We sailed on the Triumph out of Galveston on February 9th because they were visiting ports almost never available from Texas. We knew it was Carnival's second oldest ship and expected some features below their usual standards. This was confirmed in that there was no minibar, no specialty restaurants, and signs of age like dripping faucets. We had a great time anyway. The staff was excellent and cheerful, especially our dining staff of Oscar, Angel, and Pol. We love the comedians on Carnival and five of the six were fun on this sailing, especially Cowboy Bill. The unique ports were great and we enjoyed the shows, although the full cast of singers and dancers were only offered twice in the 11 days. Carnival needs to go back to more full cast shows. The long cruise in mid-February resulted in a unique crowd. There were less than 100 kids on board and most cruisers were retirees. Carnival completely misjudged the need for future cruise support on this sailing. Lines to book future cruises were constantly over an hour and many of the older cruisers had no idea how to use the free onboard access to Carnival.com . The on board internet was a disaster. It crashed constantly. I suggested to guest services that they get more staff assigned to help the single future cruise person, but nothing ever changed. I am sure that many people left the ship without getting the onboard credit offered for booking a future cruise while sailing, and Carnival probably missed out on significant sales by not adjusting when the situation was called to their attention.

Our bottom line, avoid the Triumph unless it is going somewhere truly unique, but you can have a great cruise if you look past a few flaws.