Delayed cruise review - Carnival Triumph (VERY LONG)

Well, I apologize for the delay in posting my review of my cruise on the
Carnival Triumph which left Miami on October 25, 2003. And now, for my much
anticipated, long awaited, lengthy cruise review.

Cruise Report Card
Carnival Triumph
Leaving from Miami, Florida on October 25, 2003 to San Juan, Saint Thomas,
and Sint Maarten

BACKGROUND

I am from Denver, Colorado. This was my fourth cruise. My other
cruises were on the Paradise (March 3, 2002 and October 27, 2002) and the
Elation (April 27, 2003). I booked as part of a group of around 600 singles
from all over the United States, Canada, and a few other countries.

PRE-CRUISE: A

I flew into Fort Lauderdale the day before my cruise. I was scheduled
to leave Denver at 8:00 a.m. on Frontier Airlines and I arranged for
SuperShuttle to take me to the airport. The latest they would pick me up at
my apartment was between 4:30 a.m. and 5:00 a.m., and they arrived ten
minutes early. I arrived at the airport at 4:50 a.m., which was ten minutes
before the ticket counter opened. When I got to the gate my plane was
leaving from, the signage at the gate said the flight was going to
Sacramento, CA, but they changed it when the gate agent arrived. My flight
down was oversold by four seats, so they asked for volunteers to be bumped
to a flight into Miami via Houston that arrived shortly after 4:00 p.m.
They got enough volunteers so they did not have to bump anybody. Otherwise,
my flight was uneventful, except for the fact I wound up in the seat that is
in front of the exit row and therefore did not recline, and arrived about
ten minutes early at 1:30 p.m. When I arrived at the airport, another
passenger thought I worked for Carnival so she thought I was taking her to
the busses. In truth, I was looking for the Carnival representatives
myself. They were fairly easy to find near the baggage claim. The Carnival
representatives gathered us all together at the east end of the terminal,
and then had us walk to the west side of the terminal where the bus was
waiting. We went to the other terminals, picked up some other passengers,
and left the airport at about 2:30 p.m. Traffic was moderately heavy on
I-95 south of the U.S. 441/Florida's Turnpike interchange into downtown
Miami. This was on Friday, and the Fascination was leaving that afternoon,
so we stopped at the Port of Miami first before heading to my hotel. We
arrived at the Port of Miami shortly after 3:00 p.m. where most people got
off. He then took me to the Sheraton Biscayne Bay where I checked in. I
did a little shopping and then went to dinner at Bubba Gump's at Bayside
Marketplace. The coconut shrimp was great. I was tired from my day
shopping so I went back to my hotel and got a good night's sleep.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

Never wear a cruise line polo shirt when flying to a cruise unless you
want people to think you actually work for them. Flying in the day before a
cruise gives you a good chance to explore the port city as well as relieve
any stress that a delayed flight may cause.

EMBARKATION: D+

The day started out fine. I went to a deli across the street from the
hotel and had an apple cinnamon bagel for breakfast. After that, things
went downhill until I actually cleared security at the port. Carnival did
not have enough of their guests in the hotel, so they did not have pre-cruse
check-in at the hotel. Carnival was supposed to send a bus to pick us up at
11:45 a.m., but by 1:15 p.m., the bus hadn't shown up yet. The Triumph was
late getting into port, so this delayed the busses. There was no
communication about this until another frustrated passenger called Carnival.
I teamed up with a couple from Indiana and another couple from Iowa and
split the cost of a taxi-van. We arrived at the port at about 1:30 in a
brief rain shower, and the porter was anxious to get our luggage under
shelter. This was by far the fastest porter I've ever seen at the Port of
Miami. He definitely earned his tip as far as I am concerned. We then got
into a line to go through security. The line wound around the terminal
building and into the warehouse where our luggage was being screened and
sorted. Between the clanging of the metal cages, and the beeping of the
forklifts, the noise was barely tolerable. It took about an hour to get
through security, fifteen minutes to check-in, and another fifteen minutes
for the remaining formalities of getting the cabin key, the security photo,
and the welcome aboard photo before I finally boarded the ship. I just
barely had enough time to find my cabin and grab a quick bite at the lido
deck café before the lifeboat drill. Something remarkable did happen,
though. My luggage actually made it to my cabin before I did.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

Do everything you can to get to the pier before 1:00 p.m. I also
question the value of Carnival's transfer service from the hotel to the
pier. It might be more efficient to take a shuttle from the airport to the
hotel, and a taxi to the pier. After the cruise, I talked to my travel
agent, who gave me a $25 gift certificate towards a future cruise. As far
as I am concerned, this satisfactorily closes this matter.

THE SHIP: B-

The ship is simply huge! The lounges were all attractive, and I
especially liked the tiered seating on the lido deck. My cabin was at the
very back of the ship, and it was a long walk to anywhere from there. It
also took some time for me to get used to the fact that I had to go down to
the promenade. Many people got lost trying to find the Paris restaurant,
which cannot be accessed from decks three or four from the front part of the
ship. The deck plans they hand out on the gangway do not illustrate this.
There were a few bad seats in the show lounge, but I never had a problem
finding a good seat. The ship was very well decorated, with the cities of
the world theme throughout. The exercise room had plenty of equipment. I
did not have a problem getting a spot on one of the treadmills. The
equipment itself looked to be in very good shape considering how much use it
gets. I did have a problem finding a quiet place to relax, but I found a
couple good candidates. The cigar lounge would qualify, but I have a hard
time with the cigar smoke. I also noticed carpet stains in all the
stateroom hallways along the outside edges of the hall. Someone said they
were glue stains, but they looked like water stains to me. I did see
someone shampooing the carpet, and it did seem to make a difference.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

Always try to get to a spot above or below where you want to go on the
ship before you use the elevators or stairs. Most of the activities are on
decks 5 (Promenade Deck) or 9 (Lido Deck), which extend the length of the
ship. If you are in the Paris dining room, you can access the deck 3
portion of the restaurant from the aft elevators, and the deck 4 portions
from the aft or mid-ship elevators only.

MY CABIN: B

I was in cabin 7409, which is a category 8B (ocean view cabin with a
verandah). The room was spacious, except for around the beds and near the
closets. There was also a children's cot under my bed so I couldn't use the
space for storage. I also had a hard time finding the life vests, but the
cabin steward helped me locate them. One slipped between one of the beds
and the window. The TV channel selections were very limited, and the
six-channel radio only got three channels (at best) and two were repeats of
the same thing. It was either jazz, light rock, or nothing. This wasn't a
problem as far as I was concerned, though. The sitting area was adequate,
but the TV is set closer to the beds, and watching TV from the sofa can be
slightly awkward. The bathroom was spacious enough with excellent counter
space by the sink. However, the medicine cabinet was a hinged door, and
difficult to close. A sliding door would have been much better, especially
since the ship was subject to rocking which made keeping the door open
difficult. The shower stall was fairly small, but adequate for one person.
They had a handy retractable clothesline in the shower, but when you were
drying your swimwear, you cannot take a shower. The balcony only had enough
room for a deck chair, standard chair, and a table. It was just big enough
for two to enjoy a dinner on the balcony. The beds were comfortable enough,
although the pillows were thin. I noticed that they attached the mattress
to the box spring with Velcro. The closet and drawer space was adequate for
a one-week cruise for two. There was just enough space in the safe for my
wallet, keys, and cruise package.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

If you are a couple sharing a bed, or traveling with a small child
(under 12), you will have plenty of space. Otherwise, be sure to pack only
what you need. While you won't feel cramped, there isn't much extra room to
spare. Be careful going in and out from the cabin and the bathroom since
the hallway is narrow and if the person sharing the room won't have much
room to get out of the way.

FOOD: B

Some items were great; other items should have been fed to the fish. I
loved the lobster, and the soups were very good. The pastrami on rye from
the deli in the lido deck restaurant was excellent. The pizza was very
good, too. I ordered a shrimp salad sandwich from room service as a snack,
and it was promptly delivered. It was tasty, too. However, the beef
Wellington was horrible. The selection of salads was also limited, too.
Our group arranged for open seating, so I was able to sit virtually anywhere
in the Paris restaurant. The room was quite spacious and I never felt
cramped. I did notice that the outside tables were quite chilly, though.
The lido deck restaurant was good, with the deli being my personal favorite.
Service was good, although some tables were receiving their entrees while
others were cleaning up their deserts.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

If you don't like something, try something else. There was a lot more
good food than bad.

ACTIVITIES: B-

They had all the typical cruise activities. Nothing too outlandish, but
I've seen or done them all already. There never was a dull moment, though.
I did notice one thing unusual, they did not do the Macarena once. The
photographers were everywhere, and very efficient. They had you pose, take
a picture, and left before you knew what happened. The casino was its usual
self, although most of the blackjack tables had $10 minimums. I noticed
some guests staking out their favorite slot machines before the casino
opened after we left Saint Martin. The disco was typical, although I did
like how they set up the dance floor. They had a good variety of music at
night for whatever your tastes leaned towards. The piano bar was
particularly fun.

On the last night of the cruise, which happened to be Halloween, they
had a passenger costume contest in the main show lounge. I dressed as MIB.
Carnival vetoed some costumes as too risqué. Most people enjoyed it,
though. Unfortunately, since this was packing night, we all had to high
tail it back to our cabins to change out of our costumes and stuff them into
our suitcases before final luggage pick-up

RECOMMENDATIONS:

You can do or not do whatever you want. If you get bored, it's your
fault! The only hard part is if you just want to go quietly sit and relax
somewhere.

ENTERTAINMENT: A

John Heald is the funniest cruise director I've ever seen. Carnival
will loose a major asset when he retires. John integrated elements of the
first show throughout the rest of the cruise. The shows were typical
Carnival style with the cast doing their rapid-fire costume changes
throughout. They had a decent band on the lido deck stage, and a classical
trio in the atrium before dinner. At other times throughout the day, they
had a player piano playing light rock going. I never attended any of the
comedy shows, but I never heard anyone complaining about them, either. They
had five acts during the talent show, and afterwards John did a "bedtime
story" that turned out to be absolutely hilarious. He chose one woman to
play the heroine that wound up tackling John and riding him like a bucking
bronco. He then chose a huge guy for his villain who played his role pretty
straight, except he insisted doing everything, "with venom." The man John
then chose for the hero couldn't speak English, except for what he saw in
"The Karate Kid." He wound up replacing the "oo" sound with a long "i"
sound in the last word of the phrase, "Stop, or I'll shoot!" John totally
lost control of the situation when, while introducing the hero to the tune
"Tiptoe Through the Tulips," the heroine and the villain started dancing.
It was something you simply had to see to believe.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

I've heard a rumor that John may be coming out of retirement for another
contract on the Carnival Triumph. If that is true, do what you can to see
him in action. The costumes the dancers wear are a little on the skimpy
side, but they aren't any more revealing than what people wear for
sunbathing.

SERVICE: B+

My cabin was always well cleaned and was done very efficiently. My
cabin steward was very helpful when I could not locate the second life
jacket. The bar waiters were friendly and efficient. I had a nice
conversation with the waitress at the patisserie about how the crew handles
rough seas. The lido deck restaurant staff was their usual over-efficient
selves. If you leave your table for an instant, they will clean it up
before you have time to reclaim your seat. The pool waiters were
everywhere. You couldn't go for five minutes without hearing, "drinks?"
They were less efficient in returning with your orders, though.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

There is little you can do to really improve your service. The only
advice I can give is to go to a bar directly if you are using a soda card.

PORTS OF CALL:

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO: C+

The ship arrived around 4:30 p.m., which was too late to really do
anything in town. There was a duty-free shop at the pier, where I bought a
friend a bottle of rum, though. The shops at the pier were being renovated,
and it looked like they were just really getting started. Since it was
fairly late, most of our group wound up at Señor Frogs. The bar is only
about three blocks from where the ship docks, and they had plenty of people
near the pier handing out cards showing you where. The bar itself was a
good place to hang out and party. I had been to the one in Puerto Villarta
on a previous cruise, and the prices here were significantly higher.
However, you really should only drink one yard-long piña collada anyway. I
made the mistake of drinking two (I only paid for one, someone else paid for
the second one) and wound up barely able to walk back to the ship. I would
like to thank the security at the port and Carnival's security for looking
out for me. That will teach me to drink on an empty stomach.

SAINT THOMAS, US VIRGIN ISLANDS: B+

I will never tire of looking at that harbor. Heaven must look like
that! I took a taxi into town where I did some shopping. I found a shop
that sells stuff that changes color when exposed to sunlight. I bought some
souvenirs there for my family. After my shopping trip, I went on a sail and
snorkel adventure to a nearby island. I saw some sea turtles and stingrays
outside of an aquarium for the first time in my life. I got some excellent
underwater photos. My younger relatives thought I took great pictures of
Mr. Ray and Crush (see "Finding Nemo"). On the way back, they served free
rum punch and sodas. As we pulled out of the harbor, we waived to the other
passengers on Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Seas. The captains even
saluted each other with a brief toot on the ship's horn. Other passengers
on the Triumph observed how little open deck space there appeared to be on
Navigator of the Seas.

PHILLIPSBURG, SINT MAARTEN: B+

While not as scenic as Saint Thomas, it certainly was worth the effort
in seeing. I did a pre-arranged island tour and beach bash at the famous
Orient Beach. After driving around Phillipsburg, we drove to an overlook
where you could see the French side of the island. We then went into
Marigot for shopping. I noticed that a can of Coke is slightly smaller
there. In the United States, a typical can of Coke is 12 fl. oz., or 350
ml. In Saint Martin, a can of Coke is 11.42 fl. oz., or 333 ml. The snack
bar where I found the aforementioned soda was called "Speed 2 Café" from the
movie that was filmed there. Then, we went to Orient Beach where we had
lunch and relaxed on the beach. The little café only had one waitress who
was overwhelmed by everyone arriving all at once, but I did have a good
lunch of bar-be-cue chicken. I then hung out on the beach and played in the
surf for a while before heading back to the ship. The water was a little
sandier than I was expecting, but I still enjoyed it.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

This island is a very good spot to go find a beach to hang out on.
There was better shopping on the French side. Stores had prices marked in
Euros, US Dollars, EC Dollars, and Florin. The island is unremarkable other
than the fact that it is half-French and half-Dutch, so don't feel compelled
to take an island tour.

DEBARKATION: A

Carnival began a program where if you were willing to take all your bags
off the ship yourself, you were a United States citizen, and you did not
need to pay customs duty, you could leave the ship early. They called
people off the ship by decks between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. People who
were waiting for early debarkation were sent into the Rome lounge to watch
TV and wait for debarkation. I was in no hurry to get off the ship, so I
passed on the early debarkation. They wanted everyone out of their cabins
by 8:30 and I took advantage of this time to have a nice sit-down breakfast
in the dining room. I was part of the first group called of the ship so I
made my way to the baggage claim area. It was a surprisingly long walk, but
they had moving sidewalks along the way. I ran into a couple I sat next to
during the opening night show, and we reminisced about the wonderful week we
had. I grabbed my luggage, flagged down a porter, and headed through
customs. Going through customs took longer than I have ever experienced:
the customs inspector actually read my form before sending me on my way. I
found my bus to Fort Lauderdale International Airport, tipped my porter, and
then boarded the bus.

I arrived at the ticket counter for Frontier Airlines, and discovered
that no one was there! An agent at the next counter told us that the agent
usually didn't arrive before noon, so we should just relax. When the agent
arrived at about 11:50 a.m., she told us that she could not check anyone in
until four hours before the flight. I told her that the next flight left at
2:30 p.m., and she then realized that they changed the schedule effective
that day. She started checking in people right away. I went to the
concourse, grabbed lunch, and waited for my plane. While waiting to board
the plane, they told us that the Transportation Security Administration's
screening equipment broke down and we would be delayed slightly. The slight
delay was only about 30 minutes, and we were only slightly late arriving
back in Denver. When I got my luggage, I noticed that the TSA really liked
my suitcase; they had clipped the cable tie I used to secure the zipper.
Nothing was missing, though, so I really did not mind.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

If you have an early flight, the early debarkation is helpful.
Otherwise, just relax and enjoy your last few minutes on board. Unless you
are with a large group, or are in a hurry, consider the cruise line shuttles
to the airport. I did not have an extraordinarily long wait, but having
patience really helped. Also, do not pack books on top of each other in
your checked luggage. I am pretty sure that is what got the attention of
the TSA.

MISCELLANEOUS:

We had rough seas on the first and last day of the cruise. We had
Buford force six winds (around 30 mph) and eight to twelve foot seas. We
could definitely feel the wave action on board. I used ginger to combat
motion sickness, and it was effective. A lot of people use sea-bands, and
it seemed to work for them, too. As we pulled into San Juan, we just missed
a thunderstorm. Other than the above issues, we had no weather problems.
They said it was unusually hot in Sint Maarten, but I really didn't notice
it. The ship ran at full speed on the last day to get into Miami early due
to a medical emergency on board. I could definitely feel the ships
vibrations throughout the day, and they got worse as the day went on. There
was a rumor that the medical emergency was the result of a fight in the
pizza place from the previous evening, but I was never able to confirm this.
However, I do believe this is a plausible explanation. Daylight Savings
Time ended on the first night of the cruise, but the ship did not adjust the
clocks until Thursday night because the ship was going to be in an area that
operated on Atlantic Standard Time which is one hour ahead of Eastern
Standard Time.

OVERALL: B

While there were some areas where there could have been improvement, I
had a wonderful vacation experience. I would love to do this again,
although I would look for a different itinerary for that ship.

--
Tom Smith
"The future is whatever you make it, so make it a good one!"

Hi Tom,
Thanks for the review, I liked your format. We sailed on the Triumph last
February and found many of the things you mentioned. For me it was just too
big. Lines for everything were very long.
Chris

"Thomas Smith" -NO-SPAM wrote in message
...
Well, I apologize for the delay in posting my review of my cruise on
the
Carnival Triumph which left Miami on October 25, 2003. And now, for my
much
anticipated, long awaited, lengthy cruise review.

Cruise Report Card
Carnival Triumph
Leaving from Miami, Florida on October 25, 2003 to San Juan, Saint Thomas,
and Sint Maarten

BACKGROUND

I am from Denver, Colorado. This was my fourth cruise. My other
cruises were on the Paradise (March 3, 2002 and October 27, 2002) and the
Elation (April 27, 2003). I booked as part of a group of around 600
singles
from all over the United States, Canada, and a few other countries.

PRE-CRUISE: A

I flew into Fort Lauderdale the day before my cruise. I was scheduled
to leave Denver at 8:00 a.m. on Frontier Airlines and I arranged for
SuperShuttle to take me to the airport. The latest they would pick me up
at
my apartment was between 4:30 a.m. and 5:00 a.m., and they arrived ten
minutes early. I arrived at the airport at 4:50 a.m., which was ten
minutes
before the ticket counter opened. When I got to the gate my plane was
leaving from, the signage at the gate said the flight was going to
Sacramento, CA, but they changed it when the gate agent arrived. My
flight
down was oversold by four seats, so they asked for volunteers to be bumped
to a flight into Miami via Houston that arrived shortly after 4:00 p.m.
They got enough volunteers so they did not have to bump anybody.
Otherwise,
my flight was uneventful, except for the fact I wound up in the seat that
is
in front of the exit row and therefore did not recline, and arrived about
ten minutes early at 1:30 p.m. When I arrived at the airport, another
passenger thought I worked for Carnival so she thought I was taking her to
the busses. In truth, I was looking for the Carnival representatives
myself. They were fairly easy to find near the baggage claim. The
Carnival
representatives gathered us all together at the east end of the terminal,
and then had us walk to the west side of the terminal where the bus was
waiting. We went to the other terminals, picked up some other passengers,
and left the airport at about 2:30 p.m. Traffic was moderately heavy on
I-95 south of the U.S. 441/Florida's Turnpike interchange into downtown
Miami. This was on Friday, and the Fascination was leaving that
afternoon,
so we stopped at the Port of Miami first before heading to my hotel. We
arrived at the Port of Miami shortly after 3:00 p.m. where most people got
off. He then took me to the Sheraton Biscayne Bay where I checked in. I
did a little shopping and then went to dinner at Bubba Gump's at Bayside
Marketplace. The coconut shrimp was great. I was tired from my day
shopping so I went back to my hotel and got a good night's sleep.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

Never wear a cruise line polo shirt when flying to a cruise unless you
want people to think you actually work for them. Flying in the day before
a
cruise gives you a good chance to explore the port city as well as relieve
any stress that a delayed flight may cause.

EMBARKATION: D+

The day started out fine. I went to a deli across the street from the
hotel and had an apple cinnamon bagel for breakfast. After that, things
went downhill until I actually cleared security at the port. Carnival did
not have enough of their guests in the hotel, so they did not have
pre-cruse
check-in at the hotel. Carnival was supposed to send a bus to pick us up
at
11:45 a.m., but by 1:15 p.m., the bus hadn't shown up yet. The Triumph
was
late getting into port, so this delayed the busses. There was no
communication about this until another frustrated passenger called
Carnival.
I teamed up with a couple from Indiana and another couple from Iowa and
split the cost of a taxi-van. We arrived at the port at about 1:30 in a
brief rain shower, and the porter was anxious to get our luggage under
shelter. This was by far the fastest porter I've ever seen at the Port of
Miami. He definitely earned his tip as far as I am concerned. We then
got
into a line to go through security. The line wound around the terminal
building and into the warehouse where our luggage was being screened and
sorted. Between the clanging of the metal cages, and the beeping of the
forklifts, the noise was barely tolerable. It took about an hour to get
through security, fifteen minutes to check-in, and another fifteen minutes
for the remaining formalities of getting the cabin key, the security
photo,
and the welcome aboard photo before I finally boarded the ship. I just
barely had enough time to find my cabin and grab a quick bite at the lido
deck café before the lifeboat drill. Something remarkable did happen,
though. My luggage actually made it to my cabin before I did.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

Do everything you can to get to the pier before 1:00 p.m. I also
question the value of Carnival's transfer service from the hotel to the
pier. It might be more efficient to take a shuttle from the airport to
the
hotel, and a taxi to the pier. After the cruise, I talked to my travel
agent, who gave me a $25 gift certificate towards a future cruise. As far
as I am concerned, this satisfactorily closes this matter.

THE SHIP: B-

The ship is simply huge! The lounges were all attractive, and I
especially liked the tiered seating on the lido deck. My cabin was at the
very back of the ship, and it was a long walk to anywhere from there. It
also took some time for me to get used to the fact that I had to go down
to
the promenade. Many people got lost trying to find the Paris restaurant,
which cannot be accessed from decks three or four from the front part of
the
ship. The deck plans they hand out on the gangway do not illustrate this.
There were a few bad seats in the show lounge, but I never had a problem
finding a good seat. The ship was very well decorated, with the cities of
the world theme throughout. The exercise room had plenty of equipment. I
did not have a problem getting a spot on one of the treadmills. The
equipment itself looked to be in very good shape considering how much use
it
gets. I did have a problem finding a quiet place to relax, but I found a
couple good candidates. The cigar lounge would qualify, but I have a hard
time with the cigar smoke. I also noticed carpet stains in all the
stateroom hallways along the outside edges of the hall. Someone said they
were glue stains, but they looked like water stains to me. I did see
someone shampooing the carpet, and it did seem to make a difference.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

Always try to get to a spot above or below where you want to go on the
ship before you use the elevators or stairs. Most of the activities are
on
decks 5 (Promenade Deck) or 9 (Lido Deck), which extend the length of the
ship. If you are in the Paris dining room, you can access the deck 3
portion of the restaurant from the aft elevators, and the deck 4 portions
from the aft or mid-ship elevators only.

MY CABIN: B

I was in cabin 7409, which is a category 8B (ocean view cabin with a
verandah). The room was spacious, except for around the beds and near the
closets. There was also a children's cot under my bed so I couldn't use
the
space for storage. I also had a hard time finding the life vests, but the
cabin steward helped me locate them. One slipped between one of the beds
and the window. The TV channel selections were very limited, and the
six-channel radio only got three channels (at best) and two were repeats
of
the same thing. It was either jazz, light rock, or nothing. This wasn't
a
problem as far as I was concerned, though. The sitting area was adequate,
but the TV is set closer to the beds, and watching TV from the sofa can be
slightly awkward. The bathroom was spacious enough with excellent counter
space by the sink. However, the medicine cabinet was a hinged door, and
difficult to close. A sliding door would have been much better,
especially
since the ship was subject to rocking which made keeping the door open
difficult. The shower stall was fairly small, but adequate for one
person.
They had a handy retractable clothesline in the shower, but when you were
drying your swimwear, you cannot take a shower. The balcony only had
enough
room for a deck chair, standard chair, and a table. It was just big
enough
for two to enjoy a dinner on the balcony. The beds were comfortable
enough,
although the pillows were thin. I noticed that they attached the mattress
to the box spring with Velcro. The closet and drawer space was adequate
for
a one-week cruise for two. There was just enough space in the safe for my
wallet, keys, and cruise package.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

If you are a couple sharing a bed, or traveling with a small child
(under 12), you will have plenty of space. Otherwise, be sure to pack
only
what you need. While you won't feel cramped, there isn't much extra room
to
spare. Be careful going in and out from the cabin and the bathroom since
the hallway is narrow and if the person sharing the room won't have much
room to get out of the way.

FOOD: B

Some items were great; other items should have been fed to the fish.
I
loved the lobster, and the soups were very good. The pastrami on rye from
the deli in the lido deck restaurant was excellent. The pizza was very
good, too. I ordered a shrimp salad sandwich from room service as a
snack,
and it was promptly delivered. It was tasty, too. However, the beef
Wellington was horrible. The selection of salads was also limited, too.
Our group arranged for open seating, so I was able to sit virtually
anywhere
in the Paris restaurant. The room was quite spacious and I never felt
cramped. I did notice that the outside tables were quite chilly, though.
The lido deck restaurant was good, with the deli being my personal
favorite.
Service was good, although some tables were receiving their entrees while
others were cleaning up their deserts.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

If you don't like something, try something else. There was a lot more
good food than bad.

ACTIVITIES: B-

They had all the typical cruise activities. Nothing too outlandish,
but
I've seen or done them all already. There never was a dull moment,
though.
I did notice one thing unusual, they did not do the Macarena once. The
photographers were everywhere, and very efficient. They had you pose,
take
a picture, and left before you knew what happened. The casino was its
usual
self, although most of the blackjack tables had $10 minimums. I noticed
some guests staking out their favorite slot machines before the casino
opened after we left Saint Martin. The disco was typical, although I did
like how they set up the dance floor. They had a good variety of music at
night for whatever your tastes leaned towards. The piano bar was
particularly fun.

On the last night of the cruise, which happened to be Halloween, they
had a passenger costume contest in the main show lounge. I dressed as
MIB.
Carnival vetoed some costumes as too risqué. Most people enjoyed it,
though. Unfortunately, since this was packing night, we all had to high
tail it back to our cabins to change out of our costumes and stuff them
into
our suitcases before final luggage pick-up

RECOMMENDATIONS:

You can do or not do whatever you want. If you get bored, it's your
fault! The only hard part is if you just want to go quietly sit and relax
somewhere.

ENTERTAINMENT: A

John Heald is the funniest cruise director I've ever seen. Carnival
will loose a major asset when he retires. John integrated elements of the
first show throughout the rest of the cruise. The shows were typical
Carnival style with the cast doing their rapid-fire costume changes
throughout. They had a decent band on the lido deck stage, and a
classical
trio in the atrium before dinner. At other times throughout the day, they
had a player piano playing light rock going. I never attended any of the
comedy shows, but I never heard anyone complaining about them, either.
They
had five acts during the talent show, and afterwards John did a "bedtime
story" that turned out to be absolutely hilarious. He chose one woman to
play the heroine that wound up tackling John and riding him like a bucking
bronco. He then chose a huge guy for his villain who played his role
pretty
straight, except he insisted doing everything, "with venom." The man John
then chose for the hero couldn't speak English, except for what he saw in
"The Karate Kid." He wound up replacing the "oo" sound with a long "i"
sound in the last word of the phrase, "Stop, or I'll shoot!" John totally
lost control of the situation when, while introducing the hero to the tune
"Tiptoe Through the Tulips," the heroine and the villain started dancing.
It was something you simply had to see to believe.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

I've heard a rumor that John may be coming out of retirement for
another
contract on the Carnival Triumph. If that is true, do what you can to see
him in action. The costumes the dancers wear are a little on the skimpy
side, but they aren't any more revealing than what people wear for
sunbathing.

SERVICE: B+

My cabin was always well cleaned and was done very efficiently. My
cabin steward was very helpful when I could not locate the second life
jacket. The bar waiters were friendly and efficient. I had a nice
conversation with the waitress at the patisserie about how the crew
handles
rough seas. The lido deck restaurant staff was their usual over-efficient
selves. If you leave your table for an instant, they will clean it up
before you have time to reclaim your seat. The pool waiters were
everywhere. You couldn't go for five minutes without hearing, "drinks?"
They were less efficient in returning with your orders, though.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

There is little you can do to really improve your service. The only
advice I can give is to go to a bar directly if you are using a soda card.

PORTS OF CALL:

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO: C+

The ship arrived around 4:30 p.m., which was too late to really do
anything in town. There was a duty-free shop at the pier, where I bought
a
friend a bottle of rum, though. The shops at the pier were being
renovated,
and it looked like they were just really getting started. Since it was
fairly late, most of our group wound up at Señor Frogs. The bar is only
about three blocks from where the ship docks, and they had plenty of
people
near the pier handing out cards showing you where. The bar itself was a
good place to hang out and party. I had been to the one in Puerto
Villarta
on a previous cruise, and the prices here were significantly higher.
However, you really should only drink one yard-long piña collada anyway.
I
made the mistake of drinking two (I only paid for one, someone else paid
for
the second one) and wound up barely able to walk back to the ship. I
would
like to thank the security at the port and Carnival's security for looking
out for me. That will teach me to drink on an empty stomach.

SAINT THOMAS, US VIRGIN ISLANDS: B+

I will never tire of looking at that harbor. Heaven must look like
that! I took a taxi into town where I did some shopping. I found a shop
that sells stuff that changes color when exposed to sunlight. I bought
some
souvenirs there for my family. After my shopping trip, I went on a sail
and
snorkel adventure to a nearby island. I saw some sea turtles and
stingrays
outside of an aquarium for the first time in my life. I got some
excellent
underwater photos. My younger relatives thought I took great pictures of
Mr. Ray and Crush (see "Finding Nemo"). On the way back, they served free
rum punch and sodas. As we pulled out of the harbor, we waived to the
other
passengers on Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Seas. The captains even
saluted each other with a brief toot on the ship's horn. Other passengers
on the Triumph observed how little open deck space there appeared to be on
Navigator of the Seas.

PHILLIPSBURG, SINT MAARTEN: B+

While not as scenic as Saint Thomas, it certainly was worth the effort
in seeing. I did a pre-arranged island tour and beach bash at the famous
Orient Beach. After driving around Phillipsburg, we drove to an overlook
where you could see the French side of the island. We then went into
Marigot for shopping. I noticed that a can of Coke is slightly smaller
there. In the United States, a typical can of Coke is 12 fl. oz., or 350
ml. In Saint Martin, a can of Coke is 11.42 fl. oz., or 333 ml. The
snack
bar where I found the aforementioned soda was called "Speed 2 Café" from
the
movie that was filmed there. Then, we went to Orient Beach where we had
lunch and relaxed on the beach. The little café only had one waitress who
was overwhelmed by everyone arriving all at once, but I did have a good
lunch of bar-be-cue chicken. I then hung out on the beach and played in
the
surf for a while before heading back to the ship. The water was a little
sandier than I was expecting, but I still enjoyed it.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

This island is a very good spot to go find a beach to hang out on.
There was better shopping on the French side. Stores had prices marked in
Euros, US Dollars, EC Dollars, and Florin. The island is unremarkable
other
than the fact that it is half-French and half-Dutch, so don't feel
compelled
to take an island tour.

DEBARKATION: A

Carnival began a program where if you were willing to take all your
bags
off the ship yourself, you were a United States citizen, and you did not
need to pay customs duty, you could leave the ship early. They called
people off the ship by decks between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. People who
were waiting for early debarkation were sent into the Rome lounge to watch
TV and wait for debarkation. I was in no hurry to get off the ship, so I
passed on the early debarkation. They wanted everyone out of their cabins
by 8:30 and I took advantage of this time to have a nice sit-down
breakfast
in the dining room. I was part of the first group called of the ship so I
made my way to the baggage claim area. It was a surprisingly long walk,
but
they had moving sidewalks along the way. I ran into a couple I sat next
to
during the opening night show, and we reminisced about the wonderful week
we
had. I grabbed my luggage, flagged down a porter, and headed through
customs. Going through customs took longer than I have ever experienced:
the customs inspector actually read my form before sending me on my way.
I
found my bus to Fort Lauderdale International Airport, tipped my porter,
and
then boarded the bus.

I arrived at the ticket counter for Frontier Airlines, and discovered
that no one was there! An agent at the next counter told us that the
agent
usually didn't arrive before noon, so we should just relax. When the
agent
arrived at about 11:50 a.m., she told us that she could not check anyone
in
until four hours before the flight. I told her that the next flight left
at
2:30 p.m., and she then realized that they changed the schedule effective
that day. She started checking in people right away. I went to the
concourse, grabbed lunch, and waited for my plane. While waiting to board
the plane, they told us that the Transportation Security Administration's
screening equipment broke down and we would be delayed slightly. The
slight
delay was only about 30 minutes, and we were only slightly late arriving
back in Denver. When I got my luggage, I noticed that the TSA really
liked
my suitcase; they had clipped the cable tie I used to secure the zipper.
Nothing was missing, though, so I really did not mind.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

If you have an early flight, the early debarkation is helpful.
Otherwise, just relax and enjoy your last few minutes on board. Unless
you
are with a large group, or are in a hurry, consider the cruise line
shuttles
to the airport. I did not have an extraordinarily long wait, but having
patience really helped. Also, do not pack books on top of each other in
your checked luggage. I am pretty sure that is what got the attention of
the TSA.

MISCELLANEOUS:

We had rough seas on the first and last day of the cruise. We had
Buford force six winds (around 30 mph) and eight to twelve foot seas. We
could definitely feel the wave action on board. I used ginger to combat
motion sickness, and it was effective. A lot of people use sea-bands, and
it seemed to work for them, too. As we pulled into San Juan, we just
missed
a thunderstorm. Other than the above issues, we had no weather problems.
They said it was unusually hot in Sint Maarten, but I really didn't notice
it. The ship ran at full speed on the last day to get into Miami early
due
to a medical emergency on board. I could definitely feel the ships
vibrations throughout the day, and they got worse as the day went on.
There
was a rumor that the medical emergency was the result of a fight in the
pizza place from the previous evening, but I was never able to confirm
this.
However, I do believe this is a plausible explanation. Daylight Savings
Time ended on the first night of the cruise, but the ship did not adjust
the
clocks until Thursday night because the ship was going to be in an area
that
operated on Atlantic Standard Time which is one hour ahead of Eastern
Standard Time.

OVERALL: B

While there were some areas where there could have been improvement, I
had a wonderful vacation experience. I would love to do this again,
although I would look for a different itinerary for that ship.

--
Tom Smith
"The future is whatever you make it, so make it a good one!"

Tom
Thank you so very much for a great read and the time and effort it took
to write it.
Location to me is THE most important part of choosing a ship.
Before booking I go over the layout with a fine tooth comb:-)

SUNNY..........Hopes you didn't gain too much weight with all that
walking

S'nd I

"Thomas Smith" -NO-SPAM wrote in message
...
Well, I apologize for the delay in posting my review of my cruise on
the
Carnival Triumph which left Miami on October 25, 2003. And now, for my
much
anticipated, long awaited, lengthy cruise review.


Review snipped.

Thomas, thanks for posting your review. I was on the Triumph in 99 and will
be cruising on her again in March. We are lucky that John Heald has signed
on for at least one more contract and will be returning to the ship around
the second week of January. I will have to see his bedtime story again but
it sounds as though he has not changed it much over the years. As a matter
of fact, one of the other CD's on Carnival now does the exact same story.
Again, thanks for sharing.

Gordon

Tom Smith wrote:

I booked as part of a group of around 600 singles
from all over the United States, Canada, and a few other countries.

I was hoping for a review of the "singles" aspect of this cruise. I seem to
remember you've done these before. How did this one stack up?

Amber

The group was good, but it almost was too big. We had a group game time
session on sea days, and cocktail parties or karaoke at nights before
dinner. We even had our own private costume party before dinner on
Halloween night. However, the group was so big that you spent so much time
trying to meet everyone, that you never really got to know anyone. I still
e-mail some people from that cruise, though. I also look forward to
cruising with some of them in the future. There was one couple that John
Heald actually wound up hooking up. During the Welcome Aboard show, John
asked if there was anyone celebrating a divorce (after honeymooners and
couples celebrating anniversaries were identified). One guy piped up and
said he was divorced for a month and a half, so John grabbed a girl who
identified herself as single and moved her next to him. They stayed
together the rest of the cruise, and even wrote a ditty about the cruise
which they performed during the talent show. I am booking another singles
cruise with this agency (www.singlescruise.com) over Easter week.

Tom Smith

"Amber" wrote in message
...
Tom Smith wrote:

I booked as part of a group of around 600 singles
from all over the United States, Canada, and a few other countries.

I was hoping for a review of the "singles" aspect of this cruise. I seem
to
remember you've done these before. How did this one stack up?

Amber

Oh, one more thing. The travel agent who coordinated this said it was by
far the largest group she ever had for one cruise.

Tom Smith

"Thomas Smith" -NO-SPAM wrote in message
...
The group was good, but it almost was too big. We had a group game time
session on sea days, and cocktail parties or karaoke at nights before
dinner. We even had our own private costume party before dinner on
Halloween night. However, the group was so big that you spent so much
time
trying to meet everyone, that you never really got to know anyone. I
still
e-mail some people from that cruise, though. I also look forward to
cruising with some of them in the future. There was one couple that John
Heald actually wound up hooking up. During the Welcome Aboard show, John
asked if there was anyone celebrating a divorce (after honeymooners and
couples celebrating anniversaries were identified). One guy piped up and
said he was divorced for a month and a half, so John grabbed a girl who
identified herself as single and moved her next to him. They stayed
together the rest of the cruise, and even wrote a ditty about the cruise
which they performed during the talent show. I am booking another singles
cruise with this agency (www.singlescruise.com) over Easter week.

Tom Smith

"Amber" wrote in message
...
Tom Smith wrote:

I booked as part of a group of around 600 singles
from all over the United States, Canada, and a few other countries.

I was hoping for a review of the "singles" aspect of this cruise. I
seem
to
remember you've done these before. How did this one stack up?

Amber

Great review, we have sailed with John twice I fell for the bedtime
story as spontanious the first time. Then the 2nd time in 2002 I was
picked to be Dick Wooden for the entire cruise and played the villan
"with venom" It was a riot. He retired at the end of our cruise in
2002? How many times has he retired?

On Mon, 29 Dec 2003 10:13:17 -0500 (EST), (villa
deauville) wrote:

Tom
Thank you so very much for a great read and the time and effort it took
to write it.
Location to me is THE most important part of choosing a ship.
Before booking I go over the layout with a fine tooth comb:-)

SUNNY..........Hopes you didn't gain too much weight with all that
walking

S'nd I

has he ever retired yet? I have read so many times that he is on his last
contract and then read that John is doing one more stint on whatever CCL's
newest ship is. Although I have never cruised with John he must be that
good. CCL must be making him offers that are too good to refuse for him to
keep coming back.

Bill

"capn archer" wrote in message
news
Great review, we have sailed with John twice I fell for the bedtime
story as spontanious the first time. Then the 2nd time in 2002 I was
picked to be Dick Wooden for the entire cruise and played the villan
"with venom" It was a riot. He retired at the end of our cruise in
2002? How many times has he retired?

On Mon, 29 Dec 2003 10:13:17 -0500 (EST), (villa
deauville) wrote:

Tom
Thank you so very much for a great read and the time and effort it took
to write it.
Location to me is THE most important part of choosing a ship.
Before booking I go over the layout with a fine tooth comb:-)

SUNNY..........Hopes you didn't gain too much weight with all that
walking

S'nd I

Bill, John finally had the time in to retire with benefits this December.
CCL made an offer he found too difficult to refuse and is doing another
contract. After that he is supposed to work in a part-time position of his
choosing. John is very good and really just a nice guy. Much of what he does
and contributes goes untold and it is by his choice. I am proud to be able
to call John a friend.
Jim


"Bill C" wrote in message
...
has he ever retired yet? I have read so many times that he is on his last
contract and then read that John is doing one more stint on whatever CCL's
newest ship is. Although I have never cruised with John he must be that
good. CCL must be making him offers that are too good to refuse for him to
keep coming back.

Bill

"capn archer" wrote in message
news
Great review, we have sailed with John twice I fell for the bedtime
story as spontanious the first time. Then the 2nd time in 2002 I was
picked to be Dick Wooden for the entire cruise and played the villan
"with venom" It was a riot. He retired at the end of our cruise in
2002? How many times has he retired?

On Mon, 29 Dec 2003 10:13:17 -0500 (EST), (villa
deauville) wrote:

Tom
Thank you so very much for a great read and the time and effort it took
to write it.
Location to me is THE most important part of choosing a ship.
Before booking I go over the layout with a fine tooth comb:-)

SUNNY..........Hopes you didn't gain too much weight with all that
walking

S'nd I