Carnival Pride July 4 Review - With Pictures!

[nybumpkin]

I haven't finished writing everything yet, but I finished the first part and uploaded photos - so it's time to start the review!

 

About us: This is our 12th Carnival cruise, but first time sailing out of Baltimore. I’m 50, DH is 49, and we sail with two of our three sons, ages 14 and 10. Oldest son is away at school, studying to become a ship’s engineering officer. He might get to sail with us again in two years if he has some free time during that summer – that is, if he wants to spend his vacation from the Merchant Marine Academy sailing on a ship!

 

This is something close to what oldest son gets to sail....

 

We booked this cruise to sail out of Baltimore. We’ve done six cruises out of New York and figured we needed to sail down the Chesapeake for a change. The drive time from our home is about 6 hours, so it’s easy for us to drive in the day before. The other motivating factor in this cruise was Half Moon Cay, which we fell in love with last year on our cruise on Miracle.

[ava_girl_123]

YAY! Loving all of these Pride reviews lately! Looking forward to it! :D

[kjunea]

awesome! Can't wait for more!

[nybumpkin]

We drove down to South Jersey the day before the cruise to visit my family. We did have to make a detour to Long Island to drop off a car for our oldest son, who is allowed to have a car for the month of July, but it was nice to see him and take him and his roommate to lunch. We spent the night just south of Philadelphia, on the Jersey side of the Delaware, so we could be up early to finish the drive to Baltimore. I wanted to give ourselves lots of time, not knowing whether I95 would be a parking lot on a holiday weekend.

 

 

We ended up arriving in Baltimore at 9:30, and Pride was just docking. (As we learned later, the Coast Guard had to meet the ship off Norfolk to take off a sick passenger.) The parking lot attendants suggested that we go get something to eat and come back after 11. Realizing that Fort McHenry was but a short drive away, and it being the 4th of July, we decided to visit the fort for a while. It was well worth the visit. The park opens at 8 am, so if you’re in Baltimore early before your cruise, you might want to stop by.

 

Fort McHenry and flag

Civil war-era cannons

 

 

Fort McHenry

 

 

(See? Despite booking a “beach” cruise, we managed to find something educational for our kids!)

[nybumpkin]

The port area is very easy to navigate – it’s right off I95 by the Fort McHenry tunnel. Parking was a breeze. However, when we arrived after 11, they were still disembarking the last cruise’s passengers, so we knew we were in for a bit of a wait. Security was easy (in the parking lot, they give you a rundown of prohibited items so you still have a chance to leave them in your car). VIP check-in was a bit slow – when we first arrived, there was only one representative doing the check-in. Still, we were through in a reasonable time. And then we went to sit – and sit – and sit. Finally, around 1:30 they started boarding. Since we’re VIP, we received Zone 2 for boarding, so we were called almost immediately. (They called Zone 1, Zone 2, and then Special Assistance.)

Since most passengers had arrived by the time we started boarding, we knew (a) the cabanas on Half Moon Cay would go very quickly and (b) everyone would be hungry and the Lido deck would be mobbed. So DH stood in line at the shore excursion desk to book a cabana and I headed up to Lido deck with the kids to find lunch. It all worked perfectly: DH got a cabana (even though we were among the first to board, five cabanas were booked already and they were all gone within 2 hours) and the boys and I found a table on the Lido deck by the pool, not too far from the burgers.

Passengers

This was definitely a mid-Atlantic cruise. Most passengers seemed to be from Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, with a few outliers like us and some folks from North Carolina. (Hey, I’m originally from South Jersey, so I fit right in.) For the most part, really nice people (although, as with any cruise, there were standouts….)

[nybumpkin]

I put dinner and sailaway in the same category because they completely overlapped. Since Pride docked late, she also sailed late – 5:40. And since Circle C registration was at 5:15 and early dinner was at 6:00, we didn’t get to see too much of sailaway until after dinner. However, sailing late also meant that we would get to be on deck for sailing under the Bay Bridge – which wouldn’t have happened if we had sailed on time.

 

 

Our table was a four-top booth on the upper level of the Normandie restaurant. No windows for us. Dinner for me was Chicken a la Greque, DH had tilapia, and youngest son had ribs. (DH thought the tilapia was flavorful, but dry.) As for older son – he had fruit cocktail and pizza with fries. At least we managed to get a little fruit into him.

 

 

After dinner we went on deck. You reach the Bay Bridge about 2 hours after sailing from Baltimore; we have been over the bridge several times, but have never sailed down the Chesapeake. I wanted to view the bridge from the flying bridge on deck 9, but deck 9 forward was closed due to the wind. We went up to deck 11 instead and just made it under the bridge when security closed off all the forward decks due to wind. (I think they were willing to tolerate people on the forward decks until that point because all of the photographers in the crowd would have rebelled otherwise.) Off we went to Lido deck aft instead and enjoyed views of the Delmarva Peninsula on one side and Tidewater on the other.

 

 

Baltimore Harbor Light

 

 

Sandy Point Light

 

 

Bay Bridge and MSC container ship

 

 

Bay Bridge

 

 

Sailing under Bay Bridge

 

 

 

When it started getting dark, we went back to our cabin. Since we had a starboard cabin, we figured we would get July 4 fireworks from Tidewater towns along our journey down the bay. We weren’t disappointed – we had probably better than two hours of fireworks viewing!

 

 

I was going to take youngest son to the Welcome Aboard party at 10:30, but I was just too tired. We called it a night around 11. As for July 4 celebrations – unless they did something at the Welcome Aboard show, the only extras I noticed were (a) a large flag hanging in the atrium and (b) some July 4-themed photos.

[nybumpkin]

Here is the flag in the atrium:

 

And here is sunset on the Chesapeake:

[nybumpkin]

More tomorrow - I need a night's sleep!:D

[oncruisecontrol]

Great start.

[minni323]

I cant wait to read the rest of your review, i am getting so excited for my cruise.:D

[akers123]

Great review...I leave on Sunday and can't wait!

[rebeccaknott]

I also live in upstate New York and I am going on that same cruise. I would love to hear the details about the shows and cruise director. I am planning to renew my wedding vows and will have a lot of 1st time cruisers going with us.

[nybumpkin]

We spent our sea day morning in our usual manner, playing cards and drinking coffee on the Promenade deck. DH also found the Sudoku puzzles, which gave him his fix for the day. The kids went off with Camp Carnival and Circle C. Youngest son has no problem making friends, and very soon we saw him out and about doing scavenger hunts with new friends. If older son isn’t with Circle C, he’s hanging out on the sports deck, waiting to play basketball with someone. (LeBron James announced his decision to go with the Miami Heat during our cruise. I told son that his cruise dollars (well, ours, actually) worked very hard to get LeBron to Miami, explaining to him that Micky Arison is the majority owner of the Heat.) This afternoon we had our Cruise Critic get-together and cabin crawl – we had an inside, outside view, extended aft balcony, and ocean suite. Afterward DH and I went to tea in the Normandie restaurant.

 

 

Dinner tonight was “elegant” night and the “Captain’s Celebration” dollar-off drinks. Lots of men in suits and women in cocktail dresses, but also a fair number of folks who opted for buttoned shirts/Dockers and dressy capris/blouses. If there were shorts, I missed them. For the first time on a cruise, I did not order the lobster. Instead, they had a new fish on the menu called Corvina, a type of croaker that people compare to sea bass. It was really very tasty.

 

 

Captain's introduction of officers

 

While we were waiting for our main course, the Maitre’D came to our table to ask whether we would like to try the Chef’s Table the following night (Tuesday). I had been interested before we sailed based on Host Mach’s and others’ reviews of the dinner, but had hesitated to book once we were onboard. We promised youngest son that he could go with us to the Supper Club on this cruise, and had already booked David’s for the night after leaving Half Moon Cay. However, this was just too good an opportunity. The Maitre’d promised he’s take good care of the boys if they came to the dining room (my kids love the dining room – as much as the youngest loves Camp Carnival, he doesn’t want to have dinner with Camp Carnival). So we went ahead and booked. Chef Ramesh Selvam came over to our table to greet us and ask about any food allergies. More on the Chef’s Table in Tuesday’s segment….

 

 

Steve and our wait staff, Danilo and Nashin

 

After dinner, the boys made their escape to get out of their tuxes (they dress up without complaining, but after dinner is their time and they were not going to spend their evening dressed up! DH and I took in the main show, “Vroom,” which we’ve seen several times on our cruises – but it’s still fun to watch. Afterward, we tried the piano bar, with Max. Max is not strictly a “piano” guy – he’s a “keyboard” guy. He did use the grand piano a few times, but for the most part he stuck to his electronic keyboard. One thing I did appreciate is that the piano bar was completely nonsmoking – first time I’ve seen that on a cruise. I wouldn’t say the place was mobbed, but he seemed to have a good crowd. And the bar staff was great.

 

 

We also sat in on karaoke for the first time on a cruise. There were some rather talented people out there – at the same time, there were some who clearly should be nowhere near a microphone. Either way, it was a lot of fun.

[Buffettfan 225]

I haven't finished writing everything yet, but I finished the first part and uploaded photos - so it's time to start the review!

 

I am writing review and photos to share, pretty savy but for the world of me in Webshots cannot photos to resize or find the correct thing to hightlite for the http:// thing. Since your photo is appropriate size, thought I'd ask.

Thanks

[nybumpkin]

Another fun day of cards, coffee and just hanging out. I went up to the spa to use the hot tub, and it was so much nicer than the ones on the open deck (adults only, too!) Then it was time to get ready for the Chef’s Table.

 

 

We had received a confirming note in our cabin, advising us to wear closed-toed shoes since we would be in the galley for part of the evening. I had only my sneakers, but I figured no one would really be looking at my feet anyway. We took the boys to the dining room, where the Maitre’d greeted them and had an assistant take them to their table. We then made our way to the lobby to meet the Chef’s Table group.

 

 

In the lobby, we were greeted by an assistant Maitre’d who had a list of guests matched to their pictures (from the photos they took when boarding). Chef Ramesh then escorted us to the galley. As we entered, we saw Nashin, our assistant waiter from the dining room, waiting in line for appetizers - he gave us a big grin. We were brought over to a stainless steel table not far from the production line, where champagne and appetizers were waiting for us. For each appetizer, Chef Ramesh explained the ingredients and how they were made: Ahi tuna with citrus marinade, soft-shell taco, duck confit potsticker, and avocado cheesecake. Keep in mind that these appetizers do NOT count toward the seven-course meal that will be served. A dessert chef then prepared a warm chocolate melting cake that would cook while we were dining.

 

 

After appetizers and a galley tour, we were led to the lower level of Beauties disco where a table was set for the 12 of us, with name tags and individual menus for each of us. (The menu was curled up and fastened with a ribbon with star anise - a nice touch. The servers asked us our wine preference (they did not serve different wines with each course) - and then the food started. For each course, Chef Ramesh explained the inspiration for the dish and how it was prepared. Here is the menu for the evening:

 

Norwegian Salmon Tartare

Avocado Mousse, Salmon Caviar

 

Fire Roasted Tomato and Poblano Pepper Bisque

Grilled Corn, Cilantro Drizzle

 

Rock Shrimps and Apple Beignets

Tapioca Crunch on Tomato Carpaccio, Garlic Lemon Aioli

 

 

Beignets

 

 

Chopped Mediterranean Salad

Shaved Pumpkin, Feta Cheese Crumble

 

 

Filet of Chilean Sea Bass

Wine Stewed Shallot and Chives Vinaigrette, Leeks Emulsion, Peas Risotto

Sea Bass

 

 

Aged Filet Mignon

Onion Streusel, Three Pepper Mustard

Filet Mignon

 

 

Your Special-Made Chocolate Melting Cake

With a Surprise from the Chef

 

 

Dessert

 

 

 

Chef's Table magician (aka "Table Artist")

 

 

Dinner lasted until almost 10:30. At the end, Chef Ramesh presented us with an autographed cookbook and photo of our group. It was an unforgettable experience, and in our view well worth the $75 per person charge.

 

 

Group photo

 

 

Given the hour and an early port time the next day in Grand Turk, we called it a night.

[nybumpkin]

We visited Grand Turk last year on Miracle, and we really weren’t crazy about the swimming area near the cruise port. We read on the “ports of call” board about Jack’s Shack, just a short walk down the beach, and decided to try it. We disembarked around 9:00 (no need to disembark around 7, when we docked) and headed down the beach, past Margaritaville and the Flowrider, to Jack’s. You can’t miss it – Jack has a large diving flag out front. There’s not much to it – a tiki bar, barbeque area for lunch, gift shop, and chairs/umbrellas. One of Jack’s folks set us up with chairs and an umbrella ($20 for us) and we then took to the water. The swimming at Jack’s is so much nicer than by the port – the bottom is sandy, not rocky.

 

 

Jack's Shack

 

 

 

 

Pride from Jack's Shack

 

 

Boys swimming at Jack's Shack

 

 

Boys on the beach

 

 

After a while we left the boys to build sand castles and play in the surf while DH and I went to meet Jack and sample some rum. Jack has a coupon on his website for a free shot of Bambarra Reserve rum, which is a product of the Turks and Caicos. Wow, was that good! (I bought a bottle in the store on the way back to the ship.) After that, DH ordered Presidente beer and I sampled Jack’s rum punch. Okay, I did more than sample – before we headed back to the ship, I went through three of Jack’s rum punch drinks. The crowd at the bar was a lot of fun.

 

 

In the category of “Small world, isn’t it?” DH was talking to Jack about his marine construction career. Seems Jack spent some time working in the Great Lakes on dredging projects – which is how DH got his engineering start while he was in college.

Around 12:30 we decided to head back to the ship for lunch (after buying a Jack’s Shack tee shirt), and sailaway was 2:00.

 

 

This evening’s show was “Wonderful World,” which we saw three years ago on Liberty. Unfortunately, our day at the beach (not to mention the rum punch) caught up with me, and we decided to skip the late night party on the Lido deck.

[nybumpkin]

I am writing review and photos to share, pretty savy but for the world of me in Webshots cannot photos to resize or find the correct thing to hightlite for the http:// thing. Since your photo is appropriate size, thought I'd ask.

Thanks

If you're in Webshots, click on the photo you want to post, then in the box on the right (under "Download this photo") click on "link to it." This will bring up a link that says "post this photo" and gives you several options. I click on 500 pixels, then copy the link that appears under "post in a forum." After you've copied the link, post it in your review. I usually preview the post before actually posting, because the spacing tends to get a little funny. Hope this helps!

[Buffettfan 225]

If you're in Webshots, click on the photo you want to post, then in the box on the right (under "Download this photo") click on "link to it." This will bring up a link that says "post this photo" and gives you several options. I click on 500 pixels, then copy the link that appears under "post in a forum." After you've copied the link, post it in your review. I usually preview the post before actually posting, because the spacing tends to get a little funny. Hope this helps!

It makes sense, I log into webshots, click on my album but all I am offerred is "upload photos." -I know how to select a photo from home computer, but it is not offering any sizing either.

I am using a free account right now, does that matter?

Thanks--just want to share a great review like you are doing.

Suzy

[boaterette]

I enjoy reading your reviews.

[nybumpkin]

It makes sense, I log into webshots, click on my album but all I am offerred is "upload photos." -I know how to select a photo from home computer, but it is not offering any sizing either.

I am using a free account right now, does that matter?

Thanks--just want to share a great review like you are doing.

Suzy

Suzy - a free account shouldn't matter (that's what I use). It sounds like your photos may not have uploaded properly. BTW, it took me a couple of years before I figured out how to post photos in reviews.:o Before our February cruise, I would post thumbnails or links to the Webshots photos.

 

Boaterette - Many thanks!

[nybumpkin]

We’re not people who book cruises for ports. Generally, we’d be just as happy to have the ship sail around for a week with no ports, because we love sea days. Half Moon Cay is an exception, though. As I noted at the beginning, we loved this place so much it was part of the reason we booked this cruise on Pride. It’s absolutely the best beach I’ve ever visited, and the water is wonderful for swimming.

 

 

Half Moon Cay Beach

 

 

Water sports area

 

 

 

Since we booked a cabana, we had priority for a tender – any excursions that were scheduled before noon were asked to meet in the Taj Mahal Lounge at 8:45. The tendering process started fairly close to 9:00, so we were on the island early. At the information booth, we turned in our tickets and boarded trams to take us out to the cabanas. We had cabana #5 (Sky Blue); last year, we had #11 and decided we wanted to be a little closer this time. Our cabana had eight sodas, two large water bottles, four oranges, a plate of fruit, a plate of veggies, and tortilla chips with salsa/sour cream/guacamole. We had two towels, four water mats, and four sets of snorkel gear. Cabanas also have a table with four chairs, air conditioner and fan, two loungers, a misting fan, and an outside shower for rinsing off. It’s $225, but the way we looked at it was four people equals about $57 per person, which was less expensive than a lot of excursions. And it allowed us to stay out of the sun when not swimming – being of Northern European descent and having a family history of skin cancer, we’re not sun people.

 

 

Boys and Cabana

 

 

Cabana Goodies

[kjunea]

Love your night at the Chef's Table! I'll never get there because DH is a Meat and Potatoes kind of guy, but I live it through everyone else! And I agree with you about Half Moon Cay! Loveliest Beach around! DH thought renting a cabana was a waste of money until he got there and he loved it. We had #7 when we were there last year and I think it is the perfect place.

[nybumpkin]

It rained a bit in the morning – there was a storm off to the west that made for some great photos of the Pride – but nothing major.

 

 

It was dark and stormy...;)

 

 

The "I wish I could stay here forever" bar

 

 

My artsy "flowers" photo

 

 

View of Pride from our cabana

 

 

 

 

 

Lunch is served at a picnic pavilion area behind the beach. It was okay, not exactly gourmet – but it’s beach food. Given the amount of food in the cabana, we didn’t need much to eat anyway.

 

 

I had read on other threads here that one problem with some of the cabanas that are closer to the main beach is that people don’t seem to understand the concept of “private cabana,” particularly when it comes to the shower. In fact, on the tender on the way over in the morning I mentioned it to some of the other Cruise Critic folks who had cabanas and they couldn’t believe that might happen. (For those of us who grew up vacationing at the Jersey Shore, you wouldn’t think of walking into someone’s yard to use their outside shower.) Well, the posters were right. We had several people (including one ginormous family – more on them later) come up to our cabana – with us sitting right there – to use the shower and we had to keep directing them to the public showers, just a short walk away. Sheesh.

 

 

About 3:00 we decided to call it a day and head for the tender. As it turned out, the ginormous family decided to head for the tender at the same time, and they didn’t seem to understand the concept of waiting in line. The entire group kept trying to push themselves ahead of others – one would get further up in the line, and then the rest would join them. I guess some people are just special.

 

 

Tendering in Half Moon Cay is not a rapid process. There is a small channel between the tender pier and the ocean, and only one tender can go through at a time. So while one tender is boarding passengers, the next tender has to wait outside the channel. (Apparently some first-timers were very unhappy with tendering and gave Cruise Director Kirk an earful about it.)

 

 

Half Moon Cay tenders

 

 

 

This cruise, we promised youngest son a chance to go to the steakhouse, and this was the night we booked David’s. Yes, son was the only child in David’s, although I have seen kids there before. He ordered crab cake, Caesar salad, and surf and turf; DH ordered lobster bisque, Caesar salad, and surf and turf; and I ordered beef carpaccio, tomato with gorgonzola, and surf and turf. Son did a great job with the crab cake and salad, but faltered a bit when the entrée arrived. Still, he managed a lot of it. I think he would have preferred eating earlier than 7:00 (although we normally eat at 6:30 at home).

 

 

After dinner, son headed off to Camp Carnival, while DH and I took in the piano bar again. Not crowded, but not empty, either.

[trptplayer22]

YAY! Loving all of these Pride reviews lately! Looking forward to it! :D

 

 

Me too, Gail you don't have too much longer, I got a month and a half. I still read all the Pride reviews anyway, even though we were on her last year.

[louigi]

Thanks for the Pride review!

 

We have to wait until October next year, but I am getting more excited with each review I read!