This was my 4th overall cruise, 3rd on Carnival. Went with my wife as part of a larger group of friends and family. We're locals so there was no air travel or hotel stays involved.

We LOVE cruising out of Tampa. It's close, drop off is a breeze (although the valet attendants have become quite pushy), and self-park is easy. Security screening, check-in and boarding took all of 15 minutes!

Last year we sailed around the same date on Paradise's sister ship - Inspiration - and had a thoroughly enjoyable time. As such, we expected the same on Paradise but the experience was far from the same. Once on ship, we had some drinks but the friendly staff we had on Inspiration were nowhere to be found on Paradise. The first bartender in the atrium lobby never smiled and barely spoke (let alone understood) English. We had to point to the draft we wanted! This became a recurring theme throughout the cruise. Bartenders were generally not friendly, slow to serve, and even lazy appearing (preferring guests who ordered beer rather than mixed drinks!) This was the worst at the Casino bar on the Promenade deck. Read more