked the park and sail package so that we could leave our vehicle at the hotel. The hotel provided us with transportation to and from the port. Our room was supposed to be ready anytime after 3p. We arrived around 3:30p only to be told we had to wait about 30 minutes or so until our room would be available. The room was okay but nothing great. The hotel was clean. We were set for an 11a shuttle on Monday (01/30/2006) and were delayed because of a large group. We ended up leaving the hotel around 11:30a and were in line and waiting to board the ship by 12 noon.

Embarkation: As I stated, we were at the terminal by 12n. There was a line at check-in but it moved quickly. We didn't have much of a wait for boarding and we were on the ship by 12:30p. They allowed us to drop our carry-ons off in our cabin. We were greeted by our Cabin Steward, Ronald (who was wonderful). We went to the buffet and ate lunch. The food was plentiful and delicious. We met up with our group on the Lido deck for the sail away just after the Muster Drill.

We had Early Seating at dinner in the Mari Gras Dining Room @ 6:15p. Let me say that Eduardo, our waiter, was fantastic! Lots of personality and always smiling - excellent service. The food was great. I thought the portions were good but the desserts were sometimes disappointing. We had a group of 12 so it was not possible to seat us all at one table. We did have back-to-back booths and played musical seats throughout the cruise (we checked with Eduardo about this and he was fine with it and said it was no problem). We went to the Welcome Aboard Show and Chris Roberts, our Cruise Director was great. Unfortunately, he was going on vacation after this sailing and would not be returning to the Inspiration. I'm not sure who the new Cruise Director will be but they've got some big shoes to fill. DH and I were wiped out from the trip down, etc. so we crashed after the show.

Fun Day At Sea! I did breakfast in the Mardi Gras Dining room with DS. We both enjoyed our food. Went to the photo gallery (ouch!). Also booked our excursions for Grand Cayman. The weather was great. DH took advantage of the sun while I explored the ship. We had lunch on the Lido deck. This was formal night and also the Captain's Party. Since we had Main seating for dinner we had to be ready to go to the Captain's party by 5p. Dinner was fabulous! I found the portions to be good. (I had heard that the portions on the appetizers were small - I didn't think that was the case at all.) We found most of the passengers dressed appropriately for dinner. Some were dressed more formal than others. DS looked really great in his tuxedo and DH wore his Air Force Tux. I thought both of my guys looked very handsome! After dinner, we took some pictures in our formal wear. We never did get our entire group together for a photo. But that was okay, we got enough pictures. Entertainment for the evening was SHOUT! starring the Inspiration Dancers. Their performance was awesome and they did a great job with their costumes and set design. After dinner it was Karaoke Time in the Candlelight Lounge which was followed by the Late Night Comedy Special with Big Tony Esposito. He was a real hoot!

Grand Cayman: We were on one of the early tenders since our excursion was scheduled for 8:15a. DH and I did the Grand Cayman Island Tour ($35 each) and DS did the Stingray City & Island Tour ($59) with some of our group members. The weather was beautiful! Our tour guide was great. He took us through town and showed us various historic places. We drove by 7 mile beach and went to Hell. DH and sent some postcards (postage was only 20 cents to send to the USA and the postcards weren't too expensive I think they were either 3 or 4 for a dollar.) I got some great pictures. We left there and went to sample sum rum and rum cakes. Mmmmm! Delicious! After that, it was the turtle farm. I even got to hold one. Of course, by the time it was my turn, he was rather annoyed and ready to get back in the water. Naturally, he started spazzing out when I took him. DH got a nice photo of my expression :) I didn't hold him long and put him right in the water where he wanted to be. DH and I walked around Grand Cayman for a little while and did some shopping. Then we were off on the tender and back on the ship in time for lunch. DS and the others didn't have the same luck with the tender as we did (as explained above). Dinner was fabulous, as usual! Tonight's entertainment was our Cruise Director performing in the Blues Brothers! We all enjoyed this performance and I think DS enjoyed it most of all. He was pretty much mesmerized the entire time! We closed down the Karaoke bar (again).

Cozumel, Mexico: I did breakfast in the Mardi Gras Dining Room with the Trailer Park Girls (two ladies in our group -you would have had to have been at the last nights comedy show to appreciate the names!). DH and I had already decided to take an early tender into Cozumel with DS and just do a little exploring. We checked out the shops at the port and DS got a temporary tattoo then we took a taxi to downtown. There was some confusion over the fee. It was supposed to be $6 for all three of us to go downtown but our driver decided he wanted to charge us more. After a word of prayer with him, he took us downtown and we paid him only $6. We went into lots of shops. The sellers were very aggressive there and DS was not at all comfortable with that. He was ready to get back on the ship almost as soon as we got downtown. DH and I reassured him but we ended up cutting our time in downtown a little short and headed back to the port. We actually did most of our buying from the vendors there. We got on a tender and were back on the ship by 1:30p. The sky was cloudy to begin with so we were a little anxious about the weather. We figured we'd have just as much fun around the pool for the afternoon. We did make another stop in the photo gallery (ouch again). Several members of our group joined in on the games in the Candlelight Lounge. After another wonderful dinner in the Mardi Gras Dining Room, we closed down the Karaoke Bar (again).

Fun Day At Sea! #2: The last full day on the ship is always sad for me. Just the thought of the cruise coming to an end (wah!!!). Our day started with breakfast on the Lido deck. We even managed to make it to the Debarkation Talk. DH decided to try the casino again. He played in the slot tournament. I enjoy watching him play. My luck really sucks so I don't usually even bother with the casino. The weather was cloudy so we relaxed most of the afternoon. DS really enjoyed the water slide the entire cruise. I kept thinking that I'd like to try it and then DH reminded me of a past experience on one of the slides at Myrtle Beach. Gravity, and the twisting on the slide didn't agree with my swimsuit. Suffice it to say, I felt I'd better refrain from the potential of a repeat performance with a much larger audience. Besides, I figured the stairs and the slide would certainly do my back in. I decided to let my DS enjoy the slide for the both of us. He did spend a good bit of time in Club 02. He even won a couple of first place trophies. There weren't a lot of teenagers on the ship. The crowd was a mixture of all ages, young and old. I found my fellow passengers on this cruise to be much more friendly than those on my last cruise. Our last night in the dining room was another delightful experience. We were sad to say goodbye to Eduardo. He was fantastic! Our overall dining experience was excellent. We did have a table next to ours with several small children. (I thought of Folgy! LOL) They had an infant who was never a problem. The others, however, did manage to get a little rowdy at times. It wasn't too bad but I could have lived without the high pitched screams. We all decided we wouldn't miss that part of the dining experience. The main show for the evening was El Nuevo Caribe. It was okay but I think I enjoyed the other performances more. It was probably more me than the performers because others said they really enjoyed the show. There was a late night buffet on the Lido deck but we were still full from dinner so we never even made it up to the Lido deck. Instead, DH made sure our luggage was all packed and outside our door before midnight. Late Night Comedy was a performance by Kenny Miller. I can't remember when I've laughed that hard. He kept us laughing the entire show. If you ever have the chance to watch one of his shows, you won't regret it.

Debarkation: I pretty much covered this in the first section. It was great for those who did Self Assist. Now that I know how they are doing the debarkation, I'll be ready the next time. You live and learn. Once we got off the ship, the line moved quickly. No problems going through customs. Our luggage was all lined up practically one bag next to the other. A porter assisted us in getting our luggage across the street so we could meet our shuttle to return to our vehicle at the hotel. The weather in Tampa was cold and rainy. They had a terrible storm the day before with several inches of rain.

It was a long ride home. We've finally got the suitcases unpacked. The laundry is almost all done. I miss Ronald, our cabin steward, a lot!

In closing, I have to say that I really like the cabins on Carnival MUCH better than RCCL. Size does matter! (Laffin) I'm pretty sure our next cruise will be on Carnival. ]]> cruiseXpress Carnival Cruise Line 2008-01-15 19:33:46 http://www.bestcruisespot.com/component/content/article/59-carnival-cruise-line/133-carnival-celebration
The Vista Dining room on the Celebration has been the NUMBER ONE dining room in the ENTIRE FLEET for the past three months. It was easy to see why. Our wait staff, the maitre d', the food, everything was perfect. I've only been on three cruises, so take my review as one from "the unexperienced," but it was the best food and service I've had in a cruise ship dining room. The Wheelhouse Grill is the dining choice outside of the two dining rooms (the Vista and the Horizon), with two buffet lines, a well-appointed salad bar, a sandwich station (which was an omelette station in the morning), a dessert line, and, of course, the requisite 24-hour pizza and soft-serve ice cream. The food was wonderful, but, depending on when you arrived, the Wheelhouse could be a little busy for my taste. My husband, son, and I did breakfast either through room service or at the open seating breakfast in the Horizon Dining Room rather than experience the hustle and bustle of the Wheelhouse. At lunch, however, it was a fine place to eat. Room service on the ship was prompt and pleasant.

As for the condition of the ship -- it is twenty years old. However, it underwent a remodel in 2003, and I found the ship to be clean, attractive, and comfortable. It has a "New Orleans" theme, complete with an actual New Orleans trolley car that serves as a sushi bar. Everywhere, even in the restrooms, the ship was very clean, and I saw crews performing maintenance in different areas every day. Is it "grand" and "exquisite"? No, but as one with a young child, I'm not concerned with such finery.

Speaking of children, the Camp Carnival program was wonderful. My son enjoyed the toys, games, and activities planned each day. On our final day at sea, we did family activities like cookie decorating and a shipwide scavenger hunt (we won!). The actual Camp Carnival room is small on this ship, but I liked the fact that it was more personal and intimate. My son is in the 2-5 group; my nephews were in the 6-8 group and enjoyed it immensely. They generally met in the "Galax-Z" room (a disco) and went on adventures from there. My older nephew frequently refused to let his mother pick him up at 10pm; he was having too much fun. After 10pm, there is a babysitting charge of $6.00, but that's a bargain for a night out -- especially whem your kids are having so much fun they don't want to leave!

I also found the staff to be very tolerant of young children. My son often wanted to eat with my husband and I in the formal dining room and was warmly greeted and given great deference by the waitstaff. They more than tolerated his picky eating habits -- they brought out whatever he wanted, even when he changed his mind. In the common areas, the staff would go out of their way to greet the little ones and be playful. The photographers coaxed great pictures out of the kids, as well.

The nighttime entertainment was just that -- entertaining. The first night there was a spectacular Broadway review; the second night, a sword-swollower and a comedy show; the final night, a Country music review. Was I blown away by the shows? No, but they were completely enjoyable and well worth watching. My older nephews really enjoyed the sword swollower (what boy wouldn't?).

Our cabin had a king-sized bed and a bunk for our son. I found the bed to be extremely comfortable and I LOVED their sheets and pillows. We slept well. There was enough room in the cabin for us to move about. The TV had ample channels (including Cartoon Network for the little ones) and also showed recently released movies like Transformers. Our steward kept the room wonderfully, including the trademark "towel animals" at turndown service. My son especially enjoyed the dinosaur.

You are probably wondering about the downsides of this ship. Well, it is small compared to the others on which I have cruised. If you are looking for a giant array of shipboard activities, the Celebration doesn't accommodate that. (It does have three pools, by the way; one with a water slide). Also, when we left Nassau as well as when we arrived in Jacksonville, the ship shook very loudly. It may have just been the position of my cabin (Empress deck, aft), but the noises when the ship had to pull into port were very loud.

Otherwise, I can't complain. We had a spectacular time, and the small size of the ship allowed for a more intimate, family-like feeling amongst the passengers and crew. If you have the chance to cruise the Celebration before it sets sail for good -- do it! ]]> Melissa Alton Carnival Cruise Line 2007-12-29 15:48:57 http://www.bestcruisespot.com/component/content/article/59-carnival-cruise-line/29-carnival-valor
Embarkation:
After turning in our rental car, we used the free shuttle service from Dollar to take us to the port. We left the rental car place at the Miami airport around 11:15, and traffic at the port area was very heavy so we did not get dropped off until 11:50. The line at the terminal was right to the door when we got there, so I was starting to worry that it might take a long time to get onboard, but it ended up only taking an hour. First you go through security, then you give them your tickets and credit card info, then you pick up your sign and sail cards and get your embarkation photo taken. One hint – when you get to the terminal, be prepared for mass confusion. Just remember that the line to your left is for the skippers club and handicapped passengers only – everyone else should line up on the right.

Sunday:
The first thing we did after we got onboard was go to the purser’s desk to put money on our sail and sign accounts, and make sure that our group’s onboard credits were applied. The purser’s desk is very busy on embarkation day, but we ended up only being in line for about 15 minutes. After that we went to our cabins (which were ready) and dropped off our carry on bags. Our onboard meet & greet was scheduled for 2pm, so before we knew it we were headed for the lido deck to meet all the great people from our roll call, and have our first drink of the day.

Monday:
Ahhhhh, a Fun Day at Sea. I just love those sea days. Just relaxed by the pool and laid out for most of the day. This is the life!

Tuesday – Belize:
We booked a cave tubing tour with Wet N’ Wild, and requested that Charlie be our tour guide because of the positive reviews we read about him. We ended up having two tour guides for our group of 20 – Charlie and Randy. One member of our group ended up having a lot of trouble doing the hiking part of the excursion, and our guides were wonderful in helping her along. We ended up having Charlie continue on the hike with most of the group, and Randy helped the woman make the hike to the beginning of the first cave, where she could wait and join the rest of the group when we floated down that far. She could say enough about how wonderful Randy was in helping her along the hike – he kept telling her to take her time and physically helped her get through some of the more difficult areas. He then double-timed the hike with the rest of that woman’s family through the trail so that they were able to float through all of the caves except the first one. The cave tubing itself was great – the water was very refreshing after the 45 minute long hike that it took to get there. After we were done tubing it was time for our lunch, which was included in the price of the tour. We arrived back at the port about an hour before the last tender, which left us with enough time to shop before returning to the ship.

Wednesday – Roatan:
I booked the Tabayana Beach excursion through the ship for this port. The cost was $33 per person which was a little on the expensive side, but once I got there I was impressed. It was a beautiful beach with enough lounge chairs for everyone, a live band, free iced tea, lemonade and water, a cash bar, restaurant, lockers, and a gift shop. The water was incredibly clear, and the snorkeling was really good there. We had sunny skies that day and it was really hot laying there on the beach, so we ended up only staying there a few hours, but it was one of the nicest beaches I’ve ever been to. And even though there were a lot of people there, it never felt over-crowded.

Thursday – Grand Cayman:
We booked the stingray excursion with Soto’s. After doing a little shopping, we met them right at noon about 1-2 blocks from where the tenders leave you off. They drove us to their office, where you pay for the excursion and pick up your snorkel gear, then board the boat for your excursion. Your first stop is at Coral Gardens for some snorkeling, then to the Stingray Sandbar. I don’t remember the names of our two tour guides, but they were really great with everyone. They made sure that everyone was able to touch and hold the stingrays, and were very patient with the kids that were on our excursion. It was definitely an amazing experience.

Friday – Cozumel:
We decided to take a cab to Paradise Beach at this port. The facilities at the beach are very nice, but I was not impressed with the beach itself. It was very rocky and had lots of seaweed at the bottom of the water, so you had to tread very lightly when getting in and out so you didn’t hurt your feet. This was my first visit to Cozumel, so I don’t know if all the beaches are like that or not, but after the great beach we went to in Roatan this was definitely a disappointment. We also had a rainstorm come through while we were at the beach, but that didn’t really bother us – we actually stayed in the water during the storm and didn’t let it dampen our spirits (pun intended). After we had enough of the beach, we went back to the ship to change out of our wet clothes, and then took a cab downtown for some shopping. We ended up buying more in Cozumel than we did at all 3 other ports combined. Around 9pm that night we met up with a few other cruise critic members at Fat Tuesdays, and things were pretty wild there. It was funny watching everyone stumble back to the ship that night.

Saturday:
Another day at sea. We had great weather, and just relaxed and laid out. The last day of the cruise is always kind of sad because you know it’s almost over, so you try to make the most of it.

Debarkation:
We were staying in Miami for one night after the cruise, so we were in no rush to get off. We stayed in our cabin until around 9:15, then headed off the ship. I was surprised by how long it took to get off – about an hour all together.

Miscellaneous:
Our cabin # was 6358 and was in a great location. It is mid-ship, right by the elevators, and directly above the casino and teen club, and was surprisingly quiet despite its location.

There were 1300 kids on our sailing, but we did not have any problems with them whatsoever. I think the fact that the ship has its own teen club is a big reason why – they had their own dedicated area to hang out with their friends and didn’t have to go wandering all over the ship looking for something to do (and possibly causing mischief along the way).

Our cabin steward was Heru, and he was very efficient, but not very talkative. That wasn’t a problem for me, but I know that some people complain about that.

Our dining staff was Jasmina and Lenka. They were very friendly and remembered our names and preferences right away. The dining room menu can be viewed on Funvision, but be aware that it is not always the right days menu that is shown. On Thursday, it showed Friday’s menu, and on Friday it showed Wednesday’s menu. It wasn’t a big deal, but just something to keep in mind if you are making your decision as to whether to eat in the dining room based on what is displayed on the tv’s menu. We did not go to Scarlett’s , so really can’t comment on that.

I stayed at the Four Points Sheraton in Miami Beach for one night before and after the cruise. I got our rooms for $55 a night through Priceline. It is a very nice hotel and is right on the beach. The only negatives are that their valet parking service is sometimes slow, and their elevators are very slow and very small. Make sure you have a bellman help you with the bags – it is worth whatever tip you give him. ]]> cruiseXpress Carnival Cruise Line 2007-11-03 22:08:29 http://www.bestcruisespot.com/component/content/article/59-carnival-cruise-line/130-carnival-miracle
We had a balcony room, our first-definitley the way to go. Cabin steward was great, kept room spotless, ice bucket filled!! Food was pretty good, dining room dinnes seemed to get better towards end of the cruise..of course, the lobster ws good, not great, but sill managed to eat 3 of them!

We did excursion at all ports, the cave tube rafting ws a hoot!! Kept getitng stuck!! Costa Maya, again, is great...we rented small boats ans drive out to a group snorkeling area,wsa ok, kind of cloudy, but still a great time.

In general, a great time, great staff, and good food! Beside coming in second in the mens hairy chest contest, the cruise was awesome!!!

Will definitley cruise on Carnival again...lot's of fun. ]]> Steve W Carnival Cruise Line 2007-09-25 16:01:57 http://www.bestcruisespot.com/component/content/article/59-carnival-cruise-line/27-carnival-liberty
Food was better than previous carnival cruise; ate at dining room each night, our servers were AWESOME and son fell in love with our server, Tania. Pizza, buffet areas were retty good, as well as thr snadwiches, etc. Pretty much did not dislike any of the food served!!

Entertainment was pretty good, but nothing that made us go crazy....were looking morelaong the lines of relaxing in the sun. excursions were prtty decent; went to Costa Rica, Panama and Costa Maya; Panama was great, got to go thorugh the canal on a small excuriosn boat, pretty amazing. Costa Rica waas beautiful!! And Costa Maya, well, sun, fun and umbrella drinks, dones not get any better.

I would cruise on the Liberty again!!! We all loved the ship, food, etc. was a super vacation, the best so far on carnival. ]]> Steve W Carnival Cruise Line 2007-09-25 15:43:10 http://www.bestcruisespot.com/component/content/article/59-carnival-cruise-line/128-carnival-conquest
Our first stop was in Jamaica. We went on the Ocho Rios and Dunns River Falls tour. Jamaica is beautiful. The waterfall was packed, but fun. Bought some t-shirts and those little rum cakes. Our next stop was in Grand Cayman and we went on the See and Sea Island Tour. Grand Cayman was amazing too. Started off by going on some under water boat ride which was pretty neat. We then went to the Turtle Farm and visited "Hell". Turtle Farm was neat, but "Hell" was kind of boring. They did have a lot of Rum Cake samples to eat and Rum samples to drink which was ok. Our last stop was in Cozumel. We had the Playa Mia Beach Break Deluxe. Beach was clean and water was great. Stayed there a few hours then went shopping.

On the ship, our waiters were great. Bryan was from Jamaica and Jovan was from S. Africa. They were both very good. Our room was always cleaned when we left by Willet. He was from Cambodia I think. Couldn't understand a word he said, but he did a great job. The cruise director, Todd, did an outstanding job too. The Newlywed Game and the Deal or No Deal Bingo was pretty funny. Never could stay awake long enough to watch the comedian. Just about broke even at the casino.

Overall we had a BLAST. Had "the patch" so didn't get sea sick. Felt sorry for the couple who put band aids behind their ears and did get sea sick.........

Can't wait until our next cruise! ]]> cruiseXpress Carnival Cruise Line 2007-08-06 18:02:13 http://www.bestcruisespot.com/component/content/article/59-carnival-cruise-line/137-carnival-paradise
Weaknesses: "Needs a larger swimming pool - Too oriented toward tours sold on the ship - Need to be prepared with more on board activities during bad weather - Limitations on food variety - Unorganized transfers - Purser's desk wasn't too knowledgeable about ship's policies."

Other Observations: "Plenty of activities for children - Very handicapped accessible - Pizzeria has a great Caesar salad - Offers a more subdued Carnival product."

Who should sail on the Paradise: "Families - Health conscious people - Groups - Seniors - Couples." ]]> cruiseXpress Carnival Cruise Line 2007-06-16 18:47:30