Greetings from the Caribbean! I'm at Grand Cayman today, sailing aboard the Carnival Paradise, the 2,000-passenger vessel that operates short Western Caribbean cruises from Tampa, Fla.
I'm onboard with a friend to see the band Chicago perform live in the ship's theater while docked in Cozumel on Tuesday night. It's part of Carnival Cruise Lines' new Carnival LIVE program that also features concerts by stars such as Jennifer Hudson, Lady Antebellum, REO Speedwagon, Olivia Newton-John, Kansas and more. I'll be sharing more about that experience later this week.
The Carnival Paradise is the eighth and final Fantasy-class ship, entering service in 1998. Back then, the Paradise was the industry's first entirely smoke-free ship. Tobacco use was banned throughout the vessel, and executives said even its construction crew was barred from smoking in the shipyard when it was built. That policy changed, however, somewhere around 2003. (I wonder if Carnival jumped the gun. I think many cruisers today would welcome a stringent no-smoking policy. Do you agree?)
I'm currently on a five-day Saturday-through-Thursday voyage that includes two sea days and calls at Grand Cayman and Cozumel.
Sailing out of Tampa is a breeze. Our 6:05 a.m. flight out of Chicago O'Hare landed about 9:30 a.m., so we took a cab right to the cruise terminal (it's a $25 flat rate for the 12-minute or so ride). Our intent was to drop off luggage and explore a bit, but we were told we could check in right away and that priority boarding would start at about 11:30, an hour earlier than officially stated. Carnival had given me priority boarding, so after a wait of a little over an hour, we were on the ship. While waiting, though, a Carnival DJ played music and asked trivia questions about the band Chicago, rewarding Carnival LIVE T-shirts to those who answered correctly.
For now, suffice to say the Paradise presents an old-school Carnival experience. Yes, the ship does look a little dated as it hasn't undergone the major Fun Ship 2.0 renovation, and still has the late 1990s décor, with dark wood, blinking pin lights and faded patterned carpets. It's quite a contrast to the brighter, airier décor on Carnival's newer ships.
But the onboard atmosphere is very comfortable and fun, so we're enjoying ourselves. Our first sea day was a bit overcast and drizzly, but the guests definitely made the best of it, soaking in a hot tub despite the rain, playing cards in the library, crowding into the art auction, filling the casino or ordering a customized Bloody Mary at the sea day brunch.
The Carnival Paradise has received a few upgrades that are part of the company's Evolutions of Fun and Fun Ship 2.0 upgrade programs, including the Punchliner Comedy Club, the adults-only Serenity area on an open aft deck, and the Taste Bar, which serves samples of the food served in specialty restaurants found on other ships but not, alas, the Paradise.
The brunch on sea days, by the way, started as a comedy brunch in which the onboard comedians would do short stand-up stints every hour or so. But the jokes either fell flat or couldn't be heard from some far-off tables. So the comedians now are gone (though still performing family-friendly and adults-only sets in the evening) but the brunch remains, which is a good thing.
The comedy club doesn't have its own dedicated space on the Carnival Paradise, so the comedians perform in the Queen Mary lounge - and I was surprised to see how packed the 10 p.m. show was. It literally was standing room only, and many did just that, standing in the back of the lounge. The comedian was funnier than I expected.
The Carnival Paradise seems to be full this week of mostly Florida residents who can drive to the port, although I did meet one couple who flew down from Ohio specifically for the Chicago concert. "It's still a great ship with a big following," said Carnival spokesman Vance Gulliksen. "It does very well on its short program from Tampa and carries upwards of 170,000 guests a year."
Well, time for me to get back to enjoying the Carnival Paradise. The weather is hot and sunny in Grand Cayman, I'm happy to say, so it's time for me to sign off and soak up a little sunshine. Later …
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