Carnival Paradise Review - February 2014

Cabin – The cabins are a little older and dated.  The bed linens were also well worn and the beds were not as comfortable as they were on some newer ships. The cabin was a decent size and actually it seemed bigger than some newer ships I have been on when the beds were separated. We had an ocean view at R204, which was very conveniently located near the elevators and restaurants. The TV was small and did not rotate and there was no refrigerator. There was a safe and plenty of room in the closets. I think a refurbishing would give this ship exactly what it needs. But, overall, for an ocean view room I would give the Carnival Paradise a 7-8 out of 10.

Service – The service is exceptional. The staff really goes out of their way to make sure you are happy and having a good time. The wait staff in the dining room at night, especially. They really make sure that everything is up to par. The cabin stewards are friendly and accommodating.  I also noticed they were constantly cleaning everything all over the ship. The room always smelled very fresh and they cleaned everything from top to bottom.

Food - The food is pretty good and you can order whatever you want off the menus and as much as you like, no questions asked. I would not expect a five star restaurant quality, but for the cruise I was very happy.  Just be careful when ordering red meat because it sometimes is tough and overcooked. My favorites were the Caesar salad, chocolate melting cake and the cheeses.  As for the buffet, it is very small, but includes a variety of favorites including mine, which is the pizza and self-serve ice cream.

Casino – The casino is very smoky and small. I can see why some people want to avoid it because on some newer ships they have ways of keeping the smoking from becoming overbearing.  Fun groups of people though.

Entertainment and Activities – There is tons to do throughout the day on the ship. They have trivia, line dancing, karaoke, deck games, sports, miniature golf, ping pong. I especially loved the trivia games in the casino area. You can relax on the serenity deck, which is “adults only” or swim in the other pools and hot tubs. There were shows at night and the productions were good.

Port Days – The only stop was Cozumel, Mexico and we did not get off the ship. However, we spoke to many people that did and all of them had a great time whether they did something on their own or a shore excursion.

Overall it was the intimacy of the ship that was the best aspect and we had a great time on the 4 days. Because it was a smaller ship you were able to get to know the people, see them frequently and so it was a great way to make new friends. This happened especially during trivia times and it was a great mix of people. At one point my 83 year old dad was laughing and making jokes with some guy who resembled, “Little John” complete with a “grill”

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