My and I had a great time on our 5 day cruise on the Paradise! We originally booked a Veranda Room, but a few weeks before departure, we were offered an upgrade to a Grand Suite for a small up charge. We really enjoyed the larger room, sitting area, oversize balcony and big bathroom!!
Our previous cruises were with Royal Caribbean; our friends are fiercely loyal to RCCL and warned us against Carnival. Combine that mindset with Carnival's recent mishaps, and we were a little nervous. Our concerns were unfounded, as Carnival gave us a GREAT cruising experience!
We liked the food better than the food on RCCL Monarch and Freedom. Also, Carnival did a great job at keeping the guests flowing. I don't think we ran into a single bottle-neck of foot traffic on the Paradise - I can't say the same for RCCL's Monarch or Freedom. In fact, in spite of the fact that Freedom is a huge ship, I was really surprised at how often we had to wait for congested areas to break up so we could walk to our destinations. I don't know if it was ship layout, number of guests vs. capacity, or the Crew which made the difference, but Carnival Paradise felt very comfortable to get around.
Grand suite has a full walk-in closet, king size bed, jacuzzi tub (not big enough for 2), big balcony and living room area with an "L" shaped sectional sofa. Book a veranda room and upgrade to the Grand Suite for an excellent bargain.