For my wifes 40th birthday, we went on the carnival Triumph with our two children, ages 4 1/2 and 20 months. We flew from NYC to Florida the day before and stayed at the Embassy Suites in Ft Lauderdale for one night. The hotel was nice. The next day around noon we took a car service to port of Miami. We arrived and checked our luggage and went inside the terminal and saw several hundred people waiting on line to check in. We were one of the lucky few though. I splurged on this vacation and booked a Suite category 11 room on the Triumph and that entitled us to VIP check-in. We followed the VIP sign and were 1st on line. We were directed to a beautiful waiting office where we had our very own carnival person take our passports and credit card and within five minutes she escorted us to the gangway of the ship. It was truly VIP treatment. The check in was very fast and smooth. Once we got on the ship, we made our way to our room. Category 11 suite room 7-238 on Empress Deck. Since we were traveling with a 20 month old who went to bed before 8:00, I wanted a room away from elevators, stairs, and most of the entertainment. We booked the room above which is on deck 7 in the forward part of the ship. we actually were only about 6 cabins behind the bridge of the ship. Our room was very nice. We had a king size bed, a couch that turned into a single bed and plenty of room for the porta crib that we brought for our little one. We also had tons of storage space, a dressing area, and a large bathroom with a whirlpool tub. The room was about 275 sq ft with a large balcony (15 ft by 5 ft) with 2 chairs , two lounges and a small table. The room was very nice. Lots of granite, very clean and enough room for our two young children and their toys. The balcony was my private respite at the end of the day. After the children would go to sleep, my wife and I would go sit on the balcony with our wine and enjoy the beautiful calm seas and starry skies.

The ship itself was in excellent condition. Prior to boarding, the Triumph had one of its semi annual Coast Guard inspections. Our room steward, William indicated that the crew had been working for weeks in preparation for the inspection. And it showed. The boat appeared to be in tip top shape. I did not notice any areas that looked weathered or broken down. The Atrium was really nice. My children love riding the glass elevators each day. When making our way to dinner each night, someone would be playing the grand piano in the atrium and right outside the Paris Dining Room in a small lounge a classical trio would be playing. Very nice touches. We had the 5:45 seating in the Paris Dining Room. We at first thought that maybe it would be easier for us if we had most of our meals on the Lido deck of the ship at the South Beach club or one of the other restaurants nearby. We did this the 1st night and it was OK. The food was pretty good. The second night was the formal night when we went to the Paris dining room. Upon entering the room. we were escorted to a beautiful window table and our waitstaff quickly came by and introduced themselves to us. We had a wonderful meal there with top notch food much like you would find in a fine dining establishment. The service was even better. Our waitstaff remembered what our children liked and what we liked and had it at the ready when we arrived. Our appetizers an dinners would arrive soon after we ordered which worked out great with the children. Our children love to eat, so we usually ordered off the regular menu for them although if you have children you can basically ask for anything thats not on the menu and the waitstaff can accommodate your request. I had the filet mignon, duck, among other items and they all were first rate. Once we were done with dinner , our family would usually go to the aft of the ship on the top deck and get some soft serve ice cream and watch the sunset.

Sea Days- The Lido area of the ship is where all the action takes place. there were bands playing and lots of people. We were there the 1st day and then decided that it was a bit too loud for us. We then found the New World Pool at the back of the ship. It was much quieter and right next to the Coney Island Grill and the Pizzeria in addition to a bar area. Alot of the people with young families would stay here. The Lido area was more for the single twenty somethings. We liked it here. So we would swim for awhile and then go play miniature golf or shuffleboard. Please note that all the pools are salt water. My son kept complaining about water in his eyes. My wife and my 4 year old both went down the 214 ft waterslide separately and both loved it. You have to be 42 inches to ride it. Read more