Pride 8/1 to 8/8

[twinsmom2001]

I am going to try the review thing. This was our first cruise.

 

Day 1-Day at Sea

We arrived at the port at 10:30am. We were in zone 1 and boarded the ship about 1:00. I went right to the excursion desk and booked a cabana for Half Moon Cay. There were only 4 left when I got there. After that we went to our cabin to drop off our carry on bags and went to Mermaid's Grill for lunch. Around 2:30 they announced our cabins were ready, so we went to unpack. Half way through unpacking, we had the muster drill. You did not have to take your life jacket. You just had to line up on deck. Our kids had gotten wristbands they had to wear the whole trip, so they knew where their muster station was. We went up to deck 10 for the sail away. It was around 6:00 when we finally sailed. There was a meeting about Camp Carnival that we went to before getting ready for dinner. We went to get ready for dinner then. We had the 8:15 dinner seating. The food in the dining room was very good. I cannot remember what I had each night. Our wait staff was great. After dinner, our kids wanted to go to Camp Carnival. They went until midnight. We had to pay extra for the hours between 10pm and midnight. My husband and I went for a drink and sat on the Lido deck in the adult pool area. We picked our kids up at midnight and all went for pizza at midnight then called it a night.

 

Day 2 and 3-Days at Sea

We basically did the same thing these two days. The kids went to camp and we sat on the deck during the afternoon. formal night was on day two so we ate in the dining room. On day 3 we ate at Mermaid's Grill instead of the dining room. They had some of the same food there as they did in the dining room. In the evening, our kids went to camp again. On day 3 the kids only stayed until 10 since we were docking in Grand Turk at 7am.

 

Day 4-Grand Turk

We were docked at 7:00 and off the ship by 7:30. We rented a golf cart from Nathan and drove around the island. We got lost while we were looking for the lighthouse. We finally found our way and got to the lighthouse. It was really nothing impressive. There was a small snack stand at the lighthouse. My husband got a beer there that was brewed in Turks & Cairo and the three of us got sodas. After our little stop, we headed to Governor's Beach. We thought the beach was very nice. We had to be back on board the ship by 1:30 so around 12:00 we went to return the golf cart and head back to the ship. We went to the gift shop at Margaritaville for souvenirs and it was mobbed. We went to get on board and a Caribbean Princess ship was docking. We were all stuck in a shop at the beginning of the cruise center until the ship docked. It took about 1/2 hr. We were back on the ship by 1:00. We went to Mermaid's Grill for lunch then. After lunch, the kids left us for the night to go to camp. We had dinner ourselves and hung out at the adult pool after.

 

Day5-Half Moon Cay

The ship docked at 9:00. Since we had to tender to the island, we had to get off the ship differently. If you had an excursion that was for before noon, you were the first ones to get off the ship. The next to get off were people who had excursions after noon and the last to get off were people with no excursions. Since we had a cabana, we were the first ones to tender to the island. The last tender back to the ship left at 4:15. An announcement was made to return the tender area by 2:30 because it would be very crowded. Some of the last people did not even get off of the ship until after 12. We arrived at our cabana around 10am. I would highly recommend a cabana. It was so hot the day we were there. We went back to the tender area around 3:00 and got right on a tender. We did not have to wait for a tender to get back to the ship. We pulled away from Half Moon Cay at 5:00. This was our favorite stop of the cruise. It was beautiful. Again the kids left us for the night and went to camp. They stayed until 10 since Freeport had a 7am docking time.

 

Day 6-Freeport

We were docked at 7:00 and off the ship by 7:30. We found the taxis and asked them to take us to the closest beach. They took us to Our Lacaya (??spelling). There were chairs on the beach so we each laid on one. The beach was very unimpressive. The kids did not want to go in the water there. They said it was dirty. Around 8:30 a man came up to us and told us the beach was free, but it was $10 a person to rent the chairs. He said the $10 gave you a wrist band to use a pool and waterslide. We paid the money and went to swim in the pool instead. We then went to the shops across the street form the beach. It was nothing impressive. The duty free alcohol and tobacco was cheaper on the ship. At 11:00 we caught a taxi back to the ship and shopped in the few shops in front of the ship. This was our least favorite port. If we would have know what it was like, we would have got off the ship, went to the few shops outside the ship and got back on and used the pools onboard. This night was the second formal night. We did not go. We ate at Mermaid's Grille. The kids left us around 5:00 and we did not get them back until 3:30am. There was a party at the camp for the kids that lasted until 3:30am. They delivered the kids to their cabins. Parents did not have to go that late to pick them up. After dinner my husband and I went to our usual spot, the adult pool area.

 

Day7-Sea Day

This was the same as the other 2 sea days. The kids left us for camp and we just hung around. We went to the gift shop on board to by our alcohol and gifts. If you smoke, cigarettes are 5 cartons for $108. We do not smoke, but know that a carton is around $50. Captain Morgan and Bacardi rum was 2 liters for $20. There was also other deals on other stuff. It was about 1/2 the price as we would pay in Pennsylvania.

 

We did not go to any shows, but did go to the casino a few nights. We really just lounged around on the sea days. We were taking this as a relaxing vacation, not a vacation that we had to be on a schedule for shows and such. We just wanted to do things at our leisure.

 

The only complaint we had, and it is not a big one, was the amount of time we had in ports. Next time we will be looking for a cruise with longer port times. Our next one maybe the Pride to Bermuda. It will give us more time to enjoy our stop. Other than that it was a perfect vacation.

[djhsolara]

Nice review...thank you!!

 

Another PA person here...and we'll be on Pride in just a few short weeks. Glad you enjoyed your sailing!! :) :)

[KatieLovesMickey]

Hi!

Thanks for the review!!! We're sailing on the Pride in 5 (!) days so I really appreciate the insights.

 

If you got to the port at 10:30 and boarded in Zone 1, how on earth were 11 cabanas gone already??? :eek: We're hoping to get one, but now I'm really nervous!!

[kod1963]

Sorry to hijack a little but I'm too lazy to post my own review. My family and I were on the same sailing and had a fabulous time. The ship sailed full but we rarely felt that it was too crowded - except when the doors to the MDR opened. Most nights there was a big crowd. We ate in the MDR each evening and had a wonderful wait team who really made each meal very special.

 

We had an inside and a balcony cabin on the starboard front 7th deck. We were just a few rooms away from the bridge. Every time we went out, the crew members on the bridge would wave to us. When we went to the captain's party on the first elegant night, the captain said to my husband, "Aren't you staying on the 7th deck starboard side, nice to meet you instead of waving."

 

We absolutely loved Grand Turk. We spent the day at the beach at Jack's Shack and spent a long time snorkeling right off the beach there where we saw a ton of fish. Also spent a bit of time at the bar where we discovered the wonders of ginger beer and dark rum:D. Jack and Janet are very accommodating proprietors. There was a large group of over 100 folks from the ship having a private shindig there but the beach and bar were not crowded. We did learn that the drinking age in Grand Turk is whenever you can stand at the bar and order. So keep an eye on your teens :).

 

HMC was also beautiful and incredibly hot. We gazed longingly at the cabanas. Even the clamshells sold out early on. We snorkled off the beach but there was not much to see. My DD (17) did see a stingray and another fish hanging out and they let her approach them but she was afraid to get too close. We also went back to the ship about 3. Too darn hot.

 

Agree with you about Freeport. Went to the shopping area at Port Lucaya but it was so hot and humid that we went back to the ship fairly early. Three port days in a row was a bit much. We all wished there could have been a break in there somewhere.

 

We arrived late back to Baltimore because they had to use the stabilizers because of rough seas. Debarkation went smoothly. We did self assist and this was so much quicker than waiting for our bags. It helped that our youngest is 15 and is a real pack mule :p.

 

We had a wonderful time and can't wait to cruise again.

[littlesnit]

Hello recent Pride cruisers,

Do any of you have a copy of the Fun Times, and if so, would you be kind enough to scan or let me know the areas where smoking is allowed now.

My boyfriend is a chimney and I want to make sure we're in the right areas.

Thanks.

[twinsmom2001]

Hi!

Thanks for the review!!! We're sailing on the Pride in 5 (!) days so I really appreciate the insights.

 

If you got to the port at 10:30 and boarded in Zone 1, how on earth were 11 cabanas gone already??? :eek: We're hoping to get one, but now I'm really nervous!!

 

 

 

Sorry. That was a typo. I meant zone 3.