Hello all,
Question. Taking the Paradise out of Long Beach in Oct. Have not been on this ship, any input.. I am a repeat Carnival,,,did the Valor last Sept out of Fla. Thank you,
Wipala
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Carnival Paradise Oct. 2009 Carnival Valor Sept. 2008 Norweigen Star Oct 2007
Monarach of the Sea Jan 2005
Enchanted Isle Sept 1997
Well, the Paradise was our first cruise, so I will always have a special place for her in my heart.
That being said... I was very excited to book my next cruise on a newer ship (Pride).
I just like the thought of checking my s&s balance on the tv from my room which we couldn't do on the Paradise....
Also, the ship seemed a bit confusing as far as getting around. If seemed like nothing went through, you had to either go up and over, or down and over etc.
Now, that could have been because it was our time on a ship but the last two were much easier.
Would I sail on her again? You bettcha!!
Maybe not for a cruise longer than 4 days, but for the shorter cruises... definately.
By the way, we stayed in a cat 11, it was very roomy & nice.
Excuse me while I butt in,,,,I live in LA but if I were going to spend a night before getting on a cruise ship I would stay on the Queen Mary (if money is irrelevant). NOw I have never stayed there (toured a few times) but if you do reserach and find out it still rates high (like from AAA or tripadvisor) I'd do it. You'll see your ship when it is docked and you may be able to walk to the Paradise.
I'll be on the Paradise in March,,my first CCL cruise,,,I'd like to see your "report" when you get back!
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HAL Volendam 2004
HAL Maasdam 2006
HAL Zuiderdam 2007
HAL Eurodam 2008
CCL Paradise upcoming 2010
Excuse me while I butt in,,,,I live in LA but if I were going to spend a night before getting on a cruise ship I would stay on the Queen Mary (if money is irrelevant). NOw I have never stayed there (toured a few times) but if you do reserach and find out it still rates high (like from AAA or tripadvisor) I'd do it. You'll see your ship when it is docked and you may be able to walk to the Paradise.
I'll be on the Paradise in March,,my first CCL cruise,,,I'd like to see your "report" when you get back!
It's okay butt in anytime... actually, I've never stay in long beach, we always stay at one of timeshares nearby then drive in early on sunday morning....
I don't see why you would not be able to walk from the queen mary, that's where they do early check in. You may even be able to check in and go back to your room for a bit until they start boarding....
Excuse me while I butt in,,,,I live in LA but if I were going to spend a night before getting on a cruise ship I would stay on the Queen Mary (if money is irrelevant). NOw I have never stayed there (toured a few times) but if you do reserach and find out it still rates high (like from AAA or tripadvisor) I'd do it. You'll see your ship when it is docked and you may be able to walk to the Paradise.
I'll be on the Paradise in March,,my first CCL cruise,,,I'd like to see your "report" when you get back!
I will post about our trip when we get back. I am sure we will have a good time..have been on this itenery with RC a few years back and really enjoyed...
__________________
Carnival Paradise Oct. 2009 Carnival Valor Sept. 2008 Norweigen Star Oct 2007
Monarach of the Sea Jan 2005
Enchanted Isle Sept 1997
Excuse me while I butt in,,,,I live in LA but if I were going to spend a night before getting on a cruise ship I would stay on the Queen Mary (if money is irrelevant). NOw I have never stayed there (toured a few times) but if you do reserach and find out it still rates high (like from AAA or tripadvisor) I'd do it. You'll see your ship when it is docked and you may be able to walk to the Paradise.
I'll be on the Paradise in March,,my first CCL cruise,,,I'd like to see your "report" when you get back!
I will post about our trip when we get back. I am sure we will have a good time..have been on this itenery with RC a few years back and really enjoyed...
Ford_Racing_Ron, here is our review of the Paradise..First the ship is very easy to get around to different spots, make sure you pick up a map once you are inside the ship at embarkation, they will be handing them out. The embarkation process was the smoothest we have be involoved in, they got us thru the check-in and security very quickly. This was a nice surprise, also the dembarkation was just as smooth! Our room was on the Vereanda deck ( deck 11 ) interior, if you have an interior room try to get on this floor, only 42 rooms and NO noise. We 'choose your time' for dinner,,,it is anytime from 5:45 to 9:30, just walk in! The food was good and the buffet on Lido deck, deck 10, was open almost all the time..there is a pizza stand at the rear of the buffet, ( Paris Rest) that is open 24 hours. Good choices of food. There is a coffe stand on the 9th deck near the smoke free casino, yes smoke free!! and they make coffee blends for a very good price. If you are into dancing or just enjoy listening there is a good disco on board, the Rex Lounge, also smoke free, and the DJ plays from 8 or so into the wee hours of the night..there are several lounges on board, the US Bar is another good spot, this is a smoking lounge and they have live music in the evening. The Paradise has a nice Gym and Spa with Saunas for men and women. There is a minuature golf course on the 12th deck, a basketball court on board as well. The room attendants were awesome, ours was Pithoma from Thailand and she is just a sweetheart. The eveing shows were good and the guest comediens were good. Our expierence was very good and we had a wonderful time. The ships speed is slow so not much movement to be felt..As for Long Beach, we stayed at the Qualily Inn of Long Beach on the Pacific Coast Highway which at this point is just a very busy street and the rooms were very clean and they had nice breakfast bar set up in the morning. Also the hotel offers a park and ride for a very nomial fee. The van ride was free to and from the pier and they charged $5 to park at the hotel. At the pier they have parking next to the terminal for $15 a day...as for the ports I leave this to your pleaseure, we had been to the ports before so we just walked around and had a cold drink...Have a great crusie..
Wipala
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Carnival Paradise Oct. 2009 Carnival Valor Sept. 2008 Norweigen Star Oct 2007
Monarach of the Sea Jan 2005
Enchanted Isle Sept 1997
Wipala,,,,thanks for the review. I have seen a few others that have been posted as recently as Sept. and I would say 1 in 10 are critical but the norm are just about like yours, this sounds like fun and I wish it weren't so far away.
I am toorn over the shore exursions too. I have been to Catalina and Ensenada enough too so I may just hole up on the ship the entire time !
Thanks...
__________________
HAL Volendam 2004
HAL Maasdam 2006
HAL Zuiderdam 2007
HAL Eurodam 2008
CCL Paradise upcoming 2010
Just returned from the Paradise. If you stay on the QueenMary you can actually check in at the hotel and avoid long lines. The Hilton was very nice and I understand offer a Carnival rate. Look at Cruise Critic site under West Coast departures. Lots on hotels there. I thought Long Beach offered many nice dinning options and many hotels. I would not hesitate to stay in that nice city.
The Paradise was great for a four day get a way but I wouldn't want to spend 7 days. It really needs refurbishing. Food was ok, service great. Not good choices on the menu but I still managed to gain 3 lbs. Our waiter said four day cruises don't have the same food options as a 7 day cruise.
The girls loved the camp carnival and we couldn't keep them out of the pool. What a fun water slide. It was a nice get away.
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