I was excited- this was our first time on a Holiday cruise, and the first time on the Paradise. I’d been on the Elation, & found the layout very similar. There were two Dining rooms, with Entertainment venues between.
When we first booked in August, we were in an interior room on the lowest deck (aft), but I’ve found that there has been more movement & vibration in those cabins, so when we were able to use our 15% discount from our Splendor detour, I suggested that we move to a more mid-ship area on a higher deck, and our PVP was able to accommodate our request. Also, we were able to get two beds & a roll-away bed, due to our various disabilities that kept us from climbing into bunks.
Embarkation was fast & easy. We went into the spruce goose dome, where we were ushered to one of three lines for the disabled. There were no lines for embarkation. We were surprised to seeing there were very limited balconies, compared to the Splendor. I’d studied the deck plan before we left & saw we were booked for 6pm seating in the Destiny Dining room. This would have worked if we’d kept our aft cabin, but now we were closer to the Elation, so my mother & I went to the Elation to speak to the Maitre ‘D about changing dining rooms & getting a table for 4. We were told if we were interested in the late seating, there would be no problem, or we could try for YourTime dining. We said YourTime would work better & got a notification later that we were accepted. I thought the décor was beautiful; very tasteful. The Normandie Theater was beautiful, with seating close to the stage. The Paris Lido restaurant had a great selection of food, with a fresh omelet station, Pizza. & of course ice-cream (ice-cream station ran out of spoons one afternoon!)
Lots of activities- I participated in most of the Trivia contests & won or tied, coming home with 5 medals & a ship on the stick. The Entertainment staff of Misty, Charlie, Phil, & Teegan was lots of fun. The casino had the loosest slots I’ve experienced on a ship. Halloween activities were held to the last day, & very few adults brought costumes (the younger kids were darling though!) There was a get together in the Casino bar, then the costume contest in the disco (there were 20 groups/single contestants). The winner was a woman who went as Octomom.
Since it was a 4-day cruise, the MDR had a limited amount of food. No crème Brule, but the lobster on Elegant night was delicious. I stuck with the Warm Chocolate Melting Cake, although it was more cake than Melt the first 2 nights. We did not attend the Capt Party on Elegant night, due to the change in drink service (we were not going to pay for our drinks); I was the only one who brought anything Elegant- we were planning on Halloween being celebrated that night. The Captain’s Farewell party was sparsely attended- didn’t even fill the front part of the Theater. The band was good, and there were several couples & a few children on the stage dancing. Both ShowTime shows were wonderful- although we didn’t recognize a lot of the Country songs used in Xtream Country, the dances were energetic & the show moved quickly. Shout used a lot of oldies to contemporary music, but the last number, which added lyrics to “Ode To Joy” seemed out of place. The comics were interesting, but I preferred Meri Hobbs to Mark Kornhauser. Instead of Legends, there was a Karaoke “talent show” which had 7 contestants ranging from Sinatra to Broadway.
Altogether, I had a fun time, although I am getting tired of Long Beach sailings to Catalina, Ensenada & the Mexican Riviera,
Priority Access to Members-Only Deals
