This was our first cruise, so we really did not know what to expect. We like to travel, and were looking forward to the adventure. Overall, it was a good experience, but there were a few things that my husband and I did find disappointing. The embarkation process was long and painful. We had been up for 16 hours just traveling from the West Coast to Miami and then found ourselves in endless lines waiting to get on to the ship. We were also surprised at the number of children present, since we had been told that the demographic Carnival catered to was mostly 25-40.
Once onboard, we thought the ship was beautiful! We had heard from a few friends of ours that had cruised on this line before that many of the Carnival ships were some what gaudy, but we found the decor of the Triumph to be in line with some of the hotels that we have stayed in-not overwhelming at all. The crew kept the ship clean and in order-it seemed that no matter what time it was there was always someone polishing rails or cleaning glass or sweeping or vacuuming or mopping.
The staff were friendly and courteous, despite the fact that the ship was booked full, meaning that the ratio of staff to guest was something like 1:4. Later in the cruise, you could see that the long hours were taking a toll on the staff, but they were always polite.