My husband and I have been on three cruises since 2008, our first being on NCL and our second and third on RCL. We were very happy with our NCL experience but had nothing to compare it to at the time. We loved RCL and have another RCL cruise booked in January and a Celebrity cruise booked for June. We were a little concerned about sailing on Carnival but since we live in NJ, leaving from New York for a four day getaway seemed an ideal way to spend the Labor Day weekend.

Since we enjoy cruising so much, we try to focus on the positive aspects of the cruise. It very interesting that people on the same cruise have such differing opinions, but here is what we experienced.

Embarkation - My husband surprised me with an upgrade to a Balcony Suite so VIP embarkation was a breeze. We arrived at the terminal early, checked our bags and went to the VIP lounge to check in. We were there less than 15 minutes and were told we were boarding right after a wedding party and were on the ship by 11:30 am. We went to the buffet for an early lunch so as to avoid the crowds and then walked around the ship. The Triumph is a little difficult to get around as you must go to Deck 5 to get anywhere and the World Way (the main thoroughfare) can become crowded. By 1:30 pm we were standing on line to see the maitre'd to request a table for two, which we were able to get. We were in our cabin by 2:30 pm and our bags arrived shortly thereafter. Read more