Sorcerer

Age: 38
Occupation: business owner
Number of Cruises: 8
Cruise Line: Carnival
Ship: Paradise
Sailing Date: January 24th, 2005
Itinerary: Baja Mexico

I have done this itinerary before, on the Carnival Ecstasy, about 3 years ago. It's a four day cruise, with a stop in Avalon, Catalina, California, and Ensenada, Mexico.

What was good... the ship was standard for Carnival. You board, you visit Lido deck for the first lunch, you visit your cabin, and you go to the lifeboat drill. No big deal.

I also can't deny that the shows, except for the first night, were fantastic. The first night is the typical yak-yak from the cruise director, followed by a short comedy perosn. In this case, it was by the assistant cruise director (the cruise director was appparently ill). Make no mistake, the assistant cruise directed did a great job, but it doesn't detract from the waste of time the first night of "entertainment" is.

The other shows were first rate. Here's Hollywood did lag a bit at the beginning, but the Pink Panther sequence and beyond were great. The second "Las Vegas" style show was also good. The other act I liked a great deal; comedy, and a stage hypnotist. I've seen both before, but they were great. A stage hypnotist was different, and something very worthwhile.

Perhaps it was my short duration between Carnival cruise ships (my last was in October on the Carnival Triumph), but the menu seemed repetitive. Oh, it was all good, but I'd had it before.

What was wrong? I have to wonder... why were the late night (midnight) r-rated comics put on the nights before the main stop (Ensenada and Long Beach, California?) Why did the cooks take cheeseburgers off the grill and dump them onto hamburger buns (only to get them soggy due to the grease?)

Plus, I had the very latest seating for dinner. I hated it. 8:30 isn't really too late - but when it conflicts with some great evening entertainment, I get mad. I won the tournament of champions in game show mania on the Carnival Triumph last October. My dinner time conflicted with me becoming the fleet champion.