Booked a first cruise for my sister and nephew after having wonderful experiences on another cruise line. Instead of staying with RC decided to do Carnival as it is booked as the "fun" ship. Sailed on the Triumph out of New Orleans. NOW! 1) What's fun about being herded through the terminal like cattle and having custom agents yell at you because you aren't moving at their pace not to mention NOT getting any help from Carnival cruise associates? 2.) What's "fun" about having to locate lost luggage because someone decided they will remove YOUR tag and place it on someone else's. 3.) What's "fun" about elevators NOT working 80% of the time and having to drag your now found luggage up and down flights of stairs? A scene being played out by the elderly too! 4.) What's "fun" finding out this will be the last cruise for the Triumph, soooo, guess what? Limited crew members with short fuses, quality of food declines or is repeated most meals, other dining options are on short hours. 5.) What's "fun" having the contractors who will work on the Triumph board the boat and start work at midnight! NO SLEEP 6.) What's "fun" on day of leaving the ship again without any assistance or working elevators meaning you are now repeating #3 but with LOTS of confusion on directions from the FEW crew members that are standing around "waiting" to help the "contractors" working on the ship. Excuse me, didn't the guests just pay for the cruise and your paycheck???? 7.) Repeat #1 8.) Call Carnival about concerns and they have the "fun" idea of giving me and my party of 4 a $50.00 on board credit for our next "fun" cruise. $50.00 for the whole 4 of us, not for each one of us. Are you kidding me! I'm going back to RC. At least they KNOW how to treat customers. 9.) Wish I would have listened to past cruisers who have used Carnival and warned me. Lesson hard learned! Read Less

It feels odd to write a review for a ship that is about to pass into cruising history. While the ship will remain, I don't know if reviews of the Triumph will work to inform passengers booked on the ship in it's new name (it will be the Carnival Sunrise starting later this year). Still, much about the ship will be the same and many Cruise Critic members are savvy researchers - I'll put this out there and hope it helps a few folks. This was my first Carnival cruise and I had pretty low expectations based on the things I'd heard from others cruisers. In some ways, Carnival and the Triumph exceeded my expectations. In others, they sadly failed. Many things that bothered me can easily be linked to Carnival's choices about how they sail (it's a FUN ship) and the prices they charge (as in, you get what you pay for). Other issues were just odd and hard to explain. Overall, I enjoyed the cruise, more for the excursions than the ship. The biggest plus was the staff. We had almost uniformly good service on the Triumph, even though it seemed the staff were asked to do more than I've seen workers on other ships do. The ship was very clean, public areas were well maintained, and the staff in the dining room were very responsive. The ship was partly done in what will be the colors of the Sunrise and partly done in an older color scheme. The "theme" was a bit muddled but overall it was a pleasant ship to be on. Our cabin was surprisingly spacious and the beds and bath were fine. There was almost no storage space - we kept most of our things in the suitcases because there was only one drawer - and it was partly filled by the hairdryer. There were several cupboards in the room which seemed designed to hold nothing - odd shapes that were unsuitable for clothes or anything really that a cruise passenger would bring. The biggest problem we had in the cabin was noise from the bar at the bottom of the atrium. Due to the design of the ship that bar was open to the staircase near our room. Nearly every night we had to suffer through the last set before we could sleep. I also never figured out why we had a toilet bowl cleaner in our bathroom. An odd extra I haven't seen on other cruises. We ate nearly all our dinners in the Paris dining room. The menu choices were decent and most of the food was good, though not exceptional. Desserts were surprisingly bad all throughout the ship. The buffet at the Lido was billed as "comfort food" and generally consisted of ordinary items lightly seasoned. Scattered around the lido area were other food options. The burritos were quite good, among the best food on the ship. The burgers and fries from the Guy Fieri linked counter were good, as was the pizza from Pizza Pirate. I never tried Chopsticks, the Asian food choice. Carnival calls many of these choices restaurants - several are just holes in the wall. The food options were where I most noticed cost cutting. Carnival cruises are affordable and those savings come from somewhere - on the Triumph it seemed to me to come mostly from the food. My impression of the entertainment was that it was almost all loud and bad. I love shows and always try to catch most of the offerings on a cruise ship. On the Triumph I was very disappointed. The magician did a few tricks, watched the dancing girls, and thanked us all after 25 minutes. That was the show? The big show, a tribute to New Orleans, was so bad I walked out. Music at the bars was a mix of old rock, soft rock, pop rock, and shouted by the audience rock. Many people seemed to enjoy it and it did make the atmosphere festive. The pool areas were large and pleasant and a focus of much of the day time activity. We appreciated having one pool area be more quiet and spent much more time there. There were a lot of games and things happening on the sea days. One really odd decision - on all but the last night the movies shown pool side were PG-13. Why did they not have movies for children in the earlier slot? It seems to me a lot of families would have liked to have a nice G movie at 7 pm. My teen aged son went to Circle C once, made a few friends, and never went back. I can't really fault the staff - teenagers are tough to please. The facility seemed nice and staff were helpful. The best part of the cruise was the two excursions. In Cozumel with did Cenotes and Sea Turtles which was wonderful. In Progreso we toured the Mayan Ruins at Uxmal which was fascinating. Oddly, while Carnival did a great job getting us pertinent information before the Cozumel excursion, they had no information at all for the Progreso excursion. I even asked for info and was told there was none. That was a shame as a few helpful facts would have been good (most importantly - bring cash). Unless I found a Carnival cruise with perfect dates and ports and no other options were available, I can't think I'd take Carnival again. I missed the good food and extra touches I find on more upscale cruise lines. But Carnival wasn't all bad and I could see that many people had a great time. Read Less

We picked this cruise because it was over Superbowl weekend. We wanted to watch the big game form the big screen up on deck. We arrived at the port about 30 minutes after our arrival time since we received an email telling us not to arrive early and that boarding would be delayed due to loading of equipment and supplies. The guy managing the line made us rush past other and said you are late, we arrived at 155 pm and out boarding time was 130 pm, so what ever, then he got mad at us because I printed our documents on 1 page of paper back to back thinking I was being eco friendly, he said this will not work you need to each hold your own paper work, why? whats the difference? We have never had this problem before. We were onboard by 215 pm and ready to have fun. I had read lots of complaints about this ship as how bad of shape it was in. I did not see any issues, yes you could tell that it was due for an update, but nothing like others have posted recently. The Triumph is an easy to navigate ship, well laid out. Our Cabin was dated looking but it is going to be refurbed next month. Our bed was comfy and our cabin spacious with plenty of closet space. We had a great time on sea days, so many activities and some really good music in the evening. Getting on and off the ship in ports was so easy, never had to wait in a line. I Cozumel we just did our own thing, been there many times before. I Progresso we took the scenic photo and foodie tour to Merida. We really enjoyed this tour, the guides were wonderful and the tour of the city was very enjoyable and the food was great. We felt rushed on the tour due to time crunch, the time we spend in a local bakery was way too long, but the tour guides couldn't get the other people out of the bakery. The staff on the ship we excellent, professional and willing to talk to the guests. Kudos to the Bar staff they entertained my husbands bad jokes, ha ha. Really they were lots of fun. Disembarkation was smooth and very fast. I look forward to seeing the ship after it comes out of dry dock. We had a great time and will sail with Carnival again. Read Less

Initially very excited but turned quickly when we found over 1/2 passengers on the cruise belonged to “swingers” club. This group overtook every public area on the boat and very inappropriate behaviors/dress. Even cruise director made jokes toward them during entertainerment. Not sure if carnival aware of this but would of requested a refund and not went had we known. Our servers at dinner were very professional and food was okay. Loved Guy Ferrari cheeseburgers and Alchemy bar. Our two excursions (catamaran in Cozumel and beach resort at Progresso) were the only saving grace for this trip as able to get away from this group and enjoy the day. Was an odor of chemicals occasionally from the work being done on some of the decks. Also disappointed in that they allow smoking inside in this boat as the smoke overwhelmed the casino and lobby areas. You would think with all the outdoor space people could smoke outside. Will definitely be contacting Carnival about this when get my survey from them. Read Less

The updated staterooms are really beautiful and comfortable. Bathrooms feel larger. Activities were average, except for the last night Mardi party, which was a great way to end the trip. Only negative was the food. Though the service was wonderful, the food was lacking. In fact the most disappointing of any of the past 8 Carnival cruises I have taken. Hopefully this will improve after dry docking. They were working on remodeling the cabins on the port side of our deck and the construction noises and smells were concerning at times. Especially the construction noises after 10 pm. But the results are worth it. The public areas definitely are ready for the makeovet, which hopefully will include improve ventilation to deal with the smoke from the casino. The smell was in all of the public areas surrounding the casino. The smoke made it difficult to enjoy any of the activities in this area. Read Less

Cruised from New Orleans between Christmas and New Years. Incredible staff try so hard. Food was way better than expected. I really liked 3 out of the 4 dinners I had. Our ocean view cabin on second deck was really spacious. I doubt you get that much sq footage in newer model ships. The few updated experiences they have are good such as the Alchemy Bar and the sports bar (though its way too small for the amount of people who wanted to be there). The bathrooms are in desperate need of a remodel. The pool area is overun and gross. Not enough deck chairs. Having said all of this, I would have given it four stars but for the sewage stench that grew worse and worse as the trip went on. By the last night it was overwhelming on deck 2. She is a proud old ship, time to clean her out. Fun Cruise and recommend once they fix the issues with the coming 400m remodel. Read Less

I have cruised before on other lines. I knew Carnival’s reputation for budget cruising - I was footing the bill for a party of nine so price was a key determiner. My husband and I blended a family this year - 5 young adults ages 22-29, two with their spouse/SO’s. First, the positives: the Triumph is an older ship (actually going into dry dock for a facelift in 2019) and if you google it you will learn it has the unfortunate distinction of being the “Poop” ship. So my expectations were low. However, the positives: staff couldn’t have been nicer, more engaging and welcoming. Ship was extremely clean - our room smelled wonderful and the bathroom was spotless. While it is showing it’s age (Dated decor, chipped paint, unraveling carpets) over all it is what you would expect from a ship of this age. My complaint? They are raking in money on these cruises and their “payout” for prizes is pitiful. Bingo with 150 participants at $40/shot and your “winner” gets $250? Winner of a Trivia contest gets a(n) (Unframed) photo of the ship?!?!? Really? Come on Carnival - put some meat on those prizes! The entertainment is very subpar compared to other lines - I left the “Big Easy” show early because my daughter’s high school theatre group is better; the singers are about what you would find in better-than-average-but-not-great clubs in New Orleans or any major city. The contests were run by harried crew members who had 6 other jobs - this job tagged on and usually they were clearly not enjoying it. (I did gain a deep respect for crew members - hardest job/s on the planet. I can’t imagine why they don’t have more turnover than they do.) Bottom line on Carnival Cruises - if you don’t drink to get hammered or gamble, there’s not a whole lot to do. (Consequently our 20-somethings loved it...) BIG TIP: don’t pay or the excursions provided on board. Double the cost of what you’ll pay steps off the boat. We decided we didn’t want to join 45 of our newest friends in a group excursion - walked off and found tour providers just off the ship. Obviously state-sanctioned and had a great experience. Small tips: - bring an extension cord if you have anything you need plugged in near your bed - CPAP machine, clock, etc. - Hairdryer is supplied but it’s on a 2’ cord attached to a drawer which tethers you just out of reach of a mirror - bring your own. - pay extra for an upper level room/even a balcony. No, you won’t spend much time there but you will sleep there and the upper levels have less sway in rough waters, balcony is wonderful. Leave the door open at night and hear the waves. Read Less

We chose this cruise because we heard that Carnival was really good for kids. This was very true!! Our 14yo son had a blast once he found other kids to hang out with. It was a very affordable first cruise for our family and we love it. We were anticipating long lines for everything and this was not the case. Everything flowed in a smooth, although sometimes clumsy, way. There were always plenty of deck chairs and space in the hot tubs. I loved how they walked around with fancy cocktails in souvenir cups. The buffet line was crowded but everyone was courteous, Dining was nice but not as fancy as RC. Traditional American food done well with some regional dishes. Service was not very good with almost all of the wait staff we experienced except one lady for breakfast. Food was slow to come out and often lukewarm. The shore excursions were excellent. I can't say enough good things about those. We did two cultural visits. Read Less

We chose to do a cruise this year instead of buying presents. We hadn't cruised in 3 years and were wanting to sail again. My wife has sight and mobility issues and we had a wheelchair take us onboard. We got through the check in process very quickly.The carnival employee that pushed the wheel chair was a very nice person. This was our first time cruising from New Orleans and he was able to answer the questions that we had. Leaving New Orleans it was a bit chilly with the wind but had a great sunset photo op. Our dinner staff in the Paris dining room was excellent. Waymeh did a fantastic job. We were at a table for 8 and only 1 other couple showed up the first night. They came every night. The table was full on elegant night but then it was just us and the other couple all week. We had never been t the Alchemy bar before but had a great time and got quite a few drinks there. Also did their bar school which was informative. Nickola and Ivona were great. In Cozumel we had no plans. we just went and got a cab and had them drive us around the island.Was a nice relaxing day. We wet to a tequila tasting and of course they tried to sell us their wares. 160$ per bottle on the high end and 60 o the low end.We passed. In Progresso I went on the Uxmal mayan ruin tour through Carnival. It is an hour and a half bus ride to the ruins so didn't want to take a local tour. Just in case. The ruins were very interesting. We got to climb to the top of one of them for a great view. We hit a huge storm after leaving Progresso. 40-50 knot winds and 20 foot plus seas. There was ocean spray higher than our balcony many times. Lots of rocking and rolling so they canceled the shows. Lots of people not feeling well. We got back into New Orleans late 11 AM because of the storm. We were off the boat before 1 and had tag #14. Customs was very quick as well. Read Less

I booked this trip because it was a decent price but I guess this was because they were working on parts of the ship prior to the dry dock. If I had known this I would have booked the dream instead and had 2 more days for my vacation. Many areas were not accessible and there was noise and smells, not what I want to see, hear or smell on my vacation. This ship is very hard to navigate and you felt like in a maze trying to get anywhere. Perhaps this is because areas were blocked. I would not sail on the triumph again and it is certainly showing its age with many areas looking very poorly. The crew were also not very friendly and did not seem happy to be on the Triumph either. Activties and crew engagement were lacking for those that don't want to hear the same 5 line dances with a DJ that doesn't see to know any other songs. I get that others like that and it gets the crowd going but it got really old and we started to avoid them. . There were 3 30 minute trivia events over 5 days with nothing much else going on in between except for the musical duos or acoustic guitat playing. Many people commented their disappointment so I don't think we were imaginging everything. We spent more time napping or watching TV. On a posiive note the shows were quite well done with a large troupe with productions we have not seen before. Read Less