Chose Paradise basically for the locality, close to home. Was very disappointing when boarding, as a first time cruise, had no direction on what to do or go. Buffet food and service was very poor, help had very poor english, hard to understand, moved very slow, very unorganized, many mistakes and food was stale or not cooked right. Servings were very small, long lines that moved slowly, average wait time over half an hour. Customer service not very customer friendly, bartender on main floor, not friendly, he preferred washing glasses over serving customer, seemed like we were disturbing him. Pool deck was overcrowded, hottubs overcrowded and dirty dishes left on tables. All was not bad, Leon the activity director was fun and full of energy. Shows were good, room was clean but had limited channels for night time viewing. Would not recommend. Also, paid for bubble package and found it to be inconvenient, had to go to bar to get, whereas draft beer for individuals was easy and accessible. Read Less

This was a great cruise for the price and cruising out of Tampa was a great experience. The ship itself was nice. Nothing fancy but nice. Excursions - since this was just a last minute getaway we didn't book anything but we did enjoy 7 mile beach in Grand Cayman and walked around the port in Cozumel (weather wasn't great!). Room/Room steward - We had an ocean view on deck 5; it was quiet; small and well serviced. Food - the main buffet was a disappointment during every meal. There seemed to be fair less selection than prior Carnival cruises. Guy's burgers and the sandwich shop were amazing and always fit the bill. The mexican cantina was ok. The chicken was full of bones which is odd for a burrito chicken. The service in the dining room was amazing and the food was well above average. This was our first ship with a dedicated anytime dining restaurant and we loved it!!! Activities/shows - The comedy shows were amazing but the lack of activities and shows was very apparent on this ship. There were probably 100 people standing for the comedy shows at times because there was nothing else going on with the ship. Boarding and disembarkment (and at ports) - this was all very efficient and faster than expected. No input there. We did self embarkment. Tampa port was easy to get to and leave from. We did not leave our car at the port but it was very reasonable at $40 or $50 for 5 nights. Read Less

We always choose Carnival....great price and great value. You get the most bang for the buck.We choose the Paradise because it fit the time frame we had without a lot of $ extras. This was the 3rd time on the Paradise and it did not disappoint. The beauty of the older ships is what the new ships are missing. The atrium, the glass elevators,the beauty of the showrooms the new ships are lacking. I realize we are trying to attract new cruisers,families with kids etc.The water slides may be great for a few but taking away a pool is not a good trade.Lets talk service....they have down sized many things. Room cleaning to once a day,no pillow mints,menu is limited, linens on the dinning room tables and less people cleaning on the deck areas,drink servers. However service is top notch from the room attendants to the servers in the dinning room. We have been back cruising for the last 9 years and this was the best food in the dining room we have ever had. Food was fresh, hot food hot, cold food cold, ice cream well you get it. Rodolpho in the Elation dining room was amazing. He did not have time for extra chit chat he had far to many people to serve And dinner did not take 2 hours. We did miss the scheduled tournaments like corn hole, ping pong, mini golf hope to see these on our next cruise with of course CARNIVAL! Read Less

There were 6 friends on this cruise and we chose it for 1 reason only. The piano bar with Gustavo. We've cruised 2 other times where we had the fun of seeing Gustavo. But this was the first time on Carnival. I was leery, it's an old ship and I was afraid it hadn't aged well. I was very pleasantly surprised. Embarkation was the easiest I've ever been through. I think it's because you don't get your cabin key until later when you cabin is ready. This made getting through the port terminal so quick. While old and a little dated the ship was spotless. Our cabins were aft balconies. The cabin was small but adequate. Bigger bathroom than on some other cruise lines. Our steward, Lary, was great. He asked us what time we wanted him to clean and it was spotless every day The food was very good, especially the dinner. We chose anytime and ate around 6 most nights. We requested Devy's table and she was really great. The casino is smoky. It has all the usual tables and slots. We didn't go to any of the shows. We listened to the great band in the bar near the casino and of course later the piano bar. We also attended both art auctions and a lot of new art was purchased! The crew is amazingly friendly and they all really went out of their way to make sure you are happy. Great bartenders. Don't be afraid to try an older Carnival ship. Read Less

I booked this cruise as it was going to be in Grand Cayman on my wife's birthday (we love Grand Cayman's 7 mile beach). Overall...the ship is older but very well maintained...it is also smaller than most of the other ships we have cruised on. Luckily...the weather was great and the gulf was not rough...so it was pretty much smooth sailing. Our room was what we expected...nothing fancy but comfortable...loved the big TV...just wished there were more channels to choose from. We tried to stay away from the buffet but it looked edible. We pretty much ate in Elations Dining room...the food was good but nothing notable. The service was excellent and our servers were attentive. Our room steward...Lauro...was great...the room was always clean and we always had ice in the ice bucket. We don't drink so didn't have any comments on the bartenders service. The one pool was always crowded and loud so we hung on the Serenity deck. Only had a couple of shows and they were both good...especially Epic Rock. This will probably be our last cruise with Carnival as we enjoyed MSC a lot better. Read Less

My wife and I cruised with Carnival out of Miami several years ago and had a pretty good experience. We've also cruised before with NCL and Royal. There were several reasons why we were very disappointed with this latest Carnival Cruise. Thus, we don't expect to cruise with Carnival again. (1) Too much of a loud/drinking/party atmosphere. Except in the atrium, music throughout the ship was obnoxiously loud, and we disliked hearing very loud songs played in the dining room each evening at dinner as part of "showtime." (2) The service in the buffet and dining room was poor compared to all other cruises we've been on. For example, tables and dirty plates were not promptly cleared (both in the buffet and dining room); we often had to ask for water when having dinner in the dining room; wait staff in the dining room not good about checking in with you about your meal (they would typically ask how your meal was AFTER you're all finished eating). (3) The lunch buffet was a big disappointment. Far fewer selections were offered compared to other cruise lines. Moreover, Pizza Pirate was a big disappointment. The guy making pizza did not understand English and didn't seem to know how to cook pizzas. Every time we ordered a pizza it came out opposite of what we requested. (4) My wife eats mostly vegan, and overall the staff did a poor job accommodating her diet. A number of mistakes were made. Other cruise lines have done a much better job preparing vegan options. (5) At disembarkation we waited in line for 75 minutes before getting through customs; others had even longer delays. We've never had such a long delay on any of our prior cruises. Read Less

My daughter and I decided to get away from the cold and take a cruise to Cozumel and the Grand Caymans. We got a pretty inexpensive interior room on the Carnival Paradise ship. Unfortunately it was the only one going the week we needed to go, talk about a ship that desperately needs a Rehab!! Everything is outdated and you can see it the minute you get on it, from the decks needing staining to the ugliest carpet anyone could have chosen. The jacuzzi has old green tile that even had some mold on it and needed scrubbing. The food was very mediocre, the first night in the dining room tasted like it was leftover from the previous cruise. It did get a little better throughout the week, but was no better than any average Denny's or IHop restaurant. This ship offered no shows, just a comedy show 4 nights with the same two comedians who got redundant. The pool is very small for the ship being able to hold over 2k people. I've been on other ships and none of them were quite like this one. The one redeeming factor was Leon, their cruise director, he is very talented and kept us entertained during the on board events. I would say, if this is all you can afford, then just be prepared, you get what you pay for, and nothing more. Read Less

First cruise for me and my husband. We really enjoyed our time, our room steward I Made was wonderful! He called us by name every time he seen us and made sure we had everything. He was wonderful! Also the dining team was excellent,Lab Asa, Nujarin,Rojas, Joel and Espinoza, Rogelio Jr Paiso, we thank you for your outstanding service. We will definitely be back to cruise some more. We also had fun in the casino and playing cards with our friends. The beds were really comfy and the room was cleaned everyday. The music on the lido deck was nice while laying there relaxing. We enjoyed Cozumel and Grand Cayman very much. I would recommend that you get the drink Packages if you drink everyday as the bill adds up! Also the patches behind the ears really helped me and my husband. Thanks for making us feel special!, Read Less

Cruise director Leon is the BEST in the business!! Entertainment also! ALL Staff ALWAYS greet you with a smile. Very attentive. Clean ship. Beds super comfortable. I'm gluten free and was hoping there would be more bread options. They had only one and it tastes like Thanksgiving stuffing. Not good for french toast! They do have a gluten free pizza. The dining room did their best to accommodate my needs. You do have to put your special order in the day before. I ordered a chocolate shake from the cafe, and to my surprise, I received an edible chocolate straw! I really enjoyed the question and answer time with Leon. You get to ask anything you've ever wanted to know about the ship and crew. Very informative, and Leon makes everything fun! Don't miss the party in the lobby on the last night! Unforgettable fun! Leon for Captain!! Read Less

I have been on over 10 cruises using 5 different cruise lines over the years. We were invited on this cruise with a group. I would not have chosen it but, then I thought, how bad could it be? Dining room food was terrible. Cold, fatty, soggy, runny, undercooked, overcooked, sparse, lack luster....you name it! I was shocked at how bad the food was. I even upcharged ($20) for a steak one evening and lobster another evening. It took one hour for my steak to arrive (everyone else at my table had already eaten). Dining room staff was trying to get me to hurry and eat since the second seating was waiting to get in! Lobster was cold and rubbery. Had Eggs Benedict in dining room one morning that was cold with hard yokes. No potatoes added on plate, nothing. Just two eggs on untoasted english muffins with a little hollandaise sauce. So went to the Lido buffet for breakfast the next day to powdered scrambled eggs! I will say that the hamburgers and Mexican food on the Lido deck by the pool was good. Rooms were as expected but the "refrigerators" do NOT cool. Ever. We thought ours was broken but then they corrected us by referring to them as just "coolers", not refrigerators. But they were warm inside, so why have them? My cabin mate's insulin had to be put in an ice bucket with ice changed twice a day. Couldn't even keep our soda's cool. They were warm. Room cleaning service was good but has gotten sparse. Instead of checking/straightening your room twice a day. It is only once a day. So if you shower before dinner, your towels are not replaced. (No more turning down your bed and placing a mint on your pillow.) Embarking was fairly smooth but disembarking was a crowded and disorganized mess. Long lines to get off and get through customs. Tables out by the pool would sit un-bused for hours before a staff member would come and take dishes away. One day we could not find a clean table to sit at so I went searching for a staff member to bus and clean a table so that we could sit down. Some lady dressed in a navy blue suit (looked like a team leader or manager) walked out and picked up one plate and took it away before coming back 10 minutes later to take another plate. We stood there holding our plates in disbelief at her lack of urgency. Finally, another young man came out and took the majority of the dirty dishes and placed them on another table. Once he wiped off the table we finally sat down. He never came back for the other dishes. Another couple walked up with their plates full contemplating where they would sit since all of the tables were still dirty. Out of disgust, I got up and picked up every single dish/glass/wrapper etc on every single table and piled them on one single table. Then I took some napkins and wiped every single table. The couple thanked me but still no one showed up for another 30 minutes to clean that one table. I even watched several staff members walk by but not one of them attempted to clean the table. Overall, I was disappointed at the steep decline of the food and service. The last Carnival cruise I went on was about 6 years ago on the "Elation" and I thought both the food and service was great! But this experience made me feel as if the staff doesn't care anymore! Read Less

We enjoy Carnival because it is indeed Fun Ships. This cruise was exceptional. The executive staff was very friendly every time you saw them on deck, in the halls etc. The performance shows wee outstanding and professional. The crew was great except of course the continued problem in the your time dining. We have sailed to Platinum with Carnival and there is ALWAYS a dining room team that is slow, unfriendly, tired and serves cold food. This was now exception. However, as in the past-I brought it to the attention of the folks running the dining room and they assigned us to a different team-Rodolfo, Deive and Chester. Exceptional service!!! Hopefully someone from Carnival reads these reviews and addresses this issue as I have seen it several times brought up. Outside of that- one terrific cruise with a crew that is exceptional. The music was great with a band "Wrecking Crew" delivering a great variety of music. Alan Jenkins is a solo guitar guy and is very talented and entertaining plus involves the passengers. For real relaxed Caribbean rock plays the steel drum and is super talented also. But a tremendous shout out to the Playlist Productions for their magnificent shows. When you have a terrific cabin steward .it makes the trip even more enjoyable and Bukhari made sure we were well taken care of. The friendly guy was excellent in all matters. Our ship came back to Tampa about 1 1/2 hrs late due to port traffic. the staff was great about getting us off the ship fast as possible. We shall keep going on Carnival as they remain the best for us because of the fun. Read Less

Going to Mexico. Everything on the cruise was nice all the staff very friendly. We had a ball at the club Rex on the first night. The 2nd day i was motion sick until 6pm but all the staff was great with me. They all tried to give me an helping hand. The Lido Resturant was nice they always had some good food and if you didn't eat what they cook,you can always go get pizza, sandwiches or subs late night. If you had a sweet tooth don't worry all the ice cream, donuts, cakes and cookies you want all day. Entertainment was good also Big screen movie, Casino, Bingo and live Comedian. I really loved my 4 days on the ship. Lots of rest most of all. Bed slept real good also but I have a bad back so I known when it was time for me to move around. This was my 2nd trip on the Carnival Cruise ship got home today1-13-2020. Guess what I'm gonna do. Start saving for my next trip. Carnival Cruise here I come. Read Less

We have cruised several times in the past with Carnival and had good or great experiences. This wasn't true for this cruise. I booked with the cruise line directly and that's were our problems begin. They sent ALL on my information to my ex husband. I have a different last name and never gave them his email, yet somehow they were able to find him from 20 years ago. Our food was cold ( almost every night) in the dining room and had to send it back (both for breakfast and dinner). The new food that came out was colder than what they brought out! One evening the creme brulee was raw and running out of the dish. The buffet seemed to be a better choice on this cruise. Several meat dishes were greasy and low quality. We noticed they have started charging more for room service food that used to be free. Our party of eleven agreed if we cruise again it will not be with Carnival. Read Less

Disclosure, we "overpaid" for three cabins on the Paradise that departed Tampa on 12/26. Of course it was supply and demand market pricing, but I felt like this (older) ship was going to have an uphill battle to impress me on such a short (4 nt) cruise with only one port of call (Cozumel). Spoiler warning - it did impress! We booked three cabins - 1) an oceanview for my wife and I 2) an inside for my adult son and his recently married wife 3) an inside for my 20.9 year old son and 19.5 year old daughter (two single beds) CABIN - I had probably the best cabin steward of my cruise history, Gladys. Our other cabins were on same floor but down the ship with their own steward. the shower's water pressure was far and above the best we've had at sea, exceeding our residence even. FOOD - our kiddos absolutely loved Guy's Burgers, middle child had 5 in 4 nt. We also liked the buffet and MDR. this is odd to say but it was head and shoulders above the Magic we sailed earlier this year. CRUISE DIRECTOR - Leon was possibly the best we've had since my debut sailing on the Breeze with Butchy Baby. I would expect to see him on a significantly larger ship in the near future. LIDO DECK - we had absolutely no problem finding deck chairs, but we mainly focused in the smoking section. I know, I know...but our two eldest vape and I smoke when I drank - we got 6 chairs and 2 tables and played Cards Against Humanity 2x for extended periods. fantastic SHOWS - we saw Love and Marriage and one of the comedians. very enjoyable. we also loved the 80s dance revue in the lobby at 10pm final night - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. everyone loved the piano bar and even Leon stopped in one night for a good 15 minutes or so. DRINKS - lots of room in most of the bars, never an issue getting a seat or a drink. impressive. CASINO - oy vay, lady luck was nowhere to be found. but still enjoyed time there. DOWNERS *we had $1500 of Carnival gift cards we accumulated throughout the year and were unable to load them online before sailing. we even called twice to get it fixed, but only succeeded in getting a "trouble ticket" opened. soooooo....when we arrived via priority embarkation we monopolized guest service manager for almost an hour as he loaded them onto our cabins. sucked for him, sucked for us, sucked for those in line. not my fault, however. I hope Carnival fixes this snafu. *wife had a couple interactions with a bartender who clearly didn't want to make her somewhat complicated drink. she was visibly dissatisfied. I get it, but we are the ones who tip on each drink above and beyond the prepaid gratuities. *not a real downer but I told my almost 21 yr old there was certain to be a basketball court where he would be able to play with folks of all ages. there wasn't a court! Read Less

I want to start saying we took this short cruise with family just to relax for a couple of days. We got on the cruise early around 2 pm. walking tours the buffet we noticed a sewer smell but we though it was the Port of Tampa waters. At the buffet to summarized the experience ended up eating a sandwich, this time we though food was snot good because it was port day and they had just gotten there that same morning, maybe....Well only to realize later that the food was not good everyday and the sewer smell never went away either. We had dinner at the restaurant with the family every night at 8:15 pm, that was not great food either but our waitress was so nice that really made our dinner enjoyable at least. The very first day when we went to our room after lunch we noticed it was hot and called someone to help me control the AC since it seem like it wasn't working for me. A lady came and after trying herself told me it was indeed not working and said she was letting the technician know to come and fix it and she offered me a little fan in the meantime. I'm glad I took the fan because I'm still waiting for the technician to go fix the AC.....To top it all, we had a king bed that in the middle of the night separated and we had a huge gap in the middle. We couldn't sleep all night fighting & trying to get out of the gap that seemed to hold us in it. We reported it in the morning and they came and "fixed" it. We had a better night that next night but again went back to the same issue the 3rd night and then after that no one went to fix it anymore although they alleged they did but we had the same gap in the middle every night after. As we all know, they give you a door key card which serves also as your charge card all over the cruise if you put a credit card on file with them which we did. Therefore we left our money in the safe as soon as we got on the cruise the very first day and never opened it again until the 2nd day at night around 6:45 pm that we went back to our room to start getting ready to go to our dinner at 8:15 pm just like the night before and every other night after that since we had dinner at the same time every day. That day as I said, we go back to our room and when we opened the door we hit the safe door with the room door because the safe was open....I immediately started counting the money in my husbands wallet and my purse. We were missing $60 from my purse. Obviously I went down to guest services and reported it. They called security and had to follow their protocol which took a couple of hours so we went to sleep that night about 1:45 am when we finished with them with their assurance that we would have a report and an answer the next day in the afternoon since that next day was going to be a port day at Cozumel. Very upset we went to bed and Cozumel in the morning. We obviously took our belongings from the safe with us this time. We got back in the ship from Cozumel about 4:30 Pm and went straight to the guest services to get the report. Well the report was that there are no cameras in the hallways of this cruise unlike others and that the only thing they could do was scan the lock to see if there was any "UNAUTHORIZED" entry to our room and that there was not....That's it..... Obviously we were very disappointed at the security but although decided we weren't going to let this ruin our relaxing time.....Got to the room to start getting ready for dinner like usual around 6:45 pm, went to dinner and got back to the room late as usual since we liked to watch the show at the theater and the last comedy comedy show also. Went back to sleep that night to the same no AC and gap in the middle of the two beds. That next morning we slept in since we have had a bad night due to the discomfort of all of the previously mentioned issues. My husband was taking his wallet again but we were wearing pool attire in case we wanted to swim so dumb me assured him t leave his wallet and my purse in the safe again. I said to him that i didn't think the thief knowing we made a report and all wasn't going to be stupid enough to get in our room again, so he opened the safe and put his wallet in there again. We left the room about 11:30 am to go eat breakfast again ended up eating a sandwich and headed to the pool deck to have some drinks with the family while our daughter and niece were playing in the slides area. Then we realized we didn't have our cards with us when we ordered a drink because my husband had all 3 cards in his wallet and he had left the wallet in the safe so he, our daughter and niece went down to guest services and they sent someone to open the door for them. He got in the room, opened the safe got the cards out and put the wallet back in the safe and made sure the lock door was closed, so did my 12 yr old daughter and my 10 yr old nice obviously because of the experience we've had already. They went back to us at the pool deck. We stayed out again until abut 6:30-6:45 that we went back as usual to start getting ready for dinner. We open the room door and again.......room door hits the safe door because it was open one more time!!!!!!! In disbelieve I immediately started counting the money in purse and my husbands wallet and $40 were missing but from my husbands wallet this time. Obviously very frustrated and mad called them and someone came again and offered us to go through the same hours long reporting of the incident how they call it to what I refused telling them I was not going to miss dinner with my family again and wait anymore of my time again on that when they didn't do anything but give me excuses the first time. I told me that for me it was not the $100, the most concern was the poor security they offered their guests that was a shame and the fat that they weren't doing anything bu excusing themselves over and over instead of giving us the guests legit answer and solution. Of course very, beyond mad and frustrated we went to dinner trying to not let this second incident ruin the rest of our day since we were getting home in the morning but unfortunately we couldn't get over it and right after dinner decided to go back to the cabin for the night hoping for the morning to leave that cruise. This was an unusual time for us to be back at the room since we had been coming to sleep very late every day except for that day. Now was about 9:15 pm and we are in the room my daughter got in the bathroom to change and my husband and I are laying in bed not saying a word just waiting there for our daughter to come out for us to change and go to bed when someone knocked on the door and I answer coming while my husband was headed to pen thinking in was our family. When he opens the door, the housekeeper was a couple of steps from our door pretending to be cleaning the wall with a rag, my husband asked him if he knocked our door and he said no, so my husband asked him then did you see who did and he said he did not see anybody knocking yet he is a couple of steps from our door. My husband closes the door and our daughter came out of the bathroom asking if it was her cousin looking for her because she had heard someone knocking......With that being said, you can tell we had a horrible experience with this people i this cruise. We are all very disappointed at everything but specially the security. How come someone that has access to your room like the cleaning people go into your room and your safe like nothing and they just turn around saying that unfortunately they don't have cameras in the hallways and that there was no "unauthorized" entry in our room. People be aware. I've seen many videos online after this experience of how easy it is for thieves to open this safes in cruises and hotel rooms. I felt the need to exposed my experience with them because I don't want anybody else to have to go through what we did on their vacation time. Read Less

We have been on over 20 cruises, and selected this one as a pleasant opportunity to get away and recharge. We are seniors who retired to FL many years ago for the good weather and access to cruise ports. We were accompanied on this cruise by our neighbors and everybody had a good time. Embarkation was a pleasant start to our experience. Never have we experienced such a speedy embarkation and disembarkation. I don't think it took us fifteen minutes for the time we reached the terminal until we were on the ship, and even less time to get off and through customs. Because it is December the ship was decked out in holiday decor with a big tree in the Atrium and decorations on the railings of every level on the atrium. There were several holiday themed events such as a tree lighting, an ugly Christmas sweater contest,appearance of Santa, and most magical of all, it snowed in the atrium in the middle of the Caribbean! Food on Paradise is somewhat spotty. Even though there are no specialty restaurants, the food in the dining room left much to be desired. The prime rib on dressy night was completely inedible: DH's was served cold and after he sent it back it came back just as cold, while mine was so tough I couldn't cut it with the steak knife. On the other hand, the buffet on Lido was very good while the hamburgers and Mexican food by the pool were outstanding. The production shows were rather ho-hum, you can only watch the same show of various Carnival ships so many time, but the other entertainment and activities were very enjoyable. The comedians were funny, Hasbro games were fun for the most part (one of the crew members was new to the ship and had a tough time reading English which made Trivial Pursuit extra challenging), there were plenty of great trivia games, and nothing can ever beat the Quest. Hint: If you have never seen it and are not a prude don't miss the Quest, but don't even think of taking children, not even teenagers. All in all we had a wonderful time on the Paradise and wouldn't hesitate to go on her again. I almost forgot, service on this ship is absolute perfection! Read Less

This cruise had excellent food and entertainment. We purchased a balcony suite and enjoyed it very much while at sea. Unfortunately we experienced an unbearable sewage stench in all ports of call...so much so that we could not enjoy our balcony while in port. We paid $1,000 extra, so we were quite disappointed. We reported this to customer service, but there was no real help offered. The food in the dining room was very good. The menu offerings included special foods unique to each port of call. These were creative recipes which appeared to authentically represent local food cultures. They were delicious and fun to experience. The service in the main dining room was not good. We had evenings where they mixed up our wine package, served food very late, and served courses not in coordination with the others seated at our table. The staff worked very hard and were very courteous and apologetic, but just couldn’t seem to get it right. The evening shows were excellent. Their presentation was creative and the performances were exciting and high energy. IN SUMMARY, IT WAS THE STENCH THAT STUNK UP THE CRUISE! Read Less

After reading all the reviews I was VERY worried about going on this cruise. Let's be honest - they don't sound so great. Here's my take: Nothing is perfect - It's all about what you make of it. This was our second cruise. Our first was on the Carnival Breeze in January of this year as a family of 3. We did Carnival Paradise in November for just my husband and I as a celebration for my 40th birthday. We had an Aft Balcony (U239). The room was small, but it was perfect for the two of us. Plenty of storage. Balcony was oversized and was where we spent most of our in room time. The steward was AMAZING and even knew our names when he saw us far away from our room! The ship is older but clean. Food was good. Not overly amazing - bud good none the less. We had late dining and our server was great - again saw me on the Lido Deck and knew me by name! Our first stop was in Grand Cayman (tender). I had FTTF - we were told to meet in a certain place on the ship - however, no Carnival Employee ever showed up. We finally just said forget it & went down to exit the ship. Luckily we got off very easily. I had reserved a cabana at the Royal Palms Beach Club (Not through Carnival). We had a great time - drinks, food & snorkeled with our own gear right off the beach. Our second stop was Cozumel with a Carnival Excursion. We did the VIP Champagne Catamaran Sail & Snorkel (This was NOT the FURY excursion). There were only about 12 of us on the boat - it was AMAZING! Not crowded, food & drink were plentiful and the fish were beautiful. We even saw a golden eel. They also offered photos for purchase which was perfect because I hadn't taken many. The photos were emailed within a day or two and they were amazing & there were sooooo many of us both in & out of the water! The shows on the ship were really good. The performers were so talented. The rock&roll show was not my favorite - but that music isn't my cup of tea either. The 80s show was amazing. Even my husband who isn't in to that type of thing commented on how talented the performers were. We honestly had a great time with everything. There were bumps in the road but like I said - it's all what you make of it. Read Less

Just a really enjoyable cruise and at a great price. The food was much better than expected; the entertainment was great; one of the comedians was excellent (the other wasn't - but at least there were 10 or so comedy shows on board); every single member of staff was friendly and amazing how many knew our names; MDR breakfast far better than on NCL, Guy's Burgers hit the spot as does the Mexican food (lunches on carnival are the best meal on board) and the sea day brunch was lovely. The cabin was tiny but spotlessly clean. All the staff were fab, especially Adam the Cruise Director. Loads to do and the usual happy go lucky Carnival crowd. The only shame was that we didn't spend nearly enough time in Cayman (2.30pm departure is ridiculous) and spent too long in Cozumel. Getting on in Tampa very easy. Getting off was a bit cumbersome. Read Less

My mom case got missing with her needles for her insulin and her jewelry was in there. We searched the room we took everything out our suitcase and under the bed the closet it was no where to be found.. So we reported it. The security came in and he said it was not to far from my mom foot. That’s was real crazy how he found it. After no one could. I seen him place it there. My mom went two days without her insulin. The room was hot we reported it. They checked the temperature twice. It would work then it stopped. They said they would have some one to come back and recheck it no one did just a fan. We we check it they put my mom and my sister bill on mine and it was so confusing because my sister got 600 dollars credit me and my mom 100 but it looks like 250 was for me and 250 for my mom. So my sister tried to fix it. Then the all bill went to my sister’s credit card. I was very disappointed with this whole trip. My mom and I went to a seminar and they took 25 dollars and piece for some book that we didn’t want. So disappointed with that. And my sister was Supposed receive dinks while she was playing put for some reason it went to my moms credit. Read Less

I traveled with my husband on this cruise to celebrate a birthday. We had a porthole cabin which accommodated two, at the most. Upgrades to the Paradise with the 2018 refurbishing now includes an in-drawer hairdryer with an approximate 2' cord, so if you are tall, you might want to consider bringing your own. Also, they have in room "coolers" that don't get cold enough to be called refrigerators. So, that might be a concern for medical/baby formula requirements. The Carnival Paradise was in good shape, freshly painted, recovered public room seating, and we think the food was better than our trip on the same ship in 2016. The one thing we had to laugh about was on our last trip, they had an Atrium glass elevator that wasn't working. Well, it's still not working, but, it has a professionally-made sign on it now stating that it is "Out of Order". I guess that's easier than fixing it. Our cabin on Empress Deck, E2, smelled like there had been years of smokers in there. I wondered if maybe it had been used as a breakroom for the crew at one time as we did notice that there was a current breakroom between our cabin and the Starboard side, and at times they were noisy. I did like the configuration of our cabin, though. As you enter the cabin, you immediately turned left, so all that you could see from the passageway, (hall), with the door open, was a wall. Music was limited to a folk/rock guitarist, a Latin music band, a pop band, and our favorite, (when it was open), the piano bar. We had requested a table for two shortly after we boarded and were able to get that. Our frige quit working and it was promptly replaced with another one that didn't work. We selected from the steakhouse menu in the regular dining room which was an additional $20 per person charge. My husband received the wrong steak, and it was okay. My steak and lobster choice was very good. We were 2 1/2 hours late leaving Cozumel because of unknown mechanical problems. I also left my hand-crocheted shawl somewhere and it was turned in to Guest Services. I think that speaks well of Carnival cruisers. I have to say here that Carnival can't be beat for their personnel taking a sincere interest in making your cruise great. We were approached by our waiter ashore in Cozumel who greeted us by name. I have to say that disembarkation/embarkation was the smoothest I have ever experienced, including when we have had Faster To The Fun. FTTF was up to $79 for this 5-day trip and was sold out when I looked in to it. Parking at the Tampa Port had no waiting line when we arrived. We had to prepay our parking fee for the 5 days which was $75. We figured out total drink bill after the cruise and we were glad that we bought the "Cheers!" drink package as we saved a significant amount compared to the per drink charge. We did not get off the ship this time in Grand Cayman as we have been there many times. We usually snorkel there and Cozumel as well, but hubby is recovering from an injury which prevented us from attempting that activity on this cruise. We are going back on the Paradise again in April and look forward to seeing that beautiful, clear blue water again, up close. Read Less

Our friends had planned to go on this cruise and invited us. We have no regrets, the crew were pleasent,helpful,and very friendly. There was always something going on. Day and night. We very much enjoyed your band Paridise band. The music was fantastic, they sang a wide variety of songs,country, rock,oldies, blues no end to what they would sing. They were very friendly band members would include viewers to participate my husband really enjoyed that. We would listen to them till 1am. People were dancing, children were dancing . Just all aropund great time. We spent alot of time in pool also.Would get busy at times but always was room for more. We met some very nice people and no one got upset if they would get splashed. There was also raffles that gave away perfumes,men's cologne, men's and lady watches. They even gave away a passport pandora charm that I was lucky enough to win . It is a wonderful memory and addition to my braclet. I have to say out of the three cruise I have been on this was my best Read Less

We chose this cruise because it went to two of our favorite ports: Grand Cayman and Cozumel. This was our third cruise, second time on Carnival. The first Carnival cruise was 5 1/2 years ago, to the Southern Caribbean, out of San Juan (on the Valor), and we really enjoyed it. This cruise on the Paradise was disappointing in comparison. Embarkation was extremely quick and painless. Our assigned time was 1-1:30 and we made it there closer to 1:30. Probably waited about 15 minutes total to get onboard , which was superb. Our cabin (R228) was comfy and clean enough, and our steward, James was AMAZING! He took such great care of us while we were onboard. This oceanview room had what we needed and was quiet. The aft location was great for being close to the buffet and the Serenity deck, where we like to spend time. The worst part about it was that the hallway almost constantly smelled like sewage. James did his best to report and get the smell dealt with, but it would return. Luckily the smell did not extend to our cabin! But there was something going on in that area of the ship, for sure, to keep causing that smell. We had anytime dining and never had to wait more than 15 minutes for a table in the Elation restaurant. The waiters, waitresses and hostesses were very friendly and did a great job, however, the food left much to be desired. We had much better food on our last Carnival cruise, years ago. The soups were all very good, as was the shrimp cocktail, but the main courses were barely okay. Chicken, fish, and steak were all overcooked and dry - tasted reheated, and came with about a tablespoonful of vegetables. Ordered grilled fish a couple of times and it was baked - nothing grilled about it whatsoever, not to mention the fact that it was old (fishy tasting). Nothing to write home about with any of the main courses. No lobster, either, unless you paid an extra $20. The beef lasagna was the one we enjoyed most, although it could have used more sauce. The desserts were good and we looked forward to them each evening. The melting chocolate cake (Carnival's signature dessert - formerly called Molten Lava Cake) however, was revised since our last cruise and was no longer good. We only ordered it the first night (on our first cruise, we ordered it every night!). It used to be delicious and now it's just a ramekin of lukewarm completely uncooked cake that's not even good as a custard, and the ice cream on the side doesn't fit with it at all. We were not impressed with the changes they made to it. The best desserts were the S'mores parfait, the hazelnut chocolate cake and the roasted pineapple. The food in the buffet - The Paris Restaurant - was better than we got in the Elation most days. The omelettes were great and they had a good variety of breakfast foods. We enjoyed lunches at Guy's Burgers and the Blue Iguana Burrito Bar. The pizza at Pizza Pirate was good, too. We wished they had had more of a variety of fruit available, though. Mostly apples, oranges, bananas and melon. No berries of any kind, or even grapes. We enjoyed sitting on the Serenity Deck every day and it was usually not too difficult to find lounges available. The whirlpools there were not too hot, which was good, because the air temps were in the 90s. Very relaxing! The main pool area on the Lido deck was usually pretty crowded (and loud) and we only got in the pool once. It was on the cold side, which wasn't all bad, since the temps were pretty hot. One thing we didn't like about the pool area was that there was no airflow, so it remained extremely hot, whereas the Serenity deck had a nice breeze. The cruise director, Adam, was AWESOME and we really enjoyed his audio messages each day, his Love and Marriage Show, and his 70s and 80s parties in the Atrium in the late evenings. Lots of fun! In fact, every crew member we interacted with over the 5 days was very polite and friendly. We felt very welcomed and well cared-for. We felt that this cruise didn't have quite as much available to do as the other Carnival cruise we had been on and the ship seemed a bit small (and maybe not laid out as well as it could've been). I know it was refurbished about a year and a half ago, but whoever did the interior decorating should be fired! It was just plain ugly and none of the decor seemed to coincide or flow smoothly. The whole ship is just old and tired and should be retired! As far as entertainment, we enjoyed the dance shows each evening, but the shows were definitely not as professional as the ones we'd seen in the past, or on the other cruise line we've been on. Their choices of music were great though - 80s, Latin, and rock n roll. There was one girl and one guy who could sing really well, and the rest should have remained as back up singers only. They were all amazing dancers, though! We also liked the Love and Marriage show (hilarious) and the late night shows with Adam. The candy shop is cute and has lots of yummy goodies, although they have it hidden away behind one wall of the casino and it took me three days to find it! (again, not laid out as well as it could've been, for sure.) The ports were excellent choices, but we wished there could have been one more port and one less sea day. We were disappointed about the short amount of time in Grand Cayman. We were on the first or second tender off the ship in the morning, but still only had about 5 hours to spend in port. We felt rushed. We did a cool excursion that stopped at StingRay City and one snorkeling spot (we booked on our own through Trip Advisor), but afterward we barely had time for lunch a couple of blocks from port and no time to shop. In Cozumel, we had a long day (about 9 hours) - plenty of time. It would have been nice if they could have made the Grand Cayman day a little longer and the Cozumel day could have been shortened a little bit. In Cozumel we rented a Jeep and went to Playa Corona for snorkeling, sunning and a snack. Very reasonable prices, good snorkeling right from shore, and great food. Then we drove the rest of the way around the island and ate at Senor Iguanas - we'd been there before. Amazing food and spectacular views! We had a little time to shop when we arrived back at the port, too. One note of caution - if you are renting a Jeep, the traffic in town near the port is extremely hectic, so be careful! If we were going to Sky Reef or Playa Corona, or one of the other beach resorts on the west side, we could have had a cab take us there for the day, and it would've worked fine, and been less of an expense. The Jeep did give us more options to drive around and view the east coast of the island (although it was too windy/ wavy to swim there). Our main goal was to head to Punta Sur (an eco-park that we thoroughly enjoyed last time, but the weather didn't allow for swimming or snorkeling there this time around). All in all, a good day. Disembarking was smooth and ahead of schedule (as far as Carnival was concerned), but the problem came with customs....they didn't have enough agents and we waited over an hour to get through the customs line. We've never waited that long to get off a cruise ship before! We had a fun and relaxing (albeit short) vacation, but we probably won't sail on the Paradise again. Read Less

This was my first cruise on Carinival Paradise. The cruise director Adam was unbelievable , was perfect. He did a great job making sure everyone was entertained. I loved that they had so many activities for all ages. The mr. ARTEM from Casino was so professional ,helpful, friendly and polite, we didn't know how to get winning money and he solved this problem. Food and drinks were great. Service team Headwaitress Anoma, team waiter Dewa and Asst. team waiter Wira were so professional and friendly. The food was so delicious. Room service was always Ok. All the staff was great. Always with smiles and waiting to answer any questions we had. From boarding the boat to leaving it was such a smooth transition. When we got to Cozumel there were so many excursions to choose from. We decided on Paradise island. The beach was just beautiful. The photographers took great photos. We ended up meeting some new friends on the cruise. The nightlife was good. Music was on point and i feel it catered to all ages. Read Less

Stay out of the Elation Dinning Room for Brunch, Crazy slow service, Rude waiters, There was a prob. with a 5.00 drink, we called for the Maitre d, ....he could have cared less. He has no idea what customer service is. I spent over 14,000.00 to take our whole family on this trip and could not get an issue with a 5.00 drink corrected.....really ! We are both Platinum, but this is our last Carnival trip....they have become the worst line on the sea. they just don't care, grad the money and go. The cabin was nice, we always get a suite, however don't look for nice soaps, or the other comp items that suite guest used to get.....nothing now. I love the Casino.....I live there, they are the best. the food is lacking, I will just leave it at that. now we know why the stock is dropping like a rock.....you just can't keep treating people bad, and think they will come back. We are looking for something a little more first class. Read Less