This was the first cruise my husband and I had taken on the Paradise. We are not big fans of cruising in general but this trip proved quite satisfactory. We chose this cruise because of the ports of call. We really wanted to see a little of Belize and Honduras and were looking for ports that were not visited on a daily basis by many cruise ships. We also liked the nonsmoking aspect and found a much more relaxed group of people on board. This was our second cruise with Carnival. About 10 years ago we went to the Mexican Riviera on a Carnival ship.

Embarkation: We arrived around 12:30 by taxi. Our bags were taken from the trunk and whisked away before we even got out of the taxi. I was quite distressed as we planned on carrying two of the smaller bags onto the ship and they didn't have any luggage tags on them. After tracking the bags to a large pile of luggage about thirty feet away, a baggage handler rudely inquired as to who was going to tip him for handling our two remaining bags. We had read the reviews and had our tip in hand but felt his surly and demanding attitude inappropriate. We knew that he was not an employee of the ship and therefore not representative of future service. We encountered a wait of about 40 minutes of standing in lines at this time before we were able to board the ship.

Excursions: Plan your own. If you have enough sense to read the reviews and message boards, you know that you can find a better deal just by stepping off the ship. We both love the water and snorkeled on every island. Details below in Ports of Call. Read more