Carnival Pride Review April 1-8th-pics

So we booked this cruise around Christmas, when I was itching to cruise NOW. (We have one booked for October, but, well I am impatient. I am a teacher and had of this week for spring break and we didn't want to fly because of the expense. We live about an hour from the port so this was a great bet.

It was my husband (43), myself (42), two kids (16 and 18). We had another adult couple that came with us well. I had preorderd three bottles of wine for out stateroom through the bon voyage dept on line. I also ordered a bottle of malibu rum for dh through them as well. (You have to call and order liquor.) Each adult also carried on a bottle of wine. We also took some soda as well. You need to carry on your drinks.

We got to the port right around 11 am. Here is a view of the ship as we drove up.

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We paid our 100 plus dollars to park and proceeded to the baggage area where we dropped of our luggage. You then go and park so you only have to carry your carryons with you into the terminal. We went through security very quickly and we were checked in within 15 minutes. Then we were asked to sit in a waiting area where they basically told you exactly where to sit. (They didn't do zone tags, but dismissed you by row when it was time for your to board) We waited for about 30 minutes before boarding. We headed to the lido deck and all of the stations were open to begin our week of food, food, and more food! Here are our first drink of the days.

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/2Apr1dod.jpg

And my first Reuben:

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/3Apr1RBN.jpg

We explored a bit and checked out the ship some. It was not a warm day in Baltimore by any stretch of the imagination, so the lido festivities were at a minimun.

We ventured to our room. This was 7137, balcony

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/6Apr17137bed.jpg

And our beverages:

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/5Apr1liq.jpg

More to come!

We're on the Pride this coming Sunday-can't wait to read more of your review! :D

waiting for more! :D

I forgot to say that the gentleman that brought us our first drinks of the day, was our bar guy all week. His name is Ben! Very funny guy!

We then went to the muster drill, which was painless. Here is the little sign they put in your door when you have headed to the drill. http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/9Apr1evac.jpg

Going under the bridges:

Key http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/21Apr1kb.jpg

Bay http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/25Apr1bb3.jpg

We had late seating at dinner. Since we booked so close to our cruise early seating was not available. We have had anytime dining on other cruises and that is great too. I do like that you get to know your wait staff at the main seatings. Here are our guys.

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/151Apr7wt.jpg

After dinner we walked around a bit we really don't do the casino, but I lost a buck in the penny slots! (Yeah, like I said...not good at that at all!)

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/26Apr1ss2.jpg

Me being ridiculous at the slot machine. http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/63Apr3slot.jpg

Some guy did win $40,000 on our cruise though!

DH was not feeling very well that night so we hit the sack early. So we missed our meet and mingle, but that was ok he was better the next day. More so that many many people as the seas were very very rough. More on that later.

Here is our first towel creation: http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/40Apr1ta.jpg

Fun Day at Sea number 1, April 2.......well not so fun for some. The ship was rocking and rolling big time. There were "messes" everywhere! Everyone in our party was fine, but I felt really really bad for all of those "green" people. It was pretty bad.

So we just hung out and had some adult beverages! What else are you going to do you know? http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/16Arp1drinks.jpg

Of course it wasn't really warm either, but the Serenity Deck was pretty full.

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/66Apr3sdp.jpg

Here is the hot tub on Serenity. I didn't get in but heard it wasn't really that hot. http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/65Apr3sdp.jpg

Later when the hubby was napping, I enjoyed our balcony.

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/49Apr2heaven.jpg

That night was formal night. We had a bunch of pictures taken. That was my only request from the kids that we get a good family photo, we haven't had one of those done for YEARS. (Oh, and that they join just for dinners.) LOBSTER!!! http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/58Apr2lobs.jpg It was delicious!

We went to the show VROOM, I thought it was very good. It is super cheesy, but I enjoyed it. DH wasn't thrilled with it, but what does he know? We went to the Butterflies Longue for the Punchliner Comedy Club then and enjoyed the adults only show with Marvin Todd. He was very funny and it was adult.

It looks like I didn't take a picture of our towel creation that day. Oops.

Fun Day at Sea number 2, April 3

Today was MUCH warmer and the chair hogs were out in full force. We were able to find a spot up on the sun deck right by the funnel, which was fine. But it got super packed really quickly too. We spent a lot of the day just hanging in the sun.

Basically this day was a repeat of the day before, with much nicer weather and more adult beverages.

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We did enjoy hanging out on our balcony with our kids and our friends. Our friends had the stateroom next to us and we had the barrier opened between the balconies so we could move around a bit more.

Here is the sunset that day as well as out towel animal.

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/71Apr3ss1.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/74Apr3ta.jpg

We are on the Pride Sunday!!!:D. Keep it coming!! Great review so far. Hope the seas are calmer then :eek:

We are on the Pride Sunday!!!:D. Keep it coming!! Great review so far. Hope the seas are calmer then :eek:

I hope so too for you! It was great for sleeping though! The second sea day was wonderful though. Nice calm seas, you would have thought it was a different ocean! Any questions, ask away!

Thanks a lot.

April 4, Grand Turk

Oh I have LOTS of pictures for you!

This was an early day, as we had to be back on the ship at 2:30. We woke up at 6ish and we were there! Along sid of us was to be the Carnival Miracle our sister ships. (We have sailed on her before and loved the ship as well.) We beat her in but, she left before us sadly. More on that in a bit.

Here she is:

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Here is our bridge waving hello!

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Gotta love senior officers with a sense of humor!

I love these pictures! Twins!

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/94Apr4twins.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/96Apr4twins.jpg

I hope so too for you! It was great for sleeping though! The second sea day was wonderful though. Nice calm seas, you would have thought it was a different ocean! Any questions, ask away!

Was there a storm that caused the rough seas??

Sorry hit the submit button before I was ready.

We had no excursions booked at any port so we were free to wander and that is what we did.

We took a cab into "town", which consisted of a combination of what we would probably consider shacks and a few pretty nice small houses. There were cars up on blocks everywhere. I can see why, the roads were terrible! We went out the the lighthouse which was very nice and saw various animals wandering around the streets. Donkeys, horses, cows, and a bunch of dogs. Our cab driver was Sammy and gave us a nice tour of the town and some history about Grand Turk.

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Here is a picture of Sammy and my daughter, Sami at the lighthouse.

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/93Apr4gtsamsam.jpg

We came back to the cruise area and did a bit of shopping, we figured we'd do most of our shopping in Freeport. (That btw did NOT happen.)

We went to Margaritaville. I must say this was my second time at this particular one and the service was not good either time. I was hoping the first time was a fluke. Not so much.

We then when to the beach and just chilled out, it was super hot and I was in heaven!!! The water was nice too, I'd say it was about 70-75 degrees. Once you got in it was wonderful.

Headed back to the ship where again dh napped and I enjoyed my balcony.

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/100Apr4heaven.jpg

Back to why the Miracle beat us out of port. There was a scuba excursion that was late coming back in. Sadly there was a medical emergency on the trip and the family had to stay in Grand Turk.

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/98Apr4scubaboat.jpg

It was rumored that the person that was ill did not make it. It was a very somber sail away. :( God bless that family.

Leaving Grand Turk

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/99Apr4blue.jpg

Was there a storm that caused the rough seas??

The captain came on and said it was a strong cold front that was coming though.

Thanks for the review...just a suggestion...In Photobucket, if you click the code labled "img" and then just right click and paste into the text box here, the picture will show up and people won't have to go back and forth between photobucket and here.

Uggghhhh!!!! Pleeeeeease let the seas be calm!!!! Does it ever feel like its going to tip over? Sorry to sound so weak, but haven't cruised in 25 years and I am a big wuss now. Lol

Great pics I will be on her this Sunday !!!! Can't wait !!!

April 4th continued:

Steakhouse=Delicious

All you really need are pics, so here you go.

Shrimp Cocktail: I could eat this everyday of my life.

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/101Apr4shsc.jpg

Crab Cake: Being from MD, it is hard to satisfy me with a crab cake, but this was not bad.

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/102Apr4shcc.jpg

Tomato Salad: http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/103Apr4shbts.jpg

Surf and Turf: Oh yeah

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/105Apr4shst.jpg

Dessert Sampler: Yeah, yum.

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/107Apr4stcs.jpg

That evening we went to the Wonderful World show. Again I thought it was great, dh...well no. Again cheesey, but hey. After that they had a Rockin Under the Seas Deck Party with lots of dancing and merriment!

There was also a Mexican buffet that night, in which we did not partake.

Here is our sexy bunny towel animal....

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/108Aprsa.jpg

Thanks for the review...just a suggestion...In Photobucket, if you click the code labled "img" and then just right click and paste into the text box here, the picture will show up and people won't have to go back and forth between photobucket and here.

Thanks, I have done that before. But when I did that for another cruise I could only put so many pictures on one "reply". I found that this way it doesn't take up as much space either. You can also open the picture in a new window or tab too, so you don't have to go back and forth. Thanks though.

Uggghhhh!!!! Pleeeeeease let the seas be calm!!!! Does it ever feel like its going to tip over? Sorry to sound so weak, but haven't cruised in 25 years and I am a big wuss now. Lol

No, no. It is not that bad at all. Don't worry, you will be fine!

April 5, Half Moon Cay

On a previous cruise we had to miss this port due to a medical emergency, the second on that particular cruise! So I was so happy to finally to have made it there. You know what people say about the sand and the water at HMC? Well they are right. I have never felt sand so soft, and have never seen water quite that color. It was beautiful.

We got the anti sun kids a clam shell and parked ourself in front of the pirate ship bar.

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/112Apr5HMCpb.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/113Apr5rbdj.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/114Apr5HMCbench.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/115Apr5HCMchapel.jpg

The lunch buffet was actually really good. They had salad, fruit, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, and desserts.

We just enjoyed the sunshine. The kids and hubby rented jet skis while I baked in the sun.

At HMC you have to tender on and off the ship. So bring along your patience panties, you may have to wait in line.

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/109Apr5pride.jpg

April 6-Freeport-OR NOT!

We had planned to do some shopping in Freeport. We got there right before 7 and were getting ready and there was an announcement in our room that in fact, friends......we are not going to Freeport. Just have a lookey see and wave. We are outta here!

Apparently, there was a massive storm coming towards the Bahamas and if we stayed we would be sailing back right in the middle of it. So they made the call to abort and head back towards Baltimore.

"Regettably, the weather forecasted today for Freeport indicates deteriorating conditions, which are expectd to continue and even worsen throughout the day. Therefore, in order to stay ahead of the bad weather, I am sorry to say we're forced to abort todays's call."

:(, bad mother nature....

So it had become another Fun Day at Sea. Instead of walking on the track today I hit the gym which was quite busy. The Pride has a very nice facility.

Also since we did not go to Freeport, we did not pick up the comedians that were supposed to come on, so NO comedian that night. Boo.

So with little to "do", as little as you can imagine on a big ship, we were forced to shop.... bummer :)

Yeah I had my eye on this baby since Sunday.

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/122Apr6ring.jpg

We did play some bingo. Which I lost terribly.

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/124Apr6bingo.jpg

Took some random pictures of the ship:

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http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/145Apr7atriumup.jpg

Yes my husband is indeed, a toddler.

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http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/47Apr2dude.jpg

Towel friend:

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/133Apr6ta.jpg

April 7-Funday at Sea Number 4!

Today I walked on the Sun Deck because the upper decks were closed. It was much nicer anyway because the jogging track is up with the basketball court and the mini-golf, which was packed all of the time. So you have to wiggle around everyone that is standing in the middle of the track or chasing random clubs and balls while waiting to play putt putt.

My daughter and I had a peidcure date at the spa today. And I am sad to say this was the only thing that I was not happy with this cruise. The deal was great! $130 bucks for a spa pedi, hand massage with mask, neck massage with oils, head massage, etc. Well guess what, all we got was a pedi. I kept asking the therapist what I was getting and she assured me that this was correct. So afterwards I read the paper again, and again something seemed not right. So I went back to the counter and the manager was very nice. She took one of our treatments off the bill. Not I am not one to B*tch about everything under the sun. In fact, it drives me crazy when people complain about small things. But this was just weid, I thanked her and went on my way. No biggie. It is over all is good. But, when we went back to our room after dinner to change the phone rang and it was the therapist. Apparently her manager told her to call and tell me what happened. I think the call was supposed to be an explanation of the confusion. But it came out more of an accusation. I was floored that the manager would have her call my room and talk to me that way. So I spoke to the manager and she was trying to back pedal. After hanging up with them I was still upset, so I went up to the spa to try to clarify more. The manager was very nice and took the other service off of the bill, but I was just so shocked that A, the therapist talked to me like that and B, the manager told her to call me. It was a very weird situation. I am chalking it up to one bad experience, and possibly and language barrier. Everyone else in the spa area seemed very happy and the other therapists were all very polite and kind.

So, we had lunch....again.

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/136Apr7ha1.jpg

Mind you this is NOT my burger. I could feel my arteries harden up as dh ate it. I had a salad and a reuben. :)

We left before I could get into this...

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/141Apr7cb.jpg

And then to the martini tasting.

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Here is our towel creation for this night:

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/142Apr7ta.jpg

No, no. It is not that bad at all. Don't worry, you will be fine!

Thank you!!!!! Getting really excited right now!!!! Keep it coming!!!:D

April 8-Baltimore

Key Bridge:

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/159Apr8kb3.jpg

We're back!

Saying goodbye to the pilot:

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/160Apr8pb1.jpg

Docking:

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/162Apr8bhd.jpg

Beautiful Baltimore Hon:

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z17/Hammyluv2001/Carnival%20Pride%20April%202012/163Apr8b.jpg

Overall: A pretty good cruise, heck I wasn't at work. I love going out of Baltimore because of not wasting a day flying, but I will not go from there when it is still chilly. You lose too much time in the cold weather.

Ship: The ship is beautiful. They keep her well maintained, but she is starting to show her age a bit. There was a vibration all week in the dining room. DH said her prop must be bent! LOL.

Service: Good for the most part. We loved our bar guy and our wait staff. Our room attendant Artini was sweet. There did seem to be a small change in the level of customer service since sailing just last year. (and this has nothing to do with the spa service) Everyone was nice and did their jobs well. But in the past we have had superior service on Carnival, like not having to ask for butter at dinner, they just knew after a night or two. Will it cause me to not sail anymore. Of course not. But when we get service above and beyond, we tip above and beyond. that that was not the case on this cruise. Of course we prepaid our gratuities and gave extra as well. But normally we would have been more generous in our extra tips when someone did extra for us!

Any questions? I will try my best to answer. I hope you enjoyed my review! Now I have to get to the grocery store, as we have NO food and everyone is apparently STARVING to death.

I see they still have the hurricane glasses on your cruise. I was just reading a review about the Liberty and they cruised the end of March and said that Carnival has done away with these glasses. This disappoints me. I love those glasses and I hope they rethink this decision.

Oh wow. They had them on the Liberty last March. I wonder why they'd get rid of them? I remember when we first started cruising they were glass. Long time ago.