This cruise was a nice break after the holidays. The weather was cooler than it has ever been for us in the Caribbean but it was very beautiful, cool, and sunny weather for our two port days (but the water in Cozumel was fine to swim in). First and last sea day was cold but the whole country was having a cold snap with well below normal temps this week. This was our first cruise on the Triumph. We have cruised about 15 times and have sailed these lines - Carnival, NCL, RCCL, and Princess. We liked the ship and never felt overcrowded anywhere on the ship. The public rooms and buffet restaurant felt bigger and more spacious than on other ships we have been on. The ship was kept very clean and the staff was helpful and friendly. The elevators were faster on this ship and there were more of them. For some reason (not sure if the ship was sold out or not), we never felt crowded and didn't wait in as many lines like we have on other cruises.

Activities - They were typical ship type activities you find on most lines. I do find that Carnival plays more games and has a fun crowd abroad, people and families of all ages. It was a very nice crowd aboard the ship. Entertainment - This was the best on board shows we have ever seen on a cruise ship. We thoroughly enjoyed them. The quality, costumes, dancers, singers were the best we have seen. My husband, who is usually not that impressed with the dancing shows, loved them and commented over and over about how unique and good they were. Dining - We do not find much of a difference between food on the top major cruise lines. We did a New England cruise in the fall on the Crown Princess and we found that the food was better on this ship. My husband likes fish and said that the fish was much better this cruise. To me, it is much the same as any other cruise - some things better than others, hit or miss, etc. The service in the main dining room (early seating) was probably the best service we have had on any cruise. Cozumel - We have been many times before and have done a variety of things over the years. We decided to go back to Chankanaab and try Discover Mexico for the first time. The combo ticket was $34 and included a taxi from Discover Mexico to Chankanaab. There is probably a coupon online or a way to buy tickets beforehand but we didn't do this. We were impressed with Discover Mexico. Our guide, Martin, was excellent and loved this country. We learned a lot. The brochure about Discover Mexico says this - "Journey through time and space into Mexico's life and culture in this unique state of the art park." Your tour with your guide along a path and he explains each replica from the Mayan temples to present day Mexico City. We enjoyed it. Takes about one hour total. Then he rode with us to Chankanaab, which was only minutes away by taxi. My husband and friend did the Discover Scuba from the beach there. We ate and walked around. It is very beautiful and it seems that it has recovered nicely from the hurricane years ago. They did say that they reef/coral will take a long time to come back but there is coral there and the snorkelers were seeing lots of fish. This is a beautiful park, one of our favorites in Cozumel. Progress - We didn't have a plan but took the free shuttle from the ship into Progress. The pier is about 4 miles long. The tour bus that Carnival used to get you into town was Autoprogresso so before we exited the bus, they told us about their tour options. We decided on a city tour to Merida. We are not "city tour" type people for the most part (like more adventure) but we enjoyed it and Autoprogresso was great. Merida was clean, had a beautiful church to tour, a nice plaza square with shopping and a museum, ice cream shops, etc. Also, the best part was, people watching. It is not "touristy" and you get a real feel for the city (It is the capital of the Yucatan). Actually, we decided to take this tour because of Cruise Critic. Merida was listed as a "Don't Miss" on the Progresso page. Also, the weather was perfect (cool, sunny, not humid) which added a lot to the day! Overall, a very enjoyable cruise. We are hoping to go back on this same ship this summer (2010), again out of New Orleans, with our 5 children (ages 8 - 15) because we think it is the perfect ship for families. This summer, the Triumph does a 7 day cruise with stops in Cozumel, Roatan, and Belize.