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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." |
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CARNIVAL TRIUMPH Mini Review
"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 |
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CARNIVAL TRIUMPH Mini Review
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 |
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CARNIVAL TRIUMPH Mini Review
"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 |
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CARNIVAL TRIUMPH Mini Review
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 |
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CARNIVAL TRIUMPH Mini Review
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 |
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CARNIVAL TRIUMPH Mini Review
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." |
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CARNIVAL TRIUMPH Mini Review
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 |
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CARNIVAL TRIUMPH Mini Review
"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 |
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CARNIVAL TRIUMPH Mini Review
"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 |
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