We wanted a quick trip with easy flights, so a cruise out of Tampa seemed perfect. We had a good time earlier this year on the Carnival Liberty, so I was concerned that the somewhat smaller Carnival Paradise would feel crowded. I'd read a lot of reviews and was worried that we wouldn't like the room, that the ship would be dirty, and the service wouldn't be good.

I'm delighted to report that I could not have been more wrong. While embarkation was awkward (we had FTTF, but they were holding back boarding for some reason), once aboard the great time started. We met our steward, Arnold, right away. He did a great job all week keeping our room clean and stocked with ice. Every day he made sure we made it to dinner-although it doesn't seem like eating is a huge problem on cruises.

We'd purchased the Cheers! program, so our first stop after our room was at the United States bar. That was the first of endless wonderful service experiences from the crew. After looking up our accounts, our Cheers! stickers were affixed and we had drinks in hand. The rest of our time prior to sailing was spent eating in the Paris Cafe, with only a brief interruption for the muster drill. Read more