Carnival Triumph: The Best Vacation for It's value

by Vincent Finelli
(Italy)

Hi I name is Vincent Finelli.This was our 20th cruise in the last five years, but our first ever on Carnival Cruise Lines. Many times we have berthed along side a Carnival ship and enjoyed the music and happy voices wafting over from the Lido decks. We thought someday. . . .


That day came when Vincent came across an "offer he couldn't refuse!" We booked this cruise just one week before sailing. The Triumph was built in 1999 and is the 5,979th ship launched by the Fincantieri Shipyards in Monfalcone, Italy. She is mostly white with the Carnival red, white and blue "whale tail" funnel aft, and orange covered lifeboats. An elegant lady with a gross tonnage of 101,509. Her length is 893 feet and beam is 116 feet. She has a cruising speed of 21 knots and every bit of it was used on the last night in our speedy return to the port of Miami.


Since we booked late, we picked up our tickets at the pier. Again no problem, two lines for pick up (one for U.S. citizens and one for non citizens) with minimal waiting. Second in line, we got our tickets, filled in two cards, showed our credit card, and that was it. Vincent's wheelchair was taken by Carlos Queto, a Carnival employee, and we were escorted past the dining room, where we checked that our table was close to the doors, and then to our cabin # 9233 Lido Deck. The atrium has a bar constantly in use with live music, and many bar stools, chairs and sofas, all done in leather. The ship has an excellent Deck plan as follows: On Decks 1 & 2 there are only cabins (Cat. 1A, 4A, 4B, 5A, 6A and 6B).

On Decks 3, 4 & 5 are the Public rooms: The Capitol Lobby is the hub of the ship with the Purser's Desk and the Excursion Desk. Just off the lobby is the London Dining Room (Mid ship) and the Paris Dining Room (Aft). They are exactly alike except the Paris Room has a glass wall overlooking the wake of the ship, which is stunning. However, remember the aft has more motion and ship movement does bother some cruisers. Each restaurant has a first floor on Deck 3 and a balcony on Deck 4, where there are booths separated by aqua glass walls. These are beautiful dining rooms with many ocean view tables and glass doors etched with Atlas holding the world on his shoulders, a theme repeated on glass doors throughout the ship.


Deck 3 is also the first floor of the three deck high Rome Lounge, the theater. Here the seats are arranged semi-circular, amphitheater style and very comfortable. Acoustics are good and for once the sound was not too loud. Deck 4, in addition to the dining room balconies, has the Photo shop (quite extensive) and the Washington Library, a formal wood paneled room with large gilt framed formal portraits of U.S. Presidents, Washington and Lincoln: A sumptuous room with red and gold carpet and draperies with capitol motif. Inlaid wood tables and beautiful wood bookcases finish the room. The shortness of hours, only two per day to get books, is a pity. On this deck, between the two dining rooms, there is the formal Oxford Bar with the English theme carried out into the corridor, which functions as the Internet Cafe. Large gilt framed portraits of English royalty are readily recognized. Very British. Very Nice. Very sedate. This area which includes the Card Room and the Internet Cafe` (10 computer stations for passengers) is the most formal and relaxing on this ship. Deck 5 is the most popular deck; it has the shops which have much the same wares as all other ships. This monopoly of on board shopping needs to change, if cruise lines want to tempt repeat cruisers. Just off the Capitol is the Casino, Club Monaco, the Olympic Bar and a nice travel pattern which lets passengers stroll through the Casino (billed the largest afloat) to the World's Bar, on to Tokyo Underground (the cavern style video game center) to the Hollywood Dance Club (Circular like a miniature Hollywood Bowl).

Continuing toward aft is the Big Easy Bar with its walls covered with real oyster shells. The California Wine Bar has the best art on board: Huge hand blown Murano wine glasses, which are bases for the most delicate and ethereal figures designed by Lucio Bubacco of Venice, Italy. This is across from the Venezia Bar with its Golden Winged Lion. Finally, the last room here is Club Rio, where the Captain held the Welcome Aboard Cocktail Party (the wine and cocktails flowed freely and there were great hot canapés), here also the film The Mexican was projected on big screen.

Decks 6, 7 & 8 are all the staterooms with balconies; in addition on Decks 9 & 10 there are balcony cabins forward and the rest of the public areas aft. Deck 9 has two pools with spas, a pool side stage and a variety of eateries, such as the N.Y. Deli (great N.Y. style sandwiches), the Hong Kong Noodle Company (with only average or mediocre oriental food), The South Beach Club (with a pretty good buffet) and, at the rear of the ship, the 24 hour Pizzeria (excellent pizzas and even calzone) and finally the Grille with excellent hamburgers, hot dogs, and French fries. Here also the self-service ice cream machines received a workout from the passengers (yum...my!). Decks 11, 12 & 14 are public areas with the Nautica Club, Spa, Gym and Children's World. Vincent enjoyed two massages at the spa (Port days $89; Sea days a stiff $108).


The gym was nicely equipped and the staff was helpful. The jogging track is Deck 11 aft near the funnel, far from the cabins, which is good, since on several cruises we have had negative experiences with our suite just under the track, where enthusiastic joggers were running between 5 and 6 am. We thought the ship's layout was quite thoughtful and nice. FOOD AND SERVICE: We are happy to report that the Carnival food is varied, well prepared and presented, and on a par with other major cruise lines. The menus are varied and in some cases Carnival offers more entree selections on their menus than usual. Normally we avoid the buffets on the pool deck, but on the Triumph, we ate there several times and well. Chef Andrew D'Souza (India) has spent 11 years on Carnival; we met him when he came to our table in the London Restaurant. He gave us a private tour of his galley, and we were impressed with his organizational and cooking skills.


ENTERTAINMENT: Cruise Director John Heald is friendly, funny and busy, busy, busy. The ship's layout allowed passengers to move smoothly from one activity to another and the schedule of events encouraged attendance. The entertainment is billed as Las Vegas style; we found it to be average with flashes of great. Generally, the music in the lounges was loud and predictable. The "Highlights" played at the Captain's Cocktail Party; they were a combo of two males and two females who were really great. One girl singer with glasses looked like a pre-med student, but sang scat like Ella Fitzgerald. Each time she stepped up to the microphone, she wowed the audience. The magicians Kevin and Caruso with their new wave magic were excellent. We heard comments that the comics were too raunchy, but very funny. Finally, the main show "Wonderful World" with Trent Webb and Kimberly Cote was enjoyable. These two lead singers did justice to some difficult pieces in several languages. Very nice. Bingo was held in the Rome Lounge with $1,000. prizes each day and a free cruise on one day. Trivia was run with a "Who wants to be a millionaire" theme also in the Rome Lounge. Carnival caters to a younger crowd (average age 48 years and many young families with children) which could explain some of the musical selections.


ACTIVITIES AND PORTS: This seven day cruise has three ports of call sandwiched between four sea days -- two at the beginning and two at the end. San Juan, Puerto Rico, which is normally a night port, had daylight added by our two hour early arrival (4 pm to 2 am). The passengers appreciated it. We've been there several times and feel the port with the two forts, La Fortaleza and San Cristobal guarding its entrance is unique. Of course the Bacardi Rum Factory tour is popular, but our philosophy is that, "If it's available at home, don't buy it abroad and then have to haul it home." St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands (8 am to 6 pm) is another one of our favorite ports -- lots of shopping near the pier and a short taxi ride to down town shopping and Mary's favorite Mr. Tablecloth-- the best priced linens in the Caribbean.

There are several good tours: Coral World ($27); Shopping Tour ($19); St. John and Trunk Bay (good for first time snorkelers, $54); etc.... St. Croix, U. S. Virgin Islands (8 am to 5 pm). There are white sandy beaches and Buck Island, the only underwater National Monument in the U.S. The Buck Island tour ($69) offers great snorkeling. Two other tours are both about $30 each and provide a rain forest drive or lunch and swimming at a private beach. Most passengers liked St. Croix for its sleepy quality and natural beauty.

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