Just got back off from the Paradise and I must say it is the worst of all the Carnival ships I have ever been on. The ship was ok, but one thing that makes the cruise is the cruise director and this one was a dud. Hardly ever heard from him like all the other ships. Even the activities were sparce. If they were it was after 10:00 pm as was most of the shows. After dinner nothing to do until late. I was really disapointed especially when I booked 4 other couples to go with me this time. Some first time cruisers and some first on Carnival, and hearing them will probably be the last.

Welcome back, baby doll. I am sorry to hear your cruise wasn't all you had hoped -- I know how much you were looking forward to it. How were your ports of call?

Welcome back baby doll, sorry to hear that Paradise wasn't. I still hope you enjoyed the cruise, and it definitely gives you an excuse to book another. As Bob E. says, there are no bad cruises, just some better than others. If the other couples didn't have a good time, you surely can convince them that this was an anomoly. Get busy book, it makes the debarkation blues much easier to handle

You are right in that some cruises are better than others in a way, I've been spoiled by the Pride,Destiny, etc., but this cruise was WAYYYY below Carnivals standards. Its the fun ship right? Always fun, excitement coming from the crew, but this one was lacking big time. Liza you ask about shore time. Well Catalina is known for the round casino. You see it like a landmark and I have visited it and was excited to tell everyone how wonderful it was and be sure not to miss it. Guess what it wasn't even open until 3:00 pm and the last tender was at 4:00 to get back on ship. Carnival never even told anyone. We walked up to see it only to walk back and rested before hand to watch hundreds of people that walked by us going there to turn around and go back. I certainly sent a letter to the Chamber of Commerce of Catalina that when a ship is visiting and they want revenue they need to make sure their landmark is open. Why didn't Carnival know this? Sure would have saved a lot of walks to it. There is not that much to do at Catalina anyway as I had been on all of the little tours they offer before. Just over priced shopping.

quote:

Originally posted by baby doll:
You are right in that some cruises are better than others in a way, I've been spoiled by the Pride,Destiny, etc., but this cruise was WAYYYY below Carnivals standards. Its the fun ship right? Always fun, excitement coming from the crew, but this one was lacking big time. Liza you ask about shore time. Well Catalina is known for the round casino. You see it like a landmark and I have visited it and was excited to tell everyone how wonderful it was and be sure not to miss it. Guess what it wasn't even open until 3:00 pm and the last tender was at 4:00 to get back on ship. Carnival never even told anyone. We walked up to see it only to walk back and rested before hand to watch hundreds of people that walked by us going there to turn around and go back. I certainly sent a letter to the Chamber of Commerce of Catalina that when a ship is visiting and they want revenue they need to make sure their landmark is open. Why didn't Carnival know this? Sure would have saved a lot of walks to it. There is not that much to do at Catalina anyway as I had been on all of the little tours they offer before. Just over priced shopping.

baby doll, I am truly sorry the Paradise did not live up to your expectations. I don't think it is fair to blame Carnival though for the Catalina Casino hours of operation. I was on St. Thomas one time and missed going to Paradise Point. It was a big disappointment for myself and the friends I had talked it up to. Everyone was coming down, and they were not taking anyone up at that hour of the day because it was close to closing time.

I didn't think it was Carnival's fault at all for not announcing/printing the hours of operation. I thought it was my fault for not researching and getting the details about it.

I truly feel bad about your cruise not being what you expected. I have had a few short ones that didn't match my expectations either. I have never had a bad one though.

Dwayne

Catalina certainly has more to offer than just a casino. I took a very nice island tour where we saw buffalo and breathtaking views of the ocean.

BabyDoll - Sorry about your cruise, there are other tours into the island that are more interesting than the Casino, many people expect to gamble there and that is simply not the case on Catalina, it is only a theatre like Grauman's Chinese in L.A. Still, you well know that there are other great ships and cruise adventures awaiting you! Don't let it get you down-book another cruise right away to wash away this memory!

Bon Voyage,

BillyBuzzy

We have only been on 1 Carnival ship, and it was the Paradise, for a 3 night new years eve cruise. We were with another couple, who had never cruised before. I was dying to go back on the RCCL Monarch, but it's dates were screwy over the new years, so we had to take the Paradise. Now, I also believe that any cruise, is better than not cruising at all. My husband and I both really thought that parts of the Paradise were very cheesy. I HATED the dining room. I felt like I was in a disco. Our table was a booth, there were several booths, and sliding into a booth with a long gown on just sucked . I felt the dining room really cheapend the ship. With these long line of lights, that would flicker on and off. I did not feel that it even compared to any of the dining rooms on RCCL or Princess we had been in. We were pleased with the room, big and room for an inside. Overall the ship we thought was ok, didn't mind the loud colors, (I thought the colors were loud) in parts of the ship. It was mostly the dining room, it really scarred us. My husband told me, don't ever book another Carnival. I told him, maybe it was because it is an older ship. If we ever did cruise Carnival, as of now, we would only consider a newer ship. I don't mind being ruff and rugged at times, I just like my cruise experience to be special. Does anyone have any thoughts on the other Carnival dining rooms? Sorry, this just reopened the "dining room can of worms" for me. Thanks, Lil' Lori

The newer Carnival ships have very elegant dining rooms. The Paradise is a Fantasy-class ship and that basic design dates from 1990 or so.

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You are right in that some cruises are better than others in a way, I've been spoiled by the Pride,Destiny, etc.,

baby doll, I too am sorry to hear of your disappointment with the experience.

It's apples vs oranges. Pride and Destiny have longer itineraries are newer, nicer ships and are a week long cruise. Comparing a little 3 or 4 nighter that hits one or two ports near by, Ensenada from the left coast and bahamas from FL are normally disigned as a quick get away vs a vacation. They're typically priced very low and often attract a different demographic. Its one of the reasons I hate when I hear recommendatios for first time cruisers to take a quickie to see if they like cruising. They're not really getting the full experience. They're getting a taste of an older ship in most cases and by the time they figure out their way around the ship and get comfortable, the cruise is over.

These are fine to get away and relax for a few days but your expectations have to be way different for for a quickie than a 7 day or longer cruise experience.

Cheers, Neil

Neil, that is an excellent point. I occasionally have recommended the 3 or 4 nighters to friends who have never cruised. I always mention that Catalina and Ensenada are not the best ports by which to judge cruising. But I had not thought about the ship and demographic angles. Oddly enough, the biggest concern usually is, "will I get seasick?".

Fortunately, nobody has come back to me and said, "cruising sucks!" But I will keep your suggestions in mind and try to steer them to a 7 day.

Rick

Rick, at least those who try a quickie first know they're not going to be seasick on a 900+ ft long ship without extreme seas or a pre-disposition to motion. Don't feel bad, its common advice. Few think through what they're recommending all the way, they just want someone aprehensive about it to give it a try.

I find that those who try short sailings and like them ok tend to repeat such short itins. They don't see the benefit in spending a lot more and don't know they'll get a lot more as a result. Some just don't care for the experience and never do something longer that would have suited them better. As a result they become the people who you hear say things like, "I cruised once and don't see what's so special about it". In my circumstance, I hear such things often. With a little open ended questioning you find out that they almost always tried cruising as a quickie and were disappointed by it not living up to all the praise those of us who love cruising have for it. If you find a good match of line, ship and itinerary for folks before them booking their first, their odds af becoming adicts like the rest of us increase.

Cheers, Neil

Neil, having just returned from a 2-nighter, I agree. We had the misfortune of hitting bad weather -- no way to avoid it, really -- that made several first-timers I spoke with wonder what all the hype was about. As you said, we went on with different expectations than our previous cruise, which was a scenic 12-nighter.

Your absolutely right and I took these people to introduce some of them to Carnival and some to a cruise. I never thought about it before introducing them not to the best. This was considered a 5 day trip, Monday - Friday, but you know they count in port going and coming as a day too. And your right again on being a cheaper cruise it attracts different clientele. That hit it. And as far as the dinning room I agree it was not as nice.

And now you can tell them all, they need to go with you on a 7 day (or more)

These would be very good reasons why one should use a cruise oriented Travel Agent. The TA can point out all these pros and cons. Too often people only look at price and don't take into consideration other factors.
As for the booths in the dining room that has never bothered me. I think it actually provides a little privacy. I have noticed several times lately on the newer ships the acoustics in the dining room has been horrible. The noise level has been so loud you couldn't even hear tablemates speaking across a large table.

I, for one, would like the fact that the activities are late. We like to have sun and fun during the day, nap, dine and then want all other activities to be open late into the night. Just another opinion.

You must be young boneman. I used to do that to when I was, but at 62 bedtime is bedtime. I push to stay up for the 8:30 shows until 10:00 for a night out. For sure I will not go or encourage anyone to go on a short cruise again, and yes I DID use a Carnival agent. He certainly didn't pass on the information I learned in here.

Babydoll,
If by Carnival Agent you mean you booked direct with the cruise line then no, they wouldn't most likely wouldn't pass anything on to you. They are order takers.
I wouldn't consider yourself old at 62.

My son did the Paradise April 11 with 19 other employees from his work. They are all 20 and 30 something. They had fun but then that is what the short cruises are. The party boats. He said definitely the average age was much younger than the 7 day cruises. He used to think that he would enjoy a 2-4 day cruise better than a 7 day cruise with family. He now says the 7 day is much better but the 3 day was great to partying with friends. Also the shorter cruises will be the older and smaller ships. I remember people telling me to go on a short cruise to see if I would like it and I did the same thing to others. Now I do not say that anymore. I am trying to convince my friend to take a cruise with her hubby and 2 children. I think she is there. Now I am telling her to go on the Freedon of the Seas. More money but well worth it. Think BIG! One week till dear hubby and I sail on the Legend for DHs 60th B-Day.