Carnival Paradise Review

3.5 / 5.0
987 reviews

Good news/Bad news Cruise

Review for the Mexican Riviera Cruise on Carnival Paradise
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GrayGrammy
10+ Cruises • Age 80s

Rating by category

Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
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Sail Date: Nov 2011

This ship is nicely decorated and well laid out. Our party wanted to relax completely, so we skipped getting dressed up for anything, including the dining rooms and shows. Instead, we enjoyed hanging out with one another and eating the above-average food in the Lido Deck Buffet. I was impressed with how well the traffic flows in that venue, even when crowded. Also, we appreciated the Early Embarkation Check-In process, and thought Disembarkation was also handled fairly well. That's the Good News.

Now, the Bad News: First, there seem to be way too few public restrooms on this ship, and the restrooms that do exist are small, cramped, and really filthy - all the time. Disgusting! Second, there are nowhere near enough busers in the Lido Deck Buffet, and those who are there are slow, sloppy, and not well supervised or motivated. Given the number of passengers aboard, this restaurant needs to turn its tables over quickly and professionally, but the opposite is what actually happens - tables sit for long periods, piled with dirty dishes, while passengers search endlessly for a clean table. Passengers often ended up busing tables themselves, just to have a place to eat their now-cold food. Tables were also infrequently wiped clean, so surfaces felt sticky and unhealthy. Again, disgusting! Third, on this cruise there was no effort made by Carnival to alert passengers to the dangers of passing illnesses around or to instruct passengers to keep their hands well washed and to use the provided hand sanitizer. Fourth, the midships elevators were Out of Order throughout the cruise, causing jams at the fore and aft elevators (since the ship was reportedly Sold Out). Finally, the room temperatures were never properly adjusted for the unusually cold weather that prevailed throughout this cruise. Many passengers mentioned how uncomfortably chilly their staterooms were. Such details really do matter, even to "good sports."

Cabin Review

M42 is an interior cabin, near the bow. Being so far forward, the traffic and noise in the hallway were less bothersome than in other, more central locations. I thought this cabin was surprisingly roomy and well arranged. Closet and drawer space were more than adequate for such a short cruise. The walk-in shower was great - certainly more spacious than any other shower I have ever seen on any other ship. The cabin seemed well maintained and clean. The only negatives were that (1) there was no hair dryer in this cabin (one was provided when we asked for it), and (2) the in-room safe seemed in need of an overhaul - we had to call once to have Security force open the safe that would not let us retrieve our valuables. Even so, I would recommend this cabin to anyone who, like me, likes interior rooms, low in the ship, and doesn't mind the ship's motion in the bow or the sound of the bow thrusters during sailing and landing operations.

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