Pride review-4/18-4/25

[cantwait06]

WOW!!! You are killing me:eek:...but I am loving it:D!!! We leave three weeks from today and you are making me more anxious than I thought was possible. We also plan on doing the Our Lucaya beach trek. We will probably do the chairs only though as I do like to sit on chairs on the beach.

 

I can't wait to meet Roger in the piano bar. We usually do the shows and then immediately head to the piano bar.

 

Thanks again...so much for the great review and pictures. I will also do a review but more than likely without the pictures as I'm not sure I know how to import them in to the review. If I figure it out I will try.

 

My mouth is watering for that melting choc. cake!!

 

Sorry to kill you, but you will have the best time. I miss our vacation like crazy, it was definitely the best vacation we have had yet! You will love Roger, he is really funny and talented. Tell him Jamie from cruise critic says hi, he will know who I am, I told him all about these boards!

 

Can't wait to read your review!

 

hey there! welcome back - though that always sounds funny... who wants to be 'back'... :rolleyes:

 

anyhow, i was hoping you'd post when you got back - and look at you, rockin' this review! way to go, i'm enjoying it...

 

takes me back... glad you enjoyed your cruise on the carnival pride!!! i'll be following this to the end :D

 

Wow Mark, thank you, that is a huge compliment from you, considering you are the Pride review King! :D

 

I am really enjoying your review!! I will be on the Pride August 15. I can't wait!!!!

 

 

You'll have a great time!

[cantwait06]

Thanks for posting such a great review. We're doing this cruise next April with our son, who will have turned three a few months earlier. So it's great to hear about doing the cruise with a young child!

 

I love your review. We will be cruising with our 4 year old daughter in August. Your review has helped me picture what it will be like for her on the cruise. We want to have a good balance of family time and mommy daddy time and it looks like you did that. I am looking forward to reading the rest of your review.

 

Thanks for the great review of the Pride. We will be on that ship Nov 7 with our 2 sons ages 7 and 12. I think that they will really enjoy the dolphin encounter and the Our Lucaya beach-that is my choice! My hubby wants everyone to go to Atlantis but I do not think there is enough time to do that. :confused: Your review was awesome and your pictures are just beautiful which gave us a view of what our excursions could be. :rolleyes:

 

 

Cruising with our daughter was definitely great, and thanks to camp carnival it did allow us to have some much needed time together as well. Your kids will love it, there is plenty to do onboard! I hope you all have great cruises!

 

Everyone else, it only lets me do 3 multiquotes per response, but thank you all for your kind words!

[cantwait06]

Ok, time to finish this up.

 

I don't have a lot of pictures to post. Saturday was a really low key day. First off, we were really um...tired from the night before so we layed pretty low. My plan was to get up, grab a chair by the pool, and spend the day swimming and sunbathing with my daughter and fiance.

 

Instead, I woke up late to grey skies. It was so miserable looking out that I couldn't even budge from bed. That and the last day of vacation blues had kicked in. We did get breakfast and then planned on going swimming, but as soon as we walked outside, the wind was hollowing and the rain started pouring. It was really cold and we just weren't feeling the swimming.

 

We wandered the ship a bit, and then played some minigolf. It was actually quite funny since it was so windy the ball was blowing around everywhere. It didn't matter though, we were just having some fun!

 

 

I love this picture because "the whale tail" (thats what my daughter calls it) is in the background!

 

We went back to the room and our steward had left us this:

 

 

We had Zone 24 for debarkation, but it didn't matter, because we were going to do self assist anyway. It was nice to see that we would have been getting off the ship at 12:30 if we had decided to use the zones, but we had a long drive so opted not to.

 

So anyway, I don't have a lot to report for today. Like I said before, we were just really tired and the weather wasn't great, so we took our time packing, and relaxing, and then getting ready for dinner.

 

Before dinner, some friends we had met a few days earlier on the cruise were having a "show-" they were part of a polka band that was playing on the ship. So we stopped by their show-it was actually a lot of fun. People were dancing and having a great time-I never thought I would enjoy polka music but it really was fun!

 

After that we headed to dinner. I was really feeling down by this time because I did not want to go home. We did enjoy our last meal, but again, I don't remember what I ate. I do know I had the WCMC for dessert though, my last one :( . It was delicious as usual. We brought some money to tip our waiter a little extra since he took such good care of us, but he never came back after he served our dessert, so we didn't end up giving it to him. We didn't feel comfortable leaving it on the table.

 

That night the wait staff did sing a goodbye song that was cute and made me sad. I really did not want to go!

 

After dinner, my daughter wanted to go back to camp for one last time to say goodbye to her new friends, so she headed there and we headed back to the room to finish packing.

 

At 9:30, we made our way back to the piano bar for one last night with Roger! We didn't feel much like drinking and it was a quiet night for everyone-I think everyone was kind of feeling the same way.

 

I met up with my new friends who were honeymooning and spent every night at the piano bar as well. Sean and Stephanie, if you are reading this, we had a great time with you! I don't want to post your picture without your permission, so for now, I'll leave it off. They were piano bar lovers too!

 

We stayed for awhile, but didn't make it out all night as I had previously-it was a long week and I was tired! So we headed to the room early and tried to get a good night sleep.

[cantwait06]

So we woke up fairly early on Sunday. We were mostly packed from the night before and were doing self assist, so we didn't have much to do. We got dressed, headed to the Lido for breakfast, and relaxed a bit. Everyone was eating with their luggage with them, or standing around in the hallways with their luggage, and we hadn't even docked yet! We finished breakfast and went back to the room to wait.

 

We left the door to our room open so we could hear the announcements but weren't about to lug our luggage around the ship. No one bothered us or told us to leave the room. Since we were doing self assist and staying on the Riveria deck (deck 1) we were the first ones off, which was nice.

 

I don't know what time it was when we docked or were called off, because I was so busy juggling my luggage and a 3 year old that I didn't notice. We had to go up to deck 2, and when we got there, there was a line that started at the elevators, and wrapped around the hallway, went through the casino, and then back down the hallway until it got to the gangway. We were in line forever. They kept announcing that this was for people on deck 1 doing self assist only, and all others should leave the line, as they would not be allowed off the ship until their specified time. So people were dropping out of line and waiting in the casino or in the hallways.

 

It was so annoying, because the line was out of control and I know there weren't that many people who were on deck 1 and doing self assist.

 

Regardless, we finally got off the ship and made in one piece with 4 pieces of luggage and a 3 year old!

 

I did forget to mention this, and it is important if anyone is going to do the Sleep Inn deal that we did, and catch their shuttle. After breakfast I did call the Sleep Inn to get a confirmation number that I could give the driver when we got picked up. She said there would be someone waiting at 10am. We didn't get off the ship until 10:10, and there was no one there. I called the Sleep Inn, and they sent someone out right away. He must have been close, because by 10:15, we were on our way back to our car.

 

It was so much easier to do self assist and the Sleep Inn shuttle, it was worry free. By 10:45, we were in our car, on the highway and headed back to MA.

 

I think everyone in New England was driving up 95, because we got stuck in a ton of traffic-it took almost 8 hours to drive the 5 1/2 hour ride! We stopped at 2 rest stops, both of which we saw people from the Pride cruise at! It was funny to see people we had been with all week.

[cantwait06]

So anyway, in conclusion, we had a great trip, really the trip of a lifetime. I hope my review helped anyone who is planning a trip on the Pride, and if there are any unanswered questions, please let me know, I'd be happy to help!

 

Thanks so much to everyone who commented on my review. It was a lot of work and your kind comments helped keep me going! I hope you enjoyed it, thanks for reading:D

 

Oh and by the way, tomorrow I am getting my underwater camera pictures back from Blue Lagoon. If there is anything worth sharing I will come back and post them!

 

Thanks again for all of your kind comments!

[family cruisers]

WOW... I can't believe your back and you finished your review. Remember months ago how excited you were as you read others Pride reviews ? Now your an author of your own!!!! You did a great job and I could hear all the excitement as you typed away ..

So glad it turned out to be all you hoped for and more.

 

Carrie

 

So anyway, in conclusion, we had a great trip, really the trip of a lifetime. I hope my review helped anyone who is planning a trip on the Pride, and if there are any unanswered questions, please let me know, I'd be happy to help!

 

Thanks so much to everyone who commented on my review. It was a lot of work and your kind comments helped keep me going! I hope you enjoyed it, thanks for reading:D

 

Oh and by the way, tomorrow I am getting my underwater camera pictures back from Blue Lagoon. If there is anything worth sharing I will come back and post them!

 

Thanks again for all of your kind comments!

[cantwait06]

WOW... I can't believe your back and you finished your review. Remember months ago how excited you were as you read others Pride reviews ? Now your an author of your own!!!! You did a great job and I could hear all the excitement as you typed away ..

So glad it turned out to be all you hoped for and more.

 

Carrie

 

 

Thanks Carrie! I appreciate your support thoughout the whole process-from your review, to answering all of my questions (so patiently!) to your kind words in my review! I can't wait to hear about your next Pride cruise-are you going to review that one as well? I know we will take another Pride cruise someday-but after the wedding we'll take time off from cruising to have more babies! So next time we get on the Pride, it will be with even more kids! :eek:

[JGaleCPA]

I am leaving on the Pride in only five days.

 

I have so enjoyed your review and the pictures of your daughter are priceless.

 

Thanks for taking the time to do this for us.

 

Jim

[family cruisers]

Will probably do a " comparison review from one year to another".

We'll see..

 

When's your wedding?

Gee... Let me guess who your flower girl will be !!!

You have alot to look forward to.... enjoy each moment.

 

Carrie

 

Thanks Carrie! I appreciate your support thoughout the whole process-from your review, to answering all of my questions (so patiently!) to your kind words in my review! I can't wait to hear about your next Pride cruise-are you going to review that one as well? I know we will take another Pride cruise someday-but after the wedding we'll take time off from cruising to have more babies! So next time we get on the Pride, it will be with even more kids! :eek:

[cantwait06]

I am leaving on the Pride in only five days.

 

I have so enjoyed your review and the pictures of your daughter are priceless.

 

Thanks for taking the time to do this for us.

 

Jim

 

Absolutely! Enjoy your time on the Pride, and feel free to let us know how it was when you return!

 

Will probably do a " comparison review from one year to another".

We'll see..

 

When's your wedding?

Gee... Let me guess who your flower girl will be !!!

You have alot to look forward to.... enjoy each moment.

 

Carrie

 

Wedding is July 24th. I'm excited but more excited for the honeymoon...on Carnival, of course! We got engaged last year on the Imagination, its becoming sort of a theme for us!

 

And yes, you know who the flower girl is! :)

[Granny1]

Really enjoyed your review and it brought back some memories, we were on the Pride this past Jan31-Feb7, thru all the snowstorms that Baltimore got, we arrived in a snowstorm and come back to Baltimore after they got 21/2 feet of that ugly white stuff..The only really nice day was in Nassau..I had been to Nassau and Freeport before but my traveling companions have not but we made the best of it, we went to Senior Frogs for lunch then went to a public beach, really enjoyable day, but we never made it into port for Freeport (supposably because of high winds, didn't buy it then and still don't but that's past)..The only excursion we took was in Fla for the air-boat ride, loved it and would do it again only in warmer weather..The ship was great and as was the staff, met alot of nice people on board and of course the usual rude ones, but all in all it was a great trip.. Would do it again in a heartbeat but definitely in warmer weather..Really glad that you had a good trip also and great pictures..:)

[SammieMC00]

First of all thanks so much for the review! It's making me even more excited for our cruise on the pride on may 9th! Awesome job. Congrats on Bingo, your daughter is adoreable, and best wishes for the upcoming wedding!

 

I am leaving on the Pride in only five days.

 

I have so enjoyed your review and the pictures of your daughter are priceless.

 

Thanks for taking the time to do this for us.

 

Jim

 

 

Jim, dont know if you have checked out the Carnival Pride roll call for the May 9th Cruise...but please do there is a bunch of us on there and we're planning a meet n greet at 11am on the first sea day in the aft pool area. We're all planning on wearing Lei's to find each other. You are welcome to join us!

[karrmar]

I'm loving your review so far!! I'm going on my first cruise in October on the Splendor! So, I LOVE reading about everyone's experiences!

 

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the fact that you let your daughter go in the water in her jeans... Little things like that make awesome memories!

 

I'm hooked to your review!

[Ramrac]

I have never done the self assist before, but we plan to do that this time. How do you let them know you plan on doing this? Or do you have to fill something out? Thanks!

 

Only 10 more days for us!

[brooklynfc]

I just want to say that admire you for sticking to healthier eating habits while on a cruise and on vacation! I wish I could, but I'm already dreaming of the food and just can't wait to ditch my diet for a week. But kudos to you;).

[cantwait06]

Really enjoyed your review and it brought back some memories, we were on the Pride this past Jan31-Feb7, thru all the snowstorms that Baltimore got, we arrived in a snowstorm and come back to Baltimore after they got 21/2 feet of that ugly white stuff..The only really nice day was in Nassau..I had been to Nassau and Freeport before but my traveling companions have not but we made the best of it, we went to Senior Frogs for lunch then went to a public beach, really enjoyable day, but we never made it into port for Freeport (supposably because of high winds, didn't buy it then and still don't but that's past)..The only excursion we took was in Fla for the air-boat ride, loved it and would do it again only in warmer weather..The ship was great and as was the staff, met alot of nice people on board and of course the usual rude ones, but all in all it was a great trip.. Would do it again in a heartbeat but definitely in warmer weather..Really glad that you had a good trip also and great pictures..:)

 

 

I'm sorry you missed Freeport, it was wonderful there! I wish we had done an airboat ride in FL but there is always next time! :) Thanks for the kind comments!

 

 

First of all thanks so much for the review! It's making me even more excited for our cruise on the pride on may 9th! Awesome job. Congrats on Bingo, your daughter is adoreable, and best wishes for the upcoming wedding!

 

 

Thank you! Have a great time next week, and be sure to let us know about it!

 

I'm loving your review so far!! I'm going on my first cruise in October on the Splendor! So, I LOVE reading about everyone's experiences!

 

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the fact that you let your daughter go in the water in her jeans... Little things like that make awesome memories!

 

I'm hooked to your review!

 

Thank you! I'm a pretty laid back mom, if she wants to go in the water, I don't mind, even if she is in jeans! I'm the kind of mom who lets her jump in puddles in the rain, I just want her to be a kid and have fun, because before I know it, she'll be grown up!

[cantwait06]

I have never done the self assist before, but we plan to do that this time. How do you let them know you plan on doing this? Or do you have to fill something out? Thanks!

 

Only 10 more days for us!

 

 

Self assist is the way to go. All you have to do is not put your luggage out the night before when everyone else does it. That morning, wait for your floor to be called, and then just proceed to the gangway! It really couldn't be any easier, just make sure you can carry it all!

 

Have a great trip!

 

 

I just want to say that admire you for sticking to healthier eating habits while on a cruise and on vacation! I wish I could, but I'm already dreaming of the food and just can't wait to ditch my diet for a week. But kudos to you;).

 

 

Thank you! I have been dieting pretty seriously and lost 28 pounds right before the cruise. I decided all of that hard work was not worth it for one week and I was going to be really careful. I also decided that I was on vacation and if I really wanted something, I would try it, but not binge on it. I should note here that last year on our 4 day cruise I gained 7 pounds, and I did not want to repeat that.

 

So I ordered from Spa Carnival every evening, and I am telling you, I did not even feel like I was missing anything, the food was still really amazing. I had egg white omlettes for breakfast every day (no cheese) and salads for lunch every day-but I wanted them. When there was something I saw that I wanted, I ordered it along with my Spa Carnival meal, took a bite (or 2!) and then passed it to my fiance. He was happy and I didn't feel deprived. I had warm chocolate melting cake every night for dinner, but I split it with my 3 year old (who didn't eat much!) That way I got it, and wasn't deprived, but didn't overeat. The one thing I didn't worry about was alcohol.

 

I figured I gained 5 pounds and I was ok with that, not thrilled but ok, since it was vacation. I got home and: only gained 1 pound! Amazing! And I never felt like I was dieting. So my advice: don't blow your diet just because of vacation, just eat in moderation, and if you want something, get it, just don't binge on it! You will do a great job, because if I can, anyone can!

[CMM]

 

 

 

Thank you! I have been dieting pretty seriously and lost 28 pounds right before the cruise. I decided all of that hard work was not worth it for one week and I was going to be really careful. I also decided that I was on vacation and if I really wanted something, I would try it, but not binge on it. I should note here that last year on our 4 day cruise I gained 7 pounds, and I did not want to repeat that.

 

So I ordered from Spa Carnival every evening, and I am telling you, I did not even feel like I was missing anything, the food was still really amazing. I had egg white omlettes for breakfast every day (no cheese) and salads for lunch every day-but I wanted them. When there was something I saw that I wanted, I ordered it along with my Spa Carnival meal, took a bite (or 2!) and then passed it to my fiance. He was happy and I didn't feel deprived. I had warm chocolate melting cake every night for dinner, but I split it with my 3 year old (who didn't eat much!) That way I got it, and wasn't deprived, but didn't overeat. The one thing I didn't worry about was alcohol.

 

I figured I gained 5 pounds and I was ok with that, not thrilled but ok, since it was vacation. I got home and: only gained 1 pound! Amazing! And I never felt like I was dieting. So my advice: don't blow your diet just because of vacation, just eat in moderation, and if you want something, get it, just don't binge on it! You will do a great job, because if I can, anyone can!

 

Wow that is encouraging. I am considering another cruise and I am working hard at weight watchers right now. Food has been such a big enjoyment traveling and I was wondering about just what you described. Thanks for sharing.

[cantwait06]

Wow that is encouraging. I am considering another cruise and I am working hard at weight watchers right now. Food has been such a big enjoyment traveling and I was wondering about just what you described. Thanks for sharing.

 

 

anytime! I know you can do it-and honestly, I never felt like I was missing anything! :D

[tomsgirl3]

I have to tell you I am very impressed that you were able to maintain your pre-cruise meal plan! I myself lost 17 pounds last year on Weight Watchers and have kept it off. We'll have to see how well I do on our cruise when we board the Pride this coming Sunday. LOL

 

I saw a question on another thread and it got me thinking that I need the answer as well and I knew that you just coming off of the Pride would probably know.

 

Does the Pride have Spenda on board? No one on the other thread had any anwers for the Pride. I don't mind bringing it if I need to but my husband MUST have Spenda for his coffee.

 

Thanks

[Kaboochi]

I have to tell you I am very impressed that you were able to maintain your pre-cruise meal plan! I myself lost 17 pounds last year on Weight Watchers and have kept it off. We'll have to see how well I do on our cruise when we board the Pride this coming Sunday. LOL

 

I saw a question on another thread and it got me thinking that I need the answer as well and I knew that you just coming off of the Pride would probably know.

 

Does the Pride have Spenda on board? No one on the other thread had any anwers for the Pride. I don't mind bringing it if I need to but my husband MUST have Spenda for his coffee.

 

Thanks

Tomsgirl - I am jealous - just off Pride 2 weeks ago and it was a FANTASTIC cruise. I too am a WW member - lifetime. I do think they had splenda, but - it takes no room to pack some in your bag. There are so many wonderful food choices in the Mermaid grill so you should be able to eat lots of fun food without the points racking up. The salad bar is good but not great, the dressing yummy (put the dressing in a separate bowl and dip our fork in it, then into your salad (saves calories). You can go to the deli and just ask for meats that you can add to a salad. I gained 2 pounds (not bad) and still enjoyed some choc sweets, warm melting cake and LOTS of alcohol!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You will make wise choices - enjoy.

 

If you go to the casino, go to the bank of machines that has "wolf run" (penny slots). They all paid really well all week long. Report back, anxious to hear

[cantwait06]

I have to tell you I am very impressed that you were able to maintain your pre-cruise meal plan! I myself lost 17 pounds last year on Weight Watchers and have kept it off. We'll have to see how well I do on our cruise when we board the Pride this coming Sunday. LOL

 

I saw a question on another thread and it got me thinking that I need the answer as well and I knew that you just coming off of the Pride would probably know.

 

Does the Pride have Spenda on board? No one on the other thread had any anwers for the Pride. I don't mind bringing it if I need to but my husband MUST have Spenda for his coffee.

 

Thanks

 

Hi Tom's girl! You will do great on the ship. The Spa Carnival choices at dinner time really were very good. We ate at the Lido for lunch and dinner every day. I personally loved the salad bar-it was the only choice in there that was full of fresh food (in my opinion) I grabbed 2 bowls every time and used the second bowl for my dressing so I could do the fork dip trick so I didn't use a lot.

 

I did see some Splenda on board, I think, but I didn't drink tea or coffee on board so I can't be positive. I'd bring some just to be on the safe side.

 

Good luck, and let us know how you do and how your trip was:)

[trptplayer22]

Ok, so past that rant. We finally got off the ship and outside, and it was hot! So, the port of Nassau isn’t the most beautiful thing to look at. The city itself looks jam packed with houses, and its just not beautiful and clean looking. However, the water is a spectacular blue color and is really beautiful, so that sort of made up for it.

 

We walked off the pier and in order to get anywhere in the city, they make you walk through a place with some shops in it. We bypassed those and got out, but not without being hounded every 2 feet (literally) by people trying to braid my daughter’s hair or sell us some junk. And we weren’t even in the straw market yet! Right outside of that building you can grab a taxi, rent a scooter, or walk, and we decided to walk. We were doing a dolphin encounter at Blue Lagoon, but our boat didn’t leave until 1:30, so we were going to do some shopping first.

 

We walked toward the straw market (if you want to go there, walk out of the building and head to the right) and stopped at a few shops along the way. Again, as we walked down the street we were hounded to buy things or get our hair braided. As we walked around, I wasn’t very impressed-it wasn’t beautiful by any means and the locals were extremely pushy. I understand they are just trying to make their living (and we were the only cruise ship in port) but if you just kept walking like we do in the States when you don’t want to buy something, they seemed to truly take offense to it and will keep hounding you until you answer them!

 

We walked to the straw market and I immediately regretted it. It was so hot in there, and narrow. I could feel the anxiety coming on, but I pushed through and continued in. I noticed that almost every stand had the same exact merchandise in it. I had heard there were good “knock off” bags and even though I’m not really into Coach or any of those bags, I checked them out. Now, being that I’m not really into those bags, I don’t know much about them, but the bags were so bad that even I could tell they were fake. They were poor quality and not worth it, in my opinion.

 

Everyone was really pushy in there and they were even targeting my daughter. On more then one occasion they said to my daughter “hey honey, you want this? Tell mommy and Daddy” which then of course followed by a yelling “mommy I want that!” fit. We let her pick a magnet, a straw purse, and a dolphin bracelet but that was it.

 

We were also looking at little drums for our nephew. We stopped at one lady to look at her drums. I leaned over and touched a drum (she had them stacked really high) and she started screaming to pick it up. She came over yelling at me to pick up the drums not touch them and knocked into her stack, making all of her drums and other items start falling over onto the ground, hitting me and my daughter on the way down. I leaned down to help her pick them up and she started screaming at me! I dropped the items I was helping her with, grabbed my daughter, and walked away. Honestly, I didn’t knock them over, but I felt bad for her, until she blamed me. Then I got out of there as soon as possible, I thought she was going to attack me!

 

I so agree with you about the selling and pushing and the staw market. Yuck. Some guy tried the tough sell with my husband. I went in there and found the nearest exit and left. Didn't buy a thing.

We're going on our second cruise, the same cruise in Sept. I loved everything but that staw market and pushiness. Oh and if anyone is curious we took the horse and carriage ride thru Nassau. Nope not gonna happen again.

 

Added note: Your daughter is absolutley beautiful and what a cutie.

[cantwait06]

Thank you trptplayer! :)

[WendyCn]

Loved your review. We are going on the Pride in September and can't wait. Our very first cruise (honeymoon) was on the Miracle which cruised out of Baltimore. We were hooked even though the seas were very rough. We had a simply wonderful time.

 

We like to spend some time in the piano bar. Did Roger happen to mention how long he will be on the Pride?