Carnival Pride Baltimore, Canaveral, Nassau, Freeport 11/2009 * Photo Review

[Tawna24]

thank you.. I will check back and hope I see it in time :)

 

Do you know whick night the lamb is served on? I need to find the daily menus to see which night out at sea would be best for David's. I was also thinking Tues/Wed. I was told by the TA that they are open on Sun, so that my be an idea as well. Davids... while going under the Bay bridge- how romantic would that be??? :)

[SeaTurt1e]

Hi Tawna,

 

You said:

 

thank you.. I will check back and hope I see it in time :)

 

Do you know whick night the lamb is served on? I need to find the daily menus to see which night out at sea would be best for David's. I was also thinking Tues/Wed. I was told by the TA that they are open on Sun, so that my be an idea as well. Davids... while going under the Bay bridge- how romantic would that be??? :)

 

My wife and I sailed on the Pride the week of 11/15 and were also hoping to dine at David's the first night of the cruise. Alas, we were told that it was not going to open the first night. Hopefully you'll have better luck.

[Tawna24]

That's what I thought, and asked our Carnival agent and he said it would be open...but I am believing people here more than him. LOL so.... it looks like we wil be dining there either Tues or Wed.

[markmogil]

As of post #37, the female half of our group had chosen the Carnival bus excursion to WDW Hollywoood Studios, and the male crew was about to disembark for a rental car trip to Kennedy Space Center.

 

The girls' bus left around 8:00am, so the boys enjoyed a leisurely paced morning around the ship, waiting until 9:45 to hit the gangway.

 

Here's the tunnel between the terminal and the parking lot, taxis, and shuttle buses... (scenic, I know)

 

 

Our plan was to take the free Hertz Shuttle, but we missed it. A quick call to Hertz confirmed that our car was ready, but the shuttle was 45 minutes away. So we hopped in a cab. As it turns out, the $15, 2 minute cab ride was a highlight of our trip. Though it did not seem so at first.

 

(As the crow flies, the Hertz office in Cape Canaveral is about 3/4 of mile from the cruise terminal, technically walking distance. But it is not a particulary safe or practical route: Think two-lane divided highway ramps and port security fences.)

 

We rode in awkward silence for first 90 seconds of the trip. No ice-breaking, no local color, no jokes, no freindly banter - just cool silence. (I've taken a few cabs from cruise ports, and this the least freindly guy I've met in these situations, no big deal - just awkward vaction buzz kill)

 

That was until my boys, 11 & 14yo, spied a Burger King from the port side cab window, reflexively moaning "ooohhh a Burger King" a la Homer Simpson. This inspired our heretofore silent driver to issue a stern warning in his heavy slavic accent: "Burger King? - You can't eat beef! - big E. coli scare - whole East coast - you didn't hear?" I hadn't heard, and still haven't googled it, but a 9:47am meal at Burger King was not on our agenda anyway. Nevertheless, my 11yo chose to debate the issue with the driver: "E. coli?, I don't care about E. coli, I want some Burger King!" half in jest.

 

His deadpan slavic accented response made this guy our hero:

 

"Don't care about E. coli? You'll sh*t for a f**cking week - Then you'll care about E coli."

 

With 15 seconds left to our destination, the ice was broken. We all broke out laughing, and even took a picture pointing at the Burger King sign with our new best bud. I think that's our $15 fare in his hand.

 

Ok, that was a lot of verbage for a 2 minute cab ride, but it was a memorable moment.

 

**And for sake of typing E. coli on a public forum about cruises :eek:, I will make the following discalimer: THERE WERE ABOLUTLEY NO FOOD RELATED ILLNESSES IN OUR TRAVELING PARTY DURING OUR SAILING** Nobody even got seasick.

 

Here's the friendly Hertz lady who handled our rental...

 

Hertz is the closest rental agency to the port, was super easy to deal with, and cheap: $45 for the day, and she was a Phillies fan! This discovery prompted Tom to do another spot-on impression of A-Rod...

 

And here's the $45 beauty...gassed up and ready to go...

 

 

Now we've just got to find KSC.

[markmogil]

It's a short ride from Port Canaveral to Kennedy Space Center, maybe 15 minutes, easy navigation...no big deal.

 

Since I set out to do a "photo review", let's get back to that...

 

 

Ticketing booths are bypassed if you've purchased tickets in advance. No wait (although there were no lines this day), and you save a few dollars over gate pricing.

 

 

This giant rolling marble sculpture of the constellations proved a crowd pleaser..

 

It "floats" on a cushion of water, and spins in all directions. Nobody licked it, but I was worried.

 

 

 

 

Check the pretzel held above his head in Victory! Why?

 

 

Who could resist the cut-out photo prop?

 

All of these pictures are from the Visitor's Center compound, which serves as a bus hub for tours of the larger facility. The Visitor's center has several attractions (IMAX and Shuttle Launch Experience among them), as well as the gift shop, food, rocket garden, and above pictured space shuttle.

 

We had signed-on for the "Up Close" tour, and here's the proof:

 

Hot pink sticker applied, we're ready to get "Up Close".

[markmogil]

"Up Close", to a bus...

 

 

The KSC is huge! I can't remeber any of the actual details, so google it. To tour it requires quite a bit of bus riding, like about 2+ hours worth. Our bus guide was expert and knowlegdeable on all thing KSC. It was a worthwhile tour.

 

*SPOILER ALERT*

 

Do not expect to get anywhere near the actual space shuttle. I mean like nowhere "near" it. I had naively expected to get less than a football field away from the actual shuttle or launch pad. Oops, the "Up Close" tour gets you as close as they permit: about 1 mile away. Our tour guide pointed out an observation tower about 2.5 miles away from the launch pad, and mentioned that "this tower was a close as the 'regular' tour gets" - sorry for them. Good thing we were on the "Up Close" tour.

 

Ok so what did we see up close..

 

a slow moving reptilian crawler

and a slow moving shuttle launch vehicle crawler...

 

 

 

 

and the comfortable bus interior...

 

 

 

Everything else was pretty much at the end of my telephoto range...about a mile in the distance. (Yeah, see back there over Tom's sholder.)

 

 

 

The "money shot" zoomed and cropped...and far way...

 

 

That's at 250mm, so bring your long lens.

 

More KSC in the next post....

[markmogil]

A round-up of misc KSC photos...

 

This gives a good sense of scale for the Up Close Tour's closest point

 

The bus guide did a great job of pointing out KSC's abundant wildlife, including 2 bald eagle nests, one of which is seen below. In keeping with the theme of our tour, the nest was pretty far off in the distance.

 

 

More KSC wildlife...

 

 

 

Next post, the Saturn V rocket display & lunch at the edge of price sanity envelope...

[markmogil]

The Saturn V rocket (of the Apollo Missions) is on display as a huge, life size model hanging overhead in a correspondingly huge building...

 

 

 

If you line it up just right, a silly photo op:

 

 

We took advantage of the convenient cafeteria style lunch...

 

 

"Dining" in the shadow of a life size Saturn V rocket model comes a price. Our lunch for 4 (consisting of 1 drink, 1 fries, and 1 sandwich pp) ran north of $80. Change from a C note. Wow, I've been to eateries in theme parks, stadiums, museums and the like, but this one surprised me.

 

So if you'd like to visit the place for lunch, here's where you're aiming:

 

 

We wrapped up our day at KSC with a trip to the large, 2 level gift shop. The shop has every possible KSC souvenier, plus a giant selection of space program memorabilia and collectibles.

 

The obilgatory we were there photo:

 

 

A word of caution on the return drive from KSC to Port Canaveral: It's not a long or complicated route, but I managed to disorient myself and mix things up a bit. We left KSC at 4:30 for a 15 minute return trip, that ended up taking 30 minutes due to my misnavigation. So we arrived at the Hertz office at 5:00. Pride pulls away at 6:00. The Hertz shuttle people are familiar with the port schedules and seem too make it their business to get their customers to the ship on time.

 

Our shuttle driver mentioned that he "hasn't ever had a group miss their ship", and he was still waiting on another group yet to return from WDW that evening. He said all need was 4 minutes. We had a whole hour. Don't know what happened top the later group.

[Crazy Flying Fish]

Hi Mark,

I want join in with my fellow travelmates sailing on the Pride on Dec. 6 this year, to thank you for your review.

 

That was a really cool shot of your son "holding" the Saturn V Rocket. I'll bet no one messes with him.

 

Sailing in 7 days!

 

Thanks again,

Ken.

[markmogil]

Hi Mark,

I want join in with my fellow travelmates sailing on the Pride on Dec. 6 this year, to thank you for your review.

 

That was a really cool shot of your son "holding" the Saturn V Rocket. I'll bet no one messes with him.

 

Sailing in 7 days!

 

Thanks again,

Ken.

 

You're welcome Ken :). Glad you enjoyed my primative attempt at forced perspective.

 

Have a great trip, and post all about when you return.

 

****

 

In the next posts: Nassau (Stuart Cove's Snorkel), and Freeport (Paradise Beach), lots of pictures from each....

 

This review is taking more time than I expected.

 

Mark

[jbrambach]

Thanks for the continued review Mark, your pictures are wonderful.

[markmogil]

Thanks for the continued review Mark, your pictures are wonderful.

 

 

Thanks Jocelyn. I think photos tell the story best.

 

That's a long list of non-Carnival sailings in your signature; so what ship will be your first Carnival Cruise?

 

Mark

[jbrambach]

Thanks Jocelyn. I think photos tell the story best.

 

That's a long list of non-Carnival sailings in your signature; so what ship will be your first Carnival Cruise?

 

Mark

Well, we started cruising with Princess in 98 and were hooked. We weren't sure what to expect from the other lines, but that is what makes Cruise Critic so great. So much info and such great reviews (such as yours with pics) makes it easier to see what the other lines have to offer.

 

We will be sailing the Pride out of Baltimore in Jan and I can not wait! But your review is making the wait more bearable:D

[markmogil]

From NASA to Nassau...

(a lame pun but easy segue)

 

This Nassau harbor seen from aft balcony 6330.

 

A couple of standard issue cruise ship photos:

 

 

 

We chose a privately booked snorkel excursion by offered by Stuart Cove's Diving. Here's their Stuart Cove Bus:

 

 

The BPB (big pink bus) runs a schedule, picking up ticketed passengers at several stops in Nassau. The stop nearest the pier is at a fountain in front of the Ministry of Tourism - it's directly accross the street from pier. The Stuart Cove people sent a map, but the fountain is pretty easy to find (especially for you since you now know what it looks like, sort of)...

 

 

The fountain/Ministry of Tourism stop is scheduled for a 12:15 pick-up. On our trip, they ran about 15 minutes late.

 

Pride is in port 11:00a to 10:00p, so we had a little time to walk around the straw market before it was time catch the BPB...

 

 

 

Onward then, to Stuart Cove's Snorkel/Dive...

 

BTW we booked it right here: http://www.stuartcove.com

[markmogil]

It's about a 30 minute ride from Nassau to Stuart Cove's cove.

 

 

 

 

 

They sell remarkable effective fish food, behold:

 

BEFORE

 

 

AFTER

 

 

Mostly grunts seemed interested in this food, and they (the fish) were pretty aggrerssive about it. The Stuart Cove people were not agressive at all about selling the fish food. It cost $2 for a dynamite sticked-sized portion, and it had explosive results with the fish. My 8yo daughter dove in with a handful of the food, and was unable to dole it out fast enough for the swarming school of grunts. She received minor injuries, mainly to her pride and some tiny fish bites on her fingers.

 

The fish food is only available at the dock, in advance. The don't sell it on the boat, and very few of my fellow snorklers ponied up the $2 - lots of them looked jealous.

 

Our first snorkel stop was a sunken planewreck in 20' of water - a challenging depth for most casual snorklers:

 

 

According to our captian, the plane was used a set piece for the movie Jaws II. Let's get a closer look ...

[markmogil]

 

I snorkled right down to it, and lived to brag about - even took a picture:

 

 

For a brief moment I thought about swimming through, but common sense got the better of me. After all, the next snorkel stop would the shark feeding....

 

 

 

On the next snorkel stop...

[markmogil]

Shark Bait in a box!

 

 

The Stuart Cove crew fills that box with chum-stuff and lowers it to the bottom, a depth of +/- 25'. The fish in the photo are right at the surface. Brave snorklers are matter-of-factly warned to "float on the surface and not make any sudden movements, reach, or dive down." So that's what we did (or refrained from doing as the case may be.)

 

Evidently the sharks know the drill. They appeared below us in a matter of moments, almost as if on cue.

 

OK, so the little fish close-up throws off the whole perspective. The near fish was about a foot long, and the shark 25' below was about a six footer.

 

Even without the little fish in the frame, the shark photo is not too impressive:

 

 

Matter of fact, the most impressive shark sightings were to be had while the bait box was hauled aboard...

 

 

 

And for my taste, the most impressive shark photo of the bunch:

 

 

I like the fin cutting through the water, it just screams shark.

 

Next posts: a little more on Nassau at night, then on to Paradise Beach and Freeport...

[Christisrisen]

Were you in the water with them at some point? Wow that is so neat! Can't wait to go snorkeling.

 

More pictures please!! :O)

 

Great review

 

Debbie

[crusinpsychRN]

I do believe these are the most amazing photos ever! Thank you so much!

[markmogil]

Were you in the water with them at some point? Wow that is so neat! Can't wait to go snorkeling.

 

More pictures please!! :O)

 

Great review

 

Debbie

 

 

Yep, right in the water with the sharks about 25' below. The snorkel guides tie the boat off to a buoy above the bait box, and instruct the snorklers to remain on the surface, holding the bouy line.

 

On our trip, the bouy line was about 30' long, and roughly 15 swimmers spaced themsleves along it like christmas lights.

 

All eight of us in our travelling party enjoyed this excursion, and thought it a good value at about $50pp.

 

Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

[gator919]

i do believe that i saw stewarts cove boats and sharks on an episode of dirty jobs

[markmogil]

Stuart Cove's afternoon snorkel trip returned to their dock at about 4:00pm. From then it took about 45 minutes to get everybody off the boat and into into the pink mini bus, and another 20 minutes for the return trip to Nassau.

 

We asked the driver to let us off at the Fish Fry, no problem.

 

Their are lots of choices at the Fish Fry, we chose Twin Brothers.

 

(Unfortunately, I lost one my cameras during this cruise - and the lost camera had most of my Nassau evening pictures on it.)

 

Here's a daytime photo of Twin Brothers that I've borrowed from the internet (with apologies to Bahamas Airport Taxi Service):

 

 

We had dinner on the second floor porch, which has been modified since this picture was taken. (The wall with the windows is gone now.)

 

The food was excellent. Kids will like the burgers, chicken fingers, and fries. I had the fried whole snapper with roasted 1/2 chicken, rice and peas, and plantains. Apps were conch fritters and chicken wings. No disappointments in our order.

 

So here are the few pictures found on my survivng cameras...

 

The view.

 

The pink building in the background is the restroom facility for the whole Fish Fry. It's like a co-op for the restaurants, and reminded me of a bathroom you might find in a campground.

 

Local beer:'

 

Good choice...

 

 

 

 

Better Choice...

 

 

 

We caught a $24 (for all 8 of us) cab back to the pier, and were on the gangway by 9:00 - Time enough to take this blurry standard issue cruise ship at night photo:

 

 

Next post, Freeport & Dead Man's Reef...

 

(I will finish this, eventually - Not too much left, anyway.)

[markmogil]

i do believe that i saw stewarts cove boats and sharks on an episode of dirty jobs

 

Right you are! Great memory! And it's posted:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dpGJwNmVEU

 

(you may need to watch a brief ad before the clip :()

 

Same boat, same bait boxes, same sharks. Cool :)

[Christisrisen]

NOt sure that I want to willing get that close to them-the sharks-toooo scary or me. LOL

 

I am looking forward to more of this review though!!

 

Debbie

[markmogil]

We arranged for the Paradise Cove mini bus to pick us up at 9:00am. We hit the gangway at 8:30, which allowed enough time for a little pre-excursion wandering through this port shopping tourist market...

 

 

 

 

Things for sale..

 

The bottle openers were a big hit with my 6th grader...

 

 

If you're planning to catch the Paradise Cove mini bus, then here's where you're aiming for:

 

 

Despite the large, clear and prominent sign, we didn't spot this bus stop pavillion so quickly. It's located toward the end of a row of similar pavillions that are not quite in the pedestrian flow off the pier. They're immediately to the left as one walks out of the security fence, and easy enought to walk right past.

 

Our mini-bus driver was on time, and there was no hassle or confusion.