Carnival Pride Halloween Cruise 2013

[SKeighley]

Just a little about our background first, my DH and I are in our 60’s. I am retired and he is semi retired. We just love to cruise and Carnival is our favorite cruise line. This is our 12th Carnival cruise and 5th on the Pride, which is my favorite ship. I just love the spirit class.

DH does not fly, so we have to drive to the ports to board the ships.

 

We love Baltimore MD, since it is just 6 hours from our MA home. We both worked Sat morning so we left home around 3 pm. We were making good time until we ran into traffic jams in both Conn and NJ. We still got to the motel in Aberdeen MD around 10 pm.

 

Day 1: Embarkation in Baltimore

We left hotel which is 20 minutes from cruise terminal at 10 am. The most exciting thing is the first view of the Pride at dock. Checking in as a platinum guest was so easy. We were escorted to a special room to receive our Sign & Sail cards and were seated in a special area. Wow we were the 10th guest on board at 11:15. We were able to go right to our room 5232 which is a obstructed view balcony, to drop off our carry on luggage. Since it was early I unpacked what I had before heading up to lido deck for lunch. DH did the buffet, but I could not wait to get their great pizza.

 

We left lido to make room for more guests and headed back to our room. Only one of our bags had been delivered. I found out later my other bag was opened and they confiscated our 3-way plug. When it was delivered later there was the naughty letter in it. After I unpacked, we went to explore the ship.

 

Muster drill was held at 3:30 and very painless. The weather was great in the high 50’s and sunny. We decided to watch sail away from our balcony.

 

We had early seating for dinner and was seated at table 236 which was a table for eight in the center of the dining room. Our table mates were great. I have always felt that dinner is an important part of the cruising experience. Sharing great stories and jokes made it even better, we laughed so much each night at dinner.

 

The welcome aboard show was great and Kirk our Cruise Director was awesome. We did get to attend the adult comedy show afterwards before crashing for the night. First day always seem longer. I put up my door decoration so I would be able to find our cabin easier.

 

More to come later.

Edited November 6, 2013 by SKeighley

[Greysea74]

Love the review. Sailed on her back in April, and I miss her. Looking forward to more of the review!!

[rrraydon]

susbscribed!

[heatherbean]

We were able to go right to our room 5232 which is a obstructed view balcony, to drop off our carry on luggage.

 

What did you thing of the cabin/view? We have the same one booked in January!

[SKeighley]

What did you thing of the cabin/view? We have the same one booked in January!

 

I loved it for the price. You can look out the life boats top is even with the floor of the balcony. We also had the cabin in between the lifeboats.

 

I tried to upload a pic, but it failed. Will work on that

[SKeighley]

This is theview from balcony

 

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/PA271461_zps090bfa25.jpg

 

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/PA271460_zps7c9490af.jpg

[SKeighley]

Day 2 First Sea Day

We got to see this sunrise this morning, I forgot to close the drapes last night.

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/PA281486_zps2fa43e2b.jpg

 

We always have room service delivered in the morning with coffee and juice. I love to have my coffee on my balcony. I always try to get room 5236 which has a longer balcony, but that won was taken when we upgraded to a 7A from a 4K. I had this magnet made for our door. I figured this would be a harder one to take

.

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/PA281512_zps1885ae6b.jpg

 

We like to have Breakfast in the MDR where we can sit relax and meet new people. I am limited on what I can eat and the food in the dinning room is always served hot.

 

The weather is getting warming today which lookes to be a plus. We joined a CC cocktail party which was head in the beauties lounge. About 35 attended and it was a great party. They had raffles and I won a ship on a stick. lol

 

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/bth_PA281492_zps26f4e3ed.jpg

 

The girls we met were great and alot of fun

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/bth_1452388_10202270232666257_514638791_n_zps423611b2.jpg?t=1383835962

 

After lunch we walked deck 10 before we chilled out in the aft Serenity area .

 

Tonight is elegant night and everyone dresses. We do not go to the Captains Party in the Promenade Deck since it is always so crowded with pictures being taken. Instead we chill on our balcony watching the sea go by.

 

After dinner we went to the main theater to see "Vroom" the show. I love the older shows. They did away with them on any ships that have 2.0 upgrades. We also caught the comedy shows that night. As you can see in our review we are into shows and music.

 

After our nightly snack of pizza we headed off to our room. And yes was met with our towel friend. They also delivered our Platimun gifts.

 

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/PA281510_zps455dca2f.jpg

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/PA281516_zpsdc94bfc1.jpg

 

To be continued.:

[SKeighley]

Day 3: Second Sea Day

We awoke to room serviced this morning. We are usually up by the time coffee arrives. Out on the balcony I enjoyed the peace of the ocean. Breakfast in MDR was great and we sat with a delightful young newlywed couple.

We walked around deck 10, our kind of exercise, and came upon this, a back up generator. Wow I guess they learned their lesson from the past.

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/PA291520_zps346b477f.jpg

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/PA291521_zpsbea72ab7.jpg

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/PA291522_zpsbea56f6a.jpg

 

 

At 11:30 we all gathered in the casino for our cc Slot Pull, it was fun even if we did not win anything. Just everyone cheering each other on was fun. We were at a $1 machine in the non-smoking area, but someone forgot to tell the rude lady on the machine next to us who chain smoked and was upset by all our noise. Oh well takes all kinds.

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/PA291526_zps32352fe6.jpghttp://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/PA291535_zps748f701c.jpg

 

Lunch was a hamburger in the Serenity area where it was quiet. We just love to watch people.

[SKeighley]

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/PA291537_zps446a2849.jpg

 

The past guest party was held in the Butterfly Lounge. It was great as usual. We managed to find a seat with some of the CC group.

They show the ships on the screen and everyone claps for the ones they have cruised on Later we meet the management staff and the Captain. Dancing follows before we leave for dinner.

 

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/PA291540_zps080acdc1.jpghttp://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/PA291543_zpsa4075d4c.jpg

 

 

This time all the table made it to dinner. The past two nights someone was missing. We really enjoy our table mates.

 

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/scan0021_zpsec554b96.jpg

 

We hit the casino before heading to catch the comedy show. We decided to skip the regular show. We were getting tired after three days on the go so we skipped late night pizza but did make it to catch part of the New Orleans Party in the Atrium

 

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/bth_PA291553_zps7ee634f7.jpg

Back to our room to be greated by our towel friend.

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/bth_PA291551_zps4f89b17c.jpg

Tomorrow is our first port of call: Port Canaveral Florida

 

to be continued:

[heatherbean]

This is theview from balcony

 

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/PA271461_zps090bfa25.jpg

 

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/PA271460_zps7c9490af.jpg

 

Enjoying the review...thanks for the cabin/balcony photo's.:)

[sanmarcosman]

These two are clever! Thanks for sharing, I have to book a Halloween cruise :)

 

[funinthesun1964]

Hi Sandy! This is Brenda! We were on the cruise with you, you remember us, right? It was nice to meet you and Bob. Maybe we will sail again with you sometime! Take care!

[SKeighley]

Hi Sandy! This is Brenda! We were on the cruise with you, you remember us, right? It was nice to meet you and Bob. Maybe we will sail again with you sometime! Take care!

 

Yes I do, it was a great cruise. We are sailing march and nov 2014. I started our countdown, 122 days.

[Eiansmomma]

Just a little about our background first, my DH and I are in our 60’s. I am retired and he is semi retired. We just love to cruise and Carnival is our favorite cruise line. This is our 12th Carnival cruise and 5th on the Pride, which is my favorite ship. I just love the spirit class.

DH does not fly, so we have to drive to the ports to board the ships.

 

We love Baltimore MD, since it is just 6 hours from our MA home. We both worked Sat morning so we left home around 3 pm. We were making good time until we ran into traffic jams in both Conn and NJ. We still got to the motel in Aberdeen MD around 10 pm.

 

Day 1: Embarkation in Baltimore

We left hotel which is 20 minutes from cruise terminal at 10 am. The most exciting thing is the first view of the Pride at dock. Checking in as a platinum guest was so easy. We were escorted to a special room to receive our Sign & Sail cards and were seated in a special area. Wow we were the 10th guest on board at 11:15. We were able to go right to our room 5232 which is a obstructed view balcony, to drop off our carry on luggage. Since it was early I unpacked what I had before heading up to lido deck for lunch. DH did the buffet, but I could not wait to get their great pizza.

 

We left lido to make room for more guests and headed back to our room. Only one of our bags had been delivered. I found out later my other bag was opened and they confiscated our 3-way plug. When it was delivered later there was the naughty letter in it. After I unpacked, we went to explore the ship.

 

Muster drill was held at 3:30 and very painless. The weather was great in the high 50’s and sunny. We decided to watch sail away from our balcony.

 

We had early seating for dinner and was seated at table 236 which was a table for eight in the center of the dining room. Our table mates were great. I have always felt that dinner is an important part of the cruising experience. Sharing great stories and jokes made it even better, we laughed so much each night at dinner.

 

The welcome aboard show was great and Kirk our Cruise Director was awesome. We did get to attend the adult comedy show afterwards before crashing for the night. First day always seem longer. I put up my door decoration so I would be able to find our cabin easier.

 

More to come later.

 

they confiscated your 3-way plug? I thought they were allowed as long as you used it smart. I'm bringing this along to charge my camera because it has the USB port on it....I hope they don't take it!

 

[heatherbean]

they confiscated your 3-way plug? I thought they were allowed as long as you used it smart. I'm bringing this along to charge my camera because it has the USB port on it....I hope they don't take it!

 

[ATTACH]292289[/ATTACH]

 

I have the same charger, (bought it specifically for our last cruise...it's perfect). My DH and I both packed our checked luggage with one (though his was different) just in case one of the bags got flagged. However, no issues both arrived to our cabin. However, our cabin steward keep unplugging it. We had a clock plugged in that fortunately was on battery back up.

[SKeighley]

they confiscated your 3-way plug? I thought they were allowed as long as you used it smart. I'm bringing this along to charge my camera because it has the USB port on it....I hope they don't take it!

 

[ATTACH]292289[/ATTACH]

 

Thats what mine looked like. yep. said I could get it back last evening of cruise.

[Eiansmomma]

Thats what mine looked like. yep. said I could get it back last evening of cruise.

 

that will make me upset - I bought it just to charge my phone and camera via the USB ports. I think I'll pack it with my camera and other electronics (GPS and phone etc)

[SKeighley]

that will make me upset - I bought it just to charge my phone and camera via the USB ports. I think I'll pack it with my camera and other electronics (GPS and phone etc)

 

That might work. I have my packed in a cruise kit I made. It is a

9" x 9" plastic container. I have a eye glass repair kit, first aid kit, sewing kit. extra batteries,glue, pens etc. That is where they found it. I have had it in that kit for my last 6 cruise no problem.

Good luck

[SKeighley]

Day 4: Port Canival Fl.

Woke up to a bright sunny day and room service again. Enjoyed my coffee out on the balcony. We had decided to stay on the ship at this port since we had been here many times before.

 

I wanted to try breakfast in the lido buffet, DH went along with it only with a little protest. I should have listened to him. Food was luke warm and there were still alot of lines at 9:30. Best part of the morning was I got to call my daughters and talk to them.

 

We went for a walk around the ship outside and found the "Sunset Garden Walkway" in the forward part of the ship.

 

We settled in the Serinity Area for the afternoon, I went in the hottub and sunned while DH sat in the shade and people watched. The temp was in the 80's and it was great.

 

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/PA291537_zps446a2849.jpg

 

After having enough sun, we headed to the future cruise desk where Nick was going to book my B2B 2015 Cruise on the Splendor. He worked with my PVP so I could get the on board Credit and the room I wanted for both cruises. Nick was great to work with.

 

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/PA301570_zps41ff87ff.jpg

 

We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around looking at the halloween decorations they were putting up.

 

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/PA301569_zpse9604f81.jpg

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/PA301562_zps3c9903b3.jpg

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/PA301561_zps1a40a825.jpg

 

After dinner we caught the show in the theater "Wonderland" It was a musical about different countries. There were no comedy show for the next few days so we listen to music at some of the clubs before hitting the casino.

They had a late night Mexican Fiesta on the lido deck, but we only went up there to grab some pizza.

 

to be continued.:

[Jimmy Geegitz]

Love halloween cruises. Have our 3rd booked for 2014.

[SKeighley]

Day 5: Halloween and Nassau, Bahamas

 

We slept late and had room service delivered at 8:30. We just chilled and watched the Halloween party on the today show, before heading down to the MDR for breakfast. DH ordered a bloody Mary for his free drink. I just love their blueberry pancakes so that is what I had that day. We were seated with a retired couple who cruised more than 50 times on different cruise lines. Need I say, what interesting topics were discussed. We were in such deep conversations we did not even feel the ship dock at 10:30 am.

 

We were in no rush to get off so we waited for the crowds to thin out before we got off. We were on one of the first docks so the walk to the terminal was not far. We choose to take the water taxi to Atlantis. We had been here many times before, but I love to walk through the shops before going inside. It was a beautiful warm day and we really enjoyed walking around.

 

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/bth_PA311588_zpsbbeb5a75.jpg

 

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/bth_PA311590_zpsdf89fc36.jpg

 

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/bth_PA311594_zpscb78f980.jpg

 

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/bth_PA311609_zpsac8bf82b.jpg

 

After taking a regular taxi back to the dock, I decided to skip the straw market shopping and headed back onboard the ship to have lunch and rest awhile.

 

I decorated the door for Halloween to get festive. Some of the guest where dressed in Halloween costumes for dinner. They served a special choice of dessert at dinner that night. Of course I had the chocolate cake, while DH choise the cheesecake.

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/bth_PA311621_zpsf922a30e.jpg

 

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/bth_PA311622_zpse7e59195.jpg

 

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/bth_PA311625_zpscba629fd.jpg

[SKeighley]

We wandered around the ship taking pictures of the decorations and costume. The Party was held in the Atrium and we were lucky enough to get a seat at the bar. Best place for all the action. Kirk the CD sent the entertainment staff out into the crowd to pass out tickets to the best twenty costumes. I took a picture with the ugly witches Later that night in the theater, they all went on stage and we voted on the best one. The Dead Bride and Groom won.

 

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/bth_PA311631_zpsce0b0054.jpg

 

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/PA311641_zps2fc54c71.jpg

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/PA311647_zpsbe45c1c7.jpg

 

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/PA311659_zps65038db1.jpg

 

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/PA311660_zpsc3a3483c.jpg

 

 

At 10:13 we headed to the casino, they passed out ticket and if they called your number you got to spin the wheel for a prize.

It was after midnight when we went back to our room to be greeted by our towel animal.

 

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/PA311636_zpsf84141f8.jpg

[SKeighley]

Some more Halloween Pictures

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/bth_1422405_10151973370392520_1459273372_n_zps3d16ebbe.jpg

 

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/PA311646_zpsb00cd1c0.jpg

 

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/PA311669_zps7452f04a.jpg

 

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/PA311679_zps9d2b048c.jpg

 

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/PA311684_zpsa67f47e4.jpg

 

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/PA311692_zps4e4998b8.jpg

[SKeighley]

There was so many cruisers who dressed in costumes:

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/PA311693_zpsbaed16dc.jpg

 

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/PA311713_zpsa5c5f2fb.jpg

 

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/PA311718_zps6866ce58.jpg

 

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/PA311720_zps48d55c67.jpg

 

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/PA311724_zps02d8f01d.jpg

 

And the winners:

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/bth_halloweenwinners_zps42add240.jpg

 

I was so busy taking pictures of everything I did not get to go outside for the sail away.

Next day was Freeport.

[SKeighley]

Day 6: Freeport Bahamas

We docked early at 7 am., while we were sleeping. We have been to this port many times and it is a short stay only until 1:30 pm, so we just went to the straw market at the terminal. They have built a Senor Frogs here since our last visit. We did shop there. I buy a magnet and short glass at every port and did not have one from Senor Frogs, Bahamas. http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/PB011738_zps26e26661.jpg

 

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/PB011740_zpsb27f7ce9.jpg

 

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http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/PB011767_zpsb5e3eb73.jpg

 

http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu71/skeighley/PB011759_zps99702cc2.jpg

 

The weather was beautiful, but too hot for me to do that much walking around. We went back to the ship after taking pictures of the area. After lunch we went to our room to chill. I was going to read, out on the balcony, but it was too hot to stay out there long. We did watch the sail away before taking naps

 

Dinner in the MDR was the second Elegant night and everyone looked great. The Show that night was "Jazzaz" in the theater