Carnival Pride July 1-8 Review: Baseball, Inner Harbor, and (oh yeah) a Cruise!

[nybumpkin]

About us: This was our 16th cruise, all with Carnival. We started cruising in 2004 with a 5-day Canada cruise, just to see if we’d enjoy cruising. We got hooked. Before this cruise started we had 94 sailing days so we were Platinum before VIFP and we’re still Platinum. I’ll talk about VIFP throughout the review. I like to do a "what we did" review followed by my opinions on the cruise, so most of my "editorial" comments will be toward the end of the review. I also have a fair amount of what we did in Baltimore. If you're interested in photos, the complete collection is on Webshots at http://travel.webshots.com/album/583098605UryAnr. I'll post photos along the way, though.

 

 

 

Sailing were me (52), DH (51), and two of our three sons (16 and 12). Our oldest son is a senior at the US Merchant Marine Academy, and while we were sailing on Pride he was sailing on a three-week internship on USS Wasp. He had 9 Carnival cruises with us when he went away to school and now he’s talking about a couple of cruises during school breaks this year with several of his classmates. We had originally hoped he would be able to join us on Pride for this cruise, but the Navy won. He didn't do badly: the ship sailed to Boston for July 4 festivities and he ended up in the front row of the Boston Pops concert - with Jennifer Hudson and her entourage.:p

 

 

In oldest son's place was my 17 YO nephew, a first-time cruiser. Once we realized oldest son wouldn’t be able to cruise with us, we thought about who could take his place – and nephew came to mind pretty quickly. He’s always gotten along well with our two younger sons.

 

 

 

We’re limited to sailing between (roughly) July 1 and August 15, thanks to my work schedule, DH’s teaching schedule (he teaches at a community college) and sons’ school schedule. However, we make it work.

[mousey]

Are you going to post more? We sail on the Pride on 7/29 and would love to hear more about your cruise.:D

[nybumpkin]

One of the reasons we chose Pride was the ability to drive to the port. It’s been 2 ½ years now since we flew for a cruise (although that may change next year). With four or five of us, it’s just cheaper to drive – although it limits our itineraries. This time, we decided to leave home on Thursday 6/28, visit my mom and spend the night at my sister’s in NJ, then drive to Baltimore with sons and nephew on the 29th.

 

 

 

We booked the Hampton Inn Convention Center for two nights. It’s right across the street from Camden Yards and a short walk to the Inner Harbor. Parking isn’t exactly cheap ($30/day), but it was nice to have. We arrived around lunchtime on Friday and walked around the corner to Frank and Nic’s for lunch (when you see local business folk in the place, it’s usually a good sign that the food is good – and it was).

 

 

Our 16 YO is a baseball fanatic. When we realized that the Orioles had a home series the weekend of our cruise, we figured we needed tickets so he could experience a game at Camden Yards. As a plus, the series was against the Indians (DH is originally from Cleveland). The Friday night game had fireworks afterward, so we figured we could get both a baseball and a July 4 fix.

 

 

We walked over to Camden Yards around 5:30 for a 7:05 game time – son wanted to see batting practice. It was terribly hot – at game time, the temperature was 100. However, son was happy to hang out on the outfield terrace to see whether any fly balls came his way – and he was not disappointed. He kept a death grip on the ball all night and for a good portion of the cruise.

 

 

The prized baseball

 

 

Camden Yards is a great place to see a ball game!

 

 

Baseball!

 

 

 

The game wasn’t the greatest – it seemed to me that the heat was really affecting the players (I watched one of the pitchers throw down the rosin bag in disgust when he was pulled from the game). However, the boys had a good time. And the fireworks were fun.

 

 

Fireworks

 

 

 

When we left the park after the fireworks, we saw lightning in the distance. “Heat lightning,” I figured. Wrong. As we made it back to the hotel some raindrops were coming down, and by the time we got to our room the rain was coming down in buckets and the wind was howling through the air conditioner. As it turned out, this was part of the “derecho,” the straight-line storm that affected people throughout the Midwest and along the East Coast. DH’s brother in Northern Virginia was without power for two days.

[nybumpkin]

Are you going to post more? We sail on the Pride on 7/29 and would love to hear more about your cruise.:D

Working on it! I should have it finished this weekend.:)

[nybumpkin]

Saturday we planned a day at the Inner Harbor. The boys wanted to go to the National Aquarium and I wanted to see the USS Constellation (trust me, oldest son came by his love of the sea naturally). It’s about a 10-minute walk from the Hampton Inn to the Inner Harbor; when we arrived, the wait time between buying tickets and entering the Aquarium was one hour, so we decided to go visit the ships in the harbor. Aside from the Constellation, you can visit the USS Torsk, a WWII submarine; the Chesapeake, a lightship; and the Taney, a retired Coast Guard cutter and the last remaining ship from Pearl Harbor. Since the Torsk and Chesapeake were docked right next to the Aquarium, we visited them first, before visiting the aquarium.

 

 

Chesapeake and Torsk, Aquarium behind

 

 

Youngest son had to try a bunk aboard Torsk

 

 

Lightship Chesapeake

 

 

 

The aquarium was a lot of fun – but it was crowded. Yes, Saturday and summer – probably better on a weekday.

 

 

 

Electric eel. One of only a few photos without people in the way.

 

 

 

After the aquarium we had lunch (Houlihan’s – you know then menu), then visited the Taney and, finally, the Constellation. We missed the cannon firing, but several of the re-enactors stayed behind to talk – they must have been roasting in their wool uniforms.

 

 

USCGC Taney

 

 

USS Constellation

 

Dinner was back to Frank and Nic’s (kids’ request), then off to bed.

[nybumpkin]

We took our time in the morning since we were all of a 5-minute drive from the port. Still, we were there by 11:15 and used VIP check-in without a problem. Note for those sailing with kids that aren’t yours: YOU NEED THE LETTER!!! I’ve seen this debated on CC in the past, with people who say they’ve never been asked for the parents’ letter giving permission for their child to sail. Well, we were asked, and it was very clear that nephew would not have sailed without the letter. Yes, we had it. For some reason, though, the agent didn’t like nephew’s birth certificate, and I’m not sure why. It’s state-issued and has a raised seal. She let it go, but she was so hung up on it that she forgot to swipe our credit card – which meant a visit to Guest Services that night to activate our Sail and Sign cards.

 

 

Once aboard, our first stop was a visit to the Shore Excursions desk to choose a cabana on HMC, along with beverages of choice, and an extra ticket for nephew. Then up to Lido deck for lunch. They boys didn’t hang around very long – they wanted to show their cousin everything the ship had to offer. As for DH and me, we relaxed with Fun Ship Specials until the cabins were ready at 1:30. We had Vista Suite 6329 while the boys were next door in aft balcony 6331. We had to get extra keys since DH was booked in the boys’ cabin and 16 YO was booked with me, but that was easily done.

 

 

Muster drill was around 3:45. This is where I saw a change since Costa Concordia – the drill was opened by the Captain to emphasize the importance of the drill before turning it over to the Cruise Director. Most people seemed attentive, at least until toward the end. Sailaway was at 4:15.

 

 

Fort McHenry

 

 

USNS Comfort. She's a hospital ship. Believe it or not, she started out her life as an oil tanker.

 

 

NS Savannah. The first nuclear-powered commercial vessel.

 

 

Key Bridge

 

 

Chesapeake Sunset

 

 

 

We had early seating dining, and were pleased to find we had a table for five (actually designed for five, even) at the aft of the Normandie dining room. We had good service, but a little slow; it seemed the entire rear of the dining room was served later than those closer to the entrance.

After dinner, DH stayed out on our balcony and I went to the “Welcome Aboard” show. I’ve seen it lots of times, but it’s still fun. The Cruise Director is Jaime Dee (she was Jaime Deitsch when we sailed on Pride two years ago and she was the ACD - I guess shortening it was easier). Jaime is a wonderful CD – she has an unbelievable amount of energy and she clearly loves what she’s doing.

[erewhon]

Thanks for taking time to write your review,and sharing your photos.

Looking forward to more reports.

[nybumpkin]

DH and I have a routine for sea days – breakfast on the Lido deck followed by gin rummy on the Promenade deck. The lines weren’t long most of the time; DH was able to get his daily omelet and yogurt without a long wait, and I did fine with the main buffet lines. I liked that they varied the potatoes and sausage every day – the different styles were a nice touch. We went to trivia at 9:30, and I walked away with the solid gold (plastic!) ship on a stick. Then cards – Pride has a really nice card room on the Promenade deck near the coffee bar.

 

 

Fountain on Promenade deck, near the card room

 

 

 

This day they offered a cooking demonstration in the steakhouse – no extra charge. They prepared four dishes – a salad, appetizer, entrée and dessert – and samples were given to all in attendance. After that, we didn’t need much in the way of lunch.

 

 

 

Cooking demo. The photos are red due to the skylight in the funnel.

 

 

The master carver.

 

 

 

I then headed for one of my favorite spots on Pride: the spa hot tub. Very relaxing.

 

 

This was elegant night. We didn’t go to the “Captain’s Celebration,” as we have had plenty of photo opportunities in the past and we needed to make sure the boys dressed on time – not an easy job. However, we got them cleaned up and dressed in time for dinner.

 

 

Boys on elegant night

 

 

 

Afterward, the boys very quickly got changed while we decided to visit the piano bar. This was probably the most crowded I’ve ever seen the piano bar on a Spirit-class ship, but Roger really drew in the crowds. He’s a lot of fun.

[bluehenfan]

I am really enjoying your review so far. I live about 30-40 mins. from the port and inner harbor and I like to read about visitors to our area. I think Camden Yards is a nice park - especially when my NY Yankees are in town! LOL

I love the Pride and I'm looking forward to the rest of your review. I will be on Pride for 4th time in Sept. We've never tried the hot tubs because they're usually so full of kids. May try the one in the spa this time.

Thanks for taking the time to write a review.

[vivavegas]

Nice review an photos too! Looks like everyone had a good time. Thanks for sharing your experiences with us!:)

[Room Service!]

nice review an photos too! Looks like everyone had a good time. Thanks for sharing your experiences with us!:)

 

yes!

[pe4all]

Loving your review! Have wanted to try a cruise out of Baltimore. Interested to see what you thought of Freeport. Waiting for more....:)

[novinha]

Loving your review! Have wanted to try a cruise out of Baltimore. Interested to see what you thought of Freeport. Waiting for more....:)

ditto. can't wait for 11/4 so I can sail Pride!

[nybumpkin]

Loving your review! Have wanted to try a cruise out of Baltimore. Interested to see what you thought of Freeport. Waiting for more....:)

One nice thing about Baltimore is that it's a pretty easy drive from New York (although you do have to deal with the monstrosity that is I-95). It was three hours from our house south of Albany to my sister's house in NJ and then about another 2 1/2 hours to Baltimore.

 

No spoilers here, but I will have some interesting comments on Freeport.... I should have Grand Turk and HMC posted this afternoon (my sons are desperate for me to go to the grocery store this morning:rolleyes:).

 

Thanks, everyone, for the nice comments!

[pe4all]

No spoilers here, but I will have some interesting comments on Freeport....

Thanks, everyone, for the nice comments!

LOL- EVERYONE has some interesting comments on Freeport!! Can't wait to hear of your adventures.:)

[jetravel]

We are sailing in 15 days and can not wait. This will be our second time on this itinerary. Thank you for your review, looking forward to reading more.

 

What time was the cooking demo at the steakhouse on the first sea day?

[boaterette]

I just love reading your reviews and this one is no exception, Great as always. Quick question though, we do not have a houlihans here on the west coast. What type of food do they have?

[nybumpkin]

I just love reading your reviews and this one is no exception, Great as always. Quick question though, we do not have a houlihans here on the west coast. What type of food do they have?

It's a lot like TGIFriday's or Applebees. Really large menu. The food was good and they had something that the boys would go for. The website is http://www.houlihans.com.

[nybumpkin]

Again we spent a morning with breakfast on Lido followed by cards. Then a wine tasting at the steakhouse – I was surprised that not many people were there. We’ve done this on other ships and it was much better attended.

 

 

The VIFP party for Gold and above was at 4:30 – first time for the party on Pride. DH, youngest son and I went. As we entered, we were greeted by the entertainment staff and the senior officers, all of whom welcomed us with some rather enthusiastic “welcome backs.” We were then greeted with a tray of Funship Specials (son, being used to the fruit punch at the old past guest parties, was taken aback when they wouldn’t serve him a “fruit punch” and instead brought out a Coke – which he never had at a past guest party) and some pretty good hors d’oeuvres. I liked the mini-pizza and the chicken. There were a couple of other drinks available – there was a pina colada and another fruity drink I couldn’t quite place. (It was good, though.) And the band played for us.

 

 

Ship's orchestra, Butterflies Loungs, VIFP Party

 

 

 

We did see the film clip with Ted Arison followed by the “parade of ships,” after which Jaime talked about the Funship 2.0 project. Then it was Mardi Gras time – beads and a conga line going around the Butterflies Lounge.

 

 

 

Conga Line

 

 

 

 

 

Then Jaime asked about cruise histories – and at 16 cruises and 94 days, it turned out that we were at the top of the Platinum crowd. We ended up on stage with Jaime, the captain, the chief engineer and the purser. And then everyone was invited to the stage to learn some new dances. (I have two left feet, DH didn’t even try, but son was into the dancing!)

 

 

Photo with Jaime, Chief Engineer Camillo Russo, Capt. Alessandro Galotto, and Hotel Director Hector Groves

 

 

In all, I liked the party much more than the old past guest party – not nearly as crowded, more interactive, and better food and drinks.

 

 

 

We booked the steakhouse for dinner this evening – I generally find the third night menu to be weaker than others, although on this cruise I probably should have opted for day 5. We were seated on the upper level of David’s; there was a good-sized crowd, but the steakhouse was by no means full. I opted for tuna tartare, spinach salad, filet mignon and the chocolate sampler; DH opted for tuna tartare, salad, surf and turf, and the chocolate sampler. (He figured it would probably blow his blood sugar test out of the water, but amazingly it didn’t seem to do major damage.)

After dinner we went to the Motown show with Ron Joseph. Good show. Then off to bed – tomorrow is Grand Turk. There was a Mardi Gras party this night, but we didn’t make it.

 

 

Towel crab

[nybumpkin]

This was our fourth visit to Grand Turk. There isn’t much to the island, but it’s reputed to have excellent scuba diving. The water excursions seemed to be pretty popular. If you’re not on an excursion, Carnival does its darndest to try to keep you at the cruise port, with shopping, the Flowrider, Margaritaville, and a beach right next to the ship. The first time we visited we went with the beach next to the ship and didn’t care for it – it was crowded and the water was rather murky, with a rocky bottom. Next time we walked what I think is about a half mile down the beach to Jack’s Shack, where the water is nicer and the beach less crowded. We’ve been going back ever since.

 

 

View of Pride from Jack's Shack

 

 

 

Nephew was pretty funny. His idea of “the beach” is – New Jersey. He was utterly amazed by Grand Turk – clear, blue, warm water and no waves. His comment was, “I didn’t know they had beaches like this!” (I did tell him that the downside to Grand Turk is that you can’t do body surfing like you can in NJ, but that didn’t seem to bother him.) We rented two beach chairs and an umbrella (you can tell there’s more competition for business now, since it was only $10 instead of the $20 we paid last year) and spent time enjoying the beach. DH and I then went up to the bar, where Jack and Janet were busy mixing drinks – rum punch for me, mojitos for DH. The boys had a great time with Jack and Janet’s dogs, Topher (a goldendoodle) and Cooper (chocolate lab), as well as Leroy the cook’s dog Queenie.

 

 

Boys in the water

 

 

 

Steve and Topher

 

 

 

Back on board time was 1:30, and I wanted to get back in time for my one required Grand Turk purchase: Bambarra Rum, made in the Turks and Caicos. I’ve never seen it for sale in the States, so we used our Customs limit with two bottles.

 

 

This was the third time we managed to spend July 4 in a current or former British territory – 2006 in Tortola BVI, 2011 in Saint John NB, and then this year in the Turks and Caicos. While at Jack’s Shack, we met a couple – husband British, wife dual British and American who now live on Grand Turk – and we enjoyed sharing stories about the holiday.

 

 

View of Grand Turk from Pride

 

 

 

Back aboard the ship, there were several July 4-themed activities, just as John Heald outlined on his Facebook page. I opted for July 4 Trivia and, thanks to knowing the first seven words of the Declaration of Independence (“When in the course of human events…”) I landed another ship-on-a-stick. This one went home with my nephew. For photos this evening, aside from July 4-themed borders on the dining room photos, they had the “old fashioned photo shoot” and youngest son really wanted one. So, DH and I dressed up with son – I was trying for the Ma Barker look. End result was son loved the photo and DH is using it as his Facebook profile.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We ended our day with the production show “Wonderful World,” which I have seen before but is still enjoyable to watch. Afterwards, I went up to the Lido deck where they were starting the “Rockin’ Under the Stars July 4 Deck Party.” It was mobbed and it looked like everyone was having a good time. I didn’t stay for the food, which was being served at 11:30 (I never sleep well when I eat at that hour), but I was able to get a couple of photos of the buffet.

[nybumpkin]

Towel dinosaur

 

July 4 Buffet

 

July 4 Buffet

[nybumpkin]

I know better than to book a cruise strictly for a particular port – and if you do, you need to keep in mind that the port might not happen. Since HMC is a tender port, it will be canceled if the tenders can’t operate safely. However, HMC was a big reason for booking this cruise – it’s absolutely gorgeous. This was our fourth visit. For those unfamiliar with it, HMC is Little San Salvador Island in the Bahamas, 2400 acres total. Holland America purchased it in 1996 and 50 acres of the island has been developed as a cruise destination. The rest of the island is a wildlife refuge. When HAL ships are not using HMC as a port, CCL uses the island. There are beach chairs, clamshells and cabanas for hanging out on the beach; excursions like horseback riding, biking and snorkeling; and beach toys like tubes, kayaks, Hobie Cats, and water bikes. Also several bars, a barbeque area for lunch, and some small shops.

 

 

View down the beach toward the Grand Cabana

 

 

the "I Wish I Could Stay Here Forever" bar

 

 

"Captain on the Rocks" bar

 

 

We have always opted for a cabana – blonde, blue-eyed, fair-skinned folks don’t do so well in the sun. (Incidentally, sons were very jealous of their cousin. He’s half-Italian in descent and doesn’t burn easily. We made sure he used sunscreen, but he still had a nice tan.) We booked this cruise in September 2011 and booked the cabana shortly afterward – they go quickly, as there’s only 15 of them (plus the Grand Cabana aka Private Oasis). My personal preference is for a cabana farther down the beach, where it’s less crowded; two years ago we had #5 and that area of the beach was very crowded. (And that was before they built the “Captain on the Rocks” bar next door.)

 

 

This time we had #9 and thought it was a good location. It was a short walk to the barbeque and the rest rooms were on the hill directly behind the cabana. The cabana comes with two beach towels, snorkel gear, floating mats, a shower to get rid of the sand, a misting fan and an air conditioner, a table and chairs and two lounges. For refreshments, we had several bottles of water, soda (two for each person, although they messed up our order and brought six cans of Sprite and two each of Coke and Diet Coke – the Sprite drinkers made out well), tortilla chips with guacamole, salsa and sour cream, veggies with ranch dip, and fruit. We really didn’t need the barbeque.

 

 

Cabana #9

 

 

We all had a great time in the water. The snorkeling along the beach where we were isn’t the greatest; there is much better snorkeling at the other end of the beach, near the Grand Cabana. However, the water is absolutely gorgeous.

 

 

As for “Captain on the Rocks” – most of the beach games took place here, and one DJ was on the deck while the other was at the “I Wish I Could Stay Here Forever” bar. They played a pretty good mix of music. I did venture inside, and it’s actually well done. However, I still wouldn’t book cabana #5 again. (And after Costa Concordia, they might re-think that "Captain on the Rocks" name, although I know it's because the bar is sponsored by Captain Morgan.)

 

 

 

Tendering – Unlike previous visits to HMC, the possession of an excursion ticket (including a cabana) did not guarantee you an early tender. Everyone just went to the main lounge and got a sticker. I figured I wouldn’t try using our Platinum status to get an early tender, though, as the lines seemed to be moving pretty quickly. I figure we waited maybe 15 minutes at most. On the way back, the last tender was at 4:15 for a 5:00 sailing, and we opted to go back to the ship a little after 3. No lines at all.

 

 

Once back on board we cleaned up for dinner, went to the dining room, and spent some time in a couple of lounges after dinner. The next day we had an 8:30 excursion in Freeport, which meant getting the boys out of bed early….

 

 

View of Pride from HMC

[laumicmah]

Great review! I did this Pride itin in April with my mom. It was a fantastic cruise (just wish they'd swap Freeport out for Key West...that would be THE BEST). We loved the Pride. She's my fave CCL ship so far. Would love to get my family on her someday. We live 25 minutes from port, so should be easy. But with only 2 good stops on a 7 day cruise...well my DH turns up his nose. Thanks for sharing and can't wait to read more. By the way, do you have any pics of that cabin of yours? That's my dream cabin...aft vista. Did you open up the balcony divider between you and the boys' cabins?

[daisitroy]

I am enjoying your review. We will be on the Pride in August. Thanks for taking the time to post.

Dot

[boaterette]

I love the picture of the parasail above the ship. Looks like someone is parasailing from the ship itself. Way cool.