My husband and I chose to cruise the 4-night Mexico cruise on Carnival Paradise to celebrate our upcoming anniversary. While the price for our Grand Suite was similar to that on the Carnival Splendor's 7-day cruise, we preferred the itinerary to Catalina and Ensenada since we had not been to either of those ports. We had already visited Puerto Vallarta and Cabo on other cruises. Not sure why Carnival is now spending two days in Cabo, but it is definitely not a 2-day port, in our opinion.

Overall, we really enjoyed our cruise on Carnival Paradise. I do want to share some of the things we did not like because as a frequent reader of Cruise Critic, it really helps to know what people like and do not like. It definitely helps manage your expectations! I also suspect that Carnival reads the reviews as well, and I am sure it is helpful for them to understand customer preferences and areas for performance improvement.

The embarkation/disembarkation process from Long Beach was smooth with our VIP access. We arrived at the port earlier than expected since the crazy Los Angeles traffic took a break for the Labor Day holiday! Boarding began at approximately 11:45 a.m. Rooms were ready by 1:30 p.m. Our room was excellent. Our cabin steward was totally out of sight, although our room was always clean and refreshed. I particularly enjoyed the family of towel animals she created for us each evening. Read more