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Carnival Cruise Lines
Carnival Triumph Cruise Review
Eastern Caribbean

Jamie Chubb
Age: 30
Occupation:  Clinician
Number of Cruises: 7
Sailing: September 22nd, 2007

My girlfriends and I booked this as I was turning 30 and we all needed a vacation.  We were given an upgrade which was positive considering there were 4 of us staying in the room.  We arrived at 2:00pm which was a great time as most people were aboard already and our room was ready.

We hit the ports of call above and our days at sea were on Monday and Friday.  Scheduled excursions for PR (national rain forest) and Turks (riding horses along and in the ocean - excellent).  Recommend excursions at these two places because there is not much else to do otherwise.  Been to St. Thomas before, everything is easy to get to via taxi- went to Meghan's Bay, and did some shopping downtown.  There is a great local dive bar which was full of locals and had yummy food.  Finished up the day at Paradise Point for the view and a Bushwhacker to cool off.  We were also impressed with Half Moon Cay.  Felt very 'resort like' and as it was owned by Carnival, and they catered lunch ashore.

Housekeeping was excellent as usual.  In the shower they had canisters which contained shampoo and soap.  The food was good - I loved the Chocolate Lava cake for dessert.  Outside of the dining times, the other food was fair.  Sushi was available from 5-8:00pm in the evenings.  And the typical 24 hour pizza and ice cream was good when you're hungry late night.

Each person is able to bring a bottle of wine or champagne onboard and we smuggled in hard liquor in scope containers.  Corkage fees were $15 (!) at dinner so pack an opener.

The staff were exceptionally friendly overall.  Brad was a great cruise director.  The evening shows were excellent.  Bingo was fun and we won.  We did a ladies spa day on a day at sea on Monday which was relaxing.  Since we have cruised on Carnival before they had a returning guests party one evening which had apps and free drinks which was nice.

Pre and post cruise: It's an experience to stay in downtown Miami if you've never been there.  I'd recommend the hotels there, as  they are cute boutique places and moderately priced ($100-$150 night).  They have a shuttle to and from the airport as well.  To save $$ there are great restaurants along Ocean drive..  They compete with one another and there are "happy hours".

Overall it was a great experience and I'm ready to plan my next vacation!!