This was our 5th cruise, 4th on Carnival. We also brought my parents with us, their first cruise. My husband and I are both in our early 30s, they are in their early 60s.

Embarkation/Debarkation: We booked this trip through the Carnival Vacation Club, so had priority during these processes. However, it seemed to go pretty smoothly and we heard no complaints from other passengers. Yet you should consult some other member reviews on this.

The ship: I was pleasantly surprised when we boarded the Triumph. Great dEcor that was consistent throughout. Incredibly clean, and was kept that way during the entire trip. The layout is convenient, as long as you remember to go to Deck 5 Promenade to get from one end of the ship to the other. My only negative overall with the Triumph (and this is a big negative) is that the aft pool is not an adult only pool. We had recently sailed on both the Miracle and the Destiny, and the aft pool on both was an adult only area. This was extremely disappointing as there are plenty of places for kids on the ship, that they could have left this one area for the adults traveling without kids. The whirlpools here were designated 18 and over, but that was basically ignored. Granted, the staff was good about enforcing the rule, but every time we got into the whirlpool, we were joined by a child who treated it like a swimming pool. And very often these kids were with a parent. On the other ships, the aft pool was our haven on sea days, and to relax after a port day. However, we got none of that given the amount of kids there each day who took over the entire pool. Carnival definitely needs to change this. Read more