Roll Call 2/27/12

Looking to talk and meet others going on this cruise.  Anyone have any tips or insights on this ship?

We just booked this cruise last week.  It will be our 10th and our 2nd on this ship.  We were on her in December.  The tips I can give you is bring a hair dryer as the ones on board are pretty bad.  There is no adult pool area or Serenity deck on this ship (a major disappointment for us), so just be aware of that.  If you want a quiet place to enjoy the sea, hang out, read or talk you'll have to go to the side of the lower decks for that.  We found the food and dining room service to be above average on this ship (and much better than we had on our Magic cruise in November).  Entertainment was ok, not great but ok.  All that being said, a bad day on a cruise ship is better than a good day at work.  Hubby and I are in our early 50's but we are "young" 50's, we stay pretty active and enjoy life!  Hope we can meet up on the ship!

Welcome:  Thanks for the reply.

This is our 2nd cruise also.  Our first was on Royal Carribean.  We wanted to compare so booked this one with Carnival.  We can't wait either.  Temp was -45 with wind chill last week. So definately need some warmth.   Looking forward to a great time and a possible sunburn!

Wow -45, I can't even imagine!  We went from 30-80's in the span of a day, that our weather here in Texas.  Give it an hour and it will change!  I'm looking forward to some sun and warmer water.

Another day closer.  It is 24 degrees today here in ND.  A heat wave!  Been looking at options for entertainment in ports.  Any suggestions?  I do want to see some ruins though.

Hi! My husband and I are going on Triumph on Feb 27 also!!! It's our first cruise and first vacation together ever, and it's also our early 5 year wedding anniversary gift to ourselves! So it's a long time coming! We are super excited!! I get more and more excited as I continue to read through these forum questions! LOL! It's a lot of great information. We will be driving from north Texas to Galveston on Sunday and staying in a hotel. 

What time will you be arriving at the port? We're trying to get an idea of what time to show up since I think it says arrive 90 minutes before boarding starts, so 11 ish? If we arrive early and get in line to board, will we be allowed to board early?

Hi Sharon! Thanks for the tips. Newbie cruiser here. Questions: Do they have irons in the rooms on the Triumph? Also, the Triumph does not have the steakhouse, correct?

Counting down the days!  We are going to Galveston on the Saturday before the cruise.  I want to get there on time, even if I have to walk!  LOL.  We haven't decided where to stay yet.  Is anyone else coming down early?  Maybe we could all get together and meet for drinks if anyone is interested? 

Hi all,

For those with questions sorry I've been MIA.  There aren't irons in the rooms on any ships.  There are irons in the laundry rooms you can use.  I highly recommend taking a small (travel sized) bottle of wrinkle release.  That helps a lot on the ships.  There is no steakhouse on this ship (another major bummer for us).  We really enjoy our steakhouse nights.

In the ports:

Progresso--has the longest pier in the world.  You take a bus that drops you off in the "market" area of town.  This is a pretty small and poor area but you can get much better prices here than in Cozumel if you are looking for stuff.  There is a double decker bus that will take you through town it's a couple of dollars a person.  If you've never done it, it can be fun.  I've hear Merida is the place to visit and you have to take a taxi or hire a driver to get there.  I checked in to hire a driver but with just my hubby and me, it was kind of pricey.  The beaches are ok here.  However, when we were there we were constantly bombarded to purchase stuff from vendors which got a little annoying. 

Cozumel--lots to do depending on what you want.  Of course there are the ruin tours if that's your thing.  We've gone to Playa Uvas (you can google them) a couple of times.  For $36 a person you get a guided shore snorkeling trip (they are right on the reef so it's pretty good), prefered seating with an umbrella if you want it, open bar, and lunch.  The food is tatsty and the people are really friendly.  It's like a $15 cab ride each way.  The beach is rocky because it's on the reef for snorkeling.  This is a laid back place and it's not fancy but the restrooms are clean, the food good, the people are great (not a bunch of peddlers), and it makes for a nice day in the sun.  The last time we were in Cozumel (December), we hired a private driver and he took us to the other side of the island and that was a lot of fun.  We saw some really interesting sites.  They offered to take us shopping which we weren't interested in, so we went to a lighthouse, the first settlement of Cozumel, a crocodile area, some cool rock formations, just really all over.  Our guide spoke great English and we left there considering him a friend.  His name was Cantaro and if you are interested in this we paid $95 for four hours.  You can contact them at eduardoczm@gmail.com.  If you want to read more about this service go to Trip Advisor and type in Hiring a Driver for the Day Cozumel. 

Having been both places several times, I'm not sure what we'll do this time.