The room was nice and clean, but the view described as "partially obstructed," was a huge ugly machine and a life boat, no ocean. The food was mediocre. The quality of the food seemed to decline each night. The buffet was like school food. The ice cream machine was popular. Fresh fruit was a good touch. The taco bar and the burger bar and breakfast were the best food on the ship. Dinner service was very slow. There were no live shows on board. There were two good comedians and two guitarists playing in the lobby and a band in a smoke-filled bar. The pool is tiny and overcrowded. There are not enough activities. No dance classes, movies, cooking demonstrations, or crafts, etc. The shore excursion was rushed and crowded and the snorkeling had no fish. They let us stay at the beach only one hour. The crew was nice. Read Less

I cruise on this ship twice a year out of Tampa. This was our first once since the dry dock. All of the cabins I saw were completely redone. Same size, just everything replaced. (Expect for the windows, which look even worse in comparison to the sparkling new interiors...cloudy, scratched up and with a decade's worth of caulk.) We were in Empress 121, exterior w/ a window. Other than rooms, the updated areas included some new bar stool covers and redecorated Destiny dining room. The two pool deck bars have been replaced with a rum bar and a tequila bar, both with extended shade awnings and both are now non-smoking. In fact, it seemed the only places you could smoke were the casino, part of the casino bar and a small area on the upper deck around the pool. A big improvement for us non-smokers. The Mongolian grill is now a Mexican place and the grill is now a Guy Fieri burger place. Both are very good but unfortunately close at 6pm. The other food areas were the same and still not that great. There seemed to be a whole new crew too and overall they were great. Same fun trivia nights, live music, etc. And the casino has been reconfigured to include more new slots. We did the Chef's Dinner which was excellent, well worth the money. However, the wine served with the dinner was terrible. Overall really enjoyed the updates and glad to see a cruise line cutting money into their smaller, shorter run cruises. Read Less

We chose this cruise because we were on the Paradise a few years ago and had a good time. Plus it fit in our spring break timeline (teacher) and we love going to Cozumel and Grand Cayman. We were the 2nd cruise after the Paradise's dry dock. The changes are amazing. The color scheme, cabins makeovers, additions of Guys Burgers, BlueIguana Tequila Bar, RedFrog Rum Bar among a few changes make the Paradise a hidden gem in the Carnival Fleet. However, cruise director Jaime Dee is the best cruise director we have ever seen. Her positive and fun attitude, energy, and love for what she does is infectious throughout, not only her staff, but everyone aboard the Paradise. When we told her she was the best cruise director we have ever had, she was quick to give credit to everyone and said she was just a part of the great staff. Being a former high school football and baseball coach, I know what she is saying is true. However, it takes a great leader to get everyone to believe in what you are doing and to get on board with you. She has what is called the "it" factor. If you can't have fun on the Paradise with Jaime Dee as the cruise director, you can't have fun on a cruise. I would highly recommend this ship and cruise. Read Less

We chose this cruise because of the pictures we seen online which were a lie there was no basketball courts no movies theater and the arcade was so...small! I had a lot of fun but my two boys 14 and 16 were very much disappointed. The staff was great Jurry who cleaned our room was awesome and my favorite bar waitress was Zailene she was always around when we needed a drink. We traveled with 14 of us and my sister is in a wheel chair this cruise was not for her she could only get out side to sit in a few spots, and lastly it wasn't a very clean ship a lot of broken things the toilets didn't flush but overall I had a good time with my family. Thank you for your time and I hope you find this helpful ! I forgot to mention Jamie was amazing keep her around she should move up to a bigger and newer ship I hope that's what we will be on next easter! Read Less

We chose this Cruise because it was only five days and it went to Cuba. We stayed in Tampa for a few days before joining our American family and nine month old grandson on the Cruise. We have been on eight cruises before but It was our first trip with Carnival.There were lots of things to like. The food was excellent and the staff great fun ( The waiters danced with my grandson and were really friendly. Adam, Tanto (?), Imade and Anthony. Orland, our steward, was great too. The Tour Lecturer was good and the Latin Show was brilliant. There were few facilities for the baby though as Under Two's could only go into The Kids Club from Eight until Ten in the morning on a sea day even when accompanied with an adult and couldn't go into a pool at all despite wearing swim nappies. That's not good enough. There were a lot of babies on board. Havana was amazing but we weren't there long enough.We could not get off the ship until 4.00 pm on Monday and had to be back on board by 11.30 am on Tuesday. It's hardly the 2 days we were promised. We booked our own excursion with Yosel Vasquez's I love Cuba photographic tours. It was amazing. I would recommend others to take one of his tours too Read Less

I have wanted to go to Cuba my whole life, but it has been closed most of that time. I thought that my traveling days were over, but when my son gave me a Carnival gift card, I booked the first cruise to Cuba I could get. I was NOT disappointed! It was the last cruise for the Paradise before going into drydock for upgrades and improvements. I loved the ship even before the improvements. We had an oceanview cabin on the Main deck. There was some detouring for us because of ongoing construction, but it was not a problem for us except for some trouble at times finding a working elevator. The dining was excellent. We chose the anytime option because we booked two long excursions and our timeline was uncertain. We were glad that we chose that option, although one night we waited quite a while for seating. (That was okay with us though because we had no plans for that evening.) Everything we ordered was very good. I especially enjoyed the frog's legs appetizer, stuffed pork chop, and roast duckling. I had a great omelet at the breakfast bar on the Lido deck, and I especially appreciated the full breakfast that was available for us on the day of disembarking. (On other cruises, we just got rolls and coffee.) The entertainment was a pleasant surprise. We don't cruise for the entertainment, but this ship had a terrific Latin band that played on the Lido deck and in the Leonardo lounge at night. We also took in the evening show Amor Cubano, which was outstanding! This cruise provided a guest lecturer, Heidi, on Cuba and its sights and customs. She was terrific, giving us many valuable insights on what we would be seeing and doing. I heard one person at one of the lectures say that he could listen to her all day! All that being said, there were a few snags that were just the result of going to Cuba. Lining up for our excursions and finding our right group was chaotic! Because of the requirements for travel to Cuba, 2000 people were being herded into excursion groups. My husband and I are senior citizens and we were tired before the excursions even began! And the excursions themselves are not for the faint of heart! We chose the ones we thought had moderate activity, but I don't think there is such a thing in Havana, Cuba. Our first excursion was a bus tour of Havana and a performance of the Compas Dancers. The guide spoke excellent English and was very informative. The dance performance was excellent, but down a huge flight of stairs with no handrails! Our second day we did the walking tour of Old Havana. Again, an excellent guide, but he moved pretty quickly, so it was a challenge keeping up with our group. This tour included a trip to a community center and museum and a performance at the center of a senior citizens group. They were so welcoming and enthusiastic, I wished I could bring them all home with me.Both tours took us by bus up to the fort where we had a panoramic few of Havana with our ship in the port. But one trip was at dusk and the other was mid-morning, so I did not feel that anything was repeated because it looked different each day! Both shore excursions were definitely worth the money! The only real snag for us came on the morning shore excursion. Our tour started so early that we requested the earliest room service we could get. We waited as long as we could, but finally had to meet our tour group. My husband grabbed 2 cups of yogurt as we left which they were just putting out on the Lido deck, but our room service never got to us in time. I think the ship's dining crew were just overwhelmed that day! But it was a long time until lunch! Both my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed the cruise and were so glad we went in February. The weather was beautiful then, but we know we would fry in Cuba in July! (We also do not cruise in hurricane season.) We will probably not be able to go again, because it is a strenuous trip for seniors. Cuba has none of the modern conveniences that we take for granted (elevators, handrails, air-conditioning, clearly marked fire exits, etc.) and although I would love to see some other places in addition to seeing more of Havana, I realize that this is most likely my last shot at it. I feel very blessed to have finally gotten there. Read Less

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First cruise for our family of 4. Ease of boarding and settling in was impressive. Beautiful pools, fun slide. Multiple sun decks to choose from. Great mini-golf. Overall fun atmosphere. Food was good, very kid-friendly. For parents, not great tho. No formal dining options on this ship. Entertainment was fun and abundant, for kids and parents. We spent several evenings in the library playing board games! On shore excursion with "Fury" catamaran team in cozumel was exceptional. Would highly recommend the snorkel, beach adventure. Our state-room hostess, Phayom was superb. She was very friendly and learned all of our names the first day aboard. My boys ( 8 & 3 ) fell in love with her! She made us feel at home and was always right around the corner if we needed anything. It was sad to have to say goodbye to her. (Tho my 3 yr old did say goodbye with the biggest hug he could give, followed by a sincere "I love you!"). I'd agree with his sentiment! Thank you for all of the great memories. Read Less

I was paying back a friend who arranged a trip for me 44 years ago. We have been friends since then and thought this would be nice to pay them back. My first Carnival and only the 2nd cruise I have ever been on. I found the people were much more friendly on this cruise than on Celebrity. The food was very good, our waiter was Raymond and he and his help were great. Remembered our names, what beer I drank and even brought 2 shrimp cocktails since they are small. The one thing I didn't like food wise was the flank steak. I have cooked on a grill for about 40 years and this was not flank. It was too thick and had too much gristle in it. The deserts were the best part and I am not a big sweet eater. Cheese cake was very good. One thing that stood out was disembarkation. We had FTTF and I don't think it mattered. I had a 10:45 am flight and hunted down a Carnival rep and told him that. We had been told to meet in the Queen Mary lounge and there was about 200 people there. No one ever said anything about getting off and we got in a line around 7:50 and I made it to the airport with time to spare. Read Less

This was a Valentine birthday cruise for myself and my husband. It was a 5 day to Grand Cayman and Cozumel and thankfully, we are happy to have a good time together regardless and we settled for a quiet cruise with nothing to do. The service was so immensely lacking. From beginning to end this trip was a disappointment and we are repeat Gold level cruisers who have always been happy with Carnival! It started when we arrived for our 2:30 check-in appointment time to be told there were no porters anymore and we have to carry on our own luggage. We are MDR late diners and I was shocked that the food was barely even at the level of a local Chili's as far as taste, and presentation was non-existent. The desserts were tasteless, although the melting cake was decent. The shrimp cocktail was a sad embarrassment of frozen salad shrimp, thrown in a pile on a piece of lettuce. My birthday was on Valentine's Day and we openly discussed it for two days at dinner. Even that night, my husband made sure to "sneak off" to tell them to bring something chocolate for my birthday. They arrived with a strawberry mousse heart and sang Happy Anniversary to us. Out of the array of other miscellaneous mishaps including the pizza guy sending us to the salad bar to make our own caesar salad, the final send-off was the last day when we found out they lost our 3 bottles of liquor we purchased in port. This felt like a super budget vacation, which it certainly was not. We chose not to book our family cruise for next year while on board, which was the plan. What made it worse was my aunt coming back while we were gone from a completely different Carnival cruise the week before and had a similar, in some ways worse, experience. I see that a lot has changed with Carnival since our cruise last year. I am pretty crushed. I will say that I didn't find the ship itself so sorely lacking in upkeep as I had read in many reviews. The entertainment was no where to be found, unless it was for Bingo. There was zero fun on this 'fun ship", which is crazy for what you'd think was a perfect opportunity to wow couples on a romantic Valentine getaway. Dancing even?? Nope. Nightclub had crickets. There was absolutely no thought or effort put into this being a Valentine cruise. The couple of games we played during the day were not even entertaining - just senseless guessing games. I mean, honestly - I love the corny trivia games but these were bad. We were in an Upper Deck Oceanview room which was nice, clean, quiet, and well maintained. The beds would not stay together which was another annoyance every night. Both ports were beautiful and even the tender to and from Grand Cayman went smoothly. I am still overwhelmed by how disappointed I am in the level of service Carnival had to offer. We are ready to go RCL next time. Read Less