Carnival Triumph Review

3.5 / 5.0
0 reviews

Carnival Triumph - Eastern Caribbean

Review for the Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Carnival Triumph
User Avatar
4mcbees
First Time Cruiser • Age 60s

Rating by category

Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
Fitness & Recreation
Service
Cabin

Additional details

Sail Date: Sep 2007
Cabin: Balcony

My husband and I just returned yesterday from the Sept. 8th sailing of the Carnival Triumph. We sailed with two other couples that we vacation with once a year. We are all in our early 50's and have cruised an average of 9 times each. We picked this ship because it was going to Grand Turks(friends are huge Margaritaville fans) My husband and I cruised on the Carnivale 24 years ago, one couple has never sailed with Carnival while the third couple are Gold level members. Between the six, we normally cruise on RCCL or Celebrity. After reading all the reviews, we set our expectations a little on the low side as to not be disappointed. We went during Hurricane season and received a great rate and all vacations are what you make of them. We enjoyed our week very much. We took a red eye Friday night from LAX. We had made arrangements to be picked up by Infinity Transportation (great choice) and they were at the airport as scheduled and we arrived at Miami Port @1:30 PM. We were on the ship by 2:15. Carnival's Embarkation methods were very efficient. We have sailed on RCCL and NCL this year and this was by far the most organized. We went directly to our cabins (guaranteed balconies). All 3 were on the Upper deck/Starboard side. The cabins are roomy, plenty of closet/storage place. The bedding is new and comfortable. No complaints at all. We rarely saw our room steward and never needed to call and ask him for anything. We toured the ship and of course had lunch. We went to the Paris dining room to see where our table (331) was located. Loved the location, by a window, almost private. The waiters were efficient, polite, but not a stand out like on other cruises, but no complaints here either. I read many reviews claiming it was a difficult ship to maneuver around. We found this to be true. But instead of getting upset over it, we made a game out of who could find where were were going first. Deck 5 is truly beautiful. There are many themed bars, clubs, shops and the casino. Sushi was served every afternoon near the bar in the casino and we looked forward to it. Also the Cigar Bar is handsomely decorated, soft classical music performed and great bar service. Lovely room. Food- the Dining Room food was good, not great but good. We found the menus to have many odd choices but all week you had the same alternative menu which we chose often. Dishes to note were: all soups, especially the Lobster Bisque and Corn Chowder, Southwest egg roll(yummy) Lamb, Grilled chicken over fettucini and the Filet. The desserts looked better than they tasted and the Creme Brulee was well.......not Creme Brulee. The Sandwich deli on the Lido deck was very good as was the hamburgers/hot dogs at the Grille. Also, the 24 hour Pizza was the best I have ever had at sea. They also had Calzones which one of my travelmates LOVED. Bar Service- drinks were very good, about what you would expect to pay. We had wine with dinner every night and paid around $35-40 a bottle. Reasonable. Shows- This was the biggest disappointment of the whole cruise. The shows were horrible. The only entertaining show was the last night (Carnival Legends) and that was the show where passengers were dressed up to portray a star...so it was fun and entertaining. I mean it...all the rest were very sub par. (which meant we spent more time in the Casino) Ports- Since we have all cruised several times we did not take any tours. Private island in the Bahamas- tendered to shore, found 6 chairs and thoroughly enjoyed the sun, beach, drinks, BBQ lunch, refreshing ocean water and our friends. Wonderful Day. St Thomas- hired a van to take us to Megan's Bay. Nice views along the way........pretty Bay, rocky beach. Went back to town and shopped in the great stores. Snorkel/Scuba is great here. San Juan- Please take tours if you have never been here- The Forts are fabulous, the Rain Forest, Butterfly Farm. We hired a driver to take us on a city/beach tour and had him leave us in the shopping area 2 blocks from the ship. (we actually had to return for a medical Emergency an hour out of port- Here's praying our fellow passenger is safe and healing...God Bless) Grand Turks- We had a blast in Margaritaville where people of all ages partied and listened to great music from a great DJ...OUR BEST DAY...here this is a great place to Dive. Our two days at sea were relaxing and sunny. In fact we had perfect weather all week. Hurricane season and all- take the chance and have fun, We did. Getting off the ship was pretty good, considering we didn't want to leave, but again, pretty organized. I felt for the money we paid, we got our money's worth. Nothing outstanding, but nothing that ruined our great time. No matter where you go and what you do, your mind set has everything to do on what kind of experience you are going to have. If you try hard enough, you will find many things to complain about. But I don't go on vacations to complain,,,,,,just to have fun and enjoy my family and friends.

In a nut shell- Pros- cost, ports, room size, friendly crew, food selections Cons- food quality/taste as a whole, ships windows were always dirty, alot of kids running around without supervision(parents..where are you) shows/games never starting on time, ship shows alot of wear and tear (try not to notice and it won't bother you so much)

Cabin Review

Balcony

Cabin 8A
previous reviewnext review

Find a cruise

Any Month

Get special cruise deals, expert advice, insider tips and more.By proceeding, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

© 1995—2024, The Independent Traveler, Inc.