Carnival Triumph Review
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This was my 5th cruise total and all have been with Carnival. With me this trip was my 22 year old daughter, it was her first and to hear her tell it, her last cruise. My 5 year old granddaughter, it was her 2nd cruise and my 3 year old grandson and it was his 1st cruise. We had cabin 8284 on the Veranda Deck 8 and it was a balcony cabin.
We left San Antonio at around 10am on Sunday October 9th in very wet and raining weather conditions. The driving was hazardous to put it mildly. I take 110E to the Sam Houston Tollway South. The cost is $4.50 paying $1.50 at each of the 3 toll booths along this route. It seems to cut off about 30-45 minutes of our drive to Galveston. I arrived in Galveston at around 2pm. We stayed at the Hampton Inn & Suites near the Sea Wall. I arrived about an hour before check in and we were allowed to wait in the lobby until our room was ready. I highly recommend staying at this property. They are friendly and the rooms are always clean. The breakfast is hot and fresh and its near restaurants, gas stations, and Wal-Mart for last minute shopping trips before you leave on your cruise. I know they have parking there for cruises, but I chose to use Galveston Park n Cruise. I pre paid $35 for an outside space and their lot is located directly across the street from the terminal. Check in and out with Galveston Park n Cruise is fast and efficient. They have always been helpful and friendly.
We arrived at the terminal at around 11pm on the 10th. I dropped my bags with the porters and parked. We walked back to the terminal and found that the check in entrance had changed since my last cruise from here in February 2011. After heading up the escalators, the line was clear. I was up at the check in desk in less than 5 minutes after walking off the escalators. After Carnival verified the kids and my daughters birth certificates we all got our Sail and Sign cards. It was too early to establish my cash account, so we were directed to seating. I received a zone 1 embarkation card and was seated in a row of chairs according to our family size. We were only in that area maybe 45 minutes before embarkation began. I think it took another 20 minutes to get up to the security check point to hear the Boing sound that said Welcome Home! I love hearing that sound! It means I am on my way to an awesome vacation. I had the family sit in the lobby while I made my way to the guest services deck to establish my cash account. Note: You do not have to do this immediately when you board. You are given a $20 starter account and you can go later to establish your account if you are using cash. If you are using credit or debit you have nothing to worry about.
Cabin Review
Balcony
It is a balcony cabin on the port side. The location is about 8-10 cabins down from the Atrium elevators. I heard very little hallway noise. Very little movement. The beds were left together and it has a couch, rather the size of a small love seat, since it was too short even for my 5 5 frame. There is an upper that the cabin will steward let down, if needed. The upper over hangs the bed buy about 4 inches and if you are not careful you will whack your head when you sit up. The TV is the old style.
There are (2) 110 electric outlets in the vanity area as well as the 220. There is a hair dryer mounted to the wall in the bathroom. Its rather odd looking and the tube does get hot if you keep it on very long. I have short hair and it took a long time to dry it, I cant imagine trying to dry long hair with it. This is the 1st bathroom that had a cabinet to store you personal items in. Its a 3-4 tier mirrored shelf/cabinet with a door. Its very convenient and easier to keep the bathroom tidy. There is no fridge in the cabin. There is ample storage in the closets and under the bed as well as several shelves in the other small closets at the end of the bed. The in room safe works with a card that has a swipe on the back.
The beds were a bit harder then I have had in the past, conversely the mattress on the couch was very soft. There are several pillows on the bed, but I bring my own. The balcony door is not as heavy and was pretty easily opened by my 3 year old. There is a latch that can be opened by any smart toddler that can climb on the bed and reach! I made sure that I kept the latch looked and made sure the kids understood to not go out the door without me. The balcony had better chairs then the on the Liberty. Those were too low to the ground and made it difficult getting up and down if you have a back injury, as I do. These chairs were more a normal height. There was also a small table. There was no ashtray, I did ask several times and one was never provided. My daughter used a half filled water bottle instead. I dont smoke and I only smelled cigar smoke once, while out on my balcony. I was between two other cabins who smoked, and even with asthma it never bothered me.