This was our 37th cruise overall and our second cruise with Carnival. Being that I was in desperate need of a vacation, we booked this cruise at the last minute, and reserved a category 6A guarantee. This was the first time I had ever booked under guarantee, and I must admit I was a little leary of not knowing my exact cabin until pierside check-in. I was expecting the worst, and what I got was a major surprise.....(more on that later)

We arrived at the Port of Miami at approximately 11:30am with our luggage trailing behind us. As we did not have our documents or cabin assignment it wasn't possible to check the bags curbside until after we checked in. Upon entering the terminal building we were directed to a check in desk marked "Pierside Document Pick-Up". At that point we were given our documents, including the famous Paradise No Smoking disclaimer to sign. I noticed on our tickets that the cabin number and dining was not assigned and was told that we would find this information on our Sign and Sail Cards. I was a little nervous at this point to say the least. Upon completing our documents we passed through security (still with luggage in tow) and were queued up in the line for check in. The line was a bit long, but moved very quickly. We were at the counter in a matter of minutes, where I again inquired about dining and cabin assignments. I was given the same information as before, and was told that all of the information would be printed on our Sign and Sail Cards which we were to claim on the upper level of the terminal. Now I'm VERY nervous!! We checked in upstairs and claimed our Sign and Sail Cards which also double as your cabin key. I immediately checked to see what cabin we had and boy was I shocked!! We had been upgraded from a Cat. 6A (outside cabin) to a Cat. 12 SUITE!!! Category 12 is the highest category available on this ship and was very roomy. It's also important to note that our dining was confirmed for Second seating as requested.

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THE CABIN:
Category 12 Suite with Verandah. This cabin was approximately the size of a standard hotel room. It contained 2 almost queen size beds that can be pushed together to form a king. Large sectional sofa, coffee table, 2 chairs with cocktail table, bar, refrigerator, large vanity, walk in closet, 27" TV, mini-safe, and large bathroom with jaccuzzi tub and shower. The bathroom was very spacious and had ample storage space. The balcony was large enough for a full size lounge chair and 2 regular chairs, but did not contain any type of table.

THE SHIP:
Upon unpacking we went to the Paris Restaurant (Casual Lido Buffet) for lunch. The buffet featured a variety of hot and cold foods as well as a huge salad bar, pasta station and the always available 24 hour Pizza Station which also served Calzones and Ceasar Salad. After lunch we explored the ship which was immaculate. The crew did a great job in keeping the ship spotless both inside and out. The atruim is less glitzy than other Carnival ships, and in the center of the atruim on lower level is a nice bar that had a large screen TV for sporting events and at other times a Trio played music which could be heard on the various levels of the atrium. Most of the colors throughout the ship were earth tones, and somewhat drab. One would think this to be an easy ship to navigate...not so. There were stairwell that went to "nowhere", especially the one at the rear of the ship that went from the Rotterdam Bar to the Dining Room and then you were at a "dead end". The atruim elevators only traversed the 4 or 5 decks of the atrium and were the only means of getting from one level of the atrium to another unless you used the main stairwells. I found it odd to design a ship with an atrium but not provide stairs to connect each level.

Most of the bars and entertainment areas are located off Carnival Blvd, and each contained a different form of entertainment each night. The Majestic Casino was about the most glitzy part of the ship (and rightfully so) but never had much activity. I found the slot machines to be quite generous at times, although this was pure luck. One thing I noticed on this ship is the virtual lack of people out at night. The ship was a near ghost town past 11pm. From talking to the crew, it seems that the non-smoking aspect of this ship draws a more sedate crowd, and this particular cruise seemed more like a Holland America cruise than a Carnival Fun Ship.

ENTERTAINMENT:
The entertainment on this particular sailing was the weakest point of the entire cruise. The Vegas style production shows were not very good, nor were the "celebrity" entertainers which only consisted of 2 comedians which were not funny at all. The poolside calypso band was very good, and were probably the most talented of the entire entertainment staff. A word of warning for anyone interested in watching the entertainment in the Normandie Lounge... Get there EARLY as there are only about 10 seats in the entire showroom that don't have an obstructed view and they are all in the first row. This was perhaps the worst designed show lounge I've ever seen in that there were columns obstructing the view of the stage from almost every seat in the place.

FOOD:
We were pleasantly surprised with the food onboard. Breakfasts were spent in the Casual Paris Restaurant, where they had the usual buffet items, as well as a made to order egg/omlet station. The lines moved rather quickly and it seemed that most passengers opted for breakfast in this fashion. In addition there was also a large fruit bar, and coffee, tea, lemonade and fruit punch were available 24 hrs a day along with self serve ice cream. We ate 2 lunches in the main dining room and were pleased with the selection and quality of the food. The remaining lunches were taken in the Lido area and each day there was a varied buffet of hot and cold items as well as the ever present hamburger/hot dog grill and of course the pizza station. One point to mention here is there are NO trays in the Lido restaurant. You will definately get plenty of exercise walking back and forth from the buffet to the table and back to the buffet, then back to the table etc. We were assigned a table for 6 in the Elation Dining Room, and during our second seating dinner, we never encountered a bad meal all week. The selection was varied and the service was good. The tables were a bit closer together than on other ships and it did cause a bit of trouble for the waiters to manuver around at times, but this was easily overlooked.

PORTS:
Since this was mainly a relaxation getaway and we had been to these same ports several times in the past, we didn't spend too much time ashore. In Nassau, we went to the Atlantis Hotel for the day and enjoyed their facilities for the daily rate of $50.00. In San Juan we stayed onboard the ship as this is our least favorite island. St. Thomas found us making a few purchases at the Havensight Mall and then we spend the balance of the day onboard Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas which was docked behind us. We were able to get onboard thanks to some friends of ours who are working onboard. We spent a nice day visiting with them and had a nice lunch onboard the Enchantment before we returned to the Paradise.

SUMMARY:
All in all it was a very nice, relaxing week onboard the Paradise. Would I sail her again? Yes, but I still prefer Royal Caribbean for both the beauty of their ships and the excellent service provided by their crew. While the crew onboard the Paradise were nice, they only did what was required and never went out of their way to be friendly etc. The food and service were good, not overly exciting. The ship was spotless, the weather was beautiful and we were combining this with a back to back sailing on the Norwegian Sky when we got back to Miami so life was good.