Carnival Triumph Review Sailing date June 27, 2005/Canada
Our family of four had previously cruised two (2) times. First on Royal Caribbean and second on Princess, so this was our first experience with Carnival. This time there were thirty of us, and some had never cruised before. (Ages ranged from 5-82) I can't speak for everyone, but here are my thoughts.
New York: Our group had chartered a bus, which I would highly recommend for any groups out there. We arrived at the New York pier at 11:15, and security would not allow our bus to enter the parking area, and asked us to return in 30 minutes. I guess they wanted to allow more time for loading/unloading of existing people in the parking area first. So, we killed about 20 minutes and were allowed right in. Check in went very smoothly, no problems, and we were on board by 12:30. Our cabins were not ready, so we all headed directly to the Lido Deck for the lunch buffet. The food was OKAY, but everyone found something to eat. I personally loved the fruit. It was delicious. About 1:00 we walked down to our cabin and it was ready, so we got the word out to everyone else in our group to head to theirs. Sure enough, everyone was able to get settled in early. (They tell you to give them until 2:00 to clean)