Pride mini review 10/30-11/06-7

[Blurgh]

Well, 11/7 if you chose to stay on. :)

 

*) Baltimore is a very efficient port. Both embarking and debarking.

 

*) Ship is nice, it's gaudy like some of the other Spirit ships but it's more of an understated gaudy. Was some minor damage/salt on stuff when we got on, so I guess it got beat on a little before it came in. So at least they got some practice before this run. lol.

 

*) Food was good, I didn't have anything bad, but there's definitely less "prestige" in what gets served. They're also definitely practicing portion control. For example, prime rib is tasty but is pretty much sandwich cut. So yeah, you can see that they're spending less money on food. At least what you get is good. At lunch, calzone is worth waiting for if you have the patience.

 

*) Plenty of shows if you count the comedy shows. Not a fan of production but people in the group seemed to like the shows. The individual - small group musicians in the bars and lounges are pretty good too.

 

*) Port weather was spotless in all three places. Port Canaveral is kind of a pointless port unless you're going to the Space Center or one of the theme parks, but pretty much everyone (including myself) went to one of those, so I guess it's moot. Long day if you're traveling to Orlando, though.

 

*) Nassau is Nassau. If you don't like Caribbean cities that are not San Juan, you won't like it. I think the perception of Nassau would be turned upside down if they docked on Paradise Island. :P Amazing disparity between the two places, it's kind of lame if you think about it because it doesn't seem like trickle down economics works there.... not that it works anywhere.

 

*) Freeport was alot better than I expected it to be even though the docking area was totally unattractive. A Princess Grand class ship was in drydock which was interesting to look at.

 

*) Crew was pretty friendly I think. Some were a tad cranky on Sat/Sun, but that's understandable because Saturday was one hell of a day and they were put to work Sunday in a spot where a bunch of employees would have had downtime.

 

*) All in all, if you didn't let Saturday morning mar the trip it was a pretty good cruise. But I can't blame someone if it did mar the trip because it was just that extreme. And the best part is that the "hurricane season, hurricane season, you morons, I'd be up there dancing with 3 drinks" crowd can't chime in because it wasn't a hurricane, it was a low pressure getting smushed by two high pressures, churning out an almost constant droning 45-55 MPH wind. Not a drop in the sky, hell when the biggest monster swells were smashing the bow there were breaks in the sky here and there. lol.

 

I won't really bring up the events of Saturday in the review because 900 people will probably bring it up, might get some media attention if someone gets in contact with the right person who wants to do a cheese news story. There were things done right, there were things I think that were done wrong. But hey, for a cruise ship full of people who aren't expecting to be on Deadliest Catch, which is pretty much a crisis situation, things are going to be done right and things are going to be done wrong.

 

edit: I forgot Halloween, that was done pretty well, I was surprised how many people actually dressed up. For those that were on the boat, the sumo wrestler not winning was a crime.

[MSRussell]

Thanks for posting this. I wonder how many people decided to stay on the extra night.

Melanie

[rockabutzer]

Glad everyone is safe and none the worse for wear. I did notice on the positioning map posted on the AIS website that the Pride is moored on the other side of I-95 (Winans Cove) vice Locust Point. I can imagine that the crew is busy trying to get everything ship shape for the next patch of cruisers. :D

[christie629]

Thanks for posting! I am sailing the Pride in 82 days and counting.

 

Glad everyone is okay. Sounds like it was quite an adventure with the weather. I hope not to experience anything like it!