Carnival Paradise

[NolesFan]

I would like a detailed trip report from anyone who has sailed this ship going to Belize, Roatan, Cayman, and Cozumel. What excursions do you recommend? Excursions to avoid? What is the ship like in general? I have nothing to compare Carnival to as this is our first real extended length cruise. What is there to do while at sea? Any info is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[PEB]

The Paradise is a beautiful ship. The crew is very friendly and does a great job. While at sea there are plenty of things to do onboard such as the casino, bingo, pool games, trivia games, art auctions, various dance classes as well as other classes and of course shopping for those that like to shop. All you need to do is read the Carnival Capers each night to find out what the following days events are.

Belize and Roatan are not really developed a lot for tourism yet so most things to do there are related to snorkeling or fishing. The truth is that the tours taken from the Paradise are not as good as tours you can book independently and the Carnival tours are much more expensive. Some of the tour companies I heard that were used and well liked were Nativeway and Coral Breeze. I did not use them so perhaps others can help with information on them. People I talked with that did use them were very satisfied with them and the price they paid.

The big thing in Grand Cayman is swimming with the Sting Rays or scuba. Cozumel is snorkeling or Carlos and Charlies or Senoir Frogs for partying. As I said others could probably answer these questions better than I can. Ask on the Community boards or in the ports section of the boards for quicker responses to the ports.

I do have some pictures in the photo gallery under Paradise PEB and I do have a review of the Paradise in the review section.

I hope this helps some.

 

[jbest]

Depends on what you like to do. We've sailed on Carnival Paradise three times. First time to Eastern: Nassau, San Juan, and St. Thomas. Second to Exotic Western: Belize, Roatan, Cozumel, and Grand Cayman. Just back yesterday from third to Exotic Eastern: Nassau, St. Thomas, and Dominican Republic. Also have been to Cozumel and Grand Cayman on Sensation.

Grand Cayman has great shopping and great water stuff. Swimming with Stingrays is a must-do if you're getting in the water.

Cozumel has shopping and good water stuff. We enjoyed visiting Chakanaab Park for water stuff on our own after shopping.

Belize: We took the Goff Caye Snorkeling excursion and enjoyed it a great deal. Others did Shark Ray Snorkeling -- that sounded more fun than ours. And, still others booked independent cave tubing with Reggie and most had a great time. Belize is definitely a water day.

Roatan: We took the ParrotBay Beach Party Excursion. It was mostly laying around a man-made cove ... relaxing, but not for everyone. As we headed out to this excursion on the tour bus, we asked the driver what the best thing was to do on the island. He said go to the West End. That evening we met up with some friends who had caught a cab on their own to the West End, where they shopped then got in the water for the day, and they loved it.

We loved all these islands ... a great itinerary!

 

[Forever Cruzin]

Has anyone gone to Sante Wellness Center in Roatan? I've read good reviews about this on other boards, and I've booked a massage for our upcoming trip there.

If anyone has been there, let me know.

Thanks.