Posted: Mon Jul 6, 2009 at 03:28 PM
I enjoy cruising, especially the ability to use the ship as a floating hotel. On my recent cruise on the Paradise, I did enjoy the chance for a brief get-away. On the Paradise, the crew were excellent, and the service up to par. However, there were a number of things which disapointed me.
1. The quality of the food was uneven. Also, if I did not know better, I would have said that the kitchen was cleaned with clorax, which was not rinsed off. Also, food lines were over capacity (over half an hour on the like for mongolian stir fry).
2. My room was directly below the teen club. Until sometime between 11:30 and midnight the noise of kids dancing and jumping, and the base booming would finally stop - unfortunately, I am a morning person, and generally call it a night by 11 pm.
3. In the evening, smoke was virtually everywhere. The design of the ship contributes to that, as well as a the access to the casino to almost every bar and the central area of the ship. We even observed a number of people who went into the lido deck food areas to get food, and did not extinguish their smokes (cig and cigars).
4. All of the music was good, but so loud it was uncomfortable. In Mexico, we could hear the music from the ship on shore.
5. The dress code was not enforced. While a number of people got very dressed up for the dress up dinner, there were also a number of people in swim suits, men in tank tops, and filp-flops. If there is a special dinner, enforce it. If not, then don't have it.