Having never cruised with Carnival, but having disparaged them because of their "Party Hearty" and advertising campaign featuring Kathy Lee Gifford I felt it only fair to give up all pre-conceived notions about Carnival Cruise Line and their newest ship the Carnival Triumph. This report is based on our 4 day cruise from NYC to Halifax, Nova Scotia on 9/12/99 to 9/16/99. This was our tenth cruise, other lines we have sailed include Holland America, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, Princess and Commodore. All our previous cruises were in the Caribbean.
New York City is an incredible place to cruise away from. No other port has the look of NYC which seems to rise right out of the water. It is simply thrilling to sail from this port. We arrived at the passenger ship terminal at approximately 11:30am. We quickly located a porter to take our luggage and proceeded up to passenger registration. This was accomplished quickly and efficiently and despite our being told that we would not be boarding until 1:00pm, we were onboard ship by 12:15pm. All check-ins should be so simple.
Exploring the ship:
The Triumph is a huge ship and navigating her decks can be quite a challenge. Decks 1 and 2 are passenger decks with standard outside cabins of approximately 235sqft and insides of 185sqft. Additional signs would be of great help to most as they are really needed to help one navigate. The crew has resorted to posting there own paper signs to help passengers out.
Entrance to the ship is gained on deck three by walking across the side promenade and entering the ship. Entrance is into the Capitol Atrium. which extends from deck 3 to deck 10. On other ships I have sailed when one enters the atrium for the first time the word usually used is wow. In this sense the Capital Atrium is a letdown as it is not as striking a space as is seen on some other ships. Done in a combination of black and silver gray marble floors with black metal ceilings and smoked glass balcony railings the atrium is very dark and is entirely disconnected from the sea. There is a large, flat, gold map of the world on the atrium ceiling that bends around and extends up into the upper atrium. To give the impression of the earth floating in space the surrounding walls are done in black with gold stars. There are four glass elevators serving the atrium and these are lit with white lights and violet neon. Also outlining the stairs, balconies and floors are miniature lights and some more violet neon. The whole space reminds one of a Las Vegas or Atlantic City casino. This feeling extends to other areas of the ship as well.
Accessible from deck three of the atrium are the lower level of the two story London Dining Room, the Information Desk and Shore Excursion/Video Desk. Located in the center of the atrium is the Capital Bar, which is a central meeting spot and a nice place to people watch. Live music is played here as well. Forward of the atrium is the lower level of the Rome Lounge. This is the main show lounge and is a truly spectacular showplace. Equipped with the latest in high technology including lasers, the room is three decks high. The lowest level is not sloped and this means those in the rear will be dodging heads to get a good view. The balconies are steeply sloped and except for having to look around some railings great views can be had from the balconies. The stage has sections that rotate and elevate. The shows make full use of all the available technology and they are the best I have seen at sea.
All the way aft on deck three is the London Dining Room. This is the larger of the two dining rooms and is flanked on three sides by windows affording great sea views, at least for those luck enough to be seated near them. The center of the Paris dining room is large and is also very noisy. Situated between the two dining rooms is the Galley.
Going up to deck four the Atrium is flanked by the photo galleries on both sides. Photos taken during the cruise are displayed here and they sell for $8.00 for a 6"x9" and 8"x10" portraits sell for $19.95. Going forward of the galleries is the second level balcony of the Rome lounge, heading aft is the upper level of the London Dining Room. Tucked to either side of the dining room entrance are the Washington Library and the Photo shop. Aft of the dining room are the Oxford Bar, a very nice room for easy listening and dancing. Unfortunately, the Oxford Bar is located directly underneath the disco, which destroys the room's ambiance once the disco gets cranked up. During the afternoon tea is served here accompanied by chamber music and small pastries are served. Located on the port side just forward of the Oxford Bar is the Cardroom. Located all the way aft on deck four is the upper entrance to the Paris Dining Room.
Deck five is the main entertainment deck on the ship. Located forward is the upper balcony entrance to the Rome Lounge. Heading aft and located on either side of the atrium are the Triumph shops which offer a selection of logo items, liquors, clothing, jewelry and souvenirs. On the port side aft of the shop is the Olympic Sports Bar and on the opposite side is a small shop called Formalities which handles tuxedo rentals. Running along the starboard side all the way from the atrium to the Club Rio lounge at the stern is a promenade called World's Way. This promenade connects all the public rooms on Deck 5. These rooms include the Club Monaco Casino, World's Bar, Vienna Cafe, Underground Tokyo video arcade, Hollywood Dance Club disco, The California wine Bar, The Big Easy Piano Bar and Venezia. Whew! The Vienna Cafe offers specialty coffees, liquors, pastries and cakes for an extra charge. The cakes and pastries cost $2.00 and the coffees $3.00 and up. The Hollywood Dance Club is lined with 500 television monitors which can create amazing visual effects. Women be aware that the dance floor of the disco is clear which allows for some interesting views from the Oxford Bar dance floor located directly below!! The Big Easy Piano Bar has walls and ceiling lined with oyster shells inset into a blue colored plaster like material. Certainly the most unique wall or ceiling finish I have ever seen. Located in the middle of the room is a grand piano with circular seating around it. The tables in the room are provided with microphones for sing-alongs. The Vennezia is a room decorated to evoke Venice. The room is used for jazz music. Regrettably prior to dinner the room is used for karaoke which eliminates this room as a venue for a quiet drink with fine music prior to dinner. In fact it is darn near impossible to find a quiet spot anywhere on this ship. At the stern is Club Rio which is the second show lounge for cabaret type acts. The Captains welcome aboard cocktail party is also held here.
Decks 6, 7 and 8 are devoted to cabins. The outside cabins have a small verandah of 45 square feet and an interior area of 180sqft. The insides are of standard size.
Deck 9 forward is devoted to cabins with verandahs and inside cabins. Heading aft we find the lowest level of the outdoor lido area. This contains the Continental Pool, stage, and sunning areas. Further aft is the Lido dining area called The South Beach Club. This has dual buffet lines with a centrally located dessert island. On the Port side is located the Pasta D'Italia and Starboard is the Hong Kong Noodle Company. All the way aft on deck nine is the New World Pool and lido area. This area is covered by a moveable magrodome roof, allowing use in all type of weather. Next to the pool are two whirlpools. Also located in this area is a bar, pizzeria, hamburger grill and a self serve soft ice cream dispenser.
Deck 10 forward has more verandah outside and inside cabins. This is also the upper terminus for the Capitol Atrium. Going Aft outside there are terraced sunning areas and the second lido pool called Universe. Adjacent to this pool is a large whirlpool and the trough which is at the end of the water slide. Heading aft on either side and all the way to the stern is a large deck devoted to sunning. Near the stern is the upper dining level of the South Beach Club.
Deck 11 contains the Health Spa and gymnasium along with outside cabins. Aft and fully encircling the huge winged funnel is a the jogging track.
Lastly Deck 12 contains the aerobics room, juice bar and the children's room with a children's deck with wading pool located on the port side. Not shown on the deck plans is the Funnel Deck. This deck is at deck 12 level and is at the base of the funnel. The railings are screened off by canvas. This area is a topless sunbathing area. Signs state that it is for adults only, no still or video cameras are allowed.
ENTERTAINMENT
The entertainment offered on this ship is outstanding. There are two main production shows "Around The World" and "Century Cafe". "Around The World" takes you on a musical tour across the globe. The special effects are wonderful and all one can say is WOW!. The standing ovation given by the appreciative audience was well deserved. This is the best show I have ever seen at sea. "Century Cafe" takes a look at music through the last 100 years, starting in the Victorian era and ending in the 90's all done on the premises of a cafe which serves as the connecting piece throughout. While not quite as spectacular as the other show, it is none the less entertaining and offers an elaborate laser light show to boot. Comedians, a jazz ensemble, a three piece chamber music group, and several individual entertainers all combine to provide a myriad of enjoyable entertainment options. However the layout of the ship works against some entertainment venues. For example the Disco is so loud that the it intrudes on the piano bar and the Oxford Bar. There is a piano player next to the casino who is quite talented but the din of the casino right across the promenade is a constant intrusion. Other entertainment includes bingo, horse racing, dance classes, cards and a wide variety of other daily activities.
The Cruise Director on our cruise was John Heald. He is truly talented person, just the right blend of silliness and knowledge, he has a gift for poking fun at everyone and everything and even if you are the recipient of his barbs you cannot help but laugh. His talks and lectures should not be missed as they are almost worth the price of admission, (OOPS, I forgot, no charge!). Especially nice was the he was at the gangway when we departed to wish all a safe journey home. Well done, John!.
DINING
The food on this ship is perhaps it's weakest link. While reported to be significantly improved from that offered previously by Carnival it was found to be nothing memorable. On most ships the menu's are beautifully printed and present the evenings offering in a way that makes them understandable and appealing. On this ship the menus were very small, never varied in color, form or layout and were somewhat indicative of the dining experience to follow. Appetizers were lumped together with soups making it harder than it should be to figure out what one wants for dinner. The appetizers and soups were pedestrian. The main courses concentrated on beef and fish, with a lamb and pork offering on two nights. Warm water lobster was offered on one night. Beef dishes included chateaubriand and prime rib (twice) and steak. Veal was never offered. All dishes were served warm and the meats were tender and of good quality. Most dishes were in the small nouvelle cuisine size portions so popular today. What the menu lacked was any sense of a dining adventure. Rolls and breads were poor in quality and selection and they were nearly tasteless. Also the choice of breads never varied from night to night. Desserts were a real letdown. On one night Baked Alaska is served. No other desserts are offered unless one specifically asks. Similarly Cherries Jubilee was offered and no other dessert found it's way to our table. I do not eat cherries so I ordered the Jubilee without the cherries, giving me a dish of vanilla ice cream. On one night a request for after dinner cheese was made, but never delivered. A souffle of some sort with a mysterious white sauce was offered another night. We did not order this. Our waiter said the chef had made our desert selection for us!.
The lido dining experience offers self serve buffet items with a selection of cold cuts, hot dishes, salads and a carving station with turkey, beef or fresh ham. There is plenty of space on two levels in which to partake lunch. The buffet area reminded one of nothing so much as an all-you-can eat buffet at a casino hotel. Nothing very special, but unlimited quantities. Oriental food items are available from the Oriental Noodle Company. This offers a limited menu of Chinese and oriental dishes. Pasta D'Italia offers just that, Italian pasta dishes.
Our favorite lunch time dining area was the Coney Island Grill offering hamburgers, hot dogs, steak sandwiches and grilled chicken breasts along with all the fixings. In the mornings fresh made omelet's are made here. On the other side is the Pizzeria Napoli. This is a real pizzeria offering a variety of fresh baked pizzas and calzones. The pizzeria is open 24 hours a day!. The pizza is very good and well worth a visit. Also located here is a soft serve ice cream machine where one could make ice cream cones anytime they wanted but no toppings were available. A similar set-up is located by the front lido area.
While maybe not the best dining experience at sea, I doubt if anyone will go hungry on the Triumph.
SERVICE
Our dining room waiter was from Poland and his bus-girl assistant was from Chile. Both provided good service but did suffer some minor lapses. Iced tea was not refilled on a few occasions and bread refills were lacking. But overall they were competent and tried hard to please. We had a continental style breakfast in our cabin on our two days at sea and it was delivered exactly at the time we requested. Some bars seemed understaffed and on a few occasions we had to wait over five minutes for a bartender to take our order. This seemed especially true at the Capitol Bar. Deck drink service was good and not pushy, which was appreciated. A 15% gratuity is added to all bar bills. One place where service did shine was at the Captain's welcome aboard cocktail party. Hot appetizers along with champagne, whiskey sours and screwdrivers were constantly available, quite a change from other cruises where you were lucky to see the waiter once or twice.
DECOR
The Triumph is reported to be much more subdued in decor compared to other Carnival ships. Based on pictures I have seen of other Carnival ships I would say that this is absolutely true. Carnival's interior designer, Joe Farcus, has made a deliberate attempt to tone down his somewhat amazing, bold and sometimes strange interior designs. What he has done with the Triumph interior is to create an interior decor that offers little of the neon, glitz and glitter of his other ship designs without offering the ambiance or refinement of other cruise ships. Mr. Farcus seems to absolutely hate an unadorned or undecorated wall surface. Every possible surface has a design of some kind or another. Something some designers like to call "surface excitement". Perhaps the oddest, at least for me, was The Big Easy Bar. This room is covered on the upper half of the walls and all of the ceiling with oyster shells set into a deep blue colored material. What oysters have to do with the "Big Easy" I don't know.
While this penchant for covering every surface with something is not a problem in some areas, it is bothersome in others. Especially bothersome is the rear lido area, including the South Beach Cafe, where wall decorations of different colored glass create a pattern that resembles a giant eyeball. These are lined up all around the room and lido area perimeter. The image is not unlike that of the CBS eye, but in color. It gives one the uneasy feeling that "Big Brother" is watching you!. I also found some floor covering color patterns a bit jarring. The show lounges, the Oxford Bar, the library and Venenzia lounge are all nicely decorated. Overall, the feeling one has is that of a themed casino hotel. In and of itself this might have been OK but the layout and decor has served to disconnect passengers from the sea. The interior is very dark in the atrium.
PORTS OF CALL
Being a four day cruise we had just one stop, Halifax, Nova Scotia. This is an historic old sea port and has some sites of interest. Most of the shore excursions revolve around a visit to Peggy's Cove. This is a rocky and boulder strewn location situated around a very small cove. A white and red lighthouse sits at the highest point overlooking the Atlantic. The site offers great opportunities for photographs. However shopping is extremely limited with only two small shops.
On our day at Peggy's Cove the weather was perfect offering unlimited vistas. This is the exception rather than the rule. Our guide said that a day like ours happens only once in a hundred. whether this is true or not we were told that the prior few cruises had poor weather for their visits. One problem is that the place tends to get overrun with visitors. You get only about 1 hour or so at the cove and better than an hour ride to and from it. If were visiting Halifax again I would skip this trip and concentrate on the sites in and around Halifax as you would make better use of the limited time you are there. We didn't do much shopping so I can't really comment on what is available in Halifax. We did buy a few things at the pier-side vendor area, and given the favorable exchange rate, prices were very reasonable.
ODDS & ENDS
The Triumph rides like all modern cruise ships. She is sensitive to wind and sea conditions and will list when she makes a turn. On our cruise we had very calm seas and the ship developed a very easy and slow motion that was barely perceptible most of the time. One could almost forget that they were at sea when inside the ship. However, on our return to NYC the ship did take on a noticeable list to starboard. This list lasted for about 10 minutes or so. Others noticed it as well, but I doubt if it exceeded 5 to 7 degrees. I have no idea what may have caused it. I also have no idea why Carnival provides nothing but a bar of soap in the bathroom (bring your own toiletries!).
The ship was spotless, as befits a new ship. The crew is doing a good job so far of keeping the ship in top condition. The swimming pools are filled with sea water on a daily basis, but the sea water temperature was in the high 60's and not really conducive to taking a dip. The hot tubs were all in operation and they were surprisingly un-crowded all of the time. The water slide was great fun and although the water was equally as cold as the pools it was barely noticed given the excitement of going down the slide. Watch out for that last turn, it comes quickly and you are discharged into a long trough, and you barely have time to catch your breath before you are in the trough. Regrettably, the slide is only open for limited hours during the day and I would imagine that on a Caribbean cruise the slide would be very crowded whenever it is open. There are rinse off showers next to the pools but these were cold water showers. Warn water would be much better.
Purchasing of shore excursion tickets needs to be rethought. I was told that it will be changed. But we had to endure a nearly 30 minute line in order to purchase tickets. Had we been alone we would have toured on our own, but we were with a small group and some felt uncomfortable doing this.
SUMMING UP
I must admit that some of my preconceived notions about Carnival were wrong. The entertainment and service was better than I thought it would be. My fellow passengers seemed to be fun loving but far from the "Party Hearty" crowd I thought they would be. Perhaps this is due to the time of the year we cruised. I for one did not really care for most of the interior decor, the feeling of being disconnected from the sea or the sheer size of the ship.
I think the Triumph will be far better suited to the warm weather of the Caribbean as this is the area she was designed for. Our small group which included three first time cruisers left with mixed emotions. We had a great deal of fun during the cruise which was our main objective. Given the highly discounted price we paid for this cruise we received great value for our dollar. But we all came away with the feeling that four days on this ship was enough and in the future we would look elsewhere for our next cruise.
