Carnival Cruise Line

MS Tropicale

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Operator: Carnival Cruise Lines
Year Built / Last Refurbished: 1982 / 1989
Length / Tonnage: 671 / 36,674
Number of Cabins / Passengers: 511 / 1,022
Officers / Crew: Italian / International
Operating Area: Winter from Puerto Rico, Summers in Alaska
Telephone / Fax: Tel 124 0561 / Fax 124 0561

TravelPage editor Mark Goldberg was one of the pursers in the CARNIVALE when the ship's Master Captain Fossati asked him to translate a report from Italian into English for him. The subject was his impressions of the plans for an as yet unnamed intended new cruise ship, the first ship to be built for the line...the plans he saw that day in November 1978 eventually grew into the TROPICALE, first of the new generation of "Fun Ships".

The year was 1982...grand atriums and plush vestibules were by and large a distant memory of ships built during the first years of this century. So to that extent, the TROPICALE still seems like more like a ship than a Grand Hyatt..and unlike a hotel...the TROPICALE was built expressly to sail through the tropics. Her public rooms were designed and decorated for nocturnal activities, so they are not overly appealing by day. They are hardly as plush than such rooms on board her newer fleet mates. But there are features the TROPICALE has that will please...there's an enclosed promenade, for instance...and to accommodate this traditional item on the public room deck, many of the rooms have big windows...but they do not always let you look out unobstructed to the sea...when I sailed this ship the crew used to keep the curtains drawn.. Still, the rooms are large and well suited to their purposes. Now subdued and sober by Carnival's amazingly bright standards, the Tropicana Lounge and Islands in the Sun Lounge are cavernous spaces seating all comers in loveseats and sofas, well cushioned but with backs a little too low for prolonged comfort. Both rooms have a good size dance floor, and the Tropicana Lounge is the venue for evening performances.

The Paradise Club Casino, once again not as lavish as the casinos on the newer Carnival ships, is centrally located and offers all major games. Chopstix Piano Bar, aft of the casino, is the most novelly decorated room aboard, with pillars and beams with keyboard designs. This room is the coziest public space on TROPICALE. Exta-Z Dance Club, with the most primary of yellows, blues, and pinks, cannot be mistaken for anything other than a disco...a space where the loudness of its color scheme is surpassed only by the decibel level of the music. Of particular interest and pleasure to me is that enclosed promenade I mentioned a couple of sentences ago...it's almost a public room unto itself. Stretching a good length of the ship, on either side, the promenade is dotted with many tables and chairs, from which one can laze their onboard time away, watching the passing parade of passengers or sea life, without being subjected to whimsical Mother Nature. Such promenade areas are becoming increasingly rare, so a word to all you traditionalist ship fans....sail the TROPICALE now, while you still have a chance...in a few months it's off to Korea and a new venture Carnival recently inked with a major South Korean firm...look for the TROPICALE in new colors and with a new style of cruising for Korean passengers...(Update: Carnival, at the last moment, decided the East Asia market was a no go for their type of product, and that the TROPICALE will do 10 and 11 day cruises from Tampa.)

The gymnasium located on Verandah & Sun Deck (that's one deck Carnival seemed to name twice), is an ultra mini version of the massive Nautica Spas on the fleetmates. Still, it has windows that look aft toward the main swimming pool and smokestack. For an aerobic workout, the gym is fine. Beyond that, you might be disappointed...but how many passengers do serious workouts at sea anyway? But you won't be disheartened by the deck space and swimming pools fitted on the TROPICALE. This ship has 3 pools and oodles of outdoor room, with enough nooks and crannies to appeal to anyone wanting to distance themselves from the sports activities led by the on board staff.

The TROPICALE wowed the public with bold decor statements in 1982, but how times change! She's fifteen years old now and I've read many comments like "an old, smaller ship with dated decor" My how time flies! Still, the TROPICALE is comfy and has enough public space to accommodate her charges.

In a move that no doubt irked Carnival Cruise's public relations department, designers of the TROPICALE saw fit to create her Riviera Restaurant without portholes or windows. Don't be put off by this tragic design faux pax.....firstly, on ships with views from the dining room, not everyone gets to sit next to the window. Secondly, in such dining rooms, stewards usually draw the drapes during dinner seatings so unless you are rebellious or a trendsetter, willing to be the first to open your drapes, any view you have will be courtesy of the curtain maker. Thirdly, the table conversation, thanks to you, dear passenger, will be so scintillating that all eyes should be focused on you and your table companions. So who needs a sighting of a brown bear or whale on the Alaska run? Besides the service, the Riviera Restaurant is a happy memory to this wide bottomed cruise reviewer.....the chairs are wonderfully comfortable, with cushions on rattan frames that successfully evoke a tropical feel. The room is well lighted and carpeted to help reduce noise levels. I have dined in other ship's eateries with the most innovative designs and architecture, but I'm just as happy in TROPICALE's dining room.

There's plenty to eat here and though it's been a while since I sailed in her, it's not all that many months since my last Carnival cruise and consistency is one of their claims to fame...so you will eat as much as you like, and since you neither have to go to the store to choose and buy the foodstuffs, haul it home and cook and serve it...you might find it wonderful...then again...maybe not...

On Lido Deck, the Boiler Room Bar and Grill serves as what a decade ago was called a snack area. Far less sophisticated a space than on the newer ships, this room has a buffet that provides rudimentary picnic and barbeque type foods. It's a place where you'll want to eat and run...even at night should Carnival's alternate dining experiment include evening meals here...

These are like the private quarters in the newer ships, but the Veranda Suites, while well equipped, are ugly and corporate looking. The beds in those quarters are near the passageway, and the wall separating me from late night revellers and early morning room stewards was not overly soundproofed. But the storage space was fantastic! As for the standard cabins, you will not be able to tell the difference between them and their counterparts on the newer fleetmates. There is the expected dandy storage space, beds that convert to king...but again, the inboard sleeper will be an obstacle to be surmounted should the outboard snoozer need to move first...

Carnival's TROPICALE has something going for her...affordable itineraries. With the demise of Regency Cruises, with their longstanding tradition of low prices to great places, TROPICALE now has cornered that market. Leading Carnival's fans to new cruising regions she pioneered Carnival's Alaska and Hawaii cruisers....Like the rest of the "Fun Ships" the TROPICALE appeals to young and old and everyone who likes fun...but her occasionally eclectic itineraries draw a crowd generally older than the kids you'd find in such number on the FANTASY and ECSTASY's 4 night cruises...

This winter, the TROPICALE sails from Puerto Rico on 10 day trips to the "deep" Caribbean. As well, her 11 day voyages include a partial transit of the Panama Canal. In the spring, and again in October, the ship will make a voyage to Hawaii at fares that are quite reasonable. Prior to, and after the Hawaii run, the TROPICALE will transit in full the Panama Canal on a 14 day and 16 day trip. Finally, her summer season will be spent Alaska, with one week programs from Vancouver to Seward (Anchorage) and vice versa. (Keep in mind those wonderful enclosed promenades on TROPICALE....just the place to be on an Alaska voyage.)

Well, I don't know. Some cruise ship sophisticates nearly wretch at the thought of sailing on this ship, but when I'm in a Denny's restaurant kind of mood (decor wise), the TROPICALE seems appealing. I honestly like her exterior lines, and I love the deck spaces and the way they are arranged. The dining room is in a great location for a good ride, and the service in there was really good. I cannot believe that a ship only fifteen years old would now be thought of as the old lady in the fleet, but it seems that when that does happen to a vessel, staff and crew take on more of a fondness for their ship. So it follows that the on board attitude is perhaps a bit more personal and welcoming than what one gets on some seagoing "megamonsters". But if you plan to sail Carnival to Alaska or Hawaii, do remember that this line has its Caribbean rhythms down pat....that's to say that I have a hunch that no matter where you go with them, a steel band playing in the background will not be far behind. People who like Carnival's style, food, pace, service...those who are comfortable with the typical Carnival passenger, those who do not insist on fine french milled soaps, tempting souvenir type bottles of gratis toiletries....might do well to consider a cruise on the TROPICALE for the good value that she represents on her itineraries off the beaten Caribbean paths. For others, I'm not so sure. Your call!