Review of our Spring Break '14 Cruise on Carnival Pride

[mollypop1622]

Molly,

 

The deck four balcony is much larger in area than any other balcony because of the lack of sloping handrail. It slopes, but not much.

 

You will get sun, but it will be at later or earlier times than the higher decks and not for as long. I booked deck 8 for maximum sun exposure; I got atypical psoriasis after an allergic reaction a few years back and I need as much sun as I can get.

 

On the way South we didn't get sun until noon or so and then it gradually increased as the day went on. Once in the Bahamas area we got sun early as we headed West and late as we headed East. The return trip up North would have been full sun both days. Your experience on deck 4 would be similar, but later due to the overhang and then not as much direct sun due to the handrail.

 

Our sailing was in April and yours is May 25 so you'll actually have more intense sunlight so it may equal out.

 

I checked CCL and decks 6 and 7 aft wraps are both still available for your sailing, and both would offer more sunlight. Deck 5 is the cabin you would wish to avoid due to the cabin size, but the balcony is fine. Deck 5 aft wraps are both sold though which is odd. Perhaps they didn't research? Both deck 8 aft wraps are booked.

 

You can look thru the Flickr album of the picture I posted above and find a lot more pics of deck 4 balcony and compare it to pics from deck 8.

 

BTW, noise from above was never an issue on deck 8.

 

 

Paul:

Thanks SO much for your input. I just called my PVP and switched to 7347 .. I've got eczema so need as much sun as I can get, too. I really appreciate the help, Paul :)

[PaulMedik]

Paul:

Thanks SO much for your input. I just called my PVP and switched to 7347 .. I've got eczema so need as much sun as I can get, too. I really appreciate the help, Paul

 

 

Molly,

 

Your eczema will thank you for it. Your balcony will seem smaller than deck 4 due to the slope of the handrail, but it will still be large enough that you'll not feel the need to leave it.

 

 

***********************************************************

 

 

 

The cargo ship behind us was pulling away;

 

 

 

I took dozens of pictures of the ship being pulled away from the pier by the tugs;

 

 

 

Pride was the only cruise ship in Port so with no other ships to shoot I was drawn to the cargo ship;

 

 

 

 

 

Muster was on deck 3 and started around 5:15PM. Our last few Muster Drills have all been inside so it was nice to go back to the old way though not having the life jackets on was different;

 

[PaulMedik]

 

 

 

 

After muster we went back up to our balcony for sailaway. The gangway had already been pulled back from the ship;

 

 

The parking area was completely full;

 

 

Both sides were full;

 

 

 

The winds were full against the port side of the ship so when our thrusters kicked in to push away from the pier (docked starboard), it wasn't one of those ease away smoothly events. It wasn't rough, but you could feel the power being applied;

 

[PaulMedik]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It took a full three minutes of thrusters at full power to push us away from the pier;

 

[PaulMedik]

You can tell the wind direction from the direction of the waves in the harbor;

 

 

Ten minutes after pulling away from the pier we're backing slowly toward the channel;

 

 

 

Karen using social media;

 

 

 

There were quite a few sail boats out for the day and they had plenty of wind to fill their sails;

 

 

Beginning our turn;

 

 

 

I love the windows on Spirit Class, but Conquest / Dream class windows are better for wide angle reflection shots;

 

[PaulMedik]

The day of work was complete for this crane;

 

 

 

As we made our turn the aft of the ship swings around toward the pier;

 

 

 

 

Baltimore landmark church?

 

 

 

Dunno, but it was pretty;

 

 

Heavy industry;

 

Edited May 1, 2014 by PaulMedik

[PaulMedik]

Twenty one minutes after pulling away from the pier and we've about completed our 180 degree turn;

 

 

Our winding and twisting gangway sits awaiting our return;

 

 

We knew the first bridge wouldn't be too far so we headed up top;

 

 

 

We positioned ourselves in front of the funnel;

 

 

The FSK bridge was looming in the distance;

 

[PaulMedik]

Small cruise ship and the burnt out shell of an industrial building behind it?

 

 

 

Bridge getting closer;

 

 

 

GoPro batteries last about an hour and a half or so I thought. I recorded our walk up to the top deck and got a great video of us passing under the bridge or so I thought. As it turns out, GoPro batteries don't last as long as I thought and I recorded nothing more than us standing around taking pictures and waiting to go under the bridge. You can watch the video which will also show I'm in the learning phase of adding titles, but don't expect to see the bridge.....

 

[YOUTUBE]OS12zIbeFpE[/YOUTUBE]

 

 

The only actual value of the video above is as a lesson to myself and others to ALWAYS use fresh batteries and don't assume the camera is still on. I had two spare batteries and a long life batter pack that I could have attached to my GoPro, but didn't. Lesson learned.

 

With my dead GoPro dangling from it's perch I did continue taking pictures;

 

 

 

Britt was very intent on the oncoming bridge;

 

 

 

While approaching the bridge a ladybug came along for the ride;

 

 

[PaulMedik]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OK so we fit;

 

[PaulMedik]

 

 

 

 

The funnel is definitely the highest point;

 

 

 

Even when the funnel was under the bridge it still didn't look like it fit;

 

 

 

 

[PaulMedik]

 

 

 

 

 

 

We made our way back toward the aft;

 

[PaulMedik]

 

 

Karen and I went in search of the Camp Carnival sign up area to sign the boys up;

 

 

 

Pride's hallway art isn't at all similar to Breeze;

 

 

 

Some of the forward stair cases are pretty steep;

 

 

 

 

 

[crewsweeper]

Paul,

 

I think the picture of the church with the gold domes is the Ukrainian Catholic Church. Don't know about the other one.

[iamsteph]

what kind of camera are you using? it captures the nicest colors :)

[Eng23]

Allrighty now! :)You said mid week and a bit early but none the less a man of his word. Bring it on (I am in shock watching my Rangers get humiliated and need some relief).

Pssssst!!

The Rangers won last night and are moving on to play the Pens! ;):D

[jimbo5544]

Pssssst!!

The Rangers won last night and are moving on to play the Pens! ;):D

 

How true! The bleeding nubs of my fingernails confirm that I watched every minute. On to Pittsburgh!

[PaulMedik]

Paul,

 

I think the picture of the church with the gold domes is the Ukrainian Catholic Church. Don't know about the other one.

 

 

Crewsweeper,

 

It certainly is beautiful. I can only imagine what it looks like from other angles and inside.

 

 

 

what kind of camera are you using? it captures the nicest colors :)

 

 

iamsteph,

 

Canon; 5DIII, SX260HS, SX50. You can click on any of the pictures and the camera name / info will be at the bottom.

[iamsteph]

thanks!

[PaulMedik]

Still looking for the Camp Carnival signup area;

 

 

 

 

 

All I can tell you about where this is located is that it's near the front of the ship. I have no clue which floor;

 

 

 

 

We ran into someone who said the signups were in the theater. They weren't;

 

[PaulMedik]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We never did find the Camp signups, but Karen signed them up later on somewhere. We did keep exploring though;

 

 

 

[PaulMedik]

It's safe to say the chapel is hooked up for whatever audio a guest might need;

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carnival Pride is reported to be dark and a bit sedate, but there certainly are areas that are bright;

 

 

Every time I passed this stairway I made a mental note to remember to bring my fisheye back and get a picture, but I never did get around to it. Shame. It's a beautiful stairway and only a fisheye can capture it all;

 

 

 

This is NOT Carnival Liberty, but it sure reminds you of her as you pass thru;

 

[PaulMedik]

Another angle and she still reminds me of Liberty;

 

 

 

We headed back to the room to see if the boys were planning to go to dinner or what their plans were.

 

I got some pics of our wake. It's hard to imagine that at this point we are still in the Chesapeake Bay and haven't even made it to the second bridge yet;

 

 

I took a quick peek up the side of the ship to see if we were getting near the next bridge and didn't see anything;

 

 

 

The boys wanted to go the dining room instead of Lido so off we went. We had met Joycee the hostess earlier in the day when we were eating lunch and she greeted us when we arrived at YTD and found a booth for us.

 

During our meal I happened to look out the window and noticed we were passing under the second bridge and that I'd missed getting pics. Oh well, another reason to sail from Baltimore again!

 

 

Our meal was great, but the star of the meal came at the end;

 

 

 

Believe it or not that was the ONLY WCMC I had all week! I normally eat it every night, but this cruise I tried other offerings.

 

[PaulMedik]

After dinner we returned to our cabin to find our Platinum gifts had been delivered;

 

 

And this fella was waiting on our bed to greet us;

 

 

 

56 feet deep? Really? I watched the depth meter and there were areas of the bay that were only 33 feet deep;

 

 

 

We were near Larry's house and had planned to get pics of him from the ship and pics of the ship from shore. We talked on the cell phone, but pics weren't an option; too dark and too far. He shined a light toward the ship and the captain lit him up with the bright spot lights on the front of the ship. I could just tell the light came on, but he said it was very bright.

 

 

 

Karen and I had stopped by the casino earlier on the way to look for Camp Carnival and we went back that night and got $100 in chips each and played BlackJack for an hour or so and both of us left with more than we invested.

 

The next picture is of the wall along the hallway leading to the dining room. There's also a bar there, but I don't recall the name and it's outside of the art auction room. I am not an art critic, but;

 

 

My apologies if the artwork offends anyone, but it's publicly displayed on the ship and prudes need to be aware of what they will be encountering.

 

OK, maybe I am an art critic; I don't like that one. Not because she's naked, nor because she fills up the entire wall and is impossible to miss, but....yeah I just plain don't like the way she looks nor what she appears to be doing and why in a field and why'd they put it there? IMO that's porn. I'm OK with porn, but keep it on the internet.

 

I'm not sure how to transition the review from that picture to breakfast the next morning, but this is what I had up on Lido. As you'll see throughout the review, my breakfast choices were pretty consistent;

 

[PaulMedik]

Before I get too far ahead I need to back up and post our boarding photo;

 

 

My GoPro was running during this photo, but I cut it out along with the rest of the boarding area.

 

Our first day at sea;

 

 

 

Karen getting a picture of a couple enjoying the day;

 

 

 

It was somewhat overcast, but the seas were calm;

 

 

Mail call was just after noon;

 

 

Karen got a similar notice delivered to the boys cabin about her shareholder credit.

[NCTribeFan]

I have to say that other than not particularly liking that genre of art (I just find reclining nudes dull), I disagree with everything else you said about it. I'll leave it at that.

 

Can't wait to see the ship and re-familiarize myself with the ship's layout (and check out that Serenity Deck)!