Carnival Triumph Review
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YIKES! New York departure was terrible. This was our 5th cruise from NY pier. 1 Norwegian, 1 Celebrity and 3 Carnival. Sorry to say all 3 Carnival departures left something to be desired. If you are one of the earliest arrivals, around 11AM for a 4:00 departure, you probably won't agree. But if you arrive at the time they suggest, which is 1 or 1:30, be prepared to stand in a VERY long line. FUN PASS pre registration means nothing! Everyone does it and everyone, other then suites, stand in the same line. On this cruise the power to the kiosks that take your picture and validate your key card went out three separate times and that was just during our 2 hour wait. We heard it went out many times after us also. They only had 3 kiosks, for 2800 passengers. Their reason: there were 3 ships at the pier that day and they had to share the 9 kiosks that the pier has available for their use. Each ship should have had 9 kiosks. We were supposed to depart at 4:00 but we didn't leave until 6:00. Our luggage actually beat us to the cabin.
Cabin and Staff: Our cabin was fine and we have absolutely no complaints with the staff. They are understaffed and that puts a lot of pressure on them so don't expect them to hang around and chat. They do their jobs very well and work VERY hard.
Food and Buffet: The buffet only has 2 lines as stated in other reviews. The Carnival's design of the buffet area is poor. There isn't a large selection but what is available is good. There was a problem with the coffeemakers on this ship. The regular coffee was served in large brown thermal containers that never kept the coffee hot or fresh. It was my first cruise where the coffee was undrinkable. I went to the cafe and ordered latte's (and paid additional for them) when I wanted a cup. I like that they have Gardenburgers (for us Weight Watcher people) along with the Hamburgers and Hot dogs at the Grill. The Main dining room is wonderful and the selections are great. There is a SPA menu for lighter choices and your server will ask for anything to be prepared without all the sauces if you prefer a plainer diet.