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Carnival Triumph
Been to an island destination with the kids lately? If so, you have probably been bombarded with pirate face painting and hair-braiding vendors – so is it any wonder that youth spas would be far behind? Sure enough, manicures with funky flower decals, special scrubs and treatments for unsettled teenaged skin and even kid-friendly massages and wraps seem to be popping up at land-based resorts everywhere. On the high seas, Carnival cruise lines offers a Generation Y youth spa for tweens and teens that tempted us on board for a four-night Canada cruise out of New York aboard the six-year-old Carnival Triumph.
Check-in
The convenient location of the New York port – basically right in the city and within walking distance of cabs and the subway – is offset by a somewhat cumbersome terminal lay-out designed for the days when cruise ships didn’t hold so many passengers. Having said that, once you’re past the bottleneck at security, the actual check-in process with Carnival staff is quick and efficient.
Tip: If you are taking a cab, shuttle bus or car service to the port, you can arrange to be dropped up on either the upper or lower level, but for the return pick-up, the arrangements are trickier. If you have a bus or shuttle bus transfer, plan to meet on the lower level, whereas taxis are on the upper level – except in the case of overflow, in which case you go downstairs and across the street. Limos, on the other hand, can arrive on either level, so make sure you have the cell number of your service so you can let the driver know where you are.
Décor
Bright colors, upbeat music and a world traveler theme dominate the ship’s décor, with public rooms ranging from the Vienna Café and Rome theater to the London and Paris dining rooms. A party atmosphere characterizes this ship, where people tend to congregate at the pools, the children’s club and/or the casino. We saw numerous extended family groups as well as at least one huge wedding party taking advantage of the ship’s many public rooms for private parties and special events. Those who like a more formal ambience can dress up for dinner at the main dining room and for shows at the theater. Our favorite after-dinner meeting place was the Big Easy, complete with walls decorated with oyster shells and a wrap-around piano.
Staterooms
Our cabin on Deck 8 was just big enough to squeeze in all five of us – but only because it was the first week of summer vacation and everyone was in too good a mood to squabble. We had a double bed for me and my husband, two bunk beds and a trundle bed, the latter of which took up most of the available floor space. With the trundle pushed under the bottom bunk and the upper bunk retracted back into the wall during the day, the room was workable for lounging between activities, particularly since we also had a balcony (available on more than a third of the staterooms). If you think all this togetherness sounds like too much of a good thing, however, you may want to consider booking adjoining rooms.
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