Carnival Paradise Review
Rating by category
Additional details
Decided to try a Carnival small ship we've never been on, the Carnival Paradise.
Embarkation was a mess, took more then 2 hours from the time we arrived at our picked time at the port. Seems the times you pick to show up to get on the ship are ignored!
Once on the ship, we were pleasantly surprised with the condition of this older ship, was in much better condition then our last cruise on the RCL Majesty.
Cabin Review
Ocean View
185 sq ft OV is quite comfortable when compared to RCL's Majesty 122 sq ft. OV!
The only negative is there is no frig, you got to use your ice bucket for all cooling.
Port Reviews
Tampa
Easy to park across the street in the parking garage, costs $15. a day, just recommend you drop off your luggage first, then park.
Costa Maya
First, its a long pier, but they got a shuttle that runs about every 10 mins, good idea in the heat!
The port is made up of a bunch of stores seemingly selling the same goods, but the prices will vary, so check them out, and barter, if you don't get your price, walk away!
We sat at a bar next to the dolphin exhibit, watched them for about an hour, in the shade with a nice breeze, it was quite enjoyable!
There is a closed beach area right next to the pier on the right as you enter the port, can't imagine why they don't use that area, but want you to go a few miles south to some beach areas that are very shallow, more for laying in the water, then swimming!