Carnival Triumph Review

3.5 / 5.0
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Got my money's worth!

Review for the Western Caribbean Cruise on Carnival Triumph
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chrissyprincess
2-5 Cruises • Age 50s

Rating by category

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Additional details

Sail Date: Feb 2016
Cabin: Interior Upper/Lower

We booked our trip about a year in advance. I got a great deal for 5 of us sisters in 1 cabin (we were going cheap). Next time I would probably break down and do 2 cabins, but $175 each for the last 2 people for a 7 day cruise was too cheap to pass up.

We flew into Hobby and did a taxi to the Galveston terminal. Warning! It was Mardi Gras weekend and there was a parade so we had to go around it to get to the terminal. Our embarking time was 12:30 – 1. They check for your boarding passes many times while going through the line, so have it ready in hand. And they will not let you in line early. Our embarkation rep was so friendly and had nothing but smiles. He and his wife were working the line that day. I had his name written down, but can’t find it, he rocked and made us all feel so welcome. 3 of us had passports, 2 had birth certificates. Those of us that had wine in our carry-ons were stopped and the bags were inspected. No issues, and off we went… up a maze of twists and turns to the account set up area. Again, more lines, but they moved fairly quickly. We set up 2 separate accounts that day for the same cabin. We originally said we would have 3, but was able to change it right then, again, no issues. We entered the waiting area for our zone to be called. It wasn’t a long wait at all. But the waiting area looked like there were complementary lemonade and water available, but the containers were empty.

*Note – Any alcohol or tobacco purchases are taxed in Texas upon debarkation. For 1 carton of smokes and 1 bottle of booze, they imposed an $18.50 tax. That is if you stopped and declared it.

Cabin Review

Interior Upper/Lower

Cabin 1A

Room 6288. We were right behind the glass elevators. The good thing was that there was a small walkway between us and the atrium area. So we got no elevator noise. Even our area was quiet for the most part. We had the 2 single beds, the 2 bunks, and 1 trundle bed. Most days the trundle bed was put up so that we had more room. The room was cozy (okay small) with 5 women, but we made it work. The over the door shoe caddy really helped with the chaos. Some of our bags fit under the 1 bed. Others were able to be stored in the corner. We had plenty of hangers available to us if needed. It was clean enough, but our toilet seat had permanent rub spots that gave a “not so clean” appearance to it. Yulie, our steward, was a rock star! She vacuumed often and kept us fully stocked with towels. The toilet seat had some stained rubbed areas that made an impression of it not being too clean. But other than that, the unit was great. Perfect location, not a lot of foot traffic.

Port Reviews

Montego Bay

Montego Bay. Our dock was in a weird place. We had to take a free shuttle to the main terminal building. We booked a private tour not through Carnival. Liberty Tours gave us Owen to show us around town, do some shopping, and some time at Doctor’s Cave beach. It was an interesting tour. I didn’t find Jamaica very pretty and would most likely not return. They were announcing the nominations that day so there was a very thick political unrest feeling throughout the island. Our driver kept us feeling VERY SAFE and gave us very good directions when he dropped us off at the beach. The visit to a tiny private school was right out of a UNICEF telethon commercial. The kids were so cute and polite. I highly recommend Liberty Tours. They were in constant contact with us. I got at least 3 phone calls from them prior to our trip. Very personable and will bend over backwards for you.

Doctor’s Cave. This place is crowded!!!! Finding an open beach spot is next to impossible after mid-day. But their food at the Beach Bar was really good. I had mini-blue crab sliders, my sisters got a pulled pork sandwich, a whole fish, and a sampler of meat nacho thing that was also tasty. Get the Bob Marley drink. So yummy!

Cozumel

Cozumel. We arrived early due to the missed stop at GC. We were off the boat and headed through about 30 Carnival tourist shops to the taxi area. $15 taxi ride got us to Paradise Beach. The tourist shopping area is a zoo. Carnival had 3 ships in port at that time (Breeze, Freedom, and Triumph). Even though there was plenty of deals, it just felt very rushed, crowded and not a fun shopping time. Do your shopping early if you can or maybe even around noon when it isn’t so crowded. Having 3 boats worth of tourists trying to get back to their boats made for long lines. Patience was not a virtue of many that passed through the duty free shop.

Paradise Beach. $3 a head to use their beach. We picked out great chairs right in front of the water. It’s $18 each to use their snorkels and bouncy equipment. They had amazing drinks (Killer Kool-Aid is wonderful). The Jalapeno Poppers were amazing. The Mexican Platter was good (they changed it from the menu, but still worth it). There was enough for 2 to share. Miguel and Saul took great care of us. This beach club is so clean and well maintained. The shower/dressing/bathroom areas are well kept and clean. I would return here in a heartbeat. This is a beautiful beach and worth the visit. They had plenty of taxis waiting to return us to the boat.

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