My review: Carnival Pride March 10-17 2013

[jonathansburden]

Amanda thank you for the great review of the Pride. We will be boarding in 4 Sundays and can't wait. Meeting up with old friends who moved away from NJ over 10 yrs ago. What a fun reunion it will be.

Just wondering if you did the Blue Lagoon on your own or booked with Carnival? Details would be great.

We did Blue Lagoon on our own and our friends did it through the ship. They paid $143/pp and we paid $98/pp, but we had a 10% off code we found online and kids 3 & under were free, so we paid $265 for 4 independently and they paid $286 for 2. The only problem with booking on our own was that because our ship was late we had a bit of a battle to get off and they got to just walk off with everyone else booked through the ship. We actually arrived at the island before them and they missed the whole orientation program. It was a great program for people with kids that just wanted to get close to the animals, but it was mostly just set up for photo opportunities. I think adults might be a little disappointed in the program... I have it on DVD and I'll upload it to youtube this week, hope that helps!

[jonathansburden]

Thanks for the kind words everyone!

 

Freeport; Friday, March 15:

We've been to Freeport a few times before and we're not big fans. Originally we had planned on getting a cab to the beach and doing some snorkeling, but we all overslept and my hand was hurting, so we opted to spend another day by the pool. Unfortunately, there were a lot of college age kids that had a bit too much to drink and things were getting a little ugly after a while. People were jumping off the hot tubs and cannonballing into the pools below, despite the fact that the pool was packed with kids. We decided to get ours packed off to camp (they do a really cute hand print craft that's already framed in my living room) and watched for pier runners. We only saw one guy, who just kinda wandered over and watched us sail away before a guy in a Carnival shirt came over to him. Other than the Groove for St.Jude there wasn't really much going on the ship at all, so we spent some time in our room ;) before picking up the kids from camp.

A few Pictures of scenic Freeport:

 

 

 

 

Fortunately, it was the second formal night! The kids had fun "suiting up" and Brady got to dance Gangham Style with our waitress

 

 

Then we dressed the kids down, changed into our swimsuits, and brought the kidlets back to camp so we could get in some grown-up swim time. The drunk people were out in full force, there was a group of kids who were so wasted that when a girl in their party fell and wasn't able to get back up again they didn't even notice. DH and a crew member waited with her until someone from medical came with a wheelchair, and even then they cheered as she was rolled off and did a shot in her honor rather than going with her. That kinda killed the mood, so we picked up the boys and went back to our room. Not sure what day this happened, but I just wanted to pic share:

 

 

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[jonathansburden]

Saturday, March 16:

The last day is always kinda sad, but I got one hell of a wake-up! After the marriage show Jon (hubby) ran into Kirk at the piano bar and mentioned my SOAS quest and Kirk asked him to call into the Morning Show that day. They had Jon turn the TV all the way up and yelled "wake up, Amanda!!" so loudly I fell out of bed. After joking around about poop for a bit Kirk sent someone down with a SOAS for the Marriage show and knowing the phrase of the day! So happy!! We played a few rounds of trivia and lost miserably (who knew Canada's national sport was lacrosse??) but it was fun. Then took the little men to Beary Cuddly, the Carnival Build A Bear. The kids had been waiting all week and it was really fun! The prices were better than at the mall and it was nice just taking everything to our room to build.

 

 

 

Then it was time for the Family Ultimate Race! They put all the kids from all the different Camp Carnival groups together (so it was ages 2-11) but only 3 families showed up! The other 2 were families we'd seen a lot of at the other family events and they were so nice. the list included everything from taking a pic with your favorite staff member (Savio in the atrium)

 

 

to covering your face with ice cream:

 

 

to starting a conga line on lido. In the end every family had completed the first 11 tasks but were stuck on the Conga line... but Cade got one with 15 people started for the win!! (Mommy was a fan of the guy in the captain's hat!)

 

 

 

Sunday, Debarkation:

 

Honestly, it was kinda a mess. We had a suite so we were supposed to meet in the Captain's Club at 10, we arrived a few min early (9:45) and we couldn't get anywhere near the room. The outside area was supposed to be used for handicapped debark and was absolutely packed. I totally get that wheelchairs need to get off first, I spent my first cruise in a wheelchair so I get it. My problem was with people that requested ship's wheelchairs and had them stacked with boxes of liquor and they were just standing around it, while the elderly woman waiting near me couldn't even get a chair to sit in and no one would stand up for her. Something should be done about that because it was a mess. We were off the ship at 10:00 and through customs by 10:30. I was meticulous in making sure my customs form was perfect so we wouldn't get arrested and the agent didn't even look at it or any of our documentation. I could have walked off the ship with an extra kid and he would have had no clue. But we were on the road by 11. Unfortunately, our friends, who were staying down the hall didn't get on the road until 12:30. Yuck.

 

[jonathansburden]

Ok, so here's my final observations.

~The Cheers program was great. We saved about $300 by using it, never got really drunk, and never had to wonder how much we were spending.

~There was a big problem with underage drinking. There were kids in their Circle C t-shirts so drunk they were vomiting in the elevators.

~Camp Carnival was amazing. My kids had never gone to any daycare before, and they loved every minuet. The councilors were all fantastic.

~Buffet was good, but nothing special. The lines weren't that bad but finding a table was awful... we usually just ate in our room.

~Room service was fantastic. Always exactly what we ordered and always there in less than 15 min.

~The dining room was great! Our waitstaff was always cheerful, the hostess knew us by name after the first day and always sat us near a window, food was great, and the assistant waiter even remembered that my oldest liked extra cherries on his banana split :)

~Our room steward was good, room was always done up nicely.

~Decor was exactly like the pictures I've seen of her... I'm actually a big fan.

 

Finally, I went to my orthopedist the Monday after I came home... 3 broken bones in my hand. Still totally worth it :)

[jonathansburden]

If anyone has any questions, ask away! I've still got all the fun times and the CC Capers for 2-5 :D

[nodogkisses]

I loved your review and your family looks like you had a great time. I'm sorry about your hand, but honestly, it's so cute your DH dipped you. How adorable. I was on the cancelled Sandy cruise with you and just got off the Pride yesterday. We, too, had a lot of college kids onboard, but none of them were ever drunk and out of hand. That's too bad. Thanks for the pics and your review.

[Mrs CruisinCritter]

Great review! We are taking our son on the Pride at the end of September. This will be his second cruise and he turns 2 the day before we embark so he will be old enough to go to Camp Carnival. I am a SAHM too so I'm nervous about taking him, but I think he will love it. He really likes to play with other kids when we go to the park so I think he will do OK.

I have been looking into Blue Lagoon for our excursion in Nassau, but I'm not sure how to book it. We really don't want to take his car seat/booster with us onto the ship. We are driving to port so we can take it if we need to, but I'm trying to avoid it if at all possible. How easy was it for you guys to get from the port to the ferry with your 3 year old? Did you have to take a booster seat?

[jonathansburden]

They crammed us in a van with 2 other families with preschoolers and had us all hold the kids on our laps. Even if you brought it for the ride to the ferry terminal it wouldn't be usable on the ferry & there's nowhere to put it during the excursion. All you have is a small locker that wouldn't even fit my backpack. Good luck!!

[medianeh]

So the build a bear is on the last night (Saturday)? I thought I read somewhere that it was the first night.

[jonathansburden]

It's offered pretty much every day, we just decided to wait until the last day :)

[medianeh]

It's offered pretty much every day, we just decided to wait until the last day :)

 

Oh Excellent!

 

I want my son to do it at the beginning of the cruise, so he has a "cruise buddy". That works out perfect!

 

Thanks!

[JaniceB]

Enjoyed your review, sorry to hear that you had broken bones in your hand.

[nodogkisses]

Oh Excellent!

 

I want my son to do it at the beginning of the cruise, so he has a "cruise buddy". That works out perfect!

 

Thanks!

 

Medianeh, it was so cute seeing all the kids walking around with their "cruise buddy" during the week. He'll love it. 11 more days!

[chelleshore18]

Hello, just read your review, and what great information. There will be 9 of us traveling on the pride april 21, our room will be my husband and 4.5 year old twins, so the information you shared on the kids program was great.

You said you might still have copies of the programs or activities, if so, would you share?

 

I do appreciate all of your insight.. counting down the days till we get to board!

[CorrieCJ]

I have been on the Pride twice and I had no idea there was mini golf. Something to explore when we go again in August!!!

[iluvcruises]

Going on the Pride this June. Thanks for the great pictures and review. Hope your hand is healing quickly!!

[Cruiser 2 too]

:)Enjoyed your pictures and review. Your boys are adorable and I'm glad they too enjoyed themselves. Thanks for sharing your vacation with us! :)

[acmommy16]

We were on the same cruise! There were 8 of us celebrating my mother's 60th birthday! We had a blast as well and are acutally going back in 9 days with my husband's family. :D