Roger & Judy Best

Age: 40+
Occupation: Business Consultant/HR Director
Number of Cruises: 3
Cruise Line: Carnival
Ship: Paradise
Sailing Date: September 1st, 2002
Itinerary: 7-Day Eastern Caribbean

CARNIVAL PARADISE, sailing 9/1/02 for 7 nights to the Eastern Caribbean, visiting Nassau, San Juan, and St. Thomas. This was our third cruise, second on Carnival. Cruise Director was Josh Riffe. It was just the two of us, 40+ business professionals, cruising for our 23rd anniversary. We like good food, good service, dancing, karaoke, and cruising!

AREAS WE DIDN’T USE, SO NO REPORT: We took no cruise shore excursions, did them all on our own. We didn’t use the spa, gym, or the casino. Since we had late seating meals, we did not visit any of the late-night buffets. No kids along, so no Camp Carnival!

PRE-CRUISE: We left Little Rock, AR, on Saturday morning, flying on American Airlines using Frequent Flier miles. Flight times had been changed, we had not been notified, but we made it anyway. When we arrived in Miami, the Jetway was not working, so we were delayed briefly waiting for airport maintenance to arrive to get the Jetway repaired and us off the plane.

We caught a taxi at the airport, asking the driver to take us to the Sheraton Biscayne Bay. He repeated it, and we headed out. When he got to the first fork in the road, he asked us which way to go. Omen! Sure enough, he stopped six times asking total strangers for directions, including one person who said he didn’t speak English. (He finally confessed that he had been in the city for less than one week!) We drove around for almost 45 minutes. We asked him to call in to his office for directions, but he wouldn’t. We finally got out our cell phone to call the hotel for directions. When he heard us doing that, he picked up his cell phone to call his office. He got directions, we got the same directions, and we then arrived is less than 5 minutes.

My husband was getting us checked into the Sheraton Biscayne Bay, while I protected the luggage. I heard someone call my name from behind – who do I know in Miami? It was Denise and JoAnn, who I had connected with via the Internet and cruise BB. We had exchanged pictures, and they had recognized us. We said quick hellos and made arrangements to meet the next morning for breakfast in the hotel.

We had a lovely room on the 9th floor at the Sheraton. We had called a few weeks ago, after reading a note on a cruise BB about doing so, requesting a room overlooking the pier. They had warned me at that time that the current room reserved for us overlooked the city, but they would try. Unfortunately, they did not pull it off, but it was still a very nice room.

We had a couple of drinks in the hotel bar, then grabbed a taxi to the Bayside Marketplace -- $3.00 each way. We had dinner at Bubba Gump’s Shrimp Company. We both had a great drink called Lava Flow and an excellent appetizer called Bubba’s Far Out Dip. My husband had Shrimper’s Net Catch, and I had Bucket of Boat Trash, both very good. We chose to dine on the patio, and a small boy slipped up from the outside asking for a few of our chips. We gave them to him, so then he hit us up for money, which we refused. It was an experience, but next time we’ll probably look for something a little more upscale.

Then we went for a stroll around the Bayside Marketplace. Lots happening, good entertainment, lots of places to snap pictures, and great places to eat. Beware the kiosks. Attractive young people approach you to demonstrate and sell their wares. A young lady shined one of my fingernails to demonstrate her nail shining product, and a young man cleaned my husband’s glasses and rings. Both products were supposed to last for a couple of weeks. So while the demonstrations are impressive, everything was normal the next morning – save your money!

Also watch your wallet and purses. Police were visible all over, but an adolescent made a reach for my husband’s wallet. Mistake, because he’s constantly aware of such movements, preventing a pre-vacation catastrophe. The kid was able to slip away though before we could point him out to the police. We eventually caught a taxi back to the hotel.

EMBARKATION: The next morning, we headed to the lobby a little early for the Carnival Pre-Cruise check-in scheduled for 9 to 10:30 a.m. Both Carnival and Norwegian had tables set up for early check-ins, but Norwegian also had chairs for their guests – a nice touch! Denise and JoAnn were the only ones ahead of us, so the two Carnival agents checked us in simultaneously. Our agent smiled, showing us a nice upgrade. We had already discovered the upgrade several weeks early using the Kelly Method. We had booked Cat 6A Ocean view and had been upgraded to a Cat 11 with obstructed balcony. She advised us that we would be able to use the Skipper’s Club to wait in the Captain’s Lounge since we’d been upgraded to a Cat 11, and suggested we arrive at the port about 11 a.m. to avoid the rush. She said to keep the boarding pass she had given us in our hand, wave it every time we went by a Carnival employee, and keep asking for the Skipper’s Club.

That completed, we all moved over to the lobby Grill for breakfast. Breakfast buffet for $12.50 per person, or order from the menu for about the same, so we all ordered the buffet. We watched the line for pre-cruise check-in grow as we ate our breakfast. We parted ways and checked out about 10:45 a.m.

We caught a taxi in front of the hotel. This taxi driver was great! Their was lots of traffic at the pier that time of day, because guests were still leaving the ship while others, like us were arriving. Our taxi driver cut-in and out and honked with the best of them. While others might hate this scene, we found it part of the embarkation excitement. With tightened security, we had to show our boarding pass and our proof of citizenship before they would even allow our taxi to enter the pier boarding area.

We unloaded our luggage right in front of the luggage bins marked Paradise. (There were two Carnival ships sailing this day, so it’s important to make sure your luggage is sent to the right ship!) The pier employees assisted us, and they were so busy, we had to force the tip on them.

When we moved into the terminal, we found that better than a hundred guests had arrived even earlier than we had. We waved our boarding pass, just as the agent had instructed, and the gate agent said that when the line starts moving to go through the x-ray machine, then bypass the lines and go straight through to the Skipper’s Club. Although the boarding pass said boarding would start at 1:30, the line opened by 11:30 a.m. We did what the gate agent had said and ended up the second guest party in line at an escalator. We waited at the start of that growing line for about 30 minutes, and then took the escalator to a large waiting area in the terminal.

We picked up our cabin keys, and it quickly struck us that we had totally missed the Skipper’s Club somewhere. No problem though, because everything was moving smoothly and quickly anyway. On the opposite end of the waiting area, we could still see departing guests exiting. A Carnival representation was trying to keep the embarking passengers out of the far part of the lounge to keep the embarking and departing guests well separated. But, people kept trying to enter that part of the lounge to wait, because that was where the action was and appeared to be the quickest way aboard the ship. In reality, the people seated in that area were the last out of the lounge, so trust the rep when they steer you away from an area!

While we were waiting in this area, again we heard our names called, and again had that feeling of “who knows me here”. This time it was honeymooners, Mark and Joelle, who we had also met via the Internet on the cruise BB. It was a pleasure passing time getting to know them before boarding.

We boarded by 12:00 Noon, stopping briefly to get our picture snapped with our “sail and sign” card and then again to get our first of many ship photograph taken while boarding. We quickly found our way to our Verandah suite 42. We liked the extra space and amenities in the room, including two closets, extra large desk, TV/VCR, refrigerator, and cabinet with glassware… and most important, a queen-size bed. The balcony was very small, holding only two plastic chairs and a small table, with very little room to move about. But, it didn’t appear to be obstructed, while we could see a walking platform outside our balcony. (Surprise, surprise … by the time we sailed, they had arrived with an orange 6-person boat that hung outside our room – the obstruction. We could still enjoy a nice view and enjoy the balcony even with the boat!)

We had noted when getting our cabin keys that our dinner seating was early, when we had requested late. So, we immediately headed to the Card Room where these changes were being made. We were the only guests there, so they made the change immediately.

We then moved on to the Paris Restaurant on the Lido Deck for a lunch of pizza. Very few guests were there when we first arrived, but many were filling the tables by the time we left about an hour later. We ordered beers at the Paris bar, but we were told that our “sign and sail” cards listed us as minors. At over 40, we were clearly not minors, so they served us, but this required a visit to the information desk to fix this very important problem. So, that was our next stop.

We had time to tour the ship, join the Nassau Travel Talk at 2:30 (got a free t-shirt), and check out the dinner menu before the muster drill. The muster drill was fairly painless and required. This time, however, they not only lined us all up, but they also walked you from your muster meeting area to where you would actually board the lifeboats, which took a little longer. We dumped our life jackets back into the cabin and headed for the Sailaway Party on the Lido deck.

SAILAWAY: We found our usual spot on the top deck overlooking the pier, where we start relaxing watching the terminal get smaller and the ocean get larger, with a couple of frozen drinks in hand. We met Steve and Connie there, who were on their 11th cruise and enjoy this same ritual, and they became our best friends on the cruise, meeting us often in various locations! The photographer found us again to snap our picture, followed soon after by the Video Diary videographer.

We then headed for a Free Liquor Tasting in the Gift Shop Lobby. We tasted samples of the exotic flavors of Cruzan Rum – banana, orange, pineapple, coconut, and VANILLA (so wonderful the gift shop sold out!), plus other spirits. A great way to start the cruise!

We dressed early, so we could make the Ballroom Dance Lesson at 7:30 in the Normandie Lounge. We learned or brushed up on the Cha-Cha for 30 minutes, then the Band played until 8:30 to allow us all the pleasure of dancing for another 30 minutes. Great fun!

We were in the late seating for the Elation dining room with Maitre d’ Ricardo (his famous sayings: hellllooo, you look mahvelous, and ciao for now), head waiter Som and assistant waiter Kat, both from Thailand. Our table #176 seated six, in the center of an area with large circular tables in each corner. We were constantly bumped by waiters and passengers squeezing past our table – one of my few complaints on my end of cruise comment card. Som and Kat were attentive and friendly! Our table was three Southern couples – us from Arkansas, Johnny and Betty from Texas, and Herman and Deborah from Louisiana. It took us a few meals to relax and enjoy one another, but we became friends.

Our Elation late dining times are breakfast at 9:30, lunch at 1:30, and dinner at 8:30. The 8:30 late dinner seating made it very difficult to make the late shows and find decent seats at all – another complaint on my comment card. The seats we always found were either awkwardly located or required viewing through a pole. For this reason, we attended very few shows in the Normandie lounge.

First Night’s Dinner: Appetizer: Hickory smoked salmon, Grilled satay of chicken tenderloin (this was so great!) Soup: Cream of mushroom. Entrée: Rack of New Zealand Spring Lamb Dijonnaise, Catch of the day (Tilapia). We ordered a bottle of wine from the Chef’s Recommendations for five nights of the cruise, only one we didn’t love. The other two nights we brought a bottle of wine and a bottle of champagne to the dining room that we had carried aboard. Our waiter uncorked those bottles without charge on those two nights.

We slipped into the Normandie Lounge at the last minute for the 10:30 Welcome Aboard Show, which was fun and entertaining. However, we didn’t enjoy the comedian, Joe DiCaprio, at all. He had a couple of funny one-liners, but the rest was simply dull in our opinion.

DAY TWO, NASSAU, BAHAMAS, 7 am to 1:30 pm: Let me tell you the difference between eating breakfast in the Paris Buffet on the Lido deck and eating in your dining room on a port day – coffee refills! Both places serves buffet with the option of an omelet. In the dining room, you are seated at tables in the order you arrive. In Paris, you find a seat wherever. But coffee and juice refills are essential to those of us that require several cups to get going in the morning!

We had visited Nassau previously, prior to the Straw Market fire, so we went into town at our leisure, visiting the stores we were interested in. We did not visit the new Straw Market. Then we caught the Ferry Boat to Atlantis. The cost is only $6 per person roundtrip. Beware: They say it leaves every 30 minutes, but it doesn’t leave until it’s full! We were the first ones on the boat and waiting over 40 minutes. We wished we had spent that time shopping nearby and got on closer to when it was full. There was a long walk from where they dropped us off, again manageable if you have no problem walking. Atlantis was beautiful! We visited the Casino, the shops, and the bar. Our main purpose was to pick up a Christmas present for a niece who likes Atlantis! We went back to the boat, waiting about 20 minutes before it headed back to the Nassau side. We got back to the ship in time for lunch!

We sunned on deck with a bucket of beer for him and a frozen thingey (or two) for me. By the way, no problems with deck chairs at all. Chairs were always available around the pool and on every sun deck! Also, the water slide was popular with the young and the young at heart. A Carnival employee sat at the top of the slide to maintain control!

Then we headed to karaoke at 3 pm in the Leonardo Lounge. I have to say, we had some very talented singers on our ship. Karaoke was fun, fun, fun! Unfortunately, they didn’t open the bar – they said they’d had problems in the past the first day with drinkers heckling singers, so they wanted to keep it nice the first day. Well, we all just wondered out to the US Bar, got our drinks, and brought them back. No hecklers found!

Roger loves sushi, so we were at the Sushi Bar almost every night. The Sushi Bar is open every night from 5:30 to 8:00, and Larry is the sushi chef. It’s located just outside the Casino on the Promenade near the US Bar. Larry only gives four pieces of sushi per person. Toward the end of the week, he told Roger that he was his most regular customer, so he started giving him eight pieces each time, because Roger always went back for more. On day 3, others found this as well and formed long lines! We settled into the Promenade window seats with sushi and drinks as our pre-dinner snack! We noticed after several days that one of the ship’s captains was in the sushi area with us every night as well, so we engaged him in conversation one evening. Vito was delightful! He expects to return to the Pride shortly, then on to captain his own ship, maybe in 2003, maybe a ship called the Miracle!

Tonight was the first formal night! Formal portraits were taken from 4:45 to 10:30 pm. The Captain’s Cocktail Party for Late Seating was at 7:15 in the Normandie Lounge. We enjoyed appetizers and Whiskey Sours and Rum Punch doctored with a Gin Martini on the Captain until dinner. We enjoyed the Band and dancing for the second night in a row!

Dinner: Tonight we had the delicious Cream of Pumpkin Soup. I was the only one at our table who ordered it. My husband tasted mine and asked for him own. Then one by one everyone else at our table tasted it and ordered their own as well! Save your time – order it! If you don’t like it, don’t eat it – but I’ll bet money you’ll love it. This was also Lobster night. Som said everyone gets lobster, what else do you want. So everyone ordered Lobster and something. DH ordered Lobster and Prime Rib, I ordered Lobster and Pasta. (As others have stated, if you regularly get good lobster, this won’t excite you. But if you rarely get lobster, this will probably be a thrill.) Dessert: Chocolate Souffle. (Steak Note: The server offers only Medium Rare and Medium Well. That’s all! DH always asked Som to bring him the rarest piece he could find, and Som always accomplished this well!)

Tonight at 10:45 was the first Broadway-style show called Dream Voyage. I didn’t think the shows were very good this week, but maybe it was just me and the struggle to find seats. Enough said!

DAY THREE, SEA DAY: We slept in, grabbed coffee and a quick bite in the Paris Restaurant on the Lido deck, and went to the Normandie Lounge to attend the San Juan/St Thomas Travel Talks starting at 9:30 am. (They’re serving drinks in the lounge, but not coffee, so bring your coffee with you from the Paris!) They threw out free souvenirs and artwork, so arrive early and sit close on the lower level! It’s worth it! Played Bingo … lost! Then we sunned on the deck until our 1:30 lunch time.

Lunch in the dining room …. Always fairly empty, always very good!

Bingo again at 2:45 … lost! While playing bingo, our new found cruising friends, Steve and Connie, asked if we were going to the Repeat Cruisers Party next. We had not received our invitation even though we had marked Repeat Cruiser on our boarding pass and our TA had put our Past Cruiser number on our booking. So, this required yet a number trip to the Information Desk to straighten out … no problem, quickly resolved.

The repeat cruisers party was at 3:30 in the Queen Mary’s Lounge – had to present your invitation to get in, but no one dressed up! More free drinks, appetizers, and small desserts! Music by the Highlights and dancing … we had a great time doing the twist all over the room! They gave away a bottle of champagne as a door prize.

Sushi, of course, and then we dressed early for dinner because tonight they were taking more pictures! We posed for a few before heading to the dining room, and these turned out to be some of our best for the week, as we were dressed in clothes we were more comfortable in.

Dinner: Appetizer: Freshly Grilled Portabello Mushrooms, Louisiana Tiger Prawns. Soup: Etoufee of Langoustine, Cream of Broccoli and Wisconsin Cheddar. Entrée: Grilled Black Tiger Jumbo Shrimp, Prime Rib.

We met up with our cruise BB friends in the America’s Bar after dinner. We all moved to the Queen’s Mary Lounge to dance to more of the excellent music of the Highlights – the female singer was great! The comedian we didn’t care for was performing in this lounge at Midnight, so we left when he started and headed to bed!

DAY FOUR, SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO: The ship had to clear customs before we could leave the ship. The first people allowed to leave the ship then were those who had booked morning shore excursions. The last were people like us who were taking in the city on our own. So, we enjoyed breakfast in the dining room before leaving.

The cruise director had informed us that it was an easy walk for able-bodied people up to the fort. However, it was an extremely hot day, and we were very hot after just a few steps from the ship. The street was full of independent tour guides seeking willing tourists. A young man named Javier approached us, seemed trustworthy, had a nice looking 22-passenger van with at least 6 people already on it. He promised a tour of the city, a tour of the Bacardi Rum Distillery with at least 2 drinks each, and then drop-off in the shopping area. (Others were promising the Rain Forest and other such stops, so just look for one offering what you want to see. You can also work out other arrangements like a swim and ride back to the ship instead of shopping – just ask!) The cost was only $20 each. Beware though – they don’t leave until their vehicles are full!

The tour was wonderful. In addition to seeing the forts and other points of interest, Javier also told us about the history, demographics, political and economic information about San Juan. We really enjoyed the visit to Bacardi, picked up some nice shirts there, and enjoyed trying a variety of mixed drinks (very small). However, we didn’t buy any liquor there, as it was less expensive and we could buy more duty-free in St. Thomas.

Javier dropped us off at the Barachino Village, where the Pina Colada was invented, so, of course, we had to drop in there for a Pina Colada and some appetizers since we had missed lunch. We visited a few shops. Right across the street from Barachino was Gems and Pearls. I wasn’t interested in any of their jewelry, but they had some lovely pieces of artwork, and Roger negotiated a lovely piece of the Don Quixote collection for me. (We have a special affection for Don Quixote because of our Marriage Encounter connections!) At another store, we got postcards, t-shirts and souvenirs for home. Then we had an easy downhill stroll to the ship.

We had planned to eat dinner at the Parrot Café this evening, and Javier, who had previously worked there as a bartended, had suggested we dress nicely for the evening meal there, so we were returning to the ship to change. But clouds rolled in with lightning during our return to the ship, so we decided to stay aboard for dinner! But, we still had time for sushi and drinks before dinner!

Dinner: Appetizer: Duet of Gratinated Mussels and Shrimp Provencale, Grilled Baby Vegetables (everyone said, those aren’t baby vegetables, they’re just veggies cut small!) Soup: Wonton Soup, Cream of Tomato Entrée: Black Tiger Shrimp, Beef Wellington

After dinner, we went to the Lido deck to watch the sailaway from San Juan. Then we went to the Leonard bar for karaoke singing in progress until midnight. No seats, standing room only, we sat on the floor, couldn’t get drinks, so we finally headed back to the Lido deck to enjoy Kooshall’s dance party – great fun and dancing!

DAY FIVE, ST. THOMAS, US VIRGIN ISLANDS: We had breakfast in the dining room before heading ashore. We both had great omelets!

We had made arrangement over the Internet for a tour guide to meet us on the pier for a day of activities. Unfortunately, we waited for more than 30 minutes past the times we had agreed upon and he never arrived. We gave up, taking a cab into St. Thomas for shopping, which was the first part of our plans anyway.

Our first stop was Tanzanite International. Beautiful stuff, but my heart was set on some black pearl, opal, or coral jewelry, which I told the young lady that was assisting me. She said, oh, let me show you where to go, and she starts walking, and we follow. She walked out the door with us and down the street past many shops to the Bernard Passman Black Coral store. She took us in, introduced us to one of her friends, and she left! Her friend called over another person and together they assisted us in trying on several pieces. There were so many beautiful things in this store and exactly what I wanted. My husband suggested we wait to purchase later – and I’m hoping he’s surprising me with one of these pieces for Christmas!

We visited Caribana to order our liquor, which they delivered directly to the ship for us – customs allows 4 liters of liquor per adult purchased in St. Thomas only. Great prices, and we got souvenirs, t-shirts, and postcards here as well.

We were going to head back to the ship for lunch then catch another taxi to the beach for the afternoon. But, first we stopped at the St. Thomas post office to send our postcards. Leaving the post office we ran into Roy, who claimed that he’d been voted the #1 tour guide by the St. Thomas Chamber of Commerce for 14 years running. Roy said he would give us a 2 hour tour of the island, take us to Coki Beach for 2-3 hours, then another brief tour as he returned us to the ship, all for $20 per person. Since this was exactly what we wanted, we agreed to meet him back there at Noon.

We were the last people to board a full open-air bus. Roy’s tour was great! He stopped to let us take pictures many times, and, in the most scenic areas, we lined up with our cameras, and Roy took our pictures against the scenic backdrop. Roy told us all about the island just like he was teaching school. I can probably tell you more about St. Thomas than I can for our hometown. He kept saying, is there anything else you were wanting to see. He dropped the beach lovers off at Coki Beach and took the rest on the remainder of the tour and returned them to the ship early.

While my husband visited the changing rooms, I went to the beach to get chairs and an umbrella. An older man immediately began assisting me. A young man with dreadlocks came over, started yelling, knocking the chairs out of the older man’s hands. I started backing off quickly when the shouting began. Finally another man came over, removing the young man from the scene, and the older man took me and the chairs to the beach, with the younger man following us from a distant still shouting. As the older man set me up, he explained that the younger man didn’t want to greet customers, but only wanted to take them from him when it was apparent we were buying a service. A young woman approached me offering to braid my hair, but immediately backed off when I refused. Roger showed up about then asking questions about the services, and I advised him just to settle in to avoid another scene!

We had missed lunch again, so we got hot dogs, french fries, and Island Girl drinks for me, beers for him! We dipped in the ocean several times, watching others snorkel and scuba dive. The beach was wonderful. A young lady sold me an ankle bracelet she had made for $5. We sunned, drank, relaxed, drank, dipped, and drank, until time for Roy to come. We washed the sand off our bodies at the changing rooms and got back to the gift shop just as Roy drove up, and we headed back to the ship. Roy was great … if you can find him, he’s a most kind, pleasant, interesting tour guide and person!

We headed to the Lido deck for the Sailaway party, then to the US Bar for sushi before dinner!

Dinner: Appetizer: Southwestern Style Egg Roll, Alaskan Snow Crabmeat Cocktail (there was one tiny sliver of crabmeat on top a pate of some sort!) Soup: French Onion. Entrée: Filet Mignon. Dessert: Crème Brulee.

DAY SIX, SEA DAY: We slept in and still had time to make our late seating breakfast in the dining room at 9:30 a.m. Then we sunned until about 1 pm, because we had decided to take in our first cruise Art Auction at 1:30 in the Queen Mary’s Lounge. We registered at the door for the auction and got our raffle ticket. We purchased one lovely Thomas Kincaid picture to add to our collection of one at home! The line afterwards to complete the paperwork was long and painful. We had planned to go to the Galley Tour at 3:30 pm, but we were still standing in the line at that time! We got done just in time for … you guessed it, sushi and drinks!

Tonight was the second formal night, so we dressed and did the picture stroll again! By the way, on this cruise, they took pictures somewhere on deck almost every night! So, take advantage of the opportunity to take the pictures, because you only buy them if you like them!

Dinner: Appetizer: Escargot, Penne Mariscos. Soup: Black Bean Soup. Entrée: Tender Roasted Sirloin. Dessert: Baked Alaska.

The second Broadway-style show, Shout, was in the Normandie Lounge at 10:45. It was a fun energetic show, and a great finish to our evening!

DAY SEVEN, SEA DAY: We were awakened (it wasn’t early) by a knock on our door, where they were delivering the liquor we had purchased in St. Thomas. Good thing, because we had just time to get to our late seating breakfast in the dining room at 9:30. “Win a Cruise” bingo was at 10:30 … I lost! Then Josh did the debarkation talk at 11am. We went to the Lido deck at 1 pm for an Ice Carving demonstration, which just got done when a light rain started. Besides it was 1:30, time for our late seating lunch. Back to the Normandie Lounge at 2:30 for the always funny Newlywed and Not-So-Newlywed game. I stayed in the lounge for 10-game bingo, while Roger went to the deck to sun. We both enjoyed the sun and music of Kooshall, until it was time for sushi and drinks!

Dinner: Appetizer: Smoked chicken fillets, Fettucine tossed in mushroom cream. Soup: Gumbo Creole, Navy Bean. Entrée: Chateaubriand. Dessert: Grand Marnier Soufflé

Since we had boarded with gray TBA luggage tags, the debarkation instructions said to replace those with the correct color for your cabin which you could get from your room steward. We tracked him down and he said we had to get them from the Information Desk. Then we had to go stand in a long line at the Information desk just to get new cabin tags. (We really would have loved this correct information earlier in the day before everyone had their bills, complaining at the desk).

You may have noticed that I haven’t mentioned much about our room steward. He never introduced himself to us. We only got three towel animals. That was okay with us since this was our third cruise, but I felt sorry for the first-timers who were being served by him. The rooms were kept spotless all week. On Thursday, we wanted to take advantage of the laundry special, so we phoned him – that’s when we first saw him, and we had to have him name on our laundry order. His name was Peter.

We were both tired and hadn’t even begun packing. Unfortunately, Roger was headed from the cruise to a business trip instead of home, so this required packing much differently than we’d packed coming in. It took a very long time, and when we finished we headed out to our balcony for one last breath of ocean air.

DISEMBARKATION: Our late seating for breakfast this day was 8:15, so that was our first stop. We enjoyed many cups of coffee there with our tablemates who all showed up for this last meal, because we all had late flights. We left at 9:25 to clear our rooms by 9:30 as requested. (People with handicaps with one companion only, those with Miami shore tours, and those with early flights met in the Queen Mary lounge at 8:45 a.m. for early disembarkation.) They then called colors based on your cabin tag colors. (Those with TBA gray tags picked up new tags with the correct color for their cabin the night before at the Information desk.) Our color was called early, but we moved very slowly since we weren’t in any hurry to wait hours at the airport. By the time, we disembarked, our luggage was one of the last in the area, so it was easy to collect and leave. We dropped off our custom declaration form and caught a taxi cab in front of the terminal, providing a swift ride to the airport.

OVERALL: While I’ve shared our real experience with you above – the good, the bad, the ugly – reality is that in our opinion there’s no such thing as a bad cruise. Nothing could ruin this cruise! We had a great time! We enjoyed San Juan, and we adored St. Thomas! The Paradise is decorated rather garishly, so the formal portraits taken against the actual ship décor were rather gaudy! We opted for the portraits with backdrops instead. The ship was kept clean, although there were frequently areas blocked off for cleaning or maintenance. We felt like the quality of the food had declined since our first cruise in 2000. We don’t know if it is just this ship or not. Service was good, but not exceptional! And, the shows were disappointing. The Paradise was a little too laid back for our tastes, so we probably won’t sail her again even though we enjoyed the smoke-free atmosphere! Our cabin was wonderful and well-maintained. We love our dining room servers! We made great friends, and we can’t wait to cruise again!