Hey, who switched off the Fun Button?

There isn’t anything sadder than waking up on Debarkation Day.

So, the night before we were given the option to pack and place our bags outside the door for Carnival to carry our bags off or keep our bags and self-debark. Given the time we finished with Chef’s Table (and all that free-flowing wine) the decision really was no longer up to us ... we would keep all our bags and self-debark. Which would have been fine if I had at least started packing the bags that day.

It was the crack of 7 a.m. when that annoying noise came over the P.A. system (I don’t remember announcements being annoying during the cruise). “Those choosing to Self-Debark are requested to do so at this time ... blah, blah, blah” I got up and was immediately hot (where did all the air conditioning go?). I walked through the cabin and felt the first pang of stress (where is that happy, warm fuzzy feeling?).

I honestly believe there is some large lever or button down at the bottom of the ship that is labeled ‘FUN’ and it’s one crewmembers job to switch it ON at Embarkation and switch it OFF at Debarkation. Clearly it is held in a highly classified area because I didn’t spot it at all during the Behind the Fun Tour ... and I looked.

Enter frenzied shower and packing and somehow we were off the ship within the hour.

Goodbye Towel Animal friends ... I will miss you!

Final Thoughts 


This was a cruise of firsts. Our first Port Hole Cabin ... I would book it again. The best part (besides the price) was being on the Empress Deck. I would book an Ocean View over the Port Hole if that was the only way to get on that deck. I liked the location that much.

Our first try at Your Time Dining ... I will do it again, depending on the type of cruise we are taking. For example, our Alaska cruise next May will find us with Your Time Dining because we don’t want to miss a thing from our balcony (I wouldn’t be surprised if some dinners were from the Lido that trip!) But, I will do Traditional Dining again. I just really love the pomp & circumstance of it all ... and the singing waiters!





Our first Behind the Fun Tour ... DH wants to see the Bridge from every class ship, so we now have a checklist. I enjoyed the tour a lot and am humbled by the inner workings of our great cruise.

Our first Chef’s Table ... What an extraordinary experience! Yes, we will absolutely do Chef’s Table again. In fact, hubby wants to reserve it for every cruise.

Our first cruise together without kids ... Rod and I had a great time this cruise. We love the kids (please don’t get us wrong) but we needed this time away together. Thank you, hubby!




And one last first ... this has been my first cruise review! I had a great time sharing our cruise with you. I hope you have enjoyed it and I hope I have answered some questions you may have about the Carnival Paradise. The Paradise is leaving Long Beach and relocating to Tampa. To those of you in Tampa ... you are getting a beautiful ship. We look forward to the Inspiration coming to Long Beach to take her place. Thank you all again for following!

Chef's Table

We already felt like VIPs with Chef Jorg’s visit to our table in the Main Dining Room on Elegant Night. Then we had the pleasure of meeting him again during the Behind the Fun Tour earlier and he acknowledged us and our Chef’s Table reservation for later in the evening. Chef Jorg also spotted us at the Lido Buffet as we were getting lunch and reminded us not to eat too much because he had a special meal planned for us. Wow, that’s special!

We all met at the Atrium Bar - our home away from home - and at 6:15 p.m. Chef Jorg came to whisk us away for an evening we soon wouldn’t forget.


Want to feel like a VIP AND a Celebrity?

Simple, just participate in the Behind the Fun Tour prior to Chef’s Table!

The Chef’s Table experience began in the Galley with Chef Jorg giving us a tour and enticing our palettes with Starters and Champagne. Because we had been there earlier in the day, Chef Jorg made it a point to confirm with Rod everything he was saying, including asking him if the food was to his liking. Well, by the end of this (as well as throughout dinner) some of the other participants were convinced hubby was some kind of food critic. Yes, we were VIPs among the VIPs ... LOL!


No Seafood ... No Problem!

As I mentioned earlier, I don’t care for seafood and Chef Jorg made sure not a stitch of it came my way. We were seated at a beautifully set table in the Blue Riband Library ... the boys on one side and the girls on the other. At our place setting was a Place Card and a Menu Scroll.

I unscrolled my menu and got a peek at the tantalizing dishes I would be eating that evening. Yummy! There wasn’t a piece of fish anywhere. I had already eaten a substitute dish as a Starter. The Tomato Mozzarella was delicious. But, now I spotted my other substitutes. In place of Fried Calamari I would be eating Fried Vegetable Tempura (delicious!) and in place of Filet of Chilean Sea Bass I would be eating Roasted Apple Stuffed Chicken Breast (again, delicious!).

The regular menu is quite spectacular and I believe hubby enjoyed his seafood dishes a lot. I do have to say that probably the best dish was the Fire Roasted Tomato and Poblano Chile Bisque ... yummmmmmmy! I didn’t know any one thing could taste that good.














Chef presented each course and there were a number of waiters being very attentive to us all. It was a fun meal and getting to know the people around us helped make the experience even more memorable. Throughout dinner there was free-flowing wine ... watch out for that though, it sneaks up on you! ‘Nuff said. LOL!

So, how was the whole Chef’s Table experience? I will give you hubby (you know, the food critique)'s review, “It was the coolest four hours I have ever spent eating dinner.”

Yes, I am sure we will be reserving Chef’s Table again.

Behind the Fun Tour

We booked the Behind the Fun Tour when we embarked the ship on Monday. It’s a ‘first-come, first serve’ type situation so we made sure to sign-up at the Shore Excursion desk right when we got onto the ship. It was here we were told that we weren’t allowed to bring any cameras, cell phones or other recording devices and that we needed to wear closed-toed shoes. It pays to be a member of a cruise forum (Cruise Critic) to get the heads up on this!

We met in the Blue Riband Library at 9 a.m. where we were offered coffee, juices and pastries. Once everyone arrived we were asked to give up any cell phones we may have on us, we were wanded by Security and then the tour began.


We were led through the Elation Dining Room, through the large revolving waiter doors and then we entered one of the coolest parts of the ship ... the Galley. Chef Jorg Schneider met us and gave us a tour of the kitchen, explaining how they make meals and how much food they order each week.

Just think (being Chef Jorg) if you had to run to the store for the basics - bread, milk and eggs - you would be buying 45,000 eggs, 850 gallons of milk and enough loaves to give you 16,000 slices of bread. And for those keeping an eye on the Bacon Police ... here is some ammunition for you. Each week the Paradise has on hand 35,000 slices of bacon!

Once leaving the Galley it was as if someone turned off the glitz light and opened a reality window. It was about then we realized ‘we weren’t in Kansas anymore.’

The famous I-95 passageway runs the length of the ship and was a lot wider than I expected (there were crewmembers moving some palettes using a forklift!). The walls are painted white and it’s brightly lit down there. It was also pointed out that you could see both port and starboard sides of the ship. So, while I-95 was wider than expected, it was also smaller than I imagined ... if that makes any sense at all.

We were led into a storage area that held many of the drinks for the ship. In a week on the Carnival Paradise, guests would go through 12,500 cans of soda and 11,950 bottles of beer. Wouldn’t if be fun to have a key to that room!

We visited the Laundry Room and saw all of the large industrial machines used to clean everything. There were crew feeding wet sheets into this long machine that both dried, then pressed the sheets flat. Then came the folding machine where the sheets were folding into nice sized rectangles, easy enough to handle ... fascinating!

We also went into the Engine Control Room and spoke with the Chief Engineer. There were so many knobs, buttons, lights and schematics on the walls I felt like I was on a Star Trek episode.

Next we were led up some stairs (steeper than stairs but not quite ladders) and before we knew it we were heading toward the Bridge. The first impression was the incredible panoramic view of the world and the reverent quiet that surrounded us. My father was in the Navy and worked on the Bridge of aircraft carriers, so this was an immediate familiar sight for me. However, the instant change of atmosphere was very surreal.

We learned we had a new Captain onboard. Captain Domenico Cilento arrived from Miami the night before to take over so Captain Pierluigi Lanaro could go on vacation ... even the Captains need a vacay sometimes! Captain Cilento was very accommodating and patient as he spoke with us and fielded questions about what he does. We learned Carnival employs 35 Captains, some of which stay with specific ships while others rotate around.

A Ship Photographer showed up and Captain Cilento graced us with a photo on the Bridge with him. This really was a highlight of the tour.


Next we went down to the Bow of the ship, saw the ship’s bell and then we toured some of the Crew areas. We saw the Crew Training Room, the Crew Bar, the Crew Dining rooms (there are three!) and the Exercise Room. This part was particularly comforting for me because my oldest daughter, Holly, just started working on the Carnival Valor. As a mom, seeing the types of areas below the passenger decks and learning how Carnival provides a variety of options for the crew’s off times, really has helped me in knowing my daughter has made a good choice.

And finally, we were led backstage of the Normandie Theater where we had the opportunity to speak with the head Lighting guy and the Dance Captain. The interesting thing I learned here was that the 12 people in the cast stay together throughout an entire contract.

After about 3.5 hours, the tour was over and we were led through the backstage curtains back into the comforting and glitzy world of the audience.

 

This tour was well-worth the $55 per person it cost. On other class ships, the tour is more ($95) and maybe lasts a bit longer. Although I don’t know what more we could possible see, it seemed like we saw everything! We received some gifts after the tour ... hats, lanyards and a delicious plate of chocolate-covered strawberries, compliments of Chef Jorg, himself.

Carnival at Night

Tonight was the Deck Party and late-night Mexican Buffet ... woo hoo! We decided to grab our cameras and photograph some of the festivities.

Shooting at night allows for some slower shutter speeds ... which really helped bring out the impression of movement from the dancing below, don’t you think?

INSIGHT: When shooting with slower shutters there is a high chance for blur (obviously). While we do want some motion blur to happen ... movement of dancing, etc ... there should also be something stationary in the frame (such as the Carnival Paradise name) to give the viewer a reference. Stabilizing the camera and using a remote or the timer for the shutter is a must.

It isn't as difficult as it may seem to find that one person who holds still during your slow shutter shot. People often hold very still when watching the action around them.









We wanted to make good use of the lighting available. The Lido Deck on the Carnival Paradise was especially pretty with the ever-changing colors in their lighting. Here, we used the spotlight  and natural break in the crowd to highlight the action.

Nothing beats a late-night Mexican Buffet, am I right? Check out the carved watermelon ... pretty fancy, wish I could do that!



That's about the extent of the Mexican Buffet photos ... we were too busy eating to take pictures! So, back to more fun night shooting!












We had fun this entire cruise take photos of the ship ... shocking, isn’t it. The Carnival Paradise looked simply elegant and divine in the evenings. Just look at those colors!

Here is the trick for getting a lounge chair ... just go to the pool late at night! Though, I wouldn’t jump right in, you might startle the guy cleaning the pool!

I wonder if I can save this lounge chair until tomorrow. Look at me ... the ultimate Chair Hog!

 Whale Tail!

Backside of Whale Tail!











Painting With Light

Yes, this is what we like to do ... and a cruise didn’t stop us from making a spectacle of ourselves, either. We got so caught up with our night shooting, we decided to bring it indoors and paint with lights in the elevator banks. People stopped by and watched, we gave a mini-class or two on the how-to’s and we had a great time together like we usually do.

INSIGHT: Did you you know that Rod is actually in this photo with me? We used an extremely slow shutter with the camera stabilized. Rod popped a quick flash on me to freeze me (I can hold still, but not that still). Then Rod ran around behind me with a pen light ... painting his way into this image. Do you see him? No, of course not ... but, he's there! That's the magic of slow shutters!

Inside, the Paradise Atrium was all lit up. I love how open the Atrium is on the Fantasy Class ships.

I could stand and watch the scenery for hours. People are on each deck doing their own thing. I love cruising!

Time to call it a night ... tomorrow is Behind the Fun Tour and Chef’s Table! Good night Mr. Stingray!

Lovely Lola and Me!

I have come to an awareness in my life that you can experience just about anything ... for the right price. For example, in Alaska next year, I have the opportunity to fly in a helicopter to the top of a glacier and mush a dog sled. Now, I’m a mom who lives in Southern California (not exactly dog-mushing material) but, for the right price ... I can mush a dog sled, if I choose to. This shows you the mindset I am in while at the Port of Ensenada when I spot this lovely creature ... an energetic three-month old tiger named Lola.

Little Lola sits in a playpen of sorts, not really a cage but she is pretty well contained. Now, for the right price (a donation to help care for endangered and wild animals) I can hold Lola and have my photo taken with her. We are also able to take photos ourselves once their ‘official’ photo has been taken. Am I game for this? Absolutely I am!

The excitement level started rising within me the moment I realized this once-in-a-lifetime possibility was in fact a reality. All I could think of was, “I’m about to hold a tiger.”

Which soon turned to, “I am holding a tiger.”

This became my mantra.

As I sat down on the bench in their portrait area, one handler grabbed her camera (a small point-n-shoot) while the other handler went to retrieve little Lola. I say “little” loosely because afterall, she was just three-months old and not quite as large as her parents, I’m sure. But, she was by no means miniature as she was roughly the size of a full-grown Basset Hound ... and just about as weighty. He brought Lola over to me, enticing her with a bottle of liquid she very obviously loved to drink.

Now, I’m a cat person. I have two cats myself and I can’t really remember a time when I didn’t have a cat in my life. Obviously, Lola is not a domesticated cat ... she’s a tiger. But, they are of the same ‘family’ so to speak. So, I do understand there are a few behaviors and moods a cat can be in. One is the “I’m tired and lazy and I think I’ll just curl up here and rest for a bit, all the while being cute and cuddly.” Another is “I’m awake and wired and I just want to play and act crazy and show you how cute my teeth and claws are.”

I got the latter Lola.

I was instructed to hold Lola securely under her arms with her face away from mine (which proved to be the most challenging!) and she was placed in my lap. Her low, guttural growling (you know, like a real tiger) is what hit me first. I couldn’t believe how ‘wildlife’ it really was! Next, was her feel. Her fur was coarser than I thought it would be. She was very clean, she just wasn’t as soft as I expected. And she was strong. I have often heard people describe some animals as being all muscle and up until now I only had an imagined knowledge of what that meant. Now I know. And it’s not only in my imagination that at just three months ... Lola could probably do some damage if she wanted to.

“I am holding a tiger.”

From the moment lovely Lola was placed in my lap the squirming and excitement never stopped. Handler #1 kept getting her attention with the bottle while Handler #2 tried to get both me and Lola to look at the camera at the same time for our photo. That in itself was comical. I wasn’t so concerned about this photo as I had my wonderful hubby, Rod, in the background rapid firing the whole experience with his camera. I was more interested in Handler #1 as he really tried to get Lola to cooperate. I had a firm grip on Lola, but by now she somehow spun around and was literally facing me ... not so good with those teeth biting down on anything and everything within her reach. At one point she had two paws with claws wrapped around my right arm and her mouth was going everywhere ... oh, and don’t forget that guttural growling to enhance the ambiance!

“I am holding a tiger.”

 So, did Lola bite me? Well, of course she did. Not bad though (she didn’t even break the skin) but I do have a mark to prove it. She also scratched me with her claws. It was awesome! I was mauled by a tiger!

And then it was over. It was time to say goodbye to lovely Lola. Would I do it again? Absolutely. Although I don’t think the opportunity will present itself often. Here in the states we just don’t have wild animals in a booth waiting to be held (and I’m sure for good reason). But, I did experience holding a tiger ... lovely Lola ... and that has to be on the list of coolest things I have ever done.



Lunch and a Two-Hour Nap
We picked up all our packages from the excursion and went to board the ship. Bringing wine back onto the ship was easy. We simply had to go to the Security table and trade our five bottles of wine for two slips of paper. Seemed like a good deal. We immediately headed up to the Lido for our fill of food ... at this point we were pretty hungry. We then decided to go back to the cabin and relax a bit. Rod put a movie on and then looked shocked as I changed into an oversized T-shirt, pulled the blankets down and got under the covers on the bed. “What are you doing?”

“I’m taking a nap.”

I guess all that excitement ... tours, scandals, wine tasting, bargaining and Lola ... really wore me out. It was a great day for sure and even though it was only 2 p.m. I was spent. So, with thoughts of margaritas and tigers I powered down to sleep.

I will always relish that blissful two hours in our cabin.

Hola, Ensenada!

While looking online at the different shore excursions Carnival offers for Ensenada, I kept bypassing the City & Shopping Tour because, quite frankly, the name didn’t sound very interesting at all. I am glad that I pressed further and read the description because once I did I found we would be traveling by bus to three different stops in three hours. The first stop was the Riviera Del Pacifico, “a glamorous resort and casino during the roaring 20s.” Our second stop would find us visiting Bodegas de Santo Tomas, “the oldest winery in Mexico and taste its famous wines.” And finally, our tour would leave us some time for “browsing around the city’s main shopping district” before returning to the ship. Now, that sounds way more interesting than the name of this excursion implies. So, the day we embarked the ship, we purchased tickets for the City & Shopping Tour in Ensenada.

The ship docked in Ensenada sometime before 9 a.m., though I am not really sure about that, I didn’t hear nor feel anything ... and if it wasn’t for room service, we probably would have slept through our excursion!

We got off the ship and easily found our excursion group. The shore excursion met right on the pier at the base of the ship. It doesn’t get much more convenient than that. We checked in and waited for everyone on the tour to arrive.

And before we knew it we were boarding our lovely air-conditioned bus and settling in for the ride ... which lasted about 5 minutes.

A short block across the street and we arrived at our first destination -- the Riviera Del Pacifico.

From the front lawn, can you spot the Whale Tail? Yes, we were that close!




Riviera Del Pacifico - Scandal, Intrigue and a Great Drink
The Riviera Del Pacifico was built in the late 1920s and is another one of those great Art Deco era buildings we had the opportunity to visit during this cruise. Are you beginning to notice a theme here?

The hotel and casino was opened during Prohibition times and had names like Al Capone and Jack Dempsey associated with it. Unlike the Casino in Catalina, this one did have gambling back then and offered a playground for the wealthy and Hollywood set. Starlets such as Lana Turner, Rita Hayworth and Lucille Ball visited often.

It was really beautiful and the outside was decorated with hand-painted tiles.

We toured a number of rooms inside, including the Grand Ballroom.

The hand-painted murals were interesting as well including this one of the California Missions inside the entryway.

In the center was a courtyard filled with vendors selling plenty of souvenirs.

Margarita Story
There are many claims to how the famous Margarita drink came to be and the Riviera Del Pacifico holds one of them. According to the history of the hotel, the Margarita is said to be named after a young woman, Marjorie (Margarita) K. Plant.

In 1948, Jerome Utley (one of the original shareholders, an American and a very old man) fell in love with a young woman, Marjorie K. Plant (another American) and transferred all of his interests in the hotel to her. She soon married a lawyer from Mexico, Alfonso Rocha, under the guise that she needed Mexican citizenship to run the hotel. Later, it would be found out the marriage was real which angered old man Jerome into pursuing criminal charges against the couple. Enter scandal, intrigue and mayhem. Sometime in there, the Margarita drink supposedly was concocted and named after Marjorie.

I don’t know if this Margarita claim is really true - nor, for me, do I think it really matters all that much. But, what I do know is that at 10 a.m. the kind folks at the Riviera Del Pacifico served complimentary Margaritas to everyone on the tour to commemorate the story.

Let the party begin!




Bodegas de Santo Tomas
Back on the bus and off to the oldest winery in Mexico, Bodegas de Santo Tomas. Although it’s a non-working winery now, it seemed to be pretty active. I think they have moved their wine-making facility elsewhere in Ensenada.

We went into a large warehouse sized room ... more like a museum of really cool old wine-making stuff!

I loved the barrels. And there is nothing that says wine more than a bunch of oak barrels lining the place. Hey, where is he going with that barrel?

You know, just one of those in the garage would be kind of cool, don’t you think?

Next, we paraded into the wine tasting room. The decor was cool with the black & white tiled floors and all of the wines organized so neatly.

Wine tasting time! We were able to taste six different types of wine ... which will maybe explain what comes next.

In the end, we left with five bottles of reasonably priced wine ... a white, a rose, a cabernet and two dessert wines!


Debarking and Customs
Having never bought alcohol in a foreign port before, we were a bit naive about customs and what could be brought back. While we did know we may have to pay Duty on a few of these bottles, we were assured it wouldn’t be that much. As we disembarked in Long Beach the Custom’s Agent made the comment, “You have three bottles of wine there.” It was really more of a statement.

I spilled the beans with, “No, we have five.” He looked at me a moment and then said, “That’s fine” and sent us on our way into the United States.

See, the truth will set you free.




Shopping and Bargaining

Our Tour Guide, Sara, was awesome. She was very engaging as she told us about the sights in and around Ensenada as we made our way to Downtown Ensenada.

The main shopping street was lined with plenty of shops and restaurants and seemed pretty safe, though I will admit ... deviate from this one street and it gets pretty sketchy really quick.

While there are Pharmacy’s all over Ensenada, we were warned not to bring any medications back on board the ship. I know a lot of people buy over-the-counter antibiotics, heart medicine and well ... other types of medicinal perks.

 

I would have to say Ensenada is one of the more colorful cities I have visited.

 

There were plenty of transportation options, too, if you wanted a quick ride back to the ship.

 
There were vendors in store fronts and set out on the sidewalk. Be prepared to be asked to visit their shop and inspect their goods.

The area is depressed and the people rely on tourism to make it. I bargained with this woman at her cart for a mask for my son at home. I really don’t bargain well ... especially when the item seemed cheap enough to begin with. Hubby had to whisk me away pretty quickly before I started giving this woman even more money than she was asking for.



Before we knew it, it was time to head back to the ship. The tour was over.