This was our first cruise( my husband and I)and I must say we were not disappointed. Everything was very well organized from the pick up at the airport , hotel and transfer to the ship. We stayed at the Hilton airport hotel. The service there was top notch.They have a breakfast buffet that is out of this world. There was a lady making omelets that made THE BEST western omelet I have ever eaten. From there we were bussed to the port to board the ship. When I got in line I thought we would be there forever but it actually only took maybe 10 minutes. Koodoo's to the carnival embarkment team, they were very helpful and professional. They really set the bar high for anyone else to follow. Then onto the TRIUMPH!!!!! All I have to say is WOW, the ship was beautiful. My first reaction was this is just like the pictures only better. Our balcony stateroom was really quite big. The bed was very comfortable, the pillows heavenly. The balcony was pretty big and such an asset. I am definitely getting a balcony again on my next cruise. Nothing compares to sailing at night looking over your own private balcony. This is a must! You need to experience the balcony, It is definitely not wasted money. We spent quite a bit at the casino and never won but we really weren't expecting to win so it's O.K. The shows were great( check out the Legend's show:) Food was amazing both dining room and alternate eating. We ate a fair bit on Lido deck, food was always really good. Don't forget to eat breakfast in dining room, we waited until day 4 to try it and went every day after that. Ports were O.K First we went to San Juan Puerto Rico, we were late getting there instead of 5 pm got off ship at 8 pm due to weather. In my opinion this was a waste. I would have preferred to spend extra day time in St Thomas. St Thomas was great. We got a cab tour to beach and spent the day at Sapphire beach, It was beautiful. Water was salty, beach was very clean and surprisingly not crowded. Prices were not that great at shops, I was expecting bigger savings. Especially being from Canada! However I did not come to shop I came for fun and that's exactly what I did get. St Martin was my favorite port. We did a shore excursion from the ship and was not disappointed! We did the shipwreck snorkeling excursion which included free rum punch and ribs. Once again I was amazed at the organization. We were taken to the catamaran, out to snorkel point, returned to board the bus( after rum punch of course), taken to a beautiful beach for 3-4 hours,given unlimited rum punch and delicious ribs, then returned to Triumph. It was a full fun filled day. We even had a 1/2 hour to buy nicknacks at stores on port. I would recommend this to everyone. Friends told me not to book excursions on ship but I am glad I did. One last bit of advice: leave the tips on your sail and sign account, we took ours off to give to teams personally but found it much harder. We even forgot to give to room steward. Trust me they will earn whatever tips they get. Next time I will leave on and tip extra, like I said they will earn it and more. Overall it was one of the greatest experiences I have ever had. We are going in 2 years time and taking all family!!