CARNIVAL TRIUMPH Mini Review

CARNIVAL TRIUMPH Ship Visit
Mini "Ship Review"
June 20, 2009

Basis for Comparison
NCL: 13 Voyages Total (DAWN, SPIRIT, GEM)
Celebrity Cruises: 14 Voyages Total (MERIDIAN, HORIZON,
ZENITH, CENTURY, GALAXY, MILLENIUM, SUMMIT)
Dolphin/Premier Cruises: 6 Voyages Total (OCEANBREEZE,
ISLANDBREEZE, SEABREEZE)
HAL: 1 Voyage (NOORDAM)
Regal Cruises: 1 Voyage (REGAL EMPRESS)
15 Voyages on Older Ships/Liners for Peg traveling with her parents,
1958 to 1978.

SPECIAL NOTE/DISCLAIMER: We have never sailed on a Carnival Cruises
vessel, although we visited the PARADISE when she first called in NYC
in November 1998. Some of our comparisons here are between the two
Carnival ships, PARADISE and TRIUMPH, but we have only visited each
once -never sailed on either of them, nor their sisters.

_____________________________


At 101, 509 GRT, the CARNIVAL TRIUMPH is the largest vessel we have
ever set foot upon. But her enormous size from the outside belies her
coziness on the inside! What struck us more than anything else (aside
perhaps from her color scheme-or lack thereof-as below) is how very
small her public rooms are, especially given the fact that she carries
almost 3,500 passengers when full. Most of her interior is dedicated
to cabins-L-O-N-G and surprisingly wide companionways for hundreds of
them-but her public spaces are miniscule by comparison to virtually
any other ship that we know. Amazing for a vessel of this size that
carries so incredibly many passengers!

Our tour assembled in the ship's Atrium after collecting Visitor's
Passes and clearing security inside Pier 90 at the Passenger Ship
Terminal. In lay out, the TRIUMPH's atrium space is remarkably
similar to that on the NORWEGIAN SPIRIT, with a lobby bar, Guest
Relations Desk off to one side (Starboard) and Shore Excursions on the
other side (Port), all surrounding a bank of glass enclosed elevators
that reach from Deck 3 (where the lobby is located) up to Deck 9 (the
Lido). But, the same space on the N. SPIRIT is at least 6 times the
size of the comparable space on the C. TRIUMPH, bearing in mind that
the N. SPIRIT is only 75,300 GRT and carries only about 2,500
passengers when full. The area gets crowded and crazy on the N.
SPIRIT, but must be an absolutely cheek to jowl crowded zoo during
embarkation, disembarkation and at other times when passengers tend to
collect near the entrance/exit of the TRIUMPH!

The tour moved on to the Promenade Deck (Deck 5), to see the array of
shops that included a very tiny logo shop area and-again to our great
surprise-a small formal wear shop called "Formalities", displaying a
variety of wedding apparel, tuxedoes and champagne bottles. We have
never thought of Carnival as a Line where the use of formal wear is
particularly necessary or strongly encouraged! The three main bars on
the Promenade level that we were shown all struck us as also being
terribly small for their function-a 30 seat California Wine Bar (Peg
was so surprised by its size that she actually counted the bar
stools), and about 50 seats each in the Piano Bar (also called the Big
Easy) and the Oxford Bar. The Hollywood Disco is also small, roughly a
quarter of the size of the same dedicated space on the N. SPIRIT
(Maharini's). How on earth does everyone fit into this space for
dancing of an evening?? Even if the ship is carrying 1500 children
(-!-which boggles the mind in and of itself), that still leaves 1500
adults that might want to have a drink and dance in the evening. Must
be cheek-by-jowl crowds in here of an evening as well. Either that, or
everyone with small children simply eats early and goes to bed
early-or perhaps to the casino after the children have been put to
bed.

Even the room that gets the most use on board (according to the Ship's
Daily)-the Rome Show Lounge-is tiny by comparison to any of the NCL or
Celebrity vessels that we know so well. Seating on the lower level is
virtually flat and would have no decent sight lines to the small stage
unless one was seated in the first few rows. The upper level
(accessed through Deck 6) is steeply banked, but the entire area is so
well far back that it does not seem possible to see the small stage
without opera glasses! Shows are performed here twice each evening
(one for the 6 pm dinner seating passengers and one for the 8pm dinner
seating passengers), but so are daily Bingo sessions, Trivia Sessions
of all sorts, Art Auctions, and other featured daily activities
(embarkation day included a Famous Faces to Identify game, Interactive
Kiss Movie Trivia, and two sessions of Ballroom Dance Lessons,
according to the Ship's Daily, Carnival Capers). Every multi-purpose
"main lounge" on the modern ships that we know is located at the top
of the ship with a lovely forward view that features at least one set
of windows that one can see out to daylight and the sea conditions of
the moment. They have a separate (and also window-less Show Lounge).
There are no windows in the TRIUMPH's Rome Lounge, which is clearly
not just used as a "Show Lounge", but for virtually every large-scale
on-board activity at all times of the day and night!

The only spaces on board the CARNIVAL TRIUMPH that seemed
appropriately sized for the function that they perform (and given
almost 3,500 passengers when she is full) are the dining facilities:
the London Dining Room (two levels), the Paris Dining Room (which we
did not see) and the Lido area. We noticed Purell hand dispensers at
the entrances to all of the dining facilities, but there was no crew
member standing at each one insisting on your using it regardless of
the direction you were heading, as on the other ships. The Casino
also occupied a large dedicated space full of slot machines and gaming
tables. As with many of the modern ships (including NCL), there is no
way to avoid walking through the Casino without going up or down to
another deck-if you wish to pass along the Promenade Deck forward to
aft or vice versa, you must walk through the Casino, which is
undoubtedly very crowded at any and all times when it is open.

Even the ceilings on the CARNIVAL TRIUMPH seem lower than normal on
just about any other ship we have ever been on-as if the ceiling is
not quite far enough high over your head!! We noticed the very same
feature on the PARADISE. I doubt that my 6' 6" and 6' 8" brothers be
able to stand up straight in any Carnival room-or would at least be
able to put their hands on the ceiling without having to reach up very
far!! There is a slightly claustrophobic feel to the spacing of the
decks as compared to the other ships that we know! While the
stairwells obviously have more overhead clearance, they are much
narrower than on comparable ships we know, having little spare room
for people to pass each other on the steps-which must be an absolute
nightmare if the people coming at you or behind you are carrying bulky
life jackets before or after the mandatory drill! Only the "hallways"
(companionways) lining the numerous decks of cabins are wide-wider
than on just about any other ship-and amazingly long!!

One other point struck us as very unexpected given our very limited
past experience with Carnival ships. The color scheme of the PARADISE
is "vivid" to say the least-bright neon lights everywhere, with rooms
decorated in almost headache-inspiring mélange of contrasting fabrics
and colors. One lounge on the PARADISE that still sticks in our minds
featured zebra skin patterns on the ceiling and walls (decorated with
plastic "hunter's trophies" of Lion, Leopard and Zebra heads too),
with leopard skin patterns on the table tops and chairs, and wild
zig-zag patterns of red and bright purple on the carpets! It was
rather like walking into a living nightmare!! Virtually every public
room on the PARADISE was similarly decorated with all sorts of bright
neon lights and crazy color schemes. One friend on today's tour
reminded us that the PARADISE even features an upside down ship on the
ceiling of yet another lounge!! Not so on the CARNIVAL TRIUMPH; she
is extremely "tame" by comparison, although decorated by the same
designer, Joe Farcus. Aside from narrow purple neon bands that
encircle the beige and dark brown colors of the atrium, and patterns
of small neon lights decorating the walls of some of the other public
rooms, there were no real eye-sores anywhere on board! None of the
fabrics and table tops "matched" in the classic sense (most notably in
the Rome Show Lounge), but the entire ship seemed to be done in
surprisingly muted fabrics and color schemes, some of which were
clearly showing their age (the ship entered service in 1999).

On the other hand, we were exceptionally impressed with the array of
cabins that we were shown on Deck 7. Even the inside cabins were of
decent size, outside cabins of very good size with narrow balconies,
all of which had nice dark blue chairs (we did not see any
chez-lounges, nor any small tables). The cabin color scheme featured
light wood vaneer, with muted orange and/or beige or pale gray walls.
Storage space was amazing-3 to 4 large drawers, two good sized closets
and a separate closet area for hanging shorter items above or below
the in-cabin safe. Clean beach towels (dark blue with "Carnival"
embossed in white) were wrapped and ready for incoming passengers.
Each bathroom was more spacious than we expected too, with shower and
toilet on one side of the room and a large vanity with sink on the
other side. It would not be possible for two people to use the
bathroom space at once unless one of them was in the shower, but the
space was larger and better organized than we expected. Bedside lamp
fixtures were also very modern and attractive. Art work on the walls
was simple and not overwhelming by any stretch of the imagination
(sea-scapes, animals, and country scenes from what we saw) but all of
the art was curiously mounted on the wall behind the pillow end of
each bed. One would lie in bed and stare at a blank wall opposite!
Each cabin had a TV, but only the suites had flat-screen units.
According to the Daily, CarnivalCapers, three movies are shown daily
on three different channels, each repeated at 3 hour intervals
regardless of the length of the film.

On-board facilities for the children are also remarkable on the
CARNIVAL TRIUMPH, although none of these were highlighted during our
tour. The "forward lounge" space on both Decks 11 and 12 is dedicated
to the children as a play room (Deck 11-for ages 2 through 11)) and a
club area on Deck 12 forward for ages 12 through 14, and also 15
through 17 year olds). According to the on-line deck plan, there are
also two dedicated video arcade spaces for them, although we passed by
only one of these. There is a light blue curly slide with plunge pool
above the Lido Deck (Deck 9), and the two main pools are also shallow
enough (one only 3' 4" deep, the other only 4" 5" deep) for the
children to enjoy. Curiously, both main pools are not only shallow
but also extremely small-roughly half the size of the pools on
comparable vessels that we know. They appeared to us to be more
"dipping pools" rather than "swimming pools", unless one can actually
do a stroke or two without slamming one's toes on the bottom or
hitting one's hand or head on the pool's side tiling! The Lido pools
are completely surrounded with lots of sunning space open deck and
countless deck chairs, with parts of the self-service dining facility
chopped up all over Deck 9, including a large grill area. The Berlitz
Guide says the ship has 7 whirlpools-we only saw 4 arranged in groups
of two adjacent to the two main pools. A "jumbo mega-tron" viewing
screen is mounted below the enormous winged funnel in front of the
curly slide, and appears to show "fun ship" images from on-board
activities, shows and shore excursions that were obviously recorded on
previous trips-in the Caribbean, rather than the ship's current
Canadian itinerary. Most oddly, the hallway floor space coming into
and out of the swimming pool deck areas is tiled, not carpeted! Must
make for a lot of slips and falls, especially with wet children
running back and forth from the pool to the cafeteria!

Lunch for our group in the London Dining Room following our tour was
absolutely delicious. We have been told that Carnival's food has
"come up" in recent years, and there is no denying that at all! Bread
was of the Italian crusty variety (yum!), both white and whole wheat
available and served from an attractive bread basket. The appetizer
was Crab Cakes, which had too many onions for Peg, but Derek enjoyed
his, and commented on the plentiful lump crab and tuna interior,
featuring only a little mash potato to hold it all together. This was
followed by a Pasta course with breaded and fried Mozarella "toast" on
top-a very generous portion cooked to ad dente perfection and already
tossed with warmed, plain tomato sauce and some chopped veg. We were
offered a choice of Entrée, either Salmon or Beef. We both elected
the beef, cooked to order as Medium-Well (Peg), Medium, or Medium Rare
(Derek) with mushrooms underneath, a thin layer of mash potatoes, with
a bit of Bernaise sauce on the side, and breaded green beans, grilled
tomatoes and a ramekin of "pumpkin" (squash??) mash with a crust. Our
tablemates all enjoyed the Salmon Entrée, which also featured a very
generous portion of beautifully cooked fish and a similar array of
vegetables, minus the "pumpkin" ramekin. Dessert was a warm, thin
chocolate cake with warm chocolate pudding underneath, vanilla ice
cream in a separate ramekin, a single raspberry, and a spoon with a
decorative swirl of chocolate fudge. Only the brown smear on the
plate (more chocolate??) was unattractive. Wine was included with our
meal, and each glass was re-filled upon request with a nice California
White or a varietal Red. One of our group was celebrating his 92nd
birthday (same age as Peg's Mom now, although she turned 92 in
December of last year), and was saluted with a special cake and a
rousing chorus of "Happy Birthday, Melvin" from the assembled gang and
the waiters. The room itself was two decks high, with blue carpeting
and very attractive table settings spread on white linen tablecloths
with pale orange linen napkins and an array of properly sized glass
ware for water, red and white wines. All of the dining room chairs
had arm rests; Douglas Ward would swoon!

We are most grateful to the Steamship Historical Society of America,
Long Island Chapter, for putting us on their mailing list and
arranging such a splendid tour and luncheon! There was nothing about
this tour, or the ship herself, that would entice us to e-mail our
Travel Agent immediately to make a booking, but it was great fun to
see the interiors of such an enormous vessel, and one from a company
this is also so incredibly large! Certainly our tour of the CARNIVAL
TRIUMPH left us with a far better impression of Carnival Cruises as a
whole than our tour of the PARADISE did back in 1998!

PegNDerek in NYC


"Scientists' say intelligent life
sprang from the sea.
Really intelligent life returns to the
sea every now and then."

"Peg Caldwell-Ott" wrote in message
...


CARNIVAL TRIUMPH Ship Visit
Mini "Ship Review"
June 20, 2009


At 101, 509 GRT, the CARNIVAL TRIUMPH is the largest vessel we have
ever set foot upon. But her enormous size from the outside belies her
coziness on the inside!

Hi Peg, I'm surprised that you never got the chance to visit the Queen Mary
2 with all her visits to NYC. I would have thought your group would have
gotten to visit her, given her "ocean liner" categorization.

--Tom

Hi Tom,

For various reasons we have never joined the SSHSA despite living on
Manhattan for 16 years! In fact, we still are not actually
members--this particular visit was arranged by them, but our inclusion
was only for the fact that they needed extra people to help them meet
the expenses of the PST and Carnival. We were given an application
form for the SSHSA just after our tour and luncheon yesterday, and are
filling it out this weekend--we will be "official members" as of next
week, once they get the form and our membership check. As much as we
would have liked to visit the QM2 and other ships (which the SSHSA
sponsored visits too--including a number of very nice group cruise
discounts with on board lectures that we would have been very
interested in), we were not members and were consequently not informed
of the opportunity!

Bestest,

Peg

PS
SSHSA is the SteamShip Historical Society of America (Long Island
Branch) for anyone who might be confused!



On Sun, 21 Jun 2009 12:20:00 -0400, "Tom K"
wrote:


Hi Peg, I'm surprised that you never got the chance to visit the Queen Mary
2 with all her visits to NYC. I would have thought your group would have
gotten to visit her, given her "ocean liner" categorization.

--Tom

"Peg Caldwell-Ott" wrote in message
news

Hi Tom,

For various reasons we have never joined the SSHSA despite living on
Manhattan for 16 years! In fact, we still are not actually
members--this particular visit was arranged by them, but our inclusion
was only for the fact that they needed extra people to help them meet
the expenses of the PST and Carnival. We were given an application
form for the SSHSA just after our tour and luncheon yesterday, and are
filling it out this weekend--we will be "official members" as of next
week, once they get the form and our membership check. As much as we
would have liked to visit the QM2 and other ships (which the SSHSA
sponsored visits too--including a number of very nice group cruise
discounts with on board lectures that we would have been very
interested in), we were not members and were consequently not informed
of the opportunity!

Bestest,

Peg

Speaking of on board lecturers... you'd have LOVED to have seen John
Maxtone-Graham the week we did the crossing on the QM2 last summer... he
lectured every day just before lunch time... and his talks were all GREAT.
One was on Normandie. Another on Titanic. Another on "Only Way to Cross",
and another on Titanic Survivors whom he had met. It was one of the
highlights of the crossing.

--Tom

In article , Tom K
wrote:

he lectured every day just before lunch time... and his talks were
all GREAT

Except that last one with his wife.....

--
Charles

John is a wonderful person and an amazing lecturer--that crisp British
accent and marvelous use of the language are truly incredible!! I
have heard him in other contexts on all of the topics you mention
except for his "Titanic Survivors" one, that must be relatively new as
an on-board lecture!! I am sure he will now include a wonderful
tribute to the late Malvina Dean, the last Titanic survivor to die--
as of just a few weeks ago.

John's books are equally excellent! In case anyone is interested,
these include:
(1) The Ony Way to Cross (Macmillan, 1972)
(2) Liners to the Sun (Macmillan 1985)
(3) Crossing and Cruising (Macmillan 1992)
He is also the author of Cruise Savy and a number of individual works
on various RCI vessels. Barnes and Noble usually carries at least his
three major works listed above, and occasionally some of the others.

Our favorite of John's pieces is the series of films he did for NCL
about the history of passenger shipping (also titled The Only Way to
Cross), especially the conversion of the FRANCE into the NORWAY. I
re-taped all four films onto one single video, and often put it on in
my lab to keep me entertained during the long summer hours of work at
school--I think I know virtually every phrase by heart!!

Ted Scull and Bill Miller are also fabulous on board lecturers on
various ships--and also write their own books and articles for various
crusing/"shippy" magazines. Definitely ship historian names to look
out for!!

Bestest,

Peg


On Sun, 21 Jun 2009 13:37:57 -0400, "Tom K"
wrote:


Speaking of on board lecturers... you'd have LOVED to have seen John
Maxtone-Graham the week we did the crossing on the QM2 last summer... he
lectured every day just before lunch time... and his talks were all GREAT.
One was on Normandie. Another on Titanic. Another on "Only Way to Cross",
and another on Titanic Survivors whom he had met. It was one of the
highlights of the crossing.

--Tom

Peg:

Thanks for your review of the Carnival Triumph. I enjoyed it very much, and
could put things in proper perspective since we (Deborah & I) just toured
the Carnival Splendor. My review, along with pictures of both the Splendor
and Paradise can be found on the 6/20/2009 1:23 PM post. Once those who are
interested can get past the 'kill the messenger threads, my review can
actually be summed up in two words... "too pink!"

While you also describe the Paradise as "vivid," we found this rather tame
compared to the Splendor. Even the District/Business Sales Managers on our
'Fun Weekend' (FAM) described the Splendor as... "Candyland meets Las
Vegas." I know Carnival Cruise Lines is trying to play down their old party
crowd image, and is now attracting an average age of 48 years old. Yet, if
they wanted to get away from the Las Vegas glitz and glitter feel, they
certainly are not doing it with the Splendor.

Again, thanks for your review.
Smooth sailing to all...
John





"Peg Caldwell-Ott" wrote in message
...


CARNIVAL TRIUMPH Ship Visit
Mini "Ship Review"
June 20, 2009

Basis for Comparison
NCL: 13 Voyages Total (DAWN, SPIRIT, GEM)
Celebrity Cruises: 14 Voyages Total (MERIDIAN, HORIZON,
ZENITH, CENTURY, GALAXY, MILLENIUM, SUMMIT)
Dolphin/Premier Cruises: 6 Voyages Total (OCEANBREEZE,
ISLANDBREEZE, SEABREEZE)
HAL: 1 Voyage (NOORDAM)
Regal Cruises: 1 Voyage (REGAL EMPRESS)
15 Voyages on Older Ships/Liners for Peg traveling with her parents,
1958 to 1978.

SPECIAL NOTE/DISCLAIMER: We have never sailed on a Carnival Cruises
vessel, although we visited the PARADISE when she first called in NYC
in November 1998. Some of our comparisons here are between the two
Carnival ships, PARADISE and TRIUMPH, but we have only visited each
once -never sailed on either of them, nor their sisters.

_____________________________


At 101, 509 GRT, the CARNIVAL TRIUMPH is the largest vessel we have
ever set foot upon. But her enormous size from the outside belies her
coziness on the inside! What struck us more than anything else (aside
perhaps from her color scheme-or lack thereof-as below) is how very
small her public rooms are, especially given the fact that she carries
almost 3,500 passengers when full. Most of her interior is dedicated
to cabins-L-O-N-G and surprisingly wide companionways for hundreds of
them-but her public spaces are miniscule by comparison to virtually
any other ship that we know. Amazing for a vessel of this size that
carries so incredibly many passengers!

Our tour assembled in the ship's Atrium after collecting Visitor's
Passes and clearing security inside Pier 90 at the Passenger Ship
Terminal. In lay out, the TRIUMPH's atrium space is remarkably
similar to that on the NORWEGIAN SPIRIT, with a lobby bar, Guest
Relations Desk off to one side (Starboard) and Shore Excursions on the
other side (Port), all surrounding a bank of glass enclosed elevators
that reach from Deck 3 (where the lobby is located) up to Deck 9 (the
Lido). But, the same space on the N. SPIRIT is at least 6 times the
size of the comparable space on the C. TRIUMPH, bearing in mind that
the N. SPIRIT is only 75,300 GRT and carries only about 2,500
passengers when full. The area gets crowded and crazy on the N.
SPIRIT, but must be an absolutely cheek to jowl crowded zoo during
embarkation, disembarkation and at other times when passengers tend to
collect near the entrance/exit of the TRIUMPH!

The tour moved on to the Promenade Deck (Deck 5), to see the array of
shops that included a very tiny logo shop area and-again to our great
surprise-a small formal wear shop called "Formalities", displaying a
variety of wedding apparel, tuxedoes and champagne bottles. We have
never thought of Carnival as a Line where the use of formal wear is
particularly necessary or strongly encouraged! The three main bars on
the Promenade level that we were shown all struck us as also being
terribly small for their function-a 30 seat California Wine Bar (Peg
was so surprised by its size that she actually counted the bar
stools), and about 50 seats each in the Piano Bar (also called the Big
Easy) and the Oxford Bar. The Hollywood Disco is also small, roughly a
quarter of the size of the same dedicated space on the N. SPIRIT
(Maharini's). How on earth does everyone fit into this space for
dancing of an evening?? Even if the ship is carrying 1500 children
(-!-which boggles the mind in and of itself), that still leaves 1500
adults that might want to have a drink and dance in the evening. Must
be cheek-by-jowl crowds in here of an evening as well. Either that, or
everyone with small children simply eats early and goes to bed
early-or perhaps to the casino after the children have been put to
bed.

Even the room that gets the most use on board (according to the Ship's
Daily)-the Rome Show Lounge-is tiny by comparison to any of the NCL or
Celebrity vessels that we know so well. Seating on the lower level is
virtually flat and would have no decent sight lines to the small stage
unless one was seated in the first few rows. The upper level
(accessed through Deck 6) is steeply banked, but the entire area is so
well far back that it does not seem possible to see the small stage
without opera glasses! Shows are performed here twice each evening
(one for the 6 pm dinner seating passengers and one for the 8pm dinner
seating passengers), but so are daily Bingo sessions, Trivia Sessions
of all sorts, Art Auctions, and other featured daily activities
(embarkation day included a Famous Faces to Identify game, Interactive
Kiss Movie Trivia, and two sessions of Ballroom Dance Lessons,
according to the Ship's Daily, Carnival Capers). Every multi-purpose
"main lounge" on the modern ships that we know is located at the top
of the ship with a lovely forward view that features at least one set
of windows that one can see out to daylight and the sea conditions of
the moment. They have a separate (and also window-less Show Lounge).
There are no windows in the TRIUMPH's Rome Lounge, which is clearly
not just used as a "Show Lounge", but for virtually every large-scale
on-board activity at all times of the day and night!

The only spaces on board the CARNIVAL TRIUMPH that seemed
appropriately sized for the function that they perform (and given
almost 3,500 passengers when she is full) are the dining facilities:
the London Dining Room (two levels), the Paris Dining Room (which we
did not see) and the Lido area. We noticed Purell hand dispensers at
the entrances to all of the dining facilities, but there was no crew
member standing at each one insisting on your using it regardless of
the direction you were heading, as on the other ships. The Casino
also occupied a large dedicated space full of slot machines and gaming
tables. As with many of the modern ships (including NCL), there is no
way to avoid walking through the Casino without going up or down to
another deck-if you wish to pass along the Promenade Deck forward to
aft or vice versa, you must walk through the Casino, which is
undoubtedly very crowded at any and all times when it is open.

Even the ceilings on the CARNIVAL TRIUMPH seem lower than normal on
just about any other ship we have ever been on-as if the ceiling is
not quite far enough high over your head!! We noticed the very same
feature on the PARADISE. I doubt that my 6' 6" and 6' 8" brothers be
able to stand up straight in any Carnival room-or would at least be
able to put their hands on the ceiling without having to reach up very
far!! There is a slightly claustrophobic feel to the spacing of the
decks as compared to the other ships that we know! While the
stairwells obviously have more overhead clearance, they are much
narrower than on comparable ships we know, having little spare room
for people to pass each other on the steps-which must be an absolute
nightmare if the people coming at you or behind you are carrying bulky
life jackets before or after the mandatory drill! Only the "hallways"
(companionways) lining the numerous decks of cabins are wide-wider
than on just about any other ship-and amazingly long!!

One other point struck us as very unexpected given our very limited
past experience with Carnival ships. The color scheme of the PARADISE
is "vivid" to say the least-bright neon lights everywhere, with rooms
decorated in almost headache-inspiring mélange of contrasting fabrics
and colors. One lounge on the PARADISE that still sticks in our minds
featured zebra skin patterns on the ceiling and walls (decorated with
plastic "hunter's trophies" of Lion, Leopard and Zebra heads too),
with leopard skin patterns on the table tops and chairs, and wild
zig-zag patterns of red and bright purple on the carpets! It was
rather like walking into a living nightmare!! Virtually every public
room on the PARADISE was similarly decorated with all sorts of bright
neon lights and crazy color schemes. One friend on today's tour
reminded us that the PARADISE even features an upside down ship on the
ceiling of yet another lounge!! Not so on the CARNIVAL TRIUMPH; she
is extremely "tame" by comparison, although decorated by the same
designer, Joe Farcus. Aside from narrow purple neon bands that
encircle the beige and dark brown colors of the atrium, and patterns
of small neon lights decorating the walls of some of the other public
rooms, there were no real eye-sores anywhere on board! None of the
fabrics and table tops "matched" in the classic sense (most notably in
the Rome Show Lounge), but the entire ship seemed to be done in
surprisingly muted fabrics and color schemes, some of which were
clearly showing their age (the ship entered service in 1999).

On the other hand, we were exceptionally impressed with the array of
cabins that we were shown on Deck 7. Even the inside cabins were of
decent size, outside cabins of very good size with narrow balconies,
all of which had nice dark blue chairs (we did not see any
chez-lounges, nor any small tables). The cabin color scheme featured
light wood vaneer, with muted orange and/or beige or pale gray walls.
Storage space was amazing-3 to 4 large drawers, two good sized closets
and a separate closet area for hanging shorter items above or below
the in-cabin safe. Clean beach towels (dark blue with "Carnival"
embossed in white) were wrapped and ready for incoming passengers.
Each bathroom was more spacious than we expected too, with shower and
toilet on one side of the room and a large vanity with sink on the
other side. It would not be possible for two people to use the
bathroom space at once unless one of them was in the shower, but the
space was larger and better organized than we expected. Bedside lamp
fixtures were also very modern and attractive. Art work on the walls
was simple and not overwhelming by any stretch of the imagination
(sea-scapes, animals, and country scenes from what we saw) but all of
the art was curiously mounted on the wall behind the pillow end of
each bed. One would lie in bed and stare at a blank wall opposite!
Each cabin had a TV, but only the suites had flat-screen units.
According to the Daily, CarnivalCapers, three movies are shown daily
on three different channels, each repeated at 3 hour intervals
regardless of the length of the film.

On-board facilities for the children are also remarkable on the
CARNIVAL TRIUMPH, although none of these were highlighted during our
tour. The "forward lounge" space on both Decks 11 and 12 is dedicated
to the children as a play room (Deck 11-for ages 2 through 11)) and a
club area on Deck 12 forward for ages 12 through 14, and also 15
through 17 year olds). According to the on-line deck plan, there are
also two dedicated video arcade spaces for them, although we passed by
only one of these. There is a light blue curly slide with plunge pool
above the Lido Deck (Deck 9), and the two main pools are also shallow
enough (one only 3' 4" deep, the other only 4" 5" deep) for the
children to enjoy. Curiously, both main pools are not only shallow
but also extremely small-roughly half the size of the pools on
comparable vessels that we know. They appeared to us to be more
"dipping pools" rather than "swimming pools", unless one can actually
do a stroke or two without slamming one's toes on the bottom or
hitting one's hand or head on the pool's side tiling! The Lido pools
are completely surrounded with lots of sunning space open deck and
countless deck chairs, with parts of the self-service dining facility
chopped up all over Deck 9, including a large grill area. The Berlitz
Guide says the ship has 7 whirlpools-we only saw 4 arranged in groups
of two adjacent to the two main pools. A "jumbo mega-tron" viewing
screen is mounted below the enormous winged funnel in front of the
curly slide, and appears to show "fun ship" images from on-board
activities, shows and shore excursions that were obviously recorded on
previous trips-in the Caribbean, rather than the ship's current
Canadian itinerary. Most oddly, the hallway floor space coming into
and out of the swimming pool deck areas is tiled, not carpeted! Must
make for a lot of slips and falls, especially with wet children
running back and forth from the pool to the cafeteria!

Lunch for our group in the London Dining Room following our tour was
absolutely delicious. We have been told that Carnival's food has
"come up" in recent years, and there is no denying that at all! Bread
was of the Italian crusty variety (yum!), both white and whole wheat
available and served from an attractive bread basket. The appetizer
was Crab Cakes, which had too many onions for Peg, but Derek enjoyed
his, and commented on the plentiful lump crab and tuna interior,
featuring only a little mash potato to hold it all together. This was
followed by a Pasta course with breaded and fried Mozarella "toast" on
top-a very generous portion cooked to ad dente perfection and already
tossed with warmed, plain tomato sauce and some chopped veg. We were
offered a choice of Entrée, either Salmon or Beef. We both elected
the beef, cooked to order as Medium-Well (Peg), Medium, or Medium Rare
(Derek) with mushrooms underneath, a thin layer of mash potatoes, with
a bit of Bernaise sauce on the side, and breaded green beans, grilled
tomatoes and a ramekin of "pumpkin" (squash??) mash with a crust. Our
tablemates all enjoyed the Salmon Entrée, which also featured a very
generous portion of beautifully cooked fish and a similar array of
vegetables, minus the "pumpkin" ramekin. Dessert was a warm, thin
chocolate cake with warm chocolate pudding underneath, vanilla ice
cream in a separate ramekin, a single raspberry, and a spoon with a
decorative swirl of chocolate fudge. Only the brown smear on the
plate (more chocolate??) was unattractive. Wine was included with our
meal, and each glass was re-filled upon request with a nice California
White or a varietal Red. One of our group was celebrating his 92nd
birthday (same age as Peg's Mom now, although she turned 92 in
December of last year), and was saluted with a special cake and a
rousing chorus of "Happy Birthday, Melvin" from the assembled gang and
the waiters. The room itself was two decks high, with blue carpeting
and very attractive table settings spread on white linen tablecloths
with pale orange linen napkins and an array of properly sized glass
ware for water, red and white wines. All of the dining room chairs
had arm rests; Douglas Ward would swoon!

We are most grateful to the Steamship Historical Society of America,
Long Island Chapter, for putting us on their mailing list and
arranging such a splendid tour and luncheon! There was nothing about
this tour, or the ship herself, that would entice us to e-mail our
Travel Agent immediately to make a booking, but it was great fun to
see the interiors of such an enormous vessel, and one from a company
this is also so incredibly large! Certainly our tour of the CARNIVAL
TRIUMPH left us with a far better impression of Carnival Cruises as a
whole than our tour of the PARADISE did back in 1998!

PegNDerek in NYC


"Scientists' say intelligent life
sprang from the sea.
Really intelligent life returns to the
sea every now and then."

Hi John,

If the SPLENDOR was even more headache-inspiring than the PARADISE
than it is most definitely NOT the ship for us!! VBG I guess I am
like my mother--too many bright lights and too many bright colors in
odd wild patterns just overwhelm me! But, I will look for your post
and pictures just to have a look-see out of curiosity!!!

Cheers,

Peg


On Sun, 21 Jun 2009 11:26:14 -0700, "John Sisker"
wrote:

Peg:

Thanks for your review of the Carnival Triumph. I enjoyed it very much, and
could put things in proper perspective since we (Deborah & I) just toured
the Carnival Splendor. My review, along with pictures of both the Splendor
and Paradise can be found on the 6/20/2009 1:23 PM post. Once those who are
interested can get past the 'kill the messenger threads, my review can
actually be summed up in two words... "too pink!"

While you also describe the Paradise as "vivid," we found this rather tame
compared to the Splendor. Even the District/Business Sales Managers on our
'Fun Weekend' (FAM) described the Splendor as... "Candyland meets Las
Vegas." I know Carnival Cruise Lines is trying to play down their old party
crowd image, and is now attracting an average age of 48 years old. Yet, if
they wanted to get away from the Las Vegas glitz and glitter feel, they
certainly are not doing it with the Splendor.

Again, thanks for your review.
Smooth sailing to all...
John

"Charles" wrote in message
d...
In article , Tom K
wrote:

he lectured every day just before lunch time... and his talks were
all GREAT

Except that last one with his wife.....

--
Charles

I didn't count that as a lecture... that was a "not funny" comedy show
attempt.

--Tom

"Peg Caldwell-Ott" wrote in message
...

Ted Scull and Bill Miller are also fabulous on board lecturers on
various ships--and also write their own books and articles for various
crusing/"shippy" magazines. Definitely ship historian names to look
out for!!

Bestest,

Peg



You should look at a crossing on the QM2 one of these years... they've
actually had some decent rates the past 2 seasons. Much less expensive per
diem than their sailings within this side of the pond (like the Halifax/New
England sailings). That ship should really tickle your fancy. And no need
to spend on a balcony for a crossing, since the ocean isn't nice enough to
appreciate it anyway... so an inside or outside is fine for a crossing.

--Tom