I took my daughter and grand daughter on the 5 day cruise out of Tampa. We were celebrating my daughters 28th birthday. I had cruised twice before on the Paradise as the port is close to home. We had a very good time! The plus side was the friendly staff, the sit down meals, Camp Carnival for the four year old, and the entertainment. Our cruise director, Steve and his staff (Iman, Max and Steven) kept us in stitches with the games and shows. The Punchliner comedy shows were fun. Dining is one of my favorite parts of a cruise so we ate every breakfast in the Elation and had dinner as assigned in the Destiny every night except the last. Some of the dishes were really over the top excellent and some were so-so. I wasn't so keen about the Paris cafeteria food but the salad bar and the deli sufficed for lunch. The taste bar on the promenade deck is worth checking out.

For the grand daughter Camp Carnival was wonderful. On average she spent 3 hours each day and the staff was really good! We were issued a cell phone and could call and check on her and of course they could call us if they needed to. We peeked in several times just to check and she was always engaged and having fun. The last night she stayed for Night Owls, a paid service at $7 per hour so that my daughter and I could attend the adult comedy shows. It was well worth the $14! Leah was her favorite counsellor.

The port of Tampa was easy-peasy for embark/debark process. The lines flow well and the port staff was friendly and helpful. Read more