Carnival Triumph review, May 8 through May 15.

Carnival Triumph, May 8 through May 15.

Random thoughts, observations and other stuff.

First, I want to make sure that you know that I had a great time on the
cruise. The weather was darn near perfect the entire week, I was on a
ship with my friends and we laughed and smiled from the time we boarded
to the time we disembarked. It was a good time at a good price.

This was a small group. Conceived in the middle of the financial
meltdown of 2009, no one was really looking to book a cruise no matter
what the line, itinerary or fare. We chose the Carnival Triumph out of
New Orleans mostly because of price... inside cabins sold for as little
as $488 including all the tax, etc. We also have a history of doing
groups out of New Orleans and it was time for another.

I was looking forward to this cruise because we had been on the Carnival
Glory last year and was impressed with almost everything about that cruise.

I have been on a lot of cruises. When cruise lines say they want to
"exceed your expectations" I tend to grade on the curve. My
expectations for Carnival are not the same as my expectations for
Princess which are not the same as my expectations for Celebrity, etc.
My expectations are different for each line but I do expect my current
cruise to measure up well to other similar cruises. On this cruise,
Carnival did not meet my expectations.

Last year on the Glory, I was pretty amazed that the "quality" of the
cruise product remained high in spite of a bad economy. In spite of
some minor cuts in food and service, I felt that the overall quality of
that cruise remained high. The cruise on the Triumph didn't measure up
to those standards.

Most of the changes were in the food service. Fewer selections on the
buffet. Carving stations closed on the buffet some nights, In the
past, when prime rib was offered in the dining room, it was also offered
in the buffet, Not always true now. Fewer hours for the pool grill
areas. The feeling that there were fewer people cleaning tables in the
buffet area. No napkins in the cabins. Still no pens in the cabins.
Hot tubs out of service for the entire cruise.

One thing glared out at me.... the funnel of our ship was filthy. Not
only that, another Carnival ship docked next to us in Cozumel and THAT
ship's funnel was filthy.... as was the funnel on a third Carnival ship.
Those funnels are Carnival's trademark and I can't ever remember a
time when one of them was so dirty that I noticed... but it was
impossible to NOT notice these. Cabin windows were filthy when I
boarded the ship and were even filthier when we left. It is obvious
that Carnival's maintenance schedule has changed. Inside, the ship is
very clean... no problems there.

Members of our group who ordered room service told of waits of 40
minutes to an hour. That is a HUGE difference in the service that we
are used to on Carnival ships.

Many on our group chose the open seating dining option and that was a
mistake. We only ate in the dining room twice during the cruise and
service was poor both times. Again, it appears that there were not
enough servers in the dining room. Order taking was rushed. To even
get into the restaurant, you had to show your Sail and Sign card. It
was a PITA and until Carnival get's their act together, we won't be
using that option.

None of these things by themselves would make a cruise bad. But enough
little things added together and sure enough, you notice that the
quality is starting to slip.

To be fair... the people who were on the Triumph for the first time
probably got off the ship raving about the cruise. THEIR expectations
were met, but mostly because they don't have a standard to measure against.

Bottom line is that when I filled out the comment card at the end of the
cruise, I rated this cruise nowhere near as high as I rated the Glory
cruise last year... and that is a shame.

OK, now for the good news and there is a lot of it. Our cabin steward
did an excellent job. The entertainment is still good. The show band
had nine musicians who did a good job, as well as two singers who also
did well. There is a show tailored for the New Orleans market and that
was done very well. Good comedians, good midnight "adult" humor shows.
Good musicians in the lounges. The "repeaters party" was well run
with plenty to drink, but even here, the snacks were cut back significantly.

We made liberal use of the free wash and fold service that Platinum
members are offered and that was very nice. The crew was very
friendly... I got the impression that this was a "happy" ship. One of
the first crew people I met was working in the Deli. His name was
Beneton and I never saw him without a smile. I introduced myself to him
and after that first order, he remembered what I liked and usually
greeted me with a smile and "Your usual?" and I began to realize that my
sandwiches were usually a lot bigger than the other sandwiches he was
making. Even when I was just walking past the Deli, if he saw me, he
would call out a Hello. We got to talking a few times during the week
when he was slow and he was as interested in my job as I was in his. At
the end of the week I sought him out and gave him a tip and made special
mention of him on the comment card. Carnival could use more employees
like him.

More good news. I got involved with the Cruise Critic group. There was
a get-together the first day of the cruise and I got to meet a bunch of
really nice people. The second day, the group held a private cocktail
party that was very well done. Carnival had plenty of servers and the
drinks came fast and often. There was a third get-together the last day
of the cruise. Many of the people involved are on Facebook so we can
continue our friendship.

We didn't get off the ship in Belize or Roatan, preferring to stay
aboard and swim, go in the hot-tub, catch up on email and just relax.
In Cozumel, we went ashore as far as Fat Tuesdays. They have a free
WiFi access for their customers... just ask the waiter for the password.
Spent a couple of hours there catching up on email and eating nachos,
etc. It seemed pretty surreal sitting in a bar in Cozumel and working
on a laptop. I know there are people who don't like the idea of working
while on a cruise, but the ability to keep in touch with my customers is
important to me... and them.

More internet stuff..... At the pier at Cozumel, we were told that there
is a coffee shop now that also offers free WIFi access. The WiFi access
on the ship worked pretty well and we were able to use it in our cabin
without any problems. The ability to download mail and sign off... then
write answers, then sign on and send made using the ship's WiFi very
affordable.

I guess I am getting more used to the "Destiny" type of ship because I
find that I enjoy being on them, The lounges are comfortable, the main
show room has lots of room and except for the photo gallery area, the
ship is fairly easy to get around. On the Triumph there is no specialty
restaurant and for some reason, they never put the "fish and chips"
counter in the upper level of the lido buffet. Seems strange to me.
The Spirit class ships are still my favorite in the Carnival fleet and I
wish they had built more of them or expanded on that concept.

One last thing that was poor... but had nothing to do with Carnival.
Because of the attempted car-bombing in New York, Customs and
Immigration and the Department of Homeland Security decided to do a full
check of every passenger disembarking from the Triumph. Bottom line is
that there were only 6 Customs inspectors checking and scanning the
passports of over 3000 passengers.

It was a great cruise.

--
George Leppla, MCC
CruiseMaster.com
7815 Masters Drive
Shreveport, LA 71129
1-800-603-5755
www.CruiseMaster.com

"George Leppla" wrote in message
...
Carnival Triumph, May 8 through May 15.

Random thoughts, observations and other stuff.


SNIP


We didn't get off the ship in Belize or Roatan, preferring to stay aboard
and swim, go in the hot-tub, catch up on email and just relax. In Cozumel,
we went ashore as far as Fat Tuesdays. They have a free WiFi access for
their customers... just ask the waiter for the password. Spent a couple of
hours there catching up on email and eating nachos, etc. It seemed pretty
surreal sitting in a bar in Cozumel and working on a laptop. I know there
are people who don't like the idea of working while on a cruise, but the
ability to keep in touch with my customers is important to me... and them.

More internet stuff..... At the pier at Cozumel, we were told that there
is a coffee shop now that also offers free WIFi access. The WiFi access
on the ship worked pretty well and we were able to use it in our cabin
without any problems. The ability to download mail and sign off... then
write answers, then sign on and send made using the ship's WiFi very
affordable.

I guess I am getting more used to the "Destiny" type of ship because I
find that I enjoy being on them, The lounges are comfortable, the main
show room has lots of room and except for the photo gallery area, the ship
is fairly easy to get around. On the Triumph there is no specialty
restaurant and for some reason, they never put the "fish and chips"
counter in the upper level of the lido buffet. Seems strange to me. The
Spirit class ships are still my favorite in the Carnival fleet and I wish
they had built more of them or expanded on that concept.

One last thing that was poor... but had nothing to do with Carnival.
Because of the attempted car-bombing in New York, Customs and Immigration
and the Department of Homeland Security decided to do a full check of
every passenger disembarking from the Triumph. Bottom line is that there
were only 6 Customs inspectors checking and scanning the passports of over
3000 passengers.

It was a great cruise.

--
George Leppla, MCC
CruiseMaster.com
7815 Masters Drive
Shreveport, LA 71129
1-800-603-5755
www.CruiseMaster.com

Hi George, good review.

You touched on a topic that has me bemused, the subject of working while on
vacation. If I didn't need to check in or to handle important items while
on vacation, I would be really worried about my job security. A dear friend
is CEO of a large conglomerate and if he did not stay in touch on vacation
he would be derelict in his duties. I'm sure your TA clients feel that they
"need" to access you whether you're on vacation or not.

For those who feel vacationers should not do "work", please fill me in on
your point of view. I'm interested in your logic.

Thanks,

Harry Cooper (Ari, that is my real name)

On 5/23/2010 7:03 AM, Seehorse Video wrote:
"George wrote in message
...
Carnival Triumph, May 8 through May 15.

Random thoughts, observations and other stuff.


SNIP


We didn't get off the ship in Belize or Roatan, preferring to stay aboard
and swim, go in the hot-tub, catch up on email and just relax. In Cozumel,
we went ashore as far as Fat Tuesdays. They have a free WiFi access for
their customers... just ask the waiter for the password. Spent a couple of
hours there catching up on email and eating nachos, etc. It seemed pretty
surreal sitting in a bar in Cozumel and working on a laptop. I know there
are people who don't like the idea of working while on a cruise, but the
ability to keep in touch with my customers is important to me... and them.

More internet stuff..... At the pier at Cozumel, we were told that there
is a coffee shop now that also offers free WIFi access. The WiFi access
on the ship worked pretty well and we were able to use it in our cabin
without any problems. The ability to download mail and sign off... then
write answers, then sign on and send made using the ship's WiFi very
affordable.

I guess I am getting more used to the "Destiny" type of ship because I
find that I enjoy being on them, The lounges are comfortable, the main
show room has lots of room and except for the photo gallery area, the ship
is fairly easy to get around. On the Triumph there is no specialty
restaurant and for some reason, they never put the "fish and chips"
counter in the upper level of the lido buffet. Seems strange to me. The
Spirit class ships are still my favorite in the Carnival fleet and I wish
they had built more of them or expanded on that concept.

One last thing that was poor... but had nothing to do with Carnival.
Because of the attempted car-bombing in New York, Customs and Immigration
and the Department of Homeland Security decided to do a full check of
every passenger disembarking from the Triumph. Bottom line is that there
were only 6 Customs inspectors checking and scanning the passports of over
3000 passengers.

It was a great cruise.

--
George Leppla, MCC
CruiseMaster.com
7815 Masters Drive
Shreveport, LA 71129
1-800-603-5755
www.CruiseMaster.com

Hi George, good review.

You touched on a topic that has me bemused, the subject of working while on
vacation. If I didn't need to check in or to handle important items while
on vacation, I would be really worried about my job security. A dear friend
is CEO of a large conglomerate and if he did not stay in touch on vacation
he would be derelict in his duties. I'm sure your TA clients feel that they
"need" to access you whether you're on vacation or not.

When I travel outside the US, I do have another TA who will cover for me
if something needs to be done... but with technology the way it is, that
seldom happens.

I recently took a couple of trips to Mexico of 4 and 5 days. I would
guess that the majority of my customers didn't even know I was away from
the office.... it was business as usual.

The technology has changed so much in the past 20 years. My first
computer in the agency was a Wang... everything was on floppy disks and
it was pretty much a glorified word processor. As I recall, it cost
around $1400. A couple of months ago, I replaced my laptop with an Acer
Aspire One netbook. I download files from my office computer into the
netbook and I am on my way. I'm not a fan of the smaller keyboard but I
am getting used to it. With an external DVD drive, it does everything
my office computer can do and it cost less than $300. Incredible.

There is a lot of the US I would like to see and I think that in a few
years, there are some road trips in my future... maybe even a small
motorhome. The ability to work from the road means I'll never really
have to be out of touch... or out of business. I probably won't ever
retire in the conventional sense.


For those who feel vacationers should not do "work", please fill me in on
your point of view. I'm interested in your logic.

Now you have opened the door!

--

George Leppla

Countryside Travel http://www.CruiseMaster.com
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/CruiseMaster