Carnival Paradise - Short Cruises to Mexico

In late April of 2007, my husband and I embarked upon the Carnival Paradise for a much needed vacation. We set sail on a three-night cruise to Ensenada, Mexico. For those interested in taking a similar vacation, this guide may help you decide if this is the cruise for you.

The Ship

From the moment we walked on the ship, we were impressed. The décor was not exactly extravagant, but it was pleasant. It was not cheesy, but not plain either. Most importantly, everything was very clean.

Overall, we really liked the ship. The outside Lido deck, where the main pool and outdoor stage are, was usually crammed with people, so we pretty much found other places to relax. The verandah deck was our favorite. At the back of the ship on the verandah deck, there are beautiful views all around. Along with a small basketball court, there are two spas and a small pool, as well as plenty of lounge chairs. On Sunday, the one day that we were entirely at sea, I thoroughly enjoyed laying out here facing the ocean.

The front of the ship is where most of the nightlife is. With many staircases and different hallways, it can be confusing to navigate at first. The atrium, which is in the center of the ship, is quite the sight. It was neat to look up and down at all the different levels. On the bottom there is a small bar, which was usually crowded with people.

Indoors, the library is a peaceful little paradise, which we enjoyed sitting in after dinner. Although we never once saw the bookcases open, it is a pretty room with gorgeous views of the ocean.

Our Room

We had a room on the verandah deck, which was wonderful because we were close to the pools and spas- a big plus in my book. The room was an interior room, so we did not have a view, but overall, we felt that the room was nice. We had heard so much about how small cruise ship rooms are that we were expecting something smaller. While we couldn't do aerobics in our room or anything, we certainly didn't feel cramped.

In all the pictures they show you online, there are two twin beds, which can be pushed together to form a king. I was wondering what that would be like, and had also prepared myself for the standard rock solid discomfort of a hotel bed. Much to my surprise, we were happy to find that the bed was exceptionally comfortable. Because we have a beautiful pillow top mattress at home with fine sheets and a down comforter, I normally am happy to get back to my own bed by the end of a vacation. On the Carnival Paradise, this was far from true. Our bed was so comfortable that we slept late every day and even napped several times.

Customer Service

The customer service on the Carnival Paradise was outstanding. All of the ship's staff members were wonderful. From the cruise director, Carl, an adorable British man with a great sense of humor, to our favorite bar waiter, Tomas, every staff member treated us extremely well. Our room steward made it a point to remember our names, and always had a smile for us.

The only place where service could have been slightly better was in the dining room. For the most part, the wait staff does a good job, but it is obvious that they are used to a certain type of serving. They were prompt in serving each of the courses, but took a long time getting us extra things we asked for, such as more butter. We had to ask several times to get the little extras. Overall, however, the wait staff was very courteous and efficient.

Food

Dinner was wonderful, and lunch was also great, but breakfast left much to be desired. The first morning we ordered breakfast in our room, which is a continental breakfast. There is not much to say about it, except that it didn't seem very fresh and really just wasn't very good. The next day we went down to the dining room for breakfast. We had to sit at a big table with a bunch of people we didn't really like, despite the dining room being nearly empty. The food was not bad, but I think I may have had better at Denny's.

Lunch each day was offered on the Lido deck in the Paris restaurant. The Paris restaurant lunch was wonderful. The outdoor grill had burgers and fries, but the inside restaurant had a myriad of choices. There was everything from sandwiches to pasta, fresh fruit and an ice cream sundae bar, as well as hot pizza from the 24-hour pizzeria.

Dinner was by far the best meal. Truly fine culinary cuisine, there were several choices, all of which were delicious. Each course was wonderful, including dessert. The chocolate melting cake was like nothing I have ever seen before.

As excited as I was to hear that there was 24-hour complimentary room service, we never had a chance to enjoy it. Every time we would think about ordering it, we were too full from the previous meal. I heard from several people that it was excellent. One guy we met had ordered one of everything on the dessert menu! It sounded like his dream come true.

The Nightlife

Each night there was a Vegas-style show, which we really enjoyed. We heard many people complaining that the show was lame, but my husband and I thought it was great. In addition to the show, there were shows in each of the bars, plenty of action in the casino, and dancing in the Rex nightclub. As much as I love dancing, we found the dance club to be too crowded and too dark. The music was mostly R&B, which is not really our style, so we didn't stick around. Incidentally, I believe it was more of a disco theme the next night, but we didn't go back to check it out.

Our favorite nightlife place was the Queen Mary lounge. This lounge has round yellow booths with low backs, much reminiscent of the seventies. We loved watching a singing karaoke in the early hours, followed by great comedy late night. The last night, they even tried something they hadn't tried before- improv, along with some of the ship's staff. It was by far our favorite activity.

Shopping

For some reason, I expected there to be a wide variety of shops aboard the ship. This wasn't the case. Unless you are interested in buying liquor or jewelry, you will probably not find yourself doing much shopping. The duty-free alcohol was a good deal, but you cannot enjoy it on board until the last night of the cruise.

What we loved

We loved the fact that there were tons of activities scheduled aboard the Carnival Paradise, but that there was enough freedom to do what we pleased. For us, what we pleased meant relaxing a lot. We spent hours in the spa, took long naps, and enjoyed lounging in the sun. At night, we really loved the comedy and the karaoke.

Formal night was wonderful. It was fun to get dressed up, and it was a great opportunity for photos. There are stations set up all around the ship for photos, and we took advantage of many of them. They do not charge you to pose, and there is no commitment to buy, so it was great to have a wide selection to choose from.

What we disliked

Although we enjoyed the dining room menu and service, we did not like being seated with other couples. To be fair, one of the couples we were seated with was good company. Unfortunately, there was also another couple at our table who were just volatile. It was an old retired man who never stopped talking and had an opinion about everything. He wanted to show off his wealth in as many ways as possible, and it was absolutely obnoxious. To make matters worse, his new Russian bride barely spoke English.

The price of drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, was also a bit frustrating, but I suppose that is to be expected on any cruise. We tried to remember to bring our cups with us, as a refill is cheaper, but this wasn't always convenient.

If we had it to do again, there are some things we might do differently...

First of all, we have realized why people often go on cruises with large groups. While it was a romantic vacation in some ways, you really are not alone all that much. Because you are seated with other people at meals, mingling with people in the spa, lounging near people on the pool deck, and riding with people on the tour bus into town, it would have been nice to have known some of those people. The nightlife is a total social party atmosphere, and we sort of wished we were there with a big group of our friends or family members.

In addition, I think we may have chosen a different destination to cruise to. Ensenada, Mexico, is just not that exciting. Although it is on the ocean, it is really just a harbor. It is not really a beach city, and there isn't really anywhere to go to the beach.

We chose this cruise because it sailed from our hometown of Los Angeles, so we didn't have to pay for airfare on top of the price of the cruise. In hindsight, there are some great deals on 3-4 day Carribean cruises. In fact, we may have been able to get a cheaper cruise. The difference probably could have paid for the airfare. Next time I go on a cruise, I want it to be able to go to the beach.