Carnival paradise

[J]

I put these questions on the general community message board, but thought they might be more appropriate on the Carnival site.

We will be traveling on the Paradise leaving out of Miami in early August. A couple of questions for the more experienced cruisers out there...

We have a 30-foot RV that we will be driving to Miami. Is there a safe place to park at the Port of Miami or does anyone have any other ideas of where to park it for a week? One of the reviews said you could pre-check in at certain Miami hotels?

Can adults buy a soda card or is it just for kids? Is there a pre-paid drink card (alcohol)?

I've read mixed reviews about bringing alcohol on board. I was going to go the mini-bottle route and then bring a few bottles of wine on board. Can you consume the wine you bring on board at dinner? Is it better to put it in your checked luggage or try to carry it on?

Last question - has anyone taken any shore excursions in Nassau, Casa de Campo (Dominican Republic) and St. Thomas that you would recommend for a family with 3 kids (ages 14, 13, and 10)? Any feedback (positive or negative) is very welcome!

THANKS - this is an awesome site!

 

[jbest]

I can answer only a few of your questions. Soda cards can be purchased for adults or kids, different prices. No liquor cards sold. You can take your bottle of wine to dinner. If it needs to be chilled, you can take it to the dining room at an earlier meal, and they'll chill it for you before bringing it to the table. They reserve the right to charge you a $10 corkage fee, but I've never been charged it even though we've brought our own wine and champagne to the table. I put it in bubble-wrap and plastic bags in my carry-on luggage. Didn't want it tossed around by luggage handlers.

You can snorkel with the stingrays in Nassau. Coki Beach is nice in St. Thomas. Here's pictures from our last two cruises on Paradise, one in September 02 to the old eastern route, the other in February 03 to the new western route, and we're sailing on her again in September 03 to the new eastern route:

http://community.webshots.com/user/judyjbest

I've posted reviews from both those cruises on this website. Feel free to email me with any questions!

Happy cruising!

 

[PeggySand]

I believe anyone can purchase soda cards, but I don't think there is anything like that for alcoholic drinks. If you get the drink coupons from the Carnival website before you cruise, I believe they do save you some money. My husband and I took two bottles of champagne, one large bottle of Grand Marnier (sp?) liqueur and also a bottle of Shnapps (sp?). We took a collapsable cooler, which our room steward kept full of ice the entire two weeks we were sailing (back-to-back) on the Paradise. No one ever said anything to us. In Nassau and St. Thomas, we got off the ship and used one of the many people on the dock that offered tours of the ports. In Nassau, we had a more than two hour tour of all the highlights including Paradise Island, the fort, the water tower, etc. for $20 per person. We wanted to snorkel after, so he dropped us at a local beach close to the ship, and we walked back when we were done (it was through the town, so we did some shopping also). The walk alone was around ten to fifteen minutes. I had my hair braided on the beach, sixteen braids for $12. Since that was the first port of our two-week vacation, it was the best thing I did for ease of hair care for the remainder of the trip. We saw all the same highlights as the ship tours for a fraction of the price. In St. Thomas, we took a van off the dock into town for $3 per person, and met up with a fellow right there where they drop you off, and he took people in his open van for tours of all the highlights of St. Thomas. He gave us all the option of being dropped off at Megan's Bay, Coki Beach or Saphire Beach for two hours. He highly recommended Saphire Beach, which everyone decided to do. Saphire Beach is a private resort, and the beach had all the facilities (shops, showers, food and drink) you could want, and it wasn't crowded. The snorkeling was one of the best of our trip, and I highly recommend it. His tour was also around $20 per person, and much better than anything you could have done on a similar ship tour. Both of those towns are good for doing your own thing. We did not get off the ship in Casa Del Campo since we had six other ports to visit. I heard from most people that it's a good idea to take a ship tour in this port. Have fun, we loved the Paradise and Paradise crew.

 

[steveandjeannie]

There is secure parking immediately adjacent to the berth for Paradise. It runs $10 a day, in cash, payable up front, although for a 30 foot RV, I wouldn't be surprised if they charge double. We have used this lot all three times we've been on Paradise, and the only irritation is overly aggresive, tip hungry porters.

 

[kellyb]

just got back from this cruise sunday....
NASSAU - we wanted to "swim" with the dolphins (and the ship only offers the dolphin "encounter") so we had to book directly. if you want the info, e-mail me and i'll get it to you.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - got off the ship and took a taxi to dominicus beach (which we found out is topless if you choose - my children were in shock). 5 of us dropped at the beach and picked back up 3 hours later was $65. he also took us to a local grocery to buy bags of coffee, so we gave him a $10 tip. this country is so poor. spent money at the beach front store just to help them survive. also, not much english spoken here...fairly new port for this country.
ST THOMAS - met friends who live there and went snorkeling all over st. john. shopping when we got back to st. thomas was good and wish we had shopped more.
have fun!